//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: All an Illusion 
// by D Historian 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 5:
Loose Ends

The scenery flashed past speedily, the details blurred in the hurry the train was going. The pink filly’s blue eyes were glued to the landscape, even if it moved at such a rate that it was impossible to pick out various things. Stones, trees and dirt blended to a messy shade of green and brown-grey. Her eyes, gleaming like diamonds, matched by her massive smile, darted to the random things outside the train’s window. The sight was slightly ruined by the scratches and marks that disfigured the window, but the optimistic filly did not mind one bit, bouncing up and down on the seat.
“Party Cannon, sit down.” A monotone voice called to the filly, who relented reluctantly, turning to look at her aunt. Her aunt was very different from her, being more monochromatic, in contrast to the bright brown-haired Party Cannon.
“I can’t help it, Auntie Maud! Aren’t you excited, cause’ I! am!” The filly replied happily, beaming at her greyish aunt, who stared stonily back. The eyes, permanently slightly-closed from staring at way too many rocks, blinked. The mare nodded, her hoof still fiddling with a small rock on her hoof. Boulder “played” hide and seek for a bit, Maud blinking, again, in surprise that he had found such an excellent hiding spot. In her pocket. Then she remembered her niece.
“I’m excited too.” She replied to Party Cannon, who was jumping again, her weight making the seat protest squeakily. The seat groaned, its springs straining to hold their position. Party Cannon laughed, her giggles squeakier than the seat.
“Sit, Party Cannon.”
“…!”
“Sit.”
A surprising amount of sternness filled Maud’s tone, detected by Party’s sensitive ears. She complied, sitting down, her smile never leaving her face. 
A sudden flash of colour outside the window drew Party’s attention. As Maud blinked, she found her excitable niece was glued against the window, her eyes eagerly taking in the sights.
“Oooh! A menagerie!”
~~~ 
“What do ya mean, not allowed?” An angry tone demanded, the voice deep and serious. The other pony, a blue unicorn, frowned and shook his head firmly. He opened his eyes, wiping the spit that had formed from the other stallion’s speech, the fellow unicorn standing threateningly close to his face, towering above the pony.
“I mean, not allowed!” He answered back with equal vigorousness, not letting the stallion get better of him, sighing with frustration that the other insistent pony did not get the point.
“I have all my permits! And pass-“ The stubborn owner continued to shout, desperation leaking into his fury. The blue unicorn raised a cobalt hoof, explaining in a deadpan voice, his patience at its tipping point.
“No means no. Get that through your skull, there’s no need to shoot the messenger.”
The stallion reared up, opening and closing his mouth, unsure of what to say. He settled for an angry huff, stamping his hooves like a foal throwing a tantrum. He glanced back to the long line of workers behind him, scowling at the unicorn. “I have half a mind to-“
“Well, do what you want! You’re denied permission to showcase in Manehattan, so deal with it!” The stallion snapped, ending the conversation and not letting the other pony continue by walking away.
The other unicorn, his frown like a knife’s edge, his expression harder than obsidian, leered unpleasantly. He looked to his workers.
“Gather up! For our next trip, we head for-“
~~~ 
Illusion hugged the other Pegasus, breathing in her rainbow mane’s surprisingly pleasant smell of strawberries and cinnamon. Prism ended the hug first, smiling, patting her friend’s withers. They looked to the cloudstone walls that made up Cloudsdale Academy, sighing simultaneously. They recalled when they had first walked through the doors of the important school, only to exit it a day later. The two had become instant friends, even as Prism walked to Kestrel, who looked more subdued than ever.
“I’ll see you in Ponyville on Wednesday, ‘kay?” 
“Alright!” Illusion called back to her rainbow friend, who had already started flying back with her equally rainbow mom, and could not help but feel a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, wondering if her own mother would allow her to meet Prism. Speaking of her, she was nowhere to be seen, and probably had not gotten the message for all parents to fetch their children due to the school’s sudden closure.
Where do you live? Prism’s curious voice echoed in her head.
Resigned, Illusion flapped her wings and took off, her saddle bags bumping heavily against her side. Something around her neck shifted, the unusual sensation making Illusion shiver, her wings beating slightly slower as she looked down at her neck.
A red gemstone, a fiery shade of pony blood gleamed and pulsed in time with her heartbeat, hanging by a strip of silvery metal. It seemed to shift ever so slightly by itself, making Illusion’s hair stand on end. She vaguely remembered getting it as a present, but everything about it seemed blurred, even the ruby itself. She used a taupe hoof to press the gem, which she expected to be cold, like the silver, but got a slight shock when the jewel was warm, like it had been left in a summer sun for hours. Curiosity aroused, Illusion tried to lift the necklace so she could get a closer look at it, but the instant it left contact with her neck, her vision fogged.
She clamped her wings instinctively against her sides in coursing fear, like coursing intense energy that thrummed in her veins, giving her a slight head rush. She was aware, in a sense, that she was falling, but she did not make a sound or do anything, her mind obscured, plunging towards the face of Equestria blindly. She felt oddly at peace in the whiteness, but knew it would not last for long if she hit the ground. The word hit her, bringing her, in a way, to her clouded senses. She would hit the ground if her wings kept gripping her barrel tightly. She could hit the ground. She did not want to hit the ground.
I don’t want to hit the ground!
Her world went white, a brighter white, flashing for a moment, before Illusion had the sense to slip the necklace back on with shaky hooves, her breathing quicker.
Instantly, the white faded, going as quickly as it came. Looking around, Illusion found herself staring at her mother’s cottage, both hooves firmly on the ground. Birds chirped, the sun lay motionless in the sky, which was ‘normal’ now that its controller had passed away. She stumbled forward, confused.
Had she been flying to here all along? Maybe the white had been her imagination. Maybe she just had been going home, and reached here before she realised it. Illusion’s mouth still felt unusually dry and had a slight headache that throbbed her temples. She kept trotting on to the cottage, her mother’s voice calling her from inside. Fluttershy sounded surprised, and her mouth was open in an enquiry, but her words and question did not register to Illusion, who barely listened.
Her heart raced, thumping, like the necklace that clung to her neck, already half-forgotten in the panic Illusion had went through. It beat, like her heart did.
Thump, thump, thump.
~~~ 
Twilight yawned, stretching her purple wings. The joints of the delicate limb slid into place with a crack, followed by the stretching of her hooves and neck, each following the wings’ example.
She felt fatigued over the day’s events, which had somewhat become a jumble in her head due to her exhaustion. She had worked tirelessly all day, helping Luna secure a new barrier in the Frozen North to keep out the invading monsters, not to mention getting rid of the ones that had already made it past into Equestria in the time when she had been getting there.
She blinked wearily at the polished doorknob, as if unsure how to open the door, or afraid to touch the translucent material of the handle. Finally deciding to use her magic instead, her horn charged up with a magenta aura, the same colour that flooded the knob and turned it forcefully, revealing a lilac coloured filly, leaning against the wall and cuddled with a blanket, obviously having been waiting for her mother’s return. Her eyes were closed and she breathed lightly. A soft smile formed on Twilight’s face.
The little alicorn hardly stirred as her mother carried her, her miniature wing tucking under her mother’s much larger ones from where she held her in place. Lilac snuggled into Twilight’s warm fur a slight fleck of drool dripping onto the purple and darkening it. Twilight walked to her daughter’s room, pushing the door open, this time with her hoof, and tucking her little one into the nest of blankets and pillows that made up Lilac’s bed, giving her a little kiss on the forehead, below her horn. The filly smiled.
Twilight walked backwards to the door, so she could keep her eyes on her daughter, watching as the pile of blankets rose and fell in time with Lilac’s breathing. Twilight’s chest rose and fell heavily, her voice catching in her throat. Her eyes were watery, and it was not from the motes of dust that floated about.
A wave of memories and nostalgia crashed over her as she exited the room, her hooves walking forward, the long hallways and rooms each marked in her head, even though the Princess once thought that they were confusing and felt like a maze, it was home now. The crystalline floor was the only thing Twilight kept her eyes on, her hooves knew where to go. She walked silently, remembering when she got lost, when Spike used to live with her, when her friend used to come over-
The hoofsteps faltered.
She looked up, facing a polished door, the door to her throne room, and, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, pushed the door open. The usual seven thrones greeted here, six of the polished white marble backs bearing colourful cutie-marks. Even though she saw the thrones every day, she felt like she was only noticing them now. The magic friendship map was nowhere to be seen, inactive, and Twilight did not feel like activating it herself, without any of her friends’ faces to smile at her. 
They were busy. Busy with life, love, and children. They all were. All the elements had moved on with their eternally peaceful (well, peaceful until Celestia’s death) lives, and Twilight was happy she had made it so far, glad for everyone’s support, but her life still felt empty, even if she saw Applejack with Spike at least every week, got a letter and visit from Rarity now and then, got reports on weather personally be Rainbow, had a party every year, sometimes more often, by Pinkie and Cheese, it still felt hollow sometimes. Somepony was missing. Twilight scanned the thrones again. 
Twilight’s own cutie mark. Bright red fruits often on a backdrop of orange, bucking trees. A jagged lightning bolt of red, yellow and blue, blue like the sky that she often raced across. Gemstones, diamonds, Rarity’s favourite. Multi-coloured balloons, happiness, the contagious laughter. And… Her gaze caught a cutie mark she had not seen in years.
Three pink butterflies, the colour duller than usual, engraved into the throne. Pink like…her hair? The butterflies had always been associated with kindness. The shades gentle and singing, a heavy reminder of someone Twilight had really, really forgotten. Maybe not forgotten, she just had been really busy. Too busy? Too busy to spend time with her friend? No, she had spent plenty of hours with the other four, chatting and catching up on life. Had the Element of Kindness been avoiding her?
Twilight frowned, flapping her wings to fly up and stroke the cutie mark. It had been so long. The name slipped off her tongue easily, as if it had always been hidden at the back of Twilight’s mind.
“Fluttershy…”
~~~ 
“Where is that infuriating draconequus?”
Luna shouted to the heavens, pacing the Canterlot gardens where Discord had once stood, a proud garden gnome. He of course would not be a lawn ornament right now, since the elements were with the Tree of Harmony, but she had just selected a random location where she could summon him, coincidentally the gardens, but the Lord of Chaos was not answering her calls. She needed help with raising the sun, since she never learnt how, and raising the sun and moon was different. Her sister, Luna remembered with a pang of sorrow, could raise both, but had a thousand years to learn, not to mention valuable books that were probably now lost to time, and even then, it had been taxing on her, raising both celestial objects having taken a slight toll.
Discord was the only one who could bend reality to his every whim, and could raise both with no difficulty. Plus, his powers would have been very handy in constructing the border in Equestria, but he had conveniently vanished off the face of Equestria. Admittedly, he had been incognito for a while. In fact, it had been more than a decade since Luna had seen him. Still, would he not be about with all the chaos that was happening?
She called his chaos aura with another summoning spell, but his signature magic showed no trace anywhere, except in the usual environment… Now she was just feeling plain unsettled.
“What the buck is wrong with Equestria?!”