“Do it,” Celestia softly said. The doctor nodded and began to treatment. Everypony Twilight held dear sat around the room, staring at the dying mare.
It had only been a day and a half since the stasis had ended, half the time Celestia had to make a choice. She’d gotten word that Twilight had worsened and there was nothing to be done. Her brain was slowly shutting itself off; Twilight was dying.
Luckily, everypony that Twilight knew was already in town after being notified that they’d be allowed to see her. In just ten minutes they’d been notified and were quickly shown to her room. Celestia tried her best to quickly explain what could be done and they all understood. It was almost unanimous that they would end her suffering, even though none of them wanted to see Twilight go.
That’s where they all sat. Celestia gave the order to do the procedure; soon Twilight would be out of suffering and able to hear them all say goodbye. She wouldn’t have to be alone in her final minutes.
“Okay, is everypony ready? The moment I do this she’ll become extremely unstable. However, she will no longer feel pain and you’ll be able to say goodbye,” the doctor announced. Everypony responded with a simple shake of their head. Celestia was the only one to speak, to say yes.
Twilight’s heart monitor seemed to go off the charts almost instantly. Everypony slowly began to stand up to say their farewells, but were stopped by the wide eyed gaze of the doctor. She quickly darted over to Twilight and began to examine her vitals.
“What’s wrong? I thought you said she’d become unstable,” Celestia asked.
“I didn’t even activate the procedure!” the doctor responded, her voice erratic. “Yet she’s acting as if I did. It’s impossible, but… but she’s actually waking up!” she exclaimed. Everypony instantly lifted their heads and waited in anticipation as the doctor continued to do whatever it was she was doing.
“Twilight, can you hear me?” the doctor asked. Slowly, Twilight groaned and moved her arm slightly. Celestia let out a slight laugh of relief and began to get near.
“Twilight, we’re here. Come out of it, I know you can,” she began to cheer as she took a place on the other side of the bed.
“C-Celestia?” Twilight asked, her eyes slowly opening. Everypony began to smile widely at the sound of Twilight’s voice. They wanted to crowd her and let her know that they were there, but knew they would have to give her some space.
“Twilight, It’s me. Don’t worry, I’m here. We’re all here, waiting for you to come back to us,” Celestia happily cried. She almost jumped back as Twilight instantly shot up and looked around the room.
“Whoa, don’t strain yourself,” the doctor quickly said. “You’ve been in a coma for quite some time. We’ve had you under stasis, so there wasn’t much deterioration of the muscles, but it’s still not a good idea to jump up like that.”
“Twilight, are you really awake?” Mystia asked as she walked over to the foot of the bed. The two made eye contact for a second before Twilight nodded. All they had to do was make eye contact however and Mystia instantly knew. Smiling widely, Mystia began to laugh through her teeth before going into an outright, almost maniacal, laugh.
“What’s so funny, Mystia?” Celestia asked, her smile fading slightly.
“It worked. After a thousand years, it finally worked!” she gleamed, her eyes filled with madness. “Twilight, get up and give them the bad news.” Everypony looked confused as Twilight slowly started to get up from the bed. Celestia neared Mystia and began to demand what she was talking about. The doctor began to stop Twilight.
“You can’t stand up so quickly, Twili-“ she started before stopping mid-sentence, her mouth wide open and pupils shrunken. Everybody gasped as the doctor fell, struggle to get up, and passed out. Twilight smiled and pulled herself from the bed.
“Oh, what a gathering to greet me,” Twilight said, her mouth still in a grin. “Oh wait, you’re here to meet Twilight, aren’t you? So sorry, but she won’t be making it.”
“Twilight, what are you talking about? I know you’ve been out, but you ain’t makin’ a lick of sense,” Applejack asked.
“It’s simple. You can thank Celestia and Mystia here. Well, Mystia mainly; Celestia was just a pawn,” Twilight answered.
“What are you talking about? Who are you?” Celestia demanded as she stepped forward. “What did you do to Twilight?”
“Who am I? I’m the ruler of Equestria, the one that brought an end to evil. I’m the one born to the moon, the one that is written nowhere. Celestia, think hard, you know who I am,” Twilight said with a glare.
“You’re… no, that’s impossible. You’re dead! You died in your own fire when you destroyed ancient Equestria,” Celestia answered, fear in her voice.
“That’s right, Celestia,” Mystia interrupted.
“Mystia, what’s going on? What happened to Twilight?” Celestia pleaded.
“I must say, it’s nice to see that you can show fear. This has been a plan of mine since the day I found out about the dark void. You see, there was something about it I never told you: it housed him, the one born to the moon. It was a realm he made for himself. However, I found out that he was dead and past any point of revival. However, there was a way,” Mystia explained, stepping away from Celestia and next to Twilight.
“What happened to Twilight?!” Celestia demanded, anger and fear written on her face.
“Don’t worry about her, she’s at peace now. I lead her to believe there was escape from my world, but there never was. She hopelessly began to look for it but she was claimed by a fire,” Twilight responded. Everypony in the room immediately started at Twilight, but felt themselves come in contact with a force field.
“Mystia, why?” Celestia asked. “I mourned for you, Twilight sacrificed herself for you! Was this the plan all along?”
“Don’t you get it? I hate this world! After my mother died I knew there was nothing but evil in the world. I only accepted being your student so that I gain the power to destroy everything. Celestia,” Mystia laughed, “I played you like a fiddle.” Celestia’s eyes widened and she began to say something, but just allowed her head to hang.
“Go ahead, Mystia, tell them your big plan. I can tell they want to know. Besides, I need to get used to this body. Being a mare is… definitely different,” Twilight said.
“As soon as I found out about the Dark Void I started to research everything about it. Oh, how happy I was when I found out about him. In just a single night he razed Equestria to the ground and ended all evil. Even better, I found out that he wasn’t even dead! Well, his body was, but the Dark Void was where he was trapped. Within just a few weeks I found out he could be revived.
“However, there was of course a catch: only a pony of extreme power could host his body. Not only that, but only those of a certain bloodline could enter his realm: Twilight’s bloodline. But Twilight wasn’t the original plan. You see, I wasn’t powerful enough to host his soul. But my brother… I played him into entering with me. Together, we would traverse the dark void and resurrect Mom.
“But I wasn’t ready for the violent nature of the void. My brother’s life was claimed before we could come in contact with his soul. Following that I quickly found myself alone and without a plan. But I remembered your habit of taking students in. I also remembered that you could never forget one of your students, being the soft-hearted weakling you are. All it took was copying the spell to enter the world and sending it back to you. Another thing: I never lost my powers. I could have left at any point, but why do that? I held leverage over you.
“It took longer than I wanted for you to send someone, but you finally did. Oh, how giddy I was to find out that she had power and she was related to my brother! In fact, she was more powerful than he could ever be. Not only that, but she was destined to become a princess as well, wasn’t she? I watched and waited as she made her way through, helping her along with my powers. She’d had been dead as soon as she got there if I hadn’t held her hoof through the way. Funny, she always thought the void was having mercy on her.
“Finally, she made it to me. I played the part of the innocent trapped victim perfectly. I made her believe I was trapped and played on her strong sense of duty by making her think it was me or her. Being the selfless pony she was –she was your student after all- she chose to save me. As soon as she did she actually doomed herself; I reversed the spell and took all her power and teleported myself out. I was ready to die, to teleport to nothing, but I actually found my body waiting for me. Since then, it’s just been a waiting game. And it’s finally done; he’s back in Equestria!”
“Give her back!” Shining Armor yelled as she disrupted the field with a large charge of magic. As soon as it was down, everypony charged except for Celestia. However, before they were able to reach him, they were all encased in small force fields made of dark magic. Everypony looked at Twilight and Mystia with anger, but they only gave a shrug and looked at Celestia. Her eyes were dark purple and her horn was emitting dark magic.
“Celestia, not you too,” Cadence said.
“I’m sorry. I wish there was something we could do, but you don’t know the power he holds. All of Equestria gone in just the matter of a day. I… I’ve been weak for so long. Ever since I banished Luna to the moon I’ve doubted myself and I’ve grown weaker since then. So many students that I’ve killed, or…” she trailed off as she looked at Mystia. “There’s no winning the fight. Mystia, let them go. They’re not the evil you want to destroy.”
“Very well, we’ll let them go,” Twilight said. “Oh, and you can refer to me as your god. Don’t be afraid; everypony in my time did.”
“Celestia, we can take him! Let us go,” Rainbow demanded. “Twilight wouldn’t want this.”
“I…” Celestia started, making eye contact with each of the ponies in the room. They each held hatred towards her, she knew that since the day she revealed it was her fault that Twilight was gone. “I’m sorry. Cadence,” Celestia said as she looked directly into Cadence’s eyes. “Twilight can’t be gone. She only dreams, and only she can stop him. She’s no longer in the dark void: she’s just asleep. You know what to do.” Cadence tried to make sense of what she was told, but was unable to before they were all teleported from the room.
They were all in Luna’s room. Luna jumped back as they all appeared in front of her.
“W-where did you all come from?”
“Celestia sent us here,” Cadence said. “I’m afraid that Twilight is… Something took over her body and it’s evil. Whatever was in the dark void is free and Celestia decided to side with it to protect us.”
“What? Who was it?”
“He said a lot of things, like he was the one who razed Equestria and the one born to the moon, whatever that means,” Cadence answered.
“He’s back?! Celestia always feared, but I never believed her! He’s just a legend, the one thing even we fear. It’s because of his influence over the moon that I was taken over by Nightmare Moon so long ago. It corrupted me and I saw him; I saw everything he did to Equestria in the name of destroying evil. If he’s back…”
“What is there for us to do? We could take him by himself, but it would appear that we’ve been played the fool by Mystia. She’s the one behind all of this,” Cadence explained.
“Everypony, could you please give me and Cadence a moment to speak?” Luna asked as she swept her eyes over the faces of the ponies. They all began to protest, but quickly admitted defeat and left the room. As soon as they were gone, Luna sighed and sat on her bed. “I fear that I must admit I knew of her treachery.”
“You what?!” Cadence angrily asked, moving forward towards Luna.
“Well, to an extent. I always had a hunch that she wasn’t who she said she was. Despite my sister’s protests, I decided to enter her dreams soon after she returned. And I fear that the things I had seen should have scared me more. But…”
“But what, Luna? If you had said something, Twilight would be-“
“You think I don’t know that?” Luna snapped, jumping from the bed. The two were mere inches away from each other, anger their only expression. “I wanted to say something, but I was admittedly looking out for my sister. She’s emotionally unstable; hearing that her student could be manipulating her and I, as well as Twilight, would have devastated her.”
“And you’d rather have her suffer through what’s going on right now? I’m so sorry to say this, but your sister is less important than Equestria’s fate. Or did you forget that, Princess Luna?” Cadence angrily asked. The two stared at one another for a moment before Luna growled in anger. Cadence’s eyes went wide as Luna screamed and sent Cadence flying back into Luna’s desk, breaking it in half.
“We took an oath to protect Equestria, yes, but we’re more important to each other than Equestria will ever be. Every single thing we’ve done throughout history has been for the sake of Equestria, no matter the consequences it would have on us. Celestia sent me to the moon for a millennium just to protect Equestria. Don’t you dare tell me that I’m not allowed to be selfish for once in my life,” Luna screamed, lifting Cadence off the ground and tossing her against a wall. Cadence groaned and slowly picked herself off the ground.
“You were hurting Celestia more by putting Twilight in danger,” Cadence pointed out as she wiped blood from around her mouth. Luna started to attack again, but stopped herself. Looking down at the floor, she turned and took a seat on the bed again.
“We’re not perfect,” Luna admitted. “Both Celestia and I have made mistakes that still haunt us to this day. Our lives may seem great from outside, but the truth is so much harsher than that.” Luna looked up at Cadence, tears streaming from her eyes. With a soft sob, she continued, “Neither of us have been emotionally fit to rule for at least a thousand years. Celestia’s breaking point was with Mystia and was only further worsened by my banishment. She may seem to carry on well, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Twilight was her saving grace. Ever since my return everything has been about Twilight, about how she is destined to become something great. But she never got over Mystia. Because of her magic, I couldn’t enter he dreams, but I knew of her pain. Emotionally, she died a thousand years ago. Twilight only sparked her return to life, but the day she was declared comatose…
“That day is a day I remember well. Throughout the entire day she simply walked around with the same blank look on her face. Any attempts at communication garnered the same blank stare, nothing more. By the end of the day I was more worried that I’d ever been. That night I visited her. For the first time that entire day, she spoke. Do you know what she said?” Luna asked, making eye contact with Cadence.
“No,” Cadence responded, wiping away the last bit of blood.
“She said that she killed Twilight. She knew what she had done was the wrong choice, but she couldn’t stand to not do it. After that she just cried. It was the first time I had seen her cry since Mystia’s disappearance. When Mystia returned she didn’t even begin to show improvement. She was happy to have Mystia back, but she knew it wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Soon after, I started entering Mystia’s dreams.”
“Luna, I’m sorry, I-“
“It is I who should apologize. You were only doing what you could to protect Twilight. I’d have done the same for my sister. I realize now that I’ve made yet another wrong choice to add to my memories. But this time I can right the wrong. Cadence, this is important, did Celestia tell you anything else? She wouldn’t have sent you here if she thought all was lost. There has to have been a reason.”
“Yes, actually. She said that Twilight was still alive and that she was only dreaming, whatever that means. But I don’t see how-“
“Then I know what I must do,” Luna interrupted.
“Excuse me?”
“I wish I could explain, but I fear we have little time. Cadence, a war is brewing. We’re too late to stop Twilight’s host from gaining power and being released on Equestria, but we’re far from too late to bring Twilight back.”
“You can bring her back? How?!” Cadence gleefully puzzled. Instead of answering the question, Luna simply stood from the bed and walked over to Cadence, putting a hoof on her shoulder.
“I need you to take everypony to the Crystal Empire and shield it with all your magic. I’ll lead the resistance against Twilight’s host here and hold him off for as long as I can. The important thing is that you all survive. You all hold a connection to the conscious realm, one that Twilight can connect to and bring herself back with.”
“I can do that. What about Celestia, she-“
“Celestia is… she’s not herself. If I know her, and I do, she will step in when she needs to, but will generally let things run her course. Until she has to, she won’t do anything that will harm Mystia or Twilight. The way things are going, I fear that she will have to make that choice soon,” Luna said.
“Luna, thank you. I’ll protect the others, I promise.”
“And I’ll protect Equestria,” Luna responded. The two nodded slowly at one another before Cadence left the room and explained what they were to do. They would all be safe, Luna was sure as she’d ever been. With sadness written on her face, Luna laid back on her bed and closed her eyes.
Instantly she was welcomed into the world of dreams. She quickly sifted through all of the dreams, trying her hardest to find the one she wanted. After a few minutes of searching, she found the one she needed.
It was a dream that didn’t seem real, even to her. It was fuzzy, hard to access, and had a dark feeling to it. When she was finally able to enter into the dream, she only saw two things: Twilight and a door. Nothing else, just those two. Beyond the door was absolute darkness and the door itself seemed to be faintly reminiscent of realizing the horror of mortality.
Twilight was literally face to face with death. However, she had the luck of being allowed to make a choice. There was nothing Luna could do, this she knew. However, she had to try. Utilizing every ounce of her powers, she whispered two words. They echoed through the room, but Twilight showed no signs of hearing them. Luna looked with dread as Twilight reached out and put a hoof on the door. Not caring for her own well-being, Luna tried once more, using so much magic that she caused herself to black out.
However, right before she faded from consciousness, she could have sworn she saw a glimmer in Twilight’s eye; a ray of hope.
It all depended on Twilight now.