The Passings of Twilight

by Pencil Neck

II. Excitatio

Death, it's a beautiful thing…
For some it's a relief,
But for others, it's a punishment…
But the real punishment,
Is what rises out of the ashes…

••••• 13 years later •••••

Celestia awoke with the sound of guards marching about the castle. They seemed to be shouting orders but with anxiety in their voices. It was still night outside and it was nearly time for Luna to return. She regularly left off into the night ever since Twilight's friends passed away. Celestia never really knew where she went, Luna herself didn't even discuss about it.

Celestia began teaching Twilight about politics and other lessons about ruling over Equestria. Most of the time their lessons were really awkward. they both rarely had a normal conversation after their little fight. Over the years, Twilight had become more distant and she was right back to how she was before she met her friends. Some nights, when Celestia would walk near Twilight's chambers, she would hear her cry. Twilight would cry herself to sleep, every night since "their" passing.

The public helped Twilight deal with her sadness. It would remind Twilight why she still was a leader to her fellow ponies. Other times, however, they were not so supportive. Usually, Celestia would answer questions about Twilight that the public asked. For the press, it was an honour to have Twilight answer their questions in person.

Twilight had also become more close to Luna than any pony had ever expected. They became close friends over the years and would discuss their immortality together. Twilight no longer had any real bond with Celestia anymore. She also tried her best to avoided her friend's family affairs. The Apple Family was near bankruptcy, no pony knew what happen to Sweetie Belle, SugarCube Corner was out of business, and everypony else was gone. Twilight barely escaped her depression because of this.

It was about six in the morning and everypony was rising up. Celestia quickly got up to check what was all the ruckus about. Before she had a chance to open the door, a guard pony came barging in. His pupils were small, panic filled his eyes, he was taking in heavy breaths, and he was shaking from nervousness! Celestia knew something was wrong and she could feel the anxiety begin to flow through her veins.

"Is something wrong?" asked Celestia nervously.

"You're highness, she has gone missing!" he said with anxiety.

"W–what? Who, who is missing?" Celestia asked, but with more panic in her voice.

"The princess, she's missing!" he clarified.

"Luna! How?"

"No, Princess Luna isn't missing! It's Princess Twilight, she's gone!"

Celestia's chest grew heavy and her blood ran cold, her eyes filled with fear, her breath becoming heavier, and her mind quickly think about the proper course of action to take! though fear began clouding her mind. Questions ran through her mind but only made things worse for her! Princess Celestia took a deep breath, exhaled, and began calm down.

"Did you look in her chambers?" Celestia asked.

"Yes,"

"Her bedroom?"

"Yes, your highness,"

"The Royal Library?!"

"Princess, we search every room in this castle! We're already sending a search party to check Canterlot!"

"Find Princess Luna, and," Celestia was interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. From the balcony of her room arrived Luna, who was wearing her usual black cloak. Luna was greeted by Celestia running towards her and a gentle breeze.

"Luna, have you seen Twilight?!" Celestia asked nervously.

"No? why, Tia?" Luna said calmly.

"She hasn't been spotted in the castle, or anywhere else!"

"W–what!"

Celestia turned towards the guard standing at the door. "Ask any citizen if they seen Princess Twilight, report to me when you're done searching! Await for my final orders!" Celestia ordered.

"Yes your highness!" the guard replied as he raced off.

Celestia took another deep breath and trotted out to the balcony. Luna was looking out the balcony but turned back to her sister. Both Princesses, Celestia and Luna, looked out towards Canterlot with one thing in mind. Twilight could be anywhere and in danger. Luna broke the silence by speaking first.

"Where do you suspect she might be?" asked Luna rather quickly.

"I'm not sure, maybe Ponyville…" replied Celestia stammered.

"What business would she have there?"

"I'm not too sure, maybe to visit 'their' graves?"

"…I knew something like this would happen." sighed Princess Luna

"What do you mean?"

"Twilight couldn't handle all this. Maybe that's why she ran away."

"Ran away? Luna, for all we know she could be kidnapped!"

"Some pony kidnapping the Element of Magic? Tia, please." Luna said in annoyance.

"Well you knew her best, do you probably know why she's gone?"

"I just said–"

"–Beside that, Luna."

"…I'm not sure… It's best to at least help the guards find her."

"I guess you're right about that…"

Celestia and Luna stood for a while at the balcony awaiting any news. Celestia began to close her eyes and focus her magic. Her horn began to glow and hum as she concentrated. At the distance, the sun was beginning to rise! The black night sky was being replaced by the bright orange glow of the sun. At last, when the sun arose from the horizon, Celestia stopped. Another guard pony entered the room as she finished.

"Your Highness, we are ready for your orders." he saluted.

"…Have the every guard search the streets of Canterlot, expand the search towards Ponyville, inform Discord of the situation, and don't stop searching! Search all of Equestria if you have to!" Celestia ordered.

The Guard acknowledged her orders and left. Celestia was taking deep breaths and exited her room. Luna was left alone outside the balcony. She was now alone with only her thoughts. Luna looked at the horizon, hoping she might find a sign. A sign that might tell her where she is. instead, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and hoped she was alright.

"I wish you luck, Twilight Sparkle. For your journey, has only just begun…" Luna whispered as she walked back inside the castle.

Loneliness, is the real punishment…
It is Loneliness, that makes Death kneel…
And no one, deserves Loneliness as company…

•••••• 54 years later ••••••

Twilight awoke with the sound of birds chirping throughout the grass lands. Her mane was a mess and her wings were ruffled. Twilight's mornings were usually like this and were also quiet. She never really knew what time she got up and she didn't care. Her sleeping bag was a slightly dirty and so was her tent. She was thought about cleaning them both today if she could find some water nearby.

Twilight got up from her sleeping bag and checked outside. Luckily there were no monsters and animals out today; she never really liked grass trolls, anyway. Her tent was in the middle of what seemed to be an opened field. All there was were hills covered in bright green grass, and was surrounded by a forest in the distance. The north was replaced by the Frozen North in the distance, in the west was a small town not too far away, and in the south horizon was Canterlot. The east sky showed Cloudsdale, and above it was the clear blue sky . By the position of the sun Twilight could tell it was about eight or so.

Twilight headed back inside the tent to eat some breakfast. She packed at least about two weeks of food and a map of Equestria. Her tent was magically bigger on the inside, but only by about three feet. Twilight dug inside her bag, pulled out two carrots, and ate breakfast. She missed Spike's famous nachos that he used to make, sadly, every dragon has to sleep for five hundred years before they reach maturity.

After she finished eating, Twilight cleaned up, and levitated all her belongings in her bag. She went outside and turned around to face the tent. Her horn started to glow a purple aura along with the tent. Soon the tent was folded and as small as a candle. Twilight packed the tent, and headed for the small town.

The wind blew through her mane and all through the grass planes. The sky was grey but peaceful, the animals seem to be in perfect harmony, and all that seemed out of the ordinary was a mare in a black cloak. Twilight enjoyed these moments, where all you can see is grass and the sky, where all you can hear is the sound of the wind, and the sound of birds chirping.

Twilight was approaching the small town, she could see different types of ponies come and go. The town was mostly composed of wooden homes and brick buildings. The grass seemed to end at the edge of town and there was a dirt road leading towards it. Twilight met up with the road, in the distance was a sign. She got closer to it and was able to see its message.

Welcome To Muzzlington

Population: 145 132 110 97

"Oh no… what's been happening here?" Twilight whispered to herself.

She continued her way towards town, ponies walking along the roads, and sidewalks. Most of the residents seem to be hauling a wagon. The town was built in a circular way, meaning that the roads circled one another. Not a lot of ponies were happy with the circumstances they are currently in. Some of the children, however, found ways to entertain themselves! Some played tag, hide 'en seek, and volley ball.

Twilight kept walking towards the center of town. Every home and building faced the fountain in the center. The water seemed too filthy to be drinkable, sadly. Twilight looked around to see if she can find any motel, or hotel she can book in. She continued her way towards the east side of town. Twilight couldn't see if there was any type of market she could sell things, but eventually pushed the thought aside.

Twilight eventually found an old motel, Dutch's Dum Motel. The motel was about three story's tall, it was composed of cobblestone, the stair's rails were made of copper, the roof was made of hay, there was about two dozen rooms, and each door had a brown mail box. Lastly, in the far bottom right of the building, was an office.

Twilight entered through the door, she was greeted by a thick, dusty atmosphere. The walls and ceiling were pale, the floor was a reddish rug, there was a black leather sofa on right, the left side had three file cabinets, and in the front was a desk with a pony behind it. She was pink with green hair, with red glasses, and her Cutie Mark was a ruler with two pieces of paper behind it. The desk had a candle on the right, ink to the left. The pony looked up at Twilight and split the silence between them.

"What iz it hon'?" she asked.

"I'm looking to book a room." Twilight answered.

"You hav' fifty bis'?"

Twilight's horn glowed, levitated two bits out of her bag, and presented them to the pony at the desk. The desk pony then grab a clipboard with her mouth and dropped it in the center of the desk. She lifted a hoof and pointed at the clipboard.

"Name, and age." the desk pony said.

Twilight proceed to levitate the quick from the ink bottle and wrote her name.

NAME: Sarah Shy
AGE: 24

"Alright, here's your key, room five. Monthly is twenty five, or year's three hundred." the desk pony said.

Twilight levitated the key that desk brought from under the table into her bag, opened the door, and headed to her left. Once she reached her room, she levitated the key into the keyhole. As she was about to enter her room, Twilight heard something upstairs. Two stallions were chatting, and said something that caught Twilight's attention! She proceed to over hear the conversation.

"-Freakin' guards gonna show up in two days. This is freakin' unbelieveble!" said one stallion.

"Don't worry, it'll just be for two weeks, and poof! They're gone!" assured the other stallion.

"Celestia still after Princess Twilight?"

"Yup, kinda a waste of guard training, if you ask me."

"But, there's still that ten thousand bit reward!"

"No crap, idiot, but it's not like anypony's even trying to find her."

"Heh, they'll never find that mare… it's too bad."

"Yea', wonder how Equestria would be with her around."

"Well, there be another stupid kingdom of some crap."

"Ha! True! Haha!"

Twilight stop listening to the conversation and headed inside. Her room was small, but had some perks. On her left was her bed but was a little too small, and her right was a table with two water bottles next with a bowl of fruit. In the front was a hall branching in two directions, on the left branch was a small bathroom, and on the right was a kitchen.

Twilight levitated her bags up and dropped them on the bed. Dust particles flew up from the bed, into Twilight's face, at first coughing, and finally sneezing as the dust settled. She approached her bag and opened it. Inside was her food, knife, books, map, notebook, quill, ink, and camping supplies! Twilight opened her other bag, and began checking its inventory. Inside were random items, miscellaneous, and charms. They were artifacts, treasures Twilight had collected over the years.

As she was digging through her bag, Twilight found something, It was very familiar to her, and also very important. She levitated the object out of her bag and held it up in the air, where it shimmered! It was a gold crown with strange ancient writing on the sides, attached to the tip of the crown was a purple gem in the shape of a star. This crown is part of the Elements, The Element of Magic! However, to Twilight, the crown meant nothing to her.

I wonder how much this would sell… she thought.

Twilight put the crown back, and strapped them both on. Twilight levitated her food into the kitchen, and headed outside. The stallions were gone and so was the sound of the wind. Twilight made her way back towards the center of town, and proceed to ask ponies if there was a market in town. After a few "no's" and "get lost", one pony pointed her south of town. Twilight followed the pony's directions, and headed to what she believed was a Marketplace. The trees in the town were mostly dead, and the trees that weren't were at the brink of death. Twilight continued to look around the town, but was not able to see any hope of happiness in Muzzlington.

Twilight made it to a street that was filled with tents replacing houses at the sidewalk. The street was packed with ponies, a lot of them were travelers. Twilight continued to walk down the street, she was looking out for a dealer's tent. Twilight spotted a brown stripped tent with a black flag on the top, which mean only one thing.

Twilight enter the tent, and was greeted by a heavy stench of dead plants. The tent appeared to be bigger on the inside as well. Around the rotunda shaped tent were random artifacts, candles, and in the center was a round desk with a few candles with a pony behind it. He was green with white hair, his eyes were blue, and his Cutie Mark was a skull with a jewel next to it. The pony looked up at Twilight with great curiosity.

"What is it?" he asked in a dark tone.

"I'm here to sell some… things that might interest you." Twilight said.

"Really? Haven't had a seller today, but let's just see if you're worth my time…"

Twilight began to levitate her bag on the ground. She opened it, and showed the merchant the items she has collected. In front of the pony was several different objects! One was a cyrstal ball, a yellow jewel, old books, a gold helmet, plants, and several other artifacts.

"How do all these treasures fit inside your bag?" the Merchant asked with curiosity.

Twilight took notice of what he said, "treasure". This was good sign for Twilight! She might make a few bits off him.

"Increase volume spell, works just like your tent does." Twilight answered.

Twilight continued to show him more of her artifacts. When he was satisfied, he began to negotiate.

"You are quite the treasure hunter my dear. Not a lot of ponies would even dare try and find these items." the Merchant said.

"Well not a lot of ponies are like me…" Twilight replied.

"Hmm, yes. In total, I would guess all these would cost about… a thousand five hundred!"

"A thousand five! The Tartarus! By my calculations, I would get eight since these magic gems are four each!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Well if you knew that magic gems dropped in value, then your calculations would be incorrect. They're one bit each now. Take it or leave it, missy." the Merchant said in annoyance.

"Ugh, fine!" Twilight grabbed the bag of bits next to the Merchant with her magic. She was about to head out when she remembered something, and headed back inside. Twilight, carelessly, pulled out another artifact, The Element of Magic.

"How much would you guess this crown is?" Twilight asked darkly.

The merchant's pupils widened with curiosity, he looked at crown, "Oh my Celestia! Is that?"

"Yup."

"Where did—"

"–Look, it doesn't matter where I got it, just tell me how much this thing is worth."

"Hmm, well at it's current state… nothing."

"WHAT?" Twilight slammed her hooves on the table. "How the Tartarus is the Element of Magic worth, NOTHING?!"

"W–well, it's useless you see. If you had it working, or had all the other Elements in your presence then it would be worth a fortune!" the merchant cleared his throat. "But, I did hear Celestia–"

"I don't have time for Celestia! Will you buy this thing or not!?" Twilight demanded.

"N–no…"

"Ugh! Fine!" Twilight levitated the crown and bag back on her spin and was now back outside.

Twilight headed back north towards the center of town. The Marketplace seem to be filled with mostly food, tools, and other traveling needs. Though she never really thought about the use of tools as something useful for travelers. She looked around to see if there was anything that interested her. She bought a few books, and charms before heading back to her room.

As she was leaving the Marketplace, she overheard two ponies fighting, It was a mare and a stallion fighting. Twilight turned her head and found a small dark alleyway. There was a grey stallion grabbing a blue mare with his wrist. Twilight approached the alley and was able to hear them better.

"P–please, j–just leave me alone! I don't w–want any trouble!" the mare said nervously.

"Neither do I baby…now if you just be a good girl I promise you this will be over quickly!" the stallion said darkly.

"Hey!"

Twilight was in the middle of the alleyway with her cloak covering her face. The stallion looked at Twilight and threw the mare on the ground. The stallion got closer to Twilight, but stopped halfway.

"I suggest you turned the other way before something happens to you, brat!" the stallion threaten.

"And I suggest you leave her alone before you end up in the nearest hospital, Jackass!" Twilight shot back.

"Hehe, what are you gonna do? Call for help?"

Twilight levitated her knife from her bag and presented it to the stallion. He took a few steps back and looked back at the blue mare. He had anger in his eyes, but knew he couldn't fight her. He left the two mares alone, Twilight kept her knife pointed at the stallion until he finally left the alley. Twilight proceed to help the mare get up.

"You alright?" Twilight asked.

"Y–yes, thank you…" the mare thanked stammeringly.

"You should get out of here, he's probably going to come back."

"Oh yeah, thank you!"

Twilight nodded at her and the two parted ways. Twilight checked to see if the stallion was still around. When she satisfied, she continued her way back to her motel. The town's weather team appeared to have scheduled a rainy week. Twilight never really like the the rain, mostly because she could never find anything to dry herself with.

Twilight continued her way to the center of Muzzlington. She was still unable to find a Town Hall of some sort. She passed by a foal who's ball seemed deflated, Twilight gradually fixed his ball. The owner, who was a foal, was unable to thank the pony responsible for it. However, out of the corner of his blue eye, he spotted a cloaked pony whose purple face only smile at him, and walked away.

Twilight finally made it to the Dutch's Dum Motel. She checked the side of the building to see if there was any type of bulletin board. There was, it was covered in "lost pony" fliers. Some of the ponies were mostly mares and stallions, but no foals or fillies. There were also a few wanted posters, but Twilight didn't pay attention to that.

She went back inside her room after she was done examining the board. Twilight levitated her bag on the bed and locked the door. She was alone, she was too familiar with this feeling. Twilight never liked doing nothing, all that did was made think. She doesn't like thinking about the past. She looked around her bag to find anything of interest. When she reached the bottom of her bag, she felt something, it was her Smarty Pants doll! It was given to her by her brother, Shining Armor. Sadly, he was also dead, along with her friends. Twilight closed her bag and pushed it off the bed onto the floor. It was still noon and the rain was already beginning to fall.

Twilight decided to take a shower, mostly due to the fact that she hasn't showered in a while. She enter the bathroom and started the hot water. Twilight threw her cloak on her bed and waited for the water to heat up. Twilight looked at the mirror next to her, her mane was dirty, and so was her fur. There was also a few cut and bruises on her, most of them from random monsters in the forest she has been in.

Twilight closed the door behind her as she got in the shower. Water flowed through her fur and soaked her mane. She enjoyed warm showers, it gave her peace. Twilight leaned her head against the wall of the bathroom, and closed her eyes. She liked this, the feeling of being civilized. She sometimes missed having a home, not worrying about being tracked down by the Princess.

Twilight took a deep breath as she relaxed, allowing the sensation of the warm water consume her. She was completely unaware of what was happening outside, but she didn't care, and she didn't want to care. She was happy, but sad at the same time. Almost as if all of her guilt and pain has melted away.

Comments

[Rabka]

I have to know, how did you get so many dislikes?

it is so godt.

[Pencil Neck]

2975660

I don't know. Maybe spelling errors, or it's not their taste.