Twilight rolled over in bed. It was dark out. She looked at the clock. Just before noon. She'd spent almost twelve hours in bed. Not that it mattered much anymore. She got up and moved a curtain with a hoof. The moon hung in the sky, just as it had for almost two weeks now, ever since the Summer Sun Celebration had gone terribly wrong. It was almost invisible now, barely a sliver of silver in the sky.
Twilight shivered and turned away, letting the curtain fall and grabbing a blanket with her magic to wrap around herself. Even in the library, it was cold enough that she could see her breath.
“Spike! Get the fire going!” She yelled. Between the cold and the dark Spike was spending more time sleeping than awake. She found his bed next to the dying embers of the fire and kicked it, waking him up.
“Huh?” He groaned and turned over, flopping onto his back and blinking up at her. “Oh. Sorry, Twilight.” He stood up on shaky legs and started tossing what wood they had left into the fireplace. “Twilight, um... there's not a lot here. Maybe we could use a few books?” He looked back at her.
“No! We're not going to burn books no matter how bad it gets!” She looked around the library. It was a mess. Neither of them bothered to clean up these days, and books were migrating from the shelves to the floor and remaining there in stacks and piles. It was a disgrace to keep the library like this, but it wasn't like she was expecting visitors. Ponies didn't really go out anymore unless they had to.
“Then we're going to have to get firewood. And food. We've got a bunch of those ration packs that the guards gave out before they were disbanded, but I never wanna eat hard tack ever again.”
“We won't have to,” Twilight said, putting on a brave smile. “Don't worry. I'm sure that somepony will fix this soon. The guards will overthrow Nightmare Moon, and Celestia will come back, and everything's going to be just like it was! Except maybe next time she'll listen to my warnings about ancient evils and not say they're just... foalish stories!”
“That's what you said last week,” Spike grumbled, as he lit the fire and warmed himself by it.
Twilight turned away. “I know. But it's true. Whatever happened, I know Celestia will fix it. She fixes everything.” Twilight rubbed at an eye with her hoof, wiping away the wetness. “She has to.”
***
Twilight adjusted her scarf before opening the library door and stepping out into the cold. The stars gave almost enough light to see by, especially now that everypony was getting used to it. They'd had to get used to it. Most windows were covered against the dark and cold, and only a few were open enough for a glimmer of light from within to show.
“Where am I going to get firewood...” Twilight muttered. She didn't know the town very well, and she wasn't desperate enough to start cutting branches off of the tree she called home yet. The Everfree forest had only gotten worse since the eternal night fell. She'd have to hope she found a tree that nopony owned.
As she was looking, somepony bumped into her. She stumbled back, almost falling. She'd been looking at the side of the road and hoping to find something she could use, and hadn't been watching the road itself at all.
“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” The other pony shivered and prostrated herself. Twilight lit her horn so she could see more clearly. It was the yellow pegasus she'd briefly met before everything had gone wrong.
“Oh, it's you. Um...” Twilight hesitated.
“Fluttershy,” the mare said. Twilight smiled nervously. She hated forgetting names, but remembering everypony's name had been the last thing on her mind that day and things had only gotten worse since then.
“Sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going.” She offered Fluttershy a hoof, helping the mare up.
“It was my fault. I should have been looking too.” The mare looked down at her hooves. Twilight couldn't help but look at her. The pegasus' coat was scruffy and dirty, her ribs showing even in the gloom.
“Are you feeling okay?” Twilight wasn't sure what to do. She'd never had to deal with anything like this in Canterlot. It hadn't been her job. There were few ponies in need in the city, and she kept away from the bad parts of the city.
“I'm fine,” Fluttershy said, smiling weakly. “I was just gathering food. With all of this going on, most ponies aren't able to take care of their pets, so I've taken them in. It takes all day-” she stopped herself. “It takes a lot of time to find food for them.”
“Just... take care of yourself?” Twilight backed away. The yellow pegasus nodded as she walked off, both ponies thankful to get away from the encounter.
***
Following the path, Twilight finally found a tree she could use. She stepped over a broken fence to the bare tree, the leaves having withered and fallen to the muddy ground underneath. Using her magic, she started tearing the limbs from the tree, wincing as the wood cracked.
“What in the hay do you think you're doin?!” Shouted somepony. A hoof shoved her to the ground, and Twilight looked up to see a furious orange mare.
“I was just-” Before Twilight could explain, the mare growled.
“This here is one of the oldest trees on the farm! I ain't just gonna let you tear it apart!” The pony grabbed Twilight by the scruff of the neck and started dragging her back to the road. “Yer just lucky I'm too tired to buck you all the way back t' Canterlot.”
“I just- I was gathering firewood! It's dead!” Twilight spotted the mare's cutie mark, and remembered her name. Applejack. She was another one of the very few ponies she'd met in town before the day had ended.
“It ain't dead!” Applejack dropped her in the road and spat, as if Twilight was something foul she'd tasted. “They're just sleepin' because they think it's winter. Maybe if the sun comes back soon, they can wake up and it'll all be right again.” Applejack sighed.
“How do you know it isn't dead?” Twilight asked, frowning.
“It's an Earth Pony thing. If y'all need firewood, get it somewhere else. I don't want to see you or anypony else around here unless you got somethin' important to say. It's hard enough just keepin' the family together and we ain't got room for somepony thinkin' we've got anythin' extra to give.”
“Um. Right. I'm sorry.” Twilight sighed and walked away.
***
“Hey, Purple Smart!” somepony yelled. Twilight frowned and looked up. There was a blue mare with a rainbow mane. She was holding a dark cloud in her hooves.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said, annoyed.
“Sorry,” the pegasus said. “I just thought you might need a little water. I've got the weather team trying to gather what they can, and we found a bunch of storm clouds over the Everfree. The weather hasn't been working right without the sun, and all the weather factories are shut down so... I know some ponies are starting to run out of clean water.”
“Shouldn't you just put it in the water tower or the reservoir or something?” Twilight sighed. “And, um... what's your name again? Colors... Fast? Something like that?”
“Dash! Rainbow Dash! I'm a pretty big deal, you know.” She was obviously annoyed. “How could you forget my name?”
“You forgot mine,” Twilight pointed out. Rainbow blushed a little at that.
“Look, I'm just trying to make sure everypony gets some water,” Rainbow Dash said. “I gotta do something, you know? This way I know that nopony got left out, and some houses aren't connected to the town's water supply.”
“That makes sense,” Twilight admitted. “Maybe you should take it over to Fluttershy? She's taking care of a lot of animals, I think.”
“What? Still?” Rainbow Dash groaned. “I told her to just let them go. Most of them can manage on their own. She needs to take better care of herself.”
“No kidding,” Twilight agreed.
“I'm gonna go check on her. Thanks for the tip!” Before Twilight could think to ask her about firewood, the pegasus vanished into the distance in a streak of rainbow light.
***
Twilight walked back into town, empty hooved. She hadn't found any firewood. She resigned herself to going into the Everfree tomorrow to look, but she was just so tired that she couldn't work up the will to do it today.
She was distracted, her tired walk drawing her towards the brightest building in town like a moth to a flame.
“You look like you need a cupcake,” said a pink pony, popping up in front of Twilight. It shouldn't have been possible for her to appear out of nowhere like that. It hadn't stopped her from doing it, of course, but part of Twilight noted the impossibility.
“There aren't any,” Twilight said. The pink pony's name came to her a moment later. It was hard to forget her. “Um, Miss Pinkie Pie.”
“Well the truth is...” Pinkie leaned in. “I have some secrets. And one of those secrets is that I have a secret stash of cupcakes for ponies who are really looking down.” She grabbed Twilight's hoof and dragged her inside, the bakery warm and bright, so bright that Twilight's eyes hurt as she got used to the light.
Twilight found herself sitting at a table, the only sound in the bakery provided by a scratchy record player piping pleasant music into the room. Streamers were hung along the walls, and confetti littered the floor with the deflated remnants of balloons. It looked like somepony had thrown a party a week ago and just never bothered to clean up.
When she looked back at the table, there was a cupcake in front of her. It was bright and cheerful, everything she wasn't at the moment.
“Go ahead,” Pinkie said. Twilight looked at her. The mare looked tired. Heavy bags hung under her eyes. If Twilight wasn't sleeping well, it looked like Pinkie Pie wasn't sleeping at all.
“How did you even manage to hang onto this?” Twilight asked, hesitating. The cupcake was something she hadn't expected to see again. After a moment, the weight of that hit her. The world was so broken that something as simple as a cupcake was something she might never see again.
“Don't cry,” Pinkie Pie said, suddenly there at her side and holding her. Twilight sniffled and tried to hold her tears back, burying her wet eyes into the pony's shoulder. “I know things are tough. But it's going to get better.”
“I hope so,” Twilight said, feeling hollow. Pinkie Pie squeezed her.
“Do you want to stay here? Mr. and Mrs. Cake left when things got bad, so there's plenty of room.”
“I can't,” Twilight said. “I have to get back to check on Spike. And there might still be something in one of the books in the library, something I missed...” She wiped her eyes and sat back, taking a bite out of the cupcake. It was stale, crusty, and after weeks of rations, the sweetness was cloying. It was the best thing she'd ever tasted.
“Would it be okay if I took the other half of this home to Spike? I bet he could use some cheering up too.”
***
Despite how she'd been reduced to tears, she felt better as she left the bakery, the remains of the cupcake carefully concealed in a bag. The sugar made her feel a little better, and even if it wasn't a gemstone, she was sure Spike would appreciate it too.
“Excuse me, dear, could you assist me with something?” Twilight looked and saw a unicorn looking out of a half-open doorway. “I apologize for intruding, but...” She sighed.
“What is it?” Twilight asked, curious.
“This is somewhat embarrassing, but my fire went out and I lack the means to light it again myself. If my sister were here, no doubt she could set it ablaze simply by attempting to pour a glass of water, but left to myself I am rather out of my element, as it were.”
Twilight walked inside, seeing the piles of clothing lying around. Apparently the unicorn had at least been keeping busy. She noted a lot of it was tending towards winter clothing.
“You couldn't just use a fire spell?” Twilight asked, walking towards the fireplace. It had cooled to ashes.
“I... don't know any spells like that,” the unicorn admitted. Twilight grunted, annoyed. How could a unicorn just ignore their gifts like that and not even learn such a simple, useful spell? She'd seen too many ponies slacking off in school, just trying to impress instructors with clever tricks or low-hanging fruit, like education didn't even matter to them.
“Are these logs okay to use?” Twilight asked, gesturing to a pile of wood. The other unicorn nodded. Twilight grabbed one and threw it roughly into the fireplace, ashes billowing out and getting on the carpet. She saw the white unicorn wince. One simple application of Nazca's Universal Incinerator at low power, and the log was blazing merrily.
“Thank you so much,” the unicorn sighed. “I was worried I'd have to resort to rubbing sticks together to get a fire going.”
“You should learn some extra spells,” Twilight insisted. “I can lend you a few books if you want to come to the library. You never know what might be useful in case your fire goes out, Miss, Um...” Twilight trailed off, blushing.
“I might have to take you up on that,” the unicorn said. “And it's Rarity, dear. Please try not to forget again.”
“I won't,” Twilight said.
“Good. What were you doing out at such an hour? I admit I'm lucky you were there, but...”
“Looking for firewood. I guess we're all having heating problems.” Twilight smiled sadly. Rarity gasped.
“You should have said something! Here, take half of what I have. I know it isn't much, but I wouldn't be able to use it at all if you hadn't been here to help.”
***
Twilight kicked the door open, levitating a pile of wood into the room and slamming the library door shut with a hoof as she did.
“Wow. Where did you find all that wood?” Spike asked, looking up from where he was curled up, so close to the fire that his blanket was starting to brown.
“Careful or you're going to catch on fire,” Twilight said, as she set it down in an organized pile and pushed the little dragon back a little. “One of the ponies in town gave me some of their wood after I helped them get their fire going.”
“At least we won't freeze for a while,” Spike said, putting one of the new logs on the fire.
“And that's not all. You won't believe what else I got.” Twilight opened her saddlebag and took out the remaining half of the cupcake, putting it in Spike's claws. He blinked as he looked at it.
“Woah. It feels like forever since I've had dessert!”
“Take small bites so it lasts longer. I'm going to go back to bed.” Spike nodded and licked the frosting, making a pleased sound before scuttling back over to the fire to enjoy the cupcake while bathing in the warmth there. He was a loud eater, making happy moans that belonged more to someone eating a rare delicacy than to a cupcake.
Though, really, the term described a cupcake well these days.
Twilight ignored Spike and fell face-first into bed, the old mattress creaking and complaining. It was an antique compared to the one she had in Canterlot, dust billowing from it the first time she'd jumped onto it. She pulled a blanket over herself with a tired hoof and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Ever since Nightmare Moon had returned, her dreams had all been the same. The day of the Summer Sun Celebration, and everything that had gone wrong. As she tossed and turned in bed, bathed in a cold sweat, it seemed tonight would be no different.
***
The cold stone globes were lying at her hooves. There had to be some way to activate them. She'd had the same dream a dozen times already, and every time she was dimly aware that she'd been trying again and again to make the stupid things work. But they didn't react to her magic at all, the stone balls just lying there, inert.
And just like every night, the moment she started to think she was going to make progress, her magic touching something deep inside, a swirl of midnight blue enveloped them in a tornado of force. She backed away, not wanting to jump in like every other time, knowing how this would end. A tendril of blue lashed out of the vortex, grabbing her hoof and dragging her inside. The screams of the other ponies were a distant background chorus as they ran towards her, Twilight's dim memory of them reducing the ponies to blobs of color as she was plunged through a veil into darkness.
The world came back in a wash of confusion, a dizzying blast of color. Twilight shook her head, laughter filling the air. It wasn't her laughter, either. She looked up, Nightmare Moon standing atop a dais and holding the spheres with her mane, looking down at her and laughing through bared fangs.
Twilight got to her hooves, shaking with fear. There was no way she could defeat the alicorn.
“How many times have you failed?” Nightmare Moon asked, stepping towards her. “Though I suppose even once was really enough, since you couldn't protect Celestia when it really counted.”
“I-I did everything I could,” Twilight whispered.
“Everything except for getting these to work.” Nightmare Moon tossed the Elements of Harmony to the unicorn, the balls landing at her hooves. “Go ahead. Take your best shot.”
Twilight looked down at them. There had to be something she could do. Part of her knew it was only a dream. She'd gone over the whole thing in her waking hours over and over again, trying to find something she'd missed, some way to activate the Elements. She knew they were the key. Nightmare Moon had been afraid of them, until they'd failed.
“Not even going to try tonight?” Nightmare Moon snorted, disappointed. She stomped on the ground, the marble floor shattering under her hoof, and the Elements shattered along with Twilight's hopes. “Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to try again. The night will last FOREVER!” She laughed, a piercing wailing laugh that cut through Twilight like a cold wind.
“I failed again...” Twilight whispered, unable to look at her. “My magic is useless...”
“The fault was not with your spellcraft, child,” said a voice Twilight didn't recognize. She looked up to see something new, something that hadn't appeared in her dreams before. A wavering figure of indigo and purple. Where Nightmare Moon was a cold avatar of fear, this shape, indistinct and cloudy, faceless in the way only somepony in a dream could be, was warm and comforting. As she approached, Twilight felt the fear of the nightmare drain from the dream.
“I did everything I could, and I couldn't defeat her,” Twilight whispered up at the figure. It reminded her of Celestia, having the same parental feeling, though it wasn't quite as large. “I knew all this was going to happen and I couldn't stop it. I tried to warn Princess Celestia and she didn't even listen to me. She just sent me away and told me I was being stupid. Maybe if I hadn't said anything, and I'd stayed with her...” Twilight bit her lip, a tear running down her cheek.
“This should not be your burden to bear,” the figure said. “You are a pony wounded by loneliness and solitude, and you have taken on guilt that is not yours.” Twilight leaned into the figure, feeling warmth there, emotional and physical at the same time.
“I should have done more to stop her,” Twilight said, softly, her voice muffled by a thick coat and feathers. “Who are you?”
“You dream of this every night, trying to find a way to stop the Nightmare.” The mare either hadn't heard the question or was ignoring it. Twilight looked past the blurry indigo fur to see the dark shape of Nightmare Moon, frozen with lightning crashing around her, her face in a rictus grin of victory.
“I know I missed something. Something important. I just wish Celestia was here to tell me.” Twilight sniffled. “I know you're just a figment of my imagination, but you're a nice one. Maybe those books on lucid dreaming are starting to work.”
“I'm no figment,” the figure said, amused.
“Who are you?” Twilight asked again. “Celestia? One of the high mages?”
“I'm a fading memory of what should have been,” the figure said. “I don't need a name. In the end, when you must make a final decision, it will be easier for you if you do not know who I am.”
“What do you mean?”
“Twilight Sparkle, the power to change this is within you, and always has been. I am sorry, but I must ask something of you that I am not able to do myself.” The figure stepped back, bowing to Twilight. “Please, stop Nightmare Moon.”
“I can't! I already tried and... you know how that turned out.” Twilight looked at the horrible figure. “I don't have what it takes.”
“You do,” the indistinct shape said, firmly. It stood up slowly. “But you need to find it within yourself. There is a power and destiny deep inside you that can defeat her. Perhaps in other circumstances, you would have found it yourself.”
“Then- what am I supposed to do? I've cast every spell I can think of and I still can't get the Elements to work!”
“Not alone,” the blurry pony agreed. “Would you accept help, if it were offered?”
“I-” Twilight bit her lip. “Nopony was able to help me before.”
“Only because you did not let them,” the shape said, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “I must warn you, what I am doing is dangerous. Nightmare Moon has been content to leave you alone because you have not been a threat to her. If you are willing, I can unlock some of the power hidden within, enough to give you a fighting chance.”
“Why me?” Twilight asked, looking into the figure's face, though all that would stay in her mind were the eyes, glowing softly in the dark light of the ruined castle.
“You are the only one who can. If you will agree to my terms, you will have the power to walk through dreams, a power only a handful of ponies know in this age. It will be the key to overcoming her evil power.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Twilight asked. “Even if I beat Nightmare Moon in a dream, it won't bring back Celestia, or raise the sun, or- or even give anypony food to eat!”
“The Elements are the key to defeating Nightmare Moon, and the key to unlocking them is here, in the Dreaming. The Elements have been cast into shadow by the darkness invading the dreams of all ponies, and even this is no normal bad dream, but a curse from the Nightmare.”
“I don't understand...” Twilight muttered, eyes narrowing with confusion.
“You will come to understand it. You must, if you are to end this imperishable night.” The figure looked to Nightmare Moon. “My time draws short. Even this audience quickly draws her attention to this place, and I dare not risk it before you have prepared yourself. Know this, Twilight Sparkle – the shadow of the Nightmare will work to eliminate the threat to it. The closer you come to victory, the more dangerous it will become.”
“I-I don't know if I'm the right one for this.”
“Believe in yourself, and in your friends. The shadow will come for them, and this power will be as a sword against the night.” The figure started glowing with pale silver light, the aura brightest along a long, spiraling horn.
“You mean it's going to keep me safe?” Twilight gasped as she rose into the air, surrounded by that light.
“No, Twilight. There is no safety to be found in a sword. A sword brings death, it does not give life. It is a responsibility, a burden.” The figure grew quiet as the light reached its peak. “It is a curse, but the power to bring death is all I can offer. I hope that one day you will forgive me.”
There was a blinding flash, and Twilight fell to the ground heavily on her hooves. The comforting figure was gone, and the wind howled as the lighting storm around Nightmare Moon came back to life.
“The Night will last forever!” Nightmare Moon screamed. Twilight raised a hoof to shield herself against the wind and rain. The fear was still there inside her, but there was something else. A power that she hadn't felt before.
It gave her hope.
She hadn't felt it in so long, she'd felt powerless and worthless for so long, that it took her a moment just to realize what the feeling was. It was enough, though, to do something that she had never, once, managed to do in the dreams. Here, where she'd before frozen up and been unable to act, where in the real world five strangers had dragged her away as Nightmare Moon crowed in victory, she took a step forwards.
“What's this?” Nightmare Moon asked, raising an eyebrow. “Finally growing a spine, Twilight? How unlike you!”
“I'm not... I'm not going to let you just win this time!” Twilight said, firmly. She took another step.
“Careful, Sparkle, there aren't five idiots around to drag you away from my wrath if you anger me, this time.”
“I don't need them,” Twilight said. “Not when I can beat you myself!” She focused, tugging on the power within. Light welled around her horn, and she could feel something, power that wasn't hers, twisted and entwined, dragging something out of her very core. She gasped with a mixture of pain and surprise as the magic rushed out of her like a crashing wave, a sphere of energy forming between her and Nightmare Moon, like a miniature sun.
“What is that?” Nightmare Moon asked, surprised. She backed away, showing the same fear she'd shown for a moment in the real world when Twilight had come so close to awakening the Elements.
“I am the light of the soul,” the glowing sphere said. Wings erupted from it, and the sphere shattered. From within, a ghostly pony floated to the ground. It looked like-
“Twilight Sparkle?” Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. “No, not quite. Is this how you see yourself? Quite presumptuous.”
Twilight's eyes widened. From within the magic, this had taken shape, a version of Twilight with wings and barding that covered nearly her entire body, her mane filled with twinkling stars and her face concealed behind a mask. It wasn't quite solid, Twilight able to see through it as though it was made of smoked glass, and it floated above the ground, casting no shadow.
“I am you,” It said, looking at Twilight, though she couldn't see its eyes beyond the blank visage of the mask it wore. “And you are me. In this place, in this time, I shall lend you my strength, for it is yours to inherit.”
“Who are you?” Twilight asked, her eyes wide.
“You will learn when you are ready. For now, call me Eventide. I will come when you call.”
“Cute, a dream construct.” The world shifted suddenly, the fuzzy details of the castle falling into clear focus with the force of an iron curtain falling across a barred window. The broken walls were joined with the ghosts of a half-remembered past, a grand ceiling that didn't exist in the real world flickering overhead, as if unable to decide if it was there or not. At the edge of Twilight's vision, the shadowed forms of ponies walked around, vanishing when she looked at them directly.
“Beware, she comes,” Eventide said, warily, her stance changing. Twilight understood intuitively. Before, she had just been dealing with a figment of her imagination. Now, though, it was something else, something just slightly real, a fragment of the real Nightmare Moon turning its attention on her.
“I wonder just how you learned to do that. Something from one of your books, no doubt.” Nightmare Moon sneered. She seemed more real than before, more focused and angry. “No wonder my dear sister chose to make you her student. I might have to start taking you seriously.”
“This is my dream and I'm kicking you out, Nightmare Moon!” Twilight yelled.
“I think not.” Nightmare Moon tossed her head, sending out a wave of deadly cyan energy. Twilight flinched, but before it could reach her, Eventide was there, interposing herself and throwing up a shield of energy. Twilight could feel it, a connection to that magic, to Eventide. It was her own magic being used, but amplified, more real, something she could control.
“I understand,” Twilight said, reaching out with a hoof. Eventide surged into action, the wave of energy deflecting as the shield angled to the side, the shadow pony rushing at Nightmare Moon. “The reason I couldn't do anything before is because the Nightmare has control over the Dreaming. The rules weren't the same!”
Eventide slammed into the Nightmare, knocking her back. She hissed like a snake, eyes flashing with a baleful light as she fired another blast of magic at point-blank range. It caught Eventide in the side, the barding deflecting some of the force of the attack but not the whole thing. Twilight gasped with pain and surprise as she felt it herself, as if the blow had struck her.
“It's a part of you, Sparkle. And that means when I take her apart, you'll go too.” Nightmare Moon smirked, charging up for a final blow. Just as she unleashed the force, Eventide vanished in a burst of pink light. The death curse shattered the stonework where she had been standing.
“She's part of me, and that means she can use my spells!” Twilight yelled. “Eventide!” Nightmare Moon spun around as the light in the room changed. Eventide had teleported behind her. Lights appeared around the Nightmare in a circle. Before she could react, they collapsed inwards from all sides, exploding in a burst of light.
Nightmare Moon screamed, her shadowy form twisting in on itself. She turned into a whirlwind of blue gas, the zephyr spinning up and away.
“This isn't over, Twilight Sparkle!” Nightmare Moon screamed. Her eyes appeared, hanging in midair. “I was kind to you before, but no longer!”
“It's over for now,” Twilight said, as the Nightmare tore through the roof, the castle shimmering and shifting back to how it had been in the real world, though the ghostly presence of the dark mare was gone, leaving it feeling peaceful.
Eventide floated like a ghost where Nightmare Moon had been. It looked at her. There was something about it that didn't seem quite right, and it wasn't just the wings or the inches of extra height. “I will always be Standing by your side when you need my strength.” She said. Nodding to Twilight, it faded away, though Twilight could still feel the construct within her.
***
Twilight sighed as she woke up, feeling rested for the first time in weeks. Smiling, she got out of bed. She could feel it within her, like a star burning in her chest.
“Spike! Take a letter.”
***
My dearest teacher,
I know I haven't written in a few days. I don't even know if you're getting these letters, or if they're just me talking to myself since you vanished. I know they're going somewhere, even if all of my attempts to trace them have failed.
If you're there, and able to read this, for the first time since the eternal night started, I have hope.
I promise I'll find a way to save you.
Your student,
Twilight Sparkle