Beyond Equestria

by |Scripture|

Chapter 8

Twilight awoke with a start, tossing Spike from her bed and causing Rainbow Dash to fumble the Daring Do book she was holding, her breathing rapid and the imagery from her duel still vivid.

Rainbow Dash caught the book and put it down. “Thank Celestia you're okay! Not that I was worried or anything, but everypony else was.” Rainbow Dash poked her head out the door and said something to someone outside, giving Twilight a moment to catch her breath.

Her friends all arrived in short order, even Princess Celestia following behind. All but the princess came up to her at once, expressing their concerns and hugging her. Twinges of pain lanced through her as they did so.

“Now, now, let's give her some room to breathe. Twilight has been through a lot,” the princess said.

“The crown...” Twilight breathed.

“Safe. Spike brought you and it back through the portal,” Celestia replied. She sat, and the others followed. “The two of you looked like you went through quite the ordeal.”

Twilight relaxed a little. She was home, the crown safe, along with Equestria. One fear still nagged at her, and her final words to Twilight. “The tear?”

“Closed.”

Twilight visibly relaxed. Sunset was safe, behind closed doors. “Thank goodness.”

“What happened over there? Flash told us that Spike said everything was fine,” Rarity asked.

Twilight took a breath and explained everything; the school, the other world, the counterparts to her friends, and Sunset. When she finished, the room was silent.

“Wow. I got a party cannon that blew stuff up!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Not now, Pinkie,” Applejack said.

“Just trying to lighten the mood.”

Twilight looked at Celestia. “She said she was over eight hundred years old, and her skill with magic... Even Chrysalis with the surge from the comet wasn't that strong.”

“Oh, don't worry. If this Sunset Shimmer thinks she can beat up our friend, she's got another thing coming!” Rainbow Dash said. Her friends nodded in agreement.

“Thank you, everyo- pony. I think I'd like to be alone for a while, though. I still feel exhausted.”

“Slept for a week and she's still tired. I thought RD was lazy,” Applejack said with a smile, catching a nudge from said pony in the ribs.

“If you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask,” Rarity added.

Twilight giggled as they left. Only Celestia remained, and closed the door behind them. “Are you really okay?” she asked her student, approaching her bedside.

Twilight took a breath and shook her head. “I just... Every villain we've beaten, every threat we've stopped, we've saved everypony. Chrysalis was banished, Sombra was destroyed, Luna redeemed, and even Discord is- well, he's not actively trying to hurt us. Sunset took dozens of lives in an instant,” an image of Flash came unbidden to her mind, “and she didn't care. I... I couldn't save them.” Tears formed in her eyes. “How can I be a princess and lead if I can't protect those I'm trying to save?”

Celestia wrapped Twilight in her wings and hugged her. “I asked myself the same question after I banished Luna. How could I protect the lives of so many when I couldn't even save my sister from herself?”

“But you kept going.”

“I did. I had no choice. I resolved to do my best to keep the ponies under my care safe, but I knew I couldn't save them all. Equestria couldn't be protected by one pony, so I relied on my friends to help me. And thanks to them, Equestria is what you see today. It's why I rely on you and your friends so much as well.”

Twilight wiped away her tears. “It's just... I feel like I could have done something sooner, something different, and everyone would be okay.”

“The best any of us can do with our past is learn from it, so we don't repeat the same mistakes twice. But from what you've told me, there was nothing else you could do. You couldn't have known about Sunset's betrayal, or her plans for the school without a lot of luck. You did the best you could in the situation, and you prevailed.”

“With the help of my friends.”

Celestia smiled. “Exactly.” Celestia moved towards the door. “Now, I have to get back to a meeting. If you want to talk, I'm here for you.”

“Thank you, Princess.” A thought occurred to Twilight. “Wait, I have one more question.”

“Yes?”

“When I went to the other side, there were counterparts to just about every single pony I know. I'm curious, do you know if there was a counterpart to Sunset here?”

“She was a student of mine, about eight hundred years ago, and very insistent on being so. She even went so far as to run away from home to come here and camped out on the castle grounds until I agreed. She eventually became a teacher at the School for Gifted Unicorns.”

Hours later, Twilight roamed the halls of the castle, rays of the sunset shining through the windows. The events of the human world swam through her head, unable to shake the feeling that they were still in grave danger there. Guards switched shifts as she walked, those who noticed her saluting, but she didn't notice them.

She did, however, start paying attention when she ran into something. “Oop! Sorry.”

“That's all right, Princess,” Flash said, saluting. The guard next to him mimicked the gesture. “It's good to see you up and about.”

Twilight's heart clenched as she looked at Flash, remembering the other Flash. She tried to smile. “Uh, thanks.” She moved to leave, then turned back. “Could I, uh, talk with you, Flash?”

“Of course.”

Twilight motioned for Flash to follow her and resumed her walk. “So, uh, how are things here at the castle?”

“Quiet now, since that tear closed. I'm glad I didn't lose anypony because of this.”

“Oh that's... that's good.”

Flash looked at Twilight. “Did you want to see the report? I have it in my office.”

Twilight blushed. “No, that's okay. I was just, you know, wondering.”

The two walked for a minute before Flash spoke up. “Was there anything else, Princess?”

Twilight hesitated. “What was in the report?” She hoped it didn't mention the counterparts.

“Everything Spike told us. Counterparts, Sunset, humans, everything. Did you need to add something?”

Twilight sighed. “No, not if Spike told you everything. Just... can we talk frankly? No titles, just us.”

It was Flash's turn to hesitate. “All right.”

“I know Princess Celestia told me that I should just do my best, but... what happens when your best isn't good enough? I can't stop wondering what's going to happen to the humans now. We have the Elements of Harmony, but they've forgotten their own magic, let alone their Elements, and I left a being who has just as much magical power as I do with them! They have nothing to protect themselves, and-”

“Okay, slow down. You know they have their own Elements?”

Twilight nodded. “When Sunset was imprisoned, my Element reacted with what have to be the human world's Elements in the counterparts to my friends. They worked together, but the spell that it used wasn't as strong as it usually is.”

“I'm no expert, but I'd say your Element drew on the Elements in your friends, but couldn't do it right. And you're worried Sunset's going to break the spell and start hurting them.”

“Exactly! With nothing to stop her, they'll all...” Tears formed in Twilight's eyes as she spoke. “And then she'll come here.”

“If she does, she'll be running into a lot more than a new Princess,” Flash said. “Unfortunately, you can't help the human world now. They're on their own. If they get into danger, they'll have to unlock their own Elements.”

Twilight's gaze fell to the ground. “If I can't help those I care about, what's the point?”

“Do you know how I became Captain of the Royal Guard?”

Twilight looked at Flash. “Princess Celestia said you helped your squad survive the changeling attack.”

“We did, but not everyone got out. We started with eight of us, including our lieutenant. We were trying to get to the castle until we were cut off. We were trying to find someplace to regroup when we were ambushed. Our lieutenant and a few others swarmed.” Flash's voice trembled. He took a breath, then continued, “I tried to get to them, along with a few others who weren't trapped, but there were too many. I remember the lieutenant shouting at me to take the squad and get out of there. He told us to either survive or go down swinging before he got swallowed up by the horde. I led the rest of the squad away and into a building, which we fortified as quickly as we could. The changelings weren't far behind. We fought well, but all of us knew we were stalling. I thought we were finished until the changelings were flung from the city.”

“My brother's spell.”

“Exactly. Without it, or if it came a few minutes later, it would have been far worse. Five of us made it out alive, though we were all injured in some way.”

“I'm so sorry.”

“Thanks. It took me a long time to stop kicking myself for leaving, to convince myself there really was nothing else I could do.”

“You've done a great job so far,” Twilight said.

Flash chuckled. “I'm glad you think so. I don't like the fact that Sunset got through half my guard and got so close to you, I don't like I couldn't capture her...” He shook his head. “I feel like I'm in over my head.”

Twilight smiled. “That makes two of us.”

“You're an Equestrian heroine. I'm just a guard.”

“That doesn't mean I can be a princess.”

“Well, I guess we're both just going to have to give it our best shot.” Flash smiled.

The two walked in silence for a while more, the sunset replaced by the rising moon. Twilight spoke up just as Flash was about to. Twilight blushed. “Go ahead.”

“I was just going to ask if there was anything else.”

“I-” Twilight thought of the other Flash. Was this Flash like the one from the other world? Perhaps it was an image of him in the past, before the guard. She decided to hug him. “Just, thanks for talking with me.”

“You're, uh, welcome,” Flash said hesitantly.

“I'm sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?”

“Just surprised.”

Twilight smiled and turned to leave. “I guess I'll see you around, since I'm probably going to be here more often.”

“Looking forward to it. Princess,” Flash added quickly.

Twilight blushed as she left.

“Sir?” a night guard asked, snapping Flash out of his daze. “I don't think it's polite to stare at a princess' plot.”

“I wasn't staring!” Flash cleared his throat and composed himself. “I was, uh, I, um... Shut up,” he stammered, blushing.

The guard chuckled. “Your secret's safe with me, sir.”

“Good.” Flash hurried away before he could embarrass himself further.

Comments

[Gboyd]

Hahaha! That ending! Nice! I feel so bad though.... Sunsets is..... Well, let's just say that was a plot twist I did not see coming. You knocked out of nowhere!

But you're not finished yet. Keep going......