• Published 10th May 2019
  • 6,205 Views, 686 Comments

Sunken Horizons - Goldenwing



Twilight glared at her reflection standing among the ruins. "You know you're a monster." It only smiled, revealing bloody fangs.

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XXXII: Of Alicorns

Warm water flowed around Anatami’s hooves, coaxing her awake.

She blinked her eyes open, lifting her chin out of the wet sand. She was lying on her belly on a quiet beach, water smooth as glass stretching out before her.

There were stars, a twinkling reflection of the night sky so pristine it felt like she could pluck one out of the water with her hooves. Or perhaps she could dive in and join them, becoming a new constellation that young foals would look up at in wonder instead of fear. They framed a full moon, radiant and larger than she’d ever seen before, that illuminated the landscape with a pale blue glow.

Mountains in the distance, soft and purple, their sides dotted by trees that swayed in a gentle, soothing wind. The chirps and croaks of crickets and frogs drifted over it all, forming a song that tickled at the back of Ana’s mind like a distant memory she couldn’t place.

She didn’t know where she was. She didn’t know how she’d gotten there. Part of her felt that she should be concerned by the revelation, but the only emotion she could muster was contentment. Peace.

She stood, the water splashing around her hooves as she turned around. A small island awaited her, decorated by winding patches of colorful glowing mushrooms and lotus flowers. Her hooves began moving of their own accord, guiding her on a weaving path up the island’s gentle slope.

A wall of willows surrounded the peak, their trunks and sweeping limbs separating it from the rest of the world. Ana’s hooves rustled through the fresh grass as she stepped between them, emerging into a small clearing ringed by luminescent blue flowers.

Princess Luna stood in the center, smiling at her.

Ana froze, her reverie shattered. She was dreaming. There were no mountains in Equestria; there were no islands or beaches or seas smooth as glass.

Some ponies said the Princesses came to them in dreams and told them prophecies of the future. Others said it was impossible to dream of them. Ana had certainly never dreamed of them before, despite many nights spent imagining what they might look like in reality. The artistic renditions seen in statues and paintings and the stained-glass windows of a hundred halls of worship were as diverse as the ponies that made them. Who could say which were most accurate?

But Gava had seen a princess. And Ana had seen the moon rise in the middle of the day to blot out the sun. Deep in her soul, with more certainty than she’d ever felt for anything, she knew this was not just a dream.

“Thou art a long way from home, my little pony.”

Her words were like the mirror-smooth waters surrounding the island: crystal clear, flowing like water. But firm. Regal. Her voice carried truth in a way that a mortal’s couldn’t.

Ana felt she should answer, but what could she possibly say? She wanted to fall to the floor and beg for forgiveness, for guidance, to pour her heart out with the foalish hope that the Princess could provide answers to her every problem. But she didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of a goddess.

“Are you real?”

Stupid question. Of course she was real. She felt more real than anything Ana had ever seen, but there was still a part of her waiting to wake up and realize she’d imagined it all.

“Yes, I am real.” Princess Luna smiled wider, extending a hoof. “Thou art in turmoil.”

Ana stepped closer. She reached out, touching the Princess’s hoof with her own. Her heart fluttered with a painful hope.

“Can you—” her throat tightened, her voice going hoarse “—help me?”

“First, thou must help thyself.” The Princess’s smile twisted into a smirk. Playful, but kind. “Seek out thy siblings, Silver Glow. Return home.”

“W-what?” Ana frowned, struggling to process the words.

“I must go, for now.” Princess Luna’s smile faded grimly. “But we shall speak again. Thou art not alone.”


Ana’s eyes flinched open.

She lay on a rooftop in Harvest. There was no beach, no island, no distant mountains and no starry sky. There was no Princess Luna. The serenity faded away, replaced by nagging doubt.

She shot to her hooves, looking up, dreading what she might see.

There was a black disk where the sun should be, ringed with fire. The moon, eclipsing the sun in the middle of the day.

She coughed up a shaky laugh. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her whole body shook with rapture. She’d prayed, and Princess Luna had answered!

She heard ponies panicking in the streets below. Some of them screamed, no doubt taking the eclipse for a terrifying omen. The entire city was seized by a cacophonous buzz as the impossible blazed in the sky above them.

But one sound in particular cut through the rest: a shrill, high-pitched keening that made Ana’s ears twist and flick instinctively. No normal pony could make that noise—they couldn’t even hear it—but Ana heard it.

She snapped her head toward it, scanning for the source.

“Seek out thy siblings.”

Ana broke into a breathless sprint.


Princess Luna opened her eyes.

They didn’t snap open with shock, nor did they wearily blink open as if rousing from a deep slumber. After centuries of continuous dreaming, Princess Luna woke casually as if from a midday nap, rolling to her hooves and straightening to her full height in a single fluid motion.

Twilight watched breathlessly as Luna turned her head, her gaze passing over the cracked crystal floors, the golden sunlight bleeding at all angles from the jagged wounds carved into the architecture, and the unnatural darkness clinging to every surface. There was a subtle shift in Luna’s stature—her wings hovered at her sides, her hooves spread, her eyes narrowed and her horn angled down ever so slightly—with only a slight ruffle of her long feathers to mark the transition.

“What is this place?”

“Princess!” Twilight stepped into Luna’s line of sight with a tentative smile. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted before she could find the words.

“Welcome to Our Crystal Empire, Moon Princess,” Shaper rumbled. “Much has changed since you last set hoof here.”

“Sombra!” Luna’s horn flared bright silver, her powerful magic aura shattering Twilight’s shield dome into a thousand spinning shards. The inky darkness filling the room rushed hungrily towards them, only to be beat back by the brilliant, pulsing light radiating from Luna’s horn. “Thy cloying corruption seeps from the crystal itself! Thou art a fool to rouse me here; I shall relish thy cries for mercy!”

“Is this how an Equestrian princess shows gratitude to her savior?” The shadows lengthened, the walls appearing to bow towards the stallion trapped in crystal as his red eyes smoldered. Twilight’s ear twitched at the sound of crystal scraping against crystal, and she glanced behind her to see Shaper’s thralls lurching back into the room, their beady gemstone eyes glinting in the light of Luna’s horn. “We are not Sombra! We are Shaper, and We have sated Ourselves with the nectar of your blackened soul, Moon Princess! Face Us now, then, so we can take your body as our thrall!”

Twilight grimaced, looking between the two powerful beings squaring off right in front of her. Exhaustion clawed at her, but she forced it down. She stepped to Luna’s side, turning to face the thralls steadily surrounding them and straining to draw on her magic.

Twilight, Midnight cautioned. We need to get the Princess to safety!

She’ll be safe once we get rid of Shaper and his thralls, Twilight countered. She glared at the misshapen husks circling around them, daring them to come closer. “I’m ready, Princess!”

“Thou must take heed, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said. “This fiend’s corruption carrieth an evil thou canst not imagine. Everything it toucheth—”

She cut off with a quiet gasp. Startled, Twilight looked back and saw Luna staring at her with a wide-eyed, uncertain expression.

“What fate hath befallen thee?” the Princess asked. “Corruption clingeth to thee like the progeny of Sombra himself, thy body is twisted and unnatural, yet thou actest freely? Is this some trick?”

Her head snapped back towards Shaper, her voice lowering into a menacing growl. “Villain! Thou has mangled her soul beyond salvation!”

Twilight flinched, shrinking back from the grief in Luna’s voice. For a brief moment, shame swelled inside her, but she cast it aside, trying to step into Luna’s view again. “I’m still me, Princess!”

“Your little pony speaks truth, Princess Luna.” Shaper’s deep voice echoed from every direction as the crystal ponies completed their encirclement, shuffling to a stop with eerie precision. “She is a unique specimen. We would’ve happily studied and devoured her Ourself, if she hadn’t promised to deliver you to our chamber.” He let out a low, satisfied hum that sent a shiver down Twilight’s spine. “She has helped us grow stronger in one day than We would in centuries!”

“And still it shall be naught in the face of my fury,” Luna growled. Her eyes shone as the temperature plummeted. A layer of frost formed across every surface, coating the crystalline bodies of the surrounding thralls and sparkling in the light glowing from Luna’s horn. Her majestic wings flared out with a powerful gust of wind, causing her starry mane to roil behind her. “Stay back, Twilight Sparkle! We shall talk after I have dealt with this monster!”

She doesn’t trust me, Twilight realized, half-stumbling out of the way as the Princess stalked towards Shaper. Her gut twisted in on itself, hot blood tears welling in her eyes. She thinks I’m weak!

You’re not weak, Midnight said, leaning against Twilight’s side. And you know she doesn’t think that way.

Twilight cringed away from the touch. I can prove myself! If I help her defeat Shaper, then she’ll see!

Why do we need to fight him? Midnight pleaded. There are more important things than squabbling with a petty king!

No! Shaper is still a threat. Twilight’s lip curled into a snarl as she turned to face the crystal ponies and lowered her horn. She could still feel the bone-deep weariness from the fight with Luna’s wyrd, which combined with Shaper’s oppressive aura made every attempt to channel magic feel like knives stabbing into her skull, but rather than shy away from the pain she embraced it. She used it to block out her doubts and the nausea still lingering after Princess Luna’s reaction to her appearance, and with clenched teeth she created a long spike of red-lavender magic, spinning in the air beside her. We can win this fight.

Twilight, stop. You’re hurting yourself!

You hurt yourself all the time, when we needed to fight.

And you stopped me! Midnight reached over, grabbing Twilight’s hoof. Instantly the flow of magic cut off.

Twilight realized her legs were shaking. She looked into Midnight’s concerned eyes, struggling to keep the snarl on her face. What do you expect us to do, then? Hide under the Princess’s tail while she fights Shaper and his thralls?

The air began to reverberate as a droning hum filled the chamber. The thralls rocked slowly side to side with a single, shared rhythm, their voices growing steadily louder as their crystal eyes grew brighter, the shadows sharper, the air thicker. Glancing back, Twilight saw Luna standing with hooves spread and her horn pointed at Shaper’s crystal form like a spear, his eyes flickering like fire within his prison.

The humming stopped. The pressure around Twilight’s horn abated as every crystal pony, all at once, snapped their heads towards the ceiling.

“What…?” Shaper sounded confused. Surprised. And then angry. “No!”

Luna’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t release her magic. Twilight looked around in confusion, taking an uncertain step towards Luna. Every crystal pony was focused on the same thing, somewhere far away and above.

“You have brought invaders to Our Empire, Equestrian!” Shaper roared. His thralls looked down, the chunks of crystal in their bodies grinding together as they leveled their dead stares on Twilight. “They are killing Our ponies!”

“What invaders?” Twilight challenged, keeping her gaze focused on the surrounding thralls. “If I’d wanted your land, you’d know it!”

“You dare accuse Us of such perfidy? Here you stand in Our sanctum, your princess restored by Our own magics, and We awaken from the ritual to find your allies attacking Our subjects in their flying ships!”

What? My friends wouldn’t do that!

Unless they were in some kind of danger, Midnight reasoned.

“You’re lying!” Twilight spat. “My friends are peaceful ponies!”

“Peaceful ponies slaughtering Our servants without mercy!”

Twilight was preparing a scathing retort when Princess Luna glanced back, cutting her off. “Twilight Sparkle, whatever the truth may be, it seemeth thy friends are in danger.”

Twilight blinked. What was she doing arguing about the truth when her friends might be fighting for their lives at that very moment? She raised a hoof to her head, trying to clear her thoughts. “We need to go help them.”

Luna nodded, stepping back and curling one wing around Twilight’s shoulders. “Thy punishment is delayed for now, fiend,” she said to Shaper. “But I will not forget thee.”

Her horn went out, the pale light of her magic vanishing with startling speed. The shadows rushed in, racing up Twilight’s legs. For a moment she could only see the fire-lights of the crystal ponies’ sightless eyes, and then she felt a sudden, indescribable shift—

She felt warmth against her coat, and wind tugging at her mane.

Twilight blinked in confusion. She was standing on top of the Spire as Princess Luna’s wing lifted off her shoulder. The stifling presence of Shaper’s dark magic was gone, leaving a strange emptiness in its place. When she reached for her magic it came easily, eagerly, the rush of power serving as an anchor she could clutch to.

The thick fur curtains had been drawn closed and tied down with loops of cord. They fluttered and flapped along the edges, occasionally letting in a flurry of snow, which would quickly melt in the face of the burning braziers that wrapped the Spire’s peak in a protective shell of heat. Several crystal ponies stood around the edges, their shoulders wrapped in thick furs, staring in shock at the two mares that had just appeared in their midst. At the center, seated around the black crystal marking the entrance to Shaper’s domain, the crystal ponies’ elders looked up with expressions of mixed confusion, rapture, and suspicion.

“Could it be?” Arctic Rose breathed, rising shakily to her hooves. A younger stallion rushed up, lending his support to the older mare as she stared at Princess Luna with unabashed reverence. “The Shaper has returned, in our time of need!”

“Steady yourself,” Smoke Quartz cautioned, seated opposite her. “We cannot be certain this isn’t some trick.”

“Chosen Twilight?” Ametrine asked uncertainly. “What did you see on your pilgrimage?”

Luna looked to Twilight, who looked to Midnight.

What should we tell them?

“We came to help,” Midnight said. Twilight blinked, suddenly finding herself standing a step to the side, and Midnight in her former place. “Explain, quickly.”

The elders hesitated, their gazes flicking towards their advisors watching from the periphery. Arctic Rose spoke first, her greying pink mane curling around her hooves as she threw herself down into a deep bow.

“Oh, Great Savior and her Chosen! Equestrians have come from beyond the ice to attack our home!” she said. “We’ve sent our warriors, but we fear it will not be enough!”

Twilight’s lips curled down into a firm frown. So it wasn’t the crystal ponies who were attacking her friends; it was likely more bounty hunters that had somehow found them even this far north. And now the innocent crystal ponies, some of the kindest ponies she’d met, were getting caught up in the violence.

Well, if they wanted to make her an enemy, she would oblige.

“Where are they?”

“Outside, past the South Face,” Ametrine said. She nodded to one of the watching advisors, who jumped to pull one of the fur curtains aside.

Through the haze of snow, Twilight saw four airships locked in battle. She immediately picked out the Argo, circling above an unfamiliar, fortified ship with a long cannon barrel protruding from its prow. A short distance away, one of the crystal ponies’ strange black ships, the Flurry Heart, was drawn abreast to another, open-decked airship. She saw several bodies littering the deck of the Flurry Heart, pools of blood gleaming in the sunlight. The crew of the open-decked ship were in the process of pushing off, using long poles to distance themselves from the Flurry Heart as the propellers spun up.

“We’re too late.” Anger swelled in Twilight’s breast as she stepped closer to the ledge. Was she mad at the attackers for slaughtering innocents, or mad at the crystal ponies for being so pitifully weak? “They already lost.”

“No!” Ametrine cried, stepping up to Twilight’s side with teary eyes. She sat back on her haunches, her hooves rising to muffle her sobs. “What have we done to deserve this?”

Behind her, the other crystal ponies joined her in mourning. Princess Luna came to Twilight’s other side, looking out over the frozen lake and snow-capped mountains before focusing on the airships floating above them.

“How much time have I lost?” she asked.

“Centuries,” Twilight muttered, glaring at the invading ships. “Maybe a millenium.”

“And Equestria?”

“Destroyed in all but name.” Twilight pursed her lips, thinking back to the shock of her first days in the future. “Selfish, violent ponies have taken charge. Magic and harmony are almost nonexistent.” She clenched her jaw. “All of my friends are suffering.”

Luna nodded. They watched as the open-decked ship began to accelerate, turning away from the drifting Flurry Heart. “What is happening here?”

“More bounty hunters,” Twilight said confidently. “They never leave us alone. They’ve followed us even here, beyond the edge of the map.”

Luna’s eyes narrowed. The wind quickened. “And the crystal ponies?”

“They’re strange, but kind,” Twilight said. “They eat meat and wear the skin of dead animals, but they welcomed us generously, invited us into their home, and now they’re fighting and dying for us.” Her ears angled back, her voice lowering. “They don’t deserve any of this.”

A spark flared out from on top of the open-decked airship. It curved through the air towards the drifting Crystal Heart before disappearing into its hull.

A flash of light silhouetted the Crystal Heart as it was blasted apart, the primitive netting and bridges built on top of it soaring through the sky in every direction. The hull cracked as secondary explosions detonated along its length, shattering the dark crystal like a giant glass toy. The thunderous report of the blast reached Twilight a second later, the deep rumbling soon joined by the sharp, shrill crack of heavy chunks of crystal smacking into the thick ice.

The ponies atop the Spire wailed in despair. Twilight’s heart began to beat faster, her blood going hot in her veins.

We’ll kill them, she thought, nostrils flaring and horn lowering. Rip them apart.

Twilight, this isn’t you. Midnight stepped in front of her, standing in empty air with wide, concerned eyes.

This is me when my friends are in danger, Twilight glared at Midnight. What happened to the mare that pushed me to kill at every slight?

I know what you’re feeling, Midnight drew closer, lifting a hoof to Twilight’s chest. This isn’t healthy. Let me hold it again.

No! I won’t hide away from my feelings anymore.

“If my noble Sister had awoken to this Equestria, she would weep,” Luna said quietly. “It is good, then, that she is not here.”

A tingle raced down Twilight’s spine.

She shuddered, looking up to see Luna’s horn glowing a pale blue. The crystal ponies went quiet as well, their sobs cutting off with small, sudden gasps. The fires burning in the braziers dimmed, the shadows cast by their light growing hard and sharp.

“Princess?” Twilight asked.

“Without guidance, it seemeth ponykind hath fallen to the old ways,” Luna continued. She spread her wings, and in the distance Twilight saw the shadows cast by the half-submerged mountains shifting. “I remember those ways. It is through my actions that they died, and I am well capable of killing them again.”

A wall of shadow crested the eastern horizon, creeping between the valleys formed by the mountain peaks and racing across the ice. Twilight gasped, looking up, and watched as the moon slid neatly into place atop the sky, a stark black circle ringed with fire. The land was cast into a starless night, a darkness that subsumed the ground and sky. Only the lights of the three surviving airships stood out, and as the wind picked up and thick sheets of snow began to swirl around the Spire, even they were barely visible.

“I thank thee greatly for waking me, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said. “It seems I am eternally in thy debt.”

She stepped off the ledge, disappearing in the darkness.

“Princess!” Twilight ran after her, throwing herself off the edge and into the howling wind.

She reached out with her arcane senses as she began to plummet, disappearing with the crackle of magic.


As she took in the grisly scene before her, Rainbow realized she was holding her breath.

Ten ponies, all armed. Probably trained, Rainbow assumed. Princess Luna had slaughtered them all in the span of seconds, even with every one of them ready and waiting for her. She hadn’t broken a sweat, hesitated, or even blinked. They’d been snuffed out like candles left outside in a chill midnight breeze.

Maybe Rainbow could’ve done the same thing, if she had the element of surprise and a fire in her breast. If she’d been able to get on top of them before they knew she was there. But it’d be a heart-pounding, adrenaline-fueled dance for her. She’d be out of breath afterwards, bleeding from close calls and jittery with nerves. She knew she was awesome, but she couldn’t come close to Princess Luna’s calm lethality.

Not yet, Rainbow thought as she exhaled. The air reeked with the stench of fresh blood and fear. But one day.

Star Trails stepped up on Rainbow’s right, shivering as eddies of snow whirled through the huge tear in the hull and settled on the warm bodies.

“She’s back,” she whispered. She made a sound between a laugh and a sob, her next words filled with shaky relief. “W-we did the right thing.”

Rainbow looked back. Sea Sabre’s hard red eyes went from body to body, her spread wings half-folding, then flaring out again. The corner of her lips twitched up and down before setting into a thin line.

“Hear that, Sabre?” Rainbow pushed out an exhausted grin. “I told you, didn’t I?”

Muted gunfire and screams echoed down the halls from the far side of the ship. Rainbow forced her grin wider as she thought of the bounty hunters getting what they deserved.

“Seems we’re gettin’ through this after all, eh?” Flint said. He was standing behind Sabre, looking down at her with an unreadable expression. “Figure we oughta call Sunfeather? Unless ye wanted t’ spend th’ night.”

Sea Sabre blinked. She shook her head, her wings folding neatly against her sides. “Right.”

A crackling flash of lavender drew their attention. Rainbow whirled, a rush of joy swelling in her breast as she saw Twilight standing in the hall, framed by the dissipating sparkles of her magic.

She looked like a mad mare. Many of the various baubles and trinkets the crystal ponies had festooned her with before her descent were absent or broken, and she had deep bags under her slitted eyes. Her coat was matted with patchy splotches of blood.

Rainbow didn’t care. She probably looked just as bad. She leapt forwards and tackled her friend, squeezing her tight.

“You did it!” she cackled, shaking with relief. “I knew you’d do it! You’re amazing, Twi!”

Twilight stiffened, awkwardly returning the hug. “I’m just glad we were able to get back in time to help.” She wriggled out of Rainbow’s grip, taking a full step back before continuing. “What happened up here?”

“Silverblood’s son.” Rainbow jumped up and struck a pose, hovering mid-air. “Heh! Thought he could do what his father couldn’t! But nobody beats Rainbow Dash! Especially not with Princess freaking Luna around to help!”

The memory of a desperate mare driving a screwdriver into her lung reared up without warning. Rainbow faltered, drifting back down until her hooves touched the slickened metal floor. “Seriously, though. I—it was looking pretty bad, Twi.”

Twilight nodded. Her gaze drifted downwards. The cacophony of gunfire on the other side of the ship came to an abrupt stop.

Seconds passed with only the whistling wind to fill the gap. Rainbow shifted her weight from one hoof to the other.

Something felt off about Twilight. Rainbow’s first instinct was to ask what was wrong. What had happened to her down there? What had she seen? She couldn’t even begin to imagine what Twilight was going through.

But Twilight had made it clear already that she didn’t want to talk—at least not yet—and Rainbow knew she wasn’t good at talking. It went against every instinct she had, but maybe it would be better to wait until they were somewhere safe. When they weren’t soaked in blood with a blizzard tugging at their manes, surrounded by the stench of blood in a dark, corpse-strewn hall. Princess Luna was back, so surely they’d have time to rest now? The Princess would take one look around and know exactly what to do, and maybe then, with Applejack’s help, Rainbow would have a better chance at helping Twilight.

The choppy roar of the Argo’s propellers drew Rainbow’s attention. The familiar ship was pulling up next to them, fighting to keep steady as it swung its rear in their direction. There was a metallic clunk and then a steady clicking as the cargo ramp swung down, revealing Applejack standing in the hold with a coil of thick rope beside her.

“Howdy!” she called, barely audible over the wind. She planted one hoof on her head, pinning her hat in place, and tossed one end of the rope over with an expert flick of her tail. “Glad to see y’all still in the right number of pieces!”

Flint caught the rope in his teeth, his neck muscles bulging as he pulled. The Argo drifted closer, the cargo ramp bumping into the Hoplite’s hull with a metallic groan. Sabre and Trails jumped the gap immediately.

Rainbow looked back to Twilight. “You coming?”

Twilight grimaced, looking backwards into the ship’s dark halls. “We should get back to Princess Luna.”

“I am here.”

Princess Luna strode noiselessly out of the shadows, coming to a stop at Twilight’s side. She dragged an unconscious pony behind her, his quiet, pained groans proving him still alive.

Rainbow frowned. “You let one live? Why?”

“As in all things, an excess of bloodthirst is oft self-defeating, Rainbow Dash.” Luna smirked, her magic hefting the pony up by his neck. “This one may yet have uses. He is no threat.”

Rainbow’s frown turned to a snarl as she recognized Prince Argent. “This guy? Princess, he’s the one in charge here! He’s the one responsible for all this!”

“Thus wherefore he is spared, for now.” Luna shot him a sideways look, her mirthful expression turning cold. “'Tis not a mercy.”

Flint cleared his throat, drawing their attention. He jerked his head questioningly, his teeth still clamped around the rope.

“Let us not test thy companion’s patience further, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, already turning towards the Argo. “We shall discuss much, I am certain.”

She leapt gracefully across the gap, her wings spreading barely an instant before she landed lightly in the Argo’s cargo hold. Prince Argent floated beside her as she looked back, ignoring the way Star Trails blatantly stared in awe.

Twilight glanced to Rainbow before teleporting across, a few lavender sparkles left in her wake. Rainbow huffed, spreading her wings and gliding over the gap.

Flint jumped across last, landing on the metal floor with a loud bang before spitting the rope out of his mouth.

“Why th’ hay did I hold that rope so long if none’f ye three even needed it?” he grumbled.

Applejack rolled her eyes and pulled the big lever on the cargo door’s control panel. The heavy ramp slowly ratcheted up, sealing the outside world away.


More than anything, Twilight wanted to take a nap.

She’d been exhausted when she’d woken at Luna’s side in the middle of Shaper’s sanctum. Waves of adrenaline had kept her going since then, but now she was safe. Her friends were safe.

She saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash watching her as she dragged her hooves towards her little sectioned-off corner of the cargo hold. Princess Luna was looking around the ship with a keen eye. Star Trails was still staring, and Sea Sabre and Flintlock were quietly exchanging words off to one side. It would take hours to wade through the sea of questions everypony would have, including her own.

“I need to sleep,” Twilight mumbled. She nosed through the curtain that served as her bedroom door and fell into her cot face-first. Silently willed her friends to leave her alone for just a little bit longer.

She didn’t notice the moment of transition. There was maybe a minute where she was allowed to dream in peace, blissfully unaware. She was in the Golden Oaks Library, reading an extremely interesting eighth edition of some textbook or other. It was sunny, and birds were singing, and she’d closed up the library for a holiday or renovations or some other off-the-cuff excuse.

Well?

Just like that, she was lucid. Twilight pursed her lips and looked up from her blank book, fixing Midnight with a challenging glare.

Sorry. It’s best we don’t put this off any longer. She was stretched out lazily on top of a bookshelf, her own book cradled between her forelegs. She flicked it shut, revealing the title: Prudent Practices for Psychiatric Practice. Twilight was fairly certain it wasn't a real book.

I don’t want to talk about it. Twilight stood and pointedly turned away, walking into the kitchen. There was a kettle already on the stove.

Midnight was sitting at the dining table, levitating a steaming cup of tea to her lips. I know why you don’t want to talk about it.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. Midnight answered with a warm smile.

Twilight knew that Midnight would keep pestering her until she gave in, and Midnight knew that she knew. She might as well get it over with.

Begrudgingly, Twilight sat opposite her other half, idly stirring her tea. She blinked, looking down at the steaming cup floating in her magic in surprise. She took a cautious sip and was rewarded with a satisfying heat, the earthy flavor accented by a spoonful of honey.

What do you remember?

Twilight bit her lip as she lowered her mug. She remembered running after Luna, teleporting onto the bounty hunter’s ship. It had been a massacre. Luna had walked through the ship and slaughtered all opposition, but Twilight had been focused on looking for crystal pony survivors. She’d found them, but they’d had guards. And then one of the guards pointed a gun at her. Pulled the trigger.

I remember… the hatred.

It reminded her of the first time Midnight had taken over, when she’d faced Philomena within the sinking ruins of Fellis. She’d had only glimpses of that outburst, and it had terrified her so much she’d refused to use her magic until her friends’ lives had been endangered.

But then she’d become the danger. Midnight had taken over again and hurt Pinkie in a way that Twilight would never be able to take back.

Over time she’d almost become comfortable with it. When some monster had threatened them during their journey north, it had been easy for Twilight to let Midnight take care of it. Twilight did the talking and Midnight did the fighting. The killing. They’d made a good team.

Until just minutes ago when Twilight had turned six ponies into dismembered corpses. Midnight had only watched.

There wasn’t any need for Twilight to say it out loud. They’d both been there, mostly. Twilight didn’t remember every detail, but she remembered the sound of bones being pulled apart and the taste of blood splattering across her face. Above all she remembered the moment of realization when she’d calmed down.

She’d murdered six ponies. She hadn’t even hesitated.

Now you understand? Why I asked you to give it back?

Twilight looked up from her teacup, meeting Midnight’s sympathetic gaze. I don’t want you to suffer anymore.

I appreciate that, Twilight. And I appreciate what you’ve done. You know how much it means. But clinging to every negative emotion is just as destructive as pushing them all onto me. Midnight reached out, touching Twilight’s hoof. Give them back. You’ve given me a glimpse of what it is to be happy, and that’s enough.

No! It’s not fair! Twilight shook her head, slapping her teacup away and shattering it against the floor. I won’t put you back into that place. I can take it.

Of course you can. Midnight leaned in. But what might it cost us? What happens the next time you lose control, or the time after that? What do we do when the only thing either of us can do is kill?

I didn’t lose control! Twilight stood abruptly, glaring down at Midnight. Those ponies needed to die! They attacked our friends! And Princess Luna would’ve killed them all anyways! I saved the crystal ponies they were holding captive, just like I’d meant to do!

“Sleeping well?”

Twilight blinked, looking to the side. Princess Luna was sitting on her haunches next to the kettle, sipping her own cup of tea.

“Princess Luna!” Twilight fell into a hasty bow, nearly smacking her head on the floor. “W-what are you doing here?”

“I have missed much,” the Princess said, looking around the little kitchen. “I had hoped, when I cast myself into enchanted slumber, that my sister would defeat the corruption and rouse me within a few years.” She paused, closing her eyes. “Yet it appeareth the corruption hath won. Ponykind is fractured. There is much to do.” She opened her eyes, looking down at Twilight. “I must know what happened. Rainbow Dash telleth me thou art my best chance.”

Twilight straightened up uncertainly. How long had the Princess been watching? “When did Rainbow tell you that?”

“She is still telling me, and with great enthusiasm. She hath also requested I look into thy—” she paused, narrowing her eyes “—affliction.”

“She’s not an affliction,” Twilight said tersely. “And what do you mean, she’s still telling you? Aren’t you asleep?”

Luna snickered, the corner of her lip pulling up into a teasing smirk. “I am the Princess of Dreams, Twilight Sparkle. I need not sleep to dream.” The expression vanished in an instant, replaced with an intent gaze. “Tell me everything.”

Twilight looked to Midnight, but she wasn’t there. Even her teacup was gone.

Have fun, little flower.

Twilight grumbled. So much for getting some peace.

Everything was a long story, but they had time, and it needed to be told. Twilight started at the beginning: the shock of waking in the ruins of Canterlot.

Once she started, it was impossible to stop. The opportunity to recount her every step all at once, with the extra benefit of hindsight, to a pony she trusted and who hadn’t been there for any of it, was unexpectedly therapeutic. Midnight stayed out of sight, but Twilight could feel her quietly listening throughout.

Luna’s eyes narrowed when Twilight explained how she’d first become infected by Midnight’s presence, and Twilight found herself rushing to explain every action, trying to preempt Luna’s accusations. She rationalized how Midnight had actually saved her life when she took over, and how she hadn’t meant to hurt Pinkie. She emphasized how, without Midnight, she would’ve never survived in Canterlot alone or made the journey north. She explained how Midnight had only acted the way she did because Twilight had unwittingly pushed her towards it. How Midnight had listened and learned and developed over time, and how Twilight had grown as well.

Luna listened silently until Twilight approached the end, when she delved into the Princess’s dreams to try and wake her.

“My apologies for the hostility thou faced from me in that realm,” Princess Luna commented. “My memories are trained to be unwelcoming towards visitors.”

Continuing on, Twilight hesitated as she reached the final confrontation with Luna’s wyrd, considering how to approach it. After a moment she decided to gloss over the details of her emotional exchange with Midnight. It was messy, difficult to explain, and not altogether relevant. And it wasn’t entirely incorrect to only say that they had beaten the wyrd together.

“That brings up a question,” Twilight said. “What was the other being that your wyrd was fighting against? It never helped me, but it didn’t seem malicious.”

“Tantabus.” Luna smiled softly. “A creation of my own making. It was not meant as a protector in the beginning, but nonetheless hath well served that purpose.”

Twilight nodded. “Well, that’s pretty much it. After we defeated your wyrd, we woke up and watched Shaper consume it. You know the rest.”

The kitchen was silent for several seconds. Twilight glanced towards the window, expecting to see the sun rising, but it still appeared to be the dead of night. Despite having spent what felt like hours non-stop talking, her voice was still healthy and smooth. She sipped some tea to fill the gap, suddenly realizing her cup had been full and just the right temperature throughout the entire story.

“This Midnight character,” Luna began. “It appeareth she hath been quite helpful during thy quest, so perhaps I have misunderstood.” She paused, pursing her lips. “Surely, thou speakest not of thy corruption?”

Twilight couldn’t keep the tension out of her voice. “Yes. I am.”

Again the silence.

“Thou namedst it?”

Twilight took a deep breath. Her tail flicked behind her. “Respectfully, Princess, you said it yourself. She’s been helpful. Very helpful.”

“I have dealt with many helpful monsters in my life,” Luna said. Her calmness was infuriating. “I’ve made certain they didn’t linger.”

Twilight set her teacup down. Behind the Princess, in the window, she saw Midnight’s eyes. Watching. Wary. Warning.

We would not win this fight, little flower.

Twilight felt trapped. That was a threat, wasn’t it? A thinly veiled statement that Princess Luna intended to ensure Midnight was destroyed sooner or later. What could she do? Maybe she could force herself awake, buy some time. She could run if she needed to.

Twilight, drink your tea. Midnight’s eyes faded from the window, but her voice was still clearly audible. There’s no reason to be afraid. We still have time to show her.

One of the benefits of an endless teacup was that Twilight could buy several seconds with one long draft. She gasped as she set the cup back down, a little harder than she should’ve. “Well, now that I’ve told you my story, Princess, maybe you could share your side?”

Luna arched a brow.

“I cannot tell thee much more than thou already knowest of the—collapse—of Equestria. I was not present beyond the early stages of the corruption, and thou hast discovered much of that by thyself. It spread from Canterlot, overcoming our ponies with its insidious taint. Even alicorns were not immune to its malevolence.”

Luna looked away.

“I have battled many entities of darkness in my long life, Twilight Sparkle. They leaveth a mark alway, long after they are vanquished. But this corruption is the most terrifying foe I have ever witnessed. It wormeth its way inside thee and maketh thy very soul its plaything, twisting you to its will. And 'tis not the first time I have faced it.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “It isn’t?”

“Nay. There was a unicorn long ago, his memory faded beyond myth by the year of thy birth. A dark enchanter who surpassed all before him. He fashioned himself a king, and sought to make all Equestria kneel beneath him. My sister and I saw fit to strike him down preemptively, and he attempted to employ it against us then. An arcane superweapon that could turn legions and bring nations to heel.”

She smirked, a small snort escaping her. “But we did not send our legions. Celestia and I went alone, and banished him from this realm.”

“And that dark enchanter, is that Shaper?” Twilight asked. “If you beat him so long ago, how did the corruption get to Canterlot?”

“His name was Sombra. The Shaper thou hast dealt with is only a shadow.” Luna sighed, turning to look out the window. “Truthfully, I do not know how that seed came to be planted in Canterlot soil. My sister was fascinated by the masterful construction of it, and ’twould not be the first time she brought some arcane malignancy back for study. But I demanded we destroy it utterly, and she agreed. Keeping it in our vaults was far too grave a risk.”

“What about Chrysalis?” Twilight suggested. “It can’t be a coincidence that the corruption began to spread right after her attack.”

Luna hummed thoughtfully. “'Tis an unusual conjunction, yes. I would not put it beneath either of those fiends to forge some twisted alliance against us. She would have been foolish to attempt negotiations with such a manipulative soul, but she may have intended to betray him as well. Indeed, it was not uncommon for old enemies to ally against us.”

“Could anypony else have done it?” Twilight asked.

“The corruption is insidiously difficult to detect in its early stages, and malevolently stubborn in the face of attempts to wipe it out." Luna shrugged. “Any sufficiently motivated sorcerer may have sent an unwitting victim to the wedding as a walking weapon.”

“Anyone?” Twilight frowned, her brow furrowing. “Were there ever any previous attempts?”

“Yes. A few.” Luna turned back around to face her, her voice taking on an edge of bitterness. “The stream of visitors would have made it easier to penetrate our defenses. Alas, the entire event could’ve been mere happenstance.”

The room fell silent. Twilight tapped a hoof against the table, listening to her pulse quicken.

“Are you saying that everything that happened, everything my friends and I have been through, could have been nothing more than a stroke of bad luck?”

Luna’s lips curled into a sad smirk. “'Tis a possibility, yes.”

Twilight stood, sending her teacup tumbling to the floor. It shattered, ceramic pieces bouncing in every direction.

“I need to get some air.”


The storm cleared. The moon could be seen clearly through the huge curved window of the Argo’s control deck, a few feeble rays of sunlight making it past to illuminate the room.

Rainbow stood near the back, next to Applejack. Princess Luna was seated gracefully at the head of the map table, listening intently to Star Trails’ excited chatter. Sea Sabre sat opposite her, occasionally interjecting with a few short words or answering the Princess’s questions.

“How ya feelin’?” Applejack asked quietly.

“Kinda worried about Twi,” Rainbow said. She’d been hoping to sit down and hear all the details of Twilight’s journey into the Spire, but the unicorn had mumbled something and disappeared into her room the instant they came aboard. “Otherwise? Feeling pretty good, actually.”

“Yeah?”

Rainbow frowned. There was something in Applejack’s voice. Like she was trying to figure out how to say something.

Rainbow gave her a few seconds, then got impatient. “What’s up, AJ?”

“That obvious, huh? Heh.” Applejack took her hat off, scratching behind her ear. “Rainbow, y’all’re still drippin’ blood.”

Rainbow blinked. She looked down and remembered that yes, actually, she was still covered in blood. Her hairs were sticking out in jagged red clumps, the drying blood matting it into spikes.

“I guess I should take a shower…”

“A shower?” Applejack sighed. “Rainbow, y’all went in there mad as Tartarus. I watched you charge headfirst into that gunboat and all I could do was pray I’d see ya again in one piece. Then ya come back like Winona soaked in mud on a rainy day, exceptin’ it ain’t mud, and Winona knows she needs a bathin’ when she gets dirty.” She looked away with a grimace, replacing her hat on her head. “I dunno what scares me more, the blood on y’all’s coat, or the fact that ya look so darn comfortable in it.”

“Hey, relax, AJ!” Rainbow let out an uncertain chuckle. “I’ll go wash it off right now, okay? Sheesh.”

“Rainbow.” Applejack stepped in front of her. Stared plaintively into her eyes. “What’d y’all do in there?”

Rainbow frowned. “I killed some ponies.” And then, forcefully. “Ponies that deserved it!”

“Just like that?” Applejack let the question hang for a moment. She reached out, touching a hoof to Rainbow’s bloodied chest. “Sugarcube, I’m worried about you. Killin’ ain’t like makin’ cider. It’s not somethin’ ya just do and then get on with yer day.”

“What do you want from me, AJ?” Rainbow snapped, stepping back. “You want me to be upset? Stomp my hooves and cry? Why can’t I be happy, huh? Those ponies came here to hurt us, and they—” she grit her teeth, her tail flicking furiously behind her “—killed some of my friends! So I went and killed them back! They deserved it!” She leaned in, her voice lowering to an angry hiss. “And I’m fucking happy about it!”

Applejack flinched back, eyes wide. Rainbow glared at her, willing her to understand. Why didn’t she get it? They should be celebrating!

“And I don’t see you asking Princess Luna any questions!” Rainbow spat. “What’s up with that? She blew up a whole ship! Killed almost everyone on the other! Are you gonna go talk at her about cider, too?”

Applejack sighed. She stepped away and hung her head with a little shrug. “I’m sorry, Rainbow. I didn’t mean to upset y’all or nothin’.”

Rainbow pursed her lips. Now she’d upset Applejack, and unlike killing bounty hunters, that did upset her. In the background, she saw Princess Luna glancing in their direction, an unexpected rush of shame swelling in response.

“Sorry,” Rainbow muttered.

She brushed past Applejack and made for the door. She’d grab a cider and then go clean her wingblades. The side of her chest ached with a sharp, stabbing pain.


The Canterlot Gardens smelled wonderful during the springtime. Twilight had been a little surprised at first when she’d opened her front door and found them just outside, but she didn’t complain. It was exactly what she needed while discussing the intricacies of the end of the world.

“So we don’t know where the corruption came from. Not for certain,” she said, thinking out loud. “But we know where the floods came from, right? Celestia cast the spell that brought them, trying to beat the corruption. You can reverse that, can’t you?”

Princess Luna walked beside her, her long legs allowing her a graceful, relaxed gait. “I fear not.”

Twilight closed her eyes. Somehow she’d known. It would’ve been too easy. “Why not? Celestia cast it. Maybe if I helped—”

“My sister is powerful, yes. But even she could not reshape the land as she did,” Luna said. “She called on old powers, which are now lost.”

Twilight nodded, opening her eyes. She thought back to Cadance’s journal, still stashed in her old lab right under Shaper’s nose. The shards of three shattered amulets, with which Celestia had cast the spell that drowned the world. “The amulets? What are they?”

“Hmm.” Luna nodded towards a bench off to the side, facing out over the Equestrian countryside. “Shall we sit?”

“I like walking,” Twilight said. “Please, tell me about the amulets.”

“Very well then,” Luna said. “To begin with, my sister and I are not the first alicorns.”

Oh, you should’ve sat.

Twilight pushed off the statue that had broken her fall, shaking her head. “Okay, let’s sit.”

She turned a sharp one-eighty, beelining towards the bench they’d just passed. She fell heavily atop it, looking up at the stars and taking a deep breath. Waiting.

Luna sat beside her, a small smile on her face. “I hope I have not shocked thee too greatly.”

“No, no, you warned me.”

Luna nodded. She followed Twilight’s gaze upwards, to the night sky, and began to speak.

“Truthfully, Equestria is a land much older than myself or my sister. Thou witnessedst a moment of our youth in our dream, as we emerged from a mighty blizzard.”

The stars shifted, swirled. They formed moving constellations, depicting two young alicorns struggling through the snow. Another pair of alicorns appeared behind them, older and wiser.

“We shared only a brief time with the two who came before us, as did they with their progenitors, but we did inherit their works. We heard the stories of their great deeds, saw the shadows of their actions stretching across millennia. We aspired to serve as they had, to guide ponykind into a new age of prosperity.”

The elder alicorns dissipated as the younger grew regal and tall. They wore crowns of silver and gold, the blizzard replaced by crowds of worshippers.

“But we are flawed. Perhaps the most flawed.”

They turned on each other, bickering and fighting. They raised armies and led them into brutal battles in the midst of the cities they’d once ruled. Until one sister emerged victorious, banishing her younger sibling.

“You shouldn’t say that,” Twilight said, looking to Luna. “We love you and Celestia, Princess. I couldn’t imagine an Equestria without you.”

“I can,” Luna said bluntly. “More than imagine; I have studied the stories of the old alicorns, who erected the Canterhorn, who bent nature to their will, who shaped the very foundations of your world. Mortal ponies cannot possibly see it in their flickering lifespans. What, truly, have we done? Plunge Equestria into a civil war never matched before or since? Watch as it falls to the unleashed weapon of a dark sorcerer, and then strike the killing blow ourselves?” She scoffed. “No, Twilight Sparkle. We pale in comparison to our forebears.”

Twilight didn’t know what to say to that. She pursed her lips and settled for leaning against Luna’s side.

“In the first age, the land was wardened by two lovers.”

Two new alicorns formed in the sky, their necks interlocked in an intimate hug.

“Aphestus, who forged the land from the fire in his heart, and then gifted an ember to ponykind as the first magic.”

The image of Aphestus lifted his head, a shooting star sparking from the tip of his long horn. It zipped through the sky, leaving a trail of smaller stars behind that outlined an image of Equestria.

“And Aurora, who filled the seas and sang the plants to life, and taught the first farmers how to plant seeds and mark the seasons.”

Aurora raised her horn, an explosion of newborn stars arcing across the sky. A distant peal of thunder rolled through the air, echoing off the mountains.

“They did not rule in the same manner as myself and my sister. They created the Canterhorn as an earthen watchtower, from which they could see all Equestria, but they did not hold court or issue decrees. They allowed ponykind to learn and grow, intervening rarely, only when they saw fit. They would travel the land in disguise, reuniting at each sunset to tell each other stories of what they’d seen. Until it was time for them to go.”

The stars shifted again, forming three amulets. One a deep blue, glittering like the ocean on a starry night. The second vibrant green, writhing with unrepressed life. And the third an angry red, throbbing with the rhythm of a beating heart.

“They believed that ponykind did not need the frequent guidance of alicorns to flourish, but they feared what may come to pass after their departure. And so they created three amulets, to pass on to the alicorns that they saw would take their place. The Amulet of Aphestus, to shape the earth and craft a shelter that could weather the mightiest of storms. The Amulet of Aurora, which could summon a never-ending hurricane to bring life to the most desolate land. And the Amulet of Alicorns, to amplify the raw power of an alicorn to face an unstoppable foe.”

The amulets glowed as Luna named them, images of their powers appearing briefly in the sky. First green, then blue, and last red.

“The Amulet of Aphestus,” Twilight asked softly. “That’s how Princess Celestia made the dome around Canterlot?”

Luna nodded. “And if what thou hast told me is true, 'twas these three amulets that my dear sister spent to cast her final magic. To drown the land, raise the earth, and set the heavens into perpetual motion.” The images in the sky faded, replaced once again by a beautiful night sky. “It cannot be reversed, anymore than an alicorn can be unborn.”

“That—that can’t be right.” Twilight slid off the bench, her mind racing as she paced back and forth. She was so close. The solution was right there, she was certain, if she could just make the right connection! “New alicorns are still born, aren’t they? That power has to come from somewhere! There must be a way to access it!”

“'Tis a way, yes.”

Twilight froze. She looked up, waiting for Luna’s next words.

“There hath been three generations of alicorns throughout Equestrian history, and with the ascension of each generation, the land was marked. Existence itself responds to their presence, bypassing the laws of magic.” Luna’s eyes flicked over, meeting Twilight’s. “Before my own ascension, ponies did not dream, nor did the stars beautify the night sky. That is what I brought to the world.”

A second passed. Twilight clenched her jaw and took a deep breath.

Perhaps you should sit back down.

No! I’m fine.

Twilight thought of her library as she paced. Of the library in Canterlot. Of hundreds of books written over hundreds of years about astronomy and dreamscapes, intelligent ponies who had dedicated their lives to studying their intricacies.

“Do you really expect me to believe that out of countless scholars—journalists—historians—” Twilight paused, flinging a hoof out in exasperation “—even foals! Not one of them thought to write about the night that stars appeared? That they had their first dream?

“Twilight.” Luna smirked. “How old dost thou think I am?”

Twilight slowed, then stopped. She stared at the Princess, brow furrowing.

I think she’s got you there, little flower.

Shh! Twilight narrowed her eyes. The oldest written histories in Canterlot went back several millennia, so… “You’d have to be so old that all records of your ascension have been lost. So old that it would seem reasonable to be banished for only one thousand years.”

“Thou wieldest a keen mind, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna’s smile widened, her eyes glinting mischievously. “Thou remindest me of myself, afore my own ascension. Verily, my sister chose wisely when she selected thee as my successor.”

I give up.

Twilight collapsed to the ground. Midnight’s laughter echoed in her ears.

She lay there for several seconds, allowing her pulse to steady.

“Shall I wait for thee to arise?” Luna asked.

“No, please.” Twilight waved a hoof. “I think I’ll stay here for a bit.”

“Understandable. My sister had prepared a more agreeable method of revealing this to thee, but I never asked after it.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be joking, would you?” Twilight asked shakily.

“No.”

“Oh, Celestia,” she muttered.

Princess Twilight Sparkle. Just thinking about it made her heart stop. Her, an alicorn? Sitting on the throne in Canterlot Castle, making royal decrees? Her face on every bit? Ponies shouting her name when they stub their hoof? Naming their cats after her? Crying out her name when they have sex? She would have to outlaw that…

Twilight? Should I be worried?

I, uh—

And who would her partner be? If she was supposed to be Luna’s replacement, then that would mean—Cadance? Why did Cadance get to be Celestia’s replacement? That should’ve been Twilight’s job! How was she supposed to negotiate policy decisions with her foalsitter? How would the public feel about their alicorn rulers doing a ladybug dance every time they said hello?

Midnight stepped out from behind a bush with a smirk. “I think you broke her.”

Luna’s ears perked the moment Midnight started speaking. She jumped to her hooves, horn bursting to life and sending a beam of silver shrieking across the gap between them.

Midnight’s hastily summoned shield shattered, sending her stumbling backwards with a groan.

“What are you doing?” Midnight yelled. “Twilight!”

Twilight’s head jerked up off the ground, eyes wide.

A spike of lightning flashed across the sky, casting stark shadows across the garden. Luna’s form melted into them, reappearing in between Midnight and Twilight as thunder rolled through the air.

“Close thou thy mind, Twilight!” Luna straightened up to her full height and flared her wings. Lightning crackled, streaking across the starry sky and sending thunder crashing against the mountainside. “Rise, quickly! We must repel thy darkness before its evil taketh root!”

Midnight clenched her jaw. Her horn began to glow as she climbed back to her hooves.

“Wait, stop!” Twilight scrambled in front of the glowering alicorn and held out a hoof. “What are you doing?!”

“This fiend hath invaded thy inner sanctum!” Luna stomped a hoof, jerking her horn in Midnight’s direction. “We must force it out, before it is too late!”

“Out of the two of us, you’re the one who showed up uninvited.”

“You. Shut it!” Twilight looked back to Luna. “Princess, Midnight is my friend. You can’t just threaten to—” Twilight shook her head and stomped a hoof into the ground. “You can’t just threaten to kill her!”

“It is not thy friend!” Luna said exasperatedly. “It is a malignant magic that will consume thy soul and turn thy body towards its own dark ends!”

Twilight expression hardened, an edge creeping into her voice. “And I suppose you came to that realization during the centuries you spent hiding away inside your own induced coma? The one that we freed you from? Together?”

“Do not deign to use experience as an argument against me, Twilight Sparkle! I have slain and forgotten more evil than thou will ever live to see.” Luna shoved Midnight back with an arcane shockwave and stepped past Twilight, putting herself between them once again. She kept her gaze fixed on Midnight, speaking in a low growl. “I see thy game, creature. Thou wilt need to work harder to fool a goddess.”

Midnight grunted as she was thrown to the ground for a second time, bouncing back up and fearlessly meeting Luna’s glare. “It’s clear to me that you’ve already fooled yourself, Princess!”

Twilight leaned around Luna’s bulk. “Midnight, leave!”

Midnight stomped a hoof, opening her mouth for a rebuke.

“Now!” Twilight added. I don’t want her to hurt you.

Midnight grimaced, looking between Twilight and Luna. Fine.

“No!” Luna’s horn glowed, and a set of starlight chains burst from the stones, wrapping around Midnight’s legs and holding her tight. “I will not allow it to flee to the safety of thy subconscious! I do not trust it!”

“So trust me!” Twilight ran in front of Luna again, trying to catch her eye. “You trust me, don’t you?”

Luna looked down, meeting Twilight’s gaze. “I trust thee, yes.”

“Then let her go,” Twilight pleaded. “She’ll leave, and she won’t hurt me. Especially not with you here to stop her, right?”

The thunder redoubled, then stilled. For a brief moment, the firmament was ablaze, every star connected by a web of lightning before going dark. Princess Luna folded her wings, looking back to Midnight with a smoldering glare. “Very well. I grant thee a continued existence, if only for Twilight’s sake.”

The starlight shackles dissipated into mist. Midnight stepped backwards, keeping her eyes on Luna. I don’t think she likes me.

Clearly not. Twilight shot her a sympathetic look. Don’t make this any worse. Just leave.

I’ll be listening, if you need me.

Twilight sucked in a deep breath. Princess Luna relaxed slowly, scanning the shadows as she sat back onto the bench.

“'Tis unwise for thou to tolerate that thing’s presence here,” she said.

“That thing is my friend,” Twilight countered. “I told you that already.”

“I believe thou thinkest it thy friend,” Luna said. “And I believe it will abuse thy friendship for nefarious ends.”

“You heard my story.” Twilight stepped closer. “I’ve told you about how much she’s helped me. She’s had a million opportunities to hurt me already, and she’s never taken any of them.”

“It would say or do anything to gain thy trust, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said. “'Tis not a raging boar or hungry wolf; it is cunning, and will wait until you are most vulnerable.”

“I know when I was most vulnerable, Princess,” Twilight said bluntly. “It was in Canterlot, when I hated myself and everything I’d done. And in her own way, Midnight was there for me when I needed her.”

Luna sighed. “'Tis clear there will be no convincing thee.” She shook her head, looking out at the horizon. “At least you respect my wisdom enough to banish it in my presence.”

It’s so tempting to tell her I’ve been here the whole time.

Don’t.

Twilight dropped back onto the bench next to the Princess. They sat in silence for a long while, not making eye contact. Finally, Twilight broke the silence.

“So… I was going to be—” it was still difficult for her to say it out loud “—an alicorn. How does something like that even happen?”

Luna shrugged. “'Tis a convoluted and mystifying process which I could not hope to do justice. But as Princess Everfree illustrated to me, each alicorn possesses a domain, an aspect of existence which they both embody and nurture. Celestia’s domain was the waking world, and as her counterpart, I am the night.”

Twilight frowned. She raised a hoof. “Did you just say Princess Everfree?”

“Hm?” Luna paused. “Ah, yes. My mentor and predecessor. Thou hast likely seen her legacy.”

Twilight opened her mouth, then thought better of it. She could likely spend eternity here if she wasn’t careful. “I see.”

“Thy restraint is to be commended,” Luna said. “The realm knoweth when each alicorn generation approacheth their zenith, and begins to plant seeds. Ponies gifted with exceptional talents emerge, each one with the potential to ascend.”

“All of them?” Twilight asked.

Luna nodded. “But it is an incredible feat even for them. They possesseth potential, but their magic must be tested many times, hardened through great adversity, molding them into masters of their domain. Thy first challenge was rediscovering the Elements of Harmony, and defeating Nightmare Moon.”

“But I didn’t do that alone!” Twilight protested. “I was only able to do that because I had my friends with me.”

“Correct. And for thy second feat, thou and thy friends defeated Discord, a creature so powerful that he posed a challenge even to myself and my sister when we faced him.” Luna leaned in, a small smile breaking through her stern facade. “But thou didst not batter him down with formidable magics, nor outsmart him with exceptional strategy. Thy victory came from friendship and connection. Just as before.”

“Oh, no,” Twilight gasped. “I was going to be the Princess of Friendship? That’s ridiculous!”

“Any more ridiculous than the Princess of Love?” Luna countered with a raised brow. “Love and Friendship share a duality, much like Day and Night. Thy title may be of Friendship, but thy abilities would surely extend much farther.”

“Right. That… makes sense.” Twilight nodded, more to herself than anything else. “So I was one of those gifted ponies? Is that why Princess Celestia tutored me?”

Luna leaned back, her smile fading as she gazed into the distance. “Much of my dear sister’s plotting occurred during my banishment. I gather her goal was to manipulate the apparatus to ensure thy smooth ascension. I disapproved of such methods, but—” her eyes flicked back, meeting Twilight’s. “Thy performance was most convincing.”

“So all those things I did, that me and my friends did, were just some—” Twilight gestured with a hoof, as if reaching for the right words “—tests? Boxes on Princess Celestia’s checklist to turn me into an alicorn?” She ran the hoof through her mane, shaking her head. “Did she think I wouldn’t be able to do it on my own? Was any of it even real?”

“Twilight Sparkle.” Luna’s wing stretched out, wrapping around Twilight’s shoulder and giving it a slight squeeze. “Do not make the mistake of thinking that just because a very wise mare puts faith in thy potential, that thy accomplishments are not thy own.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “My sister loved thee. She did not see thee as a pawn to be trained, but more as a daughter to nurture towards greatness. If there was any flaw in her judgment, it was that she allowed herself to become so attached.”

“R-right. Of course.” Twilight blushed, already ashamed of her reaction. “So Nightmare Moon and Discord were tests. What about the changelings?” She bit her lip, looking away. “Was that a test?”

A test that I failed?

“A test, yes. But not for thee,” Luna said, releasing Twilight’s shoulder and folding her wing. “'Twas in fact a trial for Cadance to overcome. I allowed my sister to convince me to restrain myself, to give our successors the opportunity to surpass us.” She sighed, closing her eyes. “By the time we realized our error, ’twas too late.”

“And that’s where it all went wrong,” Twilight finished.

Luna did not respond. Crickets and frogs filled the gap with their songs as a gentle breeze rustled the leaves.

“You said these gifted ponies are born and ascend naturally, without any need for guidance, right?” Twilight pursed her lips, brow furrowing. “So if we weren’t able to ascend, then why didn’t anypony else take our place?”

“Truthfully, I do not know the answer to that question.” Luna stood, walking up to the ornate stone railing that separated the garden from the horizon. “But I have been told of the magic fading from ponykind. It concerns me.” She looked back over her shoulder, her expression grim.

“If the next alicorns do not ascend soon,” she said. “I fear that my generation shall be the last.”


Against all odds, Leviathan Wakes had been saved.

From an elevated balcony, Rarity surveyed the damage. Strangely, there were no bodies and scarcely any blood. Those who died had mostly died in the water, pulled down into it by the insatiable deepfish, or reduced to ashes. What blood had stained the wooden walkways and hulls had been washed away by the saltwater.

Instead, the tale of the city’s fight for survival had been physically carved into its very structure. Many of the floating ships and platforms had been broken to pieces, the shattered ends dragged along haphazardly by rope or chain as they tumbled and rolled. Some had been lost completely, with only a purposeless stretch of pier or frayed netting to indicate that there’d been anything there at all. Burn marks and spent harpoons marked those sections where the fighting had been fiercist, the Wakers defending their collective home with firebombs and harpoon guns.

The most notable change of all, however, was under the waves. Where previously there had been two great shadows lurking in the ocean, the twin Leviathans that served both as the city’s locomotion and namesake, now there was only one.

Rarity wondered if it was lonely. She wondered if it had even noticed as the Wakers had cut the chains binding it to its sister and left the huge carcass to sink to the depths.

Jester emerged from the doorway behind her, walking up to the railing and sucking in a deep breath. “Having fun, moping up here like some storybook character?”

Rarity shot the mare a sideways look. “I’m not moping.”

“No? Could’ve fooled me.” Jester grinned, nudging Rarity with a hoof. “Lighten up, Countess. You saved a city today.”

“Did I?” Rarity sighed, looking to the long trail of flotsam bobbing in the city’s wake. “There’s barely anything left. Barely any ponies left.”

“Nothing wrong with trimming a little fat now and then,” Jester said. “Clear out the old and make way for the new, mm?”

“Do you mean that?” Rarity frowned, turning to face the other mare. “I thought you loved Leviathan Wakes?”

“I love the idea of Leviathan Wakes,” Jester corrected. “It’s the idea that drew me here, a long time ago. Freedom in every way. Free to travel, free to live, free to do whatever the hay you want. But that idea’s faded over the years. Ponies decided they wanted to start owning things here. Wanted to make rules and structure and flags. But you notice something?” She slung one leg over Rarity’s shoulder, gesturing with the other. “No flags left. They’ve all either ran off or been torn down. As far as Equestria knows, this place is dead! Gobbled up by the deepfish!”

Rarity’s brow furrowed. “And that’s good?”

“Yes! By Luna, yes! Means we’re more free than we’ve ever been.” Jester let out a satisfied sigh. “And the only ponies left are the ones that know just how much that freedom is worth. We’re back to the idea. And that’s not so bad.”

“Hmm.” There was a certain romantic appeal to the notion, if one could get past the cost in blood. “What about your bar? The friends you lost?”

“I’ve lost a lot in my life, Countess. Friends included. They’ll be remembered.” Jester doffed her hat, holding it against her chest and closing her eyes. She opened them after a few seconds, giving Rarity a friendly shake. “My new ones will be, too.”

Rarity answered with a half-hearted smile. She felt it was the polite thing to do. “So that’s it? You fight off an invasion and then get back to your life, just like that?”

“What else am I gonna do? This place here is all I care about. As long as it’s still afloat, I’ll be here, serving drinks and swapping stories. And I’m sure to hear a number of good stories soon, I think.”

Jester nodded upwards. Rarity looked up towards the moon, still eclipsing the sun.

“Yes,” she said. “Quite.”