Darkshine

by Foxtrot

Part 9

Princess Celestia stood still and silent on the podium. Above her head the banners whispered in the pre-dawn breeze. The entire population of Ponyville was watching her, enraptured.

Twilight Sparkle watched with the rest. But she was not a part of the crowd; instead she occupied a vantage point halfway up the hill, well hidden in the shrubbery. From her hideaway she had watched events as they unfolded from earliest morning. She had seen the townsfolk walking out from Ponyville; tasted their excitement as they took their places for the ancient, life affirming event. She had seen the Princess glide down from the sky. The old feeling had kindled inside her, undimmed by the passage of years.

Celestia looked at the sky. Her mane drifted in a cloud of pastel colour.

She is beautiful, thought Twilight Sparkle.

At some signal only she could perceive the Princess spread her wings and soared. And the sun rose to meet her. Twilight's eyes filled with tears and her heart overflowed with joy. Like a second sun hidden in her chest it beamed its rays, bidding to outshine Celestia herself.

I love her. Now and for always.

Celestia blazed skywards, far above the crowd, far above the waving banners and flags pitched on the field. The oohs and aahs of the ponies were drowned out by the joyous song playing in Twilight's mind. Celestia floated in the upper air, her wings outspread, a cruciform shape eclipsing the disc of the sun. She hung there for an exquisite instant while the world turned into light. Then in a streak of power she ascended and vanished.

I know where she is going now, thought Twilight. For I have followed her with the True Sight. She is going where she thinks no-one can follow her. She will be at play in the fields of light. Her friend the Sun will bring forth mighty streamers and ribbons and fountains of fire. She will dance through and round them, trailing her golden light behind her.

I know this is your special time, a thing you mean for yourself alone. Forgive me for spying on you. But know this – the secrets of your heart I will keep as closely as my own. My lips will never tell to another soul.

She will never love you back, Twilight Sparkle. Not in the way you want. Was it The Dark who spoke now? Maybe, but it didn't make it any less true. So instead Twilight sang a snatch of song which had just that moment popped into her head:

You are beautiful, yes you are beautiful.
But it's time to face the truth; I will never be with you.

Celestia's glory had faded into the light of common day. On the field beneath the banners the Midsummer Feast was under way. The townsfolk criss-crossed between the tables laden with Ponyville's finest produce – modest fare all of it, but good nonetheless. A cyan pegasus did overhead barrel rolls to applause of stomping hooves. A pink earth pony bounded from table to table. A yellow pegasus was introducing the colts and fillies to her animal friends. A white unicorn held court, glass of sparkling cider clutched in hoof. An orange earth pony was ladling out that same cider.

Twilight settled into her nest in the shrubbery. It was enough to see them – to know they were all here and she was keeping them safe. It would have to be enough.

But now Applejack had put down the ladle. Applejack was advancing up the hill towards her, hooves thumping sturdily down on the turf. The earth pony came to a halt not 15 paces away from Twilight's hideway. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the shadows beneath the trees. 'Twilight? You in there, sugarcube?'

Twilight retreated further into the gloom.

'Twilight,' said a voice behind her. A leap turned her round to come face-to-face with Fluttershy. Her friend smiled a smile of perfect joy. 'Twilight! I heard... I mean I was hoping you'd come. And now here you are. I'm so happy and excited I can hardly speak.'

'Fluttershy. Er, hi.' Twilight backed up a pace. 'Actually I was just leaving. Yes, that's right. Just leaving.' She checked quickly behind her for signs of imminent Pinkie attack.

'You can't leave.' Fluttershy shook her head in sorrow. 'Not until you've said hello to everypony.'

'Aren't you going to say if you don't mind?'

'Not this time.' Fluttershy applied her forehead to Twilight's rump and pushed. The unicorn was urged irresistibly out of the shadows. Her friends had gathered to meet her. She faced them all with an awkward smile and butterflies in her belly.

'Suh,' she managed. 'Suh-suh-sorry.' They didn't say a word. In turn they kissed and briefly nuzzled her. She stood perfectly still, dumbfounded by the love as the threads reknit themselves.

Rainbow Dash was the last. 'Twilight. If you really want to leave, we won't try and stop you. But we want you to stay more than anything.' Dash looked so sad. Twilight's lower lip trembled.

'It might be the midsummer party. But really it's your party. Yep-yep-yep.' Pinkie nodded, making her geranium curls bounce.

Rarity spoke last. 'Twilight my darling, you are loved. Never ever forget that.' How simple everything was, in the end. Her friends shepherded her gently down the hill to join the party.

#

They clopped their way homeward from the feast. One by one the pony friends peeled off; Applejack to her family, Fluttershy to her friends, Pinkie Pie to her niece and nephew, Rainbow Dash zooming up to her cloud palace. At last Twilight and Rarity were left. With the others departed Rarity's stock of gossip, long hoarded, was set loose. 'It seems our yellow winged friend is seeing a certain mighty red earth pony.'

'Fluttershy and Big Mac? Really?'

'My dear. He simply has the flanks of a god. Don't tell me you hadn't noticed.'

I don't notice things like that, thought Twilight.

'I'm hoping our two lovelorn lovebirds come to their senses...'

'Applejack and Rainbow Dash.' Twilight smiled fondly.

'What in Equestria is up with them? First they were going out with each other, then they weren't, then they denied they ever had. It is too too adorable – but also rather sad to see them do the tongue-tied tiptoe around each other.' Rarity's diction was spot on even after many glasses of cider. 'Element of honesty, indeed.' She flipped her mane in magnificent hauteur.

'Pinkie Pie?'

'She knows what love and romance are all about.' Rarity frowned. 'I just don't think she gets the point of them.'

'And what about you?'

'Moi?' Rarity fluttered her eyelashes and gazed at Twilight through only slightly smudged mascara. 'Well as it so happens...'

'Let's hear it.'

Rarity's playfulness vanished. 'Whenever you're back in Ponyville which isn't very often, and whenever he's free which is even less, Spike and me – we like to spend time together.'

Twilight came to a halt. 'What exactly are you saying?'

Rarity halted beside her. 'I don't know what I'm saying! All I know is, we make each other happy.' The white unicorn spoke with slow bewilderment. 'He's always been old Spikey-Wikey. But he's just smart and funny and kind. And honest. And fierce as well, when he feels the need. And wise. Dear me, what a catalogue of virtues. I sound like I'm in love.'

'Maybe you are.'

'But, but...'

'Rarity, two of my dearest friends have chosen to start something. Do you honestly think I'm going to be a neigh-sayer?'

'Thank you, Twilight.' Rarity's eyes brimmed. 'I just knew you'd say the right thing.'

'You're welcome.' Rarity hugged her impulsively. Twilight hugged back, unprepared for the fierce, protective love which rose up inside her.

The two unicorns resumed walking and soon reached the boutique. 'Well, this is it. I would invite you in but...' Rarity executed a gaping and unladylike yawn. 'Goodness me, do excuse me. We'll see you tomorrow, yes?'

'Oh, about lunchtime, I expect.'

'Promise?' Suddenly Rarity was dead serious. 'You won't go sneaking off in the middle of the night like last time and the time before that?'

Twilight thought about it. 'I could Pinkie Pie swear, if you like.'

'That involves sticking a hoof in your eye. Don't do that, dear.'

'Goodnight, Rarity.' Twilight made to move away but Rarity put out a restraining hoof.

'Twilight, wait. All this talk of our love lives but none of yours. Is there something you want to tell me? Anypony special?' Rarity fluttered her eyelids.

A knife twisted in Twilight's guts but she mastered it with the ease of long practice. 'Oh, you know me. No time for that sort of thing. Always rushing off all over the place.' She jogged from side to side. 'Never sleeping under the same roof twice. Hardly conducive to a successful love life, is it? Ah-hah-hah-hah.'

Rarity's answering smile was sad. 'Never forget that you are loved.'

'That's just the point.' Twilight hung her head. 'I had forgotten.'

'Silly Twilight.' Rarity's lips brushed her ear. 'Sometimes love comes looking for you.' And with that she turned, flicked her tail and disappeared into her boutique to dream of haute couture and a certain purple and green dragon.

So it's just me, then. Business as usual. But no. Twilight shook her head. It was not business as usual, not any more. She paced the final few steps to her library tree house. By Celestia she was tired. But this was not the customary leaden burn of abused muscles. Instead it was a replete warmth suffusing her body.

There was a glow of lamplight from the library windows. Twilight frowned. Now who could possibly be up at this hour? Oh, of course. Forgot I asked. She opened the door. The entire lower story was lit by hanging oil lamps. Spike and Dewey System were sitting together on the floor. They were sorting through a sizeable mound of paperwork. Several neat stacks had already been assembled. A map of Equestria had been put up on the wall. Clusters of push-pins had been stuck all over it.

Spike didn't bother to look up. 'I expect to hear you had a good time.'

'It was...' Twilight took a deep breath. 'It was the best night ever.'

He darted her a look of surprising penetration from his jade coloured cat's eyes. 'That actually sounded sincere.'

'Good, because it was meant to be.'

He went back to reading. Spike, she thought. I couldn't do any of this without you. Since this was a day for experiencing things afresh she took a really good look at him. He'd changed all right – almost entirely lost his baby proportions. His chest was deeper, his limbs longer. His muzzle had grown and become streamlined. So not the same old Spike, not at all. Yet another reminder that you could not hang onto the past.

There was a minuscule throat-clearing beside her. Twilight turned with a frown. Dewey System stood at something approaching attention. Her eyes, as they watched Twilight, had gone very big and round. A flush of pink coloured her cheeks.

'Yes, Dewey?'

'We, er, um.'

Twilight nodded encouragement.

'We've received a lot of communication from our sources all over Equestria. Most of it wasn't very helpful.' Dewey winced, clearly not wanting to be the bearer of bad tidings. 'Ponies reporting strange dreams and disturbances in the night. Or telling us about people in their communities they're suspicious about. That sort of thing. Sorry.'

Twilight scanned the fresh heap of reports and letters and scrolls on the table. Once she would have dived into them in a spirit of grim, clear-eyed dedication. Now the thought of all those words induced in her a state of weary disgust.

'So, anyway. We went through the lot and we think we've identified some probables. Potential cult activity, necromancy and the like. We summarised the results in a digest.'

'Dewey there did most of the hard work,' Spike added.

There was a fat and densely written scroll occupying pride of place on the table. Twilight's heart sank – but she really couldn't blame Dewey for exceeding the brief. 'Well done, Dewey. I'm impressed.'

The smaller earth mare flushed an even more intense shade of pink. 'Than-than-thank you, Twilight.'

'Don't mention it.' Twilight went to give the scroll the once over – more for appearance's sake than genuine interest. She scanned the first roll. Strange lights seen in Trottingham. Weird comings and goings in Appleoosa. A whole herd of cows going sick. Why did ponies bother to send this stuff in? Were their lives really so devoid of interest? All the while Dewey System was standing expectantly beside her. Twilight frowned to herself. Here at least was a genuine mystery, one which had been bothering her for quite some time. Luckily the solution was also at hand. 'Dewey, do you mind if I ask you a question?'

'Oh! Anything. Ask me anything you like.'

'Why do you hang around?'

Dewey System made a tiny sound. On the other side of the table Spike dropped his scroll.

'This report.' Twilight tapped the scroll with a hoof. 'I'm guessing it's fourteen thousand words if it's a paragraph. You do so much hard work for me for precious little recompense. I'd really like to know why.'

The air thickened with tension. Dewey blinked several times. 'You... you really want to know.'

'That's kind of why I asked.'

Dewey gulped audibly. 'It's because... because...'

'Yes?'

'Because I luh... erm.'

'You luh erm?' Twilight frowned. 'Is that some foreign language? I know quite a few.'

Spike winced and slapped his forehead. Dewey was now trembling all over. Her eyes brimmed with tears. 'I luh... sorry. I'm so sorry.' She turned and fled to her small bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

'Ugh.' Twilight hung her head. 'What did I say?' Spike raised an eyebrow. 'Spike, you're waggling. Don't waggle at me like that.'

'Twi, when are we leaving?'

'Leaving?' Twilight blinked, caught off guard by the non sequiter. 'Soon.' She gave an emphatic nod. 'Yep. That's it. Just as soon as I figure out where we're going.'

Spike gave her a long look, then jerked a clawed thumb towards the corner of the room. 'That arrived this afternoon. Express delivery. It's addressed to you.'

A medium sized box rested on the library floor. It was of strong yet plain design with a robust lock. Twilight examined the shipping label. 'It's from Princess Luna. I wonder what on earth Princess Luna is sending me?'

'There's an obvious way to find out, Twi.'

'Right. This is a magical lock. Let me see, here...' Twilight concentrated. The lock opened with a click. The lid of the box swung back. A gentle radiance streamed out, filling the library with a perfect light – a light which Twilight had never hoped to see again.

A tide of memory rose inside her; of six pony friends who had stood together and used love to conquer hate. Of six hearts which had beat as one. But she didn't move; confusion had her in its grasp and held her tight. It was Spike who reached into the box and lifted out a gem-studded tiara of simple yet elegant design with a star set in its crown.

'The Element of Magic.' The dragon spoke with soft wonder. 'Luna sent it back to you.'

'But it's not mine. I can't have it. I don't deserve it.'

'Luna doesn't think so.'

He gazed at her, so serious, with the brilliant thing held in his claw. And it came to her, all in a rush; what a fool she'd been. Deep inside her the ice cracked. The black waters boiled up from beneath. The jagged fragments tilted and slid into the darkness. Twilight Sparkle sank to her knees. Her horn bumped against the floor. Instantly he was beside her, his arms around her neck. 'Hey, Twi. It's OK. You got the Element back – that's a good thing, right?'

But she was not listening. She was thinking about the years gone by. The barren friendless pointless waste of them. And she realised; she couldn't do it any more. 'Spike – we're not going anywhere.'

'What...' realisation dawned. 'You mean – never ever?'

'Never ever, Spike.'

He sat back to stare at her in shock. 'You mean it's finished? We're not going to chase any more leads which go nowhere? We're not going to spend months in the wilderness on the off chance that some crazy story is true? We're not going to...'

'It's what you wanted, isn't it?'

'Of course it is.'

She tried to smile at him. But the fault lines were still spreading. The edifice of Twilight Sparkle the pitiless seeker after truth was cracking like the shoddy and wicked sham it had always been. The cold inside her was reclaimed by the warmth. Only now could the healing tears begin. Twilight Sparkle wept, great shuddering sobs which made her face burn and her flanks ache. All the while he just held and rocked her back and forth.

'I've been such a fool,' she gasped.

'Easy, now.'

'I thought I was making Equestria safe. All I was doing was punishing myself.'

'I know, Twi.'

'Was it really that obvious?'

'Hush now. It's over. It's finished.'

'Do you think the others will even want me back?'

'Hey now,' he chided gently. 'I thought we were done with the self punishing.'

She was silent for a while, letting her grief run its course. Then; 'You know you said you'd never ever leave me? You'd stay with me forever?'

He sighed and shook his head.

'It's not true, is it.'

'A dragon has a dragon's way, Twilight. But when I go it will be a time of joy. Everybody will be singing.'

'You almost make me look forward to it.'

'That's the way it ought to be.'

The door of the small bedroom opened. Dewey System edged out into the library. Twilight turned towards her, bursting to share the good news, not caring that her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet and she probably had snot running down her nose. 'Dewey, guess what. We're giving up the search. Isn't that fantastic?'

Dewey stared at her, stony faced.

'I'm not leaving, Dewey. I'm staying right here. This means you won't have to write any more of those dreadful old reports.'

Dewey sniffed, swallowed and nodded jerkily. 'I guess that means you won't need my help any more. I'd better just... pack my bags. I can be gone in the morning. I'll stay a few more days in town if that's OK...'

'Whatever for? There's plenty of room here.' Twilight waved a magnanimous hoof. 'Stay as long as you want. In fact I'll be glad of your help. I have a lot of sorting out to do.' Mentally Twilight was already compiling a checklist of Annoying Things to forbid Dewey from doing, including but not limited to midnight sniffles, longing looks and hearts doodled in margins.

The smaller earth pony stood as if thunderstruck. The stages of realisation, clearly written on her face, arrived at last at transcendent joy. She galloped over and planted a kiss right on Twilight's lips. 'Thank you... oops.' Her hoof flew to her mouth.

'Dewey, go to bed.'

'Of course, right away. Thank you again. I luh erm.' Dewey walked backwards all the way to her room, finally disappearing inside.

Spike exhaled through pursed lips. 'What now, Twi?'

'Tea please, Spike. For the love of Equestria. Ugh, what a day.' She pressed a hoof against her temple. 'My brain hurts.'

'Coming right up. Would you like a hoof massage too?'

'Stop being so spooky. When you anticipate my needs like that it's like you're... I don't even know.' Twilight collapsed into the brand new recliner (yet another of Spike's innovations). The kettle whistled, the water glugged, the library filled with the ambrosial scent of brewing tea. Twilight ran a hoof over her forehead. 'Tell you what, Spike. Take the day off tomorrow. I think Rarity would appreciate some company. Why not head over to the boutique?'

'I was intending to.' His strong clever dragon thumbs commenced an insistent kneading of her hoof soles. Twilight Sparkle fell, as if from a great height, into the deepest sleep.

#

Princess Celestia stood alone on the balcony. The noise and heat of the midsummer gala floated through the open windows behind her. How characteristic of her to slip away from an event held in her honour and let Luna handle it. It was something she found herself doing more and more of late.

Celestia's magenta eyes scanned the ramparts of her rebuilt castle. The finest artisans in Equestria had come together to restore it. The craftsponies had worked with tireless industry, each striving to outdo the others. And yet, had any of them really questioned why they were doing it? Did they really believe it was for her? Did they think she'd be pleased?

Just like those ponies indoors. All of them talking, talking, talking, and really saying nothing. Their voices combining to form a dull thunder over which the band had to labour to make itself heard. All of they shyly or slyly asking for one or other little favour. As if she cared.

The god queen of Equestria's hide steamed faintly in the cool air. Her wings folded tightly against her sides. Her head sank down until the tip of her horn rested on the balustrade. She made no sound or sigh, but her posture conveyed better than words the weariness that only an immortal being could experience.

The faintest of noises drifted up from the city below. Trotting hooves, a voice raised in a snatch of song. Celestia's ears twitched. She looked up, intent on seeing which of her subjects was so carefree, so in love with life. But whoever it was they were hidden in the tangle of streets below.

Canterlot lay beyond, its myriad roofs and turrets and towers sprinkled with lights shining out fit to match the stars above. Celestia's mental gaze roamed further, across the plains and through the high passes, to encompass in thought all the towns and villages of her kingdom. Countless thousands of ponies, too many for even an immortal being to know. All of them living such ordinary little lives. And yet, each one of them possessed the most precious miracles the universe had to offer; minds which thought and hearts which felt.

Princess Celestia felt the inner fire rekindle. Her mane rose and the gorgeous spread of her wings floated free. This was a good world – and what was more, she was going to make sure it stayed that way.

Comments

[CDR]

It kinda sounds complete. It says complete. But I'm not sure if it feels complete.

Great story anyway. Keep up the awesome writing.

[Pleaseworkforonce]

[Xaldon Ajide]

aww i was hoping f twi to have a dual personality with the shadow maybe even as close with it as she did with the nightmare in the story a quiet place before the march rewrites. anyway good story and like cdr said feels kinda incomplete . also cheers.

[Foxtrot]

1647394

characters making the wrong choices for what seem to them to be the right reasons is the essence of drama ;)

[Foxtrot]

1656845
single quotes are almost always used in British English. I use them because to my eyes double quotes look wierd

[Cool_Story_Reader]

A very nice story. I like it.

[psychostasis]

It was still a good book nonetheless