The Iolite Stairway

by Regina Wright

The First Descent - Her

As always Twilight liked to leave these places the same way as they were. Even if this first time she saw something resembling life and ponies. The other floors were only darkness and spaces and things that cried as she stumbled over them. So she did not bother with moving the furniture aside. Twilight pulled herself up into the air and flew to the door, pressing a hoof against it. With a flash, she teleported to the other side and drifted down to the floor.

Twilight glanced around. This place was hardly different from her castle, size-wise, with the high ceilings and the arching domes for each hallway. There was just more wood built into the ground and walls than hers and different types of rocks painted brown to match the wood. Twilight shook her head at it all, somewhat annoyed.

She wished read more on interior design and how to dress a castle because this place, even destroyed and aging, still looked more homely than hers. Soft beams of moonlight shined through the cracks of the ceiling, giving the lost place a dim yet familiar glow. Some light shined too through the boarded up windows along with the cold that grew with each step forward.

Twilight wandered, marking rooms on her maps and salvaging whatever looked readable. Most books once they reached her hooves turned to dust and even trunks and closets that were untouched by the fire were found picked clean. She explored as much as she could, teleporting her way into blocked off sections of the floor. She flashed up and over piles and piles of ash that made her eyes water the more she came across them. The rooms were caked with soot so cinders and ash were expected but these ashes she found in all sorts of places. Under the beds. In the closets. In the bathrooms. And even in the little shafts of metal and wood that seemed to run through the floors.

Could this place have been a hotel?

And the ash... Little white pieces buried within them. It seemed whatever made the ash, it had to have been of the same material as the others. Twilight thought of wondering about it but pushed it out of her mind. She would let the mysteries be and that was it.

Eventually, Twilight found the grand staircase, a spiraling staircase burnt a crisp black with the remaining crooked metal joints gleaming under the light from the fallen-in ceiling. Snow caked everything below; the desks, the chairs and other little things that must have been loved in another's hooves. Cold air blew in as Twilight decided to fly upwards and look out.

It couldn't be, could it?

The sky outside was covered in thick storm clouds, revealing weather not out of place in the dead of winter. But still, something was wrong. The moon shouldn't be so bright. The night couldn't have ended so soon. Twilight cautiously fluttered over to the hole and stuck her head out. It was daylight. Real daylight. Fresh snow quickly piled on her snout and mane. Twilight sneezed and fell backwards, closing her wings in as she tried to push herself out of her descent.

“You! Stay away!” A voice rang out and Twilight flipped in surprised, failing to spring out of her corkscrew and fell to the ground with a crash. “Changeling!”

Twilight shook of the snow on her face and coat, touching her head. That voice? She must have heard wrong because that sounded exactly like-

“I said, stay away!” Twilight turned her eyes to the voice. “Don't look at me!” The familiar voice, her voice cried. Twilight blankly stared at the young unicorn. Lavender coat. Six-pointed star. A potent spell charging as the mare pointed her horn in her direction.

“Huh, I wasn't expecting that.”

Her doppelganger shot off a spell, a basic magic arrow with far too much energy poured in. Before the spell crossed a single inch, Twilight shot her own and destroyed it. “You know, I don't remember being so attack-first. I usually panic and then attack first.” Twilight said, sitting on her haunches.

“Don't talk like you know me!” The Other-Twilight cried, eyes darting around the place with her knees shaking together. “I am the Princess's student and I refuse to fall here!”

Twilight ignored her. Instead, she studied the place and the snow, clumping it in her hooves. This place was extremely familiar. Twilight pulled her snow covered hooves to her face, this was a clue. Another arrow was shot and Twilight reflectively created a shield without sparing a glance.

“Are you on a trip?” Twilight asked, lifting her head but not yet looking at her counterpart. Her lips wiggled as she tried to force her smile down. Was she sent to the past? Was this that field trip from Trottingham where she got sick from wandering from the others! Oh! Oh! Was she supposed to speak to her past self to encourage her for the future?

Was the castle only messing with her?

Who cares!

Twilight was about to change a life!

Other-Twilight was silent. “Maybe? What does it mean if I am?” She said, studying Twilight as if she was something to be scared of. Twilight blushed, trying to stay presentable. It was Princess-Time!

Twilight cleared her throat. She sat up, slowly getting on her hooves as she tried to think of something. Now firmly on the ground, Twilight felt acutely aware of her messy mane and the snow still stuck to her coat. Using her left wing, she covered herself as she hastily cast a melting spell over her body and on the surrounding area. Twilight cleared her throat again and pretended that she hadn't tried to make herself look good. Then she accidentally coughed and groaned at herself. Why couldn't she-

She turned her eyes to her doppelganger that was in the middle of stepping away. The mare froze in place under her gaze, cringing. What! Didn't she want to hear what Twilight had to say! Twilight racked her head for a reason why she would run away from a winged and horn version of herself and couldn't find one!

“I am you from the future.” Twilight blurted out, forgetting to try and sound cool or interesting or princess-like. She moaned in her head but couldn't stop herself. “The culmination of your destiny!”

Other-Twilight stared. “No, you're not.” Then walked away. She walked away, tugging her threadbare cloak close to her form as if it was more amazing then this grand meeting of minds! Twilight's mouth fell open, squeaking "but- but- but-" to no avail.

“Wait!" She hollered, bewildered why this was happening. "I am you even if you can't believe it. The Princess chose us but it was us that kept going forward, passing trials and making friends and having adventures and saving Equestria.” Twilight said, her voice picking up in strength as she went on. “I remember when I was like you and you don't have to believe me right now but it will happen.”

“But it won't.” Other-Twilight pointed to herself. “Because I'm dead here and you're not Twilight Sparkle.”

“But I am Twilight Sparkle and what do you mean, you're dead?” Twilight gasped. Then she gasped again, louder this time. “Are you a will-o-wisp whose been feeding off my presence and mistook yourself as me?” Other-Twilight frowned. She must not want to reminded of her passing... Oh... “I must be here to guide you to the afterlife. Princess Celestia did say I would have more 'duties' for my position and place.” Twilight nodded to herself, her wings twitching revealing her excitement.

“I am the FRIENDLY reaper of Death!” She whispered, repeating the title. “You will not be alone!” Twilight agreed, raising her voice. “I will aid you, spirit!” A beat. “After you agree to some scientific trials first!”

“No! The Twilight of the place or realm or time is dead. I'm leaping through places because I've faked my death to escape. I am not supposed to meet any Twilight Sparkles.” Other-Twilight shouted, breaking Twilight out of her daze. “Therefore, you are not Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight tilted her head, unphased. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, the destiny you left behind.” She corrected, not understanding the problem. “Wait, that sounded mean. What I really mean is-”

Other-Twilight didn't bother with saying her next objection. She charged her horn, weaving a larger spell and fired a barrage of arrows. Other-Twilight ran to the side, increasing the magic used and ducked for cover. A few slower arrow flew upwards before homing directly on Twilight.

They exploded on impact.

“I am a big fan of beams but you like arrows.” Twilight said as she teleported, landing right next to Other-Twilight. “I feel that there is some similarity between that.” Twilight gestured between them as her doppelganger flinched. Twilight fought her smile, she was the cool one. The mysterious one. Her eyes twinkled as she tried to keep her squealing on the inside. “So you don't believe that I am Twilight or that I am your destiny because of your spell?”

Other-Twilight's horn grew bright and Twilight in a fit, bopped the unicorn's nose.

“Stop that. I'm trying to reach you.”

The mare's horn glowed to a softer level and Twilight thought if the unicorn could teleport to another room, Twilight would leave her alone. But this, this had to be practice for something. The Tree of Harmony did not do things on a whim. But... Twilight shouldn't bring help... Take the mare back with her?

“Accept the mysteries as they are.” She muttered and glanced down at Other-Twilight. Standing this close, the unicorn had lost a lot of weight. Sunken eyes. Thin scars around her horn.

How was Twilight supposed to solve this?

“Listen here Twilight, I don't know the answers that you're seeking. But take me as living proof that you will succeed. For now, you live a long and lonely road where you'll only have Spike by yourself but one day, you find a place where truly belong and make friends that will last a lifetime.”

Comments

[Regina Wright]

Another story meant to clear the old noggin.

[mastermenthe]

Favorited and followed

I already sense that Twilights refusal to question is protecting her from the eldritch magics of the Staircase, though it will come back to bite her in the as really hard later. For now the horrors-between cannot quite grasp upon her specific world-line just yet, until she stumbles too far or learns too much.

[Walabio]

Slight problem with this chapter:

You use the idiot-ball for advancing this chapter. This is like the horror-movies where the stupid teenagers, rather than getting in the car and driving to the police-station, decide to split up into individuals and explore the woods alone, despite seeing several of their friends hacked to pieces. You should emulate the Thing:

In the thing, we have intelligent educated physically fit scientists in Antarctica studying the local environment. They come across an hostile space-alien (we never learn the motivations of the space-alien). The scientists act rationally, intelligently, and competently. Unfortunately, the scientists are outclassed by the alien who is more intelligent, stronger, and faster than any human can be, and to top it all off can shapeshift, which adds to the paranoia.

In this chapter, we have Princess Twilight Sparkle do a blind teleport through a door. This could be fatal. When she comes accross an alternate version of herself, talking about changeling who assume that Princess Twilight Sparkle is a changeling, rather than hypothesizing that this might be an alternate universe where the changeling conquered Equestria, she figures that she is in her past, despite none of this ever happening in her past.

I recommend that you change this chapter so that Princess Twilight Sparkle is not stupid and never use the idiot-ball again.

[Regina Wright]

6029164
Freewrite, man, freewrite. Let it run free... But I think I was tripping on something when I wrote it out... I agree with 6008470 comment but I has Twilight as a little dream-like too. When I'm up to it, I'll probably give this a overhaul but this was the fic that got me un-stuck.

May the idiot balls bounce for they seemed like a perfectly good toy at the time.

[Ponyess]

6029477
Aside from a few minor issues, but why is the story marked Cancelled?
Granted, the story has been hanging for a very long time, but still.
Once the story finally do start to become interesting, you juast stop short.
Did you forget what you intended to do, and could not move on?