Prologue

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Prologue:
Shadows’ Scent; Fear
The snake-like creature paced forward, purposefully. His mismatched limbs moved rhythmically, walking through the dense green foliage. He was on his unequal hind legs, his reptilian claw clacking as it pushed down into the damp earth he was striding through, making horizontal grooves when he walked.
The light that filtered through uneven brambles and blackened leaves was a hue of purples and crimsons, creating a vast array of vibrant colour that painted the sky in brilliant shades. The dying light faded softly, the colours melting into a midnight blue decorated with silver sprinkles that dotted the sky. The creature glanced about nervously, his eyes adjusting to the ever growing darkness quickly. He frowned at the fading light and the shadows that stalked his paces, creating eerie shapes that seemed to move on their own. He continued his purposeful pacing, a sixth sense tugging him in a specific direction that he followed constantly.
His mind drifted idly, thinking about his normal day until the strange sensation he had. His vermillion and golden eyes glowed as he peered around him at the creeping darkness, his predatory vision enhancing his night sight. He could not shake off the sense of overwhelming uneasiness he had. His taupe equine like ears pricked as he concentrated, listening hard. Nothing.

Maybe it had been a false alarm. He turned carefully, his uneven front limbs swaying as he took a careful step away from the ominous clearing he had found himself in. Almost immediately, a shuddering tremor shook his serpentine body and he dropped to the muddy ground, teeth bared, predator like, his hackles rising as he growled throatily. His previously sheathed claws shot out of his lion paw on instinct. He paused. Nothing.
He got up slowly, warily. He wanted nothing more than to head back. But he knew his chaotic mind would get no rest if something lurked near the ones he loved. He sighed and stretched, his eagle claw reaching to tug at his bristly black mane as he often did when he was frustrated. If his mate had been there, she would have laughed and called it his "tuggy" mood.
His lips quirked up at the thought of her. She surely would be sleeping by now. The sky was dark and he could tell it was around midnight. She slept more than she used to, these days. It was still too early to tell, but he could guess why her eating habits had become erratic and her temper volatile. Then there would be another. Someone to keep his little abomination company. He could hardly wait. His thoughts swirled and he smiled.
Deep in the foliage, a pair of eyes watched. He could see the look on the oblivious draconequus's face. Distracted. Pressing closer, the creature revealed a pair of impressive canines as it smiled when the mismatch creature did not notice it. It crept closer, pushing its luck. The creature's massive claws caught momentarily around the roots of a tree.
The creature's evident prey noticed a slight creaking as he banished his thoughts. He balled his eagle claw into a fist. His heart accelerated, pounding faster in fear. His eyes adjusted in the dark and his breathing became irregular at the scene in front of him.
He had no chance.
Large pulsing roots shot out, knocking the creature off his feet. The mismatch leapt to his feet, floating inches above the ground, against the laws of gravity. Two talons came together, out of habit, about to snap.
A blackened root wrapped around him, constricting him and he struggled, for escape and air. The foul rotting and earthy stench filled his nostrils before the ache of oxygen deprivation bit his lungs. His magic did not work and the echo of the snapping sound drifted about the now nearly silent clearing. Another ebony root wrapped around his mouth, still having bits of leaves and shrubbery from when it had been viciously pulled out from the foliage, directed by an invisible force. His eyes being the only thing uncovered. The salty metallic taste that flooded his tongue alerted him that he had bit it. The tendrils entrapping him pulsed with a wrongness to it, like dark magic. Which it was. He was completely paralyzed, unable to move or even wriggle, his snake like body having been knotted cleverly to prevent escape attempts. His abdomen ached and his head spun from the lack of air. He tried to inhale, but only smelled the foul taste of the vine muffling his snout. His eyes, flashing red and gold, gleamed in the dark, staring in shock at the creature that moved out of the foliage. Its arm was held expertly in a position a puppeteer does, the limb poised, invisible strings pulling it down. A throaty chuckle reverberated the creature's vocal chords as it gazed at its helpless prey. Its lips stretched in a smile that exposed massive canines.
"Hello Discord......"
Discord writhed in a pathetic attempt to escape, his burgundy tail thrashing, having escaped the pulsing vines. He felt something he had not felt for the longest time. Physical pain. He could feel it, a searing agony wherever the vines contacted. The lack of chaos magic was also evident. He could feel an emptiness, a deep hole, trying to swallow him. The vines constricted tighter, dragging the draconequus into the dense foliage, tail first. The crimson and yellow eyes were wide in panic and fear. He tried to thrash.
Escape! Must... Escape!
Darkness was the last thing that Discord saw.
The creature laughed at his helplessness, an echoing cackle that broke the once again silence of the EverFree forest. It angled its newly cloaked head towards the direction it knew the prey’s family lived, thinking of the bewildered mate of the prey, waking in a panic, lights turned on somewhere where the creature could not see. It breathed in, lungs heaving, an aroma of emotions leaving a taste that tingled its tongue. It smiled again, teeth glittering, its smirk widening at the ever-increasing scent and taste that assaulted its senses. The scent was stronger than ever.
The creature laughed.
It was fear.

Chapter 1

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Chapter 1
Introducing…Illusion!

“Alright, Illusion, you got this!”
A determined voice filled the room, lit by the rising sun and a few fireflies, flitting about the enormous vanity, reflecting a taupe coloured filly with white tresses, her rose coloured eyes practically radiating stubbornness.
She paced the oaken floor, her wings twitching slightly, nervous. A weasel, warmly cinnamon, a white underbelly and black tipped tail, yipped slightly, cocking its furry head and intelligent beady eyes at his owner. He jumped onto the vanity, where his owner was still scrutinising herself, knocking over a bowl of hair clips.
The filly, seeing this, gasped and grabbed the weasel, placing him onto the oaken floor, where his little claws scrabbled and scratched at the wood. She gave him a scolding swat, pointing at the mess he had made.
“Look what you did, Mayhem! You going to fix it?”
The ferret made a chuffing sound and darted behind the vanity, out of the filly’s disapproving stare. Seconds later, a light golden brown weasel joined him, the female making a laughing chitter.
“Panda? Not you too!”
Two furry snouts, one dark red and the other light brown, poked out from behind the vanity. The brown wood of the vanity was deemed ‘unsafe’ by the weasels when a grey head and two scarlet eyes poked behind the vanity, glaring. The weasel siblings, Mayhem and ‘Panda’, yipped at each other and bolted out of the room, nearly knocking a youthful yellow Pegasus who squinted at the two retreating figures. She blinked, frowning.
“Illusion? What’s up with Mayhem and Pandemonium?” The yellow Pegasus, a bigger version of the grey filly, except with pink hair, questioned her daughter, her eyebrows raised.
“They knocked over my stuff!”
The Pegasus frowned at the offending bowl of pins, scattering the polished floor. She then tilted her head to meet the other mare’s gaze.
The yellow mare’s aqua coloured eyes rolled, using a single creamy wing to brush a few pins back into the bowl. The pins made a slight sound against the floor but the two were busy picking pins, oblivious to two brown snouts observing in silent fascination.
The two ponies placed the full pin bowl on the vanity, where the weasels promptly knocked into, sending it over, drawing resigned sighs.
The yellow Pegasus swept out of the room, muttering about discipline and breakfast, leaving Illusion with the two pets. She regarded them coldly and followed her mother, leaving the two weasels chittering in apology, giving them a slight wink to indicate she was not being serious. Then the door slammed shut, making both creatures jump.
“Mom?”
Fluttershy jumped at the sound of her daughter’s smooth alto voice, shaking her head to clear her foggy thoughts and memories, generated at the sight of the nostalgic empty picture frames, sending pink tresses over her face. She smiled, her grin not quite reaching her shadowed eyes, dark from pain. “Illusion! Darling, please sit and eat already, you don’t want to be late, do you?”
At the reminder that on the day she would first walk through the doors of Cloudsdale Academy, flight and weathering, Illusion shivered and shot her mother a nervous upwards curve of lips. Sweat began to form and roll down the back of her neck, causing her white curls, curved so similarly to her mother’s, to cling to her frame, making her look smaller. She gulped nervously.
Fluttershy, noticing, patted her soothingly. “It’ll be fine, sweetie.”
Illusion nodded at her mother’s words, trying to smile. She took several calming breaths and settled on her chair, chewing an edge of jammed toast thoughtfully. Her gaze flickered to the sundial on the table, beside the wide windows, gasping.
“Moooom! We’re late!”
“No, no we’re not.” Fluttershy hummed, rolling her eyes. She placed a black and white saddle bag on the kitchen table, eyeing her daughter until she settled down enough to continue on the toast. Illusion blinked at the saddle bag and grabbed it, upturning its contents on the table. The books and scarf tangled and clattered about, Illusion making sure that everything was there. Fluttershy let loose a light laugh, seeing Illusion try vainly to stuff the bag’s contents back in.
She looked up for help.
Fluttershy laughingly obliged.
Moments later, the yellow Pegasus was dragged into the air by a powerful but fragile looking pair of grey wings that curved and batted at the sky and clouds, the morning winds lifting the pair. Fluttershy beat her wings, her feathers catching at the wind, silently observing the laughing and speeding Illusion. She thought back to her childhood and frowned at the painful memories of a petite Fluttershy unable to fly. Clearly Illusion was different, she had even gotten her cutie mark in something flying related, or at least, Pegasus related, her special talent being able to craft cloud illusions that could hover and move, almost like magic.
On this realisation, Fluttershy shifted her gaze to Illusion’s neck, where a silver necklace pulsed, a red ruby glowing, attached at the end. It throbbed in time to the oblivious Pegasus’s heartbeat, shining softly even though it was hidden well underneath Illusion’s white tresses. Thump. Thump.
It was still there. No worries about uncontrollable magic wreaking havoc into Equestria. Or worse. Chaos.
She shivered slightly. Clearly there were still effects of it leaking into Illusion. Cloud illusions were only done by unicorns. Who had heard of a Pegasus with such a talent?
A strong uplift flew about Fluttershy, causing her to scatter her thoughts and flutter her wings to overcome the wind. Ahead, Illusion laughed at the gale and did a flip in the air, whooping at the cushioning cloud that she wrecked, sending fluffy pieces everywhere, including one into Fluttershy’s face, which caused her to ‘eep’ meekly, but she recovered and they both flew on, letting the brightening sky and sun causing their shapes to glow.
They flew on.
Finally, after seventeen (Fluttershy kept count) ‘Are We There Yet?’s, a looming image of countless cloud layers and rainbows, the perfect picture of Cloudsdale, drifted within their line of sight, where the two pegasi gasped softly.
“Wow.” Illusion tried not to seem too awed, even though she was, as she spied her mother’s muzzle, the serene expression never changing.
The two winged delicately onto the soft cloudy track where a banner, with the words ‘Welcome New Students to Cloudsdale Academy’ splashed in colourful paints down the side, dripping. Illusion eyed the doors to the compound warily, seeing other students, grinning and chatting with familiarity. Feeling left out, she stood to the side of the cloudy track with her mother, blinking back tears.
Fluttershy, noticing this, hugged her to her chest, smiling at her little Pegasus.
“It’s all right, little one. You can do this. I believe in you. Remember, I’ll come visit you during the weekends. Remember to brush your teeth and brush your hair every day!”
Sensing her mother’s departure, Illusion hugged her tighter, her fears pushing to the back of her mind. You can do this. Her mother’s gentle tone reverberated in her head and Illusion let out her widest smile, her ruby eyes sparkling. “Thanks, Mom! I’ll be good and live up to your expectations!”
Fluttershy giggled, her eyes brightening. “Those things contradict!” She teased gently. She nudged Illusion with a single yellow feathery wing towards the Academy’s doors, where pegasi were starting to gather. The crowd became denser and noisy, some ponies recognising each other and dashing through the crowd to get to each other. Illusion, hesitating, glanced back at Fluttershy. She pushed them both into the crowd encouragingly.
“Illusion, go on! Remember, if you ever need help, speak up! And please use your logic when studying and make sense for once!”
On hearing this, Illusion turned around and smiled at the ever increasing crowd, where Fluttershy was becoming less visible. Fluttershy was still there, blinking at the back of pegasi heads. Suddenly, Illusion’s voice cut through the chatter of pegasi like a clean blade.
“But Mom! What fun is there in making sense?”
Fluttershy froze. Her face became pinched and her stare was glassy. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, vision becoming blurry. Her breaths were beginning to be long and laboured. Not in this crowd!
With a flurry of pink and yellow, Fluttershy half flew, half galloped, pushing past startled ponies, including a blue Pegasus with colourful hair. She beat her trembling wings as fast as she could and eventually saw her little cottage, after blinking welling tears from her eyes. Unfortunately, she was descending too fast and crashed through a partially open window and landed on her bed. She sat down gingerly, positioning herself in a better position, ignoring aches and pains that caused her body to throb dully. She hugged soft green sheets to her face. Then the floodgates broke.
~~~
Meanwhile…
“What the buck?”
Rainbow Dash righted herself from where she had been knocked over.
A younger Pegasus, with similar hair, loyally hurried over to her. The slender Pegasus was light blue and had rainbow hair that was long and curled, reaching down her back, where a pair of muscled feathery blue wings sat. Her almond shaped eyes were leafy green, like a hidden forest, darkening to olive-brown, contrasting the older mare’s magenta eyes that sparkled with inner determination.
Inclining her head gratefully towards her daughter, Rainbow smiled. “Thanks, Prism. Why don’t you go hang out with Kestrel?”
The Pegasus, Prism, looked around, glancing over to the fiery maned yellow Pegasus in question, who looked at Prism, returning a wave, and flew to her. Rainbow, seeing her daughter leave to join her friend, turned back to glare angrily at the pony who had knocked her over and disappeared without an apology.
“Emotional parents, I bet.” She muttered under her breath and flicked her mane, which sent a colourful waterfall over her shoulder. She turned to look at Prism, who was excitedly chatting and bouncing with a petite Pegasus with enormous yellow wings.
A sudden rush of well-trained wings alerted Rainbow that Spitfire had made her arrival. The plush cloud track beneath her hooves vibrated and heated up, nearly caving in as Spitfire completed her usual dramatic entrance and landed.
“Sup’ Dash!”
“Spitty.” Dash casually said without looking over her shoulder.
The carefree Pegasus flipped over and blew at her still smoking tail, the edges darkened from catching on fire countless times. Her amber eyes were focused on Kestrel, who waved back to her mother. Prism, noticing this, hurried over with Kestrel, still chatting with the large winged Pegasus.
“Hi auntie Spitfire!”
“Hello Mother.”
Spitfire patted Kestrel awkwardly, a smile plastered on her face, which melted as she turned, frowning at a large pair of shifting wings and a petite frame. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, unsure of what to say as her anxious gaze flickered from looking at her awaiting daughter to pleading at Rainbow Dash, who rolled her eyes at the amateur. Deciding to say nothing, she stood still in the awkward silence, gaze now fixated on Kestrel, who had a slightly hurt expression on her face. She then backed away slowly, beads of sweat shining on her brow and seized the chance to fly off when a loud ringing bell began to chime, signalling lounging students to enter the Academy’s premises before they got locked out. Kestrel sighed resignedly at her mother’s sudden and cold departure and blinked back a shining tear, biting her lip. Prism and Rainbow Dash coughed and looked away awkwardly trying to be comforting by pretending she was not there. It did not help.
Finally, Prism broke the silence with a well-wishing to her mother. Giving her nodding awkwardly mother a last hug, Prism tightened her saddle bag’s blue strap and hefted it slightly, before she grabbed her friend’s hoof and pulled Kestrel, who had sadly trudged behind, through the two white enormous cloud stone doors, peering at the milling crowd of students which lay behind it nervously.
She gulped.
~~~
In a castle not so far away…
"Mooom!"
The lavender mare's previously focused head shot up at the familiar voice, instantly banging into a conveniently placed book case, causing a potion bottle half filled with honey coloured liquid to clatter to the highly polished crystalline floor, a single opaque crack shooting up the crystal flask, stopping only once it hit the golden carved rim. The young filly by the door, peering curiously, noticed this, hurrying over to her mother, her lilac wings, tipped a faint navy blue, fluttering. They brushed the sides of the doorway, breaking off a feather, but she flew oblivious to the feather to where Twilight stood, staring at the “destruction”.
Her royal blue aura, the same shade as her neat trimmed mane, surrounded the bottle and brought it to her muzzle, inspecting the damage with cautious purple eyes. She lowered it, coming face to face with a very angry alicorn. Her eyelid twitched briefly, the tic in her cheek jumping. "Sorry......?"
"Lilac Thuama Aum Sparkle!"
The filly winced. This was bad. Very bad.
~~~
The blue aura dragged the pale yellow dishrag half-heartedly over the already dustless leather bound tomes, wiping the black covers endlessly, half listening to the ongoing lecture that droned in her ear. Lilac flapped her wings, hovering to another book that seemed to have lost its shine of liquid due to the water having evaporated. The books were immune to water, but she was not sure how much talking the books could take. She patted a book sympathetically, knowing that they two were going through the same torture, before realizing her mother had stopped talking.
Seconds, later, it was evident why.
A scroll wrapped delicately in golden ribbon, gentle words which curves projected the very idea of sereneness, appeared with a gust of wind and magic. Twilight could see the scroll, which brought back pangs of nostalgia when she remembered where she’d seen it before. The familiar scroll was almost awkward without the accompanying green dragon fire.
She picked it up with her magenta magic aura, which was trembling. Lilac, noticing this, dropped the dish cloth in surprise. She dropped to the shiny floor beside her mother (and the sad dish cloth that lay on the crystal floor, discarded and forgotten).
Lilac decided she could not bear the thick and heavy tension anymore. She cleared her throat expectantly, looking to her mother, who carefully cracked the seal with a sliver of magic, almost like she was afraid she would break it. The tension and silence resumed, the only movement in the room being a pair of purple eyes scanning the contents of the letter, the only noise being the faint hum of magic and the song of birds that drifted through the open window.
Twilight’s eyes widened, then dilated slightly in shock, which made Lilac shift from hoof to hoof nervously.
Finally, Twilight spoke, her voice shaky and uncertain.
“Lilac, pack your things. Something’s happened to Princess Celestia.”

Chapter 2

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Chapter 2
Falling
It was a barely audible sound, a simple quiet scraping like steel against hard granite, that alerted her that her visitors had started arriving. She took a deep breath, her delicate ears pricking at the rapid but gradual shuffling and tapping of what seemed to be hooves.
The increasing tapping outside in the hallway became more pronounced and the slender mare realized it was less the sound of tapping, more like a distinct cacophony of claws, snapping in energized anticipation. She set aside her royal blue quill, a gift from her sister, who had presented it to her on the recent sun summer celebration, the scroll she had been writing on disappearing with a smoke like burst of golden magic. Her lips curved slightly in a smile that faded into a tight lipped expression. A tear rolled down her cheek.
The strained amber light of the humid afternoon filtered through the carved window, the window's well-oiled bronze hinges glittering faintly with tiny brightly coloured jewels engraved on the panel. She noted with passing interest that grey storm clouds were beginning to gather on the far eastern horizon, the storm's obvious oncoming beginning to show.

It would not matter, the mare thought with little satisfaction. She had done what she needed to. She had passed on her duty and something far more important to those who would handle it well. Possibly even better, she thought as she carefully did the clasps on the window securely in preparation for the storm.
There was, she silently concluded, not much more that could have been asked of a very old mare in that world, in her lifetime. She breathed in the smell of parchment and the ever present and mysterious scent of freesia that accompanied her sister, the smell making her eyes water in nostalgia. Her lifetime. She would miss her sister. The aroma triggered memories of her, and a younger Luna. Luna.
With that, she turned, her golden shod hooves making little pad noises on the rich marisan carpet. She glanced at the sitting crown perched on the windowsill and debated whether to bring it. She frowned and shook her head. Taking a deep breath, Celestia threw the door open.
The dark silhouette in the doorway gestured to her, and the ever calm princess caught a glimpse of wickedly sharp shapes, curved to a point, as the visitor's cloak fluttered slightly. The clicking noises grew louder and the lamp’s light flickered, making shadow come to life on the wall.
"Good afternoon, princess! I trust that I may have a word-"
"It's not here."
The white alicorn, as serene as always, smiled, though joy did not reflect in her amethyst eyes. She let a small amount of smugness crack through her calm façade. "You're too late."
The strange visitor was deadly silent, angrily knowing that the ruler spoke the truth. "I am... sorry to hear that." The visitor toned, voice dangerously soft. "This does not bode well for you."
The monarch shrugged, her eerie smile widening in anticipation, lowering her tone to match the visitor's. "What happens to me is no longer of importance. Others have wished for my demise, thousands before you and claiming my life is not easy. I have, however, put Equestria forever out of your reach, so when all is said and done, it no longer matters."
The visitor's voice whistled at the back of its throat in frustration. Wordlessly the visitor gestured, the fluid movements expressing an anger it could not carry out otherwise. Suddenly, the noises outside heightened for a brief moment, giving way to snarls. Then several creatures draped in heavy leather, stained and roughly sewed, made their way into the room. They were on their hind legs, trying to seem intimidating though they walked awkwardly, due to their inverted joints in their lower limbs. They were too tall and broad to be ponies, and lacked the leather wings of a dragon, but their signature sickle claws that protruded from their hemlines made it evident to the princess what they were. She tried hard not to laugh or sob, for she could not decide which to do.
The princess spread her wings regally.
There was a rush of bodies, and in moments the room was filled with pain and blood.
When the snarls and howls of pain finally faded, the room's inhabitants left, either purposefully or forcefully, dragged across the wine red marisan carpet, unable to move any more.
Soon the ornate room was deathly silent and still, exactly like before, with a few exceptions. The room's usual inhabitant was missing. Flickers and puddles stained the carpet, camouflaged in the red background. Also, the storm had started, the sky in grey turmoil, as if the pegasi realized what had befallen Equestria's monarch. The clouds seemed to express depression, a fitting mood for what happened. Lightning streaked the sky, trying to tear it in two as thunder roared its agony. The raindrops freckled the pavements and streaked the windows, but Celestia would not see them fall any longer.
~~~
Fond Fluttering Memories
The tip of the pale yellow quill went straight through the piece of parchment, causing Fluttershy to let loose a meek swear word, frowning at the tiny hole and splash of black ink. Her yellow brow furrowed, continuing to scrutinise the blank piece of paper. She tapped it gently with a hoof, her mouth still set in a widening upside down rainbow.

“Well, that settles it.”
Her voice rang in the cacophonous cottage, where animals scampered about, silencing for a moment to stare at her rare moment of conviction. A white bunny with a damned attitude scampered by, tittering in his squeaky language at his oblivious owner.
Fluttershy ignored him, continuing her speech.
“I have no clue what to write about.”
She sat hard in a pale green arm chair, the paper fluttering at her swift and sudden movement, before the yellow Pegasus turned her attention to her spoilt pet, blinking at his tittered words.
She waved a wing idly, causing the butter coloured feather to fall silently to the floor.
“Well, I could write about my day, it was rather interesting.” The Pegasus murmured, commenting at the bunny’s words, still waving a wing in anxiety. The bunny nodded, gesturing at the paper and fallen quill.
Suddenly, a spark of realisation caused the mare to sit up suddenly, wings fluttering at a more rapid pace. The rabbit, startled, jumped, falling off the table.
“Who am I kidding! Half the time my friends don’t listen to me! Why would the reformed master of chaos want to know how my day went?”
The white rodent rolled his beady eyes. He did not like the newly “reformed” Discord. It had been barely a few days since he had turned Sweet Apple Acres into a skating rink. However, he did not like Fluttershy panicking over nothing. In truth, he did not give a damn whether or not Discord would even read the letter. He did not even know why Fluttershy bothered sending a letter, and squeaked so.
She gasped violently, eyebrows pointed down towards the rabbit, angrily giving him a slight Stare.
“Angel! He’s my friend! Friends write to each other! Princess Celestia expects me to! She even gave me his address, see?”
Fluttershy presented a scrap of parchment with an illegible symbol scrawled on it, which Angel sniffed suspiciously, tiny eyebrow raised. He squeaked as the paper glowed and the symbol shifted from a dark azure to a vibrant yellow. Smiling at his surprise, Fluttershy chuckled.
“It seems to do that every few moments.”, she explained, placing the paper (Which once again turned to an eyesore of green) beside the paper which a bunch of hastily scrawled crossed-out words.
Angel squeaked again.
Fluttershy blinked at him, a slight frown crossing her expression. She breathed deeply in and out, eyes closing.
“Alright, Angel. I’ll write and get it over with.”

Dear Discord,
Hello! It’s me Fluttershy! I don’t know if you remember me, I’m one of the elements that turned you to stone.
Discord winced. “Hard to forget.” He muttered and continued scanning the rest of the letter.
I’m writing to you, because that’s what friends do!
Anyway, I was wondering what sort of tasks the Princess was making you do. ‘Using magic for good’ is a wide range, after all. I was going to write about my day, but my day was pretty boring. I might be an element, but today, we just went to the crystal empire and spent an entire day welcoming an ‘important guest’, but it turns out we got the wrong pony. It was really embarrassing. I don’t think you’d like to hear about it.
It’s strange, writing to somepony again. I haven’t written to anypony in ages. Castle life must be dreadful for once used to the freedoms you used to live in. I once stayed in a fancy hotel and I felt very restricted myself! I wish I could do something for you, as your friend, but not even I can let you go back to your ‘freedom’. Rainbow Dash says freedom is with the sky. Well, I live on the ground, so I do not get much either, but I live near the EverFree so I get a little freedom.
I’m sure the tasks the Princess made you do were fun! I bet being the ‘Spirit of Chaos’ is so much better than being a boring Pegasus in Ponyville. The only thing I would like to offer, however, is kindness and friendship, so you do not have to go back to a stone prison.
Um, maybe we could meet for tea sometime. How’s Tuesday?
Your friend, Fluttershy
The letter disappeared in a snap and a flash of white light. Princess Celestia, who was reading over the draconequus’s shoulder, having been called away from her daily politics by the mail mare, snorted with mirth. The dignified princess straightened and blinked at the draconequus.
“I haven’t made you do anything yet.” She stated.
“Obviously.”
“You do plan on replying, right?”
“To an insecure Pegasus? Sure, why not.”
“Why are you still standing here again?”
“The author wants to hit her word goal.”
“Oh. There are better ways.”
“No kidding.”
The draconequus snapped his fingers, sniggering and reappeared immediately in his room. It was a decorated part of the Canterlot castle, a disarray of antique furniture floating and the walls dripping with shades of bright paint. The carpet snapped at the draconequus’s ankles, causing Discord to snarl and turn its head into a cheese sandwich. A maid, who had taken the wrong turn and opened the door, shrieked and tried in vain to escape the sandwich.
Ignoring the havoc, Discord animated a quill and ink bottle to fly towards him and grabbed them before teleporting into the castle’s library, which was a much better place to write as it provided free snacks right off the shelves. He grabbed a paper, which had been lying on one of the un-occupied tables and was probably not needed. Probably. But it came with spell-check, so it was okay.
He began to write.
A pattering knock filled the cottage, bathed in amber evening light, causing a buttery Pegasus, who was preparing dinner for her animal friends, to glance towards the door. “Who could that be?” Her gaze swept past a bottle of ink and discarded quill lying on a green wooden table. Oh.
She sped towards the door in a burst of feathers, causing several little eagerly awaiting animals to screech with surprise. The door opened, revealing a grey mare, her yellow wall eyes staring in different directions. She had a smile plastered on her face, a crumpled letter in her hoof.
“Here ya go, Fluttershy!” Unfortunately, the derpy mail mare misjudged the distance between her recipient’s hoof and hers, and the letter was shoved into Fluttershy’s face with a crinkling of paper.
Fluttershy’s smile got a little more forced.
The mail mare shrugged and flew in a crooked line, towards the town, a couple envelopes trailing after her. Seeing that she had gone a distance, Fluttershy retreated back into her cottage, tearing the envelope eagerly.
Hello, Fluttershy.
Do not worry, I have not forgotten about you. It is hard to forget. I must say, it was a surprise getting this letter from you this soon. It’s quite rare for me to get a letter, I really never had any friends before and the only mail I’ve gotten is death threats, you know, the usual. Do not let Sun butt fool you, Fluttershy!
I do prefer this new ‘prison’ compared to stone though, no pigeons. Thank heavens! I am able to move too! Though I do have that urge to go out and cause chaos again. Some corn candy grass could really improve the scenery.
Anyways, don’t belittle yourself! A little confidence never hurt anyone! I’ll be coming by on Tuesday to hear this new ‘chaos’! Welcoming the wrong pony, eh? The crystal empire’s screwed! Glad to hear it’s back and no longer run by Mr. Magic-mascara!
Your Chaotic friend,
Discord
P/S: Want me to bring anything for Tuesday? Cucumber sandwiches?
Fluttershy felt laughter bubbling out through her mouth. Discord was really reformed after all. She grinned at the letter and hugged it to her chest. Friends! She smiled and she...
…sat up abruptly in bed, causing blankets to topple off leaving her bathed in the early morning chill, a bird’s song drifting in through the reddish curtains, the sun’s rising causing light to dance about the room.
Fluttershy stayed in the shadows.
A tear forced its way out of her eyes, dull and lifeless from old wounds, a scar that would never heal. She had been dreaming. Again. About him!
She sighed deeply, opening her dry mouth and began to sing, a sad, mournful tune that caused hearts to break, pain in every syllable. It was still a beautiful and haunting melody, sending chills down the backs of those who heard it. Her voice, cracking from emotion and long un-use, was still sweet and beautiful.
“Dreaming…A dream, that’s all its ever been,
Your eyes on every face that I have seen,
It’s not you, You’re gone, it’s not you!
You left me, and this world behind too.
I pray for something else, I pray for release.
There is nothing left here except broken memories.
Picture frames, hanging empty and long gone,
Fractured hearts cease beating, flawed and torn.
I must live.
I live on for you.
But what am I supposed to do?
I will,
I will live on.
But I wail that you left what you’ve known,
I wail that you have left me…… Alone.”

~~~
He opened his eyes.
He was falling, plummeting backwards toward an ice covered river at the bottom of a deep ravine, littering with debris. Above him, merciless eyes stared at him, vines writhing in the background. As he fell, the world above him receded, everything disappearing as he was enveloped by the cloud of billowing mist from the waterfall upstream.
For an instant, everything was as white as snow, and for a brief moment, hope flared inside him that his magic had come back.
Then he hit the ice.
Cold. Black. Pain.
He was tumbling...being dragged by a powerful force that pounded him relentlessly across rocks in an impossibly cold void. His lungs ached for air, and yet his ribs seemed to have contracted so much from the cold it seemed impossible to inhale.
I’m under the ice!
The ice near the waterfall was apparently thin on account of turbulent water, and he had broken directly through it. Now he was being washed downstream, trapped beneath a transparent ceiling. He clawed at the underside of the ice, trying to break out, but he had no leverage. The searing pain in his ribs from the fall was evaporating, blotted out by the crippling throb of his body going numb.
The current was accelerating, slingshotting him around a bend in the river. His body screamed for oxygen. Suddenly, he was tangled in the branches of a fallen tree. He groped wildly at the branch, working his way to the surface, finally finding the spot where the wood pierced the surface, through ice. His talons found the tiny space of open water surrounding the branch, and he pulled at the edges, trying to break the hole wider. His paw, now completely dead of feeling from the cold, pried continuously and the opening was growing, the hole now several inches across.
Propping himself on the branch, he tipped his head back and pressed his mouth against the small opening. The wintry air that poured into his lungs felt like a rush of fire. The sudden burst of oxygen fuelled his hope. He planted his feet on the tree and pressed him back and shoulders upwards forcefully. The ice around the fallen tree, perforated by branches and debris, was weakened already, so as he dove his legs into the tree trunk, his head broke through the ice, crashing upwards in the wintry night. Air poured generously into his lungs. Still mostly submerged, he wriggled upwards, pushing with his feet. Finally, he was out of the water, lying breathless on the bare ice.
As he tried to stand, it began to snow. He was delirious and hypothermic. The snow was falling harder when he spotted a source of light. Thinking that he was rescued, he staggered forth, only to crash head first into the very thing he had been trying to escape. The creature's large eyes glowed, blinding the draconequus momentarily. He could feel the creature's anger practically radiating, his mouth opening in a snarl. A cold hand clasped around his lengthy neck, restricting him from inhaling.
Why does everything want me to stop breathing? He thought, his tail thrashing in the agony burning his lungs. Between the creature and the river, he would have preferred the river.
The creature's mouth was cackling now, even though the agony in his prey's chest seemed to have drowned out everything else. It seemed to be able to read his mind, as it rattled him briefly, before throwing him in one powerful swoop, into the river, knowing that he could not make it out alive again.
Discord, for the second time that day, crashed through the ice in a rib splintering agony before become paralyzed, suspended in the river.
The creature laughed, tapping the river's thin layer of ice rhythmically. The ice spread quickly over the holes, covering them without traces of previous breakage, before the frost took the inside of the river. The creature, apparently finished, turned and glided away, his laughter echoing in the air.
Discord, in one last hope, took use of the last of air, singing. As he sang, the words reappeared, carved perfectly into the ice, his body now frozen permanently and preserved perfectly. As the ice finished its work, at the bottom of the river now lay a frozen draconequus, the words of his last song slipping past his frozen lips, before he moved no more.

Chapter 3

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Chapter3
Red Hooves

The navy blue alicorn sat motionless on the dark red marisan carpet, feeling the loose material tug and scrape gently against her fur. She had no idea how long she had sat there. Her face was an expressionless mask, but for a second, sorrow flicked across her façade. Her aqua eyes darkened with pain.

She sighed and swallowed, closing her eyes. She righted her black crown, her eyes opening and letting her gaze linger on the white gold regalia and crown that lay discarded. She remembered the day her sister had gotten them too. It had been…so very long ago. It had been more than a millennium ago, Luna recalled vaguely, the day after Celestia raised the sun for the first time, a year before they had defeated… someone. Her mind was racked, but she could not remember who. The memory was too blurred. Her frown hardened. She was so old. They both were.

She put a hoof on the crown, a small chink emanating from where her regalia touched the purplish crystal. Her face went back to its façade. A single tear dripped from overfilled eyes, causing Luna to start, almost as if she was surprised that she felt sorrow. She bit, hard, on her trembling lip and drew a drop of blood. Her hoof shook from its position.

A thump came on the door, and immediately, Luna whipped her hoof to wipe her cheek so quickly it stung. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth.

“Who is it?”

A muffled scuffling followed, sounding like somepony was holding several things. A familiar voice, ageless despite time and veiled fatigue, answered.

“Twilight. It’s me, princess.”

Luna sighed deeply and opened the door in a thrust of magic, but kept her gaze fixated on a blue quill, its tip glistening with black moisture, still wet. She glanced to the door and pattering of hooves against marble that muffled itself seconds later on the carpet.

Luna cocked her head at her sister’s old student, puzzled. Twilight had grown slightly taller and was starting to resemble younger Cadence, but her muzzle had stayed the same. She wore no regalia and her magic held several scrolls and saddlebags, as expected. Her hair was windswept and had obviously arrived in a hurry. Luna raised her eyebrow.

“How did you get here so quickly? I sent a messenger only minutes ago!”

Twilight stopped short.

“I came here because I received a strange letter from Celestia. Did...did something happen?” She stammered uncertainly, clearly not knowing the whole situation.

Princess Luna sighed for the umpteenth time that day and looked to the other alicorn.

“Oh dear. Listen, Twilight- “
~~~

The mauve stallion clambered to dusty hooves, feeling the grime that stuck to his hooves collect bits of dirt.

He sighed and ruffled his green mane, a plum coloured horn splitting his messy hair into two. He trotted forward down an alley, the cliché creepy feeling and ominous sensation sending thrills down his back. He walked forward obliviously, his bluish eyes wide and looking about nervously.

He stalked forward to a green dumpster, the edges lined with mud, and leaned in, attention diverted. He hummed as he ‘worked’ and pulled a pair of light pink ballet shoes, worn and 7+ attack, according to a note pinned to it. The note was torn and had a blue heart, along with the number ‘25’ scrawled messily on it. For a moment, with the shoes hovering in his sparkling magic aura, it made him feel dangerous.

The stallion stared in confusion, but did not get the reference. He shrugged. He continued, the familiar trash smell filling him with determination.

He leaned in deeper and nearly fell in when a clopping sound of delicate hooves got his attention. He pulled his head from the dumpster, filthier than before.

His jaw dropped.

A mare, dazzling creamy white, wings of shining alabaster like an angel, and blonde hair, golden and impossibly shining despite the poor light, bringing out piecing electric blue eyes framed with black long lashes. She was poised gracefully, wings furled, regarding him with an intense and passionate gaze. Her legs, delicate, long and slender, stretched intricately underneath her.

Her movements, the stallion was vaguely aware amidst the hazy sensation, were as though she was constantly gliding or floating, her hips swaying and immodestly showing off her curves.

She was closer to him now, the purple unicorn realised, gazing into her electric blue eyes. There were only her eyes. Her eyes were fire and ice, silk and steel. Her eyes were swallowing him. He tried to move but was frozen, drawn into her eyes, that begged him to lean in, to give in. He managed to open his mouth and lick his cracked lips.

The mare repeated the movement sensually, but opened her mouth wider. Her teeth, pearly white, were sharp.

The stallion jerked away at this realisation. He looked at the beautiful mare again and felt his heart stop. Bile rose.

She stared at him with the same eyes, but they were different. Instead of being simply piercing, they were now also burning and glaring at him with both a heat of a thousand suns, and a fiercely cold intensity.

A clack sound of claws against the pavement caused the stallion to look down. The sharp claws, beautiful in a deadly way, gleaming silver, was attached to the mare’s back hooves. She was a stormy silver, her wings spreading widely and unnaturally, moonlight shining through torn gaps in her feathers.

She was an angel, an angel…of death.

Her front hooves, surprisingly normal, gripped his neck where it was connected to his body, tightly. He wanted to scream and cry, but could not. He could only shift his gaze from her deadly back claws and icy eyes in a horrified fascination.

The angel leaned in, breathing softly and meeting his gaze stubbornly. The unicorn closed his eyes to try to shield himself from her stare, but found the blue eyes haunting his mind and boring into the depths of his soul. The stallion struggled weakly. The pressure was tighter on his neck now, he-

Snap.

In a fluid and eternally graceful movement, she twisted his spine and snapped his neck. His body sagged to the dirty floor. The sound echoed.

The creature, the angel of death, bent her head to feast.
~~~

The pony landed heavily and gasped when something cracked underneath her bloodied hooves. Something white and curved. Bones. Pony bones.

Her breath hitched as she stroked the picked clean bones in the alleyway, as if she hoped to coax life back into them. The bones were the first of many. The many she could not save.

She grieved silently, but physical exhaustion was taking its toll. She had a long night ahead of her, guaranteed to be sleepless, but it did not mean she would not try. She needed the rest to heal.

She took flight swiftly again, wings flapping and angled to a faraway location where she could bide her time.

Moisture, something sparkling like crystals…tears, glimmered on the floor of the alleyway, perched on a horned skull and slid down, making it look like the dead could cry.
~~~

Twilight stared ahead at the wall. It was blank and a dull peeling shade of white, but at the bottom lay a small pile of books. Books she remembered reading excitedly to her mentor, who would listen and laugh, teaching her.

Hours spent with just books, a small child and her motherly figure, wasting wonderful hours by being together.

A tear slid down her cheek.
~~~

Prism ducked around the hallway, avoiding curious eyes and the relentless staring her rainbow mane often got. She tugged her mane closer to herself, hoping to block out the noise and chatter that followed her everywhere.

“Oh my goodness! You’re Prism!”

“Can I get your parents’ autographs?”

“Hey! Prism! Want to hang out?”

She dived into a doorway that had the number ‘73’ on the polished cloudstone door. She fell clumsily to the floor, her cheeks burning. The first impression my roommate gets of me in falling down. Just great, Prism.

She looked up slowly, meeting large ruby eyes. The filly she shared the room looked no older than 14, two years younger than Prism. She had a greyish coat, but could probably be seen as brown in some lights. Her hair caught Prism off guard. Her hair was a white waterfall that blanketed half of her face. Her wings were small but muscled.

Illusion realising she was an object of scrutiny, ducked nervously, quickly looking away. Prism sighed inwardly at her movement. Ughh, is she quiet? I can take shy. But quiet?

Illusion cleared her throat.

“I hope you didn’t mind that I take the lower bunk.” Her voice was quite soft and alternated quickly, showing a flexible singing voice.

Prism shook her rainbow coloured mane vigorously. She looked about the room, noting with slight curiosity that Illusion’s saddle bags had rubies. Is she rich?

She turned back to Illusion and noticed a silver strip, small and camouflaging, around her neck. It glittered slightly. Her hair moved slightly, revealing a small red gemstone still partially covered with white strands.

“So…what’s your name?”

The filly started, surprised and turned to look at Prism.

“Illusion. My name is Illusion Shy.”

“Oh. Uhh, I’m Prism. I like your hair.”

Illusion stared at her for a moment. She was confused, and Prism cursed herself inwardly for such a remark. To her surprise, Illusion answered.

“Thanks. I like yours too.”

The awkward silence resumed.

Illusion glanced at the clock which was moving excruciatingly slowly. Prism mirrored her action, sweat dripping.

“What time are we supposed to go to the hall for lunch?” Illusion questioned, deciding she liked the rainbow haired pony.

“About noon. We get the whole morning to explore and get to know each other.”

They both looked simultaneously back to the clock, still at the same painful pace.

“So, where do you live?” Illusion frowned at the question that Prism shot her. Where did she live? The cottage was near White Tail woods, but was much nearer to the Everfree. She tapped her chin thoughtfully with a hoof. “Somewhere near P... Ponyville, I think?”

“Great! I live in Ponyville! The sky near Cloudsdale!”

Illusion smiled. It was nice to have a friend who was not a pet. She blinked and tilted her head at her new friend’s mane.

“Uh…If you don’t mind me asking…did you dye your mane?”

Prism eyes widened. Illusion did not know who her parents were? “No…My mom is Rainbow Dash. The mane is a family thing.”

Illusion crinkled her nose. Rainbow Dash? The name was familiar. “So, who are your parents?”

Prism fell out of the top bunk onto the cloudy flour with a thud. Her emerald eyes looked at Illusion, shocked.

“You…don’t know who the Wonderbolts are?” Prism managed to squeak out.

“Uhh…”
~~~

“Twilight! Princess Twilight!”

Hearing some pony call her name, the Princess looked up at the guard. He was a bright orange shade that was mostly covered by delicate carved gold armour. Two wings clenched in a military stance at his side. Spiked hair, the same colour as Lilac’s surrounded his head. His eyes, blue, looked at Twilight. Her breath quickened.

“Flash?”

The stallion nodded. His smile grew larger as they enveloped each other in their wings and in a hug. Their lips met for a moment.

The door burst open and a little filly, looking at her parents kissing, make a puke face. “Gross!”

Flash pulled away reluctantly, ruffling his spiked hair sheepishly. He smiled at Lilac. “Hi Kiddo! It’s been a while!”

Lilac laughed at leapt onto Flash in a single wing flap. She hung on his armour and clambered to his head. And started bouncing. “Prissy Luna says you have to tell mommy the ne-ews!” She chimed, still jumping up and down on her father’s head.

Twilight’s expression became serious. “News? There’s more? Other than Princess Celestia? And the fact that time is going haywire since Luna can’t control the sun?” Twilight’s voice rose to a hysterical pitch. She regarded Flash as seriously as she could, but there was a filly jumping on his head and making his stance lopsided. He answered as professionally as he could.

“Indeed. Now that Princess Celestia is dead-“ Lilac ceased her pogo-sticking and dropped to the floor. She wore a comical frown. “Prissy Celestia is dead?”

The two ignored her. “-her enchantments placed on the border of Equestria is broken. Monsters can get in now. Equestrian borders have been attacked already. If-“

“Is Celestia really dead?”

“-we don’t do something-“

The adults had started to walk out to continue their conversation, leaving Lilac alone in the room. She blinked in confusion and turned to look at the doorway. Her parents were gone. She quickly got to her feet and clambered hastily after them, yelling at the top of her lungs.

“So is Celestia dead or not?”
~~~

The ice gleamed, having been thoroughly frozen through, despite it being the middle of summer. When the sun’s light spread past the thick canopy and hit the crystalline surface, the deep groove marks became obvious.

The words were thoroughly imprinted in, as if engraved with magic. A blue bird flew overhead. In the corner of its beady eye, it could see the top row of shining words.
“When all time comes to a stop,
When grains of sand cease to drop,
When the world-“

A loud snap echoed as a hungry beast, one of the Everfree’s prowlers, ate the bird hungrily as it had its attention diverted. It spat its prey's bones out and continued to prowl.

Chapter 4

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Chapter 4
Calls

Long, gnarled roots, covered with wrinkles and glowing golden-brown when bits of light shone through the green canopy that roofed the Everfree, curled about the ground like a tangle of snakes, the thick and bulbous trunk sprawled on the top of them. The dust particles were bronze when they came into the light, then faded quickly into the background of foliage and flora. A few drooping ropes, with round flasks of coloured liquid hung decoratively about the tree, complete with brightly coloured masks, each painted delicately and intricately covered with patterns. The green vines snaked their way about the curved slender branches. Two glassless windows were carved into the tree, a wooden doorway welcoming anypony who entered.

A motherly voice, humming in apparent delight, sang in a language a pony would not understand. The melody would bring to mind harshly beautiful lands, exotic food and creatures that no pony eye would lay on. It also caused listeners to imagine a family’s warmth.

Hooves, slightly different from a pony’s, trotted gaily, dust and dirt scattering about the twisting path which she walked, still singing.
“The sun sets on another day,

We hear the prowling beasts’ cries,

The light is fading, dies away,

Bringing another night in paradise."

She lifted her muzzle to boop the hanging bottles, vials of vivid shades catching the light and glowing mysteriously. She continued.
“The beasties’ songs in my ear,

The insects’ chatter runs deep,

Rest, child, you’ve nothing to fear,

Just close your eyes and sleep.”

She self-consciously glanced around and adjusted her saddle bags, before stopping at the tree’s door and shifted the welcoming mask out of long habit.
“The sun rises and brings the light,

Morning cries, roaring and free,

For today is another day of might,

With just the savanna and me.”

The figure pushed the door open, smiling, her striped coat greying but her greenish eyes still gleaming with the intensity of forever internal youth. Her bags slide off her back and lands beside the door, revealing the tree’s interior.

It was pleasant and organised, but several glass jars containing strange and ominous substances, along with thick mono-chrome leather bound books lay in a forgotten heap, gathering dust.

She tutted at the pile and moved it to a more appropriate location, stacking the pile as neatly as possible. She sunk down onto a wooden stool, sighing as she stretched. Her bones shifted as her joints cracked, allowing Zecora to breathe a sigh of relief.

A sharp tinkling sound, like bells and harps, playing with an amalgamation of instruments, rang in the drowsy atmosphere, jolting the zebra, who had already started to fall asleep.

Zecora sprang to her feet fluidly, trotting to the door in a swift pace. Nosing the door open, her head poked out and tilted to glance at a wooden post near the side of the path, hammered skilfully and efficiently into the ground. Another breeze blew, causing the two glass bottles that hung from the wooden post to bump into each other gently, creating an impossibly loud musical and intricate sound.

Zecora could feel a large smile nearly splitting her face in half. She recognised that sound. It had first called her when she was a little filly, roaming the wild plains. The sound, she knew, was different for every creature. Her brother said he had heard a calling of regal trumpets and fanfare, beckoning to him from the desert. Her mother received a warm and happy tune telling her to spend the rest of her days with her mate, remaining in the savanna. For Zecora, it had always been the cheerful and vigorous promising tune of a better future. She knew who was calling to her. She bowed slightly to the post, still making the sound.

“Well, well, old friend. I thought one call would be the end.” The music continued, louder and full of mirth. It was a beautiful scene, but the music stopped abruptly. It rang out once more, but higher and distressed. The unearthly sound sent thrills down Zecora’s back.

“Well, it seems you are in need of aid. But do tell, what has made you afraid?” Zecora questioned, gritting her teeth against the unnerving tune.

A butterfly, silvery blue and purple, shining with a humble glow, flew past, the music from the glass bottles stopping entirely. However, every time the beautiful butterfly beat its wings together, the sound would ring out, urgent and seeking.

Zecora did not bother to question it. She galloped after it, brow furrowing at the possible danger that could have caught the entity’s attention. She ducked branches and leapt roots, one eye fixed to the butterfly. Soon, the butterfly vanished, a glitter of sparkles drifting down to a thick bramble and dissolving it entirely.

What lay underneath caught Zecora off-guard. She stumbled along and skidded to a stop beside it. She mused under her breath.

“Oh dear, what do we have here?”
~~~

“Cancel the school?”

Illusion could see out of the corner of her eye that Prism had raised herself on her hind legs to retort, leaping angrily towards the Cloudsdale Academy’s principal. Rainbow Dash slid herself between the two.

“Prism Dash Skies!” She glared at her daughter. “Behave yourself!”

Prism melted under her mother and idol’s fiery gaze. She frowned and looked down.

The principal, still startled from Prism’s outburst, shrunk slightly and continued his speech. Most of his words were blurred, bits of information slipping through to Illusion, who sat quietly, in a haze.

Princess Celestia is dead?

Her mother had told her about the all-knowing alicorn, the immortal alicorn. Something was amiss. How could she die?
School is cancelled due to the unknown danger?

“Illusion?” A voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

The grey Pegasus turned to look at her friend. Prism was sitting, her face downcast. Her green eyes did not meet Illusion’s red ones.

“I’m sorry for my outburst.” Prism sighed deeply. She finally met Illusion’s eyes searchingly. “You understand, right? I have wanted to come here all my life, my mother’s academy. My hopes. Then, suddenly, cancelled!” She slammed her baby-blue hooves into one of the cloud tables that scattered about the Academy’s main hall, her sudden change in mood startling Illusion. She tilted her head to gaze at her mother, still talking with the principal. Illusion followed her gaze, eyes widening at the suspicious glance Prism gave her mother. Prism snarled bitterly.

“She’s hiding something. And I’m going to find out exactly what.”
~~~

Ice Shard stumbled along, the biting cold winds digging his back through his thick woven coat. He could hear the water sloshing around in the bucket that hung from his mouth, his horn lighting in a purple light that kept the water from freezing.

He squinted his lilac eyes around through the flurry of snowflakes, surveying the edge of Equestria. He had passed by the border too many times to feel the thrill of excitement the Unknown gave him.

He trudged along, careful not to spill a drop of water. His family would need it. He needed to get back to them quickly. He stumbled and cursed as his magic nearly gave out. He took another step.

His bright blue hair drifted as snow clung to the thick strands. He wanted desperately to charge his horn in a body heating spell that his mother had taught him, but the water might freeze and a perfectly good bucket would crack.

His coat, stormy grey, was turning a lighter shade of silver from the frost. The enchanted bucket glowed, providing light in the dense storm. Ice Shard closed his eyes, frowning, trying to remember the route he had taken so many times before. It was…north? He took a couple more steps, his purple eyes still closed.

The ground rumbled beneath his feet. His eyes flew open. Ice Shard breathed quickly and turned his head. The blizzard was slowing and the dark outline that was the Equestrian border was becoming clearer. Ice Shard squinted.

The bucket clattered to the snow as Ice Shard’s mouth gaped open. His horn flickered and went out completely. The colt, not even having a cutie mark, began to run.

His hooves thudded into the ground, sharp jolting pain shooting up his limbs as he ran like he had never ran before. He could hear the bucket, which he had been worried about moments ago, splitting into pieces as a creature put a single claw’s weight onto it. Heavy footsteps thundered right on his tail.

Ice Shard turned his head slightly, catching sight of the monster chasing him. He felt dizzy with fear.

An Ice Wyrm.

A large snow white head, eyes that resembled frozen crystals and, even worse, teeth like icy sabres, all focused on him.

Ice Shard had seen the creature from afar, beyond Equestria’s borders, and there was one, chasing him. The freezing breath blew on his tail, a claw, small despite the wyrm’s massive body, crunched through the snow and ice right where Ice Shard was seconds ago.

Ice Shard was panting harder, tears streaming and freezing down his cheeks. The vibrations underhoof were getting uncomfortable.

He glanced back into the freezing blue eyes and shuddered uncontrollably. As another sharp claw smashed into the ice right beside Ice Shard, and he bit his lip and bucked on reflex.

His hooves made contact with pure white scales that felt like freezing metal, and as hard as diamond. The chilly breath of the Ice Wyrm chuffing made Ice Shard fall over. With a crash, he landed onto the ground and sobbed silently into the snow.

He tilted his head up. The Ice Wyrm opened its massive jaw, exposing a dazzling array of canines and an azure tongue. The Ice Wyrm took a deep breath and time seemed to slow down. A bright blue, brighter than any shade Ice Shard had ever seen, gathered in the back of the wyrm’s throat and crawling up to the jaw. The Wyrm smiled, its eyes meeting its prey’s.
~~~

Luna landed, the snow trembling beneath her. The snow that obscured her vision quickly melted as she lit a spell quickly, charging herself with heat, before peering curiously at the large claw tracks.

She cantered by the path of claw and hoof marks, pausing to double check she was going the right way. Her back hooves were starting to get slightly stiff, but she kept going.

Suddenly, the tracks stopped. There was a large pile of snow, and scrabbling shard and marks on the uncovered ice, the freshly strewn snow having been flung everywhere. Luna frowned. A fight had taken place here. But who had won?

As she turned to survey the other surroundings, a dot of liquid red stood out among the endless mass of white. Feeling bile rise up her already tight throat, she dug quickly into the snow, shedding white flakes, and uncovered a colt.

He wore a brown jacket and scarf, greyish boots, a shade darker than his coat, adorning his back hooves. His mane was bright blue, but the left side was stained the unmistakable crimson of fresh blood. She put her ear to his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. Still alive!

Parting his hair, Luna frowned and cradled the uncovered child in her hooves. She carefully lifted his mane. The damage was not as bad as Luna thought. His ear was split in two, but no other injuries showed except bruises. He was cold, however. Unnaturally cold.

A clopping sound of metal on ice made Luna spin around, a bright blue bolt of magic drawn in case it was needed. The approaching guard stopped, realising he had startled the princess and bowed. Noticing the colt, he pointed at him with a single gold-adorned hoof.

“That’s the kid who’s been missing, your highness. Ice Shard.”

Luna nodded, half in acceptance, half in apology of wielding a weapon against him. She ruffled her wings, snow clinging to the feathers despite her efforts.

“Excellent, private. You are dismissed.”

The soldier nodded, galloping back to the direction from which he came. He soon disappeared into the whiteness of the mild blizzard.

Luna swept the child onto her back and cast a spell, heating the child and keeping him steady on her back. Spreading her wings, she took off.
~~~

Northern Lights sobbed into her mane. It was a bright neon blue and pink mess, wet and cobwebby from neglect. Beside her, a steel coloured unicorn stallion with black spiked hair patted her soothingly and glanced out of the window, frowning in worry. His blue eyes scanned the landscape outside.

On the wooden floor, a little filly lay sleeping, bundled in layers of cloth. She had the same pink hair as her mother, along with the same dark blue coat. She shifted in her sleep, unaware of the misery going on around her.

A knock resounded in the small house. Both parents frowned. The stallion rose and opened the door hastily, while Northern Lights wiped her lilac eyes, still sniffling. She lifted her head at her husband’s surprised tone.

“Princess Luna?”

The princess wordlessly handed Ice Shard to the startled unicorn. With a shriek, Northern leapt from her position and snatched Ice Shard from him, crying even louder. She buried her face in her husband’s charcoal mane and held their son tightly.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my-“

The sound of the family’s relived and happy rejoicing was cut off to Princess Luna when she closed the door. She surveyed the mountainous and snowy plains.

She smiled back at the little cottage, lights flickering joyously in the frozen wasteland, and took flight once more. There was work to be done.
~~~

Zecora poked the silver root protruding from the ground, contrasting with its black and thorny companions. It was a crystalline root, belonging to a much larger entity.

When the zebra placed her hoof on it, instead of feeling warmth and peace that Harmony usually spread around, she received a sharp prod, like someone had jabbed her in the ribs. She gave a pained groan. She glanced around, speaking aloud.

“You’re not doing what you should. Harmony, that’s not very good.”

She kneeled down to inspect the silver root. A heavy frown was adorned on her face.
~~~

Far away, along the roads of Manehatten, a train of carriages wheeled on, rickety and unsteady. Cries of beasts and abominations could be heard, frightening random and unlucky ponies who passed.

Drunk and roaring laughter rang out from the few un-barred carriages, causing beasties to hiss. At the very back, trundled along a carriage, completely black and made of metal, being reserved for the more dangerous creatures.

A little creature, shuffling about inside miserably, glaring at his stuffy prison. He roared angrily at the walls and the spiked collar around his neck flashed, sending an electrifying jolt of pain down his back.

A few tears dripped down from his over-flowing yellow and turquoise eyes.

Chapter 5

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Chapter 5:
Loose Ends

The scenery flashed past speedily, the details blurred in the hurry the train was going. The pink filly’s blue eyes were glued to the landscape, even if it moved at such a rate that it was impossible to pick out various things. Stones, trees and dirt blended to a messy shade of green and brown-grey. Her eyes, gleaming like diamonds, matched by her massive smile, darted to the random things outside the train’s window. The sight was slightly ruined by the scratches and marks that disfigured the window, but the optimistic filly did not mind one bit, bouncing up and down on the seat.

“Party Cannon, sit down.” A monotone voice called to the filly, who relented reluctantly, turning to look at her aunt. Her aunt was very different from her, being more monochromatic, in contrast to the bright brown-haired Party Cannon.

“I can’t help it, Auntie Maud! Aren’t you excited, cause’ I! am!” The filly replied happily, beaming at her greyish aunt, who stared stonily back. The eyes, permanently slightly-closed from staring at way too many rocks, blinked. The mare nodded, her hoof still fiddling with a small rock on her hoof. Boulder “played” hide and seek for a bit, Maud blinking, again, in surprise that he had found such an excellent hiding spot. In her pocket. Then she remembered her niece.

“I’m excited too.” She replied to Party Cannon, who was jumping again, her weight making the seat protest squeakily. The seat groaned, its springs straining to hold their position. Party Cannon laughed, her giggles squeakier than the seat.

“Sit, Party Cannon.”

“…!”

“Sit.”

A surprising amount of sternness filled Maud’s tone, detected by Party’s sensitive ears. She complied, sitting down, her smile never leaving her face.

A sudden flash of colour outside the window drew Party’s attention. As Maud blinked, she found her excitable niece was glued against the window, her eyes eagerly taking in the sights.

“Oooh! A menagerie!”
~~~

“What do ya mean, not allowed?” An angry tone demanded, the voice deep and serious. The other pony, a blue unicorn, frowned and shook his head firmly. He opened his eyes, wiping the spit that had formed from the other stallion’s speech, the fellow unicorn standing threateningly close to his face, towering above the pony.

“I mean, not allowed!” He answered back with equal vigorousness, not letting the stallion get better of him, sighing with frustration that the other insistent pony did not get the point.

“I have all my permits! And pass-“ The stubborn owner continued to shout, desperation leaking into his fury. The blue unicorn raised a cobalt hoof, explaining in a deadpan voice, his patience at its tipping point.

“No means no. Get that through your skull, there’s no need to shoot the messenger.”

The stallion reared up, opening and closing his mouth, unsure of what to say. He settled for an angry huff, stamping his hooves like a foal throwing a tantrum. He glanced back to the long line of workers behind him, scowling at the unicorn. “I have half a mind to-“

“Well, do what you want! You’re denied permission to showcase in Manehattan, so deal with it!” The stallion snapped, ending the conversation and not letting the other pony continue by walking away.

The other unicorn, his frown like a knife’s edge, his expression harder than obsidian, leered unpleasantly. He looked to his workers.

“Gather up! For our next trip, we head for-“
~~~

Illusion hugged the other Pegasus, breathing in her rainbow mane’s surprisingly pleasant smell of strawberries and cinnamon. Prism ended the hug first, smiling, patting her friend’s withers. They looked to the cloudstone walls that made up Cloudsdale Academy, sighing simultaneously. They recalled when they had first walked through the doors of the important school, only to exit it a day later. The two had become instant friends, even as Prism walked to Kestrel, who looked more subdued than ever.

“I’ll see you in Ponyville on Wednesday, ‘kay?”

“Alright!” Illusion called back to her rainbow friend, who had already started flying back with her equally rainbow mom, and could not help but feel a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, wondering if her own mother would allow her to meet Prism. Speaking of her, she was nowhere to be seen, and probably had not gotten the message for all parents to fetch their children due to the school’s sudden closure.

Where do you live? Prism’s curious voice echoed in her head.

Resigned, Illusion flapped her wings and took off, her saddle bags bumping heavily against her side. Something around her neck shifted, the unusual sensation making Illusion shiver, her wings beating slightly slower as she looked down at her neck.

A red gemstone, a fiery shade of pony blood gleamed and pulsed in time with her heartbeat, hanging by a strip of silvery metal. It seemed to shift ever so slightly by itself, making Illusion’s hair stand on end. She vaguely remembered getting it as a present, but everything about it seemed blurred, even the ruby itself. She used a taupe hoof to press the gem, which she expected to be cold, like the silver, but got a slight shock when the jewel was warm, like it had been left in a summer sun for hours. Curiosity aroused, Illusion tried to lift the necklace so she could get a closer look at it, but the instant it left contact with her neck, her vision fogged.

She clamped her wings instinctively against her sides in coursing fear, like coursing intense energy that thrummed in her veins, giving her a slight head rush. She was aware, in a sense, that she was falling, but she did not make a sound or do anything, her mind obscured, plunging towards the face of Equestria blindly. She felt oddly at peace in the whiteness, but knew it would not last for long if she hit the ground. The word hit her, bringing her, in a way, to her clouded senses. She would hit the ground if her wings kept gripping her barrel tightly. She could hit the ground. She did not want to hit the ground.

I don’t want to hit the ground!

Her world went white, a brighter white, flashing for a moment, before Illusion had the sense to slip the necklace back on with shaky hooves, her breathing quicker.

Instantly, the white faded, going as quickly as it came. Looking around, Illusion found herself staring at her mother’s cottage, both hooves firmly on the ground. Birds chirped, the sun lay motionless in the sky, which was ‘normal’ now that its controller had passed away. She stumbled forward, confused.

Had she been flying to here all along? Maybe the white had been her imagination. Maybe she just had been going home, and reached here before she realised it. Illusion’s mouth still felt unusually dry and had a slight headache that throbbed her temples. She kept trotting on to the cottage, her mother’s voice calling her from inside. Fluttershy sounded surprised, and her mouth was open in an enquiry, but her words and question did not register to Illusion, who barely listened.

Her heart raced, thumping, like the necklace that clung to her neck, already half-forgotten in the panic Illusion had went through. It beat, like her heart did.

Thump, thump, thump.
~~~

Twilight yawned, stretching her purple wings. The joints of the delicate limb slid into place with a crack, followed by the stretching of her hooves and neck, each following the wings’ example.

She felt fatigued over the day’s events, which had somewhat become a jumble in her head due to her exhaustion. She had worked tirelessly all day, helping Luna secure a new barrier in the Frozen North to keep out the invading monsters, not to mention getting rid of the ones that had already made it past into Equestria in the time when she had been getting there.

She blinked wearily at the polished doorknob, as if unsure how to open the door, or afraid to touch the translucent material of the handle. Finally deciding to use her magic instead, her horn charged up with a magenta aura, the same colour that flooded the knob and turned it forcefully, revealing a lilac coloured filly, leaning against the wall and cuddled with a blanket, obviously having been waiting for her mother’s return. Her eyes were closed and she breathed lightly. A soft smile formed on Twilight’s face.

The little alicorn hardly stirred as her mother carried her, her miniature wing tucking under her mother’s much larger ones from where she held her in place. Lilac snuggled into Twilight’s warm fur a slight fleck of drool dripping onto the purple and darkening it. Twilight walked to her daughter’s room, pushing the door open, this time with her hoof, and tucking her little one into the nest of blankets and pillows that made up Lilac’s bed, giving her a little kiss on the forehead, below her horn. The filly smiled.

Twilight walked backwards to the door, so she could keep her eyes on her daughter, watching as the pile of blankets rose and fell in time with Lilac’s breathing. Twilight’s chest rose and fell heavily, her voice catching in her throat. Her eyes were watery, and it was not from the motes of dust that floated about.

A wave of memories and nostalgia crashed over her as she exited the room, her hooves walking forward, the long hallways and rooms each marked in her head, even though the Princess once thought that they were confusing and felt like a maze, it was home now. The crystalline floor was the only thing Twilight kept her eyes on, her hooves knew where to go. She walked silently, remembering when she got lost, when Spike used to live with her, when her friend used to come over-

The hoofsteps faltered.

She looked up, facing a polished door, the door to her throne room, and, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, pushed the door open. The usual seven thrones greeted here, six of the polished white marble backs bearing colourful cutie-marks. Even though she saw the thrones every day, she felt like she was only noticing them now. The magic friendship map was nowhere to be seen, inactive, and Twilight did not feel like activating it herself, without any of her friends’ faces to smile at her.

They were busy. Busy with life, love, and children. They all were. All the elements had moved on with their eternally peaceful (well, peaceful until Celestia’s death) lives, and Twilight was happy she had made it so far, glad for everyone’s support, but her life still felt empty, even if she saw Applejack with Spike at least every week, got a letter and visit from Rarity now and then, got reports on weather personally be Rainbow, had a party every year, sometimes more often, by Pinkie and Cheese, it still felt hollow sometimes. Somepony was missing. Twilight scanned the thrones again.

Twilight’s own cutie mark. Bright red fruits often on a backdrop of orange, bucking trees. A jagged lightning bolt of red, yellow and blue, blue like the sky that she often raced across. Gemstones, diamonds, Rarity’s favourite. Multi-coloured balloons, happiness, the contagious laughter. And… Her gaze caught a cutie mark she had not seen in years.

Three pink butterflies, the colour duller than usual, engraved into the throne. Pink like…her hair? The butterflies had always been associated with kindness. The shades gentle and singing, a heavy reminder of someone Twilight had really, really forgotten. Maybe not forgotten, she just had been really busy. Too busy? Too busy to spend time with her friend? No, she had spent plenty of hours with the other four, chatting and catching up on life. Had the Element of Kindness been avoiding her?

Twilight frowned, flapping her wings to fly up and stroke the cutie mark. It had been so long. The name slipped off her tongue easily, as if it had always been hidden at the back of Twilight’s mind.

“Fluttershy…”
~~~

“Where is that infuriating draconequus?”

Luna shouted to the heavens, pacing the Canterlot gardens where Discord had once stood, a proud garden gnome. He of course would not be a lawn ornament right now, since the elements were with the Tree of Harmony, but she had just selected a random location where she could summon him, coincidentally the gardens, but the Lord of Chaos was not answering her calls. She needed help with raising the sun, since she never learnt how, and raising the sun and moon was different. Her sister, Luna remembered with a pang of sorrow, could raise both, but had a thousand years to learn, not to mention valuable books that were probably now lost to time, and even then, it had been taxing on her, raising both celestial objects having taken a slight toll.

Discord was the only one who could bend reality to his every whim, and could raise both with no difficulty. Plus, his powers would have been very handy in constructing the border in Equestria, but he had conveniently vanished off the face of Equestria. Admittedly, he had been incognito for a while. In fact, it had been more than a decade since Luna had seen him. Still, would he not be about with all the chaos that was happening?

She called his chaos aura with another summoning spell, but his signature magic showed no trace anywhere, except in the usual environment… Now she was just feeling plain unsettled.

“What the buck is wrong with Equestria?!”

Author's Notes:

I don’t own any of the MLP characters, OCs are mine, as usual. Really, really sorry about the wait. I officially hate my Wi-Fi and love it at the same time right now. I enjoyed writing Maud, Me and random are officially a pair now, so comment “I SHIP IT! DRAGONxRANDOM 4LIFE!!!!” cuz why not. If you think I’ve been writing less, feel free to read my other fanfic, ‘The Fluttercordiest’, because those FLUFF scenes were originally going to be here, developing the Fluttercord relationship, but I moved it to a fic on its own so people who just want FLUFF, can read it. The relationship is basically the same in the two fics, except in this fanfic shows that their relationship was a secret, while the other is a happy ending FLUFF fic where everypony knows and stuff. So…yeah.
My wifi is still not fixed, next chapter will be awhile.
Still here!
~Dragon.H!

Chapter 6

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Chapter 6:
The Path Goes On

"Hi! I'm Party, Party Cannon!" An over exuberant voice screamed at a summery yellow filly, whose green and bright gold striped spiked hairstyle was cropped in a tomboyish yet feminine way, her polished fur glistening with sweat from a hard day of work, reeking of apples and sweat. The earth pony blinked her emerald like eyes, which glittered in the remnants of the eternal evening, looking at the other filly with a growing smile.

"Well, howdy, Party! Mah name's Apple Reinette Jewel! Yah can call me Apple Rein for short, a'course, but welcome ter Ponyville! Us Apples have been expecting yah!" The filly grinned at her excitable cousin, eyeing her curly hair and light coat, speaking with a brisk and accented voice, clipped slightly due to the fork in her tongue. Her only other draconic features were her slightly slit eyes, and her reptilian tail, which was curled to a side A hearty shake was delivered to Party's front hooves, making them rattle in their sockets.

"Yup! I know! Mommy told me my cousin was a farm filly!" Party Cannon smiled at the rough treatment, giggling and bouncing up and down next to Apple Rein, who nodded vigorously in approval of the other filly's enthusiasm, offering a yellow hoof to lead the way. Party grabbed it, dragging her Cousin along the path of the rustic train station, making her way through the crowd, quite forgetting her aunt, who trailed silently behind. Maud rolled her eyes, looking down at the dusty ground, or more specifically, at the pebbles that littered the area. She looked back up at the pair. They trotted along, making small talk, their chat punctuated with the occasional hearty laughter. Rein’s hoof draped around Party’s happily, answering her queries about

Maud readjusted her blue frock about her, wrinkling her muzzle as a newly hung, but weathered piece of parchment broke free from its binding pin that held it in place, flying freely to the wind.

Maud twisted her head to stare at the crumpled poster, it's edges yellowed and frayed, fluttering with the wind, making soft rustling noises as it was buffeted up and down by invisible air currents. The bright piece of coloured paper drifted away, out of Maud's gaze, but not before she spied three flashing silver words marked on the poster in bold letters. 'Opening Tomorrow Night!', proving it was made before the malfunctioning of the celestial bodies.

It was surprising how daily life in Equestria still progressed despite Celestia’s death, showing just how independent the kingdom had grown, which was an accomplishment in Maud’s opinion. Maud then realised her sister’s only daughter was missing, and the pony leading her was nowhere in sight, either. Maud sighed, trotting forward, angling her head to look around, hoping to catch sight of the bouncing curls of her niece.

“Where’d they go?” She wondered out loud, monotonously.
~~~

Thump thump thump!

The world was a blurry haze of purples and pink, the hue dull, but the colours seeming to clash anyway, imprinted on a fogged red backdrop, the colour of reddened blood, swirling slowly and nauseatingly, making bile rise at the back of her throat in revulsion at the sight. The air she managed to get down her throat tasted like foul sugar and sour cream, tasting bitter and rough, seeming to scratch her throat raw as she breathed. The ground under her wobbling hooves was willowy and sponge-like, as well as being freezing to touch, a slightly sticky residue coating the road, which vibrated, the shudders going through the earth being highly unsettling.

Thump thump thump!

The ever increasingly loud thump, the sound of her heartbeat ringing in her ears, which twitched in time to the rhythm, the sound making her head throb, in a flaming agony, each thump delivering a blow stronger than a sledgehammer could, not giving any physical pain, but making her mind crack under the intense pressure, the overbearing amount of order, threatening to overwhelm her with a hiss.

Thump thump thump!

Her neck and vision constricted simultaneously, fogged black dots Swimming like fish across her eyes tauntingly, mocking her situation by flaunting their freedom. This irritated her for some reason. A flurry of shapes oozed to her, wobbling like jelly, distorted yellow eyes glaring at her in anger, shrieking that she was too orderly, their barely corrigible voices rising to a screaming pitch, when they sudden were blasted apart, thrown to the edge of her vision, bare pricks on the nightmarish landscape.

Thump! Thump! THUMP!

The frightened gelatinous creatures dissolved with hollow yells, split apart by a pure beam of golden light that hurt to touch. It cut cleanly through her, making her chest ache. The light faded, but the creatures stayed cowering, whimpering and inching away from a black shadowy mass, with razors splayed atop its head, clearly the source of the agonising light.

A distinctly hoof-shaped limb jammed under Illusion's chin painfully and forced her disorientated head up feverishly, such that she would meet its gaze, a gaze of swirling purples and whites, a whirlpool of horror, the hypnotising scene freezing Illusion, a terrifying jolt shooting through her. The eyes consumed her vision, eating away at her. She opened her mouth, wanting to work up the courage and ability to force a scream out her dry throat.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

Illusion's eyes flew open, in time with her wings, as she fell out of her bed with a hard knock. She felt heavy, crashing into the hard wooden floorboards of her room, the material reducing and absorbing the impact, but it was shocking nonetheless. The ringing in her ears faded, as she realised that she was thoroughly drenched in cold sweat. The stench of fear ventilated throughout the room. She had no idea why. She strained to remember, but the answer vanished quickly, leaving her mind blank. The dream, the nightmare, had been so…vivid. The harder she tried to reach the corner of her brain that hid the memory, the fainter it became. It was soon non-existent, like an old horror that never was real. She felt reflexive shivers claw down her spine as she got up and plodded out of her room, ignoring the two snoozing weasels curled in slender piles atop the strained vanity, the newly knocked over pins littering the floor, but the mirror catching her eyes with a flash of red. She walked over to it, breathing a calming breath of cool air, relaxing her tense nerves.

The small jewel around her neck felt strangely hot for some reason.
~~~

Thump! Thump!

The loud knock made Twilight sit up quickly, groaning as she moved out of her comfortable warm nest of blankets, which she had been dozing in moments before, feeling the impatient thumping of hooves on doors radiate through her skull uncomfortably. Her head complained, like her mouth did, walking to her door drunkenly, her stiff limbs not fully awake.

"Coming! Coming! Yeesh!" Twilight hollered, scratching the bottom of her chin with a yawn. Blinking sleep out of her eyes, she cantered to the door and navigated herself through several crystalline hallways and threw the front door open, sighing and wiping her purple eyes, which focused themselves on the pony that stood in the shadows, her face covered by the darkness. Any distinctive features were blurred by the hood of the black cloak. The eyes, however, remained visible.

The twitching turquoise eyes of princess Luna peered back at her, utterly unamused and serious. Her eyes sparkled, but grimly. "Twilight, assemble the other elements."

Chapter 7

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Chapter 7:
Letter of Ashes

Fluttershy blinked her teal eyes, which brimmed with sparkling tears, her framing eyelashes sticky and messed, like her dishevelled pink mane. Her pale face was even paler than before, and her eyes were red from crying.

The letter still sat in her trembling hoof, barely held there, only by the gravity that dragged it down, but not properly clutched by the hooves that were shakily wrapped around it.

The black, neat, italic lettering was very visible in the flickering candle light. It was how it had always been, bringing a wave of nostalgia, back in the days when Fluttershy received such letters frequently.

Such a time seemed far too long ago.

Far too long.

The words were hastily written, but it was still the familiar hoofwriting of the element of magic. Fluttershy only read it once, but the letter was already stuck in her head, the usual short greeting, followed by a request for her presence. Her breath hitched and released in her windpipe repeatedly. More tears fell to the scroll, staining it, blurring the writing, even thought it was already very blurry in Fluttershy’s gaze.

Dear Fluttershy…

She cleared her throat, bringing the letter closer to the candle wick, the flame dancing rebelliously, dangerously, licking the letter, which started to burn.

“No.” She said, firmly.

The script, the summons to the element of kindness, became a pile of black ashes in a few minutes.

Chapter 8

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Chapter 8:
Fly

The door bounced against the soft cloud material, banging gently with a slightly lethargic sound. The noiseless hinges swing with inaudible ease, the slit between the door and the wall cracking an inch further apart, a sliver of light quickly assaulting green curious eyes.

The pair of eyes widened with obvious surprise at the sudden entrance of a sky blue figure, her agitated stance affecting the other pony, who shuffled about nervously behind, eyes darting about.

"What are we going to do?" Rainbow Dash hissed between her teeth at the other Pegasus, who reared up in self defence, grimacing at the mare. Rainbow huffed, glaring harder.

"We can't just..." The stallion stammered.

"We can't just what?" Rainbow gestured wildly with her hooves, her tail whipping sharply across the small peep hole in the door, dust rising tickle the eavesdropper's nose. Her muzzle scrunched up in an effort not to sneeze and give herself away.

The stallion paced urgently, shaking his head. Rainbow frowned and trotted dangerously close to the slit in the door, making the listener shrink away, narrowly avoiding discovery.

Rainbow glanced around conspiratorially, squinting into the darkened corners of the room. She leaned forward, in time with Prism, who scooted closer to the door, ears pricked to catch every word.

Her breath hitched in concentration, face emotionless, but eyes flicking to and fro with every pitch and intonation in her Mother's tone.

Hearing enough, she drew back quickly and took off, wings flapping soundlessly, catching a quick air current and taking off, quickly distancing herself away from the ongoing conversation, angling herself towards Ponyville.

~~~

Rarity checked her reflection on the polished window pane, brushing off nonexistent dust specks off perfect curls. She nodded approvingly at herself, and turned to address the filly beside her.

"Jewel, darling, put away that magazine, we are arriving soon."

Jewel turned her nose up, complying with a snort, brushing a long purple forelock to cover the side of her face, tucking stray strands away. Her alabaster coat shone with perfection, speckless and polished. She sighed in disdain, muttering under her breath. Her Mother pretended not to notice, blinking at the window.

The landscape Rarity had not seen in a long time suddenly seemed less vibrant. Trees darkened.

Rarity pursed her lips, gaze trembling, zooming in on the crows feet clawed slightly in the corner of her eyes, the slightest trace of wrinkles making her mouth tightened.

Jewel huffed, looking away.

~~~

Illusion tiptoed softly, wings spread in balance, trotting quickly away from her cottage. Dying grass crunched underneath

Her ruby eyes caught the cottage, and caught the silhouette of her Mother, sleeping.

She flew on.

Greetings

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Bonjour, mes amis! It’s been a while. I feel like I owe y’all an explanation. And you’ll get one! Soon.
Truth be told, this story’s not done. But it has been three years and some things have definitely been updated by now. If you’re loyally following this, or you remembered liking this years ago, I promise it’s changed for the better. I’m a much better writer now, mum’s the word. And things have changed. I figured, with the MLP finale on its way, it’s time to finish things as well. Probably not as a proper full length fic, but I draw much better now too. I can finally explain things.
This was a story about acceptance, accepting who you are, accepting that people change, integrity of self expression and not letting history or fate ties you down. Cliche, I’m aware, but it was important to me at some point. I think. My life’s pretty blurry, not gonna lie.

Ciao,
D.H

All an Illusion

by D Historian

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Greetings