Twilight's Inferno

by PaulAsaran

Purgatorio

Aching pain. That was the first thing she noticed. Then the hunger, terrible hunger.

Twilight’s lips opened, a low moan passing between them. Her eyelids parted in a gradual, struggling motion. She found herself gazing groggily up at a wooden arch beneath black stones. A quiet, constant tock-tock-tock reached her ears, and she could feel something soft covering her body.

“Ah, finally awake?”

That voice was so… familiar. Twilight’s eye slowly roamed the room in search of the source. She worked her lips but could get no words out of her parched throat.

“Here.”

A clear glass of water floated over Twilight’s head, encased in a purple glow. It tipped over just enough to pour a thin stream into her mouth. She sucked it down like air; it had to be the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted.

The glass moved away. She tried to reach her hoof up to stop it, but was too weak to manage more than a slight shift of her leg.

“You can’t have too much, you’ll make yourself worse than you already are.”

Hoofsteps clopped atop hard wood, and Twilight felt a presence to her left. Her lone eye couldn’t see over her muzzle, so she struggled to turn her head.

She saw the face, but it took her several seconds to process the image. Purple coat, purple eyes, purple mane. Maybe she should have had a stronger reaction, but all she could do was stare dully at the unicorn staring down at her with sad, uncertain eyes.

Twilight Sparkle. If she didn’t already know the truth, she’d have never believed it.

“I still don’t believe it.” The other Twilight leaned close, returning Twilight’s examining gaze. “You’ve been here for two days, and I still can’t believe it. You look just like me, only… near death.”

Twilight swallowed, a painful motion considering her dry throat. Her lips worked and she was at last able to offer a hoarse whisper.

“Am I… Am I out?”

The doppelganger stood tall and observed her, ears low as she considered the broken pony. “…yes. You’re out.”

A gasp crept from Twilight’s lips. Tears began to swell in her eye. She turned her head to gaze at the ceiling, an incomprehensible wave of relief washing over her.

“I’m out.

"I… I’m out…

"Oh, thank Goddess…”

Her entire body shook as she began to weep in silence.

Her clone shifted anxiously, but remained silent for some time. Twilight was left to her tears, her mind going over all the things she’d been through so recently. Yet for all the joy she felt for having escaped, there was an inescapable sadness. Sunset… If only Sunset could have been here to share in this moment. Instead she was a mess of blackened mush under Reddux’s claw. It seemed so wrong, so unfair. Twilight was a wreck. Sunset could have gone on to survive, but Twilight…

Why was she the one that made it?

The other Twilight was standing over her, watching with a mix of curiosity and guilt.

“I never thought changelings could cry.”

Twilight’s heart throbbed. “No…” She shook her head feebly, wishing she could brush the tears from her eye. “N-not a changeling…”

“I have no way of knowing that,” her clone admitted with a frown. “I’ve never met one.”

“Not a changeling,” Twilight repeated, silently imploring the pony to believe. “I’m n-not…” A painful cough sent spikes through her chest, but it didn’t descend into a fit. “Not a… a ch-changeling…”

The other Twilight shifted and averted her eyes. “I… don’t know what I’m going to do with you yet. I need time to think. My assistant will be here soon with some soup.” She turned away and walked to the door, head low and gait slow.

Twilight tried to reach for her, desperate to be heard, to be believed.

“Not a changeling… p-please… I’m n-not…”

The door closed softly, leaving her to her despair.

Twilight had been lost in her fretful thoughts when the door opened again. She turned her head just enough to see an average-sized but muscular pegasus enter the room, a food tray held tight in his teeth. She watched quietly as he approached and set the tray down on the stand by the bed, brushing his silver mane back as he sat down next to her.

He looked her over, his green eyes filled with sorrow.

“You must be starved.”

Food. Twilight saw the steam rising from the bowl in the tray and couldn’t help opening her mouth as if to bite on something. Her stomach hurt so much…

The pegasus filled a small spoon and blew the steam away a few times before turning to her. He set the warm soup to her lips and she slurped it down as quick as she could manage. She couldn’t tell what it was made of. She didn’t care; nothing in her entire life had ever been so delicious!

Some soup dripped onto her chin and the pegasus flinched. “This would be easier if… here.” He set the spoon down and leaned over, grabbing Twilight and carefully helping her sit up. Her legs couldn’t hold her, so he positioned her leaning back against the headboard. “There. Let’s try this again,” he whispered as he wiped the soup from her lips.

He fed her another dozen spoonfuls before Twilight finally thought to speak. “You… you’re J-Jimmy Stone, right?”

He paused, lips pursed as he’d been preparing to blow on the soup. His ears perked and he observed her curiously. “How do you know my name?”

She bowed her head, fighting to hold back the tears as memories swept over her. “I knew you, back in my own time. You ran a r-repair shop. Your brother had a c-coffee shop. He had a… a crush on Rainbow…”

Jimmy studied her for a few seconds, taking in a deep breath. He offered her more soup and she accepted it. Maybe he thought she was crazy. It didn’t matter. She was just so happy to see a familiar face, somepony who at least seemed as decent as he’d been in her own time. “We used to have tea with Rarity and Octavia,” she went on. “Your favorite was the cinnamon rose blend from… from New Horseleans…”

“I do like that kind,” he admitted, offering another spoonful. “But as a changeling, I bet you—”

“I am not a changeling!” Twilight’s chin touched her chest as she sobbed, a terrible anguish overpowering her. “P-please… Somepony has to b-believe me…”

Jimmy hesitated, averting his gaze and as she wept. She tried to look at him, but he wouldn’t meet her eye.

She leaned towards him as best she could under her condition. “Look at me.” He wouldn’t do it. “I am Tw-Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. I came here on accident. I j-just want to go home…”

He pushed her back against the headboard with an apologetic frown. “You’ve been through a lot. Relax, eat.”

“You have no idea what I’ve been through,” she whispered, but accepted the soup as it was offered.

Silence filled the room, interrupted only by the steady tock-tock-tock of the clock above the window. Twilight stared at the sky, wishing she could stick her head out and gaze. She couldn’t believe how precious the blue horizon was. She ate until there was no soup left, but when she asked for more Jimmy shook his head.

“If you eat too much you’ll do more harm than good,” he explained, setting the tray aside. “I’m sorry, I know what it’s like to go hungry.”

She looked up at him, wondering at this statement. “You… you do?”

He hesitated, once again failing to meet her eye. “Yeah… from when I was in jail. If Luna hadn’t saved me and my brother…”

Her eye widened. “Luna? But… I thought she was still on the moon.”

This time he really looked at her, raising an eyebrow and frowning uncertainly. “You’ve not been down there that long. Luna’s been back for a few years, now.”

They stared at one another for a few seconds, Twilight trying to take this information in. She thought on his words, though, and found her attention shifting. “How… how long was I in Tartarus?”

He considered her, still possessing that questioning frown. “According to Celestia, two months.”

Her lips parted in a small gasp. “Th-that’s all?”

He shifted, looked about as if seeking inspiration. Finally he moved to grab the food tray.

“W-wait!” She reached a feeble hoof, but couldn’t quite reach him. Even so, he paused. “P-please, what is she… Twilight, what is Twilight going to do with me?”

“That’s a good question.”

Twilight winced at the sight of her clone standing in the doorway. She didn’t know why, but seeing that perfect, unharmed, wingless mirror image of herself was disturbing. Surely she felt it, too.

Twilight sat back, watching as the unicorn moved to the opposite side of her bed. “Jim, you were supposed to give her some more water.”

Jimmy winced. “Sorry, Twi. It’s just so…”

“I know,” she replied, looking Twilight in the eyes with a firm expression. “Weird.”

Twilight sat back and accepted another long drink of water. “Th-thank you… but I have to know. What’s next?”

The other Twilight rubbed her chin in a way that was so eerily familiar. “I just don’t know yet. Celestia would probably want me to dump you back into Tartarus.”

“No!” Twilight started to lean forward, but the motion shot red-hot arrows up her hind leg. She screamed and fell on her side in the bed, clutching at her immobile leg with tears in her eye.

“Careful!” The Gatekeeper pulled the sheets away to reveal Twilight’s leg, which was twisted at an odd angle and looked disturbingly flat. “Reddux crushed every bone in your leg. You shouldn’t move it too much.”

“D-don’t send me back,” Twilight begged through her tears. “P-please, I can’t go through that again. P-please… K-kill me if you have to, but you c-can’t send me back! Please, Goddess, no…” She wept in horror and despair, unable to believe that they would even consider such an option. She kept pleading, not even aware of her own words.

Her clone and Jimmy exchanged guilty expressions. “Y-you don’t really have to tell Celestia she got out,” Jimmy pointed out. “Do you?”

The other Twilight turned away from the bed, her head low. “Lie to Celestia? I’m on thin ice as it is, ever since Luna…” She heaved a despondent sigh. “Nopony has ever escaped Tartarus before. If Celestia finds out I not only helped somepony get out, but let her loose on the world to boot…”

“Please,” Twilight hissed, catching her twin’s attention. “I j-just want to go home. Have you no mercy? H-help me, please…”

“I can’t,” the other Twilight whispered, though she hesitated and wouldn’t meet Twilight’s eyes.

“But we don’t have to send her back,” Jimmy threw in eagerly. “Come on, Twilight, look at her. She can’t hurt anypony, anymore.”

Twilight rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. How could this conversation even be taking place? “I never hurt anypony,” she whispered. “I n-never meant for any of this to happen. Why won’t you believe me?”

“Believe you? Over Celestia?” The other Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, but going through Tartarus and back does not make your word greater than that of a Sun Goddess.”

Jimmy leaned forward to pet Twilight’s mane, his face filled with worry and doubt. “But she did go through Tartarus, didn’t she? She clawed her way all the way back out. She couldn’t have done that unless she had something to prove.”

“Like what,” the other Twilight asked. “Revenge?”

“Or innocence.”

She let her head fall back on her shoulders with a huff. “You’re not going to make this a simple decision, are you?”

“And I can’t believe that you’re even considering sending her back,” he countered harshly. "You're the one who decided to save her! Don't give me that bull about 'just being curious,' what we've done has consequences!"

Twilight reached up to touch his leg, hoping he could see just how appreciative she was of his words.

Her clone sat and rubbed her forehead with a groan. “I know, I get it. I don’t like it, either. But if I let her go, the Archons will know it and they’ll run straight to Celestia. Who knows what will happen then? She might send me to Tartarus!”

Twilight realized that her other self was in a very precarious situation. How would she feel if she were in the same boat? She had to find some way to convince herself… but what did she have? She forced herself up to her foreknees, which was the best she could do under her horrible condition, and leveled her eye on her clone.

“I’ll hide. I won’t hurt anypony. P-please, Twilight, I’m you! I know you’re a decent pony, that you don’t want to send me back. I p-promise, I’ll disappear and you’ll never hear from me again. Look at me!” She gestured at her broken wing, at her missing eye. She tapped a hoof next to the crater in her head, to which her twin turned away with a shudder.

“I’m a broken p-pony.” Twilight's whispering voice cracked as the impact of those words hit her. “I’m nothing. I’ve lost my crown, my m-magic… all my friends are gone. I can’t threaten anypony, certainly not Celestia. I eve—”

The coughing fit caught her by surprise. She dropped to her belly and hacked, hooves to her throat as her air passage closed up. She’d been through this so many times that she knew better than to panic. She waited, holding her burning chest and fighting to clear her throat. At last her windpipe opened and she sucked down some air. She pushed herself up on trembling knees, staring down at the moist spot on the sheets were her saliva had fallen.

Tears fell down her cheek as she gazed imploringly at the pony who would be deciding her fate. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but it’s getting worse. I… I might be dying. Please, at the very least I might be able to live out my last days in peace.” She dropped back to the bed, unable to support her own weight. She closed her eye and trembled as she tried to hold back a sob.

“Even if I can’t go home… d-don’t send me back. I’d rather die.”

Silence. Cold, bitter, lasting silence. Twilight had nothing else to say or offer. Her fate was in her own hooves. She just lay there, feeling pathetic and longing for understanding. They thought she was a changeling, but how could they possibly believe she was a threat to anypony? Regardless of her intentions, she really was completely harmless. No horn, no wings…

At last the other Twilight spoke. Her voice was very quiet. “I… I have to think about this. I’m sorry. If there wasn’t so much at stake, it would be an easy decision, but under the circumstances…”

Twilight felt so vulnerable, so scared. The Gatekeeper’s slow, heavy hoofsteps echoed in her ears, the door closed. Trembling, wondering about her future, Twilight curled into a ball in the middle of the bed.

“She’ll come through,” Jimmy whispered, reaching out to pet her mane. “She’s been scared ever since she broke up with Luna, ever since Celestia dumped her in this dead-end job. The next mistake might be her last. So please, understand that she’s hesitant. She’ll let you go, you’ll see.”

“Will she?” Twilight covered her face with the sheets. “I used to have everything. Now what am I? C-Celestia was right, I might as well be a ch-changeling. I’m worthless…”

Jimmy said nothing. Maybe he couldn’t find the words.

Maybe she wasn’t worth his breath.

It was three days before the Gatekeeper finally decided to let Twilight go, but freedom came with some caveats. They cleaned her wounds, but the other Twilight refused to heal her worst injuries. “Too much of a risk,” she’d said. “Celestia wouldn’t approve.”

Twilight didn’t blame her; her doppelganger was already facing a lot of trouble if it was found out that Twilight had escaped Tartarus. The only serious wound that they helped her with was to try and fix her muzzle so that she wouldn’t be forced to drink soups and broth for the rest of her life.

The wing remained broken, the leg was left shattered. They tried to clean up the horrible wounds on her flanks, removing a lot of dead tissue, but it was obvious she’d never see her own cutie mark again. Jimmy floated the idea of a patch for her eye, but Twilight didn’t see the point; she was already hideously malformed, why try to hide just one wound?

They gave her enough supplies to last more than a month, but even after a week of recovery she couldn’t carry the saddlebag on her ruined leg. Jimmy volunteered to escort her to one of the nearby towns, for which she was grateful.

They showed her a map of potential destinations. Twilight saw Ponyville… and cast it aside. What could she possibly find there that would help with her situation? No, she chose a place between towns, a little hamlet by a lake. A place to rest, to recover her mind, to try and forget.

That’s what she told them, anyway.

It took nearly a fortnight to get to the lake. They had to walk; the Gatekeeper’s carriage was easily recognizable and the other Twilight wanted as few witnesses as possible to her compliance in Twilight’s escape.

She didn’t mind how long the journey took; she’d always liked Jimmy in her own world, and he hadn’t lost any of his gentlepony ways in this one. The fact that at least something hadn’t changed between timelines was encouraging. Maybe, before she finally succumbed to whatever Ne’er-Do-Well had done to her, she could find something else unchanged in this world.

Twilight used this as her opportunity to learn about the Equestria she’d accidentally created. She asked about all of her friends, hoping he might at least know of them. Jimmy had no idea who Pinkie, Fluttershy or Applejack were, but he’d heard of Rarity and Rainbow Dash. From the way he talked, Twilight suspected they’d not changed much; Rarity was the royal tailor, a fact that made Twilight proud, and Rainbow Dash was a celebrity stuntpony. Twilight had asked about the Wonderbolts and was surprised to learn that they’d been disbanded only months ago. Jimmy had no idea why.

She inquired about a few others, but Jimmy wasn’t exactly a fountain of knowledge. Apparently he’d spent the past eight years living in the Gates of Tartarus as the other Twilight’s assistant, having only left them on three occasions in all that time.

Mentioning himself as an assistant sparked another fretful query: whatever had happened to Spike? To her relief, her adoptive baby brother had still been hatched by this world’s Twilight, and he still saw her as an older sister. He had simply traded being Twilight’s assistant with working for Rarity. Twilight was forced to question whether this was purely coincidence or an example of fate intervening.

They finally reached the lake. It was a nice place, quiet and bright. Twilight told Jimmy to leave her there.

“You sure?” He gazed out at the smooth waters, not appearing at all confident. “The hamlet’s all the way on the other side. It’ll take you ages to get there.”

“I never wanted to live in the town,” she explained, sitting in the grass next to the lapping waters and staring out at the distant shore. She could just make out the houses on the other side. “I won’t belong there. Or anywhere. I’ll stay out here.”

His eyebrows rose in alarm. “Here? But there’s no shelter.”

She turned to him, eye imploring. “Can I keep one of the tents?”

He hesitated, watching her with shifting, nervous eyes. “That… I mean, sure, but don’t you want something better than that? You don’t have to be homeless.”

“And who would take me in?” she asked, gesturing to her broken body. “What would I do to earn my living? No, Jim. I’ll make do, only go into town when I have to.”

He shifted from hoof to hoof. “Are you sure? I mean… really sure?”

She nodded, offering a sad smile. “I’m sure. Don’t worry about me, Jim. I crawled my way out of Tartarus. I think I can handle being a hermit.” She meant it as a joke, but he didn’t smile.

Although she objected, Jimmy stuck around to help her pitch the tent. He dug a hole in the ground and buried most of the supplies so they wouldn’t be out in the open for anypony to see…. and take. He lingered, and she appreciated it, but as night began to fall he prepped to go. Part of that involved him pulling a large bag from his saddle. He offered it to her, setting it between them so she could open it properly.

It was filled to bursting with bits.

She gaped at the money, then pushed it away. “Jim, I can’t accept this.”

“It’s half my pay for the last few months,” he explained, pushing the bag back. “Don’t worry, Twilight doesn’t know.”

She stared at the bits, then at him. “Jimmy… you don’t have to do this.”

“Yes I do,” he whispered with his head and ears low. “I don’t like that she’s throwing you out on your own like this. I like myself even less for not having the balls to stand up to her. Maybe you are a changeling, I don’t know… but you’ve been through enough.”

Twilight heard the sorrow in his voice and felt her heart breaking; he really was just like the Jimmy she knew. “It’s not your fault...”

“That’s not the point.” He turned his head away, face filled with shame. “I shouldn’t be leaving you here. I should be helping you find comfort and peace. After Princess Luna rescued my brother and me from the hangman’s noose, I had nothing. Everything I’d worked for, the years of study, the sleepless nights striving to make my family proud amounted to trash. Luna took Nye in, and she brought me to Twilight. This job, this role is all I have. If I lose it, I lose everything.”

Twilight watched, mesmerized by the moisture shining in his eyes.

“I feel like such a coward,” he muttered. “Here you are, having suffered what has to be the worst physical and mental traumas imaginable, and I’m rendered useless by the thought of being kicked out of my home. How can I just fly away? But that’s what I’m going to do, because the world outside scares the life out of me.”

He went quiet, shaking in his effort to control himself. Twilight saw how scared he was, how hard he was trying to convince himself. He was so familiar. For all his muscle and knowledge, he was just as emotionally fragile as she recalled.

She couldn’t feel any anger towards him. If anything, seeing this genuine desire to help despite himself was encouraging, for it meant that there was indeed still good in Equestria.

Celestia’s dark turn hadn’t completely stamped it out.

She moved close and embraced him. “Jim, you don’t have to do anything else. I’m happy that I got to spend some time with you, to know a bit of kindness in this world. That alone means more to me than all the bits in Equestria.”

He trembled, his hooves half reaching for her. “But… but I…”

She pecked him on the cheek. “You’re just as sweet as ever. I’m not worth throwing your life away. Go back, forget about me.”

She stepped back, smiling at the sight of his tears. “Go on. Don’t throw away the gift Luna gave you and the life Twilight offers.”

He stared at her for a long time, chin quivering and legs half raised. Eventually he rubbed his eyes, sniffing and turning away from her.

“Buck me. Buck me. Buck me straight to Tartarus!”

He was gone, flying into the orange horizon.

Twilight had never intended to live by that lake. She stayed there for a few days, just in case Jimmy’s heart outgrew his fear, and used that time to build a small monument out of the stones she found in the shallows. It wasn’t much, just a pile of rocks.

Sunset deserved something better.

Twilight was in no position to offer it.

She took the tent, the bits and as many provisions as she could safely carry. She was determined to know what had happened to her friends and to see if she couldn’t convince one of them to believe her story. Rainbow Dash was out; according to Jimmy, she toured all around Equestria. It would only be through blind luck that Twilight would find her. Rarity wasn’t an option, either, for she lived in Canterlot, and Twilight knew better than to go anywhere near there. So Twilight went to Ponyville. Maybe, just maybe, she’d discover one of her friends was still living there.

The journey took her nearly three weeks. She avoided the towns that occasionally popped up and only traveled at night. Though she carefully rationed them, her supplies ran out by the end of the second week.

This forced her to go into a small town and purchase more. It was a humiliating ordeal, with so many ponies staring at her terrible visage and crippled walk. She could hear them whispering amongst themselves, saw the pity in their eyes. The merchant had visibly shivered at the sight of her hornless head. When she paid there had been a notable, awkward pause as he spotted the circular scar on the bottom of her hoof.

She'd dropped the bits on the counter, shoved the food into her saddlebags and left as quickly as she could.

The event had been a terrible reminder of her appearance and what she’d gone through. Maybe it was just her imagination, but her legs seemed to be very sore after she left the town.

Sleep was also a challenge. She would lay down in some hidden spot at the first rays of dawn and brace for the nightmares. She faced a different terror every time. She tried to lighten the fear by attempting to guess which Lord of Tartarus she’d see next time. Would it be Tazel ripping her friends apart? Chrysalis, clawing and scraping after her with her hideous, gooey creations? Maybe Blueblood, having her eye plucked out and burning in a cage over boiling blood? Sometimes she would see Sombra, encased in howling winds and endlessly chasing her.

The guessing game didn’t help much. Every evening she awoke feeling no less tired and a little more scared.

At last she reached Ponyville. The sight provided no comfort, for the town’s layout and structures were alien to her memory. She searched for the homes of those friends who were still unaccounted for, hoping that she might find just one that she could talk to.

She sought out Sugarcube Corner.

It didn’t exist.

She found Fluttershy’s cottage.

It was boarded up and abandoned.

Sweet Apple Acres, on the other hoof, was as big as she remembered and even more active. But it was still different, from the long row of bunkhouses to the two unicorns she spotted running the place. Twilight felt that ‘plantation’ would be a better term for the place than ‘farm.’ The business didn’t seem to be doing so well, either; some of the trees were withering and in need of care.

When she first saw Applejack, the sight filled Twilight’s heart with a joy she’d never known. She spotted the familiar mare working hard in the fields right alongside her brother and sister. It was all Twilight could do not to shout and run out to meet her… but she held back. She knew she couldn’t talk to her friend in front of so many ponies, that wouldn’t work at all.

It took two days of careful stalking to find an opportunity. It was late and Applejack had slipped off in the night. Twilight followed, keeping to the shadows as a precaution. Her friend went to a tall hill at the Western edge of the orchards… and just sat there. She stared up at the moon as if it were the most important thing in the world.

Twilight knew she had to do this right. If she couldn’t be convincing, if Applejack wouldn’t believe…

She moved in, approaching the pony from behind. Part of her was so happy that she thought she might tackle her friend. Another part was scared almost paralytic, for what if Applejack wasn’t the same pony she knew?

Even so, she was committed. She sat several feet behind her friend, trying to think of what to say. She shuffled from side to side, mind working slowly over the possibilities. She had to begin, she had to speak, she had to… She set her jaw, tensed her legs and forced the name from her lips.

“Applejack.”

Applejack let out a shout and leapt into the air, turning a circle and landing with body low and eyes wide. Twilight stared at those green orbs, realizing with some alarm that they were moist. Had she been about to cry?

“Holy apple fritters, ya scared the tar outta me!” Applejack sat up and rubbed her eyes swiftly, pulling her Stetson down to hide her face as she did. “Who the hay are you?”

Twilight’s mind had frozen at the sound of that familiar voice. It really was her, ridiculous accent and all! Twilight had tears running down her cheek before she could even register the sheer happiness that was swelling inside her. “It’s… It’s you. AJ…” Her shoulders shook as she covered her face and tried to control herself. This wasn’t helping!

She couldn’t stop. The emotions were simply overwhelming.

“Oh my…” Applejack’s voice grew soft. “Look at ya. What in the wide world of Equestria…”

“I n-know.” Twilight gave up on stopping the tears and offered a warm smile. “I’m a h-horrible sight, aren’t I?”

Applejack’s eyes shifted back and forth as if in search of inspiration, her cheeks going red. “N-no, Ah didn’t mean… er… Who are you?”

Twilight gestured to herself, praying things would go alright. “I’m T-Twilight Sparkle.” Applejack’s eyebrows rose, prompting her to add, “Not the same Twilight you would know.”

Applejack rubbed the back of her head, clearly trying to make sense of this. “Two Twilights? But… how is that possible?”

Hope and fear mixing chaotically inside her, Twilight took an eager step forward. “AJ, you have to believe me. I… I need somepony to believe me! You’ll listen, won’t you?”

Applejack hesitated, her eyes going to the barn in the distance. She shuffled, considered, lowered her head. “L-look, Ah dunno who you are, an’ Ah don’t know what yer after. Ah might be able ta offer ya some food er somethin’, but—”

Alarm and desperation filled Twilight. She moved closer, getting in the startled pony’s face. “Applejack, it’s me, Twilight! We were friends! But I bucked up and… and… now you don’t know me. Equestria’s all messed up and it’s all my fault! I need help to fix it, your help.”

“Whoa, there, girl.” Applejack pushed Twilight down to a sitting position, appearing both worried and caring. “Take it easy. Why don’t ya start off by explainin’ how ya know my name?”

Twilight half-raised her hooves, mind frantically searching for the right words. “Be… Because we knew one another. You were my friend, we went through so much! Back in my world, back when everything was good. Please, AJ, I know it’s hard, but try to believe it. We were so close! You, me, the others! You were always arguing with Rarity, always competing with Rainbow. You taught me about honesty!”

“Rarity?” Applejack frowned, her eyes growing dark. “That fruity little wimp? Ah never liked that pony. Buckin’ her clear across Ponyville felt real good.”

Twilight paused, staring in quiet disbelief. “You… bucked Rarity?”

“Darn tootin’! She thought she could take my princess away. Ah showed her a thing er two about how country ponies fight.” But then her expression softened, her lips falling into a deep frown. She turned away to stare up at the moon. “If only Ah’d known that Ah’d end up in the same boat…”

They weren’t friends.

Twilight thought her hooves might be falling out from under her. Why hadn’t she seen this coming? She’d placed so much hope in this moment and she hadn’t even considered that her friends wouldn’t still be friends! “But… But you and her were close… I th-thought…”

“Well ya thought wrong.” Applejack turned back to peer at her. “How do you know Rarity?”

“You… I mean…” Twilight scrambled to think of something. “B-but what about Pinkie Pie? Fluttershy?”

Applejack’s face hardened. “Ah don’ like them, either. In fact, they’re all ponies Ah hate. An’ suddenly Ah don’t think Ah like you none.” She poked Twilight in the chest, hard. “What are you after, Twilight? Is that even yer name?”

Hopes were cracking. Twilight gasped as a panic started to take over. “No. No! Applejack, don’t do this to me. Y-you have to help, I just knew you would! We… We were friends…”

“Ah ain’t yer friend,” Applejack growled, turning and stomping back down the hill. “If Ah were you, Ah’d get the heck outta Sweet Apple Acres.”

Twilight watched her go, tears welling in her eyes and mind numb with denial. “Y-you… A-Applejack…” She bowed her head and covered her face in her hooves. “P-please… I came all the way here… I finally escaped Tartarus! P-please don’t, you’re my only hope...”

“Tartarus?”

She looked up to see that Applejack had stopped at the bottom of the hill. A moment of tense silence filled the night air, interrupted by Twilight’s occasional hiccup.

Applejack turned around, her green eyes suddenly threatening. “You’re the other Twilight, the one Princess Celestia banished.”

Twilight’s heart leapt into her throat. “W-wait, you got it all wrong...”

“Oh, no Ah don’t.” Applejack took an ominous step forward, head low and lips turned up in a sneer. “Ah don’t know how ya got out o’Tartarus, an’ Ah don’t care. Changelin’s ain’t welcome on my farm!”

Twilight’s mind shattered. She could only stare dumbly at the pony, a pony she now knew would never be her friend. Her name had been smeared, her reputation ruined.

Changeling.

To the ponies of Equestria, that was all Twilight was.

Another threatening step from Applejack. “You gonna get out, or am Ah gonna have ta throw ya out?”

Twilight didn’t respond. She couldn’t. She didn’t have the mental capacity. She only sagged to her belly, covered her face and sobbed. It was over, she would never go home. Nopony would ever believe her, not over Princess Celestia. She might as well go back into Tartarus and let Reddux burn her alive for all the chance she had now.

Applejack didn’t attack. Twilight didn’t notice when she moved close, didn’t bother to hope that her wretched display would sway her former friend. There was no hope left, no light at the end of the tunnel. Just misery and pain and sadness for the rest of her days. She prayed to Celest—

No. No point in that.

“Ah ain’t gonna beat a pony while she’s down,” Applejack muttered, “but Ah ain’t gonna tolerate changelin’s on my farm, either. Ah’m gonna come out here in the mornin’, an’ ya better be gone.”

Twilight only lay there and wept. She didn’t have the heart to watch her friend abandon her.

She didn’t have the heart.

She was fleeing, desperate to get away from a force she recognized but couldn’t place. Twilight’s hooves were like lead, her mind filled with panic. The world was nothing but black tunnels repeating in an endless maze. Where was she going? Where had she come from? What was after her? She didn’t know… but she could feel the presence. It loomed over her heart, sapped her warmth and left her chilled. It was the most horrible feeling, a familiar one. What was it?

She slid to a stop, fear clutching at her mind as a face appeared in the darkness. King Sombra grinned down at her, massive and glowing with dark energies. Twilight turned to flee, only to find herself facing solid rock. She was trapped!

“Keep away from me!” She turned and tried to use her magic, but nothing happened. She didn’t even feel any energy. She reached up in alarm and realized that there was a hole in her head where her horn should be. Horror and loss threatened her mind as the consequences of this revelation struck her like a hammer.

Sombra moved closer, dark clouds billowing out like ominous claws. Twilight cowered in her corner and closed her eye, knowing she was about to die.

Her hooves fell out from beneath her, and she opened her eye to discover she was dropping into a deep pit. She looked up to see the corrupt king leering down at her. She tried to stretch her wings and fly, but couldn’t achieve anything. She glanced back and let out a startled gasp; her wing was gone! She looked up and felt her heart jump into her throat: it wasn’t Sombra smirking at her.

It was Celestia.

“No… no!” She squirmed in midair, stretching her hooves for some kind of hold, but the walls seems to widen out and avoid her grasp.

Then they were gone, and Twilight found herself caught in a whirling tornado! She twisted about, fighting for some kind of control over her motions, but it was no use. What was happening, how had she come to be in this mess? And still she felt that terrible grip on her heart.

Kit-a-kit-a-kit-a-kit-a…

“Oh, Goddess…” Twilight tried to look down at the bottom of the tornado, towards that clicking laughter that left her blood cold. Tazel hovered far below, her feline face grinning maliciously. Twilight kicked at the air, terror gripping her mind; not Tazel, she didn’t want to even think of Tazel!

Something pink passed by. The air caught in Twilight’s throat as she recognized only a portion of Pinkie’s body was in the vortex: a head, part of the shoulders and one leg. Twilight screamed and fought to turn away, only to see Rainbow Dash flash by, unconscious and with blood dripping from where her wings had once been.

“Oh, please no...” Twilight spun away, tears in her eye as Fluttershy flew just over her shoulder, eyes closed in peaceful lifelessness as her entrails swayed in the winds. “I d-don’t want to see this!”

All her friends were there, swirling about her like a mini-vortex. The rest of Pinkie’s parts, a beaten and bloodied Applejack, Rarity’s head spinning about without a body. Spike nearly struck her in the face, what was left of his bloodied form flapping about like loose paper.

Twilight screamed again and covered her eyes.

She hit the ground with a splat, brown gunk flying high from the impact and the air knocked from her lungs. Her friends’ bodies fell all around her, disappearing amongst the muck. She lay there, struggling to catch her breath, eyes locked on the nothingness above. Where was she?

Black legs burst from the filth and wrapped about her chest, pinning her down. She trembled, still gasping for air as Chrysalis’ head appeared at her shoulder with a hungry grin.

“Give me your love…”

Twilight tried to fight, but she still couldn’t breathe and Chrysalis’ grip was like iron. She wanted to scream, to plead, but all she could do was lay there as her body shined green and her strength began to deteriorate.

More hooves reached out of the muck, pinning her legs and head. More faces appeared, brown and covered in melting flesh. Twilight saw the one closest to her and thought her heart stopped; it was Rainbow Dash. Though a melting mass of hideous flesh, that face was unmistakable. Twilight’s eyes darted to the others, her fear enhancing with each face; Rarity was little more than a head atop a pile of mush, Pinkie’s body parts had merged with those of Applejack and Fluttershy, hers’ and Spike’s heads were set on the same wretched, mutilated body. They all stared at her with blank, lidless eyes, horrible moans rising from their ragged throats.

“Kiiilll uuusss…”

“Ssaaavvve uuusss…”

“Cooommme baaackk…”

“Heeelllppp…”

The air came back to her lungs, and Twilight shrieked. She squirmed and kicked and struggled, but the things all held fast to her ever weakening body.

“I want her horn.”

Her gaze rose up to see Cadance and Prince Blueblood standing over her head.

“C-Cadance, please! Help me!”

The two Lords were watching her with an expression not unlike those of hungry wolves.

“You can have it,” Blueblood declared. “As long as I get her eye.”

And then Twilight remembered. “N-no… no, keep away!” She fought against her captors, their hideous moaning echoing in her ears. Chrysalis licked her cheek in response.

“Let me help with that.”

She looked up at the new voice and whimpered at the sight of Tazel, whose claws were already reaching for her face. “No, please, n-not again! I’ll do anything! Tazel… Tazel!”

It was all so horribly familiar; the ice-cold nails in her head, and careful motions that were so sickening. Twilight screeched as the eye came out again, Tazel slicing the connecting nerve off with a swipe of her claws. “Here you go, Bluebonnet.”

Twilight sobbed, body twitching as her skull pounded. “P-please… I was out…”

Tazel moved away, revealing a pony that had been behind her. Twilight gazed at him with her lone eye and felt that familiar, horrible sensation in her heart. This time she recognized it; it was betrayal.

“Sh-Shining… not again. Please… I’m your sister! I don’t want to—”

Her big brother’s lips parted in a malevolent grin. He fell on top of her, forcing a scream from her lips as his erect member plunged into the exposed opening between her legs. She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks as he began to thrust. “N-no… please… g-get it out…”

She had no strength left to fight. She could only lay there, body bouncing against his movements. Blueblood and Tazel were laughing, Cadance was encouraging her husband, Chrysalis was whispering dementedly in her ear, her friends groaned their agony. She’d escaped, she’d made it out…

Why was she being forced to go through all of this again?

Shining’s bucking grew faster, harder. Twilight closed her eyes and sobbed, silently begging for some kind of release. She felt his teeth on her horn, his lips working it and filling her body with a hideous arousal. Then he emitted a growl and bit. Twilight’s eye opened just in time for him to deliver a final, powerful thrust and rear back, ripping her horn out of her head with his teeth.

Twilight’s world went white. She screeched into the darkness, her skull on fire as she felt something warm between her legs. She screamed and screamed, mind blank with torturous agony and heart-wrenching shame.

Her sight was just beginning to clear when a massive red claw erupted from the muck beneath her, sending her tormentors flying and locking her in a steely grip. It dragged her down into darkness…

She was hanging upside down, held aloft by her shattered leg. A shaky wheezing was all she could manage as she gazed blankly into a massive yellow eye.

Reddux leaned back, smiling politely. “Hello again, little morsel.”

Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. “P-please… haven’t I been through enough?”

“Don’t be that way.” He raised his closed claw so it was almost level with her. “Here, I brought you a friend.”

The claw opened, revealing a purple-clad pony: Ne’er-Do-Well, its eyes shining with that smoky yellow glow. Twilight exchanged silent gazes with it, wondering what fresh horror it had in store for her.

“Ne’er… you have so many s-souls… Surely one of them has a heart?”

The yellow eyes flashed. Pain erupted in Twilight’s chest, driving her into a hacking fit. She began to lose air, her throat unable to handle the mess being thrown into it.

“Oooooh.” Reddux’s whisper had a wicked touch to its polite tone. “Looks like it gave you a gift.”

Despite her hacking, Twilight managed to force her eye open and peer at her chest. It was covered in a hideous yellow mass, like a throbbing tumor.

“You should thank her.”

Reddux released, and Twilight dropped to the stone floor on her face. She rolled onto her back, trembling from the pain as the yellow mass grew a little more. She could suck in just enough air to wheeze out her breaths, but she felt as if her chest was being constricted. She wanted to speak, to call for help, to plead, but she just couldn’t get the lungpower.

“Twilight…”

Her eye rolled to the side, a fresh tear ran down her cheek. Sunset Shimmer stood just beneath the dragon, body sagging, eyes dull, lips set in a deep frown.

Reddux lowered his massive body, his claws wriggling just over Sunset’s head. “And here’s my gift. Let’s see how many parts I can pull off of her, shall we?”

No… not Sunset. Anypony but her. Twilight lifted a hoof to her friend, her mouth gaped open only to let a trembling wheeze out of her throat.

Sunset didn’t acknowledge the motion. She didn’t even look at Twilight. When she spoke, it was like the voice wasn’t coming from her at all, but from deep within Twilight herself.

“You promised. You promised to get me out…”

Twilight couldn’t say it, so she mouthed it. She mouthed it over and over again, body trembling and heart pounding in her chest.

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry!

I’m sorry!

“Not good enough.” Reddux lifted Sunset into the air. Two of his talons pinched one of Sunset’s legs… and began to pull.

Sunset started to scream.

Twilight closed her eye.

There was a flash of light that even her closed eye could take in. Twilight’s chest came free of that hideous constriction, the air sucking into her lungs with a desperate gasp. As soon as she had the oxygen, it came back out in a torturous scream.

“Let me out! Let me out! Sompony, please, let me out!”

A powerful, icy wind struck her. It jarred her, caught her attention. Twilight found she had her strength back, and promptly rolled to her stomach. Her eye opened… and her world had changed.

There was no dragon, her poor friend wasn’t being tortured. She was on a grassy hill under a starry sky, the moon shining full and bright overhead.

Twilight’s mind was too fractured to take this in. There was so much horror left inside, so much remorse. Sunset. Just the memory of her… Twilight bowed her head and wept.

Yet even as she did, in back of her mind she knew something was off. She fought to open her eye. She couldn’t stop the choked up sobs, but she could still look around. She had to know what the next torment was, no matter how much she didn’t want to know.

Her sobs were cut short when she saw the alicorn standing only a few feet away, looking down with a regal frown. “L… Luna…?”

Luna only watched, her soft eyes filled with sadness.

Twilight’s sobs came back unbidden. She bowed her head and rubbed her face, trying to overcome the misery and fear still clutching at her heart. She couldn’t do it; her tears kept flowing, her shoulders kept shaking. “I-I’m sorry… I c-can’t stop…”

Luna sighed. It was a long, soft sound. “I am sorry. I had been sensing a particularly powerful nightmare, but it took me some time to pinpoint it to you.”

Twilight gaped, the princess blurred by the moisture in her eye. She couldn’t believe... after so long…

She was crawling on her belly, not aware of her own actions. She clutched Luna’s leg in both hooves, the words cascading out between her sobs. “P-please! T-tell me… tell me you’re good. Tell me there’s some… somepony good left in this b-bucked up world! I know it’s my fault. Please, I just want to go home… I’ll do anyth-thing. Anything. Don’t ab-bandon me. Don’t condemn me! Let me g-go home…”

Twilight babbled on for a while, not even knowing what she was saying anymore. She just held on to that leg, knowing it was hopeless, knowing she was going to be left behind but praying for salvation regardless. Luna had come to her dreams. Luna had saved her from this hideous nightmare. Please let that be a sign that she was a decent pony!

She felt legs wrapping about her shoulders and holding her tight. Luna’s lips were near her ear, her whispered words indecipherable for Twilight’s wails. Yet the quality of her voice was soothing. Twilight thought perhaps this was just another part of the dream; after so long, perhaps she was prepared to come up with anything for a smidgen of comfort.

It didn’t matter. This illusion was the most beautiful thing in existence and she didn’t dare let it go. That would mean falling back into the hell that was her mind or waking up to a world that proved the hell was real. She couldn’t take it. She wouldn’t. Hadn’t she suffered enough for her crime?

The hideous fears were beginning to fade and the anguish didn’t pierce her heart quite so strongly, but the despair wouldn’t die. Unable to sob any longer, Twilight grew silent and held on to her imaginary savior, body shivering every few seconds as she prayed the princess wouldn’t leave. She’d been so desperate for even a hint of equine compassion…

Luna didn’t let go. “I do not know what you are,” she whispered kindly from Twilight’s shoulder, “but I hold your pain close to my heart. My sister’s actions are always far too cruel, this I know.”

The words seeped into Twilight’s brain, their meaning slowly working towards comprehension. Her mind had been retarded by months of fighting to ignore the evidence all around of her plight and misery, so it took some time to think. Gradually, she leaned back to look into Luna’s beautiful cyan eyes.

“You… y-you’re really here?”

“I am.” Luna reached up to caress Twilight’s cheek, her gaze laced with sorrow. “You poor creature. Whatever you did to evoke Celestia’s ire, it cannot have warranted such treatment. Her madness has claimed yet another victim.”

Good Goddess, Twilight was actually feeling that familiar flame deep in the depths of her mind, that tender hope that had been beaten and shattered and buried ever since she’d met Applejack. She almost didn’t want it back; she didn’t want to face another terrible disappointment.

But desperation outweighed her fragile sense of reason. Twilight stepped back from the princess and struggled to bow on trembling knees. “P-princess Luna, I beg you! Help m-me. I just want to go—”

She fell with a gasp, her legs unable to support her weight. Her frailty in life was even taking over in her dreams…

“I am sorry.”

Twilight looked up with wide, distraught eyes as the princess turned away from her with head bowed. “B-but…”

“You spent a couple months in a hellish world,” Luna whispered, unable to meet Twilight’s gaze. “I have spent the past thousand years in the hell that is my own mind. Even now, being divided, I can see that all my hopes and aspirations have been for naught. I cannot face my sister. I cannot defy her, no matter how desperately I might wish to. Eventually she will continue my endless punishment.

“All I can do now is enter ponies’ dreams and pretend to help, though very few want it. So you see—” Luna turned slightly, enough to show her attention but still not looking Twilight in the eyes, “—though I may comfort you in your dreams, I cannot help anypony in the waking world. I cannot save myself. I certainly cannot save you.”

Twilight bowed her head, a moment of intensified despair sweeping over her. But even as that happened, there was one small light in her heart:

Luna was a good pony.

“Th-thank you. Thank you for at least giving me this much.”

“I wish I could do more.” At last Luna turned to face her properly. “I don’t know much about you, poor soul, only that you have been free for a short time. I once asked my sister why she sent you to Tartarus, and she claimed you were a changeling.”

A spike of ice seemed to have wedged into Twilight’s chest, at once turning her blood cold and piercing her heart. She sagged a little more, covering her face with a leg and wishing she could hide in some deep, dark hole. “That’s what she called me. A changeling. Perhaps that’s all I really am. I… I’m so worthless…”

Luna shook her head. “I do not believe you are a changeling.”

Twilight’s head shot up, her eyes going wide. She opened her mouth to speak… but could achieve no words.

“I have met changelings,” the princess went on softly. “Prior to my exile. I cannot claim to understand who or what you are, but you are no changeling.”

“I… Luna…” Twilight took a tentative step forward, her entire body shaking as if in rejection of the tender hope that dared to rise within her. “I… I’m Twilight Sparkle. I s-swear. I came from—”

She was silenced by Luna’s raised hoof. “I knew Twilight Sparkle. She was once a beautiful and independent mare, before she was subdued in mind. You are not her. Perhaps you think you are, but after spending so long in Tartarus…”

That little hope shattered. Twilight turned away with head low and heart aching. “Even you won’t believe me?”

A long silence filled the air. Twilight didn’t cry; she didn’t have any tears left. She just sat there, head hung low and longing for some kind of absolution.

“Perhaps I spoke too swiftly.” Luna was at her side, posture practically mimicking Twilight’s. “Perhaps I should have lied to ease your burden. Forgive me. Just as I know what it is like to suffer under my sister’s villainy, I am well aware of the burden it places upon one’s heart to not be believed.”

Again, Twilight’s brain tried to sort out the bits of information she was receiving. Once, before Tartarus and her hellish predicament, it might have come swiftly.

She raised her head to stare at Luna’s face. There was so much depression there, so much hopelessness and loss.

She was a victim, too. She was suffering, longing for salvation just as desperately as Twilight. A thousand years suffering under Celestia’s hoof. Twilight had only been in this world for a few months.

She couldn’t imagine undergoing a millennium.

Twilight was responsible for this casualty, just as clearly as she was responsible for the death of Discord. The thought filled her with remorse… and yet Luna still seemed to be herself. She still had a certain noble air, a kind manner, a touch that could be gentle or strong on a whim.

For all her suffering, Luna was still Luna. That realization alone was enough to lift Twilight’s soul out of the mud.

“I cannot remain.” Luna’s voice was filled with regret. She turned to Twilight and touched the pony’s forehead with her horn. “I could be followed here. Such would bode very poorly for your already battered soul, so accept this parting gift, from one victim to another. I am sorry I can do no more.”

A deep, familiar warmth grew within Twilight, her chest swelling as she took in the magic. Knowing that she couldn’t create magic of her own anymore was almost enough to rend her heart, but Twilight found herself instead preoccupied by the sheer pleasure of Luna’s spell. The warmth was not just magical: it was emotional. Perhaps it wasn’t the alicorn’s intention, but Twilight felt as if some special piece of her heart had just been pulled out of the dark depths of her depression.

She could not possibly describe her appreciation.

“There.” Luna stepped back. The heat faded, but Twilight thought she might still feel it within. “Now the nightmares will be kept at bay. The spell will wear off with time, but at least for now you may know some peace.”

For the first time in ages, Twilight was able to smile. “Thank you, princess! Thank you so much…”

Luna returned the smile, though it was a smile filled with remorse. She turned away, her wings began to spread…

“Luna?”

The princess paused. She didn’t look back.

Twilight stood, staring at the back of Luna’s head with an imploring gaze. “Do you think there is any chance of things getting better?”

A long, tender silence.

“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle. I do not think we will be meeting again.”

She was gone, a silhouette fading into the starscape. Twilight watched her go, a deep sadness filling her as she was left alone once more. And yet, as she thought on this encounter and the pleasant warmth that still throbbed in her heart, she realized that Luna may have given her something far more special than a reprieve from her nightmares. It was the faintest glimmer in the mind, an idea that, once planted, felt so very strong. There was an opportunity here the likes of which Twilight knew was foalish.

But it was an opportunity, and it was all she had left.

Three months Twilight had been free. Three months wasted in a miserable stupor of regret and loss, surviving off what she could beg and steal. Sleeping in alleyways or the woods, always hungry, feeling like a waste of good air. She would never go home, never see her friends again – or at least, not as she’d known them. Too ashamed to want to keep going, but too cowardly to dare end her own misery. She’d been going from day to day just waiting for something to come along and finish her.

That one dream changed everything.

Luna was good. She was kind and longing to help. True, she was also trapped in whatever web of deceit Celestia had concocted for her. She was despondent and out of hope, unable to help Equestria in her current state.

But if she could be saved…

Twilight had one chance left. If she could somehow manage to see Luna freed, perhaps the princess could rise up and challenge her sister. Maybe this world could become what it was always meant to be, what it was before Twilight’s terrible crime. Luna was the key: save Luna, save Equestria.

That was the theory, anyway.

Twilight knew she would never go home. Her friends were gone, her old life but a pleasant memory. She had a new goal, to which she was prepared to devote all her remaining energies: redemption.

She began by seeking out her friends. They were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony in her own time. Surely if they could be brought to see the light of friendship then they would attain the same roles in this world as well. If that could happen, if they could ally with one another and form behind Luna, perhaps there was a chance.

Twilight investigated Applejack first. It didn’t take much to learn that she’d lost the Apple farm by royal decree. More surprising was that she’d been in a somewhat romantic relationship with Luna, though it hadn’t lasted. This brought up the first great revelation for Twilight: Equestria was divided along racial and class lines, and Earth ponies were scraping the bottom of the barrel. They didn’t even have equal rights in the Equestrian court of law, which Twilight found particularly disturbing. Regardless, she knew from her previous encounter that approaching Applejack was pointless.

She moved on to Fluttershy. Twilight learned that the pegasus had been recruited to work in the Canterlot Royal Gardens as animal caretaker. Luna had been in a relationship with her, as well. To Twilight’s surprise, Fluttershy was now little more than a fugitive, wanted for apparently stealing from the crown. Nopony knew her whereabouts, though Twilight was able to determine that Fluttershy had last been seen disappearing into the wilds. She considered going out in search of her friend, but soon dismissed the idea; Twilight would never survive the untamed lands in her physical condition.

Rainbow Dash was easy to learn about, for she was a national celebrity as the last pony to become a Wonderbolt before the squadron had been disbanded. There were rumors that Rainbow had met with Luna on a few occasions, and that she’d even sworn her oath as a Wonderbolt in Luna’s name rather than Celestia’s – an act that apparently raised many eyebrows. But it was impossible to meet with Rainbow; she was always traveling, always performing. Twilight couldn’t move fast enough in her condition to reach any of the venues in time, so a meeting would have only occurred by chance, and that chance never came.

Growing frustrated, Twilight moved on to Rarity. Getting into Canterlot was a challenge, but by luck or fate she pulled it off. Everything just seemed to go right, and for that she was grateful. Yet she only observed Rarity from a distance. The fashionista was always busy, busy, busy… and angry, angry, angry. Though it required a lot of work, Twilight was able to figure out why: Rarity had been in a relationship with Luna, a relationship that had collapsed. Rarity’s every act was geared towards impressing the princess, and every failure to do so only drove her into deeper frustration.

Twilight couldn’t stay in Canterlot. It wasn’t the danger; it was the misery. She couldn’t find out what happened to her parents, which on its own was depressing. Discovering the truth about Cadance’s attempt to rise up against Celestia, and Shining Armor’s turning traitor to Equestria to assist in that cause, left her bitter. Her brother and sister-in-law had been good ponies, banished to a hellish land where they’d been driven mad by the magical environment. Though she couldn’t forgive them their actions against her – never would she forget the shame and humiliation – she nonetheless felt pity.

But the worst discovery about Canterlot?

Spike.

Twilight saw him always assisting Rarity, eager to serve but constantly frustrated that he couldn’t help her overcome the loss of Luna. Spike was still a good guy, a fact that left Twilight feeling proud, but he was helpless to do anything for his closest friend. It was placing a visible strain on him, and it hurt Twilight to tears that she could do nothing but watch.

Twilight heard rumors of Canterlot having slums. She found her way to them, situated deep in the crystal mines below the city, and they were a true wakeup call. There was so much squalor down there; starvation, violence, disease, corruption, overpopulation. It was the worst possible conditions to live in. Twilight herself had been molested, though she somehow managed to escape her tormentors before they could do anything more than threaten and get a little grabby. Something had scared them off… but she never figured out what.

It was through her escape from the slums that she found out the whereabouts of Pinkie Pie. The pony owned a large and expensively priced restaurant just outside Canterlot. Twilight didn’t know whether it was by luck or design, but the restaurant’s basement connected to the mines beneath the city, making for a little known back route out of the slums.

Twilight didn’t meet Pinkie herself. Or at least she thought she didn’t; there were far too many to tell. The restaurant was completely staffed by Pinkie clones, cheerful, energetic and eager to serve. One was even nice enough to inform Twilight that the real Pinkie had created the clones with the theory that doing so would lead to more fun and humor, which in turn would bring a smile to the face of none other than Princess Luna. Unfortunately, the plan had backfired, and the real Pinkie was said to be an emotional mess.

Luna had been in contact with all of Twilight’s friends. She remembered from listening to Jimmy and the other Twilight that there’d been some contact there, as well. Could it be that Luna had tried to forge the Elements together on her own… and failed? Regardless, they all shared a tenuous connection with the Moon Princess, and that only fueled Twilight’s belief that they were crucial to Luna’s salvation. Destiny had put them together in one universe. Perhaps, with a little nudging, it could be done again.

Yet they were also enemies.

The public referred to them as ‘the Duels’, and all Twilight’s friends had been involved. The Duels revolved around Luna, though the purpose and end result was not at all clear. Regardless, they’d all met and been forced to fight at some time or another, and these fights had only driven them apart. Worse, it seemed that their very natures had been corrupted by the encounters so that they were hardly recognizable as Twilight’s old friends.

They had to be brought together, the rifts had to be sealed. Somepony would have to find a way to remind each of them of their true natures and help them see the destinies that had been denied them.

That pony would not be Twilight. In the six months it took to seek her friends out she also saw a noticeable decline in her own health. She steadily had less and less energy, her body feeling ever weaker. Sometimes her wounds would begin to ache, as if recalling the damage she’d been dealt in the depths. Then there was the crater on her forehead, the splitting migraines putting her down for days. Yet the worst of it all were the terrible hacking fits that would come over her with greater frequency and violence. She was coughing up blood by now.

Ne’er-Do-Well’s parting gift was killing her, there could be no doubt.

Tazel was right: Tartarus never lets go.

Yet Twilight wouldn’t let herself give up. She would right her terrible wrongs no matter what. If she couldn’t bring her friends together, she would just have to find somepony else who could.

She managed to create a list of all the ponies she’d known in her own world. Friends, acquaintances, rivals, even enemies. Surely there was somepony out there who would have a chance of succeeding where she didn’t.

She spent months researching the names on the list. She snuck aboard trains and traveled to the four corners of Equestria, always fighting her deteriorating health. Worse was her status as an outsider; she was treated like dirt, and warranted even less attention. Sometimes it worked in her favor, but usually it was a tremendous obstacle.

Nonetheless, her research went on. Braeburn, Big McIntosh, Daring Do, Fancy Pants, Cheerilee, Lightning Dust, Iron Will, Gilda, Octavia, Thunder Hooves, every possible name she could think of. Some she never found. Others were incapable of helping and many she determined would be unwilling. Some faced incredible challenges of their own; financial, racial, familial. She never met any of them directly; who would believe her purpose? No, she watched from the shadows and gauged their capacity. Every name scratched off her list left her a little more disheartened.

Her journey taught her one thing: this new Equestria really was a bucked up world. It was amazing how much strife and suffering existed here. Slums in every city, civil unrest, hunger, poverty. There wasn’t a single positive element of the Equestria she knew and loved. This world took the ponies she’d once known and turned them into mere shadows of their former selves, and every new find was a little more distressing.

Twilight had been out of Tartarus for two years when she made the discovery. She was in Hoofington, seeking out one of the few names left on her list. Her hopes were low, her mood sour… and then she saw her. She was a pony so familiar, so instantly recognizable that Twilight actually kicked herself, for it was a pony she’d completely neglected to add to her list.

Inspiration struck. She followed the pony for a few weeks, quickly learning that her target was every bit as ‘interesting’ as she’d been in the other world. No, it was more than that; this pony was unchanged. It was startling to think that after seeing so many ponies completely and terribly changed by this dark universe, here was somepony who didn’t appear to have been altered one iota.

There was potential here… more potential than Twilight was sure she could believe.

Then the bombshell came: the pony had been visited by Luna in her dreams and was determined to go to Canterlot and meet the princess’ ‘challenge’.

Twilight didn’t have to connect too many dots to realize a new set of Duels were on the way.

She crept through the darkened halls, moving as quietly and cautiously as she could. Twilight had planned everything out very carefully, from her entry into the castle to her timing of contact. The pony had already fought and defeated Rarity; the Duels were officially on. Twilight had no time to spare if she was going to tell the challenger what she needed to know.

The doubts gnawed at Twilight’s mind as she hid in a closet and waited for a guard to slip by. What if this pony couldn’t save her friends? What if she couldn’t help Luna? What if she didn’t even understand what she was about to be told?

But Twilight was out of options. Her sickness was eating away at her, her hacking fits more frequent and rarely without blood. Even now, as she walked the halls of Canterlot Castle, she could feel her energy slipping. How long did she have? A couple months? Weeks? Days? She had to do this now, and this was the only pony she’d investigated who seemed to have even a remote chance.

The Nocturnal Wing. It was separate from the rest of the castle, cordoned away in a small area where its inhabitant would go largely unseen. Princess Luna was an aberration in the eyes of Equestria’s citizens, a dark blot on the land. Celestia had manipulated the world perfectly; Luna was frowned upon, ignored, even feared. There was no respect for her beyond the baseline showings that her crown demanded.

Entering the Nocturnal Wing was easy; there were no guards anywhere near the place. They couldn’t be spared to look after such a 'worthless creature' as Luna. Twilight found herself standing in a long, tall hall that was certainly splendid, but lacked the sheer decorative flare of the rest of the castle. It was darkly lit, the windows all covered in thick curtains and the walls bare. Twilight investigated each room; there was no way to know which one held her target and she knew the majority of them were empty.

Twice Twilight was forced to hide, both occasions due to the untimely appearance of Nye Stone. Twilight was surprised to find him there, but then it only made sense. Yes, she knew him; he was Jimmy’s younger twin, and even in her own world Nye had been fiercely loyal to Luna. It should be expected that fate would find a way to place him at her side once more, a thought that was reassuring towards Twilight’s goals. He appeared to be Luna’s attendant and personal butler in this world, a role that Twilight thought suited him well.

Twilight had been searching for nearly an hour when she finally found the right room. She’d spotted her sleeping target almost instantly. She’d thought she would be nervous, or maybe scared.

On the contrary: seeing that sleeping face left Twilight feeling more relieved than she could ever remember. This was it, the moment she’d been working towards for two years. She sat beside the bed and stared, mind going over all the terrible trials and pains that had led up to this moment. At last she would be able to pass the torch.

Would it work? Would Equestria be saved?

Odds were she wouldn’t live long enough to find out.

But that was okay. She’d done everything she could in the time she had. All she could do was hope and pray that it was enough to earn her redemption.

She leaned over that blue face, silently wondering if she was gazing upon Equestria’s savior. Yet somehow, for reasons she couldn’t comprehend, she knew that this was the right decision. As those soft blue locks shifted around sleeping eyes, Twilight felt a distinct warmth in her heart.

This was her. This was the pony who would change everything. She would face Twilight’s friends, help them see what they needed to, bring them together and save Luna.

Twilight Sparkle’s part was over.

Trixie Lulamoon’s was about to begin.