The Elements of History
Chapter one: A mysterious book
"Twilight!" Spike was pacing up and down the familiar hallways in the giant tree that stood as Ponyville's library, and doubled as Twilight Sparkle's home. "Ugh, where could she have gone off to so late at night?" Panic started to rise in the pit of his stomach.
He continued his search for the purple unicorn, but to no avail. He looked in the main library, her bedroom, the kitchen, the small living room, and even the bathroom, and she was nowhere to be found. He checked under her bed, the balcony, and all of Twilight's favorite reading spots, but still no Twilight. After more fruitless searching, he gave up and went down to the kitchen to make a sandwich and bumped into her on the way down.
"Oh my gosh, Twilight where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!" Spike shouted, while running up and giving her a giant hug. "I thought that maybe you left me all alone so late at night and…" He looked down to try and hide his flustered state from Twilight.
"Now Spike," Twilight interrupted. "Why would I go off and do a thing like that for? You are just a baby dragon after all." She nudged him lovingly on the cheek, "I was in the basement looking for some more books to read. It seems that I've read just about every book about magic that interests me, except this one." She pointed with her nose to a dark colored book in her saddle. "But I have no idea what it's about."
Spike scratched his head. "I didn't know this place had a basement?"
"Really Spike, you should be more aware of your surroundings." She raised an eyebrow as she spoke, "We have been living here for quite some time now." She said in a matter-of-fact sort of tone.
Spike crossed his arms. "Well excuse me." He moved around Twilight and continued to walk down the stairs. "If you need me I'll be in the kitchen making a sandwich. And I'm not a baby dragon anymore!"
Twilight rolled her eyes at the statement, and trotted up the stairs to her room. She emptied the contents of her saddle on the bed. It only had two books in it, one about astrology and the other a rather thick book about, well she didn't know exactly, because there was no title. She tossed the astrology book distastefully aside and levitated the other book onto her desk. It was a large gray book that had a thick layer of dust covering the cover of the book. She scraped some of the dust off with a hoof and blew it away gently, only to find that there where deep scratches where the book's title would have been.
"What a shame to see such a nice book in such an atrocious condition." She said to herself. Twilight had spent most of her free time reading, and it pained her to see a book mistreated as such. She sighed in disapproval at the former owners, and nudged the book open. To her surprise the first few pages were torn out, only jagged edges of paper near the spine were visible. With the first few pages gone, it made it impossible to find out who wrote the book and, more importantly, what the book was about. She had opened to the first chapter only to find some mysterious symbols where the header should be. She quickly flipped through the pages, and to her dismay, the entire book was written in the same incoherent gibberish of strange symbols and crazy markings.
She flipped through the pages again hoping to find something that was legible, but nothing. Why would this book even be here if nopony could read it? I've never read or even seen a language similar to this one before. I wonder what it's about. Her train of thought was interrupted by Spike entering the room rather noisily with a half-eaten sandwich in hand.
"Hey Twilight what'cha readin?" He asked in-between bites.
"Spike what did I tell you about knocking first?" There was more than a hint of anger in her voice. "It's rude to just barge in on someone with the door closed… It's not like it mattered anyway." She sighed deeply. "I haven't a clue as to what this book is about, only that it's really old." She held up the book to examine it more. "Have you ever seen anything like it before Spike?"
Twilight pushed the book in Spikes direction. He looked at its pages with an almost troubled look on his face. He began to say something but choked on a piece of sandwich. After regaining his composure, he continued. "I've never seen anything like this before. Maybe it's some sort of foreign language… Wait a sec." His eyes narrowed. "You said that this is a magic book, right?" He waited for Twilight's nod and continued. "So if you can't read it, then how do you know it's about magic and not about nest making or something?"
Twilight took a moment to think about her answer. "Well you see, Spike. All objects infused with magic, and those that teach us about magic have a magical mark or stamp on them." She levitated one of her old university books from a small bookshelf by her bed over to Spike, and opened the cover." You see this mark?" She pointed to an emblem of a unicorn on its hind legs with its horn glowing. "This is the royal mark of Arcane Studies and magical development. It is on everything that is infused or associated with magic in anyway."
Spike nodded in agreement. "But the book from the basement doesn't have any markings on it, does it?"
Twilight levitated her old book back to the bookshelf and picked up a different one from the same shelf. It was a rather old brown book, with faded, torn leather binding it together. "Now, this book is also a book on magic." She opened the cover just like the first and pointed to where the emblem should have been. "As you can see there is no emblem. This is because the process of marking everything associated with magic with a physical emblem wasn't put into practice until about 625 years ago."
"Woah, wait a minute. What do you mean by a physical emblem?" Spike asked confused.
"Yes I was just getting to that." Twilight was mildly annoyed but glad that at least Spike was paying attention. "Like the first book I showed you it had a physical emblem to where everyone can see it. Well the same cannot be explained for this book and our mystery one on the desk." She gestured at both the books with her hooves. "These books have a mark that is entirely different. It is a mark that can only be sensed by other unicorns to let them know that it is infused with magic."
"So you're telling me that everything that has something to do with magic that is really old has the marked fused with it, instead of stamped on?" Spike asked trying not to sound too confused.
Twilight nodded in excitement. "Precisely. But what intrigues me most about this book is that its magical mark is extremely difficult to sense compared to all my other magical artifacts. So it either wasn't put on properly, which means that it would have been done by an amateur book writer. Or, that whoever put it on was hiding it so that only certain unicorns, or those talented enough, could sense its magical capabilities. But that would defeat the purpose of even writing about magic in the first place."
Spike let out a deep yawn, and after a "lecture" like that he was ready for bed. "Well it's a good thing that you are so talented and smart or you would have never found the book in the first place."
Twilight blushed at the comment, "I wish I knew something about this book… Thanks Spike." She went back to studying the book intently, her eyes focused almost as if she would miss something if she didn't look hard enough, but nothing. The symbols just sat there taunting her curiosity knowing that their secrets would remain hidden.
Spike noticed this and nudged Twilight. "You could always try a reveling spell, that might help if there is something hidden in the book."
Twilight gasped and gave the small dragon giant a hug. "Spike you're a genius! I'm positive this book has to be hiding something, or it wouldn't have such a strange mark!" She put him back on the ground and lowered her head towards the book, shutting her eyes tightly. Excitement ran through her giving her hope that the mysteries the book held might soon be revealed. She focused, trying to remember the specific thoughts and feelings that went into the spell. The horn on her head glowed brightly and the book started to levitate off the deck. She concentrated harder and the purple glow around her horn changed to that of a bright yellow. The book began to spin slowly as the glow around Twilight's head got brighter still. She felt shreds of pain flood through her body as she pushed herself harder. Her legs quivered under her while a second glow surrounded her horn. She gasped in pain as the book began to open slightly and glow. Pain surged now, dulling her concentration.
A bright orb appeared out of Twilight's horn and approached the book. However, with her concentration dulled she lost her focus and the orb hissed violently and exploded in a bright flash of light. Twilight was sent flying back, and smashed into the end of her bed until collapsing on the floor.
Spike ran across the room, fearful that Twilight might be seriously hurt. "OH my gosh, Twilight! Twilight?" He moved the astrology book that managed to land on her head in the explosion. "Twilight are you ok?" Panic flared in Spike as he passed back and forth, not sure of what to do.
Twilight slowly got up and sat on her haunches. Her mane was in a wild mess and small black patches of singed hair were all over the front of her body from the explosion. She blew some of the strands of hair out of her eyes. She wasn't scared, or even hurt. No, she was angry.
"Twilight, are you ok? I mean you were just thrown across the room like a-"
"Yes Spike, I am quite alright." She had a sinister calmness to her voice after just being thrown like a ragdoll across the room. "However, the same cannot be said about this… BOOK!"
The book had landed back on the desk innocently. It was completely unscaved from the explosion, and sat there mocking her.
She got up, although a little wobbly, and walked back over to her desk. "Well at least I now know that you are hiding something aren't you?" She was pointing a hoof at the book as though accusing it of something and letting out a sudden abrupt laugh.
"Ummmm… Twilight you do know that that's a book right? It's not going to answer you."
"Oh please Spike. You make it sound as though I'm crazy. Well, I'm not crazy. And this book is going down!" She stamped a hoof in frustration, and charged at the book as though it was her enemy. She stopped inches away from it. "No more Mrs. nice pony!"
She shut her anger filled eyes and levitated the book off the deck. Her horn glowed the same bright yellow as before, only much harsher. Her Horn flared and a second glow surrounded the first one. Then a third. The glow from her horn erased all of the shadows in the room with its intensity. Spike jumped behind the bed in fear and excitement. He knew all too well that if the spell went wrong this time that there would be a much larger explosion.
Pain surged through her body again, but she ignored it and pushed on. She wasn't going to be beaten by book, especially one in such a lousy condition. The intensity of the light around her horn increased suddenly and the small orb appeared out of her horn again. Pain screamed at her to stop as her body quivered feeling betrayed. Inaudible gasps and grunts escaped Twilight's mouth as she powered through knowing that if she didn't stop soon something, she wasn't sure what, would go wrong. The orb finally moved and didn't explode like the last one had. It floated gingerly over to the book and engulfed it in a bright light.
The book opened suddenly, its pages turning madly by some unseen force until it stopped at a spot about half way in the book. The strange symbols glowed ominously and began to shift, changing from symbols to words. Spike gazed with big eyes upon the glowing book from behind the bed until it stopped and flopped back onto the desk.
Twilight fell back on her haunches again, breathing heavily. Sweat trickled down her forehead and her hair was soaked. Her little "bout" with the book had completely drained her. "Wow… I can't … believe how…" She managed in between breathes, until calming down a bit. "Whoever was hiding these secrets in this book defiantly did not want them to be read by anypony." The seething anger she had a moment ago had disappeared and her gentle voice returned. "I thought for a second there I was going to…"
"Twilight, look." Said Spike pointing at the book. The symbols and markings that were on the pages were gone. They were replaced by a picture of a beautifully ivory coated unicorn wearing the most beautiful gold armor Twilight had ever seen. He was standing on his hind legs, ready to attack his unknown adversary. His horn was glowing a dark red and his eyes were shut tightly, showing his concentration. There were blocks of text surrounding and underneath the unicorn.
Twilight leaned in closer. "Proelium magia? I've never heard of anything like that before, have you Spike?" Said Twilight through confused eyes.
"Beats me, but at least you can read it now." Said Spike while starting to yawn acting as though nothing had really changed from their usual nightly rituals. "I'm going to bed so let me know if anything happens, IN THE MORNING. Don't come waking me up in the middle of the night like you always do."
"Okay, well good night Spike." She watched him crawl into his little bed and almost instantly fall asleep. Her mind immediately went back to the book. This was the only part of the book that had something hidden in it; the rest of it still had those strange symbols. The words looked familiar to Twilight but she couldn't quite remember what language it was, or if it was even one she actually knew. The only thing she could think of was that it was possibly a dead, long forgotten language by looking at the age of the book and the way the words were structured. If only she knew what language this was then she could just use a simple translation spell and bingo, legibility.
Her thoughts lingered for hours, thanks to a little "potion" in her nightstand for those late night study sessions. She flipped from book to book looking for any clues as to how to decipher the unknown tome. She looked through all her notes about dead languages, old languages, and even foreign ones, but all of them failed her. After another hour or so of looking through old notes and dusty books she finally gave up and just stared at the picture of the unicorn on that page. Whoever he was, Twilight thought he was gorgeous.
There were eight pages that reveled themselves after her spell and all of them were just text, except the one with the unicorn picture. The armor on the unicorn looked similar to the guard ponies that protect the princess, but so different at the same time. It was golden armor, just like the guards wore, but it was much more extravagant. He was rather handsome and stood proudly. His armor covered his cutie mark, and most of his body. But the way his horn glowed really caught her attention. She had never seen anything like it before. A red aura around a horn? She had never even heard of any spell using magic with such a sinister red glow, which meant that it must have been some sort of old magic that nopony used anymore. Or forbidden magic. She thought of olden times when magic was still largely unknown.
Her thought process was interrupted when she realized just how quiet it was. Twilight loved when it was quiet, but not this quiet. She sighed softly, shut the old book in front of her, and turned off the lamp with her magic. She made her way to the window in front of her bed and opened it letting in the cool night air. Twilight always enjoyed the night, there was just something so beautiful and peaceful about it that just made her feel incredible. After a moment, she got into bed and just laid there, here mind racing with thoughts about her evening and that book. However, it didn't take long before she was sleeping peacefully, thoughts of new magic running through her mind.
She dreamt about a meadow and three unicorns in the distance that remained unseen through the glow of the setting sun. They were doing something, but what? It was incredibly peaceful and made sleep that much more rewarding.
"Twiiiiiiilight…" Came a voice from a distance, it sounded so far away. "Tttwwiiiiiiligghtttt…" It sounded closer but still as though it was from afar.
"TWILIGHT!" Twilight woke up in a start clenching her headboard and shacking from fright. She turned only to find her friend Pinkie Pie standing at the end of bed grinning for ear to ear. Somehow that didn't make her feel much better.
"It's time to wake Mrs. Sleepy head!" She said while hoping around Twilight's bed. "You don't want to spend the whole day in bed do ya?"
Twilight slowly climbed down from her headboard. "Well good morning Pinkie Pie." She answered until realizing that Pinkie Pie was in her room. "And how did you get in my room?"
"I used the window you silly filly." She said as though it was obvious. Twilight turned her head and saw the top of a ladder sticking through her window. "And it's not morning anymore it's noon. So would it be good noon, or good midday." Pinkie brought up a hoof to her mouth deep in thought. "Oh, I know, how about good lunch time, I LOVE lunch. There's so much you can have for lunch! You can have breakfast stuff or dinner stuff. Well I guess if you have breakfast stuff then it's technically brunch, and not lunch. But anyway, I remember this one time that I had about a dozen…"
"Wait, what time is?" Twilight asked frantically searching for her clock as though it was misplaced. Her talking and searching didn't seem to distract Pinkie from naming off stuff that she had eaten for lunch before.
Twilight glanced at the clock at the end of the room and was shocked to see the time. "1:13! How did I sleep in so late! Oh my gosh, half of the day is gone, what am I going to do?" Twilight hoped out of bed and levitated a brush over to brush her mane frantically.
Pinkie Pie stopped naming foods and walked over to Twilight. "What's got you all jidderly Twilight? It's not like late for a date or something, or are you?" Asked Pinkie while cocking her head to the side.
"Well, I'm not sure exactly, and no I do not have a date." Twilight added, "I guess I just don't like waking up so late when I could have gotten something done instead of just sleeping." Twilight said while lowering the brush back on her desk. There wasn't anything planned for today, and it's not like she could really catch up on reading, because there wasn't much that she wanted to read, but there was that book.
"What's got you all in la la land Twilight?" Pinkie Pie walked up to Twilight and sat down so close to her that their shoulders were touching. Pinkie was never one for personal space.
Twilight wondered if she should tell Pinkie about the book or not. It's not like she would even care about it, right? "Ummm it's nothing really. Just got a lot on my mind is all."
Pinkie just smiled at Twilight. "Please Twilight, you might be able to lie to other ponies about your problems but not to Pinkie!" Pinkie somehow managed to scoot even closer to Twilight. "Your auntie Pinkie is here and she's all ears." Pinkie wiggled her ears in that creepy way that she does.
"Well you see." Twilight hesitated for a moment biting her lip. "I was up late last night trying to learn more about this book I found and-"
"You mean to tell me that you're all down in the dumpsie-wumpsies because of a book?" Pinkie nearly recoiled back at her own question. "I can't believe that that scary explosion and bright lights was all over a little book." She said while gesturing a hoof at Twilight.
"Yes, as a matter of fact all that commotion last night was over a little…" She had to stop herself suddenly coming to a realization. "Wait a sec… How did you know about that explosion last night Pinkie? Were you… Were you spying on me?" Twilight asked through narrowed eyes.
Pinkie laughed awkwardly. "What? Me? Spying on you? Come on Twilight, that is Craaaaazeeeey." She laughed again as she batted a hoof at Twilight.
There was a painfully awkward silence as both of them just stared at each other. Until Pinkie broke the silence.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Pinkie shouted. "Today is the day, that… well ya know! I'll catch ya latter Twilight." Pinkie pranced out the window and slid down the ladder. She then picked it up and ran back into town.
Twilight sat there blinking blankly for a moment. "Know what? I haven't heard anything about, well anything happening today." Twilight said to herself.
"It doesn't surprise me, you have been locked in your room for the past couple of days Twilight." Said Spike making Twilight jump from his remark.
"Oh, Spike, do you know anything about that nonsense that Pinkie said?
"Of course I know, but if you want to know it'll cost ya." He said with a big grin on his face that quickly vanished when he received a nasty glare from Twilight. "Righttttt… well every once in a while, these merchants come in town from all over Equestria. And they set up shop selling all sorts of weird things. I really would like to go and check it out. Apparently they sell a whole bunch of stuff that nopony has seen before. Sounds cool right?"
"Cool? COOL? It sounds outstanding!" Twilight shrieked giving him a hug. She bounded down the stairs and made her way into the kitchen, levitated an apple off the table and began to eat it quickly.
"Twilight!" Spike was running down the stairs after her, only to find that she had already left. "Jeez once you get a thought in that unicorn's head there's no changing her mind."
Twilight ran down to Ponyville's town square, even as she left her home the town was bustling with ponies trying to make their way to the square. The town square was usually a peaceful part of the town, but not today. All of the shops that were normally open had closed signs hanging from doors and windows. The first thing that caught Twilight's mind was all of the empty stalls that crowded the square. They covered windows and doors, and were placed in spots that seemed too small for a stall to fit in. They came in all sizes and shapes, different colors even.
"Wow this is incredible!" Twilight was looking around in amazement like a filly in a candy store.
"Mighty glad ya like em'." Came a familiar voice from behind her, it was none other than her friend Applejack. "We spent all week makin' these here stalls for all the nice folk comin' t' town today. Some are a tad… strange. But there's no harm in strange."
"Wow Applejack, you made all of these?" Twilight looked around at the dozens if not hundreds of stalls that lined the town square.
"Why of course Ah did." She said proudly. "Mind you Ah did have some help from Big Macintosh an' Applebloom, but Ah did most of the work mahself. And besides how can somepony even call herself a work horse if she can't even make nuthin' with her own hooves?" Applejack raised her hooves to Twilight's face putting emphasis on her point.
"I guess so." Twilight brought a hoof to her chin to think for a second and asked. "So why are a bunch of ponies coming to town today? And why didn't they come last year?"
"Hmm, beats me." Applejack shrugged. "All I know is that every so often the mayor gets a letter from someponies tellin' her that they'll be comin' t' town in a couple o' weeks. Rather frustratin if ya ask me."
Twilight frowned. "So your telling me that every so often, not even annually, these ponies just send a letter to us saying that they will be here in a couple of days? That seems really irresponsible and rude for them just to demand that we host their little get together."
"Now what's got you all saddle sore about Twilight? These ponies come all this way a-"
"WAAATCH OUUUUT!" Came a scream they knew all too well. Twilight and Applejack quickly dove out of the way with seconds to spare as a rainbow colored blur came crashing down to the ground. A small cloud of dust lingered for a moment and Rainbow Dash came out of covered in dirt.
"Hey AJ, hey Twilight, what's up?" She said through her usual cool smile. She acted as though she had just walked up to them, rather than crash to the ground like a dead weight. "Hope I didn't scare ya guys, I was practicing a new move and well… it still needs work."
"Gosh darnit Rainbow! Why can't ya just walk up and say howdy like every other pony?" Applejack fumed, "You could of destroyed some of the stalls Ah've been workin' all week on!"
"Please." Rainbow dash flicked her mane out of her eyes. "Do you know who you're talking to? I'm Rainbow Dash! And I'll crash where I want to crash, and I don't want to crash in your dumb stalls."
"Ohh, is that so?" Applejack was right in Rainbow's face. "So you're tellin' me that the great an' mighty Rainbow Dash is soo… er, great. That she chooses where an' when she takes a tumble?"
It was Rainbow Dash's turn to get in Applejacks face. She got so close that their foreheads were touching. "Heck ya!" She pushed her head against Applejacks. "Sounds like you're jealous."
"Ha! Me, jealous?" She laughed as she pushed with their heads meeting in a deadlock. "If Ah'm anythin', I ain't jealous."
"Well then don't get you braids in a bunch…" Dash Smiled devilishly. "Sally!"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" The rage in Applejack's voice brought attention to the small group of ponies as all heads were turned to them. Rainbow Dash took to the air laughing. The two chased each other for a minute until Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue blowing a raspberry and in a flash she bolted off, her wings beating wildly.
Applejack took off in hot pursuit after the rainbow maned pegasus. "Rainbow Dash you get back here ya yellowed bellied filly!" Applejack was bounding off after Rainbow Dash running past other ponies with no disregard when she ran into a couple of them. In an instant they were gone.
Twilight shook her head a few times. "I'll never understand those two."
She walked down the street until she came to Sugar Cube Corner. The doors were open and there were ponies lined outside the door. She guessed that's why Pinkie was off in such a hurry. She thought while getting into line with the rest of the ponies. Her stomach rumbled angrily and she blushed when some of the ponies in line turned in her direction.
"Sorry, not much of a breakfast this morning." She laughed nervously.
The line remained still for a few minutes until there was a sudden commotion and all of the ponies started darting past Twilight, all running to the same direction. They were heading to the center of the town square where a podium was set up and the mayor of Ponyville was talking to another pony. She shooed the other pony away and walked right behind the podium.
She cleared her throat a couple of times, as noise in the crowd suddenly died. "Welcome everypony! I do hope that you all are as excited as I am to hear that the merchants that come to Ponyville will be arriving shortly, so greet them with warm smiles and fond memories so that they will come back next ye, er… sometime in the near future." She started to get nervous as a clocked pony approached her. "Today we have a special guest speaking for many of the ponies showing up today, so please do be kind to her." She adjusted her glasses with a hoof as she continued speaking. "Anyway, without further ado, let me introduce you all to Miss Willow." She stepped aside and a dark brown pony wearing a yellow cloak with a dark green tail took her place. She removed her hood with magic so that everypony could see her face. It was covered with strange tattoos and her dark green mane flowed out of the hood and around her head.
"Thank you all." She said it deep, but surprising clear and deep sort of voice that didn't suit her well. "We are very grateful that you would again allow us to come to you humble town and sell our various wares. My ponies and many other ponies from all over Equestria will be ever so grateful that you built all of these marvelous stalls for us to use." She bowed her head tenderly and low to show her full appreciation.
"On another note, I would ask all of you if you would treat them with extra patience as it is a very long trip to take on hoof, and it would be fair to say that they will be more than tired and irritable when they arrive." All of the ponies stomped the ground in approval. She waited for them to settle down before continuing. "Again thank you, and I do hope that everypony enjoys themselves!" The crowd erupted in a roar of applause and cheers, while Twilight looked around bewildered.
The yellow cloaked pony bowed again and stepped down from the podium. The crowd dispersed quickly and everypony went back to their daily routines. Twilight wondered around for a while hoping to run into one of her friends. She saw Lyra and Bon Bon gossiping in the corner. Ditzy Doo was flying awkwardly overhead while Mr. and Mrs. Cake were strolling along. She knew all of them, but well enough to just go up and start a conversation.
She could see the awkward situation playing out in her head of just trying to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Twilight blushed slightly at the thought, realizing that when it came a deep meaningful conversation, she was just fine. But when it came to small talk, she was just as awkward as a two headed mule. There was the sudden sound of bells ringing and ponies cheering loudly. Twilight nervously looked around not wanting to miss a thing. Everypony's attention was on the west entrance of the town square as the ponies started to arrive.
Ponies filed in through the entrance of the town, all of them were wearing cloaks similar to Willow's and were carrying large saddles filled with oddly shaped objects. The myriad of ponies that came in was unimaginable; there just was no end to them. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to how they entered the town, just as long as they got in. They broke off into groups and started picking stalls to set up their odds and ends.
"Sure is amazing isn't it?" Twilight turned to see the mayor standing next to her and nodded in agreement. "They come by the hundreds from miles around and walk the entire distance here. I surly hope that you have saved up some money; you'll find it easy to empty your purse when you see all of their amazing wares they offer. Enjoy yourself Twilight." She said waving farewell to Twilight and trotted off.
Twilight waved back and started making her way towards some of the stands that already had ponies behind them. After waiting for what felt like a century, some of them started to open and crowds of ponies were already forming.
The first stand she approached had a cauldron brewing something foul smelling and masks hanging from the top of it. There were a couple of zebras behind it still placing weird statues and totems on the shelves for ponies to purchase. They seemed to be arguing in the same language that Zacora spoke when she first saw her.
"Oh wow, these look just like the masks that Zacora has back at her home." She said while moving along to other stands. She saw Rarity at one of the open stalls that had weird bottles and oddly colored fabrics lined across the counter of the stall.
Twilight approached the stall and made her way right next to Rarity. "Hey Rarity."
Rarity turned to see Twilight and a big smile broke out across her face. "Why Hello Twilight. Fancy meeting you here?"
"Well, only the entire town is here, so it's not like I'm going to miss it."
Rarity pulled down a piece of fabric to see it better in the light and quickly folded it back up and placed it back with a disgusted look on her face. "You have been holed up in your room for quite some time darling. Some of us were starting to get worried that you wouldn't show."
"I'm sorry, but I've been extremely busy studying. And just the other night I found this old book that's in a language that I've never seen before, and it has me stumped." Twilight was hanging her head tiredly as the defeat of the book came flooding back to her.
Rarity placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder for reassurance. "Honestly dear, you shouldn't spend so much time in those books of yours. Twilight was mildly annoyed by the comment but let her friend continue. "You do know that they can only teach you the steps, but it is up to you if you ever want to use those steps and form a dance."
Twilight was shocked. "Wow Rarity. That's a brilliant analogy. I never looked at it like that before, but you still can learn so much from books."
Rarity gave some shining coins to the stallion behind the stall and placed a couple of bottles in her basket which was levitating by her head. "Why yes, I'm not arguing with you there dear. All I'm saying is that it's not healthy to strain yourself, and be alone for such long periods of time. That's how you get crow's feet and we all know that's the last thing anypony wants." She looked away in horror just by thought of them.
Twilight looked at the basket floating by Rarity's head. "So why did you buy those potions?"
"Oh?" Rarity levitated one of the potions out of the basket to show Twilight. "This is not a potion. It is a dye. And a fabulous one at that."
"How so?"
"Well you see." Rarity took a moment to search for the right words. "This dye is infused with a powerful magic that allows the user to change the color of the garment applied to, to any color that they can think of. A must have for the pony on the go."
"How clever." Twilight wasn't so amazed by what the dye itself, but more on how the magic infused with it worked. "So I could be wearing a red dress and if I just thought of a color, like violet. Then I could be wearing a violet colored dress?"
Rarity dug at the ground for a moment. "Well that is the idea." She wore a big fake smile. "But if I do make a dress for you with this dye, you should refrain from thinking about violet." She raised a hoof to gesture at Twilight. "Violet would clash with your coat and mane, and we can't have that, now can we?
Twilight looked over herself, surly she wouldn't look that bad in violet?
They walked together for a while, going from stall to stall. Most of them had little to nothing of interest to the two, until Rarity spotted a rather handsome looking stallion behind a stand selling gemstones.
"Oh my goodness, Twilight! Look at that handsome devil of a stallion over there!" She gushed. "Quick, how is my coiffure? What about my tail?" she franticly turned herself over looking for any imperfections.
"I thought that you were waiting for prince to sweep you off your hooves, not some gem salespony?" asked Twilight with concern.
"Yes of course dear, but that's marriage. This is just for fun."
"Fun? What kind of fun?" Twilight asked hoping that they weren't thinking about the same thing.
"Flirting of course. It's fun, and makes haggling a synch." Rarity had a coy smile on her face. "But he is Dreamy, so how do I look?" Her gushing concern with her looks returning.
"You look great as always Rarity." Murmured Twilight rolling her eyes.
"Oh?" She almost sounded offended. "I Know I look great, but I want to look amazing! Especially for somepony like him, and especially somepony selling gemstones!"
Twilight was getting tired of Rarity's gushing and put her hooves and Rarity's shoulders. "Rarity you look amazing! Spike tells me every time we see you, so just go over there and talk to him already."
"But what about-"
"RARITY!" Twilight pointed a hoof in the direction of the stallion to prove her point. The stallion was looking over Rarity and quickly adverted his gaze once she looked at him.
Rarity's ears lowered and she sighed deeply. "Thanks Twilight. I'll see you later, oaky?"
Twilight nodded and Rarity trotted off to the stall with the stallion. She was a little upset to be alone now, but glad to have some time alone with her thoughts. Questions assaulted her mind about that book, and all of them didn't seem to have an answer that satisfied her.
She was going over new scenarios in her head on how to solve her little problem until a stall caught her eye. It was one selling… Books! And it had that interesting pony that gave the speech earlier behind the stall selling them. Twilight quickly made her way over to it making sure not to bump into all of the ponies blocking her path. She had no idea where all of these ponies came from, but it seemed as though they were placed there just to get in her way.
"Excuse me… Oh sorry, I didn't mean to step on your tail… Excuse me, I'm trying to get through…. Argh!" Twilight pushed, shoved, and squirmed her way through the massive onslaught of ponies but there were too many. In a moment she felt swarmed. Ponies just seemed to be coming from everywhere, and they were blocking her path.
Anger swelled in her. "Enough!" Twilight's horn glowed brightly and the group of ponies parted, pushed by her magic. It looked like a pair giant invisible hooves had parted and moved the ponies. Gasps and angry comments erupted from the small crowd, but Twilight ignored them.
"Well that wasn't too hard." She said to herself trotting over to the stand. Her mind began to wonder as she approached the stall. What kind of books does she sell? Will any of them be about magic? Maybe she can help with-
"Hey look everypony that stand is giving away free candy!" Came a shout from an unknown colt that made Twilight jump.
She didn't even have time to react. She was instantly swept away in an avalanche of parading ponies all converging to one stall. There was a commotion of shouting and cheering so loud that Twilight couldn't even hear herself think. It got louder and louder, almost to the point at which it was deafening. Twilight put her hooves over her ears in hope of drowning out some of the sound, but in doing so made her lose her balance and trip. She pushed and shoved again, hoping to get the mass of ponies off her but they would not budge. All she could feel was the weight of other ponies crushing her, making it harder and harder to breathe. She scrambled frantically to free herself but a sudden kick to her face quickly halted her movements.
Twilight sat there dazed for a minute, her hooves covering the area where she had been kicked. Her head throbbed with the rhythm of her heart as pain coursed through it. She was overwhelmed by an invisible vertigo that made her feel like she was spinning.
It took her a moment but she finally realized that she wasn't being crushed anymore. In fact there wasn't anything anymore. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped in horror. The herd of ponies that were tramping her was gone, in fact there wasn't a single pony to be seen in any direction. And all of the stalls were empty and barren. And it was…
"Night! But that's impossible, surly I haven't been unconscious for hours, have I?" Her mind raced madly trying to piece together what was going on. Did everypony forget about her? Did her friends really forget about her?
Twilight tried to get up, but found it near to impossible to move. With great effort she found movement in her legs and feverishly got up. It was only when she stood up that she really took in her surroundings. She gasped in astonishment at the sight before her. It was all wrong!
The once clean and professional looking stalls were now crude and jagged. Their sharp edges protruding like daggers trying to slice the quiet night air. The colorful and cheerful stores had broken windows and charred siding that assaulted her senses. Even the colors themselves changed. The bright yellows and greens, the bold reds and blues, and even the calming pinks and browns were replaced with dark, unpleasant purples and horrifying dark blacks. The once proud and beautiful moon stood alone in the sky. All of the bright stars that occupied the sky were gone, and the moon's lively, silvery color was replaced with a dull and ominous red.
She decided to move on hoping that this was just some prank or something, but how could this be a prank? Panic and fear swelled in Twilight as she walked on. Not only was she in a worse state of vertigo, but her mind seemed to be playing tricks on her as well. As she continued walking the destruction to the shops and buildings became more evident and intense. The stores were no longer just charred with broken windows; roofs were caved in, walls smashed, and entire stories gone. And the once small stalls now looked impossibly tall, reaching out into the deserted sky. What was Ponyville's town square was now a ravished battlefield with devastation at every turn and black smoke creeping up the buildings.
Fear began to swell in Twilight as her analytical mind tried to piece together how all of this was even possible, but found it to be a losing battle. She had read many stories to where the protagonist meets adversity much like this and just breaks down into a heap pity and despair. Twilight was determined to make sure that didn't happen.
"No. No. No. This can't be real, it just can't. There has to be some sort of logical explanation for all of this." Twilight spoke to herself softly just in case she wasn't alone. "It has to be a dream, there's just no other explanation for it." She stamped her hoof in approval but a jolt of pain ran through her head. It made her gasp in pain and in horror. You couldn't feel pain like that in a dream, could you?
"It… was that kick… its making me… have hau…"
She was cut off by a loud shrieking scream. A scream that made her tail go stiff and her blood run cold. It was the scream of a little filly, and it seemed to come from every direction, almost as if she was rooted into Twilight's head. It made her dizzy and her limbs go numb. Her hind legs gave out and she found herself sitting, and eventually lying flat on her stomach. She put her hooves over her ears hoping it would help, but the sound only grew louder.
The screaming became more abrupt and was now being paired with heart wrenching crying. As time went on, it went from a scared scream to that of something of sheer terror and blubbering. The little foal's screams and sobbing were becoming too much as Twilight frantically looked around for the poor little filly. But as Twilight looked the filly's screams grew louder still. It powered through all of her senses draining her of everything that she had left. Its intensity grew and grew until finally, Twilight's determination failed her and she broke down.
Tears were welling up in her eyes. "Stop. Please. Make it stop! Oh, merciful Celestia make it stop!" Fear had won over, she was terrified and she resorted to the only thing she could think of in a situation like this. Misty eyes became tears and eventually sobbing. But she was stronger than this, why was she crying? The horrible screaming continued, feeding off her despair until it stopped abruptly. Twilight listened intently through ringing ears, hoping it wouldn't return.
The screaming stopped but the panic went on. It made it hard to breath and she couldn't find it in herself to stop crying. She just wanted to go home and be with her friends, where everything made sense, to where everything was normal. This abstract world made of fright and despair had derailed her entire thought process, and clouded her judgment.
Footsteps echoed in the distance. Twilight quickly raised her head only to be greeted by a very large pony wearing a black cloak. Her ears lowered and with a horror-struck face tried to scream, but nothing came. The black cloak it wore combined with the darkness of the night made the pony menacing and impossible to distinguish any characteristics of the pony.
"So... you're the one?" The pony spoke in a dark low voice that made Twilight's hair stand on end. It was dark as the blackest night, but also silky smooth and calm, "Ha. Pathetic." The clopping from his hooves echoed in Twilight's mind every time he took a step, closing the gap between them.
"I swear I don't know what the holders see in ponies like… you." His voice was filled with hatred and anger, but remained calm and peaceful. "Such weakness." He sighed loudly. "Groveling on the ground like a little foal that lost its mother." The pony started circling around Twilight until stopping in front of her, their faces almost touching. "Oh well, it won't be much of a concern for much longer."
He laughed and Twilight realized that there was defiantly something wrong with it. It rang in her ears making her entire body shake. He moved his head back as though to meet her gaze, but she knew that whatever was under that hood wasn't normal. Tears were still flowing down her cheek as she tried to regain her composure.
"Do you really think that you can break-"
"SILENCE!" Just the mere utterance of his voice was enough to make her recoil back. And before she knew it, she felt herself being picked up with a red glow coming from under the pony's hood. With what strength she had left she kicked madly trying to break free, but with a flash her legs were bound and she was defenseless and completely immobile. The pony moved her closer to him and she averted her gaze to the side, not wanting to even look at him.
He laughed again. "What's the matter little foal? You don't want to see my face? Well… we can fix that." With a flash of red Twilight's head moved right in front of the hood the pony was wearing. She tried to move her head but it wouldn't budge. She was his puppet, obeying every command willingly. He slowly brought his hooves over the edge of the hood and lifted it back. Twilight gasped at the sight. She was immediately greeted by his blood red eyes. They had no pupils or irises, just deep, dark pools that stared straight into her soul. Ripples of black and dark red snaked around inside them. It contracted with his dark purple coat that was a surprisingly similar color as hers.
Then she saw his mouth. It stretched from ear to ear inpony like. It was a mouth suited for a snake or a dragon, for as he smiled it showed rows of sharp teeth that looked at her hungrily. Twilight tried not think of what he did with them.
Twilight looked at him in complete shock and fear. His smile just grew bigger. "It's the teeth isn't it?" When he spoke his mouth would open wide showing his sharp teeth. "It's always the teeth. It is one of the marks of a ne…" He stopped suddenly and chucked. "Hmm, almost let that slip."
Twilight tried using her magic, but found it impossible to even do the simplest of spells in the defeated state she was in.
He laughed at her feeble endeavor, and then sighed with disappointment. "It's been fun, but this game has grown… tiresome. And I'm afraid that my time is up, but not to worry, we will be seeing each other in the near future." He looked at her and with his emotionless eyes and opened his mouth. It opened impossibly wide, more than enough for her entire head to fit in. She gazed into the black abyss and screamed. It engulfed her, making everything around her spin impossibly fast. She found movement in her legs again and began to kick wildly hoping that something would connect. But there was nothing… nothing.
Twilight felt herself falling and twisting in the air as she fell. The rushing air was making her mane and tail whip at her body as she continued to plummet into the dark abyss. She had given up trying to comprehend what was happening as her current events had proven that she was crazy or, well she couldn't think of anything else. There was no explaining, no reasoning, no comprehending, no anything! What was happening was happening and she just let it. She felt lost in the limbo of her mind and the falling abyss. Was this how it felt to pass on?
Then a spark. It stated small, but grew as she fell becoming more brilliant and intense. Its harshness blinded her and made her senses go wild. What was an abyss of black was now a sea of light that embraced her making her fell warm. Making her fell like everything was back to normal. She couldn't help but feel like it was the work of Celestia, but that would be impossible. Her falling suddenly seized and everything went black.
There was noise, voices and the hard ground underneath her. The blackness she was experiencing wasn't from unconscious, but from her eyes being closed. She opened them slowly, letting them get adjusted to the light. It took a moment for everything to come into focus. The light cleared and she could see. She could see all of the ponies in the town square gathered around her, looking through concerned eyes. Even her friends where there, and they shared the same expression that everypony else had. Concern and shock.
"What happened to me?" Was all Twilight could manage before finally loosing consciousness.