Twilight took a deep breath before breaking the embrace. She took a step back and then held out her hoof, “Do you mind? I’d rather not walk back down there.” Night gave her an odd look before remembering her teleportation abilities.
“Sure, I understand.” He put his hoof over Twilight’s as she lit up her horn. Night closed his eyes for a second; there was a flash and a popping sound.
When he opened them, they were standing just outside of Rarity’s boutique. Twilight cleared her throat and Night glanced back at her. Twilight looked uneasy but had apparently decided it was best to break the awkward tension. “So, what did you find in Rarity’s place?”
Night rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, “Sorry, but it looks like anything that could have been of any value, had been taken. There were however, some ponies who did not take to kindly to visitors. Hopefully they will think twice before underestimating someone… Whenever they thaw out.”
Twilight looked down gloomily at the dry blood on her hooves. Night’s cape doing little to hide her mind from the fact that somepony else’s blood still covered her body.
Night internally faced hoofed. “Too soon, you jerk,” he muttered to himself. Quickly trying to change the subject, Night glanced around. “Hey, that’s an interesting looking statue.”
Twilight glanced up and saw Night pointing at a statue in the middle of the square. Twilight put her hoof to her chin, it looked like somepony she knew. Twilight stepped closer and soon began to recognize who the pony was. “Its… Big Macintosh!”
Night stepped closer and examined the statue, “Who was he?”
“Big Mac was the brother of my friend Apple Jack. But why is there a statue of him here?”
Night motioned Twilight over with his hoof, “Look at this, it hard to make out but from what I can gather, he sacrificed himself in order to save Celestia.”
“He saved Celestia in this world at the cost of his life…”
Twilight glanced away somberly and then stared up at the sky. “I wonder what happened to my other friends in this world?”
Night placed a hoof on her shoulder and smiled, “I don’t know your friends, but if they are anything like you, I am sure they did everything in their power to stop whatever happened here.”
Twilight glanced back down and smiled, “Yeah, you're right. They would never give up in order to keep Equestria safe.”
Night nodded, “Then let’s do our job and make sure that our Equestria stays the same.”
Twilight nodded her head, her eyes starting to fill with her usual glow. Night glanced at the area around him, “Is there anywhere else we can go to look from clues?”
Twilight put her hoof to her chin as she thought for a moment, “We may be able to find something down at Apple Jack's farm. She mentioned to me at one point that Granny Smith kept a journal. Perhaps if the house is still standing, the journal could possibly still be there.”
Night nodded his head, “Lead the way.”
Twilight took off at a brisk pace towards Sweet Apple Acres. It was just outside of town and luckily they didn’t run into any more trouble along the way. However, as they got closer, Twilight began to slow her approach. Twilight felt her enthusiasm leave her as she got closer and closer to the farm. The once beautiful trees were wilted and dead. The ground was dry and the whole place was silent. Not a bird nor animal could be heard. Twilight could see the barn was somehow still standing but the house was nowhere to be seen. As she neared the barn, it became more and more apparent that no clues would be found. The barn had partially caved in. Twilight stopped and winced at its dilapidated state. She turned back to Night who was trying to pick an apple from one of the trees. Surprisingly, despite their look, apples were in fact still growing from the ugly looking trees.
“Night, I don’t think you should eat from those trees. They look poisoned.”
Night was hovering just a few inches from an apple, “Relax Twilight, I don’t plan on eating it. I just want to get a closer look.” Night picked an apple and smelled it. He flinched then chucked it at the tree next to his. The apple exploded on impact. Both Twilight and Night then watched in horror as the juice from the apple began to melt the tree as though if it were made of acid. Night immediately took off away from the trees.
He landed next to Twilight with a look of shock still hanging on his face, “Um, let’s promise each other not to eat anything while we are here.”
Twilight nodded her head silently. "I'm going see what's left in the barn."
She turned around and walked into the barn, only to disappear from site as soon as she walked in. Night blinked as he stared at where Twilight had been a second ago. He then quickly stuck his head in, “Twilight? Where did you go?”
A voice could be heard just below him coughing, “Down here.”
Night leaned forward and realized that there was a small hole just in front of him. He extended his wings outward and then lifted them upwards. Night jumped forward and began to flap the edge of his wings causing him to slow his decent as he fell into the hole. The drop was surprisingly short, and as soon as he head could no longer see the top he could already feel the ground below his hooves. Night took a step forward and realized that the ground sloped downwards slightly to the point that after a few more steps he could walk without having to slightly bend his head. Night knew that being half Thestral meant that though he could not see as well in the dark as his full blooded brethren, his eyes could adjust far quicker than a normal pony and soon he could just make out a small silhouette of a pony just a few feet in front of him.
As he got closer, he could just make out an annoyed look playing across Twilight’s face. Night placed a hoof on Twilight to her know that he was nearby. Twilight nearly jumped as soon as he touched her, “Whoa, calm down. It’s just me.”
Twilight growled, “Sorry, normally being in the dark like this would be no problem. I can usually just light up my horn enough to give off some light. However, it seems that not even a basic light spell will work anymore.”
Night gave her an apologetic smile, even though he knew Twilight could not see it. “Don’t worry, I got it covered.” Night summoned his Keyblade. Twilight shut her eyes as the light from the blade caused her eyes that were slowly adjusting to the darkness, to bug out. Night turned his head and pointed his Keyblade at the ceiling before whispering, “Sublucent.”
Night's Keyblade, Oblivion, glowed at the tip before shooting out a small ball of light. The ball traveled upwards before stopping just before it reached the ceiling. The ball then expanded just a bit. The ball of light then grew bright as it literally lit up the area surrounding them. Twilight blinked as her eyes adjusted again to the light.
Once she could see clearly again, she turned to Night, “Wow. How come you never used that spell before?”
Night’s Keyblade disappeared before he gave Twilight a small smile, “Up till now I never really needed to. My eyes work just fine for me in the darkness. But I realize that you aren’t able to see like I can.”
Twilight glanced around here before staring back at Night and smiling, “Thanks.”
“No problem. Now let’s see where this leads. The ball of light will follow me wherever I go so stick close.”
Twilight nodded and did as she was told. Night led the way with Twilight close behind. They followed the cave for a few minutes before Twilight decided to end the silence.
“So, while you were in that other world, what exactly happened?”
Night visibly shuddered before answering, “Fine, I guess I should probably fill you in... When I first arrived in Canterlot, I knew right away that this world was different. The ponies there seemed… How should I put this? …More crazy yet somehow fun to be around. I went looking for you; though after a while I began to realize that you may not even be in this world. I then tried looking for a way back and ran into some ponies talking about a raffle. I asked them about that world and learned quite a bit about it before some guards bumped into me and got angry about it so they decided to throw me in jail for disturbing the peace.”
Twilight felt her jaw drop, “You got thrown in prison? Without a trial or a chance to explain your side of the story?”
Night chuckled, “Like I said, it was a very strange world. Luckily I managed to get out of my cell using the Keyblade. I then realized that I could perhaps get back using the mirror room from this world if it exists. I ran a full speed to get out of there. That turned out to be a mistake. I ran so fast I forgot to watch where I was going and ran into human. Dropped my Keyblade on impact.
“Wait, what in the world was a human doing in an Equestrian prison?”
“Just wait, it gets better. After having a little back in forth, the Twilight of that world appeared behind him. At first I thought it was you, until I saw the wings. Then a black pony with holes in her legs and bug wings showed up as well.”
“Sounds like a strange pony.”
“She was… Anyways, you picked my Keyblade only for it to appear in my mouth. I took that as confirmation that it wasn’t really you. I then said a quick goodbye before I ran off.”
“So how did you find the room? Canterlot castle isn’t exactly the easiest place to get around in.”
“That is a story I shall have to pick up for another time,” Night said as his voice seemed to grow darker. He motioned for Twilight to stop.
Twilight looked at him in curiosity. Night turned to Twilight and pointed at something Twilight almost missed had he not pointed it out. Lying on the ground, leaning up against the wall, was the skeleton of young unicorn pony.
Twilight bent down to examine the remains. A small box almost completely unrecognizable lay nearby. However, there seemed to be a small golden object still resting in it. Twilight picked it up carefully and realized that it was an old locket. Doing her best not to damage it, Twilight slowly pried it open. Twilight stared at the picture for a full minute before staring back at the skeleton pony and then back to the picture inside. Night watched as the locket fell from her grasp.
“Twilight?”
Twilight pulled the hood of her cloak over her face, trying desperately to hide the fact that she was trying to hold back the tears. Twilight was silent for a moment before she slowly got to her hoof and began to walk past Night back towards the way they had come.
Night turned and held up a hoof as he tried to stop her, “Twilight, what is it?”
Twilight shook her head, the hood still masking her face. “I just need to get out of here, is all. I just need some air.” Twilight’s voice seemed to crack with the word air. She quickly pushed past Night before galloping out of the light and into the darkness. Night shouted after her, but she was gone before he could even take one step.
Night stood there in silence before turning around to pick up the locket. Night examined the interior. On the right side held a blurred picture of what looked like a filly unicorn and an adult Pegasus. On the left were four simple words: For my special muffin.
*
Twilight fell to the ground as soon as she cleared the barn. Tears leaked from her eyes despite her best efforts to hold them back. Having to kill a random pony was going to be tough, but it was only after seeing a skeleton of somepony she knew, she realized right then that it would possibly be a taste of what was to come. The facts were obvious, a war or some catastrophe had happened and very few had survived. But it was the realization and knowing that there is a chance that every pony she ever knew in this world could be dead. Worst, she may end coming across their tombstones.
This world reeked of death and sadness. Twilight punched the ground underneath her hoof. “Out of all the worlds we could have gone to, why this one!”
Twilight didn’t want to cry anymore. By now all she felt was angry. Angry at this world and at everything that had happened up till now. She’d had enough. Twilight knew that there was nothing she could do at this point. But still, why this world? What is it about this world and why does all this bad stuff have to happen? Why couldn't she have found another daughter or perhaps a world where Trixie was the Element of Magic? Anything was better than this place.
Twilight sat there quietly, trying to come up with better world ideas, when she felt a scaly wing drape over her shoulder. Twilight didn’t even need to look to see who it was. “I just needed some air,” Twilight muttered. Night didn’t say anything; instead they sat there in silence. Twilight would open her mouth occasionally to try to say something, but the words would not come. So they sat there until Twilight finally managed to take a deep breath and slowly got up. She walked up to the wall of the barn, raised her hoof, and before she could even stop to think about the repercussions, she slammed it as hard as she could against the wall.
Pain immediately shot up her forehoof but she didn't care. Twilight drew her hoof away and was surprised to see that she had made a decent sized dent into the barn. Night grunted in response, “Feel better?”
Twilight examined her hoof before nodding, “A little bit actually.”
Night smiled and nodded. Though his hood covered her face, night could still make a out a small smile coming from Twilight. Twilight opened her mouth to say something but was cut off as a loud bang echoed off in the distance. Both ponies turned and stared off towards the middle of the deceased apple orchard. Night immediately got up to investigate but stopped when noticed that Twilight was hesitating.
“Twilight?”
Twilight shook her head, “Sorry but I am not too keen to having a repeat of what just happened a little while ago.”
“But what if it’s some pony that needs our help?”
Twilight stared at the ground as her body gave a small shudder.
“Twilight, remember what I told you, so long as we stick together, we will get through this. We will accomplish nothing by sticking around here!”
Twilight shook her head, “You don’t think I know that?! I just…”
Night took a deep breath ran a hoof through his blood red mane, “Twilight…” Night was all out ideas for a second until his eyes widened as an idea sprung from his head. “Hey Twilight, what if that was one of your friends down there?”
Twilight shook her head, “I know what you are trying to do Night. You’re going to try to convince me to go down there because it is something that I should do. If I want to save my friends, I can’t just sit around here and do nothing. If we want to save our Equestria, I can’t just sit here wondering when my next breakdown is going to happen. Well Night, you know what…?”
Twilight took off with towards the orchard at break neck speeds. She turned her head slightly as she ran, “You're right!”
Night watched her go in silence. He stood there for a moment before shook his head, “I am beginning to wonder if she is already broken or getting smarter. Honestly, I can’t tell anymore.”
Night took off into the air in a full on sprint, hoping to catch Twilight before she got too far ahead of him. He swooped down low, doing his best to dodge the trees as each came close to knocking him out of the sky. He could just make out Twilight in front of him before he accidently plowed straight into her. Both ponies yelled out in surprise before rolling into a tree. Night groaned as he shook his head, trying to clear the stars from his eyes.
“Uh, Night?”
Night opened his eyes and looked down only to realize that he was sitting on top of Twilight. She was staring up at him while he sat on her stomach. Night felt his face go red as he quickly got off of her, muttering sorry over and over as he did so. Both ponies were silent for a moment before another bang rang out, this time sounding extremely close. Both Twilight and Night poked their heads out from around the tree in time to see three ponies fighting off some Shadows.
These Shadows looked familiar; in fact, they looked just like the ones they had fought on the train while on their way to Canterlot. The only difference was that these ones had breast plate armor and dark silver gauntlets that made their hands look more like sharp claws. The ponies themselves looked interesting too.
Two were unicorns while the other was a pegasus. The pegasus was brown, wore a black hat and a leather vest. He had a gun mechanism similar to what Twilight had seen before on one of the ponies that attacked her. There was also a unicorn who Twilight had to admit looked too beautiful to be in world like this. She had a charcoal color fur and her white mane with a dash of red and yellow that really helped to make her stand out. She wasn’t doing much fighting but she was occasionally putting up a shield spell over her and her allies whenever she could if the Shadows got to close for comfort. And finally, the last unicorn was gray with a brown mane. She was wearing a blue barding and was using a small cannon like device should not be able to do damage at that size, yet somehow it was.
Twilight could hear the three yelling at each other but due to the noises their guns were making, it was hard to tell what was being said.
Twilight tapped Night on shoulder, “You know, there is a chance they may be just like those other ponies we have come across.”
Night turned around and smirked at her, “We will never know unless we help them.”
“I figured you’d say that. One three?”
Night nodded and summoned his Keyblade. Twilight took a deep breath and prepared herself before shouting, “Three!”
The Shadows all turned to look at the unicorn as she came charging in at them. Twilight took their surprise as an advantage and brought her Keyblade down upon the head of the Shadow closest to her. It disappeared in a puff of smoke much to Twilight’s delight. Just second earlier, she was worried these things may be stronger, but it appears that she may have become strong as well.
Twilight grinned as he began to light up the field launching fire balls at any Shadow that came close to her. Soon the whole area was clear, save for one, which Night quickly took care of by dive bombing into it. His blade made a clean swipe through the creature, before he slowed himself in order to stop from crashing into the nearby trees. Once peace had returned to the orchard, Twilight and Night regrouped and stood in front of the group of ponies they had helped.
The brown pegasus pony was the first to speak, “Well I’ll be, never seen a creature like you before,” pointing his hoof at Night.
Night flexed his wings, “I’m a half Thestral, my name is Night Glider.”
“Nice to meet you. Thanks for the help,” replied the charcoal colored pony. “My name is Velvet.” Twilight and Night could practically hear the silk and smoothness in her words. She pointed to the pegasus and then to the unicorn standing next to her, “This is Calamity and Littlepip.”
Twilight nodded her head and lifted back her hood, “My name is Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet some friendly ponies at last.”
Twilight watched as all three ponies jaws hit the ground. Twilight looked at Night in confusion before looking back at them.
Littlepip was the first to recover, “Um, I don’t suppose somepony has an explanation for this.”
Calamity grunted, “I can think of only one. We have all finally lost it!”