• Published 27th Nov 2013
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The Eternity of Twilight Sparkle - zzCiver



As Twilight Sparkle deals with the consequences of Immortality she finds comfort, not in Celestia, but Sombra.

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Loyalty

Despite the pegasus race's natural ability to touch and control clouds, no magic could change this truth; ponies cannot be buried in the sky. Underneath the city of Cloudsdale lies the grand cemetery. Since the city's founding, peagasi have been buried in these grounds. Rich or poor, famous or unknown, this burial ground has been the final resting place for all Cloudsdalians for centuries.

Between the headstone which bore her father's name, and the empty grave which bore her own, Rainbow Dash lay silently in her coffin surrounded by her friends, family, and fellow Wonderbolts. And of course, sitting in the front row, a somberly dressed Princess Twilight. For many of her brothers and sisters of the wing, the traditional uniforms have made way for black suits.

An orange pegasus, dressed in her formal Wonderbolt attire took to the podium behind the headstone to give the eulogy. Wiping a tear from her eye, Sootaloo began reading the eulogy, "Family members, Princess, and fellow Wonderbolts, we are all here today because we lost a somepony very dear to all of us. Rainbow Dash was a good pony, and perhaps the best fliers there ever was. Her aerial feats were unlike any seen before, and likely not ever to be seen again. You may remember her as Captain of the Wonderbolts, or as a leader, but she was so much more. She was a friend, a role model, a sister." She choked up on her next sentence "You know if she were still here she would have said something cool like 'C'mon Scoots, buck up, you're making yourself look bad.' She was never one to judge, but always there to help you with your problems. Truly, she was an inspiration to us all." She held her hoof up to her forehead in salute "We will never forget you Rainbow Dash"

When Scootaloo finished her speech she gave the nod to the six pallbearers, who lowered the casket into the grave. As the first scoop of dirt hit the wooden box Twilight's tears began to fall like the great Neighagra Falls. She stood up from where she was sitting and ran away from the funeral.

As she ran got to the back of the group of ponies she was stopped by one of her guards. "Princess, is everything all right?" he asked, trying to lessen the scene she was causing.

Twilight simply shrugged him off and began to fly up into the air. Just when she was barely out of earshot she cried back "I just need to be alone!" and flew off into the distance, towards the Everfree Forest.


With her eyes wet with tears, Twilight practically made a crash landing into the Everfree Forest. She picked herself up and composed herself enough to approach the cave she had become all too familiar with. Giving no thought but consolation, she entered the cave and searched for the crystal pony who called it home.

She entered the cave to find it seemingly empty, save the roaring fire lying to the side, and the pitch black corner, impenetrable by light. Twilight simply lie down by the fire and wept to herself awaiting Sobra's eventual appearance.

She did not have to wait long though, as the sound of a weeping alicorn drew Sombra out of the mysterious shaded corner of the cave. Sombra approached his guest with an uncomfortable expression. In a thousand years he had been hidden away and feared, but never once had he had to console one in such despair. He sat down across the fire and tried to find the right words to console the alicorn. "Twilight," he began in the kindest voice he could find, "I haven't seen you like this since your dear friend Rarity passed. Is everything okay?"

Twilight remained speechless for a while, simply continuing to cry. After several seconds of silence between the two ponies Twilight found it in herself to dry up her tears and answer the question. Occasionally interrupted by sniffles, she said "I was at Rainbow Dash's funeral. All the Wonderbolts were there, her friends, family. And seeing her being buried, it reminded me of how weak I still am. Still so powerless to save anypony."

"NO" Sombra exclaimed defiantly. He stood up from his spot and began to walk around the fire. With a softness to his voice he said, "Listen here you Highness, you are not powerless. No matter what happens, no matter what you do or where you go, I never want to hear you call yourself weak again." When he reached where Twilight sat he reached his hoof down to her chin. He lifted her head until he was looking her eye to eye. "You are without a doubt the most powerful pony I ever met, and perhaps the most skilled unicorn this world has ever seen. To let anypony, even yourself call you weak is intolerable."

As Twilight looked back into the one good eye of the unicorn before her she saw something within him she'd never sen before. It was then obvious to her. Sombra did not just look to her as an apprentice but he admired her. Everything he'd done suddenly made sense to her. The way "Is that why you first called me here? Because of my own power?"

"Of course" he said as he separated himself from Twilight. " I watched you from the shadows after your coronation. Your time studying under Celestia was being wasted. She was spoon feeding you lessons, but never showing you the bigger picture. Never opening you up to the infinite realm of possibilities that lay at the heart of magic. She, Twilight, she was holding you back. And I could not stand for that. My intention was never to simply offer you power. No you already have that in spades. As an alicorn your raw untapped power was more that I could ever give. What I offered you, all those years ago, was an opportunity to reach your full potential." Sombra looked down the the ground, as if saddened by his own words. "My only regret is that it took you so long to realize that, and that for your friends sake that may have been too late."

In that moment, Twilight saw something she never did in Sombra. The fallen king sat before her, no words with double meaning, no display of power to sway her. Wiping the last tear from her eyes, she asked the former tyrant. "Is that really how you feel about me?" She stood up to look him at eye level. "All you wanted was to help me?"

"I saw it years ago, and now perhaps you are seeing it now. Fifty years and how much did Celestia show you? How many pointless exercises did she put you through while never expanding your horizons in any meaningful way? But I, oh I showed you everything you needed to know. You came to me looking to save your friends. And I did not hesitate to teach you what you wanted to learn."

"But you did so much more than just that" Twilight revealed. She stood up to meet with him again, "You made me look at the world in a way I never knew. Made me look critically at the things I took to be truths. Not just about the nature of magic, but things like good and evil, Things I thought to be so black and white I now view through a critical eye."

Sombra looked to his student with a smile. "You've come so far since you first came here. Before you were but a puppet of Celestia, clinging to her every word. But now you are your own mare, taking your magical endeavors into your own hooves and not letting anypony hold you back. I'm so proud of you my student."

Abruptly, Sombra broke the moment and began walking to the mouth of the cave. Returning to his more typical tone he stated, "Still, you are my student, and I have a duty to teach you what I know. Come, you are most certainly ready for today's lesson"


When the two of them left the cave Sombra began guiding Twilight to where where he would teach her. As Sombra led her, he asked, "Tell me Princess, do you know anything about bird keeping?"

"Bird keeping?" Twilight said, caught off guard by the seemingly random question. "Nothing really, but what does that have to do with dark magic?"

With a slight chuckle Sombra explained "Not a thing, but I think it would help to explain what we are about to do. In my time you see, there was a debate on the ethics of keeping wild animals as pets or livestock. In the Crystal Empire at least, the debate spawned from the crystal ewes which had become commonplace in our festivals. Some claimed that what we had done was immoral, taking those free roaming creatures and putting them in pens."

"I, and other like minded ponies saw it differently though. What I saw was the second generation of animals, that is the babies of the captured ones, were used to the pens. To them the pens were natural as they had grown up with them. They knew no better than to be herded. Something to think on I suppose, but I have indulged my love of philosophy for long enough, we're here."

Where here was was in front of a make shift bird cage made from a small cave in the side of a cliff. A wire mesh screen across the mouth of the cave acted to keep the dozens of birds inside. "Huh" Twilight exclaimed jokingly, "I never took you as one to take up a hobby"

"As you know Twilight Sparkle" Sombra began lecturing as he paced back and forth in front of the cage "With dark magic we can will things to happen which are nigh impossible and beyond the realms of what light magic can do. Just as we can move mountains with a thought, so too can the lives of other beings be bent to our will." Sombra took a robin from the cage. With it, he turned to the princess and in a very matter-of-fact way said "Your lesson for today, is to kill this bird"

Shocked at what she heard, Twilight gasped at the request. Shaken, she asked her teacher "What? Bu-but I though you were teaching me to save lives not end them?"

Sombra placed the bird down on a nearby stump, and much to the princess's surprise it did not fly away. In his lecture voice Sombra explained "What I am teaching you to do is to break the cycle of life and death. In order to break the cycle to prevent a pony from dying, you must first learn what it is to bend the life of another being to your will. And the easiest way is for you to intentionally end something's life." Sombra's horn shone with a red aura as he picked up the bird. As he passed it to Twilight, the magical glow changing from red to pink. Once she had the bird Sombra instructed,"As I said before, kill the bird"

Twilight tried to find something to say to Sombra. Anything to imply there might be another way around outright killing. However the look on his face was dead serious. She knew that this was the only way. Hesitantly, her magic began to darken, and the bird became enveloped in a dark glow.

*SNAP*

In one swift motion the bird's neck broke and it fell limp in the princess's magical grip. She lay the bird on the ground next to the stump and looked to her teacher. His gaze followed the bird as it went to the ground, then shot a disappointed look at Twilight. "Why do you disappoint me Twilight?" he asked. "I told you to kill this bird, not snap its neck. You will learn nothing with such physical violence"

"I don't understand" Twilight said bluntly, trying to hide her disgust of the act, "The bird is dead, just like you said"

Sombra walked over to the bird lying on the ground and levitated it using his red-hued light magic. He explained "This bird was killed by physical means. You may have used dark magic to snap it's neck, but its death was no different" He grunted slightly as he twisted the robin's head clean off its body "Than any death it would have suffered naturally" He tossed the pieces of bird at Twilight's feet, causing her to reel back in disgust. He then went back to the cage and brought another bird to Twilight. "This time I want to see you kill the bird."

Like before, Twilight took the robin in her magical grasp and surrounded it in dark energy. Unlike last time, Twilight remained focused on the bird as she poured the magic into the birds throat in her attempt to end it's life. The bird convulsed violently for a few seconds and then fell limp like the previous bird had.

She then looked eagerly at Sombra, hoping that what she had done would be satisfactory. Again, he shook his head at the display and gave Twilight a look of disappointment. He took back the bird and said "What you did was suffocate this bird. Again, still a natural death, and still not what you need to learn." Tossing the bird aside, he nonchalantly grabbed another bird form his cage. Showing little sympathy for Twilight's obvious conflicted feelings towards the act, he said "There is no short cut for this one Princess. You must preform this exercise until you get it right. Try again"

"NO" Twilight shouted. " I've done what you wanted. This robin is deceased. It is no more. This is an ex-robin! And I'm not going to continue this kind of pointless violence until you tell me why I'm doing this." After this outburst, she took a moment to collect herself. In a tamer manner she added, "In all of your other lessons you've told me what to do and I've done it. Why is this one any different?"

With a sigh Sombra looked to his student. "I was hoping you would be more enthused about your new lesson as you were before. This was meant for you to experiment with the life force of the living in a controlled environment. Just as with dark magic you can twist and turn the physical world at your will, so too can you play with the very nature of what it means to be alive. And unfortunately for your apparent squeamishness, it is something you must experience for yourself. No amount of lecturing on my part can tell you how to do it. Ther's no short cut for this one I'm afraid, the only way is practice."


Under the setting sun, Twilight held another dead robin in front of Sombra's face. A shake of the head was all Sombra gave, to which Twilight discarded the carcass. For the umpteenth time that day Twilight placed the body in an ever growing pile of discarded failed experiments. Where earlier today she would have found the sight disgusting, she thought little of it by now. The sight merely reminding her of the spell she had yet to learn.

Sombra walked to the cage to retrieve another bird. As he passed it off to Twilight he asked "I hope with this repetition you are beginning to see, Princess, what it means to outlive others.How in the blink of an eye so many lives are ended, and we watch. For us, the life and death of others are one and the same. I ask you again, kill the bird"

The amount of times Twilight had done this had numbed her conscious to the act she so recently found despicable. In what had almost became second nature to her, Twilight grabbed the bird from her mentor and enveloped it in darkness. Seeing the bird as less than a living creature and more as simply another repetition of the same exercise she'd been preforming for hours. Her horn glowed brighter as the magic flowed into the bird, causing it to keel over and lie limp in her grasp.

Not even waiting for Sombra's eventual disappointed look, she instinctively tossed it into the pile of its fallen kin. Much to her surprise, and even shaking her awake of her exhausted stupor, Sombra caught the bird before it landed, and began examining it. Proudly, he looked to his student "By Faust, you've finally done it. You've broke the cycle. No natural death occurred here, the bird, just simply died."

"Now that you mention it," Twilight began, thinking inquisitively on her latest victim, "It did seem different that time. Like I breaking something rather than killing the robin."

"Exactly" Sombra said triumphantly, "That feeling of bending and breaking the life force of other beings is precisely what these exercises are meant for you to understand. And now you see it, and feel it. The full life giving spell builds off these ideas, only on a much higher level. A level to be studied at a later date."

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Twilight sighed with relief. "I'm glad that's over" She said with a smile, "I suppose I'll be off then, practicing my magic in secret like before." With that said she began walking away, preparing herself for takeoff out of the forest.

"Not quite yet." Sombra called out, causing Twilight to halt in her tracks. "Before you leave Princess I need you to cast that spell one more time. Think of it as a test." He began walking back towards the entrance to his cave and gestured for Twilight to follow.

Instinctively she followed her teacher into the mouth of the cave, just catching sight of him as he disappeared into the mysterious dark corner. From within the darkness he addressed Twilight. "You've taken a big step today, seeing life as it truly is. But now you must prove that you can apply this view to other ponies."

Sombra stepped out into the open, still keeping what he had retrieved hidden behind him. "Twilight Sparkle, as a test of what you have learned I want you to kill this pony" He stepped aside revealing a light-pink mare with a ratty looking tan mane. She was bound by ropes head to hoof which restricted her motion to mere jerks and wiggles as she struggled against her bonds. A cloth was wrapped tight around her muzzle, turning her screams of terror into nothing but muffled noise.

At such a sight Twilight collapsed to the floor, in shock of what she saw. She sat there speechlessly, mouth agape whilst the captive mare struggled against her bonds. Shock turned to anger as Twilight finally found the words to speak her mind. She got up and walked right up to Sombra. Looking him dead in the eye she said "How could you ask me to do this? You've- I've- Killing birds as a means of training is one thing. But this Sombra, this is murder, plain and simple. ... I am a Princess, not a killer." With that Twilight turned her back and walked towards the cave entrance.

From behind her Sombra's form changed. He turned himself into a black cloud of smoke and flew in front of the alicorn princess, coming in between her and the mouth of the cave. From the head down his body reconstituted himself. Not looking her directly in the eyes, but rather down to the ground Sombra began addressing the princess. "Twilight, when I began your training I asked for your full cooperation. This was not because of any intended malice on my part, but because I knew that what I would have to put you through would be heart-breaking. But remember who you are doing this for, your friends. Your unfortunate mortal friends who are inevitably doomed to die. And if you do not learn to overcome this hesitation of casting dark magic on ponies, all your training will be for naught" Sombra lifted his head to meet Twilight eye to eye. In a voice of true sincerity Sombra continued, "And though I did not want to admit it, in the short few years we've known each other like this, you have been a better friend to me than anypony I've ever known. And for you to carry out my legacy by learning this spell would be an honor I never even knew I wanted."

Twilight stood there, looking at the unicorn before her, taking in all that had been said.With a shake of her head she said to the king "I don't know, even for my friends, for me to take another pony's life, it just doesn't seem right. I mean, I'm a Princess. I'm supposed to be the light of Equestria. I'm-"

She was interrupted by Sombra's hoof, reaching up to hold her on the shoulder. With a sagely voice true to his age, he said, "If there is one thing a thousand years has taught me, it is that all ponies of nobility come to a point where they must take up the blade." He let go of his student and walked past her back to the squirming captive, continuing to talk all the time. "The time will come when you will need to do what needs to be done. So when will you learn to kill Princess? When you are staring down wrong end of an assassin's knife, or perhaps when you find yourself leading an army into battle?" The unicorn waved a hoof to the bound mare by his feet "Or, will you choose to sacrifice this one life, to learn how to save the lives so many others?"

The princess stood there, contemplating the wisdom she was just given. As it happened all too often, while she did not like to believe the words she heard from Sombra, she could find no fault in them. Deep in her heart she knew that living forever would mean that time and time again she would be confronted by traitors and enemies, and could not feign innocence forever. As she came to this realization, her face grew solemn, and she stared blankly into the distance.

"Princess please, think about what you're doing!" A voice cried out across the room. The pink mare, who had managed to slip the cloth from her mouth pleaded with the princess. Her words came out hurriedly as Sombra's magic was already taking hold of her. "This pony captured me! Took me away! Please don't let him get away with this. He's-NMMPPHH"

She was quickly silenced by the hold of Sombra's dark hold. Twisting her head around to look the captured mare in the eyes, he snapped at her "Listen here you. Your place here is not to argue. Your life is not yours to control any more. Know that, and this will be far easier for you." Her mouth shut tight by Sombra's magic, the mare could only hum in terror while shaking her head against the grip.

Twilight, seemingly oblivious to this exchange, continued to stare forward as she began to speak. "She's going to die anyway, isn't she?" She looked to Sombra with her blank expression, now talking more directly at him. "Even if I walk out of this cave and never come back, you will end up killing her anyway, aren't you?"

"As always Princess, your skills of deduction are remarkable." Sombra said as he dropped the mare to the ground as if she were a sack of produce. "Yes, if you did not end her life, I would be forced to do so. But only as a matter of safety. I could not have her set free to tell the world about my life here. As far as the rest of Equestria is concerned, she's already dead."

Without a single change in expression, Twilight walked over to the mare in silence. With a pink glow the earth pony levitated off the ground to come face to face with the princess. A slight glow of the alicorn's eyes and the dark magic ring around the pony's mouth disappeared into thin air, once again allowing the captive speech. "Please Princess. You can't do this. I have a husband and two foals. I'm just a simple gardener." She pleaded.

Deaf to the cries of terror, Twilight asked "What's your name, my little pony?"

"Rosebud" She said, her eyes beginning to tear up. "My name is Rosebud"

"Well Rosebud, I want you to know that everything's going to be just fine." Twilight said, with a tone Rosebud knew could only mean one thing. "What I learn from this will allow me to save so many others"

Her tears now falling fast Rosebud squeaked out "Princess?"

"Kill her" Sombra called out from the side. "Kill her now" Twilight took one more look down at the pony she held, trying to clear her mind of all sentimental value. With one final command, Sombra called out "Do it"

Silently, the magic aura around Twilight's horn went dark purple and the glow holding Rosebud changed as well. It grew over her head, and acted to mute the screams of terror now coming from the pony's mouth. Just as it had happened with countless birds before, the magic flowed into the pony's body. Her body tensed as the spell took its toll, then fell limp in the princess's hold.

Twilight, shaken by what she had just done, too fell to the floor. She lowered down the body and untied it, getting a look at the late pony. At first she looked at the lifeless corpse with disgust any pony would expect to find. With a pained expression she remembered Rainbow Dash, who also today lay silently passed on from this world. And yet despite these heart-wrenching moments coming to mind, she did not cry. Nor did she make any other meaningful expression. She just sat there in silence as she tried coming to terms with what she had done.

With a grin, Sombra stood behind the Princess. He put a hoof on her shoulder to reassure her that he was there to comfort her. With a kind tone he said "I'm so proud of you my student. You've proven you can do what you need to advance."

"But at what cost?" She responded, still looking down at the pony before her. Despite the proud words of her mentor, Twilight could not come to grips with what she had done. Despite what Sombra had said before, she could not shake the shame in knowing that she had killed a pony in cold blood. Ashamed of what she'd done she started mumbling "I- I've become a killer. I-"

Immediately Sombra interrupted the alicorn before she began running her mouth "I am a killer Twilight. I have felled innumerous ponies during my time, some more deserving than others. You are different. You are a student of magic. Learning to twist the lives of ponies using a field of magic you are just beginning to understand." With one hoof he waved down to Rosebud, "The fact that the death of a single innocent pony is not some tragic side effect from an improperly cast spell is a miracle in its own right."

He offered the hoof to help Twilight off the floor. When she rose, he looked the teary princess square in the face and told her "What is important Twilight, is that you do not let these actions define you. As horrible you think this experiment to be, know that you are doing this to help your friends. You are doing this for the lives of other ponies. And however you do it, light magic or dark magic, saving the lives of other ponies is a good thing."

From outside of the cave the howl of a pack of timberwolves broke the silence lingering after the fallen king's speech. "Perhaps you should sleep here for the night your Highness. Even for one as powerful as yourself, the Everfree Forest has dark surprises waiting in it's depths."

"I think I'd like that" Twilight said with a smile. "Whether or not I manage to sleep, I'd much rather spend tonight with a friend."

Author's Note:

Finally after almost a year the next chapter. I will be back to writing more regularly now you you won't need to wait another 9 months for more. I'm back Baby!