Equestrian Hearts

By: Alexstrazsa

Chapter 1 - An Unlikely Wielder

Darkness. It expanded in every direction, leaving Twilight with no bearing on where she was or what she was doing. All she knew was that she was on some sort of surface, and it was cold. She glanced around and realized that she was laying on her side, and just out of her field of vision was the surface she rested upon. She stood, and shook her head in an attempt to gather her bearings. Where am I... she thought, as her vision began to clear.

Twilight looked around, processing her location. She was standing on what appeared to be a large, circular stained glass window, surrounded by nothing but a pitch black void. It seemed to be self illuminating, with no recognizable light source around. Looking more closely at the window, she stifled a gasp as she noticed it depicted herself, with the portraits of her friends surrounding her. A pleasant view of Ponyville was in the background, and surrounding the main depiction were smaller images of other ponies she knew and their cutie marks.

Before she could fully comprehend the situation, the grinding of stone drew her attention to three stone pillars rising from the glass. When they stopped moving, an item materialized on top of each, floating steadily above. Upon the one directly in front of her was a sword, glinting brilliantly in the light. To her left was a shield, both thick and sturdy looking. To her right was a staff, donned with a translucent lavender jewel on top.

Twilight looked between all three, contemplating what to do with these items. As she was thinking, a voice swept through her mind, uttering a single word that told her what she needed to do.

Choose...

“Choose...” she repeated, her options reflecting off of her violet eyes. The sword, while sharp and deadly, didn’t fit her personality. She didn’t want to fight others, opting to reason instead. She glanced to the shield, and while it was protective, it was also physically restrictive. Only one option was left.

Stepping to her right, she approached the staff. Without so much as a second thought, she craned her neck and grabbed it between her teeth, pulling it off of its stand. To her surprise, it disintegrated to numerous yellow sparkles, which floated off and dissipated. “Well... that was strange...” she said, looking upwards.

The decision is made...

Then, the glass shattered. Twilight could do nothing but scream as she fell into the blackness.

- - -

The unicorn’s eyes flew open, and she realized she was lying in her bed. With a groan, she tore the sheets off her body and rolled off her mattress, landing on her hooves with a light clop. “Not another...” she grumbled, making her bed with a quick flash of her horn. She walked to her dresser and looked in the mirror, sighing at her messy mane and baggy eyes. Several strokes of a brush tidied her hair, and with a tired sigh, she left the room.

Her stomach rumbled as she walked down the stairs, reminding her that she should get something to eat. As she reach the bottom of the steps, she found Spike organizing one of the lower library shelves. “Morning...” she mumbled, walking past him.

The young dragon stopped what he was doing and walked beside her, looking to Twilight with a sense of confusion. “Are you okay, Twi?” he asked. “You’ve been waking up late for the past few days.” He scratched his chin with a claw, and then added “And you’re always tired... what’s up?”

“I’ve been having these strange dreams.” Twilight replied, looking through the nearest cupboard for something to snack on. “And I have no idea what they mean.” She levitated a box of oats and a bowl onto the table, then retrieved a spoon from the drawer. The unicorn then took a seat at the table, taking a lazy bite of her meal.

“Well, what are they about?” Spike asked, hopping onto a chair across from Twilight. “Maybe... I dunno, maybe they’re connected or something?”

Twilight swallowed her current mouthful of oats before answering, “Let me think... three nights ago, I dreamt of some kind of key. At least, it looked like a key... but I don’t know what it was for.”

“A key, huh?” the dragon replied, resting his head on his hand. “You think it’s a real key, or maybe some kinda weird... dream message?” He gestured his into the air with his free hand as he spoke.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Twilight replied, putting another spoonful of oats into her mouth as her vision drifted off into space. “I also dreamed about... something chasing me. All I can remember is yellow eyes, though...”

“Yeesh. Sounds like something out of one of your horror books,” Spike replied, his nose scrunching up in disgust. “Good thing no monsters around here have yellow eyes, huh?” He cracked a smile, in a vain effort to get Twilight in a better mood.

“And then this recent dream... I just don’t know what to make of it.” She put her forehooves on the table and rested her head on them, looking towards Spike. “I should do some research later today... after I have lunch with Pinkie.”

“Yeah, I got nothing,” Spike replied, with a shrug. Sitting up, he leaned back against the chair. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Twi. It’s probably just your imagination getting to you.”

“It might be... but I still want to see what it could mean.”

“If you want, I can find some books about dreams while you’re out today,” he said, turning his head to look into the main room of the library.

Twilight smiled, sitting up and feeling a bit better about the situation. “I’d like that, Spike.” She then stood up, bringing her dishes to the sink and dropping them in. “That’s why you’re my number one assistant.”

The young dragon felt his cheeks get red at the compliment. “Oh, don’t mention it... at least, not too often,” he said, with a grin.

Twilight headed into the entry room, but not before giving Spike a playful pat on the head in thanks. She looked to her calendar to find the plans for the day, which consisted of the words ‘Shopping trip’ and ‘Meet Pinkie at SCC’. Maybe she can tell me something about my dreams... she thought, looking around the library to make sure everything was in order. With a nod and a quick “See you later,” Twilight was out of the library and trotting to the center of town.

- - -

The sun had just reached its peak in the sky when Twilight opened the door to Sugarcube Corner. She spotted Pinkie, who was tending to a customer, and waved. The pink pony handed the customer a few bits and a cupcake, then looked to Twilight and grinned. “Glad you could make it, Twilight!”

“I wouldn’t pass up lunch at Sugarcube Corner,” Twilight replied, walking to the counter and peering at the various confections put on display. Among them were cupcakes layered with bright pink frosting and topped with red sprinkles, large, layered chocolate cakes with strawberries resting along the top edges, and fresh baked cookies whose scent still wafted in the air.

Pinkie Pie giggled as she walked around the counter, a small tray of snacks balanced on her back. “I wouldn’t pass up lunch at Sugarcube Corner either!” she said, moving to the nearest table and tossing the tray on it in a swift motion. Twilight gave a light laugh herself, then joined Pinkie.

“So, how are things, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, as she looked over the food. Her hoof hovered over the assortment as she carefully chose which treat to indulge in first. After mouthing a silent ‘A-ha!’, she took a bite sized sandwich and wasted no time eating it.

Twilight, on the other hoof, simply levitated the nearest treat to her and began to nibble on it. “I’ve been alright. My studies have been going along as usual. Though, I’ve been having odd dreams lately.”

Pinkie looked to Twilight in a mix of curiousness and wonder, then said “Ooh, what kind of dreams? Are they fun? Oh! I bet they’re full of books, because you like books so much, which makes sense because you’re around them so much. So is it books?!” At this point, the pink pony was leaning halfway over the table.

“Ah... no, no books. Sorry,” Twilight said. Pinkie’s face turned to the faintest of frowns as she sat back, taking another snack with her. “It’s been other stuff... like keys... dark creatures... a magic staff...”

“Like a wizard staff?” Pinkie quickly asked, while inching forward in anticipation.

“What? No,” Twilight replied, recoiling slightly. “I’m trying to figure out what they mean, and if there’s some connection between them.” She rested her head on her foreleg and tapped her other hoof against the table top. “I just don’t know...”

“Maybe there isn’t!” Pinkie replied, smiling and eating another snack.

Twilight cocked her head to the side and asked “Huh?”

“A connection. What if there isn’t one, and it’s just your super big imagination making a bunch of stuff up?”

The unicorn let out a groan, taking another small bite of her food. “Spike said that too.” She then sighed and said “I just don’t know...”

“Well, you just have to-” Pinkie started, but was interrupted by a violent shaking that overtook her body. It lasted several seconds, leaving her in a slight daze when it passed. “Oh no...” she started, eyes growing wide. “Another doozy!”

Twilight nearly choked on her bite of food at the phrase. She coughed several times and put a hoof to her mouth. “What?” she let out, in an almost pained whisper.

“It’s a doozy!” Pinkie repeated, a look of fear flashing in her eyes. “And something big is gonna happen... here!” She waved her forelegs around her. “In Ponyville!”

“I think I need to go, Pinkie,” Twilight said, standing up. “If something big is going to happen... it might be related to my dreams. I have to go research more.”

Pinkie had another violent burst of movement which sent her shaking across the floor. “If you say so, Twilight.” She then pouted. “Oh, now I’m not going to get anything else done today...”

“I’ll see you later, Pinkie,” the unicorn said, walking to the door with added urgency. “I hope.”

- - -

Twilight was digging through the hefty stack of dream interpretation books. They were spread all around, each opened and turning pages as fast as the unicorn could read. Spike could only watch from a distance as Twilight went into one of her studying fits, so he chose to clean a less busy part of the library.

“Come on, come on... I need information!” Twilight said, her eyes darting from page to page. Book after book was tossed aside with a burst of magic, followed by an angry grunt of ‘useless’. “Key symbolizes opportunities... no...” One book tossed to the side. “Eyes represent enlightenment... That doesn’t help!” Another tome hit the wall with a dull thud. “Staff... Staff... Power over others? No!” This book went clear to the other side of the room.

Twilight was in mid throw when a sudden and harsh knocking came from her door. The hum of magic faded from the air as her concentration broke and the book fell harmlessly to the ground with a thud. The unicorn groaned, then walked to the door and opened it, making sure to look irritated. The look lasted for only several moments when she noticed who it was at the door.

Applejack was at the door, fidgeting in place and looking behind her every few moments. Her pupils were dilated in what looked to be terror, and she was even shaking a bit.

“Applejack, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked, looking around.

“Ah... Somethin’.... Somethin’s comin’ from the Everfree Forest. It’s some sorta... black creature. Ah’ve never seen anythin’ like it!” Applejack replied, looking in the direction of the forest.

The image of the dark creatures, with their hauntingly yellow eyes, flashed through Twilight’s head. “It can’t be...” she whispered to herself, looking the same way Applejack was.

“We need yer help, Twi,” the farmpony pleaded, looking back to her friend. “The others are helpin’ out too, but we need yer magic!”

Twilight took a deep breath, then nodded. She looked back into the library and called to her dragon companion. “Spike, I have to go help my friends. Lock the library, and don’t open it unless you know they’re friendly. Got that?”

The dragon nodded, giving Twilight a salute. “Yes ma’am!” Twilight returned the nod, then left the library, nearly slamming the door behind her. Her horn then gave off a soft glow as the lock clicked.

- - -

Twilight followed Applejack, and the two galloped to a clearing near Fluttershy’s cottage, just outside the Everfree Forest. At first, the unicorn noticed the rest of her friends there, but her gaze quickly shifted to the creatures stepping out of the shadows of the forest. One shifted its large, round head so it’s glowing yellow eyes gazed upon Twilight, who took a step back and gasped. It stood on two legs and hunched over, keeping its twitching claws to its sides. The creature cocked its head, and one of its two antennas shifted. It took several steps forward before Dash swooped in and delivered a powerful kick to its chest, throwing it back into the forest.

“What the hay are these things?” The pegasus yelled, looking back to Twilight. “They just keep coming!”

“And my baked goods don’t do anything!” Pinkie added, throwing a pie at one of the creatures. The confection hit the monster square in the face and slowly slid off. The thing stood still for several moments before wiping the remains off of it’s face and continuing towards Pinkie. “See! They don’t even eat it!”

“And this is why we need yer help, Twi,” Applejack said, looking to the unicorn. “No matter what we do, they jus’ get right back up. It ain’t natural, and we’re gettin’ tired.” She looked up to the canopy of a nearby tree and pointed to it. Twilight followed her hoof and saw Fluttershy huddled on one of the branches, holding it tightly. “Fluttershy’s already done here.”

Twilight gulped, then looked back to the encroaching wave of dark creatures. “Okay... I’ll try my best.” Applejack galloped off into the clearing to help Rarity with several of the creatures, leaving Twilight to try her hoof at combat.

Her horn lit up as she recalled a spell that would shoot a quick blast of magic at something, then expelled several quick bolts of energy. The third glowing orb hit one of the monsters in the chest, sending it tumbling backwards. “Yes!” Twilight exclaimed with a smile. Her grin didn’t last long, though, as the same creature began to stand back up, seemingly unaffected by the blast.

Gritting her teeth, Twilight ran headlong into the dark beings, shooting off several more bursts of magic. They exploded on impact and sent the monsters flying backwards, but just as she feared, they simply shrugged the attacks off and continued their progression.

As Twilight was about to shoot another blast at one of them, it ducked down under the magic bolt, but kept going, sinking into the ground itself. It then quickly moved along the ground, faster than Twilight could keep track of it, and appeared behind her. The unicorn barely jumped out of the way as the creature lunged forward - directly into another blast from Twilight. “Nothing’s working!” she said, in both anger and irritation.

“Tell me about it!” Dash called over, bucking another of the creatures into a tree.

As Twilight was about to try another kind of attack, a large key materialized in front of her and broke her concentration. The combat end was formed by a large, shiny metal cylinder with teeth at the end which looked to be cut in the shape of a crown. To grip was dark, and surrounded by a golden guard that shone in the clearing. At the end of the guard was a small chain that linked to a what looked like three circles arranged in a pattern. “What... this is... this is the key from my dream,” Twilight said, looking at the key in awe. “But... what is it here for?” She then looked up, focusing on the invading creatures.

The lavender unicorn gulped, picking up the key by its handle. “Okay... Ets see ‘at oo ca’ do,” she managed to say, through the keys grip. Her horn began to shine, and after a moment she teleported into the fray.

Appearing next to one of the monsters, she swung the weapon, hard. It hit the creature in the stomach, sending it tumbling over and letting out a shriek of pain. Charging forward, she gave it another strike, and the creature dissipated into a dark smoke and was swept away in the wind. At first, she was shocked, not expecting the weapon to be any different from her magic - yet it was, able to hurt the creatures in a different way. Hmm... what if I channel my magic through it... she thought, thinking of a way to use the key. She pointed the edge at one of the approaching monsters and steadied herself. The key glowed a brilliant violet, and shortly after a white surge of energy went through the weapon and shot out the edge. The resulting blast tore through a few of the creatures, turning them to the same dark smoke as the first one.

Twilight felt like it was unnaturally easy to wield the weapon. As she weaved through the encroaching wave, spinning and using magic blasts to deal with the dark monsters, it felt all too easy. It was like she always knew how to use the key, but that couldn’t be possible, as she had never touched it in her life. Almost without thinking, she teleported behind one and slashed. Rolling forward, she caught one with the teeth of the key, then finished it with a single stroke. She then stepped to the side, effortlessly avoiding a lunging assault from another, and took care of it with a near point blank burst of magic.

Before long, the creatures responded to Twilight’s strength and began to back away, slinking into the shadows of the Everfree Forest.

The purple unicorn breathed heavily, standing her ground as she watched the monsters fade into the darkness. As the last of them left her vision, the key mysteriously disappeared in plethora of sparkles that softly fell to the ground and faded away. She was about to question it when the fluttering of feathers nearby drew her attention.

“What was that, Twi?” Dash asked, looking from Twilight to the thickness of the forest. “We couldn’t even touch them... then you come along with this big key thingie and take them out with one hit!”

“I’m not sure myself, Dash...” Twilight replied, her view not moving from the forest. “But whatever it was, it’s the only thing that can hurt... whatever these are.” She turned around, looking to the rest of them, who had now gathered around her. “I need to tell the princess immediately. While I’m gone, I need you five to do your best to defend Ponyville, in case they come back.” She looked to Dash and Fluttershy. “You two, tell everypony what’s going on, and tell them to stay inside unless they can fight.”

“We’re on it!” Dash put a foreleg around Fluttershy’s neck and grinned, while the other pegasus lowered her head and let out a soft whimper.

Twilight turned her head to Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “The rest of you, be on the lookout for these things, and if you see them, warn the others and do your best to defend yourselves. Got it?”

“Loud and clear, sugarcube,” the farm pony answered, adjusting her hat. “Ah’ll keep watch on the farm.” She looked over to Rarity and Pinkie Pie. “And Ah guess Rarity can look out from the boutique, and Pinkie can look over the center of town.”

Her streaked mane bobbed as she nodded her head. “Good. The faster we move, the safer Ponyville we be! I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Best of luck, Twilight. We’ll do our best.” Rarity responded, also give an affirmative nod. Without another word, the purple unicorn’s horn let out a glow, and with a bright flash, she disappeared.