//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: True Loneliness // Story: A Threat As Old As Time // by Shadowmane PX-41 //------------------------------// "Is this what he was talking about?" Twilight asked herself as she looked at the empty halls of CHS on her way out. There was no sign of life anywhere; no students, no teachers, nothing. "Is this what Black Cosmos suffered when he grew up?" "Twilight, I know you're going through a lot here, but we'll get your friends back," Adagio tried her best to comfort Twillight. Even after the events that had happened before and after the Battle of the Bands, Adagio still knew that the enemy of her enemy was her friend. "Whenever Black tries to manipulate someone again, we'll be on his tail." "Yeah, and this time, we'll just cut the crap and tackle him." Aria said as she cracked her knuckles. "But maybe that's what he wants you to do..." Twilight's face showed no emotion whatsoever. "Maybe he's perceiving the future as we speak for the chance when we'll come and try to assault him. And when he does that, he'll likely be preparing some countermeasures..." "Counter... measures?" Sonata shrugged. "I don't get it." "Defences to try and repel us." Twilight explained to Sonata. "Oh, I get it." The four girls continued their walk in silence. Every footstep they took echoed off of the corridors as if they were walking down an isolated alleyway. Where there would usually be students gossiping about stuff, there was complete emptiness. There was no echo of chatter at the end of the corridor, and not a single locker being opened or shut. Such an emptiness struck Twilight in her heart, knowing that there was no-one other than her temporary allies to help her out. As they exited the school, the four girls felt that the air was cold and dead. The sun was still out, but the atmosphere that Black had set was truly beginning to take it's toll on Twilight's morale. The howling of wind swirled around the four girls and then vanished completely. And as it did, Twilight and The Dazzlings took one big sigh. "I guess this is what true loneliness feels like, huh?" Sonata said as she looked into the sky and put her hands behind her head. "There's nothing to listen to but the sound of your voice and the wind around you..." "That's a beautiful analogy, Sonata, but I'm still quite upset that I've lost all of my friends," Twilight trudged across the ground with her head hung low. "Rarity... Rainbow Dash... Fluttershy... Pinkie Pie... Applejack... Celestia and Luna... and now Sunset Shimmer. They're all gone, because of me..." "No, Twilight. It's not your fault," Adagio said. "It's Black's fault. He's the one who turned your friends into babies, not yourself." "Yes. He's the one who used the Staff of Time on my friends, but it's overall my fault for making them my friends in the first place," Twilight stepped forward, getting The Dazzlings to stop walking. "If I'd just ignored them and tried to awkwardly try and get around this world the first time, Black wouldn't have touched them, and I could have avoided this heartbreak..." "But if you hadn't made friends with The Rainbooms, Sunset would still have been an egomaniacal sociopath, and the school would still have been torn apart by difference," Adagio put a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "And then, you would have lost your crown, causing widespread chaos in both this world and Equestria..." "Not to mention the fact that we'd still be running around with our pendants causing even more chaos and distrust," Sonata chimed in. "Then the military would get involved, four people would have died. Well, I say people, but I actually mean one pony and three sirens—" "SONATA!" both Aria and Adagio shouted at her. Adagio cleared her throat. "What we're trying to say is that you shouldn't blame yourself for the loss of your friends." "Thanks, Adagio. But this is such a severe blow to me," Twilight took Adagio's hand and gently took it off of her shoulder. "Friendship was the one thing I was supposed to embody since I defeated Tirek. I'm supposed to be the Princess of Friendship, and I couldn't save my friends from Black's powers... I failed..." Twilight thought about the philosophies that Black had told her. "We're all phoenixes, waiting to be ignited by Black's staff, so that we can be given a second chance at life..." "Twilight... Are my ears deceiving me?" Adagio was taken aback with Twilight's words. "Are you saying that you want Black to youthen you into an infant?!" "Who knows, Adagio? Maybe I'm wrong and he's right..." Twilight said as she let the words ring in her head. "Maybe the true meaning of friendship really is childhood... After all, I lost all of my friends due to age, and now they're newborns..." she sighed and said, "I guess that now's the time for me to become a baby as well..." "Twilight... Don't even think about it!" Adagio's hands suddenly opened up. "I know Twilight Sparkle, and she wouldn't just throw herself at her enemy's mercy and expect them to be spared!" "But Adagio, I've lost. There's nothing more I can do..." Twilight said. "The Magic of Friendship has been stamped out now that all of my friends are babies. There's nothing left for me to do except meet up with Black and willingly surrender my age." "Twilight..." Sonata tried reaching out for her. "Just stay put!" Twilight's head turned ferociously as she looked at Sonata with a small glare. "I've lost everything. Now if you have any last words to say to me before I call for Black Cosmos, now's the time to say them..." "Well, if I had to say something, I'd say you shouldn't give up," Aria said. She did her best to sound encouraging, but her tone wasn't doing much to help her. "That thug might have stolen your friends, but even I know that this isn't the Twilight Sparkle we duelled at Canterlot High..." "Yeah, Twilight. You're not really you anymore," Sonata added. "It's like you've become a zombie. Not the undead type, mind you. I mean the one who doesn't have any emotion..." "After all that's happened, you shouldn't just kneel to your enemies like that," Adagio's voice was comforting, but it wasn't helping Twilight out. "We might have been enemies, but for what it's worth, and after the things we've seen, I can see that you really care about this whole concept of friendship..." Adagio then held out her hand. "If it'll make you feel better, we could be your friends for the time being..." Twilight looked at Adagio's inviting hand and looked up at her. "You... you really mean it? Even after we defeated you, ruined your lives, and left you powerless?" "Twilight. That's all in the past now. And we'll try our best to become your friends and help you through this dark time," Adagio confirmed her request. "You really have shown that friendship is worth fighting for, even if we lose some friends in the process. And who knows? Maybe having friends isn't a bad thing after all..." "As much as I'm mad at you for kinda eliminating our power, I also have to say that you've got guts, Twilight," Aria held out her hand as well. "And I like guts..." "Your friends really mean a lot to you if you're willing to face impossible odds to get them back," Sonata held out her hand as well. "Not a lot of enemies we've met have had the guts to risk everything for their friends..." "Dazzlings..." Twilight looked at all three of the hands that had been presented to her. She hesitated for a while, but then grabbed onto all three with her right hand and shook them. "Thank you..." Black looked at The Dazzlings and Twilight shaking hands with each other from afar. He grunted disappointedly and opened up a time vortex. From there, he leaped through it and left the world behind. As he did so, he flew through a corridor of light rows and landed on a platform of hard-light. When he had done so, he lightly swung the Staff of Time and created an entire chasm of hard-light. From there, he used his hands to make the hard light transform into a large ramp that led to a throne. Once this was done, he walked up to the throne and sat down. "Out of all of the humans and ponies I have seen, Twilight Sparkle is by far the most intriguing..." Black stroked his chin. "She loses her friends, then makes more... Truly, she didn't earn her Princess of Friendship title for nothing..." he then used the staff to create a projection which showed all of the infant Rainbooms playing together. "But even she will submit soon enough. She knows that friendship is a concept that not many can maintain for all of eternity. I created harmony and found a way to cheat death, and yet she still refuses my philosophies by blinding herself with more temporary friends..." Black stepped up from his throne and used the staff to change the image. After a flash of light, the picture had changed into Equestria. Black was now sitting on the Canterlot Castle throne, guarded by ponies wearing black armour with various different markings that symbolized the flow of time. "Now that I am fully aware that the Staff of Time works on alicorns like Celestia and Luna, I can easily storm the throne room and do away with the two pony princesses," he smiled as the image changed to other ponies utilizing copies of the Staff of Time, as well as other new artefacts. They were using their powers on ponies who had formed single file lines; the light turned them into foals, making the other ponies smile with anticipation. "My vision will some come true... A world where friendship is eternal, and death by old age will become a thing of the past..." "However, if I am to assume correctly, Twilight Sparkle must have friends in Equestria as well," he returned the projection to show The Rainbooms again, then made another picture with the staff, showing off Twilight's pony friends. "If they are carbon copies of Twilight and follow her visions, then they will be the most threatening to my goals. Not to mention that I shall be dealing with two pegasi and a unicorn as well... I shall have to take them out stealthily..." Then, a thought crept into Black's mind, giving him an insidious and foreboding smile. "But maybe there's a way I can use her own friends against her..." Black created a stairway using the Staff of Time and walked up it. Once he had done so, the throne of hard-light vanished. "It might be tedious, and would cut down on the number of humans and ponies I could youthen, but it will be the final nail in Twilight Sparkle's coffin..." When Black reached the top of the stairs, he created a massive structure with the staff. It was rather large, big enough to have a climactic battle on. But at the same time, there was a massive arch which transformed into the base for what could be a colossal portal. When the structured was complete, Black shot a ray of energy from the Staff of Time and watched as the portal base created a vortex of bright blue light. "Twilight Sparkle believes that friendship is magic, and that it's used to safeguard the worlds from evil," Black spoke as he stepped closer towards the bright gateway of energy. "However, what she doesn't know is that the very same magic she utilizes is a weapon; one that can be used against her so that it can reinforce my future!" When Black was done talking, he jumped through the portal with his hands behind his back. Once he touched the energy, he was shot through the vortex like a cannonball. The speed caused his face to fly outwards with how fast he was travelling, but he was quite welcoming of such a G-force. When the trip came to its' end, Black stood outside the Canterlot Orphanage. It was now night, and no-one was around to report his entry to the authorities. He smiled at how alone he was and turned his attention towards the door. Looking at how high the moon in the sky was, Black walked inside. "Oh! Hello again," Guiding Light welcomed Black back once he had got inside and shut the door behind him. "Come here empty-handed, I see. Does this mean that..." "Yes, Guiding," Black smiled as he picked up a pen from the pot that Guiding was using. With a grin on his face, he said, "I want to make an adoption..." To Be Continued...