//------------------------------//
// Fragments 
// Story: The Rings of Dusk 
// by Scribblestick 
//------------------------------//

The teacup shuddered a little as Luna lifted it to her lips and took a long sip. Despite her long rest, Luna still felt weakened from her experience. It was morning now. Spike sat across from her, tapping anxiously on the table. She set the cup down carefully before she spoke. She didn't know if she had the strength to do both at once.

"The experience was... harrowing, to say the least," she said at last. The poor dragon's eyes somehow widened even further. "I'll spare you the details," she added quickly. "What matters is that I believe I learned something useful."

"So you talked to Twilight?" Spike asked breathlessly. Luna shook her head. Spike stumbled back a step and fell into his chair. "I can't believe it.... If you can't reach her, who can?"

"As I said, I was able to learn something useful," Luna said. "I believe I have some clues as to Twilight was during her three-day absence. Furthermore, I believe her mind is still trapped in that journey. Though she is beyond our reach, for now, I am confident we can bring her back."

"H-How confident?" Spike asked. Luna couldn't answer.

For a while, they sat in silence, Luna occasionally sipping her tea. Cave... plain... jungle... sea. She repeated each location in her mind as she studied the map before her. These locations seemed to represent a journey in reverse. That cave in the Everfree Forest was the end point. Working backwards, she attempted to trace a possible path Twilight could have followed. The plain could have been the frontier lands around Dodge City. The jungle, perhaps, may have been the Hayseed Swamps or even the Forbidden Jungle beyond the Badlands, making the ocean the Horseshoe Bay or the larger Celestial Sea. But just reaching Dodge City would have taken days by train. Twilight had only been gone for three - and journeying there and back in that timeframe was ludicrous on its face, even for a pony as adept at teleportation magic as Twilight Sparkle.

Luna shook her head. Though the route seemed plausible, the logistics did not work out. Somehow, Twilight must have made that entire journey within the confines of the Everfree Forest. But how?

A soft sniffle snapped Luna out of her thoughts. Spike sat hunched in his seat, tears dripping from his eyes. Luna stood and walked around the table until she stood by his side. She had hoped to think of something to say to him by the time she arrived, but nothing came to mind.

"Our best chance may be to retrace her steps," she said at last. "Perhaps if we can discover where she found those rings, we will gain some greater insight into her current condition."

No sooner had the words left her lips than the doors to the chamber burst open. The two looked up, startled, only to see Twilight Sparkle standing in the doorway. "Oh," she said. "Sorry. I guess..."

She swooned and fell before she could finish the sentence. Luna caught her in her magic before she hit the floor. Spike rushed to her side. "Twilight! You're awake! I mean...." His voice faltered. "You... are awake, right?"

Twilight winced as she cracked her eyes open. "Ugh..."

Spike looked back at Luna uncertainly. Luna only shrugged as she approached. "Rest, Twilight," she said. "You must be exhausted after everything you've been through."

Twilight blinked a couple times. "Yeah. Tired. That's it." She shook her head. "It... must have been something crazy."

Luna and Spike exchanged a look. "I imagine it was," Luna said. "Might you, perhaps, tell us what it was?"

Twilight looked up at them and frowned. "What? I thought you were going to tell me."





"Let me get this straight," Twilight said. She lay curled up on the floor, body covered in a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate resting nearby. "I disappeared three days and then tried to fight off three of my best friends when they tried to help?" Spike and Luna nodded. Twilight put a hoof to her forehead. "I can't imagine what they're thinking about me right now..."

"Your friends are only concerned for your safety. That is why they called me here," Luna said.

Twilight took a sip of hot chocolate and sighed. "I'm sorry to have worried you all."

"Aw, it was no big deal," Spike answered. "Can I get you some food?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Twilight's eyes had glazed over, a sign she was deep in thought. "But where was I? I remember going to the Everfree Forest to look for...." Her voice trailed off, and then, she winced. "Ow!"

"Twilight?" Spike rushed to her side. "Are you all right?"

"Gah!" Twilight shook her head violently, nearly knocking over her mug in the process. "I just - ow!" She massaged her forehead with her hoof. "It's... just a headache. I'll be all right."

"Perhaps we should fetch a doctor," Luna suggested. "Spike, could you-"

"I'm on it," Spike said, already rushing toward the doors. "Don't worry, Twilight! Your number one assistant is on it!"

The two alicorns waited until Spike's footsteps had faded into the distance. "I hope you don't mind, but I thought he could use the fresh air," Luna said at last. "He has been worrying about you since you returned."

"Of course he has," Twilight muttered. "I can't imagine how scary this has been for everypony."

Luna hesitated a moment before speaking. "I should inform you that I attempted to visit you in your dreams," she began. "I hoped by contacting you in the dream world, I might be able to learn more about what happened during your absence."

"You did?" Twilight frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember that. Did it work?"

"Not exactly." Luna explained to Twilight everything she had seen. The longer she spoke, the more troubled Twilight became.

"That sounds absolutely horrifying," Twilight said when Luna had finished.

"It's not the worst dream I've seen," Luna answered. It was probably true. Maybe. "Does any of that jog your memory?"

Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to remember, but..."

Luna nodded. "There is no need to apologize. Perhaps, once you review your notes, the truth will become clearer."

"I think you're right." Twilight stood shakily and walked out of the room, Luna close behind her. When they reached the library, however, they both gasped. All of Twilights notes, her books, her carefully crafted webs, were gone.





"Her vital signs are good," Doctor Horse said, returning his stethoscope to his bag. "No obvious injuries. You still have some tremors, but those should go away with proper rest." He retrieved a cone-shaped device from his bag and placed it over her horn. "Your magical energy is a tad unbalanced at the moment. You may experience minor fluctuations over the next few days, so try to avoid anything too complicated." The cone went back in his bag, and he looked over her wings. "A little feather damage, but nothing that can't be mended in a day or two. Overall, I expect you'll be as good as new in a few days."

"Thank you," Twilight said with a smile as he packed his things away. Doctor Horse excused himself, leaving Twilight, Luna, and Spike alone.

"Well, at least you're physically healthy," Spike said with obviously forced cheer.

"Indeed. After your ordeal, I believe that is a promising sign," Luna agreed.

Twilight flopped onto her bed. "Yeah. If only my brain would cooperate."

Spike and Luna looked at each other. "I'm sure it'll get better," Spike said. "You heard Doctor Horse. Just wait a few days."

"I'm not so sure, Spike," Twilight answered, her voice slowly rising into a panic. "I've read all about memory loss. It can take months, even years for everything to come back. Sometimes, it doesn't even come back at all!"

"We can't worry ourselves about that now," Luna said. Twilight sent her a glare. Luna sighed. "What I mean, is that whatever has happened to you is incredibly powerful. Not only did it overpower your magic, it also nearly destroyed me in the dream world, and I suspect it's behind the disappearance of your notes. We must trace this problem to its source before anypony else gets hurt. Besides," she added, "I've observed that you work better with a concrete goal in mind."

Twilight took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. What do we have to work with?"

"My vision from the dream world," Luna said.

"I kinda remember some of your notes," Spike offered.

"We know how long I was gone, and where I ended up," Twilight continued. "And...." She sat up with a start. "Wait. You said something about rings. Where are those?"

The three hurried to the secret chamber. The two rings still lay on the table, just where Luna and Spike had left them. "Be careful," Luna said. "I'm sure you can sense their power already."

"Yeah," Twilight agreed. She gasped and pressed her hoof to her forehead. "Whatever it is, it's giving me a headache."

"Your friends tell me you put up quite the struggle when they attempted to remove them from your body," Luna said. "I believe they are deeply connected to your affliction."

"But why are they still here?" Spike wondered. "Everything else disappeared."

"One question at a time." Twilight's horn started to glow, but then, she stopped. "I.... I don't know if it's safe for me to handle those." Before anyone could answer, her horn flared to life again. "Ahh!" Twilight jumped, startled. "W-What?"

"The doctor said you might have fluctuations," Spike said.

"Yeah, but - Ahhh!" Twilight's entire body began to glow. Light shone from her eyes as she hovered inches off the floor, suspended in her own spell. The rings shuddered on the table.

"Get back," Luna ordered. Spike dove behind her tail. The rings shuddered again, moving closer to the seemingly trapped Twilight. Luna wrapped Twilight in her magic. To her surprise, Twilight did not resist. Luna carefully drew her out of the room. The rings flew off the table. Luna slammed the door shut. The second the lock clicked shut, Twilight's magic faded, and she collapsed to the floor.

Spike rushed to her side immediately. Twilight moaned and shakily rose to her hooves. Luna quickly checked her for residual magic, but found nothing out of the ordinary. After a moment, Twilight spoke.

"The rings," she said. "I need to put them on."

Spike and Luna glanced at each other. "I don't believe that would be a wise course of action," Luna said.

"Yeah, they just made you go all... glowy," Spike added.

Twilight shook her head vigorously. "No. You don't - gahh!" Twilight's legs gave out, and Luna was forced to catch her for the second time that day. "The rings," Twilight gasped. "I felt them.... They held back my magic. Please. It's going to happen again."

Luna reflected on her vision. It had ended with Twilight bound in those rings, her terrifying power gone. She nodded at Spike. The dragon dashed into the room and, in a moment, returned with the rings. The magical aura around Twilight was already beginning to grow. Luna grabbed both rings with her magic and, perhaps against her better judgement, placed them around Twilight's horn and wings. In an instant, Twilight's eyes filled with light, and she sat, transfixed, blind to the world around her.