//------------------------------// // Immortal Afloat // Story: The Book of Prophecy // by TheBlox //------------------------------// Everything was dark. She felt weightless, like a feather drifting through the sky. Slowly opening her eyes, Twilight regained consciousness, dizzily trying to find her balance. Though, there didn’t appear to be any; her hooves were suspended in open air, and she found herself to be floating. “Wha… What’s going on??” Her eyes jolted open, and she spun around where she was hovering, entirely clueless where she was. Surrounding her was absolute darkness. It was as if she was floating in space. However, there were no stars, no galaxies, no planets, no sun nor moon… In all directions, there was nothing but a hazy white mist within her vicinity, and beyond that, was endless black. “Celestia?” Her whimpering voice echoed back at her. “Goddess, where am I?! Oh, please let this be a dream. What is happening?” She was frightened by the eternal darkness. There was nothing anywhere. Just the white fog, and the darkness. Turning to view all directions with no way of telling what was up or down, she witnessed something floating around in the distance, not too far from her. Clenching her teeth, she made the attempt to push herself toward it. Flapping her alicorn wings to give herself some momentum, she slowly hovered in its direction. When she was close enough, she could see what it was—the Tiara of Harmony. Reaching out to grab it, she flapped her wings a little harder to increase her speed. Until, she was finally close enough to capture it in her grasp. In that brief moment, she found herself holding onto it closely to her chest, as if it was all she had. “Where am I…?” she cried quietly to herself, feeling a tremendous loneliness in this open void. “Hello??” she called out into the darkness, but the only response she received was her echo. “Anypony out there?!” Her ears folded back from the emptiness and the lack of answers. In the distance, she saw another floating object. Gritting her teeth, she flapped her wings in the attempt to float toward it. Getting closer, she could see that it was her personal journal that had been sucked into the vortex with her tiara. Reaching out for it, she got a grip of the book, and held onto it. Nibbling her bottom lip, she nervously opened her journal. The entry she wrote this morning was still intact. Frightfully gritting her teeth, she turned it to the second page; it appeared to be blank. Flipping through the rest of the book, the remainder of her journal was empty. She tended to feel at least a little relieved that nothing freaky was written inside her journal at this point that she didn’t put down herself. Closing her journal and tucking it under her wing, something else caught her eye that was only a few feet in front of her. It appeared to be a page of the ancient book that formed the vortex that sent her here. The paper floating around was old and wrinkled. Holding onto her tiara in one arm, she reached out for the ancient piece of paper with her other hoof. Clinging onto it, she pulled it close to herself, and she held the torn page to read it. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ First rule of your destiny, Twilight… Do not write in your empty journal; not until this rule must be broken. I cannot explain to you when that will be. All I will say, is that when the time comes, you will simply just know, and what must be written at that time, you will understand. These torn pages of the Book of Prophecy that cast you here are floating about aimlessly in this open void of nothingness. Over time, you will discover them, one page at a time. I cannot explain how, nor when. All I can say, is you will know what it all means when the time is right. Consider these ancient floating pages of the Book of Prophecy my way of communicating with you. I will assist you how I am able. Fate will cast the paper through the open void, and each page will find you when you need to read them. And again, don’t ask how, nor why. At this point, you do not need to understand. But you will. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ After reading the contents of the piece of paper she found floating around her, she took in a deep breath, trying to absorb the information. She could tell that by the way it was written, it was trying to put her mind at ease, that everything will turn out how it is meant to. But it still didn’t help; she was scared regardless. Scared of the dark; terrified of the loneliness. One thing about it that bothered her, was the fact it didn’t answer the questions she wanted answered. Where even was she? What is she meant to do in this open void? Without a proper place to store the ancient piece of paper she collected, she slipped the loose page inside her journal for safe keeping. Hanging onto her journal and her tiara, she trailed her vision to different edges of the void, and she slowly drifted through the mist and darkness; alone, as if she felt forgotten. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Hours went by, and those hours turned into days. The lone alicorn drifted aimlessly through the open void, with no further answers to guide her, and without knowledge to understand her destiny. Every now and then, she would fall asleep, and she would dream. Memories of her home in Equestria; memories of her friends… It didn’t take her long, and she could feel her mind drifting away like the rest of herself in this endless void of black. All she was able to do to keep herself sane, was read her entry and that ancient piece of paper, over and over again. She felt the urge to do something else; write something, perhaps. But, if she was to fulfil her destiny, she would have to leave her journal blank as per request from the mysterious ancient literature that explained it as a rule. She thought it was absurd, but regardless, she avoided doing so. There wasn’t really anything worth writing about anyway. Not out here in the center of absolute nothing. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Days had turned into weeks… Many hours of agonizing loneliness had now passed, and many outbursts of sobs echoed through the void from the floating Princess. She had no telling of time, so she counted the number of times she fell asleep and woke again. “Celestia!!” she shouted out into the void, “Please! Find me!! I need you!!” She hiccuped and sobbed hard, and her cries echoed back at her. “I need your help!!!” Though she tried, she knew her mentor could not hear her, and never would. But still, she kept trying. Day after day of forlorn aimless drifting, she cried, and she screamed. “Where am I?! Why am I here?!” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Counting her forty-sixth night’s sleep, her eyes slowly opened as she left a dream. It was a beautiful dream about the old days when her friends were still with her. At this point, she was almost mistaking her dreams for this reality. This had become the nightmare she wanted so desperately to wake up from. Nibbling her bottom lip, she held up her tiara that she held onto so tightly, even in her slumber, and she looked at it closely. She felt as though she could see her friends in the reflections of the coloured gems on her crown. In the reflection of the cyan balloon-shaped gem, she could see Pinkie Pie rolling around in the summer grass, giggling and playing without a worry in the world. In the ruby shaped like a lightning bolt, she could see Rainbow Dash racing through the sky, clearing the clouds with her mighty agility. Rarity was seen in the violet diamond shaped jewel, stitching dresses for all her friends. In the reflection of the orange apple shaped gem, there was Applejack, working as hard as ever on her farming and apple bucking. And within the pink butterfly gem, she watched Fluttershy caring for the animals at her cottage. Looking into the tiara, she could sense their presence. Though they weren’t with her, she was so alone and desperate for somepony—anypony—that she could almost feel their existence… within herself. Her eyes slowly opened wider with tears the longer she looked into the face of her tiara. She didn’t know why, or how, but she knew she had to keep believing, somehow, that there was a reason for her being here. The simple thought of her friends overwhelmed her with sudden warmth. And for the first time in a long time, she smiled. Turning her crown around to position it forward, Twilight held it above her. And then slowly, proudly, she placed it upon her head. She then closed her eyes, and imagined herself being with them, and she cried, happily. Memories at this point were all she had. And these memories were so blissful and beautiful, she began to feel an appreciation for the little things again. When she opened her eyes again, she witnessed a piece of ancient paper floating around before her. Out of an act of desperation, she pushed herself to float toward it, flapping her wings to gain momentum. Reaching out for the page of the Book of Prophecy, she snatched it out of the void, and held it up to herself to read it. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Good for you, Twilight. They would be proud of you. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Twilight raised a brow. That was the only thing written on the page. She knew it must have referred to her putting the tiara on her head. She knew she should be disappointed that there wasn’t any further text aside from that, but for some reason, she didn’t seem to mind. She smiled and put the newly discovered piece of paper with the other one, slipping it into her journal. It was enough to inspire her to keep going. With that, she closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander again, thinking of those golden memories that she had tried so hard to forget since her friends’ passing. But right now, those memories were all she had to hang on to. Keeping her eyes closed, she allowed their voices to ring inside her mind, as she drifted slowly through the eternal, empty void. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Waking up for the ninety-second time in the void, still no answers came to her. She twitched from the immense loneliness, and she started to cry again. “Oh, Celestia…” she silently called out into the darkness. “I really miss Equestria. I miss all those familiar faces.” She gasped and threw her hooves upon her crowned head. “What am I doing out here?! I feel like I’m going to go insane!” Though she didn’t hear a response, in the distance, she witnessed a floating piece of paper. Her eyes jolted open, and she pushed hard to fly toward it. Flapping her wings, Twilight desperately went for the ancient page of prophecy. “Oh, please, help me!!” she cried and reached out for it. Snatching the paper out of the air, she was quick to read it, in hopes that it could tell her something useful. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Keep it together, Twilight. The answers will come. Look deep within yourself, and in time, you will see what you never could before. You’re not going to find your purpose if you continue to keep asking what it is. Because, that is something you must discover yourself. And if you are going to discover it, you have to first believe in it. I know you’re in pain from the loneliness. Just know this… Your friends are there for you. Spiritually, they watch you, proudly, as you slowly learn what your destiny is. You know that warm sensation you felt when you first wore your tiara? That is them, reaching out to you, calling you. They want you to know you’re not alone in all that darkness. Though you can’t see them, they can see you, and they believe in you. You just have to try and listen, and believe. Stay calm, be true, and smile for them. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Twilight’s glistening eyes wandered and she went deep in thought after reading that. Lifting her journal, she slipped the piece of paper inside the book for safe keeping with the others she had collected. Placing her hooves upon her tiara, she closed her eyes. There was a gentle warmth in her heart, and it made her smile. “I can feel them…” she whispered to herself. Opening her eyes, she felt renewed. She wasn’t certain why, but she could begin to feel a sense of responsibility wearing the Tiara of Harmony. And she wasn’t sure how, but she knew that there had to be a reason for her being out here. Despite all the dark and the emptiness, there had to be a purpose for this open void. During this epiphany, there was one thing that she knew was for certain. If for some reason she was going to spend eternity in this empty place, she wasn’t planning on doing absolutely nothing in it. Determined, she began to focus. Illuminating her horn, she concentrated on her desired task. “I know you’re there,” she called out into the darkness. “I know you can hear me. It’s time the six of us used the Elements of Harmony again,” she exclaimed with royal authority. Then in that moment, the five gems upon her tiara glowed, and there was a humming noise of magic emanating from it. “I don’t know what my destiny is, but with your help, I know anything can be possible!” she chanted out into the void, believing so strongly that they were listening to her. A grin of pride, and Twilight grit her teeth as she began to perform her spell. “Let’s do this together!” Her horn was bright as day, and her tiara was screaming of energy. She pushed out as much magic as she could. More magic than she had ever conjured up in all her years. There was so much of it radiating from her horn, she could feel it burn, but that didn’t stop her. She pushed even harder. “Come on!!” she yelled proudly of herself and her friends. “Let’s show each other what we can do together!! Let our spirits become one, and make the darkness tremble at our friendship!!” An expanding radius of colourful electricity formed around her, and emanating from the spectrum of energy was a loud and constant crackle of thunder. “AH!!” The Princess of Harmony winced from the painful sting of the energy. But she didn’t stop, and she kept pushing even harder, exceeding her limits beyond anything she would have ever believed she could go. “AAAAAAH!!!” Then, among all the crackling thunder and particles of magic that flashed from her, there was a very loud bang. An explosion so overwhelmed with power that it made her feel as though she shook the universe, and a blinding light flooded the void in every direction. The ignition of her cast spell made her feel very weak and dizzy, and in the center of that blinding white light, Twilight fell out of consciousness.