• Published 2nd Feb 2013
  • 1,765 Views, 66 Comments

Herald of the Night - Commentaholic



Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together. Unfortunately, such a peace could not last. A feud arose and the kingdom was split. A thousand years later, a purple unicorn arrives on a quest.

  • ...
0
 66
 1,765

Chapter Three: Upon Wings of Starlight

Herald of the Night

Chapter Three: Upon Wings of Starlight


It began like a whisper as Twilight floated amid the void between worlds, the stars shining from the endless, black expanse. Each hoofstep created a ripple in their light, creating a twinkling effect as they shone their light down upon the unicorn that intruded upon paths that were not meant for mortal ponies.

Yet, all this was seen and experienced as through a veil. Twilight could feel a warmth surrounding her - Luna's protection - slowly bleeding off the farther she trod away from the glowing aperture behind her - the doorway home - and towards the pinprick of brighter-than-white light far in the distance ahead. Her destination.

The lights began to blur. Trails emanated from them, creating a whirlwind of streaks across an otherwise darkened night. The Moon and Equus as constants, warping reality with their very being. She could... feel them. Solid they were, but not... real. Extensions of their masters' wills. Beyond the planet, a glaring light. Too bright to see, but still, yet, beyond. Constructs. Made from magic, perhaps.

All in that moment, the significance washed down upon the small unicorn that tread among the hoofprints of deities.

The trailing lights shining forth from the stars spiraled before her, a path revealing itself from the void. A shimmering road leading her forward. It twisted and turned. Upside down and sideways. Always turning, never ceasing, always bright in its gleaming.

The whispers grew. Faint voices now.

She was cold now. Accelerating. An icy chill rose upon her back, but she dared not look back. Each step carried her forward. Faster and faster. Were her hooves still touching the road? Was it still a road? It seemed all around her. A tunnel, now, as the planet grew closer.

Come to us...

A tugging... off to the side.

A compulsion. Twilight began to waver, her eyes drifting into the void, white creeping in from the edges of her vision.

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!

Were the stars always so close? Her back felt strange. Where was Equus now?

Join us... take what we offer...

Offer? What were they offering?

Something brushed against her side. Twilight chanced a glance backwards. Shimmering trails shone from her back, spreading out to either side. Facsimiles of wings...

Be like her... and fulfill your dreams...

"Twilight!"

A whole galaxy at your disposal. Who needs them?

The universe... or her people.

There was only one real choice.

Tears in her eyes, she turned away from that endless void. From those stars that seemed close enough to reach out and touch with a hoof. Endless power... Knowledge older than time...

Equus was large once more. Growing ever larger, easily noticeable now. The wings vanished. The going much harder than it had been.

The world turned white.


In the dark before the dawn, a shimmering star appeared in the sky. Falling.

Falling...

Light began creeping over the horizon. A small arch of sunlight...

With a brilliant flash, a column of light of the purest silver pierced the heavens and struck the earth like the hoof of a Goddess, throwing up dust and carving out the ground in a wide radius.

And for a moment, all was still. Dust lingering in the air, trees half-out of the ground and floating.

Descending in that ray of moonlight-made-solid was a hunched figure. Curled into a ball and shivering.

The light brought it down to rest, gently as a mother would her own foal, laying it down in the midst of all the destruction.

The Sun rose, and all this was gone.

Author's Note:

One of my weirder chapters... got a little existential there for a bit. Wouldn't blame people for raising their eyebrow. Short, but still important. Will explain.