//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14: By the Lake 
// Story: Under the Northern Skies 
// by Prolet 
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I felt a strange serenity enshroud me. The wind had almost died down, and the waves on the surface of the lake were now mere ripples. Rarity was sitting next to me, her body radiating comforting warmth. If we weren’t some two thousand years in the past, this could’ve been a vacation. The Crystal Mountains were a truly beautiful region; so pristine, that it was hard to tell the difference between all the years.
 
The sun would set in an hour – its rays were already in shades of orange and red. I smiled. “Rares… what will we do when we get back? What will we tell our friends? Are we in a real relationship?”
 
There was a moment of silence before Rarity answered. “To be honest, Twi, I don’t know. We can think of those things later. Let’s just… savor this sunset for as long as it lasts. I know there’s a war a few miles from here, and that we’re in another time… but it doesn’t really matter all that much.” Rarity nudged me gently.
 
“Perhaps that’s true,” I sighed, questions still lingering in my mind. Everything was so confusing now. I had no experience in the field of love, and didn’t know what I was supposed to do in my new… relationship, if it could be called that. Yes, it can be called that. Don’t be stupid, Twilight.
 
The sun gradually lowered under the horizon, until all that remained of its might was a crimson hue over the mountains. I could feel my heart racing once again – the other Twilight would surely be here soon. Only the presence of Rarity was keeping me at least somewhat calm. But no matter what, I couldn’t help but ponder what she’d do to us. It was entirely possible that she’d keep her promise and send us back, but if that really was the case, would the future be changed?
 
Rarity wrapped her hooves around me. “There’s no need to worry,” she whispered into my ear. “Everything’s going to be alright, one way or another.”
 
“Sure.” I kept my eyes pointed at the sky. The first stars were already faintly visible. “If all of this has been for nothing, and we’re stranded here, it wouldn’t be that bad. We’d still have each other, but what about all of our friends? And the princesses? Will this ‘Twilight’ be our new ruler?”
 
“I told you, there’s no need to think about questions like that right now, darling,” said Rarity with a soft voice, although I sensed a tinge of nervousness behind her words.
 
It took some time for the last light to vanish. It was starting to get chilly – considering the latitude of this region, it was probably late summer or early fall right now. Had it been early or mid-summer, the sun would’ve stayed up much longer, perhaps even for the entire night. Yet, I didn’t find myself missing the warmth of summer as the extraordinary night sky began to light up. Just like some days before, constellations, distant nebulas and rogue stars painted the dark canvas.
 
“The sky’s beautiful,” noted Rarity casually. “Just like you, Twi.” I giggled as Rarity cuddled me.
 
“Aww, thanks! But I’m surely no match for you.” I kept smiling, taken by Rarity’s praise. It actually felt good to be flattered about something else than being smart, or just about being a gentle-born magician who happened to be Princess Celestia’s personal protégé.
 
“Mhm. I was almost waiting for you to argue back,” said Rarity. “Comparing beauty is pointless. Some things are beautiful, and most not any more than others. The sky is beautiful. Love is beautiful.”
 
I felt my heart racing, this time not from fear. Being so close to Rarity made me feel like I was gliding above the clouds – or in the endless, empty steppe between the stars. Somewhere far away, giant celestial bodies pulled each other together, almost like two ponies. Inevitably, they’d come together. Physics don’t work that way, exactly… I quickly pushed my negative thoughts away. Throwing away the romanticism of the night would’ve been silly.
 
Soon, I saw numerous lights moving towards Bluerod, making my heart skip a beat. Though I couldn’t see from this far what the lights were, it was almost certain that the army was returning – and as the lights were on the ground instead of air, the victor of the battle wasn’t hard to guess. Any moment and she’s here. Any moment.
 
The lights stopped moving. Suddenly, it was even colder than before, and now, not even Rarity’s coat could warm me. I turned my head, freezing in horror as I saw that Rarity’s body was locked in place.
 
“So, here we are, Twilight Sparkle,” told an unmistakable voice from behind me. I turned around and saw the alicorn standing firmly, staring straight into my eyes, as if she could pierce through my soul. Her horn was glowing in a red hue. “You have served your purpose, and served it well. But I’m afraid that you can’t return home, for the timeline has been changed for good.”
 
“What did you do to her?!” I exclaimed, pointing at Rarity in shock. Returning home wasn’t the first priority right now.
 
The alicorn cocked her head. “Nothing. I stopped the flow of time for the two of us – just for a little while.”
 
“Why?”
 
Letting her stare down, the alicorn shook her head. “Because… because…” She turned her head back towards me, and I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Because you need to see, Twilight Sparkle. I still need you for many purposes. You need to see – and to understand.”
 
I scowled. “And what if I refuse to cooperate?”
 
The alicorn gave me a smile that looked forced. “You won’t refuse.”
 
“How can you be so sure?”
 
For a second, I was surrounded by an endless void. My lungs contracted, and terror filled my mind. Every inch of my body was frozen solid. Then, the world reappeared, but I noticed that I wasn’t in the same place anymore. Everything was tinted purple, and I was standing, once again, on a mountain. Below me, familiar forests stretched far away. The only missing thing was the train tracks.
 
“This is a window. A window in time and space – one of the hardest, perhaps the hardest spell to perform,” told the alicorn from next to me, suddenly flickering into existence.

I gasped in disbelief. “What? But I’ve never heard of such a spell, and I’ve gone through pretty much every book in the Royal Canterlot Library!”

The alicorn shook her head. “As far as I know, this spell isn’t mentioned in any book. In fact, I created it myself. It sure wasn’t an easy task, but I had centuries of time. That was one of the things keeping my sanity intact during the centuries.”
 
“Alright, then... so, are you finally going to tell me why you were imprisoned?” I asked, trying to keep my tone as polite as possible despite the anger that was building up inside me.
 
“Yes.”
 
The world blinked, and I was again elsewhere. At first I had trouble recognizing the surroundings, but then I realized where I was: on the edge of Bluerod. On the other side of a vast clearing, buildings rose many stories high. But from this close, I saw that they weren’t as glorious as I’d previously thought. Most of them were dilapidated and in various states of disrepair, even though their exteriors were painted with bright colors. Ponies slowly paced around, most with empty eyes.
 
“This is my capital,” stated the alicorn with a sad voice, stepping beside me. “My beloved capital. All of the original inhabitants are gone. Do you know why, Twilight Sparkle?”
 
“I have no idea, Twilight Sparkle,” I replied. Not noticing or simply not caring about the sourness of my answer, the alicorn began walking forward into the town. With nothing else to do, I followed in her hoofsteps.
 
“They are gone for good. Long dead, every one of them, I presume. Two hundred years ago, this was a mighty city, even rivaling the Crystal Kingdom. At its height, it was much larger, and had a huge standing army. The biggest in Equestria.” The alicorn sighed. “Gone – all of it. Every pony had to move out after the War of Nineteen Kingdoms.”
 
What? “I’ve never heard of such a war.”
 
The alicorn looked surprised. “Oh. You haven’t? I thought at least that would be well-detailed in history books millennia from now. I suppose that history is written, or, well, not written, by victors, after all.
 
“It happened, like you’d probably guess, some two hundred years before this time. Lasted for a while. To put it shortly, I was defeated, and blamed for causing the war.”
 
“Well, did you cause it?” I inqured.
 
“I… I…” the alicorn stuttered, taking a moment to gather herself. “Perhaps. It depends on what way you look at it. But one could say I put the ball rolling, and when the dominoes started falling, everything collapsed. Battles were fought every day. Soldiers died, and so did civilians – plunder, plague, starvation – they all took their tolls.”
 
With a flicker, we were again elsewhere, this time in the middle of a pine forest, probably one on the foot of the Crystal Mountains. It was night, and the stars seemed to glare at me, chilling my spine. They weren’t flickering at all. Their unnatural, static light made me shiver. Everything around me was still… stopped.
 
“You brought me in the middle of a forest,” I noted, warily glancing around to find the alicorn. She was, once more, standing behind me. Her colorful mane contrasted sharply with the dark surroundings. On her face was a look that betrayed deep regret.
 
“She never liked me. No matter what I did, what I accomplished – she didn’t notice. Must be a habit of hers… I heard that the same happened later on with the whole ‘Nightmare Moon’ thing. What a shame.”
 
“What does this have to do with anything?”
 
The alicorn frowned. For a small moment, her mane appeared to glow more radiantly. “This has to do with everything. I waited and grew bitter. She never noticed. But then, I did something that forced her to notice me – declared war upon a nearby kingdom. Things went downhill from there. The complex network of alliances between the many states triggered a great war. Almost every piece of Equestria had its share of fighting.
 
“I never thought that would happen… that they’d honor their alliances, I mean. I just wanted her to look at me, consider me an equal. And like me in the way I liked her. It’s a shame that most ponies are so loyal, for if that wasn’t the case, everything might have worked out.” The alicorn’s explanation sent shivers down my spine once more. The world seemed to stare at us intently, even though nothing moved.
 
Is she even sane? “Who’s this… she?”
 
“Why, that’s Celestia, of course,” told the alicorn casually, smiling slyly as a look of disbelief painted my face. “Who else? The ruler of Equestria’s mightiest city-state, the alicorn who raises the sun, the mare with heavenly grace unmatched by any other.”
 
“And then you were imprisoned. But alicorns can’t be banished forever, of course,” I said, still trying to keep calm. “I’ve seen that first-hoof.”
 
The alicorn nodded. “You’re right. Especially, if the alicorn also happens to be the Element of Magic. During all those years of being encased in a mountain, I rebuilt my beautiful city in pockets of space-time not seen by anypony else. All those ponies in Bluerod – they’re from various periods of time. I lured them to the ritual site, then sent them back here, to this point.
 
“But I wasn’t banished right away. I was put under an indefinitely long house arrest.” The forest around us flickered away. We were now in the same small wooden cabin I’d seen in a dream. “Eventually, Celestia visited me, and I told her everything. I… confessed my love. What do you think she did, Twilight Sparkle?”
 
I looked straight into the alicorns eyes, which demanded an answer. “…Banished you?”
 
My namesake snorted. “Oh, really? Banished? Are we talking about the same princess, the kind, caring, and control-freak, destiny-rambling one?” Not daring to reply, I evaded her gaze. “No, she didn’t banish me. She simply took a sad look at me, shook her head, and silently walked away. That’s what she did.
 
“After that, I was shocked, and grew even bitterer than before. I used my magic to summon a few elder creatures to ravage the North, and retook the lands that had been taken away from me. For that, the other rulers made a coalition against me. Needless to say, I was defeated. This time, they didn’t let me go easy, no – with ancient spells they imprisoned my soul in two different artifacts. One of them you’ve already seen.”
 
“That’s so much to take in, in such a short time, that I’m afraid I didn’t really understand it all,” I said, my voice shaking a bit. “So, you fell in love with Princess Celestia, declared war on someone, causing a much bigger conflict. And after you lost, you confessed your love to her.” Not able to contain myself, I shook my head. “What the hay were you thinking?”
 
“I wasn’t thinking.” Again we were elsewhere, now back in Bluerod. The buildings looked the same as before, but nopony was around. “Everypony was gone… and they still are. But at least I got new ones. Perhaps the time-space continuum was permanently damaged and I’ll cause the collapse of the universe, but who cares?” continued the alicorn so casually, with such a stoic face, that I could but frown.
 
“You can’t be serious. Do you care about anypony other than yourself? What about all the ponies you transferred to your time? Many of them died in that battle. Don’t you feel even a little regret?”
 
“I do.” The alicorn turned her head towards the window, and at that moment, we were in a wintery landscape. A flat plane of snow surrounded us in all directions, ending in a wall of mist some distance away. “But I was alone. So alone. I feel like what I did had to be done – my country has to live again. I never got the chance to have Celestia for myself, so I must at least have something.”
 
I again shook my head in disbelief. “And you are willing to sacrifice anyone to have that?”
 
“It’s not that simple, Twilight Sparkle. What does ‘sacrife’ truly mean? The ponies came to me. I had an offer for them – servitude in the glorious Bluerod. Most agreed, because in this time, there isn’t much else to do. One could say I manipulated them, but I’ve sacrificed nopony.”
 
“Your thinking is so biased and illogical, that I wonder how you have kept your sanity intact,” I noted, sighing. It seemed that there was no reasoning with the alicorn.
 
Suddenly, both of us were again standing at the shore of Bottomless Lake. Time was still stopped, and I saw Rarity lying on the rock we’d been on, making me nervous. She was so close, yet so far – she looked more like a ghost than a living mare, not even breathing. “Would you please stop changing the backdrop?” I asked.
 
The world flickered away, and I found myself floating in a void. “If you like this better, Twilight Sparkle, sure,” stated the alicorn with an uncaring voice. “Now you know why I have done what I have done. But do you understand?”
 
“No, I don’t,” I blurted out, with no reason to lie. “Surely being lonely or being rejected can’t be so hard that you’d need to wage war and cause countless of deaths. Tell me… Twilight… did you ever stop to think of other than yourself? The common ponies, the ones who suffered when you just wanted attention?”
 

Floating in front of me, her mane radiating light in the shades of dusk and dawn, the alicorn looked nervous. I saw from her eyes that she was full of worry. “Yes. Every night, before I fall asleep, I wonder what it’s like for them. That’s my only regret. But after all, I believe that they’d be happier under my rule than Celestia’s, or anyone else’s, for that matter.  Monarchs tend to control everything. I’m different. I give them freedom over themselves and their destinies. They get to choose what they want to be like – and whether they want to live a free, perhaps shorter, but much more full life under my rule, or a safer but tedious one under others. After one year, I’ve given everypony I’ve taken a chance to go back. Most have rejected the offer.”
 
I felt a pain in my chest. That can’t be. Why would they not return home? “Honestly, I don’t believe you. I just can’t. And whatever you think of justification, I’m certain I could never understand.”
 
“But I had to! She didn’t notice me! Do you know how painful that is?”
 
Images of longing from a time far away – or far ahead, it didn’t matter – floated into my mind. I’d always adored Celestia, not as a love interest, but as an immortal goddess whom I wanted to know. And when I was still young, I’d gotten all I ever wanted: to be her personal protégé. Even when I lacked friends – later, when I lacked a very special somepony – everything had fallen straight onto my lap, just like on a silver plate. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt for being such an incredibly lucky pony. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but I don’t know. Look – I just want to return to where I was. To Rarity. We want go home. Can you give us that?”
 
The alicorn shook her head slowly. “The timeline has been changed so drastically, that I’m afraid you can’t return,” she said with a sad voice, surprising me. “I am sorry, Twilight Sparkle, more than anything, for messing you up in this. But… it just had to happen.”
 
“You can still reverse what you’ve done,” I offered, cocking my head. It was worth a shot.
 
“It’s not that easy,” sighed the alicorn. “For starters, I imprisoned Celestia and Luna, telling them that I had to have a word with a future Element of Magic. It wouldn’t be easy to release them. Secondly, I prepared so much for this, for such a long time, that giving up now would be idiotic.”
 
“But you can still do it? If that’s the case… then do it. Just do it. Let everypony go. Get away. Find a new life.”
 
“There’s no life left for me, Twilight Sparkle. It feels like I’ve become a mere shadow of my past self, an empty shell with little emotion or desire left. All that I once had… and through the years, it kind of bled away. Now my kingdom is all that I have left.” The alicorn looked defeated, even though she’d been victorious in battle just a short time ago. “Twilight Sparkle... tell me. Tell me what life is like.”
 
I hesitated, but then let the words come. I told the alicorn what life in Ponyville was like – what it was like to have fun with my friends, work with them, and perform my duties as the town’s librarian. The alicorn listened keenly as I detailed my everyday routines, how awful it was to eat Spike’s porridge each morning, and how I had a bad habit of oversleeping.

The alicorn nodded every now and then, not letting a single word slip past her ears. “And that’s just my everyday life,” I continued. “And with the friends I have, everyday's an adventure in itself, not to even mention the ‘real’ adventures we tend to get into. I don’t think that’s just because we’re the Elements... no, even without that, we’d be all over the place.” I smiled, my thought wandering to our first adventure in the Everfree.

“Adventures... I’ve had my share of them, too,” noted the alicorn stoically. “But never with any friends. If some artifact needed a taker, or a mighty beast I slayer, I was soon there, but not a single time did I have anypony for company.”

After a moment of silence, the alicorn nodded once again. “Please go on, Twilight Sparkle. I want to know more about your friends.”

“Oh. Sure!” I went on to explain how I’d first met Pinkie – how she’d thrown my a party right away, just because I was new in town. Soon, I found myself taking turns on explaining each of my friends, how I met them, and what their personalities were like. The alicorn didn’t turn her eyes away from me even for a second.

“And then there’s Rarity,” I told, imagining her sleeping form somewhere. “She’s at times quite adamant about being clean and good-looking.” I shrugged. “I guess that’s normal, even though I don’t really care about such things myself. She’s also an incredibly creative and selfless pony – if one of us needs help, she’s first to offer her hoof.

“Her ambition is large, and I think she’ll eventually achieve all the goals she has set for herself, becoming a famous fashion designer and all. Still, she’d never charge those ludicrous amounts that the Canterlotian moguls do.

“Oh, and did I mention her looks?” I remarked, giggling innocently. “Her blue mane matches perfectly with the pristine white of her coat. And even though she does keep herself out of dirt and rain whenever she can, I...” I shook my head, smiling at the alicorn. She cocked her head. “Honestly, I think that her mane looks incredible when it’s all wet and flows freely down her neck. Oh, and her azure eyes...”

Taking a pause, I swalloved, feeling a heat rise onto my cheeks as I realized what I’d begun rambling about. “And, I happen to love her.”

There was a moment of nervous silence as I stopped. The other Twilight kept her stern eyes on mine, making me twitch of uneasiness. Then, she spoke again. “So that’s what life is like. Mine was never like that. You are a very lucky pony to have such friends, Twilight Sparkle. I envy you, and… I understand why you can’t understand.” With those words, we were again by the lake. This time, however, a chilly breeze swirled my mane around. “You are right, Twilight Sparkle. I have done wrong. Perhaps, hopefully, you’ll forgive me someday. And Celestia, too, but I doubt it, after all that’s happened.”

The alicorn gave me a look – in her I saw desperation, defeat and sadness. “I... I know I can’t ever fully pay for my sins.” A tear escaped the alicorns eye, but she didn’t even flinch. “Life... I see that I never really had one at all.”
 
Standing still, I opened my mouth, but then closed it. The alicorn turned to face the lake, then took determined steps towards it. What is she doing?
 
“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle. I suppose this is the only way. I hope you have a happy life,” stated the alicorn with a regretful voice, stepping into the lake. I watched wordlessly as she made her way further, swiftly descending below the surface. The radiant light of her mane lingered under the water for a while before disappearing.
 
My mind suddenly became cloudy, and I barely avoided collapsing onto the ground. I walked towards the sleeping Rarity, my thoughts jumbled and hazy. Settling next to her, I took one last look at the lake, then closed my eyes. Shivers suddenly went down my spine, and my stomach twisted. What just happened?

Then, the warmth of Rarity’s body reached me. My thoughts settled down, and as I wrapped a hoof around Rarity, my heartbeat slowed down. Here, next to my lover, I felt pace. Here, I was safe.
 

--

 
The rays of the morning sun awoke me. My muscles ached from sleeping on a rock, and my mind was still hazy about last night. I remembered talking a long time with Princess Twilight, but the details were enshrouded in a grey fog. Rubbing my eyes, I rose up, smiling as I saw Rarity peacefully resting next to me. I could but wonder how she was able to sleep so well on such a surface.
 
Walking next to lake, I tapped the water with my hoof, feeling a chilly wetness. Was it all a dream? Did we really talk right here?

“Good morning, darling,” said Rarity cheerfully. I turned around and saw her getting up, stretching her muscles. “Did she come at night, like you thought she would?”­­

I rubbed my chin, trying to reach deeper into my memories, but they seemed to evade my consciousness. “I think so. It feels almost like a dream now. We talked and talked… and then she said something and went into the lake.”

“Huh?” Rarity looked confused.

“I’m not sure what happened,” I told her, grinning sheepishly. “But whatever it was, we’re still alive and well.”

“But where are we?”

I took a look at where Bluerod should’ve been, but it was gone. The nature had taken over the spot, and from this far, the forest didn’t look any different there than elsewhere. “I suppose we’re back. At least it looks like that.”

Rarity smiled, making her way to where I was standing. The crimson light of the morning sun beautifully reflected off her white coat that was, thinking about it, quite dirty. “That’s great!” Rarity let out, embracing me fiercely. Once again, I felt air escape my lungs. “But now that we’re here, how do we get back home?”

“Doesn’t matter right now,” I answered, lunging at Rarity. She let out a surprised yelp, falling onto the ground, getting pinned under me. I laughed, and pressed my lips against hers, lingering the kiss for as long as I could, feeling the hooves of Rarity wrap around me.