//------------------------------// // 2. World of Light and Balance // Story: The Road Not Taken // by lost711 //------------------------------// The Road Not Taken Chapter 2: World of Light and Balance --- “I have come to find that the saying 'it can not get any worse' is more often than not a simple failure in imagination” – The Blood-Stained Warrior. 17 O.A. --- Princess Celestia found herself once again staring at the ceiling of her bed chambers. Her crown and royal adornments lay in a small pile beside her. She could not remember a time in recent memory where she hurt so much. From her wingtips to her hooves, every joint ached in agony. It was a grim reminder of her futile efforts to locate her faithful student. At the end of each day, she would spread her wings and take flight, dutifully determined in her quest of searching every corner Equestria for Twilight Sparkle. Only in the final hours of Luna's night would she finally return to Canterlot, and prepare for the following day. Her endurance was far beyond that of any normal pony, but even she was starting to reach her limit. Running on at most two hours of sleep a day, and combined with the stress of her day-to-day life were taking their toll. What little sleep she allowed herself had proven futile in relieving her exhaustion. She felt herself nodding off during the many meetings and appointments she was forced to attend. If it wasn't for her oath to the people of Equestria, she would have simply dropped everything to continue her search. Still, without a further lead, she suspected that she too in turn would eventually have to give up the search. A part of her felt disgusted for even thinking of abandoning Twilight. Frustrated, she rolled onto her side. As she did, she spotted the shelves of scrolls that contained the total sum of Twilight's Sparkle's writings and letters. It was one of the few very personal items she had kept for herself over her many years. Each had meticulously preserved, and served as the only tangible proof of the bond between her and her student. Each one told a different story of her student's life in Ponyville, about her adventures, her friends, or her learnings in friendship. They were her only way know of her student's wellbeing. When a scroll arrived, it served to brighten her day. She could not accept that those letters may never come again, nor the impossibility of ever see her student's shining face again. Ever since Spike's damn letter arrived, nothing had been the same. * * * During the opening hours of crisis, Applejack had been the voice of reason. “Now hold you're horseshoes, we won't be able to help Twilight if ya'll keep arguing!”. The clamor of voices slowly began to subside until ten sets of eyes were fixed on the earth pony. Order momentarily restored, Applejack turned to Spike, “Now, Spike, would you say that again said?” The purple dragon gave a thankful look before responding, “We came home last night. Twilight said she was feeling tired, and went upstairs. She was gone when I woke up.” “Alright, Spike, is there anyway that she coulda left without you knowing?” “No, like I said before, she would have woken me up. She wouldn't just leave without telling me.” Spike's body language betrayed his certainty on the issue. He hastily added, “Even if she did, I would have heard her going down the staircase, or the door slamming.”. An uncomfortable silence set in, only broken by an inpatient Rainbow Dash. “Well, if she didn't go out the door, how did she go? It's not like she just sprouted wings and flew out the window!” “Ooooh, oooh, I know! Aliens abducted her in her sleep, and now she's on their spaceship or something!” Fluttershy stammered at this exclamation and dove behind Rainbow Dash. “A-a-aliens?!”. For her part, the azure pegasus actually managed to contain her most of her exasperation, “Pinkie! There are no aliens! You've been watching too much TV.” Applejack simply shook her head. Pinkie Pie would be Pinkie Pie, even in the most serious of times. It was simply who she was. Still, it helped pass the time; Spike had sent the letter to Princess Celestia as soon as they had realized that their missing friend wasn't in Ponyville. Much to Spike's surprise, the princess did not respond until several hours later. The reply consisted of one short sentence. “Collect all those who saw her last in the library.” It had been a quarter of an hour since, and Rainbow Dash's patience was already wearing thin. She snorted loudly. “Ugh, this isn't getting us any closer to finding her. We need to be out there searching for her; not couped up in here!” Rarity gasped, “Whaaat? And defy a royal order? Princess Celestia will know what to do.”. The azure pegasus turned to the white unicorn. Before anything else could be said, there was a flash of light, and a thunk as the royal princess herself teleported into the room. On queue, the five ponies (and one dragon) bowed before her. "Get up, this is not the time for that." The five glanced at each other as they raised to their hooves. They had recognized the tone in her voice; a telltale sign the goddess of the sun was pissed. Turned around, she brought her full attention on Spike, who had a look of absolute terror on his face. "Since you sent me the first letter, has there been any additional news, no matter how small, that I should be aware of?" Spike began to stutter; but managed to get the words out."N-n-n-n-no, Princess. We-we've kept searching until you told us all to meet here." The Princess sighed; it was expected but unfortunate news. Next question, "From Spike's letter, you were all the last to see her before her disappearance?". There were six nods. "Was there anything odd that night, about her behavior, or perhaps something she said?" Silence filled the now crowded as they struggled to recall every detail of the previous night and all the various ponies that had been there last time. Of all ponies, Fluttershy dared to break the silence, her voice barely audible. "Umm, she said last night that she was feeling ill." "Ill? In what way?" "Like ... her head was spinning. I walked her outside, she was swaying a little bit, then said it was getting better-" "Fluttershy! Why didn't you bring this up before!". The pegasi let out a small 'eep' and became a small pink and peach ball after Rainbow Dash's outburst. It merely took a look from Celestia to silence the room once again. Certain that there wouldn't be another outburst, she leaned in as close to the quivering pegasus. "Fluttershy, I know that this isn't easy, but I need to know ...” A shuttered reply came from within the Fluttershy-ball. “W-we walked outside for awhile, then we went back. A-a-all she said was that, t-that she felt like, like ...” “Like what?” A second squeak escaped the shy pegasus. “Like the world was spinning. When we got back, she said she was feeling better. T-then she left with Spike ...” A nondescript expression crossed Celestia's face before she turned back towards Spike. “Spike, where specifically was the last time you saw Twilight Sparkle?” “In her bed, just before I went to sleep” Celestia's head turned the loft overlooking the main room. She kicked off the floor and with a single flap of her wings, landed on the edge of the upper level. Her eyes surveyed the scene around her. Although she had visited the library on several occasions before, she had never stepped hoof in what was clearly her student's personal domain. Shelves and various stacks of books surrounded the room, tale-tell signs of the hard studies the lavender unicorn put herself through. She could see Spike's basket laid next to a mess of sheets and blankets that formed Twilight's own bed. Sitting next to the bed was a small set of shelves packed tightly with a set of highly familiar scrolls. The sun goddess couldn't help but be amused that she and her student had a certain symmetry when it came to their personal quarters. After a moment, the winged pegasus shook her head. This wasn't the time for bemusement. Reaching within herself, she drew forth the smallest amount of magic that she could, and 'felt' out into the room, fully expecting to feel the traces of Twilight's magic. A deep coldness enveloped the winged unicorn, and the world suddenly went dark. In her own mind, she could feel herself stagger and scream as something completely wrong and alien wrapped itself around her. Fighting for control, she stomped her hoof, and forced her head up, looking straight into the hollowing abyss. Horror surged through Celestia, and she felt herself fighting against the darkness. Whatever this was, it could not be allowed to exist. She spread her wings and tried to fly away, but 'its' tendrils grabbed her, and the god fell. * * * “I think she's coming to ...” Echoes of voices rang in Celestia's mind. Dazed, she opened her eyes. The ceiling lamp swung ominously above her, and everything seem to be fuzzy. Pain ran through her posturer, and she became dimly aware that she was lying on her back. With great effort, she rolled herself onto her side just to find that her wing was screaming at her; it had been crushed. After another moment, the world slid back in focus, and she found herself eye to eye with Applejack. “W-w-what happened?!” Celestia blinked; the last thing remembered was seeing that nightmare. As she looked around, she realized she was on the ground floor of the library; she must have fallen off the loft in surprise. Forcing her way back onto her hooves, she surveyed the damage. Her right wing had several crumpled feathers, there were sharp pains in her back, and her crown had fallen off. Had she been a normal pony, it could have been much worse. Her divinity was already hard at work healing her, and the pain subsided. A wink of magic, and Celestia's crown re-adorned itself. Immediate issues resolved, she looked at her subjects. There was a look of surprise and concern on all of their faces. It was like they had never seen a princess get flattened by a magical remnant. “I'm quite alright, I assure you. I was simply caught off-guard.” “Uh, Princess, mind explaining what happened?” “I suspect I got caught in the backblast of whatever magic took Twilight Sparke.” Celestia paused over her own words. Remnants were merely traces of magic left behind when a spell was cast. She looked back towards the loft. They shouldn't have been able to blast anypony, let alone send a physical goddess flying across the room. After a moment, she knew that she needed help to untangle this riddle. A quill, ink, and a piece of parchment took flight from the nearby writing table. Dipping itself in the ink, the quill began to meticulously write Celestia's will. While the day goddess was one of the most powerful and experienced users of magic in Equestria, there was one who could rival her mastery of it. What Luna lacked in raw power was more than made up with the finesse and eloquence that she commanded of her talents. Celestia could only hope that would be enough to solve these mysteries. As the quill finished its work, Celestia glanced over the scroll before magically rolling it up, and burning her royal seal on the reverse of the parchment. Then with a second bout of magic, the scroll became a shimmer of light that took off into the still night. She now turned her attention to Twilight's friends who were anxiously waiting for answers. She was going to have to disappoint them. * * * Rainbow Dash waited until they were out of earshot of the library before going into a full-blown tirade. “We need to do SOMETHING! We can't just sit around while-”. Applejack interrupted her. “And what do you want to do? We don't know where to even start looking!” “Does it matter? As long as we're doing something?” “Look, we're all concerned, but running around like a headless chicken ain't going to solve nothing!” The two ponies stared the other down. Rarity finally interjected. “Where would you start? Even Princess Celestia doesn't know where she might be!” “Which is all the more reason to search for her!” The three ponies eyed each other. If it wasn't for a sudden interjection from Pinkie Pie, it might have turned nasty. “STOP IT! NO FIGHTING! I don't know what happened to Twilight, but she won't want her friends about to brawl over it!” A sheepish look came over Applejack and Rainbow Dash. For several moments, nothing was said as they walked over the bridge leading into the town square. On top of Fluttershy's back, Spike finally broke the silence. “The Princess will figure this out, we just need to have a little faith. She will call for us when she knows more.” There was a few weak words of agreement, but the cloud of gloom had set in among the six of them. * * * Patience was not one of Celestia's virtues. That combined with the unfamiliar sensation of uncertainty was putting her on edge. A part of her wished that she kept Spike at hand, but the dragon's safety was paramount. She watched the minutes tick by as she waited for Luna's arrival, and attempted to avoid her own nagging thoughts. A small voice in her was chewing herself out over her tardiness on reading Spike's letter. She had naively assumed it had come from Twilight instead, and had set it aside to read after she had attended her duties for the day. She had waited until she retired to her quarters in order to give her something to look forward to. Forcing herself to focus, Celestia's mind went to working out what she had experienced when she touched the remnant in Twilight's bedroom. Never in her life had she experienced anything like it before. A cold chill ran through her body from the thought, and she started pacing. The remnant was bad enough, but Celestia's imagination was busy vividly creating image after image of her precious student being dragged into the darkness. It was only with Luna's arrival did Celestia's mind calm itself. * * * The day goddess rolled over onto her other side, now intently staring down the wall beside her. A part of her wondered if she was fated to eventually lose anypony she cared for. The few ponies she could have called friend had passed on in the the years since the beginning of the New Age. Her relationships with the ponies that followed was always overshadowed by her status as a deity. Even worse, she had lost Luna. In the many years that followed, she forced herself past her loss. She had cut off the parts of herself that hurt. It was what her duties demanded of her, and she would play her part. Twilight's disappearance was in so many ways worse. Celestia knew that something otherworldly had facilitated her disappearance, and her vision into the abyss had given her new and imaginative ways to torment her in her nightmares. She didn't know if her student was alive or dead, scared and alone, or perhaps just trapped. “What good was all the power in the world if she couldn't protect what mattered?” She damned herself. It was through her manipulations and mechanizations that Twilight had value as a target. It was with these morbid thoughts echoing through her head that the mourning god finally drifted off to sleep. * * * I could see the abyss. A howling wound in the world that drew the light into itself, and never released it. It was as horrible as it was beautiful. I could feel its coldness. I could sense the death its wake brought. It was the antithesis to life itself. My wings ached, and I felt what little magic I could muster slip away from me. Sooner or later I would fall into its grasp, and Equestria itself would fall into darkness. Dawn would never come again. Luna would be forever alone. I grimly realized that should I meet my demise, my burden would fall to her. A burden I took to protect her. To protect all of Equestria. A burden I had already failed. The screams of tormented ponies suddenly echoed forth. Their voices merged into one collective cry for help. Then, in that horrible melody, I heard it. “AHHHHHHHHH, Help me, Celestia!!” Twilight's voice had broken through over the screams of the damned. My inaction became intolerable. Without thinking, without considering the consequences, I dove into the mouth of evil. As I approached, it lashed out at me, and wrapped its tendrils around my hind-leg. It immediately yanked me out of the air and dragged me. I screamed, and everything went dark. I could hear it laughing over my screams. It trapped me, mocked me, laughed at me, and belittled me. I had lost, and failed all those who thought me infallible. It made me see the torments it inflicted on all ponies. At that moment, I thought all hope was lost. A single tone suddenly reverberated in the dark. The darkness itself suddenly screamed. Beams of light enveloped me, I could feel its grasp weaken, and in that single moment, managed to kick myself free. Free of the void's grasp, I felt my strength returning. The light burned through the darkness, and I heard a scream unlike anything that could possibly be described. It was dying. The light grew brighter and bright, and in the final instant, night shown as day. I found myself standing on the ground, watching the light recede. Luna's night became visible again, and I ran through the wood looking for my student. I shouted for her as loud as I could. As I approached a clearing, I could see her lying on her side. With all my strength, I leapt towards her. As I landed, I carefully approached her, fearing the worse. Her breaths were weak, but steady. The darkness had left its marks, but Twilight had survived. I always knew she was a survivor, and she would never disappoint me. I wrapped her into an embrace. There were things I had to tell her, things I hoped she would forgive. I realized though there would be time for that. For this moment, I simply wanted to hold my student as close as possible. * * * For the first time in a fortnight, Celestia slept soundly. It was only in the morning did she realize that she was not alone.