What is this light? Why can't I see? What's happening? I...

The light that had blinded Twilight began to fade as the chamber around her came into view once again. Something was different... very different. What had once been ancient, crumbling ruins now sparkled with renewed beauty. The walls of the chamber gleamed with their former polished white splendor, the once-cracked floors now unblemished, without a trace of dust or dirt.

Twilight was attempting to ascertain just what had happened, when suddenly she spotted a tall white Alicorn standing not far from where Kryssie had been. Her mind immediately registered the newcomer as Celestia... however, after a few moments she realized it was not. This Alicorn had a bright silvery mane of only a single tone, and a Cutie Mark in the shape of a strange, ancient-looking symbol that Twilight could not decipher.

She wasn't entirely certain what to do at this point. The shock from the sudden transition had left her barely able to do anything but attempt to analyze the situation she was now in. As she collected herself, she remembered that Kryssie had just been standing in front of her, and realized that she had vanished. Suddenly, the strangeness of the situation seemed unimportant. She knew that the first thing she had to do was locate little Kryssie, and to locate her quickly.

This strange Alicorn would certainly notice her soon anyway, so she decided to take initiative and approach them.

"Hey... uh... have you seen-"

Twilight's question was cut off as Kryssie approached her from behind. "They won't hear you, Twilight,” she stated. “They are merely an illusion." Her voice was now back to its normal, younger tone.

Twilight gave a small jump of surprise, before turning around, breathing a deep sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Celestia you're alright!" she exclaimed. Despite the mixture of thoughts and emotions flooding through her, she immediately moved forward to wrap her front legs around Kryssie, giving her a tight hug.

"You worried me so much... why did you read that book? Why did you come here? How did you know to find this place? More importantly... what did you do?" Twilight asked a barrage of questions that she had been processing in her mind at a rather rapid pace.

Kryssie sighed softly. "I am sorry I worried you, Twilight... but... I had to read that book. I don't know why... I guess there was just some sort of magical pull it had. But that isn't important right now. Twilight, do you know what this place is?"

Twilight released Kryssie from her embrace, shaking her head. "N-no... I do not. Do you?"

Kryssie turned around, gazing up at the high, lavishly-decorated ceiling of the massive chamber. "This is the ancient city of Izarethis. It was one of the very first major cities within the nation of Eirinia. This was long long ago, many thousands of years in fact, when the Alicorns were the most prominent race inhabiting this planet."

Twilight was taken aback. She had absolutely no knowledge of any history predating Equestria. At least, not that far back. She assumed that all recorded history of such a civilization must have been long lost.

"There... there were more Alicorns? I know that more than Celestia and Luna had lived, but I had no idea the race had formed entire cultures. Was this in the book?"

Kryssie nodded slowly. "Yes. As for what I have done... I have cast a spell that tapped into the very memories of the city itself, which were all contained within that orb. What we are seeing right now is one of those memories, unfolding before our eyes."

Twilight had remembered a long discussion with Kryssie, remembering her explaining that all objects that had been touched by anypony at any point in time had stored memories; knowledge that could be drawn out from these objects with the use of magic. She had heard of such a thing before, but had never considered the extent of its potential.

"That is incredible... I never imagined you could be capable of such a thing,” she said, before a thought piqued her curiosity once more. “What about the outside world? If we were to go back up now, would we see the Everfree Forest as it was thousands of years ago?”

Kryssie smiled. "Outside, everything is still within its own time frame and normal. Only this city is affected. However, it would be unwise to attempt to cross the boundaries of this illusion and pass back into the unaffected area, as it could cause... complications.” Her brow lowered to form a small frown of consideration. “We should take this time to do some research... I am most curious to discover what exactly happened to this civilization."

Twilight seemed unsure, but her curiosity was now outgrowing her caution. Her inner-scholar had long driven her to pursue knowledge of the unknown. If she were to pass up such an opportunity, she would never forgive herself.

"Is there any danger within the effected area?" she asked.

"No... but we should start immediately,” said Kryssie, shaking her head, before turning to leave the chamber. “We have precious little time to discover as much as we can.”

Twilight trotted beside her. She had not gotten nearly enough sleep, but the promise of knowledge fueled her enthusiasm, keeping her as awake and alert.

"Right,” she said, smiling. “Do you know where we should start?"

Kryssie nodded. "There is a royal palace within this city. It would be a good place to start. Perhaps we can witness some important events unfolding there," she suggested, starting off down the passage from the chamber at a brisk trot.

Twilight followed as closely as she could, but stopped abruptly as they emerged. She gazed in awe at the now brightly lit city around them, her mouth agape. There were hundreds, if not thousands of Alicorns, each going about their respective business. There were also strange, magically-powered brass mechanisms scattered about the city, powering many of the lights and feeding life into a myriad other, smaller machines, their purposes a mystery to Twilight. This civilization was advanced indeed.

"I... wow," was all Twilight could muster to say.

Kryssie stopped and turned her head to look back at her companion. "Come on, Twilight! I know this must be very new to you, but try to keep up!” she called, looking ahead once more to hurry on. “We don't have all the time in the world, you know!"

Twilight shook her head vigorously, snapping herself out of her awed stupor. "Sorry!" she cried, rushing to catch up with Kryssie, dodging past several trotting Alicorns until she drew up alongside her.

"You can just run through them, you know,” said Kryssie with a smile, passing straight through a stallion's legs as he walked the opposite way. “They are only illusions.”

"Oh, I didn't know... it's odd. They seem so real,” Twilight said simply.

Before long they found themselves at the start of a large stairway of pearl-white stone, at least a thousand steps high, leading up to a colossal palace that towered up the wall to the very ceiling of the massive chamber. It was an incredibly beautiful structure, its walls and columns covered with finely detailed carvings of intertwining animals, plants, and ponies, some depicted in unfathomable historical scenes, with precious stones – rubies, sapphires, and even diamonds, all at least the size of a pony's hoof – inlaid seamlessly into the never-repeating patterns.

"Rarity would love this..." breathed Twilight, thinking aloud.

Kryssie shook her head and began up the massive stairs. "Come on,” she said. “Carefully, though. You can still trip and hurt yourself," she added, somewhat teasingly.

Twilight simply nodded and began up the stairs behind Kryssie. She could feel the magic in the air; the city was literally teeming with its energy. Or perhaps it was from the spell Kryssie had cast? Regardless of its source, it was making Twilight feel a bit uneasy, but she forced herself to ignore it. There so was much to see, and from what Kryssie had told her, little time to see it.

After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the top. The entrance of the palace even more massive than it had appeared from the bottom of the stairs. A tall Alicorn guard stood either side of the massive golden doorway, which for some reason lacked a door. The guards were outfitted with a sort of prismatic silver armor and very intimidating facemasks. They made Twilight slightly nervous for a moment before she remembered that they were merely illusions.

They headed inside together, entering a large chamber which must have been the audience room. It was lit with massive gypsum crystals like the ones in the cavern ceiling outside, shining with a bright, light blue glow. They protruded from the walls and ceiling as if they had been magically fused into their surfaces.

How much time do we have?

I am not certain. It could be a few hours, or a few days.

Are you sure it's them?

There is no doubt, Your Majesty.

The voices of two Alicorns could be heard, originating at the center of the audience chamber. An Alicorn mare, tall and elegant, and with a snowy-white coat a brilliant golden mane, sat upon a grand throne. Before her was an Alicorn stallion dressed in armor forged of plates of embossed gold, bowing respectfully.

"Lets get a little closer," Kryssie suggested.

Twilight was gazing up at the Alicorn that was seated upon the throne, fixated on her eyes. She knew those eyes... those bright violet eyes that had met her own so many times before. Whoever the Alicorn was, Twilight knew that somehow she had to have been somehow related to Princess Celestia. She simply nodded in response to Kryssie and walked slowly towards the two Alicorns.

"Is there time to evacuate the city?" The tall mare asked. Her voice was soft and beautiful, but also carried a tone of seriousness that, again, reminded Twilight very much of Celestia.

"No... It would be impossible without being noticed. A small group might could slip by them unnoticed, but not the entire population of the city," the armored stallion answered in a deep, strong timbre.

"I... I have no choice, then. Please, have my daughters taken from the city and hidden somewhere far, far away from here. I shall remain here to defend the city myself. I do not know who these beings are, or why they have come to this world, but... I know we cannot stop them. We must... ensure the survival of our kind." Her voice was now becoming slightly shaky, tears forming in her eyes.

"Your... Your Majesty, I... I will do as you ask,” the stallion bowed again. “But please... once I have done so... let me return, and fight alongside you one last time.”

"Enius...” she said. “We have been holding this secretly within our hearts for too long now...” She smiled lightly through her tears, in contrast to the grim situation. “I know of the feelings you have for me."

Enius looked up at her, hesistating for a moment. "I... Your Majesty, I don't know wha-"

Before Enius could so much finish, he was drawn into a deep, passionate kiss by the beautiful, golden maned mare. The kiss, however, would not last long. "Go, Enius... and go swiftly. The fate of our race depends on it."

Twilight had watched the entire scene, her face growing increasingly aghast. The thought of the violence that had been alluded to was difficult to register. Sure, Equestria had known war in the very distant past, but never did it threaten to render its entire populace extinct.

"This seems very familiar, somehow," Kryssie stated plainly, obviously deep in thought.

Enius departed the audience chamber, hastening up the staircase leading to the upper floors. Several minutes later, two guards descended staircase, closely escorting two tiny fillies.

Twilight paid careful attention to the young fillies; one had a beautiful golden mane, much like her mother's, and the brilliant white coat to match. The other had the same coat, but her mane was a deep, lustrous red. Both looked equally confused at the situation.

As they reached the foot of the stairs, the little golden-maned filly broke from the procession to hurry over to the mare, still seated upon the throne. "Mother... what's going on?" she asked, a glint of fear in her eyes.

It was perhaps the most difficult thing that she would ever have to do but, swallowing, her mother mustered a warm, reassuring smile, bowing her head to lean down close to her daughter. "I know this is going to be difficult... but I need you to be strong for me and look after your little sister. I... I wish this were not necessary, but please, trust me. You have to leave here."

"But why? Why are you sending us away?! Do you not love us anymore?!" The little filly shrieked, tears forming in her eyes as she began to cry.

"I love you both more than you will ever know... and that is why I am sending you away,” she responded softly. “You will understand someday." It was apparent that she was now fighting to hold back her own tears. It would be far better for them to be angry at her now than to know what was happening. Or rather, to know what was going to happen.

Enius, Twilight noticed, had come partway down the stairs, and was watching in silence.

"You're lying! Whatever we did wrong, we're sorry!” the little filly yelled. “Just please, don't send us away! We want to stay here with you! I don't understand! Why are you doing this to us?!"

The young filly's words cut deep. The mare closed her eyes, turning her head away. The nearest guard trotted over and brought the filly back into ranks, the two of them forcefully escorting both of the young fillies out of the palace and down the steps. The red maned filly did not resist, simply crying as hard as she could. The golden maned filly, however, was kicking and screaming with frustration. One of the guards had to magically levitate her away.

"I hate you! I hate you!" she screeched through streams of tears, crying as hard as her sister.

Enius rushed down the remainder of the staircase once they had gone, rushing to the side of the fillies' distraught mother. "Your Majesty... I'm sorry..."

The mare looked up to Enius, her expression laying bare the pain she was in. "There is no time for regret, my love... our enemy is coming, and we must focus all of our efforts into defending the city... no matter how futile those efforts are."

Enius supported her as she stood, shakily finding her feet.

The stallion looked as though he was on the verge of tears himself. "I just wish we could have-”

The mare placed a hoof to his lips to silence him. "I know, my love... I know."

Kryssie shook her head. "This... this is so sad... so cruel. It is difficult to watch."

Twilight was crying into Kryssie's side. Something about the little golden maned filly shouting that she hated her mother had managed to finally drive her over the edge. It had triggered something within her – she had no chance of stopping the tears.

"Kryssie...” she sniffed. “Let's go back now... please... I don't want to see what happens next." She pleaded, wiping her eyes with a foreleg.

Kryssie shook her head. "Twilight... We cannot leave now. We would be missing a crucial piece of information. We must know what this enemy they referred to was. Without that, this whole excursion will have been for nothing."

Twilight knew Kryssie was right, but she didn't want to acknowledge it. What she had just witnessed had been difficult enough, but having to witness innocent ponies being... killed... the thought made Twilight want to vomit. If it had been recorded within a book, she could have tolerated it. But actually witnessing it first-hand... it was too much for her to handle.

She looked down at Kryssie, frustration welling inside her now. "How are you so calm? Just what are you?" she demanded, perhaps more harshly than she had intended.

"Twilight... if you do not wish to watch, you do not have to,” Krys said quietly, bowing her head regretfully, her gaze falling to the floor. “I know that I now appear as a young child in body, but my mind... my mind is filled with thousands of years of knowledge and memories. I promise I will explain everything to you in detail when this is over, but for now, please, try to be strong."

"You...” Twilight began. “Thousands of years? I knew you were different, Kryssie, but I never would have expected that...” She blinked, considering it. “Then again, I suppose it kind of makes sense... but still... I don't even want to hear what will happen. Can't you just send me back and stay yourself?"

"You chose to follow me,” Krys said, looking back up a Twilight seriously. “It was not my intention to involve you in this. No, I cannot send you back, even if I wanted. Like it or not, you must accept the reality of things and do your best to maintain your composure. What do you think your teacher would do in this very situation?"

Twilight managed to calm down a bit. Again, Kryssie was right. She knew now that there was no point in resisting, and let out a sigh, finally conceding defeat.

"Alright...” she said, nodding nervously. “I will try my best, for Celestia's sake."

"Good. Come on,” Kryssie said, turning to leave the palace. “We should gather as much information as possible before everything shifts to its final phase."

Twilight took a deep breath before following Kryssie out.

What have I gotten myself into?

She took the time to take in the sight of the city now. Everything was so beautiful. She completely ignored the soldiers rushing about the city and the civilians taking shelter in their homes. Who would ever want to destroy such beauty? Who would want to massacre these innocent ponies? Twilight soon found her emotions shifting from remorseful sadness to a deep, bubbling anger. She knew what was coming... and that there was not a single bucking thing she could do to stop it.

Not only that, but Kryssie had been holding so much back from her. Thousands of years of knowledge and memories? Was her mind even older than Celestia's? What if she was secretly an enemy in the form of a young filly? No... Celestia certainly would have been able to tell, wouldn't she?

All of these thoughts were circling through Twilight's mind violently. Finally, she bowed her head and screwed her eyes shut, forcing herself to silence them and think about something else.

"Are you alright, Twilight?"

Twilight looked up. Kryssie was looking at her with concern on her face.

"I'm fine, Kryssie,” Twilight replied seriously. “I'm sorry, this is all just... too much for me to process all at once. I have a lot of questions to ask you once this is over."

"I understand, Twilight,” Kryssie said, nodding. “I promise to tell you anything you wish to know. For now, just try to stay sane, alright?"

"I just need to rest..." Twilight yawned, trotting over to an empty space beside the massive stairs leading up to the palace, laying down on the ground and leaning against the side of the stairs. "...You go on ahead," she muttered. The loss of sleep had finally caught up with her, and after all the emotional turmoil she had been through, what little energy she had left was spent.

Kryssie sighed softly, sidling over to Twilight and laying against her. "We must not become separated, Twilight. I will wait here for you to awaken. I would never leave you here by yourself."

Twilight managed a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth. It was obvious to her that Kryssie cared about her, regardless of the facade she had been maintaining. She felt somewhat guilty for having been angry with her, even knowing that it was justified.

"Thank you, Kryssie. Just... when it happens, as soon as you know what they look like, get us out of here, alright? I don't want to be here for the entire... event."

Kryssie nodded, nuzzling Twilight's side. "I promise I will... I will not tax your mind and heart more than is necessary."

Twilight sighed softly, closing her eyes. She was too tired to give any further reply, and managed to completely silence her thoughts long enough to fall asleep.

Kryssie waited patiently for hours, resting her head upon Twilight's right foreleg. She nearly dozed off herself, until she was startled by a loud, thunderous boom near the cave's entrance. Her head shot head up, her eyes widening as she saw them begin to pour into the massive chamber.

They were bipedal, humanoid in shape. Their lithe forms silvery and metallic, green veins glowing eerily through their mercurial skin.

She knew exactly what they were, but still couldn't believe it.

If they were here... how was this entire planet not destroyed?!

Twilight had been jolted awake by the explosion and was now wide awake. "Oh, Celestia, no... it's starting. Kryssie, you've seen them. Now, lets get out of here."

Kryssie stood up and closed her eyes, concentrating for a moment. Nothing happened.

"....Oh no..." she said, opening her eyes again.

"What do you mean, 'oh no?'" Twilight demanded.

Bright green bolts of energy began to shoot around everywhere, originating from the invaders. Bright white flashes of light shot forth from the horns of the soldiers right back at them, but seemed to have no effect.

"We have to get back to the chamber with the orb! Quick!" Kryssie shouted, immediately galloping towards the massive temple as quickly as her little legs could carry her. She came to a screeching halt, however, when she noticed the army's leader. She trembled slightly, her eyes wide, fixed upon the creature.

"Why are you stopping?!" Twilight near screamed at her, looking up in the direction Kryssie was staring.

Behind the main invading force was a tall humanoid, but he looked little like the others. His features were those of a black-furred feline, with dark green hair and glowing yellow eyes. He wore metallic black power armor all the way up to his neck, but remained without a helmet. He hovered menacingly above his soldiers with the use of an anti-gravity pack. A wide, sadistic grin adorned his face, as he seemed to fix his terrible gaze on something... or someone.

Kryssie noticed this and looked back to see the beautiful, golden-maned Alicorn flying through the air, straight for the enemy commander, her horn glowing brightly. She turned back to see him heaving to raise large and very familiar weapon, aiming it straight at her, the maniacal grin on his face growing wider still. Twilight had been following her gaze and Kryssie, knowing what was about to happen, tackled her to the ground. "No! You must not watch!" she cried, obviously terrified.

He squeezed the trigger. A strange, multicolored beam immediately erupted from the weapon, colliding with the speeding mare head on and sending her tumbling to the ground below. She slowly stood, attempting to gather her bearings, but before she could, she froze dead and shuddered grotesquely, her face a mix of terror and agony.

She emitted a terrible shriek of pain as her body began to... mutate. Oddly-colored tendrils of flesh burst from her body, fragments of bone suddenly protruding all over as blood poured from the newly-formed wounds. Kryssie comprehended what was happening. Her very DNA code was being altered, and her body was contorting to the changes. Her shrieks diminished into pathetic, formless gurgles, before she finally collapsed into in unrecognizable mass of blood, flesh and bone.

"Don't look back, just keep going!" Kryssie cried, forcing Twilight forward as quickly as she could.

Twilight knew that whatever had happened, it was bad. She had never heard anypony's voice carry such fear in her entire life. She fixed her gaze on the temple, trying her best to avoid witnessing any more of the massacre until they reached the chamber containing the orb.

"Kethra Vudoz Ix Oreth!" Kryssie yelled as loudly as she could as they approached the orb.

There was a bright flash, and their vision faded abruptly to white, just as before. Kryssie's last thought resonated loudly through her mind before she lost consciousness.

Why... why did it have to be them?!