//------------------------------// // All Dreams Must End (Part 1 of 3: Princess Twilight Sparkle) // Story: Undisclosed Desire // by Dark Enigma //------------------------------// The path to the Princess's castle is rather straight forward--literally. According to the Doctor, they were at the generator closest to the edge of the city, and the only generator with a straight path to the center of the city where the Princess's abode stands. But Trixie is confused as to which princess the Doctor referred to. To her knowledge, alicorns are immortal, so both Celestia and Luna are likely candidates. But when she asks who it can be, the Doctor dodges the question by bringing up some pointless fact about how skyscrapers are made or that the streets are paved with a material he made himself that will never wear away. Trixie tries asking Ditzy once, but all she does is repeat what the Doctor said. And Silverstreak remains oblivious to all except his thoughts. After a while of trying to get some answers, Trixie gives up and stares at the sidewalk as she blindly follows the Doctor's hooves. "And here is the division separating the city from the Crystal Empire," says the Doctor giddy as if the line itself is a valuable piece of art in a prestigious museum. Trixie sees the change in the sidewalk from gray and bland to colorful and iridescent. She stares at her reflection as it stares back. Her new get-up is eye catching--gold bands with sapphires--but she misses her hat. But, more importantly, why is the Crystal Empire here? Trixie rips her vision away from her stunning reflection and sees a dazzling view. As far as the eye can see is crystal. The buildings, the roads, even the few ponies crossing the streets. What more, these ponies seem happier than the ones in the city. Each brave enough to pass a friendly greeting, even smile--their crystalline coats shimmering every time they do so. Wide-eyed and jaw to the floor, Trixie mumbles, "How is this possible?" She only ever heard about the Crystal Empire, but she sure of one thing: it's suppose to be on the ground. The Doctor trots along noticeably happier, and after greeting a sapphire mare with a light jade mane and tail, he says, "This is all possible due to Princess Twilight's persistence to keep everypony she cared about safe." Trixie hurries to catch up with the Doctor, and, once by his side, struggles a bit to keep up with his livelier pace. "So... Twilight Sparkle"--Trixie chews over that name to find out how she feels about this--"is the Princess we are going to see?" The Doctor hums his tune again but stops mid-way to answer the inquiring genie. "No--well... yes and no. We're only going to see a fourth of her--I think that's how that works." "What do you mean 'a fourth?!'" Trixie asks perplexed and irritated at the Doctor's roundabout way at answering her questions. "You'll see," is all he says then bursts into a full speed run. "Come on," he excitedly yells out, "the main attraction is up ahead!" Trixie sees the castle and thinks about running after the Doctor, but her unsteady feeling about meeting an old acquaintance holds her pace to a trot. A gray blur whooshes past her, causing her to instinctively grab on to her hat. Though, she lets go when all she feels is her mane. She tries to shrug off the embarrassment of grabbing an imaginary hat by looking back--sliding her hoof down her neck as if she had to satisfy an itch instead--and sees Silverstreak far behind. Every step he takes seems uneasy as if the ground is poisonous. His face holds a grimace which only gets worse when a garnet colt waves at him. It's as if he is allergic to this place and all he wants is to burn it all and leave. Curious, Trixie reaches for his mind, but she is quickly stopped by a barricade of pure hatred. Her own mental tendrils crash and bend at impact, feeling as if she physically impacted it herself. She tries her best to hide her scrunched up face squirming in discomfort by shaking her head, then she returns to following the Doctor who is far ahead with Ditzy. Trixie, in a small smile, shakes her head this time in amusement instead as she realizes who it rushed past her only moments ago. It takes a few minutes for Trixie to catch up to the Doctor and his assistant. Luckily, they stopped in front of this pedestal with a floating heart-shaped jewel over it. The Doctor turns in Trixie's direction as he hears her hoofsteps right behind him. "Ah, there you are. Now, look at this--never in my life, traveling to the farthest corner of the cosmos, have I seen an object quite like this. A piece of lamenous rock found around the origin of the Crystal Empire, geometrically cut into a shape that can pick up the resonant frequency of a heart in order to create--yes, create--a perpetual energy that can safeguard whatever its wielder holds dear. The Doctor clears his throat as if he is about to give a lecture to a group of college students, then goes on to say, "Princess Twilight used this gem's energy to lift the very foundation of this very empire in addition to the city she built around it into the sky. And, my, what a sight that was. She saved thousands of lives, but... she had to sacrifice her own to do it. But, because of her sacrifice, we continue to live in harmony in this bloody hell." Trixie gasps as she dares ask, "How did she die?" Instead of the Doctor speaking, it is Ditzy who continues the story. "The Crystal Empire was the last safe haven in the world. And when Queen Tricky heard of its existence, she sent her army to come and destroy it. It didn't take long for one of our scouts to spot a huge army coming our way," she says as she places her hoof around the Doctors neck. With her voice obviously quivering, she continues. "We lost a lot of our friends trying to protect the city. You see, we couldn't use the Crystal Heart to do it. Something about energy and the space around it. i don't know--Doctor?" "The output didn't meet the necessary requirements to envelope the city as well. The heart may have perpetual energy, but there is only so much it can release at a time," explains the Doctor. "Yeah," says Ditzy, "and because of that we had to defend the city ourselves. But it was obvious we were gonna lose and there wasn't enough time or space to move everypony into the Crystal Empire. So... Princess Twilight came up with another plan." This time the Doctor jumps in. "At the time, I was studying the crystal heart and I found a way to generate an energy that binds with the crystal heart's energy and thin it out, so it doesn't saturate the space around it thus giving it more room to release more energy. At the mention of this discovery, Princess Twilight asked me to fabricate these generators and place them around the city. Obviously, this was going to take some time, but the Princess already had a plan to obtain the necessary time. "At her order, everypony came back in to the city, and she alone went to face the horde. With a miniature version of the crystal heart around her neck, she cast a spell that took my concept of thinning out the main heart's energy and used it to supersaturate the air around the city with the energy. "A violent explosion of light and color burst from the crystal heart and shot into the sky, showering the city in an array of color as if the auroras were dancing around us. It was then when I heard the voice of the Princess in my head. She told me I only have one week to finish the generators. But before I could respond, she cut the connection. "Another flash emanated from the crystal heart, this time followed by a tremor to course through the city. But as intense as the tremor was, not a single building was damaged. They were all being protected by a violet aura. The wind did pick up some, and it was then I noticed the clouds get closer to the city. "When the demons saw the city leaving, they rushed the city. But Twilight didn't let them on the departing island of Equestria's last citizens. Whenever one got on the city, Princess Twilight would toss them with her magic as far as she could considering she was trying to levitate an entire city with a lustrous empire at its core. "As she fends off the monsters, the fight took her off the city and onto the cold field of the northern lands. By now, the city is meters above the ground but still not completely airborne. She needed time and the crystal heart around her neck was what gave her that time. It protected her long enough for her spell to take its full effect. She poured everything she had into one final push and the city was in the air floating up self-suspended on Twilight's spell. "Some of us tried to go back to help Twilight, myself included. But a barrier stopped us from getting out of the city. I had to witness darkness surround an lavender glow and snuff it out. The miniature heart wasn't as stronger as the main one and its energy was depleted before it could be reinstated." Silence creeps over Trixie, giving way to the sound of the groups breathing and the ever-present wind coursing through the city. With a long sigh, the Doctor leans his head on Ditzy and says, "We had a job to do. Princess Twilight's barrier and levitation only had enough energy to last a week. But, with the generators, it could last a lot longer, indefinitely..." Trixie's throat feels dry, but, after a hard swallow, she manages to speak. "So she's gone for good?" "After the generators were up and running, I made 'doors' so to speak in the barrier, and I used one to go and look for Princess Twilight. I searched all over Equestria, thinking she might have survived, but I found no trace of her or where her body could be. It is safe to say she is not with us any longer," replies the Doctor. "Then who is the Princess I, Trixie, am suppose to meet?" "Yes, Doctor," a feminine voice announces itself behind the group. "Who is the Princess this mare is suppose to meet?" The clacking of hooves on the crystalline ground sounds off as a unicorn mare with a long, black mane trots towards the group. Her coat is a pale yellow like the color of an aging page within an archaic tome, and her cutie mark--briefly showing as her flank sways with her overly-exaggerated walk--is a small spherical grid outlined in blue. she brushes past Trixie to stand face-to-face with the Doctor, a small complacent smile on her face as the distance between their muzzles reaches an uncomfortable range. Though, the Doctor certainly doesn't mind, matching her smile with his own. "Hello, Doctor," she says. "How's the generator?" Ditzy, not being able to stay quiet as this mare stands so close to her Doctor, speaks up. "The generator's fine," she says as she steps between the two ponies, separating them with her hooves. "Really," the unicorn says as if she knows something, stumbling back all the while. In response, the gray pegasus faces her and looks her dead in the eye and says, "Yes, really." The two don't say a word; they don't move. As to further invoke Ditzy, the mare yawns and holds it for an unusually long time before exhaling directly into Ditzy's face. Snorting, Ditzy's face scrunches up--her brow furrows--as she continues to glare at the pompous unicorn; her eyes bounce between different details of the mare's figure as if Ditzy is looking for something to pick at. "Alright, you two." The Doctor breaks the tension. "Serbie," he then says to the unicorn, "Is the Princess busy?" Quickly turning around so her tail flicks Ditzy, Serbie steps away passing Trixie once again as if she doesn't exist. "The Princess is currently meditating. Nopony is to disturb her." "Ah, well--exception can be made." The Doctor steps after Serbie, but is quickly stopped by a magical force that grabs on to his tail and pulls him into the air. Turning around to face the Doctor suspended upside down in the air, Serbie says, "It doesn't matter how cute you are. Nopony means nopony." "Let him go," Ditzy demands, stomping her hoof on the ground. But, instead of complying, Serbie smiles and lifts her as well next to the Doctor, but--at a second thought--Serbie sends Ditzy to the opposite side of the pedestal holding the heart. Ditzy flails and flaps her wings in order to break free which only leads to Serbie to further encase the pegasus in magic, restricting her movements to slight trembles, which seems to elate the unicorn, her smile growing wider, and she giggles at the struggling pegasus. "Come on, Serbie," says the Doctor hanging in mid-air. To which, Serbie responds with a chuckle and a "no." Then she walks away, swaying her flank deliberately within the Doctor's perspective. She passes Trixie for a third time. But this time, Trixie refuses to be ignored. She holds out her foreleg just as Serbie steps in front of her and trips her, causing her to fall flat on her muzzle. Simultaneously, the Doctor and Ditzy are released from Serbie's magical grip, and they fall with an oomph. After rubbing away the pain from her muzzle, Serbie stands up on the edge of her hooves to make it seem she is taller than Trixie and yells straight into her face, "You stupid mule's spawn! Have you any idea who I am?! I'm the Princess's second-hoof mare! There's nothing that goes on in this city I don't know about!" she glances at Ditsy, then continues. "You may be immortal, genie, but there are fates far worse than death so DON'T tempt me!" After a moment of staring blankly at Serbie's face contorted with rage, Trixie yawns profusely and retorts, "You bore me. And you're annoying. You're annoyingly boring, and Trixie couldn't care less who you are." At that, Serbie's left eye twitches and her face reddens with fire. Her horn begins to glow white hot, but, then, Silverstreak--finally catching up--makes his way up to Trixie, pushing Serbie out of the way with one clean swipe of his hoof to do so. Falling on her side, Serbie's fury drains away into what looks like fear as she sees the silver colt who shoved her. The sudden change in demeanor surprises Trixie, stepping out of Silverstreak's way before he pushes her, too. "Silverstreak," Serbie calls out as she gets to her hooves and--hesitantly at first--catches up to the colt. Staying slightly behind him, Serbie asks, "Where's my brother?" "Dead," he replies bluntly. "What?..." she whispers. "But you were suppose to take care of him--" "He was suppose to take care of himself!" Silver says sharply. Serbie shrinks back at his bite, her face dropping--while Silverstreak reaches the castle's entrance and turns around to say, "Let's see the Princess and get this over with," to Trixie and the Doctor with his assistant. They canter along up to him, passing Serbie who is shivering, teary-eyed. She glumly looks up at them and, in a flash of light, teleports between Silver and the castle doors. "S-sorry, I can't let you through," she stammers with a lump in her throat and a mysterious fear coupled with tears in her eyes. "Are you getting in my way?" Silver raises a brow at her. Behind him, Trixie stares at the two. She seems to be the only one showing any interest in the confrontation. The Doctor and Ditzy are merely waiting on the side--waiting for the inevitible to happen. They know something about Silver Trixie doesn't which only peaks her interest further. Silver certainly doesn't look dangerous in any way, but the way Serbie acts around him make it seem as if he is a walking time bomb ready to go off at his discretion. After trying to avoid Silver's gaze while still holding her ground, Serbie uneasily replies, "Y-yes." Gently, Silver lifts Serbie's chin with his hoof. Their eyes meet, and the unicorn's countenance drains its color; her eyes look like if they are being forcibly held open while she mouths an indiscernible phrase, though it can just be her mumbling mindlessly. Like a stone, she drops to the floor when Silverstreak lets go of her, curling into a fetal position as her eyes overflow with sour tears. "Y-you s-said you wo-wouldn't d-do that anymore-ore," Serbie manages to say behind her shaky voice. "I lied," Silver replies. And, with an emotionless side-step, he enters the castle followed by Ditzy then the Doctor. All of them pay no attention to the crying mare on the floor. Trixie canters around Serbie all the while staring at the unicorn silently weeping into her hooves and trembling sporadically. Whatever Silver did to Serbie, Trixie is intent on finding out. Such a skill is useful when dealing with problematic ponies. Though, she will be wary, so she doesn't end up the same as Serbie. She steps inside, and looks for Silver. She sees him gazing up at what looks like a giant wall of pure light; but, more importantly, she looks at his cutie mark. To her surprise, there is nothing branded on his flank. No cutie mark; just a silvery canvass. Trixie continues walking along, fixated on Silver's flank. She pays no attention to what's ahead of her--that is until she feels a warmth on her cheek. She steps away and sees the Doctor smiling at her. His cheek has touched hers. And, since the Doctor has no problem sharing his personal space and he clearly saw her getting too close, he intentionally didn't put any effort in moving out of the way. Trixie glares at him, not accepting his smile, so instead of going around him, she magically drags him out of her way--his hooves skidding on the marble floor as Trixie stay true to her path, head held high. She stops though when she notices the aforementioned white wall. It extends all the way up to the ceiling and curves outward as if it's a bubble being forced out of the castle. And although it's not moving closer to the castle doors, it trembles like a bubble and has a reflective sheen. Murals on the castle walls reflect perfectly on this wall of light, painting it with scenes of important events from pony history. "What is that?" Trixie asks gawking at it. "I don't know," quickly replies the Doctor in kind. "Why don't you have a look inside," he says stepping towards her and, without warning, he shoves her inside. Trixie disappears behind the wall along with her yelp of surprise, concentric circles pulsating away from her entry point. Inside, Trixie's surprise simmers into annoyance as she stumbles while trying to regain her balance. The floor feels sticky and sinks inward which makes it harder for her to find her ground, but she does. She turns around to yell at the Doctor, but she sees nothing but white, pure white. A slight buzzing sound grabs her attention, so she makes a mental note to yell at him later and walks deeper into the white void. After a few minutes of nothing but walking, the constant buzz in her ear is lost among her thoughts, and soon she doesn't notice it anymore. The buzz intensifies and whispers something that causes Trixie to flick her ear. It repeats itself, this time louder and Trixie stops. "Hello?" she asks nopony in particular. It says it again, and this time Trixie hears it perfectly. "Trixie... shh..." It is a subtle voice almost drowned out by Trixie's heart beating in her ears. It speaks up again. "Trixie, shhh..." "Umm, Princess? Is that you?" Trixie's eyes dart back and forth in search of something other than white nothingness. "Trixie... shh... Trixie, shh..." A cacophony of whispering voice join in. "Trixie..." "Trixie... shh..." They continue to shush her until they meld into a flurry of white noise. Whether they're saying her name anymore, Trixie can't tell. It's all a mess of voices crashing into voices and forcing themselves down her ears to embed themselves in her brain. The blue unicorn closes her eyes and scrunches up her face as the voices grate her eardrums. Finally, she can't take anymore and screams, "Enough!" Silence meets her, but it is so sudden that she thinks the whispering rubbed her eardrums to powder. But her thumping heart reassures her she hasn't gone deaf, and so she relaxes, opening her eyes to see the same white landscape unchanged. She sighs. "Whoever this Princess is, she better be able to help... a fourth..." she says, remembering what the Doctor said to her. "A fourth of Twilight is already too much for me!" she yells out. Senseless walking--it feels like hours ago since Trixie first started her journey in this white nothingness of space. But she can't really tell; nothing in here specifies the change in time. She even thinks she hasn't moved at all since everything looks the same since she got here. But one thing she does know is that she's tired of walking. Pain crawls up her legs as she takes a step after mind-numbing step. All of the sudden, the exhausted genie collides with something. It must be white, because nothing has changed in this blank void. Trixie steps back, rubbing her muzzle. She glares ahead for any sign of a wall or something that got in her way. She carefully taps where she hit that something and feels a solid, flat wall. Upon closer inspection, she sees a shape on the wall. It's not surprising she missed it before, because the shape is a merely few shades lighter than the white around it. Trixie has to strain her eyes in order to make out the shape. It looks like a four pointed star, with its point narrow and long, surrounded by a halo. This is the only thing different from everything else so this must be it. Acting on impulse, Trixie calls out, "Princess?" In response, the star sends out a pulse of darkness coloring the white landscape into a true void. A wind picks up and swirls around the star burst, lifting it into the air. It shines causing Trixie to squint her eyes against the bright light. Then, the star descends. And for every few feet it drops, outlines of color spring to life. Windows, hallways and doorways, a throne. And over the throne, the star pulsates again. Another outline appears, but this time around the star burst. First legs and body, then head and mane with a horn. Next, the outline colors itself with a spark. Sky blue shades in the unicorn's body while a deep purple streamed with thin lines of gold and silver paints her mane and tail. Then the star dims and becomes the unicorn's cutie mark. All together, the newly manifested pony touches the floor and the wind stops, dropping its grip on the pony's mane falling straight down. Once on the floor, the pony opens her eyes to reveal two eggshell white irises--the same color as her cutie mark. They fall upon Trixie, and, with a slow sigh, her horn sends out one final wave of light to add the remaining colors to the surroundings. Trixie steps aside with a start as the Doctor walks past her. He, then bows and says, "Princess," in a somewhat formal tone. The Princess with a stern face--unyielding--replies, "Doctor." Her voice strong and firm. As the Doctor holds his bow and the Princess her expression, they soon melt into mirth, and they both laugh. "Come now, Doctor," she says. "You know you don't have to use formalities with me." "Ah, but they're so much fun when used on such a close friend." The Doctor returns from his bow. "You're lucky you are," she says as she steps down from her throne. "I don't excuse just anypony from interrupting my meditation. That being said, I hope you have something important to say other than idle chit-chat. As much as I enjoy our conversations, I'd rather be interrupted for something more substantial than your boredom." The Doctor smiles then says, "I brought a guest for you to see." Then he motions to Trixie to come closer--but she ignores him. The Princess throws a formal smile with little emotion behind it and says, "I suppose I should introduce myself then. I am Princess Evening Glimmer, daughter of Princess Twilight Crimson and granddaughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle--who I'm sure you're familiar with, Trixie the Djinn."