One In The Same.
Twilight opened her eyes, realizing, at some point, she had fallen asleep. But, when she opened them, she quickly realized that she wasn’t in her room. She was standing in the hallways of the school, in her pajamas, by herself. At first, she felt embarrassed, being in public with her sleepwear on. But, when she looked out the windows and saw how dark it was outside, she realized how late it was. She felt confused and scared. The entire hallway was dark, not to the point to where she couldn’t see, just black, and intimidating, like a monster could come out of the darkness any second. The darkness seemed to extend to the other hallways, as she saw parts of the hallways to the right and the left were also dark.
Twilight had never been at school after hours; she had always been curious what it would be like, now she wished she hadn’t. It was scary and cold; it was an entirely different atmosphere than in the daytime. But, instead of focusing on that, she decided to focus on questions she had, such as: How did she get here? Could she have sleepwalked? But, that wouldn’t make any sense. The janitors always lock the school; she couldn’t have gotten in.
As Twilight was thinking to herself, a sudden noise echoed throughout the school, a terrifying, familiar noise, laughter. It was loud and malicious; it terrified her. It was short, only lasting a few seconds or so, but the echo lasted almost a minute. The laugh sounded familiar, but, Twilight couldn’t remember where she’d heard it before. It sounded like Gaia, but it wasn’t, it was different somehow.
“H-hello? Is anyone there?” Twilight said shakily, her voice barely more than a whisper, she was too frightened to talk any louder. When there was no response, she somehow felt more scared. After waiting a few more seconds, there was still no response. So, being the smart teenager, she decided to turn around and look for the exit.
“Maybe it was just my imagination? I mean, who else would be at school after hours? Other than the janitor, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t sound like that. Then again, I’ve never met him, or her." The fear and tension slowly began to leave her; she began to calm down after she started applying logic to the situation. "Whatever, I’ll just go back to my room, go to sleep, and pretend this never ha-“
Again, laughter filled the halls of the school, but this time, it was louder and longer. It sent chills down Twilight’s spine, goosebumps on her neck, and made her stop where she was. She turned around as if came from behind her. This time, it seemed there was no echo, just the laughter. It lasted two minutes but seemed to last hours. When it finally ended, Twilight felt relieved but scared at the same time. That wasn’t her imagination, that was real. She couldn’t just leave, not now, her curiosity needed to be sated, she needed to know.
Slowly, Twilight walked forward, not sure if her fear or curiosity were stronger than the other. She had her arms wrapped around her; the school seemed to get a lot colder than before. She could practically see her breath now; her fear just made her colder. Somehow, it appears to start getting darker than before, now, she could just barely see in front of her. Then, she heard the laughter again, making her stop in her place again. This time, it sounded closer and stronger. It seemed like it was coming from the hallway to her right, she wasn't sure if it was coming from there before, or if it had moved.
It stopped again, leaving Twilight even more scared than before. But, slowly and shakily, Twilight began to walk forward again. Her curiosity, and her fear, stronger than before. She grabbed onto herself tighter, the hallways seeming to get even colder and darker. If it wasn't as dark as it was, she was sure she would see her breath now. After what she was sure was minutes of her shuffling forward, she finally got to the corner. She went up to the locker beside her, even more, scared than before. She has been severely reconsidering this; this was starting to look like a terrible idea. Just when she was about to make a run for the exit, she thought about Sunset, and what she would do in this situation. She wouldn’t run, she would be brave, and run around the corner headstrong, not afraid of anything. Not for herself, but for her friends, and that’s what Twilight was going to do. She was tired of being so scared all the time; she was going to change, she was going to be brave.
Before Twilight could think about it, she rushed around the corner, determined to face whatever was on the other side. But, when she saw what it was, or more specifically, who it was, she immediately regretted her impulsive decision.
“M-Midnight Sparkle!” Twilight barely stuttered out, the memories of their last encounter further instilling fear into her.
Midnight had been at the end of the hallways, having already been looking in Twilight’s direction, almost like she had been waiting for her. She seemed to be bigger than before, and the aura she was giving off appeared to be stronger. Her wings extended to her sides, she was wearing the same purple and pink dress, with the gloves on her arms. And the same necklace with a small, purple gem on it, and long, purple boots on her feet. Magic seemed to be irradiating off of her; her horn appears to be brighter than before, almost glowing. The magic around her eyes was more vivid too, practically flowing from her eyes. Her face was etched into a huge, evil smile, almost looking through her.
“Hello, Twilight Sparkle. So nice to see you again! Are you enjoying your life in my body?!” She spoke with anger in her voice, the magic in her horn and eyes seeming to spike, her smile growing wider than before. She seemed deranged, almost insane. Her body language was random and unpredictable; she was different. That further terrified Twilight, she had hoped she would never see her again, but, of course, that wasn't the case.
“T-this isn’t your body! It’s mine! And you can’t have it! You can’t take over again, Midnight! I won’t let you!” She defiantly yelled at Midnight, refusing to give in to the creeping fear. "If you do, you’re just going to hurt my friends and me, and that’s not going to happen again, I won’t let it!” Twilight said confidently, not wanting Midnight to see her fear. Though, she had a feeling Midnight could probably sense it. Midnight flinched, not expecting such a response. The smile on her face gone, but only for a few seconds. Then, the smile returned, she seemed to be thinking of something, something wrong.
“You’re right, " She said calmly, the smile on her face still there, not an ounce of anger in her voice. " I can't take over your body." That almost made Twilight’s jaw drop, never in her entire life did she imagine Midnight would say that. She thought Midnight would keep trying to take over her body, not accept that she couldn’t. But, before Twilight could say anything, she spoke once again, something else in her voice, something unidentifiable.
“But, tell me, do you know what that means?” She said very sadistically as if she knew something Twilight didn’t, something she wouldn't like. Twilight hesitated to answer; sure she wasn’t going to like whatever Midnight was thinking of doing.
“N-no, what?” Twilight said slowly, the unsureness of the situation making it harder to fight the fear.
“It means," Midnight began to walk towards Twilight slowly, magic sparking out around her like embers from a fire. It began to spread out, seeming to consume the walls and lockers around them. Twilight tried to turn around and run, but the magic grabbed her, it was like a vine or a tentacle, and it wasn’t letting go. It made her fall, but she still tried to get away, not wanting to be consumed by magic again.
“It means, that I get to stay in your beautiful little head, for as long as you live! Oh, we’re going to have so much more fun than before!" She continued to walk towards Twilight; her hands cupped around her cheeks as a smile stretched across her face, her pupils were constricted and full of insanity, as she looked sadistically down at Twilight. "I’ll speak to you through the day, making you think you’re crazy until I drive you to the real thing! And, I’ll make you hallucinate, making you see things that aren’t there, like your friends dying, old enemies, or me! Then, when you sleep, I’ll be there! In your dreams, oh, the things I’ll do to you, I’ll make H. H. Holmes look like a joke! You won’t want to sleep; I’ll make sure you don’t! I’ll drive you to absolute madness! Until you’re begging me to take you over, so that you won’t have to suffer anymore, oh, Twilight, we’re going to have so. Much. Fun! And it all starts now!”
Midnight’s smile widened significantly, with her hands still cupping the sides of her face. Her smile was seeming to get wider the more ideas she thought of, her eyes still lustfully looking down at Twilight. Twilight was still trying to get away, but at this point, the blue magic had already pulled half of her body in, making her chances of escaping slim. But, still, she tried to crawl away, not wanting to give in. Her entire lower body burned, causing tears coming out of her eyes, from both the pain and fear. There was nothing she could do; she was at the mercy of her inner demons.
The magic had consumed nearly her entire body by now, only her head and right arm were still. She tried to hold on to something, anything. But, there was nothing, no one, who could help her, she was left alone. As the magic was consuming the last of her body, Midnight laughed, filling the entire hall. At this point, Twilight’s whole body burned, but she couldn’t even scream. There was nothing she could do, she couldn’t fight back, couldn’t do anything. Midnight was going to do whatever she wanted to Twilight for the rest of her life, and there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do was hope this was a dream, and hope someone, anyone, would wake her.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Diary,
One month, two weeks, five days, seven hours, and twenty-three minutes have passed since Midnight started haunting my mind, preventing me from sleeping. Coffee has been my best friend in this time. During the first week, I tried ignoring it, hoping it would go away. At first, it seemed to work. Then, she started getting more aggressive. She started off with just whispering to me, insults, suggestions, etc. But, whenever I started ignoring her, she pushed. The whispering turned to screaming and, most of the time, it wasn't even her screams. It was the screams of my friends, calling out in pain, asking why I'd done this.
It didn't just sound either; she kept her promise on the hallucinations. Sometimes, I would see her in crowds, or out of the corner of my eyes, just staring at me. But then, it shifted to my friends. I had expected her just to make me think I was seeing them dead on the floor or something, no, that would have been obvious and cliché. Instead, she mixed illusion with reality. It started when Pinkie and I were talking; I can't remember what about. Sometime in the middle of it, a worm came out of her right ear. I just thought it was her playing a prank; her pranks have no limit. Then, it got disturbing. Blood had begun to run down her face, coming from her eyes like tears. Worms came out of her face; maggots started to get out of her nose, yet, she didn't react in the slightest, she continued talking like nothing was wrong. It had disgusted me so much, that I started to feel sick. I tried running, but, I wasn't paying attention to my environment, so, I tripped. Luckily, I didn't throw up. Unluckily, someone had tried to help me up. I took their hand, not even considering if the same thing was going to happen every time I looked at someone else.
So, when I looked up to see who was helping me, the same thing had happened. Worms were coming out of their ears, maggots coming out of their nose, and they were crying tears of blood. At that moment, I could've sworn I heard Midnight laughing. After that, I ran for the nearest women's bathroom, glad I hadn't tripped again. As far as I can tell, it hasn't got any worse. No new sounds or illusions, which is unusual. I'd imagine Midnight would want to do new things, trying to break me. Unless she wants to bring me into a false sense of security, which she probably does. As for the dreams, they’re strange. They're not good, not in any sense. I just imagined them to be more painful, with torture and such. But, so far, she hasn't done anything physical. What she has done, is play with my head. In the dreams, there are three possibilities: One, she creates some abomination of a creature to chase me around the school, in a sort of cat and mouse fashion. Two, she makes scenarios in which she's taken over my body, and is hurting my friends, which usually ends up with them dead. Three, she forces me to relieve The Friendship Games, all of it. Starting from when I first went to the school to investigate, to when magic corrupted me. Slowly, these dreams had been driving me crazy. Again, coffee has been my best friend.
Spike noticed the difference in my behavior from day one, either because he's a dog, or since he's there to hear what I might say in my dreams. He kept telling me to talk to Sunset for help, but I said I could deal with it on my own. I should have listened to him. If I had, maybe he would still here. After a particularly bad night, the details aren't important; I nearly hurt Spike when I woke up. It made me realize just how much this was affecting me, causing me to try to solve the problem. Still, I had to take precautions. So, to keep Spike safe, I sent him to Fluttershy, under the context of being too busy with something else. The screams and horrible faces started the next day, inspiring me to pursue finding a solution further.
I promised myself I'd never go back to the sheltered, unsocial, bookworm I was at Canterlot High. But, I needed answers, I couldn't live with her the rest of my life, I had no choice. So, I bought as much mental, psychology, and human brain books as I could afford, and I got to research. It turns out; there are tons of theories and stuff about these kinds of things, it's interesting. There are so many different possibilities of what it could be, split personality disorder, multiple personality disorder, and many others, which are going to take a long time to narrow down, considering the variety of symptoms. I have piles of books scattered throughout my room, but with Spike and his stuff not here, I have plenty of room, though, him not being here still makes me sad. I even bought a cork board to help connect things better! Though this stuff is a lot more useful in detective movies than real life, it has its uses. Honestly, my room looks more like the home of a conspiracy theorist. Then again, the room of someone who's trying to figure out how to get rid of a megalomaniac personality who's obsessed with magic doesn't sound much better; I think I'll need some actual therapy after this. But, enough with the research talk, I have a whole other book for research, multiple. So, I won't bore myself with research notes in this; this is to help me, not stress me out.
Anyway, back to what I was talking about, Sunset told me I needed to write this to help me vent. Speaking of whom, something else happened. About a day ago, despite my hardest efforts to avoid her and the rest of my friends out of fear, I ran into Sunset. It had happened in the bathroom, occasionally, I need to go in there for a few minutes to get away from everything. Whether she knew I would go there, or it was just bad luck, she was there. I tried to run, not wanting to see that horrible sight anymore, but she stopped me. She pinned me against the wall, making sure I wouldn't try again. Then, she started to talk to me, while keeping me in place. For the first few minutes, I was able to listen to her. People had been talking about my recent behavior, including Pinkie and Fluttershy, which made her concerned. So, she was confronting me about everything, trying to help me. She kept asking me what was wrong, how she could help, and other things along that line. But, despite how much I would have loved to talk to her, anybody, I couldn't. Something I learned about the illusion, is the longer you look at it, the worse it gets. It's the main reason I couldn't talk to anyone when I tried; the faces became too much. After a point, I couldn't focus on anything else, couldn't think of anything else, except for that horrible face. But, with Sunset making me look at her, I couldn't stop, no matter how much I struggled. The face kept getting worse and worse until I couldn't take it anymore.
I broke down and began to cry, closing my eyes and just letting myself fall into her, trying my hardest to ignore the worms falling on my back. After some time of letting everything out, I told her everything. The dreams, the voices, the faces, everything. I went into much more detail than I think she was comfortable with, but, when I'm like that, I can't help myself. Eventually, it was her who hugged me this time. She didn't say anything, she just embraced me, her warmth and kindness distracting me for a few seconds. But, she quickly let go, not wanting to make me uncomfortable. When she let go, she looked me in the eyes, and for once, there wasn't blood, or worms, or maggots, just kindness. I could see the wetness of her eyes, as she was trying her hardest not to cry herself. She must have felt so much pity for me, maybe even more than at The Friendship Games, but she couldn't understand. She told me she knew someone who could help, someone who had the answers I was looking for and could make everything better. She asked me to go home and wait, that she was going to contact the person, and she was going to do whatever she could to help me. So, here I am, waiting. Right now, it's seven fifty-two, and still no mysterious person with all the answers.
I think I’ve waited long enough; I have work that I need to do. So, I'm going to end this here, finish my research, and, hopefully, go to bed without worries of nightmares.
Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight shut the small, brown journal in front of her, already feeling tired. At this time, she usually already had all her research done. But, with Sunset wanting her to wait for her mystery guest, she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. But, now, the anxiety and anticipation had dulled, and she could finish her research now. She put her journal and pencil under her bed; she knew it was cliché, but, that was why no one would expect it. She got out of her bed, did some stretching since she was in bed for so long, and went to her kitchen.
It was an average, but small kitchen, still large enough to need its room though. It was slightly bigger than a hotel bathroom, so, there wasn't a lot that could be put a lot in it. The floor being hardwood, having a nice, polished look to it. The wall and roof were colored green, not because it was her favorite color, it was just very soothing. The only things in the kitchen were a wooden table with two chairs, a couple of cabinets for eating essentials, and a sink with a refrigerator beside it. She wasn’t in here for food though; she came for what was beside the sink, the coffee maker.
After doing the routine of coffee, and nearly dozing off waiting for it, she went out of the kitchen with a mug in her hands. But, before she could get out all of her research stuff from the closet, which was probably the biggest room in her apartment, a knock echoed throughout the chamber. She wasn’t expecting any sudden sounds like that, so it startled her, making her almost drop her mug. But, she regained her composure, took a drink of the coffee, put it on the nightstand beside her bed, and began to walk to the door.
She didn’t need to guess who it was, she already knew, well, in a way. She knew it had to be the mystery person Sunset was talking about, but, she didn’t know who it was. She could speculate who it was, but there wouldn’t be a point since that person was literally on the other side of her door. For whatever reason, she felt nervous. Then again, the person who was going to be solving all her problems was at her apartment, so, it’s understandable.
“Hello? Is anyone home?” A feminine voice came from the other side of the door, with concern in her voice. That made Twilight hesitate in opening the door; their voice sounded…familiar. She couldn’t see who or what it was, but it just sounded like someone she had met before, she just didn’t know who. She ignored her thoughts, not wanting to take too long, as that could make whoever this was left. She quickly opened the door, but nothing could have prepared her for what was on the other side.
It was her! It was otherworld Twilight! She looked identical to her, with her purple hair in a bun, and strands of it hanging in front of her face. Her eyes were the same color of violet; even all the facial details were the same. She’d met Princess Twilight before, but it still amazed her as a scientist how much they looked alike. The only way to tell the difference between the two was glasses, and even then it was iffy. She was wearing the same school clothes she had when they first met: a light blue button up shirt with a bow tie right under the collar, her skirt was purple, with stars on each side. She had purple boots with stars on them, almost going up to her knees. It was very similar to her school outfit, with a few minor differences.
Twilight stared at her a few seconds, amazed at her very existence. And, for whatever reason, the face thing wasn’t happening to her. Maybe it was because they were the same person? Or she had some magical protection since she was an Alicorn? But, at this very moment, for once, she didn’t care.
“I know you’re probably amazed by how similar we look, but could you stop staring at me like that? It makes me…uncomfortable.” Princess Twilight said nervously, as she shuffled with an embarrassed blush on her face.
“Oh! Sorry, I-I didn’t mean to-, just, please, come inside. I’m not in the mood for this.” Twilight said slowly, stuttering out of nervousness and embarrassment, a voice Princess Twilight had never heard before. Twilight sounded sad, broken; this whole Midnight Sparkle thing must have affected her a lot more than she thought. Princess Twilight walked into the apartment, trying to ignore the messy, spread-out the room. This lack of organization was bothering Princess Twilight; she had no idea how her other self could stand it.
“Just... make yourself comfortable on the bed, want any coffee? ” Twilight said quickly and quietly, not entirely sure how to carry a conversation with herself, which sounded a lot easier than what it was.
Princess Twilight suddenly had a confused look on her face, like someone had asked her a question in some language she’s never heard of existing.
“What’s coffee?” Princess Twilight tipped her head to the side quizzically, both confused and curious.
Twilight looked back at her with bewilderment on her face, not sure how to respond to that.
“We…have a lot of things to talk about.”
Princess Twilight sat on the messy bed, trying her hardest to ignore the messiness, it was rude to think poorly of someone else’s living residence. Eventually, Twilight came back. She had a mug in her hand, with a strange, dark liquid in it, with what looked like steam coming out of it. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was, she could only assume it was this ‘coffee’ thing she was talking about so much.
Twilight then sat in front of her, carefully handing one of the mugs to Princess Twilight. She then picked up a similar cup that had been resting on her nightstand and took a sip. Princess Twilight tried to do the same, but, nearly dropped the cup from how hot it was. That made Twilight giggle, the reaction being quite comedic. This embarrassed Princess Twilight, encouraging her to take another drink. When she did, she almost spat it out it tasted so bad. It was bitter and had a horrible aftertaste.
“Eww! How do you drink that!? It tastes horrible!”
Princess Twilight exclaimed loudly, trying not to drop the mug in her hands. That made Twilight smirk, feeling nostalgia, as the reaction was similar to her first time drinking coffee.
“Well, it’s kind of like anchovies. The more you try it, the better it gets. And trust me, it gets better, a lot better.”
Princess Twilight, once again, had a curious look on her face, one Twilight felt she was going to be seeing a lot tonight.
“What’s ‘anchovies’?”
Twilight put her mug down on the nightstand, sighing as she does it.
“We do have a lot to talk about.”
From then on, they started talking; they began talking to each other, Their hobbies, friends, family, and other things, finding they have many things in common. They moved from subject to subject, talking about their past, the differences in their worlds, science and magic, and many other things. Becoming best friends in a single night.
Eventually, though, they ran out of subjects to talk about, which was inevitable. After Twilight told her about everything that happened after The Friendship Games, it led back to the reason she was here, one they almost forgot about, Midnight Sparkle. So, like Sunset, she told her everything. Starting with the first dream, to the hallucinations. Princess Twilight didn’t say anything, her face mixed between shock, curiosity, confusion, and sympathy.
When Twilight finished, Princess Twilight, like Sunset, was bordering on crying. But, to keep face, she didn’t. For a few minutes, she didn’t say anything. She just stared at Twilight, seems to be thinking. Twilight now understood why Princess Twilight felt uncomfortable; she now realizes being stared at that long can be very…unnerving.
“Uh, Princess? Are you okay?”
Princess Twilight said nothing; she merely sighed and shifted her position. She then put both her hands on Twilight’s, and gave her a large, sympathetic smile.
“Twilight, listen. I completely understand what you’re going through.”
Twilight had disbelief written on her face, not believing that in the slightest.
“Understand? YOU UNDERSTAND!? How could you possibly know? You’re a princess! You have a castle, hundreds of friends, and magic! You’re the student of a real God! You’ve been sheltered by your mentor your entire life! How could YOU possibly understand what I’m going through?”
Twilight yelled in her face loudly, breathing heavily. All of this had been piling up on her, slowly breaking her down, like an enzyme to a product. The second she got that look of pity from Sunset, she regretted telling her. Now, a princess from another dimension claimed to understand a loner nerds problems. It frustrated her to no end; this whole thing was taking a toll on her.
Princess Twilight had a shocked look on her face, not expecting such an outburst. But, she said nothing. She understood where Twilight was coming from; she knew the effects of long term frustration. After calming down, Twilight realized she needed to apologize to her. She had come here to help, and she just took yelled at her, she didn’t deserve that.
“Princess! I’m so sorry to yell at you like that. I didn’t want to! I just-“
“Twilight, it’s fine. I told you, I understand.
Twilight still didn’t believe her, but, was now also curious.
“But, how? There’s no way you’ve experienced this kind of situation, so how could you understand?”
Princess Twilight frowned, recalling a recent memory. One where rage and magic blinded her and very nearly killed. She may not have had a voice in her head or saw horrible things, but magic and power had consumed her, she completely understood.
“Twilight, listen. I’m going to tell you a story, and after I’ve told you, you tell me if you think I wouldn’t understand. And if you think I don’t, then I’ll bring you to Equestria and find a cure there.”
Princess Twilight had said with a strange…sincerity in her voice; she had truly meant what she said. Twilight was now extremely confused, but she was also curious.
“O-ok, I’ll listen to your story.”
Twilight said hesitantly, as she wasn’t all that sure she wanted to hear her story. Considering she couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of horrible monsters were in Equestria, it couldn’t be good.
Princess Twilight leaned back her head, closed her eyes, and sat in silence for a few seconds. She then opened her eyes again, looking at the roof, her mind in thought.
“Two or three months ago, something had escaped from the worst prison in Equestria: Tartarus. Now, this prison was rarely ever used, as most villains weren’t dangerous enough. This prison was made to hold the most powerful, evil, and dangerous threats in Equestria, Tirek was all of that. I won’t bore you with his backstory, as it’s not important right now. All you need to know is he wanted revenge against every pony in Equestria, and he had the means to do it.
Tirek was a hybrid of a centaur and a minotaur, making him a very rare and powerful creature. Luckily, Celestia was able to weaken and banish him to Tartarus. But, Tirek had a very dangerous ability. He was somehow able to take all the magic from anyone he comes across, killing them in the process. There were exceptions, such as alicorns and draconequus. But, normal ponies couldn’t survive without their magic, so, in the name of revenge, Tirek killed dozens.
He gained so much power, almost more than he had before Tirek was banished, but he knew it wasn’t enough to defeat an Alicorn. Knowing he would have targeted them, the princess’s gave me all their magic. They gave me the power of gods, and it was exhilarating. I’ve never felt more power in my life, and I probably never will. At first, I had trouble controlling it. Eventually, though, I learned. I tried my hardest to hide it from my friends, but it was flowing out of me. It didn’t matter in the end.
After learning that I had the magic of all the princess’s, Tirek came to Ponyville. He then captured all of my friends, put them in anti magic bubbles, and used them against me. I don’t know if it was the magic, the stress of everything, or just everything he did, but I only felt one thing at that moment, rage. Consumed by the magic I had, and my rage, I attacked Tirek. The battle was short, but it was a calamity. There was destruction everywhere, entire mountains were being destroyed by our power left, and right, luckily, all ponies had already been evacuated.
I tried my hardest to take him down, to kill him, to end him. That bloodlust, that rage, it pushed me, it corrupted me. If my friends hadn’t been there, if they hadn’t reminded me that killing is a line you don’t come back from, I wouldn’t have hesitated, I wouldn’t have held back, I would have destroyed him. Sometimes, I honestly wonder if things would have been better if I had. If I let the magic consume me, my rage take control, if I went against everything I was taught and believed in, if I ended his life instead of showing mercy.
For a very long time, I blamed the way I felt on the magic. I thought absolute power corrupts absolutely, but that wasn’t it. I didn’t want to hurt him because I had so much power, that wasn’t it at all. I attacked him because I was afraid, not for Equestria or me, but for my friends. For most of my life, I was alone. It’s funny, isn’t it? How the princess of friendship itself, spent most of her life locked up in some tower, studying her life away.
Luckily, my mentor gave me the push I needed, and I made friends. Essential friends, each one their unique individual, I could try for the rest of my life, and I would never find anyone similar to them. But, the idea of losing them and going back to what I was, a lonely bookworm with no one to talk to, I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t do that! Rage for all the lives wasn’t the main reason I attacked him; it was the fear of being alone again. Loneliness is the worse thing I’ve ever experienced; it’s my worst fear and my most dangerous reality. If I were to be lonely like that again, I, I’d…”
Throughout her entire story, Princess Twilight’s voice had remained monotone, and her face stayed the same. But near the end, she looked like she was very close to crying, her voice nearly sobs. Twilight came close to crying too, but more from sympathy. She knew what that was like, loneliness. Almost her entire life she was lonely, she had no friends, the only time anyone paid attention to her was about grades and school stuff.
“Princess, I had no idea that you felt that way. Believe me; I know what that’s like.”
Twilight put her hands on Princess Twilight’s, her tears were threatening to fall from her face, but she still had a smile on her face. Princess Twilight looked at her, the sadness in her eyes changing to one of…understanding.
“For my entire life, I was sheltered. I focused only on science and grades, never even considering interacting with other people. Until recently, I hadn’t realized just how lonely I was. No one ever paid attention to me, not even when I won a bunch of awards for the school, not really. The only time anyone paid any attention to me was during The Friendship Games, and that was only because of all the magic that I –“
The realization was written all over Twilight’s face; she understood everything now. Who Midnight Sparkle was, why she was around, everything, it was so obvious now; it made so much sense. Though, If her counterpart hadn’t told her story, she may have ever realized it.
“Twilight? What’s wrong?”
Princess Twilight was confused; Twilight had suddenly stopped talking. She wasn’t sure why she just…stopped. Then, strangely, she smiled.
“I’m fine, great, even! I think I figured out the source of my problem, and how to fix it! And it’s all thanks to you! Thank you so much!”
Twilight said laughingly, as she lunged toward and began to hug her counterpart. While the Twilight being hugged only had confusion on her face, but she was happy too.
“That’s great and all, but, you’re crushing me!”
Princess Twilight was starting to turn a darker shade of purple than normal, for being so sheltered, human Twilight had a surprisingly firm grip.
“Oh, sorry! It’s just I’ve been dealing with this for so long, longer than you think, and now, thanks to you, I have a solution! I’m just so excited and grateful, thank you so much!” Twilight stopped hugging herself, but she still had a huge smile on her face.
“That’s great! What is it?”
Princess Twilight asked curiously, glad she was helpful. But, Twilight just shook her head.
“Sorry, I can’t tell you. Midnight might be listening.”
Princess Twilight had a disappointed, but understanding the look on her face. But, quickly covered it up with a smile, not wanting to make Twilight feel bad.
“That’s ok! I understand. But, if you already have it figured out, how about I just go? I noticed how tired you are, and from what I can understand, you can only talk to her in dreams, right?”
Twilight didn’t say anything; she just nodded every now and again. The coffee was starting to run out, making her begin to realize just how tired she was. They talked a little more, said their goodbyes, and went their ways. Princess Twilight went back to Equestria, saying she had princess duties to attend to, but they both knew she was just going to go to sleep when she gets home.
Eventually, after getting comfortable, Twilight lied in her bed. She went through her plan step by step, thinking of every possible thing that could happen. Before she knew it, she fell asleep, confident in her plan.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twilight, once again, woke up in the school. The same as it had always been, dark, abandoned, and quiet. But, this time, she knew what she was going to do. Knowing where Midnight was, as she never changed her pattern, Twilight began to run. She ignored everything, the dark lockers, Midnight’s laughing in the distance, even the sounds of her footsteps. She only had one thing on her mind, Midnight.
Faster than she thought, she ran into the corner, the one Midnight was on the other side of, waiting for her. But, she didn’t hesitate, she wasn’t afraid, she was determined. She ran around the corner, a confident look on her face.
“Oh! Look who’s a brave little birdie!”
As expected, Midnight was waiting for her. Her arms crossed and her face stretched with a smile. She was trying her best to be intimidating, to shake Twilight up so her plan wouldn’t work. She had no idea what her plan was, but she didn’t like knowing.
But, the look on Twilight’s face didn’t falter, her face stayed determined. Slowly, she started walking towards Midnight. That made Midnight tense up, Twilight had never made the first move before, nor had she been so forward, this change in attitude was making Midnight…anxious.
“Stop right there! I don’t know what plan you came up with little miss Equestria, but, whatever it is, it won’t work! You’re in my dream! That is my world! You have no chance of taking me down, here, or anywhere! So, you might as well stop right now!”
Twilight didn’t stop, in fact, she seemed to speed up. Nothing Midnight had said had even made her flinch, she had continued speed walking toward her, making Midnight very anxious. Not only did she not know what her plan was, but, she had practically been running to her with a confident look on her face like she knew this was going to work. It almost scared her how sure she was, almost.
“Fine! If you don’t want to stop, I’ll make you!”
The school had begun to shake, the lockers slamming open and shut, Midnight had an angry look on her face. Blue magic had started flowing from Midnight; she began shooting a blast at Twilight. But, even then, Twilight did not stop. The blast never directly hit Twilight, but they didn’t need to. Just grazing her would be enough to cut through her clothes and burn her skin, which was painful, but not permanent.
But, Twilight continued, tears were in the corner of her eyes because of the pain, the many cuts on her clothes along with her body, revealing burn marks under them. But, despite all the pain, Twilight kept going. The determined look on her face, while now more strained, was still there.
That surprised Midnight never had Twilight been so persistent, not even in the worst ones! She was pushing through the pain, nothing she’s ever done before! Midnight frantically threw blast after blast at Twilight, never hitting her directly, but almost always grazing her. But Twilight kept getting closer and closer, making Midnight even more frantic, to the point where the blast was hitting the wall more than grazing her. Eventually, Twilight was almost directly in front of her. Midnight raised her right-hand high, a frustrated look on her face. She put all her remaining power into this last blast, confident with this range and power; she couldn’t miss.
But, then something happened, despite all the pain all over her body, despite the tears in her eyes, despite everything Midnight had done to her over the last month, with a smile, Twilight hugged Midnight. Her grip was firm and persistent; she refused to let go.
“It’s okay, Midnight, you don’t have to do that anymore.”
Midnight struggled to get Twilight off her, but she refused to let go.
“Did you go insane from fear of something? What are you talking about-“
“You’re lonely, aren’t you?”
Midnight froze her facial expression now a surprised one. She said nothing; her struggling minimized down to almost nothing.
“I’m sorry I didn’t realize it sooner, but, after Otherworld Twilight told me her story, it became so evident what was wrong. All those years of loneliness and despair, the times where I wondered if my life had any meaning, that’s you, isn’t it?”
Midnight said nothing, she hid her face and stopped her struggling, the power in her right-hand fading as she lowered it down.
“After getting friends, I just thought all the pain left, that it was gone and would never return. I was so stupid for thinking that. I was in pain my entire life; I felt so alone and afraid since I was six. Something like that, no matter what anyone does, doesn’t heal like that. Not ever.”
Midnight flinched, the memory still bothering her to that day. She seemed to tense up, as her hands clenched into a fist.
“The Friendship Games wasn’t the fault of Equestrian magic; it was me. I wanted so hard for friends, someone to care about me, for attention. After getting friends, I tried my hardest to repress it, to pretend my pain didn’t exist, to act like I wasn’t afraid every moment of my life of going back to that. And, that’s what you are, isn’t it?”
Midnight was completely tense now; her entire body was shaking, it seemed like she was close to crying.
“You’re not the result of Equestrian magic or some split personality; you’re just me. All my feelings, pain, and fear, I tried to ignore them. So, what happened at The Friendship Games, that was a cry for help. You don’t want power or control of my body; you just don’t want to lose your friends. You thought that since no one paid attention to us until magic came into our life, that we needed magic to keep our friends. But, that’s not it!”
Twilight squeezed Midnight even tighter, both coming close to crying.
“You don’t need magic or power to keep our friends; they like us for us. So, you don’t need to be afraid anymore; it’s okay. We’re not ever going to go back to that lonely life, we have friends now, people who care about us, people to talk to, people who understand. I shouldn’t have tried to ignore my feelings, but I understand now. The pain of who I was will take time to heal, and I promise I will. I won’t lose the friends I have, no matter what.”
Midnight was shaking, she was trying to say something, but she couldn’t get the words out.
“It’s okay; you don’t have to say anything. We’re the same person, remember?”
That was it; Midnight began to cry, she couldn’t hold it back anymore. She hugged Twilight as tight as she could, letting everything out. Twilight had started to cry too, angry at herself for letting this go on. It seemed like they were there for hours, crying and letting out all their pain, they sobbed in joy and relief.
Before Twilight had known it, she had woken up. She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep, or what time it was, but, she didn’t care. She had woken up with tears running down her face, but despite that, she smiled. She got off her bed and walked towards her bathroom; there was something she needed to see.
When she got in there, she looked in the mirror, as if she was looking for something. Her face was wet with tears, her body cold with sweat. She looked herself in the eyes and smiled. All of what she was, her flaws, her past, her feelings, all of it was her.
“Twilight? Are you in there? You didn’t text me or anything after last night, are you okay?”
Twilight heard Sunset’s voice at her door, and it made her smile even further.
“I’m great, Sunset! I couldn’t be happier! Just, give me a few minutes to get dressed, then we can talk. I take it we have a lot to catch up on?”
“You bet we do! You wouldn’t believe the stuff that’s been happening since you were busy. I’m going to head to school, I’ll see you there!”
Twilight giggled, it had been so long since she had a proper conversation with someone else, it felt…good. Speaking of friends, she had to apologize to all of hers. She didn’t want them thinking she doesn’t trust, that would be the first step to losing them. And, she didn’t want that, after all, she had a promise to keep.