Harbinger
Hi, it's me, Princess Twilight.
Mystery novels... I absolutely love reading them! But I guess I was just not ready for something so mysterious to actually happen to me. These events didn't hurt me or soothe me. They just rocked me... to my very core...
Yesterday was normal for me, doing Princess things, surrounded by the Magic of Friendship, as the most amazing true friends I could ever hope for, they wove into and out of my life. The day really did seem to shimmer! It was a warm, early summer day. We even played Cutie Mark tag for a while, before the Sun was high and hot. The whole day was just a lot of fun. The girls and I, we had dinner together here at the Castle, then hugged together. I just feel so increasingly bound to them. Well, Fluttershy is going through a hard time right now, and we just surrounded her with hugs. There is really not much else we, or anypony else can do...
And, after everypony left, I started into one of the mystery novels I like, one of the early ones for once. I had mostly forgotten what happened, so it was like a new novel! I read until late at night, until I finished the whole thing. Then I walked clumsily into my room, flopped down on my bed, catching my Crown with my magic before it hit the floor. I was soon asleep.
The next morning started like it usually does. I had some breakfast, then I, we... A bunch of us Pegasus friends flew slowly, lazily in the sky around Ponyville in the morning Sun. Since becoming an Alicorn, I have really come to treasure flying, just like my Pegasus friends! We didn't fly a long time though, and I need to remember; not all my girls can fly. We landed, then the rest of my girls, we all gathered at the Castle, hugged, then just visited together. Well, somepony started... We said this together.
"We are deeply devoted to each other...
We are true friends, and committed to true friendship...
We are... ...Equestria..."
And, of course, I lovingly added my part:
"And I am only a Princess with you all at my side."
We don't usually say that together, but I guess we were all there, and somepony remembered that. I think we all appreciated it. We hugged again, then everypony left, heading to town or wherever, to start their days. I walked into the Castle, down the hall, into the Library and found Spike. I smiled and said "Spike! Tell me about my first appointment!"
Spike already had my clipboard in claw. He looked briefly, then said quietly "Uhm, Twilight, you don't have any appointments today. You can just..." This didn't happen often, but it seemed like a Princess day off to me.
I smiled again. "That will be all, Spike." I said that in the most dignified princess way I could muster, then Spike and I both laughed. Spike threw the clipboard on a nearby table, ran to his bed, dove under his blanket, and was snoring loudly before I could even...
Well, how should I spend my day? I began to work through some possibilities. I could go try to cheer up Fluttershy. I tried to do that often; it just didn't usually work very well. I wish there was something... and even thinking about all that... That just made me not want to do anything... I decided to take a walk, a nice quiet walk in the meadow, all by myself. I have done that on occasion; quiet walks always give me some time to just think, and maybe, to listen. Well, nothing else sounded even helpful or fun. I mentioned to a guard that I was going for a walk. I assured him I wouldn't be far, and that I would be fine. Then I headed outside, then around the Castle, to the meadow behind it. I started walking slowly, not really worrying about where I walked, what direction. The Castle spire is such an easy landmark! And even at night, the Castle walls shine brightly. I would be back long before then. And even if I walked far, flying back to the Castle wouldn't take long.
After a while, I just thought... West... I started walking West, slowly of course. I was soon deep in thought.
And I need to explain this. It is not well known, but I have stopped aging. That is the result of the use of the Portal to traverse to the Equestria Girls world and back. From what I have read, the Portal was actually crafted, created by extremely powerful Unicorn magic, millennia ago, even before the time of Starswirl the Bearded. Still, from my reading, stopping the aging process was, is the primary function of the Portal. The actual transport to the Equestria Girls world and back, that is just a by-product of the use of the Portal. The main thing is that it magically eliminates the aging process. Well, I have been to the Equestria Girls world and back, using the Portal a number of times to do that. I have stopped aging. As Princess Celestia explained to me, this doesn't mean I can't die; some incredibly powerful monster can do that, kill me, and I have feared for my life on a number of occasions. Other than that, I won't age, and will probably live hundreds, thousands of years, just like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna; they used the Portal while quite young, and for that exact same reason. Both princesses are over 1,000 years old. Well, my girls have all been through the Portal to the Equestria Girls world, too. I can smile; we will all be able to enjoy that time together. And I guess, since the six of us carry the Elements of Harmony... This is probably a very good thing for Equestria, for Equestria's ponies. Well, this is all background information.
As I wandered slowly to the West, I began to think about that, about them, my precious girls, and the Magic of Friendship that we share, that we learn. And, maybe I should explain this, too. The actual lessons in friendship that we go through together, well there is a magical, musical cue that such a lesson is beginning, is in process. This most amazing, bouncy tune(1) starts quietly in the background. I have verified that all us girls hear that. But that tune is how we know that a lesson in friendship will soon be taking shape! The presence of that tune makes it a lot easier to be able to actually write down, to record each amazing lesson. We have been doing things that way for years. It is just so easy to know when... We all hear that tune, then begin to look around to see what amazing lesson awaits us. Honestly, that is all just a lot of fun, for all of us, and the presence of that tune just fills us with excitement about what might just happen!
Walking slowly to the West... I was thinking... I love all my girls so deeply, and I was thinking about the prospect of spending... well a very long time with them! Well, I know some think that very hard times await our circle, and it is not too difficult to see how that could happen, pony nature being what it is. But I was thinking about that, about the future, what it might hold for us. And again, the background was that none of us will age any more. We will have a long time together, a long time for whatever our future together holds.
Well, honestly, I was thinking a little further ahead. Maybe I was free-wheeling, just letting my thoughts chart their own path. I was wandering in the meadow, after all. The lessons we have been learning about the Magic of Friendship; each lesson is so amazing! But... What might just be... the... next... step? What might... be... much further down the road? Would we be learning about the Magic of Friendship, forever? Friendship is absolutely amazing, and true friendship is such a treasure... But... is there more? And what about those ponies around us that have already mastered the Magic of Friendship, and spend so much time already trying to just be real friends to the ponies around them? And I guess, that was where I was really headed with my thoughts. I even said out loud after thinking about all this... about them... "Now what?"
Well, I didn't have an answer. And my thoughts just sort of parked right there, even as I kept walking. I didn't have any idea! As much as I enjoyed the present, I had absolutely no clue how the future should look, what kind of anything would grow wonderfully out of the Magic of Friendship...
But that Magic of Friendship tune(1)... It started softly in the background, right then! And I really didn't know what to think. The girls were scattered about the countryside in and around Ponyville, probably doing any number of things as they went through their day. That tune, right now... It just didn't make any sense to me. I kept walking West for a while, and simply enjoyed the tune. I like it. And I guess, since I had no ideas... I just started to listen... Maybe Equestria had a lesson just for me.
I was mostly looking at the ground as I walked. My focus was on my thoughts. Then I noticed it... My own shadow, from the Sun directly overhead, it started to, well, flicker. I know that sounds very wierd, and I couldn't explain it either. But my own shadow was flickering. I stopped walking a minute, and just watched it. Well, my shadow wasn't just flickering, it was slowly moving, haltingly, erratically, a tiny step at a time. But it didn't move East and West, like it would as the Sun rose, scooted overheard, then set. My shadow was moving, stepping, flickering North, it looked like. That meant the Sun was moving... South? Thinking slowly... Well, only the passing of the seasons could... do... that... I was suddenly very cold, shivering... I saw no snow on the ground, that I could tell, but it felt like the middle of the Winter. Then my shadow began to step, flicker erratically back South as the Sun was flickering back North. I was warm again, even hot briefly. I looked around... Everything looked the same, just... jumping... changing... flickering... And it wasn't the wind... Nearby bushes... Leaves stepping quickly out, then just as quickly all disappearing, as it got very cold again... Grass greening as it shot quickly out of the ground towards the sky, then just as quickly bowing slowly over, changing to a pale green, then brown, then... gone... And I heard absolutely no sound around me through all this. "What... is... going... on..." I said quietly to myself.
I slowly realized what was happening, even as I knew of no reasonable explanation how that could even be possible... From that exact time of the day when I started my walk (I was again walking slowly to the West), every second, the time of the day was frozen, as days zipped quickly past... I had read novels that included time travel, but this... If I had my wits about me, I could have counted how far into the future, how many cycles, how many years, this process took me. But this whole prospect, me travelling forward in time, days for each second, each step... I didn't know whether to run backwards or scream. It really seemed like something out of a nightmare to me... I quickly realized that whatever was manipulating time around me... I probably couldn't stop or change, or even avoid... this... I just kept walking slowly... West... And, as soon as time started to, well, speed up, that amazing, bouncy tune in the background sped intolerably up as well, then faded away. All sound faded away...
So as I walked, time was being stepped forward at an alarming rate, even as the time of the day was locked with each step I took. The Sun never moved East or West... But... Everything around me was changing rapidly between Summer and Winter... And I went alternately between freezing and warm... It was very jarring...
And, this wasn't a dream! I was wide awake for this whole thing...
After cycles, years, it started to get perceptably darker; the sky was getting perceptibly darker. And as I said, I was not counting the cycles, the years, so I don't know when. I was sure it always stayed early afternoon for me, but the darkness slowly encroached even on that. It could not have been night then day... Well, I had little clue what was even going on, let alone what was causing... anything... But I was pretty sure this entire trip... It stayed early afternoon. The gathering darkening was... alarming... Magically, it felt... alarming...
Without a sound... Without any dramatice event or other marking factor... Time stopped. Well, the progression of time returned to normal for me. Actually, I was pretty sure I felt that. And the sound of the wind returned, as did the chirping of a few birds. The Sun was still where I expected it to be for my early afternoon walk to the West. It was just thickly cloudy overhead. And, based on what I saw as time stepped forward, I didn't expect the darkening to fade or blow away. I was pretty confident, it was always like that here... now...
I had no clue what else I should do, so I continued my trek slowly to the West. Well, the Sun was starting to sink towards the West too. And I had no clue or idea how I would handle night-time here... now... As I walked, I thought I saw a huge, circular dark fortress looming larger and larger, directly in front of me. From my reading, honestly, that filled me with fear. I wanted to run, but where? I kept walking West, directly towards it. I didn't know what else to do. From what I could tell, I had no place to run to, no place to go besides the path I was taking, probably should be taking... But that dark fortress turned out to be... some sort of pine trees, I think, but the tallest trees I had ever seen... A ring of trees so tall, they easily dwarfed everything around. They were hundreds of feet high, all growing close together in a huge circle. Well, I wasn't fearful any more, anyway. But those trees were immense...
They were so big, it took a little while to even walk up to them. I tried to look up... I couldn't even see the tops. They really were very tall... Then I walked slowly around this ring of huge trees, looking for an easy path inside the ring. That was all I could think of that I needed to do. I felt I should walk West. I did. I traveled forward in time somehow, then found this ring of big trees. I felt I should go inside the ring. I don't know... That's what I tried to do... So much of this sounds like a dream, but as I said, I was wide awake for all of this. I did find a slightly larger gap between two trees. And the base, the trunk of each tree was likewise... huge... And it was still not the easiest to climb up and over the pile of bark that had fallen off these huge trees, maybe for centuries...
Once I was past the two trunks and inside the ring of trees, I stopped. And a new tune began to slowly weave through my thoughts(2). The tune was very calming, almost endearing, and fit the majesty of these huge trees well, I thought. Still, it was dark, darker inside the circle, probably because the trees blocked what little light the darkness allowed. It wasn't night yet, but the Sun, though dim, was below the tops of these huge trees. I had to wait and let my eyes adjust. What I saw came to me slowly, as I waited. I was standing on deep grass; like a carpet it seemed to cover everything inside this ring. The ground rose slowly, probably to a small hill in the center of the ring.
But I saw ponies... The first ponies I could make out... My girls! They were laying together on their bellies, half way up the small hill, facing the center of the ring, facing the hilltop... I wanted to run up and hug them right away, but I felt I shouldn't for some reason. That was hard. I realized I probably needed to see this, but I didn't think I was to be a part of here... now... Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity... Wait... Applejack wasn't with them... I almost cried. Four of my five girls were laying on their bellies... heads down, but facing towards the top of the little hill in the center.
I realized there were ponies closer to the top, forming maybe a second, inner ring of ponies, I don't know. I slowly, quietly took a few steps closer so I could make them out. I had trouble at first, but then realized... The first two ponies I recognized are... Well, their story is still being told. But I certainly placed them. Matching Blue coats, matching electric Blue Unicorn horns... Stallion and Mare.... I will let them tell their own story. And I found Applejack... next to her... Stallion, the true reward for Honesty; they were a part of that inner ring too. It was only then that I placed the two ponies closest to me... Blazing White coat, Gold mane and tail... The Phantom Alicorn... It was Fluttershy's sister Summer... And the Stallion right next to her was certainly Shysage... I know we are not supposed to... And a lot of ponies don't like them... But you will never find a more devoted Stallion and Mare, no matter what you think of them... And there were a few other ponies, couples, around that inner ring. I think I recognized one of Pinkie Pie's older sisters and her Stallion. Wow, I had no idea. That story...
Standing on the top of the hill, in the center, a huge White Alicorn... From my reading, I knew it was Orbsah Tnuoc... the Keeper of Equestria... Princess Celestia even mentioned him to me once... Well, I think the growing darkness I sensed justified such a meeting, justified his presence here... now... And it was very disconcerting to me that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were not... here... Maybe that was why...
Beyond the Keeper, I saw, well I recognized; it was my brother, Shining Armor, and... yes, his amazing Mare, Princess Cadance. Their love is so amazing... Of course they would be here too! And, don't tell anyone, but they also have been through the Portal to the Equestria Girls world and back. They only stayed briefly from what I read, and I don't think anypony has had an opportunity to tell them yet that they won't age now, and will be able to enjoy their love together for a long time. That will be a treat for both--
...
Wait a minute...
...
I carefully took a few more steps closer, just to make sure... Beyond Orbsah Tnuoc... It was... me... It was actually me, Princess Twilight! Wait... and next to me... right next to me was... my... Stallion? My heart about burst at that sight, and then I realized.... Of course, from my time, I had no part in this. I would though! It was hard to avoid crying when I saw that, saw him... Still, being able to live, well, for a long time... I have thought long and hard about what I would... appreciate... what I need... in a Stallion... And some late night fiasco or temporary tryst... I wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of that... I know I wanted, needed in a Stallion, just what was permanent... enduring... I wanted what it was clear... that the other Stallion and Mare sets around that inner circle shared... nothing short of...
Devotion...
...That most beautiful, delicate flower that can spring from the blossom of true friendship...
...a love so true, so strong, it could hold up, stay devoted through just about... anything...
Of course...
...
Like a silent explosion, I found myself immediately back in my present, in the middle of a sunny afternoon, standing in front of the Castle, facing the steps at the entrance... I think I dropped a little, and had to quickly catch my balance. I gasped. And Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity, all five of my girls were standing there in front of me (Filia, Fiona and Shyna too), as if waiting for me (thanks Pinkie!), and most gasped too, as I suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of them. We were quickly hugging, crying... "Oh, girls..." That was all I could say for a while...
Friendship is Magic...
Then Devotion...
I felt we would need both, sooner than later...