Final Twilight

by Zeg

Chapter I

The dawn was just breaking over the distant horizon. The chilled foggy mist from the previous night had gathered as small glistening droplets on the blades of grass that swayed in a gentle morning breeze. Just beyond a hill, the thatched roof tops of many homes could be seen. The homes themselves seemed to be in a slumber, with their windows still shuttered and doors still latched closed.

Something stirred nearby. It fluttered over to the hill, locating a small and simple white flower. It glided down, and there the yellow and blue winged butterfly landed on the edge of the pure white flower's bloom. It began to uncurl its tiny straw-like mouth toward the flower to take a sip of nectar, when its morning breakfast was rudely interrupted.

A black whip-like appendage snapped out and wrapped itself around the butterfly's body, and began pulling. The greasy looking tendril stretched down into the shadows below the grass to something unseen. The tendril itself looked almost as if it were nothing but a thin line of sludge, but it held fast to the small insect which was now grasping onto the flower's bloom for dear life. The tendril tugged and pulled, causing the flower's stem to bend ever so slightly more toward the ground with each tug. And then another tiny black whip shot out and wrapped itself around the flower's stem and began pulling as well, accelerating the bending.

Closer.. and closer.. and closer..

A blur of colors shot past the hill with unimaginable speed, causing the dew on the grass to be lifted in a spray and get sucked toward the wind vortex that the blur had caused. The sudden updraft also caused the greasy black appendages to loose their grip, and the flower's stem snapped back up right. The butterfly wasted no time using this chance to launch itself into the wind, being partially carried by the sudden updraft. The black tendrils struck out once more attempting to grasp their prey, but it was far too late. The insect had glided far beyond reach. The tendrils slumped back to the ground seeming disappointed, and then slowly sunk back into the now dry grass disappearing into dark shadows under the swaying blades.

The rainbow blur most likely didn't know that it had just rescued the tiny insect from the strange assault, but if she had she likely would have been proud of herself. She was a pegasus mare with a light blue coat, rainbow colored mane and tail, and a matching cloud with rainbow colored lightning bolt cutie mark. Her name; Rainbow Dash. A pony that most of her home town of Ponyville knew well, or at least she felt they should. On this particular morning she was getting a quick start on her weather related tasks. She was clearing the night dew that had settled on the grass and using it to create puffy white clouds in the sky to provide shade for what was supposed to be a partially cloudy day. She had come up with the idea of using her impressive airborne speed to cause updrafts and lift the dew to create the clouds she needed. This way she could get the chore done quickly, which would let her have the rest of the day off once she was done. She was rather pleased with herself at the moment, and the grin on her face as she buzzed the ground to lift more dew into the air showed it.

Diving back low to the ground she banked to her right and came over another hill, kicking up a misty spray that followed her path as she did. Her next approach was going to be a tricky one since it was going to take her through the park and between some of the buildings of Ponyville. She hoped that as she made the maneuvers somepony would be up to see it. Holding her tongue out, she turned again sharply to her left and zipped between the walls of two homes, rattling the shutters as she did. She passed over the park which to her slight disappointment was empty, but this early in the morning that was going to be the likely case for most of the town. Still, she didn't give up. She knew she could probably locate somepony to impress, so she did a quick course correction and started darting between the walls of homes again with a trail of glistening mist mixed with rainbow colors following closely behind her. She passed through ally ways, through the empty streets, just over roof tops, and even circled around again back toward the park she had started at, but nopony seemed to be around yet.

The grin was fading from the dare-devil's face and being replaced with a disappointed half frown as she glanced back at the path she had taken. Rainbow Dash banked once again to make a path out of town and back into the sky to lead the misty trail into the air. However, she hadn't been paying very close attention to where she had been flying the last few seconds, and when she turned her head back forward she quickly found herself trying to reverse her flight pattern in a frantic attempt of wing flapping.

Just inside the Golden Oaks Library of Ponyville, a lavender unicorn was in the middle of using her magic to cook something for breakfast, magically levitating a pan over a stove top. She had noticed sounds coming from outside this morning that were unusual but had ignored them up to a point. The strange sound had caused her to actually feel vibrations in the floor of the library that she called home multiple times already, and she could feel it starting up again. Curiosity was getting the best of her, and she now felt she needed to know what was going on. Dropping a pan she had been levitating back to the stove burner, she quickly trotted over to a the latched shutters at the kitchen window and flicked the hook with her magic before nosing the shutters open.

No sooner had she stuck her head out the window to see what the commotion was about did she screech and duck, just as a rainbow colored blur came fluttering in through the open window. At the far wall of the kitchen, the blur came to a sudden stop when the wall didn't give way, and Rainbow Dash found her back plastered to the wall, tail over hooves. She seemed to stick to the wall for a second before she slid down, her head bumping the floor.

"Rainbow! What-" The unicorn started as she raised her head up and began to trot over, but she was cut off when the back of her head was hosed down by the trail of mist that had been chasing the pegasus. She gasped and sputtered as she scampered back from the window, trying to guard herself with one of her hooves but getting a face full of morning dew regardless. The spray calmed down after a couple seconds, and the unicorn was left there dripping like she had just been drenched by a fire hose. She growled slightly, then turned to face Rainbow Dash as she stamped a hoof. "What is going on!" she demanded.

"Uh, heh, sorry about that Twilight," Rainbow said as she used her front hooves to push herself upright. "I was just getting my work done early today."

The lavender unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, stared back at the blue pegasus for a moment as water dripped from her. "This is work?" she questioned flatly as one of her eyebrows perked up.

"Weeeell.. not exactly. You see, I was trying this new trick, making clouds out of the morning dew, and I was hoping somepony would be up early enough to see, so I started flying through Ponyville looking for anypony that might be awake already. You should have seen it! I did this zigzag that went right between these houses, then I did a full loop around the town hall and went up and over three roofs in a row all without losing a single drop! It was really awesome!" Rainbow Dash seemed suddenly very enthusiastic as she recounted the details of her stunts, but when she noticed that Twilight hadn't so much as cracked a smile her enthusiasm started to wane. "Eh.. heh heh.. I can dry you off if you want?" She offered.

"No I'm fine," Twilight said as she levitated a nearby kitchen towel over and used it to dry her face, "You know, you should be more careful. Showing off unnecessarily like that could get yourself hurt again."

Rainbow Dash cringed a bit at the mention of her mishap that had lead to a hospital stay. "Heeey.. that was.. a while ago. It's not like I crash all over the place all the time," she complained as she puffed herself up, "I'm the best young flyer in all of Equestria, and someday I'm going to prove it to everypony that has their doubts."

Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but smile a bit at her friend. Rainbow Dash had always been a 'glass is half full' type of pony, optimistic almost to a fault. But it was that optimism and that drive to succeed that she had learned to count on in her friend. "Say," Twilight started as she discarded the now soaked kitchen towel and made her way back to the stove to check on the food she had left there. She smiled when she found it hadn't burnt in her absence. "I'm making breakfast. It's just some scrambled eggs and toast, but if you want to stay for a bit I can make sure there's enough for you."

"Thanks Twi, but I really have to jet. The morning dew doesn't stick around when the sun starts warming things up, so if I'm going to get those clouds done before it all disappears I gotta get back to it. Thanks for the offer though!" And with that Rainbow Dash zipped out of the window she had entered from, causing a small vortex to blow Twilight Sparkle's mane gently for a second.

"Oh Rainbow," Twilight mused as she turned her attention fully back to her scrambled eggs.

Nearby at the open window ledge, a few tiny black whip-like appendages latched onto the ledge, and with a heave they pulled up a small glob like body that they were attached to. This tiny black mass, no bigger than a marble, quivered at the edge of the window for a moment before it rolled and slipped off the ledge into Twilight's home.

---

"Spike! I need that book!" Twilight barked as she scampered back up the stairs of the library to the second floor. Her baby dragon and number one assistant was pushing a rolling ladder over to a book self on the first floor.

"On it! Tips and Tricks for Speeches, right?" Spike called out as he scaled the ladder.

"Right, I think that's the one. Can you bring it over to the book stand when you get it? I need to make sure it's the right one." Twilight said as she came back down the stairs, levitating odds and ends that she quickly stuffed into her saddlebags.

"Roger!" Spike saluted as he turned his attention back to the shelf. "Lets see... Sensational Speech Writing, Proper Speech Giving Etiquette, Historical Beaches of Equestria... wait what's this doing here?" Spike pondered as he picked up the misplaced book and scratched at his chin with a claw.

"Spike," Twilight called out in a singsong tone as she quickly trotted back and forth fetching paper, writing quills, and ink that she gathered up with her magic as she reached each one. "I have a really busy day ahead and don't have time to waste playing around."

"I know, I'm looking. It has to be near here... Aha! Here it is, Tips and Tricks for Speeches by Clear Voice." Spike spoke triumphantly as he grasped the book's spine in his claws. As he lifted the book, a small black glob nestled behind it used its tiny black appendages to grasp onto the opposite edge of the book. It hung on as Spike carried the book over to the near by book stand. Once near the stand, Spike held the book high to wave it above his head, and the black glob took this chance to quickly gauge the distance and make a leap to the top of the stand. "Got it right here chief," Spike said as he waved the book at Twilight.

Twilight finished packing her writing supplies and then quickly trotted over next to Spike and took the book in her magic. "Thanks Spike," she said with a smile as she looked down at him. She hadn't noticed the small black glob that was curling itself up on the book stand, as if it were trying to ready itself to jump. It built up power in its tiny little unformed body, and when it sensed the moment was right it released itself like a spring directly at Twilight.

However, the spine of the book she was levitating got in the way, and then slammed down on the book stand smashing the tiny black creature flat between the book and the top of the stand.

"OK, lets see.." Twilight said as she used her magic to flip through the pages of the book. She was so focused on the contents of the book that she didn't notice the dripping trail of ooze that was seeping off the edge of the book stand. The dripping was pooling together in a tiny puddle at the base of the stand, and seemed to be pulling together into a small lump on the floor near Twilight's hoof. "Ah yes, there it is, this is exactly what I'm going to need. I'll have to make sure I brush up on this right before I give my speech," Twilight chirped as she used her magic to fold the book shut. "Now, I have to get going or I'm going to be late! Cheerilee was counting on me to drop by the school this morning before her classes started and drop off some books she needs," She said as she hurried over to her saddlebags with the book in her levitation magic.

"You still have an hour Twilight. The school isn't that far away," Spike mentioned as he took notice of the clock on the wall.

"Yeah but things can happen between here and the school that could hold me up. I have to account for that. It's on the schedule," Twilight mentioned as she pointed a hoof at a clipboard laying on a nearby table.

At the mention of the schedule, Spike located and picked up the clipboard and flipped through the many pages coming to one and reading it out loud. "Leave one hour early just in case something happens between the library and school.. whoa," Spike said as he looked up with a surprised look on his face. Spike was still sometimes taken aback by just how thorough Twilight's daily schedule planning could be.

While this display was going on, the black puddle of ooze had managed to literally pull itself back together, and noticed that its target was standing near the door way of the library. Almost as if it were suddenly in a panic, it began to flip itself end over end creating an odd looking running maneuver as it closed the distance between itself and Twilight.

"I'm already five minutes late on my one hour head start, I have to get going or I'm going to throw off my entire day," Twilight complained as she levitated her saddlebags onto her back and began trotting over to her door. "If you need anything, you know where to find me today."

"Right, got a copy of your entire schedule right here," Spike said as he tapped the back of his claws against the clipboard.

"I'll see you later then," Twilight smiled as she used her magic to quickly open the door to the library and trot out. The black glob quickened its pace, flipping its body end over end as forcefully as it could as it picked up speed. It didn't want to miss this chance. Catching up to its target, it made a springing leap with its body at the back of Twilight's left hind leg. It sailed through the air, extending its small tendrils ready to latch on.

And then the door slammed shut.

With a silent splat, the black dot became a black grease spot on the bottom edge of the door only a few inches off of the floor. It stuck there unnoticed, and after a few seconds it quietly slipped off the door pulling itself away back into a quivering black lump. If it could have looked disappointed it probably would have. Defeated, it slithered off into a dark corner behind a bookshelf.. for now.

---

Just as Twilight Sparkle was starting her busy day in Ponyville, an indigo hewed alicorn was winding down her's as she stared out from a balcony of one of the many towers of Canterlot Castle. She had felt a strange unease all through the night, and that tension was not gripping her any less now that her duties were done and her sister was taking over for the day. She found herself simply staring off in the distance letting her gaze wander over the impressive view. More than once, her gaze had come to rest on the Everfree Forest, a dark and dangerous place that rest just beyond the town of Ponyville down below. That place always caused her a strange mix of sensations when she dared look upon it. It had been her home once long ago, causing a stir of nostalgia deep inside her. It had also been her place of defeat recently causing her to feel a strange twinge she couldn't quite explain, though that 'defeat' had turned out to be the best part of her life in over a millennium. That defeat had returned her to who she really was by freeing her from the darkness that had plagued her soul.

"Luna?" A quiet voice came from behind calling the thoughtful alicorn. She jumped visibly at the voice but immediately knew who it was. She turned her gaze to see her older sister standing there, a taller and brilliant white alicorn with a pastel rainbow colored flowing mane and tail that seemed to move to the same unseen breeze as her own. "I'm sorry, did I startle you?" her sister smirked as she almost hummed her words. She walked up next to Luna, her steps seeming so light and gentle that she appeared to levitate as she walked.

"No... yes," Luna denied but then admitted with a roll of her eyes. "We were not expecting you to-"

"I, Luna.. I," her older sister gently corrected as she shifted her weight and bumped her younger sister's side with her own.

"Sorry.. I", Luna started again as she emphasized the word. She had been trying for some time now to break her habit of slipping into long forgotten speech patterns that had fallen out of use over the ages that she hadn't been present in Equestria, and had even asked her sister to help correct her on this. "I was not expecting you to sneak up on me. You can be quite the stealthy pony when you want to be Celestia."

"Well it wasn't my intention. And to be honest I think you simply weren't paying attention to your surroundings," Celestia quipped as she made a motion with her nose off in the distance. "You seem very thoughtful of the view this morning."

"It is nothing," Luna replied simply. She quietly looked out over the view for a little while longer but then noticed the intense side stare that her sister was giving her, as if Celestia expected something more. "Honestly," Luna started as she turned her gaze to lock with her older sister's, "it really is nothing to worry about. I was just letting myself get lost in my thoughts is all."

"Very well," Celestia nodded as she blinked and turned her gaze out towards the view. At the same time she lifted a wing and draped it over her sister's back and side, using it to pull her closer. "You know you can talk to me about anything that is bothering you at any time. Even if it is the middle of the night, just come wake me. I really won't mind."

"I know, you have told me as much many times, and I do appreciate your concern sister. But there really is nothing for you to be worrying about," Luna said as she allowed herself to be hugged by her older sister. She leaned into Celestia so that the side of her head was nestled against her older sister's neck. Just feeling her sister's presence gave Luna comfort. After spending a millennium away, it was a feeling that she had nearly forgotten about, and she treasured every moment she could spend like this since she knew what it was like to have the feeling taken away. That, and these moments rarely lasted for very long even now.

"Princess Celestia," a stallion’s voice spoke from behind the two sisters. Both of them turned their head to see a formally dressed unicorn with his head bowed. "The mayor of Manehatten and his wife have arrived."

"And so the day starts," Celestia said with an audible sigh. "Sorry Luna, have to go," she said with an edge of disappointment on her voice as she folded her wing back to her side and turned to approach the unicorn.

"You do not have to apologize about your duties sister. You know I understand," Luna explained as she turned to follow her sister back into the tower. "And I would come with you.."

"You need your sleep Luna. I can't ask you to attend to your night time duties and follow me around during the day just to satisfy my desire to have you near by," Celestia explained as she and Luna came to a hallway that extended both left and right. She stopped and turned to face Luna as the unicorn paused for a moment in the right hand hallway. "Sleep well little sister. I'll see you this evening," Celestia whispered as she leaned her head down and nuzzled her forehead against Luna's.

"Good day big sister," Luna said with a smile as she returned the affection. After a few seconds, Celestia turned to follow the unicorn down the right hallway while Luna herself turned to go down the left toward her bed chambers. As she did, the smile on her face slowly faded. Walking down the long hallway, she passed tall windows every few steps that beams of the radiant morning sunlight poured through. She looked to her side and caught glimpses of the view out of the windows as she walked by each one. That odd feeling was still there, still gripping her, but she hadn't wanted to bother her sister with some silly feeling. Her older sister was overly sensitive about everything since she had returned to Equestria even though it had been over two years since, and Luna feared that Celestia might overreact should she let on that there actually was something bothering her no matter how minor it might be.

She paused for a moment as she stared out of one of the windows, wondering if she was doing the right thing. A quick chill ran down her spine as she recalled a dark time in her past over a thousand years ago. Back then, she hadn't gone to her sister when she should have; she didn't share her concerns. No, back then she had let her feelings of jealousy fester inside of her until they became like an infection that she could no longer fight off, and she had sought comfort in a dark power instead of her sister's embrace. By then, it was far too late for her older sister to help. It was the biggest mistake she had ever committed, and a regret that she would live with for the rest of her immortal life.

But this strange feeling that had gripped her was different.. she tried reassured herself. This wasn't jealousy. It was.. well she wasn't really sure what it was, but it wasn't anything negative like the feelings she had back then. At least it didn't feel that way. It was more like a strange familiar feeling that she couldn't quite explain, like trying to remember something that you know you have forgotten, but you just have no idea what it could possibly be.

It was frustrating.

Maybe that was it. It was all just something she had forgotten, and it was bothering her. Luna resumed her stride toward her bed chambers as she seemed to come across an acceptable explanation for now. If that was all the strange feeling was, just some sort of random forgotten memory having difficulty resurfacing, then she didn't need to bother her sister with that. After all, what would she say? I want to talk to you about something, but I forgot what it is?

Luna smirked at her own thought; she had found it rather funny. She was feeling better now, having successfully put her own anxieties to rest. And she had her older sister's reassuring words echoing in her mind as well. Should she ever find the need to talk to anypony, she knew exactly who she could turn too.