Hour of Twilight

by -Brutus

Approaching the Festival

//-----------------------------
// Story: Hour of Twilight
// Chapter: Chapter 11: Approaching the Festival
// Author: Darth Femto
//-----------------------------

#######################################################################

Chapter Eleven
Approaching the Festival

#######################################################################

It had been only a few hours since Princess Celestia came to their side and dealt a heavy blow to the insane unicorn. The sky was clear, going from a light cyan towards orange, and then finally growing a very dark blue, as the Moon rose gently, giving life to the silent heavens. Tiny speckles of stars added a shallow, soothing glow to the night sky, giving the sensation of peace and serenity.

Princess Celestia slept lightly next to her sister, her head resting on Luna's chest. After she accidentally used Glorenzelg to release her sister, Silverghost and Scootaloo she had placed the three ponies in bed to recover from the horrors that they must have experienced inside Crimson Dawns mind. Even with her vast power, the shock was getting to her. The appearance of the orange filly that had been gone for so long had scared her to say the least. Finally she managed to fall into an uneasy sleep next to her sister.

Luna laid in bed, gently caressing her sister's pink mane, staring through the open windows, enjoying the cool breeze of the night she brought forth in her sister's place. Her lips curled up in a small smile, happy that she was able to come back in the living world. Luna sighed contentedly and glanced at her sleeping sister. Her smile dropped, noticing something very strange.

Celestia's coat looked significantly older. Luna frowned, studying the snoozing alicorn, searching for any other changes. She found them. The dark blue Princess gasped silently upon seeing her sister's face more closely. Celestia... it was like she aged more than two thousand years in a week. Her pristine coat showed signs of maturity, and her mane presented grey strings of hair. Luna's mind raced, searching for answers for the changes that happened to the elder alicorn; this wasn't natural.

Celestia felt the agitation of her younger sister and woke up, stretching out and yawning silently. Apparently Luna failed to realize that. Celestia giggled and tapped her sister's belly, causing her to chuckle.

"'Tia, stop it! It tickles," she blushed, resisting the urge to laugh out loud.

"Well, it seemed you needed to lighten up a bit, so why not start with a good laugh?" the elder alicorn smiled warmly.

Luna's expression became grim, staring in the pink eyes of her sister. "'Tia, why are you aging? What did you do?"

Celestia sighed, dropping her smile. She rose from her seat and trotted to the window, gazing up at the clear sky. "I accepted the Gift of the Stars in exchange for my immortality," she said, tapping the ground lightly with her hoof.

Luna's eyes widened in disbelief. "You... you asked our parents for help?! And they convinced you to give up your immortality for... for what?!"

Celestia trotted over the bed and hushed her sister. "Luna, please... I had no other choice. Besides, it was by my own decision that I accepted the deal. Worry not sister, I still have many more years to live, and when I die of old age I will merely ascend to the heavens and take my place amongst the Makers, in the Sanctum," she whispered, nuzzling the night alicorn.

Luna sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Celestia... what should we do now? I mean, you injured her greatly. This might be our only chance to overcome the evil in Twilight's heart and revert her to her old self."

Celestia frowned and rose from the bed, glaring at her sister. "Even if we do manage to save her, I'm afraid the blow she received from Glorenzelg was too much for her mortal body. Luna," she paused, taking a deep breath. "I don't think she would make it. I'm afraid that this is the path she has chosen. Our only hope for truly saving her soul is to mercifully put an end to her misery," she continued. "Despite what you may think Luna, the split second my blade carved her flesh I felt her hidden emotions; sadness, fear, despair, loneliness... confusion. She's lost Luna. I'm sorry," Celestia finished, giving her sister a sorrowful nod.

Luna sighed and rubbed the base of her horn with her hooves. She glanced at the silvery unicorn snoring on a bed on across the room. The orange filly, Scootaloo had been taken by the elements, placing her in the care of her old friends, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. They were all safe. Luna closed her eyes and laid back in the bed.

Celestia cleared her throat and leaned in to whisper something in Luna's ear. "Sister, I know you're tired and need to rest, but there is one last thing I have to tell you. It is of utmost importance," Celestia spoke unusually serious.

Luna turned to face the white alicorn, a questioning expression on her face. "What is it 'Tia? You seem... disturbed."

Celestia narrowed her eyes and avoided her sister's gaze. "Luna, do you remember the Cult of the Hand of God?"

Luna looked at her sister awkwardly before her memory kicked in, causing her to flinch. "'Tia! You can't be serious!" she said, almost yelling.

"I'm afraid I am, Luna!" she sighed, glancing at the window. "It's just that... when she cut into me, I could feel him. Not only that, but I felt others presences too. Discord..."

"Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony..." added Luna, shuddering. "We still have no positive head count for how many of our subjects he has killed over fifteen hundred years ago. It's just... frightening. He and his cult of fanatics, pursuing just one thing; to satisfy their craving for death and chaos." Luna felt sick. "Did... did our parents tell you anything to help our cause?"

Celestia nodded. "While at the Sanctum of the Stars I was given the privilege of learning everything about the Lifestream and the cycle of life. It is there that I heard of it again... The Prophecy of the Fallen Angel. The hand of God and the threads of destiny," Celestia muttered, turning to face her sister.

Luna lowered her gaze and gritted her teeth. "I have heard it before..." she turned to face her sister. Celestia took a deep breath and began reciting.

"In this world, is the destiny of living kind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true, that a being has no control, even over its own will. God is not something natural. It warps and twists the threads of destiny, and lies deep within the evil in our hearts."

Celestia circled the bed, eying her sister. "Discord knew the prophecy and acted accordingly to it. If I remember correctly, he was quite happy to die after we banished Twilight. Do you think he somehow survived? All of the sacrifices he's made, they had to have a purpose. I doubt he killed only for his pleasure."

Luna stared at the Moon shining in the sky. "Perhaps" Luna whispered, the fear in her eyes flashing for a brief second before her face hardened, and she continued. "Sister, prepare the armies. We are marching on Canterlot at dawn. Crimson Dawn must be dealt with quickly." Celestia nodded and left the room, allowing the night alicorn to continue resting. Luna sat thoughtfully on her bed, sweat slowly dripping on her forehead. 'The hand of God... Pff, ridiculous," she finished, finally closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep. However, she could not shake the feeling of dread coursing through her body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celestia trotted thoughtfully through the empty corridors, her concern rising. 'That wasn't Abaddon. Just a portion of his strength. Abaddon is not a weapon, it is an ideal. A... transcendental being?' Celestia shuddered and instantly teleported away, in the yard where a party was held for the victory over the black unicorn. Glancing around, she laid her eyes on Captain Valiant and trotted up to him.

Valiant noticed her and bowed respectfully before the Princess, his companions following suite. "Your Highness, it is such a pleasure to have you at our celebration," he grinned at the white alicorn, not noticing her grim expression.

"Captain, have all able soldiers assembled in ten minutes. We have to discuss," Celestia finished, stomping her hooves on the dusty ground.

The captain flinched and nodded hastily. Trotting away from the alicorn, he boomed out. "Alright, all ladies capable of fight is to report immediately in the yard! Princess Celestia wishes to speak to us! On the double!"

Large masses of ponies assembled rather quickly, forming a circle around the captain and the Princess. Soft whispers and light hoof steps echoed, dust rising and carried by the soft breeze. Princess Celestia stepped forward and magically adjusted her voice so she could be heard by every pony and every gryphon present.

"My subjects, my country ponies... My friends," she boomed out loud, "today was a glorious day for the world! The Crimson Dawn has suffered its first defeat! You all fought bravely and sacrificed much to make this happen," she paused, allowing the crowds to cheer for a moment, before rising a hoof to silence them. She continued, "Even though we have won this battle, the war is far from over! We have reasons to believe she retreated to lick her wounds, back in Canterlot! That is why, at dawn we march towards our Capitol, and reclaim it for Equestria and its citizens!" she yelled out, giving life to the crowds as they stomped and cheered.

Celestia panted lightly, allowing herself to rest for a while. Taking a deep breath, she spoke again. "I suggest you brave soldiers rest for the night, and prepare yourselves for the battles ahead. I bid thee a good evening," she finished, teleporting away. She popped into a dimly lit room, in the barracks. The Princess found an empty and tidy bed, and gently laid upon it, closing her eyes. She was exhausted. Tomorrow would be a rough day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Everfree forest was silent, the Moon hovering high in the sky. The trees were motionless, the only sound audible were from owls that hunted under the cover of darkness. The beasts of the forest were frightened, staring fearfully at the single, dirt path leading through the woods, a figure limping slowly towards the ruins of the Old Castle. The scent of its blood, instead of attracting predators, repelled them.

Dawn panted and groaned in pain as she moved forward, struggling to keep herself on her feet. She had enough power left to teleport herself near the edge of the forest. From there on, she had to walk. She was getting colder and colder, as blood seeped from her wounds. Her lungs were constantly refilling themselves with blood, hindering her efforts to breathe. She was finished.

The tall spires of the Old Castle came into view, sending a wave of relief upon the injured unicorn. She started galloping, crying out in pain at every step, feeling her body collapse on itself. However, she could not rest. She still had a job to do, and some answers to receive. Dawn reached the entrance of the castle, forcing the doors to open slightly, her magic faltering.

The hollow corridors of the castle were silent, save for light hoof-steps as Dawn inched closer to the old throne room. Large spider webs decorated the corners of the massive pillars, casting spooky shadows on the stone floor. The decorations were all worn out, rotten. The stench of death and decay filled her nostrils, as she finally reached into the throne room. The middle of the room was empty, save for two stone thrones, decorated with dirty white marble and gold. Dawn stopped before the thrones and sighed. She glanced around and growled.

"Show yourself! I didn't come *cough* I didn't come here to wander around aimlessly. Come out, Discord!"

Her outburst was answered, as a new figure materialized on one of the thrones. Its body was made out of several other animal parts, bearing wings and horns. A Draconequus. The new figure grinned at the injured unicorn and chuckled.

"My, my, Twilight Sparkle! What a pleasant surprise. My, it does seem you were on the end of a brutal beating, weren't you?" he snorted, infuriating the mare.

"Shut your trap, useless maggot. I didn't come here to chat," she hissed, advancing towards the occupied throne.

"If you didn't come to keep me some company, then why? Just to clarify, you cannot injure me, because I'm not here in the first place. I am merely a spirit, my dear Twilight," he said, placing a top hat on his head, smirking. "I always was."

Dawn wanted to summon her magic but yelped out as a sharp pain hit the back of her head. "Huu, you... you lied to me! Abaddon is just a lie! That pathetic witch almost killed me! How?! Tell me!"

The draconequus sat thoughtfully, tapping his foot on the stone floor. His eyes wandered in different directions, giving him a goofy look. He bursted into laughter and wiped his eyes. "You? Wield Abaddon?! Are you insane, my little element of magic? Meh, rhetorical question. No need to get all worked up. I will tell you everything. How Celestia is so powerful... and why you are the only one capable of defeating her," he finished, sitting back on the throne.

Dawn frowned, calming herself. "I'm listening."

Discord smiled and snapped his fingers, forming an illusion on a canvas of black mist. "Alas, witness the birth of our world," he spoke, as two figures appeared on the surface of the black mist. Dawn recognized the shape of the two creatures. One was an alicorn made seemingly out of stars while the other was a greenish, ghostly alicorn.

"Let me introduce you to Alpha Genesis, the World Maker and his beloved wife, Gaia the Essence of the Lifestream."

The image showed them summoning their magic, their horns touching lightly. From it, a small orb of energy was formed. The orb was crackling with energy, its gravitational force pulling matter towards it, amassing and increasing in size. After a while, the globe of power imploded, fixing the matter together, forming the shape of the world. The surface of the new planet was covered in volcanoes, ashes and lava. The image then showed the alicorn stallion blowing hard on the young world's surface, cooling it.

Discord watched with enthusiasm at the unicorn, rubbing his hands together. "This is where it gets interesting. You see, the land was devoid of life, so Gaia used her powerful astral magic to create life from her own blood. First, there was bacteria, and from that, over twenty thousand years, more complex life was created, such as ponies. But wait, what's this?" Discord asked, blowing gently on the mist, changing the image.

This time it revealed a black mass traveling through space, spinning endlessly. A large meteor, heading towards the young planet. It crashed somewhere in the Black Sea, half way across the world from where Equestria would have been founded. The impact of the object shook the world fiercely, modifying the environment. Mountains crumbled to dust while others were formed; floods changed low ground into river beds and lakes. The face of the world had been changed to what it looked like in present, the modern realm.

"There, the shaping has been finished. Let's look into the future, four thousand years after the cataclysm," Discord added.

The image changed, revealing a land ravaged by war. Dead bodies littered the ground, their earthly remains scattered across the open plains. In the middle of the field stood three Alicorns, one of them barely breathing. Discord sighed at the scene, rubbing his face with his paws. "You might have already realized. Those two are the alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna. The other figure was... me," he paused, noticing the skeptical look on the unicorn's face. "I too was an alicorn in the past. Celestia and Luna's brother to be more precise."

Dawn gaped in shock at Discord's statement, wanting to question him further, but she was silenced by his paw. "Shh. Listen," he said, glaring at the image. The three Alicorns seemed to be arguing.

"Quasar, for pity's sake, what has gone into you?! How could you betray us and use our father's knowledge against the world? Have you lost your mind?!" Luna seethed, sweating.

"Oh, quiet you! I know what I'm doing; after all, I am greater than you at using magic. If one can truly master it, it is me," the tan alicorn, Discord, replied. He had a large gash across his torso, drops of blood trickling down his legs.

"I'm afraid father will hear about this, brother. I only hope you will get what you deserve," Celestia added, stomping with her hoof. Quasar looked at her spitefully, before turning around and teleporting away.

The tan alicorn appeared atop the Valley of Everwinter. He sat on the cold ice and yelled out in frustration. "Why must they always ruin my studies in magic?! By the gods, I wish them dead!"

"Dead, you say?" a hollow, very loud voice replied.

Quasar rose from the snow and glanced around frantically. Nobody was there. "Leave me alone, whoever you might be," he hissed, snorting. However, the voice called out to him.

"You say you wish to kill your sisters? We can make that happen." the voice ringed in his ears, causing him to flinch.

"K-kill my own sisters? B-but... I-I don't-"

"You do want to become the master of magic, don't you? There is another way blessed one."

Quasar pawed at the snowy floor furiously. '...he's right, they stand in my way Wait, did he call me blessed?'

"It was fate that brought you here on this day, child of darkness. For you are the third blessed child of Abaddon. You are a member of the hand of God; a soon-to-be apostle," the voice echoed out, startling the alicorn.

"Hand of what? Abaddon?! Are you crazy? Child of darkness... what a thing to say. Why should I believe you! My father is Alpha Genesis, the World Maker, not that demon!" Quasar barked back.

"By blood yes, you are a whelp of the Maker. However, your tainted soul does not have its roots in their ways. It was Abaddon which forged your destiny. It was him that manipulated your birth into this world in order to prepare it for his coming. You will see, by this week's end, your life shall be taken away from you by the very alicorn that gave you life," the voice faded, leaving the sound of harsh wind in the alicorn's ears.

Quasar was frightened by the thought of his father ending his life. "What, that won't happen... Hopefully," he gave a weak chuckle. He used his power and teleported away, reaching his castle. Sweat dripped his forehead, panting. He was almost paralyzed in fear. 'What if... what if the voice is right? What if I'm going to die?! Can I trust it and accept its offer? No, that is a reckless thing to do. I will wait.'

The illusion moved forward. It showed a battered tan alicorn, laying on the ground, bleeding heavily. His horn had been cut off, and his wings ripped off his back. In front of him stood the Maker himself, Genesis, staring blankly at his injured son. His voice dripped anger and disappointment.

"You are a disgrace to us, boy. I regret having not intervened earlier and put a stop to this madness, however I had a task to fulfill. You are damned. What you have done is beyond redemption. I only hope your soul can find peace in death. Farewell, Quasar. May we never meet again," the elder alicorn finished, bringing forth a cleaver and swinging it down, severing off the tan Alicorn's head.

Dawn glanced uneasily at Discord, unsure what to say, but he noticed this and smiled. "Fear not, I didn't actually die. I was merely... trapped, in an alternate dimension, akin to death. Now, watch carefully."

The illusion twisted once again, revealing a very large room, filled with burning braziers and bones. In the middle of it, a large pond of crimson liquid boiled lightly. In the middle sat a very furious and disoriented ghost of an tan alicorn. His horn was missing, and he had a large gash on his neck, bleeding profusely. Before him stood two beings, clad in black armour. One of them was clearly a cerberus, a blackish liquid dripping slowly from its nostrils. The other was a twisted shape of a pegasus, bearing a pair of black dragon wings.

The black pegasus and the Cerberus looked up Quasar and smiled. "Welcome, blessed child. You hath been chosen by fate to become a transcendent being, like us. An apostle of Abaddon," the Cerberus spoke in a low, reverberating voice.

Quasar stopped before them and bowed. "I-I have heard the voice... one week ago. It-it warned me... Please, I want to live again! I want to take revenge on my sisters and my damned father! What must I do?!" he cried out at the two figures.

"If you wish to be reborn, you must sacrifice your heart, and pledge yourself to the cause of our God. Through his will and power, you shall be given eternal life, and a spot amongst us, the hand of God. Are you willing to sacrifice yourself? Say it and be reborn!"

The alicorn stallion pondered for a while, narrowing his eyes. 'Is it worth sacrificing my heart to kill my own family? Celestia, Luna, mother... Father." His brow furrowed as he spoke the last name. "I accept the pact."

The Cerberus grinned, showing its massive teeth. "Very well, blessed one. Now come the Rites of the Coming Lord!" he spoke out loud, summoning his power. The mare joined him and focused their unholy magic towards the alicorn.

Quasar felt a sting in his heart, before being enveloped in a cocoon of darkness. He could feel his own body decomposing, breaking apart... reforming. After roughly an hour, the cocoon cracked, blood spilling out and revealing the new creature inside it. Its body was made of several other parts of animals.

"Now rise, Discord, spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Tread upon this world once more and wreak havoc," the pegasus mare finished, licking her lips. The image started to dissipate, as the new figure stretched out and roared, eventually fading out, ending the revelation.

Discord threw his bag of popcorn away and scratched his ears. "Now that you've learned about me, let me explain to you what 'The Hand of God' actually is. You see, that meteor that struck the planet several thousand years ago wasn't an ordinary rock. It was the seed of pure evil," Discord said as he circled the black mare. "The Fallen Angel, Abaddon. Or rather, a fragment of him. He was ultimately defeated by the conjoined forces of the Pantheon, but I won't go into meaningless details. The only thing that you need to know, is that every pony is born with this evil residing deep within their hearts, right here," he pointed at her chest. "I don't think he actually died. He merely transcended the astral plane."

Dawn rolled her eyes and groaned. "So, Abaddon is not a weapon, but some malefic influence? Then why did you lie to me twenty years ago! It was your plan to kill Luna and Celestia in the first place! This is why you even gave me such power, isn't it?!" she cried out, panting.

"Yes, but you were not prepared. You were still young and reckless, as you are now. What I gave you was merely a taste of what's to come, should you decide to become one of us some day. Everything is writhing with the flows of casualty. You were destined to reach this point, what you choose next will affect the rest of your life. Now, you must lay down and rest, to recover your powers. We have three days until Celestia arrives. Until then, my Queen," he chuckled, vanishing into thin air.

The black unicorn sat stunned for a while, before breaking out in rage. "Wait! Pff, what a thing to say, you swine!" After a while, she calmed down and laid on the stone floor, activating a rejuvenation spell on her. Eventually, she fell asleep, dreaming of better times; of her moments spent with her now-deceased parents. Small tears trickled down her cheeks and onto the stone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside the twisted soul of the black unicorn, Rainbow Dash and the injured lavender unicorn trotted slowly through the orphanage, reaching the main office of adoptions. She noticed herself inside the office, yelling at the pony that sat at the desk. She remembered the scene all too well; her reckless past finally caught up with her as the receptionist at the orphanage told her that her attempt to adopt Scootaloo had been denied. The filly needed a responsible parent, and responsibility was the one thing that did not define Rainbow Dash.

The cyan mare inside the office groaned loudly and left the room, slamming the door behind her, almost ripping it off its hinges. Rainbow looked sadly after her past version, as her past self flew away from the institute. She knew what happened after that; she had cried all day, lamenting that she could not be a mother to the orange filly.

Suddenly she heard shouting and threats coming from inside the office. Rainbow peeked inside and gasped when she realized the screaming pony was Twilight. It appeared she was arguing fiercely with the orphanage matron. She had never seen that part of Twilight before. She was doing all this for her. A flash of light snapped her out of her trance. The unicorn had teleported away.

"What, huh?! Where did she go?" she asked out loud. "Oh yeah, the library!"

Dash ran outside the institute and flew away, heading towards Ponyville Library. She flew as fast as she could, reaching it in a matter of seconds. She landed hastily and entered the large tree, gaping at the sight.

Books littered the wooden floor, the shape of the small purple dragon buried deep beneath a mountain of books and parchments. She stifled a giggle and trotted inside, searching for the frenzied unicorn. A loud groan caught her attention, causing her to turn around in time to dodge another tome flying randomly across the room. She had found the source of the destruction; the lavender mare furiously throwing items around the room.

"Ooh, how can I help Rainbow Dash?! She loves that filly so much, I have to do something! Maybe... maybe I could," she paused, a soft smile appearing on her features, followed by a blush. "Maybe I could adopt Scootaloo, and... and... Ugh, Twilight Sparkle, you are such a selfish mare... How can you think of your own good when Dash is suffering..." Twilight facehoofed.

The lavender mare sighed and sat on her haunches, gazing at the disaster she had caused. "What can I do... They will never allow her to adopt Scootaloo. Heh, heh... Twilight, you silly pony," she paused, tears starting to stream from her eyes. "You are Celestia's student and you can't do anything... You are pitiful!" she cried out.

Then it hit her. "Wait wait wait just a minute! I am Princess Celestia's prized student, and Rainbow Dash is the element of Loyalty! That's it! I can help Dash with the adoption!" she squealed in delight. "Spike, wake up and send a letter to Princess Celestia immediately!"

The small purple dragon groaned, slowly getting out of the mountain of books. He picked a quill and an empty parchment and waited for Twilight to begin dictating.

"Dear Princess Celestia, I have dire need for your help, for you see-" she continued speaking, the purple dragon restlessly writing down everything she was saying.

Rainbow Dash stared at the lavender mare, admiring her courage and determination. "Heh, it seems you are more loyal than I'll ever be..." she sighed sadly, knowing that what came next was a tragic moment, caused by her own stupidity and huge ego.

"Dash..." a familiar voice called to her.

The cyan pegasus looked up and noticed Twilight was staring at her. She avoided her gaze and tapped her hooves together. "H-hey T-Twi', what's up?"

The lavender mare smiled warmly at her. "Are you ready to break my heart again?" she asked harshly, a few fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. Rainbow was taken aback by her outburst, stepping backwards. "What's wrong Dash, afraid to face me after you broke my heart?!" Twilight cried out as she stepped forward.

"I-I... I'm sorry, I-I don't know," Rainbow stammered, choking out words. "I don't... I-I can't tell you how sorry I am, I mean, I was-"

"Save your breath," the lavender mare huffed as the environment around them changed, revealing an open grassy plain.

Rainbow recognized this place. The meeting place. She had been called her by the unicorn to share a surprise with her and have a private picnic, just herself and Twilight. She was skeptical about this first, but agreed nonetheless. She then noticed her past self, arriving half an hour later, as usual, however the unicorn seemed unaffected by this. She cringed internally, knowing what will happen.

Twilight poured some apple juice for her friend and sat down on the blanket, blushing slightly. The brash pegasus was quite angry with the development from a few days ago, having been denied the right to adopt the filly; now one of her best friends decided to spend some time with her alone, to give her some news. The lavender mare swallowed the lump in her throat and took a deep breath.

"Look, Rainbow Dash, I called you here to share a surprise with you," she paused, sipping from her drink. "I was contacted earlier today by the matron of the orphanage." She had piqued the pegasus' interest.

"What did they want?"

"Well," Twilight shuddered inwardly; she was a horrible liar. "she told me that you have been approved to be an adoptive parent... So I thought-"

"What?! Are you serious? Ohmygosh this can't be true! Tell me, is it true, is it?!" the cyan pegasus could barely contain her excitement.

Twilight sighed and smiled. "Yes, Rainbow Dash. You can finally have Scootaloo for yourself... Um, I've been thinking... uhh, would you like to... ah, I mean," she stammered again, each word becoming harder to spell out. "Would you like to adopt Scootaloo together, so we could raise her... as a family? You know, a mother and... uh, um... mother?" she grinned sheepishly, her cheeks flushing a deep red. The cyan pegasus was confused by her request, not even sure she understood the message.

Twilight noticed the awkward look on her friend's face and decided to stop being a coward. She took a deep breath and lunged at her friend, grasping her into a tight hug and locking lips with her. The sensation... she wished it lasted for an eternity; however, the cyan pegasus thought something else. In a split second, she broke free from the hug and landed a powerful hoof in the side of the mares face, literally causing her to fall backwards. Twilight's face burned with pain. She rose groggily from the ground, rubbing her face. Then, she noticed it; the expression of the brash pegasus, full of rage.

"How dare you, Twilight Sparkle! Just because I swing that way, that doesn't mean that I am interested in you in any way!" she had wanted to continue yelling at the unicorn, but instead chose to fly away, leaving her alone.

"Rainbow Dash, please, wait! Don't leave me! Don't... don't leave me alone," her words faded out before breaking down, collapsing to the ground, sobbing. She had failed. And worse, her friend now hated her.

The spectating pegasus was forced to witness everything. Only now did she realize how foalish she was, how much she had hurt her. How could she have done such a thing? She was the element of Loyalty, she was supposed to be loyal to a friend, no matter what! And she had betrayed her element. She heard light hoofsteps and looked up, locking eyes with the still crying lavender mare.

"Does my pain make you happy? Make you Laugh? You could have simply said no, and assure me that you still loved me as a friend. I really loved you Dash, and maybe I still do, but for this I cannot just forgive you," she paused, panting with anger. "What kind of element of loyalty are you, Rainbow Dash!? You're... you're nothing."

The cyan pegasus was stunned. Her friend was right to be mad at her. She had done a terrible thing. If only she could go back in time and slap herself. "Twilight... I-I'm really sorry," she began, whimpering, tears of pure grief trickling down on her coat. She choked back her sobs and approached the unicorn, to hug her; to comfort and ease her pain. However, her arms found nothing, as the unicorn stepped backwards, distancing herself from the pegasus.

"Twilight, wait! Please! Forgive me! I-I... love you too," she broke down on the grass, letting her tears fall freely on the grass.

The lavender mare had disappeared from view, leaving the pegasus alone on the plain, as winds picked up. A storm was forming in the dream, as the world was starting to decay. She glanced around fearfully, wiping her tears. She tried flying, but found herself unable to move her wings. Again, a hollow voice echoed out in her ears.

"My final days are approaching…"

Comments

[Surprise Anschluss]

How can it hurt so much to read this?