//------------------------------//
// Canterlot Castle: 
// Story: Afterlife 
// by Star Sparkle 
//------------------------------//

I heard the echoing sound of giant doors close behind us, and felt as Twilight levitated me out of her back and returned me to normal size.

This was it then, the castle. I hadn’t expected this place to be, well, so grand. Shoot, how was I supposed to act in front of a Princess? 

We stood in a giant hallway, a literal red carpet running down it, and pillars built into the walls, which looked to be made of marble. But more impressive though were the stained glass windows, each appearing to show a moment of this land’s history. A few closer to the end were blank, “probably for if something happens in the future,” I thought. Still, even the blank windows let the moonlight shine through them and into the hall, and it was a sight to behold.

Twilight coughed, and I turned my attention to her.

"The Princesses are ready to see us now, so a little advice first: be honest, be polite, and everything will be alright." She said, surprisingly calmly.

I nodded. "Thank you, and I will."

She gave me a small smile, and as soon as her horn began to glow, the big double doors next to us began to glow the same color and slowly opened.

The room inside was just as tall as the one I was in now, but the windows here were far more stunning in their beauty, and I could only gape in awe, taking a deep breath while examining them.

On the left side was depicted a blue alicorn gazing longingly at the starry night sky, with shooting stars, and the moon large in the frame. The way the moonlight shone through the window accentuated the stars and moon perfectly, and it looked almost uncannily as though the stars in the image were twinkling as I knew the stars outside must have been.
On the right side, the stained glass showed an alicorn while in the background the sun rose over a mountain range, each ray of light intricately set into the window, each lock of the subject’s hair tens or hundreds of pieces of multicolored glass. While still beautiful, I wondered if part of the effect was lost due to the time of day- I pictured in my head a similar effect to that of the left window.

There were two more windows, but both were too far away for me to make out very clearly. In a vain attempt at giving my eyes some rest, I looked down at the floor, which I could now see was so clean that it reflected the entire room above, like a mirror. I looked myself in the eyes, almost ashamed of my disheveled appearance. I did wonder if this was the intended effect of the room- a show of power, and a reminder of the entrant’s lack thereof.

Twilight walked confidently onwards, and I followed her, now able to see the two Princesses, a white one who I believed to be Princess Celestia, who was clearly taller than the dark blue one I assumed was Princess Luna. Still, I could easily have missed their fur’s color, because from that moment on, I found it hard to take my eyes off Princess Celestia's hair and tail, which seemed to move in some unseen breeze, and seemed to hold the beauty of light itself within, cast out in a brilliant rainbow. The same wind seemed to move Princess Luna's hair and tail, but hers however was a stunning black- no, “black” did not do it justice; while black was a color, her tail seemed to exist in absence of light, and yet paradoxically had spots of light within it, looking like a beautiful starry night sky.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. These were the two Princesses of Equestria? The title didn’t do them justice. My senses were screaming at me, I could almost feel the power radiating from these two ponies, “Or Alicorns, rather” I corrected myself.

When I was about five meters away from the steps of the throne, Twilight stopped, and I did as well, thanking my lucky star that I didn’t have to get any closer.

My heart beat like it could jump out of my chest at any moment, the sheer gravity of the two’s presence overwhelming me. Out of some long-forgotten knowledge, or perhaps some primal instinct, I dropped down to one knee and bowed my head, hoping to show a sign of respect, an acknowledgement of their majesty, their existence that inspired such awe in me.

I raised my head slowly to look at the Princesses and said, with as much respect I could, "Thank you, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, for seeing me at this late hour." 

Princess Celestia gave a small smile and said with a calm voice, “It’s quite alright, when Twilight wrote to me about you, I looked forward to seeing you and to learn how you got into our world, so please, tell us how you got here, from the time in your world to this moment.”

As soon as I heard her speak, I let out a breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding in, and relaxed. It didn’t sound like my mother's voice, but it felt like hers, from when I was a child, and she would comfort me.

And so, I told her everything. It was all I could do to try and abridge some of the less relevant parts of my journey that had brought me here. My first day, my mountain climb, my stumble through the forest, my meeting with Twilight… I hoped she didn’t mind the story being so long.

After I finished speaking, Celestia responded with the same calm voice "I do believe that you are not from our world, and now that I have seen you, I might know a way for you to go home."

There came a short pause before Princess Celestia continued with a more saddened voice "I cannot promise anything, since we do not know what got you here in the first place." Another small pause came before she seemed to regain her confidence, "But if you are willing, myself and my sister, Princess Luna will help you get home."

When she said that she couldn’t promise my return home, I could feel it like a punch in my stomach, but after she was done, I said thankful "Thank you, Princesses. I understand, and I am willing to try." 

With that, a flash of golden light came and went, and it left a full-length mirror with some purple-pinkish gemstones in the purple frame, while it stood on a blue circular platform with what looked to be horseshoes around it.

Princess Celestia came over to me. "But first, let me check your head and your arm." I got on my right knee and saw a golden light coming from where my head was; it shined towards the floor.

After some time, Princess Celestia said, "Very well, your head has not suffered any damage, but you still need time to heal your wound. Now for your arm."

I stood up as I said, "Thank you, Princess Celestia."

As I stood up, I saw she smiled, as her horn had the same golden glow and she said "It’s no problem."

My arm then began to glow the same golden color, as I then noticed that both my arms and legs had Twilight’s glow on them, but no pain came as a sharp light came and went from my right arm.

As all the glows disappeared, I felt my right arm; it was sore, but not broken.

"There we go, all better now. However, it will be sore until it has made its complete recovery." Princess Celestia said

Twilight took the bandage off, and I only stuttered in amazement "Tha- thank you, Princess."

“You’re welcome, but let’s get you home. This is a… gateway, of sorts, and one that can lead you to your world. Normally it would only open once every 30 moons, but combined with the right spell, it will open up as a one-way path to any realm, which would be your ticket home."

I then heard Twilight with a sadness in her voice, "I guess... this is goodbye?"

I felt my heart become heavy with that realization.

"I guess it is... Thank you, Twilight. For everything you have done, thank you." 

We smiled at each other as Twilight stepped back, and the Princesses used their magic on the mirror. I walked over to it, looked back at Twilight, and gave her one last smile before I looked at the mirror, and as a tear rolled down my cheek, I stepped into it.

Walking into the mirror felt like falling into water, the inside feeling cloying and fluid, but oddly not wet. I tried to open my eyes but realised they were open- there was just nothing here but endless darkness. All that was in here was two white lights, one behind me where I had entered, and one far in front of me. I flailed around, trying to move myself, but all that accomplished was setting me spinning. I had to calm down, I couldn’t breathe in here forever. Maybe since this was a magical transport, I could think my way to the other side? I focused on the other doorway, and was about to berate myself for even thinking that would work, but after a moment felt myself move slowly towards the light in the distance. It was working!

I was slowly running out of air, and began to scramble, reaching out desperately for the light, flailing around hopelessly. I was so close! ‘Not like this’, I begged. As if hearing my prayers, I shot forwards, hitting the point of light.

I fell out of the void, coughing and spluttering, gasping for air.

I didn’t even notice that I hadn’t landed on the floor for a good 30 seconds. I was gently held in the air by magic, and after being placed on the ground, I looked up and saw Twilight and her horn, which was glowing the same purple color I had already seen many times today.

Then it hit me that I was still in the presence of an Alicorn as Twilight walked over to me. I stood up and caught Princess Celestia's gaze. 

"I’m sorry Princess, I didn't mean to-"

"It’s alright." She said, and continued with sadness in her voice, "I’m sorry it didn’t work out."

As she finished her sentence, I tried and failed to stifle a yawn. I hoped they wouldn’t be offended, the long day was really starting to catch up with me, and the thing that had been keeping me going had been snatched away from me at the last second.

"It’s okay, you did say it wasn’t a guarantee.”  I said, trying to cover up my disappointment. “What now?"

Princess Celestia gave a small smile and said, "Nothing more for tonight, tomorrow we will try something else."

I accepted it, but Twilight asked politely and curiously "What do you have in mind Princess?"

"The Elements Of Harmony. If combined with my sister and myself, we might be able to open a portal instead." Princess Celestia said.
Twilight paled at the idea. “Princess, would that even work? With him as the focus-”

“Do not worry, Twilight Sparkle, I won’t do anything that would hurt him.” Celestia assured her.

A moment of silence came, but still with the despair of the first failed attempt, I asked, "What if that fails as well?"

While I hoped that it didn’t come off as whining, but one smile from Princess Celestia destroyed that fear as she said "If indeed it fails, then I’ll let you know, but do not despair, for tonight you will sleep safely here in the castle." 

After a few seconds of silence passed, Princess Celestia asked "Twilight? Will you show our guest to room 9-6-N/E-9?"

“I’ll be happy to do that Princess.” She replied, earning a smile from Princess Celestia.

"My sister went ahead to make sure that there are no ponies for the next twenty minutes between here and the room you’ll be staying in." 

When Princess Celestia mentioned Princess Luna had gone ahead, I noticed that I hadn't seen her since I went into the mirror, which made me think about how long I had been in there. Though that aside, I was very grateful that they were trying so hard to get me home, and that they were giving me a room in the castle to sleep in.

I did my best attempt at a bow, "Thank you, Princess Celestia, and please could you say ‘thank you’ to Princess Luna for me as well?"

"I will. Now go on, and sleep tight." Princess Celestia said, winking at me.

I again bowed to Princess Celestia, and with Twilight, we went on our way to room 9-6-N/E-9, and it was just the best to walk again, without being dehydrated.

After a short walk, we came to some stairs with a sign that read ‘Security Level 9: Important Visitors Of The Princess’ which made me feel spoiled for getting a room in this wing of the castle. We made our way up a spiral staircase, and a sign read ‘Level 6: Top Floor’ was waiting for us at the top. There were two big golden double doors on the right and left sides of the top of the stairwell. Twilight walked through the door labelled ‘Northeast Wing’, and I went inside to a corridor which was maybe thirty meters long and with nine tall golden double doors.

“Let me guess,” I muttered under my breath, “Room Nine?”

Sure enough, Twilight Stopped outside the last door along, and I smirked. Level 9, Floor 6, Northeast Wing, Room 9. I still had it.