199
Equus
Ponyville, Equestria
Home of Princess Twilight Sparkle
6:59 a.m.
Slightly past the break of dawn, Twilight Sparkle woke up in her Castle of Friendship. It almost seemed surreal that she was gazing up to her old ceiling, resting in her old bed, awakening to the light of the rising sun that was so perfectly cascaded over her pillow where she rested her head. A light that flowed from the open window, that joined the soft melody of the chirping birds. Ponyville was awakening.
Moaning softly, Twilight shot her forelegs to the skies and stretched out the lingering weariness in her body. Her wings extended, slipping out from under the covers to touch each end of her bed. Falling back into the cushioning embrace of her pillow, Twilight’s eyes fluttered open as a soft and calming exhale escaped her breath. The warmth of the sun felt nice against her face, but it started to blind her. Twilight just smiled, pushing the blankets away and stepping on solid ground. Just another morning to the rest of her life.
With her wings slightly drooping tiredly by her sides, Twilight rubbed each eye with the tip of her hoof, yawning maybe once or twice as she stepped into a pair of slippers. Walking past her desk, Twilight paused and stepped back, gazing onto the frazzled mane and heavy bags under her eyes. She scoffed slightly, that tiny grin returning to her lips. She used her magic to levitate a hairbrush close to her, gently undoing the knots and tangles within her dark violet and bright pink mane.
It was a far cry from the lavish lifestyle of Canterlot she had grown used to the past five years. They treated her like a princess, waited at her every beck and call, and even tended to her mane, makeup, and royal regalia every single morning. The slightly distorted waves and curls were her mane. The wrinkles and bags and smile were her makeup. The slippers were her regalia. Somehow, that was the way Twilight Sparkle preferred it. Hiding nothing, and just living as herself. Sometimes that was all the Princess of Friendship needed. Laying the hairbrush back onto her desk, Twilight gave one last smirk to her reflection before turning away.
But not before the glimmer of the sun caught her attention. She dropped her eyes and stared at her Arc Reactor resting on her desk, the light of the morning sun shimmering across its surface.
Casting it a longing, wounded glance, Twilight nonetheless felt a sense of peace when she gazed to that gift. For it was something that signified a bond greater than any she had ever known with planet Earth. It gave her more of a reason to push on every single day, to know that her efforts, her friends’ efforts, and his efforts made it all worth it in the end. She was able to wake up to that same sun greeting her, watch the same sun rise on a grateful universe. That Arc Reactor, that gift, assured her that it was a grateful universe.
Twilight smiled to it. She couldn’t have been any more grateful.
Stepping out of the confines of her bedroom, Princess Twilight entered the long, towering, and winding hallways of her castle. It no longer felt dark and dreary after it was reconstructed. Instead, the morning sun shone heavily through the windows lining the walls, illuminating every turn and every corner under a healthy, yellow glow. Though she had eased herself into that warming embrace of her castle, Twilight’s mind was still waking up. She needed some coffee to kick-start her day.
Walking next to Starlight’s room, Twilight gently pushed the door open and peeked into the bedroom. Starlight was still asleep, snoring gently and facing away from Twilight’s curious gaze. The Alicorn smiled calmly to that sight, sending one more silent thank you to Starlight for taking care of her castle in the princess’ absence. She closed the door and proceeded further into the shimmering depths of the crystal halls.
Twilight stopped.
Turning to her left, her eyes rose up to the towering doors. Her cracked expression said it all, Twilight knowing what remained beyond the doors. Regardless, she pushed them open anyway with her magic, hearing the large entryways creak apart to unveil the grander, larger library of her castle. The downtrodden look in her eyes flowed with the elongated sigh leaving her lips. Though the sun shone well and comfortingly enough into the library, the books only continued to gather more dust. The Mirror Portal remained lifeless and barren, specks of that growing dust floating in the rays of sunshine in front of it. It felt so empty, so quiet, and so different.
She understood exactly why, but that didn’t make Twilight any less saddened by the fact. Her first gift from Tony Stark, from the Iron Man, was his Mark 45 armor. With that armor, Twilight was given the helpful hand of Friday, the AI embedded within the suit and tasked with aiding Twilight in all of her endeavors. The AI Friday—like many things—was gone. Her assistant and friend…
Twilight’s eyes fell.
Much was taken from them, from her. Friends were lost. The world moved on.
Things changed.
She left the library with its doors wide open.
Pressing forward, Twilight eventually came across the room she thought she would never stop by again, only if to relive more painful memories. The door was already slightly open, ensuring to her that someone occupied the room. It was no longer empty or abandoned. It was no longer a reminder of her failures. Instead, it was the silent proclamation of their victory, the end to their means of which made all of their sacrifices worth it.
Opening the door and stepping inside, Twilight sighed gently to see Spike sound asleep, curled up in his little bed and holding onto his Rarity doll. Approaching him quietly, the Alicorn stood on the edge of his makeshift nest. Her hoof rose and tenderly stroked his scales. Not enough to wake him up, but just enough for him to feel that assuring touch of his older sister. That loving smile gracing Twilight’s lips sunk down, kissing Spike’s forehead. He mumbled, his head lulling softly to the side, a smile slowly filling his own lips.
It felt like a dream. It felt like it shouldn’t have been real. The sun shining into Spike’s room, giving the ethereal glow to their surroundings, it just didn’t seem like any of it was the reality they had succeeded in achieving. But Twilight knew otherwise. She had assured herself that what they had done, where they had gone, and what they ended up with was the one chance out of the millions of others. It was the one where they did it. It was the one… where they won. Thanos tried to reshape the universe just for his idea of love. In his return, Thanos inadvertently tried to destroy love, but he failed. Spike was but one out of the many shining examples of what Thanos tried to take away. In the end, they were the ones who overcame.
In the end, love overcame death.
That was enough for her to find that strength, find that courage, and find that meaning to face whatever the next day offered, because Twilight knew that no challenge was too much for her or her friends. As long as they were together, as long as the magic of friendship lived on, then they would overcome. Smiling at that comforting and unshakeable thought, Twilight lifted her hoof away from Spike’s forehead and quietly exited his bedroom. She would let him sleep in. He deserved it.
Nothing more stood in her path. It was an empty journey to the kitchen, but one Twilight found solace and peace within. Once within its confines, Twilight levitated the appropriate ingredients over to the coffee maker. The morning sun shone gently into the kitchen, giving Twilight an even more graceful state of mind to her actions. The coffee mix and water were finally added, the heat applied and the subtle black drips entering the cup. Twilight brought forth a gallon of milk from the refrigerator. She always like to have a little bit of milk with her coffee; helped stem the bitterness.
And just as she started brewing, there was the subtle sound of knocks on her front door.
Darting her eyes to the direction of the castle’s entrance, Twilight furrowed her brow while still levitating the milk jug beside her. Regardless, she gave a weak sigh and placed the milk on the counter next to the coffee maker. Her hooves shuffled across the kitchen floor as she made her way out of the room, into the foyer, and directly in front of the entrance to her castle. Twilight hardly paid it any heed. It was probably just some mail, maybe Derpy delivering the Ponyville newspaper. It was actually perfect timing. Twilight like something to read while enjoying her coffee.
Only when she opened the doors, there was no mailmare. There was no newspaper resting on the steps to her castle doors. Curiously enough, all there was laying by her hooves was a blank business card. Twilight stared at the small, rectangular card, a brow rising and head tilting in bewilderment. She lifted her eyes and analyzed her surroundings.
The dirt roads leading to Ponyville were barren as the rest of the town was slowly starting to wake up. Nothing in the skies except the rising sunbeams and flying birds. Noting that, Twilight turned back to the card and levitated it out in front of her. Nothing on the front side. She flipped it.
Closing the castle doors behind her, Twilight was momentarily struck by the first words she saw bolded and enlarged upon the back of the card. At the top of the business card, the two words “READ ME” jumped out first and foremost. Beneath them, the rest of the card held what she was supposed to read. Twilight pushed her lips out inquisitively, eyes narrowing as the words came into focus.
“177A Bleecker Street. New York City, New York,” Twilight read to herself.
There was more.
Beneath it was a short mantra written in a mystical and somewhat alluring fashion. The words glowed a gentle gold in the light of the sun, reflecting from the face of the business card. Though the address had caught Twilight by surprise, the words beneath it earned her full attention. They flowed from her tongue in a way Twilight could not fully understand. But she read it anyway.
“By the mystical winds of Farallah, I implore ye… grant me passage into thy sanctuary.”
And almost instantaneously, the floor beneath her shimmered an otherworldly gold. It shimmered bright and cried in an ancient pulse of energy, circling the Alicorn in a ring of light. Twilight nearly dropped the business card, gasping and holding her breath as she spun around and observed the golden ring surrounding her. Lines were engraved within the circle, reaching her hooves and uniting in the ring’s heart. Twilight’s eyes shot open and refused to close.
She didn’t even have time to scream when the floor beneath her simply vanished.
A second later, Twilight impacted the ground and felt solid floor beneath her once again. She was slow and steady to rise again, her forelegs trembling as a weak groan left her. Turning about, Twilight noticed the sudden change of atmosphere and lighting. She was no longer within the foyer of her Castle of Friendship. The sun did not shine nor could it ever have hoped to. Instead, she was greeted to a room covered in shadows. Several glass cases and bookshelves filled the room, a staircase leading downwards in front of her and a slew of mystical items scattered about.
“What the…?” Twilight said aloud, curiosity striking her tongue. “Where… where am I?”
“The Sanctum Sanctorum.”
The voice nearly caused her to flinch, yet the familiarity of it instead brought Twilight’s attention behind her. It was there did she find the rays of the sunshine once more, breaking through the window carved into an ancient and spiritual insignia. Under that heavenly glow, Twilight’s eyes widened to the sight of the hovering cloak, of the dark figure, and of the rising eyes of none other than Doctor Strange.
“Stephen,” Twilight said, her voice caught between a greeting and confusion. She took one step forward, closer to the light, the shadow, and towards Strange. She asked, “What’s going on? Why am I here?”
He sat cross-legged in front of her, floating with aid of the Cloak of Levitation. His eyes told of an uncertain path, yet strengthened by the will and decision of a greater man overcoming his demons. Meeting her eyes, Doctor Strange said, “You’ve grown so incredibly strong on your journey, princess. You’re finally ready.”
Breathless, Twilight tilted her head. “Ready for what?” she asked so very quietly.
All it took was flick of his trembling, scar-laced fingers. In that wrinkle in time, in the twinkle of an eye, the world around her completely changed, leaving Twilight Sparkle captivated under it all. Stephen proceeded to levitate multiple books from their shelves, waving his hands in a way that made the books encircle the young Alicorn princess. With another flick of his wrist, each book opened and unveiled the otherworldly spells and incantations in a flushing display of Eldritch Magic.
It was absolutely surreal what she was witnessing. Waves of light and power flowed free from each book, displaying the limitless expanse and the endless possibilities that remained in that glimmering eternal space. Entire galaxies, solar systems, dying stars and reborn cosmic anomalies radiated all around her, and it only went deeper. Fragments of a larger universe were illuminated before her very eyes, enrapturing Twilight and leaving her stunned. Utterly transformed. It only grew larger and larger. Until the very magic of the multiverse was flying over her head.
And Twilight gazed to it all, the lights exploding in her wide, wild eyes.
“Twilight Sparkle… welcome to a bigger multiverse.”
She stared back at him, didn’t even say a word. She couldn’t.
She just couldn't.
Doctor Strange smirked. “Let’s get started.”