Twilight is accused of magical crimes by the Deerkin, leaving Sunset to be her advocate.
Sunset has been recovering in Equestria following the events of Entropy, rebuilding her home and watching Princess Twilight build the School of Friendship and Magic. She's also dreading an upcoming diplomatic dinner that her status as princess requires her to attend.
But the Cervyderian ambassador brings more than just news of his homeland. The hart also brings a decree for the arrest of Twilight Sparkle, charging her with magic crimes following a series of magic portals being opened and unleashing mythic monsters upon the Glenn.
Circumstances and friendship cause Sunset to follow, but not all is as it seems when they enter the foreboding wood the Deer call home.
The Dream is the same. The land burning, the Seer facing down the Lover. The Seer has been pushed to her limits, for there are few things that can stand in the face of anger fueled by grief. She feels the rage of the Lover, feeling it as surely as a Heartmender would, but she is unable to release it. Her wings shredded, tears falling unending, she too will fall.
And that is how the world ends.
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
Pain was a familiar sensation to me. Emotional from the magic of the Elements of Harmony forcing me to face my own shortcomings and then burning the blackness from me. Mental from the aftermath of a certain trio of girls implicating me in a MyStable scandal. Physical from the talons of a harpy or the breaking of my horn more recently.
But the pain of losing friends was something I had hoped to never face.
The invaders had shown up as a simple envoy, just a few ponies seeking an alliance.
They had approached Applejack first. Her own beliefs and convictions caused her to rebuff them. They made a few additional entreaties but she refused each one.
They razed Sweet Apple Acres to the ground in the night. Rainbow had led the attempt to extinguish the flames but even the fastest flyer in Equestria had been too slow. She took to wearing the singed and battered Stetson as she led a group of resistance fighters.
Of Fluttershy and Pinkie, nopony knew what had happened after they had gone to try and reason with their leader. Rarity had gone to Canterlot to help organize a reugee centre for those lucky enough to reach the capitol.
That felt so long ago.
I now stood my ground upon a hill, head lowered in order to aim my horn at the general of the invading force. I could barely see straight, pain hazing my vision. But I knew that behind me Ponyville was evacuating as swiftly as possible and I was going to stall the enemy as long as I possibly could.
I watched as the Alicorn stalked forward, horn glimmering in the gloaming with barely restrained power. Behind the impassiveness gaze, I could see pain, grief, and remorse. But there was no other sign of the mare I had befriended all those years ago. Behind her, the School of Friendship was a just a pile of burning rubble.
“Please, Twilight,” I pleaded as I felt blood oozing down my sides from the torn remains of my wings. “Stop this.”
Her slit-pupiled eyes blinked as though she had just realized I was still standing in front of her. The intensity of her horn began to grow as shadows converged around her wings, melding with her mane and tail.
“Twi, you’ve got to stop!” I cried, pushing power into my horn.
She vanished in a blink, teleporting away. I spun to face her, knowing where she’d show up.
I was a split second too slow, and her magic gripped me like a vice. The pressure against my sides was unbearable, and I felt my ribs begin to protest, then creak...
Then shattered just before I was thrown to the side, discarded like a bit of refuse. Twilight turned to continue into the village, her pitch black mane snapping in the breeze like a pennant.
“Twilight, please…”
Breathing was difficult, but I still reached out and used my magic to transpose us, struggling to my hooves as we adjusted to the sudden difference in position.
Her formerly emotionless demeanor changed immediately, anger flaring in her eyes. I felt myself lifted in her magic, and all the pain in my body flared to new heights. I screamed as agony wracked me and I felt pressure growing on my neck. Pain mounted and I screamed again, thrashing to free myself as blackness began to close in at the edges of my vision.
And landing on the floor of Twilight’s guest room, blankets twisted around my legs. Sunshine was leaning over the edge, worriedly looking down upon me.
“Are you ok?” she asked.
I had trouble catching my breath, and I felt sweat matting my mane and coat. The visceral fear I had felt in the dream still gripped my heart, and it took a few moments to fade. It had felt so real, like it was actually happening.
“Sunny?”
“I think…” I swallowed, taking a few deep breaths. “I’m fine. It was just a really horrible nightmare.”
“But isn’t Princess Luna supposed to step in and help with nightmares?”
“She’s not able to stop every nightmare in Equestria,” I said, sitting up. “There’s just too many ponies dreaming, not to mention all the other creatures wandering the paths now that Twilight has opened for her school. It’s just too massive a dreamscape to patrol every night. That’s why she’s started to restrict her court appearances.”
She hrmmed as I lit my horn, using my magic to detangle my legs from the blanket. I had been given the ok for slightly increased magic use and the crystal cast was no longer needed. It proved to have been more useful for healing my horn than regrowing Tempest’s missing fragments. It seemed that the years of forcing mana through the fractures had caused a kind of scar tissue to grow. Her horn would grow back, but not likely to the full length it should be for a mare her age and stature.
“Are you sure it was just a dream?” she asked as I went and splashed water on my face. Her worry was strong in the bond we shared. “It wouldn’t be the first time you had a prophetic dream, and some of the things that leaked through didn’t look all that good.
“Honey, I’m fine,” I said. “Besides, what I saw could never happen. Too many things would have to go pear shaped, and we’d never let it. We have a pretty good track record of redeeming folk before they go too far. Me, you, Starlight, Tempest, need I go on?”
She shook her head and I felt her anxiety ease, or at least as much as it could with her always worrying about being pregnant and dealing with morning sickness.
I kissed her forehead as I returned.
“Everything is perfectly fine,” I repeated, climbing into bed. “I promise.”
There is an old saying from the Perytons. “The Wind will deliver both warm and cold showers. It is our purpose to enjoy both.”
I have often meditated over that saying as I attempt to find meaning from the dream plaguing me. I cannot help but believe that what I see holds a deeper meaning than appears.
Or perhaps, it does not hold a single meaning.
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
I nudged a primary feather to the side. In the last month, I had gotten a lot better at preening, despite the elaborate teasing from Sunshine. I wasn’t perfect at it, especially since this was the longest I had gone with my wings present. Usually, when I manifested them on the human side of the mirror, they were already preened.
I was sitting at a table in my old home, having come to look over the restoration of my house from the damage it had taken during a recent set of riots in the city. The smell of hot tea was rising from a set of cups before me on the table.
“So, why don’t you just use your magic?” Tempest asked as she sipped her tea. “It seems that it would be faster and more accurate than using your nose and tongue.”
“I just got used to it.” I plucked a stripped feather from near the alula with a brief wince. “When I started doing this I didn’t exactly have the greatest control of magic, as you well know.”
Tempest grunted.
She was still wearing a crystalline cast around her horn, the ice blue material now carved into the natural shape of a horn, giving her a way to control her magic in a slightly less destructive manner.
“And you aren’t having your wife do it why?” she asked.
I felt my face turn bright red. “Wings are a bit…sensitive. Sunshine found it extremely amusing to tease the more responsive spots when she was ‘helping’ me.”
“Sensitive, eh?” The plum mare smirked as she lifted her cup again in a silvery aura. “Is that why you were late to the inspection today?”
The heat in my face didn’t dim, and I felt my wings stiffen a little as I recalled momentarily just what had caused my tardiness. And I wasn’t that late for the final checks on the house reconstruction.
“Like I said,” I muttered. “She likes to tease.”
I bit down hard on a keratin sheath to free a feather while Tempest laughed, her throaty chuckle tossing kindling onto my blush to keep it on full heat.
“Welcome back, Princess,” a Thestral saluted as I passed into the corridor that housed my temporary quarters. “I trust your journey was successful?”
“I suppose you could say that, Java,” I said as I returned his salute. “The house should be ready for us to move back into in a couple days. Just needs a fresh coat of paint and a new couch or two.”
“I’m glad to hear it, Princess,” he said. “It has been an honor to be assigned to your detachment while you stayed here. Life will be a bit dull when I report back to the mess hall.”
“I don't know,” I said with a wink. “The coffee hasn’t been the same lately according to Princess Twilight.”
I heard him chuckle as I walked into my room and shut the door, immediately pulling off my tiara, shoes, and peytral. While I had become more used to wearing the silvery regalia, it always felt great to shed them at the end of the day.
Thea cracked an eye from her perch near my desk but went back to sleep when she saw who it was.
“Sunshine? Are you here? I’m back.”
“Welcome back, Sunset,” came a different voice.
I stiffened as Celestia gracefully slid into view from one of the anterooms.
“Princess,” I said, fighting the urge to dip my head.
As a princess myself, I no longer had to bow, but old habits die hard.
“I trust that the reconstruction effort goes well?”
“It’s close to being done. Just have to replace the burned furniture and try to air out the smell of smoke. You’d think after this much time it wouldn’t still smell like smoke.”
Celestia nodded sagely.
I moved to the small cupboard set to the side of my room, a teapot floating out in my red aura as I went to prepare tea. “Would you care for some?”
The Princess of the Sun shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t stay but thank you. I actually wanted to find out if you were staying longer. I know you must be anxious to see your friends across the mirror.”
“It’ll be nice to sleep in my own bed again,” I agreed. “No matter how comfy someone else’s might be, there’s just something about your own. But both Twilight and the doctors have agreed that another week or two would be good to finish setting the ridges in my horn.”
“So, you’ll be here in that time?”
I didn't like the way her voice sounded. It was too casual.
“Yes," I answered hesitantly. “We’ll probably move back to the house later this week, but I’m never more than a messenger away.”
“Excellent!” she cooed, clapping her hooves. “Would you two be willing to attend dinner a week from tomorrow?”
“Don’t we usually end up eating dinner together anyway, since I’ve been here?”
“Yes, well.” Her wing twitched. “Next week the Cervyderian ambassador is coming and I thought it would be a good chance to introduce you and Twilight since they haven’t visited on diplomatic business since before Twilight’s ascendancy.”
I groaned. “A diplomatic dinner? Really? I’m not even assigned to a domain in Equestria!”
“Sunset Shimmer,” my old teacher suddenly gritted. “I’m surprised at you. It’s just a dinner, nothing more. Our relations with the Deerkin are mostly trading since their borders are more alongside the Crystal Empire than ours. You won’t have to do anything more than smile and wave when they arrive and maybe exchange pleasantries at dinner.”
I sighed and bowed my head. “Can I at least ask the cooks not to serve me watercress? It doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Oh, this is so exciting!” Sunshine said as she pranced. “I didn’t know there were sapient deer here! I wonder what they look like. OOOOH! Do they have magic too?”
She likely would have continued in that fashion if Thea hadn’t spoken up.
Is she always this excitable?
I glanced back at the young Phoenix that had become my courier and frequent assistant during the time Twilight and I had held our thrones. She sometimes reminded me of Philomena in her wit.
“She found out she’s invited to a dinner with an entirely unknown species to her.” I turned the page in my book before smiling at my wife. “You may as well wave meat in front of a chimera.”
“I’m not that bad,” Sunshine pouted.
“No, you’re not,” I agreed. “You’re cuter than that. It’s only a week away and you’ll have to go have your peytral and diadem fitted. You’re attending as a duchess, after all.”
Her eyes shot open.
“I-I am?”
I stealthily shot Thea a wink.
“Oh yes,” I said gravely. “If I have to wear full regalia and be as regal as I can, then you must observe proper court manners as well.”
“But, I never had to before!”
Her mind started to churn, looking for any flaws or protocols she missed in past dinners.
“I’m teasing, Sunshine,” I said when I could no longer keep a straight face. “You’re not held to the finery like I am. Though I wouldn’t mind seeing you with a diadem in your mane, giving it a bit of sparkle.”
As she blushed, Thea covered her head with a wing.
I know for certain that a vision is never cut and dry. I have spoken with Pine, Elm, and Mulberry to seek clarity. None of us understand the portent.
I need to speak to a Heartmender, but they are away at their enclave currently, and it will be some time before they return. The images in my dream trouble me greatly.
Was this the Armageddon for our world, or simply our way of life?
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
Usually, visiting Twilight’s castle brought me a respite from whatever mired me.
I was lounging on one of her couches while I waited for Sunshine to return from across the mirror. I had hoped to talk to her about the construction of the school, but I instead found her frantically pulling books from her shelves.
“Ohmygoshohmygosh!” Twilight panicked, darting to and fro as books trailed behind her like a gaggle of goslings following their mother. “I know I have more information on Cervyderian diplomatic procedures somewhere!”
I leaned back, my chain of office clinking as I shifted. “Twilight, you know it’s just a dinner, not a formal trade negotiation, right?”
“But I’ve never met a Deerkin before,’ she said, flipping through the pages of her swarm, eyes scanning them with a feverish light.
I never found out what technique she used to process so many words all at once.
“Did you know that they build their homes in the living trees? And there are four different types? I can’t wait to see what kind of magic they use. I wonder what kind of books they have. They don't use paper since they revere the trees…”
I sighed as she pranced over to another shelf, her gaggle of books bobbing along behind. She finally stopped to draw in a breath and I took the moment to wrap a gentle bit of magic around her mouth, stopping the torrent of tidbits and small facts.
“Twilight, I came down here to see how your school was doing. I spent all day sitting through minor petitioners when Celestia’s court ran long with the delegation from Mount Aris, and I’d prefer not to hear anything that makes me even think of diplomacy right now.”
She grinned sheepishly and ruffled her wings. “Sorry. It’s just, they rarely leave their forests! We don't know a lot about them since the first time they sent us an enovy was only seventy years ago! They send couriers every so often but we barely learn anything!” Her raspberry eyes still had a touch of the manic glee I knew from watching my own wife when she discovered something new to learn. “And if what I heard is correct, they were the ones that gifted the seedling for the Golden Oaks...”
I winced as I heard the hitch in her voice as she trailed off. I knew how much that library had meant to her. The evidence of that was hanging over our heads whenever we met in the map room.
“Aw, Twi, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—“
A wave from a wing cut off my apology. Her smile remained unwavering, a single book now hovering in her magic as she stepped over to a window.
“It’s all right,” she said. “I know just as well as you how taxing Court sessions can be.”
I rose and joined her, seeing the School of Magic and Friendship through the window. I had to hand it to pony contractors, they got work done so much faster than human ones. Barely a month in and they were already placing shingles and exterior sheathing on the edifice. It would probably be ready for tours within a week.
“It looks good, Twi,” I said gently. “Any idea who’s going to teach yet?”
“Well, I’d given thought to ask my friends to help out. Moondancer volunteered to help with the library, and I know I can ask Dash for recommendations for weather ponies to teach about pegasi magic.”
“Don’t they attend flight school as foals?”
She giggled. “It’s not just going to be ponies at this school, Sunset. I’ve invited students from the Gryphons, Yaks, Changelings, Dragons, and Hippogryphs to attend as well.”
I tilted my head a little. “Can you do that?”
“Of course,” Twilight said. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don't know. I would have thought there’d be some sort of board you’d have to clear things up with. Do you know how many times I had to go things cleared by an advisor or vice-president of some department at the university?”
“I’m the Princess of Friendship. What kind of monster wouldn't let me I open a school for teaching friendship?”
I fussed with my peytral, trying to get it settled comfortably against my chest. It kept grabbing hairs of my coat and pulling them out. I was growing tired of the tiny pricks of pain every time I shifted. Why wouldn't it just lay flat?
Azure magic wrapped around the adornment and gave it a firm tug, adjusting it against my chest.
“This wouldn’t be so difficult if you would wear it more often to get used to it, you know.” Sunshine teased.
“All I want is to head back to our home and have a nice quiet life, Twilight.” I turned to my wife and smiled. “I miss our bed, I miss the girls, and I miss my guitar.”
“Mom said she wanted you to come over for dinner as soon as you can.” Sunshine stepped forward, the delicate chain in her mane throwing off silvery light.
I hadn't been wrong when I said she’d look good in one. It offset her mane and coat colors beautifully but was also simple enough to not draw unwanted attention to herself. I was also glad her morning sickness was starting to subside. Her humor had begun to return, and through the bond, I could tell her stress level was considerably lower.
I also got a good taste of her playfulness, soon followed by a ghostly finger along the leading edge of my left wing.
“Twilight,” I hummed. “Don’t. We have to get ready for the dinner!”
“It’s four hours away,” she chirped. “I’m ready, and all you have left is your crown.” My tiara was wrapped in her magic and she settled it on my head. “I think we have a little bit of time to kill.”
Another finger traced along my other wing. I tried to ignore the tingling through my nerves, but she knew just what buttons to push. And to be honest, I wasn’t exactly in a hurry to sit around in my regalia and nibble delicately on food while Celestia talked to the ambassador.
***
A little over an hour later, we were trotting down the corridor towards the Grand Hall. We ran into Twilight coming in from the exterior, her regalia as gleaming and appearance as prim and proper as you'd expect from her.
“Sunset, Sunshine,” she said happily as she fell in alongside. “Ready for dinner?”
“Yes!" Sunshine beamed.
I shrugged. “I suppose.”
Twilight gave a little skip as we turned the corner, a giggle slipping free. “I can’t wait to meet them! What do you think they’ll be like?”
“I know! Who knows what kind of cultural differences there could be? This is an anthropological opportunity I never thought I’d get to experience!”
“And the insight into their magic! I’d love to have a chance to study some of their earth spells!”
I rolled my eyes as the two mares kept chatting back and forth. At least they’d enjoy the dinner. But, after this, I knew Sunshine and I would be going back to our home in the Lower Quarter and not long after that, I’d be heading across the mirror and into my own bed again.
I felt my smile start to grow.
Home sounds pretty good right about now.
The guards saluted us as we passed into the Grand Hall, the twin thrones of the Diarchs already occupied by Celestia and Luna. We took our places on the dais, below and to either side of them. I rolled my shoulders and took up a stance that I had held far too many times during the two and a half weeks I had held the Solar Throne.
Between us and the main entrance was a long table laden with covered plates and pitchers of various sparkling liquids.
As soon as my little entourage was settled, Celestia cleared her throat. “Show them in, please.”
The doors opened, and in strode a tall buck clad in robes colored in the rich green of fresh leaves, a series of fine vines strung back and forth between the tines and points of his antlers and his short-shorn mane. His forelegs were bare, a strange pattern of swirls and lines tracing their way up from his crystalline hooves.
Behind him strode two does, one winged with her mane slicked back, a bit of barding covering her barrel, and a helm tucked under her wing. The other wore robes of similar material as the buck, a pattern of stars showing along her barrel. Her antlers seemed smooth, not nearly as sharp as those of her leader. A pouch on her waist clacked loudly in the relative stillness of the room.
Oh my goodness! He’s gorgeous!
Hush, Twilight, dear.
Hehe, you said deer.
I fought the urge to turn to her and stick out my tongue as Celestia stepped forward, her wings spreading in a welcoming gesture as the Deer came to a stop.
“Welcome, Pine of the Grove. It has been a long time since I have laid eyes upon your countenance. I greet thee.” She bowed her head until her horn touched the ground.
“I greet thee, Celestia of the Sun,” the buck returned in a rich baritone voice, touching his antlers to the floor. “Long has the journey been.”
“Please, break your fast with us.” Her wing swept towards the table to the side.
“Gladly.” The buck gestured to his companions. “I’m sure my companions are as glad to be done with the formalities as I am.”
“They do get tedious, at times,” Celestia agreed.
We all settled in at the table, covers whisking off the plates to reveal steaming piles of various vegetable pies, glittering chilled fruits, and a deep brown stew. The pitchers held what turned out to be spring water and I saw bits of fruit floating in each. I took ahold of one with large chunks of mango in it and poured myself a generous glass.
After a few moments of quiet sampling, the winged deer cleared her throat.
“I see a few new princesses here,” she said in a lyrical voice.
“Cersi,” warned the other doe in a rough accent.
“Oh, lighten up, Ganny! We’re all friends here.” The winged doe, Cersi, fluffed her wings and pointed a feather at her friend. “And the reports you and I read only mentioned three; Celestia, Luna, and the recently found Cadenza.”
Luna sipped her drink before speaking. “I fear the reports you have are at least a decade out of date. I've been back nearly that long.”
“Yes, it appears so,” Pine said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. I noted that his hooves and the strange lines on his limbs were glowing with a light purple hue, and his fork was hovering in the same aura. “We should really rectify that issue. One of the topics I was sent to discuss was setting up a more regular courier service with Equestria. It should be easier now that the Crystal Empire has returned.”
Celestia nodded. “An excellent proposition. We can talk of it later, of course, after some proper introductions.”
Pine gestured with a hoof towards his companions. “The Peryton is Cersi Sweetwind. Please excuse her table manners.”
The peryton batted lightly at the buck with a wing while chewing on a few steamed greens. Some were hanging from her mouth for a moment before she noisily slurped them in.
“And the Nordeer is Ganymede.”
Ganymede bowed her head slightly.
“And what strain are you?” Sunshine blurted out before clapping a hoof over her mouth and turning so red I swore I could feel the heat in my own cheeks.
The buck gave a rich laugh. “It’s a fair question. My name, as you have heard, is Pine. I’m a Vitrung, and a Shaper of our kind, tending to nature. Just as Cersi helps with the skies and Ganny with the stone.”
“The stone?” I asked.
The Nordeer sat her pouch on the table and opened it. I saw the edges of several tiles within that reminded me of the word game tiles that I had used to play at family game nights. She plucked one out with surprising dexterity and placed it gently on the table.
“We don’t have the same talent as Vitrung with magic, or even that of your Earthbound. We work through runestones, such as this one.”
She nudged the runestone forward. An angular set of carvings set within the stone reminded me of the letter N struck through with a curved line.
“This runestone allows us to feel the depth of a cavern without having to set hoof in it. It has been invaluable for mapping our lands.” She picked the tile up and placed it back into her pouch.
“How do they work?” Twilight asked, visibly fighting the urge to summon a quill and paper to her side.
“The rune defines the spell,” Ganymede said as she replaced the pouch on her belt. “To cast it, we merely break the stone and it releases the spell.”
“We’ll have to take some notes later, Pine,” Celestia smiled. “Meanwhile, there are three new princesses. Cadence gave birth to a daughter some six years ago. Sunset Shimmer here has only been a princess for five. And Twilight Sparkle became a princess almost a year after your last courier was here.”
Pine stiffened. “Twilight Sparkle?”
I exchanged a look with the Alicorn before she stood slightly, dipping her head.
“Y-yes,” she stammered. “Is there a problem?”
Pine stood, followed by Cersi and Ganymede.
“I’m afraid so.” He turned to Celestia. “I fear I must cut these pleasantries short.”
He waved a hoof and Cersi started walking forward hesitantly.
“One of the issues we wished to address was the extradition of Twilight Sparkle to stand trial in the Deep Wood for her crimes against the Cervyderian people.”
Even now, the facts of life grow muddied, as if in a dream vaguely remembered.
The worse part of it, however, is I worry that I don't wish to remember.The old stories counsel us that ignorance is bliss.
But they never warn us as to what knowledge costs.
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
“What do you mean, her crimes?” I demanded, bolting to my hooves.
“We’ve had some incidents in our outlying regions involving marauding creatures. Creatures, that until recently, have only been present in our legends.” Pine looked at me with a measuring look. “Strange rips in the air showing unfamiliar terrain beyond. The only thing that we know for sure is that each time, a shadowy form of a pony is seen shortly before.”
“Why do you believe it to be Twilight Sparkle?” Celestia asked. “By your own report, only the vague form of a pony has been seen, as confirmed by your reactions just a moment ago. You were unfamiliar with Twilight’s appearance, or you would’ve led with the extradition request instead of sampling the food.”
“It is true that none of us knew the visage of this pony,” Ganymede conceded. “But our shamans have taken to casting for a name. The only name they’ve discovered was Twilight Sparkle. With no way of knowing the connection, many of our leaders believed she was responsible.”
“And we were given the regrettable task of bringing her back with us to stand for questioning before our ruling body.” Pine looked at the Peryton again. “We were, however, given a way to ensure that we did not bring the wrong pony.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked as Cersi drew out a flat stone, polished and gleaming in the light of the hall.
“This stone was attuned to the energies in the areas affected,” Pine said. “If it reacts to you, then we know you are responsible.”
“And if it doesn’t?” Luna growled.
“Then she is innocent of the magical events, but is then requested to accompany us as an expert called on by the ancestors.”
Cersi held the stone out.
Twilight glanced at me, then Celestia, nervousness plastered on her face. I also felt a small stab of fear from Sunshine through our bond, and I had an idea of why, but it wouldn’t do to voice it here.
“Go ahead, Twilight,” Celestia said before shooting the entourage a critical look. “I doubt they have any intention of harming you.”
“All she needs to do is envelop the stone with her magic," Pine instructed. "If she is not the figure terrorizing us, then there will be a change in color.”
“Do you mind if I try it first?” I asked. “Just to verify that the magic works the way you claim.”
“I see no reason why not,” Pine said. “If it would help ease your minds.”
I took the stone in my magic, the red glow reflected on its glossy surface. Once I had a firm grip on it, the light flared and turned a fiery orange with crackling arcs of blue-white energy. I released the stone quickly as a bit of feedback shot through my horn, eliciting a yelp of surprise from me.
“Well, at least it works the way I said it would,” Pine said. “Was worried about that myself.”
“Are you ok?” Twilight asked.
I rubbed my horn, feeling my tiara slip out of place slightly. “Yeah, I think so. Just a little feedback.”
Twilight looked at the stone, her wings shuffling nervously. She took a deep breath, then pushed a hoof out as she released it. As her horn lit, I felt a small tremor of worry worm it's way up from inside. What if her magic was somehow responsible?
She took hold of the stone and for a moment, nothing happened. Then it exploded with coruscating lights; harsh reds, sickly greens, electric blues, and rimmed with the raspberry light of Twilight’s telekinesis. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief at her exoneration when a beam of light shot out and speared me in the horn with the same red of my magic. The light then linked me to Twilight before dying, the stone shattering as it fell to the floor.
“Well,” Sunshine said into the silence. “That was unexpected.”
“Indeed,” Celestia said. “But it has at least shown that Twilight is not responsible for those incidents.”
“This is disturbing.”
I looked at the deer, and they were all staring slack-jawed at the charred remains of the stone. Cersi’s feathers were fluffed out fully, a move I had seen in several Pegasi perform during my recovery.
It was a gesture often paired with stark fear.
“I’ve never seen a mantic reaction like that before,” Twilight said as she poked at the largest of the stone chips.
It was dead now, the glossy sheen lost amid the charred remains.
We had recessed to allow the deerkin to contact their leaders for advice. While that went on outside, Starlight and Moondancer had joined Twilight, Sunshine, and I.
“I haven’t either,” I said. “And I’m concerned at that link you and I shared near the end. I’ve done a few scan spells and they haven’t found anything different.”
Would you be able to tell anyway? came a thought from my side.
I looked at Sunshine and shook my head. “We’re in polite company.”
Twilight looked at me in confusion, until she remembered that we were linked at the brain.
“It’s just,” the azure pony repeated. “If it was an unknown spell, how would you know what to look for? We’re not even sure what spell they put on the stone to make it react like it did.”
“That’s a good point,” Starlight said as she picked up a chip in her magic. “Between us, we know pretty much every spell known to ponydom, and what we don’t know Sunburst could find.”
“Or even create a hypothesis at least,” Moondancer mused. “But there isn’t even a book detailing the types of magic the Cervyderian mages are capable of. They’ve been very protective of their ways.”
“Is there even a mantic trace left on the stone?” I asked, warily levitating a piece over.
It was a dull gray now, likely no different than any other random rock. To me, at least. I’m sure Maud could’ve given us a plethora of information at a glance.
I hoped I could get her input somehow before the deer had to leave. I had sent Thea, my Phoenix, out to find her but I had no idea how long it would take. Maud tended to walk at the same pace she spoke and it was a two hour trip to Canterlot
“As far as I can tell, it’s empty.” Starlight said, dropping her fragment. “Not even a drop left.”
“What if we put it back together?” Sunshine asked.
We all looked at her.
“What?”
“It’s not really that simple,” Moondancer said. “Once an artifice is broken, it tends to be more difficult to repair than replace.”
“For a Pony artifice, yes.” Sunshine nudged her glasses up with a hoof. “But what about a deer artifice?”
Here we are, four of the best mages in Canterlot, two princesses included, and we just got stumped by somepony that only knew a fraction of what we did. And by suggesting something that only one untrained in the formal magics as we had been, would think of.
I loved my wife.
Unfortunately, before we could gather all the pieces, Pine returned. Alone.
“I have spoken with the Enclave,” he said as he reclined near us. “And they have advised me to bring both of you to the Glenn to see what the stone’s destruction portends. A seeking stone has only reacted that way once in our history, and even now it’s barely more than legend.”
He sighed and rubbed his eyes with a crystalline hoof. “I have sent Cersi and Ganny to make preparations for our return. I would prefer to have you both volunteer rather than have me apprehend you. In name at least. I have not yet made the request of Princess Celestia, out of respect for your free will. Please do not make me regret that act.”
I glanced at Sunshine, feeling her anxiety through our bond. I tried to silently send her my reassurance but I knew she could feel my own doubts about its sincerity. Glancing at Twilight, I could see the same worry in her eyes.
I looked at the buck.
“Can we have a bit of time to say goodbye?” I asked.
He looked at me, then over to Sunshine, comprehension dawning on his face.
“We will leave at first light,” he rose. “After my meeting with Princess Celestia.”
“I don’t know how long we’ll be gone,” I whispered as I held Sunshine that night. Sweat lightly coated our bodies and her breathing was still hitched. Considering what had happened last time I had gone off with Princess Twilight, I could understand her concern.
I was a little worried myself. After all, my horn was just fully healed, and I was worried about putting my two months pregnant wife through more stress like last time. I also wasn’t any closer to an answer about what was going on with that stone or why it scared the deerkin so much.
“Try not to break anything this time?” she whispered back. “At least nothing of yours. I’m kind of attached to you being in one piece.”
I stroked her side, feeling the edge of the scar running down it. It was almost invisible against her coat now, but I knew its appearance as intimately as the one running along my body.
“I promise I’m not going to do anything foolish this time.” I nibbled on her ear. “Twilight and I are just going to go have a look at whatever’s going on over there and help if we can. There and back again, I promise.”
“You’d better be.” She twisted around to look at me. “Because we’ve got a party of Pinkie’s waiting for us when you come back. She’s decorated the condo and everything.”
I smiled.
“Who am I to upset Pinkie?”
“That looks different from the last time I saw it,” Twilight remarked as I trotted into the courtyard.
I put a hoof onto the collar around my neck, containing my Element. “Yeah. Back when I got my wings, the tree fused the geodes to the elements. I meant to tell you but everything with Sorla kind of distracted me.”
“Is that why your magic changed colors?”
“I guess.” I shrugged. “I never really noticed when it fully changed. I know it was teal back when I stole your crown. It shifted to red sometime after that.”
“It’s unusual for magic auras to shift colors.” She peered closely at the peytral holding my element. “I wonder if the geodes had a part to play in that.”
“It’s the only thing I can think of,” I said as we walked into one of the small training yards off the main courtyard. We found the three deerkin waiting for us. Pine had a faraway look in his eyes as he held a piece of polished wood against the tree that sat off to the side.
“What is he doing?” I asked, more to myself than anyone.
“He’s communicating with the Glenn, informing them of our departure.” Cersi said.
“How is he doing it?” Twilight asked, perking up. “Is it a spell? A ritual commune?”
I had to step away from Twilight as her wings flared in excitement. While I enjoyed seeing her happy, it did tend to be dangerous at times.
“He holds a word-wood to the tree, and the Tenders of the Elder Tree hear his thoughts. We all carry word-wood on our travels.”
“Word-wood?”
I stepped forward, ducking another wing twitch.
Cersi drew out a piece of wood from her pouch, holding it out for inspection. It was perfectly smooth, ovoid in shape, and had a grain pattern unlike any I’d ever seen before.
“The Shapers draw these from the Elder Tree and distribute them to any of our kind traveling far from the Glenn.” Cersi offered it to Twilight, as the mare started prancing in excitement. “We also use them to communicate with other communities in times of holidays or festivals.”
Pine stood straight, whipping his head around. “We must leave now.”
“What? Why?” I asked.
Pine’s hooves flared with purple light as he yanked his pack onto his barrel.
“There’s been another attack.”
I felt a cold chill coil in my gut as he turned and began hurrying to the sally port, his companions in tow. My skin crawled for a moment and I suddenly felt like I was being watched suddenly.
Twilight turned to me and frowned.
“Are you ok?”
I shook my head, my mind’s eye flashing back to Acerak and the arctic winds he walked upon.
“No, I'm not," I said, spreading my wings to take off. "Let's catch up, neither of us knows the way.”
We went to follow the Deerkin, and though the sun was bright, the chill wouldn’t leave me.
They draw closer, the Dreamer and the Lover. It is almost as though their hoofbeats make the earth shudder with their passing. The creatures that attacked the other day have vanished without a trace, just like all the others, but this time it was different. No shadowy mare was seen.
It is as though they are aware of the winged avengers approaching.
I am uncertain if this is a good development or not. Casting the bones or the draw of cards give me little guidance in this anymore.
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
“How far is it to your lands?” Twilight asked as the train thundered along the tracks.
Cersi looked out the window and replied in the same disinterested tone she had held all day. “We’ve just passed over the snow line. We’ll disembark at the next stop and continue the journey on hoof.” She glanced away. “Sadly. I’d give anything for a chance to stretch my wings. I hate trains.”
“And how long will that be?” I pressed, shifting so I could see the Peryton without having to turn my head. “So I know we packed enough provisions.”
“We’ll reach a village in two days,” Cersi said distractedly. “We’ll stay there for a day and then move on. Then we’ll meet a barge and continue along the Riba for four days to the Deep Glenn.”
“Eight days?” Twilight said. “If that’s all it takes, then why are you such a mystery to ponies?”
“In the past, our people suffered greatly at the claws of the centaurs and their warriors. We eventually found a way of protecting our borders, but it required us to take a firm stance against outsiders. Each of our outlying villages has a talisman that keeps them hidden from those not invited.”
“What kind of talisman?” Twilight asked.
“One of great power, made by ancient Shapers with the aid of Heartmenders to defend our people.” Pine stepped into the car and sat in an empty seat. “That is all there is to know. The method of their making has been lost to time.”
“What about the village that was attacked during the Celestial Civil War?” I flicked an ear in annoyance. “If your talismans are so powerful, what happened there?”
Pine growled. “According to legend, a sorceress snuck in and stole our talisman. A pony supposedly pursued her, but if she understood the power of the Stone then there was no hope of it returning.”
“What’s a Heartmender?” Twilight asked.
"Heartmenders have the ability to feel and ease the pain of others, " Cersi explained. "Often they feel those wounds as acutely as their own; sometimes even more so. They have to bleed it off into the Æther or else risk taking the wound onto themselves. They also assist Shapers with their tasks, bearing the strain of the commune so the Shapers can focus."
“And how do they do that?” Twilight pushed.
“It is…difficult to explain,” Pine breathed. “As a Shaper, I have had assistance from a Heartmender in my works. When the stone is difficult or the wood resistant, it can push against my magic. The feedback can be painful, but the feel of a Heartmender’s hoof can pull it from me. Sometimes there’s a moment when we’re only a single person. It’s not something you ponies could understand.”
I looked away. It sounded like my bond with Sunshine. Reflexively, I reached inside for the point of light that was my wife. It was faint, but I could still feel it and the tiny echo that I couldn’t explain. I touched my peytral, the crystal gained from Camp Everfree in what seemed like a lifetime ago.
“You’d be surprised,” I whispered.
I ignored their odd looks and turned to gaze out the window in the direction of Canterlot. I could see Twilight’s face faintly in the window and the touch of concern she showed.
“I’m sure we’ll be on our way home in no time, Sunset,” she said as she draped a wing over me. “You won’t have to miss her for long.”
“Sixteen days just in transit, Twilight,” I said, turning away from the window. “Plus however long this will take. It’ll be the longest we’ve been apart since I got my wings.”
“Such is the life of an Equestrian Princess,” Pine said. “And quite often Shapers or Wilders such as my companions and I as well. Duty often comes before family and friends.”
I directed my gaze back out the window.
“It doesn’t make it any easier to bear,” I whispered.
We’d gotten off the train when it stopped to refill its boiler.
Our guides sedately walked into a grove of trees with an ease that we found difficult to emulate. It was almost as if the brambles and undergrowth parted for them while we had to fight through it.
While the exterior was coated with the snow, the chilly wind seemed to disappear as we walked deeper into the woods. The trees also began to grow larger as we went, reaching sizes that were astonishing. We passed one that was easily wider than all of us had we stood nose to tail. The undergrowth also gave way to soft soil and a thin layer of grass.
Despite the warming air and ease of travel, I couldn’t help but keep looking inside to that point of light in my mind. A lot of what the Deer had said regarding Heartmenders, made me think back to my wife and the title Celestia had given me when I first ascended. So far I hadn’t exactly been a paragon of compassion.
But whatever melancholy that might’ve taken a grip on me faded as we stepped past a pair of sentries on either side of a large arch in one of the massive tree’s roots and into the first Ceryviderian village I had ever seen. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but from the way Pine talked, I had thought they’d be simple huts and small houses.
But I hadn’t expected for an entire grove of the massive trees with doors set into them, windows glowing with fireflies and phosphorescent moss. Their thick roots arced out, forming pavilions, gazebos, and benches. It was a thriving community and not a single artificial structure present aside from a fountain in the center of the square fed by a small stream. An ovoid rock sat atop the fountain, held in place by leafy vines. An intricate carving depicted an eye. Four guards stood by it, one for each of the cardinal directions. Like the trail we had taken to get here, there was no snarled undergrowth, just soft loam and grass.
We were instructed to remain at the gate while Pine secured lodgings for us. Cersi had promptly rushed off to chat with another Peryton but Ganymede had remained by our side.
A sniffle from my right brought my attention to Twilight, who had a few tears in her eyes.
“You ok?” I asked.
“Four of the best years of my life,” she whispered. “I loved that snug little room upstairs. I wish you could’ve seen it, Sunset.”
“Me too, Twilight,” I told her, giving her a quick hug.
“I take it you lived in one of our trees before,” Ganymede said gently.
Twilight nodded. “The Golden Oaks library in Ponyville. It had been a gift from your people to Princess Celestia. It was my home when I moved there, before it was destroyed by a centaur named Tirek.”
Ganymede growled lightly and spat to the side. “They have no appreciation for nature. If not for the memory stones, we would live in fear of them even now.”
“Memory stones?” I asked, rubbing Twilights shoulders as she gazed at the village, lost in memory.
Ganymede pointed at the stone above the fountain.
“Shamans, Shapers, and Heartmenders came together and created the stones to protect us. With them, you can manipulate a creature’s memory, making them forget entirely or replace it with another memory. With them we made the centaurs forget the locations of our villages and made their Diamond Dog soldiers forget who their enemies were. It didn’t take long for the cost to become too great for them.”
“And why do you still have them?”
She smiled. “Artifacts of this nature are not so casually cast aside.” She nodded at the stone. “What the magus’ of old created could not easily be unmade and we couldn’t dare take the risk of throwing them aside. We use them mainly as a defense against outsiders. You are the first this village has likely had in a decade or more.”
Pine returned, a wizened doe accompanying him. She lacked the wings of a Peryton and the crystal hooves of the Vitrung. I would have put her as a Nordeer, like Ganymede, but she was less stocky and built much lither.
“This is the matriarch of the village, Janess,” Pine said as the older doe dipped her head. “She’ll be seeing to your lodgings while we’re here.”
“If you need anything, dears,” she said in a deep alto. “Just ask, and I’ll see what I can do. Now, if you’ll follow me?”
A fluttering sound drew my attention upwards, as a flurry of orange and yellow landing between my wings before we had even taken a step.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep up with a train? Thea berated me after catching her breath.
I frowned. “You were supposed to stay with Sunshine, Thea. I recall the exact words of my instructions.”
Astra is watching the duchess, the young flarewing returned, giving her wings a stretch. She’s much more to her speed, anyways. They’re both overly cerebral. Are those cashews I smell roasting?
I rolled my eyes as Twilight giggled, finally broken from her reverie.
“It’s like having two of you,” she grinned.
“Oh, be quiet.”
I’m nothing like her! Thea squawked. She’s brash and impulsive and —
“I’m not the one that flew after a train for two days,” I said as we turned to follow Janess towards a squat oak with several tables out front.
The sun grows dim, as though hidden behind the clouds. I feel concern as my visions grow increasingly uncertain. I feel as if deer I have known from fawns are no longer the same, as though replaced by some evil spirit.
The state of the Dreamer and the Lover grow more dire, as now the dream shows them razing the world in their battle.
I can only pray to the Mother that I am wrong
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
I gazed at the room we had been given, a pair of bunks set back into a small alcoves on the curved outer wall. The floor showed the growth rings of the tree we were in clearly, but they were smooth in a way that tools couldn’t have made. There wasn’t a single sign interference with the natural growth of the wood, not from the simple doorway and windows to the table in the center of the room. Even the bowl holding some wild fruits and nuts showed no sign of artificial make.
Twilight was at one of the beds, running her hoof over the windowsill, lost in thought. I turned to Janess.
“Thank you for providing these rooms,” I said. “I hope that we’re not intruding on your business.”
The doe patted the comment away. “Nonsense,” she said. “This place is always open for wilders and their charges. Please make yourselves comfortable. Pine said that you’re heading for the Glenn, and you’ll need your rest. You won’t find much on the barges.”
After she left, I turned to find Thea already rooting through the basket, pulling out nuts and setting them aside.
“Thea,” I warned. “Don’t hog the nuts. They’re for all three of us.”
Some of us just flew —
“Yes, yes,” I sighed. “Flew two days non-stop trying to keep up with a train. Do you forget what we were doing when we met?”
I can’t sleep on clouds, she shot back, cracking what looked like a pistachio open with her beak. I shook my head and went over to Twilight.
“You ok, Twilight?” I whispered to her, soothingly rubbing her back.
She turned to me, a small smile on her face.
“It’s just like my room,” she said, turning back to inspect the walls and ceiling. “This whole tree was grown specifically to serve as a dwelling for travelers! Can you imagine what this could mean? Trees housing ponies and still bearing fruit? It could be the answer to housing issues in some of our larger cities! And maybe we could regrow the Golden Oaks!”
“Twilight,” I started gently. “You know…”
“Yes, I know the Oaks was destroyed and the roots dug up to hang in the main hall.” She spun to face me, the look in her eye one I knew well. She was excited. “But we could take a cutting from it and meld it into a new plant! Make the old a part of the new!”
“You act as though it’s already a given that you could get a new sapling from the deer,” I cautioned. “Don’t forget we haven’t even spoken to those in charge yet.”
“I know,” her wings were rustling in excitement. “But being here, the smell, the feeling! It’s like I’ve gone back in time.”
“Before the wings?”
“A little.” Twilight looked at me. “They still feel a little uncomfortable, don’t they?”
I looked away. The sound of a Phoenix cracking open hulls was a welcomed break to the silence.
“I’ve gotten used to them,” I admitted. “But even after holding the throne for a short while, they still feel heavier than I care to think. It’s cost me a lot, Twilight, and I’ve yet to see any sort of gain.”
She tilted her head. “But why haven’t you talked about this before?”
“Because there isn’t a way to get rid of them,” I sighed. “And honestly, I’m not going to give up on responsibilities just because I dislike them. It’s just sometimes, I wonder what it would be like if I never had them.”
We looked each other in the eye before I turned and headed to the table.
“Hey, featherhead, save some for me.”
A melodic chuckle sounded from my familiar.
Moonlight shone in, filtered heavily by leaves. The beds were incredibly comfortable, more so than I would’ve thought. The blankets were a thick silken material, woven from threads spun by a moth that lived deep in the forest. I’m sure Fluttershy would’ve loved to have seen one.
I rolled over and looked at my companions. Thea was perched on the rack that had held our blankets, head tucked under a wing and emitting a small whistle that I’m certain was snoring.
Twilight had dropped off into a sleep faster than I thought she would, a peaceful smile on her face as she snuggled into the blankets. I smiled as I looked, reaching up and touching the spot on my chest where my peytral would’ve rested. It hung over the edge of my bed, but it wasn’t the piece of armor that I was thinking about.
It was my wife. The light in my mind was dim, but still present and I could faintly feel the worry that sifted through her mind under everything else. We were too far to actually speak to each other, but I pushed love and reassurance into our bond, hoping it would help her rest. She needed it.
We were boarding a barge in the morning. I wondered just what kind of craft it would be. Airships were a familiar mode of transit in Equestria, but in the heavily forested lands of the Cervids? I laid my head on the pillow and closed my eyes.
“That’s a barge?” I asked as we saw the ship berthed at the quay.
It was long and tall with a raised rear deck, a polished wood and metal binnacle set just to the side of a wooden wheel. Long sweep oars were showing through openings along the middle of the deck and its hull was traced throughout with vine and leaf engravings.
“Yes,” Pine said as he ran a hoof through his tousled mane. “I admit it will be cramped, but a larger ship wasn’t available.
“Larger?” I squeaked. I looked at the craft again. “That must be forty lengths long!”
“How does it move?” Twilight asked, already at the boarding ramp. “There’s nopony at the oars.”
“We use the oars for minor corrections and docking only,” a grizzled Peryton buck said. “The current or the ereons move us through the water.”
“Ereons?”
The buck gestured for us to follow as we moved to the tail of the ship. I didn’t see anything unusual until the Peryton slid his hoof into the water. A moment later, a long tapered tail rose to the surface and gave a lazy sweep before submerging again. I took an involuntary step back, wings fluffing in surprise.
“The Ereons feed on the barnacles and other life that tend to form on the keel of our boats. In return for providing them food, they help push us upstream.”
“Seawing is right,” Pine said. “And his bond with this particular Ereon has been fostered over three decades.”
We loaded the ship and I couldn’t help but notice that just forward of the raised deck was an open section of the hull, a very furred and whiskered face poking up out of it, reminding me of a chubby otter. Seawind barked out some orders to the hooffull of crew and the lines were cast free and the landward oars unshipped. As we reached the center of the river, the grizzled Peryton laid a hoof on the head of the creature and nodded. The Ereon’s head withdrew and with a slight surge, the barge crept it’s way upriver.
Rain dizzled down as we traveled the first day. Most of it had been damp and I was feeling the drag that rain usually had on me. I was always sleepy and not in the best of moods. My wings may make water slide away much like a ducks, but my mane soaked up the light mist like a thirsty pony. I spent most of my time under the canopy at amidship.
Twilight, however, was constantly talking to Seawing about our method of locomotion. If she had paper and ink, she’d be writing notes and likely annotating them with her own observations. She seemed livelier than normal, well rested and wide awake. When she came to rest with me midday, she was humming a tune.
“You seem perky today,” I remarked. “Good dreams?”
She shook her head. “I don’t really remember any dreams, though I slept like a foal. The feel, the smell, all of it was so soothing. I’m not sure I’ve slept that well in years.”
I chewed on my lip. I don’t know why, but as she got more and more excited, I felt more and more on edge. I missed Sunshine, but I had gone on matters of state before, while my horn healed. And we weren’t under any sort of detainment, so it wasn’t that.
My skin crawled for a moment and a chill wind swept through my bones.
Twilight caught my shiver. “Are you cold? I could grab you a blanket from the stores”
I shook my head but before I could elaborate, a small Virtung called out a word in the Deerkin’s language and moved towards the fo’c’s’le, opening a doorway to reveal several small trees in a deep brown soil. The branches were laden with flowers and small fruits.
“Meal time,” Pine said as he came to us. “Something to keep strength up for the crew and warm all of us in this damp.”
The Virtung that had opened the door stepped inside, the vine-like design on her legs coming to life with a bright blue glow as her hooves touched the soil. As she reached a tree, she touched a hoof to its trunk and began to hum a wordless song.
And the fruit began to bloom as she sang, soon reaching ripeness, the smell of citrus soon reaching my nose as they started being picked. As I was given one, I was amazed by the density of it. The dark orange rind had red undertones to it and felt like the one a watermelon had. I peeled it and found a soft pink interior with a few dark orange pits nestled into the center. Biting into the meat revealed it to have a spicy and sweet taste, a hint of orange and apple in the undertones. As I ate, I found I was starting to feel warmer as the spiciness of the fruit worked on me.
“This is amazing!” Twilight said, gazing at the fo’c’s’le as the Virtung sang a few more notes to sprout more blooms onto the tree she had harvested. “I don’t even know any Earth Ponies who can speed up harvest times! Oh, I hope they give me a chance to talk to some of their farmers, think of the advances we could make in feeding ponies! I wonder…”
I tuned out her continued string of wonderment as my eyes started to droop again. Rain made me sleepy and I couldn’t stave it off anymore.
“Maybe we will, Twi,” I slurred sleepily. “I think I might take you up on that blanket now, though.”
“Why are there so many ships on the river?” I asked Pine. “Is this normal traffic for your people?”
Pine shook his head.
“No,” he said. “The seriousness of the crises requires a convocation of clan elders. Elders from every village have been arriving for days now. They will decide the best course of action.”
“Are those common?” Twilight asked. The rain had finally dampened her spirits a little, if her decline in exuberance was any indication.
“This will be the first I have seen in my lifetime,” the Virtung said. “The first in nearly a hundred winters. They are rare since they require travel for all our members from the outlying villages to attend, and some can take several weeks to arrive.”
“They can’t communicate their wishes with that speaking wood?” I asked. “Surely that would be easier than traveling so far for a single meeting.”
“The word-wood can only allow one-to-one communication. One wilder to a Tender.” He shook his head sadly. “It would not allow them to experience the entire meeting. It would be repeated by the Tenders and then information may be lost. No, it is better this way, though the journey may be long.”
I sighed. “I suppose. I guess it’s just simpler. Are there any rules we’d need to know before we arrive?”
Pine looked at me. “Outsiders are not allowed in the convocation. It is a long held tradition. Even I will not be allowed in the halls until a decision is reached.”
“Then how are we supposed to help?” Twilight asked. “If we don’t even know what it is we’re supposed do, we can’t make a plan!”
She almost suppressed the twitch in her eye, but not quite.
“We are not allowed into the halls during the deliberations,” Pine said. “But we will be called in before they cast their votes. It is law that any involved be present for what might impact their lives.”
He turned as one of the crew called his name, leaving me and Twilight to ourselves. I looked at her and gave a crooked smirk.
“Still happy we decided to take this little trip?”
“Does it always rain this much?” I groused.
It had been raining for four days straight, alternating from light mists to heavy deluges with no relief in-between. I couldn’t remember the last time my mane had been dry. Even Twilight’s cheer had been exhausted around the same time her bangs started permanently obscuring her vision.
“Not normally, no,” Cersi said as she gave her wings a fluff before resting under the canopy that had been spread across most of the middle of the deck. “We’ve been known to have freak storms in the borderlands, though. It’s nothing we can’t handle. It’ll cut out when we reach the Glenn.”
“I thought Perytons could control the weather,” Twilight said.
“We can, but mostly to keep things from getting dangerous,” Cersi replied. She settled down and began preening her wing. “The farther out we go, the less we do. Nature will run its course and we should stay out of it’s way when we can.”
“Less you can do,” I asked. “Or will do?”
“Little of both, actually.” She spat out a shredded feather. “Our magic is strongest when we’re near the Grove, where our Ancestors lay. As we go farther, it weakens some, so we try to use it less frequently. We still stall horrible storms and keep it mostly calm, but once in a while it gets a little out of control. If it keeps up when we get to the Glenn, I’ll be going up with other Perytons to weaken the storm.”
I gave my wings a glance as she talked. There were a few feathers that could stand to be adjusted, but I decided against it for now. My wings were a draggled, soaking mess at the moment anyways.
“And how much longer will that be?” Twilight asked, pushing her bangs out of her face. Again.
“Maybe an hour or two. I can’t wait to get there!” The doe licked her lips. “I can almost taste the roasted honey walnuts. Oh, I hate leaving but the return is always so delicious.”
The mention of walnuts made me glance towards where Canterlot would be. I had sent Thea off shortly into the trip with a message to Celestia and Sunshine. Knowing the small Phoenix’s speed she had likely arrived by now and was resting before returning. The point of light in my mind was dimmer than ever, even comparing it to when I first truly started noticing it.
“Thinking about Sunshine?” Twilight asked.
“I can’t help it,” I sighed. “She’s pregnant and I’m going off on my own again. She’s going to worry about me and I’m going to worry about her. It’s part of why these wings annoy the buck out of me. I never know when I’m going to get called off for some matter of national security.”
“I know the feeling,” Twilight agreed. “Fluttershy trusts me but always worries. It seems like, for some reason, ever since we returned the Elements we haven’t really done much as a team anymore. I mean, yeah, there was Starlight’s village after the map formed, but it’s been one and two pony missions since then. At least if you don’t count the Storm King’s invasion or the war in the Crystal Empire.”
“You sound like you miss the adventure,” I observed.
“No. Yes…Maybe?” She sighed and flicked her ears in annoyance. “It’s not that I miss the danger, but maybe I miss the time spent with my friends and I’m always being needed elsewhere now. And with the school, I’m worried that my time will be even more restricted. But I also know it’s a vital thing, something that I feel we need more of.”
“But sometimes you miss the days when you could spend a day lost in a good book and the world didn’t hang in the balance?”
She laid her head down on her forehooves. “I miss the days when I could start a good book. I don’t think I’ve had the time to read more than ten since we gave back the thrones.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” I said. “How exactly do you read so fast? It looks like you barely look at the page before flicking to the next one.”
“Oh! It’s a perceptual dilation spell I learned when I was a filly.” She sat up. “It speeds up my visual recognition time so I’m actually reading it in what seems like minutes to me. It’s been so helpful with research and cross-referencing, but it took a while to get used to.”
“Get used to?”
“When I’m using it, everything else tends to slow to a crawl, visually. Sounds also distorts a little too. It was so disorienting the first time, I actually fell over onto my lunch and…uh…”
“And?”
“Lets just say cheese was everywhere. Hot cheese.”
I raised an eyebrow as she giggled nervously.
“I didn't need to know that,” I deadpanned.
“We’ve arrived,” Pine told us a little while later.
The sun had actually come out and its warmth beat down on the deck, lifting our spirits and giving us a chance to dry.
I looked forward as crew took to the oars to guide us up to another stone quay that was much more massive than the one in the tiny village we had boarded in. Five slips ran down both sides of the dock, some with similar ships berthed in them, others empty. A large stone archway stood beyond the dock area, set into a large wall of vine, roots, and earth.
“This way,” Pine said as he hopped off the boat. “I must present you to the Triumvirate and then arrange for your quarters.”
I shrugged at Twilight and followed Pine through the gates...
And immediately stopped dead in my tracks. I had been amazed by the way the village had looked, but it was nothing compared to what lay before us. Trees that dwarfed anything in Equestria loomed overhead, easily as wide around as the Tower of Duty at the Royal Palace. In the higher branches I even saw balconies and skybridges criss-cross between trees. And the streets stretched endlessly into the forest, dotted with vendors of all kinds.
As we walked forward, I was surprised by how well lit it was for such a thickly wooded area. Looking up, I saw that the limbs of the trees didn’t hang over the road more than a little. The way the limbs were arranged, they would likely take the brunt of the rain but allow the most light in they could. I also started to pick out the clumps of phosphorescent moss we had seen both in the village and on the boat.
As we walked, we passed several small squares, each with a fountain as its centerpoint. And capping each fountain was a carved stone bearing an eye held aloft by vines. I made a mental note to get a closer look if I could.
Deeper and deeper we went, eventually coming before a tree so wide it could have held the entirety of the Twilight’s castle within its trunk. The dark red bark was weathered and thick. I almost thought t that I could see a wizened old face in the patterns.
All around the tree were slender saplings that resembled ash, but were a darker color. Each had a deer stationed at them, wearing robes of deep blue with gold trim. No matter what way they were — standing, laying, or leaning — they never left contact with their assigned tree. A few were staring off in the same distant way that Pine had when he had used his word-wood in the bailey of Canterlot Castle.
“They are the Tenders,” Pine said quietly. “They tend to the Grove of Ancients and to the Elder Trees. Theirs is a highly respected duty.” He gestured towards an opening in the tree. “We are expected.”
We stepped inside and I was amazed by the layout of the interior. There were seats arrayed in an amphitheater layout, looking upon a bench with three raised podiums facing it. There were three ways in from the exterior and what looked like curtained chambers behind the podiums. Pine stood before it, with Cersi and Ganymede taking place on either side of Twilight and I.
After a moment, the curtains parted and out strode a buck much larger than Pine, his antlers bearing leaves and vines woven in a much more elaborate pattern than the Virtung had worn to the dinner barely a week ago. His robes were a deep crimson, the golden embroidery shining in the soft lighting of the chamber. He was followed by an elderly Peryton buck and an even older Virtung doe, both clad in the same crimson robes. They all sat behind their respective podiums and gazed down at us.
Pine shuffled a little and I saw Cersi’s wings fluff a little. I instantly tensed, almost feeling the surprise drifting off them.
“My Lord Dunford, I was not expecting your return to the bench,” Pine said, his voice somewhat stilted.
“Situations have dictated my return,” the buck rumbled in a voice like rocks grinding together. “Since the untimely disappearance of Lady Ivy in the last attack.”
I felt the worry waft from the Virtung as keenly as if I had touched him and activated my empathy geode. He bowed his head and nodded to the others, greeting them as Lady Rubicon and Lord Cirrus.
“Enough pleasantries,” Dunford grated. “Are these the ponies?”
Pine nodded. “They are, my Lord.”
The buck gestured and several guards stepped forward.
“Place them into custody until the convocation has been concluded.”
As the guards stepped forward, Pine stepped forward.
“I must protest!” he exclaimed. “They are under my ward and promise of safe passage.”
“Which has been concluded with their arrival,” Dunford growled. “It is now in our agreement that they be placed somewhere they can be watched and kept from escaping with their magic.”
I saw what looked like rings of stone, with runes carved into them, floating in some of the guard’s magic.
“Inhibitor rings?” Cersi spat. “They gave their word and came of their own free will! There is no precedent for this treatment!” “There has also been no cause for ponies to be in the Glenn before. For the public safety I feel it would be better with this measure in place.” Dunford gestured again, giving the guards the order to proceed.
I shied away from the ring at first, remembering the time Celestia had shown me one. Hotheaded as I was, I slid it on and tried casting to prove my strength over it.
I had the headache for nearly a week afterward.
As the ring slid on, I felt it tighten around the base of my horn and everything felt numb, as though some of my senses had been dampened. Even the connection with Sunshine felt distant. Everything felt heavier and my limbs sluggish.
“Their trial will begin at first light. Take them.”
As we were led away, I saw Pine’s face harden before he turned and stalked off, Cersi and Ganymede following close behind.
The Dreamer’s heart wavers and begins to lose its strength. The bones now show nothing and all my counsels have tested the limits to their knowledge.
The conclave has gathered, and two sets of unexpected guests will be here soon.
But will they help, or tip the balance over the precipice of ruin?
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
We were lead to a large dwelling across the square overlooking a twist in the river. The interior was similar to the one in the lodging we had stayed at in the outlying village, but everything was far more opulent. A couch with a comforter thrown across its back was next to a low table along with several plush cushions on the floor. A pair of beds were set back into an alcove with thick quilts folded across the feet of the bed. There was an archway off to one side and a few vines crawled up into the windows giving a bit of color to the room.
Not long after we were led in, a pair of guards returned to set a tray of bread and fruit on the end table before stepping out and pushing the door closed.
“At least it’s not a cell,” I remarked as the guards withdrew, looking to Twilight. “Have you figured out a plan yet?”
Twilight shook her head. “I think there’s something else going on here, Sunset. Did you see the way Pine reacted when their ruling bodies stepped out? It was almost like he was afraid of that hart.”
“They did say he was just placed on the Triumvirate recently,” I agreed. “And our guides seemed rather taken aback that he had us placed in inhibitor rings. Like it was a betrayal of some sort of unspoken word of honor.”
Twilight nodded. “In a lot of tribal cultures, safe passage is mentioned as a sacred pact. To betray it is tantamount to sacrilege.”
“It’s more than that,” Pine grumbled as he entered. “It is also my personal word that they violated.” The buck sat down and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “While it is not unusual for us to have guests from neighboring lands, we have had disagreements arise from the cultural differences. But we have never incarcerated a member of another race for any reason.”
I tapped the inhibitor ring on my horn. “The evidence seems to point to the contrary. If you never needed to incarcerate anypony, then why do you have these?”
“I can’t explain them,” Pine grumbled. “I didn’t know we still had any left over from the wars. They’re relics of another time and I had thought that they had all been destroyed.”
“Obviously not,” Twilight replied. “Is there anything you can do?”
Pine shook his head. “The Triumvirate would not hear me. All I could do was get them to agree to hear our account during the forum.”
“So we don’t even get to be present at our own trial?” I deadpanned. “This sounds familiar.”
Pine sighed. “I have decided to speak for your release. We were sent to gather you as you were named in conjunction with the attacks. Since the last attack occurred while you were clearly in Canterlot, I doubt that Twilight Sparkle was the perpetrator. I believe then that she may be involved in clearing the events.”
A loud clamor rose from outside, and we all stood to look through the window towards the clearing. A series of boats were slowly making their way up the river. Inside were a group of deer with short blue hoods drawn up over their heads. The lead boat held only a single occupant beyond the crew, a peryton near the front.
“What is the big deal?” I asked. “I thought all the clan elders were coming.”
“They are not a clan,” Pine said. “They are heartmenders. They never attend convocations. This is highly unusual.” He turned to leave. “Please wait here, I’ll see if I can gain any more information.”
I gazed out at the approaching ships, feeling my wings twitch as frustration bubbled within me.
“I hate not knowing what’s going on.” I started picking at the fruit sitting on the table.
“I know you do,” Twilight soothed. “Nopony really does. But what can we do right now?”
“Wait until they decide to release us?”
She shook her head as she settled on the couch. “We can try talking about what’s going on. We might not wind up being able to figure out what’s happening here, but there is plenty of data for us to make some reasonable guesses.”
“What do you mean? We barely know anything.”
“We know that unknown creatures have been attacking. Presumably, creatures that are not native to this region. We know that a pony is often seen at the sites of the attacks.” She looked at me. “We can infer from that information that the pony is either behind the attacks or trying to prevent them and arriving just a bit too late.”
“We can also assume that this is a facade for an internal coup of the deerkin lands,” I supplied.
“That’s a rather dire thought process,” Twilight replied.
“This isn’t exactly a happy situation to be in, Twi.” I tapped the ring on my horn. “Inhibitor rings aren’t something to be taken lightly under Equestrian law, but they just happen to have a ring properly sized for each of us. That doesn’t strike you as a little too convenient?”
“They’ve known we were coming for a week now,” Twilight countered.
I felt my wings spread slightly as my temper rose. “And instead of giving us a chance to see what we can do to help, they block our magic and place us under watch! I don’t know about you, Twilight, but I doubt even Pinkie could find a bright side to this!”
“We’re not overly pleased of it ourselves,” a soft voice spoke behind us.
Turning, I saw a middle-aged Peryton in a rich blue robe standing in our doorway, the blue and red tresses of her mane were cut and styled simply, with her forest green coat and feathers blending with the grass she stood upon. She was also surprisingly short, at least in my limited experience of Cervid observation. If not for the voice and the way she carried herself, I’d have thought her barely more than a fawn.
“While we are somewhat concerned for the safety of our people,” the Peryton continued. “This is a gross violation of some of our more ancient laws.”
She glanced to either side before entering, the sound of her hooves on the floor nearly silent. Her cerulean eyes locked into mine and it felt like she was seeing through and within me at the same time. It was a bone-chilling effect.
“Uh,” Twilight said into the silence, at a loss for words.
“Oh, forgive me,” the doe babbled. “Sometimes I forget my manners. I don’t get out much. I am Heartshine, current head of the Heartmender’s Enclave.” She gave a slight bow, wings spreading to either side as she dipped. It reminded me of how we were taught to curtsy in drama class.
“There’s an enclave of Heartmenders?” Twilight asked when her brain finally caught up with her.
“Yes,” Heartshine nodded. “Presently there are some five hundred of us in residence either teaching or on holiday from our duties. We reside further into the Glenn. It allows us peace for our meditations.”
“Then,” I mumbled as I shook off the effects of her gaze. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see the two outsiders brought here.” She settled onto one of the cushions and fluffed her wings as though smoothing a skirt. “I wanted to see who was so dangerous that the Triumvirate would request two inhibitors when we have not made any in ages.”
“I’d hardly call us dangerous,” Twilight said. “We came on the request of Pine to help with the problem.”
“Though he did say that he’d arrest us if we didn’t volunteer.” I snorted. “Though I doubt it was his choice in the matter.”
“The young Shaper has his reasons,” Heartshine explained serenely. “His home was one of the first attacked while he was away on business elsewhere. He fears what would become of his home every time he sets hoof upon the road now.”
“And now his own system of laws are betraying him,” Twilight nodded. “He seemed unsettled at this treatment of us.”
The Peryton nodded. “As am I.”
She rose, approaching Twilight. The doe barely came up to her shoulder.
She held up a hoof. “May I?”
Twilight nodded, and the Peryton placed her hoof on Twilight’s crest, just below her horn. Her eyes fluttered closed while Twilight’s glazed over. A moment later, they separated and the deer took a shuddering breath.
“You’ve seen much in your time for one so young,” she whispered. She took a few more deep breaths as her hooves took on a light golden glow. “I understand why they crowned you a princess.”
She turned to me and held her hoof up again. I shied away slightly, unsure of what was going to happen.
“I won’t hurt you,” she assured. “I just wish to get a feel of who you are.”
“It’s not pretty,” I warned, voice barely more than a whisper before letting her hoof touch my crest.
Disjointed voices assaulted me. The words were garbled, warped as though heard from underwater.
I saw flashes of faces: Celestia and her disapproval when she found me in the library researching the mirror, Twilight chasing after me in the Crystal Empire, the cruelty I unleashed onto the students of CHS.
I felt the fire of the Elements of Harmony forcing me to face myself again.
I saw the Sirens, enemies turned allies. I saw my friends, all clustered around the Wondercolt statue.
I saw my sisters and my niece, the friends I made on this side. Starlight and Moondancer smiling from over the cover of books. Tempest shouting at young guard cadets as they ran through their paces.
I saw Sunshine, smiling on the hill where we first kissed, and the point of light within me flared brightly.
The landscape darkened, and I saw Acerak, Chrysalis, Sorla’s army marching forward in the swirling snow. I saw a blight snarling as a Phoenix swooped down. I saw Gloriosa as she transformed and Juniper as she was led away from the studio and at the counter of the movie theatre.
I heard a scream of anguish…
I staggered backward and collapsed, my head throbbing. I dimly saw Heartshine slump to the floor before I blacked out.
I was covered in blankets with a wet cloth placed against my forehead when I came to. Twilight was helping the Peryton to her hooves.
“What happened?” I wheezed.
“I’m not sure,” Twilight said. “She touched you, then you both screamed and were flung away from each other.”
“It was a…backlash.” Heartshine held a hoof to her head and winced. “Sometimes a memory or emotion is so strong that it resists being viewed. Pain especially.” She touched her hooves to the floor and the glow returned once again. As the light shone, the pain on her face eased.
“I need to rest,” Heartshine said. “But I will tell the gathered what I saw.”
“Why?”
“Our task is to help those in pain,” the doe explained as she left. She glanced back over her shoulder as she paused at the door.
“Yours is rather large, Princess,” she murmured to me. “But I cannot help you with it.”
I stared at the door for a long time after she left. I felt as though a spike had been driven through my skull and my heart ached at the memories that her touch had dredged up.
Twilight took a hesitant step forward. “Sunset?”
I ignored her, my thoughts miles away and centered on a specific mare.
It is clear to me now; the reason for the ever darkening signs, the inability to speak to the Ancestors. The council does not hear my voice. Many voices clamor in the chamber and I am drowned out.
The spirits have turned against us, they cry. I find it difficult to disagree. They now direct their anger against my people.
Or perhaps, against The Dreamer and the Lover.
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
I’m not afraid to admit that sometimes, I’m bad at keeping track of time. Things tend to occupy my thoughts and distract me.
But today I was very aware of every passing minute, because of the total lack of anything to do. Oh, we were provided with food and water flowed into our little cell into a deep basin next to the window. Twilight and I had tried passing the time talking, but we kept falling silent as thoughts of the conclave returned to us.
“How do you think it’s progressing?” she asked, poking disinterestedly at the fruit before her.
“Dunno,” I murmured from my perch at the window. The lingering effect of whatever the Peryton had done still throbbed in the back of my mind. “They don’t seem to be very forthcoming about what exactly is going on in there.”
A knock at the door made me turn from the window as Pine stepped in, an orange coated Virtung doe bearing a tray of steaming pastries in her teal magic. The buck took the tray and set it on the table, nodding at the doe.
“How are you two faring?” he asked after the door shut. “Is there anything I can do?”
“You could take these rings off,” I snarked. “Be a load off my back.”
“Unfortunately,” he sighed. “I’m incapable of removing them. The highest ruling members of our society ordered them placed. If I were to go against their orders, I’d be sharing this room with you with a set of rings of my own.”
“They would exact that kind of punishment on you?” Twilight asked.
“Surely you have similar punishments under Equestrian law for those that violate your edicts.”
“We don’t condemn them to a void!” I snarled before sighing and raising a hoof. “Sorry. I’m just a little testy about being left in the dark about things that could have an impact on my livelihood.”
Pine nodded. “I wish I could do something about that, but tomorrow I have to leave for a new assignment.”
“They reassigned you without letting you hear the results of your last mission?” Twilight asked. “That’s a little irresponsible, don’t you think?”
“I don’t get the luxury of choosing my assignments. I must obey the orders I am given.” He shook his head. “I am sorry, Princesses.”
“It’s not your fault, Pine,” Twilight said. “You have responsibilities to attend to. But like Sunset, I just want some information on what’s going on.”
“I can say this,” the buck sighed. “The arrival of the Heartmenders has caused an uproar among the Glenn. They haven’t appeared at a convocation in nearly two centuries. Their voice will have great weight in the deliberations.”
“I’m afraid they are not interested right now in what I have to say,” came the serene voice of the Peryton Heartmender as she entered. “I’ve been asked to return to the enclave, against the protest of the majority of the gathered Elders. They called a recess for their midday meal.”
“What are they saying?” I asked.
“The deliberations are not yet begun,” Heartshine said. “There are villages that are mostly unaware of the events that have affected our people. Today seems to be a day of recounting and presenting the evidence.”
“And where do we place in these proceedings?” Twilight asked.
“It seems that the issue is clouded,” Heartshine sighed. “The Shamans have spoken to the issues, but they are conflicting. Our wisest Shamans here; Silverleaf and Glimmer Sky are finding divining any new information difficult. Their visions are cloudy at best and they cannot answer all the questions concerning your involvement, Princess. Several of our mages are attempting to determine why the source stone reacted to you the way it did.”
“They said that another stone had acted in that way before,” I whispered. “In a legend. What happened to them?”
Pine and Heartshine lowered their heads. “It was during the early days of the Centaur invasion,” the Peryton whispered. “So many details are lost to the clouds of time. It may only be myth based on a fact. Several hundred years of retelling can distort anything, as the legends of your own Celestia and Luna."
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’m sure you have heard the legends of your rulers have gone to other lands,” Pine said. “That they are nigh gods; immortal, infallible, and omniscient. But I’m sure that you, their students and compatriots, know another side to the story.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I knew what they were referring to, I had even bought into them as a filly. But I knew now, from recent events, that they were just as vulnerable as anypony, just that the threat level — and price — tended to be so much higher.
“Tell us the basis anyway,” Twilight soothed. “Maybe we can piece together what happened.”
Pine scratched the back of his head just behind his antlers. “It varies from place to place, but it says that while the Centaurs were approaching the Glenn, two powerful mages paired their magic together through one of our stones and managed to block the Centaur’s advance. All that was found afterward was a shattered runestone and a burnt staff.”
Heartshine waved a wing in deference. “Among the Heartmenders, we believe that they transcended their physical forms and joined the Ancestors in the attempt. It ended in a victory for our people, but a loss for both Cervyderians and Heartmenders in general. They both serve as examples of sacrifice for the good of the Glenn. It is a large basis of our way of life, and that is why your treatment bothers so many.”
“But Dunford seems to be determined to keep us in the dark about everything.” I sighed and stretched my wings. They felt so heavy now that my magic was blocked. “Under every form of law I’ve ever examined, the accused are given the right to face their accusers.”
“Yes, but to state the painfully obvious,” Twilight sighed. “We are not dealing with laws we are familiar with. We are bound by our Treaty to respect their customs and laws.”
“Does it also demand we be completely hunky dory about it?”
“Ladies,” Pine said. “I hesitate to continue your ignorance of our proceedings, but I do need to make preparations for my next mission.”
“I will visit when we conclude again for the evening,” Heartshine said as she stood with Pine. “Tell you as much as I can about what happens. You deserve that much at least.”
As she approached the door, she stopped and tilted her head. At the same moment, I felt a wave of cold wash over me, causing my skin to crawl. I felt my wings fluff, an instinct I still didn’t fully understand. I saw that Heartshine’s wings had flared as well.
“Sunset?” Twilight shot to her hooves. “Ms. Shine? What is it?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, shivering as though standing in a winter’s wind.
“Something malevolent attempted to move into the room,” Heartshine said, eyes closed as she turned her head from side to side. “But as soon as it saw we sensed it, it withdrew.”
“So, then,” I stammered as the warmth began to spread through me again. “What does it mean?”
Heartshine looked at me with a measuring look.
“It means that you are more interesting than I had first thought, Princess. I will return this evening.” She gestured at the pastries. “You will need your strength, eat.”
Unfortunately, none of the food had any taste anymore.
I understand. The signs are clear to me now. It is not that they bring about the end. They are the end. An end to a way of life that cannot sustain itself. But at the same time, I worry that I can still be deceived, for I am hearing tales that disturb me.
The Darkness has wormed its way into our very capital, and the tendrils reach as deep as any root. I fear what this means for the Dreamer and the Lover. I fear what this means for us.
But one thing is certain:
They are coming.
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
“So far, they’ve been willing to humor that you may not be behind the attacks,” Heartshine said. “And even then, it is a stretch. Please understand that this is not a reflection of you.”
“But they’re scared,” I finished. “And they want something to focus their fears at.”
“Precisely.” She sipped her tea and sighed. “Many of us have advocated for you to be allowed in to state your case. Sadly, you must still wait until your sentence is due to be cast.”
“Surely there is some counter argument we can use,” Twilight murmured. “What about evidence of the magic being non-Equestrian in nature?”
“Except we can’t prove that,” I countered. “The stone that they sent with Pine shorted out in a spectacular way and they have no answer as to why. Not to mention that with our magic sealed off we can’t show them again even if another stone was readied.”
“And I can assure you, there isn’t.” Heartshine dropped another sugar cube into her cup before topping it off. “Such stones take several days to prepare and the Triumvirate will likely convene for ruling by the sunset three days from now. It wouldn’t make it here in time, I’m afraid.”
“So what can we do?” I grumbled. “I’m getting tired of just sitting around.”
“What if we got word to Celestia?” Twilight asked. “It’s been nearly a week now, Thea should be done reporting in.”
I rubbed my chin. “If she can find her way here, we could use advice at least. Celestia helped write this treaty, maybe there’s some loophole or clause that could sway the vote.”
But even as I said it, I knew it wouldn’t help. Time to fly here, time to fly back to Canterlot, time for research; it would be too little too late.
Heartshine rose. “I’m sorry there isn't much good news. But tomorrow I’m supposed to meet with some of the clan elders that are still undecided, and speak with them between sessions. Maybe if we can sway them to our side, I’ll have some good news for you tomorrow.”
“Any threes?” I asked.
Twilight groaned and hoofed over two cards.
As I added them to my collection, I sighed. “This is getting old.”
“I’ll say,” my companion echoed. “You’ve won the last three games.”
“Not the game,” I clarified. “The waiting. Wasn’t Heartshine supposed to visit today?”
Twilight glanced at the rapidly setting sun. “It is a little late compared to when she normally visits.”
“You think she’s not coming?”
“She might’ve been held up.” The other Alicorn rifled through her cards. “She did say she was going to try and talk to some Elders. Who knows how long that could take.”
I nodded, my wings rustling. I hated being still for long periods of time.
Twilight looked up. “Any sixes?”
With a groan, I hoofed over all three.
“Are you sure you’re not hustling me?” I asked.
A sly smile was my only answer.
Heartshine came to us in the early morning, mere hours before sunrise.
“So far, I’ve only managed to sway four elders.” She flopped onto a cushion with a hmmph of annoyance. “Apparently my word doesn’t go as far as I thought it did.”
“Four elders out of how many?” I asked.
“Fifteen clans were undecided.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I managed to get some to agree to hear your stories. What I saw was enough to convince me.”
“Speaking of,” Twilight spoke up. “You seemed to have some sort of reaction when you touched Sunset. What was it?”
“Sometimes when a particularly deep mental wound has been left, all we can do is transfer it through us and release it into the earth. To do otherwise is unwise, but we have all tried to weather it in our youth.” She raised a wing to show some mild discolored spots on her coat that we hadn’t noticed before. “Only once, though. If we hold a connection to such pain for too long, it will manifest as a physical wound.”
She looked at me and I shuffled uncomfortably.
“But it is especially strong in other empaths. Sometimes, we can’t resist being pulled in.”
“But my powers are bound,” I said. “My empathy shouldn’t have affected you.”
“Do the rings on your horns stop you from being ponies?” Heartshine asked. “It’s a part of who you are, woven into your spirit like a thread in a tapestry. You may not know what you’re capable of while cut off like this, but that doesn’t change the way you resonate with other empaths.”
She rose and came over to me, sliding a wing across my withers.
“In another time, I could’ve taught you to be a Heartmender as well.”
I laughed. “Thanks, but I already have one impossible job. I don’t need another.”
Heartshine smiled and laughed as well.
“True enough,” she agreed. “True enough. I’ll return later. I need to get some rest before today’s deliberations begin.”
But as she left, her words were present in my mind.
A loud explosion woke me in the night. I staggered out of bed, my wings flaring instinctively as I tried to summon a shield.
I regretted this when the inhibitor ring on my horn caused feedback of my magic and sent me to the floor in pain.
“What’s going on?” Twilight asked as she stumbled over.
“I don’t know,” I wheezed, trying to get back on to my hooves. A few screams broke the relative stillness of the night air.
We raced to the door and emerged just in time to see a veritable army of deer charging toward living nightmares. Little more than abominations of black scales, sharp ridges and razor fangs, they shredded the defender's bulwarks of earth and hedge. Even as the deer unleashed blast after blast of emerald magic, the horrors rushed forward, barbed tails whipping. Each hissed out a scream that reminded me all too much of Entropy's Blights. In moments, the deer defense line had shattered and they scrambled backward while still trying to unleash the wrath of nature upon the beasts.
And behind the creatures came a jet-black Alicorn. Tattered wings jutted out to either side of her like spires of obsidian, decorated only in the ragged remains of a barely a dozen raven feathers. Eyes of pure malice glittered in her otherwise impassive face, slit-pupiled and devoid of the caring I had come to expect. On her haunches lay an all-too-familiar, yet all-too-twisted sight: a six-pointed star surrounded by five smaller ones. And each of the small stars were little more than faded scars against her midnight coat. She crept forward, her motions more like a stalking chimera than a pony, the feathers giving off a faint rattle as she moved.
“Ah,” purred the Nightmare. “It’s nice to see you, Twilight, Sunset. How do you like my pets?”
I gawked, staring at the apparition from my nightmare a few weeks ago. I glanced at Twilight and found her staring in disbelief. I looked back at the shadowy mare before me.
“But…” I sputtered, at a loss for words. Twilight had barely progressed past a small squeak, her jaw moving with wordless sounds.
Nightmare Twilight tilted her head. “Perhaps it’s a bit too soon for us to meet. But I’m sure we’ll run across each other again soon.” She chuckled and flashed us a jagged grin before she and the beasts vanished in puffs of black smoke, leaving behind only the echoes of her amused laughter.
Twilight opened her mouth and I expected some sort of typically wordy declaration, perhaps some sputtering.
“Oh fuck.”
Four guards stepped forward, taking up positions on either side of us.
“Return to your dwellings,” one sternly ordered.
I glowered at him for a moment, until Heartshine came up, placing herself between us and the lead guard, her wings spread slightly in a soothing posture.
“I’m sure they will accede to your requests as long as you allow them their own pace.” She glanced back at us. “And their inhibitors will be removed, immediately. They will not leave or use their magic on us, on their honor.”
I nodded, glancing at Twilight. She was still staring at where her dark twin had vanished.
“Twilight!” I hissed.
“What?” she said dazedly.
“Promise to stay and not use magic.”
“Oh, right. Sure.” Her eyes didn’t waver from that spot.
“Now,” the tiny Peryton soothed. “Everydeer back to bed.”
She shot a look across the way, where the imposing figure of Dunford stood.
“And something will be decided tomorrow.”
The council chamber was more massive than I had believed when we first stood within it. Amphitheater seats stretched far into the open space, new lighting illuminating hundreds of deer, their coats in the same array of colors that I had seen in ponies. Manes slowed around antlers or matched the hues of their feathers.
Heartshine stood by us, our unspoken advocate.
“Whatever happens,” she whispered. “Do not speak unless spoken to. You will be allowed to have a brief statement before the votes are cast. Save your voices for then.”
I shuffled uneasily. While most of the deer looked down with unreadable faces or looks of awe, there were pockets which shimmered with pure hatred.
“Keep your wings furled,” Heartshine continued. “A gesture that might be innocent to your culture might mean something different to ours. Better to appear calm and composed, even if you aren’t.”
She reached up and patted me on the shoulder. “I’m certain that after last night, you should be cleared of your ‘charges’.” The words were almost spat.
“In session!” a guard bellowed as the Triumvirate stepped out and took their seats.
“In light of recent events,” Dunford ground out. “We have decided that you are not responsible for the attacks directly. Instead, some imbalance of your harmony has manifested, and for reasons unknown to us, decided to encroach into our territory.”
“The only choice,” Cirrus intoned. “Is to consult the Ancestors directly.”
“But, since this is a democracy,” Rubicon chimed. “We shall cast votes for having you accompany the Wilders or remain here under watch.”
Dunford looked into the assemblage. “Those in favor of accompaniment, cast white. Those opposed, cast black.”
I frowned, confused at the terminology before white stones began clattering into a shallow depression at the base of the seating; smooth and round, rolling down chutes built into the risers with a tiny rumble. At the same time, jet-black stones joined them, but not in nearly the same quantity.
After a minute, the last few white stones rattled to a stop on top of the pile of their brethren, while only a few of the inky ones rested on the floor.
“And the vote of the Heartmenders?” Dunford rumbled.
Heartshine reached out with a wing and added her white stone to the pile.
“Then it is decided,” Dunford gestured to a guard. “Once preparations have been made, they will leave with the Wilders and the Heartmender Elder.”
“What…Why?”
“You are the only one here competent in the commune ritual at the Grove of the Ancients and the Well of Tears.”
“Any of the Tenders can perform that ritual,” the Peryton shot back. “I fail to see —“
“The Tenders will be busy healing the damage from last night’s attack,” Dunford roared. “By the grace of the Allmother, none of our kin were killed, but I deem their need here greater.”
Heartshine puffed her cheeks out. “By your leave, my Lord.”
Dunford slammed his hoof against a marble slab. “We are adjourned. We thank the Elders for their time.”
As the Cervyderians started to leave, Twilight turned to Heartshine.
“What’s this Well he mentioned? What are we going to do?”
Heartshine ruffled her wings in agitation.
“He deferred judgment,” she snarled. “And is sending you to speak with the Ancestors.”
“And that’s bad…why?” I asked.
“Our Ancestors had xenophobic tendencies after the war with the Centaurs.” Another wing flutter of annoyance. “It’s entirely possible that they would judge you guilty of trespassing.”
“So, what then? Banishment from your lands?” I scoffed. “Doesn’t seem so bad.”
“I wouldn’t make light of this, Princess,” Heartshine spat. “These are the spirits of those that created the Memory Stones. It’s entirely possible that they could erase any memory that could make you a threat, maybe even wipe you clean.”
That thought made my heart seize. Forget everything? That’s absurd! There’s no way I could forget things I held dear. And Sunshine and I shared a mental bond, one that I could feel faintly now that the ring had been removed. Surely that would overcome it…
Surely…
“Come,” Heartshine gestured with a wing. “We should get supplies for the trip; it’s three days to the Grove.”
We left at first light. Across my withers was one of the satchels Cervid Wilders used on journeys, filled with dried fruit and baked honey cakes wrapped in leaves. A rolled blanket was also tucked inside along with a sparker — a tool used by deer which held a piece of flint with a metal cap to direct its sparks.
Twilight walked beside me, her head held low.
“Bit for your thoughts,” I whispered.
“That pony,” she whispered in a distracted voice. “The other me —“
“That wasn’t you,” I said firmly.
“But it was!” she cried. “You and I both know of the existence of other dimensions! And not just this one and the world of CHS; Celestia told us of the one where she was a crazed tyrant and Sombra the leader of the resistance. And the ones I saw in my battle with Starlight! I don’t know if any of them ceased to exist after I left. There could be one where I wound up trapped in the past. There could be one where you never fled through the mirror!”
“Twi, calm down,” I stretched out a wing to comfort her. “Can you imagine the mess I’d be if I had stayed? Plus, what would you have done if the Rainboom hadn’t happened, become an archivist?”
She chuckled ruefully. “True. But we have direct proof that another me has crossed over and has been possessed by some remnant of Nightmare Moon! We saw her, Sunset!” She began to hyperventilate, her eyes growing huge.
“Breathe, Twilight,” I urged. “We’ll get a handle on this and deal with it. After all, we’ve managed to overcome quite a few crises together. We did face an ancient god recently, remember.”
I looked forward to the trailblazers. I was still amazed by the ability the deerkin had to pass through brambles as though they weren’t there. I had more than a few scratches and scrapes from this sojourn.
“I’m sure we’ll make do.” I reassured her.
One of the lead Wilders called for a halt for our midday meal and we were joined by Heartshine and, surprisingly, Cersi.
“I don’t remember you being assigned to this trip,” Heartshine said as the other Peryton settled next to us.
“Briar Rose owed me a favor, so I swapped with her. There’s actually a few more Perytons keeping pace above the canopy in case something happens.”
“Well, I won't tell if you don’t,” I chuckled. “That makes two friendly faces on this march.”
“Couldn’t you get in trouble, though?” Twilight asked.
“Officially, I’m on leave to visit family,” Cersi said. “Never said I had to go straight there. Besides, Pine gave his word to look after you. Just because he was reassigned doesn’t mean I trust these guys to hold you to the same level of safety.”
“You know that Briar could get reprimanded, of course,” Heartshine said.
“Technically, she can’t,” Cersi popped a chunk of apple into her mouth. “I outrank her, and I’d like to see the Council try and punish her for following my orders.”
“Regardless, it’s good to see you again.” I looked skyward, trying to ascertain the time of day. “It’s a little hard to tell, but it seems like we have about six hours of daylight left. Not much time to move.”
“Closer to seven hours,” Cersi corrected. “Sometimes the light looks dimmer amongst the trunks. Elder trees draw in the light and hold the twilight within their leaves. It gets rather gloomy, honestly.”
We fell silent for the remainder of the meal.
As we cleaned up and packed away our supplies, I looked at Heartshine.
“Tell me about this ritual.”
Heartshine blinked in surprise. “Why do you want to know?”
“I’m curious about things that have a direct impact on my life,” I quipped. “Call me crazy.”
“Once at the Well,” she said. “I’m to act as a conduit for the spirits to speak. They will use my body as though it's their own. It’s an unsettling experience, but each time I’ve done it, I was fortunate that a Heartmender’s spirit was the one that communed with me. It eases the shock.”
“And what do we do?” Twilight asked.
“You’ll be evaluated by the Ancestor, and spoken to accordingly. The Wilders will be bound to follow any orders given since they come from an honored Ancestor. Beyond that, I cannot say.” She looked from Twilight to me and back. “I also cannot say what their judgment will be.”
I hated this forest. Despite the relatively warm weather, the abundance of flowers, and rather generous rests in the trip, I despised every step we took. The undergrowth seemed determined to block me and Twilight’s passage, clasping at our hooves and fetlocks despite seeming as little more than scrub before we stepped into it.
“This is really weird,” Twilight remarked, at what would be our last stop before we reached the Grove. “It’s like the forest is trying to keep up from going any deeper.”
“I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description,” I grumped, untangling my tail from some thornweed I hadn’t noticed before I sat down. “It’s a lot more active than even the Everfree Forest.”
“This is most unusual,” Cersi murmured. “I’ve never seen the undergrowth impede someone so vigorously before.”
“Nor have I,” Heartshine said, reaching out to touch the thornweed. “It’s almost as if it’s trying to warn us.”
“Of what?” I flashed my magic to untangle a more problematic bit of the weed.
“I don’t know. The forest, especially this deep, can react to the spirits.” Heartshine looked around. “There are also stories of creatures who live in the trees, being as one.”
“Dryads? You have stories of Dryads?” Twilight’s eye lit up at the prospect. “What do you know about them?”
“Nothing,” Heartshine sighed. “As I said, they are only stories. We’ve heard nothing to give voice to the truth of the matter.”
“Time to move on,” one of the Wilders said. “It’s only three hours to the Grove. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get back and be rid of this silly mission.”
“I beg your pardon?” Cersi growled, standing. “This is a mission given by the Enclave. There is nothing silly about it!”
“I find it ridiculous that we are leading outsiders to our most sacred grounds.” The Virtung sneered. “I see how they struggle with the forest. It’s like the Ancestors don’t want them here, either.”
“It’s not like we asked to come, you know!” I shouted, shooting to my hooves.
“You could always run back home,” barked another of the Virtung. “Your hooves must be unused to walking so much.”
“Please,” said the first. “The forest would swallow them before they even got half a day away.”
“Are you seeking to abandon your sworn oath, Wilder?” came Heartshine’s calm voice. “Surely that must be your intent if you mean to drive your charges away.”
Both Virtung looked at each other uneasily. “We will not fail our task, Heartmender,” the first said. “But I disagree with the council’s decision.”
“That is your own burden,” Heartshine returned. “You can return to the Enclave and request reassignment if you wish.”
Grumbling, the Virtung threw his pack on and motioned forward. “Three hours and we’ll see if my ‘burden’ is anything but.”
I lifted my own pack, glowering at the back of his head. “Arrogant clod,” I growled under my breath.
“Forgive him,” Heartshine told me. “He is from one of the families that opposed the vote. They would have ousted you immediately if they had the chance.”
“Lovely,” I grumbled. “Remind me to leave them off my list for Hearth’s Warming.”
After three hours of stumbling through the underbrush, we emerged into a clearing ringed by immense trees, each with weathered bark and thick leaves. In the center of this clearing was a perfectly circular lake, it’s waters coated with a rising mist that crept onto the shore.
“It’s unusual for mist to remain so late in the day,” Twilight said. “Any temperature difference should have cleared up by now.”
“That is a property of the lake,” Cersi said, her head bowed. “The honored dead rest here, and the lake is where the boundaries between our world and theirs is weakest.”
I stepped forward, staying clear of the mist and gazing at the water. No rivers or stream fed it or ran from it. It was easily several hundred yards long and the water held a faint silver-white sheen.
“I’ve never seen water like this before,” I said. Something was pricking at the back of my mind. Something wasn’t right, something that I couldn’t put my hoof on.
I heard a cry and a thump from behind and turned just in time to see Cersi slump to the ground beside the two obstinate guards and Heartshine’s unconscious forms. Two Virtungs and three Perytons that could have been siblings stalked forward leers plastered on their faces.
Twilight backstepped quickly as one of the remaining Virtung started throwing spells of sickly green light at her, repelled by a hastily constructed shield. As she deflected the blasts, I heard a hollow laugh start to echo out from the woods, followed by the sound of raven’s wings rattling.
I leaped forward, my horn flared with mana. I looked for an opening in their guard when something slammed into me from behind. I cleared my head and saw the three Perytons swooping in again. I was able to toss up a shield just in time to deflect their run, but they managed to knock Twilight off balance as they climbed again.
Dashing over, I turned my shield to protect my dazed friend from the incoming magical attacks. In the corner of my eye, I thought I could see a dark shape stalking among the shadows of the trees.
“What in the name of Harmony are you doing?” I shouted over the hiss of magic against my shield.
“What we were told,” said the lead Virtung, and I froze when I saw the same slit-pupiled eyes as the Nightmare from the other night.
I felt a solid blow crash into my side as a Peryton barreled into me, catching me under my barrel and lifting me into the air. She flew out over the lake and went into a dive.
She released me and I plunged into the waters of the lake, the impact dazing me. As I sank, I barely was aware of the bubbles floating up lazily before a wave of dizziness swept over me.
As the blackness crept in from the corners of my vision, I saw Twilight crash through the surface as well, her wings limp.
***
Sunshine turned and looked to the Northwest suddenly. Something was wrong, the connection she shared with Sunset was suddenly absent. “Everything ok?” Starlight asked.
The azure unicorn shook her head. Why had she been staring in that direction again?
“I don't know,” she said. “I feel like I forgot something important.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Moondancer said as she came in with tea. “Those kinds of things tend to turn up when they’re important enough.”
Taking her cup, Sunshine nodded. “You’re probably right,” she shook her head. “It’s probably nothing major.”
The world was rocking. A gentle back-and-forth that reminded me of the rocking chair in Twilight’s living room - the one her mom kept a quilt folded over. But I wasn’t sitting, I was laying on my side. As I went to sit up, I groaned in pain. Well, at least I wasn’t dead. If dying was this painful, nopony would ever do it. I opened my eyes and looked around.
I was on a boat of some sort, and land was nowhere in sight. I saw Twilight laying not too far away from me on the deck, covered in a roughspun blanket. She seemed to be sleeping.
“Oh! Hey!” a voice called from behind. “You’re awake!”
I turned to see a tall, lean Gryphon making his way across the deck to us. His mane of white feathers seemed to glow in the sunlight and his tail whipped back and forth as he sauntered up to us.
Behind him, I could see the simple wheel of a sailing ship with a smiling Pegasus mare tending it.
“I wasn't sure if you were ok or not,” he commented. “When I found you two just floating in the water, I thought something awful must’ve happened to you. Were you on a ship?”
My memory was foggy, and I had trouble recalling what had happened. “I don’t think so. Where exactly are we?”
The Gryphon shrugged. “Somewhere around two or three hours out of Baltimare, depending on the tide. We should be there shortly. I’m Gael, by the way.” He stuck out a talon.
“Nice to meet you,” I returned, shaking the proffered appendage. “My name is Sunset, that’s my friend Twilight Sparkle. You said you found us floating?”
“Yeah,” he scratched the back of his head. “Damnedest thing, too. One minute it was all clear skies, then bam, a bolt of lighting just off the bow of my ship. After I regained my senses, I saw you both floating there, half-drowned and barely breathing. Pulled you aboard and had my wife turn us around.”
Twilight groaned at that moment, sitting up and letting the blanket slide off her body.
“Where are we?” she asked, rubbing her head.
Gobsmacked, I couldn’t respond.
Her wings were gone.
I frantically turned, staring at my back.
Nothing.
No wings, no scar, just a pristine amber coat with my cutie mark on it.
“Sunset? What’s wrong? What happened to your wings?”
I turned to Twilight, feeling panic welling up inside.
“I don’t know.”
“So, in short,” Twilight sussed out. “We somehow wound up in the middle of the Celestial Sea, without our wings, in the care of a gryphon trader and his wife, who have absolutely no idea who we are. Everything is perfectly fine! Not a problem at all.”
Her eye twitch and rapid breathing didn’t go unnoticed by me or our rescuer.
“Is she going to be ok?” Gael asked. “She looks like she’s about to go a little crazy.”
“She gets like this sometimes,” I sighed, going over to my friend. “It’s part of her process.”
I started to pat her back. “Hey, Sparky. Calm down. Didn’t Cadence teach you some breathing exercises? Deep breath in - one, two, three - and out. That’s it. No need to go Twilighting all over the place.”
“I am not Twilighting!” She snorted and stomped a hoof. “Can’t believe you all made me a verb.”
“Would you prefer Twily-nanas?”
“No!”
“Then take a moment and breathe. I’m sure we can figure this out, between the two of us.”
See, that’s the upside to being a former bully. You know how to lie convincingly and people don’t catch on. Deep down, I was starting to feel my panic chew through the last of my confidence and start nibbling at my patience. While Twilight started to breathe, I cataloged all our problems.
No wings, no regalia. The regalia could’ve fallen off in the lake, but the wings? No. This had to be an illusion or a transfiguration spell. When we got to Baltimare, we could head to Ponyville or Canterlot and research a counterspell. I’m sure Sunshine is worried about me and…
My thought process froze and I reached inside for the single strand of thought that connected me and my wife.
Nothing. No point of light, no current of emotions or thoughts. Not even a hint of its existence. Even when we were on opposite sides of the mirror, I was able to feel her, but I couldn’t find any trace whatsoever.
And that was the scariest part of what I was facing right now.
“Look,” Gael started. “We’ll be pulling into harbor in about a half hour and I need to help Gara with the steerage. Will the two of you be ok?”
I nodded absently, a smile on my face.
The problem with being an accomplished liar is not being able to lie to yourself.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Twilight said to Gael on the station platform. “Paying for these tickets and loaning us a few bits was more than you had to do.”
“I figure that whatever’s going on didn’t leave you with much.” He fluffed his wings. “If it bothers you, you can pay me back when you get things settled.”
“We will trust me.”I nodded at Twilight. “She reminds me constantly about the five bits I borrowed from her.”
“Six. It was six bits.”
“See?”
We laughed as we parted, and me and Twilight boarded the train.
Once we felt it jerk and pull out of the station, I turned to face her. "We're in serious trouble."
“You don’t have to tell me,” she said, running a hoof through her mane. “No record of me being a princess, or you! We have to figure this spell out fast, and I think there might be a book in my library in Canterlot that should cover the basics of what’s going on here.”
“Sure you don't want to try your castle library first?”
She shook her head. “If they haven’t heard of me, then the castle’s been hidden. I know the library in Canterlot exists and we can always ask Celestia for help.”
I nodded, following her logic. It made the most sense and provided an adequate course of action.
The trip was uneventful, the two of us just sitting and making small talk to try and ignore our worries. When the train pulled into Ponyville, to refill its water tanks, we stepped off to try and find our friends.
But as we wandered into town, I froze in my tracks.
“Is that what I think it is?”
Twilight nodded, tears filling her eyes as we approached.
“It’s the Golden Oaks.”
The library stood tall and proud on the edge of town, branches reaching out and providing shade over a few tables clustered under it. Ponies walked into and out, books in their auras or in a pannier. I reached over and rubbed Twilight’s shoulders.
“Hey, are you two new in town?” a raspy voice asked.
I perked up. “Rainbow!”
I turned, searching for the familiar polychromatic mane. I froze when I saw her.
“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight stammered.
The mare hovering in the air was similar and different at the same time. Same blue coat and rainbow mane, but that’s where the similarities ended. Instead of being short-shorn and feathered, her mane and tail were long and elegantly coiffed. She was wearing makeup and had a fashionable bag slung over her withers.
“The one and only!” the Pegasus confirmed. She fluttered by us and gave a quick primp to her mane. “Since you’re new in town, shall I show you around?”
I felt my mouth hanging open as my brain caught up to the strange appearance of our friend.
Giving my head a shake, I forced a smile. "Yes please." I glanced towards the Golden Oak. "Maybe you could introduce us to the librarian? We were thinking of doing a bit of research before they closed."
Rainbow smiled and started trotting forward.
“I’d be delighted to. Moondancer really needs to get out more often, but she’s so busy training that new archivist Rose Quill that she barely gets out. Did you know that she hasn’t been on a date with her stallionfriend for nearly three weeks?”
Rainbow and gossip were a bit too unusual for me to accept, but I easily kept up the flow.
“And how does her coltfriend feel about that?”
Rainbow waved a hoof. “Gleam doesn’t mind. He’s always tending that farm he’s so fond of. Says things are fine if Moonie wants to take things slow.”
I felt the knot of worry swell a little. I only knew of one Gleam that lived near Ponyville.
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “What’s he look like? Maybe he’s has some side action going on?”
“He would never!” Rainbow exclaimed. “He’s one of the most loyal stallions I’ve ever seen. Though, to be fair, if I had somepony as big and strong and handsome as him, I’d not keep myself locked up in my boutique for weeks on end. I’d at least invite him for tea. Oh! You two simply must stop by and see my stock. I’d love to work with your colorations!”
At that, I saw a large stallion crest the hill opposite us and approach the library, a small package perched between his shoulders. I paled as I saw Gleam Star knock on the door, rub noses with Moondancer, and give her the package.
Nothing was matching up. The Golden Oaks was supposed to be destroyed, Moondancer wasn’t dating Gleam Star, and Rainbow wasn’t a fashion designer. Twilight looked absolutely gobsmacked.
“Actually,” I interrupted. “My friend and I are a little tired from our trip. Is there somewhere we can stay for the night?”
“Azure runs a nice little place, but stay out of the taproom.” The Pegasus shuddered. “All sorts of ruffians and swindlers like to hang around there. You’d do well to keep your bits far away.”
I was glad we headed for the inn since shortly after leaving the strange doppelgänger of Rainbow Dash, the rain started falling. Twilight and I darted into the door just as the bottom fell completely out.
The taproom was all worn wood and lit by globe-shaped lanterns which burned the blue-green of werelight. A long bar dominated one side of the room, with a billiards table and faro board off to the side. About a half-dozen other tables were scattered around the room and a heavily pockmarked dartboard hung from the wall, next to a cracked window overlooking Ponyville Lake.
“Don’t just stand there! You’re dripping all over my floor!”
I swung my head towards the voice and froze. A blue unicorn mare stood behind the bar, her grey mane shorn extremely short and a few small scars peppered her neck. But the eyes might as well be dead rocks for all the warmth they held. This mare might have been a near-perfect replica of Azure, but all the mirth and joy that I had come to recognize was absent. Everything about her was rougher, even her brogue.
“Well, don’t just hang your gob about,” the mare snapped as she swept up a towel to wipe the bar down. “Either dry off and order a drink or get gone.”
“Oh, s-sorry,” Twilight stuttered. She cast a drying spell that whisked away the moisture from our dampened manes and coats. “What do you recommend?”
“I’ve got a Sweet Apple Acres cider on tap, or a Crystal Amber Ale t if you’re looking for something a bit tougher.” Azure eyed us both. “Or maybe I could find a bit of grape juice for you fragile lil’ ones.”
I fought the urge to bristle at her calling us fragile. Even though they weren’t present anymore, I could feel the phantom kiss of the scars left by Acerak’s talons all those years ago.
“The Amber for me, please,” I said, forcing a friendly smile.
“Cider, please,” Twilight said. “Ms. I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
The mare scoffed. “Can’t read? My name was on the sign. I’m Azure, owner of this here pub.”
We took a seat at the bar as she went to pour our drinks, Twilight’s cider came in a wooden mug and mine in a wooden stein. I took a small sip and almost coughed at the punch of citrus it held. This wasn’t anything like what I had imagined it would be.
“This is an Amber ale?” I asked.
Azure looked in the stein and nodded. “Yeah, that’s it.” She finished wiping the bar and tossed her rag down on an untapped keg. “King Sombra’s best, but between you and me, the consistency needs some work. Some batches are stronger than others, some barely more than water. You'd think his brewers would know a thing or two, considering he touts their hundred-year legacy.”
“King Sombra endorses this?” Twilight said, sipping her cider carefully.
“Proudly too, the lug.” The Barmare pulled a keg from the back of her bar and slid it down next to the untapped one. “Anything else I can do for you?”
“A room, if you have one open,” Twilight said.
“Aye, I’ve got one for you,” Azure confirmed. She hunted under the bar before producing a key. “Fifteen bits a night, in advance.”
I paled. Between us both, we had about ten bits, minus what the drinks would cost. I had planned to try to increase that, and seeing that they had a Faro table, I was sure I might have been able to do just that.
But now I was faced with a problem of where to stay.
“We, uh,” I stammered. “Only have eight.”
“Then you'd better find seven more,” Azure turned back to her work. “I barely keep this place afloat, can’t afford to take cuts on boarders.”
I glanced at Twilight, who was chewing her lip. It was a little harder to read her mood without her wings, but I knew she was trying to come up with a reasonable plan around this new obstacle.
“Is there anyplace else we could stay?” I asked when Azure slung the newly-tapped keg into place.
She thought for a second before grunting. “I suppose you could check out Sweet Apple Acres. They usually won’t turn away someone needing a place in this kind of weather. It’s straight west from Town Square about a mile or so. Ask for Big Mac or Gleam when you get to the gate.”
Twilight opened her mouth to ask the question which had leaped to my mind as well, but I gave her a look that had her hold her peace. “Thank you. what do we owe you for the drinks?”
“Two bits, and to never darken my doorstep again.”
“Done.” I floated two coins over to her and stepped back out into the rain, conjuring a shield to keep me mostly dry.
As we trudged to the Apple’s farm, Twilight looked at me. “She said to ask for Gleam or Big Mac. What do you think happened to Applejack?”
“I suppose we’ll find out when we get there, won’t we?” I said. “So far, nothing seems to line up with the Equestria we know. Sombra’s not only in charge of the Crystal Empire, but exporting goods? Azure an embittered barmare instead of a happy-go-lucky former soldier? I’m afraid to see what happened to this world’s versions of us.”
We were silent as the implications weighed on us. I felt my fear and worry simmering in the back of my mind as we approached a somewhat familiar gateway announcing that we had arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. There was a tiny shed built into the gate, and within sat a young filly with a bright red mane playing cards with a pair of familiar faces. The redhead looked up when we approached and stood, walking over.
“Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!” Applebloom chirped. “What kin we do fer ya?”
“Just looking for a place to hide from the rain,” Twilight said. “Are Big Mac or Gleam around?”
“Gleam’s out for the night, but Mac oughta be helping with supper. C’mon, I’ll show you the way!” She turned to her friends. “I’ll be back, but deal me out next round.”
We followed her down a twisting path that was a little different from the one we both knew, but the house at the end was no less welcoming.
Applebloom knocked the mud from her hooves on a block set by the door and hopped inside.
“Mac! Ma! Visitors!”
I froze just outside the door, noticing Twilight also going stiff at the greeting.
A warm motherly voice called back. "Well, don't just stand by the door. Come on in, suppers just about ready. Bloom, honey? Why don't you go get your friends from the gatehouse?
The filly skipped off as we were welcomed in by a figure I had only seen once before, in the Crystal Empire, as an apparition trying to coax Applejack into the embrace of death.
“I hope you like barley stew,” Pear Butter said, turning to lead us inside.
Dinner had been a very surreal experience, with not only Pear Butter joining us, but Bright Mac as well. The addition of a very pregnant Cheerilee, next to Big Mac, was just another way this world was more twisted from normal.
“So,” Pear Butter asked as dinner wound down. “Where are you two headed?”
“We were hoping to catch the last train to Canterlot, but we just missed it and the inns cost a bit more than we had on us.” Twilight poked at the second slice of pie Pear had sat in front of us, despite us protesting that we were full. “We were told to see if you had space for the night.”
“Oh, of course!” she turned to Bright Mac. “That guest room is still set up in the barn, right honey?”
“It is, but it might be a bit stale. Hasn’t been used since Applejack was here last. “The stallion stood and put his hat on. “I’ll go crack the windows so it’ll get some airflow.”
“How is Applejack?” I asked. “I gather she doesn’t visit much?”
“Oh, you know how it is.” Pear said, collecting empty plates. “She managed to get a job with a lot of words that basically mean she’s in charge of keeping prices fair for us simple farmers. We’re proud of her, we just wish she’d stopped by more often.”
“So she’s a busy mare, then,” Twilight whispered.
“She is,” Pear said before disappearing into the kitchen. When she came back, she held a pair of wrapped packages. She sat them down on the table. “But she always finds time to write home. And here, take these. Should keep you going tomorrow. And if you have time in the morning, you should find some hot griddlecakes with your name on them just after sunrise.”
When the door shut to the spare room, and Bright Mac had retreated what I felt was a safe distance, I looked at Twilight and sighed.
“This is bad.”
“It’s better than it could be, Sunset,” Twilight replied. “I’ve seen a lot worse possible directions Equestria could have gone in. At least this one has a semblance of normality.” She smiled. “And tomorrow we can speak with Celestia and try to figure out how to get back! It’s all just a matter of time. It’s going to be fine —”
I don’t know what it was about that statement that set me off, but the next thing I knew, I screamed in frustration. Her continued reassurance was broken as I swept everything off the table. I spun on her as she sputtered to a stop.
”No, Twilight! It’s not going to be fine! We’re stuck here, massively underpowered, and with no idea whatsoever of how to get back!” I swept a foreleg around to indicate the cabin we had taken shelter in. “This isn’t the Equestria we know. We don’t know anything about this place or who we can trust!”
I swept a hoof towards the farmhouse we had just left. “Pear Butter and Bright Mac still alive? AJ out in Manehatten as some sort of lobbyist? Rainbow a fashionista and Azure a bar owner? Your library run by Moondancer who is dating Gleam Star? And I can’t even feel the connection that I’ve had with my wife for the last seven years at all, Twilight. It’s as if she’s never existed.” I felt tears welling up inside.
“Sunset...”
Anything else she might have said was lost as I stalked back into the rain. I didn’t even care that I would get soaked.
It hid the tears that were streaming down my face.
I sat upon a hill in Ponyville Park, a lone tree sheltering me from the worst of the rain. Somehow, the fact I had come to this particular hill only drove home harder everything that was wrong with this current situation.
It was the hill where Sunshine and I had shared our first real kiss.
It bothered me that I couldn’t feel even the existence of our connection in my mind. If this was all an illusion, it shouldn’t mess with thaumic connections. Connections like that leave an indelible residue, one that was hard to dismiss or destroy.
I heard a hoof squish in the mud behind me.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Twilight said.
“Did you, really?” I asked, not turning to look at her.
I heard her shift on her hooves. “No,” she admitted. “I checked a few places before this one..”
I stared off at the shrouded shape of Canterlot in the distance. It looked smaller, but it was likely the rain making things hazy.
“I kissed her here, Twilight. For the first time, without uncertainty. And it’s where most of our shared dreams take place. It’s supposed to be a place of joy, but looking at it now makes it hurt even more.”
She settled beside me and sat there for a second before draping a foreleg over my shoulders.
“We’ll figure this out, Sunset.” Twilight’s voice was firm. “We’ve faced harder tasks than this before. Sorla, Chrysalis, The Storm King —“
“That was technically just you,” I reminded her. “I was on my honeymoon.”
“Er… Entropy?”
“That one was us,” I said, feeling my spirits lift a little.
“When the rain stops, we’ll make it to Canterlot and see what we can find out,” Twilight nodded. “But first, let’s get you out of the rain so we can get some sleep. Won’t do us any good if we’re sick and exhausted while researching.”
I stood and sighed.
“I suppose you’re right,” I said as we walked back to the Apple’s farm.
As we departed I turned and looked at the hill one last time, it was hazy through the rain and it didn’t make me feel any better.
We were woken up by the curtains being flung open the next morning. A spry looking Granny Smith stood by the window and clapped her hooves.
“C’mon, now,” she admonished. “Half the day is gone and yer still in bed.”
I groaned and stumbled to my hooves. “What time is it?”
I had never been a morning pony.
“Round ‘bout seven in the morning.” Granny Smith said, making her way to the door. “Now git moving. The daughter-in-law has a bundle fer you two.”
If anything, I think Twilight was more sleep-addled than myself. She trudged forward with her head down and mane sticking up at odd angles.
“Where’re we going?” she slurred.
“Breakfast, I think,” I mumbled back.
The Apple family was just as energetic in the early hours as they were in the evening. There was a bunch of talking and laughing as they planned their day. The presence of strong coffee helped Twilight and I wake up fully, though as the family started separating and heading out, Pear Butter looked at us carefully.
“You two look like you’ve got an awful lot on your shoulders.” She wrapped a few extra things into the packs she had in front of her. “You’re too young to look so worn.”
I chuckled ruefully.
“Life has some rough edges sometimes,” I remarked. “We just seem to have been finding more of them lately.”
Twilight nodded. “And bouncing off them at times.”
“I believe it,” the mare said, sliding a wrapped parcel over to us. “Now don’t you fret about returning that cloth. I’ve got plenty more where that came from. But if you ever come through again, just knock. Our door is always open.”
We waved and left, heading for Ponyville proper once again.
“Well, no way to avoid it,” I said as we stared at the Golden Oaks. “First place to check for any information before we head to Canterlot.”
Twilight nodded.
“It’s Moondancer,” she replied. “She should be able to help us find what we’re looking for.”
We walked up and Twilight knocked on the door just under the hours sign. A few moments later, the door swung open and a sleepy Moondancer looked out at us, her mane still showing a few snags from bedhead.
“I’m sorry, but the library doesn’t open for another hour,” she said apologetically. “But if you can tell me what you’re looking for, I can focus on reshelving that section first.”
“We're looking for anything about large scale illusion spells and translocation effects,” Twilight said. “If you have anything of Heycarte or Clover the Clever, that would be great.”
Moondancer shuffled on her hooves, glancing away for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “But I don’t carry any magical tomes, not even references on them. They keep those in the Royal Archives. You’ll have to ask the Chamberlain for access.”
“Oh, ok,” I said. “We’ll just book an appointment when we get to Canterlot then.”
Moondancer looked at me in confusion. “But the Castle is out in the Everfree Forest, maybe three hours walk from here. Why would you go to Canterlot?”
I blinked t, then looked to the mountain in the distance. Sure enough, the towering spires and minarets that had made up the Palace were missing from the cosmopolitan skyline.
“Why would Celestia keep the castle in the forest?” Twilight murmured.
“SHHH!” Moondancer waved her hooves. “We don’t speak her name. The destruction she wrought took years to put right. Queen Luna still regrets her actions to this day no matter how necessary they were.”
Twilight and I shared a look.
Queen Luna?
“I could send word ahead, if you’d like.” Moondancer brushed a hoof along her mane, trying to get some of the snarls to settle. “I was friends with one of her hoofmaidens as fillies. I’m not sure why you need those books, but for some reason, I trust that you aren’t bad ponies.”
“We don’t want to trouble you,” I said. “We’ve taken up enough of your time.”
The librarian chewed at her lip. “When you do manage to get an audience, let Fluttershy know that the bunny she used to care for passed.”
“Oh, the poor thing,” Twilight whispered.
“Don’t get too sad,” Moondancer replied. “That thing was an absolute demon.”
I chewed the bit of pie from our bundled lunch. Everything that had happened swirling in my mind. I was good at applying facts but I was still baffled.
Meanwhile, Twilight poked at her pie as though debating eating it.
“None of this makes sense,” she said suddenly.
“What was your first clue?”
“This is too divergent for our appearance to be illusions.” She broke off a stick and started drawing in a patch of dirt. “I could see our wings being hidden from sight, but that wouldn’t mask your scar or our ability to feel them.” A few more dashes of the stick followed her words. “Also, making the entire world forget us as princesses? That is a spell I haven’t even heard of.”
I looked at the diagram she was drawing, creasing my brow as I tried to decipher some of the ideograms she drew.
“What is that?” I asked.
She drew one last symbol on the image before casting her stick away.
“Haycarte had a theorem, one that we both have recently found to be true. Multiple realities, mirrored realms, multiverse, call it whatever you want. We must have been thrust into one when we were thrown into that lake.”
“Why, though?” I asked. “The Deer certainly have easier ways to deal with us that keep us from being threats. Those memory stones, the forest itself, why go through the trouble of sending us to another reality?”
“I don’t know.” Twilight sighed.
“So, are we going to see the Queen?”
The muscles along Twilight’s side twitched, and I saw it as a subconscious effort to ruffle her wings. I had done it a few times myself.
“I don’t know. Apparently, the Celestia of this world was horrible and Luna had to do something to stop her, something she regrets to this day.”
“A strange parallel,” I murmured.
“And the idea of a Queen is…well, it’s unusual, to say the least. Celestia never once claimed queenship while Luna was banished. Why would this Luna do so?”
“Maybe we can ask when we see her,” I suggested. “She may be a dour old pony, but she’s wise enough to believe us when we tell her our story, I hope.”
We both looked down the hill at the dark edge of the Everfree Forest. Only instead of the thick and snarled brush, a clean stonework path was laid, the stones tightly fit and a guard in midnight blue armor standing by it. Even the foreboding air the place had, in the Equestria we knew, was severely lessened.
I packed up my food, wiping my mouth with the corner of the kerchiefs that served as wrappings.
"This is too bizarre,” I murmured as we walked along the forest path. I remembered the few times I had set foot in the Everfree. It had always been foreboding, with the threat of timberwolves or cockatrices around every gnarled trunk.
But I for sure didn’t recall a well maintained paved path that leads to a castle near the center, let alone magic lamps for the darker stretches. The undergrowth was kept well back from the pavers and a few tended flower gardens dotted the way.
Twilight rubbernecked the entire time, taking in every new item we came across. Things might have been odd for me, but I knew she had taken multiple trips to the Castle of the Two Sisters in the past. She likely knew every twist and stump along the way.
“I mean, why would Luna take the court so far from a major cosmopolitan area?” I shook my head. “Any ideas?”
“If the Castle here was never destroyed, then maybe it was just fiscal responsibility.” Twilight chewed on her lip. “But that would imply that a thousand years ago Luna never became Nightmare Moon or was banished. I’m not sure how I feel about that possibility.”
We turned a bend and stopped. Before us in the distance, now visible through the canopy, rose a tower of black stone, glittering in the evening sun. The curve of the path hid the rest of the edifice from us, but judging by its relative height against the treetops, it was easily four hundred feet tall. Deep crenellations crested the top and a large flag bearing a crescent moon surrounded by a Pegasus, Unicorn, and an Earth Pony waved in a lazy breeze.
“That looks like the Tower of Duty,” Twilight said, pausing as well. “Where we would raise or lower the sun and moon.”
I nodded. “If nothing else, the castle seems to be in good repair.”
We continued along and came across a small branching path, leading off to a stone archway that was covered in creeping vines. I frowned as something in the back of my mind niggled at me, but I couldn’t put my hoof on it.
We turned a bend and were brought up short by a small bailey gate and a pair of dark-armored guards bearing pikes.
“The castle is closed to visitors until the Rite of the Cycle is concluded,” The guard on the left said. “By word of Her Majesty, Queen Luna.”
“The Rite of the Cycle?” I asked, echoed by Twilight.
“The lowering of the sun and the ascent of the moon,” the other guard provided, rubbing her forehead. “Her Majesty declines to see any petitioners at this time.”
I glanced at the sky, watching as the sun began its path to the western horizon.
“I think we can wait,” I decided.
I glanced at Twilight, who was staring at the tower.
“Twilight,” I prodded. “We’re fine to wait, yes?”
She shook her head, seeming to come out of a trance. “What? Yes, yes, fine.” The far off look in her eyes returned, one I recognized as trying to track down a fact from her memory. I put a hoof on her shoulder and led her away from the gate to sit and take a small bite from our leftover food.
“What’s up?” I asked as we ate.
“It’s probably nothing,” she said absently.
“It’s weighing on your mind pretty heavy for a nothing,” I noted.
“It’s just…” she sighed. “For a moment, when she started lowering the sun, I thought I felt an eddy of magic, like when we were controlling them during our reign.”
I frowned. I hadn’t felt anything like that, but I trusted Twilight’s senses. She was the embodiment of the Element of Magic, after all. “Do you think you still have some residual power from when Luna transferred hers to you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t feel anything like that.”
I reached back into my mind to where I had once held Celestia's power. Though I felt the node where it had once rested, I didn't feel any lingering traces or a feeling of where the sun was. I sighed and glanced up as the silvery moon rose.
“Ladies?” the guard asked as she approached. “The Chamberlain has begun allowing petitioners to enter for the night hearings. You’ll be shown to her after you’re cleared by the captain of the House Guard. Captain Shield will meet you within presently”
I rose, hurriedly wrapping my dinner up. “Thank you for letting us know,”.
She nodded and her companion pushed open the bailey gate.
We walked in and gazed at the massive stone castle, the dark grey walls chased with lines of gold and silver, the designs of the sun and moon gleaming in the soft moonlight. Long loops of ivy and other vines crept up the sides and over gateways. Another pair of guards appeared and led us to a small waiting room.
The castle held several stained glass windows depicting the banishing of the Sirens by Starswirl, the defeat of Discord, and the Windigos with the founding of Equestria, but I didn’t see anything about Nightmare Moon or the rule of Celestia and Luna. Several windows, however, were shrouded.
“It’s so odd being on the waiting end of an audience,” Twilight murmured as we waited for the guard captain to show up. “I’m just used to being shown in when I show up at the Palace.”
“This isn’t Canterlot, Twilight,” I said, glancing out the window. “And we don’t have the status we did there. We’re just ordinary ponies.”
For some reason, those words tasted sour in my mouth.
A door opened and an astonished gasp rose from the other side.
“Oh. My. Goodness!” a smoky feminine voice exclaimed. “Twily, is that you?”
We turned as a tall and lean mare rushed in and swept Twilight up in a hug. She had a pure white coat and under the helmet, she had a short shorn sapphire mane. She was somewhat familiar and a complete stranger at the same time. A cutie mark of a shield with a single star spangled within and three over top shone on her flank.
She didn’t seem to notice our complete shock as she moved to ruffle Twilight’s mane. “How’s my LSBFF? I didn’t know you were visiting!”
I looked at Twilight and mouthed LSBFF? to her confused face.
“Shining Armor?” she stuttered.
The mare laughed. “Good one, Twily,” she giggled very unprofessionally. “Haven’t heard that name since I was a filly playing adventure with you. But don’t use it too much, I’m finally being called by name instead of rank by the Queen.”
Twilight just gawked at the mare.
As I made the connection, I had to bite back laughter as well.
“Surely you two would like some privacy, catch up with some sisterly gossip and what not.”
“Sunset,” Twilight whined.
“Maybe schedule a girl’s night?”
“Sunset!”
“Oooh, that does sound like fun!” Twilight’s ‘sister’ exclaimed.
“Gleaming, if the guests are prepared,” a soft voice called. “Show them in, if that’s ok with you.”
Gleaming poked her head out the door and to the side, giving a curt nod.
“Sorry, Twily,” she said, the mischievous glint in her eye never fading. “Guess we’ll have to catch up later.” She gestured into the next room. “Queen Luna will be down soon. She always has time for the Archmage of the Crystal Empire.”
We stared at her as she led us into a room with a small dias and a rather plain throne. Next to the throne were two smaller seats, one next to and just to the left side, another behind and between the two. A Pegasus mare stood before the third seat, a clipboard held in her hooves as she made a few notes. Her pink mane and tail were pulled up into severe buns, and the cutie mark of three butterflies was impossible to mistake.
“Fluttershy?” we gasped at the same time.
“Yes?” she answered, glancing up. “Oh, Your Eminence!” Fluttershy dipped a shallow bow. “If I had known you were here, I would have fetched Her Majesty immediately. Please, make yourselves comfortable, I won’t be but a moment!”
Fluttershy flew up through a skylight quickly. Gleaming giggled as she left, pulling the door closed.
“Never could do things the easy way, could you Twily?”
A deep thrum of wings brought our attention up as Fluttershy returned, two more ponies with her. As they alighted, I stared in awe at the full height of Luna, full as tall as Celestia was, the weight of millennium showing in her eyes. At her side was a slender Pegasus I recognized immediately.
“Cadance?” I blurted out.
Luna tilted her head, a soft smile forming.
“I see you are familiar with my niece, but I don’t recall having met you before, my little pony.” She turned to Twilight. “And in the company of the Empire’s chief magus. How can I help you this night?”
I glanced at Twilight and then at the Queen before us.
“This is a most unusual tale you tell,” Luna said. “And many parts seem fantastic compared to what I know to be true.”
“It is a bit far-fetched if you ask me.” Cadance snipped. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had some ponies come in with some sob story looking for help.”
I had quickly decided that I didn’t like this Cadance. She was too snotty, too full of herself.
In other words, she was a lot like myself when I was Celestia’s student and I didn’t much like the reminder.
“In those cases, they didn’t come in with a nearly identical twin of a well-known magus, Cadance.” Luna gazed down at us with eyes that were out of place on such a familiar face. Too much pain lingered there.
“I can assure you that our story is true,” Twilight hurriedly squeaked. “And I’m sure there’s a way to confirm that. There are spells that could do it.”
“There are several, in fact,” Luna said. “But I am not well versed in them.”
“I am, however,” a voice said from behind us.
Turning, I had to double-take. It was Twilight, but not any of the ones I knew. She was clad in a deep blue robe, a thick grimoire hung from a chain at her side. I saw anklets on her forelegs with twisting runes engraved into them. A necklace with a glowing bead of crystal sat upon her breast and a wide ring sat on her horn, also thickly engraved. I wasn’t familiar with all the runic magic systems, but I could recognize the runic representations of fire, lightning, and wind. Even with the items dormant, I could sense the power swirling around her.
“You made it here swiftly, Archmage.” Luna greeted lazily.
“I did lay a circle during my last visit, Your Majesty,” the Archmage replied. “It’s a simple thing to go between two of my circles.”
That snapped Twilight out of her surprise. “You mean you laid two transitive locales and can use them as foci for long-range teleportation? Oh, you have to show me how you did that. Was it magic laid or physical? What did you use?”
The Archmage tilted her head, looking eerily like my friend. “It was a physical set, made of orichalcum and silver.”
“The Crystal Empire has a mine where it can be found. It’s still rarer than electrum, but not scarce.”
Luna cleared her throat and both Twilights shrank. The Archmage chuckled nervously, rubbing at the back of her neck. It moved the robe enough for me to spy her cutie mark, a six-pointed star backed by swirling lines of crackling lightning. I wondered for a moment what must have happened to give her a mark like that.
“Right, the spell.” Her horn lit up and swirling runes appeared under both Twilight and my hooves. They slowly rose around us before flaring green and vanishing.
“No illusion magic, nor geas or compulsions. They are who they say they are.” The Archmage brought her book around in front of her to consult it briefly. “I am concerned about the forbearance spell laid on them though.”
“Forbearance?” I asked. “What forbearance?”
“Something is blocking a significant portion of your magic,” The other Twilight flipped through pages before glancing up at Luna. “If my calculations are correct, they hold nearly as much as yourself, Your Majesty. Alicorn levels of mana draw.”
“Ridiculous,” Cadance said. “There are no other Alicorns.”
“Things are not as they seem here, my niece,” Luna said, looking at us curiously. After a moment, she turned to the other mare on the dias.
“Fluttershy, please inform the guard that I will be canceling night court. I want to find out as much as I can and help these two along their way.”
“At once, Your Majesty.”
I was going to protest the disruption of her routine when a soft chiming came from the robed Twilight. I turned in time to see her press a hoof to her necklace and a wavy image of a white Unicorn with a spikey, multicolored mane and a decidedly punkish look appeared.
“I hope you’ll be home in time for dinner, Twilight?”
I sighed as I heard the cultured voice.
“Of course, Rarity,” my friends’ double said. “Just a quick consult, in and out.”
“Ok then. See you soon, Tiger.” Her image flickered and vanished.
“Tiger?” I asked, a smirk forming on my face.
An embarrassed giggle was the only response.
“Can you remove the forbearance?” Luna asked.
The Archmage thought for a moment. “I’d have to double-check, but I may have to tap a line to have the power needed.”
“No need to do that, Your Eminence,” Luna said. “I’ll take them to the Tree and trace the lines myself. Besides, you appear to have prior plans.”
“What lines are you referring to?” Twilight asked.
“Ley lines,” Luna replied. “They let us draw more power from the earth than we normally can channel.”
They might as well have laid out a thick, rare book in front of my friend.
"You can access the ley lines here?" she gasped. "I thought that was only theoretical since nopony has ever managed to prove that they existed beyond stories."
The other Twilight spoke up. "It's still difficult. You have to know where a nexus is and you have to be able to feel the ebb and flow of the earth. I'm only one of five Unicorns that can do it without burning ourselves out. It's thought that it's why the ancient Unicorns could only move the sun or moon a time or two before losing their power. Alicorns such as Her Majesty can access it more naturally without the danger."
“It will be easiest at midnight, so I will make a few preparations and then meet you at the Tree of Harmony.” Luna gave us a final look before withdrawing with Cadance. I was struck again at just how much larger she was than the pony I was used to. She towered over Twilight and I now, but I was used to being almost on eye level with her. It was surreal.
We walked through the dimly-lit corridor, following behind the tall form of Luna. Slowly, a soft glow began to permeate from farther ahead. As we entered into a vault of fitted stone, I saw the Tree of Harmony rising from the center of the room, six gems all set into its prominent branches.
“The Elements,” I breathed. “Could they help us—“
“They cannot help anypony,” Luna said sadly. “Their powers cannot be accessed after being used against my sister, unfortunately.”
I trotted around the tree, looking for the branch that held the Element that it had given me, but I didn’t see it. I hopped around a large root and came face to face with the angered maw of Discord. I scrambled back suddenly before realizing it was a statue.
“I see Discord hasn’t been an issue,” I quipped after I recovered from my fright.
“I fear it was his binding that began my sister’s descent into madness,” Luna said as she looked at the statue. “I wish that we were able to save her.”
“When is her banishment over?” Twilight chirped excitedly. “Maybe by then, you can come up with a way to cure her madness!”
Luna looked away, and I knew the truth.
“She’s not banished, is she?” I asked.
“No,” Luna admitted. “I was forced to use the Elements on her. The amount of power they drew burned the evil from her…and much of her life force as well. I will not touch them again. The pain is still too fresh.”
I remembered my time being affected by the Elements, the searing pain, being forced to look at your own flaws and mistakes. How much more would it have hurt had I truly been evil and not just misguided?
“I’m…I’m sorry,” Twilight said.
“It was nearly ten years ago,” Luna whispered, shaking her head and taking a deep breath. “And we have problems to deal with in front of us.” Her horn lit as she settled her hooves. A soft glow began to race up her legs as she leaned forward and touched her horn to the Tree.
I sensed the buildup of mana just moments before my mind exploded.
A sand blown desert town swept beneath me, the dun-colored buildings almost blending in with the surrounding area. Bright canopies fluttered in the breeze as ponies and other creatures milled about the markets. Several ships were moored in a small bay nearby.
A damp swamp flitted by, the trees mired in muddy water and draped with moss. I saw a Unicorn with dreadlocked hair and strange eyes gathering flowers and tucking them into her bag.
Suddenly, I was in a cave, a strange rock formation before me. It almost looked like red crystal, but it had an irregular shape to it. As I looked at it, many sets of eyes appeared, each trailing purple streaks of smoke behind them. Throaty laughter began to fill my mind as I stumbled backward, fear suddenly thick in my throat.
I was back in the chamber of the Tree. Luna and Twilight were looking over at me.
“A vision?” Twilight asked.
I nodded, breathing heavily.
“What did you see?” Luna asked gravely. “When I tapped the ley lines nexus under the tree it felt like you were drawn into the flow of the magic itself.”
“I don’t know.” I took a deep breath. “I saw a town in a desert, I think Saddle Arabia by the looks of it, one of the port towns. Then I was in a swamp, but I didn’t recognize it. And there was a cave, with some sort of rock formation, almost like a crystal. And there were eyes in it, just staring at me.”
“Eyes in a crystal?” Luna asked, with Twilight frowning. “Were they enveloped by purple energy?”
I blinked. “Yes, but how—“
“Umbrum,” Luna growled.
“Could somepony—“
“Like what infected our world’s King Sombra.” Twilight nodded.
“Excuse me!” I said. “Could somepony please tell me what in the name of Harmony is an Umbrum?” But with the mention of Sombra, I had a feeling it wasn’t anything good.
“Bad news,” Twilight said. “Very, very bad news indeed.”
I eyed the ring of metal on the floor. Silver and bronze colored metal intermingled, multiple runes etched into its circumference. It was easily large enough to hold eight ponies side by side and it was as thick as my hoof. The stonework surrounding it showed some slight charring just beyond its perimeter but the interior seemed unblemished.
Well, if you consider having a slick patch of crystal instead of fitted stone unblemished. I assumed it was crystal from it’s fellow circle in the Crystal Empire. I hoped it was, actually. I’d never heard of this type of magic before, and as such, I viewed it with a reasonable degree of cynicism.
“Are you sure this is safe?” Twilight whispered. Her ears were pinned back and her tail drooped twitching with fear. Where she stayed well away, though, her ersatz twin almost skipped into the circle as though heading for her favorite chair.
“Oh, it’s quite safe!” the Archmage giggled. “I tested it very extensively before using it myself and just a short hop at that. This is the furthest I’ve laid a circle, but considering it allows for near-instantaneous teleportation beyond regular mantic limitations has opened up so many possibilities! I can advise both King Sombra and Queen Luna without taking days of travel. A simple summoning spell lets me know when I’m needed at either place. Though sometimes my wife does abuse the spell to check up on me while she’s on tour.”
“Tour?” I asked.
I remembered the image of Rarity showing up but hadn’t made much of a connection.
“She’s quite famous in the music scene. She’s coming back from a tour with Coloratura and Songbird Serenade raising funds for Charity.” She shrugged. “I don’t understand why she enjoys pestering me under the guise of ‘just checking in.’ I told her the spell was for emergencies only.” She muttered as she adjusted her robe and pulled her thick grimoire before her, pages flashing by quickly.
I glanced at Twilight before climbing in myself. As I passed over the circle, I felt a tingling sensation flow over my coat, making some of the hairs stand on end. Once I was in, however, it died and was replaced by a warm glow of gathering mana. The runes that had gleamed dully in the light of the lamps glowed brightly with amber light, fading from time to time before brightening again.
“I-if you say it’s safe,” Twilight whispered before climbing in. “I guess I can trust myself.”
As soon as we were all in, the Archmage shook a sleeve up to clear her hoof. “Now, please keep in mind not to touch the circle if you aren’t familiar with ley line magic. Uncontrolled it can rip through you and begin a mana torrent and burn everything within a square mile to a crisp.”
Well, that’s reassuring, I thought, grimacing.
Twilight shrank away from the edge of the ring, a tiny whimper slipping free.
The Archmage touched her hoof to the ring and whispered a few words under her breath. The runes flared brightly and the entire structure took on a rose colored glow. A low humming sound, more felt than heard, began to fill the space around us.
“It will take a moment to attune the ring. It’s not needed for every trip, but I do like to make sure everything is in order. And it never hurts to make sure everything is tip top.”
A hazy sheen was beginning to build between us and the rest of the room, looking like heat waves rising from asphalt in the summer.
“So where exactly are we heading?” I asked. The humming was starting to cause a throb in my temples.
“Straight to my arcanum in the Crystal Empire.” Twilight’s twin removed her hoof from the ring and sat down. “I have access to the rarest tomes there.”
I didn’t have to see Twilight to know how quickly she perked up.
“You have books on Umbrum?” My doubt was evident.
“I have books on just about everything!” The robed pony would have pranced if not for the tight confines. “Some found in the ruins of the formerly lost Library of Bucephalus in the Great Wastes!”
“Wait, you found it?” Twilight’s excitement was palatable. The Library of Bucephalus had been lost ages ago in the days before the founding of Equestria, during the great freezing brought on by the Windigoes. The possibility that it had been found at all, regardless of which reality, was enough to intrigue me as well.
“Oh, no,” she replied. “I merely cataloged, restored, and copied what was salvageable. My copies are exact reproductions, down to the doodles in the margins.” She was vibrating in glee.
The haze around the ring was now almost like water in an aquarium tank, a definitive line between here and there.
“You may want to take a deep breath,” the magus said.
But before I had fully inhaled, we were gone.
Now, I have travelled through a fair number of portals in my time. My own teleportation spell, Celestia’s a few times, and even a few piggybacked on Twilight’s on occasion.
This was a completely unfamiliar experience however. I was at once everywhere, but I was formless. I could feel the mana of the world flowing through me, humming like a live wire. I could sense the life of the planet, and it felt invigorating. For a moment, I thought I could feel my wings.
Then it was over, and we were in a round room not much larger than the ring we sat in. I took a deep breath, the crisp, cool air letting me know that we were definitely in the north. I stretched and turned to Twilight and stopped at the sight.
She was sitting still, her eyes closed in an expression of complete serenity, as though nothing bothered her at all. Her horn held a faint glow to it which faded as she opened her eyes.
“That,” she breathed. “Was amazing!”
She climbed languidly to her hooves and sighed happily.
“It is a bit of a pick me up, isn’t it?” Archmage Twilight asked, skipping towards the door. “Sometimes I’ll just nip over to the castle and back in the mornings. Better than coffee.”
I could believe it. I felt like every sore muscle had been massaged away and my mana reserves were topped off. It may not have been as euphoric for me as it obviously was to the Twilights, but it was still damn relaxing.
Following the magus through her tower, I was struck by how stark it was. Twilight’s castle had always accumulated little bits of bric-a-brac over the years, gifts from her friends and family or things she had been curious about, mementos of her adventures.
There wasn’t a single bibelot or gewgaw or bauble on any of the tables we passed. They were set with a vase with various flower arrangements in them, or a planter with various herbs or plants, some of which I recognized from my studies in Alchemy in the days of schooling.
She paused before a door, silvery runes set into the heavy oak barrier. She whispered a phrase, horn lighting up. The runes lit in sequence, and the door creaked open.
And I gaped at the room beyond. I thought Twilight’s library in the castle was huge, but this repository dwarfed that by an order of magnitude.
Fully five stories in height and several hundred yards along a wall, every square inch was packed with books, scroll racks, reading stands, and chalkboards with my friends familiar writing on it. There were even stacks of books on the floor with their edges perfectly aligned -- and likely in alphabetical order -- set by a cart filled with another load.
Twilight stared numbly.
“Pinch me,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Pinch me,” she repeated. “I want to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
I pinched her shoulder and she started to smile.
“It’s real,” she giggled.
“Every bit.” The magus started pulling books down in a very familiar way. “And this is just my main research archive. I wish you could see my personal collection, but we are pressed for time.”
I rolled my eyes as both Twilights began pulling books down, one searching for a particular reference, one just exploring the contents.
“You have Canterlot Cantabiles volume thirty one?” Twilight had a manic look in her eyes.
“Of course!” her twin piped out. “That’s where it starts getting good.”
I grabbed a book on a shelf near me and scanned it’s cover, but the text was written in symbols I couldn’t decipher. There was, however, a rather crude depiction of a manticore and a creature I had never seen before. I replaced the book and was about to ask how they were faring when the door at the far end opened and admitted a slim Unicorn mare with a brown coat and a dark black mane. She stopped short, seeing the Archmage with a book in her aura.
“Oh, I’m sorry Your Eminence,” she said. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was just looking for…” she trailed off as she looked at me.
I froze as recognition struck me at the same time.
“Sorla?” I whispered.
“Princess Sunset?” she gasped, at the same time.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, taking in her appearance. The last time I saw her, she had been horribly scarred from the backlash of a spell she had tried to cast in the Crystal Empire of my world and branded with several thaumic circles by Chrysalis. Her unblemished coat and cutie mark were of a book over a crescent moon which was hard to take in compared to that memory.
“Forget that,” she said, her eyes flicking back and forth between Twilight, myself, and the Archmage. “What is going on here?”
“This might sound a little odd,” Twilight said. “But we were forced out of our timeline.”
The mare closed her eyes and sighed.
“Just what I needed.”
“Is your father about, Your Majesty?” the Archmage asked.
“Not currently. He went out with Hope to survey some of the new aquifers in the western plains.” she replied, looking a little uneasy at the title and I felt a pang of sympathy.
Somepony else that doesn’t feel up to the task, I thought, sighing and settling in to repeat the story again.
I marveled at the interior of the castle as we walked out of Archmage Twilight’s other teleport foci. I was used to the multi-hued crystalline walls of Cadence’s palace in my world. Her palace was made of pinks and purples and a myriad of hues in-between that sometimes made my eyes hurt.
The palace of Sombra, however, was much softer in intensity, fewer colors spawned among the matrices and it had more sharp corners in the corridors as opposed to the gently curving paths in our world’s. Low ceilings were polished to a mirror brightness with warm lamps glowing along the centerline.
“Father might have information about Umbrum in his private library,” Sorla said as we walked. “After his encounter with them, he wanted to make sure that he knew all he could to keep the kingdom safe from their predation.”
“It’s curious that he would have texts that my counterpart wouldn’t know of,” Twilight said. “The way her library is, I thought she’d have anything a pony could ever want to read.”
I covered my mouth with a hoof to keep my grin hidden. Twilight had been extremely reluctant to leave the archive. I’m sure that if my Twilight had been there, I’d have wound up dragging her out.
A pang went through my heart at that moment, and I gazed out a window at the cool light of the moon, mind drifting backwards. I felt the crack in my heart shiver a bit and shook my head before going to catch up with the other two mares.
“I know all too well what forbidden knowledge can do,” Sorla said. “I’m lucky to even be alive. I don’t know how I got this second chance, but I’m not going to let it go to waste.”
We approached a set of double doors, fairly innocuous, set with iron hinges. A pair of Pegasus guards stood before them and I gawked. Both had prosthetic limbs, something that would’ve mustered a guard out in Celestia’s retinue. One Pegasus had the lower part of her back leg replaced with a light metal brace and the other had one of her wings missing as well as one eye clouded over with a scar running along the brow just above the bridge of her nose and below where it melded in with several other crisscrossing scars on her left cheek. The wing prosthetic was made of solid pieces of what I recognized as the steel and orichalcum alloy that Archmage Twilight’s rings were made of.
“Lieutenant Brass,” Sorla said. “It’s a bit unusual for you to be standing guard.”
The Pegasus with the prosthetic wing nodded. “I was feeling restless, milady. Kerfuffle also had some qualms that needed reassuring.”
“Ah,” the heir of the Empire said, glancing at the other pony. “Still hurts?”
Keffulfe nodded, ears folding back slightly being the only sign of her discomfort. “Sometimes, when I’m in bed it feels like I’m still in the timberwolf’s jaws. Sometimes it passes, sometimes it stays for an hour or more.”
I shuddered at the thought of laying awake feeling like my leg was being gnawed off. I could still remember all too well the nights of sitting and laying gingerly as the scars from Acerak’s talons healed. I missed some of the conversation as my eyes drifted back to the moon.
“Shall I take it that since you are standing guard,” Sorla said as my attention returned to the group ahead. “That my father is back?”
“Not quite,” Brass said. “Queen Hope returned to retrieve a volume on water tables to confirm some information. His Majesty is concerned with her safety.”
“As always,” Sorla sighed. “Time to meet the Queen.”
I had no idea what I was expecting, but a small, unassuming crystal pony was not among them. Her heliotrope coat shimmered in the moonlight, reflecting off her arctic blue mane. Her cutie mark of a caduceus surprised me, as it was an unusual mark for a Unicorn.
“Hope,” Sorla called, trotting into the small study.
“Sorla,” Radiant Hope said, turning slightly as a book hovered in her aura. “Archmage. What do I owe the pleasure?”
“These ponies wanted to borrow one of Father’s books,” the princess said, gesturing to us. “They have problems stemming from Umbrum, apparently.”
Hope frowned, her face turning dark.
“That’s not possible,” she said. “They were sealed and the doorway destroyed years ago.”
“Sealed,” I echoed. “Sealed how?”
“I banished them and Sombra destroyed the crystal gateway that allowed them access to this world,” Hope said. “There is no way they are causing trouble in this realm.”
“We aren't from here,” I snapped. “We’re from a reality removed from your own..”
“A reality…” Hope’s eyes widened and took on a new life. “You mean Starry’s theories on alternate realities were true?” Her horn flashed and a new book appeared in her magic, Starswirl’s mark on the spine.
“You have to tell me what you can,” she breathed.
Excited, she flipped through the pages, coming upon a blank one. Though before she could work a soft hum rose from nearby
“Hope,” a baritone voice intoned. “Please do not interrogate my daughter’s guests.”
We turned to find a large mirror glimmering off to the side, the image of Sombra within. His face was soft, humor sparkled in his eyes as he chided his friend. Twilight gaped at the massive difference in what her mind held and what lay before us.
“Sombra, please,” Hope wheedled. “This is a rare opportunity — “
“One that can be addressed after their request,” he finished, waving a hoof. “Sorla, I’m afraid that your friends won’t find what they need in my library, I have lent them out to another location that needed the information to lock away a similar threat. I will contact them and let them know you’re coming.”
Sorla bowed her head. “Thank you, Father,” she said, a smile gracing her face. It was different from the ones I remembered on her from the war; calmer, more at peace with herself.
“Of course,” he continued. “Anything to help Celestia’s two prized pupils.”
My eyes flew open as Twilight’s head snapped up.
“What?” Twilight whispered.
“You think I wouldn’t recognize the two fillies that Celestia talked often of when we could talk?” he chided. “Surely I’m not forgotten by her.”
I shook my head. “But…”
“She still regrets having to sever the pathway to you,” Twilight whispered. “I heard her talking to Philomena about you one night when I was her student. Her heart aches even today.”
Sombra lowered his head. “It still pains me as well, every time I look in on her.” He raised his head and called out. “Rose Brass.”
The Pegasus with the prosthetic wing stepped in.
“Your Majesty,” she reported.
“Send word to the Calico to be made ready. We’ve some business in Saddle Arabia and I want all speed made available to these guests of state.”
The Pegasus saluted and made her way out, the door closing behind her.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” the king asked.
I hesitated, doubts going through my mind.
“You said you looked in on Celestia,” I mumbled. “Is there a way I could look in on someone?”
He smiled.
“Of course. Just touch the frame of the mirror we’re using and think their name and imagine their face.”
I stepped forward and placed a hoof on the gilded frame, my eyes closed and Sunshine’s face fixed firmly in my mind. As the moonlight floated into the room, the mirror shimmered and I saw an image of my wife sitting around a table laughing with Moondancer, Starlight, and Rarity.
And then she turned and looked in my direction, confusion on her face.
“Whatever is the matter, darling?” Rarity asked.
“I don’t know,” Sunshine said. “It just feels like there’s something desperately missing and I keep expecting it to turn up.”
“I’m sure it will turn up,” Starlight said. “Nothing important is ever truly gone.”
Sunshine nodded, turning back to her tea.
“You’re probably right,” she said as the image faded. “I just wish I could remember what it is.”
As the image dimmed and vanished, I found I had tears on my cheeks and Twilight was rubbing my shoulders.
“We’ll get you back to her,” she whispered in my ear.
Three hours later, I was leaning into the wind of an airship, a hoof curled around a stay and my mane whipping in the wind.
The Calico was a long carrack, sails and envelopes painted with crystal hues that reflected on the deck in bright splashes. The crew rushed hither and tither to follow the orders of surly Unicorn with a plum coat and fuschia mane. If not for the fact that the cutie mark was of a sailing ship instead of the firework bursts of the Tempest Shadow I knew, I’d never know there was a difference. She certainly ran the crew as hard as she had been on the trainees of the Castle Guard.
The ocean glittered and flashed in the predawn light. It was three days to Saddle Arabia, and once there I was to meet with a Moon Rose, an herbalist and healer, though I was told to expect her to be a touch odd.
Wait for me, Twilight, I thought. I’ll be home as soon as I can.
***
Sunshine froze for a moment while walking to her room, looking up at the moon, ears swiveling.
“Something wrong, my Lady?” the Thestral escorting her asked.
“I thought I heard someone say my name,” she answered. “As though they were right beside me.”
My mane was damp from the spray, but I didn’t care. We had spent the last hour settled in the sea to avoid the dangerous updrafts that prowled this stretch of the ocean. The sails had been put to and the envelope had been drained and battened down. I found myself once again a few steps out on the bowsprit, hoof on a line for safety and my eyes stinging from the salty mist.
“Sunset!” Twilight called. “We have to get outfitted.”
I glanced back, seeing my friend partially wrapped in a loose-fitting robe, soft white in color. A bundle of cloth floated in her magic next to her. I recognized it as standard desert garb, my mind automatically searching for the name.
“That’s a good look on you, Twilight,” I said, hopping down and moving towards her. “Thobe are a hard thing to look regal in.”
The Unicorn blushed slightly. “They have a lot of components,” she said, dropping her bundle on the deck. “Kaffiyeh are difficult to wrap, even with this agal to hold them in place, despite them not being traditional for mares.”
“Don’t mares usually veil their faces?”
“True. I guess that makes this simpler.” She shook out a blue thobe and passed it to me. “We’ll get a few waterskins and some currency before we disembark. I don’t think it will take us more than a few days to find this Moonrose and consult with her.”
I pulled the robe around me and fumbled with the headdress. It was a pain, and when I finally got it wrapped around my horn and secured, I felt a surge of relief. I gazed back towards the bow, where the faint haze of land was growing larger through the spray flying up over the gunwales.
A particularly large wave made the ship lurch, and Twilight stumbled, caught off guard.
“First time going overseas?” I asked.
She shook her head, after she got her bearings. “I’ve been on airship trips and cruises. I thought it wouldn’t be too different when we set down on the water.”
“It’s different enough.” I adjusted the robe around my shoulders. “First time I went on a sea trip was back in high school, the cruise for our senior year. All I had to compare it to was a few trip on Celestia’s yacht. Sailing on the water is not as smooth as air. The spells and envelopes that help airships stay afloat also smooth over any turbulence they might face.”
We watched the sun glitter over the sea for a moment. The land grew increasingly larger with every second.
“Do you think we’ll find anything?” I asked.
“I’m sure that if nothing else, we’ll find another lead on the answers we need.” Twilight smiled. “So far, we keep getting closer to an answer. Now that we might have a possible culprit, and with that we can find a way back.”
I could tell she was just trying to cheer me up. Ever since I saw my wife in the mirror, I felt a restless need to surge forward to find the next step as well as fear. Twilight may not have picked up on it, but Sunshine had said something about forgetting something. I knew that if she had known what had happened to me, she’d have at least gone with our Tempest and the girls to find out something from the Princesses. Thea at least would have told her where we were and what had happened, but I saw no sign of the bird in the limited view I had through Sombra’s mirror.
I wonder what happened to her.
“All right, you lazy sots!” Tempest yelled, striding across the quarterdeck. “Get those sails trimmed, we’re about to come into harbor! Belay those lines, hoist the port flag!”
Sailors rushed to and fro, obeying the captain’s orders with startling swiftness. I hadn’t thought that Earth Ponies could swarm up ladders and ropes as swiftly as Pegasi, but I was wrong. If I had blinked, I might have assumed some had simply vanished.
The feel of the boat shifted, slowing and rocking a little more. A series of pilings hove into view and as we came abreast of one, an Abyssian and a Unicorn on a small platform tossed a pair of lines upwards to the bow. The lines were tied around a handful of cleats and Tempest called for the anchor to be weighed.
Twilight looked across the quays filled with small boats and ships, bobbing gently.
“Uh,” she drawled. “How do we get from here to there?”
I tapped her on the shoulder, and when she looked, I pointed to the longboats the crew were unshipping from below decks.
“I think they have us covered, Twi.”
I was surprised as I moved into the city proper. One might think that desert towns would be dead in the heat of day, but canopies and awnings mitigated the sun’s relentless presence and a relatively cool breeze blew through the open ways.
And the smells! They almost assaulted the senses as we walked: spices, herbs, open eateries, teahouses, smithies, and bathhouses all lent their share to the aroma of the bustling port town.
Stalls lined the streets, various goods piled upon them, as Ponies and various other races hawked their products, each trying to out-shout the rest. Those without stalls had tarps and sheets spread out upon the ground but were just as vocal about their prices. Fine blades, clothing, charms, bundles of exotic spices, and things I couldn’t even name were within a hoof’s reach as we walked. I pulled Twilight into a teahouse just to get away from the shouting rabble.
We took our seats and placed an order.
“I can’t believe how long it took us just to get this far into the city,” I sighed.
Twilight agreed. As a waiter set out a pot and pair of cups at our table, she poured the tea. “The streets here are certainly packed tighter than some in Manehattan, but I suppose that makes sense when water is a scarce commodity.”
I stirred a little sugar into my cup, the spoon swishing back and forth in my red aura. Twilight also doctored her tea with cream and sugar. She didn’t bother with a spoon, however, distractedly making a tiny whirlpool in her cup, the cream slowly blending into the liquid.
“So, how are we to find this archivist?” I mused aloud. “We weren’t exactly given much of a description.”
“There can't be that many Unicorns tending records buildings,” Twilight said. “Most of them are in the center of town. We’ll rest for a moment and then continue on.”
“And a guide would be useful,” a voice said from the side, somber and measured. If not for the hint of humor in it I would have mistaken it for Maud. Looking, I saw a pony walking over, a dark hood drawn high over her head. The point of a horn poked against the inner height and several dark dreadlocks slipped forward. Though the face was shrouded, two points shown within, eyes the color of a full moon.
“Of course, knowing which branch to take you to would make my job much easier.” She glanced at each of us. “Which of you is Sunset Shimmer?”
I raised my hoof. “And you are?”
“Moonrose,” she replied, seating herself at our table, waving off the waiter that approached. “I understand you’re in need of some documents?”
“Yes,” I said. “King Sombra said you were in possession of texts regarding the Umbrum?”
The glow of the pony’s eyes flared for a moment.
“Yes,” she said. “I was called to help seal a gate from their prison not long ago. I was copying the text and translating it so that if anything ever occurred again, I wouldn’t have to wait for a ship to arrive with help.”
She stiffened, then sighed. I frowned when suddenly a cloven-hooved limb was tossed over her shoulder, and a grinning goat gave her a rough shake.
“Moonie, you never come to this part of town!” the Ibex chirped. “Too much negativity for you.”
“I can mitigate it long enough to meet somepony,” Moonrose said in an ever-suffering tone. “What are you doing here?”
“Delivering some barrels to the taphouse around the corner. I saw your hooded head as I walked out to grab something to eat from one of the stalls. Had me curious.”
I glanced at Twilight. Ibexians were rare in Equestria, and I had only ever met one.
“So, meeting someone?” the Ibex continued, a grin stretching wider. “Hot date?”
“You know me better than that, Bernice.”
“And you know I hate that name.”
“I agreed to help these two search the archives.” She turned her hood towards the goat with a slight frown. “If I’m not too distracted. I do not need another fracas in my workplace.”
The Ibex held up her hooves in defeat. “Fine. I won’t distract you while you’re in the archives.”
She looped the limb around the Unicorn’s withers again.
“Bernie,” the archivist growled.
“You’re not in the archives, Moonie.”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight said.
“Apology accepted,” Bernie quipped, smirking.
As Twilight sputtered, Moonrose shook the limb from her side and looked down.
“I will meet you at the festhall, Bernie.” Her tone became a little more strained. “As we agreed this morning.”
“Ah, I see.” Bernie stood, her horns flashing a bit as a shaft of sunlight hit them. “Well, if any of you need a good mug, I’ll be sure to provide.”
“You run a taphouse?” I asked.
“Goddesses, no!” the Ibex laughed. “You don’t want me in customer service, I get stabby. I brew the stuff myself, when I’m not too busy bothering her, or off on a contract.”
“Contract?” Twilight asked.
“It’s… best not to ask,” Moonrose murmured.
“It’s complicated.” Bernie supplied.
“What isn’t, these days?” I asked rhetorically.
“Not much.” Replied the unicorn and goat with sly grins.
I glowered a little and took a deep breath, “Let me tell you a story:”
As Twilight and I finished recounting our tale for the third time to our strange new companions, we were instantly met with a barrage of questions.
“So, you believe that whatever caused the disruptions also led to your banishment,” Moonrose mused. Her strange eyes, colored like her namesake, glimmered under the shadow of her hood. “But you have been unable to determine a motive, culprit, or means of which to do so.”
I rubbed my temples. The smell of the market street was beginning to creep in past the strong aroma of the tea and coffee served before us.
“So far,” Twilight said. “The only lead we have is the Umbrum. I’ve not dealt with them personally, but I am aware of what they are capable of. How they could have affected things on our side of the mirror is still a mystery to me, though.”
Moonrose poured coffee into her cup. “From the records I’ve translated, I understand that their prison exists outside of what we‘d consider congruent space. It is theoretical that given an opening they could invade any space they wish. It’s why the crystal prisons were created by the ancient Unicorns, but they’re also a flawed system.”
“Which is why Sombra is so keen on sealing them away permanently.” I mused. “I suppose I can understand why.”
“What I don’t get is why they impersonated Deer to lure you in,” Bernie said. “If I were them, I’d lead you into a village led by a deranged pony off in a remote part of Equestria. Deer are just plain odd.”
“And the reports they gave of rips in space and the report of your name,” Moonrose added. “It’s very strange. From what few Cervyds I’ve met, their divinations tend to be vague at best. I believe that they were manipulated in their visions, which a loose Umbrum is more than capable of doing.”
“And I don’t think they expected me to accompany Twilight, to begin with,” I said as a small part clicked into place. “They seemed pretty ready to drag her off as soon as they heard her name and safe passage was offered to us when I decided to go as well. It was, of course, summarily revoked as soon as we got there, much to our guide’s frustration.”
“You think that Dunford was possessed by a Umbrum?” Twilight asked.
“Seems like a reasonable hypothesis. His presence on the Triumvirate was strange, especially with his predecessor missing; we were placed in inhibitor rings despite having come of our own volition to aid them, and he was nowhere to be found when the attack on the Glenn occurred. Also, those deer that attacked us near the lake were off, somehow.”
“I don’t think he could’ve done this all alone,” Twilight said, chewing on her bottom lip.
“He could’ve with some preparation.” Moonrose brought out a scrap of parchment and a small quill. “If he were able to prepare a solution that rendered those that partook of it vulnerable to suggestion, then he would only need to plant the seeds of fear and then give the appropriate nudge to validate them.”
I shook my head. “I felt the magic in that clearing. Those beasts that attacked were real, as was that strange copy of Twilight. But for the amount of darkness and malevolence to corrupt a pony, it would take years of dark studies and most of the books and scrolls relevant to them would’ve been destroyed, lost, or held under strict guard by the Council of Mages in Equestria.”
“There’s something else,” Twilight whispered. “Sorla had access to dark spells, and through her, Chrysalis.”
I frowned. “But she’s locked away in a transdimensional prison…”
“Same as the Umbrum.” Twilight met my eyes.
“But Luna looked in on her,” I sputtered. “She was hallucinating.”
“We don’t know that,” she replied. “And this is the sort of convoluted plot she likes. And we certainly have been a thorn in her side enough times to want at least me out of the way.”
“We have to get back,” I said, rising suddenly. “If she’s involved, then who knows how long we have.”
Twilight turned to Moonrose. “Do you have any maps we could look at?”
The Unicorn smiled, her eyes growing brighter under her hood.
“I’m an archivist of one of the oldest libraries known to ponydom. Of course I do.”
“How does anyone find anything in here?” Twilight asked.
“Saddle Arabian archives are kept differently,” Moonrose said, her hood lowered as she walked through the stacks kept deep under one of the mosques. “They typically use an event to find dates as opposed to the other way around. It makes cross-referencing some things… problematic.”
“Problematic, she says,” Bernie snickered, “You lot are lucky I give the library discounted rates for spelunking to find unwary librarians that decide to correlate causations of war or famine. Scripted Letters gets a free cookie next time.”
Moonrose’s eyes were glowing faintly, something I had been passing off as a trick of the light, back in the cafe.
“How do your —“ I began.
“Why do my eyes glow like a bright moon?” she asked before I could finish. “It’s something I was born with. I consider it a blessing to be Moontouched, a disciple of the Night Mother. It certainly helps down here, where lighting tends to be spotty.”
“I’ve been wondering about that myself. Why are these records kept underground?”
“Because the intense heat of the desert could damage them,” Moonrose said as she removed a rolled-up document from a cubby and examined it briefly before replacing it. “It stays relatively cool down here. Having a few lengths worth of soil between us and any structures also safeguards against fire. Should the above structure burn to ash, the most that would happen to the soil underneath is it would bake like clay and it wouldn’t affect anything down here. It’s honestly better than some building designs, I feel.”
She rummaged around on a desk before pulling a map out. “Here we are, master map of Equestria.”
Twilight moved forward and tapped a hoof on an area in the north.
“This is about where the Glenn was,” she said, then slowly traced her hoof along to the west. “And the Pool was somewhere around here.”
I looked at the map. It was a lot more detailed than any I had ever seen.
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
“Congruence,” she said. “Do you have anything that maps ley lines?”
Moonrose blinked.
“Maybe?” she said. “Magic is not widely practiced here, so records are sparse.” She vanished into the darkened stacks.
“What are you up to, Twilight?” I asked.
“The mirrors work the way they do because of a magical congruence that links the metaphysical vibrations of two worlds,” she said, pulling a quill and ink over. “I think that they rely on ley lines to have enough power to work as such small artifices. Our journals work under a similar principle, but on a smaller scale, linking to each other by way of a bonded strand of a thaumaturgical nature.”
“And you think the Pool had something similar?”
She nodded.
“It may not have translated perfectly because of the nature of the link, but if the ley lines match up to the points, like I think they do, then we might be able to get back.”
Moonrose returned and set down a rolled chart.
“This is the best we have,” she said. “It’s by no means complete and is several decades old, however. So, the paths may have changed in the interim.”
“They move?” I said.
“Any large outpouring of power will shift a ley line. The lines near Sun’s Fall have been wrenched horribly out of line from what this map shows because of the Lunar and Solar queens fight.”
I unrolled the map and scanned it. The crisscrossing of lines looked like a large group of interconnected spider webs. I clearly picked out the Castle of the Two Sisters and the Crystal Empire by the tightly woven lines. Ponyville also had a small cluster, as did Canterlot. I saw several small clusters all around the map, some orderly and some wickedly twisted and snarled as though being pulled sharply out of place by some unseen hand. Twilight’s horn lit up and the quill lifted up, it’s point settling on one corner of the chart and dragging diagonally across it. As a ghostly image of the text lifted from the page, she shifted it to the side and dropped it over the map.
“You’ve got to show me that one sometime,” I said as she leaned in.
“Look, the Pool does have a point of congruence,” she said, pointing. “And there are small eddies marked in the waters of the sea where we landed.”
“But our wings,” I said. “How does this explain them?”
“I don’t know, but this is a great way to start off!” She made notes of ley points in such a hurry a few drops of ink splashed across her blank page.
“There’s only one thing we need now,” she said.
“And that is?”
“We need to visit the Tree and ask it for the Elements.”
The pony milled about the clearing for a moment after packing her bags again. She shook her aquamarine mane and began back down the path.
She didn’t know what she was looking for, but something inside her told her she desperately missed it. She brought a hoof up to the stone chip hanging from around her neck, the markings of an eye barely visible on the fragment.
Whatever it was she was missing, Wallflower Blush would find it. It’s not like she had anywhere else to be at the moment.
***
“Junie, have you seen my briefcase?”
The Pegasus sighed as winged her way out to the office of her manager. The Earth Pony would lose her head if it weren’t attached.
“Have you checked under your coat, AJ?”
The pony froze, then hefted her coat off the chair she had draped it over. Nestled in the soft cushions was a small valise.
“Heh,” she chuckled nervously. “Ah don’t know what Ah’d do without ya.”
Juniper smiled and returned to her desk. She might be well regarded and valued, but something inside ached.
“So where are we going to look?” Twilight asked as the skiff from the Calico swept up to the docks. “For all we know, the Elements were drained after their battle with Discord.”
“I know,” I replied. “But something about the Tree felt wrong. It didn’t have the gem of Empathy.”
“Maybe you just didn’t see it? We weren’t there very long.”
I turned and looked at her. “I know something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
Twilight nodded. “Then maybe we should try and figure out where the Bearers are while we head back. I doubt we’re enough to trigger them all without our Alicorn powers.”
I frowned. “But didn’t your counterpart say that we still had Alicorn level mana?”
She tilted her head in sudden remembrance. “Then why can’t we use it? All the spells we’ve cast have been weaker than usual.”
“It could also just be the fact that the Ley lines are easier to access here just means that excess mana is bled off. And you did feel something when Luna raised the moon.” I closed my eyes and reached inside. The node in the back of my mind, where I once held a fraction of Celestia’s power, was still there, but significantly weaker. Before I could stop myself, I touched the bright spot in my mind where the link with Sunshine was supposed to rest. It was still blank and it’s absence ached.
“I’m fairly sure we can find Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack easily enough,” Twilight said, changing the topic. “Pinkie will be at her family’s farm if she isn’t in Ponyville.”
“We can’t assume it’ll be the same ponies, Twilight.” I turned towards her just as the ropes from the skiff were tossed up to be tied off. “This Twilight has a different cutie mark, Dash and Rarity are vastly different, and Fluttershy is much more outspoken. They aren’t the same ponies we know.”
“We could start with them, at least,” she said. “It’ll give us a baseline at least for any changes.”
I turned and hopped into the skiff, shaking my head. “We’ll have to figure out a way to scry for them when we get back to the Empire. The Archmage might have a spell that could help.”
As Twilight climbed down, she chewed on her lip. “I’m pretty sure that if there is a spell like that I’d know about it.” She sounded a little irked.
“Think about searching for it in that library, Twilight.” I gave her a wink. “If it exists, it’s in there. And if not, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
The mention of searching through the library brought a manic look to her eye and she prodded the yeoman.
“What are you waiting for? Cast off!”
“Surely you’re not leaving us behind, are you?”
Turning, I saw Bernie and Moonrose standing on the quay, both decked out with a set of saddlebags.
Bernie rubbed at her snout, chuckling. “Something like this, there’s gotta be something worth seeing.”
“I have always wanted to see the library of a master mage,” Moonrose said. “I’m quite sure that my services will be quite useful.”
I glanced at Twilight, a grin growing on my face.
“Well, quit dawdling, then!” I called. “I’m in a hurry to get home to my wife.”
When we returned to the airship, the Ibexian was on the deck before the ladder was even lowered.
“Slowpokes,” she grinned as she looked around. “Nice ship. Who’d you steal it from?”
“It’s on loan from King Sombra,” Tempest growled as she prowled down to greet us. “I don’t want trouble on my ship.”
“You took us on easily enough,” I quipped.
“You. I had orders to take you to here and back again. They didn’t say anything about these two.”
“They’re our guests and will help expedite our search for answers.” Twilight stepped forward and reached out gently to the ill-tempered Unicorn. “It’s only a short hop, and my friend and I will take personal responsibility for their actions.”
“If it helps any,” Bernie said, rummaging in her pack. “I brought booze.”
Tempest turned around and stalked away.
“Ah well,” Moonrose said. “More for you.”
The ship turned and began tacking against the wind, returning us to Equestria.
And hopefully answers.
The earthquake startled Queen Luna out of bed. She immediately yanked her peytral and shoes to her, stepping out from the bedchamber to find her chamberlain Fluttershy flitting about in a panic. The door burst open to admit one of her honor guards, his leathery wings furling to let him land in a short bow.
“Sergeant Lunes, what is happening?” she demanded.
Shrouded Lunes stood up straight, wings twitching as he snapped to attention.
“It’s the Tree, your Majesty. Something’s happening at the Tree. Smoke can be seen from the watchtowers and the quake is creating more cracks in the canyon.”
She froze, ears stiffening and wings flaring. “Summon the Archmage,” she ordered. “Wake Gleaming Shield and have her muster the guard.”
“Your Majesty?” Fluttershy squeaked, uncertain.
“Now, Fluttershy,” Luna urged gently. “You’re the best one at the sending stones, so your request will carry through more swiftly.”
The Queen glanced at the Thestral in front of her.
“Gather three more guards,” she ordered. “Use your best judgement on whom. And bring Silver Vein along as well. We’ll leave as soon as the Archmage arrives.”
“What is happening, my Queen?”
“I’m not sure, but the Tree has been undisturbed for decades. Anything that would try and damage it can’t be good.”
She went and opened an armoire that had been closed for years. Inside was a set of armor, fitted especially for an Alicorn. It still held a few silvered scores in the darkened metal and one of the hinged plates that would cover the wing hung from a single riveted strap.
Luna stood steady as Silver Vein worked on the broken pieces of her barding. It had been badly damaged the last time she had worn it; the joints of her wing plates snapped or frayed, scores burned across the breastplate, and rent sections across her helm.
“This should have been taken care of ages ago, Your Highness,” Vein said. “I can’t complete sufficient repairs to damage of this magnitude in the time you are giving me.”
“Just do your best,” Luna replied, watching as Gleaming Shield trotted in, mane still a bit mussed from her slumber. “I hope that I am wrong, but it is best to be prepared.”
Once Gleaming Shield and three other guards had arrived, Luna turned slightly to address them. She ignored the frustrated growl from Silver Vein.
“As you are aware, there have been disturbances near the Tree of Harmony,” she said. “I intend to investigate the cause. To this end, we have several goals to achieve. Captain Shield.”
“Ma’am,” the pony spoke sharply, her playful manner absent.
“Gather the castle guard. We may be the first line of defense against whatever might be coming.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Gleaming Shield gave a crisp salute and left to discharge her orders.
“Sergeant Lunes, your group will accompany myself and the Archmage to the Tree. We will ascertain the cause and any possible dangers.”
The Thestral stood straight and nodded. The Unicorn to his left and the Pegasus to the right snapped salutes.
“Vein, what is left?” Luna asked.
“About five months worth of reforging, replacements, and tinkering.” the Earth Pony grumbled. “But these repairs should be able to hold up against anything short of an Alicorn or Changeling Royalty.”
“That should do,” Luna replied, stepping away. She turned and looked at the yellow Pegasus in the side of the room, huddled over a pedestal holding a shining sphere of marble. Her soft voice could barely be heard as she chanted, eyes closed. After a moment, she shook her head, the bun on the back of her head wobbling.
“Still no response, Your Majesty,” she said. “Raven says that the Archmage is in the middle of a difficult ritual and isn’t responding to her stone. She is going to report the situation to Radiant Hope, however.”
“I hope she has more luck,” Luna sighed. “I’d really like an expert in magical lore with me when we head out to check on things.”
Twilight sneezed as the Calico parted the clouds near the coast of the Crystal Empire.
“You ok?” I asked.
“Yeah, just some cloud wisps.” She wiped her muzzle and smiled. “Not a bad way to travel, is it?”
I looked around, nodding. The crew was beginning to reef in the sails with the rapid approach of her home port, except for a few off-duty salts that were throwing bones with Bernie. The Ibex had a sizable pile of bits at her side. Moonrose was at the bow, her hood blown off and her dreadlocks stirring in the sea breeze, intense eyes staring forward.
“Not a bad way at all,” I said, a faint smile growing on my lips.
As we settled into dock, Sorla came running out to greet us, a smile on her face. Compared to the sneers and glares I had seen on her when we first met, I preferred this look entirely.
“Welcome back!” she said as we disembarked. “I trust it was a successful trip?”
As Moonrose and Bernie clambered down, I glanced back. “You could say that. We have some suspicions on just what happened and the best way to get home.”
She looked at the two. “And they are?”
Twilight followed her glance. “New friends that helped us get some very important information.”
Moonrose lowered her head. “It has been some years, your Highness. It is good to see you again. Is your tutor still in residence?”
Sorla blinked. “Uh, no,” she stammered. “Mistress Glimmer is currently the Headmare of the School for Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot. How did you know her?”
Moonrose smiled. “We were disciples of the same teacher, once upon a time.”
I blinked. “Starlight Glimmer is here?”
Sorla looked at me quizzically. “Yes, she was the royal tutor for a while before taking over the school when Luna stepped down.”
“What does any of this have to do with anything?” Bernie asked, readjusting her pack.
“That adds another high-powered Unicorn to the equation,” Twilight said. “And that might help us with —“
“Your Highness!”
We turned to see a guard rushing forward, multicolored mane flying back as her wings shoved her forward.
“Steady on, Lieutenant Dust,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“Lady Hope requests that you bring the guests to the audience chamber at once! We’ve received dire news from the Queen! Something has happened to the Tree of Harmony!”
I felt my heart clench at the words.
“We’d best hurry, then,” Sorla said.
***
Radiant Hope paced anxiously on the dias as the Sending was repeated, Fluttershy’s voice laying out what they knew and that they were preparing to go investigate.
Cold had seeped into me. I didn’t think anything could assault the Tree. It was… well, it was one of the integral parts of Creation. In our fight with Entropy, it was displayed as one of the Five Unending constants of Equestria; Harmony.
“Where is the Archmage?” Sombra asked, his baritone voice cold.
“When we forced the door on her sanctum, we found her in a delirium, Sire,” a Crystal Pony announced. “Several ritual items were found burned and broken. The mages are looking it over now, but they are unable to tell what caused it.”
“Maybe I could look, as well?” Twilight asked. “I might be able to tell you what happened or at least what she was trying to do.”
Moonrose stepped forward as well. “I would like to go as well. I am well-versed in healing arts and may be of some use.”
Sombra nodded. “Corporal Zest, take them to the medical ward and introduce them to the staff.”
The Crystal Pony saluted and turned, my two friends in her wake.
“Meanwhile, I suggest that we prepare a contingent to supplement their numbers. Our own well being aside, Luna may need it.” Sombra turned to Raven Inkwell, her ever-present clipboard hovering in her red magic. “See to it that they have supplies and that the commanders of the First and Third battalions report to me in one hour.”
The Unicorn nodded, marking notes and sending them off with flashes of magic.
“Now,” he rumbled, turning to me. “What can we do to assist you?”
I gave a faint tilt of my head.
“You’ve already been extremely helpful, and I hesitate to ask anything further.” I chewed my lip for a moment. “To return home, we need to gain the Elements of Harmony and find the bearers of them in this world. We believe that it may be the only way to open a conduit to where we came from. We had hoped the Archmage would be able to help us scry for them. However…”
“With the Tree under siege and the Elements’ state in question, you feel you may need to go see to that need instead,” Sombra completed for me, nodding. “Very well. Until the Archmage recovers, there is naught we can do for you as far as the Bearers. However, we can get you to the Castle with haste. It may not be as swift as Twilight’s transit rings, but it will allow you time to prepare.”
Raven nodded at the King’s look. “The Calico is undergoing refitting now. She will be ready to depart in an hour.” She checked something on her list. “Captain Shadow is rather irate at the sudden recall.”
“When isn’t she, though?” Hope chuckled, shaking her head ruefully.
“Meanwhile,” Sombra said. “See if you can get a message to Starlight. See if she can make her way up here to consult.”
He looked down at me and smiled.
“Now, tell me what you have learned in the sands of that far-off land.”
“Near as we can tell,” Moonrose said. “She was attempting some sort of scrying ritual when a strong resonance feedback occurred. The shock of it was contained and amplified by her circle and when her will broke, it flooded the room. Any charged item would have reacted.”
“Could you discern what she was looking for?” Sombra asked.
Twilight shook her head. “Without knowing which items she was using, it’s hard to say. I know of at least five different rituals requiring different foci, all of which were present and destroyed.”
“All of them?” Sorla said, brow furrowing.
“Yeah, all five.”
Sorla shook her head. “There's no reason all five would have been charged once she picked a ritual. Only the main foci would have been given any mana.”
“Then why did the others erupt?” Hope asked.
“The only reason I can think of is deliberate sabotage,” I said. “The Archmage might have stumbled across the same thing we did, and they sent an Umbrum to prevent her from revealing themselves.”
“That is far too direct for them,” Sombra said. “They prefer trickery over direct assaults.”
“Changelings love duplicity, though,” Twilight said. “And if what we suspect is true, then it’s not far out of the realm of possibility.”
“The Changelings have not left their land in nearly a century,” Radiant Hope said. “Our treaty with them limits their numbers within our lands.”
“If it is the Changeling we think it is,” I said. “She isn’t bound by your treaty, and has plenty of reasons to hate us personally.”
“There is a caravan currently in the city,” Sorla said. “Would you be able to tell if one of them is your rogue?”
“We never really nailed down a perfect way to out a Changeling.” I sighed. “The best we can do is a glamour dispelling. It interferes with their magic temporarily.”
“Raven, where are they being lodged?” Sombra asked.
The Unicorn consulted her clipboard. “They are currently housed in the guest quarters in the east wing.”
“They’re in the Castle?” Twilight asked.
“Bring them to us,” Sombra commanded. “We’ll settle this issue before you depart.”
Shortly, five Changelings entered, the colorful carapaces glinting in the lamplight.
I recognized Thorax, his green body a bit more vibrant than when I had last laid eyes on the Changeling King. He walked with a confidence that set him apart from the shy, awkward one I knew. And next to him…
Twilight stammered. “Chrysalis?”
The Changeling Queen stood tall and proud next to her King, her carapace gleaming in shades of royal blue and rose gold. Her eyes were soft, glittering pools of jade. Her wings hung behind her, iridescent azure beneath dark blue elytra. Upon her head sat a small tiara, in a similar style to Thorax’s small circlet.
“Do we know each other, young pony?” she asked, voice soft and kind, not a trace of malice to be found.
“Not precisely,” I said. I was shocked to see a reformed Chrysalis, considering the last time I saw her she was trying to destroy everything to get to Starlight. “But we have some concerns with who might be one of your race.”
“I don’t understand,” Thorax said. “We haven’t heard of any misconduct by any of our caravaners. Has something happened?”
“It’s possible that a rogue member has infiltrated your group and attacked the Archmage several days ago,” Sombra said. “Have any new members joined your caravan recently, or any unexplained missing time?”
The two royals glanced at each other and then turned to their contingent.
“Well?” Thorax asked. “Have any of you seen or heard anything?”
It was so hard seeing him act with the regality I usually associated with Celestia or Cadence. I was used to the lovable goof that I knew, but I wasn’t even thrown off by the differences in this world anymore.
I wonder what that says about me.
None of the caravan members responded, at which point Thorax sighed and turned back to Sombra.
“I’m afraid that they may not speak based on past persecutions,” he said. “The purge of Changelings is not so long ago that my people have forgotten it.”
“I understand,” Sombra said. “Would you allow us to conduct a brief check of your party to ascertain that they have not been replaced?”
Chrysalis frowned. “What would this entail?” Her voice dipped a little, a hint of the one I knew slipping free.
“A simple spell,” I said, bowing my head in respect. “A normal dispelling charm.”
Thorax puzzled over it for a moment, then nodded.
“Proceed,” he said. “A rogue changeling would be a danger to us all.”
“I agree,” Chrysalis said. “Were I to engage in espionage or sabotage, where better to hide than in plain sight?”
The way she said that bothered me for a moment.
Twilight and I stepped forward, horns beginning to glimmer as we cast the dispelling charm. The spell washed over Thorax and Chrysalis with no change in their appearance. As the spell began to weave amongst the other caravan members, one of them broke from the group and took off for the open balcony, its form shimmering as the glamour was disrupted.
“Seize him!” Sombra roared, the members of the guard already in motion. I saw a pair block the way but the running Changeling opened its wings and soared overhead.
A blast of brilliant blue magic shot out and sent the Changeling crashing to the crystal of the balcony, skidding against the railing. One wing had a charred edge and would not retract under the carapace. I glanced back to see Radiant Hope’s horn still glimmering, a look of outrage on her face.
“Who are you?” Thorax asked. “Who are you to endanger my Hive?”
The Changeling began to laugh. “Your precious hive isn’t really so safe, King Thorax. We are legion.”
I strode forward as the shape of the Changeling began to dissolve back into the shape I had known before Starlight had gone and rescued the royal families from Chrysalis. Pitch black, pitted, and with gouges and holes in it’s limbs. Its voice slowly slid back into a hissing rasp and it’s damaged wing began to dissolve.
But the part that bothered me was it’s eyes, burning with purple streaks.
“Umbrum,” I spat. Weapons were leveled at the being and horns all around the room flared into life.
“And a pleasure it is to meet you, Princess Sunset,” it hissed. “How are you liking your vacation?”
I surged forward, horn flaring red and enough mana thrumming through it I could feel the faint ache from where it had shattered months ago and my shoulders tensed as though trying to flare my wings. I jerked it into the air, my aura shimmering around it like an angry cloud.
“What did you do?” I growled. “Tell me!”
“Sunset!” Sorla cried, echoed by Twilight.
I slammed the being against the floor, releasing it from my magic as I tried to reign in the anger. It knew how we had gotten here, and it probably knew how to get us back.
Sombra stepped forward, eyes cold. “Did you attack the Archmage?”
It sniffed. “Please. That hardly counts as an attack. Just a simple gap in her circle, made to erupt after a few minutes. Making sure the other artifacts erupted as well was the hard part.”
“Prepare a set of shackles,” Sombra said, not letting his gaze waver.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, your majesty.” The Changeling struggled to it’s hooves. “I won’t be needing them.”
Before any of us could do anything, it hopped off the balcony, plummeting to the ground. I rushed forward and looked down in time to see the purple glow vanish and a confused look grow on the Changeling’s face moments before it impacted the ground several stories below.
Sombra looked down with a clenched jaw.
“Send guards out with the necessary spells to make a sweep,” he said quietly. “Make sure that no other secure locations are compromised.”
As guards left to carry out his orders, Hope turned to the visiting contingent.
“I am sorry about your countrypony,” she whispered.
Thorax nodded, a flame of anger in his eyes. “We shall return and verify that everypony is who they say they are. We’ll make sure there are no more hidden agents.”
Twilight looked at me. “It can’t be a coincidence that we come back to find the Tree under attack and Umbrum agents roaming about.”
“And they know who we really are,” I added.
“Send word to the Calico,” Sombra said quietly. “They leave in twenty minutes rather they are restocked or not. We need to circumvent this vile invasion.”
He then turned to Raven and began making plans, he and Hope moving away.
I could still feel the tension in my shoulders, the itching and burning sensation similar to when my wings had been held stiff for too long.
I was going to make it home, no matter what I had to do.
No matter who I had to go through.
Luna stared at what had once been a simple cave with the Tree nestled in it.
Huge cracks littered the walls, including one long crag that led deeper underground. Chips of crystal and stone lay littered about. The statue of Discord was shattered in pieces behind the ruined mess of the Tree.
Whatever had done this had clearly been centered upon it. It's trunk looked as though something had exploded from within, roots ripped up and limbs flung all around.
And the Elements were absent.
“Runner,” she said softly. A slight Thestral stepped forward, her two-toned eyes glimmering in the darkness.
“Corporal Candlelight Sonata reporting, your Majesty,” the batpony snapped a salute.
“Send word that we are going to proceed within the cavern. There are reinforcements from the Crystal Empire en route. When they arrive, see to it they are brought here.”
The Thestral saluted again and sped off.
“Secure the area,” Luna said. “I’d prefer not to have something come at us from behind while investigating.”
While several ponies broke off and took up positions at both the bottom of the staircase and the crag that led deeper into the cave network.
“Move out,” Luna intoned, spreading her wings as she stalked forward.
As the column moved into the tunnel, nopony noticed when a Pegasus soldier’s eyes flashed purple for but a moment.
The first signs that not everything was going to go smoothly occured within an hour of us leaving the Crystal Empire.
“Sail ho!” shouted the crewman from the crow’s nest.
“What colors?” shouted Tempest into the speaking tube in reply.
“No colors flying, Captain!”
I hurried to the bow, straining my eyes to see the ship. It was barely within sight, but I could see its dark-hull, a galley with a glittering crystal keel as opposed to a gas envelope. As far as threats went, the Calico would have the advantage in size, though the galley may have a bit of an edge in maneuverability.
“Who the devil is that?” Bernie asked as she hung off a bowline, trying to get a better view.
“Maybe just a passing trader?” Twilight said.
A fireball sailed forth, providing us with our only piece of context. Bernie yelped and hauled herself back onto the deck and under the rail, a small bit of fur singed from the near passage of the flames.
“Hell,” Tempest snarled. “Unship the ballistae and the forward catapult! Mages to the gunwales and bow! Look lively, now!”
Ponies rushed about, fastening large crossbows to points along the upper rails of the ship and a small section of the forward deck was slid away to allow the raising of a small catapult, all gleaming with enchanted wood and metal. A basket of clay spheres about the size of buckballs sat next to it. I could feel the magic drifting from them even ten feet away.
The galley continued towards us, turning broadside as several slots slid open, revealing dark wells that began glowing ominously.
“Shields!” shouted the captain, her own horn flaring to light, followed by the quintet of other Unicorns igniting theirs as well. A glimmering field of light blossomed into being a hundred feet beyond the tip of the bowsprit, taking the brunt of a volley of magic blasts. Twilight and I added our magic to the barrier as the deep-throated thrumming of the ballistae began to sound all around me. The large shafted bolts began to glow red as they cleared the weapon’s firing them.
“Hard to port!” I heard as the bolts neared their target. As the ship tilted on her side, avoiding some of the blasts, I saw several of our bolts clip the keel of the hostile ship, making the galley lurch downwards suddenly.
“Screamer!” yelled one of the ponies manning the catapult. I saw ponies duck down as the gunner slammed his hoof against the firing mechanism. Almost immediately, a harsh shrieking scream burst forth from the ammunition, making my ears pin back against the sound. It almost fell short, clipping the railing before bursting into a cloud of dust and a wail loud enough for me to wince at the sonic assault.
The Calico eased out of its bank and made a run towards the galley, the ballistae already loaded and taking aim as the basket of the catapult was being hailed back quickly.
Bernie made her way over to me, looking rather put out.
“They haven’t tried once to fend off our attacks,” she said. “Not a single shield.”
“I noticed,” I replied, watching as the galley drew closer at a frighteningly quick speed. “Not to mention they aren’t really maneuvering to avoid us, more to make sure they can bring more weapons to bear.”
The rattling of chains pulled our gaze to amidship where several heavy grapnels on the end were being hauled out by several ponies.
“Boarding chains?” Bernie whispered.
“That’s going to be hard,” I said. “They have weapons shoved through most of their ports.”
“I doubt they’ll be under fire by the time we try,” one of the ballista operators chuckled. “We’ll be making a wee bit of a drop here in a moment, so you may want to hold onto your horseshoes, ladies.”
“Drop?” I asked, echoed by Bernie.
“Release!” shouted Tempest, and with a sharp lurch downward, the deck beneath us surged forward with surprising speed as the envelope overhead was released. I gripped a row of belaying pins out of fear and felt a set of hooves curl around my waist as a panicked bleating was heard.
With the bulk of the envelope gone, the turns were sharper, and more vertical maneuvers could be performed. Our opponent was totally unprepared for having screamers and some sort of device called sparkers dropped from above. I saw one go off and several ponies near it drop to the deck, jerking in spasms as arcs of lightning burst free.
As we dropped a bit closer to the altitude the galley was on, now with a noticeable list to the starboard. It wasn’t showing signs of life and it’s arcane guns had fallen silent.
“Grapples!” came a command and the chains I saw earlier were hurled over and drawn up against the railings of the other ship, correcting some of its list. I saw a few ponies pulling short arms as the ship was drawn near. The galley thunked against our hull and several midshipponies hopped over, making a quick search of the exposed deck.
“Clear!” came the call, and I stood as they rigged a bit of planking to make crossing easier.
It’s not a good feeling spying several hundred feet under your hooves when you don’t have wings. I thought about a cloud walking charm, but it had been a remarkably clear day. Once on the other side, I looked at one of the ponies that had been shocked by the sparkers. Beyond the slight burns from the bomb, there were several darkened markings around the cutie mark, almost like the ash from a bit of burning plant material. I frowned as it began to blow away, leaving no trace. As I walked forward, I spied the same on almost all of the ponies.
“It looks like some sort of charm was on them,” Twilight said as she joined me, rubbing a hoof against the ash and smelling it. “But it’s very old magic, based around a physical focus that burned away as the spell worked.”
“That’s kind of risky,” I said. “If they hadn’t intercepted us before the charm wore off, what good would it have been?”
“They weren’t made to take us on,” Bernie said, inspecting one of the weapons shoved in a port. “Even with as little as I know about our ship, these wouldn’t have burned more than paint from her hull even with a full broadside.”
“Then…” I trailed off.
"The timing is suspicious." Twilight set her jaw and shook her head. "The fact that they attacked after news of the Tree being under siege and the teleportation rings being down? It seems like they were trying to buy time, if nothing else.” The galley was outfitted with a small complement of sailors to bring it to dock and investigate as the Calico went and collected its lift envelope and began making haste towards the south.
Luna ground her teeth as she pressed her back against the wall as the ghostly soldiers whipped through her forward line again. Nothing her retinue had tried seemed to even daunt these strange apparitions. And though her troops weren’t taking any damage, it was exhausting her contingent with the constant chilling wind and momentary weakness that accompanied their passage. They had tried dispelling charms, and they simply passed through. Weapons were equally fruitless doing little more than annoying them. But the real danger wasn’t the ghost-like fighters.
It was the precarious footing they were on, the gaps and crags in the floor. As the contingent moved to avoid the strikes, they would trip over the jagged terrain and fall or snag a hoof and roll their ankles. Twenty had already been ferried to the rear and out of the fight.
Luna snarled and reached down for the ley lines, adding its power to her own and thrusting a shield wall forth and blunting another of their unrelenting assaults.
“Regroup!” she bellowed, feeling the strain of maintaining the shield and the heat of the ley line flowing through her. She turned her glare forward as phantasmic ponies slammed into her shield.
“Fall back!” she said as her shield began to shiver with the impacts. She slowly moved back slowly as her surviving soldiers slipped away. The phantoms followed for a short distance before fading away as suddenly as they had appeared.
Luna let go of the line, panting as exhaustion flowed through her. A Unicorn with a pale ivory coat came forward.
“Your Majesty,” she began with a bow. “There appears to have been a collapse of the tunnel at the mouth of the cave. As near as we can determine, several feet caved in, one of our rear guards is unaccounted for. We can clear it away, but -“
“Not before our quarry eludes us.” Luna nodded. “Detail a unit to work on the collapse and bring any experienced mages to council with me. We must plan for this unexpected roadblock.”
She looked back to where the ground began to get rocky. Where was the Archmage? Who had enacted this horrid attack against one of the pillars of magic?
As she pondered, the sound of a hoof step and the soft rasp of metal on leather went unheard behind her.
The ship pitched into a hard turn over a clearing in the trees. Several of the crew, unprepared for the motion, slid a little across the deck. Bernie looked over the side and whistled.
“That's some crater,” she said, shading her eyes with a hoof.
I couldn’t disagree. I was familiar with the cave the Tree of Harmony was housed in and could see its approximate location. Surrounding it was a large series of cracks, ravines, and sinkholes. Several ponies in the colors of the Queen’s Guard milled about the entrance to the caverns.
“Can we put down here?” Twilight called up to the bridge.
“I don’t have the clearance,” Tempest replied. “If I get too low, we could get snared in the canopy. We can send out a lifeboat, though.”
“Better than hopping out from here,” I said, my gut feeling tight looking at the destruction that lay before us. “If ever I missed my wings…”
The lifeboat was eased over the side, several soldiers joining Twilight, Bernie, and myself. As soon as it had reached the limits of its line, I hopped out. The fall jarred me a little but didn’t stop me from dashing to the opening of the cavern, finding Gleaming Shield there directing soldiers.
“What’s going on?” Twilight asked as she came up behind me.
“Cave-in,” Gleaming said. “Something caused the roof to come down between us and the vanguard. We’re trying to dig it out, but there’s a lot of rubble.”
I saw a Unicorn come out, horn glowing and face strained. He tossed his head and his horn went out before he returned to the cavern.
“Uh,” I began, pointing as another Unicorn staggered out with the same routine. “What are they doing?”
Gleaming glanced over and frowned. “Bringing rubble out from the collapse. What does it look like?”
“She’s right,” Bernie said. “They’re just coming out empty-hooved. Are they just starting with the dust before moving the stones?”
“There is a bloody great pile of rocks right over there,” Gleaming exclaimed, pointing to an empty spot on the floor of the cavern. “And I don’t appreciate your smart-mouthed comments.”
Twilight frowned, looking back and forth before her horn blazed, raspberry light coating all the soldiers milling about. They all looked around, confused, but none more so than Gleaming Shield.
“What in…”
Twilight stepped up. “Someone put a geas on you to make you think you were clearing the tunnels. And if there isn’t actually a collapse, then that means they didn’t want to be bothered with an increased contingent of guards.”
“Where’s Luna?” I asked as I caught up to Twilight’s train of thought.
“She led the vanguard in herself,” Gleaming replied, still blinking as she stared at what had been - to her - a large pile of rubble. “Maybe two hours ago?”
“We’re going in,” I said. “There are Umbrum involved.”
Gleaming Shield muttered a curse and slammed her hoof onto the stone floor. “Form ranks!” she bellowed.
I took a glance at the tree and it’s battered remains before dashing forwards, followed by my friends.
We didn’t have time to wait for the guard to form up.
Luna felt the lunge more than anything. She kicked back, colliding with the body of a Pegasus with a wicked knife in its hooves. The force of the Alicorn’s attack flung him back into the wall of the tunnel, knife clattering off into the shadows.
“How dare you?” she snarled, wings spreading.
The Pegasus chuckled throatily, clambering back to his hooves.
“Now, now,” he taunted. “Temper, temper. Isn’t that how your sister got to where she is now?”
A blast from Luna’s horn sheared off a section of rock right next to the Pegasus’ head.
“You will not speak of my sister in that way,” she said, voice lowered to a dangerous growl. “Who are you, and who are your masters?”
The violet glow around the Pegasus’ eyes flared into being, along with a slightly fanged grin.
“I think you know us quite well, Moonsister. We are the wronged tribe of the air. The tribe that you warped to make your Thestrals.” He spread his wings, shadow forming multiple heads and leering eyes. “We are the Umbrum.”
Luna took an involuntary step backward and turned to call for a guard, but they were all milling about at the collapse, trying to dig their way out.
“They won’t hear you, Your Majesty,” the Pegasus continued. “They’re under a handy little spell that will make sure you and I have time for our chat.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” Luna spat.
“Oh?” The possessed pony folded his wings again, but the creeping shadows remained. “Not even if it’s about the missing Elements?”
Luna spun, staring.
“You should learn to conceal your reactions, Your Majesty. You give away far too much.”
“Tell me where they are and I won’t order your execution.”
The Pegasus laughed. “Order it anyway,” he drawled. “It won’t do anything to me. But you will kill this poor little corporal that I’m borrowing. However, if that doesn’t bother you…”
Luna gnashed her teeth. Spirits ahead, bewitched guards behind, and no way to incapacitate this treacherous little monster without harming one of her own citizens.
“I can see the doubt in your eyes, you know,” the Pegasus continued, stalking around. “How do you deal with me and the spectres without getting anypony hurt? Maybe it is as simple as ordering a few of those brave ponies to die.”
“I will not waste lives in a frivolous manner!” she shouted. “Not if I can find a better solution. When the Archmage arrives -“
“The Archmage is a little indisposed at the moment. One of my compatriots introduced a little flaw to her divination ritual.” He chuckled. “I hear it was quite the explosion.”
He was still laughing when a bolt of crimson fire roared down the tunnel and flung him up against the wall.
“Shut up,” Sunset said as she stepped seemingly through the mountain of debris, shocking several soldiers. “Everything you say is a lie.”
“What is this?” Luna asked.
“A minor geas was placed on you and your soldiers, Your Majesty,” Twilight said as she stepped forward, magic already clearing away the illusions. “It also caused the delay of reinforcements. They should be coming up behind us shortly.”
“How do I know this isn’t another trick?” Luna asked, narrowing her eyes carefully.
“When we appeared before your court, Gleaming Shield mistook my Twilight here for her sister.” Sunset looked at the Queen. “You knew that she wasn’t and called for the Archmage to confirm.”
“How is she?”
“She’s fine,” Twilight said. “She’s just in a mantically induced state of shock. We have a friend back in the Empire keeping an eye on her.”
“Very well.” She looked at the Pegasus. “Is there any way to bind him so that the being inside can’t escape?”
Sunset looked at the prone pony with a hard look.
“It may hurt a little,” she said.
The forest was so unnatural. It wasn’t anything like the lush jungle in the Peaks of Peril. But something was drawing the Kirin forward, something that she couldn’t understand. And not in that ‘can’t put my hoof on it’ way, but more in the ‘whooo-ooo!’ way.
As she trotted along, she saw a pony up ahead, her green mane rather mussed.
“Hello!” she called out as she approached. “I wonder if you could tell me about where I am? I’ve never traveled this much before. Well, I have, but it was mostly both ways and back in my home.”
The pony looked at her, smiling shyly. “Hi,” she said. “Ah… we’re about a day or two from the Castle, near the middle of Equestria.”
“Wow!” the happy-go-lucky creature cooed. “I’ve never seen a castle before! Tell me, is it really big and spooky?”
“Um, not really?” the pony said. “It’s not spooky, I think.”
The Kirin bopped herself on the forehead just below her horn. “Where are my manners?” she exclaimed before sticking out a hoof. “I’m Autumn Blaze, nice ta meetcha!”
“Wallflower Blush.” the pony shook the proffered limb.
“So, what are you doing out here?” Autumn asked.
“Looking for somepony,” she replied. “I have a feeling that they're this way for some reason.”
“Well, you mind some company on the way? I’m tired of only having myself to talk to. I almost named my shadow!”
Wallflower smiled meekly . “Sure.”
“Enjoy your vacation, Junie,” Applejack said as Juniper climbed onto the train. “You earned it.”
“‘I’ll try my best, boss,” Juniper Montage said as she waved her off. “Don’t forget you have that appointment tomorrow with the Minister of the Interior.”
“How can Ah forget? Blueblood keeps trying to get me to have dinner before and after our meetings.”
“He’s a little obnoxious,” Juniper agreed. “Try not to break anything this time.”
“No promises.”
The whistle blew and the conductor called for all aboard, and Juniper went forward to take a seat. She wasn’t sure why she had decided on Ponyville of all places to go for her week’s vacation, but it had seemed nice and pastoral and perfect for a couple days of relaxation.
A small pony with a pale coat climbed up into the seat beside her, adjusting her ascot delicately as she got settled.
“Going to Ponyville?”Juniper asked.
“Yeah,” the pony replied. “I’m going to be entering a seminar with one of the most wonderful designers in all of Equestria. I’m Coco Pommel, by the way.”
“Juniper Montage.”
As the train pulled out of the station, Juniper sighed and leaned back. “So, are you going to make it in time for your seminar? The trip from here to Ponyville is a little over a day.”
“Oh, it’s not for another few weeks. I just felt like heading that way for some reason.”
“Weird. I was just feeling an urge to head to Ponyville on vacation myself.”
Coco giggled. “Maybe there is some force drawing us both. Wouldn’t that be exciting?”
Juniper laughed. “It would certainly be better than the desk job I have right now.”
“You asked to see me, Headmistress?”
Starlight Glimmer looked up. “Ah, yes.” She stood and went over to a small scrying mirror. “There is some sort of magical buildup near the Castle. I need you to go down and offer the Queen and Archmage assistance in solving it.”
The blue Unicorn studied the map on the scrying mirror for a moment. “That looks like something major. Are you sure I would be of any help?”
Starlight put a hoof on the Unicorn’s shoulder.
“If anypony could help, I’m sure you’d do fine, Trixie.”
All things considered, I’ve had worse plans. I mean, I had seriously thought that by taking a bunch of zombified teens through the mirror would be enough to defeat Celestia.
But to use a modified teleport ban spell to try and hold an Umbrum in its host against its will? This was risky and it could very well do some permanent damage on the soldier that was being possessed if held too long and too firm. I mean, I’m literally holding an extradimensional creature in place by pretty much closing off mana access. This is the sort of thing that is done by several Unicorns and made into talismans, but it was all we had to keep the nasty thing a prisoner.
Twilight came over and peered at me critically. “Do you want to take a breather?”
I nodded my head, the red glow of my magic still steady. “I wouldn’t turn down something to drink.”
She nodded and moved off. I could dimly hear Queen Luna giving orders to soldiers, moving wounded out, and setting sentries. The amount of damage that a few carefully placed spells was terrifying. If not for the limitations that needing a host set upon the Umbrum, their spitefulness could have destroyed the army before anypony could make a move.
Twilight returned with a tin cup filled with water. She sat beside me and took over the binding so I could drink.
“Are we sure this will help?” Twilight said, her horn glowing brightly. “How do we know this one will be able to tell us what’s happening?”
I drained the cup and set it to the side. “We don’t,” I said. “But every bit of information helps. We know there are mana confluences around these points and speculate that we can use them to get home. Presumably, that’s also how Chrysalis was able to escape to do her little terrorizing on the Cervids, which in turn draws us into this. What we need is why they stole the Elements and how to get back.”
“What about our wings?”
“I’m guessing they’ll be there when we get back.” I looked away for a moment and rolled my shoulders. I could almost feel the phantom weight of them on my back, but couldn’t feel the muscles that moved them. “For all we know, they might never have been gone at all, like we speculated when we first got here.”
“So what do we do when it wakes up?” Twilight tossed her head at the unconscious pony. “It's not going to be happy that it’s bound here.”
“Do we have any indication they’re ever happy?” I sighed. “Here are the important questions: Why they helped Chrysalis and sprung her, why trap us here, what are they planning, and how do we get back. Beyond that, I couldn’t care less if the Queen orders us to burn this thing out of her soldier.”
Twilight sighed. “I hope it won’t come to that,” she whispered.
Luna strode over and nodded to us.
“Has it regained consciousness yet?” she growled.
“Not yet,” I said. “I might have hit it a little harder than I thought.”
Luna stared at the pony, the twin wisps of purple mana barely visible with the eyes closed. “How could we have missed this infiltration?”
“Everything I know about them is that they can take years to enact a plan, slipping members into the right places at the right times. If this started when I think it did, then they’ve been planning this for nearly five years, waiting for somepony capable of fooling us like our Chrysalis did, then helping her get free and work through their plans.” Twilight rubbed her neck. “If it wasn’t so twisted, it’d almost be a lovely bit of planning.”
I smirked. “Think of the lists it must have needed.”
“I know!” she exclaimed. “The logistics alone would have needed a manual of some sort and -”
“Twilight?” Luna said softly. “The prisoner?”
“Oh, right,” Twilight nervously giggled. “Since Umbrum can scan a host’s mind and use the information there to help avoid detection, Sunset and I have theorized that the opposite might also be true.”
“The hard part is getting the host to wake up but not the Umbrum,” I said. “Very little is known about just how they take a host let alone what happens to the host during the possession. We’re basing a lot of this on historical mental compulsions and other similar spells cast by ponies on other ponies.”
“So it may not work?” the Queen asked.
“It may not,” I agreed. “It would be a lot easier if I had access to my full powers and could just enter their mind myself, but something about the way they trapped us here stripped us of our powers. As we told you when we passed the castle the first time.”
“And has nothing come from the Archmage’s research? She is one of the wisest mares I know.”
Twilight shook her head. “By the time we had returned from Saddle Arabia, she had already been placed into a coma by the explosion of her scrying something. We’re not even sure what, but one of our friends is keeping an eye on her.”
“Was,” came a voice from the entrance of the cavern. We turned to see Moonrose and a somewhat haggard-looking Archmage stepping forward with Bernie and a young filly, some books hanging in a violet magic glow from the younger pony.
“Your Majesty,” the Archmage said. “I believe I might have an answer as to the question of why they attacked the Tree. Where my counterpart and her friend come from, the Elements were given to seven ponies that demonstrated their unique properties; Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, Empathy, and Magic.”
“I’ve never heard of the seventh,” Luna replied.
“It manifests rarely,” the Archmage continued. “And considering that when you withdrew them last it was for the defeat of Discord and later for your sister, I don’t think the Tree would have released that one for such purposes. But putting that aside, here no bearers were ever called, because no need existed.
“But it does now,” she continued, pulling one of the floating books from her companion. As the pages flipped by rapidly, she continued.
“The attack on the Tree, and the displacement of the Ley lines associated with it and some other magic-rich spots, has started a calling of sorts. The Tree of Harmony has selected bearers and has begun gathering them. It doesn’t have much power left, but the Elements will seek to join with those selected for them. I have been feeling the call of them since I entered this cave.”
I stared slackjawed. “You’ve what?”
“Have you ever felt a pull towards something, even if you dismiss it as something you’ve always wanted to do?” The Archmage turned the book towards me, showing me a complex thaumaturgical circle. “Years ago, I came across this but was unsure what it was for. While I was unconscious, I kept seeing it flaring to life, myself and five others within it. I think it might bring us together.”
“And that helps us how?” Twilight said, eyes locked on the symbol.
“I think it can summon the other bearers,” her counterpart replied, returning the book to her sidekick. “And since they are one of the most powerful artifacts in the known world, they might just be able to get you home.”
I felt tears gather in my eyes.
“Then we need to go get them back,” I said.
“There’s a little more.” Another book flashed over and flew open. “I also think I know what has been blocking your powers. I have a theory on how to unbind them, but I need to speak to that creature before I try.”
I turned to see the possessed pony had awoken and was glaring hatefully towards us.
“I see the sleeping princess woke up,” it hissed.
“It was a very restful sleep,” the Archmage quipped. “Now, we have a few questions for you.”
“You’ll likely kill this youngling trying to torture me,” the Umbrum within laughed. “So go ahead and ask.”
The Archmage smiled a cold smile as a bit of mirrored glass drifted out from her robes. “I think you’ll answer just fine.”
For the first time, I saw fear flicker across the eyes of the monster.
“What’s that?” Luna asked.
“A shard from the mirror that once linked Sombra and their Celestia,” the other Twilight said. “It’s been partially repaired, but required new pieces of glass to bind the refreshed spell into it. I was given the extra shards for safekeeping. I theorized that they might serve as a suitable prison for these creatures. Seeing how they were part of what I was scrying and the fear in our friends’ eyes, they may just work.”
“What good does putting him in another trap do for us?” I asked.
“Because then you won’t have to use mana to hold him,” she said, drifting the shard closer. “And for every crystal pane within, it will show him the truth of his existence. And, if I enchanted it properly, force him to answer questions truthfully.”
“That’s a pretty big if,” I muttered. It was greeted with a harsh glare from the Archmage.
“Setting aside my own personal assault,” she snapped as she drew a circle around the prisoner. “They are tampering with your timeline and natural magic flow. There’s a geas placed on you both that also affects those that see you. Your wings are very likely still there, just hidden behind magical compulsions.”
“That makes sense,” Twilight mused. “If a blanket compulsion was laid over us, then the spell would also make us forget any offhand sensation from our wings! That also explains why we still have Alicorn level magic levels!” She was bouncing from hoof to hoof in excitement, barely keeping from prancing.
I turned to the Umbrum, and it shrank from me as red light started to flicker across my horn, suddenly aware of the tiny pricks from the points that were still healing from my encounter with Entropy.
“Bind him,” I growled. As Acrhamge Twilight began working her spell, I closed my eyes to practice breathing exercises to calm myself. Slow and steady, deep in through the nose, gentle out through the mouth. If I was being held under an enchantment, I should be able to sense the irregularity in my mana flow.
I turned my thoughts inward, feeling the pulse of my magic flow through me. As I did, I felt a flicker inside, one that suddenly flared to life as I focused on it. It was warm and familiar, but it was covered by a heavy weight, like a blanket thrown over a birdcage. I wrapped the tiny glow in my mind, and brought it to the forefront, and I recognized the feeling of my geode, which had long been sealed into my peytral as part of my chain of office. I put a hoof where it would have hung and felt a slight weight.
“Release,” I breathed.
Bright light burst forth, illuminating the cavern with pink light as I was lifted off the ground. I felt the wind throwing my mane around, and there was a horrible tearing in my mind, like something was fighting to remain embedded and I grit my teeth against the pain.
When I touched the ground again, I slumped down for a moment, catching my breath. As I staggered back to my hooves, I could feel the extra weight of my wings and my peytral jangled slightly as it moved. I took in a deep breath and leveled my longer horn at the shaking prisoner, ignoring the looks of awe from onlookers. I spread my wings and reveled in the feel of the feathers lacing together and the strength in the limbs. I could feel my posture moving to the same straight-backed position from when I had held court. It felt familiar. It felt good.
It felt right.
“Are you ready?” I asked the Archmage, bringing my wings back to rest.
She shook her head as if realizing I had been standing there the whole time.
“I think so.”
“Good,” I said, turning and going to place a hoof on my Twilight and looking inward to find her bound power and guiding her to break her enchantment.
“Because I am beyond ready to go home.”
I turned back to the Umbrum as Twilight unfurled her wings, sighing as she shook them out. A violet light encompassed the shard of glass as it was pressed to the Pegasus’ forehead reflective side down.
A few muttered words slipped from this world’s version of Twilight, the circle she had drawn flaring to life. Then, slowly, the shard of glass was pulled back, rotating slightly so we could view the reflection. A long strand of purple-green light shimmered between the glass and the pony, looking like a sticky bit of slime from the Schmooze. Slowly, it drew the Umbrum out of the pony and towards the glass like a bit of flotsam circling a drain.
It made one attempt to lunge away, but it slammed against the circle and flailed as it was pulled into its prison, a horrible wail clawing at my ears.
Once it has been completely enclosed in the glass, the shard drifted down to rest on the ground as the Pegasus collapsed.
“Medic!” Luna called. As the unconscious soldier was born away, she turned and looked us both over, our wings bearing particular attention. She stepped up to me, very curious.
Her hoof reached out and touched my peytral.
“A seventh element,” she murmured. “Maybe if I had been able to draw this one, I wouldn’t have had to…”
She turned and walked away, ears tilted down slightly.
Archmage Twilight stepped up to me.
“We can question him soon, once his defenses are torn down.”
“There’s only one question we have for him,” I said, glancing at Twilight.
“Ley lines are a powerful flow of mana.” Archmage Twilight said, horn glowing softly as she traced out a circle in the dirt of the cave floor. As she started to mark out the symbols of the classical elements, she frowned. “I have my doubts about using them for dimensional transport, despite both your stories and my examination of Sombra’s mirror. They are part of the world, not separate.”
“That may be true,” Twilight said. “But they may simply be just a way of powering a spell beyond normal means. Like supercharging a teleport spell to extend the distance you can go.”
“It’s dangerous as all hell,” I muttered. “It’s probably why the only known existence of it to us are the mirrors. I don’t trust that a naturally occurring rift will lead us home. I certainly don’t trust the Umbrum farther than I can buck it.”
We all looked at the shard of glass that served as a cage for the Umbrum spy that had slipped into Luna’s forces.
“Nor I,” the Archmage said. “Despite that, I sensed no overt falsehood from it, though if it relayed a falsehood told to it, it would bypass the spell since it is believed to be truth.”
“Nothing for it,” I said. I glanced back at the tunnel that stretched out into the darkness, where we had been told the elements had been spirited away to. “More Important things to do here now anyway.”
“Finally!” Bernie exclaimed. “You all took your fair time talking about things that only you lot would understand.”
The two Twilight’s frowned.
“It’s just basic mantic theory,” the Archmage said.
“Which is one of the driest subjects in most curricula, honestly,” I said, standing and stretching. “What have you found?”
Bernie gestured and we went over to stand by her as she started pointing at various hoofprints in the soil.
“That mind whammy they put on the soldiers managed to make a mess of the trail as they floundered around, but going far enough ahead let me find some prints before the dusty floor gave way to pure stone, but I didn’t see any side passages along the length I went. I doubt we could catch them now though, path hit a chasm and I spotted at least ten different openings.”
I grit my teeth. From the information we had gotten from independent observation and questioning the Umbrum, we had determined that the only way to find the correct confluence of ley lines to get us home was to use the Elements of Harmony to guide us. The alternative was to try to find the exact spot over the ocean we had dropped in and try to return through that.
I wasn’t eager to try.
“Show us anyway,” Twilight said. “We might be able to pick up a mantic trace that you can’t. If nothing else, we can see where the path ends and decide from there.”
We followed the goat through the tunnel, the sound of our hooves on stone echoing ominously in the dim light of our horns. It wasn’t long before we stood before a gap in the cave floor that reached out past the walls of the large cavern that the split created. The ceiling was beyond the light that the three of us unicorns cast and there was a light breeze that cleared some of the stuffy air of the cave out.
“How did they get over?” I asked, eyeing the gap. It looked longer than most ponies could vault. “Are we dealing with Pegasi or Thestrals?”
“I would rule out any type of ground based folk that we’re used to,” Bernie said, pointing at a print in some rock dust. The print had a hard point with what looked like two narrow toes or claws. “I’ve tracked everything from Timberwolves to Centaurs and I’ve never seen a track like this before.”
“I have,” the Archmage said quietly, turning her eyes to the roof of the cavern, forcing more light from her horn. I followed her gaze upwards and felt my mouth go dry.
The roof of the cave held thick, swaying lines of spider silk as well as a few bundles along their lengths. I saw the heavily holed leg of an unredeemed Changeling sticking out from one. In the center of the conflux of webbing sat a massive spider, it’s bulbous abdomen pointing down towards us, it’s long hooked legs stretched out to various strands of it’s funnel-shaped nest, motionless. I saw what looked like an eye on the middle of its abdomen, but I couldn’t tell if it was an actual eye or some sort of decoration. I saw light glint off one of its actual eyes, and swallowed.
“Sweet Mother,” Bernie breathed. “That is one big bug.”
“It’s an arachnid, actually,” Twilight said automatically, backing away slowly. “And as long as we don’t disturb its web, it shouldn’t come after us.”
“Can’t it see or hear us?” the petrified goat asked.
“We may have caught this one dormant,” I said. “Otherwise the second we lit it up it would have moved. And it doesn’t hear, per se. It senses vibrations, so as long as we’re quiet, we should be fine.”
“At least we know where the elements are now,” the Archmage said, pointing. Along one strand were several stone shapes, each the size and general dimensions of the elements I had seen when they were in the tree.
“I don’t like the idea of trying to pull them free with a spider the size of a house sitting on the web,” I said as casually as I could.
“We could cut that section free,” Twilight suggested. “Detangle them later?”
“We’d have to be really quick and accurate,” I said. “And that’s a tiny target for a horn blast.”
“Quiet!” Bernie hissed suddenly. I was about to ask what was happening when the sound of skittering reached my ears just before a set of segmented legs reached up over the lip of the chasm and another large spider hauled its bulk into view, three of its eyes coming to rest on us.
“Oh, fuck me,” Bernie swore, a small crossbow appearing from out of nowhere.
The mouthparts of the spider clicked together twice before it began swarming towards us.
“Scatter!” Twilight cried, horn blazing with raspberry light as she blasted the ground between us and the spider. It barrelled through the dust kicked up without a pause.
I halted a few paces up the tunnel and fired back at the aggressor, but it just skipped off it’s carapace and brought it’s attention to me. It began to swarm towards me, circling around until it was crawling across the ceiling. I began to backpedal, planning to teleport until I spied the line of silk it had been trailing. If I wasn’t careful, I’d land right in it’s trap.
There was a snap of a taut line and a tiny hiss came before a short metal shaft exploded from one of its eyes. The spider gave off a strange scream - something between a hissing exhale and a growl - before turning around again, searching for the source of it’s pain.
“How’d ya like that, ya great overgrown tick?” Bernie shouted, racking the string on her small weapon back again, dancing to the side and over one of the trailed strands of silk. She was a little more nimble than I had figured she would be, easily clearing the silk and a segmented leg that tried to slam down onto her.
“Stand clear!”
I hopped back in time to see the Archmage lower her head, wreaths of lightning shrouding her whole body and spirling up her horn. A moment later, a loud peal of thunder beat at my ears as the line of electricity leapt from her to the spider, causing it to fall flat onto the floor, twitching and releasing another of the screams. An eye near the impact site exploded from the voltage and it twitched, one leg tangling in it’s own thread.
“Keep it up,” she called, gasping. Small currents of energy were flowing up the Archmage’s legs. “We can’t let it get it’s bearings.”
A raspberry bolt lanced out, hitting the bolt that Bernie had fired earlier, the magic from Twilight’s attack deflecting downwards into the carapace. The princess landed on the back of the spider’s thorax, legs spread wide as she balanced, lancing another shot straight down.
“Are you crazy?” Bernie yelled as she took aim. I was already racing forward as I grasped her plan.
“A spider can’t reach it’s back,” Twilight said, wings flapping to help steady her as the spider began to rise again. “It’s the safest point to be.”
I hopped up next to her as the massive arachnid regained its footing, though a few tremors caused a leg to spasm. I locked eyes with Twilight and we both lit our horns and sliced downward, a leg on each side being cut free.
Now, losing a leg doesn’t do much to a spider. It’s got six more and the way their legs work means they won’t bleed out. However, it does serve to slow the thing down and give it a jolt of pain, making it lash out wildly.
I saw the blue light begin to crackle around Archmage Twilight, another lightning blast forming. I stomped down hard, cracking it’s carapace slightly just behind the narrow waist that connected the thorax to the abdomen.
“Aim here!” I shouted before Twilight shattered a third leg. I leapt off, wings flaring to slow my fall as I twisted and fired back, shearing off the bottom segment of another leg.
Another bolt flew out and lodged in the crack I had made, the metal shaft breaking through and a small spurt of green ichor flew out as it did. A moment later, another clap of thunder and rush of ozone filled the tunnel as a second lightning bolt flew forward and used the bolt as a conduit. Smoke began to rise from the various wounds, the metal bolt melting from the heat of the lightning.
I began to pull power to my horn again when I saw the spider take a shuddering step, but relaxed as it collapsed, legs pulling up tight to its body.
“That was fun,” I breathed as Bernie prodded the body to make sure it was done.
“Just grab those gems and let’s beat hooves outta here!” Bernie said.
Twilight hurried to the opening and her horn lit as I joined her. She surrounded the Elements with her telekinetic grip as I got ready to cut the section free. As the strand parted, the entire web shook. I looked up and saw the legs of the second spider start reaching out to turn it’s bulk around.
“Run,” I said, following my own advice. The four of us took off back the way we had came before I spun and fired bolts into the cavern ceiling, collapsing sections of it to block the tunnel behind us. A few moments later, we came back to the vanguard of the force as the sound of falling stone echoed up behind us.
“Never a dull moment with you two,” Bernie said. “Ghosts, giant bugs, mad Changelings…”
“You’re taking this rather well,” Twilight remarked as she caught her breath.
“I’ve decided to charge you by the hour for my services.”
“You get us home and you can send Celestia the bill.” I said.
“Sunset.” Twilight admonished.
“You know she’d be more than willing to cover our rescue, Twi.” I said.
“True,” she agreed. “But how about we find the way home before we figure out payment plans.”
Luna walked up, her battle-worn armor glinting slightly in the torches and werelight of Unicorn horns. “You returned rather quickly,” she commented, looking at the cloud of dust still settling in the corridor beyond. “I hope it was a successful trip.”
Twilight lifted the Elements still confined in a sticky mass of spider web.
“You could say that,” she said sheepishly.
I was about to follow up when suddenly my peytral began to shake and my Element blazed to life. As it’s light reached the other Elements, the webbing melted as the stones began to shine, forming into shapes.
A feathered hat.
A magic wand.
A potted flower.
A trio of berries.
A star wreathed in lightning.
And a round sphere.
I blinked as the gems took on simple stylized versions of the shapes.
“Was that… Trixie’s cutie mark?” I asked.
“And I think I saw Coco’s too.” Twilight shook her head. “I didn’t recognize any of the others beside the Archmage’s.”
“Me either,” I said. “Though that one looked like juniper berries.”
“I guess that means the Elements are named.” The Archmage stepped forward and the stylized star flew towards her and fastened around her neck, a gold peytral manifesting.
Twilight nodded. “And they may be close, since they transformed like this. It didn’t happen in our world until my friends and I were together.”
“Well, I look forward to seeing who our other bearers are.” Luna turned and motioned a Thestral over.
“Candlelight Sonata reporting,” the batpony said.
“Send word to gather supplies in preparation to return to the castle. We have our objective and will return to a more defensible location.”
“Ma’am!” the Thestral snapped a salute and bustled away to carry out her orders.
“I’m sure this will be a bit of a surprise,” I whispered to Twilight as we headed out of the cave. “ I mean, if this world deemed Trixie to be worthy of being a bearer, I’ve got to see what she’s like.”
The screams were the first warning as we left the caves.
I glanced at Twilight before breaking into a run, coming onto a scene of madness. Soldiers were holding back advances of Manticores, Ursas, and a very angry looking Wyvern. Though the beasts would normally be no problem for trained soldiers and mages, they all held the shimmer purple haze that marked the presence of Umbrum. They worked in tandem and several ponies were being pulled back with severe injuries.
"Shore up the left flank!" Gleaming called out, her horn blazing with energy as she held one particularly large Ursa at bay. "We need to retake the exit!"
I threw myself into the air and sent a lance of fire forward into a Manticore's face, Twilight following suit with one of her bursts of magic and a crackling bolt of lightning from the Archmage. As I landed, I ground my hooves into the dusty floor for traction and glared at the monsters as they all halted and stared at us.
"Princess," they all hissed in one voice. "So good to see you again."
Twilight's ears pinned back as she recognized the voice and I felt my blood freeze.
Slowly, from the darkness of the stairwell, stalked out a large figure, chitinous body glimmering in the light and a shark toothed smile. There was an ephemeral quality to the image of Chrysalis, revealed to be a projection as she walked right through a rocky outcropping.
"So tell me," she cooed. "Have you enjoyed your little vacation? Your magic strained, no friends or Elements to help you this time?" She chuckled, no trace of her former madness evident. "While I keep you running around here looking for a way home, I have great plans for a mutual friend of ours back home."
"Show me your face and I'll give you a great plan," I snarled.
The Changeling Queen tilted her head and smiled again, showing every last one of her teeth.
"I think not, but please keep that spirit. It may be the only thing that survives this."
She shimmered out of existence and the fight surged on again.
The Kirin suddenly surged forward, galloping along. Wallflower blinked as she also felt a sudden need to run, a tug in her heart pulling her along stronger than any other time before. She soon caught up with the other creature and looked at her from the corner of her eye.
"Autumn, why are we running?" she panted.
The Kirin shook her head.
"I don't know," she responded. "It just feels like I need to be somewhere really quickly."
Wallflower chewed on her bottom lip. "Me too," she said, hopping over a fallen log. As they ran, she could faintly hear the roaring of a bear.
The train slid to a stop, Juniper already hovering by the door, suddenly impatient. Something inside was calling to her, a pounding need to get somewhere to the west. Coco came up next to her, calmer but showing a similar restlessness.
“Are you ok?” She asked the Pegasus.
“No. Yes. I don’t know!” Juniper flicked her mane back as she landed, frustration abating as the doors slid open and she darted out. “I just feel... I don’t know, like a wind current is pulling me along.”
Coco nodded. “I feel it too.”
“As do I, “ a voice added from behind them.
Turning, they saw a blue mare with a light blue mane draped over her shoulder and the horn that graced her head. She wore a dignified suit with a bow tied at the collar, giving her a scholarly air.
“And you are?” Juniper asked.
“Oh, please forgive my poor manners.” The Unicorn gave a brief bow. “My name is Trixie, assistant headmare of the School for Gifted Unicorns. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you,” Coco responded politely. “You said you could feel that pull too?”
“It’s less a pull and more a magical summoning. “ Trixie said, heading for the end of the platform. “I’m not the best at seeing the mana flow, but I can see the streamers coming off of the two of you as surely as I see the ones on me.”
“Who would summon us?” Juniper asked. “I’m just a secretary!”
“And I’m just a seamstress,” Coco added meekly.
Only one way to find out,” Trixie said, her horn sparking. A few feet in front of her a swirling circle of mist appeared. “Shall we?”
The assault just seemed to go on, and even I was beginning to tire. I had being going for days without adequate rest, as had Twilight. I began skipping back, using my recovered wings to lift myself over the sudden push of the Guard phalanx. As I landed, I saw the Archmage grind her hooves into the ground, eyes closed and head bowed.
Slowly, blue light began to filter its way up her legs, twining and spreading across her body as her horn began to spark. The runes carved into the ring on her horn began to flare and she began to lift into the air.
I watched as lighting began to flash in the sky before racing towards the ground, spearing through an Ursa before arcing around the area surrounding it, tying a manticore and a Chimera into the web of electricity as well.
The way the light filtered up reminded me of the way the deerkin had used their magic, especially the Heartmender. I closed my eyes and tried to sense the flow of magic in the earth. My own reserves were starting to run low and any edge would help.
Faintly, I could feel the pulsing of the earth, but I wasn’t able to tap into it. My concentration was broken as a guard nearby screamed in pain, falling back as the barbed tail of the Wyvern pulled itself back. It faced me and gave out a rumbling hiss, it’s tail whipping back and forth behind it.
I glared back, holding my ground as the soldiers to either side of the wounded pony began hauling him back to safety.
“Come on, scaly,” I said, feeding power to my horn again. “You want me? Gotta work for it!”
I dodged it’s first flick of the tail, glancing back to see the barbed tail shatter a stone where I had been standing. I countered with a lance of fire across its wings, but it was noticeably weaker than my usual attacks.
I hopped and glided to the side, trying to keep the beasts attention when my pet trap started to shake, the gem imbedded in it flashing and the familiar feeling of my cutie mark flashing as though the map table was summoning me. I heard a gasp of surprise and saw Archmage Twilight staring at hers in shock as it flashed.
Just then, a shape dove over the edge of the cliff, it’s ivory coat slowly being covered in azure flames, landing on the Wyvern and spinning in a circle.
The mysterious being’s steps left a ring of flames dancing along the back of the giant reptile, and it was not happy. It screamed and dropped down to roll onto its back, but the flames just continued to burn.
The mystery being strode forward, and it seemed as though she were made entirely of arcane flames.
“A Kirin,” I heard Twilight breathe.
“Howdy!” A cheery voice came from the frightening face of the... Kirin?
The flames died, revealing the smiling face beneath a curly mane. “Names Autumn!”
“Sunset,” I responded automatically. Kirin weren’t unheard of in my Equestria, but they weren’t overly social with other races.
A cry from across the clearing made me turn, seeing that Gleaming had been tossed aside by a particularly annoyed chimera. It grinned as it snuck up on the winded Unicorn, but then a green pony with a messy mop for a mane slowly stepped between the two.
I started to charge my horn, but before I could fire I saw a small glow around her neck grow brighter and the chimera get confused. The purple trails around its eyes flickered and it turned from what had been it’s prey and wander away from the battle, seemingly lost.
I made it to Gleaming’s side as she stood back up. “You ok?”
Gleaming nodded, glancing around at the battle. It was still touchy, but with a Kirin setting fire to anything that got near her, things were less chaotic.
Well, if beasts running around on fire was less chaotic. The smell of burning fur made my eyes burn.
“How did you get that Chimera to back off?” I heard Gleaming ask the pony. She blushed and ducked her head for a moment before brushing a hoof across her necklace, a bit of stone wrapped in a wire harness.
“I used this,” she said. “I can kind of make others forget I’m there for a few seconds if I want. It’s not always a good thing, but I think in this instance it helped.”
I felt my blood chill as I got a good view of the stone. It wasn’t fully intact but the part she held had very distinct markings; it was a fragment of one of the Cervid Memory Stones.
“Well, I appreciate it and won’t forget you so easily,” Gleaming said, patting the other pony on the back. “What’s your name?”
“Wallflower,” the shy pony said. “Wallflower Blush.”
Gleaming nodded and was about to say something when the far side of the ravine suddenly erupted in pyrotechnics,
As I looked up at the ravine's edge, I saw three figures appear. I recognized two of them. I was about to call out when the Unicorn lowered her head and pointed her horn at the nearest Manticore. A small sphere shot out from her horn and struck the beast, exploding in a spray of fireworks and smoke. The beast howled as its coat caught fire and thrashed, striking a nearby monster and earning its ire.
With a flash, the three ponies suddenly appeared nearby, and I looked as they trotted over. Trixie looked about as I knew her, though gone were the showmare’s cape and hat, and in its place was a crisp suit.
“Vile creature, Manticores,” Trixie said as she turned to look at me. “What did you do to… You’re Alicorns!”
I glanced at Twilight before nodding. “Apparently.”
“I’ve never heard of there being more than just Queen Luna! You have to tell me where you’ve been, how did you ascend? Does it have something to do with this nasty bit of business?”
“Slow down, One question at a time!” I said, patting my hooves in the air. A roar let out as the last wyvern took off, deciding that easier meals lie elsewhere. “My name is Sunset Shimmer, and where I’m from is Equestria, just one a little to the side. This is my friend, Twilight Sparkle, the counterpart to your Archmage. We were trapped here by Umbrum being led by a mad Changeling from our reality. We -”
“Are looking to use the Elements to open a dimensional gate to get home again and foil whatever dastardly plan this Changeling has enacted, correct?” Trixie nodded. “Headmare Glimmer was right to send me, though I am also feeling a certain pull. These mares also felt it.”
As she gestured to the other two mares, they stepped forward and introduced themselves, though Coco didn’t need one for us.
Juniper Montage, however, was a bit of a surprise.
“I didn’t expect this,” Twilight said.
“What do you mean?” Juniper asked.
“Well, to be honest,” she said. “I was expecting an Earth Pony.”
She got an odd look at that, but Luna came forward with the Archmage, the rotating gems of the Elements floating alongside. As she approached, the gems floated over and began hovering around the ponies with the corresponding cutie marks. Autumn - not being in possession of a cutie mark - was the plain round sphere, a small image of fire beginning to show within. They slowly affixed themselves to each pony with a golden peytral, the magic gems beginning to flare with power. I felt a corresponding pulse in mine and we all lifted from the ground, each Element beginning to shoot a colored beam out.
Juniper’s flared first. “Honesty,” the Archmage said.
Wallflower’s followed. “Loyalty.”
Trixie blushed as hers lit up next. “Kindness.”
Coco chuckled shyly, her Element glowing brightly. “Generosity.”
Autumn was virtually prancing in place as hers glimmered to life. “Laughter.”
My Element shone crimson as it joined the spell. “Empathy.”
“And Magic,” the Archmage said, her own Element joining the beam.
With the Elements powered up, the rainbow beam shot forward, striking the remnants of the Tree of Harmony. White light flared into being, and when it died down, the Tree had returned to its location, albeit smaller and looking a little paler than I was used to.
“Well, that was sure something,” Autumn said, looking at her jewelry. “So what’s this mean, anyway?”
Queen Luna stepped forward. “It means that you have been chosen by the Tree of Harmony to carry magic known as the Elements of Harmony. You each embody one of the virtues of friendship. This is a great honor, but also a great responsibility.”
Trixie was running her hoof over her gem, shaking her head. “But I don’t get it. Why was I picked? I’m just a simple teacher.”
I blinked as I tried to reconcile the idea of a humble, academic Trixie who didn’t refer to herself in the third person.
“The Elements chose their own bearers,” Twilight said, stepping forward. “In my world, I was chosen as the bearer of the Element of Magic, much like my counterpart has. My friends were chosen as we faced great danger, but together we survived and saved an innocent mare from a fate worse than death.”
She looked at each of them in turn. “I won’t sugarcoat it, being a Bearer means hard times. But, if the Tree chose you then I have faith in you.”
“So what do we do now?” Wallflower spoke up.
I shared a look with Twilight, Luna, and the Archmage.
“Now,” Luna spoke softly. “We help our friends get home.”
****
“Are you sure about this?” Trixie asked.
“As sure as I can be,” Twilight replied, using the slide rule to plot a course. “I mean, I’ve never had to navigate to a fixed locality of spatial flux before, but there’s a first time for everything.”
“I don’t understand why we couldn’t use the nexus at the Tree,” Juniper said, alighting next to me. “This mad dash to Rainbow Falls might alert the Umbrum.”
“The Tree was too weak to properly mold the Ley Lines,” the Archmage spoke from her place at the Calico’s bridge. “It needs time to heal before any ritual can be performed there.”
“And we’re using Rainbow Falls, why?” asked Bernie as she hopped down from the mast.
“It’s the closest nexus still in control of the Queen.” I stepped forward and shook out my wings. “And unless it also connects to an unrelated location in our Equestria, it’s in a place we know is safe and where we can get back to Canterlot quickly.”
“There’s still the geas that makes it so nopony knows you,” the Archmage said. “You said you looked in on your wife and it was as if you’d never existed to her.”
I felt a sharp pang at that. “That’s something we’ll worry about when we get to it. It won’t help us to dispel that one if we’re not there to be remembered.”
“Coming up on Rainbow Falls,” Tempest called out. “Where exactly am I setting down?”
Twilight double-checked her notes. “Leeward of the southernmost fall, near the crest.”
As the ship set down, I disembarked with the others, the ship lifting off again as the winds here were too unpredictable for the craft to comfortably stay moored. I could feel the updrafts whipping at my mane and feathers from where I was standing several dozen yards from the edge of the escarpment.
“So, what now?” asked Coco quietly.
“Now,” the Archmage said, a book drifting to her from her pannier. “We work to make the portal appear. Everypony gather around and focus to feel the Ley Lines here.”
The six other ponies formed a circle, their eyes sliding shut. As they stood silently, I tried to tap into the Ley Lines again. As before, while I could feel the pulsing energy of the earth, I couldn’t touch it or bring it forth. It was like grabbing at smoke, always flowing between my grasping fingers.
I sighed and glanced at Twilight as the Bearers continued their focus. Tiny wisps of light were beginning to coil up the legs of the Unicorns and Autumn, while the barest glimmer was beginning to flicker around the hooves of Wallflower and Juniper.
“Are you sure this will work?” I asked.
“Revealing the portal or the rest?” Twilight asked.
“The rest,” I clarified.
“That will depend on how the next few minutes go,” She fluffed her wings. “They are brand new to their Elements, and even we didn’t have full knowledge of their powers before we had to return them to the Tree.”
I nodded. I reached inside and took a quick stock of my mana reserves. They were back to the levels I was used to, now that the geas over Twilight and I had been broken.
Well, one of the geas.
“Get ready, just the same,” I said, watching as the glow of the latent magic was now surrounding all of the other six ponies. “Just in case this doesn’t work.”
A crackling swirl of light appeared in the air, swiftly being drawn into the mist of the falls. Peering over the edge, I saw a portal appear, not too dissimilar from the one in the mirror that I used to go back and forth back home. As I looked at the swirling rainbow, I heard Bernie’s harsh whisper.
“Incoming.”
I soon heard the crashing of several ponies tearing through the brush with no care for stealth. I positioned myself between the casting ponies and the area our opponents were going to approach from. Twilight took my flank as Bernie and Moonrose took the other side. I heard a sharp click as the Ibex set a bolt to her crossbow. Twilight’s horn shone with a held spell, and as I glanced around, I saw that the entire area was growing dimmer as storm clouds began to drift in.
I spread my wings slightly as I brought my own power to bear.
The crunching of brush grew louder and several ponies leaped out, eyes aglow with the shine of Umbrum controlling them. My horn blast took the nearest one to me out in midair, flipping him over several times before he landed on the ground. Then I heard the sounds of Twilight and Moonrose firing and the clicks of Bernie’s small crossbow. We were pretty solid in our defensive line.
But there were a lot of Umbrum. I felt a little like I had back in the Crystal Empire during the war, desperately trying not to harm fellow ponies but forced to do what I had to do to protect the ponies behind me.
I heard Twilight cry out in pain as a Pegasus dive-bombed her and bowled her over. I turned to see her tumble and the Pegasus continue on, aiming straight for the Archmage. I tried to bring my horn to bear but was knocked off balance by a charging Unicorn.
Time slowed down as I stumbled, watching the Pegasus glide closer. But, as I saw the Umbrum inside begin to grin, Archmage Twilight turned, eyes blazing with untold power. The light burned brightly, and the Pegasus crumpled, a purple mist flowing away before being trapped in a sphere. Other Umbrum caught in the light were also expelled and caught.
I helped Twilight back to her hooves. “Are you alright?”
She nodded. “Just a little winded.”
The Archmage stepped over, mana flowing in ripples across her body.
“We can’t keep the portal revealed much longer, and if more Umbrum come, I’ll have to split my attention between guiding the mana and exorcising the shadow creatures. I would go now while the getting is good.”
I looked at the thicket as the sound of brush crashing began to grow again.
“How long will it stay open if you leave now?” I asked.
“What?”
“If you were to take the Bearers, Moonrose, and Bernie, teleport to the Calico, and let the summoning go, how long till it wasn’t usable?”
The Archmage thought. “Fifteen, maybe twenty seconds? This is new territory for me. I’ve never tried teleporting this many ponies at once, either.”
Twilight stepped up to her counterpart and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
“You can do it,” she said. “I have faith that everything will be just fine.”
The Archmage chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding. She returned to the group and called the other two members of our group over. She began charging her horn and I turned to Twilight.
“Ready to go home?” I asked, horn lighting up.
“Beyond ready,” she replied, backing towards the edge of the escarpment.
“You go first,” I said, magic flowing through my horn. “I have a little surprise for them.”
Twilight nodded as she turned towards the edge. As soon as the other ponies teleported out, she leaped over the bank and vanished. I let my spell loose and backed up to the edge.
As soon as the Umbrum-controlled Ursa broke free of the brush, I grinned and make a “Come get me gesture” before falling backward over the edge.
The Ursa growled and lunged forward, falling toward me. I smiled.
“Gotcha,” I smirked as the illusion dispersed, revealing me falling into the swiftly closing portal several yards to the side of where my phantom self had dropped. The Umbrum roared in anger, but it was lost to my ears as I fell into the portal, the kaleidoscopic tunnel stealing me away.
****
I landed hard, the grassy knoll not exactly the softest place to land after falling a few dozen feet.
“Ow,” I groaned as I stood up. Twilight was already standing, gazing at the setting sun.
“We don’t have much time,” she said. “Once the moon is up, I don’t think I can wrest it from Luna.”
I stretched and reached inward for the tiny spark of magic that remained from when I held the Solar throne. It was shining brightly as that same magic was being used.
“Get ready,” I said, closing my eyes and reaching deep within me, then downward, into the earth. I wasn’t sure I could, but being back in my own world might mean a better attunement to…
There, I said to myself as I reached out and gripped the Ley Lines. Massaging it upward through the ground, into myself. I could feel it winding around my lower legs, amping up my mana as it did. I slid a few tendrils over to Twilight, feeling her shift as the mana began flowing through her as well.
“Ready?” I asked, voice quivering with anticipation as I glanced at Twilight.
“Ready.” came the response.
I closed my eyes once again.
And reached out and halted the Sun’s travel, wresting it back to the noon-time position as Twilight wrenched the Moon up to sit alongside it in the sky.
Even with the Ley Line's help, we could only hold them for a few seconds before I felt the Diarchs force them back under their control, but I knew that soon we’d be facing them. I let the Ley magic go, feeling it drift back into the earth and I collapsed, suddenly exhausted.
Twilight settled beside me and sighed, looking up at the rapidly shifting sky.
“It’s good to be home,” she said.
I chuckled.
“Let’s wait until after we talk to Celestia and Luna about stealing their thunder first.”
We didn’t have to wait long before a rush of air and a loud snapping announced the appearance of both Diarchs. They had a few guards with them and they stared at us imperiously. I was sure that we were about to be arrested.
“Wait,” Luna said, tilting her head. “You, the one who wrested the moon from my grasp. I know this power…”
Luna’s horn glimmered with werelight, and she closed her eyes. After a moment, they shot open with amazement.
“Twilight Sparkle.” she breathed. “How could I have forgotten you?”
“Luna?” Celestia interjected. “You know these ponies?”
“I do, Sister, as do you. Some spell has blocked my memories. Surely you recognize your two brightest students?”
Celestia’s face screwed up in thought, and I caught myself holding my breath for a moment.
“Twilight, and,” her eyes flew open. “Sunset. Where have you two gone to, what happened to blanket you from even our minds?”
I sighed with relief.
“I’ll be glad to tell you, but there is something I must do first.”
I closed my eyes, took a small bit of ley line energy, and sought in my mind the speck of light that was the link I held with my Twilight, my Sunshine, and plucked it.
Sunshine was lounging in her rooms, chatting with Fluttershy and Starlight. She had often wondered about how she was pregnant, and who the father had been. Why she was a pony here when she thought she should be something else. But every time a thought like that arose something inside her made her thoughts drift toward other topics.
She was about to pick up her tea when she felt a blazing light touch her mind, and a soft voice whispered to her as though right next to her.
Twilight, it said, feminine and soothing. We’re back. I’m back, my love.
And the floodgates opened, memories rushing back to her. The shimmering form of her Daydream state at the Friendship games, her proposal, the fight against Acerak, and the invasion of the Crystal Empire…
The feel of her hands. The brush of her lips. The warmth of her body.
“Sunny,” she whispered to herself, gaze flying towards the north.
I heard her reply and a small sob slipped free from my throat. A few tears leaked down my muzzle as I smiled and let out a short laugh. Twilight looked at me in concern.
I looked at my friend. “She remembered. I haven’t lost her.”
Celestia cleared her throat and I realized I had forgotten she was there.
“Sorry,” I said, suddenly blushing.
“It is ok, Sunset. You had to let your wife know you were fine.” Her motherly smile warmed my soul. “If I had been in your place, I would have as well. Now, about what happened?”
Twilight and I took turns explaining what had transpired after we had left for the Glen. Luna’s face grew grim as the story continued.
“To think that Chrysalis was able to free herself and ally herself with the Umbrum!” she growled. She turned to her guard. “Send word to the EUP, tell them to initiate the old search protocols for Changeling infiltrators.”
The Thestral gave a smart salute and turned to take off.
“Wait,” Twilight said, making everyone turn toward her.
She had a devilish smile on her face.
“I have a better idea,” she said before explaining it.
I felt my smile match hers.
She never really thought about how odd it felt walking in another’s skin. True, her magic allowed her to take the appearance of anypony she wished, but instead of transforming her body, it was more a combination of glamour and illusion that allowed this change. But she was also hosting another presence in her mind, which only added to the odd sensation.
I don’t care what you do after this, she told the presence. As long as I get to exact revenge on Starlight Glimmer. And you shall, a low voice purred. And then our partnership will be concluded.
Chrysalis smiled as she walked down the corridor, the image of a Royal Guard draped around her like a warm cloak. Ahead was the door that led to the residence wing. She remembered the layout of the palace from her time impersonating Princess Cadenza in her plot to take over by marrying Shining Armor.
She grit her teeth. What a fiasco that had become. The Changeling queen had to fight to keep her wings from buzzing in annoyance. That had been the beginning of her downfall, the impetus that had led to her having her kingdom destroyed and her people turned from her.
And while it was ultimately Starlight’s fault for the latter, the former was caused by Twilight Sparkle. She deserved a bit of retribution on her as well.
The grin returned as she thought about Twilight and Sunset trapped in a parallel world, stripped of their power and their wings, unable to stop her. True, they had broken the glamour over their power as Alicorns, but they were still trapped.
A door with a glimmering star on it stood before her now. She pushed it open and moved inside, shutting the door behind her. There was a sleeping form on the bed, a blanket pulled up over her head as she let out small snores in her sleep.
Chrysalis smiled as she dropped her glamour and began to siphon power to her horn. Her magic was augmented by the Umbrum she shared a mind with, her eyes glimmering with purple wisps of magic.
But before she could do anything else, golden chains erupted out of the ground and wrapped themselves around her.
“What?!” she exclaimed, struggling.
The form on the bed threw the blanket aside, revealing a wild mane of red and gold.
“Hi. How are ya?” Sunset said.
The Umbrum abandoned Chrysalis and tried to flee, only to rebound off a panel of glittering crystal. Twilight stepped forward, a saccharine smile on her face.
“Leaving so soon?” she asked.
Chrysalis growled, trying to wrest free of her binding. “How did you get here?” she snarled.
“She’s going to go after Starlight,” Twilight had said earlier as we had made our way into Canterlot Castle. “She hates her with a passion. Everything she did to you and me was just to keep us out of the way.”
This led us to meet with Starlight and after using a bit of ley line magic to break the geas over their memories - and a deep kiss with my wife - we explained what had happened to us.
I had a feeling we were going to be relating this story a few times unless we could completely erase this geas. Would the effects kick back in if we weren’t in sight?
After talking and debating, we settled on this trap. It had seemed so simple… but simple often worked. And after some planning, that led us to this point; me pretending to be Starlight asleep in bed before springing the trap.
“How did you get here?” the Changeling hissed.
“Hitched a ride on a Royal Chariot,” I said, feeding a little more power into the chains that bound her. “Thought we’d catch up. Have a little talk.”
“Like we would tell you anything,” Chrysalis huffed. She rose up as high as her bindings would allow. “You ponies are weak and don’t have what it takes to make me afraid.”
“While ordinarily, I would agree,” Twilight said from the other side of the room. “Sunset here is a bit more irrational and prone to anger than your average pony. And your spell, whatever it is, made her wife forget about her.”
“That was a bad move,” I said, deathly calm.
“Last pony that harmed her, Sunset reduced to ashes.” Twilight looked at her hoof. “I wouldn’t antagonize her at the moment.”
“You wouldn’t daURK!” Chrysalis began but choked off as I wrapped another chain around her neck to make her stoop.
“Don’t tempt me,” I warned. I brought a bag out from behind me, withdrawing a peytral with a tiger’s eye gem inlaid, cut into the shape of a blazing sun. I passed a crown to Twilight.
“You see, not only did you lay a geas over ponies that encounter us,” I said, settling the peytral on my neck. “You also nearly destroyed two worlds with your scheme last time. We have decided that you are too dangerous to allow to be simply imprisoned.”
A hint of fear was working its way onto Chrysalis’ face.
“But we couldn’t agree on what to do, since we’d need all the Elements to banish you to the moon or the like. Which is why I asked for their help.”
Three deer walked in; a Vitrung, a Nordeer, and a Peryton. Pine and Cersi were the same as ever, though Ganymede had a grim look on her face. She carried a box the size of a small jewelry box. Thea was perched on Pine’s antlers.
“They have some slightly more permanent answers than I do, with less burning.”
Ganymede stepped up beside me, looking me in the eye.
“Are you certain this is what you wish to do?” She asked, box shifting in her grip.
I gazed at the Changeling struggling against the chains of mana I had trapped her in.
“I believe it’s for the best,” I said.
With a sigh, the Nordeer began walking around Chrysalis, placing silver tiles with various runes on them As each tile was placed, she would whisper a word and the rune would flare briefly with light. Soon, she had three rings of runes surrounding her, shimmering with coruscating light, though the outermost held a gap in its circumference. The door opened and Starlight entered, another silvery tile in her magic.
“It works as well as can be expected,” she explained as she passed it to Ganymede. “I’m not overly familiar with Rune Writing.”
As the final tile settled into place, the entire ring flashed gold and slowly settled to a slow pulsing.
“Pine,” I said into the silence broken only by the sounds of chains rattling.
The Vitrung stepped forward, reaching into the satchel that hung over his withers. From within, he pulled an oblong stone. A carving of an eye adorned it with several swirls underneath. When Chrysalis saw it, she began thrashing even harder against her bindings. I added a little ley energy to reinforce them.
“I ask that you all step behind me, save Starlight.” He raised the stone and light began to trickle around his legs, the vine tracery shining a vibrant blue as the Memory Stone began to hover in the air.
Starlight stood slightly behind him and began casting a spell, holding it in reserve as Twilight and I bolstered her power with our own.
This was a big gamble, and I didn’t know if it would work, but the only other option was brutal and unyielding.
I wasn’t willing to use those methods. Not when there was a possibility of a better outcome.
“Now,” I whispered, as Twilight and I tapped the leylines and tied it into Starlight’s spell.
Pine’s eyes began to glow, and the stone flared to light, ribbons of magic beginning to flow out from Chrysalis. Images began to appear on the streamers, brief moments of time appearing on them as they were pulled back into the stone.
At the same time, a vortex appeared above her. I recognized it from the stories Twilight had told me about her battle through time with Starlight. Before our eyes, the Changeling began to shrink, regressing in age until she was little more than a grub. Once the final streamer sank into the stone, the spells stopped. Each of the tiles on the floor were blackened and cracked.
“It’s finished,” I said, turning my eye to the Umbrum still trapped, horn blazing. It gave a final shriek as I sank ley energy into it, dispelling it from this world.
Silence descended on the room and we dispersed the various spells that had been present. The grub that had been Chrysalis gave a gurgle and tried to crawl, but couldn’t get the motions down. Though the features on her face were small, her eyes were filled with curiosity.
“Thea,” I said, causing my phoenix to straighten up. “Go find Thorax and tell him what happened.”
I looked at the tiny baby Changeling and lifted it in my aura.
“How does it feel to be home?” Sunshine asked as we walked through the door of our house. The repairs were done, and though I could still smell a hint of smoke, it looked like every last detail had been recreated.
“Honestly? I’m just ready to sleep for the next week.” I sighed. Tapping ley energy here was more exhausting than it was in that other Equestria. The strain of tapping so much of it in addition to the fact that Twilight and I had slept only fitfully most of the last week was catching up to me.
“I’m not surprised,” my wife said as we entered the bedroom. “Sounds like you had a rough time.”
I nodded. “Trying to wrap my head around some of the differences was odd. Celestia slain, Luna as queen? Everything was different, and all the girls were separated, but still friends.”
“Thinking of Shining Armor as a mare is a strange thought, too.” she added, a small smile growing. “Shame I couldn’t have seen that.”
I smiled as well as my horn lit and the blankets slid back.
“It was worth it to see the look on Twilight’s face when she pranced in.”
We giggled a little as we climbed into bed. She shifted a little, trying to get comfortable and I slid a wing over her as she snuggled into my side.
“Do you think what we did will work?” I asked.
She nodded, the tip of her horn brushing against my locks.
“She’s essentially a fresh start. Her memories are gone, and she’ll be growing up in the hive along with a lot of other young Changelings. I’m sure if we meet her again, she’ll be just like that young girl, Ocellus I think her name was? The one that Thorax introduced to us when he arrived to take Chrysalis in.”
“Ocellus, yes,” I yawned and felt sleep grabbing at my eyelids. “I love you, you know?”
Her response was to snuggle in closer and slide a forelimb over me.
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
There is something about sleeping in your own bed after being gone for an extended time.
Noon found us sitting around the council table again, this time with a few new faces.
“So if I understand this correctly,” Heartshine said, her wings fluffing slightly. “She began to terrorize and plague the village to create a reason for us to come and bring Princess Twilight to the Glenn just so she would be transported to the other realm?”
“I think she would have been happy if you had judged her and wiped her memory,” I said. “My accompanying her likely made her alter the plan she had come up with along with the Umbrum.”
Pine sighed. “We sought out Dunford and found him to be missing. We suspect that a Changeling had taken his place or he was possessed by one of the Umbrum and later disposed of once his purpose had been completed.”
“That begs the question of how she got free from her prison in the first place.” Twilight ruffled her wings as she shifted slightly in her seat. “Didn’t we have guards in place around her?”
“We did, and on questioning them we learned that they had a compulsion geas on them to make them believe she was still there.” Luna frowned. “We suspect that was her test of the geas that she eventually laid over us and you.”
“But how did she make everyone forget us?” I asked. “She couldn’t have cast it on everypony individually.”
“In that, I must shoulder some of the blame,” Luna said, bowing her head. “With so many still dealing with the nightmares of the attacks during Entropy’s brief release, I have found myself overtaxed, as you may know. I believe the Umbrum used my distracted state to enter the dreamscape of ponies and spread the geas like a virus. And for that, I am sorry.”
“It’s alright,” Twilight said. “And if you need help, I still remember the Dreamwalking spell you showed me when I took over for you. I’m sure I could spend a night or two on patrol with you.”
“I will… consider it, Twilight.” The midnight mare pursed her lips. “It is likely more hectic than it was when you patrolled them last.”
“You seem more at peace, Sunset Shimmer,” Heartshine said as her eyes fell on me. “Last time we spoke, you had an inner conflict.”
“I did?” I said.
The small deer nodded. “Upon reflection during my travel here, I believe the backlash was partially due to a schism in your thoughts. I wonder, would that same indecision be there now?”
I smiled at her. “It isn’t any prettier in there,” I said.
Heartshine smiled in return.
“Have you come to a conclusion, then?” she asked.
I closed my eyes and thought for a moment. Two weeks ago if I had been given the chance to be rid of my wings, I would have leapt at the chance. A return to being a regular pony. I hadn’t had a coronation, so it isn’t like it would affect the royalty or anything. I didn’t even hold a throne here.
But, after the events of the last week, being without had felt wrong every moment they crossed my mind. The tiara on my head didn’t feel as heavy anymore, nor did my wings drag on me as they once had. Somewhere in the last few days, the feeling of discontent had faded, leaving acceptance in its place.
I may have given up on seeking the wings, but perhaps that was what earned them for me. I wasn’t going to question Harmony or Serendipity. The granting of the wings had a reason, and as I looked at the dark times that had followed, I saw the reason.
Yes, I had been forced to fight.
I had been forced into a role I hadn’t wished for.
But the reasons I fought weren’t because I feared that which faced me. I didn’t hate what opposed me, but I loved those behind me. That was why I fought. Twilight - both of them - and the girls. My sisters and their families. Azure and Gleam.
And that in and of itself was the main duty that Luna and Celestia held. Protecting the ponies of their land.
I had passed the trials that had been placed before me and never realized it.
I opened my eyes and nodded.
“I have.”
“Why did I agree to this, again?” I asked as I fussed with the mantlet I wore.
“Because you decided that being a Princess was worth it after all,” Sunshine said, horn lighting to straighten my regalia. “And you agreed to this after Princess Celestia brought it up.”
“I plead temporary insanity.”
I smiled as my wife giggled. I could hear Celestia’s voice as she addressed the crowd that had gathered outside. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves. To the side, Tempest stood tall, the crystal sheathing on her horn glittering.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
I glanced to the side at Sunshine, radiant in her formal wear. A look towards the balcony showed Twilight looking in towards me, smiling brightly. A glance from Cadence showed a similar smile.
“I’m ready.”
A cheer went up as I stepped out onto the balcony and Celestia spoke, the Royal Voice lifting her words to all assembled.
“Princess Sunset Shimmer, Princess of Empathy!”
When I was younger, I had wanted this so badly, the adulation of the populace. Now, I recognized the price that came with the title.
And it was one I will gladly pay, if it led to my child having a safe place to grow up in.
“Speech!” a voice called up from the crowd. I looked down to see Azure grinning impishly, River on her back and smiling up as well.
I smiled back, stepping forward and clearing my throat.
“Thank you all very much.” I said. “But I’m not much of an orator. I will simply say that I will uphold my duties to the best of my abilities and will hold the wellbeing of the ponies I see to the highest standard.
“I may be new to you as a crowned princess, but I had taken several royal duties prior to this. For those of you that stood with us in the Crystal Empire, I was on the front lines with you. I was also present during the incident with the Cult of Entropy recently.
“Some of you may question my qualifications,” I skewered Blueblood with a glare. “But I assure you, I will execute my duties with the same dedication that I showed during my time as Princess Celestia’s private student. Again, thank you all.”
And I stepped back, allowing Celestia to take the lead again.
“Not bad,” Twilight said as she slid over to me.
“I’ve never stood before so many ponies,” I whispered back. “I feel like my knees might give way.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“I suppose I will.” I reached out and slid a wing over Sunshine. “But, after everything we’ve been through, it’ll be easy by comparison.”
Sunshine sighed, and I reveled in the feeling of love that flowed through our bond.
