Stairway to Equestria

by AlexUk

Chapter 31: Happily Ever After

This chapter contains a scene with background music at the end. Watch out for the words linking to a YouTube video.

The sun bared down upon the small town of Ponyville as the wind gently calmed the effects of the pronounced summer heat. Under a large tree near the Everfree forest, two ponies rested in each other’s embrace. One was a beige mare with a light purple mane; the other, a red pegasus colt with a brightly yellow mane and tail, wild fetlocks at the end of his hooves. The two stood happily in the tree’s shadow, not daring to face the scorching summer sun.

“Are you coming to tonight’s dance-off?” the mare asked, lovingly poking the stallion with her nose.

“Ah wouldn’t miss it for anything,” he quietly retorted, wrapping a wing around the mare.

They joined into a soft kiss, a kiss that soon turned into an intimate make-out session under the tall tree. The colt wrapped his hooves around her, gently letting them travel across her body. She gave a soft giggle, breaking the kiss.

“It tickles. But you don’t have to stop,” she added in a whisper, resuming the kiss.

As they continued, the colt’s ears perked up at an eerie sound. He opened his eyes from the blissful pleasure state he was in. His heart nearly stopped in his chest. He broke from the kiss, immediately drawing his hooves back from the mare.

“I uhh, think I should go.”

She tilted her head in confusion.

“I’ll see you tonight. Hopefully,” he added. A growl from behind the mare made him pick up his pace. He worked his rather rigid wings and soon took off into the sky.

The mare turned back at the source of her coltfriend’s distress and immediately groaned in annoyance. She then began trotting back home, leaving the tree’s comfortable shadow. Behind her remained the reason for which the stallion bailed so fast: a dark-coated pony, or to be more precise, what was left of a pony.

The creature had a dislodged, hanging jaw, with maggots and other insects roaming freely through the numerous putrefying holes in his face and body. It stared at the trotting mare, a remnant of a chuckle leaving his crushed throat before falling apart into pieces that eventually turned to dust.

Just a couple of minutes later, the mare had entered a large tree house, slamming the door behind her. “Why do you always have to be like this?” she shouted as she entered the living room.

“I thought we had this conversation already,” a voice called back from behind an open newspaper at the main table.

“You have no right to mess with my personal life! Mom, tell him!” she said, turning to a unicorn mare that was coming downstairs, oblivious to the reasons why the house was now filled with an angry teenage voice.

“I believe I have all the right in the world when a horny colt starts exploring a mare’s body, and that mare’s body belongs to my daughter of all ponies,” the stallion behind the newspaper stated, dropping the reading material. “From what I’ve heard, there’s a dance tonight. I assume you want to go to said dance, so I advise you to keep your next reply as short and polite as possible.”

The young mare opened her mouth to protest, her cheeks filling with red after finding out her dad knew all about what had happened underneath the tree. However, she said nothing and chose to trot upstairs to her room.

“I thought so,” the stallion muttered, picking back up the newspaper.

“What did you do this time, Blink?” the mare that came downstairs asked, joining him at the table.

He dropped his newspaper again. The stallion hadn’t changed too much over the years, his features remaining the same as in his younger years, save for a healing scar here and there. The same could be said about the pony next to him, Twilight Sparkle, who bared an all-knowing smile. Her purple mane and its highlights remained as lively as ever, and her eyes still kept their hunger for knowledge, albeit with an added aura of kindness and understanding.

“Caught them making out near the Everfree . . . again.”

“Blink, we talked about this,” Twilight said.

“That’s what I just told her as well. She can’t be doing that kind of stuff yet. She’s too young.”

“She’s almost an adult.”

“He was groping her. Like- Like dough,” Blink said with a disgusted expression.

Twilight laughed, leaning over his chair and embracing him with her hooves. “I remember you doing the same every time you had leave from your guard duty before we got married. I don’t think you were giving my dad a lot of thought in those moments, were you?”

Blink sighed. “I know, but we were older. And we saved ourselves for the wedding, remember?”

“Not the most popular of decisions,” Twilight retorted with a roll of her eyes. Before her husband could say anything about that, she continued, “But it’s Hayseed we’re talking about. We know him very well, Blink; he’s like family. A sweet, gentle, and carrying pony, just like his parents.”

“Yeah, I would really like to have a word with Fluttershy and see how she reacts when I tell her that her son was groping our daughter like in a freakin’ massage parlor.”

“Most likely she would hide under her mane while turning redder than Big Mac,” she said, prompting a laugh from both of them. “But his dad . . .” Their laughs stopped, remembering very well how sad Bell had been when her coltfriend hadn’t been allowed out of the house for an entire week after Blink had talked with Big Mac about the two of them a year before.

“Yeah, that was pretty harsh, even for Mac,” Blink said.

“That’s because he respects you. And he respects our daughter as well.”

“I bet Bell hates the living guts out of me by now,” the stallion said, rather depressed.

“It’s all right. I’m going to have a talk with her today. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if you paid Big Mac a visit and discuss it with him as well.”

Blink raised an eyebrow, his suspicions lifting the hair on his back. “Discuss what now?”

“Come on, Blink, they’re young. It’s Bell’s first heat cycle and-”

“I do NOT want to know!” Blink cut her off.

It was happening. The one thing he didn’t want to acknowledge or talk about with regards to his daughter. “No. No . . . nope. No. I am not- What? No.”

“Blink . . .”

“I said no. She’s not even an adult, Twilight! What am I even- Are you insane? You want me to talk to Big Mac and ask him to tell Hayseed to use prote- No. Not happening! I will suck the very life out of that colt if he comes close to Bell with a high blood pressure in his lower body.”

“You are not reasonable, Blink,” Twilight complained. “Sooner or later they will do it. I’d rather know that they are . . . well, safe.”

“They won’t do anything if I’ll kill him first,” he countered with a sly grin. “And then I’ll keep his soul trapped in the Antechamber for several millennia, just for good measure.”

His wife’s deadpan look was all the reply he got.

“Twi’ . . . please. If you have that talk with her, it’s like we’re approving this.”

The mare simply grabbed her stallion in a hug. “I know. But she’s mature enough, Blink. I know you love her more than anything, but in a few more weeks she’s going to be an adult by Equestrian laws. We have to let her make her choices, no matter how much we love her. I don’t want Bell to feel constrained or that she has strict parents.”

Blink sighed deeply from the confinement of his wife’s embrace. “You’re right. I’ll- I’ll visit the Apple farm today. I can’t even believe I’m going to talk with Big Red about this . . .”

“Thank you. By the way, I assume you made the poor colt flee again. What did you do?”

The stallion fell quiet. “I uhh . . . a shadow clone, yeah.”

Twilight frowned, then her eyes widened as she figured out what her husband hid from her. “You didn’t . . .”

He was in trouble. Big trouble. “Okay, I raised the dead. Just one. And then he turned back to ashes. Just to scare Hayseed off.”

Twilight instantly let go of him, assuming the scolding stance the stallion was all too familiar with. “Blink, I thought we talked about that. You know how I feel when you use your magic like that.”

“Twilight, come on. He was some guy that died a few centuries ago and was buried there. You know that I can feel them when I want to. They are everywhere, Twi’; generations upon generations of remains litter these lands. It’s impossible not to-”

“No, Blink! You know the sanctity of a pony’s corpse! You know better than to do that to them. We are not what you said we were back then! I thought we agreed on that.”

A painful memory crashed into Blink’s mind, just at the mention of that ‘back then’.

Eight years ago . . .

Blink rested on the large, king-sized bed. Every now and then, he would grab a grape with his magic from a fruit platter nearby. Next to him, his discarded black armor rested in a pile, stained with fresh blood. His eyes travelled across the large, stone bedchambers and over to the trophies and symbols of power that belonged to the gryphon culture.

The room’s double doors swung open. Twilight stepped through, still wearing her impressive white armor. Her face fell completely when she saw her husband. “Blink, what . . . what are you doing?”

“Resting? Victories are tiresome, Twi’.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Blink, what happened today…? How could you?”

The blue stallion stood up. “How could I what? We were sent here to do this. And now it’s done. The Gryphon Empire is no longer a threat to us.”

“We were sent to prevent the attack! Not this! How can you rest on his bed?”

He frowned at those words and got out of the bed. The last thing he was expecting was his wife to be against him. “Because of him, we were attacked almost a decade ago by three different races. He ruined the night I proposed to you. He almost destroyed the entire capital and almost killed your mentor. He. Killed. Chaser!”

“You killed Star Chaser!” Twilight shouted, her eyes now in tears. “Your darkness killed him. I remember when you told me your Nightmare lured the changeling into that house that fell on him. Now you get back at Arnost by killing Gilda in front of him? His own niece? Then take his life like that? And now- now your Nightmare’s back . . .”

He took a few steps towards her. “No it isn’t! It’s still chained deep inside, like it always has been.”

“Then that’s even worse,” she said with heavy breath.

“Twilight, please. Listen to me. You know very well this could happen when Celestia and Luna asked us to come here.”

“No, I never expected this . . .”

“You are the smartest pony I know, Twilight. You discovered the Magic Singularity, for Luna’s sake! And that’s because you’ve mastered it first. I was second, and before us, only Starswirl the Bearded was said to have achieved it. Not even the Princesses are as powerful as us now.”

“Where are you going with this, Blink?”

“Twilight, our magic is capable of self-replication; the only limit is our intelligence and imagination. We came here alone, facing two hundred thousand gryphons. And still, it was the shortest battle in history. You have to accept it, Twilight: we’re-”

“No, Blink. Don’t say it.”

“But it is what we are! We are Gods.”

The mare winced at that, tears filling her eyes. The silence that settled was strange and painful. “We are not like that, Blink. We should have used our powers for good. Not for this. Never for this. What- What would our kids think of us?”

“They’re too young to understand what we are. We . . .” He took a deep breath. His chest felt tight, and his mind was a storm of thoughts. Did he just say what he thought he said? Did he just do what he heard he did from his wife? It felt like his Nightmare was pulling the strings again.

Yet he felt no dark presence. Only him. Always him. The need for recognition and the thirst of power. He had brought down the fighting force of an entire nation almost entirely by himself. He was drunk on power. He always wanted more. “Is it bad for me to want more?” he murmured the same words he had asked Pearl months after the successful incursion against the Changeling Hive.

“I don’t like what you’ve become, Blink. I’m- I’m going home.” Twilight surrounded herself with waves of magic, her eyes turning white as she drew enough power to teleport herself across the continents.

“Twilight! No! Please don’t go!” His words fell on deaf ears. The stallion shielded his eyes from the powerful light. Moments later, and after a blast of powerful magic, he was alone in the royal chambers of the king he had just slain.

Blink fell to the floor crying, unable to comprehend the consequences of his actions and words.

The stallion gulped. Those powerful memories were burned into his mind forever. It was the moment he and Twilight were the furthest apart they had ever been in their relationship. Despite being on top of the world, it was the lowest point he had ever reached in his life.

Luckily for him, the two Watchers of that planet appeared before him after Twilight had left Arnost’s chambers. For the first time in her life, Twilight didn’t know what to do. She had teleported to the Royal Castle and told the Princesses of what her husband had said and done.

The conversation that followed between Celestia, Luna, and Blink helped the stallion greatly. No one knew what words were said between the three ponies, but after a short time spent away from Ponyville, Blink returned to his family. Both he and Twilight apologized for leaving each other in the times they needed each other the most. They had always been open about their feelings, concerns, and aspirations ever since.

Now, eight years later, he still remembered those dark moments of his life like they were yesterday. The promise to never go down that path was stronger than ever.

“You’re right, Twi’. We’re not Gods, and we shouldn’t act like we are. I’m sorry.”

The mare gave him a kiss, then sat on his lap, holding her hooves around his neck. “I know it’s hard for you to not be able to express your talents openly like I do. But even I have to refrain from using my powers every now and then.”

“So no more raising of the dead?”

“No, please. Unless you have a very good reason for it.”

“Okay, but only because you asked.”

“Eww, not in public!”

The two ponies turned to the new voice: their son, Chaser, who had just left his room, the chamber that once belonged to Spike. The young pegasus rushed towards the table and grabbed a piece of toast, all while faking disgust and avoiding looking at his parents.

The colt borrowed quite a lot of physical features from his father: he had a blue coat, albeit brighter, and a similar body built. His mane, however, was of silver color, with purple highlights streaming down towards the tips but the style was identical to his father’s. His cutie mark showed his talent and interest for weather controlling: a storming cloud with several stars above it.

“Well look who decided to wake up. At almost 1 PM,” Twilight pointed out, getting off Blink with the faintest of blushes.

“Yeah, well Scootaloo’s been busting my chops all day yesterday, so I needed some rest.”

“Come on, she can’t be worse than Rainbow Dash,” Blink said with a grin.

The colt shuddered at the mention of that name. “You’re right. No one’s worse than Rainbow.”

“Blink, Chaser! That’s not a very nice thing to say about her. She’s one of my best friends.”

“She is pretty harsh, Twi’,” Blink argued, siding with his son as always.

“She can be strict. But only because she wanted the best out of you.”

“So that’s why he gave up on that featherbrain Hayseed?” Chaser asked. “Because he doesn’t have anything good to give?”

“Wow, son, you really hate that guy for dating your sister, huh? Who would have guessed?” Blink asked mischievously, turning towards Twilight as if surprised.

She silenced his little play with a deep frown, then turned to her son. “Chaser, please don’t talk like that about Apple Hayseed. He’s a kind colt, kinder than you have been to him anyway.”

“Whatever, mom,” Chaser responded with a roll of his eyes. “I’m off to training, see ya guys later!”

“Take care!”

As the front door closed, Twilight used her magic to smack Blink across the head, almost knocking him out of his chair.

“Hey! What was that for?”

“Stop fueling this hate between those two. They might actually become family in the future.”

Blink grabbed his head with his hooves. “Again, something I do not want to think about.”

“Is there anything you do want to think about, Blink?”

The stallion’s ears perked and his face brightened. “Well, we’re having lunch now, right?”

Twilight’s mouth hung open. She snapped out of it, reminding herself that there was no point in trying to understand her husband, and that she had abandoned that endeavor long ago. “I’ll set up the food. We’re eating at Spike’s, so-”

A burst of blue magic left her words hanging. Blink had already teleported out.

Blink munched happily at his food, standing at the very table he’d been sitting most of the times for over two decades. Twilight was next to him, and at the other side was their host, Spike. All three of them were in the middle of the dragon’s home.

The green-and-purple dragon had grown quite a lot over the past years and was now at least five times taller than a four-hooves-standing pony. His features had also changed, making him look very different from what he used to be like when he was younger. His neck had stayed short, but the fins on his back and head were more pronounced than ever.

His legs and arms had strengthened considerably, and now he mostly walked on all fours. His head was slightly elongated, and his jaw widened quite a bit, giving him that menacing characteristic each adult dragon had. Twilight told him from her books that he would stay like that for at least a few decades, as his second growth spurt had come to an end.

He chewed on a few diamonds while gulping down a hand-full of apples from a nearby barrel. Meanwhile, his eyes never left Blink and his happy demeanor.

“Is he always going to do this?” Spike asked Twilight.

“Hey! I like this table.”

“You really do,” Spike agreed, referring to the table they were all sitting at, the table Blink had teleported from the library along with the food for that lunch. His large eyes fell on the wooden piece of furniture, and he slowly ran the tip of one of his claws over it.

“Remember when we ate at this table for the first time?” Blink inevitably asked.

It had become a tradition that re-occurred every few months when the three of them would have a meal together: Blink would ask the same question, while Spike rolled his eyes and Twilight agreed with her husband, usually making a remark that sent the entire conversation on a small trip on memory lane.

This time however, Twilight chuckled as she normally would, yet the dragon said nothing, a tear drawing from his eyes.

“Oh, damn it. Come on, Spike. I know you hate it when I ask that, but really?”

“It’s not that. Because I actually remember . . .”

They all gathered around the table. He and Twilight each took a seat, and the new stallion quickly climbed onto his, trying to avoid getting help for that basic task.

“Well, I hope you guys enjoy my newest creation!” he said with pride in his voice. “Vegetable soup with fresh croutons, seasoned daisies and a touch of rose petals.”

“Wow, Spike, you've sure outdone yourself this time,” Twilight congratulated him, studying the pleasantly smelling dish.

Spike stared at his hand. It was now large enough to crush that whole table he once comfortably sat at. “I miss being small . . .”

“Change is not always bad. Dude, you’re the strongest resident in Ponyville. And the largest.”

Twilight elbowed him under the table, then turned to her dearest assistant. “Spike, is something wrong? Are you and Ruby-”

“No, no, no. We’re fine. In fact, I’m leaving for a few weeks to the Dragon Shires. Her clan invited me again.”

“So what’s with all the melancholy, then?” Blink asked.

“It’s just . . . me and Luna had one of our talks again last night.”

Blink rolled his eyes. “Ohh, boy. Another of Luna’s dark lectures? You immortals slash near-immortals are so fun to be around sometimes, I swear,” he said, grabbing another mouthful of food.

Spike cleared his voice and wiped away the tear in his eye with a claw. “You’re right. It’s stupid. She always gets to me like this,” he added with a rather forced chuckle.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Twilight asked, concerned as always.

“No. You guys are the last ponies I want to talk to about the sorrows of immortality. Well, near-immortality.”

Blink acknowledged the correction with a nod of the head while continuing to enjoy the lunch along with Twilight. Spike resumed eating as well, sneaking quick glances to his friends every now and then. Luna’s words still echoed through his mind.

“Cherish every moment you spend with them, Spike, for their life would be but a blink in your time.”

The following day brought even more sunshine over the calm town of Ponyville. Its residents did as much as they could to stay out of the heat, and the weather team pegasi even flew for miles across to bring some rain clouds.

Near the small lake, a mile behind the former library, the wooden house had changed drastically ever since Twilight and Blink had received it and the land around as a wedding gift from Kazooie. It now had a solid stone base and thick, metal walls, with a wooden façade to keep the old appearances. It was no longer a livable house, as it became Blink’s initial work place as a National Defense researcher.

Following his very early and rather controversial retirement after the battle at the Griffin Kingdom eight years before, the structure had become his personal hobby shed. There, with Twilight’s occasional help, he developed technologies and personal projects outside Equestria’s normal scientific capabilities, combining magic with the limited technical knowledge he retained from over twenty years ago, in an attempt to bring back a bit of old into his new life.

A huge, ten-foot metal antenna dish rested on one side of the house, pointed at a seemingly random location in the sky. The main entrance to the one-room shed was open, a couple of voices resonating from inside.

Blink was leaned over a large working bench, fiddling over a small device with a couple of tools using his magic. A metal box with a speaker rested nearby, from where the voices originated. A cable connected it with a large panel next to a wall, from which several thick cables were hooked up to the metal dish outside.

“And what a memory that is, George,” came from the box’s speakers, as Blink continued to work over the bench.

“Yeah, that’s one to remember, Brian. Well, before our next song, we have to remind everyone that this week, the guys over at MTV are celebrating their first year since going live!”

“That’s right, who would have thought music videos would catch on so fast? They might even get ahead of stations soon.”

“Take it from my crazy DJ colleague here, folk: music videos becoming more popular than radio! Well, I guess it’s time for that song I promised you guys: The Number One Song in Heaven, by Sparks. My favorite song from ‘79, I’d say.”

The mentioned song began playing in the background, its tune drawing Blink’s attention.

“George, it’s been three years; you should get with the times!”

“Oh, shush you!”

The upbeat song began playing at full volume as the DJs stopped talking. A smile crept on Blink’s face as he began bobbing his head and tail to the rhythm of the song.

“This is the number one song in heaven . . .

Why are you hearing it now, you ask;

Maybe you're closer to here than you imagine,

Maybe you're closer to here than you care to be.”

Blink mouthed the lyrics along with the radio, almost forgetting everything about what he was working on. His pet, Raven, rested nearby on a pile of equipment, giving the stallion an odd look as he began swaying his flank to the rhythm of the song.

If you should die before you wake,

If you should die while crossing the street,

The song that you'll hear, I guarantee,

It's number one, all over heaven;

The number one song all over heaven!

Blink’s moment was cut short when a knock came from the shed’s entrance, followed by a voice clearing itself. He turned around immediately, somewhat embarrassed by being caught giving in to the music he enjoyed. He turned down the radio with his magic, giving Twilight a smirk.

“What was that?” she asked, coming in.

Blink smiled. “Darling, those were the 80’s. Well, very late 70’s but it doesn’t matter.”

“I know what year those are coming from, but that song was . . . odd.”

“Oh, don’t you remember it?” he asked, returning to his work over a small device. “It was quite popular three years ago. You know, right about when we finished this,” he added, pointing at the large panel the radio box was connected to.

“Your world was so weird,” Twilight concluded with a laugh.

Blink raised his eyes to his wife. “Hey, you should hear what we had in 2011 when I . . . you know, died the first time. I don’t even want to imagine what they have now. We’ll probably never even find out.”

Twilight pondered for a moment. “Well, by our calculations, it’s currently 2032 by your old calendar. We’re picking up radio signals from 1982 because your planet is about fifty light years away and that’s how much it takes for radio waves to travel that distance. You will start catching up with what happened after you came here in about thirty years. Give or take.”

“Give or take, indeed. I’m just glad you helped me with this. It actually means a lot to me to re-live my old history through radio, as weird as it sounds.”

“Let’s just keep the volume down, okay? You remember what happened last year . . .”

Blink’s mind immediately went back to when Pinkie Pie had visited him at his shed a year before. She had overheard a song playing on the radio at that time and saw Blink dance to it in a very unusual, un-Equestrian manner.

Through some unexplainable circumstances, a rendition of that same song had become Equestria’s number one hit song later that year. It also started what was one of the most dangerous dance trend in history, given how bad ponies were at maintaining their balance on hind legs.

“Come on, are the Princesses still throwing the blame on me for The Twist craze?”

“Ponies are not meant to twist!” Twilight said, trying as much as possible to not burst into laughing. “It’s serious. Bell sprained a hoof while dancing to that song, you remember too well.”

“You healed that in a night, Twi’.”

“Still, mixing your culture with ours is not the best of ideas.”

“Are you sure, Twilight?” Blink asked mischievously. “Because I managed to record this little gem the other day. It’s from . . . about a year after The Twist.”

The stallion grabbed what looked like a magnetic cassette, inserting it into the radio box and flicking a button. The song on the cassette began playing, and Blink immediately went into the rhythm of the dance on his hind hooves.

“Nooo!” Twilight yelped as the stallion grabbed her into the dance, the song playing at maximum volume.

“Come on let's twist again,

Like we did last summer!”

Yeaaah, let's twist again,

Like we did last year!”

Blink, displaying his hard-acquired, yet impressive dancing skills, spun his wife on her hooves, forcibly making her dance to the hit song.

“Heeee, and round and round and up and down we gooooo again!

Oh, baby, make me know you love me sooooo-”

“Blink!” Twilight’s yell came from an unusually larger distance. The stallion was just about to give his partner a kiss after a successfully executed pirouette, eyes closed as he lost himself in the rhythm once again. Opening his eyes, a large quantity of pink was all that filled his vision.

“Easy there, silly Blinky. I thought you two weren't into that.”

“Pinkie?” Blink asked, his eyes widened in surprise. He was holding Pinkie Pie in his hooves, while Twilight was a foot away, her hoof slapped cross her face as she shook her head.

“What’s this song?” the pink mare asked with a wide smile, “Sounds awfully a lot like-”

Blink immediately stopped the player with his magic, letting go of Pinkie Pie. The pony didn’t fall, however, and returned all her hooves on the ground from her suspended position.

“It sounds like nothing, Pinkie Pie. Okay? It’s absolutely nothing,” Blink rushed to explain, yet Pinkie kept her smirk.

“Okie, dokie, lokie! Well then, sorry for interrupting your private party here. I overheard it and thought it was something I wasn’t invited to, and then I wondered why wouldn’t I be invited to a party thrown by my best friends? But as it turns out, you two were dancing to that amazing new song coming from Blink’s magic radio, and then I just had to know what-”

“Pinkie!”

“Oh, sorry! I’m off!”

“Pinkie! You didn’t hear anything here today!” Twilight shouted after the mare as she bounced away with physics-defying speed.

“We’re fucked,” Blink muttered, slumping down on a chair nearby.

“Let’s just hope it won’t catch on like the first one did. I mean, doesn’t it sound the almost the same?”

Blink chuckled at Twilight’s remark. “It was the number one hit the year it was launched, like the first one was the year before.”

“Oh, horse apples . . . what is it even called?”

“Let’s Twist Again.”

“Wow, figures.”

“It’s pretty catchy though, Twi’. You have to at least admit that.”

“It doesn’t matter, there’ll be tens of thousands of cases of sprained hooves and lower shoulder pain across Equestria. And the concerts,” Twilight remembered with dread.

Blink smirked. “Uhh, the concerts . . . guaranteed training grounds for the ambulance crews.”

Twilight shook her head. “At least Pokey sang the first one. That stallion has the most talented voice I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, and of course he will sing the new one too, he’s her husband. Damn famous for that song too,” Blink muttered. “Anyway! What’s done is done! Time for me to get back to work,” he said, turning back to the small device he was tinkering.

“Are you still working on that-”

A small burst of magic interrupted Twilight. A letter materialized in front of her, and she immediately recognized the chipped diamond sigil.

“Blink, we got a letter from-”

“Done!” the stallion shouted in triumph, grabbing the small piece he was working on and rushing outside, though not before floating a pair of shades on his eyes first.

Twilight rolled her eyes, following the stallion out. He went around the shed under the willow tree by the lake, where something was covered with a large tarp. “Sorry, Twi’, I’m listening!” Blink said, turning to his partner.

“It’s from Rarity and Pearl. They say they miss Ponyville and all of us, and that they will be back in the following days from their trip!” Twilight said with excitement. “Can’t wait to let the other girls know!”

“Huh, it’s been a while. I kinda miss that white bastard as well. Pearl, I mean,” he added with a laugh.

“I can’t wait for them to tell us their stories. Imagine: a whole year sailing- uhh flying around the world,” Twilight said, picturing what would it be for her and Blink to do the same.

“Twi’, we did that too; ish . . .”

“Yeah, but we used our powers to teleport across the lands thousands of miles at a time. Those two sailed on the Pearly Diamond all that distance, visited all the continents and amazing places this planet has to offer.”

“Details, darling. But if you want to travel slow and cool, I can always make you one of these,” the stallion said, pulling the tarp over the covered object under the willow.

Revealed from underneath the cover was Blink’s most complicated, time-consuming project he had endeavored on along with Twilight. It had taken over six years to complete, and during that time, the stallion researched mechanical and transport systems extensively, visited several engineers and blacksmiths across Equestria, and placed numerous custom orders for metal casted parts and bits.

Using his magic, he placed the small panel he had been working on all day into a socket in the fuel tank, right underneath the speedometer.

“It’s done,” he proudly said. “The first cruiser bike in this world, now with the added radio.” He executed a hoof pump, barely containing his excitement. “It can pick up local stations and even the stations that we pick up from my old world via the satellite dish.”

“Wow, that’s actually pretty impressive,” Twilight stated, being genuinely happy for her husband. “What are you doing for signal reception of your stations? We only get the signal using the dish, but you don’t broadcast it back into the air here.”

“Uhh, I’ve re-routed the radio waves and transmitted them via the military radio towers Equestria has. I called an old favor and had the signal put on a locked frequency. That way, only I’ll be able to listen to it. That is, of course, only when my old home is on the sky and not behind the planet.”

The stallion got onto the black cruiser, resting his hooves on the bike’s handles that were built specifically to allow acceleration and brake control using hooves. The vehicle looked a lot like what his old world had in terms of choppers, albeit it was somewhat larger to accommodate the weight difference between species. The seat was placed slightly lower as well, so that a pony could ride it more comfortably given the limb-to-body ratios of an equine. The fuel tank had his cutie mark painted over in purple, but the engine was emblazoned with Twilight’s, as she was the one to mostly work on it.

“Four hundred ponypower, eight hundred in hybrid mode. Zero to sixty in less than three seconds, reaches one-sixty on conventional fuel, and a hell-of-a-lot on magic if I kick in the hybrid.”

“Please don’t do that ever again,” Twilight said as she circled the finished vehicle. “When you tested that mode down the northern path last week, some poor pony must have seen it because I’ve heard crazy stories about blue lightning whizzing down the road at night,” she remembered with a chuckle.

“Will keep that in mind.” He paused for a moment, then flashed a big, goofy smile. “Nope, I lied. Hah!”

“You’re un-curable. Please don’t allow Chaser on it too soon though, I don’t want him to get killed.”

“Now that I’ll keep in mind!”

His horn glowed, and a set of keys floated into the ignition. Upon turning them, the entire thing came to life as its twin-V engine roared loudly. The stallion’s eyes closed, enjoyed the sound that was unheard of in that world. Even though it wasn’t the first time he’d heard it in the past years while working on it, every engine start came as an auditory reward for all the work he put into replicating a technology he knew little of in the first place.

“Are you taking it out for a ride?” Twilight yelled at him, trying to cover the loud engine.

The stallion turned the bike off and took the keys out. “Nope. Not the right gear, and definitely not the right time.”

Twilight smiled and gave the stallion a quick, gentle kiss. She then glanced at the bike, resting herself against the fuel tank, right next to Blink. “This is a horribly inefficient yet absolutely fascinating transport device. You did a great job, Blink.”

“We did a great job. Like we always do when we set our minds to it.”

Twilight smirked, while innocently letting a hoof slide from the bike’s fuel tank to one of Blink’s hind hooves. “Yes, we’re very good at doing things together,” she said mischievously.

The stallion’s ears perked up while his blood started circulating faster. “Oh, you don’t say . . .”

Almost reading each other’s minds, Blink instantly turned into a cloud of dark smoke, while Twilight transcended into a white mist, both teleporting out of that place and right back to their bedroom.

The atmosphere at the dinner table that evening was somewhat awkward, to say the very least. Twilight was rather cheerful and relaxed from her earlier activities with her husband. Blink, by contrast, was emotionless as a stone, Bell was in pain, and Chaser could not care less.

“Mom, come on. You could heal it in a second.”

“Your father has been very clear on this, and unfortunately for you, I’m siding with him this time,” Twilight said, taking another spoonful of soup. “You’ll have to wait for it to heal by itself.”

Bell turned to her dad, employing the saddest puppy eyes she could muster. “Dad? Please, I promise I won’t do it again.”

Blink however remained as motionless as before. “No,” he said flatly, also taking another spoonful of soup.

“But it hurts!” the young mare complained, gesturing towards her bandaged hoof resting on a second chair next to her.

“You don’t know pain,” he darkly muttered in retort.

Meanwhile, Chaser extended a wing behind him and flicked a small switch on a radio. The sudden noise made Blink jump in place. It was a familiar tune, however sung by a different voice, not to mention it was on an Equestrian station.

“Come on let's twist again,

Like we did last summer!

Yeaaah, let's twist again,

Like we did last-”

The radio was turned off by a blue aura. Midnight Blink was on the verge. “No radio at the table!”

“Since when?”

“Since now,” the stallion declared. “How in all hells did Pokey get to record that damn song so fast? I’ll murder Pinkie Pie,” he said to no one in particular.

Chaser turned to his mother. “Yo, mom, why does dad wanna kill aunt Pink?”

“Blink, we do get half of the proceedings from sales, like we did on his first hit,” Twilight said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, while we all pretend that he came up with it on his own because we can’t talk about the source of the original song outside our family.” He turned to his daughter. “Not to mention, you hurt yourself dancing to it. Again.”

Twilight chuckled as a short period of silence settled at the family dinner. Blink eventually huffed, a smile forming on his lips as he shook his head to himself. The radio was turned on by the same magic that had turned it off earlier, albeit at a lower volume.

“Do you remember when

Things were really hummin',

Yeaaaah, let's twist again,

Twistin' time is here!”

“It’s a damn good song tho’,” Blink muttered smiling, and the whole family burst laughing.

Night fell over Ponyville, and while Chaser and Bell were already asleep, Twilight and Blink were still awake in their large bedroom. Both were sitting at their own desks, trying to steal some time for their personal projects and hobbies after a long day. The chamber also doubled as a study, as Twilight’s original bedroom was extended, making use of the extra space they had when their home was no longer a public library.

“Twi’, where did you put that feasibility study you gave me yesterday?” Blink asked from across the room.

“Left it on your-”

“-desk, got it!” the stallion said, picking up the file and browsing through it. The last page was marked by a large declined stamp.

“Come on, Twi’, how could you reject this one as well? I mean, you asked me if I could come up with ideas and prototypes to send to the science committee in Canterlot. How can I do that if you keep rejecting them?”

“A portable weapon capable of firing pieces of metal fifty millimeters in length over great distances is not really the kind of stuff we need, Blink,” Twilight recited from her desk.

“But I already built the 50 Cal’ prototype,” Blink complained, very much like a spoiled foal.

Twilight sighed. “Of course you did. But no, those plans will not leave this house or your workshop.”

“What about the rest?”

“Well, the one before that was about a heavy metal chariot motorized with a large engine and equipped with a high caliber cannon. Thank Celestia you didn’t prototype that too. Blink, we really don’t need more weapons; you’ve reverse-engineered enough from your old world to keep this one safe. And that self-propelled projectile with enriched Greenium payload that triggers a chain reaction on impact sounds just crazy! Who would build such a device that can cause so much damage?”

“They’re called nuclear bombs. And yeah, not the best of ideas, but I never wanted to submit it anyway. It was just a proof of concept.”

“Your old world must be such a terrifying place if you say one of your nations had tens of thousands of those,” Twilight said.

In the meantime, Blink had gotten over to her desk, dropping off her study and the rest of the 50 Cal’ project in a trash can, before setting its contents in magical flames that burned all the documents. “Yeah, it was messed up like that. I know,” he declared with a sigh. His eyes wandered over Twilight’s research, recognizing words and phrases like “tissue regeneration” and “genetic anti-oxidant magic effects”.

“Twilight, is that project Phoenix you’re working on?”

The mare immediately packed up the files, putting them away under a stack of papers and letters. After a moment of silence, she turned to Blink, who was standing right next to her desk.

As she was about to say something, the stallion began to speak. “You’ve been working on that for over a decade now, Twi’. You know as much as I do that finishing it would be like me finishing the nuclear bomb one. Celestia and Luna would never allow it.”

“But I’m close to finding a breakthrough, Blink. It’s purely academic, and you know it!”

“A very wise and smart mare once told me that I am not a God, and I should never try to be one. It goes both ways, Twi’.”

Twilight’s gaze lingered for a moment, before admitting defeat. “You’re right. I’ll- I don’t know. I’ll stop working on it, I guess.”

Blink sensed Twilight’s sadness and the huge disappointment in her voice. “I know how much it means for you. But you already have great legacy as one of Equestria’s most talented and powerful Archmages. Plus, how would we decide who gets that spell cast on them, and who would it be? Us two? Our children? Our closest friends? Where would we draw the line?”

The mare remained silent, contemplating at the biggest moral debate of her life. Was immortality something that she could experiment with like that? Was she a hypocrite for thinking that her talent was no worse than Blink’s? Wasn’t ending a life at a whim just as bad as bringing immortality to another?

A spark of magic however caught their attention. Twilight’s horn glowed, and a letter puffed in out of thin air, bearing the official Royal red ribbon. The mare skimmed through it before passing it on to Blink.

“Hmm, another breach in Tartarus’ lower chambers?” Blink mumbled, having finished reading the letter.

“Yes, Princess Celestia wants me to go check it out tomorrow.”

“Most likely Medusa got pissy again. I swear, that place needs some serious maintenance.”

“Well, I think I’ll call it a night. It’s pretty late, and apparently I have a very busy day tomorrow.”

“Fancy Archmage mare saving the day again? Well, besides the time I went and took care of it last time,” Blink said as the two of them got into bed.

“Not fair! That time I had a very bad cold,” she pouted, giving him a kiss.

He simply laughed. “Twilight Sparkle, Archmage of Equestria, Lifebringer of the world, put to bed by the common cold.”

She playfully smacked him against the head with a hoof, making herself comfortable amidst the sheets. “Good night.”

“Good night, Twi’.”

The lights went out, leaving the two to join Luna’s realm together.

“Horse apples! Where did I put that report?” Twilight fumbled through her scrolls and papers on her desk the very next day.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to cover Tartarus for you today? You seem quite busy with that magic university class,” Blink asked from his desk as he stretched his hooves.

Twilight stopped her searching, darting her eyes to a clock. “I don’t have time . . .” she murmured. “Yes, could you do that for me, please? I don’t have time to do everything I had planned today.”

Blink smirked. Finally, some adventure breaking the recent settling monotony. “I guess I’ll take the bike. You know, to test it and whatnot.”

“Sure. Give me a minute and I’ll be by the lake. Go and get ready in the meantime.”

Teleporting to his workshop, he placed a hoof on the main door, his magic flowing through it and unlocking the secure building. He went straight to another secure metal door inside, unlocking it with his magic as well. The doors slid open, revealing an impressive cache of weapons and equipment. Most of them were prototypes that never left the shed, but some bared a bit of sentimental value for the stallion.

His eyes trailed on several mannequins inside the lock room. The first one had the torn, battered, and cut hydra leather armor he had worn at Struthill and Canterlot all those years before. It even still had his blood on it. The next ones were all subsequent generations of that very same armor, each of them thinner, lighter, and stronger than the last one.

A container was placed at the end of the mannequin row. It held the latest model, and it was the first armor set he hadn’t worked with Rarity on. Twilight had helped him with it greatly, and he was itching to test it out in live combat. He pressed a button on the container, making it open up. Cold trails of coolant liquid rose from it. As the fog cleared out a bit, the armor piece was revealed. Blink grabbed what was a snake-like piece of metal in his magic and went outside, though not before picking up a black jacket from a coat hanger and a slicker pair of shades from a shelf.

Twilight was waiting for him outside. “You sure you don’t want me to do it?” she asked, sorting through her saddle bag.

“You have that course you need to present. I don’t think I would make the best of teachers, so I can take care of Tartarus for you,” Blink said as he made his way to his cruiser.

“Wow, dad, that’s awesome,” a voice came from the willow tree. “What is it?”

“Thanks, Chaser. It’s a motorcycle. One-pony transport vehicle. It’s inspired from my old world I talked to you about.”

The pegasus glided down from the tree, landing next to it. “Sweet. Can I ride it?”

“You’ll have to get your mother’s approval on that first, but it’s fine by me.”

Twilight frowned. “Stop making me look like the evil parent here.”

“Well, you’re certainly the soft one,” Blink said, nodding at someone behind Twilight. Bell was walking happily towards them, oblivious to the little fight going on between her parents.

“She told me she had learned her lesson, so I fully healed her leg. Isn’t that right, Bell?” Twilight asked, turning towards her daughter.

“Uhh, sure mom. By the way, can I go on a camping trip tomorrow?”

“Let me guess, a lot of ponies are going, and among them is Hayseed,” Blink said as he placed the snake-like metal piece in the bike’s storage saddle.

“Yeah, how did you k-”

“Which is code for: you want to go on a camping trip for a couple of days only with Hayseed,” he continued. “Yeah, how ‘bout no?”

Bell’s mouth hung open in complete and utter disappointment. Blink, however, met Twi’s gaze, a look so powerful it swiftly changed his decision. “I mean, if your mom agrees to it, then sure,” he said, mostly through clenched teeth.

Belle jumped at her father, crushing him with a hug. “Thank you, dad!”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“You going anywhere?” she asked.

“Yeah, Tartarus’ been acting up again.”

“Oh, okay. Be safe, dad,” Bell said, giving him a peck on his cheek and another hug. Blink held her daughter in his embrace longer than usual.

“I love you, Bell, never forget that. You’ll always be my little girl,” he said to her softly.

After they parted, Blink immediately remembered he was missing something. “One sec, I’ll be back.” He teleported out and then back in after a couple of seconds. His lucky, depleted Greenium necklace was around his neck. His best pair of shades were on and he was also wearing his black leather jacket he picked up from inside the workshop.

“See ya later tonight guys. Hopefully I’ll be back by dinner,” Blink said, mounting his cruiser. The sound of the powerful engine filled the quiet meadow as he turned the keys in the ignition. He gave Twilight a quick kiss while taxiing out from under the willow tree.

She nuzzled him as she walked alongside the bike. “Stay safe there. Remember, stabilize the situation and make sure the prison is sealed.”

Chaser hovered above them, still taken aback by the motorcycle. “Mom, can I please ride that when dad’s back? He said it’s okay if you’re o-”

“Absolutely not, Chaser.”

“Tough luck, kiddo,” Blink laughed, revving the engine and releasing the clutch.

The bike quickly gained speed, climbing the small hill back towards Ponyville with ease. He looked into one of the mirrors, smiling at his family waving him goodbye. Blink then went on a dirt path that led towards a proper town road, and turned left on the first exit, passing over a small bridge that lead to the northern pathway out of town. The ponies roaming the town all turned their heads at the strange, loud vehicle, but calmed down as they recognized the driver. They’ve gotten used to the stallion, as he became as famous as the Element Bearers themselves after the battles of Struthill and Canterlot year ago.

“That’s so awesome!” Blink heard his son’s voice while speeding out of Ponyville, leaving a wide dust trail behind. He turned his head and saw the young pegasus flying next to him, his wings beating faster and faster to keep up with the cruiser.

Blink grinned, extending a hoof that his son immediately bumped. “I’ll convince your mother to let me give you a lesson when I come back!” he shouted to him. The speed dial went past a hundred miles per hour, and Chaser began to trail behind his father, despite his intense training as a weather pony.

The unicorn happily noticed his son smiling in his rear view mirror, before turning upwards and going back home. The bike kept gaining speed, as Blink shifted through the gears with his left hind hoof. Using his magic, he conjured a protective, invisible shield over his face to protect him from the vicious draft that came with the speed.

Back home, Twilight closed her husband’s equipment room, which he had carelessly left open. Just as she was about to close the main entrance to the shed, her ears picked up a strange, static sound.

She approached the radio that was broadcasting radio stations from tens of light-years away, and turned the volume up. The static just became louder. Curious, Twilight went outside and noticed the automatic antenna dish was pointing as low as it could, parallel to the ground.

“Huh, you’re still trying to pick up the signal; is it not on the sky anymore?”

She went back inside and opened up a star map. Making some complex calculations on the spot, she chuckled to herself. “Of course; the dish is trying to point to his planet, but it’s not even on the sky for the rest of the day.”

She closed the radio and left the shed, locking it with her magic. The metal doors closed, followed by a series of locking sounds.

“Well, I hope he won’t mind not having any of his radio on the road,” she said to herself, preparing to teleport all the way to Canterlot where she had a lecture to present in a few minutes.

He took a deep breath, enjoying the view of passing by scenery. The wind blew into his mane, fur and jacket, and he couldn’t feel any better about it. The sensation of freedom was incomparable to anything else, and the raw power at his hooftip was making everything seem even more surreal.

Blink’s entire world narrowed down to the present and the sensations he was experiencing. The speed, the rush, his blood pumping faster as he rode the powerful bike through Equestria’s picturesque lands. The northern dirt road was straight as an arrow and clear of any rocks or debris, so he left his acceleration hoof slide, making the cruiser’s engine roar.

He didn’t look back, nor did he check his rear view mirrors. There was nothing that could overpass him. There were no cars or other motorcycles. His was the world. He pressed a button on the small radio in the fuel tank. An upbeat song was playing, and he realised it was one of those modern songs composed by that DJ Pon3 mare. Definitely not something to accompany him on his high-speed ride. He flicked a small switch and set the radio to pick up the locked military frequency that carried the signal his dish back home was receiving from outer space.

“Whaaa? Don’t tell me the damn planet is out of sight?” he muttered, as only a loud static sound came out.

The bike’s dash lights flickered for a moment. A cold breeze that no summer day could produce began beating against the unaware rider. It lasted but a while. The static sound from the radio morphed and shifted slowly, until a barely audible song was heard from the bike’s built-in speakers.

“Well look at that. This thing actually works; guess good ol’ Earth is still on the sky,” he said, turning up the volume.

“On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been.

Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again . . .”

“Neaaah.” He changed the sub frequency, hoping another Earth station had a better track.

“Someone told me long ago

There's a calm before the storm,

I know! It's been comin' for some time.”

He recognized the song, but changed the station nonetheless. “What’s with the dull tracks today?” he muttered. As the station changed, a long-forgotten tune began playing. “Oh, sweet Celestia, yes!”

The drums began playing, accompanying the lone electric guitar notes.

“Living easy, living free

Season ticket on a one-way ride

Asking nothing, leave me be

Taking everything in my stride.”

“Finally! I never managed to pick up this song before. The rock stations were all on cheap ass high frequencies,” Blink said to himself as he turned up the volume on one of his old favorites.

“Don't need reason, don't need rhyme

Ain't nothing I would rather do.

Going down, party time

My friends are gonna be there too.”

He turned his hoof on the accelerating handle, and the bike broke the 160 mph barrier. It was nearing the maximum speed, but Blink wanted more. His horn glowed, establishing a magic link with the engine, thus switching it into hybrid mode. With the rock song blasting, Blink began pouring pure magic into the engine. The exhaust pipes reddened as the revs instantly went past the safe limits.

When he heard the click that told him the engine had switched over to the ultra-small carbide gears designed for high speeds, the revs suddenly dropped, and the bike was purring again as if slowly cruising. The difference was that the engine now consumed magic directly from the unicorn, and the speedometer was stuck at its ceiling, past the 200 mph mark.

“I'm on the highway to hell

On the highway to hell

Highway to hell!

I'm on the highway to hell!”

“Sweet Luna, this is amazing!” he shouted. At that speed, the wind was biting past his fur and into the skin, so he extended the magical shield from his face, moving it so that it protected everything behind the handle bar section. He continued to switch up through the hybrid gears, the acceleration handle turned to the max the whole time.

Noticing a glow behind him, he peeked into the rear view mirrors and saw the exhaust pipes blowing bright blue flames from the engine. He grinned, and focused even more on fueling the engine.

“No stop signs, speed limit

Nobody's gonna slow me down

Like a wheel, gonna spin it

Nobody's gonna mess me round”

Magic crackled and snapped around the bike, powerful waves of energy forming around it. Everything was moving so fast for the stallion as he switched into the last gear, but the dirt road was over a hundred miles long, so he still had a while to go.

Blink didn’t know what speed he was going, but he knew it was fast. The magic link from his horn to the engine was oversaturating, spilling threads of blue magic all around and leaving a visible trail behind the speeding bike. It was only the second time he had used the bike that way, and fuel economy was not an issue for him. After all, he had a virtually limitless magic supply.

The energy residue had built up so much around him that a huge potential difference between the bike and the air around it was created. Blink, however, knew how sturdy the vehicle was, and continued to pour even more magic into the engine.

A sudden discharge cracked through the air, causing a bright burst of light. Luckily for him, his shades filtered the excess light, leaving his sensible eyes protected. As soon as he looked around him, however, Blink’s grin only grew wider. Bright rods of blue magic sped through the air around the cruiser. The noise was almost deafening. Pure energy was being released into the atmosphere around him like a continuous lightning made out of his magic. Somehow, however, the song still ringed into his ears as the unicorn tore through the land on his bike like a lightning strike.

“Hey Satan, paid my dues

Playing in a rocking band

Hey Momma, look at me

I'm on my way to the promised land.”

A red light started flashing on the bike’s dashboard, and Blink immediately recognized the imminent collision warning sign. The system had detected something a mile away, but at that speed, Blink only had a few seconds to react as the image of the object in question quickly approached. His horn spilled even more magic as he cast the needed spell.

The earth stallion readjusted the stick holding two buckets at its ends onto his back. He gave his young son a quick glance. The brown colt was also carrying a bag of dried hay as he and his father trotted along the long dirt road back home.

The father’s ears perked up at a strange sound from further down the road. A bright blue point of light was approaching them with monstrous speed. He rushed to protect his son, but the unknown object was so fast he wouldn’t even make the step between him and the colt in time.

The roaring vehicle burst into electrifying magic just a mere ten feet away from hitting them. The magic rods circled around and above the two ponies before materializing back behind them. Dust and magic residue flew past the earth pony and his son, and the two simply stared wide-eyed at the motorcycle continuing its menacing trip north, surrounded by thunder and magic. It soon turned to a dot of light in the distance that left a huge trail of dust and blue sparks.

The stallion held the colt to his chest, while staring dumbstruck up the road.

“I’ve told you yer mother was wrong. It wasn’t the cider; the blue thunder God is real!”

With the sun already beginning to descend, the cruiser slowed down as it approached an outpost near the stretched mountain chains in the upper center of Equestria. Blink scanned the area around, making sure it was safe.

The bike stopped, and the unicorn set his hoof down on the ground. He dismounted the cruiser, setting it onto its stand. His hooves felt wobbly for a few moments as he got used to being stationary again.

“Wow,” he muttered. “That. Was. Amazing.”

“Stop right there!”

Blink turned to a guard coming out of the stone outpost. Once close enough to see him clearly, the guard saluted Blink him without hesitating. “Sorry, Mister Midnight, I didn’t recognize you!”

“Am I really getting that old? Anyway, I heard you’re having some trouble here,” he said with a serene smile while heading towards the back of his cruiser.

The guard stared at the alien vehicle for a few fleeting moments before remembering what he needed to say. “Uhh yes, Sir. We got reports of disturbances in the lower levels a couple of days ago. Seemed to be level four. Nothing on the other levels. We also got a magic breach alarm going off in the Artefact Archives this morning. All guards stationed there have been pulled out yesterday.”

“Okay then, let’s get this over with, shall we? Wife doesn’t like it when I miss dinners,” Blink stated thoughtfully as he pulled the long, metal armor piece from the cruiser’s saddle. He then made his way past the outpost, into a wide valley that ended in a huge set of metal doors.

“Sir, if I may ask, we were told Archmage Twilight Sparkle would come . . .”

Blink stared at the valley edges above, feeling a bit eerie about being there. It was one of the few places that made him feel that way, and for good reason.

“She’s busy. I offered to help. Order any guards left inside to evacuate until I get a containment. Set up a wide perimeter and everything, okay?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“One more thing,” Blink remembered, stopping in place. He took his black riding jacket off, throwing it at the guard. “Hold this for me, please.”

Catching the jacket, the guard simply nodded and retreated back to the outpost. While walking towards the prison’s entrance, Blink threw the snake-like piece of metal in the air with his magic. It landed on his back and he infused it with a bit of his magic. The long metal cartilage began moving as it stretched along Blink’s backbone. From one of its end positioned on the back of his head, a few metal strands extended through his mane and over his forehead, encircling the base of his horn.

Blink focused as several tendrils of magic formed around him. His horn’s blue glow activated the armor, sending energy through it. The stallion shuddered as he felt the metal that covered his backbone essentially fusing with his mind. For a brief moment, a blue highlight travelled across his body, revealing an invisible layer of magic that was essentially a second skin originating from the metal piece.

“Synchronization complete,” he murmured, and continued walking.

In front of the gates of Tartarus, a huge creature stood tall. It was black and had three heads, each more menacing than the other. The six eyes were focused on the approaching stallion.

Blink stopped in front of the beast that towered him, maintaining eye contact with it all the while. He bent his front hooves, kneeling in front of the ancient guard while keeping his head hung low. After a couple of moments, the beast responded with a similar gesture, its three heads lowering in front of Blink’s.

The stallion got up and continued walking past the Cerberus. “Thank you,” Blink said, now using his magic on the large metal doors. They slowly began opening, dust rising in their wake.

“Thread carefully, bringer of death,” one of the Cerberus’s dog heads said. “A dark presence festers inside,” another added. “A recent prisoner brought here almost two decades ago,” the third one informed him.

Blink stood there for a while gazing inside the dreaded dungeon. “Very well. I’ll have a word with him. Be right back.”

He entered the prison, and the doors closed behind him soon enough. The darkness was punctured only by the occasional torches here and there. Blink took off his shades, while a few blue spheres began circling around him, providing the stallion with some extra light.

He walked into the mountain, the stone edges of the wide corridor tremoring with darkness and dark whispers. The sound of hooves hitting the cold stone began fading in. Soon, a large group of ponies came cantering into view, several torches floating around them. They all stopped around Blink, forming two lines against the corridor’s walls. The guards were wearing heavy magical golden armors, engraved with various seals and symbols. Their spears and bows all glowed in the dark.

“Sir. I’ve just got the order from outside. Are you sure you want to go in alone?” Their commander stepped up, saluting him.

“Yes. Get your stallions out and wait for me to get back. Level four?”

“Sir, yes, Sir! The Artefact Archives are just a stop before on the elevator, on level 3. Also, we’re missing a few guards. If you could—”

“Got it. I’ll keep an eyes out for your colleagues,” Blink simply said, heading down the dark corridor.

The prison guards marched out, and soon Blink was alone again in the cold darkness. The wisps of magic revolving around him shed light on the path, and soon he reached a metal cage. He got inside and pulled a lever, making the elevator suddenly jolt as it started its descent into Tartarus.

Minutes later, Blink was only passing the first underground level. Angry yells resonated from the corridors there. It was the place where the worst criminals on that planet were kept. The frenzy of level 1 soon faded away as the elevator reached the second level. There, a stench filled Blink’s nostrils, making him wince in disgust. Growls and hisses echoed across the elevator shaft. The most dangerous beasts across the lands had found their eternal fate in those cells.

The elevator stopped at level 3. Blink got out, summoning extra orbs to light his path. He walked across the level’s main hub. Signs of a battle were everywhere around the elevator platform: broken chairs, smashed supply crates and various other scattered objects, urns and scrolls across the dark brick floor.

The stallion walked into a corridor leading to the Artefact Archives. The room soon came up, its heavy doors resting in pieces. Two bodies wearing guard’s armor were scattered near the entrance, their blood dried up on the floor.

“Sons of bitches,” Blink muttered, walking inside what was a wide, tall chamber.

Round, stone doors with symbols written onto them were on the sides of the hall room. Blink continued walking, ready to face whatever had broken into that place. Right near the end of the chamber, two large stone safe doors were missing from their respective cells. He walked inside one of them, and as expected, whatever was held onto the small pedestal inside was missing in both cells.

Blink stepped out of the second one, and his eyes immediately locked onto a shape standing in the middle of the Archives hall. There, a scruffy-looking unicorn returned a devilish smile. His coat was dark red, and he wore a sort of pendant around his neck.

“How stupid were they to send you alone?” he spoke, breaking into a mad laugh.

“And who the hell are you? A level 1 prisoner? What’s that pretty little thing around your neck?” Blink asked, looking at the alicorn-shaped piece resting on the unicorn’s chest.

The prisoner’s grin widened. “This?” Red waves of magic began forming around him, as the necklace glowed a dark hue. “It’s the Alicorn Amulet. It bestows great powers to the wearer, making him as powerful as an alicorn!” His magic flared as the amulet glowed brighter. The unicorn was getting ready to unleash it against Blink, who simply stood there watching him with a bored expression. “I will break out of this place and kill every one of those pathetic ponies that got me in here! I’ll show them all! I’ll even be able to get rid of the Princesses and take their place on Equestria’s throne. Nothing can stop me now, you pathetic-”

“I ain’t got time for this shit,” Blink cut him off, his horn glowing briefly, then quickly dimming back.

The red stallion froze in place, the amulet around his neck and the magic he summoned dimming off in an instant. He stared emptily in front of him as Blink walked to his side.

“That swooshing sound you just heard in your head; it was me cutting the connections between your frontal lobes and the rest of your brain.”

His magic engulfed the necklace at the stallion’s neck, floating it off. “Sit here and relax. Think of happy thoughts,” Blink said with a smile, gently resting the lobotomized unicorn on the ground before making his way out of the Archives.

As he walked, Blink studied the Alicorn Amulet briefly before crushing it with his magic and throwing the remains away. “Now to find the second missing forbidden artefact.”

He went back into the elevator and pulled the lever. The cabin began descending again, heading for Tartarus’s largest and deepest level. As he went lower and lower underground, the air got colder and colder, while voices and odd sounds echoed against the tunnel walls.

“Status check,” Blink muttered under his breath.

“All systems online. Armor Integrity 100%.” The small voice came from the snake-like piece of armor on Blink’s back.

The elevator came to an abrupt stop, having reached the dreaded level 4. Blink got off and looked around the reception area. There were no signs of fighting or of anyone or anything escaping. In front of the unicorn, however, a heavy metal door stood shattered on the ground. It looked like the entrance to the Tartarus’s lowest level had been blasted away by something very powerful.

The stallion walked past the fallen doors that were specially made to keep the most dangerous beings of that world locked in. Out of his body shot dark trails of smoke that materialized in numerous shadow clones.

“Go scout the area,” the original said, and the clones immediately did as told.

The dark tunnel lined with barely-lit torches eventually lead into a large cave filled with numerous fires. Blink’s shadow clones cantered around every tunnel and part of the enormous cave system in search of anything that could have caused the reported disturbance.

“Well, at least this place hasn’t lost its charm,” the unicorn said as a pillar of flames erupted mere feet away from him.

“Ssssuuch a handsssome ssstallion come to visssit . . .”

Blink turned to the familiar voice, his deadpan look not shifting despite the horrific creature in front of him. The monster’s lower part was like the one of a snake, and its top half had an almost human-like appearance. Hundreds of small, long snakes formed its dangling hair, her eyes empty and gray.

“Medusa. What have you been up to again?”

The creature crawled around the unicorn, her wicked smile not showing any signs of fading. “I wondered when you would arrive back to ssssseee me.” Without warning, she leapt at the stallion, letting out a piercing scream.

Blink simply stared at the creature as her eyes filled with magic. Everything around the stallion slowly turned gray, even the prison’s stone floor. Some torches next to him went out, while the wooden handle turned to stone under Medusa’s deadly gaze.

“Armor integrity 99%.”

The stallion darted his head around, before turning to Medusa and raising an eyebrow. “Are you done yet? You know very well you can’t petrify me, Meds’.”

The snakes that formed her hair jumped at the unicorn, their venom-coated fangs wide open. They instantly turned to black dust as they entered Blink’s personal space. He sighed. Metal rods erupted from the cave’s floor, wrapping around the screaming Medusa’s limbs and body.

“Where’s the last artefact?” Blink asked calmly, sitting down on the ground in front of the thrashing daemon. “Someone stole something from upstairs. One of the thieves was a prisoner from level 1. The other one I suspect was from here. So who is it, and what was stolen?”

Medusa stopped struggling and laughed maniacally. The endless prison cave erupted with various screams and howls. Blink worked his jaw, annoyance getting to him. “Fine, be that way.” He got up and turned around. “Let’s see what’s going-”

A powerful, large, and very hard object bashed the stallion against his side, sending him flying across the cave. Blink hit a stalactite hard then fell back down. Only after coming to senses did he realise that he had lost all control or awareness of his clones.

“What the f-”

Before he could finish his question, the large war hammer that had sent him off now crushed his head into the stone, splitting the cave floor open. Powerful ripples of magic emanated from the impacted areas on his body, as the armor actively countered and prevented any impact damage from reaching his body.

Blink raised his gaze and saw a huge centaur with red eyes bearing down the hammer at him again. It hit his back, flattening his body against the floor from the sheer force of the impact.

“Would you stop doing that please?” he asked, stopping the creature’s fourth swing mid-air with his magic. He got up and assessed the damage. His coat, skin, and bones were all okay, and he felt absolutely no pain. Blink smiled. The armor had worked.

“Status check?”

“Armor integrity 98%.”

“Hmm, acceptable. Now who the hell are you and where’s the last stolen artefact?”

The centaur was frozen under the effect of Blink’s magic, but refused to say anything.

“So this is how it’s going to be around here today?” Blink muttered, grabbing hold of the massive hammer and swinging it back at its owner with absolutely no remorse or flinch.

The sounds of crushed bones filled the cave as the centaur’s body was flung in the air, hitting the cave’s roof then collapsing down.

“Wait, is this the artefact?” Blink wondered as he studied the odd weapon in his telekinetic grasp. Right before his eyes, however, the hammer suddenly evaporated in a dark mist.

“Ohh, it was just a magic-summoned weapon. Forgot you’re a daemon of some sorts.”

The howls and other grim noises grew louder. Pillars of flames lit up the hellish scenery, and Blink noticed numerous dark shadows creeping around him. They all seemed to be heading towards the elevator, and that’s when the unicorn remembered the entrance designed to keep whatever was there inside was actually resting on the floor in pieces.

“Damn it! This is not good. Hey daemons! Get your asses back here! You don’t want me to come after you!”

Blink froze. His senses went wild, as if something very bad was about to happen. He felt a presence so dreaded that it gave him chills down his spine. What was worse was that he recognized the presence, but didn’t remember when he had felt it last. It must have been a long time ago.

A dog-like creature three times his size jumped him, opening its huge maw and clamping its razor-sharp teeth against Blink’s neck. The skin-like invisible shield glowed at the contact points, Blink’s eyes widened as he was caught by surprise. He used his powers to unhinge the attacker’s mouth from around his neck, throwing the beast off him.

The unicorn smirked as he recognized the daemon. “Sammy, you haven’t changed one bit, have you?” he asked with a wicked grin. The eerie presence, however, came from something else and the stallion still tried to figure out its exact source behind his mask of smugness.

The creature growled at the blue pony, its four eyes focused on him, ready to strike again. Its head snapped back at something in the darkness, before running off like a scared dog.

“I’ve dreamt for this day for quite a while,” an odd voice echoed around the tall cave. “It’s the day of revenge.”

Out of the shadows stepped something Blink never expected he would see again. Its gruesome body composed out of various species was barely visible in the dim, hellish lighting, but his bare, single fang was unforgettable.

“Discord . . . what the hell are you doing here?” Blink muttered, staring him in his slit eyes.

“You thought your dark protector would keep me out of the realm I belong forever? You’re mistaken, Blink. Not even Death can keep the spirit of chaos out of this world!”

“So you’re the prisoner the Cerberus was talking about. After I teleported us into the Antechamber twenty years ago, I thought that would be the last of you. So be it, this ends now,” Blink said, his horn lighting up.

Discord dashed at the stallion. Blink got up on his hind legs, focusing magic around his right hoof while propping his hooves into the ground. The spirit of chaos hit him full-on, but didn’t knock the stallion over. He held his left hoof against Discord’s neck. A blade of magic extended from Blink’s right hoof, now imbedded deep into the attacker’s body.

He, however, smirked. “You don’t remember that day you tricked me, do you? I remember,” Discord hissed, before exploding into smoke.

Blink’s eyes widened. He felt a hand grip his neck from behind. A powerful jab into his back came afterwards. The dreaded sensation he was having was now more intense than ever.

“Armor integrity 42%. Magic power link disabled. Energy leak detected.”

“What!?” he yelled, panic taking over. There wasn’t supposed to be anything in that world powerful enough to bring his magic armor down that fast.

The lion paw around his neck wrapped tighter. Other limbs wrapped around his, holding him in place. Discord’s talons were clasping his chin tightly from behind.

As he channeled magic to counter the assailant on his back, another attack came without hesitation. A fleeting memory came back to him, as the little voice coming from the armor piece on his back delivered the latest report.

“Armor integrity 2%. Combat suit failure imminent.”

“The Anti-Mage,” Blink murmured, recalling the source of that sensation.

The last attack came before he could do anything. He drew a breath, his head feeling light. Looking down, the tip of a dreaded weapon stuck out from his chest. Dark trails across the silver blade sucked the blue aura from around the unicorn.

“Main shield compromised. Blood loss detected. Automatic medic systems engaged.”

Blink felt his punctured lung re-inflating, while an anesthetic was injected directly into his spinal cord. His magic however was still being syphoned by the blade at an alarming rate. He focused, tapping at the very essence of his powers. His virtually limitless reserves of energy however could not quench the Anti-Mage’s thirst. The more magic he struggled to produce, the more the blade would steal from him.

“See? You can teach old dogs new tricks,” Discord said behind him, still holding the stallion tight in his grip. “You did the same trick on me back in Ponyville, but I want to believe mine is more . . . impressive.”

“You son of a-“

The unicorn gritted his teeth. The pain, though dulled by the first aid drugs, was still something he couldn’t ignore. His movement was restricted, and his magic was being sucked away by the very blade that was stuck in his chest. He tried to think of something to do, but every time he did so, he lost even more grip on his magic control.

The only thing he could do was generate even more, just to keep it from being completely devoured. He knew that he couldn’t keep doing that forever, but whatever his next action would be, Blink had to plan it carefully, as he wouldn’t get another chance.

The daemons of Tartarus continued to howl and shriek as they massed near the exit. Medusa had freed herself, and was now making her way out towards the elevator, followed by other vicious creatures of legend. Even her desire to eliminate Blink was not as strong as the prospect of being freed into the world again.

“Internal bleeding detected. Major laceration detected.”

“We’re going to get back what is ours. No longer will we be kept here like common animals,” Discord whispered into his ears, over the armor’s voice. “I will rule over Equestria again.”

In the corner of his vision he could see the most dangerous beings in that world leaving the place meant to keep them there. The unicorn had to make a choice: he could eliminate Discord with a powerful strike and take care of his wounds, or deal with both Discord and the escaping daemons.

Blink’s decision was made in an instant. Magic erupted from the tip of his horn as he prepared to cast a spell he’d never cast before.

Waves of energy surrounded the two combatants. Blink pulled out the lucky necklace from his neck, letting it float in the gathered pool of magic in front of him. He only had one shot at this. A bright light formed around the necklace, as he focused as much power as he could in the area in front of him. The pedant was smashed by the pressure, exposing the depleted Greenium.

Discord twisted the blade, making Blink arch his back in pure, unfiltered pain. “Why, why won’t you die, Midnight Blink? Why do you keep fighting? You can’t defeat me, and most certainly you can’t defeat my new weapon.”

Blink struggled to keep the darkness at the edge of his sight from spreading further. He knew that if he closed his eyes, he would never open them again. The bright blue sphere of magic in front of him was now bigger than him. Inside of it, the Greenium was subjected to immense pressure and heat, as the unicorn fought hard to keep magic pouring into it.

“What- what is that?” Discord’s question came, his eyes now focused on the maniacal display in front of them.

“I thought you might like it. It’s chaos.”

Blink closed his eyes, casting a protective shield spell across his body and sending one last jolt of magic at the bright sphere of light, causing powerful ripples across it. A small circular blast directed at the depleted Greenium caused the entropy of particles around it to begin a massive chain-reaction. In a tenth of a microsecond, neutrons blasted off in every direction as the nucleuses of the depleted Greenium split, releasing a massive wave of energy.

The explosion caused the earth to shake for miles around. Tartarus’s level 4 was vaporized in an instant. The massive energy release erupted upwards through the dense rock layers, obliterating everything above it. The whole mountain underneath Tartarus exploded, a visible shock wave sweeping the lands around it.

He drew a breath, his ears ringing from the blast. Blink had managed to teleport outside with his last magic. He dragged a hoof across the dirt, his vision blurry. He reached for his neck, feeling Discord’s claw still wrapped around it. Releasing himself from the grip, the lion paw dropped on the ground. The rest of his owner was no more than a cloud of particles at that point.

Blink reached to his lower chest. Blood was gushing out, but at least the Anti-Mage was no longer stuck in him. “Em- emergency first aid,” he muttered a command.

His suit however remained silent. Its energy –Blink’s own magic– was no longer there to power it. The unicorn felt dried out. He had no more left in him.

“Aww damn it,” he said between cracked lips, resting his back on a tree trunk nearby.

He hold his hoof to his chest, trying to minimize the bleeding. The sight in front of him however drew a faint smile across his lips. A small, blue mushroom cloud originated from where Tartarus once was, the magic and radioactive residue rising into the air. Rocks and debris rained back down across a huge area.

Everything had happened so fast, he couldn’t even believe it. He turned his head around, his heart leaping at the sight of his bike, which had fallen to the side from the initial blast wave. A strand of blood began dripping from his mouth. The stallion fell to the ground, moving his limbs around in an attempt to crawl to his cruiser.

The vehicle had an emergency beacon linked directly to his home. If he could reach it, Twilight would hear it and know something had gone wrong. She was the one that insisted to install it on his bike.

He huffed, a few drops of blood falling into the dirt. The ground underneath him however was welcoming, and his body was filled with pain. He pushed a hind hoof across the ground, moving himself another inch. The cruiser was so close now.

Extending a hoof, he grabbed hold of the hind wheel. Blink then pulled himself closer, letting out a muffled cry of pain. Reaching across the fuel tank, his hoof pressed into a small button underneath it.

The stallion’s entire world then went dark.

The gentle touch of a snowflake woke him up. The sky was clouded, but there was enough light outside to normally make his sensitive eyes sore. He felt no pain or discomfort however.

Blink found himself sitting on a bench. He looked around, feeling like in an alien world. Slowly, he began recognizing buildings, objects, and parked cars. But there were no people there.

“Hello, Midnight Blink.”

The stallion turned his head. Next to him on the bench, a dark silhouette rested, His face hooded by his dark clothes.

“Where am I?” Blink simply asked, returning to studying his surroundings. There was a tram rail in front of them, and it felt like they were waiting for something to come.

“You’ve been here before,” Death spoke after a moment of eerie silence.

“My old neighborhood,” the stallion muttered, remembering all of a sudden. “This is where I used to wait for a city tram to get to high school.”

“Do you remember why you’re here?” the dark figure asked.

Blink opened his mouth, his mind trying to remember why and how he had gotten there. “I need to be somewhere. Not here, I- I don’t know.”

“You’re moving on, young one. Like you should have when we first met.”

The snow began falling gently across the serene city landscape. The stallion stared at Him, unable to comprehend what he meant by that.

“I’m- no. No, this can’t be.” Images flashed through his mind. A powerful explosion, a blue cloud filling the skyline. Blood. Pain. Hope. A fleeting thought, that he could not remember. Darkness.

A tram approached from the distance, coming to a screeching halt in front of the two of them.

“Bullshit; I’m not dead. Twilight’s coming,” Blink said with an angry frown, but He was no longer next to him.

“Come. I have something to show you,” Death’s voice now came from the front of the tram. One of the train’s metal doors swung open.

Blink got up and hesitantly boarded the tram. He took a seat then turned his head at Death, who was operating the controls. The door closed and the wagon jolted forward.

The sun was setting. Green fields stretched endlessly. The tram stopped at the base of a hill, a row of mountains visible in the distance. Death got off, and Blink followed Him out.

“Where are we?” the unicorn asked, looking around. The tram was sitting over bare grass, having no tracks underneath or behind it. Something about the hill they had stopped next to seemed familiar, but Blink couldn’t put his hoof on it.

“As odd as it may seem now, you will have to face the reality. You are dying, Midnight Blink. But most importantly, you are forgetting something.”

The stallion shook his head, letting out a light chuckle. “Any moment now, Twilight will come and fix me up. I saved Equestria from the darkest monsters of that world. This is not how I die.”

Death remained silent, continuing to stare at the blue-coated unicorn. He then turned around and walked away.

“Hey! Where the hell are you going?”

“Come and see for yourself,” the dark figure called after him from a distance.

The stallion cantered to Him, stopping at his side. His eyes fell on a pony laying on the ground in front of them. He looked the same as Blink, but his hooves were bound to the ground, like they have been for the last two decades. He wasn’t moving at all.

“I remember. He’s my Nightmare,” Blink muttered, kicking the bound stallion with a hoof. The limp body didn’t react at all. “He’s dead? Wh- how? Why?”

“When a creature dies, its worst traits, memories and characteristics fade away first,” Death calmly spoke.

In front of them, the Nightmare’s body shriveled up; its skin thinned out, eventually eroding away along with the muscles. The exposed bones crumbled to pieces, and then ashes.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” Blink said with slight dread in his voice.

A distant bird call made him snap his head upwards. Raven landed on Death’s shoulders, her head tilted at her Blink.

“Raven? What are- you . . . you know her!”

“I do. She is my oldest friend,” Death added, raising a dark finger to scratch the animal’s neck. “I’ve sent her to watch over you a long time ago.”

“Fine job she did at that!” Blink spat, now furious on his former pet.

“I said watch over, not protect. Any major actions and decisions were always yours to take.”

“I am NOT dead!” he angrily yelled.

“That is one thing you have no say in, young one. You have been living on borrowed time for too long.”

Blink’s horn erupted with magic. “Can a dead pony do this?” he shouted. The earth underneath Death crumbled, and a huge, dark hand shot out, wrapping itself around the ancestral being.

With a swift motion, Death dissipated the spell. In his grasp, a long scythe now rested, it’s blade as dark as the void underneath His hood. “Who do you think you are battling now, Midnight Blink?”

The stallion stood up on his hind legs as he focused even more. His cutie mark now burned with dark magic, yet he didn’t care for that. “You made me what I am! You think I will just roll over and die? Leave everyone I know behind? No!” he screamed at the one in front of him. “I’m a Deathbearer! I’m the one who lurks in the blind spot of death!”

The ground trembled and shortly after, fire trails scarred it, forming a wide circle around Death. The entire surface sunk underneath the huge pressure, as large rocks surfaced from the cursed area. They joined together, forming a huge bipedal monster. The stone golem immediately swung one of his arms at the dark figure. The impact with the ground raised dust all around, but Death hardly flinched. He simply phased through Blink’s minion, walking towards him. Swinging his scythe, the golem crumbled down to pieces, its dark essence being absorbed by the long bladed weapon as its wielder approached the stallion.

“The power you possess is but a fraction of what I have. You simply cannot comprehend how weak you are in comparison. It’s time to face the reality, young one.”

Blink let out a guttural scream, his magic bursting from all around him. The air was thick with energy, essentially unbreathable by anyone other than him at that point. Thousands upon thousands of shadow clones materialized on the hills and plains near where they were. All of them bared their caster’s anger as they were ready to blindly fight Death himself.

But He was having none of it. Death tapped his scythe against the ground, and all the clones instantly dissipated into thin air. Losing all will to resist, Blink dropped to the ground, resting his forehead on his front hooves. He felt more tired than he had ever been.

“I’m not dead,” he muttered. “It was a simple mission. I’ve done it before. I can’t be dead. I triggered the beacon on my bike; help’s coming.”

Death approached him, wrapping a cold hand around his hoof and helping him up. “There’s something you forgot,” Death repeated. “You’ll remember by the end of our journey. Now come with me; there are still things I need to show you.”

Blink stared at him emotionless, before walking towards the tram next to them, taking a seat inside. Death boarded as well, closed the doors then started the tram. Raven sat next to Him, above the controls, looking down the path.

Blink could now clearly hear seagulls. The tram’s passenger doors opened again. The unicorn stepped out, witnessing another sunset, one that was however closer to ending. The sound of sea and crashing waves tingled his ears. He looked around, noticing they were now standing at the edge of a cliff above an ocean.

“I know this place,” he said. “You showed it to me a long time ago.”

“Your first resting place,” Death added, facing the sunset. “Your human remains were scattered in the wind right here by your parents.”

“Twilight saved me then; when I died on Earth but was still alive in Equestria. She reached out for me here, into the Antechamber, and dragged me out.”

“Do amuse me, young one, and please tell me which of your lives you cherished the most,” Death asked, ignoring what Blink had been saying.

Both Him and Blink stared at the sight in front of them. The stallion huffed, throwing Him an angry glare. “Well, I guess I won’t be here for long anyway, so might as well. My second life was by far the most rewarding, I thought you knew it.”

“And why is that?”

“It just is. My best friends, my fondest memories, everything I know and love is in Equestria.”

“So you are proud of what you have achieved so far in Equestria?”

“I guess the journey is more important than the destination, but yes, I am happy of my life. Look, why are we even having this discussion? You know very well that I’m going back.” His eyelids were heavy, his hooves felt weakened. He dismissively waved a hoof at Death, shaking his head. “You’re wasting your time.”

“You are right,” Dearth admitted. “You will go back, but there is still something you are forgetting.”

“What is it?”

The dark figure remained silent. The waves crashed at the rocky base bellow, sending foamy water into the air.

“Follow me.”

“So you’re not going to tell me what it is that I’m forgetting and why is it so important?”

Death remained silent, boarding the tram and waiting for him to do the same. Blink followed Him. The doors closed and the tram jolted forward again.

“Why was Discord in Tartarus?” Blink broke the silence as they continued their odd travel across the endless Antechamber realms.

“The spirit of Chaos belonged to that world. When you came to my realm with him just to drive him away from your town, did you actually think I would keep him here? Souls must never linger too much in this place. It’s just passage, nothing more.”

“So all these places you are showing me?”

“All reality. To put it in a way you would understand, we are just viewing it through a window.”

The tram stopped. Blink couldn’t see anything out the windows, as eternal darkness reigned out there. “Where are we?”

“We are where you want to be. Yet you still can’t remember it, can you?”

Blink groaned. “Remember what?”

“The last thought that you have. The reason that you will not move backwards, but forwards, this time. You know it. The pieces are there, you just need to put them back together.”

“I- I have no idea what you’re talking about. Last thing I did was blow up Tartarus. All those daemons are dead. I managed to teleport out right before the blast. Then I crawled to my bike and trigger the emergency beacon on it. There’s nothing else!”

Darkness encased everything before he could get an answer from Death. Steadily, Blink came to his senses. He felt pain. A lot of pain. He opened his eyes. The outer world was fuzzy and in a total blur. He moved his hooves, feeling metal to the touch. Focusing to gather some magic, he felt absolutely nothing inside of him. Things came into focus soon and he recognized Death’s silhouette standing nearby, watching him morbidly.

“I told you I’d be back,” Blink managed between dried lips.

“I believe there’s an empty scroll and a writing feather in that pack,” Death said, pointing a finger at the cruiser’s saddlebag.

“Why would I need paper and quill?” Blink laughed, now gazing at the dissipating blue smoke coming from the mountain nearby, while resting his back against the tipped bike’s seat. “Will you now tell me what I was forgetting?”

Death remained silent. The ancestral being simply stared quietly at Blink’s vehicle. The stallion’s smile faded away. He turned around, looking at the same spot Death was. The emergency beacon’s small bulb wasn’t blinking as it should have.

“What the . . .”

Blink pressed the small button again. Nothing. He reached out for the ignition and turned the keys in. The silence that followed tore through his soul.

“No. This can’t be,” he said breathlessly.

He turned the keys again and again, followed every time by the same lack of response from the cruiser.

“Do you remember now, Midnight Blink? The consequences of your actions?”

Blink stared at the blue smoke that was still rising from the remains of the prison. It then came back to him in a flash: the powerful explosion; the electromagnetic pulse that followed the nuclear detonation; the fact that the bike’s beacon was powered through a circuit.

No one knew of him or that he was dying.

“I’m . . . dead,” he said, air escaping his lungs in a sudden sob.

Blink’s eyes closed, his chest slowly bouncing as he cried. “Please no. Don’t let it be like this,” he said, turning to Death.

“It’s interesting seeing you like this, Deathbearer,” the dark figure calmly said. “For all the times you came knocking at my realm’s door, you were always content or determined. Now there’s a great sadness in your soul.”

“I had nothing to lose then!” The unicorn coughed, more blood painting the dirt bellow and part of his blue coat. “Twilight, Bell, Chaser, all my friends. I can’t leave now. Not like this.”

“There’s no one coming, save for the night. I do not say this often, but I am sorry. I did you a great favor by letting you live now for a little while. I believe you should use that time to say goodbye.”

Death moved to the back of his bike, slowly opening the saddlebag and retrieving the piece of paper and quill he mentioned earlier, handing them to Blink.

“No, not like this. I’ll trade my powers, my magic, just please make that beacon work,” Blink pleaded. The ultimate end was near for the stallion, and he never prepared for something like this.

Death shook His head. “There’s not a lot time left for you on this realm. Write your letter, Midnight Blink. There are many souls not fortunate to have this chance.”

The unicorn stared at the piece of paper resting nearby, tears streaming down his face. A couple of drops fell on the paper, staining it. His shaking hoof grabbed the scroll and the quill.

He began writing, using his teeth to hold the feather. He was barely functioning, both physically and emotionally. The quill shook in his teeth, and the words were slow to write down. Death, as always, patiently waited nearby.

The quill snapped mid-way. “No!” he cried, spitting it out.

Blink tried to use the broken feather but it didn’t work anymore. He heard the sound of beating wings and Raven came into his view. The bird landed on one of his front hooves. She picked at her wing, taking out one of her own feathers. She held it in her tiny foot, her head tilted to the side. A dark tear fell from her eyes and onto the feather’s tip. She left the quill there, returning to her spot on Death’s scythe.

“Thanks . . . Raven.”

Blink grabbed the makeshift quill and continued writing. He couldn’t believe those were the last words his family and friends will see from him. Every now and then, he would sneak a glance down the dusty road, hoping from all his heart someone would come. He twitched at every falling leaf, thinking Twilight had miraculously found out about him and teleported there.

Yet he was alone; and he was tired. Blink sensed that his body had gone way past its limits. The only thing keeping him alive was Death’s generosity, and he felt that to his very bones.

“How will I send her this?” he asked after finishing the letter.

“I am sure she will get it. Are you ready?”

Blink sighed. He closed his eyes with one last foolish hope than when he would open them, he would wake up in his bed, next to the love of his life. Yet Death was everything he could see when he opened them again.

“I’m not ready,” he muttered weakly.

“Nobody ever is.”

Twilight woke up from sleep, stretching her hooves as the morning sun brought light through the bedroom’s window. She felt something was wrong however. The empty space next to her alarmed the unicorn mare. She instantly regretted falling asleep the previous night when she came in late from Canterlot.

Even though it took her more than a day to secure Tartarus the previous times trouble struck that place, the lack of letters from her husband made her feel nervous. She went downstairs. Bell and Chaser were still asleep by the looks of it, so she decided to check out on Blink. Besides, it would take only a moment to teleport to Tartarus. Before she could go into the basement downstairs to retrieve her white armor set, a couple of knocks came from the door.

Twilight trotted to the entrance of their house and opened it. She stared in confusion at the ponies standing in front of her door. She met Celestia’s eyes, then Luna’s. The younger alicorn was standing at her sister’s side while behind them a couple of army dressed stallions solemnly held their gazes straight ahead. One held a large sheaf of flowers, the other a small pillowcase with several military distinctions on top of it.

The unicorn’s heart stopped.

Celestia’s saddened eyes spoke more than any words could have. “Twilight, I’m so sorry . . .”

“No!” Twilight raised a hoof, trying to cover her grimacing face as tears filled her eyes. “Where is he?”

“There was nothing that could be done, Twilight. Luna and I personally went straight to him when we found out. It was too late.”

Twilight’s trembling eyes darted between the two alicorns, unable to find her words. “I- I can bring him back, where is he? Where’s Blink?”

“Blink has fallen in battle, dearest Twilight,” Luna said with great sadness in her voice. “The entire world is to be grateful for his action yesterday. He saved us from a terrible fate.”

Celestia retrieved a scroll of paper, floating it towards Twilight. The paper was worn and had several red stains on it. “These are his final words. I’m sorry, my dear Twilight. I always dreaded the moment of bearing this news to you might come. I never expected it would be so soon.”

Twilight collapsed to the ground, her scream echoing through the house. Celestia immediately sat next to her, draping a protective wing around her beloved student.

The heart-breaking moment was not just another scar on the Princesses’ millennial memory. It reminded them of their grief for when Luna had passed away as a Deathbearer the previous Cycle, leaving her sister alone in that world. The pain in their hearts truly echoed with Twilight’s.

The void seemed without an end. Even so, Blink kept walking. An infinite grassy plane stretched underneath his hooves and a star-filled sky reigned above.

“How long have we been walking?” he asked his hooded companion that walked by his side.

“You have to find the gate.”

“Fuck the gate,” Blink muttered. He stopped, staring at the seemingly infinite horizon. “Is this place even real?”

“This one is not. We are in the Antechamber’s darkest depths. So deep that here, the world is what you want it to be. Fret not however, the light will eventually reveal itself for you.”

“Blink?”

The unicorn’s heart skipped a beat at hearing that voice. He turned his head around, trying to find out where it came from. “Twilight?”

A white glowing trail traversed the sky above, stopping ahead of them. It approached the ground, and Blink could slowly recognized the shape of a unicorn. She came galloping towards him, her body materializing more and more. Blink rushed towards her, both jumping in each other’s embrace.

He held her tight while she cried on his shoulder. The mare was partially translucent, a white glow encasing her entire body. He began crying again, showering her with kisses while holding her in his hooves. “Twilight! You’re so stupid,” he managed between sobs. “Why did you do this? Why?”

“I couldn’t leave you, Blink! Oh, Celestia, I couldn’t leave you,” she said between tears.

“You creatures are the most perseverant,” Death interrupted them. “What are you doing here, Lifebringer? You should know that this place is only for the dead or dying souls.”

Twilight however kept her eyes on the one she loved most. “Blink, they told me you died. Please, please tell me you’re coming back. I can help you-”

“No Twi’,” Blink said with a crushed heart. “I can’t. I- I really died. I did something stupid, Twi’. I’m so sorry, but I can’t come back anymore.”

“I will take her if she gets stuck here,” Death warned the two ponies.

“A minute, please!” Blink pleaded. He then noticed her white glow was dimming. “I love you so much, Twilight.”

“Blink, please don’t say that, I can still try and pull you back!”

“Twilight, you don’t have a lot of time! The living can’t stay here at all.”

She tried to suppress her sobs, her entire body shaking. “I should have been the one taking care of Tartarus! It’s all my fault! What am I going to do without you, Blink? What will our children do?”

“Twilight, listen. It’s not your fault! I love you so much; more than anything in the entire world. I was such an idiot. I can’t possibly say how sorry I am for leaving you. Please, tell Bell and Chaser that I love them so much. They’re grown up and smart, they’ll be all right with you. And I don’t care if Bell loves whoever she loves; as long as she is happy, I am. And Chaser will be the best weather captain in Equestria, he doesn’t need to join the royal Air Force just because I wanted him to.”

The white tendrils of magic surrounding Twilight receded more and more. Her powers couldn’t hold her spirit there for much longer. “Time is running out,” Death’s ominous voice came from nearby.

“Okay! And our friends, Twi’; tell Spike I’ll miss his goofy smile. And Pearl, tell him I’ll miss his stupid ass as well. And the other: Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Big Mac, Pinkie, Dash . . . I’ll miss all of them.”

Blink scrunched his teeth and eyes, trying to keep his voice clear. “I hope you’ll forgive me, Twi’; I behaved like a stupid brave colt. I thought I was untouchable. Such a fucking idiot!”

“I’m sure it wasn’t your fault, Blink. I love you so much; I- I can’t believe you’re going. How can I let go when you’re here in my hooves? How?” Her face was marked by tears and her eyes were puffy and red. She held a shaking hoof against Blink’s cheek, their heads resting against each-other as their horns touched. Her white glow pulsed, but the wisps of magic around her kept getting dimmer and dimmer with each pulse.

“You have to, Twi’. It’s my fault I messed up and ended up dead. But I will always be close to you, here in your heart,” he said, placing a trembling hoof on her chest. “I’ll never stop loving you, no matter where I’m going, I promise!”

Twilight’s aura was now dangerously dim. The two kissed deeply for the very last time. Their last moments together had passed like a flash of light.

“I’ll love you forever, Twilight Sparkle. Hug Chaser and Bell for me please, and tell them I’m the proudest father in the world.”

“I will, Blink. I love you so much!”

A swirl of cold, dark magic surrounded Twilight. “I’m doing this for your own good, Lifebringer,” Death said while banishing the mare back to the realm of the living.

“No, not yet!” she cried out, desperately holding the stallion in her embrace. He held her back as if to never let go.

And then he felt nothing. Blink opened his eyes, and the love of his life, the mother of his dear children, was not there anymore. He screamed from the top of his lungs. The lack of touch against his hooves was tearing him apart. Eventually his voice ran out and he slumped down on the grass, completely spent.

He wrapped his front hooves around himself. The loneliness devoured him from inside.

Days passed for the lost soul in the endless Antechamber. He didn’t know how many. He couldn’t. There was no day or night cycle. There was no thirst, no hunger, and no tiredness. Blink had stopped crying a few days after Twilight’s visit, but nothing else changed ever since.

There was only him. And Death, the constant reminder of his ultimate fate.

“So the world is just living through Cycles. And you’re saying Celestia and Luna had a . . . previous life?” Blink asked, trying to understand what he and Death have been talking for a while now.

“That was the previous Cycle I mentioned. And as you probably know, they were like you and Twilight Sparkle. Luna was the first to pass away. It was the same story as yours: she was in her prime, but reckless.”

Blink stopped in his tracks. He felt a deep pang in his heart at the mention of his love’s name. He sat down, staring above. It was still the same clear sky, filled with a sea of twinkling stars. “How’s my family?” he asked. “I know you can look at them, so please tell me.”

A moment of silence passed before Death spoke. “They are heartbroken. Everyone that knew you is.”

Blink sighed painfully.

“Did you expect differently? Despite your flaws and your constant desire for recognition, you were, in fact, a remarkable creature during your lifetime.”

“Did anyone tell you how condescending you sound?”

“Yes. Several million souls have since you asked me that question,” Death earnestly replied.

Blink raised an eyebrow.

“Explaining my mere existence would crumble the pillars of your conscience. Regardless, what I said stands as fact. You’ve risen to all the challenges that were posed to you, and you always had the well-being of others in mind. Even if you happily basked in the recognition and fame that came with your victories, your intentions were, in the end, good.”

The unicorn tilted his head at that, somewhat surprised to hear those words from the dark being. “Well that’s a nice retrospective on my life, I guess. Just tell me one last thing. How was this even possible? How is Equestria real in the first place? It doesn’t make sense at all. It actually never did, but I stopped questioning it long ago.”

“I won’t tell you that,” Death responded. “I will show you.”

The scenery around them blurred out. Moments later, Blink found himself outside a home on a residential street during nighttime. Death was staring through a window inside the house they were near.

“Where are we?” Blink asked, joining him.

Inside, an earth pony mare was sitting near the bed, caressing her pegasus daughter. Blink’s eyes however fell on the bright, odd-looking light bulb hanging in the ceiling. He then looked around outside, noticing the street lights were also more modern than anything he had seen around in Equestria.

“This isn’t Canterlot,” he said.

“Yes it is, young one. The better question would be, when is this?”

“Mommy, can you please read me the stair story again?” the pegasus filly quietly asked inside.

Still confused, Blink turned his attention at the two. Her mother bared a wide smile while she grabbed a large book from a shelf nearby. “Sure, Firefly. But it’s called Stairway to Equestria, dear. And I’ll read you just the beginning, then you have to get some sleep. Tomorrow you have the doctor’s appointment.”

The filly seemed disappointed but nodded in approval. Her mother opened the book at the first page, shuffling comfortably closer to her daughter.

“Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land . . .”

The image faded away in front of the stallion as they were back in the depths of the Antechamber.

“What was that? That book-”

“It bares the same title as the one you started writing years ago, recording your adventures?”

“Yes, but the beginning . . . I- I remember it from my first world. It was exactly like in the show.”

Before Death could say anything else, He was already showing him another place. They were now in a brightly lit hospital hallway.

“That book did contain everything you wrote about your adventures, and more. There were also tales of your friends before you arrived, and tales told by others about yourself.”

“So that first scene with the pegasus and her mom was the future. And you mean to say my book was published after I died?”

“It was anonymously released by one of that world’s Watchers, Celestia. It related from history, and some ponies actually found it enjoyable to read. That young soul back there saw it in a library and very much liked the picture on the cover. It became her favorite story as well after her mother read it to her.”

A nurse walked out of a room nearby, and Blink looked at her, completely intrigued. She was a human. Somehow, the stallion knew that what he needed to see was in that room. He walked inside, witnessing a heartwarming moment: a man held his wife as she rested on the bed. In their hands, a newly born baby reached out for her parents with a tiny hand.

“She’s beautiful,” her father said.

“Yes she is,” her mother added, gently grabbing her small hand. “Lauren, you’re the best gift life could bring us.”

The entire scene faded away. They were back in the Antechamber.

“While most of the times that would be right, it wasn’t my brother who gave them that gift,” Death said. “You see young one, that little creature you just saw was actually the pegasus filly from Equestria we saw before.”

Blink bared the most quizzical look of his life on his face.

Noticing his confusion, Death continued His explanation: “She was sick, and I had to take her a few days after what I showed you in Canterlot. Unfortunately, the light wouldn’t take her, very much like it didn’t take you the first time. She had a different destiny, so I took her to your world, in the year you mark on calendars as 1974.”

Although his head began to hurt as he tried to connect all the dots, Blink realised what he was being told. “That baby there . . . she grew up to be the creator of that show I watched in my first life? How did she know about Equestria, Twilight, the Princesses, and all our friends?”

“She remembered from her previous life, when her mother used to read the book you contributed to,” Death concluded.

Blink sat down, completely stunned. “This can’t be. Why didn’t the light take her? Why didn’t it take me? Why did it create this whole connection between two different worlds like this?”

“Because not even I can predict what might happen. Souls can always be denied passage out of this place. It is my job to guide them; and it is my duty to lead them to other places in the universe so they can fully live their lives as they should have in the first place. I did it with you, with Firefly, Bellona, and many, many other souls out there in the universe. The fact that you found out about the ponies you were about to meet further down your life is just a coincidence.”

Blink still tried to wrap his head around the whole thing, yet something in his train of thought didn’t fit in. “But . . . if that pegasus filly is in the future, then how did you already send her in the past of my world?”

“Did you forget who I am? Unlike all other creatures, my brother and I are what you would call four-dimensional beings. Time is just a path we can freely take.”

“So you knew about my death? What about my family’s fate? Or Equestria’s? Do you know everything that’s going to happen?”

Death raised a hand, summoning silence. “Time, much like other paths, can sometimes be hard to distinguish or thread on. There are dark spots on that road that even I can’t tell what’s happening. The universe is full of entropy, Midnight Blink, and I cannot go where time hasn’t decided itself on what it is that it wants to be.”

Blink sighed, staring at the unnerving stars above. “I see. Well, thanks for at least solving the greatest mystery of my life.”

A bell toll rang somewhere far, far away, muffled by the distance between realms.

Blink turned to Death. “Is that-”

“Yes. Do you want to watch? It will be your last opportunity to see them.”

The stallion nodded with trembling eyes.

Twilight’s stood on the couch, absently staring at the entrance door. The silence was pierced only by the radio playing from an Equestrian station. Words from the show currently being broadcasted would reach her, but her mind was astray, deep into thought and memories.

“Before we switch to our next song segment, we’re reminding everypony of the big news today and the pony behind it. In Ponyville, the funeral of former General and Defense Researcher, Midnight Blink, is taking place this evening. Born and raised outside Equestria, unicorn Midnight Blink died at the age of 42 years, following the tragic events at Tartarus last week. He leaves behind his wife, Twilight Sparkle, and two children, a pegasus colt and an earth pony mare, both just under the age of maturity.”

“High-ranking officials in the Royal Command, citing the Princesses themselves, declared yesterday that the ancient prison on the territory of northern Equestria was grounds for a devastating explosion that Midnight Blink himself triggered in order to eliminate the dangerous prison population that was escaping following an incident in the lower levels. Over seven hundred prisoners including ponies, gryphons, minotaurs, zebras, wild animals, and various other evil creatures and spirits have reportedly been killed in the never-before-seen blast. Due to Midnight Blink’s order to evacuate the prison of any personnel, no guards lost their lives in the incident.”

“Midnight Blink was a controversial pony, nothing being known about his early years, family, or even kingdom of origin. First records of him place the blue-coated unicorn in Ponyville twenty years ago, where he fought the spirit of Chaos alongside the Elements of Harmony and won. He was close to said group of six mares and Spike, dragon of Ponyville, but two years later he was known to have worked as a night guard in Canterlot’s Royal Castle, right after a controversial ruling made by Princess Celestia where he was forced to travel to the Griffin Kingdom and pay for his crimes against an official gryphon ambassador. Following the changeling attack during the last edition of the long-canceled Grand Galloping Gala, he was instated as Captain of the Royal Guard and fought in the historical battles of Struthill and Canterlot alongside Spike and the Elements, as well as tens of thousands of ponies, zebras, and buffalo.”

“The stallion was severely injured but only months later he married unicorn Twilight Sparkle, former student and protégé of Princess Celestia, long time Element of Magic and current Archmage of Equestria. A year later, Midnight Blink participated in the extermination of the main Changeling Hive and returned home to his foal-carrying wife from the immensely successful campaign as General of Unicorn forces. He was named National Defense researcher and helped in the development of technologies meant to warn and protect cities and citizens alike of external threat.”

“Eight years later, he took part in one of the most controversial battles in Equestrian history. Official information to this day is that Arnost, king of the Gryphon Kingdom, had planned a second invasion against our lands, and had amassed a large number of gryphon soldiers during the years following his defeat at Canterlot. Reports gathered from the Gryphon continent suggested that Midnight Blink and Twilight Sparkle were sent there alone in a special operation to stop the invasion in its tracks. Although there are many versions of what happened in the first and only day of battle, at the end of it, sources confirmed the death of over one hundred thousand gryphon soldiers and the entire royal family, including King Arnost.”

“Following those events, Midnight Blink resigned from both his position as Defense Researcher and General of the Unicorns, and is rumored to have enjoyed a very early retirement ever since. Friends describe him as a caring, yet daring unicorn, but also a very dedicated family stallion. His magic capabilities and appetite for destruction have been the subject of many discussions and analysis, as his powers seemed to come in great contrast to his life partner’s. Regardless, Equestria has lost a great pony last week and today many will join him on his last walk. This following song is dedicated to him. We thank you, Midnight Blink, for your great service to this kingdom . . .”

The song began playing in the radio right as Twilight got up from the couch.

She made her way to a shelf on a wooden wall next to the dining table. Framed pictures of her, her friends, children and Blink scattered it. She grabbed one with her hoof. Her magic was still weakened after suffering a burnout trying to spend a few last moments with Blink in the realm beyond the living.

In the picture, she and Blink were smiling happily, a distant memory that was at least a decade old. A very young Bell rested on her father’s head, and a buzzing Chaser struggled to hover above them. From behind the family, Spike gave the camera a wide smile, his body forming most of the picture’s background.

A tear fell on the floorboard. She placed the memory back. It hurt her so much to see him in her dreams, in her mind, yet alone pictures. He was gone, and she couldn’t blame him. They had promised each other twenty years ago that they would be together until Death brought them apart. She tried opposing the natural laws of the universe, but not even her near infinite powers were enough to save her beloved blue stallion.

A faint knock was heard from the door. It was time.

She went and opened the door. Pearl was standing in front of it in full military ceremonial uniform. Behind him, in the small front garden of the three house, her best friends were all gathered. Chaser, Bell, and Hayseed sat down near the road nearby, Spike towering over them as he held the three ponies close to him. Bell was resting her head against Hayseed’s chest, her tears having left his fur matted.

Everyone’s expressions were filled with sadness and sorrow. Rarity approached Twilight and hugged her.

“Come on, dear. It’s time.”

“I’m going ahead, Twilight. Big Mac, Dash, and I have to be there a bit earlier,” Pearl spoke. Twilight nodded faintly.

As she walked outside of her house, each of her friends either hugged her or showed their support in a way. When she reached Spike, Chaser and Bell both hugged their mother. With her kids in her embrace, Twilight raised her gaze at Spike. The sadness in his eyes spoke greatly, but he was still strong inside. He needed to be. All of them began slowly trekking to the other side of the town, where the ceremonies would begin.

Despite the sunny weather, the town was empty, looking as if an unspeakable catastrophe had hit it. Blink was next to them, making impossible efforts to restrain himself from sobbing. He walked next to Twilight, his eyes never leaving her and their children that were at her side.

“They can’t see me, can they?” he asked, his voice strained by emotion.

“You know the answer to that question, young one.”

They continued walking on the outskirts of Ponyville until they reached Applejack’s farm. Blink gazed upon the Apple orchards, unable to believe his eyes. The entire front orchard was filled with ponies. A large, red dragon stood out from the crowd, and he recognized her as Ruby.

Twilight stopped, stifling a sob at the sight.

“It’s all right, Twilight, it’s all right,” Fluttershy gently spoke, holding the unicorn close as the group of friends stopped for a moment.

Eventually they made their way through to AJ’s farm’s front yard where only their closest friends and relatives awaited. Celestia and Luna towered above all, save for the red dragoness. The king and queen of the Crystal Kingdom, Shining and Cadence, were also there, as well as its prince, young Emerald. Twilight’s parents were the first to hug their grieving daughter. The two old ponies shed their own tears. Shining Armor joined them in the family hug, kissing Twilight on the forehead as he held his sister close. He too was wearing his former military uniform.

“I never thought I would live the day where we would bury our grandfoals’ father,” Velvet said as she held Twilight tight. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart; he was a great stallion.”

Twilight didn’t know what to say. She never took in consideration this might ever happen. She simply stepped towards waiting Cadence, who hugged her as well.

“You have my deepest condolences, Twilight. The love that you two shared was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I was heartbroken when I found out.”

“Thank you, Cadence,” Twilight murmured, a fresh stream of tears matting the fur on her cheeks.

The entire family continued hugging and reassuring each other, but the time soon came to start the ceremony.

“We present our condolences again, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna spoke as Twilight approached the coffin near which the Princesses stood. “He was a remarkable pony and a very dear student of mine. I am sorry he suffered this fate.”

Twilight nodded, then turned to Celestia. She leaned forward, deeply nuzzling her former protégé. “I am so sorry for what has happened. I should have stopped sending you two to take care of that cursed place long ago.”

“No, Princess. It was . . . It was our duty.”

Celestia’s lips began forming some words, but soon began trembling. A tear fell from her eyes. “I am so sorry, Twilight. I was always so hostile towards him in the past. I deeply regret all the pain I’ve caused you two, especially him. I know you and he never actually forgave me for my actions, but I hope you will at some point. I’ve taken some very bad decisions in recent decades, and I for one will never forgive myself for them.”

The town’s bells began tolling. Spike rested a claw on her shoulder. “Come on, Twi’. They’re going to start.”

Surrounded by her friends, family, and children, the unicorn began walking towards the coffin. Behind them, Spike and Ruby separated them from the rest of the ponies gathered to pay their tribute.

Shining Armor gave her a reassuring nod. His horn glowed, and the coffin was raised in the air. Two black, wooden beams went underneath the casket as the four ponies positioned themselves underneath. According to tradition, military personnel were to transport a former soldier’s casket during the burial ceremony. Blink, however, was lucky to have his friends carry him on his last road.

Shining lowered the dark walnut casket on the four ponies’ backs, sliding the beams in the special mounted saddles they were wearing with their military uniforms. In front were Pearl and Dash, and in the back Shining, and Big Mac. They slowly walked out of the farm’s front yard and into the orchards, as they made their way across the town.

On both sides of the road were gathered numerous ponies, and even other species. A few zebra delegates solemnly presented their respects as the funeral cortege advanced under the bells’ tolls. Next to them, regular Ponyville citizens gathered in silence, their eyes following the casket.

Twilight walked behind the coffin, her sadness weighing deep on her heart. Her son held a wing around her, while Bell would occasionally nuzzle her mother. Their tears freely fell on the dry dirt below, only to be followed by others from the ponies behind them.

The sound of hoof stomps became louder and louder. Ponies on the side were paying their last respects, beating their front legs against the ground before joining the back of the cortege after passing them.

As the bells tolled, the stomps only became louder. After a few minutes, all the town’s folk were behind the coffin in a mile-long column, but there were still ponies on the sides of the road that traversed the town. They have all gathered from around Equestria, mostly from Canterlot. They were the soldiers that had fought in previous battles alongside Blink; some of them were there only because of Blink’s actions in those conflicts, and they couldn’t miss the opportunity to pay their last respects. A few had their military uniforms on, while others wore the proof of their bravery in a more direct manner, in the form of a prosthetic hoof, stumped wing, or eye patch.

Eventually the column reached the former public library, turning on a narrow dirt road leading down the hill. The small lake near the forest came into view and they soon passed Spike’s home. The coffin stopped advancing near the lake, where a freshly-dug grave patiently waited for its new resident.

The white headstone glowed a blue shade in the dawning sun. It bared Blink’s unusual cutie mark, next to an embedded photograph of him surrounded by his family and friends from a Christmas party. In it, the stallion was draping a hoof over Twilight, with Bell and Chaser sitting in front of them, as their friends huddled around to fit in the frame. His smile was formed out of pure happiness and content. Etched beneath it lied his name with a few words written underneath:

What is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil side through great effort and sacrifice?

The ponies forming the funeral cortege poured down the hill, steadily filling it. The coffin was placed above the grave, and Luna began speaking a few words in remembrance of the stallion. Twilight had no ears for that, as she continued to stare with sorrow at the coffin in which Blink rested. She knew he wasn’t there anymore, just a former shell of the pony she loved so dearly.

The blue stallion was staring at his own grave while sitting right next to his wife. He was invisible to the living, but felt everyone’s sadness nonetheless. Death was nearby, silently waiting as the ceremony unfolded in front of their eyes. Some of his friends came in front of the coffin, addressing the ponies gathered there and saying a few words about the unicorn they knew. All were kind word of reassurance for the family and friends, mentions of Blink’s achievements or deeds to the kingdom, moments they shared.

After all the eulogies were delivered, the coffin was lowered in its grave. Blink’s family and friends went past it one by one, throwing flowers over the wooden casket. The gathered crowd began to slowly dissipate as the sun set on that mournful day. A few hours after the ceremony had ended, only a few ponies and two dragons remained, all gathered in front of the grave.

Neither of them wanted to believe Blink was in there, but the settling reality began taking its toll on them. Spike looked behind. The sun was just about to set. Twilight noticed he was barely keeping his head up.

“Spike, you and Ruby should go and get some sleep. You’ve been up for two days, and she flew here last night to get to the funeral. You both need the rest.”

“Are you sure, Twi’?”

The mare nodded. Ruby took a gentle bow in front of her. “I present you again with our species’ condolences for your loss, Twilight of Ponyville.”

“Thank you, Ruby.”

The two dragons headed out to the nearby burrow where Spike lived, leaving Twilight with her other friends and two children.

“I think we’re better ought to go as well, Twilight. It’s been a long couple of days,” AJ said, resting a hoof on her shoulder.

“I bet Bell and Chaser are tired as well. We’ll head out to the tree house with them if that’s fine, dear,” Velvet spoke, hugging her daughter.

“You’re right. Bell, Chaser, you should get some rest. Make sure you prepare the guest rooms for your grandparents.”

The two young ponies nodded and regretfully left their father’s grave, walking alongside Velvet and Night Light.

“I better be going as well, Twily. Cadence and Emerald are waiting at the train station. I’m so sorry we couldn’t stay longer but we left our kingdom the moment we heard about it, and we need to take care of urgent matters. I promise that I’ll visit again this week.”

Shining and Twilight hugged again. “I’m so sorry, Twily. He was a great guy. If there is anything, and I mean anything that you need, Cadence and I are a letter away. I love you.”

“Thanks, big brother. I love you too.”

As her children, parents, and brother left, only the other Element Bearers remained. The light of candles danced on the tombstone in front of them as the red twilight behind them turned to night.

“I know this is hard for you, Twilight, and you may be super sad but . . . we’re all here for you,” Pinkie said. “We’ll always be here for you, okay?”

The pink mare hugged Twilight. The unicorn began crying again. The other mares approached them and joined in a big hug, pouring their souls into the gesture. Surrounded by her best friends, the pain of losing her life partner was duller, yet cut just as deep.

Eventually the girls left as well, promising to return the following day. Only Twilight remained, sitting in front of Blink’s grave.

“I’m so sorry, Twi’,” Blink muttered. He was sitting next to her on the cold ground, her touch just an inch away. A spark next to the lake’s water caught his attention.

“It is time,” Death spoke.

“Can’t I just stay with her a little more?” Blink pleaded.

“You will feel the pull soon. You should go now.”

The spark he noticed before had turned into a large gate of light. Blink got up. He felt its calling.

“I love you, Twilight Sparkle. I always will,” he said to the mare sitting on the ground next to his grave. “Take care of our children and friends.”

The purple twilight in the sky’s horizon was now completely gone, replaced by a vast sea of stars. Blink walked towards the light. His soul was finally finding its rest.

“What happens now?” he asked, stopping right in front of the light.

“Your journey here ends. That is all you need to know.”

Blink stared at Him, then looked back at Twilight one last time. Turning his head towards the gate, he closed his eyes and took the last step.

It was the last step on the Stairway.

The grass danced in the gentle summer breeze. Twilight closed the book, floating it and her glasses on the small table nearby. She took a deep breath, enjoying the peaceful view from her backyard. She felt tired.

A deep sound of flapping wings became louder and louder. The breeze picked up for a slight moment, followed by a couple of deep thuds. She turned towards the source and saw Spike having just landed nearby.

“Well look who it is,” Twilight said, getting up and heading towards the dragon.

Spike leaned forward, wrapping his large hand around the unicorn, gently pressing himself against her. Twilight held his head in her hooves, barely able to fully wrap her limbs around it anymore.

“How was your trip? Ohh, the tutoring, what did he teach you this time?” Twilight asked as Spike let her down gently.

“Figures that would be the first thing you’d ask,” the dragon said with a roll of his eyes and a smile on his face. He sat down next to Twilight, folding his arms in front of him. “Well, the Old One taught me, Ruby, and a few other young drakes more about the ancient history of our kind, way, way before Celestia’s arrival over twenty thousand years ago. It’s pretty fascinating, to be fair.”

“Young drake you say? Looking pretty sharp for a seventy year old, Spike,” Twilight quipped. “And since when did you find studying fascinating?”

“Ah, we have a smart-flank over here, don’t we? Thinks only she has the right to study in here?”

“I’m just glad you’re finding something interesting. Any luck on finding out what exact species you are? We always assumed you were just a simple dragon, I’m still stupefied that we, as ponies, know so little about your kind.”

“Well, the Old One wouldn’t say. He wants me to find out myself. So far, I kinda know I’m a magic-class dragon, and that’s about it. By the way, have I showed you my latest trick?”

“No, Spike, and I don’t thin-”

Spike took a quick breath and simply blew a stream of green flames upon the unicorn next to him. Twilight yelped at first as the flames doused her, but soon realised they weren’t harming her at all.

“Spike! I thought I told you not to play with fire near the tree house, even with what seems to be fake fire!” she jokingly scolded the large dragon as her and the grass around her burned a bright green.

“I’m sorry, Twi’. Couldn’t help it. What’cha think?”

“Although impressive . . .” Her horn glowed for a bit, and a small spark triggered a larger purple fire across Spike’s skin.

The dragon laughed heartily as the flames tingled him. “Number 876, was it? I sincerely lost count decades ago. Seems your magic is strong as ever, though.”

Twilight smiled as both flames around them dissipated. A hint of sadness marked her features. “You know very well that my magic is still potent just because of who I am. Otherwise, I’m still an old pony at the end of the day, Spike.”

The dragon reached her face with a claw, moving away a rogue silvery-purple strand from the unicorn’s mane. “You’re not just an old pony, Twi’. You’re my best friend ever.”

“And you’re my number one assistant and best friend as well. Although it’s been a while since you rearranged the books alphabetically in the tree house.”

Spike smiled. “So, how’s Bell and Chaser? Busy as always, I assume.”

“They actually visited today. Chaser’s thinking about retiring and moving back here from Cloudsdale.”

“He really did take this whole laziness thing from his father after all.”

Twilight gently punched Spike’s hand with her hoof. “He’s been Master Weather Scheduler for over twenty years, he deserves it.”

“Fair enough . . . and Bell?”

“Well, she and Hayseed brought the kids, and you know how much I love Sunlit Dawn and Big Apple.” Spike nodded understandingly as Twilight continued. “Big Apple is ready to take over the family business under Applebloom’s son’s tutelage, and Sunlit Dawn is moving to Canterlot to study advanced magic.”

“Wow, guess all those years of tutoring with the most powerful unicorn in the world paid off, didn’t it?”

Just as Twilight was about to give him an answer, a bird flew by, turning around and landing on one of Spike’s head fins.

“I swear, Twilight, one of these days,” Spike groaned.

“Who?”

Spike flailed a claw over his head to scare it off, but the owl didn’t budge. “What’s wrong with this bird? Have you ever found out why she doesn’t even seem to age at all? Also, what’s with the weird feathers recently?”

Twilight giggled, enjoying, as always, the interaction between her pet and Spike. Owlowiscious had changed little over the past decades, but her plumage had been slowly turning white in the past few months, with several brown feathers left across her wings and back.

“Oh Spike, never change. Regarding the feathers, I have a theory, but I’ll have to wait and see for now.”

Spike decided against asking more questions about the pesky bird that was long overdue her normal life expectancy. He got up, shaking the owl off.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to be the mature one here and leave,” he said, dramatically raising his nose in the air.

“So soon? You barely came back from your trip.”

Spike’s face settled to a warm smile. “I know, Twi’. It’s just a quick visit to Canterlot. Celestia has been wanting to talk to me about something for a while now.”

He leaned over and gently touched the mare with his massive head. Twilight gave him a gentle kiss over his large snout, holding him a little longer than usual.

“I love you, Spike.”

“I love you too, Twi’.”

The dragon took a few steps away from the three house before flapping his huge wings twice, lifting himself up in the air. Spike and Twilight waved at each other, as the dragon picked up speed, heading towards the capital. Soon, he was merely a dot in the sky.

Owlowiscious landed next to Twilight, then began shaking, beating her wings a couple of times. The last brown feathers from her old plumage fell down, leaving behind a perfectly white owl. She stared at Twilight intently. The mare simply smiled back.

“So I did get it right after all. Give me a couple of minutes, Owlowiscious.”

The unicorn got up and went inside the tree house. There, she climbed to her bedroom, which had become more of a study than anything else. Whiteboards full of formulas and numbers filled most of the room, and her desk was a total mess. She grabbed a piece of paper from it and rolled it up like a scroll. It had been a few decades since scrolls were made obsolete, so she had to make do with what she had at hoof.

She looked at a whiteboard one last time, at the bottom of which that day’s date was written as a result of one of the most ambiguous equations she had ever solved. Twilight then returned downstairs, leaving the pre-written letter on the table. She sighed, her eyes dull and filling with tears. The mare brushed a hoof across her face, before leaving her home through the back door.

The white owl was waiting. She gently flew to her owner, landing on the unicorn’s shoulder and hooting towards the distance.

“I see,” Twilight mused, and started slowly walking down the hill.

The sound of nature and life was everything she could hear as the two made their way towards the place the owl had pointed her to. The green, luscious blades of grass swung calmly in the summer’s wind. The birds sang their beautiful chirp, while the sun basked everything in its warmth.

Twilight passed the entrance to Spike’s home, the small lake by the forest now in sight. Tears were forming at her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. She knew she was strong.

She stopped near the edge of the lake, briefly looking into the mirror-like surface. Her mane had lost a bit of color over the years, with silver strands accompanying the once-bright purple highlights. Her face was somewhat free of wrinkles or other signs of aging, mostly due to the fact that she was a Lifebringer, a symbol of everlasting life and purity. Even with such powers however, 84 was a number of years ponies rarely reached, even with the best life conditions and luck on their side.

She turned towards the tombstone next to her. Her husband had passed away 42 years ago, and during those years, Blink’s headstone had been sadly joined by others. She recognized on those stones the names and cutie marks of the best friends she had ever had. Three red apples, a few beautiful pink butterflies, a big green apple, a multi-colored lightning bolt, three colorful balloons, a safety pin, three magnificent blue diamonds, a ship’s helm.

The last one was Blink’s. The odd symbol always reminded Twilight of his qualities, never of his dark powers. It reminded her what a good life partner he was, how he fathered her two children and how amazing was the time spent along his side.

She was the last one. Her title of Lifebringer had granted her more time to spend in that world than a normal pony should have. Despite her loneliness, she cherished every moment, looking after the generation following her own.

“A sad thing, life sometimes is,” a voice came from nearby.

A pure-white figure was next to her, staring at the resting places of Twilight’s best friends. The mare tilted her head at the odd being.

“I know you were probably expecting my brother. However, I insisted I would be the one leading you,” Life continued.

Twilight genuinely smiled, seeing Owlowiscious resting on His shoulder. “So, I was right.”

“I must say, I am impressed. Not many are those that can precisely calculate the day they depart this world. Given your nature and way of being, it was expected.”

“I knew something was odd when Owlowiscious’ feathers started turning white last year. Then I made the connections.”

“I gather you have left everything in order?” Life asked.

“Correct. But I’ll still miss them. My children, my grandfoals . . .”

“And yet you never finished the biggest project of your life. Phoenix, was it called? You could have lived centuries longer - you had the knowledge to do so, and you had the power as well.”

“A wise pony once told me never to act like a God, because I’m not one.” She let out a chuckle, remembering the decades-old exchange between her and Blink. “Also, I couldn’t wait any longer,” she continued, her head turning back at the row of tombstones. “I miss him. I miss all of them.”

“I see.”

“Is- Is it going to hurt? I . . . I calculated heart failure as the cause. Theoretically, there will be pain and discomfort as-”

“You tell me. Did it hurt?” Life asked in the middle of her question.

She looked at him with a puzzled expression. In return, He simply pointed at Blink’s grave. A purple unicorn mare with her head resting over her hooves was sitting on top of the well-kept grave. The gentle summer breeze caught in her mane, but she wasn’t moving.

Twilight’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at her own, lifeless body. “That’s it? I- I’m dead?”

“You helped this world so much with your knowledge and desire to do good. The least I could do for you was a painless passing.”

“So, what now?” Twilight asked, barely able to contain her tears.

“Now, the journey ends.”

A gate of pure light formed by the lake’s shore, several feet away from them. Life said nothing more as Twilight darted her eyes between the gate and Him. She smiled, turning around and trotting towards the light as if she were young again. She stopped just a moment before entering it. Twilight looked up the hill towards Ponyville, giving her library one last glance. Murmuring a goodbye, she turned towards the gate of light, already feeling its calling.

She closed her eyes and took the last step.