Darkest of Days

by starshine_dash

Magica

"It's been three days!" shouted Rainbow Dash, pacing around the main floor of the library.

"I am aware of that, Rainbow Dash. However, Twilight is still unconscious, and we are not going anywhere until she is back on her hooves," said Rarity, preparing another cup of tea, "A unicorn who exhausts all of her magic is very delicate, and Twilight has as much magic as the Princess, if not more. We also could not fight Solar Flare with only five of us, darling."

The pegasus growled in frustration and stormed out of the library, taking off back to her cloud home for another nap. Rarity remained, sipping her tea and keeping an eye on Twilight, "Please wake up soon, dear. We need you."

---

Twilight heard Rarity within the haze of her own mind. Ever since she'd passed out she had been wandering through a foggy wasteland with decrepit statues labeled in a language she couldn't read. Some of the ponies depicted looked familiar, and it was impossible not to recognize those of Celestia and Luna. She wished she could respond to Rarity, to tell her that she would wake up soon, but her body was somewhere else entirely as far as she could tell.

"I'm sorry, Rarity, I'm trying..." she muttered to herself. She had heard that the symptoms of magical exhaustion could include incredibly detailed lucid dreams, however she expected something more useful or at least interesting than a vast foggy nothingness. She felt no hunger, or thirst, or exhaustion, and simply kept wandering, occasionally attempting to cast a light spell, or something to clear the fog away, but each time she was met with a splitting headache and sparks shooting uselessly from her horn.

Having given up on that, she attempted to discern a pattern to the statues, and managed to track herself towards more and more familiar ponies, in better condition. Stumbling across a pristine statue of Applejack, she smiled. Twilight wasn't sure, exactly, but it felt like she was getting closer. Moving away, she found a statue of Rarity, then Pinkie, then rest of her friends, leading back in a circle on Applejack.

Squinting into the distance she saw it did curve, but she was unable to see the end of the circle. Just an endless repeating circle of statues. She stood with her back to the latest carving of her farming friend and struck out toward what she calculated to be the center, judging by the way the ponies were all facing. The fog around her thickened and it became impossible for her to even see her own hooves, but she kept pressing forward until finally, she saw a soft glow. Quickening her pace, she approached and found a small pool, full of a soft lavender colored liquid. She approached it slowly, and saw that it surrounded the base of a statue, this one of herself. She looked older and for some reason she had wings. The tiara that the Element of Magic had taken the form of was perched above her horn and she looked serene, reaching toward the sky.

"My font... This is my font, isn't it?" she asked to the foggy air as she dipped a hoof into it. A warm feeling spread through her body as she did so and she felt revitalized.

"Very good, child. You have found yourself again."

"Who's there?!" Twilight shouted, spinning around and reflexively setting her horn aglow.

"My true name is lost to time, dear child," said the voice again, as a tall matronly alicorn mare stepped free of the fog. Her coat was a soft sky blue while her mane and tail were the deep purple of the gemstone that formed the heart of the element of magic and flowed in some unknown wind, "but you know me and my sisters quite well. I am Magica."

"... The element of magic is a pony?" she asked, dumbfounded. Other questions warred in her head to be asked first, but the alicorn began to speak.

"Yes, my little pony. Long ago, the six of us were merely close friends, as you and yours are. It was a dangerous time, and our abilities began to set us apart from others. The princesses noticed, and we were brought to Canterlot for training. It was during this time, as we began to manifest the innate properties of what would become the elements, that Discord began his reign of chaos."

Twilight sat on her haunches and listened intently.

"We fought, of course, as hard as we could, but it wasn't enough. In the end, in order to truly seal him away, we gave our entire being, body mind and soul, to the effort, sealing Discord in his stone prison. In doing so, our physical forms were unable to sustain the power, and became stones, much like the ones you found in the castle.

"Our forms varied over the years, but always we were together. When the Nightmare overtook Luna, our hearts wept with Tia's. She had been a true friend, but we were weak, and unable to unleash our true power to cleanse her. We could only send her away until some ponies came along that truly embodied our spirits."

Twilight, "My friends..."

"Yes, Twilight. You and your friends are the true spirit of everything we once were. Only you have been able to access more than the harmonious cleansing. You have all accessed the armor, and that makes us very proud. You, however, almost accessed something far more, and your body was not ready."

"I could feel... everything..."

Magica smiled softly and sat down next to her charge, "You were trying to merge fully with your element, Twilight. By accident, yes, but you could not handle it. That is why you passed out and why you remain unconscious. This pool, is but a small drop of your true magical potential. When you hatched Spike, and when brought peace to the Ursa, this place was an ocean of power, vast and deep."

"Will... Will it refill? How long will it take? I need to be able to help my friends!"

"You will, Twilight. This," the alicorn waved a hoof, "was something of a test. I wanted to make sure you could identify problems and patterns without magic, in case you exhausted yourself like this again. To see if you could go forward, even without that which you believe makes you Twilight Sparkle."

"My magic doesn't make me who I am, I do, and my friends do, and their memories of me."

Magica's smile grew, "Very good! Very good, child," she began to laugh softly, "You have caught on very quickly. Tia was right about you. Now, to the end of our meeting. Twilight, I have something very important to ask you. What will you do when you face what Tia and Lulu have become?"

"I will do what we did in the castle, and banish the Nightmare."

She shook her head, "I'm afraid that may not be enough. As you can see, the Nightmare returned, first in Luna, and then it slipped into Celestia, corrupting them both. It is like a cancer. If you leave even a little bit behind, it will come back. You will need your full strength, and the full powers of the elements, to fully banish the Nightmare from your teacher and friend."

"So how do we do that?"

"Your full power is very nearly unlocked, and will be very shortly," she winked, "but your friends and yourself have many trials ahead. Through these trials, you will all gain further powers and familiarity with your individual elements. You will also grow closer together, strengthening each others weaknesses, and becoming truly harmonious."

"So by the time we get there, we'll be ready?"

Magica nodded one final time, "I believe so, if you continue to be the ponies I know you are at heart. Your friends may fight, but they will always come back to each other in the end. Now, Twilight, I offer you the full strength of myself, Magica, the Element of Magic, to proceed on your quest to save Celestia, Luna, and seal Discord once again."

"I would be honored to accept, but, how do I do that?"

The alicorn stood and extended her hoof, "Take my hoof," she said with a slight smirk.

Twilight rose and extended her own, touching the alicorn's lightly. Light and sound filled her world as everything burned white. Moments later, she felt herself floating, and looked around. Her font was indeed a vast ocean, and she was floating in front of her statue, statues of her friends having risen around her to an equal height, all looking skyward with ready looks on their face. She smiled and closed her eyes again, squeezing them shut before opening them again, blinking as the real world swam into existence.

---

Rarity peeled herself off the wall and fixed her mane before turning back to Twilight. Just before the other unicorn had awoken, the fashionista had witnessed an incredible sight. The tiara that Twilight wore, which contained her element, had begun to glow with a bright light before shedding the golden band. The jewel itself merged into Twilight's chest and was visible there as a discoloring of her fur, as if it were a second cutie mark. Shaking herself, the unicorn approached her friend, "Are you alright, darling?"

"I'm fine, Rarity. I just met the element of magic and we kind of... merged, I guess. Everything that was her is now me. It's amazing! I can't put it into words, and you know myself and words."

Rarity nodded, "Well, I am glad you are on your hooves. Rainbow Dash has been growing increasingly impatient and is tired of waiting. I think she would have gone off on her own if you slept any longer."

Twilight gave her friend a hug, "I appreciate everything you've done for me, Rarity. Go home and get some rest. I'll send a message around to the girls to be ready to leave in the morning. I hope everyone was able to use the time to sort out the situation here?"

A nod greeted her, "I believe so. When they weren't here worrying over you, they were off making sure everything would be taken care of while we were gone."

"Alright then, get some sleep. I have a lot to do!"

Rarity nodded and made her exit, Twilight watching her go. She proceeded into the kitchen and began to do something she had never done before: cook dinner. She smiled and rubbed a hoof absentmindedly over the mark on her chest as the meal began to take shape. Tomorrow would be another start of their adventure.

Comments

[Ehrlichkeit]

hmm... Ill have to read this later. Very interesting Idea you have here

[zRedwind]

Need..... More..... Can't wait to see how the story plays out.