//------------------------------// // Chapter nine: a mare in the night // Story: Worlds Apart // by Elkia Deerling //------------------------------// The present, one year after the attack on Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle was still in the Mysterious South, surrounded by tropical trees and occasional wisps of stray clouds. She was all alone now, mulling over many things. Despite her victory against the glowing cloud, she felt a great loss. She had lost Equestria, she had lost the princesses, she had lost the war—but, most of all, she had lost her friends. They had split up after the attack on Canterlot. Twilight went to Cloudsdale to combat the cloud, and the rest of her friends to Ponyville to find their relatives. She had no idea whether they were safe, or alive… Suddenly, Twilight heard a rustle, loud enough to break her concentration. It wasn’t the wind. There was no wind today. She had no idea how far she was from Cloudsdale. She had just flown off to take a moment to herself. She instantly regretted that decision. She knew it was them. With a hiss and a skitter, the changelings jumped out of the bushes. They locked eyes on their prey. Twilight didn’t hesitate. Fueled by adrenaline, she flapped her wings and took to the skies. Her first instinct was to flee. Twilight flapped her wings faster and faster, trying to keep ahead of the changelings. But a breeze started blowing. The gust of wind carried the changelings and speeded them forward. Twilight, however, couldn’t use the drafts herself. She was too scared to notice that oddity. Looking back, she saw the four black shapes with gleaming, soulless eyes against the silver of the moon and the mist. She was not going to make it. Twilight slowed down. She flew backwards now, so she could look at her targets. She bit her lip, forced her mind into concentration, and charged a magical energy arrow. But it didn’t fire. The spell dispelled itself at the last second. Twilight tried again. And again. It just didn’t work. A sharp hiss cut through the air and the leaves of the trees. Something heavy landed on Twilight’s back. All the air was knocked out of her lungs. Her wings flattened. The princess of friendship went down. The leaf-covered earth did nothing to make her fall softer. Twilight screamed, twisting about. She tried to stand up, but her legs didn’t work. Somehow, she could do nothing but watch. With a thud, the changelings landed in a circle around her. Twilight could look into their blue, pupil-less eyes, and see their hunger. Step by step, the changelings walked towards her. The circle tightened. “Help! Please! Anypony!” Twilight yelled in desperation, although she knew there was nopony who could help her. Cloudsdale was probably still miles away. The changelings bared their teeth and hissed. They were looking forward to their dinner. The princess of friendship surely had a lot of love inside of her. She wasn’t called the princess of friendship for nothing. They were so close. Twilight felt spittle fall upon her muzzle. She looked upwards at the changelings one last time, illuminated in the moonlight, which shone through their pitted hides. Twilight closed her eyes. This was going to hurt. A lot. Even through her eyelids, Twilight could see what was going on. The moonlight intensified, growing brighter and brighter by the second. The changelings narrowed their eyes against the increasing light, but soon found that they had to close them. The moonlight ripped through their bodies, creating more and more holes in them. A sound like the popping of bubbles echoed through the trees. The changelings recoiled. They no longer wanted to feed; they wanted to fly for their lives. But Princess Luna didn’t let them. As the rays of her mighty moonlight evaporated the changelings, and their squeals died away with their bodies and souls, the princess of the night appeared. She was a shadow at first, but then the shadows deepened and darkened, until they took the shape of an alicorn. She looked upon the frightened Twilight, and then stuck out her hoof. “The danger has passed, Twilight Sparkle. Rise and listen, for I have a lot to tell you in the little time we have.” Twilight Sparkle did what she said. She shook her head, and wiped perspiration off her forehead. Despite the shock of the attack, she forced her heartbeat to calm down. She blinked once, twice, and then met Princess Luna’s gaze. “Is… is this a dream?” “It is, Princess Twilight,” Luna said, taking Twilight’s hoof. “Come on, let’s go to a somewhat pleasant place.” They walked deeper into the forest for a minute or two. Then the trees opened up, making way for a little lake. In the middle was an island, on which a beautiful purple flower grew, casting a pulsing, turquoise light right in the middle of the island. Twilight and Luna flew towards the island, and landed on the petals of the overhanging flower. They were more comfortable than any chair Twilight had ever sat on. And so they sat, opposite of each other, in a surreal picture. “Princess Luna! I cannot believe it. It is really you!” Twilight exclaimed. “Are you okay? Are you free? Did you manage to flee?” Luna was about to say something, before Twilight interrupted her. “I am so sorry for everything that happened,” she said, her head hanging low. “We were too busy saving a stallion that we didn’t see you at all. Surely there must have been a terrible battle between you and Queen Chrysalis. Oh!” Once again, Luna tried to say something, but once again, Twilight was first. “And where is Princess Celestia? Is she alright? I should have gone to Canterlot Castle and be with you, protecting Canterlot as much as I could. I—“ Princess Luna unfolded a wing, reached out, and patted Twilight Sparkle on the shoulder. “No, you did well, Twilight. You did what you could to protect the citizens of Canterlot from those horrible changelings. And the way you tell me this, you surely must have made a difference for many ponies.” Twilight didn’t meet the princess’s gaze. “I… I didn’t.” She felt a tear glisten in her eyes as the moonlight glistened on the lake. “The stallion… he… we don’t know what happened. He was hurt… he was so badly hurt. He was bleeding out, and his wound glowed green and looked nasty. But then the lightning struck and… and… He didn’t make it.” Retracting her wing and looking down to the grass, Luna said, “I’m very sorry to hear that.” There was a moment of silence. Tears pearled from Twilight’s eyes, as she felt lost in the darkness. The same familiar feeling, the very same feeling that she felt when Fluttershy died, came to her. Even though she had never met that stallion before, Twilight Sparkle cared for every pony in Equestria, and thought that nopony should die like that. Nopony should die in the hooves of his parents. Even though Princess Luna had to hurry, she fell silent at hearing that somepony that died—because of her and Celestia. Twilight Sparkle sniffed, and then looked up at Luna. “But… are you and Princess Celestia alright?” Luna didn’t meet Twilight’s gaze. “I’m afraid we’re not, Twilight,” she said with a sigh. “We have been captured by Queen Chrysalis and taken towards her hive.” “But… if you’ve been captured, then how did you come here?” A grim smile found its way to Luna’s muzzle. “We are more powerful than Chrysalis thinks. With the help of my dear sister, I am still able to reach for my spirit form, and inhabit the dreams of other ponies. As the year passed I have seen much of the outside world through the dreams of ponies all around Equestria. What I saw… disturbed me.” Twilight wasn’t sure she should ask. Still, she asked what was on her mind. “What… what did you see?” Luna frowned and tried to stare a hole into the petal of the flower. “Fear, worry, desperation, depression, broken spirits and broken hearts. I have seen the state of Equestria through the dreams of the ponies. I have seen how they had to flee or hide from the changelings, who are always hungry. I have seen what this war did to the ponies of Equestria and the land itself. Equestria… is lost.” “Yes…” Twilight said. “I’ve tried to make a difference, but you’re right. It didn’t matter. Equestria is lost.” Luna’s head shot up; her eyes met Twilight’s. “What you say is untrue, Twilight Sparkle. You have most certainly made a difference. In the dreams of Spitfire, I saw how you retreated to Cloudsdale, how you rallied the pegasi and followed that glowing cloud. I saw how you destroyed it, and, without even giving yourself an opportunity to rest or calm down, how you inspired hope and opportunity into the hearts of the pegasi, ushering them to hide the entire city of Cloudsdale into the forest. You have saved the lives of many ponies, and made sure they could live their lives in freedom. If you think that those actions didn’t make a difference to Equestria, you are very mistaken.” Twilight Sparkle nodded. “But… why now? Why are you only able to enter my dreams right now?” “In fact, I have also entered the dreams of your friends already, and I have given them the same command I will give you.” “My friends!” Twilight burst out. “They’re alive!” She couldn’t think of a more positive message. “Indeed they are, Twilight. They are hidden in the Everfree Forest, as are many other Ponyville residents. But, as an answer to your question, I have to say”—Luna paused for a second—“and I am very sorry to say this to you, that we waited to contact you because we didn’t want to interrupt you in your tasks; hiding the city of Cloudsdale and, even more importantly, clearing the glowing cloud.” Luna cast her eyes down. She swallowed, slowly shook her head, and then looked up at Twilight again. “Destroying that cloud had the highest priority, for the cloud possessed a spell that I know all too well.” “What do you mean?” As the memory came to her, Luna gritted her teeth. “We tried one more attack on Chrysalis, where my sister used the banishment spell she used on me, to send my darker side to the moon. But Discord deceived us. The spell backfired into the air, where it took refuge in the clouds. That golden cloud was a danger to all of Equestria, as it occasionally unleashed a bolt of energy, bearing the same magic Celestia used in her spell.” Twilight’s eyes darted about, as she thought and put the pieces of the puzzle together. She remembered how the bolt of lightning had struck the red stallion. And she also remembered that Rainbow Dash was close to the impact, and had disappeared at that exact same moment. But did that mean… Wide-eyed, Twilight said, “Did the banishing spell in the lightning bolts send ponies to the moon?!” Princess Luna held up her hooves. “No, no, not at all. Don’t be alarmed, Twilight Sparkle, and allow me to clarify. I have held council with my sister in her dreams, and during those councils, she has explained the spell to me. You see, the spell she cast was not intended to send Chrysalis to the moon, for fear that the stars should somehow find a way of freeing her, as they freed me from my thousand year exile. Instead, this banishing spell was supposed to send Chrysalis to another dimension, to another world, another planet called ‘Earth.’” “Earth,” Twilight tried out the name. She thought it an odd name for a world. “Earth,” she said again. “So, if I understand all of this correctly, the lightning bolts didn’t kill; they only sent ponies to Earth.” Luna closed her eyes in shame, and nodded. “The energies in that spell were unbridled and savage. I’m quite certain that it teleported every single pony it touched to a different, random location on Earth.” “Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said. “Rainbow Dash disappeared after the lightning struck. She stood close to that red pony, and then she… vanished.” “No, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said. “She is alive, on Earth, as are many others who got struck by those magical lightning bolts. And, although it pains me to say this, among them is the new element of kindness.” Twilight gasped. “What?! But how do you know?” “I don’t, but my sister does,” Luna answered. “She can sense the new reincarnations of the elements of harmony, as we told you one year ago, on the day we ushered you to look for him or her during your travels. But Celestia had to admit to me that she can no longer feel the presence of the new element. The new element of kindness has disappeared from the face of Equestria.” The pieces of the puzzle once more clicked into place in Twilight’s mind. “But if he or she isn’t in Equestria anymore, then…” “Yes,” Luna said. “Then the element must be on earth.” Twilight looked aghast. Her eyes were wide, and she found herself stuttering. “A-a-are you sure? Isn’t he or she… killed by the changelings?” Luna shook her head. “No, Twilight. If that were true, then a new element of kindness would have shown itself somewhere in Equestria, and my sister would have been able to sense him or her. But it didn’t, so the element must still be alive, albeit living in another world.” “But couldn’t he or she have died on earth?” Twilight asked. “Even then, a new element would have appeared here in Equestria, as the elements come from this dimension.” Twilight shook her head in disbelief. She received so much information, and so many answers to her questions. As she tried to cut her way through the jungle of tangled facts, presumptions, questions, and answers, one conclusion came into view. “With two of the elements gone, we will never be able to defeat Queen Chrysalis, let alone her army. We will never be able to restore Equestria to how it once was.” “Without the elements, no,” Luna said. “And that is why, even though we have no right to ask this from you, you have to find the two missing elements; Rainbow Dash, and the new element of kindness.” Luna sighed. “In other words, you and your friends have to go to Earth.” Twilight stared at the princess of the night. When she saw how much effort it took Luna to ask this from her, she unfolded a wing and laid it on Luna’s shoulder, as she had done to her. “Of course you can ask this from me, Princess Luna. I am the princess of friendship, after all, and it is my duty to keep the elements of harmony safe.” She paused. Then her wing slipped off Luna’s shoulder, as the memory of Fluttershy’s fatal mission forced its way into Twilight’s mind. “And I should have been better at that. I should have known better…” Another silence followed. One much heavier than the first, as both princesses took a moment to reflect upon their mistakes. Finally, Luna said, “It seems we have both did things that we could have done better, and smarter. We both should have acted differently to prevent the harm and tragedies we unintentionally summoned. My sister and I are both to blame of the glowing cloud, which has grabbed so many innocent ponies and flung them to a strange new world. No words in Equestria can describe how sorry I feel for them. They must be confused and bewildered, and maybe even frightened.” Princess Luna paused in her speech, and then shook her head and cleared her throat. “Yet now is not the time to grieve or look back. Now it is time to look forward, towards the future of Equestria.” Luna saw that a tear fell down Twilight’s eyes. With the tip of her wing, she brushed it away, then she lifted Twilight’s chin. “You have to make sure Equestria has a bright future, by doing your duty as a princess: finding the elements of harmony and keeping them safe.” “But… how?” Twilight said with a meek voice, losing herself in the deep blue eyes of the princess of the night. “How in Equestria are we going to get to Earth when the banishing cloud has been destroyed?” Luna withdrew her wing and frowned in thought, tapping her chin with a hoof. She tried her best to recall what her sister had said to her, although it had been a lot of information. “In Canterlot Castle, there is a secret door,” she began. “It is activated by a hidden panel on the checkered floor of the throne hall. In that room is an object of unimaginable power, older than time itself. Even I do not know much about it, and everything I do know, my sister told me.” Twilight sat motionless, listening to Luna’s words. “It is an orb, standing on a pedestal, but there is much more to it than meets the eye. Celestia called it the Orb of Translocation.” “Orb of Translocation,” Twilight whispered. Luna nodded, and continued. “My sister found it many eons ago. She told me it is not native to Equestria, but it came from another world, maybe even another dimension. It is closely connected with the world of Earth. So closely connected, that it almost draws you in just by looking at it. It is very powerful.” “But if it is so powerful,” Twilight said, “then what would Chrysalis do with it once she finds out where it is?” “As a magical barrier prevents me from entering Queen Chrysalis’s dreams, I have no idea if she already found out about the secret in the castle. Let’s… let’s just hope she hasn’t.” “Yes… let’s,” Twilight agreed, but swallowed nonetheless. She chased the anxiety away. “But if Chrysalis finding out about the Orb and Earth is such a bad thing, then why did you want to banish her there in the first place?” “A just question, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said. “Celestia and I thought that sending her to Earth alone would be a wise idea. Earth is not a dangerous planet, but it is no world for us ponies. Their world is as foreign to us as Yakyakistan is from Ponyville. It is inhabited by humans, who are a mighty race and have conquered their own world. The humans are magnificent creatures, powerful and crafty. If Chrysalis would have been sent to Earth, they would surely best her and detain her as soon as the opportunity arose.” Twilight nodded. “I understand… and without her changeling army, she wouldn’t be as dangerous as she is now. She would be lost.” “Most likely, yes,” Luna said with a nod. “Although we couldn’t possibly have predicted what would happen with her on Earth, we did know that she and her army needed to be separated. An army without a queen doesn’t function, and a queen without an army is powerless.” Twilight Sparkle could well understand the thoughts that drove the royal sisters to cast such an extremely powerful spell. She knew they hadn’t had much choice. If she herself had been in the princesses’ horseshoes, she wouldn’t have done any better. But still there were many questions swirling around each other in Twilight’s head. She returned to the subject of the Orb. “How does Princess Celestia know so much about the Orb? And how does she know for sure that it is connected to Earth? Has she ever used it?” Princess Luna shook her head. “My sister has been so wise as not to use it one single time. But she has looked at it very, very often. This is why she knows so much about what’s on the other side of the orb, through the reflections in its shiny, shimmering surface, like a reflection in a lake.” “Is there anything more I need to know about the Orb of Translocation?” Twilight asked. “How does it work?” “According to my sister, its power is limited, and she estimated that the orb could possibly hold as few as five magical charges. Five times you can use the orb, either to travel towards the other realm, or escape it. When Princess Celestia looked at the orb for the first time, she almost got sucked into it, and I had to bite her tail to save her. But during that first time, she saw a lot. She saw Earth, a green world with lots of plants and lots of water, but also with many busy cities and strange beasts and men.” Even though Luna had described the humans of Earth as strong and capable conquerors, Twilight’s busy mind still painted a beautiful and detailed picture of the landscape and the society. “That sounds… pleasant,” Twilight said. “I don’t know if it is; I don’t know if it isn’t,” Luna said. “But what I do know is that you and your friends have a grave task ahead of you. However much I hate to put the burden on your shoulders, and put you and all of your friends in possible danger, you must find the Orb, use it to go to Earth, and bring back the elements of harmony. Only you and your friends can change the course of Equestria’s future.” That didn’t sound new. Even though Twilight felt anxiety toy with her nerves, she also felt the sparks of determination, which could ignite the flame of action. Her mind started to race, preparing itself for the journey. Twilight was already thinking ahead. “If we use this Orb of Translocation, where will it send us?” To that, Luna sadly shook her head. “We don’t know. The magic in the Orb is as wild and savage as the banishing spell in the glowing cloud. My sister said it will probably send you to either a source of magic, or a place where the connection between our worlds is weaker than elsewhere. It will most likely send every traveler to a different place, just as the glowing cloud with the banishing spell did. That place with a weakened connection I spoke of will also be your way out. It is the place where the borders of our worlds are thinnest.” “Then what should I look for?” Twilight asked. The thought of entering a portal without knowing the way out sounded tricky. “How will I spot this weakened border between worlds?” Princess Luna bit her lip. “That too, we simply don’t know. We think it will be a massive natural landmark. The highest mountain or the deepest ravine perhaps. Or the fastest river or the widest plains. The darkest swamps or the densest forest. It could be something like that. But—” Luna paused, making sure that Twilight paid extra attention to her last words—“it will be close, close enough so that you can recognize it. It won’t be on the other side of the planet, so you don’t have to worry.” Twilight took a moment to think all of this over. The whole operation sounded terribly simple and terribly complicated at the same time. Twilight looked down at the petal she sat on. A big, big, responsibility balanced on her shoulders. She had to find her friends, find the Orb of Translocation, find the missing elements of harmony, and then find a way home. There was so much to do! It all overwhelmed her. But then she remembered her friends, their faces and their virtues. She didn’t stand alone on this quest. She had help. Even though they were two elements short, Twilight knew that her friends would help her, no matter what. They had her back. They could fix this. They could fix Equestria’s future—together. Twilight Sparkle looked up at Princess Luna, but could hardly see her. She seemed to dissolve into the moonlight, as if the light itself called for her and dispelled her image. “I have not much time left,” she said. “But before I go, I will say one last thing to you.” “Yes… I’m listening.” Twilight once more felt tears in her eyes. “We’re sorry, and good luck.” And with that, the princess of the night disappeared, and Twilight Sparkle jolted awake.