Star Swirl materialized at the far end of the bridge and shielded himself with his cloak to stave off the fiery attack that had nearly been the end of him. He watched as the bridge slowly crumbled into the stream below causing thick clouds of steam to shoot into the air as the super-heated stones fell into the water. It hissed angrily with every large stone that fell into it.

With rage building up inside him as he recognized yet another of his own spells, the stallion again glanced over his shoulder. “Celestia!” He called weakly. That teleport had cost him greatly in his weakened state. More than he would care to admit.

The fire slowly relented until it was all but gone. Leaving flickering traces on a few of the nearest trees. Intent on burning on but unable to do so without the magic that had created it.

Desperately Star Swirl attempted to summon more of his power. It was difficult given the state his body was in. The curse was working fast to dissolve his physical form. In spite of his best efforts to slow it down it was making good time.

To make matters all the worse for him, thick clouds of acrid smoke covered the area and choked him further. Eyes burning he lit his horn once more and summoned a powerful gust of wind that blew through the trees and carried the offensive cloud away.

Star Swirl’s heart dropped. Finding himself wishing the smoke were still there to blind him as he looked across the stream to what stood on the far shore.

“Hello Star Swirl. I can’t tell you how much joy it gives me seeing you like this,” the entity said from across the way. “You look awful.”

“Nightmare!” He snarled before coughing up even more blood for the dirt. It would not be long now.

“You recognized me. I’m touched.”

“How? You fell.”

“Oh it was rather easy really,” she said with a thin smile that showed no humor what so ever. “After I was through with that insufferable Luminescent and you two surprised me, all I needed was a moment to jump into Silver Spark. The rest I believe you know.”

“None of that matters now. The war is over creature. And you lost!” He said coughing and beginning to sway.

“That is not how it would appear from where I stand. I see nothing but a foal still running at the every whim of a long dead teacher. Pity really. I had thought of you as a truly worthy opponent.”

“I do not care for a single thought in that mind of yours Nightmare,” he said taking a step forward. “And I shall never care about the likes of you again! Now come out of Luna at once and we shall have at each other once more just as I know you crave,” the old pony said with bared teeth.

“As happy as that would surely make me I must decline,” she said before teleporting across the gorge between them and appearing directly in front of Star Swirl. She leaned her head down to whisper in his ear. “Because as much as I would love to continue this where we left off I have a very important debt to settle. And the only way for me to do that would be to kill Celestia,” she stood to leave him. “So if you will excuse me,” she said walking away.

Star Swirl sank to his knees. Unable to bear the pain and blood loss any longer. But there was one thing yet left to say. “He will turn on you eventually you know,” he wheezed between coughs. “Just like he did everypony else that sided with him. Do you really believe yourself to be special to him? If so then I cannot see how I became the foal here,” he looked back at her to see if even a single word had an impact. “Do not do it Nightmare. It can only end badly for you. This I know and promise.”

Nightmare took pause and returned his look with determined eyes. “Do not speak of things that you could never hope to grasp Star Swirl. I know the one I serve and he is power. That alone is all I need to know,” she said it with much confidence in her voice, but the determination seemed to falter slightly.

Star Swirl laid his head down upon the ground and closed his eyes. They had no further use to him as they had already gone dark. “Power is not everything Nightmare. I truly hope someday you realize that. For your sake.”

She snorted and again turned to leave. “Without power I have nothing. Which is exactly what you have now. After all their promises to help you in desperate times, to be there when the need was greatest,” she paused as her horn glowed a dull hellish green. “Where are your friends now Star Swirl!? She challenged.

He sucked in one last ragged breath for a reply as he smiled. “Right here,” he said placing a hoof over his no longer beating heart. “Right where... I need them... The… Most.”

The Nightmare spun and fired an all-consuming blast of pure rage at the one pony in existence to ever try and change her. The only one to ever actually care.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Star Swirl twitched awake and sat upright in his bed and threw the quilts to the floor before rubbing the side of his head. He ached in places he mostly forgot he had. The dream was rarely that vivid and even then was slow in progression.

The room was quiet as a tomb and judging by the lack of light coming in through the window the rest of the world was as well. Which meant there was still no Celestia.

Gingerly the wizard stepped down off the bed and stretched himself, listening to the pops of his spine as he did so. moving in front of a mirror he looked over his horn thoroughly to check its progress. He smiled at his reflection. It had only been a day since the grafts had been taken and already the pits had healed. “Stardust Jade you are a true miracle worker,” he muttered. His tongue still hadn’t forgiven him for the horrible ordeal of tasting the mare’s potions. But the result was always worth it.

Satisfied he turned to the small fireplace and lit his horn. To his delight the magic powered fire flickered to life and soon began to warm the frigid air around him. Concentrating further the horn flashed again and every other fireplace in the house lit and began to do their jobs respectively.

Having the temperature issue resolved Star Swirl made for the study to check on the patient. No, scratch that. To check on Twilight Sparkle. Her name was Twilight Sparkle.

He paused in the doorway of his room. The air was cold on his skin as he thought. The conversation had been just last night. So why was it so, so? Foggy. Surely his mind would not leave him now. Would it?

Clearing his head of such thoughts Star Swirl moved down the hallway and made to enter the study on his left but halted. A sound reached his ears from somewhere within the room ahead. A sound he had hoped never to hear again. It was the sound of a crying mare.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Twilight tried again to reach her friend but a force of unknown origin whose power vastly outweighed her own once more blocked her magical grasp. She could feel the others pulling her back as they tried to run. Tried to make their friend’s sacrifice worth something. How could she possibly have known that would work?
There was no use questioning it now. What was done was done. All that was left was to run and hope that they could make it to their destination.
Twilight made one last reach for her friend but a voice filled with pain caused her to stop.
“You have to run Twilight!” It yelled from somewhere under all the rubble. “It’ll be alright now run!”
The unicorn took a step forward despite the others efforts to pull her away. “But Pinkie I can still save you!” She shouted back over the sound of another massive explosion that shook all of Canterlot to its core. “Please!” She begged with tears streaming down her face. They were from both sorrow and pain. “Pinkie!”

“Twilight you have got to run now! This is how it hast to be!” The rubble shifted slightly and she screamed out in agony. “Go now please! Applejack make her! I can’t hold this thing any longer!”

Applejack lassoed Twilight and drug her back with a yank of her head.
“Pinkie Pie!” Shouted the now well tied mare as she was carried out of the collapsing structure.
“It’s okay Twi.” She whispered unheard. “This is how I want it,” not a second after her friends were clear. The rest of the structure came down.

/ / / / / / / / / /

Twilight’s eyes shot open as she tried to sit up in the strange bed but found to her terror that she could not so much as budge an inch. Desperately she struggled against seemingly the same force from the nightmare. She soon came to realize the futility of her efforts. There could be no victory over this. Just as there could be no victory over what had transpired that horrible night. That Nightmare Night.

After a few moments of trying she finally managed to calm her frayed nerves and start to piece together what had happened to her. Little by little it all knitted back together to make at least some sense.

Then it all came flooding back to her at once in one big wave. She remembered the party and how perfect everything had been. At least it had been until ‘they’ showed up.

Twilight wondered if all of Canterlot had fallen by now. Surely it had without the princesses to defend it. Or the Elements of Harmony for that matter. Then another thought crossed her mind. What had become of her friends? What did that spell do to her anyway? It was supposed to mimic the one day time jump spell and let her go back another day. What happened? How could such a simple spell backfire so badly?

All this and more swirled through her brain before something else stuck. Star Swirl had been here right? Or was that just another part of the dream too? It was all just so overwhelming to her.

The next reality check to hit Twilight was her horn. Or rather the fact she appeared to be unable to sense the natural magical field or do any of the other wonderful things granted to Unicorn kind.

Why did all of this sound so familiar to her? Twilight closed her eyes at the sudden feeling of deja-vu. With much determination she racked her brain for answers.

She did not like what she found. Yes Star Swirl was here. For whatever reason she was having difficulty remembering the last time she had been awake. Then it hit her. Why her friends were not here and why she was so badly hurt. The two of them had discussed it long into the night before she had become too exhausted to continue. So it was all true then wasn’t it? She had failed them. All of them. And not just her friends either. But Celestia and Luna as well. Everypony in Canterlot really.

A tear rolled down the side of her cheek as she slowly fell from despair into misery at the realization of what this all meant. Everypony that was in that city when she left was probably dead.

She sobbed uncontrollably now as it all sank in and the weight of it crushed her. How could she have let this happen? She was the element of magic for Celestia’s sake! She was better than this wasn’t she? She sobbed again. Wasn’t she?

Her crying was such that she took no notice of the fireplace in the corner when it lit. Nor did she notice the wizard when he entered the room a few minutes later.

Star Swirl hesitated at the room’s threshold for a moment as he listened to the sound that cut his very soul. He too knew the pain of loss. He also knew the mare blamed herself for whatever fate had befallen her friends. It was another feeling they shared.

He took another step forward and stopped again. This was something he would never be good at but wanted desperately to comfort the weeping mare. She did not deserve any of this. If anypony should be blaming themselves, it should be him.

Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes as she felt a hoof brush the side of her cheek and wipe away a tear. Somehow just the sight of another pony made her spirits lift a little. She sniffed and gave him a weak smile as he moved to look at her horn.

“My dear you have come too far to fall into that trap now. There will be a time to mourn but this is not that time,” he said gently removing the bandages. “If they were true then your friends would want you to carry on.”

Twilight considered his words and then asked between sobs. “What trap do you mean?” she sniffed again.

Star Swirl looked down on her with knowing eyes. “Self-pity,” he said. “It can be one of our greatest foes in situations like these. And it will attack you without mercy.”

“But if I had only been smarter and paid more attention then maybe…,” she stopped as Star Swirl held up a hoof.

“Do not do this to yourself, Twilight Sparkle. You must be strong. For their sake,” he said pulling on one last bandage.

“Im not strong,” Twilight moaned. “I couldn’t even save my friends. I couldn’t even cast a simple copycat spell,” she began to cry again.

“Twilight my dear you are far stronger than you realize,” Star Swirl said dropping the last bandage to stare at the fully healed horn. “And something tells me that your friends will be there waiting for you on your return.”

She raised an eyebrow at the words he spoke. “What could possibly make you think that? After everything I told you I don’t see how you could ever have hope.”

“There is always hope Twilight,” Star Swirl said with passion in his voice as he moved to the mare’s side to look her in the eye. “And there is always a reason. Even if we cannot see one ourselves. Never forget that,” he said glancing at the pictures atop the mantle over the crackling fire place. The faces there smiled back at him.

“I’ll try,” she said looking away from him. “It’s just so hard,” Twilight let another small sob escape her mouth. She was trying very hard not to cry again.

Star Swirl sat on a pillow beside the bed and looked down at his hooves. “I know. But we must continue to push back. To try harder. Otherwise, evil will win,” he knew what she must be thinking. The innocence to things like this was written plainly on her face.

Twilight’s eyes tracked to look at him again. To seek some form of comfort. “How do you fight something like that though? It just feels so. Impossible.”

Star Swirl’s gaze slumped slightly. She sounded as though she had already given up. “Nothing is impossible to a willing heart Twilight Sparkle. And you fight that kind of evil with all you have until nothing but your life remains. And when it has taken everything that you hold dear from you. All those you have ever cared for,” he looked back to the pictures. “You must continue on. For them. So that all their sacrifices will not be in vain. So that they will count for something.”

Twilight closed her eyes. “And what if they sacrificed themselves to fix a mistake you made?” She began to cry again despite his attempts at comfort.

He understood this. This was the kind of pain he knew all too well. His friends had all suffered for his mistakes. Just as this young mare was suffering for them now. “Twilight. I know how this kind of pain feels. But you must understand that sometimes these things that happen to us, or those around us. For better or worse. They happen for a reason,” he swallowed hard. “They happen as a means to an end for a greater plan then you or I will ever know. But I do know this. Your friend was willing to give everything to save all of you. She gave up life itself to ensure that her friends would make it. And I know she would not want you to give up now.” Star Swirl smiled at the pictures. Once again they had given him courage.

Twilight tried to acknowledge his words but all she could hear when she closed her eyes was the sound of Pinkie’s pained scream. And knew that it had been her own poor decision that had put her there.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, each contemplating the other’s words. The quietness surrounded them and the world waited.

With a sigh that turned into a grunt of effort Star Swirl rose and made for the cupboard set into the wall at the back of the room. “I believe you to be well enough to move my dear. But please take it slowly. I have had all the practice I care to have at sewing,” he reached the alcove and opened the doors to reveal the assortment of bottles and jars within.

Twilight tried to see around the stallion as the sound of tinkling glass and the dull scrape of pottery reached her. Clearly he was mixing some form of potion. Though as far as her eyes could see was not utilizing any form of measuring.

Carefully Star Swirl turned towards the bedridden mare and approached with his brew. The liquid glowed a vivid aquamarine and had small specks of green moving around inside.

Eyes widening as recognition filled her Twilight couldn’t help but be amazed. “That’s a high cyclic ratio to flux trans mutational hex dismantler potion!” She gasped out excitedly. “There are only a hoof full of ponies in all of Equestria who can make them. And then only in the most controlled of environments become possible,” she looked at him in utter befuddlement. “How did you….”

Star Swirl chuckled lightly at her wonder. It was not often he was in the presence of one who knew so little of magic. “When you have made something as many times as I have even the most complicated brew can become. Common,” he said with just a hint of nostalgia. “Now come and drink up. We have work to do.”

Twilight’s face scrunched up into confusion. “But. Why do I need that? I don’t have a hex on me.”

“Unfortunately. You do,” he said apologetically.

“What! Why?!” She blurted as a sudden new feeling of panic came over her and she began to sweat.

“Well truth be told there was little choice on my part. For whatever reason, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep you sedated,” he leaned over her with the glass and gave a lame smile. “So I did what I had to do. Now drink. But be warned, when your horn reawakens it may be quite painful at first.”

Twilight nodded as best as she could and put her lips to the glass. Unfortunately for her, the original creator of the frothy concoction had been Stardust Jade.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

With a tentative hoof Star Swirl gently dabbed the last of the potion from the fur around his face with a cloth. Unfortunately the patient, as she would be referred to as until further notice, had had a decidedly negative reaction to the taste of said liquid. He rinsed out the towel in the wash basin for the fifth time and hung it near the fire to dry.

Really though he could not truly blame the patient. Entirely at least. He should have thought to warn her how. Bracing. Stardust’s potions could be. And if he really thought about it he was fairly sure that it had no use for the ingredient, eye of newt. It played no purpose in the formula whatsoever.

Undoubtedly yet another of the old hag’s jokes gone too far for sure. He made another mental note to one day attempt at making them more palatable. That would have to wait though. For a much less, interesting day. He could not help but marvel at the young mare as she sat upright in the bed holding a mirror up with a hoof to inspect her horn. He would be eating his own words to say it was impossible for her to be healing so rapidly. But quite frankly, it was. There was certainly something special about her, that much was obvious.

He added a small amount of magic to the fire to sustain it for another few hours and then reached for the teapot at the very same moment it began to scream. A pour followed by the addition of a few select herbs and some spice for taste he levitated the drink over to the bedside.

“How bad was I?” the lavender mare asked softly not looking away from the mirror. “I still don’t remember a whole lot from the last few days. It’s all. Fuzzy,” she finally put the mirror down and graciously accepted the tea.

“This will settle your stomach. And your tongue.” Star Swirl said returning to the kettle to mix his own. “And you were in very bad shape indeed. I lost you twice actually. But you had a lot of fight in you,” he smiled as he stirred pure magic into his tea. “Seems to me as though you have a reason after all.”

Twilight sighed in contentment as the taste of tar and badly curdled milk was finally chased out of her mouth. “I didn’t know a potion could taste so badly,” she groaned. “Everything Celestia has me make always comes out fairly tasteless.”

For the most part Star swirl was able to hide his shock at her statement. “You know Celestia do you?” He asked casually as he took an inspecting sip of his tea. This was about to get very interesting.

Twilight took a tentative sip of her own. “Oh yes. I’m actually her personal student. I even lived at the castle for a time.”

Very interesting indeed. There could be no doubting it now. There was much more to this young mare than he ever could have guessed. But how much more was a question he should like answered.

Watching him over the rim of her cup Twilight took another sip and smiled. “And when Princess Luna returned Celestia said my lessons were going to become much more interesting,” her eyes drooped and she visibly slumped. “But I suppose none of that matters now. I don’t even know if they are still... Still alive.”

Outwardly Star Swirl appeared calm and collected. Inwardly however his mind was racing. Luna had returned? But how? The Elements of Harmony had sealed her away in the moon as that was her attachment to the Nexus and the conduit of her ethereal power. The stars! It had to be the stars. They were a part of Luna and she a part of them. They had come to her aid at last. How long would it have taken their collective powers to break the elemental seal? Star Swirl ran the relative numbers through his head. Roughly a thousand years. “Oh sweet divines,” he whispered to himself. Luna had been locked up there for a thousand years. So. He had failed her after all.

“Sorry?” Twilight was certain she had heard something from the old pony but couldn’t quite put her hoof on what it had been. Had it been something about divines? She sampled her tea again to wait. Clearly he was lost in thought.

With surprising speed Star Swirl got to his hooves and made for the hall closet to fetch his hat and cloak. “My apologies Twilight Sparkle. But I must return immediately to the castle to confirm something that until now has been nothing more than a mere speculation. Please rest until my return. The hall lantern will assist you should you require anything. If you have need of it just call,” he grabbed his saddle bags from earlier and made for the door. “I shall return by day’s end,” with a soft creak that was barely discernible above the icy wind outside the door swung open before him. “And you need not worry yourself over the Princesses. They can handle the likes of Discord,” he turned and headed into the new storm. “Even without me.”

Twilight watched him go. She had neither the strength nor energy left to protest. While true she was definitely feeling better and physically was certainly in improved condition. She was in no position to be going anywhere. And her horn hurt terribly despite the numbing agent she had noticed Star Swirl slip into her tea.

The house creaked dully as a hearty gust of wind battered against it. The howl of the gale reached into the house despite the thick walls of living wood. The fire flickered warmly, nestled contently in the hearth as it cast random light and shadows all around the room in a never-ending dance.

Finally having a moment to take in her surroundings more adequately Twilight looked about the room. Everything was clean, tidy, and immaculately made by meticulous hooves. The room had a surprisingly high ceiling like the ones you might find in the home of a pegasus.

She sipped her tea as she looked over the place. All the walls were covered in carvings of glyphs she couldn’t identify and all the furniture was made from different species of wood. Some she didn’t recognize.

Gingerly and against doctors’ orders she managed to slide down off the bed and hobble to a well padded chair near the far wall next to the fire. “Much better.” She nearly purred as she pulled a quilt from the chair back and snuggled into it. Twilight looked back the way she had come and noted how the room was shaped as a crescent moon. It curved to a tip at either end. To her left was an archway that led to the hall and the outside door through which Star Swirl had gone.

With a small amount of pain and a fair deal more concentration than usually needed Twilight levitated the remainder of her tea and placed it on the table next to her chair. She looked right and could just see the beginnings of a kitchen before the room curved around the corner. The obviously out of place bed notwithstanding, this was apparently the general commons room of the house. That information gathered the purple mare giddily set her sights on the true purpose of her moving off the bed. She turned to look at the five row high bookshelf by the fire and scanned the selection. If her jaw had dropped any lower she would have been unable to reach it. Contained on that one shelf was a collection ten times the value of the entire Golden Oaks library. From one of a kind originals on early Equestrian history to the covers of books Twilight only knew about by reading about them in other books. There were also a few in languages she couldn’t even begin to identify.

Twilight selected one from about the middle and thanks to Celestia’s tutelage was able to read the oddball form of old Equestrian the author had chosen. She settled further down in the blanket and happily began to read, occasionally sipping at her tea.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

Star Swirl trudged through the snow in silence as he contemplated the task ahead of him. It would likely be the worst possible thing imaginable. But he had to know. There was always a reason. Only this time the reason was simple. Their time, was up. If Luna had indeed returned, then so had...

The wizard stopped as he gazed down into the gully, the edge of which he now stood. He looked at the pile of cold stones that rested in the now iced over water below. How was one to move forward if they were so afraid of what lay ahead?

Like a Banshee from Tartarus the wind howled with renewed vigor as it buffeted him and pulled at his hat and cloak. He lowered his head in near defeat and fell to his knees. There was no way he could do it again. The strength was all but gone from his body and his mind was failing him. It would be impossible to face this task a second time. To face his friend in battle once more. How could he? It was impossible.

At the very edge of giving in he heard it. Over the shout of the wind and behind the swaying sound of the trees as they leaned, it reached him. A voice. Soft and gentle as a summer breeze.

“Nothing is impossible to a willing heart Star Swirl,” it said with an almost spirit like quality that faded in and out.

He could feel the sensation of a hoof lift his chin and the press of familiar lips on his as he was pulled back to full height. The cold air was, for a moment, repelled from his awareness by the warmth of a spring day.

“And you must press on for all of us. For if you do not find a way,” the voice faded to the slightest whisper. “No pony will,” the voice drifted away as did the feeling of love and comfort.
Star Swirl opened his eyes and looked up into the blackness that surrounded him. A tear rolled down his eye and froze in his neck fur. Not so much as a star greeted his gaze. The sky was black and dead. Only nothingness remained. “I will my love,” he whispered as he set his sights back on the castle ahead. “I will find a way. And this time, we will all be safe,” he said as the bridge took new life before him.

With new found determination the wizard worked. The stones being placed as though they weighed no more than a stack of books. He would not allow his mind to tell him that had been some form of delusion. An apparition caused by his own grief. Many times the voice had called to him on the wind and at first he had ignored it. But now. Now he didn’t care anymore, apparition or not it always brought him comfort.

As the final stone slid into its place Star Swirl ventured across his little creation. And just as with all the times before the bridge collapsed the moment his magic released.

On impulse he glanced at the burnt tree now on his right and stared for a moment at the small crater a short distance beyond. There was a place just after where a small gazebo had stood. Now reduced to charred splinters and ash. Nopony had bothered to clean it up yet.

Shivering in the wind he cinched his cloak tighter in effort to stave off the blood chilling effects of his adversary. Star Swirl prayed Celestia would return soon. The world would not last through this much longer.

Heating himself once more with his magic the pony trudged onward to his goal. A short flight of white marble steps brought him in through the rear gates of the castle into the more public parts of the gardens. He passed by countless pieces of supposed artwork. He never had cared for the things. Occasionally he took notice of some part of the courtyard stonework that had been melted by the random errant blast of magic from the pitched battle that had taken place above. What was once pristine marble, onyx, and quartz was now a smeared tableau of twisted lumpy edges that were sharp to the touch.

In reality the damage was rather light really. It wouldn’t even be that difficult to repair. But the damages to the castle was not the cause for his, or anypony’s distress. Equestria had effectively lost both of its rulers over the course of a week after all.

Star Swirl nodded to a pair of guards as he past. The two miserable stallions giving polite nods of their own as he went by.

The weather seemed only to worsen as he walked along. The wind blew harder and the flakes of snow grew larger as Star Swirl emerged into yet another courtyard on the castle’s far side. He moved past a large crushed statue of some poet long since forgotten by most ponies.

He turned a corner and passed under an archway and soon found himself standing before the entrance of the Canterlot Archives. With a weary sigh the pony made his way up the stairs and inside.

Given the hour the halls were uncharacteristically quiet. They should have been alive with the passing of young scholars from the university and members of the general public. Gone was the soft clatter of hooves on the white marble floor and the low banter that followed the students’ movements throughout the grand structure. The silence was rather eerie and it got to him.

Star Swirl passed through the main lobby and down one of the larger halls towards the farthest reaches of the sprawling complex. To say the archives was a large building would be a tremendous understatement. While its overall appearance from the outside was rather impressive the public only ever saw the regal ground floor of the construct. What lay beneath however was the true marvel.

He moved to the end of the last hallway just beyond a certain window. Pressing his horn into a slot in a heavy wood door Star Swirl entered the very room that ‘unbeknownst to him’ would soon be named after him.

The door eased shut with a soft glow of magic and locked itself tight. All around the large room lanterns began to light, reacting to his presence. With slow determination Star Swirl approached the center of the space and paused before the huge hourglass that stood there.

Noting how little sand was left in the upper half compared to just the day before told him just how little time was left. It was nearly out of power now. It would not be long, perhaps a few days remained. Four was his guess.

It was startling to think about. Or at least it should have been but Star Swirl had been anticipating this for a while now.

There was little left that he could give this world and Star Swirl was not about to argue the point. He was done. Spent. If there was anything left now it was to keep the last promise he had made to Celestia and unseal the true Archive. The sole surviving record of all of their world’s past, both light, and dark. From this, Celestia could rebuild their shattered realm. She could renew the burnt lands and fouled seas.

He looked to the inscriptions around the pedestal the artifact stood upon. Buried below lay what was left of the Alicorn race. The remnants of a once great power sat dormant, hoping to one day be laid upon the shoulders of the last hopes of all the lands. For what waited below his very hooves was all that remained of the great library of Cromithia. The floating city of the first Alicorns and citadel of the royal family. The sum of all their vast collective knowledge.

A smile fell across Star Swirl’s lips as he began to sing a gentle melody in a language no other pony alive would know aside the princesses. It was a song he had heard their mother sing to them as little fillies. It was a lullaby of love in the oldest tongues of Alicorn speak.

“La tavu uned ley ven nue. Srevnah van tavu. Lamnat la, dezen ley remdelen, tavu.” He sang from his very heart as the meaning behind each word reached him. This was a song of great importance. “Zelrenem kliemenum tilem tavu. Shterum srevnah esrin, tavu. Remdelen tavu.” As he finished the massive hourglass groaned as millennia old mechanisms creaked to life and even more ancient spells went to work. The hourglass slowly began spinning in a clockwise rotation and, inch by inch, receded into the floor leaving a spiral staircase leading down into the gloom.

Star Swirl gingerly made his way down the stairs as carefully as possible knowing that several had rather nasty surprises in store for those not in the know. He counted meticulously until finally the hourglass came to a shuddering stop some hundred feet below the floor above.

Near the base of the stairs was an archway through which, spilled a warm purple light. The illumination pulsated and moved in a very lifelike manner as it flowed and reached about the space of the stairway before him. It crawled around on the floor and came right up to the base of the first stair but no further even though it climbed part way up the far wall.

He moved to the last step and stared at the light for a moment. His eyes couldn’t quite focus on it as if it weren’t there and yet looking through it made everything seem as though it were miles away.

The magical field here was terribly disturbed as well. Everything felt lopsided and backwards with a force of pressure he could never describe. And indescribable was the perfect word for what lay beyond the next door.

Star Swirl stepped down off the last stair. No sooner had his hoof hit the floor the light swarmed up his legs and surrounded his body like a mist. It was an amazing feeling really. At first there was nothing at all, as if he had just stopped existing. Then came something along the lines of pure bliss and comfort as all pain and strife left him with not so much as a negative thought.

Recognizing him as a Star Order Unicorn, the light accepted him.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

Slowly and blearily Star Swirl opened his eyes as he adjusted himself. It was an odd sensation, one that he could never acclimate to. He looked behind to find that the light now appeared to flow down the stairs and stop just before touching the floor. It seemed to beckon him back but there was something that first needed to be done.

The archway led to a long corridor that angled down and sloped under the castle above. Or at least that is how it would appear. At the end of the tunnel was another formidable wooden door similar to the first. Only this door opened up on its own accord to allow him passage.

He blinked and covered his face momentarily as the rays of golden sunshine greeted him with their near blinding light. Star Swirl stepped through the threshold and took in the beautiful sights around him as he stood upon the hill. He wished that he could feel the sun’s warmth and enjoy the lush grass under his hooves. Unfortunately, he was nothing more than a specter here. A ghost moving within a memory really.

The wizard looked about his surroundings with an awe that would never diminish. He could never get past the grandeur of such a place as this.

Cromithia. The great city of the Alicorns sprawled out around him in all of its majesty. Massive intricately carved towers and monoliths adorned even more incredibly sized masses of earth held aloft by spells too powerful for most to comprehend. Off in the distance nearly too far for the eye to see, and dwarfing all of this was the emerald castle of the first Alicorns. Its spires and walls reaching nearly to the heavens themselves.

Massive bridges of golden light connected all the land masses together and as a whole they orbited the castle as one land, all the while nearly a mile removed from the surface below. In its entirety the city would travel the circumference of the planet once a year. The royal family observing everything as it went.

At some point or another every Alicorn to exist had called this place home. It stood as a symbol to all the races of the world that they had been chosen to watch over them. And that is just what they had done for tens of thousands of years. And then it all had ended.

Only. It had not ended. Thanks to the brave efforts of long gone members of the Star Order the great library had been saved. Literally.

Star Swirl moved forward towards his goal. At the crest of the hill stood an absolutely gargantuan structure the top of which was lost in perpetual cloud. The outer walls were lined with pillars the size of the very towers of the castle Celestia and Luna had built and the pedestal that supported it was nearly as large as all of Canterlot. This was the Great Library of Cromithia in all of its splendor.

As with all buildings that dotted this impossible landscape the library was covered in glyphs and runes of every known tongue of every known race and was adorned with massive sculptures and murals from all throughout history.

The world was still as he walked. Nothing moved as he travelled the deceptively long distance to the structure ahead, not the grass as he trod upon it nor the birds seemingly frozen midflight. The very air seemed to resist him as he went. This was the effect of a magical temporal exclusion spell after all. A memory of a memory trapped in a single moment in time. Never again to move or be otherwise disturbed.

He took pause as he looked back the way he had come. The image was perfect save for the open door simply floating there a few inches off the ground. It was a strange thing to think about. All those souls lost in one single conflict over something that to him at least seemed rather, trivial.

Without looking Star Swirl shuffled past the burning remains of an Alicorn stallion. His lapis embedded armor covered in a hellish black flame that was frozen in the act of consuming them. He passed several others in similar states on his path.

Upon arriving at the front gate he passed between several additional Alicorns, all adorned in heavy armor and sporting grievous wounds that would have left any mortal pony on the ground. He moved in through the gate and came to a stop in front of the library’s giant doors.

Standing there with wings spread in defiance and eyes closed in concentration stood an Alicorn whose body radiated power to the point his very physical form was more magic than flesh. His horn glowed with the final act of his spell. A spell that had sealed the temporal image of this place and all that it had contained. Aequivalere had been his name, one of the numerous Alicorns to be killed that day.

Turning to follow his gaze Star Swirl swallowed as he took sight of the immortal’s doom. A dark cloud of magical energy the size of a mountain sat some miles away sending a violet lightning bolt straight for them. The very bolt that had destroyed the library and all those defending it.

Star Swirl found it difficult to imagine the amount of power contained within that one bolt. For it to have killed so many was unthinkable.

He thought to contemplate more on the being within the cloud as it hung there in the sky. As daunting as it would look to anypony the wizard knew that none of this mattered now. These events occurred so long ago they had faded to the realm of myth and legend. Of course, some legends were born from truths.

Noting the look of triumph on the Alicorns face it was clear to Star Swirl that Aequivalere was well aware of his small victory over the coming darkness. In the face of certain demise he and his fellows had secured the very survival of their race. Even at the cost of their existence.

Finally managing to tear his gaze away from the frozen tragedy Star Swirl ascended a short set of stairs and stood before the great doors to the library. They were made from giant trunks of Ivory wood that had been twisted and wound together to create a living masterpiece of gleaming timber, leafy vines, and rich brown limbs covered in tiny pink blossoms. Each of the titanic trunks was easily the circumference of an old growth giant oak and each door was thirty trees wide and tall enough for an adult Dragon to enter.

If one looked closely they would notice a dull silvery sheen covering every surface of the great structure. It was a last second security measure placed there by the Alicorn. While true the library was now safe. If the darkness ever found the way in there would be nothing stopping it from finishing the job it had started.

Whether he lived to see her return or not Star Swirl decided it did not matter anymore. What mattered was that Celestia would return. And now she would have everything she would need to rebuild the lives of those that were left. She could finally have the peaceful world they had all wanted.

Star Swirl pressed his hoof into the glowing field and whispered a word that was lost to all others save himself and one other. The one that had held it secret for so long before entrusting him with its care.

The field vibrated a moment before bursting off the structure in a flurry of glittering magical dust and beams of starlight that shot off into the distance. The ground rumbled beneath Star Swirl’s hooves as the massive doors swung inward and came to a stop flush with the walls inside and a rush of sheer power enveloped him. The absolute energy was overpowering as he stood his ground. A surge of static ran along his body and a low zapping sound could be heard as the last of the barrier dissipated away. Then, all was quiet. The sense of stillness returned and the ambient energy faded into the background, but did not leave.

Star Swirl slid a hoof forward as if to enter the great library before him. What an abundance of unknown knowledge awaited any who entered here. Enough for a thousand lifetimes.

He stopped. Slowly his hoof slid back to where it had been. This was not for him, it never had been. This was Celestia’s, it had always been Celestia’s. It was hers and hers alone. She was ready and now so too was the library.

The wizard turned and strode back down the steps and stood next the defiant Alicorn paladin warrior. What thoughts must have been going through his mind at that very moment? Surly he knew his time had come. None who faced this enemy head on had lived to see the moon rise. “How did you?” Star Swirl said lowering himself to sit next to the towering equine beside him. “How did you stand tall before something so terrible? How did you when all you loved was burning all around you?” he looked to the cloud of darkness covering the horizon. “How did you when you knew the one responsible? And knew deep down. That it was your fault.” He frowned as he scratched at the perfect stonework on which he sat.

The Alicorn beside him offered no words of wisdom nor even a consoling gesture as they waited there together in the silence. The memory, and the ghost. Star Swirl realized he had trouble telling the difference between them anymore. Who had become the ghost, and who was the mere memory of who they once were.

“It was never Discord’s fault you know,” he said finally to nopony in particular. “We all drove him to it I suppose. I just don’t know how else to explain it. He knew nothing of evil, or greed, or even of chaos really. At least not the kind of chaos that he is known for now.”

Unsurprisingly the Alicorn said nothing. Did nothing, simply stood there ever on silent watch over his keep.

“Maybe if Celestia had simply stayed away from him as her father instructed, then, maybe none of this would ever have happened. Maybe.”

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

“Twilight…”

Twilight’s eyes fluttered open. Slowly she pulled herself from the realm of sleep and looked around her surroundings. Had somepony whispered her name? “H…Hello?” She called out.

All that answered her was silence save for the crackling fire. Certain that it had simply been a part of her dream she snuggled back down in the quilt and soon drifted back into slumber, and was therefore unaware of the frigid gust of air that blew into the room from the stairs sometime later and snuffed out the magical flames within the fireplace. The room grew dark, and unnaturally cold.

“Twilight…”

“Twilight.”

“Twilight….”

“Twilight. Sparkle.”

“Rise.”

Something was wrong. Twilight could not be sure what but something was very, very wrong. Clearly this was yet another dream, it was just that it was so vivid. She felt as though she were somehow asleep, and yet awake all at once. There was almost no veil of perception to clarify the difference between suspected dream, and supposed reality.

It was also rather strange, at least she thought so, that this dream had begun nearly exactly as the one before it had. Twilight was sitting upright in the large armchair next the fire where she had first fallen asleep.

There were some obvious differences however this go around. For instance, all the lights in the room had been extinguished including the fire. Even more noteworthy was that every surface seemed covered in a thin layer of ice, not frost as you would expect to find in a room that was this cold. That was another thing, why was it so cold?

“Twilight…”

The pony was sure that her heart skipped a beat. It was the same voice she had heard earlier and had caused her awakening. Distorted and angry, yet, sad. With no conscious intent a fore hoof moved on its own accord and pulled the blanket aside as she lowered herself down off the chair.

“Twilight… Forward… Upwards…”

Her hooves crunched softly on the frozen floor as she stood. And began to walk forward without meaning to.

“Twilight…”

She was becoming nervous now. Twilight rarely experienced lucid dreaming, which her brain confirmed this certainly must be. But then, weren’t you supposedly supposed to have more overall control?

“Twilight… Right… Upwards…”

As if having a mind all their own Twilight’s hooves carried her out into the hall and turned to face the stairs. Her thoughts came slowly as if made so by the voice. She didn’t care. Why didn’t she care? The first stair creaked as she set hoof upon it.

“Twilight… Ascend…”

Her side ached terribly as she moved upwards and her splinted leg was even worse. Why did they still hurt if this was nothing more than a dream? The stairs ascended in a large half-moon leading up to the second floor.

The top step left her in a circular room with four doors, two on each side and a hole in the middle that looked down to the room below and had a handsomely carved railing around it. On the far side set into the wall was an identical set of stairs leading up to yet another level.

“Climb…”

For whatever reason, she obeyed. The lavender mare shuffled upwards on self-guided hooves. Why was this so wrong? She couldn’t think straight, her mind was wandering around like a lost puppy. This was all a dream, right?

Another stair groaned as she came to a stop before a thick wood door. It barred her path and for whatever reason seemed not to want to let her past. It was almost as if it were trying to tell her to leave. To tell her to run.

“Open… It…”

At first nothing happened, as if she were resisting somehow. Then, ever so slowly, a hoof rose off the ground and pressed against the door. It would not yield.

“Open… It…”

She pushed harder, she pushed until it hurt and the door finally budged. It slid inward until there was room for her to pass.

“Come to me…”

Twilight felt tired now, as though she had been running for hours in sand. She felt drained. And not just of energy but magic as well. Why did this feel so wrong if at the same time seamed so alright?

Moving into the room everything was dark save for the very center where a huge book floated there. It was covered in undulating black flames that danced and wavered as if in a breeze that cast deep ultraviolet light that only reached out a few feet. It was so dark the rest of the room seemed to just fade away giving the appearance that only the book and the approaching pony existed.

“Closer…”

The voice nagged at her, it was familiar somehow yet was like nothing she had ever heard before. It was so strange, all of it was so surreal and dreamlike and yet, somehow, far too real. Could this really be happening? Something in her mind assured her it was not and that everything was fine. If that were true then why did she have the near overpowering urge to scream? She tried again to move of her own free will but could not. And that same comforting thing in her mind seemed suddenly, angry.

The small tendrils of black fire flickered towards her eagerly as she continued to approach despite her attempts to move away. It felt as though the book were drawing her in. telling her where it wanted her to go.

“Read.”

The massive book flipped open to reveal pages that glowed in vibrant colors all scrambled together as they warped and moved all around. They drew her onward. She could feel the power that pulled at her increasing with every step she took. The voice in the back of her mind grew louder and more hasty as it spoke. The world felt as though it were spinning in several directions at once. Her body began to grow numb.

“Read!”

Read. That was the only thing it said now as she drew up close. She tried again to move, to scream, to do anything she could think of. Nothing worked, it had her. Her body took one last step closer and she looked down at the page as the book lowered itself so she could more easily see the page.

Twilight gasped at what she saw. The pages rippled and text began to appear on them. It was written in an ancient form of Alicorn not seen since long before Celestia. Which oddly enough, she had been researching.

The words read. ‘Within thin bindings be shackled the essence of he who would be darkness.’ With a tremor the room began to shake as she read, unable to stop herself. ‘Should this scrip ‘ere be uttered upon such tongues as the living possess, the darkness shall rise once more unto his former glory and purpose.’ The fire began to expand as the words flowed from her mouth and a sound of some form of power overtook the room.

Twilight tried to flinch away as the fire licked at her neck and chest. She tried in vain to stop reading, oh Celestia she tried. ‘Mountains shall bow down and the seas will roar at the mere call of his authority.’

With every word she spoke the book seemed to grow stronger. The flames became thicker and much more energetic in motion. The ceiling above cracked as the shaking of the room intensified. ‘Here dwelleth Malevolence. Greatest of the twelve and first born of the first house.’ In slow deliberate motion the flames reached up to her and made to consume her. The bandages along her chest vaporized as the fire found them.

As the first snaking tendril caressed her body however, it recoiled away producing a deep hissing sound as if boiling away water. The edge of the black fire turned a dull white and slowed its motion considerably only to be immediately retracted back into the main body of fire near the book itself.

In the same moment Star Swirl vaulted through the air and knocked Twilight aside as the fire made another play at reaching her. The pair slammed into the floor some distance away and skidded to a halt.

The flames writhed in obvious anger as they made one final lunge at the lavender mare but were not capable of surpassing the distance. They licked and coiled in the air before finally slinking back to where they came. A burst of pressure and air flew away from the great book as it slammed shut in one deft motion. The shaking ceased and the fire returned to its slow steady crawl over the binding.

For a moment all was silent as the two of them lay on the floor panting, both not taking their eyes off the book as it floated in place. Between them and the way out.

Twilight was trembling now as Star Swirl rolled her over to face him. His eyes shone a deep violet in the flickering light of the book as they burned into her with concern. The wizard studied her face intently for a few moments before asking. “Did you finish it?!” He questioned with a gruff tone. “Twilight! Did you finish the passage?!”

The mare stared at him groggily as her head swam. She could still hear the voice whispering somewhere in the farthest reaches of her conciseness, though its commands had become incoherent ramblings. Almost as if it were a double sided conversation with only half being heard.

Star Swirl’s horn flared to life and the voice subsided further into the darkness until she could again focus. With exaggerated slowness the rest of the room came into her awareness and for the first time she was able to see the rest of the library for what it was. Again she looked at Star Swirl.

“Tell me child,” he said leaning towards her expectantly. “Did. You. Finish. It?” Asked the old pony nodding at the book for emphasis. “The text. Did you finish the text?”

Twilight shivered again at the very thought of what she had seen on those pages. She shook her head lamely at him. “No,” with a smile she added. “Thank you.”

Gingerly he set a hoof on her shoulder. “You are quite welcome my dear. But I am not the one who deserves credit,” he said returning the smile and gathering himself to stand.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked moving to do the same only to stop when she caught sight of Star Swirl’s face. She followed his gaze to the floor below her only to find it slick with blood. It was her own.

Star Swirl stared in horror at the lines of stitches along her chest that had been burned away and the deep wounds that had reopened from the impact she had suffered at his hooves. He moved to catch the mare as she looked back at him and then went limp.

The last thing Twilight Sparkle heard before the darkness took her was Star Swirl calling out to somepony named Owlovard.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

It was bitterly cold in the study as the scratching of quill on parchment filled the air of the space. The out of place bed near the center of the room had been removed back to whence it came. It was no longer needed.

Star Swirl sipped at a cup of herbal tea as the quill continued its trek across the page while wrapped in his magical grasp. His brow was furrowed in deep concentration as the quill went on recounting the events of the past week, as well as what was to happen next. As the old pony worked, a dull smile crossed his face.

The quill finished and he looked over the pages one last time. It was all there. Instruction enough he hoped, to steer Celestia in the right directions. Star Swirl laid down his quill and put the little inkwell away where it belonged. There was always a reason.

Smiling despite himself he folded the letter neatly and placed it squarely atop the desk next to one remaining book that was also meant for her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he turned away and left for the hallway.

After being summoned by a soft singsong whistle the dented little wall lantern floated off its hook near the stairway and followed Star Swirl through the dark house down the hallway past the stairs and to the room directly across from Star Swirl’s own.

The stallion opened the door, ushered the lantern in, and quickly closed the door again so as not to let loose too much of the precious heat the fireplace inside had managed to generate. He gave another low whistle to acquire the lantern’s attention and motioned to the far side of the bed.

Obediently it floated to the intended destination and waited for him to shuffle over and pull back the quilts. Immediately Star Swirl rechecked the new stitches out of a growing case of paranoia. They were all in perfect condition, for once.

He moved on to check the new blood tube delivering yet another batch of his own blood into her veins. Satisfied by that he began the arduous process of removing her leg splint as a bone scan earlier that morning had revealed the appendage to be mended.

“Move up on the left please,” he said. “That’s my bad eye. Remember?” On queue the lantern made a clanking rattle and complied. “Thank you,” muttered the pony.

After a few minutes of fussing and some cursing under his breath the rather well made splint was off and the leg inspected. Satisfied with the results, Star Swirl carefully removed the modified sleep spell from his patient.

Twilight mumbled something in her slumber and her eyes peeled open to reveal half bloodshot corneas.

“We really must stop meeting like this my dear,” Star Swirl said with a small hint of amusement playing at the edge of his voice.

She carefully sat upright at his nod that it was alright to do so. “It would certainly be an improvement,” Twilight said wincing as the stallion withdrew the blood tube from her foreleg. “How long?” She asked looking out the window at the blackness.

Star Swirl turned away and began to clean the equipment. “Three days this time,” he mused coiling up the tube. “Nearly bleed out you did.”

“What, what happened?” She asked rubbing the side of her head where a large bruise had formed.

“You were being taken,” he said putting everything back in the large medical bag that stored it. “By the power of a darkness that has long since been forgotten by this, and nearly every other world,” Star Swirl snapped the bag shut and sighed. “The same power I fear, that may have set Discord on his own path to ruin and misery.”

Twilight prodded the stitches on her chest absentmindedly. “You mean he wasn’t always, nuts?”

Star Swirl shook his head as he moved back along the bedside. “No. No once he was in fact my closest friend. As gentle a soul I have ever known.”

“Then what happened to him?”

“I cannot say for certain. What I do know is that Celestia’s father had a hoof in it. Discord had eyes for her but the king would not hear of it and drove them apart,” Star Swirl climbed into a chair next the bed and his voice dropped with sadness. “It tore Discord down. And he was never quite the same afterwards. He began his attack shortly after.”

Twilight looked horrified at this. “Did she… You know…?”

“Share his feelings,” Star Swirl gave a short quiet chuckle as he thought back. “Oh yes, quite strongly in fact actually. The two of them were inseparable as kids, the best of friends. Then, one day they just, became more,” he smiled fondly at the memory.

“I just can’t believe that,” Twilight muttered under her breath. “He’s the only pony that I have ever seen Celestia show true anger towards,” she put a hoof to her chin. “Ever.”

Star Swirl chuckled softly as he shook his head. “It really does not matter whether you believe or not Twilight Sparkle. Those two share a great amount of history together, and much of it is not at all pleasant,” he fumbled his hooves together and gave a slight snort. “Truth be told he deserves every bit of her anger. Tell me, Twilight, have you read the history behind what happened between the princesses and Discord?”

Twilight drew herself up into a more comfortable position on the bed and gave him a curious look. “Well, yes of course I have.” She said wondering where this was going. “I mean, most of it was lost in the battle so many of the old texts must have been destroyed,” The mare scrunched up her face in thought. “Basically the sisters overpowered him in the end with the Elements of Harmony and turned him to stone… Right?

Star Swirl lowered his head as his theory was confirmed. “Yes… I suppose that is close enough,” he said sliding back down off the chair and heading for the door.

“Star Swirl?”

He stopped with a hoof on the door. “Some things are better left out of history Twilight. Some things you just bury and move on,” his hoof slid to the floor as he turned back to face her. “But occasionally those things that you bury claw their way back to the light, and come looking for you.”

She wanted to ask for more than just a simple analogy but Twilight realized just then how near the old stallion seemed to be to tears. She could see the pain welling up in his eyes, and read the drop of his withers. “So what now then? You said we had work to do before you left last time,” she reminded him.

A dull smile returned to his worn lips as he again reached for the door. “Indeed we do. You must return to your time, and time is something we do not have in abundance,” Star Swirl opened the door and immediately regretted it as the frigid air of the hallway bit at him. “I shall return shortly. Then we have a bit of a walk ahead of us. I trust you have healed sufficiently to make the trip,” With that, he was gone.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

Star Swirl wiped his mouth with a hoof as he laid down his third empty cup of tea. He raised an eyebrow at the vial that used to contain the purified magic that he had been stirring into his drinks for the past few weeks. It was empty.

He glanced down at the rag in his other hoof and sighed. Throwing the bloody thing into the fire he grabbed another from the pile that was assembled next the kettle and dabbed at the slow flow of fluid running out his nose. It would seem the curse was now winning.

Another log was thrown onto the first normal fire the hearth had seen in decades and Star Swirl hoof grabbed the last cup of tea available. The pony downed it in one go then tossed the container into the flames. “One day left… perhaps two if I don’t strain myself,” he leaned on the wall enjoying the heat of his work. “I looked through all of Silver’s books on the matter, there is not one spell that can help her get back now,” he said in utter defeat.

“Hoooo?”

“Twilight,” Star Swirl said in minor annoyance.

“Hoooo?”

Twilight Sparkle, the mare who fell out of the vortex in the archives nearly a week ago.”

“Hoooo?”

Star Swirl turned towards the inner wall of the study and frowned. “Not tonight. I am in no mood for that infernal game of yours you petulant bird!” He spat his words with more anger than intended, the stress of his current situation was beginning to show. His gaze found the usual roost the owl favored and rested on the creature that waited there.

The bird stared right back as he slowly restrained his emotions and put them back under control. It was difficult given the circumstances but Star Swirl managed to reign himself in despite his fouling mood.

The owl made a series of hooting noises followed by a soft squawk. The combination somehow managed to sound upset, yet also understanding as well.

Star Swirl hung his head and wandered over nearer the perch. “My apologies Owlovard. I did not mean for that,” he looked up and gave the avian a dull smile that held no joy. “The pain is admittedly affecting my responses again.”

With barely a moment’s thought the owl flew over the pony and landed next the kettle and the empty vial. Studying the container intently he turned to Star Swirl with a raised eyebrow and gave a low hoot.

“I had to. I could not stand it anymore,” said the wizard tiredly as he followed. “Celestia did her best but her spell is weakening despite the magic’s reinforcement,” he reached up and took the vial in a hoof and gave it a once over and smiled a grave smile of irony. “I would develop a killing curse that is resistant even to Alicorn magic,” he muttered quietly to himself knowing full well that Owlovard would still hear.

The birds face warmed as much as his features would allow. “Yet you managed to find a way to stop Discord without the need to use it for its intended purpose. You, with the help of the sisters managed to save your friend.”

Without missing a beat Star Swirl switched to the language of the birds homeland race. “Do not fill my ears with such false hopes observer. True he still lives, but his heart is lost and now he is beyond any help we can give.”

“Perhaps,” Owlovard said turning to gaze into the fire. “Though I must say that statement bears much surprise coming from you.”

“And how is that?” The pony said flatly as he sat the glass back upon the table.

“There is always hope Twilight. And there is always a reason. Even if we cannot see one ourselves. Never forget that,” he mimed glancing back at the wizard behind him. “You may have momentarily forgotten your convictions Star Swirl,” Owlovard said turning back to the fire and thinking for a moment. “But do not expect those who have paid attention to them to have forgotten as well,” the bird motioned a wing and another log floated into the fire with a crackle of fresh pitch. “While Discord may now be beyond your help, he may yet be within reach of his own.”

“No,” Star Swirl said moving closer to watch the freshly added log release a batch of embers. “Discord gave up on his hope a long time ago.”

Owlovard curled his beak into the best form of a smile as it could muster. “Then why would he allow you to win?” He questioned then moved towards the nearby window.

“He was insane by the end. I am of the belief he did not know what was happening,” Star Swirl said watching him go. “And what of my request?”

The owl landed on the windowsill and stared at the pony’s blurry reflection in the glass for a short time before answering. “If she truly is who you believe her to be then, yes, I will keep an eye on her. Perhaps it will even come to pass as the Oldest one foretold. Then the Forger’s plan will be set in motion.”

“Thank you, Owlovard. I wish you luck on your part. Luminescent was right to ask your thoughts on this,” Star Swirl said gathering his saddle bags.

“You could always visit, her, you know,” he said with a mischievous grin of his beak. “If there is but a single way yet to send her back to the proper time then you know exactly where to find it. No reason to waste your day by dragging poor little Twilight back to the city archives to look for something we both know you would not find.”

Star Swirl looped the bags over his back and snorted his disagreement. “That would prove to be most unwise I think. Malithion is not an ally in any sense of the word. She cares not for the troubles of our world, nor any other for that matter,” he huffed as he drew the strap tight on his bags and headed for the hallway. “She will not help.”

“Are you certain Star Swirl?” The bird asked with a hint of knowing in his words. “For, it has been a very long time. And time, has a way of changing things.”

The pony paused at the threshold of the room and turned to give a spiteful retort, only to find no trace of the owl. “I hate it when he does that,” Star Swirl muttered. He moved out to the small closet near the outer door and opened it. The stallion reached in and scrutinized the assortment of cloaks, robes, and other assorted apparel that seemed weather appropriate.

He selected a thickly lined dull green one sized for a small mare that would likely fit Twilight and keep her warm in the blizzard like conditions to be found outside. Next his hoof searched out the well-worn and slightly tattered dark brown one he typically favored. A soft jingly sound caught in his ear and his body stiffened.

Peering into the darkness that hid in the farthest reaches of the space Star Swirl’s eyes found the blue folds of the High Master’s cloak. Its polished brass bells jingling quietly as his hoof traced over the fabric. The matching hat sat on the usual peg up nearer the ceiling.

Not wanting to think further on the reasons for the pieces neglect Star Swirl quickly grabbed out the apprentice’s cloak he had reduced himself to and, without so much as a second glance, shut the closet and hurried down the hall.

Back in the study the fire flickered lazily in its place. Burning away the provided fuel as though assured of the prospect that more would come, blissfully unaware that its caregiver would never set hoof in the home again.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

Twilight cursed quietly under her breath as her still rather painful back leg slid out sideways on some ice. She looked back over her shoulder at the large tree house behind them, already missing the warm bed within. Though some small part of her was thrilled to finally be out of it.

The mare pulled the drawstring of the cloak’s hood and cinched the covering tighter around her as she followed the stallion. She cast a glance at the towering rock faces around them realizing for the first time that the house sat at the bottom of a deep ravine about as wide as one could throw a stone, and easily twice as deep, leaving just enough room for the tree which if Twilight were to guess, was about twice the size of her own home.

She could gather little else in the near pitch black darkness that surrounded them. The only source of light available floated along next to Star Swirl in the form of an old lantern. Carefully she watched her steps as the ground gently sloped downwards towards what looked to be a cave ahead where the rock walls came together.

Star Swirl quickened his pace just before he entered the small opening and turned back once inside the interior. Obscuring his view of Twilight and the house further away was a seemingly solid rock wall. The magical barrier that protected the lair of the Star Order. Holding his breath, he waited.

Twilight walked through a moment later, completely oblivious to the barrier’s presence. She paused alongside Star Swirl and gave him a puzzled look as he suppressed a now genuine smile. “What?” She asked not realizing the test she had just undergone. And passed.

“It’s nothing,” he said continuing on and failing now to hide his smile with the mare safely behind him. “Just proving a theory,” the old pony whispered.

Raising an eyebrow and tilting her head Twilight never even looked back as they exited the cave. “So…how exactly am I getting back?” she queried.

How indeed? He wondered to himself as they moved out into the snow filled wind and began their descent along the face of the mountain. It was not as if he could simply march into the archives and pluck one of Silver Spark’s limited temporal manipulation and traversing spells right off of one of the shelves. All of them were still up in the library behind. And not one could do what now needed to be done.

Star Swirl paused out of nothing more than habit as they came to a place on the trail that overlooked the still relatively new city of Canterlot below. It hung off the mountain like a great white gem, the city almost seemed to glow in the darkness as snow blurred the thousands of tiny specks of light that dotted the towers and walls as it blew past. For that one moment, everything was utterly silent.

He scuffed a fore hoof across the ground as Twilight moved up beside him and gasped at the sight. How? How could he tell her? It would require a massive amount of energy to send her ahead that far, and only one of his friend’s spells seemed up for the job, yet. He sighed inwardly as he glanced her way. The spell had disintegrated as he attempted a practice run the day before. And something, something else had happened as well.

“There is a way, Twilight.” He glanced again in her direction as he spoke. “Finding it is our only trifle now to deal with. Unfortunately, there is but one in all this land I think that can still help us.”

Twilight’s eyes widened with glee as she pushed to a conclusion, an exceptionally likely conclusion, but a conclusion all the same. “You’re going to ask Celestia for help?” It was meant as a question but came out more as a statement.

His gaze fell to the rocky ground. “If only it were that easy, Celestia still mourns for her sister.” He looked upward to the empty sky as if hoping to see the princess there. “And she has retreated off I know not where. Far beyond my range to sense her.” His words seemed to catch slightly in his throat as he spoke. “And it would not, I expect, have done you much good as far as returning you to the proper time.”

Her head lowered a bit at hearing this. “But. I have to get back. My friends, all of Equestria is in danger! I have to fix it!” She said moving closer to him. “Or find some pony who can,” that familiar twinkle flashed in her eye and Star Swirl nearly choked when he saw it. “It shouldn’t even be that hard, just go back a day or two before Nightmare Night and warn the princesses. If you came with me I’m sure between the three of you something could be done. Maybe even…”

“I cannot,” he said lowering his head knowing that he had failed. Again.

Twilight ceased her rambling and gave the older pony a worried glance. “Can’t, what?” she pondered.

Star Swirl sighed deeply as he looked upon the city below. There was no easy way to say it so he simply decided to go with the truth. The simple, hope crushing truth. He took a deep breath. “I no longer have the means to send you home.”