When Luna transported Twilight to Lamplight, the Princess of Friendship braced herself for a grim spectacle. What she saw took her breath away. For almost a minute Twilight couldn’t bring herself to say anything at all. She looked around for a while, and then finally looked back at Luna. “This is Death’s home? Really? Are you sure we’re in the right place?”
Twilight and Luna were in a place of unimaginable beauty. Beneath their hooves was a field of lush green grass that stretched to the horizon. The ground was flat below them, but there were gentle hills in the distance. A soft breeze blew through Twilight’s mane and carried with it the scent of violets. It was the most relaxing place Twilight had ever visited.
To her right was an enormous tree with a red door in its base. She recognized it immediately – it was a perfect replica of the Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville, only this one was enormously larger. The door in its trunk was slightly open, as if it was beckoning her to step inside.
The sky above them was a deep, deep blue with not a cloud to be seen. There was no visible sun, and yet the world was not dark. The most curious thing about the sky were the lights. Twilight couldn’t quite tell what they were. It looks like this world is filled with a million fireflies, she thought. Only fireflies are all the same color, right? But these lights are every color of the rainbow. They’re so beautiful!
Luna smiled at Twilight’s question. “I have made no error, Twilight. I have taken you to the right place. Why? Is this not what you expected?”
“Well, um, no. I was kind of expecting Death’s home to be really dark, with lots of skulls and corpses and other unmentionable things. You know – a scary place. But this world is gorgeous! I feel completely at home here and I’ve never even set hoof in this place before.”
Luna laughed. “Oh, Twilight, of course you are at home here! This is Lamplight, not Tartarus. You are thinking of the realm that imprisons the dark souls. When foul beings like Tirek meet their end, they are not allowed to come here and spread their corruption and evil. The darkness may torment the light in the lower realm, but not here. All dark souls are imprisoned forever in the Abyss, of which Tartarus is a part. Since those souls clung to the darkness and would not part with it, they are condemned to outer darkness forever. But the Abyss is not the home of Death. It is actually his prison – one that Death is trying very hard to avoid, for he does not wish to be locked away there. He greatly fears that fate.”
“Really? But I thought Death was in charge of all that! Doesn’t he harvest souls and then eat them or something? I’m sure I’ve heard him talk about that.”
“Death tells a great many tales that are not true. He does indeed end lives, but he cannot keep that which he has taken. The only soul he has is his own. The dark souls go down to the pit, and the pure souls come to this realm of peace and rest. This place was prepared for you, Twilight. You feel at home here because it is your home. Or it will be, when you are older.”
“Oh.” Twilight looked around again. She tried to take in what Luna was telling her, but the sights of this place were simply overwhelming. A thousand questions came to mind. She didn’t even know where to begin. “You know, this has been a really, really strange day. An hour ago you and I were outside Canterlot, ready to overthrow Nightmare Star. Now I’m… here. I am so confused! This is not how I thought things would turn out.”
“Look at the lights,” Luna said. She pointed at one with her hoof.
Twilight had wanted to investigate the lights as soon as she saw them, so she did not need a second invitation. The pony leaped off the ground and quickly flew up to it. When she got near it she gasped. “Why, these are memories! This one has Applejack in it. I’m there too, helping her harvest her apple crop. This must have been the time Big Mac got sick.” Twilight darted over to another one. “Look! This was the time I taught Sweetie Belle how to control her magic. And that one is when I worked with my friends to recover the lost Elements of Harmony!”
“I remember that day well,” Luna replied. “In fact, were it not for your actions that day, I would not be standing here now. You saved me from the darkness.”
Twilight kept darting from light to light. “Do you mean to tell me that all of these are memories? There must be millions of them!”
Luna shook her head. “No, they are not memories, although they appear to be. They are a record of all the lives you touched. Every pony and griffon and zebra you have ever aided is recorded here. Some of these ponies you know, and some you do not, but all of these ponies know you. You saved the lives of many whom you never met. This is what you have done, Twilight. This is the impact you had on the world.”
Twilight scanned the sky. She tried to form a mental estimate of the number of points of light, but there were too many of them. “I can’t possibly have done that much! That’s crazy. I mean, really.”
“It is the truth. Do you see now why Death chose to imprison you? Death seeks to spread corruption. You are his great enemy, for you are a powerful agent of good. Have you ever wondered why you had so many struggles and trials when other ponies did not? Death knows who threatens him. He fights most strongly against those who are on the front lines.”
“But that’s a lot of ponies!”
“And not just ponies,” Luna added. “You made more friends in your life than you ever knew. Each one of those souls would gladly receive you into their room as an honored guest. They would be delighted to host you.”
“Their room?” Twilight asked, confused.
“Did you not know? Lamplight is but one realm in this plane. This area is your room – your dwelling place. But there are many others, and the residents of this realm may travel among them as they wish. They may even visit the great city and the deep wood. But this place is yours, to use as you wish. Only those you invite may enter it.”
“You call this a room?! This looks more like a country to me!”
Luna laughed. “Just wait until you invite a million of your closest friends over for a party! The space you see will not go to waste. You will enjoy your life here, but your time has not yet come. You still have a task to do.”
Twilight flew back to the ground and landed in front of Luna. “Now, hold on just a minute. How could this possibly be Death’s home? I may not have known Death for very long – well, not personally, anyway – but the one thing everypony knows is that he is pure evil. This doesn’t look like the sort of place where evil is allowed.”
“That is correct. But Death was not always like he is now. He was once a very different creature. This plane is where he was formed. He could have dwelt here forever, but sadly he took a path that led away from the joy he once knew. He no longer dwells here for he has been cast out. But at one time he did.”
“So he went bad, is what you are saying.”
“He did far more than just ‘go bad’. He invented the dark. He is the one who brought corruption into being. He has been its source all along. That is why you must fight him. The wellspring of darkness must be locked away.”
“Locked away?”
“Of course! What is the best way to repair a broken window?”
Twilight thought for a moment. “Well, let’s see. You could use glue, I guess. Or maybe magic. I’m sure there’s a spell for that. Usually I just replace them, though. Windows aren’t really the kind of thing that lend themselves to repair.”
Luna stifled a laugh. “No, Twilight. The best course of action is to prevent it from being broken in the first place. Once the world is broken it cannot be mended. The corruption must be stopped at its source, before it can poison all things.”
“So you want me to kill Death? Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?”
Luna shook her head. “You do not understand. He is called Death because that is what he spreads, and he is called the Adversary because he opposes all that is good. But that is not his name. You must remember that your task is not to kill him, Twilight. He must be imprisoned in the pit, for souls cannot be annihilated. Come with me and I will show you what you must do.”
Luna began trotting off across the field. Twilight followed her. “So what was Death’s name?”
“In the beginning he was called White Diamond. He was a creature of unparalleled beauty and magnificence. You will be amazed when you see him! He was not always a creature of the dark.”
“So Death was a pony?!” Twilight exclaimed, shocked. “With a cutie mark and everything?”
“Of course not! Ponies did not exist when he was formed. No, Death was an altogether different sort of creature. You will see. His name suited him well.”
“What happened to him?”
“He… chose poorly.”
Luna suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Twilight walked to her side and looked around. As far as she could see they were in the middle of an empty field. There was nothing particular in sight.
As Twilight watched in confusion, Luna reached a hoof into the air and pressed something that could not be seen. A moment later a fissure opened in space, and a doorway appeared. Twilight could see that the passage led into an elegant room, but she could not see the door frame.
“Woah,” Twilight said, startled. “What just happened?”
Luna looked at her, puzzled. “I simply opened the door. Why?”
“But there’s nothing there! Did you cast a magic spell or something?”
Luna smiled. “How easily I forget your youth. You are still so young, little one – too young to be in this realm, I am afraid. You have much growing to do before you can perceive all that is around you. Can you see the guardian who watches over this door?”
Twilight looked around. “Um, no. I see grass, and a sky, and in the distance I see a bunch of trees. As far as I can tell we are pretty much all alone here.”
“And yet we are not alone at all. This place is far from empty. It only appears to be so because you lack the Sight. Standing guard over this door is a magnificent mystery. He has six wings and the appearance of a lion. He is full of eyes and he never stops watching. He is your protector, Twilight. He guards this place to keep the darkness from entering.”
Twilight shifted nervously. “Am I in danger?”
“Certainly not!”
“Then why do I need a guard?”
“To remind you that you are protected. He is a token that in all the ages to come, for the rest of eternity, no threat shall ever enter here.”
“Oh,” Twilight said. She paused. The alicorn was sorely tempted to reach out a hoof and try to touch this invisible creature, but she eventually decided she shouldn’t poke something she couldn’t see. “Doesn’t he, like, get bored?”
Luna laughed. “He has other uses as well. But come. I have something to show you. This you will be able to see.”
Luna stepped through the portal, and Twilight followed close behind her. Twilight immediately found herself in an enormous room that was filled with her favorite thing: books. The sight of them immediately filled her with happiness. And what a beautiful library it was! The floor beneath her hooves was made of elegant oak planks. The walls were lined to the ceiling with the largest bookshelves Twilight had ever seen, and every inch of the shelves were packed with massive books. The ceiling above her was painted to look like the evening sky – or perhaps it was a magic ceiling; it was hard to tell.
“This is amazing!” Twilight exclaimed. It was all she could do to keep from dancing with joy. “I can’t wait to get started. I have so much reading to do! So how are these books organized? By topic, maybe?”
“These are not those kind of books,” Luna said gently. “This room is the Timeline. Since you love the written word, I have organized history into a shape that is easy for you to work with. Do you see the blue volume in the middle of the room?”
Twilight looked around and quickly spotted the book that Luna was talking about. It was a thick blue hardback volume that was resting on a crystal pedestal. There was a small gold plaque in front of the book. The pony trotted over to it and examined it more closely. “It says ‘Twilight Sparkle’. So this book is named after me?”
“It is you. Pick it up.”
Twilight levitated it with her magic and opened it. She gasped. The book was not filled with words; instead it was filled with living images. She saw herself as a young filly, reading her first book. She saw Candace watching over her when her parents went out. She saw her entrance exam to Celestia’s school of magic – and so much more. It was overwhelming.
“Is this book my life?” Twilight asked.
Luna nodded. “That book is your section of the timestream. The other volumes contain the rest of time – the years before you were born and the years after you vanished. The whole history of the pony race is contained here. It is, sadly, a rather short tale.”
Twilight scanned the room. The library stretched off to the right and to the left as far as she could see. “A short tale? Really? Do you see how many books are here? It would take forever to go through all of this!”
“But it is few in number compared to what might have been. You see only what is here, for you are young; I see what never came to pass, for I am old. So tell me, Twilight. Death once offered you a choice – an evil one, I am afraid. He offered it not to help you but to harm you. Today I offer you a choice as well, and I ask you to think carefully. Since Death broke the Accord, you may go back into the timestream and resume your life.”
“Hold on,” Twilight interrupted. “What do you mean, resume? I mean, Celestia’s blast killed me, right? It was so powerful that it completely vaporized the whole world! I’ve got to be dead. Isn’t that why I’m in the realm of, um, departed souls?”
Luna shook her head. “No, Twilight. You are not dead. The blast would have killed you, but Death decided to save your life so he could torment you further. He wanted you to see his greatest creation – the end of the universe. He used his magic to spare you and enable you to breathe and talk. You did not die, but your years were stolen from you. That gives you the right to re-enter the timestream.”
“But I kind of like it here. Didn’t you say that I had lots of friends here? So I could go see Applejack and Pinkie Pie and Celestia, right?”
“Celestia is not in here,” Luna replied sadly. “She was corrupted by Death and chose the path of darkness. No corrupt soul may enter this realm. If you wish to see her again you must go back and save her.”
“Oh. But – well, I guess that’s not too hard. I can just go back in time and warn Celestia to not make the deal with Death, right? Problem solved!”
“Is it? Tell me. What did Equestria look like when Death freed you from your prison?”
That was a memory Twilight was already trying to forget. Just thinking about it made her nervous. “It, um, looked pretty dark. There wasn’t really a lot left.”
“Nothing was left. Death destroyed all. The corruption that he spread into the lower realm consumed everything. It took away every life and extinguished every star. It ruined far more than just Celestia.”
“Death did all that?” Twilight asked skeptically. “That just sounds like the normal march of time to me.”
“But it was not normal. It was not how things were meant to be! Oh, Twilight, you have lived for so long in a corrupt world that you cannot see what you have lost. You are so used to the darkness that you cannot imagine a world of pure light. Since a broken world is all you have known, you are convinced that the world must be broken in order to function. You can no more imagine what Death took from you than you could imagine a new color. Tell me something, Twilight. Have you ever wished that Pinkie Pie would put some poison in her cakes so that the goodness of the cake would be balanced with darkness?”
“Of course not!” Twilight gasped, horrified. “That would be awful.”
“Indeed it would. A cake should be pure. No one wishes to find Death in their confections. What you must understand is that Death’s presence in the lower realm is just as unacceptable. We do not need darkness in order to bring balance to light. What we must do is use the light to obliterate the darkness. Do you think it is a good thing that Apple Bloom never knew her parents?”
“I never said that!”
“That is true, for you know her parents loved her. They could have enriched her life considerably if they only had the chance. They loved her dearly but they were taken from her. Apple Bloom did not need Death to bring some ‘balance’ to her life.”
Twilight knew what Luna wanted her to do, but the thought filled her with fear. Lamplight was a beautiful place of peace – a place where Twilight knew she would be happy. She was tired of war and tired of fighting. She was tired of bloodshed and pain and nightmares. She had seen Death’s power and knew what he could do. I can’t do this. I just can’t.
“I see what you’re getting at,” Twilight said aloud. “But look. Suppose I do go back to the beginning and stop Death. That’s going to change everything, right? All of history is going to be totally different. Things won’t turn out the way they did before. Doesn’t that mean that Apple Bloom might never exist at all? Maybe it would be better if we just left things alone.”
“Souls cannot be destroyed,” Luna replied. “They can be corrupted and they can be consumed by darkness. But even changing time cannot erase them.”
“But that doesn’t make sense! If Death is gone then ponies will live longer – like, way longer. And they’ll probably have more children, right? You can’t tell me this won’t affect the population!”
“I said souls cannot be destroyed. I did not say they could not be created. If that were the case then none of us would exist. But tell me: does this realm seem crowded to you?”
“Not really,” Twilight admitted.
“And yet there are so many souls here that nopony can number them! Death did more damage to the lower realm than you know.”
The fear inside Twilight grew even stronger. She tried hard to hide it from Luna. “All right. So you want me to go back and, um, do what, exactly? I still don’t know how I’m supposed to defeat Death.”
“You cannot kill him. What you must do is resist him. Remember, the light is strong against the dark. Force him out of Lamplight. Protect the lower realm from his wrath. Rally the watchers to join you and cast him into the Abyss. Once he is locked away he will be unable to poison the realms with his darkness. Equestria will become what it should have been all along.”
“So what happens if he kills me?”
“If he kills you?” Luna echoed. “Twilight, he cannot. Is that what you fear? Before I brought you here you were touched by the uncreated light. It burned Death and made him flee, but it transformed you. Death can grievously wound you but he cannot overcome you. The only way he can win this fight is if you choose to surrender. I will not lie to you, princess: there will be pain and there will be blood. You are going to war and it will be brutal. It will be far worse than our fight against the Nightmare. Death will make you pay a very high price, but if you resist him he will flee from you. The darkness cannot overcome the light – as long as the light is willing to fight and not flee.”
Luna’s speech did not make Twilight feel any better. I am in big, big trouble, Twilight thought. Her fears gave way to panic. Going to war against Death was an insane thing to do. He is going to tear me apart! How can I possibly do this? Has Luna lost her mind?
As terror started to overwhelm her, Twilight nervously looked around for the First Book – and she found it. Just looking at it made her sick to her stomach. The volume was resting on a pedestal not far from the one that bore her name. It was a thin, white book. Despite its plain and unassuming appearance, it was easily the most frightening thing she had ever seen. That book is a one-way road to Death himself.
Twilight immediately turned her head. She couldn’t bear to even look at it. “So, Luna, you’re coming with me, right? Please tell me you don’t expect me to do this by myself.”
Luna shook her head. “I cannot. I know this brings you pain, but I lived out my life. I have no right to change my fate.”
“But I can’t do this alone! Can’t the lion guard creature come to help?”
“He cannot. Only you can do this, for only you were cheated. If somepony else could fix the world then do you not think they would have done so long before now? This task is yours and yours alone.”
“But I can’t do this! Don’t you understand? I can’t. Death is terrifying! He’s huge, and monstrous, and incredibly powerful. Death will crush me like a bug and turn me into a bloody mess. You told me that yourself! Luna, you’re asking me to fix all the evil that has ever happened. When I fail – which is certain – I’m going to be responsible for all the deaths of everypony. And if I somehow succeed, Equestria will have a new timeline. My friends will have entirely new lives and will be unrecognizable. And they will have lives without me, since I won’t even exist in this new timeline. All our shared memories will be gone. No matter how this turns out I’m going to lose everything.”
“You are thinking too small,” Luna said gently. “The good deeds you have done cannot be undone. Those lights in your sky cannot be lost. If you succeed you will gain the world, not lose it. The souls you have touched will have a new life, yes, but they will retain the memories of their old life. They will know what you have done for them – and they will not love you less for sparing them agony and death. You will rejoin them when this is over.”
Luna saw that Twilight was terrified. She knew that no words would comfort her, so she decided on a different approach. The Princess of the Night walked over to the First Book and levitated it off the stand. “Follow me, little one. I want you to meet somepony.”
Twilight frowned, but followed Luna out the door of the library. When they emerged back onto the grassy field she looked around – and gasped in amazement. Her world was no longer empty; instead it was packed with more ponies than she could count. They filled the ground and the sky.
I know these ponies! Why, there’s Rainbow Dash over there. I see Applejack, and Pinkie, and Rarity – and look, there’s Scootaloo! I even see Spike – and boy has he grown. He’s not a baby dragon anymore.
Twilight stared at the crowd, utterly speechless. Luna nudged her. “I hope I did not violate your trust by inviting these ponies to your realm. Aren’t you going to say hello?”
Twilight galloped over to the nearest pony and hugged her. “It’s so good to see all of you!”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is glad to see you too,” the blue unicorn replied. “She promises she was never truly on the Nightmare’s side.”
“Don’t leave me out!” Pinkie called out. “I’ve waited a long time to see you again.”
As Twilight’s friends rushed over, her fears dissipated. The love of her friends warmed her heart and made her feel like her old self again. The last time she saw them was before the rise of the Nightmare – before Celestia poisoned them and overthrew their minds. Trixie had been controlled by the Nightmare’s mind spell and died while killing Starlight Glimmer – and yet here they both were, alive and in their right minds again. The horror and stress of the grueling war finally began to melt away.
“I have missed you all so much,” Twilight finally said. “I tried to save you – I really did.”
“And you did save us, darling,” Rarity replied. “You freed us from that terrible mental prison and gave us all new lives. We only wish you could have shared them with us.”
“Which you totally will, once you beat Death,” Rainbow Dash commented. “I sure wish I could join you! That fight is going to be epic. Promise me you’ll tell me all about it when it’s over.”
“Do you really think I can do this?” Twilight asked. “I mean, seriously. You know how crazy this is, right?”
“Of course you can!” Spike replied. The enormous dragon smiled at her. “If you ask me, Death is the one who should be afraid of you. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: since when does Twilight Sparkle ever fail?”
Rarity spoke up. “Well, she can’t make a good bird’s nest, so there’s that. Her fashion sense is also a bit, shall we say, underdeveloped. But really, those are just minor faults. I have no doubt, Twilight, that you will crush this foul beast. We are all rooting for you. We can’t join you but we’ll be watching.”
Twilight looked around at her friends and then back at Luna, who was still holding the First Book. The situation had not changed, and yet she wasn’t nearly as scared anymore. Her friends had strengthened her. “So how is this going to work?”
“When you touch this book you will return to the beginning – to the day when White Diamond became Death. If you lose the war the timeline will remain unchanged. If you win, everything will change the moment Death is locked away– and you will be brought home.”
“To Lamplight?”
Luna laughed. “Not yet, Twilight. You have a life to live in Equestria first. You will set hoof here again, but not until the days of deep time. You still have a lot of growing to do. Are you ready?”
“Absolutely not. But I’m not going to let my friends down. If I have to do this then I’ll go.”
Twilight slowly approached the white book. Even though she knew what it represented, she could now look at it without flinching. “I really wish I had some help, though. I’ll do whatever it takes to save my friends, but this isn’t going to be easy.”
“I know,” Luna said. “But you will find allies. You will not wage this war alone. I will see you on the other side, when this is over.”
Twilight hesitated. She hugged the princess one last time. “I guess I’ll see you later, then.”
“You bet we will!” Pinkie exclaimed. “And we are going to throw a totally awesome party when you get to Ponyville. It’s going to be the best party ever!”
In spite of her fears, Twilight smiled. I’ll miss you, she thought. She then grabbed the book with her magic and opened it to the first page. The princess carefully reached out and touched the book with her hoof – and instantly vanished.