Epilogue
"Woo hoo!" Rainbow Dash looped in a delighted spiral through the air above the throne. Spitfire danced with her, the two of them swooping and circling around each other. Rainbows and flames trailed behind them, drawing a double helix of light as they circled upwards together. Twilight laughed in delight to see it. Her friend, restored as she had hoped, was a wonderful sight. The other Elements looked better as well, tangled dreadlocks restored to smooth manes, gaunt sides returned to plumpness, cracked hooves smoothed and polished.
"It's so pretty!" said Fluttershy.
"It's a sight for sore eyes," said Pinkie Pie, staring up at Rainbow and Spitfire.
"Oh." Fluttershy ducked her head and smiled. "Yes! But I mean the necklaces. Look, yours has your cutie mark on it."
"Ooh! Wowie Zowie! It does!" Pinkie grinned and bounced in place. The five of them wore their elements, and Twlight felt the gentle weight of Magic's crown on her head. Everything looked just as it had one year ago, on that other world.
Or almost everything. Twilight could see no sign of any second Luna. It seemed that Nightmare Moon has spoken true when she'd said she'd killed her former self. The Luna she knew, her mane flowing and full of stars, smiled at her from across the chamber. Despite that pang of sorrow, for a moment Twilight could believe everything would be all right.
"I can't believe yer crazy plan worked, Twilight, but you were right, we really do represent the elements of harmony!"
"Indeed you do"
At that moment, a brilliant light shone over the hills of the east, visible through the ruined windows of Canterlot; the sun rose over Equestria for the first time in nearly a year. Everypony averted their gloom-adjusted eyes from the sun's new glare, but Twilight found that she could stare right at it after only a moment's adjustment, and her heart dropped a fraction—this sun was certainly dimmer and weaker than the one back home.
A glowing sphere detached itself from the sun and drifted through the window before them. Twilight's heart was doing gymnastics now—she recognized the returning Celestia even though she had only seen it once before, but the sphere moved agonizingly slowly and its brightness flickered. Twilight's automatic elation at Celestia's presence warred with her worry.
When Celestia flashed into being, Twilight's worry won. The alicorn's mane and tail hung straight downward, and her cheeks were deeply sunken. In fact across the princess' whole body slimness had given way to gauntness and visible bones; Twilight could count her not-quite-mentor's ribs in stark relief under the skin. While everypony else remained with their heads down in reverence, Twilight surged forward with a worried cry, “Princess Celestia!”
“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student! I knew you could do it.”
She doesn't know... Sweet stars, she doesn't know I'm not her Twilight. Now, finally, Twilight's heart sank like a stone and splashed into the pit of her stomach. Shocked, she halted just shy of the alicorn and looked at her with wide eyes that were beginning to water.
Celestia watched with growing concern. She had lowered her head, anticipating and welcoming her treasured pupil's embrace, but it had never come. Instead, the filly stood rooted to the floor, staring at her in a tightly controlled panic. She put together a gentle smile for her student and asked, “Twilight, dear, what's wrong?”
Tears rolled down Twilight's cheeks. She wanted to say that nothing was. She wanted to simply hug her mentor and have everything be alright. But instead slowly, reluctantly, she took a breath and began to explain.
Twilight wished she could look away, wished she didn't have to see what her words did to her princess. She couldn't, though. She couldn't cower away and deliver this news, so she watched Celestia's frozen, stony face as she was told that her precious student and beloved sister were dead.
It was only when the tears clouded Twilight's eyes that she finally hung her head, murmuring apologies between quiet sobs—for her own self, for her fallen self, for having failed Luna, for having failed to stop Nightmare Moon, for having not come sooner, and for having not listened when she was sent off to Ponyville. Her litany was cut short by the familiar feeling of the princess' neck across her own in a comforting embrace.
“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student...” The voice was still strong, motherly, smooth and unhitched, but Twilight felt the drops of a single tear from each of Celestia's cheeks. “...you have done so well.”
The thin, wan sunlight that streamed over Equestria was brutally honest, despite its weakness. It revealed what Nightmare Moon's night had attempted to conceal: that the land was dead. Neat, square, green patches marked the places where magic raised food for the privileged, but they were few and far between. Most of what Twilight could see from the highest balcony in Celestia's Palace was black, sickly, and rotting. Many of the mushrooms, too, were now dying, slumping into putrid piles beneath the thin sunlight.
"It's so..." Twilight shook her head, unable to even find a word for the horrors daylight had revealed.
"I know," said Luna gently, sadly.
"I will miss the ponies here, but I'll be glad to go home," said Twilight.
Luna nodded slowly. Then she inhaled deeply and said, almost shocked at her own daring, but knowing that it must be said. "I will miss you greatly. I have come to... to love you, over these weeks."
Twilight's breath caught for a moment at the word love, but then she registered what else Luna had said. "You're not coming back?"
"Not right away. This world needs me."
Twilight looked out at the ruined world below her and nodded. Some part of her was still processing "love" in rather stunned delight paired with intense dismay at the idea of losing such a thing as love in the moment of finding it, but the more rational bits knew that Luna was right. The task of restoring what the long night had destroyed was dismayingly large. Celestia could not be left to do it alone. "Will you be able to fix things?" asked Twilight, still staring at the bleak landscape.
"I think so. It will be difficult, but I will not be alone. The ponies here will aid me, my sister here will aid me, and there are allies I can call upon. The kirin, I believe will help. Perhaps even the Kudu. And there are things that alicorns can do to combine earth pony and unicorn magic that will have great effect. So yes, I think the Equestria of this world can be restored."
"That's good." Twilight dared to look away from the view and glance at Luna. She looked so strong, standing there with her hair gently waving on the intangible cosmic wind. Yet she also looked so sad. "I... I could stay and help."
Luna shook her head, staring out into the thin daylight rather than meet her eyes. "No, Twilight. One unicorn, however strong, will make little difference to the effort here. I have seen how this world has worn on you. I have seen how much you miss my sister, how much you miss our Equestria. You should return."
Twilight swallowed, then softly said, "But I'll also miss you. I think I love you too."
Luna looked at her then, and sorrow and love both shone in that gaze. "Oh Twilight... I am glad. I am very glad indeed to hear it. Yet this world needs me desperately. And you desperately need rest, and home, and the solace of familiar things."
"I guess. But still... Don't you need those things too?"
Luna sighed softly, a small, regretful smile on her lips. "Rest, home and solace would not go amiss, no. Yet I am a princess, and an alicorn, and I have a duty that I cannot forsake. I shall take great solace in mending my own past wrongs here... and in the thought of you when all is done. We shall not be parted forever, Twilight my love." Luna smiled warmly, and Twilight found her heart suddenly beating faster. "I will return when my task here is completed." She took a step closer to Twilight, her head bending slightly.
Twilight stepped closer too, tilting her head up to the tall alicorn. Their muzzles met in a kiss that was brief, but sweet and without any hint of hesitation.
"I'll cast the portal to send you home now," said Luna when they at last broke apart.
Twilight simply nodded.
Luna's horn glowed with brilliant, silvery light that grew until it was almost unbearable to look at. Then the portal appeared, the arching rainbow shimmer Twilight remembered from what seemed like a lifetime ago. She stepped towards it, then stopped, looking back.
"Look for me in a year and a day," said Luna. "And until then, be well."
Twilight groped for how to reply, looking for the words that would somehow express the tangled emotions she felt. Finally she said, "You be well too. Just... don't be late."
Then she stepped through the portal, into the undimmed sunlight of Equestria, and was home once more.
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This deserves love just for the perseverance.
8230626
Ha haha. Thanks!
Was linking to In the Eye of the Storm twice in the synopsis really necessary?
sorry i dislike this ending. having no Luna for this world. no just no. this was okay till this chapter.
8231641
Dark tag ain't just for show. A year of night leaves a deep mark.
8231697
yeah alot of dark allready.
Well. I finished.
That Luna could not be cleansed... I expected that. I had anticipated that there would be no pulling her up from that place. But... Celestia coming back.
Spits and RD made me tear up. But the saddest point for me was that moment with Celestia. Just... just imagining how you would explain that. How impossible it would be to explain that her Twilight... her sister... were dead. That her plan had failed so, so badly. There' just so many levels of awful there that I kinda had to stop for a second. This was fantastic, and was kind of a trip back in time, to when I first started reading longfics and the world was younger. I absolutely loved it. Thank you.
8237464
I am really delighted that you enjoyed it so much. Thank you!
8237464
I wrote that bit with Celestia after Chapter 2 or so when we hammered out the remaining outline. It was a vision that descended from on high.
I was not disappointed. I knew I followed you for a reason. *not a stalker*
*or am i?*
8246911
He he he. Thank you!
I really enjoyed this story and the prequel. Will there be a third? Potentially starting a year and a day after this one?
8255334
Sadly there won't be.
Thoroughly enjoyed this! IT what an S1-S2 vibe that felt really... comforting? Nostalgia-inducing? I'm not quite sure. All I know it that I liked it a lot!
8271764
It is very much a relic of early fandom. I'm extremely glad you enjoyed it!
Not bad, I guess, with a open ending and a little sad without the second Luna and with second Celestia thinking that Twilight is alive, not to say someone need to take care of Spike, unless he follow her to the other world
Okay, this was..... pretty damn good overall. General writing quality definitely improved from the first one, and yeah, can feel the 'very early pony fic' vibe coming from it. I did rather enjoy it overall, a lot of good ideas, some wonderful scenes, but also a few issues.
First, major, oh hell yes! props for Twilight and Luna NOT being idiots about this. No rushing off half cocked, going into this without any ideas, seeing the issue and just doing something stupid. I love that they waited, talked this over, even addressed the whole "You do realize there are infinite numbers of 'bad' Equestria's, you can't fix all of them" with some sound reasoning. They know this, but it doesn't change wanting to help this one now that they know what it is. I so damn loved that part.
Though, once they got to the dark world, does seem the ignored some rather huge advantages they could have had from just hoping back and forth. Get some more supplies, have a secure place to hide the rebels, etc... Also that Twilight didn't take the time to find out exactly where each of the other Mane 6 were before hoping over. Granted they weren't expecting the whole 'no magic' issues. Which brings up another odd point, that they go on and on about how NMM could find them if they used even the slightest bit of magic, yet opening the portal to the realm got no response. It did seem a bit odd, yet also does kind of make sense. By this point NMM is so not giving a shit about what is going on, so detached from everything beyond her immediate proximity, she likely isn't even looking for this stuff. It was only when the scrying spells were right on top of her she even noticed them.
Oh, and one more 'huh' bit about magic, how was Spike so heavily shielded they couldn't scry for him due to him being in the castle, and yet they had no issue scrying on the throne room, which if the castle has anti-scrying wards, would be where you'd think they'd be the heaviest. Well there or the Princesses' personal chambers?
The characters were all really well done, and just, very believable as themselves, but having had to deal with this past year of utter hell. There were only two bits of characterization that I kind of wasn't big on. One more a case of I understood it, but didn't really enjoy it, one that just felt really weird. The first is the Spitfire/RD relationship. It just felt so... rough, so.. 'wait, these two are supposed to care about each other?' With how much they were at each other throats. Now I get the idea behind it, I get why they were acting that way, but it still just made me not really able to get the right emotions the story was going for with the end point of their thing. It was great, but I'd spent so long not even able to buy they were in anything even remotely resembling a healthy relationship to really buy what would otherwise have been an incredibly moving and touching capstone to their development together.
The one that I was left 'huh'? on was Spike so easily believing Nightmare freaking Moon about Twilight and just, his whole sub-plot felt tacked on and very poorly developed.
Another character related thing that I was a bit 'meh' on at first was NMM herself. She... was kind of boring and shallow, and just.... rather pathetic as a villain. Sure she was evil, and powerful, and a threat, but he personality was just so detached and so disconnected from everything. However, then the story actually called her out on this, made clear that was intentional, that she was what was left of how a very, very young and immature Luna thought a villain should be, and it fits really well and that worked in the end. Though, I do find it a bit hard to buy she found THAT many willing converts that fast in Equestria.
Okay, last things I can think of are two bits that most impacted this from going from really, really damn good and enjoyed reading story, to being even better. The first, and simplest, is just how damn rushed the last few chapters felt. Everything just sped up and got resolved super fast, including Luna's feelings for Twilight, which the buildup and seeing Luna struggling with them throughout the story were amazing and I loved that, but then the end point of it was just a sudden "I love you, I'll see you in a year, bye." But even the last few bits of the fight, and the whole activating the Elements thing felt, again, really rushed. (That's ignoring personal headcanon differences in how the Elements worked and all, but it works for the story.)
The harder to explain thing, that really just started kicking in and had me noticing it during the castle attack arts, was something that's had a few names and attempts to describe, and is a semi-common issue with certain types of stories. Something with a few names, but can kind of be summed up with "Elseworld Syndrome". After a tendency of comic writers who are doing 'elseworld' stories (Comic's that are explicitly not set in the main continuity, but rather exploring some idea outside that, such as if the canon events had gone differently) to go a little overboard in ramming home how not in the main continuity things are, in large part by using this as a chance to kill characters who they'd never be able to get away with offing in said main continuity.
It causes a lot of the same thing I felt by the end of this story. The deaths are so numerous, and so direct in how many known characters die, that it just reinforces how much this is not the 'main' world and so causes them to not really have the impact they should. Things are just so bad, so many things going wrong, so many ponies dead or messed up, all with the knowledge that this isn't the 'prime' Equestria and so it'll all be undone for us the moment Twilight and Luna pop back to their world, it goes from shocking, to expected, to 'whatever' very fast. Short version, at least for me, it overplayed the 'dark' aspects of the world a bit too much, just reinforcing as a mental safety net this isn't the 'real' Equestria and so reducing the impact of events more and more the more it happens.
But, I do admit that is at least in good part a personal preference thing and how little I prefer 'dark' Pony stories, outside of very specific things.
Still, overall, a very interesting idea, very well played out barring a few not all the big missteps here and there, with some really, really well done character work, and just really, really entertaining to read. Enjoyed it quite a lot.
Oh, and one last note, the scene of Luna fully embracing the Magic of Friendship and it being what pushed her from Season 1 Luna to Season 2 Luna was freaking AMAZING!
I was wondering why I'd only read half of this story, and then I realised there was a five year gap in between chapter 7 and 8.