Act I - Chapter 1
Once upon a dark night,
Four ponies ruled with unholy might,
Shrouded in darkness both heart and soul,
Let their evil be remembered never more…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Within a dark cavern, water dripped to the rock floor, slowly forming the stalagmites that littered the space over the last eon. It was an undisturbed place deep within the mountain, a final resting place for the crystal coffin that lay between the formed rocks. No sunlight could reach this place, and even if some source of light were to appear, the coffin would remain pitch black, the after effect of the magic swirling within the crystal structure. But between the echoing droplets of water, and within the dark crystal, voices whispered. They were faint and weary, quietly recounting things that had happened long ago, or random thoughts that came from maddened frenzy. For a moment they would become quiet, bringing an eerie silence to the cavern before slowly picking back up again. Telling the same story once more, remembering a worn thought once more. Trying to stay sane once more.
But when the coffin gave a low rumble, and the black magic began to recede, the voices became quiet, and they waited. Stifling seconds became minutes, and soon minutes became hours. Yet, in all that time, the black magic did not return, and eventually, sanity finally returned to the coffin's inhabitant.
His bones creaked as he moved his leg, and with a gentle prod at the starkly clearer crystal, he pushed the lid open, and found that it could finally move. The coffin lid fell onto the floor, echoing its thud within the cavern, the first new noise since he had arrived.
Pulling himself out, he looked about the cavern, easily seeing the naturally formed rock around him even though there was no light. He sat still for some time, taking in the mounds of rock and dripping water, a welcomed sight from the black surface that was burned into his memory.
He looked down at his coffin, and searched for an inkling of the darkness within the crystal, but found it plain and transparent. With a dry voice he whispered, “S… Sombra…”
Flexing his legs, and sweetly remembering what movement felt like, he pulled himself out of the coffin and slowly departed the cavern. Though no trace of hoofsteps remained from that far away day, memories of the path became clear in his mind, and he slowly navigated his way out from the mountain.
When he finally exited the earth, he paused beneath an expanse of glittering lights, and he stared up in awe at the sight he had missed beyond all others. The stars.
Slumping on his hind legs, he kept his head pointing skyward, refusing to blink even once lest he see pure darkness for even a moment instead of this wondrous night. And as he stared, the voices within his mind slowly began to fade, pulled and collected into order now that there was something else that could occupy his time. It was only when the last voice was silenced and he breathed deeply to savor the night scent did a sudden burst of colors fill the sky, followed by a boom that sent his ears flat.
He winced at the deafening noise and shied away from the blinding light. He sprung onto his hooves and prepared himself for the foe, but as another explosion of color appeared, followed by more, he slowly let go of his tension. The noise was becoming bearable again, and his eyes adjusted to the intruding light, and he saw that it was simply fireworks decorating the sky.
Curiously, he stepped forward and found himself at the cliff's edge, high above the celebrating kingdom within the valley. Crystal buildings shimmered from the colorful fireworks, and the lights of the town casted a soft glow on the surrounding countryside. Focusing his senses, he could hear the subtle roar of a crowd, shouting in celebration.
He pondered this sight for sometime, and it was only when a brilliant light within the center of the kingdom, beneath the base of the tallest tower, did he pieced together his memory of the place, and smiled as the familiar aurora borali stretch into the night sky. “Crystal… Heart,” he croaked, and a thin smile appeared on his lips.
“Sombra… thou lost?”
A guttural noise escaped his lips, the first laugh to come. “L-Looks like somepony did away with thee. Whome… Whomever they were, I thanketh them for freeing myself from thy gifted tomb.” He looked about the landscape, leisurely taking in the crystal mountains and the running valleys. “I wonder... if the others art free as well, or already have been. How far thou hath fallen now, Sombra. Thou might have bested the three of us, but even thou would fail in time… Always in time...”
He straightened his back, and breathed deeply once again. The air was fresh, and ever so faintly on the passing breeze, he could smell ponies. The sweet scent was more than enough to rekindle the burning sensation in his throat, and he gasped, revealing his fangs.
“This… will perhaps be… the most delicious meal I’ll have yet.”
He raised his hoof upward, and grunted in exertion from magic. At once shadows swirled about his hoof as though they were alive, and they twisted down his arm and around his torso. He winced at the forming flesh, pushing through the spell until completion. Once finished he casted the shadows aside, and he experimentally flapped the leathery wings that he now bore.
“Still… Got it,” he whispered, flinching at the ever rising burning sensation in his throat. Breathing alone was becoming difficult, and so he moved with haste towards the cliff edge. Leaping from the rock, he free falled down the mountain side before opening his bat-like wings, and he glided into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Months later...
"Do you think you can make it?" Pinkie Pie asked hopefully.
Twilight turned towards her with a smile. "I think I can attend, Pinkie. I managed to finish Princess Celestia's assignment ahead of schedule, so I just need to catch up on some sleep and I should have no problem coming tomorrow."
"I'm so glad!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a bounce, followed by a few pranciful trots before falling into an easy pace next to her alicorn friend. The two of them were on their way back to Twilight's library after having spent some time catching up over dinner, the first time the princess had spent more than a few fleeting moments outside the library during her assignment.
Twilight reflected on the evening she had spent with her smiling friend. Pinkie Pie had dragged her out of the house after having spent two weeks straight in studious research for Princess Celestia. She could hardly argue against Pinkie Pie, considering she had declined every other social event the party mare had hosted during the project. And just when she had finally finished allowing herself some room for something other than a book, Pinkie Pie appeared unannounced at her doorstep, her entire evening schedule cleared in last minute effort just to spend some time with Twilight.
With a muffled sigh, Twilight reflected on just how little she had been in contact with her friends lately. Pinkie can be a little tiresome at times, but it has been a while since I've spent any real time with everypony. But at least the rest of the girls had the decency to give me some space during my assignment.... Twilight recalled the numerous times her work had been interrupted by the party mare. And while it was mildly annoying and borderline infuriating, all of it was in such good intentions that Twilight found she wasn't able to remain mad at her for long. Usually it was just little things like checking on her if everything was alright, or to see if she wanted to do something fun to cheer her up during a few particularly stressful nights. She, of course, declined any and all offers due to the commitment she always held for anything regarding the princess. But as annoying as Pinkie Pie could be, Twilight couldn't help but appreciate her friend’s caring — if not constant — annoying and loving attention. Leave it to Pinkie to be there when you need a break and some cheer-up time
"So what's the occasion for this party again?" Twilight asked.
"It's Miss Cake's birthday tomorrow!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
Twilight halted on the spot, a guilty look spreading across her face as she gushed apologetically, "Oh my gosh! Is it really? I can't believe I didn't know. Of course I'll be there!"
Pinkie Pie giggled before speaking over her shoulder, "It's no problem, Twilight. I know you've been really busy with your work. I just thought you might enjoy a nice party with some friends to celebrate a birthday and the fact that you finished your studying. Don't tell Miss's Cake, but tomorrow is a Happy Birthday slash Congratulations on Finishing your Study party!"
Twilight shook her head as she trotted forward and caught up to Pinkie Pie, walking beside her again with her ears lowered and, despite Pinkie Pie’s reassurances, still feeling guilty at the thought of almost missing the baker’s birthday. "Pinkie, of course I wouldn't miss one of the Cakes’ birthdays. It would have been no problem to put aside my studying for one night for something like that."
"I said don't worry about it, Twilight," Pinkie Pie cheerfully replied. "You finished early anyways so it's no problem!"
Twilight gave a small sigh in agreement. "I guess you're right. Still, I would have felt awful if I had missed somepony’s birthday that I knew."
"That's why I'm here! Nopony in Ponyville needs to ever worry about accidentally missing another pony's birthday. Not while Pinkie Pie is in town," she exclaimed boldly while throwing a hoof in the air, looking off into the sky with her still-grinning, but determined, expression.
Twilight shook her head in amazement. "Pinkie, I have no idea how you manage to remember every little detail about everypony."
"The same way I also know when a friend is done studying and needs some fun time to relax," she quipped with a wink. Twilight simply shook her head, unable to shake off the smile the infectious mare had given her. With that final say on the matter, a different conversation passed between the two ponies as they walked through town. It wasn't long before they had reached the library and their farewells said and done before Twilight faced the door in hesitation.
Her return to the library dreadfully reminded her of the cleaning she would have to do before anything else. She had left with Pinkie Pie the moment she had finished the project and completely forgot about the mess of books, parchments, and quills left scattered about the tree house.
She looked out across Ponyville as the setting sun cast long shadows across the buildings and trees. A small groan escaped her lips at the thought of having to stay up late to reorganize everything. "So much for getting restful sleep tonight," she mumbled, already feeling tired from just thinking about cleaning the large library..
Sighing at the daunting task ahead of her, Twilight opened the door and walked in, only to let out a small gasp in surprise at the sight before her. Instead of a mess of materials scattered about the room, she was instead met with a neat and spotless library. Not a single book was out of place or a quill left out. Even all of the parchments she had been working on were stacked neatly on the dining table for delivery to the Princess. "Wha-how... huh?" Twilight fumbled, unable to find any appropriate words for the sight.
Before she could express her confusion anymore on the spectacle, Spike jumped out of a nearby hallway with his arms raised.
"Tada!"
"Spike? Did you clean everything?" Twilight asked in disbelief.
"Surprise!" Spike shouted again, gesturing widely at the organized room. "I thought I'd help out since you seemed so frazzled by all the work you've done. So I cleaned everything up so you didn't have to worry about it," he stated proudly.
Twilight’s eyes kept glancing back and forth across the room as she walked further into the room, her mouth agape as she looked everything over again and again, still taken aback from what the little dragon had done for her.
"Spike... this was so thoughtful! I can't even describe how thankful I am," she exclaimed happily. Twilight shook her head in disbelief at how she managed to have such a wonderful assistant."This would have taken me hours to finish. I would have been up all night! Oh thank you so much. You have no idea how much better this makes me feel."
Spike dragged his foot across the floor, never failing to miss or appreciate a moment of praise directed towards him. "It was nothing. And to top it off, I'm going to be gone for the night so you can get some undisturbed sleep for the birthday party tomorrow."
"Oh Spike I... what?" Twilight had started with a relieved smile, only to catch herself at that last bit he had mentioned. She raised an eyebrow at the little dragon, who was still dragging his foot across the floor suspiciously. “How did you know about me going to a birthday party tomorrow?” she asked flatly.
Diverting his eyes, he answered, "Well, I was invited to a pre-birthday slumber party and-"
"Pinkie Pie?" Twilight interrupted. A nod from Spike along with a hard-to-suppress smile confirmed the hostess of the party.
Before Twilight could say another word Spike quickly dove into an explanation. "I knew you would finish Princess Celestia's assignment today and that you wouldn't have gotten to cleaning until later tonight anyways. And Pinkie Pie was so excited to hear you were done and-"
"Wait a minute, are you saying you and Pinkie planned everything that happened this evening after I finished my work?" A half smile from the dragon confirmed the question. Twilight looked over her shoulder to the front door, half expecting the party mare to throw it open in a shower of confetti. "I had wondered how she knew exactly when I was done. I just thought it was her being Pinkie Pie but now..." Twilight trailed off from shaking her head at the realization of the setup the two had done. "So you're telling me Pinkie Pie dragged me out and distracted me for the evening purposefully, so you could clean everything up without me?"
"Don't get mad! It actually works out when you think about it. I did all the cleaning so you could relax and get some food in you. And that would give me time to be at Pinkie's slumber party while you catch up on sleep for tomorrow," Spike desperately said in an attempt to convince her it was all for a good reason.
Twilight let out her umpteenth sigh of the evening. Even with night time approaching, she couldn't help but admit she was indeed tired. Cleaning the library all night would have probably prevented her from going to the party or at least make her feel bad for being dead tired from the amount of sleep she would have missed tonight. "I'm not mad, Spike." Twilight let a faint smile spread across her lips. "I guess in some half sense it does make... sense. I probably should go to bed early, something I couldn't do if I knew everything was still a mess."
"See, exactly, you need some quiet and alone time."
"And you needed some time to have fun and party?" The guilty look that crossed the dragon’s face made Twilight let out a small giggle. "It's fine Spike, you need it anyways. You've been more than helpful during my assignment and deserve some fun for yourself. Especially after cleaning my mess."
Spike relaxed while raising his arms in a gesture. "Well not all of it was your fault, I helped on that part a little bit too." He tried to modestly take some of the blame, but failed with the smugness still showing from the earlier praise.
Letting him revel in a deserved compliment, Twilight walked over and gave the little dragon a hug. "Thanks again." Spike wordlessly returned it with an embrace of his own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twilight let out a large yawn as she walked up the stairs to her bed, having waved goodbye to Spike, with his packed items in tow for the slumber pre-birthday party, only a minute before. All the lights had been turned out after one more check to see if everything was in its correct place. And when satisfied all was well and orderly within the treehouse, she finally allowed herself to relax as she climbed her way into bed. After a bit of shuffling to get under the covers, she hummed contently. All of the stress of the last few weeks finally pulled away from her as she closed her eyes, letting the comfiness of the bed take her away.
It was only thirty seconds before a tap against a piece of glass broke the peace and quiet of the household. With a look that could kill, Twilight sat straight up in bed while bringing her horn to life. Squinting her eyes, she scanned the room as her purple light pierced the shadows of the house. It had only taken a few passes for her to shine her horn brighter, causing the darkness to meld away before she made out the source of the noise that had repeated during her search. Across the room she saw Owlowiscious standing in front of the window he taped with his beak against. The owl turned his head around in response to the light that revealed him, a look of desperation on his face in his yearning to leave the library and fly out into the night sky.
"Whoooo."
Twilight’s frustration immediately died down at the sight of the owl. "Oh I'm sorry Owlowiscious, I didn't know you were still inside. Here, let me get that for you." Her horn flared briefly as she unlocked the window from bed, wrapping it in a glow and opening it wide enough for the owl to comfortably fly through. "I'll leave it open for when you decide to come back."
"Whoooo," the owl responded before hopping onto the sill and taking off into the night.
After watching the owl depart the through the window, Twilight ceased her magic, bringing the library back into a comfortable darkness before letting herself fall back into bed. "Ahhhhh," she softly exclaimed, sure there would be nothing else between her and some much needed sleep for the rest of the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A pair of gleaming eyes peered from the shadows beneath a pair rafters in the two story house. It had been keeping a vigilant watch of the tree house since darkfall, waiting patiently for every resident inside to settle down for sleep. When the dragon had left, it had prepared for departure until the movement of one of the windows caused it to pause. Watching curiously, it quietly waited for leaving owl to take off into the night air before resuming its watch; the unexpected critter having made it decide to proceed more cautiously lest anything else appear within the library.
Only when it had waited for an hour and nothing else had disturbed the silence of the dark house did it dare to open its leathery wings and flit rapidly across the street. The tiny bat quietly flew towards the open window of the tree house, landing on the edge of the sill before becoming still once again.
A few more minutes passed as it listened intently for any noise inside the building. When all was quiet, it hopped over the window threshold and onto the small shelf inside. With a near-silent shriek of echolocation, the little bat scanned the inside of the building. It saw no movement amongst the walls of books or wooden floor, nor the forms of anything that would appear to be a resident potentially awaiting its arrival. Flicking its ears in anticipation, it hopped further along the shelf and flapped its way to the ceiling.
Gripping onto the wooden knots of the ceiling, it let out another silent shriek to scan from the superior position. Its ears twisted this way and that as it focused its hearing towards the outline of the figure that lightly rustled below it. The bed, having been in an elevated part of the house, had been out of sight from the window, but the lying form of a sleeping pony was easily seen from above by the bat, silently regarding her as it waited again in caution. Another few minutes passed before the bat saw the covers move, her hooves shifting beneath the blanket as she turned about in her sleep.
Confident that the movements below were that of a dreaming and unaware pony, the bat opened its wings again and flitted towards the nightstand next to the bed, landing with a faint thunk. The light of the moon shined across the bed from a nearby window. It revealed the sleeping pony's face which faced towards the light, her purple coat holding a soft glow from the moonlight. She held a peaceful expression as she slumbered, her soft breaths hardly moving the blanket atop her.
The bat hopped tentatively towards the pony, pausing with each movement to see if it stirred the mare even in the slightest. With another hop, it left the dresser and landed on the covers, looking warily towards the mare who still slept peacefully, unaware of the little intruder makings it way to her.
Taking no further chances with hopping, the bat gently clawed its way across the blanket and atop the motionless mare. Moving stealthily, it made its way towards her head before pausing at the edge of the blanket. It regarded the face of the pony for a moment as it sat atop her. If one had been close enough to see, they might have spotted a tiny smile flash across its mouth as it looked upon her face.
When the mare let out a mumble in her sleep, the bat decided to do what it had come for, lest she might rustle in her sleep again with it on top. Hesitantly, it reached out with a wing tip, pushing gently to see if its touch would disturbed her. Feeling confident that she was still fast asleep and would not wake, it climbed towards its goal: the pony’s neck.
Once in place, it inspected the exposed nape before it. It clung slightly behind her head, still able see the cheeks and eyelashes from the left side of her face in case she should flutter awake. Opening its mouth to reveal tiny fangs, it slowly leaned down and bit into the naked neck of the sleeping pony. Its eyes glanced to the mare’s ears, which twitched reflexively from the bite, but nothing else followed in response. With another smile that spread across its full mouth, it sunk its fangs deeper, drinking the mare’s blood in silent delight.
Oh my… an alicorn’s blood is tastier than I imagined. The bat grinned in ecstasy while plunging its fangs deeper, savoring every drop of her life force it could lap up. The flavor was incomparable to anything else it had ever tasted before. There is power in this blood. I always thought an alicorn would make a fine subject, but I can only dream of the potential this one has. The bat's eyes peered towards her ear, watching it flick bemusedly in unconscious irritation. Your blood will be the key, Princess Twilight.
The little bat laid on Twilight's neck for the better part of an hour, grateful in the fact that not once did she roll over in her sleep. It was not able to drink quickly due to its tiny fangs, but the amount of blood that entered its small body seemed more than even half a dozen bats of its size could hold. It continued to drink gleefully even when she let out small moans of discomfort in her sleep.
Finally, after having its fill, the little bat let go of her neck and began to lick the wound it had caused. Mustn't take too much. I don't want you to die from the lack of blood. After all, it will take time before you're mine, the little bat thought happily, its stomach bloated from the delicious meal. Satisfied the wound was healed as best as possible, leaving only a tiny scar, which a pony would have to look very closely to notice, it hopped off Twilight's neck and crawled to the edge of the bed away from the mare. Opening its wings and flapping few times, it prepared to fly its heavier body across the room and out the window.
However, before it could take to the air, a flurry of feathers descended on top of the furry bat. "WHOOOOOOO!"
Twilight woke to the sound of Owlowiscious whoo's quickly turning to piercing screeches. "Wha-What's going on!?" she cried as bolted upright, a little too quickly she realized, when she suddenly became light-headed from the action. Raising a hoof to her head, she groaned at the odd dizziness while the commotion of flapping and shrieks could be heard all about the room.
Struggling to focus, she weakly flared her horn to life, the strain of magic almost escaping her control from the haze in her head. With effort she was able to reveal the inside of the house with her purple light, and worriedly looked for the source of the noises that was beginning to add to a building headache. Twilight stared in disbelief at the sight of Owlowiscious flying about and screeching madly in hot pursuit of what looked to be a tiny bat. The unfamiliar critter was giving its own angry shriek as it was chased about the house, dodging furious pecks from the furious avian.
"What!? Owlowiscious! What are you doing? It's just a bat, leave it alone!" Twilight shouted before holding her hoof to her head again, her yelling bringing forth another wave of overwhelming dizziness. Owlowiscious, however, ignored her plea completely, being dead set on mercilessly pursuing the furry invader. It managed to scrape the little bats wings somewhat with his talons with a lucky grab here and there, but the little bat refused to give up as it continued to evade most of his attacks with surprising dexterity.
"OWLOWISCIOUS STOP!" Twilight yelled, again ignoring the growing dizziness. The owl paused for a moment to regard her sudden outburst, giving the bat just enough time to make a mad dash towards the window unhindered. Owlowiscious gave a small "whooo" of a curse beneath its breath before chasing after his slipping quarry. But he was too late to reach with his talons as the bat frantically flew out the window and into the night sky. Landing on the window sill with a puffed-out chest, Owlowiscious stared angrily after the bat, giving another "whooo" and daring it to come back again.
"Owlowiscious, what has gotten into you? And why do I feel so light-headed?" Twilight asked desperately, trying to figure out what was happening. She realized she wouldn't receive any answers as the owl continued to stare out into the night, wanting to slap her head were it not for how strange she felt in the expectation that the owl would have replied. With a groan, she laid back in bed, her head thankful to be resting at a comfortable position again. "Of course you're not going to answer, you're an owl... "
With a final sigh for the day, Twilight whispered in annoyance, "So much for getting restful sleep tonight."
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More please!
Yay, another vampony Twilight Fic, how I love these. I just hope that Twilight is actually going to be badass here and that she won't immediately go tell her friends when she finds out. I shall give thee an upvote and I'll add this one to my faves to keep track of updates.
Two questions though: Firstly, how dark is this story going to be? It is rated "Teen" therefore I assume not really dark, aye? Secondly, can you make an assumption of how frequently you'll update this one? I'm just being curious here.
Like with all good things, there is a downside. In this case, I moblized my Grammar Luftwaffe to strategically bomb the living shit out of some things I noticed.
Miss Cake's birthday.
It moved.
You're mine. "Your" is a possessive adjective, it indicates possession over something, whereas "you're" is a contraction of "you are".
Whose owl? Same as above.
3189848 Thanks for pointing out those grammatical errors.
I am not sure how dark it will go, a lot of the story is still up in the air but I have multiple road goals I want to reach regarding the plot. It's just a matter of how I'm getting there and in what tone of setting.
And as for release, with this I will be working on three stories at once. A little hectic yes but I find it refreshing to finish a chapter for one then bouncing onto the next. Helps me not be bored and thus not kick out chapters just because. But I am not sure how my schedule will be for the next 6 months due to upcoming events. It either will be prime writing time or hardly any, hoping on the former.
You have received my stamp of approval, continue on!
Awesome!!!
*Missus
Miss is used to refer to an unmarried woman(mare)
Missus is used for a married woman(mare)
YAY!
vamponies!!
3190272
I keep following vampony stories hoping someone will actually finish one. Crossing my fingers that you have time to write it.
its weird how almost every vampire fic has twilight being turned into one
anyway good start looks promising faved
Oh my god. Owlowiscious, you amazing bird! Owlowiscious is best pony.
3197845 Would you prefer if Pinkie were turned first?
...
Oh, that's a scary thought...
5144202 You Have Invoked Murphy's Law... We Are DOOOOOMMMMED
Ever since the Twilight saga I have viewed vampires in a very negative light. I just can't help it
Damnit, I was so built up on Twilight knowing the mystery pony and being related to Sombra but was living amongst pony kind for millennia.
Vampires?
Stop the BAT!!!
quote the fanfic "once more"
So his sight must be magical in nature. Because otherwise light's kind of important in regards to sight.
So it makes sense. It's not half sense if it makes sense.
You have my interest... but can you keep my attention?
In my life there have been only two series of books that made me consider a vampire as anything other than the most cliche and boring of the various monsters - right alongside were-beasts. The first was the Necroscope series, and is so bizarre an interpritation that it hardly even merits sharing the category, and the other is the Dresden Files.
7556029
The problem with vampires and the like is that they are far too romanticized in every form of entertainment. A lot of people don't realize the inspirations for these monsters are far worse than you can dream up in a story. The true vampires are the psychopaths like vlad the impaler were regular every day humans. No dark magic involved. These people were canabals and had deranged ideas of drinking blood in a vain attempt to keep themselves young. Vlad specifically drank the blood of his enemies which isn't even a quarter how monstrous he was. He devised a way to actually impale his POWs through the rectum and out the mouth while keeping them alive for a day and a half. He didn't just do this to his enemies but also his own people and that doesn't even cover the multitude of tortures he used. No we never see this interpretation because everyone focuses on the evil Dracula story.
Sorry ranted a bit.
7809913
Mr Vlad Draculi, Vlad The Impaler, Vlad of Transylvania is actually just a mad human. Inbreeding of isolated noble families does that.
8719134
Vlad the Impaler was the best at communication.
He impaled people. Very simple.
A nice bit of realism with how the real-life species feeds, although without the urination to get rid
of the execess water content.. Or rather it is replaced with a "bigger on the inside" stomach or other magic.
Also I wonder if you will have Owliscious use Fluttershy as a translator. Probably not, given Twilight's statement at the end.