Going from the pure bliss of having Candice sensually cleaning her wings ley lines, to the burning inferno of Nova’s murderous hate of Celestia, left Twilight wanting to curl into a trembling ball and want for Sweet Dreams’ song to sooth it all away.
“Well, that was a disaster you managed to snatch from what was going to be a very enjoyable conquest.” Night sneered and mockingly clapped her hooves in applause.
Twilight looked away from the draconic slits boring into her. She was not in the best place for this conversation, and she knew it. Her mind was still reeling.
Her thoughts when Nova’s influence were at their strongest, were nothing like her own. She was arrogant, cruel, she would take what she wanted and to Tartarus with the consequences. She knew that Nova was kinder than that, she knew that she would never do that sort of thing on her own. What was it about putting the two of them together that made things so much worse?
Looking back to Night’s expression, Twilight felt the blazing warmth of her rage fill her. She so wanted to turn the arrogant sneer on Night’s face into a bloody smear.
Night started to open her mouth, but Twilight spoke first. “You think I bucking want to be like this?” She could feel the flames rippling along her body. It made her feel powerful, it made her feel sure of herself. She hated it’s lies almost as much as she hated that look on Night’s face. “You think I would have done that if I could have stopped it?”
“Perhaps I should tighten your chain?” Night offered casually with narrowed deadly eyes.
Twilight felt the flames on her pulse in and out in rage, “NO” An angry roar called out.
Twilight’s head snapped around just in time to see a pony shaped conflagration slam into Night. Instead of the searing heat harming her, she could feel the flames feeding her own. For a moment, Twilight wanted to attack Night. She wanted to join in the assault and slam her burning hooves into Night’s face again and again, laughing the whole time as she murdered her jailer.
Twilight felt fangs start to form as she advanced towards Night. An image of Night lovingly nuzzling Little Star invaded her mind. The rage tried to brush it aside, but Twilight latched onto it as if it were a lifeline. This is not me. She desperately roared in her mind.
Twilight stumbled, panting heavily. Yes she might be angry at Night, yes she might have once been evil and in all honesty, still needed some work. She was also one of the parents of Little Star, one of the mares she had agreed to raise a foal with. Twilight placed a hoof on her chest and took a deep breath, trying to ignore everything that was going on around her. Trying to push all the hate, all the anger, to one side, throwing all of it away.
Once again, Cadance’s breathing technique worked wonders. Either she was getting better at resisting Nova, or being away from her physical body’s cocktail of hormones and needs made it easier to maintain control.
Twilight blinked and took in her soundings, she was still standing on the obsidian plane. She could see a fire spreading through her room in the physical world. It saddened her to know that so many treasures would be destroyed, but there was nothing she could do at the moment to save them.
The sound of flames, hooves impacting flesh and snarls broke through Twilight’s calm and refocused her on the problem.
Looking towards the fight, she could see the living fire that could only be Nova, had the advantage. She was furious, terrifying. Bitting, kicking and even goring with her horn. Twilight could feel the anger, the rage, almost as her own, but she held it to the edges of her mind. Empathising with it but not being ruled by it.
Under all that fire was a need to protect, a deep concern for her. The thought hit her, Nova thought she was protecting her.
Twilight studied the fight, waiting for an opportunity. She did not want to hurt either of them. Night had saved her and Nova was either a part of her or one of her parents.
Nova reared up to deliver a powerful blow, Twilight acted. The magenta aura grabbed Nova and lifted her into the air.
Night laid on the ground for a moment, breathing heavily as Nova roared and flailed in the air.
Night drew the back of a hoof across her bloodied muzzle, wiping it away. Glaring at Nova, she rolled to her hooves. “That is enough,” Night said, her voice as cold as ice as she drove a shadow wrapped hoof into Nova’s barrel.
The sound of the impact made Twilight flinch, she had not been expecting such a sound from somepony striking flame. Nova whimpered as she doubled over.
Night pulled back for another blow. What did Night think she was doing? Nova was restrained, helpless and more importantly not the emery, Twilight released Nova letting the fiery elemental fall to the ground.
Twilight did not think she had acted. She had tackled Night to the ground before she had even noticed she had moved.
Nova let out a feral scream of rage. Twilight could hear the enraged mare closing in. “Stop.” She called out but neither Night nor Nova seemed to hear her.
A pressure closed around Twilight’s neck, she could feel Night’s power gripping her through the bounds of their pact. “Wait!” She tried to shout, but it escaped as a gasped cry. Something pulled, ripping her from Night. Twilight found herself hurtling through the air, legs and wings flying, doing nothing to affect her path.
Twilight heard Nova’s roar before she smashed through the door and into her own Bastion. She tumbled across the floor. The sound of broken bones announced the abrupt ending of her involuntary flight as she hit the wall.
The sound of books falling to the ground was more painful to her than her abused body. Twilight let out a groan, letting her eyes close, and tried not to react as her body reorganized itself. The shattered bones and abused flesh pulling itself back into its proper configuration.
She felt her face twist as she smiled, it was nowhere near as painful as she remembered it being. Either that or her scale of what pain could be had been redefined.
“Twilight?” Dreams’ beautiful voice asked with concern.
Twilight could hear her marefriend’s soft hoof-falls draw closer and her warm breath against her face a moment before a tender nuzzle. Twilight let her hooves reach out and pull Dreams into an embrace.
Dreams scent worked its usual calming magic upon Twilight. If it was not for the fact Twilight knew about the mess that had just happened, she would have been perfectly content to just lay there with Dreams.
Opening her eyes, she glanced to where she had entered from. Inky blackness had sealed the doorway, Night had locked her in.
“My Dream, can you breach that?” Twilight asked.
“Yes… but do you know what you will do once I do?” Dreams responded.
Twilight looked around her Library, her eyes fixing on Luna’s door. “I need to do some research.”
Dreams kissed Twilight, Twilight returned it, letting her eyes close and humming with contentment. Dreams broke the kiss and stood, offering a hoof to Twilight. She accepted and set to work.
She would solve this problem the same way she had solved so many others, with books.
The concealing veil wrapped around Twilight creeping from her Library’s door and into Night’s domain. The same magic Dreams used to keep Night out of the Bastion prior, rendered Twilight undetectable to the former Nightmare’s sense.
Twilight paused for a moment. After the stress of everything that had happened, she would have preferred to have stayed wrapped in Dreams’ loving wings.
She took a deep breath and silently stepped from the comforting wood of her home. Stepping onto the cold obsidian plane of the mental doorstep sent a shiver up Twilight’s spine.
Twilight had every sense primed, her ears twitching this way and that. The lack of any features on the seemingly endless plane made it impossible for Nightmare to be hiding anywhere except above the storm clouds.
Twilight let her eyes fall to the ground, looking into the physical world through its reflective surface. The sight of her own body wrapped around another pony gave her the answer on why Night was not about. Most likely, the former Nightmare was not here because she was fully invested in the physical world at the moment. Night looked peaceful, but there was a hint of sadness to the expression on her sleeping face.
She channelled her thestral power, just how Dreams had spent hours teaching her. A magenta mist silently seemed to evaporate off from Night. It swirled about the bedroom. Twilight pulled on it and the mist thickened. It became miasma like and collapsed in on itself, condensing, forming the shape of an Alicorn.
She walked over the obsidian floor, so she was looking straight down at her creation. The form looked like a cross between her and the tantabus, swirls and arcane symbols dancing within it. She smiled, even with everything that had happened today, she couldn't help but feel satisfaction at mastering a new ability.
She pushed herself down into the obsidian floor, reaching into the reflection. Like before, it parted like liquid letting her through. She poured herself into the magical construct, it felt like a mix of falling and trying to slip into a tight dress that was being difficult.
Sensation crackled over her as she merged with it. The air seemed to breeze right through her, she felt naked, as if her coat had been shaved off. It was exhilarating as it was terrifying. Her very soul was out in the open, no longer shielded by flesh.
Twilight took a deep breath of air she did not need. The air swelled inside her and gently dispersed, escaping through her flesh. It tickled, she almost laughed at what would have been an impossible sensation if she was still in her own flesh.
She examined every sensation she was feeling. It was as if every part of her, inside and out, had a fully developed sense of touch. She still had her acute magic sense she expected from a horn, but it was no longer localized. It was as if her entire body was her horn now.
This is going to take some getting used to. She thought.
Twilight expected a mental comment from somepony, or a lewd suggestion from Nova about what she might be able to experience or do like this but there was nothing. She was alone in her own mind for the first time in weeks.
She missed Sweet Dreams but was more than happy to be free from Nova and Night.
She opened her new eyes and looked over herself. Adding herself to the constructed form had darkened its colour to an abyssal black. Within the depths of her being, she could see magical runes dancing in arcane patterns. It was beautiful. Twilight stared into herself, it was as enthralling as watching the shifting stars in Luna’s mane.
“Nice,” She whispered in awe.
She glanced at her body in bed, wrapped around Emerald Shade, the pony that Night had taken an interest in. She did not know how to feel about this. On one hoof Night had primary control of their body and by their pact, this was doing nothing wrong. On the other hoof, she felt used. Am I just like a dress that Night wears, or does she feel that my body is her own?
Twilight was grateful that her current form had no sense of smell, it allowed her to at least try and ignore what her own flesh had been up to. The whole fragment and pact issue really muddied the waters here. How much of a right did she have to be offended?
Without Nova’s influence, there was nothing making her want to reach out for the attractive mare. Twilight’s mind stayed calm. She could see why almost anypony would be interested in Emraled’s almost too perfect body. She smiled, as simply as putting a book back upon a shelf, any desires she felt were disregarded.
Twilight worked her magic as subtly as possible, laying an alarm spell that would let her know should either mare wake.
Emerald started to stir, Twilight’s current horn lit, a heavy sleep spell finding its mark on the mares head. The movement stopped, and she slipped into a deep sleep. She must have a very sensitive horn to be woken by such stealthy magic…
Twilight walked closer to the mare, eyeing her suspiciously. She seemed normal enough, her horn was attractive but did not have the telltale structures needed for that level of sensitivity. With its smoothness and subtle curve, it was more suited to intimacy than magic. Again, without Nova, that was just another fact, not a distraction.
One by one she subjected Emerald to scanning spell after scanning spell. There was nothing, she was a normal mare in every way her horn could tell her.
Well, my horn was no use for analysing crystal magic… Twilight reached out and placed a hoof on Emerald’s barrel. Closing her eyes, she extended her senses.
A strange vibration, a subtle itch, the need to stretch in the morning all mixed with a bone-deep hunger of something. What is this? She could pull on this strange magic, take it into herself… but she had no clue what it would do.
She took a step back. So what sort of pony are you? Twilight tapped her chin for a moment and thought.
Closing her eyes and searching out her wellspring, she examined the individual tribal cores of magic. Each a little different. Focusing on the sensation of Emerald’s magic, she found one that matched. It was the smallest of them with only a whisper of power. Without the augmentation of the Alicorn magic, she doubted she could do anything with it.
Twilight spent a long moment watching Night and Emerald’s sleeping forms. This mystery can wait… She thought.
With a firm nod to herself, she walked towards the balcony door. Just the concept of what she was about to do made her feel giddy and a little scared. She should have nothing to fear, so was immortal. The fact that she was not screaming in pain or already dead proved her soul has the durability to exist in the physical world without the need for a shell.
Twilight glanced back at her body, a shell, that's all it really was. So long as she had something or somepony anchoring her to this world, she would always be able to create this current form.
She smiled. She imagined it may have seemed quite terrifying should anypony have seen it.
Twilight did not even break stride as she flattened her form and slipped between the two doors. There was no discomfort, only a slight feeling of pressure and a moment of her vision distorting. The gap was smaller than her eyes, so that made sense.
She looked out over the darkened land and took in the rich tapestry of shadows. New umbral shades and ebon colours. Twilight wanted to grab some scrolls and take notes, she would have to invent entirely new words to describe what she was seeing.
A cold night wind blow through her, she trembled. A simple wholesome pleasure, the air interacting with her pegasus magic. For not having a real body, she felt alive. She spread her wings. “Well, I was going to walk…”
Flying through the air was relaxing, even if she was leaving her body behind, she could still feel her Bastion, her real home. With a simple effort of will, she could dissolve her current form and return to her Library in an instant. She might do that later just to share a hot chocolate with Dreams.
The air passing through her gave her an unparalleled sense of the air currents, and as she was only solid when and where she wanted to be the flight felt effortless.
The night was quiet as she flew over the Everfree. She could see the destruction her magic had left upon the forest. She knew she should feel guilty, but the feeling never rose. They were a threat, and she had dealt with it. She was not sure she liked how she was thinking. Violence was never meant to be the answer… but even against Tirek… she did not exactly hold back. She reveled in using her power in battle even then.
All her friendship lessons, all the rules for social interactions and magic use, the Princess had insisted upon. Why had she needed them? Looking back, they all seemed to be things that other ponies just knew.
She cast her eyes back to the forest below, to the destruction and only saw how she could have been more efficient or more effective. With the right combination of spells, she could simply eradicate all the timberwolves from here right now. She could do it and not damage a single blade of grass if she wished.
The feeling of all that power and the satisfaction she would feel wielding it. Even without Nova’s flames, she could destroy anything she could sense. She turned her head towards Canterlot. Almost anything. But why would she want to destroy Celestia, as painful as it was to know what she was, Celestia had done the right thing for the nation.
She doubted the original Twilight would have been selfish enough to value her own life against the whole world.
She rose up into the air, gaining altitude. Maybe I should just fly to a star just to see what it is like there? She thought wistfully.
Twilight rolled onto her back, staring into the night sky. With her thestral magic eyes, it was awe inspiring. She let herself fall, her mind tracing out all of her favoured constellations. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the feeling of freedom.
Her mind had been faithfully keeping track of the time. From that, it was foals play to know how far she had fallen. Without even opening her eyes, she rolled and opened her wings, arching her body, angling her wings and pulsing her pegasus magic.
Her course arced, pulling up rapidly. She felt the air pressure change as the air currents she was creating found the ground and lifted back into the air. Extending one hoof, she felt it trail along the ground for a second before she set about exchanging horizontal velocity for altitude. Twilight let out a short bark of a laugh. She had never dared do anything so reckless before. “Eat that Rainbow, all that, done at night with my eyes closed.”
Twilight opened her eyes once more, looking at the sky above her. The next pony to say the night sky was dull or Luna’s work with it was uninspired, she was forcing thestral magic in their eyes until they saw.
No, that would be wrong. She sighed, dipping a wing and coming about towards her destination.
The cavern with the Tree of Harmony in was painfully bright. Twilight narrowed her eyes squinting as she approached.
“Why?” Twilight asked. That one question carried a decade of curiosity and discovered pain.
There was no response, of course there wasn't. Slowly walking forward, it seemed the Tree was watching her. Unless Twilight was mistaken, the Tree felt wary. By the shifts in its magic, it was almost as if it was getting ready to defend itself.
“I seek no violence tonight, I swear that if none is offered, none will be received,” Twilight said, sealing her words with some of her Alicorn power. Oaths and Pact magic was normally restricted, but Twilight did not care. She was a princess and she was causing no harm. She could even justify it, one, she was using it on herself, and two, she was making the Tree feel safer.
As expected the Tree’s magic settled down, a sense of bittersweet welcome radiating from it.
She placed a hoof on its crystal surface and felt its power. If she wanted, she could pull and claim it for her own. Shaking her head to banish the thought, she looked at her mark thereupon the Tree.
“Everything that happened was my destiny, right?” Twilight asked.
As expected, the Tree offered no response. Twilight sighed and leaned her head against its cool surface.
“What am I meant to do?” She whispered.
A tinkling of crystal sounded as the glow of the Tree increased. Sensations rushed over Twilight. The warmth of a hug. The joy of seeing Little Star smile. The relief of knowing her friends were safe. The tiring joy of one of Pinkie’s parties. A hint of the pleasures Luna had inflicted upon her ear. Finally, the feeling of satisfaction she used to feel when she completed a friendship mission.
“So, enjoy my life and fix things with Night?”
The Tree flashed.
“Typical… Well, at least you answered something.” Twilight paused for a moment. ”Will you tell me where the Dark Mage is?”
The Tree gave no response.
“You know he killed the original Element bearer? That he will kill more?”
The Tree weakly flashed.
“And yet you do nothing!” Twilight shouted.
A wave of sadness, helplessness and regret emanated from the Tree. Twilight trembled, she knew if she was here inpony she would have tears wetting the floor.
Twilight staggered back. So you care… it's just you can’t or won’t help. She thought.
She wanted to growl, she wanted to slam her hoof into the ground, she even thought about blasting the Tree with her magic. She hated anypony messing with her mind or in this case, her emotions.
She sat back on her haunches, spending a few minutes doing Cadance’s breathing exercise. The Tree was not attacking her, it was not messing with her mind. This was just the only way it could communicate.
“Thank you for answering what you could,” Twilight said civilly. She bowed and turned to leave.
The Tree pulsed once. Somehow, Twilight knew it was saying goodbye. It had an odd edge to it, almost as if it was their final farewell. Was the Tree of Harmony going to disappear like Discord had?
“Thank you for Little Star and my friends,” she said softly as she headed back for the forest.
The flight back to the castle was not as enjoyable as her whimsical trip out. Something about the Tree’s responses would not leave her be. Something about it unsettled her. She did not have enough information to do anything about it, so she deliberately shelved it.
Twilight still had to deal with Nova and Night. The Tree having given her no real answers meant she was on her own with this.
She pushed herself harder, zipping through the air. Ponyville and her castle rapidly came into view. Flying around it, she alighted on the railing of one of the unoccupied guest rooms.
For variety, she slid under the doors instead of between them as she entered the room.
He aura reached out grasping everything in the room and pushing to the sides, clearing space. She looked at her workspace, the bare crystal floor. The castle was crafted by the Tree, so it could possibly interfere with what she had planned.
She had some choices to make, she could completely bind Nova and lock her away. It would be the simplest solution, but it felt wrong. Just the thought of doing anything that would add more suffering to the mare, twisted Twilight’s insides with self-loathing. No, even if it was the ‘best’ solution, she would not do that.
So that just left the other options to pick from. She could try and merge with Nova and hope her own willpower won out over Nova’s passion.
The other option was to enchant something that would draw off Nova’s influence. An item that would contain Nova’s fire but yet still allow it to flow. Out of the two, this one felt safer, less likely to end up with a fiery half-mad Twilight terrorising Ponyville.
Decision made she lit her horn with her little disintegration spell. She hesitated, did the castle count as part of the Tree? She let her horn dim and pressed her hoof into the floor. Twilight closed her eyes and envisioned the spell arrays and magic circles she needed.
Twilight hoped it would work as she tried to project her thoughts to the castle.To make things right I need this, I would rather not hurt you by having to carve this into you. Would you… The floor shifting interrupted her request.
Slowly over the course of half an hour, the needed symbols appeared. She could have done it quicker if she carved it herself, but somehow this felt right.
With her preparations done, the only thing left was to collect her body. Her mind flicked back to her recent conversation with the Tree. She also had to have a talk with Night. While it was needed, she was not looking forward to it.
“Night,” Twilight spoke in a commanding tone. She could see this slight tensing of her body and feel Night’s magic stirring.
Night snapped her eyes open and clearly she assessed her situation. She shifted her leg and wing as if checking if Emerald is still there. She relaxed slightly, to Twilight, it seemed as if Night was conflicted, both relieved and disappointed at the same time.
Night raised her neck in an elegant manner that fitted Luna or Celestia’s greater stature more than Twilight's own. As soon as her eyes spotted Twilight’s current form, Night froze her eyes widening.
A small part of Twilight wanted to give an evil grin. Provoking such a response from the former Nightmare was a novel experience. Night almost looked scared.
“We need to talk,” Twilight declared. She was in charge here, and Night would listen to her.
Twilight let a sense for the dramatic take hold. She punctuated her words by teleporting the pair of them to the center of the ritual circle in the guest room.
“I’m impressed, Twilight,” Night purred, still in her laying position. “I did not think you would learn so quickly.” She tried to look confident and seductive. She failed, she could see the edge of nervousness in Night’s eyes. How her muscles wanted to explode into action.
“We are not here to talk about my aptitude for magic.” Twilight slammed a hoof down next to Night’s head. “What the buck do you think you are doing? Inviting Fluttershy to my harem? What gives you the right?”
“Well, you did...” Twilight’s look cut Night off.
Twilight could see the intensity of her own glare by the light it was casting. She felt her anger building. No flames, no need to smash Nights face in with her hoof. No, this anger was her own, it felt wholesome, it felt real, it actually felt kinda nice. “We were meant to be trying to be family.”
“Yes…”
“And family do not do things like that to each other.”
“But you wanted her…”
“I like how she looked, so I might of had some thoughts, that does not mean I want to buck anypony that I might think looks attractive,” Twilight said, feeling her anger build.
Twilight leaned in muzzle to muzzle with Night. “You are not Nova, you are more than a two dimensional, emotionally damaged, fragment. Stop acting like one.”
Night seem taken aback. Good. Twilight knew she was being unfair to Nova, but her words had gotten the point across to Night.
Twilight pressed in forcing Night to lay flat against the ground. “I can, and I will make things difficult if you don’t stop this. I feel I have been more than… accommodating, and I am grateful for you saving my life.”
“I thought we were getting along?” Night half growled, but Twilight could tell Night was just posturing. Night seemed scared. As much as Twilight hated it, the fact excited her. One of the biggest threats to Equestria was a scared little filly before her.
Backing off Twilight started to circle Night. “And then you started treating my life… our life as a vacation. The ponies here are not just to serve your happiness.”
“Fine…” Night said still trying to hold on to her bravado. “But I am keeping Emerald, you get Dreams, so it's only fair.”
Twilight opened her mouth and then closed it. She nodded. “That seems fair…” She admitted, as much as she disliked it.
“And Candice?” Night added, the edge of fear fading as the conversation went on.
“We both know she was likely created specifically to be appealing to us....” Twilight trailed off thoughtfully.
“Yes, and she was a gift from Luna…” Night started.
Twilight let her eyes narrow. “These are real, flesh and blood ponies, not toys. Even if her feelings were forced on her by the Tree, they are real to her.”
“So are you saying we need to play all nice and romantic with her…” Night almost scoffed.
“I don't know what I am saying,” Twilight admitted. She slumped on the ground next to Night. “I never wanted any of this.”
“Any of this?” Night asked seductively.
Twilight lit her horn and threw Night back with a wave of force.
“Feisty,” Night laughed, getting to her hooves.
Twilight covered her eyes with her hooves. How had Night gone from scared to being like this so quickly? Was this some bizarre method of psychological combat? Or simply a way for Night to rebuild her ego?
“I understand… I think.” Night soothed as she drew nearer “I never meant to hurt you.”
Twilight looked up to see Night standing next to her meeting her gaze at her.
“You were denied a part of yourself and now have to come to terms with it redefining everything about you. I was imprisoned for over a thousand years without any physical sensations…” Night paused and considered for a moment. “Neither of us are exactly in the best position to make rational decisions about things at the moment.”
Night laughed and settled down next to Twilight. “So what is all this?” Night waved her hoof at the spell arrays.
“This little thing?” Twilight said coyly. She was finding this conversation far more agreeable than she was expecting. Yes, there were arguments at the beginning, but Night was being understanding now. One could even say she was trying to be friendly.
Night raised a single eyebrow. The gesture looked just like Luna’s. It was strange seeing it on her own face, even if it was currently under Night's control.
Twilight launched into a complex magical definition. Night only let her get ten words in before Night’s hoof covered her mouth. “What is the goal of this extremely complex spellcraft?” Night asked.
“This is to facilitate more amicable relationships and control over Nova,” Twilight explained, annoyed. She had the perfectly well thought out presentation about the whole spell array and Night just wanted to skip the whole thing. Maybe Candice would like to hear it, if she chose to come back. At least now she could tell why Night was interested in Rainbow, this was the sort of thing the athletic mare would have done as well.
Night nodded. “So what needs to be done?”
“Nothing really, I just need to activate it, and the magic will do the rest.”
“What will it do? In brief, if you would.” Night asked.
Twilight looked at her work, she ached to give the full explanation but Night would either fall asleep or just forget it, so there was no point. She sighed. “It will create an artifact that will attract Nova’s power, should she try and take control of me, instead she will end up viewing the world from within it. Rather than having me jump the first attacked mare I see.” Twilight did not ask or try to kill Celestia.
“Then shall we get this over with?”
Twilight nodded and touched her horn to the array, pouring magic into it. The circles lit up one by one, new ones spinning into existence in the air above it. Twilight could feel the magic of the castle respond, adding its own power to it. Something about the magic felt a little off, but there was no way for Twilight to figure it out or even do anything about it now.
She braced herself, unless the castle had altered her spell work the worse that this should be was a little uncomfortable.
Magic ripped from Twilight's form as at the same time it steamed out of Night, all being drawn into the spell runes.
A flash of magic, it felt like part of her soul was being ripped out. All of a sudden Twilight felt too exhausted to even think, let alone act.
Night screamed and everything went black.