The Leap

by LoreLove

IV - Despair

The purple princess sat and stared at the open book before her, unable to comprehend what she just read. Her mind didn't seem to budge, still trying to take in the reality told to her. Her breathing was shallow as she stared at the last statement. Nothing made sense to her. Nothing at all.

Twilight shook her head, finally stirring herself back to life as she magically took her quill and dipped it into the ink. There had to be more to it than that. Her writing came quickly while she started to work on getting more out of Sunset. If there really was such a lapse in time then Sunset would be able to tell her all that had happened. She could only hope it was just a terrible prank gone too far.

'If it really has been so long, what all has happened?' Twilight ended up asking.

While she got an explanation of things that had changed in her absence, it still didn't make sense to her that she had ended up in a place with no other ponies around. The fact she could somehow talk to Sunset showed there was some bridge between where she was and at least the other world. A try at the portal sounded more tempting to at least see if there might be any others through it. The thought worried her just as much as it made her curious.

As the words became visible, Twilight soon learned of the supposed past. With how long it took to get the responses, she was believing the situation more and more. If Sunset really was at such an age, it might be taking her longer to write things down. It pained Twilight to make a note on it, but it would explain a little. Slowly but surely, the conversation continued.

Sunset explained to her that one evening, Twilight's friends had been watching her and Starlight practice spells and work on their magic. In an instant, Twilight had mysteriously vanished after a beam nearly collided with her. From there, they had all begun a frantic search for her. So many places were looked over again and again.

As many areas as they could check were scoured in search of finding any clue on the disappearing princess' whereabouts. They had checked Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, even venturing into the Dragon's Lair. Not a single pony could find a trace of her. Somehow, Twilight Sparkle had ceased to exist.

Days turned into weeks while the ponies searched high and low for their dear friend. Posters went up all around Equestria in an attempt to gain some knowledge of the Princess of Friendship's location. Those weeks dragged on with Twilight's friends traveling through the portal in hopes that maybe she landed in Sunset's world. It was then that Sunset had tried writing to her at first.

When no answers came up, ponies began to turn to the one they thought responsible. Starlight was just as scared and confused, claiming to want nothing more than Twilight back. Some wished to cast her out, others tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Nopony knew what had gone wrong.

To prove herself, Starlight even began researching various spells and incantations in the hopes of at least learning where Twilight had gone. In short, months rolled by with no answer. Starlight was hesitantly appointed the new Princess of Friendship, despite still having much to learn. She had even denied the position at first in a dire attempt to get things right. Enough ponies saw the act and distraught nature to realize she was genuine in her feelings.

Years later, Starlight stepped down from her title and decided to dedicate the rest of her time to figuring out a way to fix things. Trixie had stopped her shows to help out as best as she could, wanting to be there for her friend. Moon Dancer and her friends even ended up setting up a special study group solely for the purpose of finding Twilight Sparkle.

The more Twilight read and learned, the less she wanted to know. It hurt her more than anything to know her disappearance had led to so many ponies changing their ways just to simply find her. So much had happened in such a short span of time for her. She wasn't sure she even wanted to read the rest, but her curiosity got to her.

With ponies trying to move on, nothing seemed to be the same. Sunset had even come back through when she could, just to check in and see if she could be of any help. With her friends in such distress and Equestria seeming more solemn, she didn't appear to be of any help. The most she got out of Twilight's friends were that they missed her dearly and just wished they could turn back time.

Rarity tended to her boutiques the best she could. Dresses and other apparel were not in short supply by any means. Sunset could only guess that she kept making dresses to keep her mind off what really bothered her most.

Applejack had kept the most quiet, next to Fluttershy, and seemed more inclined to keep working on the farm. Apples, apple cider, and other various apple confections were made promptly and always delivered with a bonus supply. For once, and seemingly forever, Applejack was as short worded as Big Mac.

Fluttershy simply took care of her animals and any others she came across. Pinkie stopped by her cottage often enough, attempting to keep her spirits high. Discord had even tried his best at comforting her. He had even attempted looking for Twilight on his own for a few weeks. Nothing came of it.

Rainbow Dash had stopped hanging around altogether. Her dedication to the Wonderbolts took top priority. Twilight knew Dash wasn't turning her back on the situation. Sunset voiced the same thought as she stated how the rainbow maned pony seldom gloated. Dash seemed to do what the others did and tried her best to keep her mind from lingering on such a thought for too long. They had all tried and did what they could. They just couldn't move on.

The years came and went. Events happened that Sunset only heard about. The changeling queen, Chrysalis, had attacked once and barely was fended off. There were other threats, but they were mostly held at bay. Nothing seemed the same any longer.

There was one thing Sunset mentioned that had Twilight calm her sobbing as she read over it carefully a few more times. Starlight had admitted she tried using the altered spell from Star Swirl's scroll on the cutie mark map again. In an attempt to reverse time and keep the incident from happening. Somehow, it didn't work.

Twilight wiped at her eyes, sniffing and doing her best to stay calm. She didn't like any of what she learned. The purple princess had trouble almost reading the words with how much she was crying. When a tear or two fell onto the page, there was another message to appear shortly after.

'Please don't cry. We still love you, Twilight. We tried.'

The words only made her feel choked up before leaning over the book and sobbing loudly. Her ears stayed folded back as she cried uncontrollably for what seemed like the next half hour. Everything around her felt so empty and gone. She had been pulled into some realm nopony knew and none of them had a way to get her back.

'I'll keep talking with you for as long as I can.'

Twilight rubbed her face with a foreleg, doing her best to keep her emotions from getting to her again. She did have Sunset to talk to. It was something. Not all hope was lost if she still had somepony to stay in contact with. She might be able to use that to help her find an answer on her own.

'Thank you,' Twilight wrote back, smiling at the book as she felt her cheeks dampen with more tears.

Twilight decided to ask a few more questions such as what Spike was up to and how Sunset knew so much. It turned out that Spike had supposedly spent most of his years at Celestia's side in hopes of somehow contacting Twilight. They did all they could to try and send her letters or even find a lead. Obviously, it was naught.

As for how Sunset knew of so much, she made plenty of trips to Equestria when she could. She wanted to check in and help out but there was only so much she could accomplish. Years passed and her visits became less frequent. Age was part of time and so much of it had gone by.

'I'm so sorry, Sunset,' Twilight wrote out, not sure how to truly show she meant it.

'Don't be. We never blamed you for anything, Twilight,' came the response.

Twilight took a moment to herself, just doing her best to take in what was told to her. She had no idea if she could reverse the effects or not. Starlight had managed to mess with time a great deal, or could have, with the spell she altered from Star Swirl's scroll. Even if Twilight could turn back time or head back, was there a way to keep her there? It was all so confusing to her.

The two of them wrote back and forth for what felt like hours. Sadly, the alicorn couldn't tell if even five minutes had passed due to the constant evening outside. The stillness around her had the pony uneasy most of the time. It all felt as unnatural as it was. She was in a place or time she wasn't meant to be.

Sunset tried comforting Twilight through her words and, for the most part, it helped. The lavender pony had been much more calm when talking with another. It still didn't help that she had her emotions on high and her mind wanted to run constantly. At least writing to Sunset had her capable of keeping herself mostly under control.

While they wrote, notes and ideas were eventually exchanged. As detailed as she could get, Twilight recounted her incident a few times over. Anything that she might have missed or things she didn't fully discuss were mentioned as well as her current situation. Time and everything around her seemed so still, but it needed further talk even if there didn't seem to be much to mention.

As they talked, Twilight wrote down notes and tried to find any references in her books. The pages of several books were almost at a constant flutter. Spells, incantations, and so much more were widely available to her, yet she still knew not of her plight. The various leads from one seemed to either stop before it became useful or just trailed randomly to several other spells.

As frustrating as it was, the princess was hard at work in a desire to understand what had gone wrong. There were so many passages to read over that she couldn't see how Sunset could be patient with her through it all. The light of the lamp was plenty, but for how long she couldn't even tell. It would have to do.

Scrolls were unraveled and books laid open all around her. Several had pages moving as she glanced in one direction and then another. As much as she wished to keep up her sudden burst of energy, she knew they she was merely a pony. A pony with basic needs as any other.

Those eyes did end up closing more than enough times. Twilight would jerk awake from either her head drooping too low or the sound of a book hitting the floor from her lack of concentration. It was a new fear that spawned shortly after when she knew she would have to sleep. Eating would be a simple task of just rummaging the kitchen or others in the desolate Ponyville. She just didn't want to sleep.

What if she woke up with nothing new she learned? What if she lost her notes? What if she somehow ended up somewhere else? Somewhere worse? The one that really worried her more currently was what if Sunset wasn't there to talk after?

Twilight's quill hovered over the page as she contemplated what to say to Sunset. Her friend would surely understand, but at such an age would she remember? Sunset had remembered so much of the years, but it was easy to tell that details could have been missing. Or that Sunset was having trouble continuing writing so consistently.

The purple pony shook her head of ill thoughts and sighed. It was a risk she had to take if she wanted any chance of possibly turning things back. Her quill lowered as she wrote quickly and stared at her words.

'I don't want to mention this, Sunset, but I am growing tired. I need sleep even if I don't want it,' Twilight told her.

'Don't worry. I'm past my own rest at this hour anyway. I'll be waiting to hear from you and we'll keep at it,' Sunset wrote back.

Slowly, Twilight closed the book and let her eyes trace Celestia's cutie mark on the cover. She didn't want to put things on hold, but she had no choice. A spell to stay awake wasn't safe. Her hoof came to rest on the book as she hovered the lamp closer and blew the light out. It would be good for her get some sleep. Wake up somewhat refreshed and get right to it again.

–

Days, or what could only be assumed as much, passed by while Twilight studied and worked on getting as much out of the books that she could. Sunset, as promised, was there when she woke and gave her a greeting most times. The delays on some responses did have the poor alicorn in a slight panic.

Tests slowly were made in attempts to somehow recreate what happened. Teleporting an item in hopes of having a delay in appearance. Transporting other things to see if she could send them 'back' from where she was. Though, since she hadn't received anything in such a manner spontaneously, she knew it was fruitless.

The one thing that she certain of was that her leap or teleport had to have been the cause of her problem. When she broke everything down, it all led back to that one moment in her panicked decision. Something went wrong but she had no idea what. Sunset seemed just as baffled about it.

A few times, Twilight had taken a trip or two through her castle to check out the magic mirror that led to Sunset's world. She had rigged it up to open whenever the last time she used it. When her hoof made solid contact against the glass sheen, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. She could use her book to try and force the portal open, but there was no telling what might happen.

Instead, she continued her research in hopes of finding an answer another way. The possible risk wasn't worth it for her yet. She wasn't that desperate.

While she continued her work, she had noticed that Sunset had taken slightly longer to respond at times. A mental note to herself, but one that also made her worry. Things had been turned in all directions which left Twilight a stressed mare with a mind constantly searching and worrying. She still did her best to push through it all and try to focus.

Walking by the empty rooms of her castle made her feel as if she might be trespassing her own home. Spike was obviously absent and seeing his empty bed only tugged at Twilight's heart all the more. She missed him and her friends dearly. If she wasn't busy with her muzzle in a book or writing notes, her mind would seem wander where she didn't want it.

Food was in no real short supply. She had the entire pantry to herself along with anything in any of the houses or Sugar Cube Corner in Ponyville. A little walk and she could even grab some apples from Sweet Apple Acres, though it had taken on a much more quiet and eerie tone surrounding it. Even with so much food, nothing could make her feel the same. Nothing but home.

Twilight did try to keep track of time with the help of Sunset. A small tell of when it was for her friend let Twilight try and align her own sleeping schedule with it. The two kept working and thinking as long as they could on getting the situation fixed. There had been a few times that Twilight asked why Sunset didn't bring the other Twilight or Rarity over to help. She never got an answer to that. For better or worse, she left it alone.

There had been a couple of moments where Sunset tried alleviating some of Twilight's stress with a little joke. Mentioning how she had so much food, she must not know what to do with it all managed to get a smile from the mare. She did appreciate the effort and it certainly improved her mood.

Supposed days passed and the room in which Twilight had been taking notes slowly became overrun with notes and books stacked all around. Some trips to Canterlot to visit the Star Swirl section of the library had brought her some new books to study as well. Nopony would miss them.

While she did remember the scroll in which Starlight had used to travel back in time, Twilight wasn't sure if there may even be a past in her current world. Or realm. She still had no idea what to call it. The probability of even such a spell working that she hadn't altered but another was also more dangerous than she was wanting to admit. If it made things worse, she may never get home.

Time, as she knew it, passed by slowly. The days that she knew about, thanks to Sunset, didn't really feel as if they had gone by as quick as she was told. One way or another, there was some time moving in another area that Twilight didn't have access to. Or, at least an area she wasn't sure would allow her in.

Most of the time she wasn't reading or jotting down notes, Twilight ended up staring out a window at the empty landscape of Equestria. The land she once knew and enjoyed going out for had made her feel like she didn't belong. Even when Celestia had sent her to Ponyville, she didn't feel as alone and out of place as she did currently. Why her?

The question of why always came up. From wondering why it had to be her or why it had to be such a complicated thing always ran through her mind. It wasn't an easy fix, but she kept adamant about it. Hope, even dwindling, was still there.

Crumpled parchment and overturned books slowly replaced the neat and tidy setting Twilight had made for herself in the study. Frustration and sadness often took hold of her the longer an idea took only to hit a brick wall and come back to square one. She wasn't used to such a troubling puzzle or strange problem. It was something she had begun to fear she may not solve at all.

Upon waking up one 'day', Twilight was met with one of her fears. Her mane was a mess but she didn't care. The frazzled hair was one she just simply didn't want to worry about. The book to talk to Sunset opened through magic, laying on the table as the alicorn rubbed her eyes and wrote her greeting. It had become routine for her after doing such so many times.

As she predicted, Sunset was late in replying. As she kept the thought to the back of her mind, she ended up giving the occasional glance down to the page she had written on. There were a few pages from the Star Swirl section she took she needed to look in, pulling her attention away for a while. It wasn't anything new, but she still felt uneasy about the moment.

When it felt like it had been long enough, Twilight looked over to the book again. There had been no reply from Sunset. The loss of time left the alicorn feeling as if she may not have waited long enough but still wrote another message down. Asking how Sunset was doing seemed appropriate without being overbearing.

The longer she waited, the more antsy she became. Twilight bit her lip and slowly put down the various pieces of parchment nearby while her eyes drifted to the open book. Those violet eyes stared at the last thing written, hoping to see something after. Just her own writing remained.

'Sunset, are you okay?' Twilight wrote again, quickly adding, 'I'm sorry if this is too much. I just don't know how much time had passed. Please respond soon.'

The rest of the day was spent in isolation. Twilight read and wrote without the help of her friend. It only seemed to increase her worry with thoughts of what might have happened. As much as she wanted to, she kept from writing anything more, knowing that Sunset would get back to her when she could. It still didn't help her from thinking the worst.

Twilight went to sleep without another word from her friend that night. The next day she was greeted with her own words yet again. No reply. Try as she might, the alicorn could only focus so much on her work before staring down at the open pages in hopes of getting something back.

The next few days, so she thought, passed with no word from Sunset. There had been no response and possibly no indication of getting another. She didn't like being alone once more. The small period where she had a friend to write to made everything so much more bearable for her. The idea of not having that flooded the mare with that fleeting hope.

Days crawled by with Twilight marking her waking moments in tallies at the back of the book. Her own calendar of sorts. It left her feeling that she could be bringing attention to the book while keep track of things for herself. A small reminder for Sunset to reply.

When what she assumed to be a week or so with no word back, Twilight had become desperate for any social interaction. She wanted to write more to her friend but she knew it wouldn't help. Nothing would help that other than getting a message back. When she began losing focus on her work, she had resorted to pacing around the room while skimming through the linked book.

Sooner or later she knew what she had to accept. Sunset would not be talking to her forever. Something had either happened or she had forgotten, as age can do, and the book would cease to be of use. There would be nothing she could do with it beyond that point. Then it clicked.

There was one thing she remembered she could do. Rather, attempt it. Despite the portal being closed, she had already set up the alterations for it to house the book and power it. It was just that she couldn't tell if it would help or hinder her. Perhaps nothing at all.

She would wait. Wait for a few more of her waking moments she considered 'days' and then try. If the portal worked and there were others beyond it, she had something more to go on. If not, then she would be in the same place she had been for a little while.

“Just wait,” she said softly to herself. “Just wait.”

–

The time had come for her. No word from Sunset and she had one idea she wanted to try. Without any hesitation, Twilight grabbed the book and a lantern as she ran along the halls, levitating them with her. She was hungry but that would have to be put on hold until she tested her idea.

Opening the door, she ran in and set the lantern down nearby. One last look through the pages made her give a small smile as she remembered just how kind Sunset had been to her. So understanding and patient with her. It was something she already missed.

Twilight floated the book up and set it in place. There had been plenty of doubts in her mind about doing such a thing. It could warp her reality or maybe ruin Sunset's. It was a giant risk and she had nothing to help her know what would truly happen. She was left with two options.

Do or don't. That's all it came down to. Her eyes stayed fixated on the book while she tried to sooth her frantically pounding heart. The anticipation and anxiety were getting to her. Finally, she made a choice.

The beam of magic shot from her horn and caused that familiar glow upon the book. The machine rattled to life as the mechanisms began to do their part. Twilight watched as the machine churned and let out various noises that sounded so haunting in the lifeless nature of her castle. She was scared but more than usual.

Then it happened. The mirror shimmered and changed, giving way from its solid form. Twilight's ears perked up as she watched and moved closer. The rift of the portal was beginning to open right before her eyes. The sound of the machine let out a few almost exhausted groans while she waited.

When the portal finally opened, she hardly had time to react before it closed again. Before she could even begin to figure out the problem, the mirror stiffened and solidified before one of the worst noises she had ever heard sounded out within the room. A sound that would haunt her to the end of days.

A deafening crack came from the mirror. The splinter of the wound it made traveling from the bottom of the glass to half-way up. The tree of misfortune grew and overtook the perfect face as it cast back the broken hopes of Twilight's own reaction to her.

“No! No, no, no!” she screamed, searching for a way to quickly fix it.

The shatter had the pieces break away and come clattering to the floor. The reflections shined from the light, but they only showed the hollow nature of the castle and the pony residing in the room. She was left speechless. The whole test had ruined any hope of traveling out of her torment.

When the machine buzzed and whirred up, her eyes darted around. She wasn't sure what else it could be doing, seeing as there was no long anything to power. Then she saw it.

The book was resting comfortably in place, still acting a power source. The moment she tried to magically pry it out made a bulb pop loudly. The sound startled her as she let go to see sparks fly from the broken bulb. Some that had unfortunately managed to land upon the pages.

She no longer needed a lamp within the room. The fire at which the book burned was bright enough. Before her eyes, every bit of hope and comfort had gone up in flames. The crackle of the fire even brought its own melancholy tone. She couldn't believe she had lost so much in such a short amount of time.

Instincts kicked in after the shock. Her magic pried the flaming book free and set it down as she quickly stamped out the hungry flames. Through the smoke and suffering some coughs, she tried to see if any of it was salvageable. Whether it was the tears in her eyes, the smoke rising up, or just her accepting it, she saw nothing of worth.

The feeling of being so alone set in quicker than when she arrived. Why? Why did this have to happen to her? The questions surged in her mind as she turned her back to the useless room, dragging the lantern along with her.

It had all been because of her stupid decision. The one time she panicked and had remembered her fight with Starlight through the past. A really hazardous teleport and she managed to leap into a time or place she didn't know.

As she walked along the empty hall, the lantern hanging from her mouth, she started thinking more on her incident. Sniffling and letting her tears freely fall where they may, she managed to bring into focus a small glimmer of hope. Something she had overlooked. There was still a way.

Twilight stood still in thought as she tried to pace herself and think carefully. Starlight had been altering spells and combining many to suit her needs. Some of them had been awkward but others were downright dangerous. One in particular that may have been the cause of Twilight's disappearance.

She had little control over the spell used to travel back in time. Starlight had crafted something very scary with it and nearly ruined all of Equestria. Thinking back to it, Twilight had not focused her teleporation correctly. The two could easily be connected. It was fascinating and all the more horrific what residual magic could do when not properly handled.

In a rush, Twilight headed off in search of the fated scroll. It didn't take her long to track it down and pull it out of the safe confines she had stored it. It was strange seeing something more than likely tied to her fate of being in a place and time so different but the same. A place that it possibly put her. Back in the real Equestria, she knew it would also be around. Almost like a curse.

With the scroll levitating alongside her, Twilight rushed down the halls and empty corridors as fast as she could. Her hooves sounded out along the floors while she galloped and panted in her haste. She had hidden the spell from Starlight as a precaution and nearly forgot it herself. She couldn't have been more thankful for her choice in doing so, knowing right where it would be.

Once she got to the large room with the cutie mark map, she unraveled the parchment carefully. The giant tear running through it horizontally was still there. Remnants of a time not of its own. She glanced between it and the large table before hopping up. She had one shot at making it work.

“Please,” Twilight pleaded, staring at the spell written upon the scroll before her.

Her horn lit up as she studied it and read over it several times. The alicorn sighed and did her best to focus on it. If it failed, she would be back at the books that seemed to yield nothing for her. If it worked, she would finally be back home. It would then be all right again. Her horn shined bright as the table beneath her lit up in a glow.

“Please work,” she whispered and closed her eyes.

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[Flipping_Imps]

It was all a dream twilight~