Blinding white all around. Neither of us could see. Heh, I'd take the dark void any day over that place.
Twilight opened her eyes to find herself in a white room that seemed as if everything was actually glowing. She quickly reached up to her head and felt where the injury was. Nothing. Not even a scar. Did that orb of light heal her, or was this just another illusion... She struggled to remember more of the book she had read, but drew a blank.
"What is this place..."
"No idea, Delphian. Come on, let's get moving... Hey, the gash on your side is gone!"
"And your eye... It looks normal!"
"Please, can you hear me?!" Her headache was completely gone. Not only that, but she felt as if she had been asleep for months! She felt completely rejuvenated.
"Hey, Twiley..." She perked up as she heard her brothers voice. "Been so long since I heard your voice... Seen you smile. Everypony is real worried about you, but they can't bring themselves to come see you like this."
In that white room... We were able to hear the voices of our family and friends perfectly. We knew we were in another plane of existence. We just didn't know at the time this place existed in our own minds. Twilight looked around. Every which direction was blocked off with a white wall. She was literally in a box.
She awaited the voices to start talking to her again. That or a memory from reading the book. Either one would be welcome at the moment. Five minutes passed without a single word or memory. Seeing it as a lost cause, she simply stared in one direction. Surprise filled hey eyes as the wall she neared turned into a reflection. It was as if the wall itself was made of water.
Mirrors to the soul, I called them. She found herself drawn to her eyes in the reflection. Not because they were bigger than usual, but because she saw a scene in them... The reflection zoomed slowly in on the mesmerized mare's eyes as she saw herself lying in a hospital bed, her friends gathering at the foot of it looking at her.
Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the heart monitor drop.
70 bpm. The friends all engaged in a final hug with Twilight.
60 bpm. All sniffling, they wipe their eyes and smile warmly at their friend, hoping that she may somehow see them. If she could... They'd rather that she saw one final happy sight.
40 bpm. The heart monitor began to beep, causing a doctor to run in. The friends however stand idly aside... Who were they to prolong her life if she would just be stuck in a coma?
20 bpm. The doctor began to try and keep her heart going.
10 bpm. "Farewell, Twilight. We'll all miss you." The five friends let a single tear drip from each of their eyes as Twilight stops breathing.
Flatline. Twilight felt tears filling her eyes as her friends all leaned their heads down and began crying.
"Come on... We should go make sure Spike is okay." The doctor was still hard at work, trying his best to get a pulse. Her friends all exited out into the hallway, seconds later a beeping sound. She watched as the doctor stepped away as the heart monitor returned to normal.
The reflection pulled itself away from her eyes as they returned to normal size. Slowly, the reflection turned into a normal white wall again.
We saw the truth in those walls... We weren't just in another plane... We were in comas.
"Coma? No... How did this happen?" As if answering the question, the wall turned back to a reflection and zoomed once more into her eyes. She immediately saw her library, Twilight herself sitting at her reading desk with a book she felt she had seen before. It was a large book with a dark cover. Her heart jumped into her throat as she saw the cover.
A painting of the Dark Void sat on the front.
"Hey, Twilight. I'm going down to the kitchen."
"Yeah, have fun at Rarity's." She was drawn into her book so much that she hadn't even really listened to her assistant. She had a habit of doing that. "What's this? Recite these words at your caution, for they will..." Twilight's voice faded off to a mere wording of the sentence. Twilight was beginning to remember... The book had been sent to her by... Why couldn't she remember anything about who sent it to her? She had opened the package. It came with a simple note: Be careful, Twilight. After that, she immediately started to read it. What she was watching right now was the end of the book, where those damned words were...
My name is Mystia, and I never made it out of this place... Using the remaining bit of my magic, I am sending this book to Equestria. Since it is traveling to another plane, I estimate that it will take at least 1,000 years to reach Equestria... I hope it will reach my Mentor, Princess Celestia. That's it! That was the name of the pony who had said she loved Twilight like a daughter... But all she knew was her name. She was the one that had me come here, with promises that I'd be safe... She may have been wrong, but she was right about one thing... There is much magic here. If you're reading this Celestia, I... I had to sacrifice my own brother, Delphian to be able to transport this to you. I hope you learned everything you wanted from this place... Because I'm still trapped here and will be until someone comes and gets me. No doubt you've place my body under magical protection... Twilight stopped reading and looked up, a single tear dropping from her eye onto the page.
I know you are incapable of coming to this realm, so I know you know what must happen... No doubt you now have a new student, since that was always your thing. This realm has no time, so it will be just like your new student is right behind me. Nopony else you sent ever made it past the first Dark Void... I know you won't send anymore until you've heard from me, so... Send your new student or not... If she comes, no doubt she'll absorb my memories... Of you, of Luna... I know you loved me like a daughter, as do you all of your students. I'll understand if you don't send another student... Goodbye, Celestia. I'll miss you.
She sighed as she watched herself open the written note that came with it. Inside were the magical words that would transport anypony to the realm.
Dearest Twilight, I hope you read the book before opening this note... I won't make you do this, since I know it will be very dangerous. If you do choose to go, do know that you won't be able to leave until you find Mystia. When you say these words, you will be placed into a coma. You'll survive, as long as you keep your wits about you and be strong. As I'm sure you read, you will forget everything about how you got there and about me for a while. Twilight read over the note a couple times before flipping it over and reading over the words.
A life long gone, a plane untouched. Magical world, sight unseen. Love for love, life for life. Hope... or loss. Twilight knew what was coming... At the same time, both her real self and fantasy self opened their mouths.
"A life long gone, a plane untouched. Magical world, sight unseen. Love for love, life for life. Hope... or loss." She watched as her real self immediately closed her eyes and fell over in a slump on the floor. Spike came running up a moment later. The reflection turned once more into a white wall.
"Twilight, please wake up... I never wanted to lose you." The voice of Celestia could easily be heard, accompanied by sobs.
"Princess... Don't worry, I won't fail you."