Eulight
She was unable to move, stood stock-still at the edge of the exposed clifftop. The wind had picked up; waves were crashing into the cliff bottom with an ever-increasing intensity. As the sun began to blind her, Twilight looked away briefly. But she would not move. She would not falter. Here she was, stood staunchly atop the farthest corner of the world. Just looking. Not seeing her friends, or looking after the library. Not even looking at anything in particular. There was no focus, she simply looked. It was all she could do. It was all she needed to do - things were about to change, and she needed to be ready for that.
Subconsciously she’d extended her wings, feeling the wind brush against her feathers. It was a cool, relieving breeze, settling her thoughts – a perfect mindset, she thought. She had to rid herself of this worry.
The last month had been more turbulent than she cared to admit. Whilst to most ponies Princess Twilight Sparkle would seem to be holding herself as per usual, she was being eaten alive slowly, consumed by her own mind. It was beginning. She was beginning to slip from her previous perception of reality into a completely different one. This was the reality that was not; it was the polar opposite to the norm. Twilight knew what this all meant. She had to go – she had to do it. Without alerting anyone, she slipped out late in the night, her wings taking her to her destination.
She looked down slowly, taking in the vast expanse of water before her. She saw it glisten in the sunset. But as her vision tracked past the horizon, a change of monumental proportions began to take place. The sun no longer radiated warmth. The waves began to crash with a ferocious intensity. The sky itself distorted, a fuzzy haze inserting itself where the calming hues of reds and oranges once were.
Once she arrived, it was always the same. She ate some apples hastily – there was no way she could do what she had to on an empty stomach. The apples reminded her of home, and her friends. She would come close to shedding tears at this thought, but always got a hold of herself before that happened. Saying some quick words of thanks and love to Celestia and her friends, she would trot, slowly but meaningfully, towards the cliff top.
Twilight began to choke up. It was all too much. Closing her eyes, she dropped to her knees, yelling out. But her cries were in vain; the wind drowned her out. And she knew it. This whole change. It drowned her out, forcing her to some dark forgotten corner of reality. It did this to her, and it did it intentionally. It knew she was weak and alone separated from her friends. True, her magical ability and her mind were incredible forces of nature. But even all this meant nothing in the face of what she was about to undertake. Here, in this world, she began to drown at the wish of the sea itself.
She opened her mouth to scream once more but this time she felt it. The sea had begun to enter her lungs. She could focus on nothing else but the sea forcibly destroying her.
It’ll pass, she thought, fighting the terror.
She had been here before. This course of events was neither new nor unexpected. But each time was more terrifying than the last and it was the fear she couldn’t fight.
It consumed her and destroyed her focus. She began to panic, trying to tear her eyes open to no avail.
This was it.
Trapped.
Trapped by the fear of the very thing she was here to stop.
Twilight could feel it. Failure. And all at once, that evil concoction of failure, defeat, sadness, fear and anger enveloped her. She collapsed.
She felt the sea winning.
It’ll pass, she cried out in her mind. The thought echoed in her head.
It’ll pass.
She could feel the scales beginning to tip.
It’ll pass.
The more she said it to herself, the more real it became.
That was it. Real. She focused on the mantra. 'It'll pass' – that was real. All of this fear, failure... Twilight fought it for all she was worth. She fought hard. This was no easy task, but she could begin to see that she was coming out on top. Slowly, but surely. It was happening. She was fighting, and she was winning.
And she knew she’d win, because it wasn’t real.
...
...
Slowly, Twilight opened her eyes.
The black was no more. The fuzzy haze had gone. In its place was the sunset, the cliff, the sea. Tentatively, she opened her mouth and braced for it. But nothing. The sea intruded no more. Twilight had done it.
She breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. She closed her eyes, feeling the beautiful warmth of the sun envelop her. Twilight smiled. She knew she’d triumph. She was Eula and she was the gem of the sea. She couldn’t not succeed – that’s not how it was written.
After taking this ultimate calm in, her eyes fluttered open. She kept on smiling. Nodding to herself, she turned and trotted away from the cliff edge.
Ponykind had been saved once more and it didn’t even know it was in danger. It was a thankless task but one that Twilight had to do and do alone. Knowing her duty was complete, she could return home, safe in the knowledge that all would be well. She would tell her friends she had ‘royal duties’. She would tell the princesses she’d gone to do royal business in some far corner of Equestria.
In reality, she went to this clifftop once the sea had completed its cycle and was consumed by a dark alter-reality, the likes of which nopony – Twilight included – could begin to describe. It was otherworldly, it distorted things. It controlled all of Twilight’s senses and yet it wasn’t anything at all. It was beyond existence.
And she fought it, and she beat it.
Every time.