The Story of Nyx: A Snowflake in The Wind

by RyanMagika


Chapter 9: Alternate Ending (Sadder)

“No seriously. How?” Nyx said to herself. Nyx looked all around the branches. No obvious fruit anywhere. “Where’s the stupid fruit? It has to be here! It’s not like there’s a ‘Bush of Harmony’ anywhere near!”

Nyx scurried around the tree randomly giving it a kick to see if a fruit of some sort would fall out. None did. Nyx fell back onto her haunches in stress rubbing her temples with her hooves.

“Come on Nyx! Think! A ‘Fruit of Harmony’. A fruit. Fruits of labor? No that’s stupid. Fruits. Fruits. Fruits. Pears are fruits. Don’t like Pears. A tree makes Fruits. They store the tree’s energy. They provide the tree with what it needs to fight off…” Nyx stood up, a hoof on her chin. Hers eyes moved till they reached the star pattern at the center of the tree.

The answer then dawned on her.

“Thats it! Eureka!” She said in a high pitched manner. “The Elements of Harmony! Those are the Fruits! The Tree uses the energy from them to fight off invaders like the plunder vines! Just like a real tree!”

Nyx hopped around the tree’s trunk in excitement. She then came to a screeching halt and looked up at the large tree. A low vibration resonated through her, almost like a low humming.

“It’s like it’s coming from the tree.” She said slowly walking up to the tree. She stopped right in front of it and placed her hooves against the crystalline bark. “You're not giving up the Elements that easily? Are you?”

An intense feeling rippled through Nyx. As if the tree responded. Nyx nodded and stepped back. She stopped and sat on her back legs; this might take a while. “I won’t lie to you tree. My mom told me not to lie. I really don’t think I can force the Elements from you.”

The tree didn’t respond.

“So I guess I’m going to have to convince you.” She said. Nyx breathed in deeply. “Alright. My name is Nyx Sparkle. I’m the daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle. You remember her, right?”

The tree again did not respond.

“I am also Nightmare Moon, kinda. You probably remember her.”

The wind passed, shaking the tree lightly. Nyx breathed in deeply, readying herself for the next part.

“A couple of days ago I met a pony. She was about my age, with light blue fur and swirly blue hair. She’s also blind but deals with it pretty well. Her name is Snowdrop.”

The wind picked up again and the tree began to move more violently.

“Snowdrop’s been lost. She’s stuck in this… Limbo place. For over a thousand years she just floated in this big vast void. When I came along I gave her hope I could save her. I visited her, made friends with her, and tried to help, and before I knew I… I fell in love with her. But now I’m here to set things right.” Nyx stood up and faced the tree proudly.

“I need the Elements, so I can save her. Even if it means letting her go. Even if it means I… I’ll never see her again...”

As Nyx finished those words the tree began to sway and move as the wind picked up one last time. Dust and sand began to blow causing Nyx to shut her eyes. Bright lights soon shined through her eyelids, reds and blues and greens were present, but most of all a very strong opal. After the wind subsided Nyx opened her eyes. The Tree of Harmony was covered in a vibrant opal aura that skipped and danced like the aurora. The tree was solid, resolute, no longer swaying in the wind. Nyx looked down to see her Cutie Mark once again glowly. But this time it glowed in a rainbow aura, one that usually only appeared when the elements were used.

The opal aura soon began to converge towards the center of the tree. The energy siphoning into the six points of the center star. When all the energy was finally absorbed, cracks of light formed in the large center crystal.

“Whoa…” Nyx said in awe.

The center crystal then began to divide revealing the element that resided inside. The Element of Magic. The small crystal floated from the its position, enveloped in an opal aura, towards Nyx. As the crystal finally neared Nyx it began to morph. Each point folding down to form a single shape. A small magenta colored shield.

Nyx placed her hoof out, ready to accept the gift the tree had given. Just as soon as the crystal floated above Nyx’s hoof, the process stopped. The aura left the tree and the crystal. Without magical support the element tumbled into Nyx’s hooves. The Tree’s compartment shut and the tree returned to its silent state. Nyx stood in awe at what had just happened. Silent moments passed, and what had occurred soon started to connect in Nyx’s mind.
“I got the Element!” She cheered. “Sombra’s book says I only need one fruit so I’m good!”
 
Nyx jumped around ecstatically, all the while using her magic to place her things in her saddle bag. Nyx came to a stop and levitated her bag on. “Come on! One last teleport!” Nyx began to charge up her horn, as she did a light began to leak out of her bag.
        
“Huh?” Nyx reached in and pulled out the Element and watched as glowed brightly. “You wanna help?” She said. The element flew out of Nyx’s hoof and positioned itself above her head so it would reside where Twilight’s tiara would hold it. “Alright! Let’s GO!”

Nyx’s aura engulfed her in a flash and in seconds the small canyon lit up as Nyx’s teleportation had moved her to her destination. Home.

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Ponyville sat in silence. Absolute silence. Not a peep could be heard. Nopony stirred, Nopony moved. It was utter silence. That was until a large flash of light in the center of town occurred, followed by the scream of a falling black filly. Nyx wasn’t always the bravest type. She vowed to protect others and had dealt with monsters and very bad ponies, but when you go from your hooves being solid on the ground to about twenty feet above a tree, you lose a bit of that bravery. Nyx crashed down onto the tree, albeit her wings cushioned her fall. Nyx then tumbled through the leaves and branches until she landed on upper floor balcony. Nyx’s head spinned and she could see stars all around her, though that was probably because it was night out. Steadying herself, Nyx stood up and slowly began to tip hoof towards the door.

After slowly opening the creaky door, Nyx quickly ran through Twilight’s room, not checking to see if anyone was in bed. Nyx was intent on getting through as fast as possible. Quickly shutting the door behind herself Nyx stopped to hear if her running had woken up her mother. When the sound of hoof steps did not come, Nyx breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was a close one.” She whispered. Nyx looked down the long winding steps, she could have sworn they were never this long. Beginning her slow descent to the bottom, Nyx was careful to not set off each creaky step. Once she reached the ground floor Nyx scanned the area, checking for anything that could set off Twilight of what she was doing. Finally Nyx’s eyes landed on the mirror in the center of the room. The artifact seemed to give off a dim aura, though that could easily be just a trick of the moon light. Nyx slowly approached the tall mirror watching as the light seemed to just pour from it. She didn’t question the mirror’s new position, she had more important things to deal with. Nyx’s eyes looked up to the Element adorning her head and watched as it seemed to shine in coordination with the mirror. Nyx nodded to herself before looking back at the tall mirror, “Alright. Let’s do this.”

As Nyx’s horn  began to charge up, she noticed that her aura was a bit off, rather than its standard blue, it seemed to be blue with hints of opal splashed in and mixed with it. Nyx shrugged at the change. After several seconds of charging, a beam of energy shot out hitting the engraving. The skull engraving however did not began to fill with her magic.

“What?” Nyx said. Nyx sent more energy into the mirror. As she did however the jewel on her head soon began to glow. A new beam of energy, this time magenta, shot from the jewel and began to intertwine with Nyx’s magic. When the new beam hit the engraving, it began to seep into the etching until the skull was filled with the combination of blue and magenta light. Nyx powered down her horn and watched as her reflection swirled away with the portal. The portal churned and spun quietly. It gave off a slightly creepy ambiance, filling the center of the room of light.

“Alright. This is it I guess. All I have to do is go through, get Snowdrop, and come out. This’ll be easy.” Nyx said to herself. Nyx knew better. “This should be easy, at least.

Nyx raised a hoof and watched as trembled erratically. “Why isn’t this easy? Just one quick action. Go in, grab her, get out. Yet why am I trembling?”

Nyx looked back up to the swirling portal, “Because I’m scared. I’m so so scared. More scared then when I was in the Everfree forest, more scared than when I faced that Ursa. I’m so scared because… Because even if I succeed… I’m going to lose someone I love.”

A small tear fell off Nyx’s eyes to the floor, its fall seeming to echo throughout the library. “But I’ve got to remember one thing” Nyx said, looking towards to skull. “No matter what happens, no matter how bad, I’ve got to let go. No matter how bad it hurts”

Nyx looked up to the swirling portal, preparing herself for the jump. “In three! Two! One!”

She threw herself towards the portal.

NYX!”

Nyx collided with something midair, causing her to fall the ground just short of the portal. Looking up Nyx saw a small shield dissipating. A force began to pull at Nyx’s back legs, as she was being dragged back from the portal. Nyx turned to see her mother, Twilight pulling her away with her magic. A look of absolute terror and paternal instinct present on her face.

“Get away from that! It’s too dangerous!” She yelled.

Nyx began to fight her mother’s magic dragging her hooves in an effort to escape. “Leave me alone! I need to go!” Nyx yelled.

“NO! There’s no telling what’s on the other side! It could lead to Tartarus for all we know!”

Nyx at that moment managed to break away from her mother’s magic and began to run back to the portal. Twilight retaliated by grabbing Nyx left hoof with her magic.

“Let go! I know what’s on the other side! There’s someone who needs help!” Nyx yelled trying to reason with her mother.

Twilight shook her head, “You don’t know what you're doing! Who are you trying to save? Where that portal is leading, no one can be saved!”

“No! I have to save her! If I don’t she’ll be lost forever!” Nyx said slowly getting closer to the portal.

“I can’t let you go! You’ll die in there! Please Nyx, I don’t want to lose you. Not again.” Twilight said, her voice lowering. Despite not knowing a single curse word, Nyx managed to curse her Mother’s maternal instincts, mentally.

Nyx looked back to her mother, “I have to! I promised to save her! I won’t back down!”

“What pony do you care so much for? Why would you risk so much for her!”

“Because, I love her!” Nyx finally yelled, looking back at her mother. Twilight stopped yelling. She didn’t pull anymore, though she kept a tight hold on her daughter. A long silent moment was exchanged between the two of them. Twilight stared straight in Nyx’s eyes observing every emotion her daughter projected.

I can’t— I can’t lose her again.” Twilight thought. Gazing into her daughter’s eyes, Twilight noticed something else. Something that she blinded herself from earlier, a fierce determination. A determination so full of friendship and love that Twilight finally understood. Nyx wasn’t doing this for herself, she was was putting herself in danger to help somepony else. Like she had done before by saving Ponyville from the Everfree monsters or like when Twilight sacrificed herself to Tirek for the safety of her friends.

After everything set in Twilight dropped her magic and released Nyx.

“Go. Save her. Just please, be safe.” Twilight finally pleaded.

Nyx nodded before turning back to the mirror. Not waiting any longer Nyx leaped into the portal, leaving a large flash of light to fill the room. Twilight just stood there, waiting for her return.

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The vortex returned this time. Rather than being a light blue with many oddities or a dark red with thousands of the those creatures, this one was a golden yellow. The light was warm and homey. As Nyx flew through the tunnel, she looked in a state of awe, watching the swirling colors mix and swim. Light blues and purples leaked through occasionally, giving the illusion of small boats sailing across a sea of yellow. The end of tunnel fast approached and Nyx braced herself for re-entry. When she reached the end an explosion of colors filled her eyes. Every color in the light spectrum and then some seemed to flash through. When the colors subsided Nyx found herself in the void, again. Looking around she saw the form of Snowdrop waving towards her, most likely alerted from the sound that emanated from the portal.

“Nyx! Nyx over here!” She yelled.

Nyx smiled deeply before she began gliding towards Snowdrop. This time in a speed that was much faster from her previous attempts.

“Snowdrop!” Nyx called coming closer. Soon Nyx was right next to Snowdrop.

“Nyx, can you do it? Can you get me-” Snowdrop was interrupted mid sentence.

At that moment Nyx placed a kiss directly onto Snowdrop’s lips. The initial shock from Snowdrop soon died away as she greeted the kiss happily. Their long tender embrace continued on until Nyx broke it, forcing her lips from Snowdrop’s. The two slipped away and looked at the other, breathing heavily from their kiss. Nyx started speaking first.

“I love you…” Nyx said. Snowdrop looked at Nyx for several seconds before nodding happily, tears visible on her face.

 “Let’s get out of here.”

Nyx grabbed onto Snowdrop’s body and pulled her closely before flapping her wings pushing them in the direction of the portal. A deep smile was evident on both of their faces.

After reaching the portal, Nyx stopped slowly before bringing Snowdrop to the churning vortex. Snowdrop raised her hoof to tap the portal. The portal rippled rather than making the sound glass would make, like last time. Snowdrop smiled before jumping head first into the portal, with Nyx following right behind  her.


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 No vortex came this time. The portal simply gave off a large flash of light as it transported Nyx and Snowdrop to their destination, the library. Nyx’s home was filled with a blinding light that seemed to pierce the few windows that were present in the home. Twilight covered her face with her hooves trying not to go blind. When the light died down Twilight turned to view an amazing spectacle. A large burn mark was spread out from the front of the portal, rolls of steam emanated from the ground and rose towards the ceiling. And in the center of these damages was her daughter, with a small blue filly. Nyx had ended up thrown to the ground with Snowdrop sprawled on top of her.

The two were looking at each other in complete silence. The silence was soon broken as Snowdrop began breaking into laughter. Nyx soon following her. Twilight simply stood back watching the debacle unfold. Snowdrop got off Nyx, still giggling. Nyx’s laughter died out naturally. The two looked at each other for a few moments before Nyx brought up her hoof to Snowdrop. Snowdrop didn’t react.

Nyx looked at Snowdrop before a realization hit her, “Uh, Snowdrop? I’m sticking my hoof out.”

“Oh!”, Snowdrop said, before sticking out her own hoof. The two hooves did not meet however, as Nyx’s hoof simply passed through Snowdrop’s.

Nyx’s faced filled with shock. “Oh no…”

“Nyx? Where’s your hoof? I can’t find it.” Snowdrop said, oblivious of what had just occurred.

“I-it’s t-there.” Nyx stuttered. She turned towards Twilight, “Mom! Help!”

Twilight shook her head as she broke out from her shock, “What’s going on? Nyx, who is this?”

Nyx turned her head back to the now scared Snowdrop. “Her name is Snowdrop. I just saved her from tesertil… teseralli… No, it’s um?”

“Tesertillio?” Snowdrop said.

“Yeah that. But now she’s becoming intangible!” Nyx said.

Twilight shook her head, “This is what happens when you pull a soul out of the afterlife, Nyx! She has no body to cement her in this world. And you and I both know, that Snowdrop’s body isn’t useable.”

Nyx took a long look at Snowdrop, “What’ll happen if... she doesn’t have a body?” she said weakly.

Twilight sighed, “She’ll pass on. To where ever she was meant to go.”

“No! I don’t want to go!” Snowdrop yelled. Twilight turned to the teary Snowdrop, “I just came back! I won’t go back!”

Snowdrop turned to Nyx, “Nyx. Please help me. What about us?” She said weakly.

Nyx shook her head weakly, “I-I’m sorry. I’m so-so-so sorry, Snowdrop. All the books said the same, when you’re released, you’ll pass on.” Nyx tried to put on a sad smile though she failed.

“Please Nyx! I don’t want to go.” She said, “Please! I’ll… I’ll never see you again”

Nyx looked deep into Snowdrop’s eyes, she watched as they trembled in fear. “Snowdrop… Sometimes… Sometimes we need to let go. You-you’ll be happier where you’re going.” Nyx put on a smile, though tears were present on her face.

Snowdrop opened her mouth to respond but she stopped. A small, sad smile formed on her face, “T-Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Nyx took a step back and watched as Snowdrop began to fade away.

 Twilight stood back towards the back of the room watching in a state of curiosity and at the same time fear. Snowdrop’s receding body was giving off a moderate ambience, a noise that sounded like celestial white noise. The process ticked by in a slow pace, not so slow it seemed to intrude or be annoying but not too fast that it seemed pass by too quickly. A small tear dripped down Nyx’s faced, flowing from her eye down her cheek until it dripped off her chin to the ground. Despite the noise that filled the room, Nyx could hear the crack of the drop clearly as it collided with the ground.

With that noise passed the Element on Nyx’s head began to glow. A mixture of opal and light blue seemed to begin to radiate from the jewel, though  Nyx ignored it, choosing to pay attention to what was occurring. This light however was soon going to be the center of attention as small streams of it diverged from Nyx’s Element and began to flow towards the form of Snowdrop.

“Huh?” Nyx said weakly looking up at the crown on her head. The streams, at that point, flowed into the disappearing form of Snowdrop.

Snowdrop gasped as a new feeling entered her senses, her eyes widening at the sudden change. Her body began shaking slightly as Nyx ran up to Snowdrop’s side.

“What’s wrong!” Nyx said. Snowdrop’s ethereal form stumbled slightly and was gasping for air.

“Idon’tknow” Snowdrop said through her pants. Snowdrop tried lifting her head but failed spectacularly, instead falling to the ground below. “Mychestfeelsheavy.” She panted.

Nyx tried placing a hoof onto Snowdrop’s back but failed as it passed though. “Don’t worry Snowdrop. You’re going to be okay. Just hold on.” Nyx looked at her Element and saw the energy flowing from it was entering Snowdrop’s body. “This must be it!” She said taking the element off her head.

“Nyx!” Called Twilight. Nyx looked over to see her mother approaching, finally out of her daze of awe and confusion, “Put the element of magic back on. If it’s doing this, then there has to be a reason.”

Nyx nodded before returning the element to its floating position on her head. She looked down to the see Snowdrop slowly panting in exhaustion. “What going on, Mom? What’s happening to her?”

Twilight shook her head, “I don’t know, Nyx. I’ve never dealt with this type of magic. Not even I have access the archives on life and death spells. All we can do is wait.”

Nyx nodded before scooting closer to the form of Snowdrop. Twilight looked at the scene before slowly trotting backwards towards the stairs.  “I’m, uh… going to leave you two alone. To, uh. Say goodbye.”


Nyx’s eyes followed her mother until she passed out of sight. Looking down, Nyx sighed deeply at the panting Snowdrop. After several tense seconds Nyx spoke, though it was in whispers. “Hey, Snowdrop. Can you hear me?...”

Snowdrop shifted slightly, before weakly nodding. Nyx was conflicted inside. She knew for a while now that she’d have to come to this, letting Snowdrop go. But now the time came and she just couldn’t. There was something, at the back of her mind, which told her to hold onto Snowdrop and to not let go. But Nyx knew the pain Snowdrop was feeling; Nyx had already crossed paths with the slow, creeping hand of death that was slowly reaching for Snowdrop. And though Nyx never fully experienced the full embrace of death, she intended to help Snowdrop deal with it.

After more tense moments passed, an idea came to Nyx, “Okay then. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll tell her a story.”

“Snowdrop? Remember the first day we met? When I surprised you, by coming up from behind. Though I probably would have surprised you if I came from the front.” Nyx said. A small grumble and release of oxygen sounded from Snowdrop. A feeble attempt at a chuckle? Maybe.

“I brought you to the portal where we tried to escape but…” Nyx purposely trailed off at that last part, trying to not bring up bad memories. “After I got home, I tried my best to figure out a way to help you. I even got the help of some of my friends. You’ll love to meet them, they call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

Snowdrop managed to let out recognizable noise this time, a barely audible giggle.

“One of them helped me figure out how to get you out, her name is Sweetie Belle.” Nyx weak smile faded as Snowdrop didn’t respond this time. “When I came back to give you the news, I started to feel weird. Like a little knot was in my stomach. My face felt hot, and I even jittered a bit. I figured out pretty soon why. When you asked me to stay with you for the night my face felt hotter, and my stomach was in tangles. I wanted to figure out what it was, so I went to ask my aunt, Rarity. I was hoping she would tell me I had caught some weird bug, or it just some random stomach pains, but…”

Nyx trailed off, trying to give Snowdrop time to let it sink it. “Before I knew it, she was spouting all this talk about crushes and love. Love! I didn’t believe her at first, but soon I started to realize. Deep down, I loved you. I love the way you talk, the way you look. The way you were so cheery and bright, despite all the darkness around. Despite the fact you could only see darkness. But when I finally came to grips that I loved you I realized something. That when this was all over, this would happen. I would help you escape and you would pass on.”

Nyx paused again.

“And even then. With me being immortal I would… I would never see you again. Not in this life or the next. Because for me, there is no next. Part of me wanted to keep you. Here, never to leave, but I knew I couldn’t. I cared for your happiness more than my crush. So I set out to figure out how to save you. I searched through every book I could find, went through the forests, I even had to convince a magic tree to help me. So we could get this far, so despite everything, what ever happened to me, you could still be happy. So from me to you, Snowdrop. A gift.”

After finishing her long monologue, Nyx fell silent. The Element of Magic, at that point chose to fall from its levitation and splatter onto the floor. Nyx listened to Snowdrop’s steady breathing as it began to drift away quietly. Like a snowflake in the wind.