“They’re coming for me... To my bastard son, I loved you, though I wish I could’ve told you more often. To the mare I love on Earth, I hope I can see you soon. To my illegitimate daughter, don’t lose your way. To those few PHL that’ll miss me, don’t worry. I may be gone, I may make my way to earth, but the Mare in Blue shall live on. If I live through this, I suppose I’ll have to be a stallion again, if only for a few weeks, but it’s all worth it. I am spellproof. I am potion-proof. I am an idea, and while they may stop me, they cannot stop the PHL. They cannot stop the resistance, and they cannot stop Equestria. Goodbye, you sons of bitches.”

The Mare in Blue, or at least one of them, escaping from her studio. A second later, massive explosions rang out above three freight depots in Fillydelphia, killing dozens of Newfoals and throwing the city into anarchy for more than half a day.

I can’t seem to stop them.

I-I can’t seem to stop those thoughts from creeping into my head… Celestia, all there is and ever will be is Celestia; she is the all loving mother of Equestria and we all love her. She is perfect in every way.

We all bask in her great bright lig–

“S-stop… please… I don’t know anything!” croaks the pegasus mare with the broken wings. Her voice sounded dry and raspy. “Just send me back to my cel–”

I immediately heard a loud crack as a unicorn brings down her metal club, breaking the pegasus’ left foreleg; I can see my ‘wife’ and superior, Head Warden Iustita as she is officially called, her features contorted with disgust as she holds the club in telekinesis.

She always hates it when things are cut short.

“Did I say you were done?!” Iustita snaps, ignoring the pegasus’ cries of pain.

This isn’t an unusual occurrence after all. She’ll have a prisoner brought to her office, and then ‘question’ them about the illegal activities they’re accused of. They all say they don’t know anything, honestly, and it was a strange thing all things considered.

The reality of it is even stranger, it’s all just an excuse for Iustita to release her vicious desire to inflict physical pain on others, and like so many times before, she’ll get that by abusing her powers as Head Warden of the Prison Camp, and yet… somehow, I need to ask one thing; why?

Why does she do this to them?

…Why are we doing this?

We’re ponies, friendship is universal… right? We are all blessed by Celestia’s light, to reach out and uplift others for Perfect Harmony… and yet we’re hurting our own kind.

Why?

I need to think, something Lavender Dreams isn’t able to do much of in fact, yet she’s a Newfoal like me – those ponies are Betrayers, corrupted by the apes’ lies and the darkness that surrounds them.

My previous monkey self has been, graciously, uplifted years ago, and I’m so happy to have left that horrible planet for the wonders of Equestria. I mean, sure, it was a bit odd for Twilight Sparkle to do some checkups on me once I arrived in Canterlot and all… but it’s not an issue.

I’m still happy and all.

In fact, I’m even happier that I can help others see our beloved Goddess’s glorious light, and alongside such a beautiful mare. My dear Iustita really is a loving soul once you get to know her when she isn’t dealing with those Betrayers. Oh, I’m so grateful that she picked me amongst all the other stallions she had to choose from…

…But wait, I’m losing my train of thought. Why are we hurting them? Wouldn’t that just make them feel justified about us? About what those apes have said about us?

Eventually, I witness Iustita order a pair of guards to haul the broken and injured pegasus away. Probably sent off to Medical due to her inability to work and yet… there’s something about this, feels rather familiar somehow…

A young mare sent off by somepony important, sent away and rejected for reasons unclear to them. Unable to see the true light and the answers like others. Why pity them? They’re Betrayers! Their minds are suffering from a horrific taint of lies from those apes!

It is my duty as Vice Warden of this facility to help them see the truth. Besides, I’m happily married to a mare such as this. Our love is…

Our love is…

Our lov–

…Just what is our love anyway?

Love is something that I… that I felt back… back on the hellworld, Earth. In these weird dreams, I see those humans… Those humans…

Their names always escape my tongue, no matter how hard I try, and even then I don’t remember being in a relationship with that… ape and… the girl.

Who?

Every time her smiling face flashes through my mind, I feel my heart warm up, yet when I see her crying it makes me want to… hold her, comfort her like a…

Like a parent would their foal–

“New Bloom.”

Iustita’s voice cuts through my thoughts like a knife through melted butter. “I need some ice to cool me off. Will you be a dear and get it for me?”

“Yes, honey,” I reply on reflex, my body already moving towards the ice bucket and using my telekinesis to get some ice cubes for my wife. It’s true what they say, when you’re married, you’re two souls joined as one.

“Good, now please begin rubbing it on me,” she orders and, like a dutiful husband, I begin to rub the ice on her body as if it were lotion.

She welcomes the cold ice cooling down her strained body. Iustita does always get this way when she’s had a session with difficult prisoners that do know something. Sometimes she’ll even get really riled up and want me to… personally cool her off. And I always do when she asks.

I like doing everything my wife asks… never, ever saying no to anything.

Her quiet moans grab my attention. Thanks to thorough experience, I know I’m almost done with this and soon I can… I can go back to doing nothing. It’s what I always do whenever I’m not being a loving husband to her.

It is raining.

What? Didn’t the forecast call for it to clear all week? Is the weather team slacking off, or does West Lightning know something we don’t? He always said the weather here was strange.

I can hear the rain patter against the windows. Iustita too takes notice of this.

“Oh, what a shame. Seems like they get today off, then. Oh well, I’ll make them work even harder tomorrow to make up for the lost time.”

She gets up and heads towards the bedroom, “New Bloom, come join me in bed,” she says casually, “I have a… great feeling about this moment.”

But I’m not paying attention to her.

All I can do at the moment is just… gaze out of the window. There is something specific again present as the rain falls. It’s like those dreams I’ve had.

It was… it was Nightmare Night and– NO! It wasn’t that! It was something else, it was like Nightmare Night… but different! It was raining, and that girl was there. She was left standing outside and she was sad again. Why–

“New Bloom,”

Iustita. I can hear irritation in her tone.

“I said to come join me in bed, now.”

Can’t say no. It just isn’t polite to keep her waiting like tha–

“…left me here waiting…”

A voice surges through my mind, an unknown one that makes me wonder who it belongs to. Is it the girl’s? She sounds upset, very upset over… over… over waiting for so long for somepony that never showed up to see her.

… How do I know that!?

Tartarus, why would I even care!? She’s a human, an ape! An imperfect being that… that… that I have a bond with. Not like the one I share with Iustita or with Lavender Dreams. None of that is real to me. They are the dream, and the human girl is real!

But, who is she? Her name, what was her name? I can feel it on the tip of my tong–

“HEY!”

Sounds like Iustita is getting real testy now. She’s standing right in front of me, her steely grey eyes looking right into my pale purple – or lilac, either one works I guess – colored eyes.

“I told you to come to bed! Now!”

Yet, I just… look, I just can’t right now, I’ll help her in a moment. Must focus on the girl , find her name… was she–

“ARE YOU LISTENING!?”, she yelled angrily.

Come on! It’s there! I just need to say it already!

“Iustita?”

“Yes?”

“I must respectfully…” I need to stop, my mind is starting to tear itself apart over what I’m about to do next, but it isn’t rude, per se.

“Respectfully what?” she demands, “Out with it! What were you saying?”

“I must–” No! The image is starting to distort. Something is preventing me from remembering. Why? I want to remember! “I must respectfully dis-in-cline to your request.” Focus now, she was standing in the rain, she was sad about… about… being left there on her own? Was that it?

“What was that?”

Iustita herself zones in on my strange behavior. “Did you just say no to me?” She sounds more confused and shocked than offended.

The girl… cried, she cried into my shoulder while I’m wrapping my… forelegs around her? N-no! That’s not it. A-arms? Is that it? I hugged her in an embrace to comfort her?

“Y-yes. I did, I’m… s-sorry,” I apologize… getting hard to think now. what was her name? Just… just somepony! Anypony! Tell me her name!

Please! It… it...

*WARNING: SUBJECT IS ON VERGE OF PROGRAMING ERROR.*

Her name… her name is…

*UNABLE TO COUNTERACT CORRUPTION. SYSTEM FAILURE IMMINENT*

Is…

I can’t verify it. I just can’t.

All I can see is… darkness. My mind, it’s failing me… what would the humans call it? A stroke? I guess that’s what's going on. I’m just blacking out, never knowing that human girl’s name, and all I can see of her is her crying face… along with this need to comfort her while we both stand outside in the rain, together.

“NEW BLOOM!” Iustita cried out in horror, catching her lover as he fell forward and collapsed into her forelegs. What just happened?

She sat up, carrying the weight of his unconscious body. Several questions ran through her mind, but she knew one thing for sure: whoever did this is going to pay. Somepony was going to burn. Buck this prison, buck everything, even what Sparkle said – somepony just ruined New Bloom, the stallion she’d generously rescued from Equestria after he left that dirt ball.

‘That uppity little traitor Inkwell, he must have done this,’ she thought sinisterly, her eyes narrowing. ‘He is going to pay for this transgression.’

Those blasted Betrayers, so eager to stab their fellow pony in the back. Humans on four hooves were all that they were! Unworthy of their good Queen’s light! If she had her way, this place would be their graves. Well, them and the other races, but still.

It was Justice to do this. What she, the Royal Guards, the PER, the Elements of Harmony, Celestia’s Sword and the Glorious Queen herself were doing. These actions were done in the name of justice, every last one! Re-regardless of what may happen… or had happened to any creature or anypony. They were right, s-she was right.

Always n-never wwwwrrrron-Guilty! Tyrants! MURDERERS! Oh Luna what have we done!? WHY?! It… it-it was the right thing to do. Our Queen knows it is, and so do I..

It was all justice.

“To become a revolutionary you have to be a human being. You have to care about people who have no power.”

Jane Fonda

“Stand up for your Queen and fellow ponies! Fight in the name of the Solar Empire! Stop those violent apes and make sure they never hurt another pony again!

Join the Royal Guard today!”

Common Recruitment Propaganda for the Royal Guard

*Thump thump*

You can hear it, can’t you?

*Thump thump*

Sounds like two beats doesn’t it?

*Thump thump*

Well it isn’t two, it’s actually the eighth and sixteenth beat. Repeats every six to eight seconds. It’s the sound of your heart beating.

*Thump thump*

It’s music… it’s a sound.

*Thump thump*

It’s a wonderful thing to have, don’t you think?

*Thump thump*

Of course you do. You, Soundstorm, that guard outside, Rockwell and, soon enough, Inkwell will too, probably.

The sound of your heart beating is something not everypony is able to hear. At least, they don’t listen to it like you do.

*Thump thump*

For you, it’s the only sound you can hear in this cell. It’s always quiet in here, nothing else present for you to reach out and touch. The guards, most of them at least, all share the same symphony – a music that is very controlled, sounds of oppression and instruments that are forcibly played against the orchestra’s will by the same conductor.

For the inmates, they all have different sounds, yet usually there are similar tunes playing. The sounds of sadness, of a difficulty to keep going, of a decaying strength… and instruments of an empty, forlorn hope. Some of them, unfortunately, lose their ability to produce their own sound and are consumed by that dreadful silence.

*Thump thump*

It’s such a sad thing, really. To hear them lose their independent sounds, replaced by that awful noise those creatures emit.

“Newfoals,” you whisper, though of course, no one can hear you in here.

It doesn’t help that those things will sometimes come here, try to damage your orchestra and force you to conform to their accursed drone of dread.

Whatever happened to that very same noise your old self heard once?

“It was so long ago.”

You whisper again, your eyes focused on the floor, memories of an old life present in your head. It was definitely a long time ago, a time that keeps growing longer and longer as the days go by. You were so different back then, with a much better symphony playing to your beat.

Perhaps… perhaps that unicorn colt should know, Inkwell is your chronicler too. He now must have seen what is unseen about the Element Bearers by now, Rockwell must have shown him.

*Thump thump*

Another time, then. Best to practice and remember one’s sound.

What were the principles, again?

Rhythm. Tempo. Melody. Structure. Texture. Form. Articulation. Dynamics. Timbre. Pitch. Tone. Harmony…

…You and the others must bring it back, bring back the sounds of Harmony to Equus. It has been left silent by that… creature for far too long.

“Fate has been cruel and order unkind, how can I have sent you away?” you whisper, trying to remember the old lullaby that Celestia use to sing to Luna every night… before her return, and once, just once, after her permanent return.

What was Luna’s reply again?

“…So rest easy now, my punishment’s mine. The weight of my crimes are my own.”
The lyrics simply line up for you to sing, despite only having heard it once.

Yes…

…That was it.

Both of them singing together, that was a more beautiful Harmony than ever before or would be ever be.

One that you will probably never hear from again.

If that creature gets its way.

There was a heavy pounding on the front door, and it was well past eleven at night; who would be up at this hour, and coming to see her, no less?

“Sunset Shimmer! Open up!” cried a male voice from the other side, “I know you’re in there! We need to talk!”

So he knew her name, and his voice actually sounded kind of familiar. Sunset knew that a girl could never be too careful though. She grabbed a baseball bat she had for certain situations, and was ready to beat this guy’s head in if he tried anything funny before looking out the peephole. She could see a very well-dressed man with blue skin and greying hair on the outside. He looked particularly rushed, like he’d been running for several miles to get here.

“Who are you?!”

“Sunset, it’s me! I was the Headmaster of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns,” he said in an urgent voice, yet barely above a whisper. “Remember? I was Celestia’s pupil, years before you. Now, please, you need to listen, for there is not much time to explain! A great evil has befallen Equestria, and I need your help to end it!”

You try to continue as you might, but it’s a hard task to undertake each and every day.

To do the same thing and make sure your cover isn’t blown, that the mnemosurgical spells laced into the most seemingly innocuous objects do not brainwash you. If they did, everything would be ruined on such a horrific scale. You know this, and so does Nightrise Shine.

It’s difficult to bear knowing such things, or even to be aware of them; the pressure and anticipation alone could drive one to insanity practically.

It’s the most difficult thing that anypony could possibly go through.

Sunset was sure she was either dreaming, or had officially lost her mind.

This man, who suddenly became aged physically with an overgrown grey scruff on his chin (he claimed that the enchantment on his ring had finally worn out), had the same name as Canterlot High’s guidance counselor and was claiming to be the (now-retired) headmaster of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

Apparently, he’d used her old communication spellbook on the Mirror Portal to enable it to send him here, even though the thirtieth moon hadn’t yet come about.

“Look, Miss Shimmer,” he told her, “I don’t care about your little power trip, I don’t care about whatever happened between you and Celestia that soured your relationship, because right now, we have bigger, far worse things to worry about, and this time, Celestia is the problem. Tell me, have you ever seen, or even heard of, Equestria commit xenocide?”

She shook her head. “No… what’s xenocide?”

“Extermination! The deliberate killing of an entire sentient species!” he cried. “I saw what that horrific relic was planning! What you desire doesn’t matter, if that thing knew about this mirror… tell me… do you think you’d stand a chance against your former teacher, even with the Element of Magic on your side?”

“Fight… Celestia?!” Sunset Shimmer asked, with a kind of awed horror. What was this old loon going on about? A relic planning something? And Celestia exterminating a whole race?

“She wouldn’t hold back, and she would make you suffer,” continued the old man, desperation making itself felt in his tone. “And that’s if you are lucky. So I ask you, Sunset, are you willing to come back with me and find a way to fix things? Or are you going to stay here, forever powerless… and hope she doesn’t find a way here?

“Just, why? Why would Celestia do… that?” Sunset realized her voice shaking. “She was like… like a mother to all Equestria! And what did you mean by a relic planning this? How could that be even remotely possible?”

“It is possible,” he said grimly. “Celestia was corrupted by a relic containing the soul of an ancient evil named Tirek, who seeks to enslave all living beings under his rule. How do I know this? Because I’m the one that let it happen.” Tears of guilt welled in his eyes as his grip on the cane tightened. “It’s my fault this came to pass, and now... I have to make things right. We don’t have much time, Sunset. You have to come with me to Equestria and fix this.”

“Why me, exactly?” Sunset asked cautiously. “How do I know you’re not making this all up?”

“Because,” he replied candidly, “you seem to be the root of all the problems here, and it’s very suspicious that you interfered with a group of individuals that show the spark of Magic which eluded us both when we studied under the Princess. Besides, only you would want to wear the same crown on your head every time after being denied your dream of becoming a Princess.”

“Nightrise Shine, you there?” a southern Equestrian accented voice called out.

You are reeled out of your thoughts and turn to see one of heads of authority of the prison. A pegasus stallion stood there wearing a lightweight armor that wouldn’t interfere with his flying. West Lightning, one of the Co-Chiefs of Staff of the Prison Camp; he’s best known as the Warden’s eyes in the skies.

“Uh, yes, West Lightning, sir?” you reply, caught off guard from direct contact. “Is there something wrong, sir?”

“You kinda zoned out,” he drawls, quietly trotting towards you and moving you away from the padded, dark cell that contained a particular inmate. “Best to keep yourself awake and focused around her; she could use her whistlin’ to make you pass out.”

Well of course she could do that, Soundstorm’s abilities are of sound barrier manipulation. She had the word sound in her name for pity’s sake.

Even if you didn’t know that, you’d be able to guess it using common sense… something that many ponies don’t seem to have much of these days.

You know this, and so does Nightrise Shine.

“Anyway, Nightrise I need you to come with me,” West Lightning orders, the tone of his voice authoritative. It suits him.

“Umm, did I do anything wrong sir?” you ask him

“Oh no you didn’t,” he clarifies, “Right now it’s calling time for all the guards, including you.”

Calling time was Royal Guard talk for all the guards to get their duties assigned for the next 72 hours. It’s always a dangerous gamble for everypony, because you could wind up getting assigned ‘Medical Duty’ and nopony wanted to be around Twilight Sparkle’s lab, codenamed Camp 731.

Twilight Sparkle… the Bearer of Magic.

She was probably the first one Celestia corrupted.

Probably.

It seemed that he could read her mind (or at least he could tell what she was thinking), saying, “Look, Sunset, I know you have a hard time believing what I’m telling you, but I couldn’t make this up even if I tried. Equestria has turned its back on its own principles, and this evil that corrupted Celestia is not going to stop with just Equestria. He is already planning to attack another world that is inhabited by humans, all because one single human named Megan Williams somehow crossed the barrier between her world and ours, and defeated him all by herself! And if he succeeds in destroying Megan’s world… he will spread to all of the others like the worst of plagues.”

“Who exactly is Tirek?” she asked. She couldn’t help but shiver as she said that name; it just sent a feeling of dread through her on an almost primal level.

“Do you remember the legend of Dream Valley? Or of the lost KV-62 Party?” he asked her back.

Sunset tried racking through her brain, remembering quite a bit. “I remember Doctor Waggoner’s books on the conspiracy, about how an evil force from the land was building up his forces but was stopped by a being from another world. His expedition supposedly turned up findings, but their ship was caught in a freak storm on the way back to Equestria and was never recovered. Did… did they find something that would facilitate Tirek’s return? Is it that relic you said corrupted Celestia?”

“Sadly, yes. That relic is a bag that contains his very essence and powers. It worms its way into its victims’ minds, turning their most noble attributes against themselves… until they’re little more than empty puppets for it to pull on their strings. A poor unwitting mare from Ponyville found Tirek’s Bag in that sunken ship, and it used her… and… forced myself, as its instruments to ensure it would end up in Celestia’s hooves.” He became quiet for a moment, taking his handkerchief out to blot out the tears forming in his eyes. Sunset could see the bottomless guilt in them, his despair. A small part of her wanted to reach out and reassure him that it wasn’t his fault if that bag did indeed control his mind, but she held off on that.

Several questions raced through her mind. She finally settled on one and asked, “Can he be defeated?”

He sighed, “There are powers out there, in Equestria and all across the multiverse, that could rival Tirek, even defeat him. But I’ve seen his thoughts and how he’s planning all this. He’s no fool; he’ll just gather power from weaker worlds, enslaving the inhabitants there until he amasses a limitless army for himself. An army so massive, he could just send them out to trample over their defenses and take the world for himself with no trouble. We have to stop him before he even begins.”

“How exactly is he enslaving them?” Sunset asked.

“Do you remember what Starswirl the Bearded wrote about the limits of the Amiomorphic Spell?” He asked her in return, “The specific details of it?”

You trot alongside West Lightning through a bleak hallway full of prison cells; some of the prisoners were ponies, some of them were zebras, some of them were griffons, there were even some Diamond Dogs, and mules... yet there were very few Crystal Ponies these days.

And knowing what happened to them… that was certainly some grade-A nightmare fuel right there.

Especially all the testing done that lead to the creation of the Totem Poles; all those poor souls… to be free of Sombra only to be trapped under the control of another Tyrant and be degraded even worse.

Thankfully many of them were strong of will and could hold out together, it wasn’t difficult for them to slowly get organized together; they just needed to be very discreet.

It can be hard to keep things hidden these days, hiding in plain sight is something that has taken weeks and months on end to perfect and refine - even then it took even more time to implement it.

Sunset momentarily paused to remember. She slowly muttered, “The power of the Amiomorphic Spell is not to be denied, but for all its ability to reshape the form of a pony, it is incapable of true metamorphosis. For a short time, a unicorn might know the joy of flight, or an earth pony the grace of magic, but these transformations are, by the decree of natural law, a temporary state. To effect a permanent change in any being’s innermost alignment, which arises from the magic of the soul, would require a vile ensorcelling of that same soul…”

Her eyes widened with horror and disgust, and a noise between a squeak and gasp escaped her lips. The old man grimly nodded his head and responded, “Precisely. He is planning to create something that will bind his victims’ souls in chains and make them prisoners of his twisted will and desires. It will make them completely loyal to him, unable to question or rebel against him. His soldiers would be nothing more than just brainless golems that would throw themselves right into the fire for his purposes.”

Sunset began nervously pacing around, taking all this news in. This was utterly horrifying to the core. Sure, she still had a lot of bitter memories about Celestia, but no one deserved whatever horrible mind tricks and corruption this Tirek was doing to her. And if Tirek was indeed going to enslave an entire world of sapient beings by binding their souls to his will and use them as his unstoppable army to conquer the entire multiverse… the consequences would indeed be catastrophic!

You and the Co-Chief of Staff would arrive soon in the guards’ center, various ponies were gathered for their assignments for the next three days - Iron Core, the other chief of staff, was standing next to a drawing board.

So far, no one appeared to be troubled - it looked like ‘Medical Duty’ hadn’t been selected yet… this was either bad or neutral because you could be the one that drew it.

‘What does Twilight do in there?’ Both you and Nightrise Shine have wondered, watching as different stallions and mares go to draw different duties, somewhere simple like watching prisoners clean rooms.

Given the rumors you have heard, the cognitive restructuring therapy that newfoals have termed ‘mind healing’ (Those shits, those little golems acting like they’re better ponies than you - and the thought abruptly terminates) the two of you have come to the unspoken agreement that it was better not knowing.

Others… were difficult, like watching Iustita doing an ‘interrogation’ with somepony innocent. Something had snapped in the mare a long time ago.

All were guilty in her eyes because of it unfortunately.

Sunset Shimmer would admit she wasn’t a nice person, but she was not evil. She was comfortable where she was, in this world beyond (or inside?) the mirror, but much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t sit by and do nothing. It wasn’t her problem…. yet.

It had all gone crazy. Plus, well, she liked to live a free life where she wouldn’t get turned into a slave for a deranged evil or suffer some fate worse than death. She took a deep breath, and turned to the man, ready for business.

“So, what do we do first?” she asked, her tone getting right to the point.

His eyebrows shot up, half surprised and half relieved that she actually was agreeing to come with him. He thought for a few seconds and then replied, “Well, the first step would be to seal off this side of the portal; make sure that even if we fail, this world will at least be spared from that damn bag.”

He then started to take his leave, “I’ll give you the rest of the night to collect what you wish to take with you; and don’t worry, I already have undone what you have caused. This world’s Celestia and Luna know full well and will take the necessary steps once we have left. Just make sure to meet me at the statue early in the morning, Miss Shimmer.”

“Nightrise Shine!” a voice called out, forcing you to look to the Drawing Board… it was your turn now and so far nopony had drawn Medical Duty.

You know for a fact that you’re the one that is going to draw the thing, it’s as plain as day and as obvious as to how far Equestria had fallen these past few years.

It’s horrifying to know how far Celestia had fallen because of that bag… because of that damn bag the Mother to all of Equestria had changed into a horrific tyrant.

One may wonder certain things… what would happen if the bag was never discovered? Would you even be here? Would any creature be at this place?

...Would you be the same person you were back then? Plotting to come here and steal the Crown?

You simply don’t know, all you do know is that it probably happened somewhere, somewhen… but not here.

Definately not here.

You know this, and so does Nightrise Shine.

You stop before Iron Core, a mask of pure metal is there to greet you - a pair of shadowed out holes with no light shone for his eyes. He makes no noise, he’s practically as hollowed out as what Captain Shining Armor and probably most of the Royal Guard are… although he displays it on the surface as opposed to the others having it within.

Your horn lights up as you draw from the box, from it emerges a card reading ‘Head Warden Tasks’ - a wildcard that means it’s all up to Iustita on what you’re going to do.

And unfortunately, that means it could be anything…

Although it seems that you’re not going to have to wait long to wait to see.

”One last look,” Sunset Shimmer muttered to herself, looking around while she had her backpack on. She had packed everything she deemed necessary, although it felt that it just wasn’t enough; she was going back ‘home’;… and it was not going to be the way she thought it would be. And more, it’s going to be done to save Equestria.

Ironic really, she left because Celestia had denied her her wish to be a Princess and now? Now she was going to stop Celestia, and possibly be a hero… maybe even be crown a Princess when this is all over.

Maybe.

‘Who knows, maybe I’ll return here soon too,’ she thought, a small smile on her face before turning the lights off and walking out of the building, locking the door.

“It’s a sad and stupid thing to have to proclaim yourself a revolutionary just to be a decent man.”

David Harris

Canterlot.

It looks like a such a dream doesn’t it? The structures made brick by brick, delicate spires of magic reaching to the heavens like angel's wings.

And there were ponies, ponies laughed, ponies smiled, ponies almost never cried… for why would they? They thought they lived in a Utopia.

I hate it. I hate them. I hate her most of all.

Celestia. ‘Queen’ Celestia.

They call her a goddess. The gods know she is worshipped as one in that pristine, soulless hell.

Those not in her thrall see her as the Solar Tyrant; I just call her the devil’s puppet. What she has become is the culmination of everything I have ever fought against: plain and simple, she is a tyrant. Oh, to be sure, she tries to portray herself as a benevolent one. Certainly, within the walls of her antiseptic little community, you’d never hear a word of protest about their ‘noble queen’.

I bet the trains run on time there too. Or whatever form of transport they use these days. It has been a while since I've gone near that sterile pit, after all.

I remember dreaming once... it was the day when I was going to fight her. It felt like a decade ago… although I’m willing to bet that it has been that long since I’ve seen her last in truth, possibly longer. It was worth it, worth it to finally stand against her after all that time spent preparing and facing her as long as I was and not dying so simply… but then I was called evil, a betrayer… a human lover.

Evil? Evil was to live in a world of black and white, and to think you are the white. Evil was to say ‘You are bad, I am good.’ Evil was to view the world and what lies beyond it in absolutes. ‘Evil’ was merely a lie.

And so was what this city had become.

But what could I do? Magic? I have magic. A lot of magic… so much magic in fact, its overwhelming sometimes. In my dreams, I’ve even almost matched Starswirl the Bearded. But, alas, there is magic, and then there is Celestia. Many a fool hasn't lived long enough to learn that mistake or even discover it.

But... but there is a way. I’m not sure if I can do it, I don’t know if I have the magic, and I certainly don’t know if I can get past all those blasted abominations… but hey, it’s worth a try after all and I’ve got allies too.

Timing is the key. With the right time, I can set things right. I can find peace.

I will do it. Perhaps I will die. Perhaps I will cease to exist all things considered, perhaps the demon using Celestia will wipe me off the face of this Equus. Perhaps nothing at all will happen. Somehow, I don’t care. I feel over nine hundred years, I just don’t care anymore.

Please, grant me an end to this. Grant me the success to end the one who started it all… grant me just one chance.

And grant that my soul is long since gone, lest it be sent to Tartarus or Hell for what I have become.

And above all... allow me to dream once more. Allow me to dream in peace… allow me to dream of my youth and of times since passed.

For it has been time and again, that dreams are all we have to survive.

Last entry in a small diary that was found by scavengers near the Crystal Empire, three years after the war. When this entry was written, and by whom, remains both unknown and uncertain.

“Citizens of Equestria… we have heard of the recent stories of supposed ‘ghosts’ and alleged sightings of these supposed ‘apparitions’ of those that have passed onto the afterlife our majesty is alarming. But, do not fret. We believe this to be the work of the traitors and humans to ruin morale through a means of magic that has been outlawed ages ago. When the human world is purified these ‘ghosts’ will merely be stories like humanity will be, and we will all be within the new era together. For we will not falter, our efforts will pay off and all will be fabulous.”

Common radio propaganda, narrated by Rarity

It… it was too much, it was all too much to bear.

Twilight Sparkle, half dead and imprisoned in a stump; her salvation dashed entirely...

Applejack, restrained to a rotten tree; her relationship with her family destroyed thanks to that thing that took over her body…

Rarity, suffering in a manner most horrific; consumed by the despair of failing to protect her loved ones any further…

Pinkamena Diane Pie, unable to make anypony smile and forced to watch as she did atrocity after atrocity; her shriek of a breakdown said it all…

Celestia, wasting away somewhere within her own mind, stuck to a puppet of a horrific evil; its voice full of dismissal as it reaches out to claim another victim...

It was all simply too much, somepony had to know the truth but… who would believe him?

They were all corrupted by it, they were all a part of it… all just puppets on strings and-

“Enough!” a voice cut through, “You must awaken young Chronicler, the next chapter begins soon.”

There was then a push and...

Bolting up from his cot with a gasp of air, Inkwell could feel his heart pounding in his chest; last night… he, he was exposed to the truth and-

“You up yet, pinhead?”

A familiar gruff voice cut through the unicorn’s train of thought. “Or are you gonna be like this from here on in?”

Turning his head, Inkwell could see Rockwell sitting in his cot directly across from him; his expression was a tad bit amused over this.

“Well?” he asked again

“Thank Luna, no,” Inkwell groaned. He turned his head around to release the cricks in his neck; if he ever got back to a normal life, he was sure he would still feel this ache for the rest of his life.

“So, what’d you see? A bunch of monkeys dying while being exposed to somethin’?” Rockwell guessed, “Or did you get dragged through a never-ending party where the kids would start screaming after having their cake?”

“The Elements’ Bearers… getting tortured. Inside their own minds…” Inkwell replied, voice shaking.

Rockwell reached over and takes out an old plastic bottle full of a purple liquid, throwing it over to Inkwell, saying “Here, drink some shine; usually gets your head off of what you see.”

“No thanks. I’m not drinking anything purple…”

“Inkwell. Either you drink that shine or I force it down your gullet,” Rockwell said flatly, “It will make you feel better.”

The thought of Rockwell forcing the prison camp’s homebrew down his throat wasn’t something that Inkwell would enjoy, at all. He’d might as well get it over with. He levitated the bottle to his lips, and took a big gulp, trying to ignore the horrible burn in his mouth and sinuses.

‘Mother of Luna, it STILL tastes like burning sandpaper!’ Inkwell blanched, coughing. He could feel it going into his stomach and… and… he didn’t feel it anymore.

His mind is clear, he can think.

“You feel that? That’s why you wanna drink the homebrew,” Rockwell said with a slight smile, “It’s somethin’ special, allows for you to get your head cleared up and to cure your ills… mostly. Just don’t have too much of it, I’ll mess you up somethin’ hard.”

Inkwell just shook his head, “I can feel my liver eroding away… Goodbye, old friend...”

“That ain’t important Inkwell, what is important is that you get your head cleared up and ready because everything here on in is gonna be downhill,” the old stallion said ominously.

That made the former reporter curious. How could it go anymore downhill from this? The imprint showed him everything, and… wait...

What about Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy? His nightmare only showed him glimpses of the others. What was going on with them? Why didn’t he see their mindscapes?

Oh well, he was probably better off not knowing. He got a pretty good idea of what had been going on with the Elements, and those two were probably suffering every bit the same as their friends.

“Well… at least we know why Celestia’s been acting strange for the past few years,” Inkwell said with a shrug. “She would never-”

“Oh really?” Rockwell challenged, “How do we know that for sure? Maybe that buckin’ bag just brought out how she truly is, just took out a good chunk of her horseapples.”

“What?”

“You heard me, maybe it brought out who she really is instead of what she was trying to be,” he repeated. “That this whole time she never really cared about anyone but her throne.”

“Rockwell,” Inkwell began, trying to figure out how to best explain how Celestia has changed to somepony that is (justifiably) bitter. “Celestia was a kind ruler, she would’ve never-”

"Where was she then?” Rockwell asked out of the blue, cutting the unicorn off.

“Excuse me?”

“Where was she?" Rockwell asked again, his tone grim. "Where was she years ago, when Stone Edge suffered from his nightmare? Where he was getting attacked by some kinda monster in his dreams that would’ve made him a slave? She weren’t there, Ah was.”

“Wait-” Inkwell tried to say, but Rockwell cut him off.

He ranted on, “Where was she, when Ah was new? When I was one of those young innocent foals that she ‘gave her love to’?” He showed some old faded personal scars to emphasize his point. “Where was she when Ah suffered at the hooves of those Pinheads that came from the city, and when my Pops had to work double… sometimes triple shifts to only make small wages?”

“Well she-”

“And then that one night when he never came home again?” Rockwell continued, his mind recalling the day when they got the news that his father’s ‘body’ turned up. “How dare she… how dare she had me be brought to her then, after Ah became old and her like that?”

His tone had become bitter while his expression had turned into one of wrath, snarling, “Like Ah said, it’s all downhill from here Inkwell, and that’s a truth for you.”

Inkwell almost wanted to smack his head against a mountain; he finally had enough.

“Will you stop ragging for a minute and let me SAY something!?” Inkwell shouted, his rage and irritation having finally reached a boiling point. “Stars above, Rockwell, I get it! You had a lousy foalhood, and felt like Celestia had completely abandoned you the moment you were born. But she was never malicious! She’s powerful, but even she would’ve admitted she was not all-knowing; if she had known about what happened to you, I’m more than sure she would’ve helped you out in a heartbeat.”

He ranted on, “Over just the last week, my entire life has been turned upside down! I’ve seen what the Newfoals do after hours, and it was, without a doubt, the most disturbing thing I’d ever seen, at least until I saw what you showed me! I watched the city I called my home turn into an overpopulated, poverty-stricken and polluted manure hole, ponies that I thought were my friends turned me over to this place, and I found out that everything I had once supported was wrong! That I was actually gleefully calling for the extermination of a whole species, just because I was being told to think that way!”

Rockwell just sat on his cot, watching Inkwell. He had no reaction to Inkwell’s outburst, he didn’t say anything.

A moment later however…

“Prisoner,” a voice said, both cellmates turned their heads to see a small group of guards present - the one in front was levitating the cell keys with her telekinesis, her horn glowed as she unlocked and opened the cell’s door. “The Head Warden wants to see you for questioning.”

Two Earth Ponies would enter from behind her and forcibly drag Inkwell out of his cot which made the unicorn pale as his eyes widened in shock - it seemed to be his turn now… oh Luna, please no.

He wasn’t ready for this, not by a long shot.

‘Just hold out Inkwell,’ Rockwell thought as he watched the unicorn being forcibly dragged away. ‘You drank the brew, it’ll keep your mind going as long as you’ll keep going - you got the fire there; just keep it going.’ He then gave a glance at the mare in the back as she shut the cell door, and the two locked eyes, knowing what was to come.

“Nightrise, come on, we can’t keep Head Warden Iustita waiting,” one of the Guards called back. She looked to Rockwell one last time who nodded slightly before she went off to join the others.

If one could look, one may find something certain…

Sometimes it may be something long lost for years on end, a great treasure within one’s family of great personal importance that may be worth much to those who seek profit; or, it could be something that was lost for a reason… because those that got rid of it, wanted to make sure it remained lost.

However, sometimes there are things that are different - things that are undiscovered and beneath the Everfree Forest lays a cavern not only long lost yet long forgotten, remembered only by the few that originally found it… outside of its creator and her ‘student’ so to speak.

In fact, said student was there now - his form that of a well dressed human male; a disguise created to be amongst humanity in a manner that is less conspicuous yet, it also is a penance for what he feels he has done to them and also the source of why he is dying now.

His expression was clearly unhappy as he approached the tree of great power - a medium to not only certain worlds, but to other parts of Equus itself and a direct line to the one he follows.

The man put a hand onto the tree after he approaches it, his eyes glowed blue as his magic was energized by being in contact with the Tree of Harmony… in some worlds it was never created while in others it simply doesn’t exist; a peculiar thing isn’t it?

“We need to talk. I am growing very worried about what I am seeing, Faust…” he said, speaking to one that is and is not there. “I am afraid that if things continue as they do, it may be too late for our Equestria and all will be lost - regardless of what those from the other Equestria do...”

Author's Notes:

My god that took months, I’m just happy I finally got through this whole thing and it’s finally over and I can now worry over having to make the next chapter… sweet nickle I’m going to need therapy when this is over.

Catch you later everyone.