Twilight slowly opened her eyes as her head sloshed around like a fishbowl. Grogginess quickly claimed her and she truly forgot where she was and what she was doing for a brief moment. But then, the sight of Levi laying splayed out on his back a few feet away from her told her all she needed to know. A few inches in front of her face was her crown, her beautiful piece of headwear formed out of solid gold glinted in the moonlight that shone above her. The brilliant purple gemstone carved into a star was embedded into the front that was utterly shiny and flawless, like someone had used all of the energy they had to make it just for her. The gleam from above reflected off the gem and back into her big purple eyes which winced from the almost assaulting light on her senses. As she went to move, she felt her whole body become weighed by what felt like hundreds of pounds of dead weight dropped right onto all of her appendages. Moving an inch was like moving a mountain, she could feel fatigue wrapping its tendrils around her even at the mere thought of operating her limbs in any way. Nonetheless, she knew she had to get up to find out the status of Nightmare Moon and if the elements actually worked. Above all else, there was one question that bogged her mind completely, allowing no room for any other thought to be ruminated. Was Nightmare Moon even alive? Considering the elements were deemed the most powerful weapons in Equestria for a reason, it wouldn’t make sense how she would be able to survive what happened. If they had the power to banish a pony to the moon for a thousand years, imagine what the energy of all of them combined blasted ruthlessly at somebody would do to them. Living to tell the tale would not be one of the outcomes. The question pestered Twilight relentlessly like a mosquito on a humid summer day, constantly poking at her until she reluctantly gave in. Giving in meant doing the monumental task of moving her lethargic limbs to stand.
Knowing she couldn’t just lie there forever, and the fact that the curiosity for Nightmare was practically eating her alive, she sluggardly moved her forelimbs like her bones were made of solid concrete. She pressed her hooves firmly against the ground and pushed herself up from the icy floor. Her back legs had the same exact issue as her front ones, feeling like they were encased in cement while simultaneously being dragged down by hundreds of dumbbells. Nonetheless, she completed the monumental task of getting on her own two hooves, while at the same time, the rest of the ponies around her began to come to from the flash and suffer the same nuisances she experienced. Twilight heard her back and her legs softly pop and crack just barely loud enough to be heard over the collective groans and moans from the six mares surrounding her as they all woke up in unison. Her horn lit up with a ravishing violet aura as her crown was surrounded by a beautiful pink ring. She lifted it off the ground with a faint scrape and gently placed it onto the top of her head right against her horn, relishing in the comfort and just how normal it felt for her to have it despite only having it for a few minutes. She felt as though it was her destiny to wear the crown, like she had been waiting her entire life to but she just didn’t know it until now. Her thoughts about the golden grandeur that sat on her head were cut through by a particular cyan pegasus groaning much louder than every other pony before she complained in her usual raspy voice, “Oh..my head”
A short but high-pitched springy sound came out of nowhere as Pinkie Pie went from lying on her back in a daze to bright-eyed and bushy tailed on her hooves in the snap of a finger. Twilight’s eyes flicked up and met Pinkie’s bright diamonds that sat in her eye sockets that calmed, mostly, every worry that had been brewing inside of Twilight’s head. Something she noticed that hadn’t been there before was the gorgeous, solid gold necklace that rested comfortably around her neck; an azure gemstone carved into a balloon was embedded right in the front of the necklace. The moonlight glistened comely off the pendant almost like a reflection, but unlike one it sucked the light inside of it and reflected it in every direction, creating an effect like a shattered mirror.
“Is everypony okay?” Applejack asked from out of the blue, pulling Twilight out of her trance and back to the ring of ponies that were all struggling to their feet in a daze. One pony however was the complete opposite of stunned and surprised and instead was hyper and excited, suddenly exclaiming in joy about something. They all turned their heads to look at the source of the sudden shrill interjection, finding it belonged to none other than Rarity.
“Oh thank goodness!” She exclaimed, looking at her newly restored curly purple tail in delight and relief, not realizing how much she truly loved it.
“Why Rarity, it’s so lovely” Fluttershy added.
“I know! I’ll never part with it again!” She responded gleefully, raising her behind high in the air and waving her tail around like an excited baby ready to flaunt his new toy with the widest smile painting her face.
“No, your necklace,” Fluttershy clarified, motioning a hoof towards the golden jewelry that adorned her neck, a purple crystal carved out of brilliant purple gemstone embedded in the front of it. “It looks just like your cutie mark”
Rarity glanced down at the carcanet embellishing her neck, her smile grew wider than ever before at the dazzling beauty decorating her. She flicked her eyes to the attention stealing pendant on Fluttershy’s neck in the shape of a pink butterfly, the very same pink butterfly that graced her flank in the form of her cutie mark.
“Yours too darling!” She exclaimed, pointing at the necklace. Fluttershy looked down at it, a quiet gasp escaped her lips as a fragment of the moonlight shimmered off of it and back into her aquamarine eyes.
The thrilled expressions on her friends' faces prompted Pinkie Pie to look down at the remarkable pendant that sat right below the middle of her throat, her eyes immediately lighting up with excitement like a christmas tree. A really giddy, hyperactive, puppy-like Christmas tree. She bounced over next to her blonde comrade, her trademark springing sound following her with every hop, and squealed out “Look at mine! Look at mine!”
Applejack glanced down at hers too and couldn’t resist a grin. “Oh yeah!” Rainbow chimed in with a hint of pride in her voice as she feasted her eyes on the rainbow pendant carved out of blood red gemstone on her necklace, her wings flaring up in joy and her chest puffing out. Then, they all turned their attention to the true star of the show that sat right in the middle of all of them, Twilight’s glimmering crown.
“Twii…” Their eyebrows jumped up in confusion at the almost zombie-like groan that suddenly arose from behind them, ominously calling Twilight’s nickname that a certain someone had given to her, someone who had not yet been accounted for in the ring of ponies.
“Dash…help me up…” They all turned their heads to the source of the deep, husky moaning behind them, finding none other than their brown haired friend lying helplessly on his side. His hat somehow remained snugly fit onto the top of his head despite the blast he had just endured. His voice was like pulverized rolling stone tumbling down a mountain top like his voice had been completely ringed of any form of moisture. Rainbow grinned at the man as he let out a dry, pitiful cough into his balled up hand.
Rainbow trotted over to her companion, reaching down a supportive hoof that he practically threw his hand onto without hesitation. Despite how strong and athletic the pegasus was, lifting Levi from the confines of the ground was like pulling up an army of elephants considering how limp her friend was. He looked up at her, all of the vibrance that once pooled in his eyes was mostly gone except for a few droplets that remained. What was left were these piteous puddles of exhaustion and pain that made Rainbow’s heart pang with guilt. The dreadful memories of earlier that night of what Levi had to go through flashed in front of her eyes. She could vividly hear the sound of Gary’s boot striking him in the stomach over and over, and hear the nauseating crunch of Levi’s forehead smashing into his nose. The sound of Gary’s fists colliding with Levi’s aching, pain stricken body like drums was heart wrenching. Seeing how much pure agony he was in after the shockwave. It was awful. She wished that she never had to see Levi, or any of her friends for that matter, suffer the way he did at the hands of Gary. Never. And if they tried, it wouldn’t end well.
Rainbow finally managed to get Levi to his feet, the muscles in her forearms wordlessly thanking her for sparing them from pulling anymore. However, he wouldn’t stand on his own for much longer, as he practically collapsed into a pillar next to him shoulder first. He visibly winced in pain and his legs felt like paper thin bamboo shoots that would give out from underneath him at a moment's notice.
“Levi, you alri-””Yep, I’m good,” Levi interrupted, holding up a dismissive hand to the pegasus. “I’m fine right here” He continued, visible pain flashing on his face when he barely readjusted his stance. Rainbow shot him a sweet, reassuring smile before rubbing the center of his back with her wing comfortingly. Levi relished in the almost angelic feeling of her cloud soft feathers stroking his back gingerly, he could almost feel some of his aches melting away at that affectionate gesture alone. He returned her soft smile with his own despite the stinging in his legs threatening to warp it.
“Well gee Twilight, I thought you were just spoutin’ alotta hooey,” Applejack piped up, taking a few steps closer to the lilac unicorn. “I reckon we do represent the Elements of Friendship” She carried on, raising her chin up a little bit.
“Indeed you do” A soothing yet authoritative voice called out from thin air, echoing and bouncing off the walls like she had just bellowed through a never-ending tunnel. Levi’s ears pricked up right as Rainbow Dash trotted over to be next to the ponies. He recognized the voice almost instantly and more aliments inside him dissipated at the realization. ‘Could it really be her?’ Levi thought, ‘If so, where was she? She couldn’t possibly have just disappeared, right?’ The awareness of who the voice belonged to posed more questions than answers, but right as Levi’s mind was preparing to swirl with more thoughts and assumptions, a miracle happened right before his very eyes.
From behind the mountains Levi could barely make out from the window he was staring out of, the yellow behemoth known only as the sun rose up from behind the snowy and grassy peaks miles away from them. The sky instantaneously exploded with bright, gleaming sunlight, casting away the coal black stratosphere and taking the remnants of Nightmare Moon’s reign of terror with it. The burning star rose higher and higher as sunlight immediately flooded through each of the windows like a rushing river of shine. Levi had no other choice but to flinch and throw his hand over his eyes from the abrupt luster that invaded the corridor, but in anything but a bad way. The rays of the undeniably stunning sunlight were like knives soaring straight into Levi’s irises. After a few painful seconds, Levi was able to release his eyes from the darkness behind his palm and gazed in awe at the newly revealed corridor. Now without the veil of shadow blanketing it, Levi was able to see with strained eyes every nook, cranny, and blemish that stained the corridor top to bottom. The long, tan, repulsive roots that hung down from the ceiling like vines were highlighted and left with no ugly features to hide. They not only riddled the roof, but the walls and floor as well. The once coal black bricks were no longer dark as night but a warmer grey color after being splashed by the beautiful sunlight through the windows. Levi looked around at the once gloomy and dreadful corridor, now, it was the furthest thing from that. The tall pillars, while still run down and battered with cracks, were less sullen now that the sun's rays blessed it with its presence, now giving it a more lively look to it. The windows served as vials that poured sunlight down onto everything around him like it was a physical thing, basking him in its warmth along with the whole corridor around him, a stark and much more pleasurable contrast to the ice cold night air that had tormented him for hours up until then.
Levi’s attention was pulled back to the tall window like a magnet as the sun made it hard but not impossible to gaze out of it and into the beautiful landscape that it covered and claimed as its own. Just then, Levi’s eyes went wide with awe and his heart almost leapt out of his chest at what he saw just seconds later. A beach ball sized glowing white orb of pure light seemingly was formed out of one of the many streams of light that launched in every direction and stretched as far as the eye could see up into the sky and the ground respectively. The dome of dazzling radiance slowly hovered down like a flying saucer and into the windowless frame that the sun had risen from underneath, entering the room and immediately blasting it with an intense glimmer that forced Levi’s eyes shut for what felt like the hundredth time that night. The warmth from the sunlight streaming in behind him was nothing compared to the globe of luster that had invited itself into the hall. The sudden and abrupt change in temperature hit Levi unexpectedly, it was like he was standing right in front of a raging bonfire that wouldn’t go out no matter what, sending embers flying from the top of the flames and becoming one with the air. Levi grimaced as he felt the ruthless heat explode over his face, causing beads of sweat to almost immediately form on his brow and run down over his closed eyelids that weren’t spared from the fever-like feeling either.
As the intense and uncomfortable warmth continued to spread all over him like a plague, the globule of light sent rays shooting out in every direction like shrapnel from a grenade. Even though his eyes were closed as tight as they could be, the gleam still managed to taint the darkness that protected his retinas from it by painting his vision a deep red color. However, a familiar and hope inducing metal clanking sound cast away the discomforts and ailments that Levi was pushing through and in their place was a feeling of relief. Pure, unbridled, unrestrained relief that almost brought tears to the brown haired man's eyes.
Born from the orb of light and standing tall and mighty in front of the window was none other than Princess Celestia, the beams of light from the sun blazing down behind her coated her form elegantly. Her turquoise, pink, and azure sparkling hair flowed behind her and flapped slowly like a flag with very little wind but just enough to move it. Her pale magenta eyes looked down with pride on the line of ponies that had single handedly saved Equestria were now bowing down to their princess, their chins touching the floor and their eyes closed and reverence practically radiated from them. Her long, beautiful milky white wings were stretched out from her sides, blocking the sun's rays and casting a blanket of shadow that covered the line of mares in front of her. However, the one exception to the gestures of respect was Twilight who, unsurprisingly, was more than overjoyed to see her mentor standing just feet in front of her. After all, she had no idea what had happened to her after she just turned into thin air at the Summer Sun celebration. As she laid her eyes on Celestia’s graceful image, a million questions began running through her mind all at once. Where had she gone? Could she have helped? Did she hide herself?
“Celestia!” Twilight called out excitedly, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree, ignoring all of the thoughts that swirled around in her head and was only focused on reuniting with her teacher after the most turbulent night of her life. But also, the most eye-opening.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia crooned, shifting her wings to point towards the ceiling. Twilight galloped over and threw herself into Celestia’s warm embrace where the alicorn happily accepted. Celestia bent down slightly to compensate for the substantial height difference and wrapped her hooves around Twilight’s back, feeling the ends of her mane tickling her forelimbs and detecting a huge grin growing on her face. Levi felt the weakness in his legs dissipate and felt some of his strength flow back into his limbs where they rightfully belonged. With a grin painting his features at their sugar sweet interaction, he pushed himself off the grooves of the pillar and began to slowly walk towards the ponies, his boots scraping against the floor with every step he took.
Celestia released the lilac pony from her embrace who promptly backed up a few steps to look up at the much taller alicorn in her magenta irises with a confused expression, asking “But I thought you told me it was all an old pony’s tale?”
“I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more” Celestia answered, raising one of her hooves up to be chest level with her. “I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her” Celestia continued, her eyes moving to each individual pony as they all slowly rose to their hooves, with Pinkie excitedly bouncing up in typical Pinkie Pie fashion. Lastly, her eyes locked onto Levi’s as he made his way to be in sync with the rest of the ponies, shooting her a small smile that she happily returned.
“But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart” Celestia carried on, Twilight continuing to gaze up at her like she was the most important thing in her entire world at that moment. Her eyes were encompassed with an array of different emotions, they sparkled with solace knowing that the nightmare was finally over, they glimmered with a sense of excitement at how changed her life was going to be knowing that she and her friends are the Elements of Harmony. Celestia couldn’t express with words how proud she was of her student, but her delight would have to sit on the sidelines for the time being as the biggest problem in the room stirred awake in the corner of the corridor next to the stage. The seven of them followed Celestia’s eyes over to the black and navy blue alicorn that laid on her stomach a foot or so from the pedestal, bits and pieces of Nightmare Moon’s shattered armor sat on the ground beside her. Small trails of smoke rose in the air from hunks of metal like they had just been ripped from an oven.
Her smile faded and a neutral expression washed over her face and took its place. “Now if only another will as well” Celestia uttered, her golden hoof coverings clanking against the floor as she walked over to the body by the foundation.
The alicorn rested on the flooring peacefully with her navy wings laying limp against her sides and draping down onto the ground. Her coat was the color of a beautiful purple night sky. On her flank was a black splotch like a puddle of ink with a small crescent moon in the center. Adorning her head nestled snugly into her mane and against her horn was a small, coal black crown that glistened in the sunlight. Her mane was a lovely cobalt color that flowed down her neck similar to Celestia’s but without the constant waving and sparkling that constantly followed the white alicorn’s hair. When the alicorn finally left the land of dreams, she was immediately met with the ice cold floor stinging her belly like a vengeful jellyfish. She slowly opened her eyes, revealing cyan jewels dazzling in the remnants of sunlight that poured into the corner she was laying in. When her eyelids fully separated from one another, she was faced with a large shard of what used to be her armor sitting pitifully in front of her. Strings of smoke and dark blue sparkles lifted from the chunk of glossy metal that looked more like glass than what it actually was. The navy blue alicorn gazed at the reflection being in the fragment of armor as if it was trying to mock her. She couldn’t stand to look at how helpless and pathetic she appeared to be. Luckily for her, she wouldn’t have to for much longer. The clanking of Celestia’s hoof coverings against the ground pulled her attention away from the image, her eyes went wide and pooled with nervousness and anxiety as the white alicorn came closer and closer to her.
“Princess Luna,” Celestia declared, spreading her wings fully out to her sides as she walked, unintentionally making herself look more imposing to the alicorn than she intended.
“It’s been a thousand years since I’ve seen you like this,” Luna’s head retracted back like a snail retreating into its shell as Celestia took a seat on the floor right in front of her. She looked deep into Luna’s eyes that she desperately tried to hide from the taller alicorn, knowing good and well her true feelings would be revealed whether she liked it or not at the white pony’s gaze. Unfortunately for her, Celestia’s comforting look pulled her in like a fish to a worm, allowing Celestia to see the swirling tornado of emotions that roared behind her cyan orbs. Celeastia was only granted a very brief moment to view the confusing and unsure cacophony of feelings before Luna shut her eyes tight and lowered her head towards the floor.
“It’s time to put our differences behind us,” Celestia’s almost pacifying voice calmed the woes screaming inside her, giving her enough courage to lift up her head and look the one she had wronged so badly in the eyes, “We were meant to rule together, little sister”
“Sister?” The group let out collectively in a whisper.
The white alicorn stood back up on her hooves, once again demonstrating the immense height difference of the two like a tower standing next to a tent. “Will you accept my friendship?” Celestia looked down at the navy blue pony with a hopeful look who only shied away from her gaze with tightly shut eyes, much to the disappointment of her taller sister. The line of ponies locked their hooves into the ground and leaned their heads closer and closer to the pair like ostriches, anticipation flowing through them faster than blood all the while.
After what felt like hours, the navy blue alicorn finally opened her eyes, revealing her cyan irises pooled with an unpleasant brew of regret, sadness, and guilt swirling inside of her orbs like cauldrons. Eye contact with her older sister was a struggle for Celestia as her sisterly instincts kicked into high gear and she wanted nothing more than to comfort her kin, tell her everything was going to be okay until her cyan jewels returned to their normal beautiful state. As she looked down at the pony with her face hidden away, memories flashed in front of her eyes like a rapid fire slideshow of everything that led up to that fateful day when she was forced to banish her own flesh and blood. She thought about all of the good times they had as fillies, playing together in the backyard until late into the afternoon and then being beckoned back inside by their mother. She remembered all the sisterly arguments and quarrels they would have as teenagers about all sorts of things both big and small. It didn’t matter how trivial and insignificant something was, if it could be argued about then you best believe they would bicker and squabble until the sun set. She could almost smell the intoxicating scent of their mothers flawless cooking as they each sat across from each other at the dinner table, looks of excitement and eagerness painting their faces. Alas, when all of the happy memories the two shared together made their way through her mind, the negative ones reared their ugly head. She vividly recalled the face of the monster known as Nightmare Moon cackling in her face, her guffaws echoing through the spacious throne room they shared, as Nightmare sat atop the royal seat that belonged to her sister.
She could hear her maniacal laughs in the back of her mind as she recollected about the night that almost lasted forever. The look of her aquamarine eyes piercing her like sharp swords was burned into her memory. In her glare, she could see the remnants of what remained of her sister buried deep in her eyes as they stared daggers into her. Celestia blinked away the image she had absentmindedly painted in her eyes, snatching a quick glance at the smoking shard of armor that once belonged to the monstrosity that stole her sibling from her, finding great satisfaction in the fact that Nightmare Moon was no more. Her eyes snapped back to the alicorn at her hooves who still had her face hidden away from her older sister. They could all feel the anticipation in the air turn into a smog as seconds ticked away into minutes, waiting for the navy blue alicorn to give her an answer. An answer that very well may change the history of Equestria as they knew it.
Finally, after what felt like years since she had last seen them, Luna made contact with Celestia’s soft magenta eyes once again with her immense guilt almost radiating from them. Teardrops welled behind her eyeballs like a volcano of emotion ready to burst at a moment's notice. Luna shakily rose to her hooves, her eye contact never breaking, as the salty tears began to reach their breaking point closer and closer with each passing second. At long last, the words Celestia had been waiting to hear for the past thousand years finally erupted from the younger alicorn’s mouth with her geysers of tears disgorged along with it.
“I’m so sorry!” Luna exclaimed with regret flowing through her voice, her wings flaring up and tears beginning to rush like an angry waterfall. She dashed forward and practically rammed her head right under Celestia’s neck, staining her perfect white coat with her salty drops. “I missed you so much, big sister!” Luna cried into her chest muffled by the soft hairs that covered her body.
It was now Celestia’s turn to let out her sorrows and tears of joy, allowing them to flow freely from her eyes as she nuzzled her chin into the top of her sister’s head right between her ears. “I missed you too, Luna”
Levi couldn’t help but let a small grin spread across his face at the saccharine reunion, watching as the two alicorns made eye contact once again with tears of pure joy blurring their vision immensely. However, Luna’s cyan orbs cut through the wall of cloudiness restricting her sisters eyesight and allowed Celestia to see inside of the pools in her eyes once again. Where the twister of emotions once sat was now a lake of relief, delight, and rejoice all mixed together and living amongst each other happily.
While the two relished in their sickly reconciliation, Levi’s mind finally calmed and he was allowed to think about the remaining questions he had now that the threat was neutralized. The one that stuck out the most to him in that moment was the lack of a seventh Element of Harmony among the cluster of ponies in the corridor. He expected there to be a big over-the-top explosion or bright flash of light and born from it was the element of..something. Weirdly enough, it never came. He debated on asking Twilight, but seeing how happy she looked observing the tearful hug of the two long lost sisters, he didn’t want to interrupt her and make her overthink for the hundredth time that night. This posed even more questions than answers for the brown haired man.
‘If the power of all of them was needed to beat Nightmare, then how the hell did It work with six?’ The question refused to leave Levi’s head until it was given an answer despite him knowing it wasn’t a cause for concern. Yet still, the inquiry was a pesky mosquito buzzing incessantly inside of his brain, showing no signs of leaving until it was answered or acknowledged at the very least. No matter how much he wracked his brain, he couldn’t think of anything to reply to the question with. His brain suddenly turned from a headquarters hustling and bustling with activity to a dark, gloomy attic occupied by dust-filled corners and spider-webs. There wasn’t anything that could satiate the relentless query occupying every nook and cranny in his mind. It felt like he would die without an answer..but what could the answer be? Levi tried his damndest to push the thought to the darkest corner in the back of his mind and for a few seconds, the relentless pestering stopped. One glance over at Twilight’s crown that demanded all the attention around her reignited the mental harassment once again, much to the man's annoyance as he quickly pulled his eyes away from the dazzling headwear. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed, realizing that the inquiry that plagued every corner of his brain would not be leaving anytime soon. As much as the question annoyed him, it was a good thought-provoking question. What would the seventh element be? There was a possibility that it wasn’t even anyone he or the rest of the group knew. It could be Alan for all he knew. Or maybe it was even the newly reformed princess who’s sobbing into her sister’s chest refused to dim down even a little. It could be someone in a far away land. It could be someone the ponies would never even meet in their entire life. As outlandish as it was, there was a slender, slim chance that Levi could be the rightful person to represent the seventh element. The more and more he thought about it, the more and more it started to make even the slightest bit of sense in his mind. He was the seventh person in the group, the man dressed in blue in the prophecy, the one who wrestled with death by fighting the Timberwolf. He remembered the spark he felt inside of him during the moments where he protected the ponies, or at the very least, tried to.
The moment he saw the Manticore and flew into action without a second thought. The instant he saw Gary throw Rainbow on the ground like a piece of garbage. He imagined that maybe, just maybe, that spark had something to do with the mystery behind who was the owner of the seventh element. His mind longed for an answer to relieve Levi of the constant torment the question unleashed on his brain. As much as Levi wanted one too, he knew he wouldn’t find one here, and certainly not while the two princesses were having their much deserved moment of joy from their reunion.
“You know what this calls for?” Pinkie’s high-pitched voice piped up, gaining almost all the attention in the room.
“A PARTY!” She exclaimed excitedly, giving one excited Pinkie hop high into the air with the comical springing sound following it as it always did. Levi smiled at the pink pony who returned a large, bright grin in response. Her sudden interjection made Levi feel better about the whole situation he was in. It was what Pinkie was best at after all. Brightening people’s moods and lifting them from whatever darkness they may be feeling was her specialty, and the happiness and relief he felt while inside her aura of delight was almost intoxicating.
“Sounds good to me,” Levi responded, “Whaddya say Twilight?”
“Hmm-oh yeah! That sounds great!” Twilight answered, slightly embarrassed from how zoned out she was looking at the two alicorns.
“That sounds mighty fine to me” Applejack added with a tip of her hat.
“I’m ready to get outta here” Levi was more than ready to do anything but be in that castle. He was eager to go have a party and put the dreadful memories of that night behind him and leave them to rot in the past where they belonged. But there was something else that Levi felt needed to be addressed between him and Rainbow, and it was about a very particular man in a turquoise shirt. He thought about how in the world he was going to explain Gary to Rainbow. When should he do it? How should he go about it? Give it to her straight or lay it down easily? Levi stole a quick glance at her and met her soft magenta eyes, sensing that she felt almost the same as him and he didn’t blame her. She deserved an explanation after the horror that the bastard did to her. However, Levi shook the worrisome thoughts away for the meantime and decided to focus on the only important thing that mattered to him right now. Getting out of the castle and partaking in one of Pinkie’s signature, slightly over-the-top, parties. He couldn’t resist letting a much wider smile emerge on his face and a tingle of excitement grow in his heart at the prospect of Levi unwinding and relaxing at a celebration. Maybe the uncompromising question would cut Levi some slack even if it was just for a few minutes. He could almost feel tranquility enveloping him at the mere concept of going back home to Ponyville and taking a long, much deserved nap in the library after whatever Pinkie had in store for all of them.
‘Home?’ Levi never thought in a million years he’d be calling a town full of horses and unicorns home, but yet, here he was excited to go back to a community full of them. A lively, beautiful, thriving community. In his situation, Levi wouldn’t have it any other way.
‘On second thought…’ Levi took a quick glance at the ponies around him, admiring the friendly look they managed to keep on their faces despite the exhaustion that threatened to swallow them whole. As he looked around, the love he felt for his newfound friends only grew stronger and he felt his heartbeat quicken. He recollected Fluttershy taking him in and saving his life when he first fell into Equestria. He remembered the very first interaction he had with Twilight back at the library and the surprising amount of hospitality. He could almost hear the loud, overdramatic gasp that escaped Pinkie’s lungs before she dashed off to who knows where to begin preparing Twilight’s party. And those were just to name a few of the memories he had made in the beloved town. ‘Yeah,’ Levi’s eyes found their way looking into Pinkie’s crystal blue ones, the edges of his mouth almost touching his ears at her hyper bouncing that brought great joy to the man’s heart. He knew then and there he had finally found his place in Equestria. He no longer felt lost or unsure about anything. This was it, his destiny. ‘This is my home’
The lush green grass that painted the hill felt like a soft cloud as Levi walked with slow, labored steps down it, making sure to take his time and appreciate everything around him. It felt like years since he’s heard the birds sing or see squirrels running sporadically from the trees that bursted with life on either side of him. It really made Levi regret ever taking nature’s blessing for granted. He never realized how good the morning breeze felt on his sweat soaked skin until it was gone almost permanently, relishing in the cool feeling on his back from the wind blowing through the torn up shreds of his shirt on his back. The back of his white t-shirt, which was still wet with sweat, combined with the crisp early morning zephyr made for an uncomfortable feeling like ice was being pressed down onto his bare flesh. Nonetheless, it beat staying in the cold confines of the castle by miles. At the same time, the aching in his bones refused to cease despite it being numbed down a lot more than it was right after the shockwave. It wasn’t enough so that it wouldn’t hurt, it was just barely enough to remind Levi that it was there and wasn’t going to leave anytime soon. Levi let out a sigh at his circumstances that, even though they weren’t his fault, was still annoyed by them all the same. He wished he could just take a nice walk through a nice spring day in Equestria, but nothing was ever that easy for the man which he learned in the worst way. He wondered how long all these aches and pains would last after the events of last night. Days? Weeks? Maybe months for all he knew. In spite of everything, he would try his damndest to enjoy every second of every day that he spent in Ponyville despite the conditions he was forced to bear. Trying to occupy his mind on something other than the ailments that plagued him, he looked around and revered at everything big or small he could lay his eyes on in the stunning nature of Ponyville.
Small, very round red and blue birds flew gracefully from tree to tree and even soared through the sky like they were the only ones who mattered. Small little insects crawled in and out of the holes they called home in the rich brown dirt at his feet. Woodpeckers hammered the strong trunks of oak trees, looking for any bug or worm that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. From what Levi could see, he wasn’t having any luck. While he was observing the world around him, he could help but notice the sun’s warm rays felt foreign to him in a weird way. For the past 25 years of his life, the burning behemoth in the sky had been like his guardian angel, always watching over him and surveying his life like it was his sworn duty as the sun. But now, after having it torn from him for what he perceived to be countless hours, it felt like he had never felt it before. His eyes were still not very used to the intrusive, bright rays of light, evident proof of this was the constant squinting and having to look slightly down at the ground where he walked to avoid the battering beams. The sense of irritation at his state of affairs was quickly scrubbed away by the gentle breeze that flowed over him like the comforting hug of an angel, relieving him of his woes and angers that once bedeviled him. Levi couldn’t resist donning a fresh small smile, a stark contrast to the stone cold serious face he had been portraying ever since the princess of the sun disappeared at the failed celebration.
It was a relief not having to focus solely on him and his friends' survival anymore. In all honesty, it was exhausting. So exhausting in fact his eyelids were actively going to war against him in the epic battle of wanting to shut and stay shut forever while his brain pounded with a sharp pain, like a sword had been driven deep into his skull. His ears slightly rung like a small bee had made itself comfortable inside of his eardrum. Despite the happy, relieved exterior he tried to keep up, he felt like he had been through decades of warfare and conflict in just a matter of hours. Levi was fighting against the urge to collapse and sleep for days tirelessly like his life depended on it. He knew for certain the moment his back touched the bed in the library, Twilight might as well not expect to see him for a while. Each step he took was like moving a mountain and his legs were practically begging for him to stop, trying to egg him on to surrender to sleep and lie down. However, when he saw the momentous party Pinkie had planned just a few feet ahead of him, he knew the land of dreams would have to be put on hold for the meantime.
From what he could see, several tables scattered around a small area, all of them adorning pink table cloths. On the tables were bowls of snacks and jugs of what seemed to be fruit punch, they really could be anything knowing Pinkie Pie. The area was bordered by multi-colored balloons that were like flashing neon signs that said “Party over here”. The mere sight of it made Levi want to giggle like an excited school girl, but his lungs couldn’t even comprehend the thought of doing a task that big, so he kept his excitement strictly internal.
After some more lumbering steps that he struggled to make, Levi was finally at the sea of ponies that made the party exactly what it was. Now that he was standing in front of the ocean of ponies that were all different colors, making it look like a painting from all the different hues that were on display, nervousness reared its ugly head inside of him. With all of the equines packed closely together like sardines, he was worried that him fighting to stay upright and falling could cause a catastrophe and completely ruin what was supposed to be a relaxing event. Nonetheless, he took a deep breath and swallowed his anxieties down to the darkest pit of his stomach and made the first of many awkward, heavy-footed steps towards the crowd. When Levi’s body fully emerged and became one with the lake of ponies, he sifted through the bodies of pegasi and unicorns alike like he was walking through a forest of tightly crammed trees. Just like his worries were trying to convey to him before he entered, his uncoordinated walking shined bright for all to see in the most embarrassing and worst way possible. One mint unicorn’s drink left her hoof and met the ground, the liquid seeped back into the earth and gave the grass it was fed to a sweet berry pink treat chocked full of everything sugary he could imagine.
“Hey!” The unicorn exclaimed in annoyance, whipping her head around and revealing sunglow eyes pooling with ire.
“S-Sorry” Levi stammered, his chagrin flowing out of his mouth and in the form of stuttered words. The mint unicorn scoffed and excused herself through the crowd, walking off in irritation and almost immediately dissipating into the sea of ponies like she was never even there.
“Damn..” Levi sighed to himself. Despite the humiliating bump, Levi continued to wade through the lagoon of unicorns and pegasi alike like he was walking through violent rushing waters trying his best to stay afloat. Levi began to grow annoyed by how far away the snack table was, beginning to grow unsure if he was even going in the right direction. After all, the last thing he wanted was to be trapped in the pony lagoon with nowhere to sit as weariness began to wrap its cold, unforgiving hands around him. The urge to fall over and sleep began barking much louder than before inside of him and the constant chattering and sometimes exclaiming of the ponies at all sides of him was beginning to take its toll. His head hammered like a drum. His legs ached like never before. His ears begged for mercy and the ringing grew louder from the voice that were pummeling it mercilessly. The light at the end of the dark and noise-filled tunnel was the snack table that could ease the twisting pain and roaring of his hungry stomach and quench his desert-like throat.
“Watch it!” A sand colored earth pony snapped after Levi’s foot collided with his ankle. A stammering and embarrassing response ran out of his mouth right after.
“Hey!”
“What’s your problem!”
“You spilled my drink!”
After what felt like an eternity of aimless walking through the marine of ponies, his body finally slipped out from the sliver of space between a gray unicorn with glasses and a chocolate brown one, and what sat gracefully in front of him made his heart skip a beat. There it was, the heavenly god-sent snack table. Levi’s mouth almost filled with saliva like a dog begging for food scraps and his eyes turned to saucers. Resting atop the pink table cloth illuminated by the sun like they were sent from the heavens above were two trays abundant with warm cupcakes made by the one and only Pinkie Pie. The small swirl of icing varied in color, ranging from the brightest most vibrant red he had ever seen to the richest purple. In the center of it sat a large bowl filled to the brim with the berry pink treat Levi had unintentionally knocked from the mint unicorn’s hoof. There was a tower of clear plastic cups that sat right next to the bowl and a long, silver serving spoon sat inside the glass dish. Much to his relief, there was a few feet of space separating the table from the crowd, forming a nice ring of open grass around the endowed table. Levi could almost see his reflection in the glass bowl that housed the fruit punch like it was beckoning him towards it. Without a second thought, Levi followed its silent commands.
He rushed over to the table like a starving primal beast and fought through the throbbing in his legs, practically slamming into it but catching himself on the edges of the wood. The pink liquid sloshed and swirled around at the sudden force Levi exerted onto it. He looked deep into the salmon colored abyss with narrowed eyes as his reflection stared right back up at him, it was only then when Levi realized how grungy he looked. His eyes were tired and lackluster, lacking the usual vitality that they possessed and was instead replaced with a look of pure fatigue. His hair was still a matted grimy mess like a rats nest placed atop his head but looked a lot better than the last time he saw his reflection back at the castle. He tried in vain to groom it on his walk to the party but found it almost impossible, be that as it may, it was a lot better than before. He had almost completely wiped away the green streak of blood across his face from the Timberwolf, but if you looked very closely, you could still see the faint outline of the bodily fluid across the bridge of his nose. His cheek had a small purple bruise on it courtesy of Gary’s rampage. Fortunately, it wasn’t as painful as it looked like. Levi looked past his reflection and saw what was truly calling his name inside the bowl, the fruit punch. Or more specifically, a drink. Something Levi would’ve killed for in that moment.
He grabbed the spoon forcefully, causing the bowl to jump an inch or so in the air and land back down, splashing some berry pink deliciousness onto the table, blending into the tablecloth. He tore one of the cups from the tower and unintentionally knocked the rest over pitifully on its side. The spoon rattled and clanged against the sides of the bowl, grabbing some of the unwanted attention and peering glances from some other ponies in the sea of them at the sudden noise. He lifted the long silver utensil from the puddle of punch and his heart almost leaped out of his chest at the sight of the sugar-filled concoction sitting patiently in the small bowl at the end of the spoon. Eagerly, he filled his cup, which already sat ready in his hand, and filled it to the brim. Despite the warm weather and the sun beating down on it every second, the drink still remained cold, which made Levi long for it even more than he already was. The very instant the spoon left his hand and dropped back into the bowl, he practically flew the rim of the cup to his lips and relished in the feeling of the almost ice cold liquid flowing down his throat. The dryness that once plagued it was gone in the blink of an eye. In its place was a euphoric feeling of pure relief as his gullet went from drier than a desert wasteland to a sugary water slide at the snap of a finger.
A few small droplets managed to escape his mouth and ended up on a one way trail down his chin. Levi released the cup from his iron grip,not having a single care in the world where it would land, and wiped his mouth with his soiled forearm, only adding to the many stains that afflicted it. Levi felt a tidal wave of relaxation crash down onto him as he felt one of his several ailments finally be wiped away for good, the sense of comfort and ease he was hoping to get from the party in the first place. Luckily for him, he got what he wished for, and more. As he stood there in the darkness behind his eyelids leaning against the table, one of his many other troubles reared its ugly head once again. His stomach roared in hunger and struck Levi with another twisting, teeth-gritting pain in his gut like someone grabbed ahold of his internal organ and crumpled it. In an instant, Levi thrusted his eyes back into the sunlight and gripped onto the edge of the table before reaching his dirt stained arm over top and over to the bestowed upon cupcakes. His thumb and index finger found themselves pushing into the soft bottom of the desert, feeling the white cupcake liner crinkle under the pressure.
Nonetheless, he yanked the pastry from where it sat on the metal tray and peeled the liner off without hesitation, fully intent on devouring it completely the second he could. The paper that once lined the bottom of the cupcake quietly hit the grass after it left Levi’s fingers. Straight away, he threw the cupcake into his open mouth, almost gagging as it struck the back of his throat and nearly hit his uvula. Levi sank his teeth into the soft delectable dessert and his mouth immediately exploded with flavor. The luscious chocolate flavor combined with the succulent taste of the perfectly made icing made for a blissful feeling for Levi’s taste buds, who wordlessly thanked him for bestowing the sweet treat upon them. Levi swallowed the half-chewed pastry with one mighty gulp, his newly freshened throat gave him its gratitude and accepted the dessert with open arms. Finally, Levi felt what he had been waiting to feel ever since he found the holy grail known as the snack table. Relief. The feeling washed over him like a warm shower on a cold winter day and made his heart thump just a little faster at the prospect of being able to finally let his hair down and unwind. No hunger pains, no dry throat, it felt like it had been the eons since he was refreshed on food and water, but he was glad the time had finally come. Excitement coursed through him at the thought of practically hibernating the very second he laid down in the library, despite how lively and vibrant he tried to show on the outside, he felt like he was on death's door on the inside. Knocking and ready for the reaper to open up and take him.
The reaper. Just then, Levi’s mind jumped back to the dread inducing painting he had seen back at the castle of what could only be assumed to be the Grim Reaper. Now that Levi finally had the time to really dive into thought about the picture, nothing about it made even the slightest lick of sense. How could colors on a piece of paper make Levi feel like he was being stalked? How could they have such an..influence for lack of a better word on him to the point where it's like someone is looming over his shoulder at all times. The sense of impending doom. That was the main thing Levi took from his experience. That feeling of his demise coming at any second. That fear that his death might be waiting for him around any corner. In simple terms, it was nothing but completely awful. Considering what he’s seen so far in Equestria, a haunted painting didn’t seem like that far of a stretch for weird or otherwise impossible things. After all, this is the same world where Manticores and wolves made of wood live together in harmony..somehow. Now that he really thought about it, a chilling idea crept their way into his head. Maybe, just maybe, his death had in fact been lurking in the sullen corridors of that old castle. In the form of none other than Gary. The more and more he pondered it, the more it started to make sense despite how much he didn’t want it to make sense. Gary was nothing short of a psychopath, plain and simple. His lack of empathy for Rainbow Dash’s pain and suffering hammered that fact deeper into Levi’s head. And after what he saw and heard of what he did back in Tuscaloosa, he was more than willing to kill if he really wanted to. Then again, this theory of Gary being a force of nature that this “Grim Reaper” threw at him posed more questions than answers. How did he know about Nightmare Moon? Why would he say Nightmare resurrected him? Was he lying? More importantly, how did the Reaper know about Levi’s past? He could almost feel the smoke coming out of his ears at the constant thinking.
Levi let out a sigh and turned around, leaning his back against the edge of the table. He decided to drop the subject for now and leave that conversation for another day. All it did was remind him of the inevitable sit down conversation he had to have to Rainbow Dash about Gary. Just the thought of telling her about him and his past deeds made his skin crawl.
“Hey Levi!” Out of the ocean of voices that all combined into one unpleasant sound around him, one very familiar voice stood out, one that belonged to a particular lilac colored unicorn. Right after, the very same unicorn emerged from the lake of ponies that formed a ring around the snack table, looking into Levi’s eyes with a friendly smile plastered on her face.
“Hey Twi!” Levi greeted warmly, “You enjoying yourself?”
“It’s louder than I’d like but it’s fine, I’m not the biggest fan of parties anyway” She responded.
“Would you rather celebrate saving the world in a library?”
“That’s what I would do but Pinkie seemed to put a lot of love into this,” She answered, her horn liting up as she lifted two cups and the serving spoon at the same time, “I can’t miss it even for a good book”. Levi could almost feel the elation in her voice at the concept of getting home and reading to her heart's content and keeping the library nice and quiet for Levi’s deep slumber. The thought almost sent Levi to the land of dreams right then and there.
She let the salmon pink liquid flow like a river into one cup before dipping it back in and doing the same for the other, levitating the drink over to Levi’s open hand. He wrapped his fingers around it and spoke his gratitude to Twilight before putting the rim to his lips without wasting a second, feeling the cold relief travel down his gullet like sugary heaven. Twilight stood next to Levi with her back to the table, staring out into the lagoon of ponies that all managed to cram in the small space the border of balloons provided. Twilight was amazed at the fact that there hadn’t been a fight or an argument yet considering how close they were crammed together. Then again, those ponies are probably used to being in these enormous social gatherings whenever wherever. Twilight on the other hand couldn’t even bear to think about being in that crowd a second longer. It was like she was shimmying her way through a tight constricting cavern, instead the stone walls were replaced by hundreds of bodies all pressing against her. Luckily, she could stay at the bestowed table as long as she needed to recover from the worrisome journey through the sea of Ponyville residents.
However, as the two stood there in comfortable silence next to each other. Levi could feel an odd tension between the unicorn and the man, but a tension of what exactly? Levi couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was that needed to be said between the duo and he felt slightly intimidated by the thick tightness in the air to ask. Whatever it was, he was hoping it wasn’t about what he thought it was going to be about. But knowing Twilight and what she saw back in that corridor, it probably was what he was dreading to talk about.
Right after Levi somehow heard a barely audible gulp from Twilight’s gullet, she turned to look at him with an inquisitive look in her big purple eyes. In her elongated violet orbs, Levi could already hear the words that were ready to escape the unicorn's mouth, his heart slowly beginning its descent into its stomach at what he assumed was going to be said.
“Listen Levi,” She began, “I need to ask you something important”
‘Oh boy, here we go’
“What is it, Twi?”
“Well…I don’t know how to say this but,” She replied, looking down at the ground like she was genuinely struggling to form her thoughts into her words as she absentmindedly began fiddling with her hooves. “If you don’t wanna tell me it's fine but..”
‘Here it comes’
“Who…was the man back at the castle?”
‘Dammit!’ Levi could feel his heart in his throat hammering nervously as he looked at the lilac pony deep in her eyes, hoping to grab onto some shred of reassurance in her irises that he could use to calm his racing nerves. Much to his dismay, nothing was there except for the burning hot desire for an answer to her question she’d been wondering ever since she stepped hoof inside that hall. Honestly, Levi could understand her curiosity towards what she couldn’t see behind the locked door. If Levi suddenly walked into a room with a dead body and a smashed metal object that he had no idea what it was with one of his friends laying in agony on the floor, he’d demand answers too. However, he really didn’t think the answers that Twilight wanted would be anything that she would want to hear about, not now at least.
“I…uhm…he…” Was all Levi could stammer in response before he fell into a silence, his eyes falling to the floor as he tried to conjugate his thoughts into a coherent sentence. At the same time, he snapped his eyes onto the behemoth of a tarn of ponies that surrounded them on every side with no exceptions. He searched frantically for something, anything, that would steer the conversation in a different direction and hopefully give Levi an excuse to go on a tangent about something completely different. Just like the universe was trying to condemn him to this torturous discussion he was fearing, there was absolutely nothing to rescue him from the inevitable chat he had to have and he knew it. No buoys. No lifejackets. No nothing. Just he, Twilight, and the crowd of ponies that never ceased to swell and grow around them.
“I…” Levi finally ended his nervousness-filled sorry excuse for speech with a dramatic sigh.
“Again if you don’t wanna tell me, you don’t have to” Twilight responded, almost being able to feel the tension rising inside of him. The problem was, he wanted to tell her. He felt that she deserved to know after two of her friends were suddenly locked in a room with seemingly nothing in it, then suddenly revealing a dead body and a truck when she opened the door needed some context. He just didn’t know how to explain who Gary was, or maybe is, to her without completely freaking her out. Levi desperately wanted to keep the shield of solace the party had fabricated around him, and even mentioning the monster's name would shatter that into a million pieces. Something Levi dreaded with all his heart.
“Twilight I…I’ll tell you later, alright?” Levi finally responded, “I don’t wanna talk about it here”
Twilight could almost feel her friend's tension about the extremely touchy subject resonating from him. Judging by the visage that was fully on display in that cold and gloomy corridor, she could only imagine what horrors happened that she couldn’t see to drive Levi to murder. She also thought of what triggered the deafening BOOM! That ravaged her and the rest of the group’s ears and shook the castle to its core. In a weird way, she felt extremely intrigued to learn the story behind the dead man. While at the same time, she felt slightly guilty for being that curious about something that clearly affected her friend exponentially.
“Alright then,” She responded, “Well, can I atleast ask you one thing?”
‘Can’t you just leave it alone Twilight’ Levi expressed his slight annoyance strictly mentally before giving a reply to the inquisitive unicorn.
“Go ahead”
“Well..It may sound like I’m being a little paranoid but…” She paused, shifting her eyes to the flourishing grass at her hooves for a brief moment before back up to Levi’s patient eyes. Purple met green once again. “Is he gonna be a cause for concern, Levi?”
Levi took longer than usual to answer the question that would normally have such a simple answer. “Of course not. He’s dead Twilight.” Is the phrase he desperately wanted to let run free from his lips but, unfortunately, he truly had no idea whether or not that was really the case. Shortly after Gary made his bloody entrance into Levi’s life years before, he remembered seeing the news report on TV and the Tuscaloosa newspaper. He watched it so many times to the point he could almost recite every word she spoke, every mannerism she had. Even as he stood there, he could almost hear her reporter voice speaking to him like she was a spirit living in the back of his head, looming over him constantly. Awful, indescribable night terrors hit him almost every night for the weeks following his demise. Hearing the report on TV he had recorded on almost every news channel in Alabama that covered it comforted his otherwise panicked mind at the fact that the man who caused him all of this distress was gone for good. He cemented this fact further by frantically ripping the newspaper, which had been decorated with a fresh coat of dust, out of the drawer and reading every line of text the article had to offer. ‘TUSCALOOSA DRUG DEALER FOUND MURDERED’ The headline screamed right in his face. Back then, he held those close to him like security blankets anytime Gary was mentioned by him or Alan and the risk of the terrible nightmares coming back struck fear in him. But now, after the events of the night, Levi wasn’t sure if Gary was truly dead.
Nightmare brought him back to life and Levi killed him. It should be an open and shut case. If the word ‘killed’ really meant anything to Gary. In his dreams, in Equestria, in Tuscaloosa, he always found a way to torment him no matter what. Regardless of what the dark truth may or may not be, not wanting to worry the unicorn anymore than she already seemed to be, Levi gave her the answer she was wanting to hear.
“You don’t have to worry about him Twi…he’s gone” In her eyes, the man could see a relieved look beginning to pool in them at his answer. Twilight brought the rim of the small cup to her lips and downed another portion of the punch, relishing in the sweet sugar-packed taste that blessed her taste buds with its entrance. An extremely stark contrast to the foul tendril of worry that once resided in her stomach, now cast out thanks to Levi’s reassuring words.
“That’s…good to hear,” Twilight shifted her posture against the table, refilling her cup with more of the liquid heaven despite the cup not being finished. “I think I speak for everyone when I say thank you Levi, for everything”
Levi raised an eyebrow. “Why? One could argue it was you and the others who saved the day”
“It wasn’t all just us,” Twilight rebutted, wanting Levi to take at least a shred of rightfully deserved credit for what he did. “The Timberwolf wasn’t us. That was you. We probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you”
In a way, Twilight was right. Levi hadn’t stopped to truly think about the copious amounts of good he did that night, instead focusing on the bad and the ugly. Levi felt a small flame of pride flicker to life in his heart and right alongside it was a bubbling feeling of appreciation at the thank you he didn’t know he needed in that moment. But, like someone had pulled him out of a good dream, he was roped back into the familiar ocean of dread once again once the thought of the inevitable conversation crossed his mind once again.
“I don’t like bragging but you’re right, I should take a little credit shouldn’t I?” Levi replied, taking another gulp of the punch, rewarding himself for his bravery. Levi knew he should be a lot more proud of himself than he was in that moment, after all, Twilight was completely right about him. If it wasn’t for his act of selflessness in battling the Timberwolf, he and the rest of the group would be long gone and Equestria would still be trapped in that everlasting darkness. It was a scary thought to think about.
“You really should,” Twilight said in response, “I can’t ever repay you for what you did, Levi”
“Don’t mention it Twilight,” Levi replied, “Besides, having some friends here is enough payment for me” A small infectious smile crept his way onto his face that Twilight quickly caught like matches on gasoline.
“PRINCESS!” Levi’s thoughts were cut short by a skull-rattling, ear-piercing cheer from the crowd that ravaged both the man and the unicorn’s ears. Levi winced and threw his hands over his lugs as he directed his attention up to the sky where every pony in the ocean of them were pointing, their mouths contorted into a smile that only Pinkie Pie could best. The duo could almost feel the excitement and joy radiating from them like they were radioactive with glee. Levi’s eyes went wide and a grin spread across his face despite the pain pounding in his ears at the sight meters above him.
Soaring across the vast sea of blue carried by two tan pegasi was a velvet chariot with rims as gold as the burning sun that reflected the sunlight back into each of their eyes. Rose colored large, wooden wheels sat on the back of the buggy like something you’d see propped up against the wall in a hundred year old barn that were somehow spinning in the open air. Inside the seats of the flying carriage was a very elated looking Princess Celestia who waved like she was personally greeting every pony who was lucky enough to meet her gaze, a once in a lifetime experience for some, and next to her was her newly reformed sister, Princess Luna. Her eyes were wide and looked bulged out like the eyeballs of a bug. Her mouth was warped into a perverted smile, or what looked like a poor imitation of a smile, that showed each of her pearly whites without exceptions. Levi couldn’t describe how forced and unnatural it looked on the navy blue alicorn’s face, it was as if it was waiting for this celebration to be done and it was just going to disappear until she needed it again. Whatever century that happened to be.
A few feet away from the pony lagoon and beyond the balloon border was where the chariot eventually slowed to a stop, the rickety old wheels finally coming to a halt and the loud pounding of the pegasi’s hooves ceasing as well. The very moment the Princesses’ ride touched back down on the grass, the horde of ponies stormed through the clearly marked boundaries of the party without hesitation. Over the almost thunderous noise of hundreds of sets of hooves beating the ground like sledgehammers, he could barely hear the sound of balloons popping and squeaking as they were mercilessly trampled by zombie-like mob. Latex blue and pink ovals floated out from between whatever cracks they could find between the ponies and into the sweet relief of the open air, no longer being assaulted by the crowd and left to peacefully rise into the great beyond above.
Levi and Twilight could feel the ground threaten to quiver beneath them under the battery of hooves. Levi’s cup fell from his hands in the aggressive and sudden chaos and spilled onto the dirt, seeping back into the earth, maybe this was karma for what he did to the mint unicorn earlier. Regardless of what it was, the cup was just a statistic in the clutter that plagued the ground around them like it hadn’t been cleaned in decades. Levi ignored the mess around them and instead focused his attention on the herd of bodies that almost completely enveloped the two sisters. Weirdly enough however, there was a gap between a stallion and a unicorn that allowed entry into the cocoon of ponies around the Princesses of Equestria. Levi took a few moments to survey around him and felt slightly out of place in where he was standing. All Levi could see where the lake of ponies once occupied were tens of pieces of garbage scattered all over the place and snack tables dotted around the now open area. It was a shell of its former self to say the least.
“Ever wonder how that feels?” He quipped.
“I think it’s better if we don’t know” Twilight replied, the very thought of being in Celestia’s position almost made her stomach do somersaults. Twilight pushed herself off the edge of the table she was leaning on and began walking, carefully stepping over the abundance of garbage and occasionally destroying a plastic cup under her hoof with a loud snap.
“Where’re you going?” Levi inquired, mirroring the unicorn’s action and moving off of the snack table.
Twilight looked over her shoulder and met the man’s emerald irises and, from what he could see, a solemn and somber expression painted the pony’s once vibrant and full of life face. “Going for a walk” Levi could see the sorrow begin to blossom in her purple eyes as she gave him her answer. Levi was slightly surprised about Twilight’s sharp change of mood, all of the delight draining from her in the few seconds she had her back to him, it also watered the concern growing in his heart like a beanstalk. Despite the worry in his heart screaming for him to go after her and question her, however, part of him decided against it. It had been a long, cruel, unforgiving night for all of them, and they all needed a break. Levi could only imagine what the elements had done to the group of six as they channeled its energy to defeat Nightmare. What had been running through their minds? What did they feel? Nevertheless, he knew now was not the time to pressure the unicorn about anything and just let her be alone for a few minutes. Allow her to recoup from the almost catastrophic affairs of the previous dusk.
Levi shifted his attention slowly away from the unicorn who grew further and further from his with every step and locked onto the entrance into the small crowd around Celestia. He stepped forward and heard the sound of a plastic cup being crunched under his foot as he began his labored, awkward walk over to the Princesses.
Twilight let out a gloomy sigh as her eyes fell to the dirt beneath her hooves. Crummy and grimy, exactly how Twilight felt in that moment. She kicked a leaf out of her path and watched as it flew away to places unknown in the breeze, only reminding her further of the inevitable fate that awaited her as soon as the party was over. That fate that she dreaded so much was the fact that she had to go back to Canterlot and continue living her old and, dear she said it, semi-boring life with Spike. She never thought she’d feel trepidation about going back to the castle, the place she loved the most more than anything. Surrounded by books on every side of her. Feeling the warm sunlight of the morning streaming through the colossal windows as she held a book diligently in her hooves, her eyes moving left and right across the pages. A nice, warm plate of food sitting on the table in front of as she absentmindedly forked mouthfuls down her gullet without breaking her gaze whatsoever. But now, the thought of going back to that life filled her with intense melancholy. The one factor that made her feel that way was the concept of losing her newfound friends. Never in a million years would she ever think that, but yet here she was. It was a very unknown and foreign feeling to her. The words ‘Miss’ and ‘Friend’ would never usually meet each other in a sentence that left the unicorn's mouth. Up until today, her list of friends would begin and end with Spike and the copious amounts of books that inhabited her behemoth of a library. That was it. Nothing more nothing less. And Twilight liked it that way. But now, with her new friends suddenly thrusted into the mix, her emotions became a conflicting mess.
Twilight let out another sorrow filled sigh as she slowed to a stop, the rhythmic rustling of grass at her hooves came to an end with it. Her eyes met the lush grass below her once again as more and more intrusive, saddening thoughts formed a hurricane inside her head.Twilight couldn’t bear to put any more thought into the prospect of returning home. The way that it was now, Twilight no longer perceived that huge lonely tower as home. When the word popped into her mind, she only thought of the warm embrace of the inside of the library that beamed a welcoming feeling at anyone who passed it by. She pictured the rows of books embedded in the wall in her mind that almost beckoned the unicorn to read it cover to cover, something she already planned on doing. The comfy hug of the bed’s sheets as she curled up under the watchful eye of the moon gleaming through the large window. Just the mere image she painted in her mind sent a syringe of relief plunging into her heart. Twilight knew she should cling onto that feeling for dear life as it might be the last time she would feel it in a while.
She let out a third much longer sigh as she lowered her body down until her belly converged with the soft grass underneath her. Instead of looking down solemnly, Twilight opted to devling back into the darkness behind her eyelids, not having a care in the world about what a random passerby might think if they saw her. In the endless array of blackness, Twilight dove headfirst into her memories about the tower, the place that she once never ever wanted to leave. She remembered her very first night there after Celestia had gifted it to her and Spike free of charge. She could almost feel the excitement that coursed through her veins at the first sight of the plentiful amount of books lined up in neat rows in the copious number of bookshelves. It was like she was a little filly in a candy shop, infatuated with all the bright and vibrant colors of the sweet treats around her which called her name. Then, Twilight moved forward in her slideshow of remembrances until she got to the very moment she laid down on the bed back at the Ponyville library. The mattress was like laying on a cloud and the pillow was as if she was resting her head on the side of a huge fuzzy bear. Despite how badly she wanted to push the feeling away and embrace the joy of returning to her Canterlot tower…she couldn’t. As much as she refused to admit it, the tower no longer felt like home to the unicorn. This was her home.
“Why so glum my faithful student? Aren’t you happy your quest is complete and you can go back to your studies in Canterlot?” Canterlot. The word brought another flood of negative emotions that Twilight somehow kept at bay from intruding her already aching heart. Twilight’s eyes shot open and a sharp gasp escaped her at the sudden familiar voice. When she whipped her head in surprise to the direction of the abrupt question, all she saw were multiple pairs of legs heading right in her direction from her point of view, the colors ranging from cyan as the sky above to dark dirty denim. Twilight’s cheeks filled with heat as she scurried to her hooves like a frightened animal, trying her damndest to put on a wide fake smile in spite of the flames of embarrassment roaring inside of her.
She felt blush dust her cheeks as she locked eyes with the deep magenta eyes of her teacher, her’s attempting to ease the obviously gloomy unicorn and Twilight’s beaming nothing but the woes and conflicted thoughts wrestling for dominance in her heart. She desperately wanted to keep her feelings to herself and not spill her heart out to her and all six of her friends standing side by side next to the Princess, but she knew better than lie straight to Celestia’s face. Twilight learned the hard way that Celestia was a living breathing lie detector. After all, you don’t become the ruler of Equestria without learning a few tricks. Twilight’s eyes scanned each of her friends like she was a robot, slowly moving over each one of them, her spirits being lifted inch by inch by the concerned faces that adorned each of the ponies.
Twilight let out a quiet defeated sigh, her eyes falling to the grass once more before returning to Celestia’s magenta orbs, her face now expressing the heartache she was truly feeling. With the mask of joy now completely dropped, Twilight took one last glance at each of her friends before spilling the truth from her stinging nucleus, hoping the emotional baggage being lifted would somehow make the pain go away.
“That’s just it,” She replied, already being able to feel the weight like a herd of elephants slowly being lifted off her shoulders, “Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends..I have to leave them”. Twilight slowly moved her eyes across the line of the ponies she now proudly called her friends, their features now donning a look of appreciation rather than concern like before.
Celestia took a small pause while continuing to look down at the sullen unicorn before she promptly declared, “Spike, take a note please”
A huge grin spread across the dragon's scaly face as he pulled a piece of paper from out of thin air and a long crimson feather appeared clutched in his fingers. Levi looked down at the small reptile, subconsciously noticing the stark height difference between the two like a tower compared to a campsite, and wondered how what just happened could possibly happen. His mind then flashed back to all the crazed and, what he thought were impossible, things. The Manticore reared its lion-like head in his mind. The Serpent's thunderous splashing and his bellowing cries echoed in his mind. The conclusion swiftly came to Levi that there was no such thing as impossible in Equestria, intriguing the man all the more.
Celestia’s golden hoof coverings made contact with her mouth as she cleared her throat before she spoke, “I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that Twilight Sparkle will take on a new mission for Equestria. She will continue to study the magic of Friendship, and she must report to me her new findings in her new home in Ponyville!”
Twilight felt her heart explode in her chest with pure joy, setting aflame an irresistible urge to put on an ear-to-ear smile that almost lit up the entire town. Her once saddened purple eyes were now dazzling diamonds that brought a smirk to Celestia’s face. ‘Home! I can call this home now!’ The unicorn cheered internally, not being able to express her relief and happiness in words any longer.
Just then, each of her friends practically pounced onto the unicorn in a warm, comforting hug that nearly brought tears of joy to the lilac pony’s eyes. The cheering from and words of sweet nothings traveling into her ear were almost too much for her heart to handle, and she almost thought it would burst once again when she looked down and saw Pinkie’s glee-inducing face staring right up at her. She felt the warm trail of a tear running down her face from pure elation, quickly wiping it away before anybody noticed, but the short path it took left a wet mark right below the pony’s eye like it was drawn on her face.
“Thank you Princess Celesita!” She cried, barely being able to control the rodeo of emotions swirling around in her heart, “I’ll study harder than ever before!”
Unexpectedly, a booming cheer from the crowd of ponies that somehow migrated from the two Princesses over to them and had not been noticed by the ponies erupted. Small pieces and strands of red confetti rained down from the air and collected on the dark purple and raspberry streaked mane of Twilight Sparkle, the sole cause of what felt like world racking acclamation. Levi couldn’t resist a big toothy grin metastasize on his face. He too felt overwhelmingly proud of his purple-eyed friend immensely much similar to Celestia. Just like Twilight, he mirrored her feelings about going back to the hustle and bustle of Canterlot, being holed up in that castle for possibly the rest of his time in Equestria. Looking around at every shining friendly face in the sea of ponies that encompassed them, Levi couldn’t feel more excited to be a part of Twilight’s friendship journey in the beautiful town. Making his name known, being a pillar in the community, being the best friend he could be to Twilight and the group, the mere thought of it all made his heart almost leap out of his chest. But most importantly of all, finding Alan and bringing him back to show him the wonders he and Twilight accomplished. Show him the beauty of Ponyville in all of its glory. Let him meet his new friends. Levi could hardly wait. However, deep down, he knew he had a journey ahead of him before he could even think about doing that. He wanted to get settled in and take a much deserved rest after the events of the catastrophe that will go down in history as the day Nightmare Moon fell to the Elements of Harmony.
There it was again. The question returned like cancer invading his brain. Who was the seventh element? Levi smeared the thought away like a dead insect, not having enough energy to delve into the inquiry any longer. As he turned his head and looked over the mass of heads that surrounded him, he could see the bright morning, or what he hoped was morning, sun hidden behind a veil of clouds. The theory he came up with about him being the seventh element made more and more sense as seconds turned into minutes of thought, falling victim to the relentless question once again. The element of what thought? Strength? Probably not, but that earth-shattering shockwave said otherwise. Heroism? Maybe, but unlikely. Protection? Seems a lot more likely.
‘Levi Cronell, the fallen human, the man in blue, the Element of Protection’ The fictional titles he gave himself in his head sounded a lot cooler internally then they probably would have been out of his mouth. Regardless, it filled him with a sense of importance he never knew he wanted.
‘Element of Protection, huh? Maybe in another life’
The sun seemed to tell him otherwise like it had a mind of its own, casting doubt on his own internal monologue.
‘Yeah…another life’