//------------------------------// // Prologue (Ever Ever After) // Story: The Fifty Shades of Twilight // by Ecstatic //------------------------------// The Fifty Shades of Twilight. Chapter 1. Once upon a time, 1,050 years ago to be precise, in the land of Equestria, a lone pony struggled against the biting winter of the Everfree to reach his destination: The freshly budding settlement of Ponyville... But in the present, a lone pony struggles against unexpected weather to reach her destination: The library she calls home. ----------- Her name was Twilight Sparkle, and nearly everypony who was anypony knew her, she was the talk of the town. Star of the show as it were, but she wasn't feeling particularly useful at the moment, much less a star like Trixie claimed to be. That obstinate showmare Sparkle thought ruefully to herself, the unexpected downpour turning her thoughts increasingly dour, regardless of how apologetic a given mare could be. "Rainbow Dash!" Sparkle shouted in frustration just as she stamped into the safety of her library home, knowing full well whose responsibility it was to inform ponies of the monthly storm schedule. But Rainbow Dash was no where in sight, there was only Spike, too busy rummaging in the kitchen, Trying to find the ice cream, probably. noted the ever-rational part of her mind, to greet her properly, or at all. Shaking off her mane, Sparkle stamped her hoof at the ground in frustration, "Spiiiiiiiiikeeee!" she finally let out, getting more to the point, "If it's raining, you could've set out a towel!" she finished, glaring at the baby dragon, so quick to present himself to face her wrath, all while trying: unsuccessfully, she noted, to hide a spoon dripping with ice cream behind his back. "I'm sorry Twilight I just-" he began, only to be cut off. "NO! I don't care! It is FREEZING out there, how can you possible be eating something frozen?" she panted out, feeling her coat already starting to dry. "While, Twilight, it was RD's idea, not sure how she thought of it, but eventually you get so cold, you start to feel warm!" Spike replied with a thoughtful expression, scratching the scales beneath his chin, causing a rasp that would quickly get on Sparkle's nerves if she didn't put some distance between them. "That's called hypothermia, Spike, it's dangerous! Now put the ice cream back where you found it and go to sleep.", she said these words in a level tone, backing slowly up the stairs before turning around to open the door to her room. "I'm going to be studying a book Luna sent me today, I'll see you in the morning." "See you in the morning, Twi!" Spike pseudo-cheerfully called up after her, before turning with a sigh to stow his favorite treat away, and clean up the scattered puddles of melted ice cream and rainwater. ------ My dear Twilight Sparkle, I'm sorry to say that dealing with matters of court has left little time for our monthly get-together, I will be in Ponyville sometime next week to congratulate you all on representing the Crystal Empire so adequately. I must cut this letter short, Blueblood has been making quite the ruckus in the Night Court as of late, and I feel as if my own nights are getting shorter, hah! To think I once wanted it to last forever, the sheer bore of uptight nobles would have dropped me dead in a week. Don't tell 'Tia I said that, she loves all her little ponies so much, but I would banish a few to the moon for a week if given the option. Enclosed is a book I think you'll find particularly interesting: A Study in Dream Magic: What it is, and how to use it. With love, your 'sister' Luna. Sparkle re-read the note with a smile on her face, Luna wasn't the most social pony, and you could tell from her letters. But they loved each other like the sisters they claimed to be, in private of course. Blueblood was just one example of a pony who only wanted to degrade her dear princesses, even through a claim of kinship. Readjusting herself, she levitated the book open on her pillow in front of her, and started to read... ------ Blinking her eyes open rapidly, the sudden flood of light didn't make Twilight Sparkle wince in the slightest, and in a manner similar to returning to awareness after waking up, she remembered why. This was a dream, she'd studied late into the night and cast her very first spell from the book Luna had given her. It wasn't The Birds and the Bees: A study of the effects of Harmony on inter-species rivalry., written by, who else? she thought, Star Swirl the Bearded... But in some ways? It was better, Sparkle loved Celestia dearly, but learning from Luna's own writing was incredible of it's own accord, the difference between night and day, if she wanted to be dreadfully unoriginal. Taking in her surroundings, Sparkle noticed she was standing on a field far as the eye could see, the grass was fresh and untrodden, unlike what was caused by the storm taking place in the waking world. Fascinating, she thought to herself, changing a piece of the terrain with an undue amount of mental concentration, a cliff now standing before her, and she jumped as she heard a voice addressing her, saying: "Where does it end, do you wonder?" Taking a moment to bring her heart rate down, and reminding herself ever so fervently that this was her dream, even if on the off-chance she connected to somepony on her first try, she was in charge here! Taking in the pony standing next to herself, the odd silver mane, his coat, a deep indigo - almost black, and the fashion crisis her mind supplied helpfully - sounding exactly like Rarity, of the combination of both colors in his horn, a unicorn like herself. It would be a unicorn, Sparkle realized, They have the most potent magic of the three pony races, but still, he must be very adapt. Finally finding her tongue, or the mental projection of her physical body, she ventured a reply. "I don't know, sometimes it's all so bleak, to contrast your high points and your low ones... I have great friends, but I always want more." The pony next to her blinked as if deep in thought, Sparkle recognized that from her own reflection. When you bother to even brush your mane in front of the mirror, dear. Sparkle narrowed her eyes at her subconscious, dredging up memories of things the dressmaker so frequently said, just as her attention was yanked back to the intruder in her dreamspace asking something, something about whether she was real? Why wouldn't she be real? This was her dream, didn't he know? Arching her eyebrow, an impressive feat, a small part of her brain noticed, Sparkle laughed with a tone that sounded dull to her own ears, "Of course I'm real, silly!" she chastised him with a grin. "This is my dream, everything you see here..." with a brief wave of her hoof she continued, "everything you see here is my invention, I studied so hard to get the dream spell just right too." This was said with a pout, however, she had failed hadn't she? Here he was, proof written like the stars that adorned her flank, though oddly missing in this dream world; written across the sky then, Sparkle observed. A slight cough from the other pony's direction pulled her out of her thoughts as he started to talk ramble again. "But this is my dream, I have a life! As miserable as it's been right now, with the traitor Luna attempting to bring eternal nig-" he started to say, and Sparkle's brain just kicked into autopilot at the insult to Luna, the one pony equal to Celestia in her heart. She leaped at him, a silly notion, she didn't have to move to hurt him, not here. But logic or not, there she was, trying to pound his face in with her front hooves, all while regaling him with how wonderful and reformed Luna was, before being tossed off onto her back, the shock drowning out more of his ramblings, did he just ask if he had a mental illness? He's certainly insane. Sparkle's brain inserted helpfully, again. And she was actually getting used to it, the voice was slightly more independent than she'd prefer, but that's what sleeping does to a pony, Sparkle rationalized, correctly according to everything she'd read so far. He had started to pace, Sparkle realized, as she'd been laying on her back on what she realized was now barren rock, getting to her hooves, she pressed her snout as close as she dared to his and prodded him with a fore-hoof. "You're not from Ponyville," Sparkle said dramatically, "In fact! I know everypony in Ponyville, explain how you can possibly be here when YOU'RE NOT REAL!" she snapped, feeling an odd sensation as her mane shifted against her neck and her eyes readjusted to focus on the offensive pony standing before her, blocking out almost the entirety of the dreamscape behind him. She watched him sit back, supported by his hind legs, and weave a tale from the history books she held so dearly... ----------- His name was Twilight Shade, and as he gazed with deep indigo eyes at the village, only a few hundred yards from the scant cover at the edge of this... this dratted forest.. Shade thought vehemently in his mind, pulling his thready brown cloak tighter against his silver mane, both of these clashing unpleasantly against the darkest shade of purple, almost black, that made up his coat. Shaking off the cold as he exhaled steam through his nostrils, Shade trotted into the warmth emanating from the town, Neigh flashed briefly in his cold-ridden mind, emanating from the camp. This correction was swiftly proven true as he felt something blunt collide with his side, sending him sprawling in the snow. "Halt in the name of the Guard!" an imposing voice resonated like thunder a short distance from where Twilight Shade lay, gasping for breath as a commotion arose from the nearby barracks. Ponyville was the frontier, not for exploration or residence, but for war. The Empire of Stars, led by the formal Princess, Luna, had stretched a hoof across Equestria, making the winter snow pale in comparison. As if thinking of the ruthless leader was enough to cause her manifestation, Shade saw a pale outline stride forth from behind the watch-fires. Just as he was hefted from the ground unceremoniously, his hood fell back to reveal the horn of a unicorn that bore both the swirling colors of his mane and coat, and he saw not Luna, but her sister, the Heir to her father's throne, Princess of the Sun, Celestia. Shade's breath caught in his throat at the beauty that seemed to wash away the exhaustion that ran from his tail to his hooves, as if the Alicorn princess reflected the warmth of the Sun that she raised each day. Never would he have imagined such a thing, and he doubted anypony would ever compare, not if he looked for a thousand years. With these thoughts and the brief rejuvenation fading, he barely registered the guard demanding to know his business, Shade's ears flicked a few times, dislodging a dusting of snow to flutter to the ground, and fell asleep for the first time in days. ------ Shade awoke gradually, if waking could describe the surreal experience of his dreams, for he glided across fields free of the ice that had plagued the land for the better part of a year, at his side was another unicorn, a mare. Her coat was a paler, more pleasing shade of lavender than his own, matching her horn and complimenting her violet striped mane. This was decidedly unusual, the thought of his dreams being entered by a pony other than Luna, she who delighted in torturing the dreams of ponies at random. Shaking these thoughts off, Shade mused to himself, a habit to distract from the freezing nights in the waking world. "Where does it end, do you wonder?" he said, brushing aside a few flowers as they stopped at the edge of a cliff, and almost jumped off in shock when the mare beside him replied, "I don't know, sometimes it's all so bleak, to contrast your high points and your low ones... I have great friends, but I always want more." Blinking to himself, Shade turned to look closer at the seeming-imposter and managed to find his voice "What?" he said, before realizing he must look like an idiot, gaping in the middle of a dreamscape, Never mind earlier, this is ridiculous, ponies can't enter dreams. Not. Scientifically. Possible. he thought before hastily tacking on a few extra words, "Isn't this just a dream, are you real?". Arching her eyebrow, an impressive feat, a small part of his brain noticed, she laughed with a delightfully stupefying melody. "Of course I'm real, silly!" she chastised him with a grin. "This is my dream, everything you see here..." with a brief wave of her hoof she continued, "everything you see here is my invention, I studied so hard to get the dream spell just right too." With this she pouted, and it couldn't help but entrance him as he stared, before coughing slightly and pointing his own hoof at her and replying, "But this is my dream, I have a life! As miserable as it's been right now, with the traitor Luna attempting to bring eternal nig-" for the second time that day, Shade was forced to the ground, but this time he had an angry mare trying to bash his snout with her hooves. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT LUNA?!" the crazed unicorn screamed at the top of her lungs, bringing an instant headache to the stallion underneath her, and warping the dreamscape until it was nothing but jagged rocks. As she continued to scream about the kindness and nobility of her "dear princess", Shade almost vomited in disgust and kicked her off to regain his feet and yelled right back. "Reformed?! That monster is... Why I am arguing with you? Why I am stuck having this stupid dream? Did I finally make it to Ponyville just to develop mental illness? Hypothermia?" Biting his tongue as he paced, or trying to, his body seemed to be phasing out, Shade came muzzle-to-muzzle with the mare and jerked backwards as she prodded him, somehow managing to make contact. "You're not from Ponyville," she said dramatically, "In fact! I know everypony in Ponyville, explain how you can possibly be here when YOU'RE NOT REAL!" she snapped, her mane going frizzy and her eyes taking on a dangerous gleam. Sitting back on his haunches, his presence in the dreamscape tied to her interest, it seemed, he spoke very slowly, as if to a wild animal, "I'm going to start from the beginning..." casting back in his memories, he recited a tale that every foal knew... ---------- "...And so Luna fled from Canterlot after many days of siege." Shade continued, no longer calling her "traitor" after the unruly mare threatened him with all sorts of unrealistic fates, if not for this being a dream... "And ever since then, we have been at war, she haunts us in our sleep and Celestia herself has led the effort to capture her wayward sister, though to what intent, I am unaware." This ended the majority of his tale, and the mare across from him pursed her lips, "You say Ponyville is a war-camp? That was over a thousand years ago!" the simple realization of those words struck her. "Oh my goodness! You're ancient, you're like a ghost! You're from the past!" Shade just rolled his eyes as she started monologuing again, the urgency of his situation, past or present, was not to be trifled with by this obstinate showmare! He huffed in frustration and cut her short, "Look, whoever you are-" he started to say before being interrupted. "Twilight Sparkle." she said. Looking askance at her, Shade pulled himself up to his full height, "Interesting, my name is Twilight Shade, I suspect this will be a last-name basis relationship for us, Sparkle." Remembering his earlier train of thought, he continued, "I must go, now, if you truly hold this dream, I have messages to deliver to Celestia and I-" Shade was caught off again as a shadow stole across the still barren landscape, and a dark chuckle resonated as Nightmare Moon, Luna! Sparkle reminded herself, landed in their midst, striking down Shade and forcing him to wakefulness, before turning to Sparkle herself. "How delightful!" boomed the Royal Canterlot Voice over her head, yet tinged with a darker side that continued, "A mere Unicorn infringes on the realm of dreams? Our Realm! Thou shalt pay for thou arrogance, we shall see thou in agony!" the personification of evil Luna screamed, before Twilight woke up in a cold sweat, safe in her library in Ponyville. She glanced around, her mane tangled in knots and the sheets cutting off her circulation, too terrified to use her magic with any dexterity, Sparkle's horn flared as she ripped the sheets into shreds, and quickly fell into a dreamless sleep. ---------- Over a thousand years in the past, Shade awoke in a warm bed, the feathered wing tucked closely around his body lulled him into a sense of peace that he thought could last forever, and he too, fell into a dreamless sleep.