• Published 7th Jul 2014
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Monochrome - A Man Called Horse



Equestria is a colorful land. Then one day, it isn't.

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Four ponies stood outside the door to Twilight's library, waiting with as much patience as they could. Finally, the door unlocked, opening to reveal Rainbow Dash standing inside. She motioned with her hoof, and they all stepped into the library.

Rarity flicked on the lights with her magic. “I suppose she’s still gone, then?”

“Seems that way,” Rainbow replied. She glanced at the table in the middle, where her note still leaned against the horsehead statue. “Doesn’t look like she’s even been back at all yet.”

“You don’t reckon she went to Canterlot, do ya?”

“Without telling us?”

“Well, she went somewhere without tellin’ us!”

“And she missed the party we threw for her…” Pinkie said quietly.

Fluttershy put her hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “It’s not her fault, Pinkie Pie. It’s not like she knew we were throwing the party. Besides, it looks like she’s been gone for a while.”

“It's probably karma for missing the meteor shower,” Rainbow said with a humorless chuckle.

“Girls?” Rarity spoke up from the side of the room. “I don’t suppose any of you stopped by and had tea with Twilight sometime in the past two days, have you?”

The others exchanged glances, then shook their heads.

“No, why?” Applejack spoke for them.

Rarity pointed to one of the library’s reading areas, where two cups of tea and two cushions were positioned. “I remember messes, girls, and that wasn’t there the morning the Graying started. It seems our Twilight had a visitor sometime since we saw her last.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “So?”

So…” Rarity replied in a long, drawn-out tone, “Maybe whoever came to visit knows where she is, or perhaps is even with her now!”

“Makes sense, I guess. But how are we supposed to know who it was?”

“Or—hello?—maybe it was Spike!”

“No, Spike doesn’t care for tea,” Rarity said.

“Oh…”

“You know, I was just thinking,” Fluttershy said. “Wherever Twilight is, she probably left sometime yesterday. If she had been in town when the rainboom happened, surely she would’ve come to investigate.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that!” Pinkie gasped.

Rainbow rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “So, what now, then? We just sit on our hooves and wait for her to come back?”

“Well, what else can we do, darling?”

“But what if she’s in trouble!”

Rarity bit her lip, averting her eyes from Rainbow’s.

“Now, let’s not get at each other’s throats, here,” Applejack said, stepping between them. “Let’s go about this practical-like. I say we stay here tonight, just in case she comes back. And, if’n she doesn’t, then tomorrow we can ask around. Maybe even see if we can get in touch with Princess Celestia. I reckon somepony has to have some idea where she is.”

“I agree with Applejack,” Fluttershy opined.

“You know,” Rainbow said quietly. “I almost forgot. I ran into Scootaloo yesterday, and she told me she had run into Spike. According to him, Twilight was close to some kind of breakthrough. I wonder if that has anything to do with it. Not that it helps us, I guess…” She looked at the others, then turned away. “I just hope she’s alright.”

“We all do, sugarcube.”

“I promise you, darling: We’ll find her somehow, and when we do, we’ll do what we can to help her. But until then, we’ll just have to trust that Twilight can take care of herself. She’s certainly proven herself to be more than capable over the years.”

“Plus, she’s an alicorn now, so that can’t hurt!” Pinkie added.

“I guess,” Rainbow sighed. “It just stinks, you know? We hurt her feelings by not being there for her. And now? She might need us… and we’re still now there for her.”

An awkward silence filled the library.

Mostly to keep their minds off their friend’s absence, they got to work making a late supper for themselves and getting the spare bed out of storage. They tried to stay up as late as possible, hopeful that Twilight might return. But the fact that none of them had slept well the night before worked against their good intentions. Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, only Rainbow remained awake.

She lay in Twilight’s bed, listening to Fluttershy’s gentle breathing beside her as she gazed out the window at the stars.

“Wherever you are, Twi,” she whispered, “we’re thinking of you.”

As she slowly but surely slipped into the release of sleep, she barely even registered a faint sound, not in her ears, but somewhere deep in her mind: A piercing drone, concealing a calling voice.

* * * *

Time didn’t exist here. Wherever ‘here’ was. Twilight had long since given up trying to keep track of the minutes and seconds. She had given up on pretty much everything, drifting aimlessly through the empty noplace around her. She gave an echoing sigh and wiped a fresh batch of tears from her eyes.

As the indiscernible increments crept by, she became increasingly aware of faint, white points of light in the distance, like stars, only cold and dead. Whether they were actually appearing, or whether her eyes were simply adjusting to the darkness, she didn’t know. Nor did she particularly care. More pressing a concern was the actual nature of her location, and even this she regarded more with vague scientific interest than anything.

Was she still in her mind? Or had she passed into the meteorite’s mana field? Was this merely another stage in her journey, or was it a prison? She didn’t know the answers to these questions, of course. For all she knew, she was dead, and this place was the only afterlife she’d know for all eternity.

It was cold here—not just outside of her, but inside of her—an alien cold, foreign and imposed, as if willed there by something that knew nothing of love.

She had never been more lost, alone, and broken.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, turning her head to look with some distant cousin of curiosity. A black shape moved through the void, visible only by the stars it eclipsed in its passage. As she stared at it, the drone grew stronger, causing her fur to stand on end.

She found herself speaking without meaning to, whispering words that weren’t hers. “No gravity. They are gone. There is nothing anymore. There is nothing evermore.”

She couldn’t tear her eyes off the dark aperture. She felt that she might fall into it if she looked hard enough. She even felt it might be nice to fall into its embrace. It might be better than simply floating there alone.









“… … …”










With a start, moved her eyes from the black object and looked behind her. It sounded like that voice again, the one she'd heard from the tower. Was she simply imagining things?










“… … …”










No! There was a voice! One accompanied by a faint, bluish glow, at once visible and unreal. As if for the first time in eons, her heart thundered in her chest, warmth spreading through her veins. She knew what it was to hope again. Hope that someone was there, calling to her.










“Hello?! I’m here! Please, help!”






“Twilight?”







“Rainbow Dash?”





“Twilight! Whoa! Is it really you?”





“What? Is Twilight here, darling?”



“Oh my gosh! Hi Twilight!”






“But… where are you guys? All I see is these little colorful clouds.”





“I don’t rightly know, Twilight, but I sure am I glad we found ya.”






“We were so worried about you.”








“I’m sorry. You don’t know how happy I am to… well, hear you. I was afraid I’d be here alone forever.”



“Not if we have anything to say about it!”






“But… how are you here?”




“That’s actually a fair question. How are we here, girls?”



“Um, where is here?”


“Again, fair question.”




“I’m not a hundred percept sure. I think we’re somewhere between my mind and the meteorite’s mana field.”



"Meteorite?"

"Meteorite?"

"Meteorite?"

"Meteorite?"

"Meteorite?"





“Oh, yeah. I guess I should explain. I found out that the Graying was caused by one of the shooting stars from the other night. It fell to the ground, and somehow it’s gotten the leylines in the area tangled up and projected a counter-harmonic signal through them, affecting our perceptions of the world around us.”








“Is anypony following this?”



“I think I get the gist of it. But where do you and your mind come into it, darling?"




“Well… to avoid as much technical jargon as possible, I found a way to tap my mind into the meteor’s magical field. Initially, it put me in some kind of bizarro replica of Canterlot. That part, I’m pretty sure, was all in my head, even if the meteor’s magic was altering it. But now, I’m not sure. This doesn’t feel like my mind.”



“But… what about us, then? Last thing I remember, we were goin' to sleep at the library."




“You’re asleep? Then… wait, why are you guys sleeping at the library?”



"We’re waiting for you, silly.”



“We didn’t know where the hay you’d gone!”





“Oh… Right…”





“… well? Don’t leave us in suspense, dear. Where are you?”




“The Everfree Forest.”



“The Everfree Forest?!”

"The Everfree Forest?!"

"The Everfree Forest?!"

"The Everfree Forest?!"

"The Everfree Forest?!"








“Um, yeah? Zecora’s the one who told me about the meteorite, and she led Spike and I out here.”



"Ohhhh! So it was Zecora!”




“I’m so, so sorry I didn’t ask you girls to come. Or, at least let you know where I was going… I don’t know what I was thinking.”



“You aren’t the only one asking yourself that lately, Twilight.”



“Speaking of apologies, Twi...I’m really super-sorry for forgetting the meteor shower."




“It’s fine Rainb—”

“No, it’s not, Twilight. It was really important to you, and it wasn’t cool of me to forget it like that.”



“And the rest of us apologize, too. I think I speak for all of us when I say we would rather have spent the evening with you.”






















“…Really?”





"You betcha!"

"Of course, darling."

"Darn tootin'!"

"Yepperooni!"

"Certainly."







“I… I don’t know what to say. Of course, I forgive you guys. In fact, it was never you I was upset with. Not really. I was just afraid that we weren’t as good of friends as we used to be.”



“Why, whatever would make you think something so preposterous?”





“Well, it’s just… I don’t know, ever since I became a princess, I’ve been worried that things would be different and that we’d just… drift apart, you know? And it broke my heart, because I love all of you so much!”



“And we love you, too, Twilight!”



“Yeah! Why would you being a princess change that?”

“We’ve never been nothin’ but proud of everythin’ you’ve accomplished.”




“I know that. Intellectually, at least. But some irrational part of me was worried, I guess. I mean, that’s what life is, right? Change? And when none of you showed up, it seemed to make my fears a reality.”



“Twilight?”









"Yeah?"



“Things may change, but you’re crazy if you think a pair of wings and a fancy title are gonna change how we feel about you, or make us want to let you go.”



"Ditto."

"I agree with Rainbow."

"Yep!"

"She's right."








“I don't know what to say… T-thank you, girls…”




“If I had limbs right now, I’d totally give you a hug.”



"Heehee, thanks Pinkie. Like I said, I know I was being silly. I should know by now that what we have is special, and… wait, that reminds me. Rainbow?”



“Yeah?”





“Did you do a sonic rainboom, by any chance?”



“Heheh. You saw that, huh?”



“I sure did! It was amazing! In fact, it’s what gave me the idea which let me tap into the meteorite’s leyline network. But… how did you do it?”





“Well, when you fly really fast, and you’re really, really awesome…”



“I think she’s means the color, sugarcube.”



"Oh. Well, I dunno, actually. Magic’s not exactly my field. All I know is, I was feeling super down in the dumps, but then I had some sort of epigram…”







“I think you mean an ‘epiphany’, dear.”



“Yeah, one of those, too. And then I did a sonic rainboom, and the next thing I know, I’m my old, colorful self again!”





“Wait! You mean, after the rainboom, you were… ‘in color’ again?”

“Yep!”



“Actually, all of us have our colors back.”





“So... the Graying's over?”



“No, everything else is still gray. It’s just us that are back to normal.”

“Well, us and a few other ponies, too”




“That’s amazing! Did you all have epiphanies of some sort?”



"I did!"

"Most certainly."

"Eeyup."

"Me too."







“Actually, it sort of makes sense. And it might explain how you’re here.”



“How do ya figure?”




“Well… I realized that the meteorite’s magic alters our minds, especially our perceptions. That’s how it makes us see black and white. But it only really makes sense if the spell’s illusions are collective.”




“What do you mean?”



“I mean it’s linking all of our minds together, forming a sort of network, and all of us are affected unilaterally. Imagine a… a shared virtual reality. But if you guys somehow broke free of the illusion, the network would no longer affect you. You’d no longer be part of the virtual reality, and so everypony else would see you as you should be.”





“And that’s why we’re in color and nothin’ else is?”

“Exactly! Now, this is where it gets really tricky. The spell would likely still be there, in your mind, even if you aren’t susceptible to it. If anything, you’ve simply overpowered it. It’s theoretically possible that, being asleep right now, you were able to use the network, even if only unconsciously, to find me here. Maybe some part of you could even sense me.”





“But, how would that even be possible?”







“I don’t know… Magically speaking, this meteorite is something I’ve never seen before. Our models of magical theory barely seem to contain it. But it’s a working theory, at least.”



“But how were we able to break free of it?”



“I don’t know that either, unfortunately… Tell me: What about these ‘epiphanies’ you had?”




“Well, for me, it was realizing that being gray couldn’t touch who I was inside, and that I could still be awesome and inspire ponies. I realized that I was loved, and that… that I deserved to be loved, just as much as other ponies deserved my love. That we’re all so much more awesome when we’re together, and not apart.”










“And the rest of you had similar realizations?”



"For the most part."

"Pretty much."

"Uh-huh."

"More or less, I suppose."




“So… you all had doubts about yourselves, and when you overcame those doubts, you got your color back? Meaning that the meteorite’s magic makes you question yourselves?”



“Sounds about right.”








“But wait. That can’t be all there is to it. Don’t you see the common theme? It made all of you question you relationships with others, made you doubt what you had to offer other ponies. If the effects of the spell are collective, then it makes sense. It’s like I thought before: It doesn’t just blind us to color; it blinds us to our connections with one another.”



“But why would it want to do something like that?”









“Maybe… maybe it just wants to share its loneliness…”



“What, the meteor?”

“Meteor-ite, darling. Though, I have to say: How can a meteorite want something?”



“I wish I knew. It’s just a feeling I have. It’s like… space is so empty. So dark, and… oh my gosh!”







“Twi? What is it?"



"That’s it!"



What’s it?”



“The connection! Think about the Elements! When they discharge their power, what does it look like?”





“Like a… rainbow.”



"Right! And when Discord corrupted us, what happened?”




“We turned progressively gray!”



“Exactly! The meteorite tries to make us forget our friendships, makes us oblivious to the impact we have on one another. And color is a symbol of that. I remember reading a philosopher once who said that all of life is an act of defiance. That we all shine a light into the darkness, and we do so by building connections, by touching lives, through love and friendship. We each give our own quality, our own passions and talents. Our own color. And what happens when multiple colors come together?”



"A rainbow?"

"A rainbow?"

"A rainbow?"

"A rainbow?"

"A rainbow?"




“No...Harmony!”

* * * *

Spike hadn’t moved in quite some time. He sat, hugging his knees to his chest, eyes unrelentingly watching over Twilight’s prone form. She hadn’t moved in nearly twenty-hours, and aside from a few cat naps Zecora had insisted he take, Spike hadn’t ceased his vigil. He tried to hold the fear back, to keep worry from consuming him.

“C’mon, Twi,” he whispered, so as not to wake the zebra sleeping by his side. “You have to be okay. You can do it. Whatever’s going on in there, I know you can do it…”

He gave a grudging look to the east, where yet another dawn was starting to break over the desolate clearing.

If nothing else, he thought forlornly, maybe today will be the day that Princess Celestia will come to help.. He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. Of course, now that the Graying’s spread to Canterlot and who-knows-where else, she might be busy dealing with that.

He opened his eyes, and then froze at the sight before him. With a trembling claw, he reached over and shook Zecora awake. She opened her eyes, parting her lips to speak, but her words died on her tongue as she followed the young dragon’s stare. Both of them watched with wide eyes.

Starting at her tail, a wave of purple moved up Twilight’s body, accompanied by shades of pink on her flank and in streaks of her mane, lighting the ruined clearing with a beacon of color.

“By the stars…” Zecora breathed.

Spike, however, leapt on Twilight’s unconscious form and hugged her neck. “That’s my Twilight!” His tears dampened her gloriously purple fur. “That’s my Twilight…”

* * * *

“I understand now,” Twilight said, shining purple into the void. Five colorful shades surrounded her, mingling their light with hers, and the darkness shook around them. “Whatever is causing the grayness wants to spread us apart and turn us away from each other. It distrusts harmony because it doesn’t know it. All it knows is loneliness and desolation. But I know what that’s like. I know what it’s like to be repelled by the idea of friendship. And I know what it’s like to find harmony when the light is dimmest.

“If anyone can undo what it’s done, it’s me.”

The five colors came to her, embraced her, and there was warmth in Twilight’s heart. She closed her eyes, cherishing the presence of her friends.

Then, she opened her eyes.

A wave of purple, tinged with other hues, spread from her in every direction, and the darkness was driven away like ash in a strong wind, until only a field of white remained—still empty, but unobscured.

And Twilight saw.

She saw a black star, orbited by several black planets. All the heavenly bodies sang together into the cosmos, not with words, but with something like magic. But something happened—a trick of gravity—and one of the planets was flung from its system and into the depths of the universe. The Planet cried out and sang for its brothers and sisters, but its calls went unanswered.

For untold eons the Planet drifted through space alone, singing a song that grew weaker and more desperate with each passing epoch. It craved light, but received only darkness. It reached out with its gravity but found only itself to cling to.

Then, finally, its call was answered, and that answer was violent. The Planet passed too closely by a black hole, not so close that it was pulled it, but close enough that the black hole's monstrous gravity tore the dark Planet apart, shattering it, reducing it to millions upon millions of small Pieces. Pieces that were left to continue their solitary passage through the universe.

The Pieces continued to sing the Planet’s old song, but the song became increasingly bitter, progressively hostile. What once had been a song of out-reach and hope became a poison that wedged apart, an agent of the universe’s primal need to expand, expand, expand.

Eventually, the Pieces entered a gravitational dance with a nearby system. It was a happy system—a bright, colorful place where sun and moon were as sisters and all the little living things did their little living and dying in togetherness. Every so often, the system would pass through the Pieces, but the Pieces took no pleasure from it, for they had long since grown disillusioned with such things as gravity and light. And they ministered to the living things with their song, hoping to impart the wisdom of solitude—solitude, that was so safe, so inviting. So universal.

Twilight watched all of this with eyes thirsty for tears, then drew a silent gasp as one of the Pieces, a terribly familiar one, separated from the others and made its way toward an equally familiar world. She spread her wings stiffly. Mastery of flight continued to elude her, but there was no other way. She gave her new limbs a flap and took off after the piece on an intercept course, racing it toward the atmosphere.

But she was too slow. The Piece began to smolder as it punched its way into the sky. Twilight nearly succumbed to despair, but a brilliant flash of blue in her mind brought a smile to her lips, and with one final, mighty flap, she closed the distance and touched the Piece.

Except, she didn’t quite touch it. Instead, she passed through the surface of the meteorite and fell into it like a pool of ink.

She found herself submerged within the meteorite. There, inside of it, was a tangle of glowing threads, and she instantly recognized them as leylines. From this close, she saw that the leylines glowed with different colors, but they were dulled and flickering, all of them pulsing in time to the patterns of an ancient song of sorrow. She lit her horn and reached into the leylines like a barrel of electric eels, searching for the right one.

There! That’s the one!

She gave the leyline a hard yank, and the entire knot came undone, the leylines returning to their natural configurations. And where once the center of the knot had been, there was now a small, whirling black sphere. The whining note—a Planet’s corrupted song—filled Twilight’s mind, and her entire system seized violently. Pain lanced through her horn and tears spilled from her eyes as a sadness older than memory ran through her veins like acid.

She nevertheless reached her hoof toward the sphere, her foreleg trembling, and she grit her teeth to say, “You. Will not. Take. My friends. Away from me!”

She touched the sphere with her hoof, and it popped like a bubble. The horrible song fell silent at once. Twilight floated there, confused, looking around her. But nothing happened, everything being too still and quiet to be real.

Then, it changed. Everything began to swirl around, like water drown a drain, and the drain was Twilight’s head. Everything vanished, and Twilight’s screams echoed into its absence.

* * * *

Twilight jolted awake, gasping as she sat upright on the ground.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted with a smile.

“Spike? I…” She trailed off as she got her first good look around her. The brown dirt beneath her, mottled here and there with patches of grass as green as the trees around the edge of the clearing. Overhead, a cloudless sky stricken with pinks and yellows and pale blues as dawn broke, filled with the distant sound of birdsong. And best of all: A little purple and green dragon and a blue-eyed zebra, staring at her with expressions of joy. “Oh my gosh…” she said. “It… it worked!”

“Yes, all is colorful once again,” Zecora said with a wide smile. “What a wonderful way for a day to begin.”

Spike walked forward and gave Twilight a hug. “I was so worried,” he whispered. “You were out for a whole day!”

Twilight’s eyes widened a little. “Is that all it was?”

“Uh-huh. Are you really okay?”

She smiled, leaning down to nuzzle the top of his head. “Yes, Spike,” she replied, “I’m more okay than I’ve been in a while.”

“But what happened?”

“Well…” She regarded the meteorite, now like any other rock. “It very nearly broke me, and made me give up. But then the most amazing thing happened, Spike. Our friends found me!”

“What?” he asked, pulling back but not letting her go. “How?”

“It’s kind of complicated. I don’t even fully understand it myself. But what matters is that they found me. I don’t think I’ve felt that kind of peace and exhilaration since the day Nightmare Moon returned, and I discovered the spark that revealed my element. I’ve been so worried that we were drifting apart, but… I was so, so stupid.” She looked off in the direction of Ponyville—her best guess of it, at least—and smiled. “In fact, let’s head home. I want to see them as soon as possible.”

“Well, ‘as soon as possible’ might a few hours,” Spike said with a huff. “We’ve got a bit of a walk ahead of us.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “We can teleport this time, Spike, since I know the exact destination.”

“Really? Sweet!”

Twilight turned to Zecora. “You want me to teleport us back to your hut and drop you off?”

The zebra merely shook her head. “Teleportation does not suit me, I fear.” She smiled. “I know the way to my home from here.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” Twilight stepped forward and hugged the startled zebra. “Thank you so much, Zecora. For coming to me, for guiding us out here, for staying by our side when I was… well, 'occupied' with the meteor. For everything.”

“It was my pleasure, my dear Princess Twilight. Now go. Cherish your friends in the proper light.”

After one last nod of farewell, Zecora turned and made her way out of the clearing.

“Alright, Spike. Hop on.”

He did as instructed, climbing onto Twilight’s back and holding tight.

Just as she was about to teleport, her eyes drifted to the now-dormant meteorite, and she chewed her lower lip briefly. Then, with a decisive nod, she levitated the space rock to herself.

“What, we’re taking that awful thing with us?” Spike complained. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I just feel like we should.”

“Well, if you say so…”

With a tiny smile, Twilight closed her eyes, sent a stream of mana into her horn, and winked out of the clearing in a flash of violet light.

* * * *

As soon as Rainbow Dash opened her rosy eyes, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake. This was mostly due to an errant beam of bright morning sunlight that found its way across millions of miles of space, through a nearby window, and directly into her eyes, sending explosions through her brain. Hissing through her teeth, she slammed her eyelids shut again and rolled away from the offending light, wriggling deeper into the bed sheets with little constellations stitched into them, trying her best to slip back into unconsciousness.

Then, her eyes flew open again, and she sat up in Twilight’s bed. Fluttershy stirred beside her, nuzzling deeper into her pillow. A second bed nearby contained the still-slumbering forms of Rarity and Applejack, and, in a remarkable display of flexibility, Pinkie was curled up in Spike’s basket, snoring loudly. Twilight’s book-laden bedroom surrounded them, sunlight wafting in and filling the space with warmth.

But none of these things were what caught her attention. It was the fact that everything was exactly the color it was supposed to be.

“Hey guys, wake up!” she shouted, reaching a hoof over to shake Fluttershy’s shoulder before climbing out of bed and stamping her hooves against the floorboards. “She did it! Twilight did it!”

Rarity sat up, raising a hoof to lift the slumber mask from her eyes. “And what, Rainbow Dash, could be so important that you had to wake us up at the crack of da—” Her words died as she got a look at the room around them. “Oh my stars...”

“I knew Twilight could do it,” Fluttershy said with a rosy smile as she held the sheets to her chest and sighed.

“Looks like everything’s back to normal!” Pinkie said, running to the window and pressing her face against it, looking out at the streets of Ponyville and all the colorful ponies.

“Atta girl,” was all Applejack felt the need to add, though she grinned like a bandit as she set her trusty hat atop her blonde head.

“Where do you think she is, though?” Rainbow asked, only to be met with shrugs and exchanged looks of concern.

As if on cue, the distant sound of door hinges creaking reverberated through the treehouse, followed by a faint, familiar, “Hello? Is anypony home?”

The five of them looked at each other. They smiled. And then: “Twilight!”

In a colorful stampede, they made their way down the stairs and into the library’s main room, finding a purple alicorn standing in the room with a tiny dragon a few steps behind her. They skidded to a halt several paces from Twilight and met her eyes. The air pressure in the room fluctuated from unspoken thoughts, but no one seemed to notice.

They did notice, however, a single tear trailing down Twilight’s cheek. She gave them a smile and said, “H-hi guys…”

As one, they dogpiled her, hugging her so fiercely that they all toppled to the ground in a great, giggling heap. Spike averted his eyes briefly and considered stepping out the room, but, with a shrug, leapt into the fray.

None of them spoke for some moments, simply basking in each other’s presence. But finally: “I’m so… so sorry, you guys,” Twilight said quietly.

“Whatever for, darling?”

“For shutting you girls out like I did, and going off without you.”

“Aw, don’t sweat it, sugarcube. It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

“Besides, we’re the ones who should be apologizing to you, Twi,” Rainbow said, hanging her head. “It’s our fault you were feeling so cruddy to begin with.”

Twilight gave Rainbow a nuzzle. “Well, with everything that’s happened, you’ve all more than made up for it. I can’t believe how stupid I was, to think that me becoming a princess would change things between us. I should know by now that what we have is magic. I promise to remember that from now on.”

“And for what it’s worth,” Rainbow spoke on behalf of the others, “we’ll try to remember to show you how much you mean to us. Because… maybe we haven’t been doing the best job of that lately.”

Twilight smiled and gave a tiny, “Thank you.”

“Well shoot, darlin’. Don’t keep us hangin’ in suspense. Just what happened out there?!”

Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the sound of her own stomach growling. Wild dragons have been known to make less noise.

“Umm…” she said, blushing slightly. “How about I tell you over breakfast?”

They all laughed, then picked themselves up off the floor and made their way to the kitchen.

* * * *

Minuette tentatively poked her head out of her practice and eyed the seemingly normal streets of Ponyville. Satisfied that everything was as it should be, she stepped outside, letting the sunlight wash over her blue coat. She stretched, yawned, and then gave a contended sigh.

She’d spent the better part of the past two days laying low, avoiding as much of the inevitable disaster-time drama as she could. But said drama passed, as it tends to do in Ponyville, and all was right with the world.

“Good morning, Minuette!” Derpy said, landing clumsily by the unicorn’s side and giving her a small bundle of mail. “You’re looking awfully blue today.” She giggled.

Minuette chuckled. “Good morning, Miss Hooves. How’s little Dinky?”

“Oh, she’s good. Though, I think she’s disappointed the Graying’s over, since it means she has to go back to school.”

“Well, if she complains too much, just let her know she could always spend the day with the town dentist instead. My schedule’s clear all day. Something tells me that’ll make her eager to get to her studies.”

Derpy flashed her a mischievous smile. “I’ll let her know. Have a nice day!”

Minuette waved as the mailmare took wing, then spotted movement in the corner of her eye. She turned to find three fillies galloping adorably down the street.

“Good morning, Doctor Minuette!” all three Crusaders chirped as they passed.

“Morning, girls! Oh, and Scootaloo?”

Said filly planted her hooves and skidded to a stop, her friends waiting a few paces ahead. “Yeah?” she asked sheepishly.

“Don’t forget you have an appointment to get that filling done the day after tomorrow.”

Scootaloo flinched. “Oh… a-alright…”

In a hurry, she turned and bolted down the street, her two friends giggling as they followed. Sweetie Belle lagged behind, giving a lingering sniffle or two.

Minuette watched them go with a smile.

“Um. Minuette?”

Her ears perked. She looked to find Lyra and Bon Bon standing on her other side.

The bottom promptly fell out of her stomach. “Oh… h-hi, you two. What, uh, brings you here?”

The two mares exchanged looks, followed by nods.

Bon Bon stepped forward. “I apologize for kissing you, Minuette. It was a mistake on my part, and should not be construed as reflecting any romantic feelings whatsoever. You are a friend, and nothing more.”

Lyra stepped forward. “And I apologize for overreacting. I realize the kiss was an honest mistake, and bear no ill will towards you. You are a friend, and nothing less.”

Minuette gaped at them, working her mouth to form some kind of adequate response. Instead, she said, “Um… okay?”

Both mares breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, then turned and walked away, shoulder to shoulder. Minuette watched them with some confusion as they disappeared around a corner, whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Her right ear gave a flick, and she turned to walk back into her practice.

“Annnnnnd… back inside I go.”

The door closed with finality.

* * * *

Twilight pulled aside a sheet, revealing the dark, glassy surface of the meteorite to the light inside her library. Princess Celestia leaned in, examining it closely.

“So this is it?” she asked. “Most curious. Even with its mana field cut, I sense something… off about it.”

“It seems like an entirely new form of magic. Or something close.”

“Do you have any idea where it came from?”

“Well… when I was tapped into it, I saw something. I don’t know if it was a memory, or a vision, or just my imagination. But it seems as though the Haizum-Shabdiz cloud is really just the remnants of an ancient planet—a rogue planet, unattached to any star. At some point, it was shattered into millions of pieces, and every now and then our planet simply passes through the debris field. Most of the pieces are smaller than this one was, and simply burned up in the atmosphere—though the pieces burning away seemed to release small doses of its magic even then, which is what previous scholars detected. But this piece actually made it all the way through.”

“And you said the pieces, this one included, generated a ‘song’?”

“That’s the best word for it, I think. That or ‘signal’. Some kind of deliberate arcane counter-harmonics. I don’t know why it produces this signal, or how—maybe something in the geological makeup of the old planet—but it definitely interferes with the perceptions of living things… especially the perceptions having to do with relationships between them.”

Celestia marveled at the meteorite. “Extraordinary. I’ll have to ask Luna about all this. I remember her saying that she had an encounter with the shower about a century before she was corrupted into Nightmare Moon, but she’s always been reluctant to talk about it.” She smiled at her student. “Luckily, this situation proved to have a happier outcome.”

Twilight sighed. “It’s just good that my friends were able to backchannel through the signal and find me. Otherwise… I might never have broken free of its grip.”

“Are you sure that it was their doing?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, not to diminish your friends’ accomplishments—breaking free of the meteorite’s magic was certainly impressive—but in my experience, Twilight, you have a way of bringing ponies together.”

Twilight merely continued to stare.

“I realize it may not seem like it, considering the loneliness of much of your foalhood. But wherever you go, harmony seems to follow, even if you don’t mean it to. Your brother and Princess Cadance wouldn’t have met were it not for the fact that you needed a foalsitter. My own sister and I would never have been reunited without you. And, even though some of your friends knew each other before meeting you, they did not become the close-knit bunch they are today, the very embodiment of harmony in our land, until you came into their lives. Even the Element you represent is the one that binds the others together.

“It may very well be that your friends found you when you needed them the most, but I think it’s equally true that they only found you because of your presence summoned them.”

“Huh… I’d never thought of that.”

Celestia laid a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “It’s a great gift, Twilight. The noblest thing we can do in this life is reach out in the darkness and connect with one another. I think your recent exploits should be proof of that.”

Twilight gave her a teary smile.

Celestia turned back to the meteorite. “I was wondering if I might take this back to Canterlot with me and have some of the palace mages study it. Would that be alright?”

“Oh, um… sure, I guess.” She tongued the inside of her cheek, navigating her feelings carefully. “But... When they’re done, could I maybe have it back?”

Celestia cut her eyes in Twilight’s direction. “Of course. Any particular reason?”

“I don’t know…” She blushed slightly. “It’s kind of silly.”

“Try me,” Celestia said, ever so lightly nudging Twilight’s shoulder with her own.

“Well…” She looked at the meteorite. “When I was tapped into it, what I felt more than anything was its… pain. Whatever magic or intelligence or whatever is inside of it, it knew a kind of loneliness I could never comprehend. Likely millions of years of it. I guess I just feel like… maybe it deserves to have a home at last. Some warmth and laughter.” Her slightly moist eyes met Celestia’s own. “After all, doesn’t everything deserve a chance to be loved?”

Celestia watched her former student’s face for a moment, and then gave a warm smile. She draped a wing around Twilight’s back. “I suppose they do, Princess Twilight.”

They shared a tender moment, then stood and made their way to one of the library’s balconies. The warmth of the sun embraced them as they looked out over Ponyville.

Twilight smiled at the sight of her home thriving. “So, what now?” she asked.

“Now?” Celestia took a deep breath, basking in the light. “Life returns to normal, I suppose. At least until the next disaster.” A small, rueful chuckle. “Oh, and don’t forget: Next week we’re holding a Princess Summit in the Crystal Empire.”

“Oh! I almost forgot, what with all the hoopla.”

“We ought to begin preparations. Will it just be you and Spike?”

A moment of thought, then: “No. No, I think I’d like my friends with me, if that’s alright. And I think they’d agree. I have a lot of new responsibilities now that I’m a princess, and I’d like my friends there by my side every step of the way.”

Celestia’s smile rivaled her charge in the sky overhead.

Twilight smiled as well, looking up the blue sky. A flicker of movement caught her attention, and she looked to see Rainbow Dash soaring past overhead. She was flying too high for a shouted ‘Hello!’ to be much use—perhaps on her way to a weather job, or simply flying for the joy of it. So Twilight simply watched as her friend flew by, trailing colors in her wake.

THE END


Author's Note:
Comments ( 12 )

Wonderful story. And Celestia's conclusion about Twilight makes me even gladder that I favorited it. :yay: Thank you for writing it. :scootangel::heart:

Absolutely perfect, refreshingly original. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed at all with where this story was going to go. Brilliant use of the blank spaces and disembodies voices talking in the void, fancy tricks one can use outside of a real book thanks to technology that are too often misused, but here were thematically appropriate and remarkably effective, especially the chilling 'nothingness' just before Twilight wakes up. This is one of the best stories on this site, and I don't say that lightly.

a beautifully crafted story, and a wonderful concept. Aces Perfect to this one :pinkiehappy:

A universe of magic that still has black holes... very odd.

What came first:
The magic that connected the elements or the elements that formed the magic?
The answer is, of course, 'Yes!'.

This should be far more well known than it is. The plotline is great, the descriptions vivid and the consistent references to both previous points in the story and episodes in the canon series makes for a believable and consistent plot. The attention to detail on aspects of the characters- for instance, Pinkie's mane, gives you a pretty good idea of how everypony is feeling without outright telling us, which I always appreciate. The story was original and intriguing, and I like how the ending actually makes sense- too often a story just ends off illogically without any real sense to it, making the reader feel as if it was just made to plunge the ponies into a situation outside of their comfort zone. I appreciate how you've put some real effort into making this story tie together, and the last chapter, which is so often the worst of the lot, was actually my favourite in this case. The use of colour and spaces helps the reader really get into the story, while still being with purpose- the story doesn't just have colour for the sake of having colour. There are a few minor spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as a couple of words missing, most of which are probably just the result of editing afterwards, but nothing that detracts too greatly from the story and most can simply be fixed by proofreading afterwards. The description was great, especially during Twilight's dream, and the attention to detail allowed the reader to get really into the story. Though it wasn't as vivid as some books I've read, this actually served this story in a positive way, allowing the reader some room to make their own judgement as to what the setting may look like. I personally loved this, and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a good, satisfying read that'll hit you right in the feels.

So, I just stumbled upon this story today. As of this comment, I have not yet read it, but there is something I would like to say. Please keep in mind that I've only read the description and comments so far:





SON OF A!!! :flutterrage:

As anyone who might visit my profile would probably notice, I do not currently have any stories posted. I did, however, have an idea floating around in my head that was extremely similar to the same premise as this. Now I probably won't even bother, because if the comments here are anything to go by, this is vastly superior to anything that my own lackluster imagination could ever conceive. Now I know how other people probably feel when they find out that their own story idea has already been done...

You will likely hear from me again, once I manage to find some time to read this story and post my thoughts. Pinkie Promise. :pinkiesmile: (I might even try to think of something to say for each individual chapter...)

Despite my slight outrage just a moment ago, I am certain that I will enjoy this this story. :twilightsmile:

Hey, I just posted a review for this fic. In case you are interested, it can be found here.

Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by this story. It is unique and intelligent, and despite having some issues with how the plot progress, I found it a very good read. Also, the writing is excellent.

This was very enjoyable and very different from most stories on this site. You should be commended. I like how you tie everything together and how we have to tales of discovery and that those two also tie together. Very effective.

I especially like the scenes with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash as they are fairly emotional.

Nice work, this could be a canon episode. :twilightsmile:

The lack of genre tags is probably one reason this story is not better known -- these days it would be tagged [Mystery], I'm sure. For most of its length, I really enjoyed this fic: it's nicely paced and uses its characters in a satisfying way. The Lyra sub-plot is a lot of fun and you have some great turns of phrase -- "theater of unease", for example. It's an easy like, and misses a fave simply because I didn't like the last chapter as much. I found that considerably overlong, and the coloured text annoyed me as well. Nevertheless, an interesting take on the importance of colour to Equestria.

This story was so beautifully well-balanced, it feels like it could've been its own 60-minute special following the end of Season 3! I feel this deserves so much more love and attention than what it currently has..

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