Darklight

by snoninja7

Chapter Thirteen: Raison d'être

"Wakey wakey, sleepy head!"

Twilight was starting to become accustomed to waking up in entirely unexpected circumstances. Expect to be in Canterlot, end up in getting attacked by a giant rock monster in Barbaroi territory. Expect to be dead, find herself in the home of the world's friendliest shadow. Save the shadow with a life spell, wake up in the loving arms of a mare who two days previous was beating the squee out of her. Expect to be in the deepest, darkest, dankest dungeon in Equestria, wake up in Pinkie Pie's house.

Pinkie was bouncing around the room "It's already late in the morning and we have so much to do today! I've got all of your favorite fun games ready for you and I have all of your favorite kinds of cupcakes plus a couple of new ones that I know you're going to love and Applejack and Rarity are coming over and... "

"It's okay Pinkie, you can tell me later. I'm just so glad to see you again, but there are some things that I really need... "

"I know, you were away for over two weeks! Two whole weeks! But now your back and we are finally going to have the party I promised and I had plenty of time to plan everything out and make it super-duper extra special just for you- by the way, love your new necklace. And of course Applejack and Rarity are coming over... "

"But what about Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy?"

"Oh, they couldn't come, they're having a party at Rainbow Dash's place in Cloudsdale for Derpy!"

"That's a little unexpected, I thought R.D. hated giving her own parties. Why don't they all come over... "

Twilight noticed that Pinkie's mane didn't have the curly bounce that it normally had. She had only seen her like this once before, when she thought that none of their friends liked her parties anymore. This time though, she was in her usual cheerful mood. Or was she?

Pinkie seemed to be leading the conversation. "You don't have to worry about that, I helped her put everything together. I really want to hear about your trip! I hear you got to see the Ghost ponies!"

"Well, yes I did, I... "

"Did they try to eat you?!"

"No Pinkie! They're... "

"I hate it when ponies try to eat me! Maybe they think I taste like bubblegum, or cotton candy, maybe I should try me and find out."

"Pinkie, I need you to listen! I have some very important information that I need to bring to Princess Celestia!"

"But you've been away for such a long time, I'm sure it can wait... "

"No, Pinkie, it can't wait! Listen... "

Twilight stopped when she saw the change that had come over her friend. The mask of pretended happiness had fallen away, and Pinkie wore a look of sadness and longing that astonished Twilight.

"Twilight," said Pinkie, "We know Princess Celestia is in danger, and we know that you want to help her, but can't you let other ponies take care of her, just this once? Can't you let Shining Armor stop the bad ponies from getting to her, and stay here, for me?"

Twilight's heart was beginning to break,"Oh Pinkie, I'm sorry, but something terrible will happen if I don't go and explain what is really going on."

Pinkie was beginning to cry, "But if you go, I'm never going to see you again! Ever!"

"You'll see me again, I promise! But I have to go and report to Princess Celestia... "

"Can't let ya do that, Sugarcube!" said a familiar voice.

Applejack ascended the staircase to Pinkie's room, followed by Rarity. Twilight noticed that they both positioned themselves close to the exit.

"We made a promise," Applejack continued,"To Nightmare Moon, that we'd keep y’all safe and out of the way til after today."

"Nightmare moon? Don't you mean Princess Luna?"

"Ah’m tellin ya the truth, Twi! I've always been honest with you and I ain’t changin’ now! Ever since you disappeared and that Prometheus feller started send'n those threatenin’ letters ta Celestia, no-pony's seen hide nor hair of her, and Luna's been handlin all the leadership in her Nightmare Moon getup, sayin' that she needs it ta keep Celestia safe."

"But if Prometheus is the pony behind all of this, why did the palace guards want to arrest me? What did I do?"

Rarity was the one who spoke. "There were some additional details in the letters. Prometheus said that he had formed a collaboration with the shadow monster Erebus, and that he would also be acquiring the assistance of other ponies. So, considering the reputation the Lightning Duke has developed for himself, and the news from the palace that you and Derpy had been kidnapped... "

"We weren't kidnapped!" said Twilight,"And Darklight is not Erebus! The Erebus legend is just a myth, Darklight is a normal pony! What really happened was I found a spellbook in the Canterlot Royal Library with a teleportation spell that took me from Ponyville to the Mist Continent, and Derpy was delivering a letter to Darklight."

Applejack was skeptical, "Twilight, you ain't makin’ a lick-o-sense. Derpy once got lost in ma barn, how the hay would she get all the way out there?"

"She used a tracer gem. Now listen, it's all starting to make sense now! Prometheus was banished in part because he was using his magic powers to manipulate the memories of other ponies, he must have kidnapped Darklight when he was a foal and altered his memories to make him believe that Princess Celestia was some sort of tyrant! Prometheus also forced him to wear an amulet that makes him look like a shadow monster so that he wouldn't know that he was a normal alicorn pony, and that he might have a family connection to the Princess herself!"

"Twilight," said Rarity, "You have to also consider the possibility that you and Derpy were the ones who have had their memories changed."

"And that y'all never actually left," added Applejack.

Pinkie broke her sullen silence, “But I heard that... ”

“I know you heard a rumor that Twilight was with the Barbaroi ponies, Pinkie,” said Rarity, “But I have to agree with Applejack; there isn’t one bit of evidence that the two of them ever left Equestria this whole time.”

Twilight began to feel afraid."You don't believe me? You think I'm lying to you?"

None of her friends answered, nor could they look her in the eye.

"Is that why you kept Derpy and I apart? Do you think we want to hurt the Princess?"

"No! We know you would never want to do that!" cried Pinkie.

"Twilight, we know how much you love Princess Celestia." said Rarity. "We just don't know what Prometheus or Erebus did to you when you were taken."

"Jus’ give us one day!" said Applejack,"Then this whole thing'll blow over and we can make sure no one's been messin’ with yer head."

Twilight knew what her friends were implying. She knew the Erebus legend of the Mist Continent as well as they did, that it had the power to control the minds of its victims. Still, if Darklight had really been Erebus, instead of a real alicorn pony, certainly Raven’s Wind would have recognized this.

Then she began to doubt herself. Were any of her memories from the past two or more weeks true though? Had there ever been a pony named Darklight, or was he just a construct from the collaboration of Prometheus and Erebus? Had there ever been a pony named Raven’s Wind, or a Village of the Moon? Had she actually fought the earth golem? Were all of these memories designed to blind her to the fact that she had been kidnapped to become a co-conspirator in a plot to kill Princess Celestia.

“I do have evidence!” she cried. “I have the spell book that I found in the library right here!”

She picked up her saddlebag, which had been left next to the bed, and took out the spellbook,”I can show this to Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon and prove that... ”

The saddlebag still felt heavy in her levitation spell. She opened the bag to look inside. There was Darklight’s Talisman, and a bundle wrapped in cloth. The cloth wrapping glowed with a dazzling array of colors. It was the same cloth that she had seen in the bazaar in the Village of the Moon. Twilight remembered that it had been her favorite, and she had thought about asking Rarity to make her a dress with it when she returned home, but it was expensive and she had felt bad about asking Darklight to spend more of his own money on them than he already was with Derpy’s shopping spree.

Her friends were amazed, especially Rarity. “Where did you get that fabric?! I have never seen colors that exquisite anywhere in Equestria!”

There was a purple light emanating from within that became stronger as she unwrapped the cloth until it shone forth in it’s full glory. Inside was a glass figurine that glowed with the light of magic-infused dye. It was a statue of Twilight. Gentle, intricate curves accentuated it’s beauty, and the face portrayed a strong sense of confidence, majesty, and courage. It was Darklight’s magnum opus, the project that Derpy had kept her from seeing until after it was finished. It was also an expression of the love that Darklight felt for Twilight, and it was a goodbye.

Twilight was turned away from her friends so they couldn't see her fight back her emotions. She carefully, reverently, folded the cloth and place both the cloth and the figurine on one of Pinkie’s bookshelves. Then she quietly strapped on her saddlebag and turned to face her friends. The same confidence and determination that they had seen on the figurine was now on her face. “I’m going to save all of them,” she announced. “I’m going to Canterlot to stop Prometheus, and save both Princess Celestia AND Darklight.”

“Ya can’t do that, Twi!” yelled Applejack. She jabbed a hoof in the direction of window. “Do ya have any idea what’s been goin’ on around here. I can see three guards outside this here window! They got the whole town locked down tighter than a barrel o’ pickles! The moment ya step out that door, they’re gonna arrest you and lock ya up for treason! Ah don’t care about Ghost ponies or gems or conspiracies or any of that stuff—I care about you, Twilight, and I’m gonna do everything ah can ta keep ya safe!”

“I know what you are doing, and I appreciate that you are trying to protect me, but there is a string of tragedies that are about to occur that only I can stop. I’m going, and no pony is going to stop me!”

“Then yer gonna have to get through us first!”

Applejack and Rarity both began to step towards Twilight in a threatening posture. It had never occurred to her that she would ever have to fight her friends to do what she knew was right, and the situation didn’t look good. All three of her friends were blocking the staircase, the only exit she could use. Going out the window was out of the question, Pinkie’s room was on the third floor of Sugarcube Corner and the fall would likely break her legs. Twilight wasn’t strong enough to overpower an earth pony, let alone two of them, and the fact that Rarity chose to focus her magic on fashion design and gem-prospecting did not mean that she didn’t have a few tricks up her immaculate sleeves. Then again, the last two-plus weeks had been a very productive learning experience for Twilight.

Twilight backed up slightly, then fired off a teleportation spell. Applejack quickly turned and lunged at Twilight moments after she reappeared. Twilight caught her hoof and flipped her over her head, causing Applejack to slam down on a table that broke and crashed to the floor. As Twilight did this, she felt Rarity’s levitation spell forming about her. She dispelled this with a quick swiping block and immediately fired off two kinetic spells that sent Rarity and Pinkie flying across the floor. One more teleportation spell and Twilight had reached the top of the stairs, but she underestimated Rarity’s recovery time and a levitation spell caught her hind hoof and lifted her into the air. Applejack caught her roughly in a mid-air tackle and pinned her to the ground.

Rarity appeared over Applejack’s shoulder and pointed her mana-charged horn straight at Twilight. Applejack had her lasso rope in her free hoof.

“Hold STILL, Twilight,” yelled Applejack. “Don’t make me... WHAT in TARNATION?!”

Outside they heard a prolonged scream, or was it a battle cry, that grew in volume until the roof imploded with a loud crash. Broken wood, plaster, and a streak of blonde buried the four of them.

Derpy proved her resilience once again and plucked the correct pony out of the pile of dusty, flailing limbs before flying with Twilight straight for Pinkie’s closed window. Pinkie recovered next and jumped at them, but Derpy swung Twilight’s body and knocked her back to the ground. They turned back towards the window, and Twilight fired several rapid horn blasts to blow out the panes of glass before the two of them were cut to pieces.

Pinkie screamed “No, Twilight! Don’t go!”

Twilight, like Derpy, was now a fugitive. The cloudy spheres of stun spells were already whizzing past both of the even before Twilight reached the ground and started galloping away at full speed.”

“Thanks Derpy! We have to get to my house and retrieve the Elements of Harmony!”

Twilight didn’t have to ask before Derpy launched into her long explanation of what had happened to her. “I’m sorry I didn’t get the tickets like you asked me but there were a bunch of guards there and they shot me with a white ball thingy spell like what they are shooting at us now and put me to sleep and then they took me to Rainbow Dash’s place where R.D. and Fluttershy were waiting for me... ” long gasp for air. “And I was like ‘I have to go help Twilight’ and Rainbow Dash was like ‘No you have to stay here.’ And then I kinda sorta accidentally smashed Rainbow Dash’s electric guitar over her head and Fluttershy was like ‘Oh NO!’ and I was like ‘I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry’ and then I flew here and I guess it was okay because there was no way I could have flown fast enough to get away from Rainbow Dash but then Fluttershy flew off to get help and I think all of the Wonderbolts are after me now including the ones in retirement," extra long gasp.

Derpy said this as she flew alongside Twilight, dodging stun spells that flew past her. Twilight kept up her gallop, swiping away spells aimed at herself and jumping in midair to block the ones that Derpy couldn't dodge.

Three unicorn guards were close on their rear, firing multiple stun spells that were hard to dodge as they moved through the Ponyville market. Twilight aimed kinetic spells at carts on both sides of her as she passed. A cart of oranges shot straight across the and knocked one guard over, a second slipped on the oranges as they spilled out. The third tried to leap over a second cart as it flew under him, but tripped and face planted hard into the dirt.

Twilight could now see her house, but two earth pony guards from one street and another from the opposite one converged and ran straight towards them, blocking their path.

"You take the one on the right!" Twilight told Derpy, who paused her story to listen. "I'll take the one in the middle!"

Twilight shot several horn blasts into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that temporarily blinded the guards. Derpy landed briefly and went into a low crouch, then shot straight up into an uppercut that knocked her guard off his front hooves, then she kicked out his back hooves with a leg sweep before getting airborne again. Twilight imagined a certain mare's face in place of her target's to give the roundhouse kick that extra special something to knock the guard into the one beside him. Raven's Wind would have been very proud.

The door flew open from a horn blast to the lock, and the two of them ran inside. Twilight used multiple spells to hold the door shut and throw large items of furniture against the door before she led Derpy upstairs to the main library.

Princess Celestia had placed the Elements of Harmony in Twilight Sparkle's possession so that they could be used immediately if a serious problem arose, but this happened only recently and even her friends didn't know about this. Twilight removed several books from one of the shelves and took out an unassuming wooden box. 'Good' she thought 'the Elements are still here.' She packed the tiara and necklaces in the saddlebag pouch opposite the one holding the spell book.

Pieces of glass were raining down on them now. Outside, she could also hear Pinkie's voice screaming "Don't hurt them! Don't hurt them!" Derpy was getting to the part of her story where the Wonderbolts were after her, and Twilight realized why the guards were shooting out her windows on the top floor.

"Do you have the transporter box with you?" she asked Derpy, "We're going to need it to get out of here."

"Yeah, I got it right here, you just push this... no, that's not it... wait, maybe this... ooooooOOOOHHHH, MUFFINS! Why are those little lights blinking like that?!"

The holes in her windows were now more than large enough to allow ponies to fly through. "You'll have to get it working later," Twilight commanded, "Get ready to fly us out of here on my signal!"

Twilight didn't know how to cast stun spells; it was a secret that only the guards knew, even Shining Armor wouldn't tell her. She would need another method to fight her way out, so she made one of the toughest choices she ever made, to sacrifice some of her books for the cause. She levitated a thick copy of "The History of Manehatten" into the air and cast a kinetic spell on it just as the first Wonderbolt flew in at them. The book hit her square in the face, and she crashed into the bookshelf on the opposite wall. "Friendship and You" flew up and made the second Wonderbolt that flew in tumble out of control and hit the wall. Twilight felled the third Wonderbolt in with volume one of "Magical Remedies" and used volumes two and three as cover fire before Derpy flew out the window carrying her.

Immediately, a swarm of Wonderbolts surrounded them in midair and forced them towards the ground. Twilight shot a few horn blasts to try and drive them away, but they wouldn't fall for her bluff. Palace guards formed a wide but shrinking circle that the Wonderbolts forced them to land inside of.

Derpy flopped to the ground and immediately resumed working on the Transporter box. Twilight paced back in forth pointing her horn, which was charged with so much mana that it crackled and sparked, at any guard that even hinted that he was moving in towards her. The look on her face was of fierce, animal-like defiance.

Outside the circle were several townsponies that Twilight knew. Mayor Mare looked on in astonishment. Cheerilee was trying to protect and console the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were all crying. Twilight could see Lyra, Bon Bon, Rose, Carrot Cake, Lotus Blossom, Diamond Tiara, Thunderlane, Matilda, and the look of fear on all of their faces. Fluttershy was hovering behind the Wonderbolts, looking very concerned.

"We're not conspirators!" Twilight announced to anypony who would listen. "We weren't kidnapped!" Then she remembered, "Ask Spike! He saw me! I showed him the spell book I have with me right here! He can tell you that I was going to use a teleportation spell... "

"Spike never saw you, Miss Sparkle," said one of the palace guards, somewhat dispassionately. "I questioned him myself. No one saw you after you left Canterlot."

Twilight felt defeated. None of them trusted her anymore, they would never let her come back to Ponyville. She had lost everything.

Fluttershy looked surprised at the guard's words, and became thoughtful. Derpy whispered "It's ready," to Twilight and placed the Transporter next to her hoof.

Suddenly, Applejack burst through the line of guards and stood directly in front of Twilight, more to stop the guards than to confront her. Her hat was missing, and her ponytail had come undone. "Twilight, ah’m really sorry we scared you back there. Please, just come back with us ta Pinkie's place, we'll forget all about this, ah promise ah won't let anypony hurt you or take you away."

"I can't go back Applejack," Twilight replied sadly. "No pony will ever let me come back here."

"Please... Twilight."

"Derpy and I are the only ponies who can stop everything that is going on. We have to tell Princess Celestia what we know and stop Prometheus. It doesn't matter what happens to me... "

"Don't you DARE say that!" screamed Applejack. Tears of rage and despair mingled and streamed down her face.

Twilight looked sadly at her, and at the rest of her friends. Pinkie sat on the ground and sobbed, her hooves covering her face. Rarity stood just outside the circle, about to cry herself. Twilight knew more than ever that they were her friends, and would do anything to protect her. They were all looking at widely separated parts of the same giant enigma, none of them knowing what parts were missing, or what parts were even real.

She touched the hero's talisman she wore with one of her hooves. All her life, she had wanted to be a scholar, a pony renowned for her knowledge and magic abilities. Without realizing it though, since she had come to Ponyville and met all of the ponies that she now loved so deeply, her goals had begun to change. Twilight now knew what she was always meant to be, who she really was. Her true purpose was to protect the ponies she loved, to be the hero they needed her to be.

"I love you girls, I love all of you." she said to her friends, and to every pony there. "Many times I thought I would never get the chance to tell you how much you have come to mean to me. Thank you for everything you have done for me, and for being my friends, and I want you to know that I will fight for you with every bit of strength I have left. You know where you can find me."

Twilight touched the large button on the Transporter box, and she and Derpy disappeared.

Author's Note:

Hopefully enough of you know French or have seen Ergo Proxy and know what the title means (if not, there's always Wikipedia).

Comments

[DreadedCandiru2]

Well, she finally has found her reason for being....being the hero they need.

[snoninja7]

3313124. I wanted to go beyond the story here and with Twilight being a light in the coming darkness, I thought it would be appropriate based on what is going on in the show.

[Arexander]

I'm surprised there aren't any more comments or likes on this story. It deserves more, in my opinion. Such a great read and even more to come! It's a definite favorite and a like from me.

Oh, and it's raison d'etre, with an 'e' instead of an 'a'.

[snoninja7]

3322840. Thank you! And thanks for the save in the title spelling, I'll change it the next chance I get

[Arexander]

3328001 Always happy to help! I'll be waiting for more!

[godofthunder4242]

The story is fun and a good read for me up until you made stun spells a secret. Twilight has been taught a lethal spell that can kill the user because it's too powerful but she couldn't get a spell designed to no kill? I understand that from a story perspective it's useful so Twilight can't just stun all the guards but it's completely immersion breaking.