Tip. Tap.

The echo of my hooves hitting the shining floor of the Crystal Hallway were an unpleasant reminder of my encounter with Applejack. Dear stars, her neck...

Tip. Tap.

The closer I was to the far end, the louder their sound seemed to resonate within the room. It matched the overwhelming sensation of loss and loneliness. The terrible feeling of regret. It was as if the room itself was judging me. What little composure I had before I entered was all but gone long before I even reached the Chamber of Harmony.

Tip, tap.

Was this entire hallway architectured with this very purpose in mind? To evoke hidden feelings, to dig up buried memories old and new alike, to wear down and intimidate all those that dare to enter?

Yet somehow, what awoke in me an even greater fear was not the nature of my surroundings. It was that, among the ones whose deeds shall not be spoken, I felt right at home.

Tip, tap.

I dragged my aching legs along the hallway, one by one, finally reaching my destination.

“You've done well.” So greeted me the spirit of the Princess as I entered the Chamber of Harmony.

For all the things I wanted to say to her, my mouth failed me. My jaw simply hung open instead as I looked up at the spectre with teary eyes, unable to form a single word.

As if she had read my mind, the Princess pointed towards one of the pedestals around us. On top of it lay the necklace which contained the Element of Honesty. Although its surface was still engulfed in that terrible dark-grey, as I leaned closer, I swore I could hear a faint but definite sound. As if it was speaking to me, not through simple words, but by feelings given voice. It was an indescribable kind of music—a sort of harmony.

I looked back at the spirit with a newfound sense of enlightenment.

“Is this it then?” I asked. “Was this your destiny for me all along?”

“We all play the cards we have been dealt. To say that I've used you would be distorting the truth. I helped you to become something far greater than you ever could have been. You are the saviour of Equestria. ”

“How can you say that?!” I burst out at her. “I killed—I murdered my own friend! How can that possibly be justified?”

“I have been playing this game for a thousand years, Twilight Sparkle. I've had time to learn the rules.”

“You speak as if you could do no wrong! Is throwing lives away that easy for you? Is this truly nothing but a game to you?”

“I take no pleasure in what I do, my student. Neither am I proud of everything I have done. My long life has taught me well, however. I've lived more than a millennium guiding the downtrodden and guarding the weak. I've learned that, sometimes, sacrifices must be made to ensure the prosperity of us all. The empire I built, I built upon such morals.”

She drew her body up and lifted her head high, gazing into the magical light that shined above.

“It is why, when I have to give one of my subjects over to the void, I do so with a clear conscience.”

She looked at me again.

“Do not mistake me for the master of this game, Twilight Sparkle. I am nothing but a player forced into this grand scheme by something even greater. As are you. All we may do now is fight for a favourable outcome.”

“What are you talking about? What game are we playing?”

“I do not know what it is we face, Twilight Sparkle, but I know it is out there. The madness of my sister and its repercussions are but mere pieces of a grander puzzle. I can sense it: something is out there, pulling the strings and moving the puppets.” She took a deep breath. “My murder was but their latest move.”

“Is the corruption its doing, then? Is this unspoken force that which drove the Night Princess to insanity so long ago? What purpose does this all serve?”

“Whatever their ultimate goal is, the keys to their victory are the Elements. Whether through their destruction or application, I cannot say. Either way, the Elements are required for their plan, and their corruption is but the first act in their theatre of horrors.”

“But the Elements are untouchable and inherently pure.” I replied in clarity. “It is why they hunt their users. It is why this madness infected my circle of friends.”

“And they are counting on your inability to end their lives.” The Princess nodded her head. “It is what was done to me—I refused the sacrifice, unable to bring myself to murder my sister. For my weakness, all of Equestria nearly paid the price. You, my faithful student, must not let the same card be played twice.”

“And so I'm reduced to this.” I lowered my head and closed my eyes. “A murderer of innocents.”

“Are they innocent?” She asked with little compassion in her voice.

Her question pierced my heart like a knife, for I knew exactly what the answer was. I looked up at her again and took a deep breath.

“No, Princess.” I whispered, struggling to contain my tears. “Not anymore.”

A freezing sensation rushed through my entire body as the spectre placed her ethereal hoof on my forehead. She was merely trying to soothe me, yet her touch chilled me in more ways than one.

“Did she change, Twilight Sparkle? Did the corruption ravage Applejack as it did my sister?”

“She was turned into a monster, Princess. I've never seen anything like it.”

“It is relentless. You must know that a similar fate awaits the rest of your friends.” She pulled her hoof away as we looked, again, in the eyes of one another. “Do not let history repeat itself, Twilight Sparkle. You must be stronger than I was. You must end this depravity.”

“What shall I do then?”

“There is a darkness spreading across the land of the dragons. It is North you must go.”

My journey to the draconic mountains of the North was long and trying, although largely uneventful. The last settlement, a small village home to no more than a few hundred earthers, and whose name I could not even be bothered to learn, I had passed over ten days ago. I could not tell the precise date after I finally reached my destination from the dense forest that separated the land of Equestria and the great mountain range beyond; aside from counting the nights which I spent in shelters of my own making by a small fire, I could do little to keep track of time's passing.

All throughout, I concentrated solely on the journey itself. Rationing food, walking at a steady pace, resting at regular intervals—focusing on my carefully constructed plan of reaching my goal was, for the most part, enough to keep my mind off my real task. When the horrible truths seeped into my mind during the all-engulfing darkness of the forest nights, I emptied my head, refusing the reality of my quest. After the long days of trekking, the merciful release of sleep came easily even when I was most haunted by my waking nightmare.

All that time, the only thing I cared about was reaching the Crying Mountain—or Tiny Rock, as it was known to the dragons. When I finally did, it was as much a victory as it was a kind of damnation. Before, I could simply keep going forward, never looking back—for I dared not, out of shame. Now that I arrived, I had nowhere to run. My conscience had finally caught up with me, and it tore me apart from the inside. Yet my faith in the words of Princess Celestia had not faltered. I would continue and complete my task, by any means necessary.

Standing amidst the trees, peaking high above, the Crying Mountain was still dwarfed by the giants yet ahead. Named so long ago by ponyfolk for its rich springs, the lush streams flowing gently down the mountainside breathed life into the forest below. Its relatively small height, along with its place on the border between the colliding lands made it an ideal place for the summit to be held between the two races. This was where the delegation, led by my friend Fluttershy, was meant to negotiate for an alliance with the dragons. Somewhere on this mountain, my friend awaited.

The day was still young. After putting out the last cinders of the flame which guarded me during the night, I began my ascension. Gazing up from the bottom of the mountain, the path to the top did not seem overly tiring: no steep steps, not a single fallen rock obstructing the way to be seen. Indeed, my thoughts were revolving around what I could find when I finally come face to face with my friend.

What could I possibly say to her? Should even I say a thing? What if she is, too, disfigured? And what if she is not?

Such were the questions which I dared not find an answer for. Lost in my thoughts as I was, I walked upon the paved mountain path that led to the top. My thoughts were soon interrupted, however, by the sound of something cracking beneath my hooves. It was no sound that I recognised, yet somehow, something from the back of my head told me that I had heard something similar before.

Taking a deep breath, I looked down to behold something utterly dreadful. I found what little remained of a pegasus. The sound which I heard was apparently the charred bones of what used to be a pair of wings, snapping under the pressure of my hoof. With most of the body burned to ashes or outright gone,—eaten, perhaps—I could not even guess its gender, much less its exact identity.

Could this have been Fluttershy, dead at the hands of a dragon long before I even arrived? Or was it, perhaps, another of the diplomatic group?

Although it seemed very much like a dragon attack, such a thing still seemed unlikely. As aggressive as dragons are, they are not foolish. They had nothing to possibly gain by slaughtering those who wish to offer a helping hoof. If they decided that they did not need us, and this was their attempt at making an example, we would have heard of it. And this could not have been a mere example of the dragons' notorious territoriality; the Crying Mountain has been neutral ground for centuries. Granted, no ponies usually come this close to draconic lands, yet such an attack seemed like an anomaly. It just did not add up.

I felt that something sinister was at work here.

I continued my ascension along the mountain path. As I finally emerged from below the green foliage and onto the rocky mountainside, my enthusiasm for the gradual elevation of the road was soon gone. As I circled the mountain on my way to the top, again and again, getting ever so slightly higher and higher, even this easy walk began to wear me down. The more direct approach—taking the slopes head-on—was out of the question, however.

On my way to the top, I passed by the openings to several caves—no doubt connected in an intricate system within the depths of the mountain itself. Intriguing as that concept was, I knew that the proud dragons would never lower themselves to our level by walking so close to the ground. As such, I simply passed by each of them, giving them no more attention than the odd glance or two.

Then, however, as I was about to simply walk past the latest one, I heard something that made me stop dead in my tracks. Something that, immediately after I stopped, I tried to convince myself that I never even heard a thing. I stood there, looking straight ahead, refusing to turn my head.

“Help.”

My heart started raced. I could feel it beating with every inch of my body. I took one deep breath, and slowly turned my head towards the mouth of the cave. Squinting my eyes, I looked inside the shadowed opening, hoping that I would see nothing—that what I heard would turn out to be a joke my tired mind played on my perception.

I was not so lucky, however, for instead I saw an earther lying on the rocks within, desperately trying to shout out to me, yet nothing more came from his mouth than a few dying whispers.

“Help.” He squeezed the word out of his throat again.

As I walked inside, I laid my eyes on the unfortunate stallion. His torn coat was drenched in blood and tears. The poor pony was broken beyond redemption. As much as it pained me, I knew I could not possibly save his life. He had obviously been in there for days, cold and starving. And with one of his hind legs bending the wrong way, it was clear that these were the last hours of his life. Having not the heart to tell him that he could not be saved, all I could do is give him a few drops of the water I carried—and listen to his story as he choked out half-words through bloodied, broken teeth.

He spoke of their mission. Four earthers, a single unicorn, and the five pegasi were appointed personally by the Sun Princess herself to travel here and arrange a pact with the dragons. While he knew not how the others were convinced—or whether they needed any persuasion at all—he himself was overjoyed and accepted the request in a heartbeat. Indeed, he felt lucky to be granted such an honour. Although his family was very protective of him, and advised against it, he was determined to carry out Princess Celestia's will.

And in the beginning, it all seemed well. The dragons had always been eager to put their claws on more gems, and with the help of Fluttershy's insight into dealing with them, this alliance would soon come to be. The delegation would return to the empire as celebrated heroes—the ones that tamed the mighty dragons in the name of Equestria. Or so they thought.

Around a week before my arrival at the Crying Mountain, none other than the great Rainbow Dash unexpectedly visited them. The delegation assumed that she was sent to check up on their progress and the state of the negotiation by the Princess. Instead of calling all of them together, though, she requested to speak only with Fluttershy, leaving soon afterwards. Afterwards, all throughout that day, the yellow pegasus seemed not to be herself. Indeed, Fluttershy seemed even more meek and tremulous than she ever did before. She refused to speak with the dragons or even talk to the rest of the team. She holed herself up in the cave at the peak of the mountain. By the next morning, the unicorn that accompanied the team was gone. Not long after that, all hell broke loose.

The dragons, who were previously open and willing to negotiate, attacked them like mindless beasts. They had said no word, given no warning. Most of the team was murdered right there and then; the others were taken, captive against their will, into the dark caves within the mountain. They knew not what the dragons wanted or what the reason for their sudden aggression was. Everything they did, they did in complete silence. Over the coming days, the remaining members were taken from their makeshift prison, one by one, until only two remained. Although in their desperation the two tried to escape, neither of them got far. One lay now before me, at the end of his life—and the other did not make it off the mountain before being burned alive.

When the earther finished, blurting out his last near-inaudible words, one thing was obvious: he would not live to tell the tale to any other pony. I was therefore faced with a choice; I could either leave him there and let death take its time, or I could simply end his torment right then. As I looked into his hopeless eyes, seeing them beg me for mercy, I turned my head away, unable to bear his stare.

I put a hoof gently on his forehead.

“It will be all right. Help is on the way.”

As I was walking out, I could say only one more thing, too quiet for him to hear.

“Forgive me.”

The circles in which I trod were getting smaller as I came ever closer to reaching the top. As the Sun reached its zenith upon the clear sky above, more worrying than the lack of clouds was the apparent lack of dragons. If what the dying stallion told me was correct, then there should have been dozens of them soaring the above the mountain. Yet, no matter where I looked, none were to be seen.

At the end of the path, almost at the very top, was the entrance to a cave where Fluttershy had hidden from the others, according to the lone survivor, before the dragons attacked. It was at the mouth of that cave where I came to find an answer to that burning question regarding the absence of the great lizards. Lying across the entrance was a red dragon with claws the size of a pony, gnawing monstrously on a gigantic bone like a dog. It was cannibalising the remains of one of its own kin right in front of my eyes. For all their savagery, no sane dragon would ever display such degree of barbarity. It made no sense. Upon closer inspection of the beast, I saw a multitude of terrible claw-marks in its flesh, some of them still fresh. Charred scales, broken claws.

What could possibly have happened here? Has this dragon fought the others? Why? And if it was that wild, why did it seem to take no heed of the tiny unicorn standing before it?

There was only one way to find out.

“Explain yourself, monster!” I called out to it.

The dragon lifted its head and looked at me. In its eyes, I could see no understanding; all I saw was the confusion of a simple animal who was disturbed by some tweeting bird during its meal.

“Have you not heard what I said?” I yelled at it. “Explain yourself!”

The dragon only stared at me, puzzled.

“Explain yourself or step aside, dragon. I have no quarrel with you.”

The dragon roared in response. It sounded just as in pain as it sounded angry.

“Tell me, dragon, is the yellow pegasus alive? Is Fluttershy in that cave?”

For a brief moment, the lizard seemed to have regained some of its senses. It took a deep breath and grimaced, its eyes twitched and its mouth slowly moved.

“Flutter, shy?” It finally spoke, although his tone sounded every bit as much confused as he himself looked.

It then tilted its head and looked into the dark cave it was guarding. Then it turned once again towards me and struggled to form two more words.

“In there.”

Before I could respond, the dragon groaned and grabbed its own head. It then opened its eyes and looked into mine with burning fury. Without making another sound, its talons came smashing down on me. Barely eluding its attack, I jumped to the side. With the dragon's mind obviously gone, I knew that there was only one place where I could, perhaps, find enlightenment: inside the cave where Fluttershy hides. I also knew that the only way into the depths was through the dead body of the great red dragon.

Knowing that I could not keep dodging such strikes, I decided upon a most time-honoured strategy: turning my back and running as far as I could. Although I was unwilling to jump off the cliffside, I drew the dragon out into the open from the shelter of the cave. As it kept striking me, I cast several short-range blink spells to teleport around it. The constant flashes of light not only served to confuse the monster, but also gave me time to charge up other spells.

I found ensuing battle strangely energising. For all intents and purposes, I was more afraid for my life than I was at Sweet Apple Acres, yet somehow I found a kind of uncanny satisfaction infuriating the dragon. I could not explain it to myself—not that I had the time for such nonsense.

Appearing and disappearing constantly, I bombarded the beast with magical missiles from all sides, all the while avoiding its attacks. As it grew weary of my seemingly endless barrage of spells, it finally spread its ragged wings and took to the air.

Its mangled and torn wings could not keep the dragon in the air for long. They did not need to, however, for soon it came swooping down on me like a bird of prey. It crashed into the mountain with stone-shattering force. To another pony, a dragon descending with such speed would likely have been a death sentence. I, however, took advantage of the opportunity it presented. By quickly blinking forward at the right moment, I was placed right behind it as it crashed into the mountainside.

I jumped on its tail and hopped onto its back. Although the dragon was enraged and tried to shake me off, erratically flailing its tattered wings and tail, I managed to stay on. My horn glowed with green light as I jammed it into a scar left by another dragon's claws. I then released a burst of magical energy, paralysing the dragon with pain. As it suddenly wailed and wriggled in agony, I lost my balance and was, in turn, thrown off its back.

By the time I regained my strength and stoop up again, so did the dragon. I stayed my ground and watched as it slowly walked up to me. Standing high above me, it inhaled deeply, preparing to release a breath of fire with which to burn me to a crisp. It was in that moment that an idea came to me. A genius, mad idea.

Even now I can barely believe what I had done in that instant.

Instead of using my remaining strength to hop away, I blinked right into the dragon's open mouth. Standing atop its tongue, I could already feel the heat rising as a hot gust of air left its throat.

Before its maw released the flames, I cast my own spell; the following explosion of magical energy tore the dragon's neck clean open. Its head—and inside its mouth, I myself—was flung off by the sheer force of the spell as the dragon's decapitated body collapsed, its long neck spewing burning blood onto the forest below.

The beast was no more.

I forced the dragon's lifeless jaws open and stepped out into the light. Only then did I begin to understand what I had just done. Sitting down at the mouth of the cave, the dragon's body lying behind me, I wheezed and panted as the realisation came to me.

I killed a dragon. Just like that. What came over me?

It all happened so fast. I looked at my own body, noting a few patches of missing hair and a few scratches, small scars. And that's it. Without even thinking, with no plan and no weapons, all alone with no assistance, I killed a dragon.

When I finally got back on my hooves, I began slowly walking—or rather, stumbling—into the cave. As I left the burning light of the Sun behind and entered the cold, shadowy bowels of the mountain, I could not help but wonder how fitting a hiding place this was for Fluttershy. Heading ever deeper into the darkness, my eyes finally caught a glimpse of light. There she was.

In the deepest depths of the mountain, hidden at the edge of the empire, in the faint glow of a few torches nested into the stone, lay the weak and helpless Fluttershy. As I got closer, I could see just how pathetic she had become. Most unlike what it had done to Applejack, the corruption truly took its toll on this pony. Her wings were nothing more but fleshy stumps, their feathers fallen and lost long ago. Her legs were withered and shrunken, unable to support her weight. As my gaze met her eyes glowing with white light, I finally understood just what had transpired there.

“Fluttershy.” I called her name.

“Leave me.” She squirmed pitifully.

“What have you become, Fluttershy?”

“Leave me! Else I'll end you the way I ended all of them!” She whispered, covering her face with her grotesque hooves in fear.

“A predator. A scared, unwilling murderer that kills its prey by turning it on another. You stay in your cowardly shelter, you refuse to meet the eyes of whom you slay, refusing them to meet the eyes of their real murderer.”

“Just leave.” She whispered again, coming to tears. “Don't make me—”

“Too late with that, my dear friend.” I interrupted. “I have seen what you do with your stare. That terrible gaze which turns one against the other. Who am I to turn against? Who is left to make amends? I have killed your last dragon, and now there is no pony left but you and me.”

“No, Twilight, please, I didn't want to die! I don't want to die!” She moved her hooves away from her face, instead grasping towards my legs as I stood above her, looking into my eyes as she begged for her life.

“No pony wants to die, Fluttershy. Yet we all have to. Death visits all of us, and this time, I shall carry out its will.”

“Please, Twilight! When Rainbow Dash told me that you were—” Her voice broke mid-sentence. “I couldn't help myself! You have to understand!” She looked away, unable to bear my gaze.

“No, Fluttershy. You could not help yourself.” I leaned closer, only a few inches away from her face, and whispered into her ears. “But I can help you.”

Her chest split open at my horn's touch like the bark of an old tree at the head of an axe. She did not even bleed. Amidst her cowardly screams I proceeded to take my trophy: the black heart of the pegasus. With a single pull, I tore it from her body, silencing her forever. As the horrid carcass dropped to the ground, I cast a spell that would keep the heart fresh. Somehow, I felt that the Princess would have to see this.

As I looked at the corrupted heart of Fluttershy, now resting on my hoof, I felt a certain sense of victory, some sort of elation rush through my body. The pain I had previously felt, the wounds I had suffered seemed to have disappeared. The regret that came over me after the death of Applejack, all gone. I felt no more shame, or sadness. Having seen what happened to these two, I came to accept—to truly realise—that Princess Celestia was correct. They were no longer my friends. Releasing their tortured souls from their corrupted hosts was, indeed, a mercy.

Two of the five now lay dead, and soon the rest would follow. Without even sitting down to rest the slightest bit, I was ready to take on the long journey through the forest and return to Canterlot.

It was only then, right before I turned around that I saw a curious trinket attached to a thin thread around my friend's neck. It was no ordinary piece of jewellery; I could feel a strange, faint magical aura surrounding it. As I took it into my own hooves, a weak sense of vertigo and displacement came over me. More ominous than its aura was yet its form: a golden ouroboros; a snake biting its own tail. Along its side, I found a simple message inscribed into the soft metal.

“Hold on to this.”

I hoped that the Princess could shed light on the nature of the strange neckpiece. I would return, with it and the heart, to her.