A spectrum of colors that cannot be seen.
The air buzzed with magic, the water ran fast and quick as the breeze came off of its surface, the fur on a lavender muzzle flicked in the wind as the mare it belonged too was as still as the rock she sat upon. It had felt like a week or so had passed since Twilight had started training, Luna was still not awake but she was sounding a lot better, she slept soundly and her coughing had gone. For the week Twilight had spent her days at the waterfall, slowly she was beginning to get into a state where the colors of her surroundings had become more visible in her mind.
Twilight breathed in and out slowly as she let her mind drift, her subconscious wandered to the front of her mind as she remembered memories of past, then came the colors. Two silver blobs, blobs because she could not fine tune the image like Q said she will be able too after training, these two blobs were in the vast of the blue magic that was flowing and running very fast just next to her. She sighed as she began to move trying to keep in the state of mind she was but bringing it to her conscious mind, much like static on her old Panascony Branco she used to own the image became even more of a mess. Q told her that it was like a muscle that has never been used and it needed to be trained, push too hard the muscle will rip though she was warned.
It wasn't long before Q came back to pick Twilight up, she was actually a very wise and interesting mare, although a tad cooky to Twilight but nevertheless fun to talk to and learn from. It was either her or Furgus that picked her up, she also found that Furgus was quite a nice bear, she wouldn't have thought that a logical response without the name 'Fluttershy' entering the sentence but one night when she was shivering from the cold after giving Luna her own quilt from her shivering he had come over and made her jump at first but then laid down next to her to keep her company. A familiar roar brought her completely out of her trance as she turned her head to the direction of the noise with perked ears.
Twilight turned around completely, "Heya Furgus, here to pick me up, I was kinda getting hungry," Though I barely have a stomach to fill now, Twilight moved forward to find a big fuzzy bear, "Is Luna up yet?" A low grumble from the bear is all the answer she got, Not yet then, I hope she wakes soon, Furgus lead down the path back to the hut, Twilight would probably go straight to Luna like she always does.
It didn't take long to get back, Twilight even bet without sight she could get back by memory but Q wouldn't let her, she said it was best to have either Furgus or her walk her back, Twilight knew it was the right choice but seemed to be a little bit.......... bored of sticking to rules which kind of worried her. In all of Twilights life she lived by a schedule, followed the Princess' orders and lived a really fun life with never having thought anything would bore her, it's strange but since she enter the jungle she was feeling more alive, outgoing eve but she couldn't shake that out of body worry that domed over her like an anchor.
"Child, how goes your trainin', any look on that magic yet?" Q asked as both the bear and Twilight entered the hut, "not as easy as it looks is it, this is nearly seven days, anye' av'n had no rest either, for tonight why don't yah keep Luna's company, we have to run some errands anyway,"
Twilight took careful paces over to where she knew Luna would be, "I-I still can't grasp the magic, I guess a small breather would do good and I think that looking after Luna shouldn't be too hard, what errands you got?" Twilight asked.
Q giggle, Ever curious this one, "I am in need of some erbs', we ran out of some califrei and bunsai so me and Munkey are heading up into the denser forest to get some, should only take around four or five hours," Stating like it was just a regular walk in the park.
Twilight tried her best to look as shocked as possible but she wasn't so good at facial expressions anymore, somehow it helped to see how you looked every now and then, "F-four hours, just for flowers, even when I was helping Zecora it didn't take up that much time,"
Q giggled again, "Twilight, where you came from was but a village, we are at an island full of undiscovered animals and plants, twud' do ye' wonders tah' realize that soon or you'll end up in a balazor's mouth girl,"
"Whats a balazor? I'm guessing its a big and nasty, and for some reason orange"
"You wouldn't be wrong on that one deary, nasty critters that will take yer' left hoof and then return for seconds the next day tah' spite yah'," Q said in a dark tone, "Promise me girl you will never go out in the woods without Furgy or me, It's not safe"
"I Pinkie promise, cross my heart and hope to fly," she began doing the action Pinkie had taught her years before, "stick a cup cake in my eye, I promise that I won't ever break it"
In the distance a very familiar shriek shouted, "EVER!!" then the noise went back to birds chirping leaving both Q and Twilight a little surprised.
"Do I even wanna?"
Twilight deadpanned, "Nope, trust me on that one, anyway when do you set off," Twilight asked.
Q was moving about the hut as Twilight could hear things shifting, "around ten minutes or so, its around midday now so I'm afraid that I will be back just after sunset, can ye' handle the fort while i'm gone girl," she said sarcastically.
"Don't make light of this here unicorn, I might be blind and magic.... erm............ magicless?" she said half questioning the word, "but I still can scream pretty loud, plus we have your wards up, I'm not worried and don't forget Furgus, right Furgy," Twilights face was met with a fish smelling sopping wet tongue to the cheek, "Argh! Furgy that gross, hehe"
"Alright you two, I'll be back soon, C'mon Munkey!! lets get rolling," as Q walked off Twilight rubbed away the slabber and sighed in relief, even though she put up a tough act she felt like she was breaking inside, her bones ached and felt extremely hot, maybe I'm getting the cold Luna had, I hope I do because then she would wake up faster, that reminds me Rarity once said that..... k-k-kissing passes it on faster but I would never......... no I-I wouldn't, Twilight paused as she could hear Luna's breathe from where she lay, slow steady breathes came from the alicorn, Twilight moved closer to her and bent down placing her cheek on Lunas to see if she was too hot. Ofcourse she hot, not what I meant, calm down sparkle. I-I can't can I? NO! she is my friend there is no way, w-what.... what if its for science.
That was a new low for Twilight and she knew but she really didn't care, when she thought of Luna she couldn't keep her mind from wondering how tender her lips would be, how sweet would it be but she was vulnerable and it was unfair, it ate at Twilight to think of doing this but it ate at her at the thought of not doing it. For science Pointless, for friendship it wasn't like that, but then............, then Twilight did what she thought she couldn't, she lent down.
Luna's breathe tickled Twilights muzzle, it was a surprisingly sweet smell not at all what she thought it would be, Twilights mind race of all the possibilities. What if she wakes up or she doesn't and I never tell her or....or....... Oh bugger it, Twilight pushed forward not thinking straight, their lips entwined as the taste of Luna entered her senses, it was amazing, like a drug Twilight didn't know what this feeling was, she felt the happiest she ever was but....... but saddened that Luna was not awake to share the experience. A few seconds pass as Twilight begins to notice she was quickly running out of air, she began to pull away but Luna's arm rapped around her pulling her into an embrace, Don't wake up, Luna no please no, unfortunately she never found out if Luna woke up or not, she passed out.
Midnight blue with a dash of lavender
Here again, really? is the world really out to get me, I bet Luna thinks I am really weird now, Twilight sighed into the darkness, "What can I do to fix this?"
"How about you turn around first and talk?"
Twilight immediately span around and saw Luna, Wait, I'm seeing her, "I can see you, L-Luna I can actually see you"
"Yes well we are in my mind but I am still trying to figure out how you got here and why your in darkness over there?" Luna said, genuine wonder in her voice.
"You mean you don't know what I did"
"What? what did you do?" Luna asked.
Twilight stumbled to get her words out, "W-well I....... I kind of.......w-well.........erm, I fell over banged my head and ended up here, Yep, nothing else happened," Twilight lied through her teeth and not very well as Luna picked up on it.
"Riiight~" Luna said, suspicious but she wouldn't press the matter if the one she liked looked so troubled over the matter.
Twilight felt like this was a dream come true but as she took in her surroundings she found it to be a little disturbing how different the two sides of the world were, on Twilights side there was a black liquid that made up the floor, it was solid but it moved like water and the sky was black, not just black but literally black, darkness incarnate. Luna's however was the complete opposite, gardens and flower beds as far as the eye can see, stars and the moon donned her sky, Twilight moved forward over to Luna's side slowly.
Just before the crease where Luna's world met Twilights she stopped, she was scared of this border, one line was stopping her from entering to Luna's mind but what would happen once she did but why did she think this, she had done this before, when she was a child she had done training in the same way but back then her world or mind was much more, well more.
She slowly inched toward the line as Luna watched on, for some reason even she felt tense and something wasn't sitting right with what was happening but she was too focused on Twilight to stop her, finally Twilight began by placing her hoof down on the grass of Luna's mind.........................nothing happened. Thinking it was safe she began another step and then felt her first hoof was weird.
She removed her second hoof and moved back to look at her first, her eyes spread wide in shock, her hoof had dissolved into white orbs of light, she quickly retreated and as her hoof passed the line the white orbs aligned and built her hoof back together. Twilight lifted her hoof to look at it, "What happened to it, it-i-it dissolved, you saw that right, I think your mind just attacked me"
Luna was shocked running all the way to the crease and mumbling, "No I would never do that to you, never you, no! Believe me Twilight, I don't know what happened," Luna hesitantly stretched her hoof over to the border between the crease to hold Twilights, Twilight moved her hoof up and slowly pressed it against Luna's, a spark of magic made them jerk back. Unknowing to both mares the instant they touched, something passed from Luna's world into Twilights.
They decided on just talking for now, even if it felt weird not to be holding each others hoof, it became a natural occurrence now and they felt naked not doing so, even when they are already naked. The hours passed and after a while they had parted, Twilight had awoken to the darkness again as Q came back, she noticed she was really comfy and warm, a soft warmness was on her right and a big fuzzy body was on her left and were both still asleep.
Q walked over and bent down talking in a hushed tone, "Hope you had fun whilst I was gone, I got mah' supplies so for tonight we don't have to do anythin' else, unless you want to practice for a bit," Twilight just shook her head and closed the eye that had peeked open on reflex, it seemed weird to be able to see clearly in her mind, maybe that was what she would be able to do soon, "Well then child, I'll be sleeping then, mornin' come we will start Stage two of the training"
A burden too great, words come unbeknownst to the one who speaks them
A few days had passed, Luna was still out for the count but for some reason whenever Twilight slept she could enter a world that connected her and Luna's mind's, so it wasn't like she was in any bad condition, rather she was just peachy but she said she needed to recover her lost magic before she would wake and she said that would take around another week. She began her second step of training, Q said that it really wasn't any need to touch the magic yet, she just wanted Twilight to be able to attain the state to see magic.
Twilight now was training to build magic from outside of her body, strangely it was now quite easy in terms of how fast she was learning, true she wasn't the master of gathering magic but she now was quite adept at natural water magic, its very strange. Twilight when she was studying under Celestia had in fact learnt about the color of ones magic, it represents ones soul but now she understood it was more than just a soul, it held a second color, one the eye cannot see, one color is for you mark, your magic, and the one that is unseen is the type of magic you are most adept with. This one fact made it quite clear, the first time she saw Q she had the colour of green floating around her white, the white was the color her magic had when seeing it but since her other color was green she learnt she was best with magic that involved plant life and the earth they stood upon.
Luna on the other hand was a pale blue but the magic that slowly emanated from her horn was pure white, Q had said that no one she had know in all her life has had pure white Magic because it represented the celestial bodies that Luna and Celestia inhabit on this earthen plane, this was the point that was confusing, Q admitted that there was one and only one non-alicorn who had actually got Pure white magic, It was Twilight herself.
The indications were astronomically ridiculous, she was not and had not ever been anything close to a celestial being, she never would be she was just you average maybe slightly really good Unicorn who used magic extremely well, why wouldn't she she was the student to one said alicorns but this could not and would not prove to be useful as to why she held celestial magic.
For now though she concentrated on the two fish who had become accustomed to their silent visitor, Twilight stuck her hoof in the water and laid her head down facing her submerged hoof, the Two silver outlined fish swan up to the hoof giving light pecks upon it, investigating and recognizing the creature. She did not disturb then in the least, it was weird, a week before she would do the same and the fish in the small pond that banked away from the river had stayed as far away from her, now all the fish and animals that were of kind nature seem to flock to her.
Twilight sighed, "whats happening, my body feels horrible but my mind is as clear as day, truthfully I would usually be making up crazy ideas of what will happen usually but now I feel calm and at ease, strange isn't it," all she heard in reply was a blurb as bubbles rose to the top of the water, "guess you don't know either huh?" even with everything that was happening she was calm and it used to scare her but now she didn't know what to think of what she felt.
At the hut
Q began to meditate next to Luna, she awoke just across from her in her hut, not any different from the one her physical body was in, "Your majesty, it is nice to see you,"
"As I you, but please just call me Luna, I am but a simple mare, no titles," Luna said with a grim disposition but quickly made way for a smile, "How is Twilight doing"
"That is why I am here, the child is growing adept in the ways of outer magic but I am afraid she doe's not have long," Q grimmaced as Luna's face dropped.
Luna stomped forward into Q's mind, "Explain! Now!"
Q stayed calm and composed even in the face of an alicorn, "It is not easy to accept but I am afraid that her body is dying, that I am sure of, I keep checking on her magic level without her knowledge and there is no edge to it anymore, it is not a sea but a vast universe of magic and I am afraid that is the cause her body is failing. Just yesterday she only ate one small baby potato out of a full bowl of soup, it truly filled her though, I am worried, this has never happened before and from your reaction you have never seen this either"
A lump was slowly forming in the Princess' stomach, getting bigger as she rolled the information around in her head, "So what now, we just sit here or do we tell her, what is the point in her training? its pointless now without hope, we need to find a way to heal her ailment"
Q shook her head as she sighed deep fully, "The only thing keeping her alive now is the training itself, soon she won't be able to stop her trance just to keep alive, I suspect in five days she will be fully integrated into her subconscious and no longer able to make her way back, after which she will slowly deteriorate back to Equine where her soul will be born anew, there is no chance of survival, I have checked, I tried many remedies, I even went up the mountain for specific roots that were used upon your sister many years ago," Q stated.
Luna's world behind them went from luscious fields of many hues to one of a dark ice ridden wasteland, her sky was blocked out by dense clouds as it stayed there, "So what, we keep her in the dark and let her die, NOO!! she boomed in the Traditional Canterlot Voice before collapsing to the ground with tears pouring out, "What.... what do I do?"
Q moved to the Alicorn and pulled her chin up, "Child, my dear for the age you are you are so young, the years tainted your heart but it planted anew and set the buds of life into a beautiful flower, why not pass that flower to the one who most appreciates it"
Luna looked slightly confused but caught on after a second, "it might not be long but it will be ours," she said sniffling, "When she comes back tonight I will confess my feelings, all of them, my gratitude, my honest feelings of looking up to her as a role model and finally the feeling I had locked away for many years under the dark cold tundra that was Nightmare moon," Luna began to cry slightly, "M-my heart"
Q moved back from the embrace, now that the alicorn knew what to do it was time, time that Twilight knew what was going to happen no less than a week from now.
Back at the pond
Twilight had fallen asleep with her hand still in the water, instead of sleeping though she found herself back in her mind, her subconscious mind. Twilight wasn't all that surprised at her little piece of world she now had gotten used to, now though it was different, by different she literally meant the word, the vast black of the sky was now an unparalleled pure white that would blind anypony if they saw it with equine eyes, not a big change but a change no less, as she looked around she found herself looking to the floor or should I say the sea beneath her. The water that was black was now a vast pale pink of glitter dust that swam the water beneath her, something caught her eye, it was a fish, no incorrect two fish that were Identical apart from there color. One was a lavender color and one was Pure white but somehow was black as well, both fish had swam just close enough to circle Twilight, it was beautiful. It was quite a sight but on closer inspection Twilight noticed that the Lavender fish's scales were dulled and it swam without vigor almost as if it was slowing down, unlike the lavender fish the white one was fast but whenever it came next to the Lavender fish it kept pace not to make it feel unwanted, Unwanted?.
Twilights thought caught her off guard, even if that's possible which Twilight deduced usual isn't at all but it did nonetheless she thought about what she meant, why was the fish being thought of as unwanted, She sat for a while watching the fish play noticing they both glowed ever so slightly, although the white dd so more. Then they came right in front of Twilight and made a circling movement and they blended at the speed they were moving, all that was left was a tinted purple circle with white specks all around it, it felt ominous but calming, something didn't feel right but it just was, i-it was now but not before.
Then once they stopped circling she noticed that only one fish was left, remnants of the lavender fish had somehow blotched onto the white fish, it still looked beautiful but this actually scared her, it made the lavender fish disappear and didn't bat and eye, if it could, at doing so. It delved deeper and deeper into the vast ocean of pink, pulling the dust as it did, draining all color like a plug that was pulled it disappeared replaced by emptiness once again, that is when she awoke in the grips of Q as she shook her body.
"Twilight, Twilight! wake up ya' damn filly, you can't do this yet, not so soon"
"Do what? I don't feel so good," she turned to her left sensing the silver fish, now she wish she hadn't, one of the fish lay there at the top of the pond a black blotch in the colors of the magic as the one silver fish swam around it in mourning. She cringed and looked away, somehow she felt the fish's feelings of sadness.
"Never mind child, a-are you okay, how do you feel," Q asked checking over her, slightly gasping at what she realised, This is not good, she really does not have long, no less than around two days now, WHAT HAPPENED!!, "Twilight can you stand, we have to get back," A small growl behind her what was low but not scary alerted them that Furgus had followed.
"Hello Furgy. I think I will be able to stand," Twilight began to move until an audible crunch made her fall to the ground and wince in pain, "My shoulder, i-it h-hurts so m-much"
Q quickly looked over the joint, then going wide eyed, there............ there is no joint there anymore, Twilights joint had ground itself to dust as her body now started its deterioration, "Furgus, carfully lift Twilight, we have to take her back, there isn't much time left," A small tear escaped the elderly mare as Furgus picked up Twilight as carefully as his pad's could do so.
They had rushed at a pace that wasn't dangerous to Twilight but it wasn't a stride but more of a fast walk, Twilight was now breathing heavy, her breathes came out raspy and wheezy, suddenly she coughed, only Furgus noticed the blood and alerted Q by a set of growls he learned, "This is really bad, her time is unpredictable, it matter not now, if she doesn't get to Luna in time it will all be in vain, hurry," They picked there pace up and arrived in the hut after around five minute, maybe six they did not know from rushing.
Furgus moved to Luna and placed Twilight next to her, Twilight opened one eye and smiled as a tear dropped from her face, she tried to lift her hoof over to the alicorn but the joint in the arm snapped making it flail to the ground, so Furgus carefully pushed her to Luna, where Twilight lay her head over Luna's in content as she moved to sleep and enter the trance.
Moment later she was back in her mind, no more white no more black, it was a literal sense of nothing, across from her stood Luna in her wasteland, tears that riddled her face seeming to dry up in an instant only to start again, Twilight moved without moving her legs, more glided down to her than anything. Luna was first to speak, "I-I have something to tell you, it won't take long, will you listen," Twilight nodded, not having much strength she chose not to speak, "I really didn't think that this would happen so soon, I-I," slurred words and tears that riddled her face grew tenfold, "I don't want this to happen Twilight but I can not do anything to stop it, your, you......," Luna was stopped by a hoof Twilight had risen, in this world she had no bones that was broken because that wasn't her body, her eyes told Luna that she already knew as one tear fell from her face.
Luna steadied herself for a second knowing herself now from Twilights reaction there wasn't much time, "Twilight for the next things I will be honest, the most honest I have ever been, not even Celestia has heard what I will tell you, I have never admitted it," Luna moved to the edge of the wasteland where the drop into nothing began, "Since you had released me from my darkness I have never been so in debt and grateful to anypony before, you might say I owe you nothing but I really do, you Twilight you are my role model, Twilight I-......I," she breathed one last breathe.
"I love you," Luna looked on as Twilight smiled.
Twilight came closer to the barriers where her tundra started and pushed over the line walking to Luna, the corrosion had already began on her hooves, "NO! Twilight, stop, go back you'll disappear," Twilight just smiled and calmly walked towards the Frozen Alicorn, until she was just in front of her.
Twilight finally lent forward and wrapped her arms around Luna, putting her muzzle right next to Luna's, "Luna," she began in a quiet voice, "I love you too," the alicorn began crying, Twilight moved back from the hug and stared in Luna's tear riddled face, then she lent in and pressed her lips against Luna's.
Luna accepted this as the one moment she will never truly forget as long as she lived but it was short lived as Twilight began to changes to bright white light, it started slow, moving up her legs and then over her barrel, all the way until it met where they were kissing.
Luna cursed Immortality for being so cruel, Twilight had dissipated into billions of white lights and drifted back into her nothingness and disappeared from her, that is when she awoke.
As she opened her eyes, from the blur she could see dots of light drifting into the air away from her, the last magic of her loved one as she returned to the source, the Equine plane, she cried.
A few weeks later back at Canterlot
Luna had thrown herself back into work after the loss of Twilight, it was the only way she could stay sane. When she left the Island Q had asked her to stay and learn. away from the business of society to calm her, she felt angry at her suggestion of simply training to calm down but she realized that what she was doing no was no less different, she ignored the subject.
Celestia hadn't come out from her room since she heard the news, she stopped court and had not even talked to her closest subjects, Cadance had come to govern for now, even when she and Twilights family were grieving, she would be strong because she knew her favorite little filly wouldn't want her to be saddened but it was a hard task, the hardest she has ever had to do.
They held a ceremony for her, as student to the Alicorn of the sun, it was held at noon during the day, though there was no body they made a small monument in her name, Twilight Sparkle, Brilliant student, the best of friends, and the one star brightest in the night sky. It now sat in the middle of a large field, it was secluded only for those that were related to the crown, she may as well have been directly.
The ceremony took a lot out of many ponies but the ones it hit the hardest was Twilights friends, they had left Twilight in an awkward way and guilt took hold on there minds, Luna did have anger at how naive and small minded they were to do what they did but she knew Twilight would never blame them, they were her best friends, for many years they were together in fun times, tough times, sad times but throughout it all they always helped Twilight and she was sure after she had gotten back, if they had gotten back they would have realized what they did was wrong, and they did just that although now it was too late.
That's the thing about immortality though your life will go on, even when those you hold dear past it is a cruel and jealous existence that takes those you hold dear into blissful sleep that you will never be able to join, all she could do now was hope Twilight was sleeping peacefully without regrets.
In Luna's quarter, just before the sun, creating the Twilight
Luna sighed as she looked out from her balcony, Celestia would still do her job, the sun began to set under the horizon, It's time I guess, Luna decided when she got back that all her grandiose look of a Princess was not needed, her star mane, sliver regalia and her tone of voice were all but gone, stripped naked for all to see, Well lets get this done, Luna moved to the edge of her balcony as she watched the last rays of the sun disappear, then she shut her eyes and began pulling the moon and stars up to the point where she needed them to be, though she was having a little trouble with the stars, they were reluctant to come out tonight it seemed. "Please don't do this to me, I have had enough grief without you acting up," Like a chaild being told off by its mother the stars resisted for a second but then released their hold on there bed chambers, "Good"
The moon and trillions of stars adorned the nothingness that was the sky's blackness, "It reminds me of Twilight," A small tear dropped from the side of her face as she began to turn to lay down, thats when a twinkle in the side of her eye caught her attention, "w-whats that?" she stared at the star that seemed to be moving, I thought I just told you not to do that, she sighed but the star did not stop but kept moving fast, EXTREMELY FAST............... "OH BUCK!!" the star fell at hurtling speeds directly at Luna, she tumbled back in dust, blue flames and landed in the wall at the back of her room.
Her head ached, this hadn't happened in over a millennium, So embarrassing, Luna tried to get up but found something rather big and heavy kept her down, the dust and flames though themselves beginning to calm down blocked her view of said object, after the dust cleared and the fire went out she had to rub her eyes, and again................ and again, "Am I dreaming"
A familiar voice came from above her but sounded distinctively older and had an echo like numerous people were talking, "I'm afraid not Luna, Hi, I;m back," the Mare smiled down to Luna who just fainted from shock.