//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Risks // Story: Old Vengeance // by Lunard //------------------------------// Old Vengeance Chapter 2 :Risks Twilight walked out of the portal. She looked back and wished that she hadn’t had a conversation with Discord or ever came here. She didn’t want to think about it anymore, but she couldn’t help it. She thought it would be best if she didn’t tell anyone except her friends. Twilight looked back at the portal, regretting her previous decision. “I... I can’t believe it... I never should have came closer to that gate... I could have just led Cerberus here and left this place...” Twilight was dropping tears and frowned with a deeper sadness than any words can describe. But then she was starting to blame herself with anger. “You did this Twilight... you took the risks and you entered the gate,” she scolded herself. “YOU ARE THE STUPID PONY WHO STARTED THIS. There is no looking back now... You have to finish what you have started Twilight... YOU CAN DO IT! JUST KEEP CALM AND THINK OF A SOLUTION!” Twilight was freaking out and was angry at herself. She almost wanted to just kill herself for this. Instead, she suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious. She was drifting into the Dreamland like before. She was in some sort of a hallway. It took awhile for her to regain her stamina and look around the place. Once she got up she noticed that she was in Princess Celestia’s hallway. She was confused at first, but then she figured that she was having another nightmare. “Why am I here in Canterlot... am I having a nightmare again?” Twilight wondered. “This is definitely weird. This has to be happening for a reason. Perhaps, I could look around and get at least a clue on what is going on, since nopony will find me doing it. Speaking of nopony, why isn’t there anypony here in the hallway? Not even the guards are around.” Twilight was nervous about the current situation. She was even having a hard time understanding both reality and her nightmares. Twilight decided to go to one of the windows to take a look at the situation outside. It was just the sight she was afraid she would see. It was what she saw before. Equestria was on fire, small black dots were flying far away, and nopony could be seen. “I am back in a similar situation just as how my previous nightmare was. I am sure this is not an ordinary nightmare. Hmm... what if these nightmares... are trying to tell me something? Anyways I have to hide and look around to find anything interesting before I think deeply about my nightmares,” she thought. After some thought, she moved to one of the giant pillars in the big hallway. Twilight looked around for clues. She was cautious of her environment and the situation outside. She noticed a dim cyan light behind Celestia’s throne. Twilight moved until she could see the source of light. It was that vault door that was once used by Celestia to keep the Elements of Harmony safe. “Huh? What is that?” she thought, puzzled. “I thought the Elements are no longer in there... Perhaps, I could check it rather than thinking too long. But I have to be aware of anypony and anything dangerous.” She slowly snuck up to the vault door. Twilight tried to open it with her hoof, but she found it was locked. “I have a strange feeling that the Elements are not in here,” the mare mused. “But what could be emitting the light? Is it something magical and powerful? Even though I do not know what is in there. I am having a feeling that this is something essential to save Equestria from those problems. Maybe if I just--” Twilight’s thoughts were soon interrupted by noises coming from behind her. She quickly hid behind the throne. She heard the sound of footsteps, and then a conversation between the two unknown ponies. “I can’t believe she was siding with that enemy,” the first said. “I told you before. I was beginning to suspect that she might be a traitor. And you didn’t believe me. This is all your fault!” the second voice replied angrily. “What do you mean MY fault? You didn’t handle the situation if you were suspecting it. I did not know this would happen, so this is all your fault!” the first speaker yelled back. “Interesting... although I have no idea what they are if I judge it by their voices. They pretty high-pitched though. But I still don’t know what they are. I need more clues. They may be my enemies. They are talking about their failures. That means they are not some regular ponies.” Twilight thought. Suddenly she heard a sound like wind blowing, and some hooves stepping on the floor. Another voice could be heard as well. “SILENCE! It was both of your fault,” the new voice commanded. “You two even tainted our abilities, histories and honors. How could both of you be fooled when we were the ones who was supposed to be fooling them. So I think a small punishment will be required for you two.” “Please have mercy on us Queen Elixir! We did not know any better. It is our mistake. Plea-” the first speaker pleaded. “How about... DEATH!” the third voice responded coldly. A bright light flashed, and sounds of pain could be heard from the first two ponies. The Queen was laughing and enjoying watching the two ignited servants. A strange bright green light was created from the flame and some weird noises were heard as well. It seemed quite harsh for Twilight. “That is... really brutal,” the unicorn thought. “Even for her own servants... Hmm... Queen Elixir... I’ve never heard of her before, not even in my books. They can’t be some regular ponies. That is obvious enough for me. What could they be? Especially with abilities and histories? That means they are some sort of a clan or something. Maybe the one that pushed me over to the edge in my previous nightmare was one of them? I have to peek at least slightly to understand how they look. Then it will be easier to identify them later.” She peeked a bit to identify the unknown enemy. And just as she moved, the Queen stopped walking and looked around. Twilight quickly hid behind the throne again. “Dang,” Twilight cursed silently. “If only I could have at least identified her color. But I have to focus on hiding. She might find me soon if I stay here for long.” The Queen spoke. “I know it is you. I know you are here in this hallway. Come out so we can handlel this business between us more easily.” “What? But how did she know that I was here?” the purple mare thought. “I don’t know if I should go out. I will have to hear another response to be sure.” “COME OUT!” the queen commanded. “I know you are there, hiding from me. Come out so we can talk and end this in a polite way. I don’t want to waste my time and neither do you. I can blast your hiding spot in seconds. This is my last warning.” “I have no choice but to come out now,” the unicorn thought. “My horn isn’t working, just like before. At least I will have a chance to see what this Queen looks as well.” Twilight stood up and came out from the behind the throne. “I am here. What do you want from me?” she asked. Twilight looked around, trying to spot the Queen. The result was quite unexpected for Twilight. She saw... herself! The queen did look a little different. She had deep purple eyes. Her voice was a bit higher than Twilight’s own voice. “We meet again,” her doppelganger said. Twilight’s mind was full of thoughts. She didn’t know if that strange unicorn was just similar to herself or something else. Twilight found the intimidating unicorn’s eye color to be strangely familiar. She focused on talking to try and get some information out of her double if she could. “Who are you? Why do you look like me? And wha--” Twilight began “Stop now,” the queen commanded coldly. “I am the only one who asks the questions here. You have no choice but to do so as I want.” Twilight froze upon hearing such a response from an intimidating unicorn that looked like her. “As you can see. Canterlot, Ponyville, Cloudsdale and all of Equestria is now already mine. And I have never been more happy like this before,” Queen Elixir smiled. “However, I have been trying to find you. You have been trying to stop my plans as well. I do not know why you are trying to, but it is all useless. You can never defeat me. I am more powerful than Celestia and Luna! You can’t even use your horn. I see that my ‘gift’ worked perfectly fine.” “Wait... does that mean we have met before as well? And what happened to Princess Luna and my friends?” Twilight wondered. “That’s right. My ‘gift’ worked perfectly fine. The reason you are still alive now is because I wanted you to witness how even more powerful I am going to become. And the time has come! WITNESS MY TRUE POWER!” the Queen shouted. The clouds were moving by themselves, gathering above them. The clouds became dark, and a lightning bolt hit the ground. Twilight woke from the nightmare. Twilight quickly got up from the ground. She was exhausted. It was night-time, which was quite unexpected for her. Before she had fainted, it was day-time. “Oh... my head hurts a lot... nevermind that. I have to warn my friends in Ponyville and decide what to do together with my friends. But I might just collapse on the ground right now. I wonder how long I was unconscious. Probably some hours. I really need to find a way back to Ponyville, but I can’t move and I am so tired... my head... it hurts... it hurts a lot. I can’t handle it because it is too painful for me. But I have to go to Ponyvil--” Her thoughts were interrupted as she fell unconscious again due to the stress she has suffered. Twilight’s mind was full of random thoughts, feelings, and worries. She couldn’t handle it all. Twilight just wanted to go to Ponyville and talk to her friends about it and explain what actually happened. She just wanted her friends to be close to her, and tell them what happened. She wouldn’t regret it if she couldn’t tell the truth. “...W-where am I?” Twilight wondered hazily. She opened her eyes. Twilight found herself in her own library, lying in her own bed. The unicorn couldn’t move because of her body’s condition. She was confused about how she came here. She tilted her head to the right a little bit. She looked near the window, and saw the one pony she did not expect to see. It was Luna, sitting and looking through the window at the stars. “P-Princess Luna?” she stammered. Luna heard Twilight and looked at her, then came closer to her and sat on her bed. “WE DID NOT NOTICE THAT THOU WERE AWAKE,” she shouted. “HOW IS THY HEALTH?” “I am alright. Thank you for asking me about that Princess Luna,” Twilight replied. “WE ARE PLEASED TO HEAR SUCH NEWS!” Luna responded. “But Princess... how did I come here?” “TWILIGHT SPARKLE! WE FOUND THEE LYING ON THE GROUND DURING OUR NIGHT PATROL! SO--” Luna paused, noticing Twilight was covering her ears. She smiled sheepishly. “I apologize for using the Royal Canterlot Voice, Twilight Sparkle,” she said in a much quieter tone. “Don’t worry about it. You have no reason to be sorry about it. You can talk in anyway whenever you want, Luna,” Twilight said, smiling. Then the lavender unicorn noticed that she just called The Princess of the Night by her real name. She instantly tried to apologize for doing so. “Oh I am so sorry for calling you by your-” “It is okay Twilight Sparkle. I prefer to keep it that way... It is more... comforting... and short,” the moon goddess replied. “Luna... you can just call me Twilight as well. It is more friendly and short. And we are really best friends as well,” Twilight said with a kind and gentle tone. Then she started remembering about what Discord said to her. She wondered if she was really starting to develop... feelings for The Princess of the Night. “What Discord said... is it really true? Maybe he was just teasing me. But still... I am somehow much more comfortable around her, more than I am with my other friends. But I’ve spent much more time with my friends than with Luna. Why am I starting to develop certain feelings for her if I wasn’t friends with her that long? I am trying to... be at her side and listen to her problems and try to help and calm her down... Just thinking about it nearly breaks my heart. But my feelings probably just end there. There is no way I would have special feelings for The Princess and a... mare,” Twilight thought, frowning. “Twilight... is something bothering you?” Luna asked. “…Oh excuse me, I was just thinking about something… nothing interesting at all,” Twilight said hastily. “Oh... did you have anything to say to me? You look worried about something,” the alicorn asked. “Should I tell her about what happened to me, right now?” Twilight wondered. “This may be the only chance to say what happened... and she would definitely help me and we can talk to my friends about it… Although... I don’t understand why Discord said that my friends wouldn’t believe it at all. They are my friends! And they will always help me when I am in need. He only suggested that I should talk about this with Luna…” Twilight sat up and moved closer to Luna until she was sitting next to her. “Luna… I have to say this now and this may be the only chance to say it,” she said carefully. “Well… what did you want to talk about Twilight?” the lunar princess replied. “… Do you know about what actually happened to me?” the unicorn asked. “… No... I do not know even have a single clue about what happened to you. Did something terrible happen to you?” Luna asked worriedly. “Luna… I have always trusted you with all my heart. That’s why I am going to tell you about this. However, It will be very shocking. And it is okay if you refuse to hear it.” Twilight looked away. “‘Twilight... how can I refuse to help my best friend when she is in need of help? Of course, I would help you with it. You can tell me about it and I want to help you no matter if it is hard or even if it challenges me.” Luna smiled at her. “Thank you Luna. I can’t thank you enough. I was afraid that I might get rejected. It means so much to me,” Twilight said. She couldn’t help but hug Luna. The other pony was very surprised, and the Princess blushed a little bit since she didn’t expect to receive such a hug. She always needed a warm hug to calm herself after her past as Nightmare Moon. And so, Luna hugged Twilight back so tightly that Twilight had trouble breathing. The lavender unicorn gladly accepted the hug from her. “I can understand how hard it was for her. Being trapped in a cold place with nopony to talk to must have been so terrible... I am very surprised that she is still okay, and she is even willing to put her mistakes in the past. That is a huge step in overcoming your own mistakes. I am so grateful for her, and I will always enjoy a warm and a nice hug with her to help her leave her problems in the past,” the purple unicorn thought. After some seconds of hugging, they slowly parted from each other’s embrace. “... I want to thank you for the warm hug ‘Twi... I am just... so happy to have made somepony happy,” Luna said. “Thank you Luna... But... I am sorry for this... I need to talk to you about what I mentioned earlier. I would hate to lose a chance and I think I better say it now,” Twilight replied. “What did you want to talk about, Twilight?” the alicorn asked. “I was on my way to Gates of Tartarus with Cerberus...” the unicorn began. Twilight started explaining everything she had heard and seen to make it understandable for Luna. Twilight didn’t say that Discord told her that she has feelings for Luna. She figured it would be awkward and it would be better to leave that out. “... and Discord said that you... are the only pony that can help me to defeat... Celestia,” she said finally. Luna was stunned. “Twilight... that is... very shocking. I did not expect you would have such... shocking news... Just thinking about how hard it must have been for you saddens me very much. And... it is true that Discord talked to me before, that Chaos can be better than the Harmony itself sometimes... That is, when he wasn’t imprisoned in stone... If only I knew better, and helped him instead of helping her beat him... This is all happening because of me, isn’t it?” “Luna... please don’t blame yourself for that. This isn’t your fault and every... pony makes mistakes. And we learn from our mistakes to become a better one,” Twilight said. “I... You’re right, Twilight. Thank you.” “You’re welcome, Luna.” “Anyways, we have to think of something to do about the problem. How about your friends? I am sure they will help you. Why did Discord say that none your friends will believe it?” “I do not know about that, Luna. But we have to at least try asking our friends. Although, I don’t have any doubts about them. I know they will help us. Also... Luna... I have been having... strange nightmares lately. They are not just an ordinary nightmares. This is probably gonna be weird and unbelievable... I do not know about my first nightmare but in the second one, I saw myself as a devilish queen conquering all of Equestria... But I do not know if that was actually me.” “Twilight... you will never be a monster like that. Ever. Don’t worry about those dreams... Only time can tell the reasons for those nightmares.” “You are right Luna. And looks like it will be morning soon... since you are going to stay up tonight to lower the moon... do you want to try stargazing using my telescope?” “What do you mean ‘stargazing’ one of my own stars?” “Oh... I forgot that you never tried something like that. Come and look at this.” The alicorn followed Twilight when she got off her bed to lead her to the telescope. The unicorn thought it would be a fun thing for the Princess to do. “Come closer, I will show you how to use it. It is really easy and simple,” Twilight said. The lavender unicorn showed the basic operations of her telescope to Luna. When she found a star for her to stargaze at, she started setting the focus. Twilight was really enjoying this. Not because of her telescope, but because she was with Luna. Twilight wanted to show her how fun simple things can be. “See? It is simple. Try it now.” “What does it do Twilight?” Luna asked. “Look through it. I promise you that this will be fun for you.” Luna came closer to the telescope and then slowly moved her head to the telescope’s lens to look through it... she gasped. “Twilight... that is... amazing. I kind of a doubted a bit when you first said that stars are just like sun, just farther away... but now I believe you completely.” “Yes and I am happy that--” “Wait... if I was raising thousands of suns every night and Celestia was raising only one sun every day... doesn’t that mean I was doing a lot more effort than her? Then why did... nopony understand me?” “Luna... you have to understand that sleeping at night is just in our own nature. Everypony... no... everyone likes taking a rest from their hard day’s work. Which means every one of us likes night as well. Everyone understands you.” “You’re right, Twilight.” Luna sighed. “If only I knew that before I was... banished to the moon... But no worries about it. I understand that it was my fault for being envious.” “Luna, it is amazing that you can leave such things in the past so easily. I mean, it’s not a bad thing. I am just really amazed and happy about it.” Luna noticed that it was going to be morning soon. Luna stood up and used her powerful alicorn magic to lower the moon. Soon the sun was rising, and the ponies were all waking up. It was just another day in Equestria. The alicorn looked at Twilight. “Thank you for staying up through this whole night and having a nice conversation with me. It has been a pleasure. It meant a lot to me, Twilight,” she said with a smile. Just as Luna spoke, the unicorn suddenly remembered something very important for her and Luna. “Oh, Twilight... how can you be so ignorant and stupid like this! You have to say it to her. She accomplished something you can never do and you can’t be like this,” she thought. “I am so sorry Luna, how rude of me to almost forget it. I just wanted to... thank you a lot for bringing me here safely. I don’t know if I could have made it here if it weren’t for you... You have saved everyone’s lives... and mine Luna... I can never thank you enough for this. I just... don’t know what to say.” Twilight moved her head to Luna’s neck, crying with happiness. Luna was very surprised, but soon she moved one of her wings halfway around Twilight’s neck. She closed her eyes and lowered her head to comfort the unicorn. Twilight suddenly turned her head to look at Luna to say something, they both accidentally ended up kissing each other on the lips. Luna opened her eyes in surprise. She was blushing a lot and she was too shocked to do anything about the intimate moment. Twilight was blushing and too shocked to even comprehend the current situation. They were both somehow starting to slightly enjoy it until Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie came in slamming the door open. They all noticed what was happening, all except Pinkie Pie. “HELLO TWILIGHT!” the pink pony chirped. “What’cha do yesterday? Oh, you two are playing a game? Can I jo-” Rarity shoved her hoof in her friends mouth. Twilight and Luna had noticed that they were not alone anymore; they instantly pulled away. Everypony in the library was shocked, and the awkward moment continued. Luna and Twilight were worried and afraid of the new future that was going to change their lives forever. Pinkie Pie wasn’t very shocked. She was rather more surprised than shocked. The other ponies were too shocked and couldn’t even think of a good way to start a conversation. Every one of them tried to find a good way to start a conversation, especially Twilight and Luna. Just then, Spike came into the library, oblivious to what just happened. “TWILIGHT!” Spike yelled. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you! I was worried, so I told your friends and... Princess Luna?” Luna tried to avoid the awkward moment. She was willing to get out of the library, but she wanted to help her best friend to say the dark truth. “... I a-am sorry for making the... situation worse, dear friends... But we have something important to discuss with all of you as well.” she said carefully. “Yes, Luna and I have talked about it. However, I have to say that the news will be quite shocking for everypony, and it will change your lives forever... in a bad way,” Twilight said. Rarity, being the drama queen and romance novel reader she was, had quickly noticed the strong relationship between the two of them. The fact that Twilight just called the Princess of The Night by name only proved her suspicions correct. She quickly responded to prevent the awkward moment from continuing. “No worries, Twilight. We will all help you no matter what happens. After all, we are your friends, right?” “... Ah’ agree with Rarity,” Applejack said. “I am ready for the news, Twilight. I am your number one assistant after all! But we have to hurry!” Spike added. “OF COURSE we are your friends, Twilight! And we never even broke a promise. Doesn’t that sound really great? I know because... IT IS! Maybe we can party after we solve this problem?” Pinkie babbled. “Pinkie! This is a serious problem. A problem we have never ever had and bigger than any of us expected. But no offense to you though.” Twilight chided her. Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Ohh... if you mean serious... you really mean serious?... Okay then...” “Hmm... If we act quickly, we might have a better chance. I think I should just tell them about the current problem. I can tell them what happened in-depth later,” Twilight thought. “Friends... I will tell it straight forward now and explain it later... Discord is now our ally and Princess Celestia has been our enemy for a long time,” she said simply. The room was silent for an instant. Then everypony decided to talk at once.