//------------------------------// // The Edge of Forever // Story: The Ballad of Jack and Sylvia: an Equestrian Odyssey // by Venter //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle slowly opened her eyes. Considering how much pain she had been in when she passed out, she felt quite comfortable. A bit dizzy, and more than a little confused, but comfortable. She was outside, in a field of grass surrounded by hazy large objects that looked like trees. They were fuzzy though; out of focus, just large blurs of brown and green. In fact, the same could be said of the grass underhoof and the sky above. It was all fuzzy, as though her vision had suddenly aged a hundred years. She didn't like the feeling; as a mare of science, her ability to observe her surroundings was paramount. After climbing to her hooves and confirming that she was, apparently, healthy, Twilight began to explore her surroundings. As out of focus as things were, she found that she could still see the things closest to her. A blade of grass, a smooth stone, a bright red carnation. The latter most made her wince. She had rather lost her taste for carnations. She closed her eyes and set about casting a spell to make it a lily, a simple transformation. It didn't work. Her horn felt slightly warm, but the usual spark of magic didn't emerge. Losing her visual acuity made Twilight uncomfortable. Losing her magic sent the mare into a downright panic. She began to gallop from object to object, trying every spell she could think of. Grow that blade of grass! A failure. Rock into a tuxedo hat! A failure. Levitate a pile of sand! A failure. Recolor that door! ...wait. That door? Twilight blinked a few times, taking in just what her eyes were seeing. It turns out there were no trees surrounding this particular clearing. There were doors. Tall brown oaken doors with moss growing over their faces. The doors weren't set in any sort of wall; on either side of each door was simply another door, the edges flush with one another. There was only sky above the top of each door, though they were tall enough that seeing behind them was quite impossible. Perhaps if her magic was functioning normally she could levitate up and get a proper view, but in her current state that was simply not viable. The panic of losing her magic coupled with the confusion caused by the inexplicable doors sent Twilight over the edge. She began to hyperventilate, falling onto her rump and looking around at the blurry scenery before screaming. "WHERE AM I!?" She yelled, not expecting an answer. As her voice died off into the distance, she heard an unmistakable sound of groaning wood and creaking hinges. One of the doors, about two hundred yards to her left, was opening. Princess Celestia stepped out of the door, her pristine white coat and flowing mane immaculately sharp and clear despite all of her surroundings still being blurred. The alicorn walked up to twilight and gently helped her to her feet. "Twilight. I had hoped not to see you here so soon." Celestia remarked, adopting an affectionate and comforting smile. "Princess... where are we?" Twilight asked. "We are in between worlds. Between life and death, really. This is the nexus that all souls travel through, either to reach their next life or to find a final rest. This is the edge of forever." Celestia explained in a soft voice. "So... I'm dead?" Twilight appeared to be far less panicky than most would in her situation. For Twilight, true panic came from disorder and confusion. The princess's explanation, even if it had such grim news, was far better than not knowing where she was or why. "Not quite. You are close, however. Much of your soul is still within your physical body; if it recovers, then it will pull your consciousness back to Equestria. If not, then the rest of your soul will join with your consciousness here, and you will move on." Celestia continued. "That explains why my magic is so weak." Twilight realized out loud. "Magic is an expression of the mind and soul; if either are weak..." "...then the resulting magic will be similarly weak." Celestia finished her sentence. "As ever, you are a star pupil." "But Princess..." Twilight looked at her, afraid to ask the next question. "You were attacked on the same day as me. And now you're here. Does that mean..." "...I am not dead either, Twilight." Celestia put her fears immediately to rest. "While it's true that my physical form has been wounded, it will recover. In the interim, I sent my soul and my consciousness here. From here I can observe and study, as well as consult." "Observe and study? How can you do that in this meadow? And who do you consult with?" Twilight's panic having subsided, her natural curiosity once again became her dominant trait. "That would perhaps be better shown than explained." Celestia closed her eyes and her horn began to glow. The door she had come through re-opened, casting a white light over both Twilight and Celestia that blinded the mortal unicorn. Twilight's world became momentarily consumed by the light. When it subsided, they were both on the other side of the door. What Twilight saw next was the most breathtaking sight of her life. She was in a library. The shelves stretched onward and upward into eternity in every direction, packed to the brim with books and various artifacts. The room still had a slight blur to it, though it wasn't nearly as out of focus as the meadow had been. "Princess, I've noticed a bit of a visual anomaly in this world. Do you think that's also because my soul hasn't crossed over?" Twilight asked. "No. It's because so many other souls have." Celestia said in a simple tone. "The library isn't quite as crowded as the meadow, but there are still dozens of souls in every square foot. Try focusing very hard on a particular point." Twilight followed her mentor's instructions, concentrating with all of her might on a small patch of library floor near the lowest bookshelf. To her surprise, the general blurriness condensed itself into almost a dozen luminescent butterflies in every color of the rainbow, with cutie mark-esque patterns on their wings. "So these... souls... just linger for eternity in meadows and libraries?" Twilight asked. To be fair, the idea of an eternity in a never-ending library didn't sound like the worst sort of afterlife to her. "Not exactly. They linger until they are ready." Celestia answered. "Ready for what?" "Ready to leave their last life and memories behind, and start fresh. One of the doors from that meadow leads back to Equestria. If a soul enters it, a new body is created for them and they start anew. Sometimes they have vague trappings of their past life, but generally speaking they're a blank slate once again." Celestia clarified. Twilight still wasn't convinced. "Foals don't appear out of thin air, princess. What if a soul tries to re-enter the world when nopony is giving birth? Or what if somepony gives birth and there is no soul for the body?" "The universe is very good at fixing its own paradoxes. Firstly, a pony needn't remain a pony in every life they experience, nor must any animal be bound to the physical form of their past life. A soul is far more than that. You are still bound to that form because you are still connected to your physical body. In the rare cases where a soul enters the world with absolutely no bodies to possess, one is created for the soul. Usually an 'abandoned' foal, appearing in the middle of the night, but sometimes a fully grown body. That is actually the most common cause of amnesia; they haven't lost their memories, they simply don't have any. What memories they think they're getting are actually snippets of past lives. As for the latter point... well, the universe isn't always kind about solving its paradoxes. Stillbirths are often simply the result of a body being unable to find a soul." Celestia finished her explanation. Twilight found the change of tone near the end unpleasant; it seemed wrong, discussing something as horrible as dead foals in a place as wondrous as this. As though sensing Twilight's discomfort, Celestia led her down the aisle, passing thousands if not millions of tomes until she arrived at a full length mirror. The alicorn's horn once again began to glow, causing the surface of the mirror to suddenly shimmer with light. When the light subsided, it was no longer reflecting Twilight and her mentor as they were in the library. It was a window into Equestria. "Come now, Twilight. We must observe; I imagine you won't have much time to catch up once you get back to your body." Celestia instructed. Twilight could only think of one thing. If I get back.