It's been so long since Twilight entered the plane called the Dark Void. Even though time does not pass for her, she can only assume it's been five years. But lately, she's been having dreams; a glimmer of hope in that dark nothing...
Five long years ago, according to Twilight's math, she entered a plane called the Dark Void, a place meant only for the deceased. Each day, she scoured through the multiple books of her dream library, trying her hardest to find anything related to this realm of existence.
Sadly, none of her books have any mention of the place, so she begins to feel that escape is ultimately impossible. Accepting that she is stuck there, she goes to sleep and attempts to dream herself away from this world that she put herself in. For days on end she just sleeps her days away, hoping that one of her dreams will allow her to be free from this realm.
Only some of the dreams show a hint of sunlight; brilliance from somewhere out in the Dark Void.
“Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
Twilight opened her eyes slowly to the same sight she'd been seeing for so long: the sight of the Dark Void outside of her window. Every waking moment, she'd try and imagine that it was her home outside that window, the town of Ponyville. Sadly, no amount of wishing could ever grant her that.
She'd constantly thought of attempting to teleport herself from the realm, but her magic never recovered after sending Mystia back. Still, never once did she regret her choice. There was a lesson she learned at a young age: sacrifice brings better outcomes than being selfish.
No longer did she hear the voices of ponies from out in the real world speak to her. No doubt they feared she was permanently gone. Even if they ever came back, she wouldn't blame them. Even if their presence was comforting, she didn't want them being sad for her, or for themselves. Best they just move on and forget about her...
"Good morning, Spike..." Saying that had become a habit of hers. Even thought her tiny assistant was not ever in his bed, she liked to think that maybe, just somehow, he could hear her each morning as he woke from his dreams. Each waking hour, she couldn't help but wonder how he was...
Her hooves caused the only noise in the room as they hit the floor, echoing around the room, reminding Twilight how alone she really was. Fortunately for her, the Dark Void refilled her refrigerator with food continuously, reinforcing her idea that the Dark Void considered her half dead. At least enough to grant her the means of living.
But even with that, she was stuck in the same state Mystia had been in... Forced to live in the place that had the most meaning in her life. For Mystia, it had been the room her mother died in; the room she grew up in. For Twilight, it had been the very home that she lived in when meeting her friends, learning how to be happy.
Her home had been perfectly recreated, everything from the real world in it. Even the black book that Mystia had sent was on her reading table. She couldn't remember how many times she had read over it in hopes of finding even the slightest of hint as to the whereabouts of any sort of exit. Sadly, there was nothing but the tale of a mare who was now free from this nihility.
Despondency carved into her now fragile mind, she made her way into the kitchen. At this point she never really ate to stave hunger, but rather to give herself something to look forwards to. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be able to gain or lose weight in this place, so she still maintained her posture. Even her mane didn't grow, almost as if she had been stopped in time.
As she sat down with a sandwich, she looked at the piles of paper she had used to try and figure the amount of time she had been here. After multiple hours of work, she finally managed to discover she had been gone for about five years. It pained her to see the results; to think her friends moved on from her. But she knew it was her choice that did this, that she did this to herself to give another a chance at the life they never had.
Her thoughts returned to her dreams of the past couple of days. While most nights before had been usual dreams, her back in Ponyville, these were... Different. Never before had she dreams of the Dark Void, but yet she had been for the past couple of days. All of them were the same: her looking out her window to see the same image over and over again; a hint of brilliance breaking through cracks in the deep fog.
She thought of investigating, but she feared to leave her home. What if it dissapeared when she left? What would she do then, without any shelter? Then again, Mystia had made that mistake for so long... Maybe, just maybe, if somepony continued on, they would find more trials brought by the Dark Void. She looked at the door, then back to her sandwich. With a sigh, she dropped it to the ground and stood, looking at her front door.
"Buck it." She retreated to her room, returning a moment later with two saddlebags on either side of her. One, she filled with food and essentials to live, the other with medical supplies in case of emergency. She was going to miss the sanctuary that was her home, but she would at least be fighting to get back to her own world. After all, anything was better than sitting around doing nothing.
Even if she died trying to do something, anything.
With heavy reluctance, she opened the door slowly, allowing the fog from outside to seep in. Shivering from the cold of the fog, she stepped out onto the all to familiar black marble like floor. She closed the door behind her, taking one final look into her home. Chances were that she would not see it again until she made her way out of the Dark Void, so she took one final look and stored it permanently into her mind.
For the first time since she saved Mystia, she looked around the Dark Void. She wanted to be afraid for herself, to want to feel like running back into the house and diving under her covers for warmth. But... All she could do was smile as she looked ahead.
A small beacon of light beckoning her to continued on towards it. Knowing that she might change her mind if she stayed her hooves any longer, she began walking to the light.
"Be safe, Twilight!" She turned around at the immediate burst of sound from somewhere above her. Quickly, she turned around and looked at the second floor, where Spike was leaning out the window, smiling at the mare. Her mouth slowly opened in disbelief. She tried to call out to the dragon, but stopped. As the house and Spike began to fade, she sighed and turned back around.
Eyes opening, bright light entering them. Over the course of the four years she'd been free from the Dark Void, she still had never gotten used to that. Never would in her mind. That happens after a millennia of seeing nothing but darkness. She found it ironic that both her and Luna had spent nearly the same existence. Either Celestia had wanted nothing more than to see her loved ones in darkness, or she wanted so badly the opposite, she caused exactly what she had fought so hard to avoid.
Still, she didn't blame Celestia for anything. She had been the one to go into that black nothingness, all for the sake of seeing her mother again. Her mind slowly drifted back to Twilight, her savior from the Black Void. All of her friends blamed her at first. For abandoning her, allowing Twilight to do such a selfless act. No blame was placed upon their shoulders. Why should she have been saved? By her own foolishness did she go into the Dark Void, saved by a mare that had friends; a life.
These thoughts were part of her morning routine as she awoke. With the graces of both Celestia and all of Twilight's friends, she had moved into the library Twilight had once called home. The dragon that Twilight had been caring for still lived with Rarity, since even being in the library brought memories of the mare he had imagined he'd be with until the time came that he was to be with his own kind. Sadly, it would seem Twilight would never get the chance to say goodbye, since the time for him to move on was only a short three months away. Even thought Mystia had no connection to the dragon, she couldn't help but feel sad that he would soon be gone.
Thus was the power of the void... The moment they met, parts of their souls; their destinies were intertwined. Mystia gained all of Twilight's feelings, while Twilight gained all of hers. Any connections one shared with anypony, was now the same story for the other. Thus, Mystia was able to easily connect with all of Twilight's friends... And why she was somehow granted the power of the sixth Element of Harmony.
It would seem that the universe had to make up for the sudden disappearance of a element, giving the power to another. What better candidate than the very pony that's soul was infused with Twilight, the past holder? Honestly, she didn't feel she was worthy of such an honor; wasn't worthy of anything given to her... After a short amount of a week, Twilight's friends had come to understand that Twilight had made a choice, so there was no changing her mind.
A short amount of two weeks and Mystia had become Twilight. She ran the library, did studies for Celestia much like she had done 1,000 years previous, and she spent time with her- Twilight's friends. The sheer thought of her being accepted as Twilight pained her. Who was she to both allow the mare to save her, then come and take her life while the thought of her being back in that hell all alone?
She combed her mane and rubbed her eyes as she prepared to start her day. Celestia had granted her the rest of the week off, a break she welcomed happily. It would allow her time to study more of the Dark Void so that she may find a way for Twilight to be free. Hopefully without placing herself back in the void, since history has already been repeated once. Starting the cycle anew would be pointless.
As she descended the stairs, she heard a knock the door. She looked to the pile of books, all on the subject of the Dark Void, then back to the door. With a sigh, she made her way to the door. Opening it, she was greeted with the sight of none other than Spike.
"Hey, Mystia," the dragon spoke with slight pain of being back at the library in his voice, "mind if I come in?"
"Yeah, sure!" The dragon now stood at about the height of Celestia. In all honesty, he was growing at an alarming rate. She was never an expert on dragons, since she never had the ability to study one up close, but she was sure he was growing faster than he should. Maybe it was just the stress of losing Twilight. That sometimes is known to cause one to age quicker than they naturally should. Then again, maybe he was growing at a normal rate.
"Everything still looks the same..." It was the first time in three years that he had stepped foot back into the library. Naturally, his first reaction was that of extreme nostalgia. Both good memories and bad. "I can almost feel like I could yell up and she'd come down the stairs..."
"I..."
"Don't worry, I know it's not your fault. Anyways, the others wanted to see if you'd come down the the pond. They're having a day out and said your welcome to join."
"I..." She looked to the book, then back to the dragon. "I'd love to."
"Go on ahead. If you don't mind, I'm going to go upstairs for a few minutes..." Her smile turned to a somber expression of both sorrow and worry.
"Take your time, Spike." She patted the dragon on the back before making her exit. As she made her way to the pond, Spike simply stood in the middle of the library.
"It's the middle of the night... Why are you pacing around like this?"
"Frankly, I don't know how you can sleep at a time like this!"
"Three A.M.?"
"It's awful, it's horrible, it's tragic!"
Eh... I don't understand. What's wrong?"
"Here. Now do you see what's wrong?"
"We forgot to celebrate Arbor Day?"
Spike smiled lightly at the memory of that morning. Shortly afterwards, Twilight had gone completely insane and had tried to prevent a future disaster that he had caused by trying to prevent it. He wasn't sure why he remembered that. Maybe it was the grooves that were still in the floor from her pacing. Maybe it was just a random memory. But no matter what he thought, he knew that she was just that...
A memory.
As he slowly ascended the stairs, Mystia was just arriving at the pond. Her arrival was immediately and warmly greeted by the girls.
"Hi, Mystia! Oh, did I tell you that I made a new flavor of icing? I call it snozzleberry! Wait, is that even a real flavor? Probably not, but at least it makes more sense than a pickle barrel! That's still one of my favorite words, right next to Kumquat. Still, I've never see a pickle barrel!" She laughed as Pinkie jumped up and down. Sometime about three years ago, she had reverted her mane back to it's original straight splendor. It took some getting used to after such a long time of the poofy cotton candy style, but it actually looked better this way.
"Remind me to try it later, Pinkie." Pinkie smiled as she hopped up and down, her mane bouncing into the air and falling gingerly back to her side. The same for her tail, but it flailed around much more than her mane, given it was much longer than her mane.
"Hey, you made it!" She looked at Rainbow Dash, who was laying back on a beach chair. Since she had become the captain of the wonderbolts, she had taken to having a much lighter attitude. She had also allowed her mane to grow further out, but kept it's usual style. It now sat about on her cheeks, her right eye peering out from behind it.
"Hey, Rainbow. Where's Fluttershy?" She looked around for the yellow Pegasus.
"Look up." Mystia did as instructed. Her smile turned to an expression of shock as a rain cloud appeared over her head, the yellow pony on top of it. She closed her eyes tightly as a fountain of water poured down on top of her, causing her to laugh.
"Well, might as well jump in now."
"Yep!" Fluttershy dove from the cloud into the water, coming up moment later. "Come on in, the water's fine!" In the four years since Mystia showed up, Fluttershy had slowly lost her shy shell. With the help of Discord and Rainbow Dash, she had also properly learned to fly and control the weather. Rainbow taught her flying techniques while Discord forced her to focus by making her envision the clouds as ponies trying to harm animals.
"Cannonball!" Mystia jumped into the water, sending a large splash of water at Rainbow Dash, who was less than pleased at her sunbathing being ruined by the uninvited water.
"Hey! Well, might as well jump in now..." Mystia ducked under the water as Rainbow dove happily into its depths.
"Ya'll having fun?" Mystia turned and looked at Applejack, who was standing at the edge of the water. "Sorry Ah'm late, but Apple Bloom needed help getting some materials for building the new barn. Ah swear, if that girl didn't have her head attached to her body, she'd lose it!" Applejack remained largely the same over the course of the four years. The only thing that really changed was her mane and tail, which she no longer tied up. Other than that, her personality was still perfectly intact.
"Well, we even got Rainbow in the water, so yeah!" yelled Fluttershy as she wiped her mane backwards, allowing it to flick back in position spraying water at Applejack.
"Ah'll be diving in soon. Just let me catch some of the sun before ah do."
"Honestly, dear. That much sun is no good for your coat!" Everypony turned at the voice of Rarity as she showed up with a unnecessary amount of supplies in tow. "Moisturize first, then get some sun! You'll dry yourself out and your coat will no longer be smooth."
"Rarity, do ah need to throw you in?" Rarity was the most changed of all the ponies. Her mane was now straight with curls at the end, as was the fashion of the current time. She had also applied some dye to it, giving it a slightly bluer tint. Last but not least, she had taken to speaking in a normal manor instead of her usual high class manor of speaking. Even though she did occasionally talk like she used to.
"No, I'll be getting in slowly. I simply can't-" She stopped mid sentence at the stares of her friends. With a roll of her eyes, she agreed. "Fine, I'll do something fun." She sighed and looked at the body of water. With a yell, she charged forwards and dove into the water headfirst, emerging a moment later with her mane soaking wet, covering her eyes. Quickly, she brushed it away to reveal a smile. "How many points was that worth?"
"About 7, sugarcube." Applejack stepped back and sprinted at the water, jumping off the sand and doing a back-flip before landing in the water. "Yeehaw! Now that's how you dive into water!" Everypony laughed as Applejack emerged. Mystia looked at the smiling faces of the ponies before her; the smiling face of her friends. Slowly, her gaze drifted to the sunny sky as she had a single thought.
It had been only a short five minutes since Twilight had left the sanctuary that was her house, although it felt more akin to hours. She had forgotten how hard it was to tell the time out in the void. Even worse, she had forgotten how cold it was.
Her bones ached from the unnatural coolness, her muscles tensed and her body refused to quit shivering. She speculated that it was near freezing in the place if that was even possible for an alternate dimension.
She stopped walking as she heard an echo of a second set of hoofsteps behind her. She wanted to believe it was hers, but they were racing at a quicker beat much faster than what she was walking. Slowly she turned around to face her pursuer.
Of course there was nothing there. She had most likely hallucinated it; that was an issue for her lately. She’d noticed that her mental health had been going over the past year or so. She sometimes heard voices that weren’t there, saw movement in the corner of her eye. Nothing major, but enough to drive a lonely pony to the brink of madness.
Maybe she was.
Putting the thought aside for later pondering, she started walking forward again. As she continued on the thought crossed her mind that there was nothing out there for her. She had been given a sanctuary to live in for eternity and she wasn’t meant to leave. But if that was the case why would the exit just be waiting for her?
Twilight stopped once more as a strange feeling washed over her. She could feel warmth. Not just the warmth of being under a blanket back in the library, but actual heat! It was like the sun itself was shining directly on her; it felt amazing to the cold pony.
She basked in the warmth with a smile on her face. Slowly, the unnatural cold turned to a comforting summer heat. However, the void still looked exactly the same. Twilight was sure that she was getting closer to another ‘stage’ in the emptiness.
“Fifty millennia… sacred land…” a deep voice whispered. Twilight jumped at the sound that intruded into her head. Who had spoken? Had she truly heard another set of hoofsteps behind her?
“Who’s there?! Show yourself, please!” Twilight yelled into the darkness. There was no reply. Twilight sighed and elected to just continue on. She was just hearing things again.
“Hatred… burning hatred… burn it ALL!” The voice exclaimed. Twilight was taken aback by the sudden outburst from the unseen creature. Her mind quickly raced back to it saying fifty millennia. That was before even the time of Celestia and Luna. Back before recorded Equestrian history even.
Twilight started to say something but stopped as the heat intensified. Slowly, she could feel her ability to breath become inhibited and her body begin to burn ferociously. The room had gone from a comfortable summer heat to a blazing inferno in just a matter of seconds.
Sweat poured from Twilight’s body as she quickly took of forward. She wasn’t sure why she was running; it only exhausted her more and she didn’t exactly have anywhere to go. Still, it seemed a better option than standing around waiting to be cooked.
Her mouth fell agape as the dark void began to change in front of her for the first time since she’d entered the library. However, the change was not a pleasant one; her vision was immediately filled with the sight of flamed that licked the skies.
Before her was a literal lake of fire. For as far as she could see fire burned brightly and fiercely, scorching the land. It wasn’t until she looked to her right that she realized where she was. In front of her, still tall and proud as it was in her time, stood the mountain that Canterlot rested on.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” asked a voice right behind Twilight. Twilight held her breath as a hoof touched her shoulder; she recognized the voice as the one that had intruded the silence not a few minutes earlier.
“You can see me? Hear me?” Twilight asked confused as to who the stallion beside her was. She looked to the right as he stepped forward and took a place directly beside her. He was a tall stallion with emerald green eyes and a sapphire blue coat. Strangely enough, his mane and tail were pale white.
“Of course I can,” he replied. Twilight almost wanted to scream from excitement and happiness. If there was a pony that could see her, then wasn’t that good?
“That’s great! I’m Twilight Sparkle. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?” she asked before grinning from ear to ear. She eagerly awaited a reply, but began to feel uneasy as the stallion simply continued to stare at the fire as if it had him hypnotized.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” he repeated. Twilight wanted to reply, to tell him it wasn’t, but held her tongue. Somehow she felt there was something wrong about the stallion. Her gut told her to move away from his contact, but she’d missed contact with living things. Even if she wanted to, she was sure she’d not be able to move away.
“How is this beautiful? Equestria is on fire!” Twilight blurted out on accident. She didn’t mean to state her opinion, not while he was so close.
“The sacred land burns. All the pain and suffering burned away. I’ve cleansed it. I mean… I did clean it,” he revealed. Twilight hadn’t noticed it before, but there was something off about his voice. It was deep like a stallion’s, but at the same time soft like a mare’s.
“You did this? Why?!”
“So much evil, hatred, pain, and suffering. It had to all be burned away, made new. Only then could it be fit for ponykind.” The stallion’s eyes continued to stare forward like he was in a trance. She began to wander if he could even move from that position.
“Who are you? How can you see me?”
“Who I am is not important. However…” he trailed off.
“However, what?” Twilight puzzled.
“Young Twilight Sparkle. You’ve been in this place for so long now. The one before awoke me, but you… you ventured further than she ever dared. I was ensnared by this place, forced to stay locked away. However, where she was I could see her, study her, learn your language. And you… I saw the suffering you went through and the sacrifice you made,” he replied, his eyes still focused on the fire.
“How could you possibly have seen all of that? Are you telling me you’re trapped here like I am?”
“More so than you, young pony. You wander why I stare into the fire, I can tell. It unease’s you as it should. Wait patiently and you shall see the final bit of pain and suffering become purged.” The stallion blinked once. As soon as he did, Twilight could hear another set of hoofsteps. She recognized them from before; they were exactly the same.
Twilight turned to see the very stallion that stood next to her running towards the two. His eyes were bloodshot from the heat and his brow was soaked in sweat. His mane was a terrible mess compared to his counterpart standing next to Twilight. He continued running until he was standing right where the other him was.
“This is how it has to be,” he panted. Twilight watched as the stallion neared the edge and looked over. “Just a quick hop and I’ll have cleansed everything. The world can be pure finally.” The stallion grinned and looked up, staring directly ahead. “Isn’t it beautiful?” he asked.
The stallion jumped before Twilight could even think on when he was going to or if he even was. Despite her protests to look, she did anyways. She stared downward as the stallion tumbled down the large hill before landing in a large fire. It sickened Twilight to see something so horrible.
“Sweet Celestia…” Twilight murmured.
“Do you understand now?”
“You’re dead, aren’t you? But if you’re dead, then why are you trapped?” she asked.
“You’re half right, my little pony. You see, right before I died, I used the last bit of my energy to cast a spell. It was a powerful spell, one that would allow me to live, but not on the sacred land.”
“What spell was that?”
“I believe you’ve used it before, or at least an iteration of it. After all, Twilight, you too are in the dark void,” he said, his eyes staring downward where his body landed.
“Do you mean…?”
“Yes,” he said as he turned his head towards Twilight. For the first time since she had seen him, the two made eye contact. His eyes were like hers, but held nothing behind them; there was no soul behind them, no happiness or anything.
Twilight stared dumbfounded at the stallion as he looked at her. How was it possible that a simple stallion created something so powerful and awful as the dark void? How was he capable alone to create a realm for the dead?
“You wander what the dark void is, don’t you? You think it’s a place where the dead go, an afterlife of sorts. I’ll tell you now: that couldn’t be further from the truth. This place was meant to house memories, thus explaining your ability to synch with Mystia and her with you. In truth this place was only meant for me and me alone.”
“So how did the spell get out? How come Mystia was able to find it?”
“That still eludes my knowledge,” he admitted. “But when she showed up, my magic weakened. The magic that held me in unconscious dispelled and I awoke to this realm. Because of my awakening and my magic weakening, this place grew unstable.”
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you noticed how violent the place is? The injuries you suffered, that Mystia and her brother suffered? It’s trying to kill me, to move me onto the next world. However, since I was still immobile until you came further into the void, it couldn’t find me. What little magic I held was still protecting me.”
“But aren’t you technically dead?” Twilight asked, cringing at hearing herself say such a strange sentence.
“Yes and no. This realm is a place of memories as I said, but do you know why?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Ever heard the saying ‘life flashed before my eyes’?” he asked.
“Yes,” Twilight confirmed.
“That happens here; everybody has their own. Only for them it never manifests into a dark void like this one. It’s filled only with memories that they travel through on their way to the next life. When I casted my spell I stopped myself right in the middle. I’m dead, but I haven’t fully departed,” he explained.
“And what if…” Twilight stopped as she caught the stallion look slightly away. “What if you were to die? Would I…”
“If my soul were to fully die then I’d move on to the next world. My magic is what’s holding this place stuck in time. But since the memory of my death has appeared, that means my magic is fading. Pretty soon this place will cease to exist.”
“But what about me? I don’t mean to sound selfish, but what will happen to me?” she asked.
“I’m sorry, Twilight, but…” he trailed off. Avoiding Twilight’s gaze, he looked down to the ground. “If I move on, so will you. The dark void will instantly purge anything that isn’t related to memories that I held when I was alive. I just wanted to rid the world of evil, pain and misery… but I was afraid to move on to the next life. I was afraid that there would be more after death.”
“So I’m going to die here,” she whispered. “I guess I already knew. If I’m to die, please at least tell me who you are. Tell me why you burned Equestria.” The stallion looked up at her once more. He blinked twice before sighing and nodding.
“I can’t tell you my name because I don’t have one. Well, I do, but the names in my time are much different than yours. In my time we base our name on the stars above; the one that is born of the moon is destined to rule the sacred land. I was the lucky one for my century.”
“So you were born to the moon?”
“Yes. Born at exactly midnight on the first minute of the year,” he replied.
“But what about the fire? If you ruled Equestria then why burn it? Why betray all those that looked to you?”
“You don’t know what it was like, Twilight. It’s not like it is in your time; there was no love or compassion. I saw the evil and decided to cleanse it. I razed the entire sacred land –the land you call Equestria- and took my own life with it. Only through my deed was the world able to restart and the one you now know to begin,” he explained.
“I see. It doesn’t justify it, but I suppose I can’t belittle you. At least I can say I died knowing unknown Equestrian history,” Twilight joked. It was a somber joke, but one that she took some solace in.
“I apologize,” he blurted out.
“For what?”
“I’ve been selfish. Even in death I’m still just like I was when alive. Twilight, there’s a way for you to leave before I die,” he revealed.
“What?! How?!” she demanded.
“You must find my soul, the piece of me that is holding this place together. When you get close you’ll absorb the unstable magic and restore your own to full power. I didn’t want to tell you because I’m still so afraid of death,” he admitted.
“I understand. But aren’t you tired of being alone? Of being here in this depressing black nothingness?”
“I am. But I’ve been here for fifty thousand years. How could I not fear anything else?”
“You’re supposed to fear difference. But you’re also supposed to embrace it,” Twilight encouraged. “It’s time you pass on to the next life.”
“I suppose it is, isn’t it? Very well. I can control my spirit a tiny bit from here. I’ll be releasing the magical barrier that hides my soul. With doing this however, I’ll also be weakening my magic even more. The void will try its hardest to remove any abnormalities such as you. You may not make it.”
“I have to try. If there is a chance, even a sliver of one, that I can get back to my friends… I’d die trying.”
“So be it. This is the last time we’ll meet, Twilight Sparkle, so…” he trailed off.
“Farewell it is,” she finished.
The two gave each other a nod. Twilight stood in silence as the stallion’s horn lit up and began to work its magic. The scene around the two began to fade and the heat as well. Twilight had almost forgotten about the burning temperature, but as it faded she felt relieved that it was gone.
Twilight shielded her eyes as a bright explosion of light erupted from the stallion. When she looked, he was gone. She wandered if the whole thing had just been some form of hallucination, but somehow she knew it wasn’t. There were still a lot of questions, but she didn’t want them answered; she just wanted to go home.
The void still looked exactly the same. White fog still travelled across the black marble floor and darkness still took everything. However, she quickly noticed something that small puddles of water were all around her. It was well below freezing in the void at that moment, but the water somehow didn’t freeze.
Why the water was so mesmerizing, she didn’t know. She’d encountered water when she had first arrived in the void. She was a lot worse for wear then.
Cautiously, she took a step forward. She didn’t sense any danger, but she couldn’t help but feel that something was off. Now that she thought about it, the water was reflecting a small bit of light, all of which came from the same direction.
After a few minutes of studying all the water puddles, she was able to pinpoint that the light was coming from her left. If there was any place to start, it was towards the light.
A determined look on her face, she placed a hoof forward and began her first step to the end of her journey. For a good ten minutes she walked forward. It made her ecstatic to think she may soon have a chance of making it back home to her friends.
Twilight slowed to a crawl as the void began to morph into something different. Slowly the darkness inverted and the fog dissipated until she was in a pure white room. There were no features whatsoever to the room, save for a strange smell. It was a mixture of blood and something burning.
Twilight didn’t have time to react as the floor below her instantly fell out.
“No, No, NO!” she yelled as she plummeted downward. Luckily, it was a short fall, barely far enough to knock the breath out of her. As soon as she regained her composure she stood and inspected herself for any injuries. She grimaced when she saw a large gash that went up the side of her leg.
She had landed on what appeared to be grass. It was night around her. The guilty party for her gash was a large thorn bush that sat only inches away from her. A large thorn slowly dripped droplets of blood that had come from her leg.
She clenched her teeth together as she stood. Immediately she went for the bag of supplies she’d brought. However, her heart dropped when she discovered that the bag was no longer attached to her.
With no means to fix her leg, she turned around and looked down the side of the hill. Below her was a small cabin, much like the one she’d ran into when she had first entered the void. It was smaller however and seemed in much worse shape.
Deciding that it would be best to get off her leg until it quit bleeding, she made for the shack. Quickly as she could, she slid down the side of the hill and walked to the door of the shack. Actually, as she got a better look at the place she was surprised it even had a door connected to it.
She pushed the door open and limped inside. She was surprised how much damage a thorn could do; luckily it didn’t seem deep. It just hurt horribly, as was expected. As she entered the cabin, she couldn’t help but raise her brow. Despite the run down exterior, the inside was well decorated with nice furnishings and expensive looking paintings.
Not bad, she thought to herself as she walked to a nearby bed and lied down on it. She was amazed at how comfy it was; it was like lying on a cloud. She couldn’t help but feel like falling asleep even though she was the furthest thing from tired.
She shot up as her nose became filled with the smell of fire. It was intense, almost as if…
“Fire!” Twilight yelled, mostly out of habit. Twilight quickly ran for the door and forced it open. As soon as she did, she was greeted with the sight of Ponyville; it was engulfed in flames. She quickly exited the cabin and turned around.
Just as she expected; she had exited from her library. The void was playing games with her, trying to lure her into a false sense of security with memories. She couldn’t believe that she didn’t recognize the room she had been in; it was her room while she lived in Canterlot.
“Twilight!” a voice yelled from behind her. Twilight couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear at the sound of Rainbow’s voice. It had been too long.
“Rainbow Dash!” She happily exclaimed as she turned around. She half expected the void to just give her the satisfaction of hearing Rainbow’s voice, but it went above and beyond. Behind her stood none other than Rainbow herself.
“Twilight, we have to leave! The entire town is going to burn down,” Rainbow panicked. “We have to-“ Rainbow screamed as a beam from one of the houses fell and landed on her.
“Rainbow!” Twilight yelled as she dashed to Rainbow. The beam had landed directly on the rainbow Pegasus’s back; Rainbow wasn’t moving. “Please get up!” she yelled. She knew it was only a hallucination caused by the void, but she still couldn’t help but feel fear at seeing her friend crushed.
“T-Twilight… run…” Rainbow mumbled. Twilight quickly kneeled down in front of Rainbow and began to try and lift the column off the Pegasus. It was to no avail; it was too heavy and she still couldn’t use any powerful magic.
“I’m not leaving you,” Twilight promised.
“Please…can’t…breath,” Rainbow whispered, her words few and far between. Twilight began to panic as she saw fire spreading quickly down the wooden pillar heading towards Rainbow. In just a few seconds the rainbow Pegasus would be burned alive.
“I’m so sorry,” Twilight cried. She quickly backed away and turned as the fire reached her friend. Her ears were filled with pained cries followed soon by nothing but a sickly burning sound and the smell of blood and burning flesh.
She wanted to cry, to mourn her friends passing. But she knew all too well that it was a trick being played on her by the void. One thing still bugged her: if the dark void was a place meant to hold memories, then why was it showing her distorted versions of her world? How was it even able to do something like that?
Thousands of questions bugged her mind as she ran away from the ghost of Rainbow Dash. None had answers, nor was she sure they’d ever have any, but they bothered her anyways. The town continued to burn, the screams of ponies ringing about from every which direction.
She wanted to believe the flames were also a manifestation of the void, but knew that everything was dangerous to her. If she were to place her hoof into a fire, it would burn it as sure as it would in the real world. She may be in a coma, trapped in a false world, but she was still all too vulnerable to death.
Dodging the various hazards, she dashed forward into the fire, through the blazing inferno. It was hell as she ran through, but she knew if she kept moving she’d make it through unscathed. However, the more she ran, the more she doubted her belief.
Flames lashed out at her from every which direction and it seemed that wherever she ran there was a wall of fire in front of her. Even though she tried her hardest to keep moving, she could feel fatigue take over her body. After another three minutes of trying to avoid the steadfast flames, she could move on no longer.
“Somepony, help me,” she moaned as she collapsed to the ground. She struggled to fill her lungs with fresh air, but only received the horrific black smoke that made her cough violently. Her heart raced as her body heat rose to extreme levels; she was sure she could feel her blood beginning to boil.
Consciousness slowly evaded her grasp as she tried crawling further forward. Darkness filled the corners of her eyes and she struggled to even bring about a coherent thought to her mind. The only thoughts that made it through the cloud in her mind were related to memories of the time outside the void.
She was sure she was at the end of her journey, her life. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. The more she thought about it with her dying consciousness, the more she realized her friends had probably moved on without her. She no longer held a spot in their lives.
She accepted that she had failed for the first time in her life. She had promised she would return, but she couldn’t keep that promise. It was best that they did forget her. At least then they wouldn’t be reminded of the broken promise.
Twilight closed her eyes and allowed the heat to cleanse her of the tragic life she was suffering. She had been afraid to admit it until now; she was willing to die more than she was to live another day in that place. Even if there was an escape she didn’t have the will or energy to make it.
Not alone.
Twilight heard herself scream, but wasn’t aware of her actions as a flame thrashed at her right side, burning her midsection from her flank to her front leg. Somehow, she didn’t catch fire, but she could smell her singed coat.
Within seconds the fire would take her over and she would be released from her prison; she could finally leave the dark void.
“Twilight!” a voice called out. Twilight was sure she’d heard it before, but couldn’t quite put her hoof on where. Was it one of her friends? Yes, she was almost sure, but she couldn’t be entirely certain. She tried to say something back, but only a low moan escaped her mouth. The voice had replied, but she didn’t hear what it said.
Shortly before Twilight passed out, she could feel herself being dragged by something. She wanted to question who it was, but she felt too sleepy.
A nap wouldn’t hurt her. Maybe she’d dream of a place other than the void. Maybe she’d wake up and realize it was all a bad dream.
“Dearest sister, is everything alright?” Luna asked with a frown. She stood silently in the doorway to her sister’s bed-chambers, staring at her sister who was lying on her bed, staring at the wall.
“I had another nightmare last night,” Celestia admitted. Luna wasn’t surprised at this; night terrors had been an issue for her sister for the past week. She wished she could help out in some way, but Luna had promised to never enter her dreams; that was a promise she intended to keep.
“They’re not real, sister. You have to remember that,” Luna ensured. She promptly made her way to Celestia’s side and lied next to her, resting a hoof on her back.
“I know they aren’t real, but…” Celestia trailed off. She continued to stare at the far wall, unblinking. “I can’t quit feeling that they are more than dreams. The things I’ve seen in my dreams, they’re terrifying.”
“What do you see? In these dreams, what makes you feel they are real?” Luna asked, her voice soft and caring.
“It’s an evil place. No, that’s not the correct term. I want to believe it has a malicious intent, but somewhere I feel that it exists not to cause pain, but to end it. All over, darkness is the only thing present, save for a single speck of light off in the distance. It’s not the first time I’ve had this dream since… I’ve been having it for much longer than a week as I told you,” Celestia explained.
“You mean you’ve been having them since Twilight-“
“Don’t speak her name, Luna,” Celestia snapped. Luna jumped back at her sister’s sudden outburst. Seeing the surprise on her sister’s face, Celestia sighed. “I apologize. I just feel so guilty. It’s all my fault that she’s... It takes a toll on me, knowing I caused her so much pain. Because of me, she’ll never get to spend time with her friends again, she’ll never-“
“Quiet, sister. Don’t say those things. She’s a strong mare, stronger than you give her credit for. It’s going to take more than a little coma to stop her,” Luna comforted.
“Thank you, but I can’t believe your words. Mystia, she was gone for a thousand years; I never got over her loss. However, now that she’s back I can’t help but hate her. I know it’s wrong, but it’s the truth. I hate that I was responsible for sending Twilight in after her. I hate that Twilight chose to save her instead of herself. I know that none of it is her fault, but it’s so easy to blame somepony other than yourself.”
“I understand, my dearest sister. I can’t even begin to comprehend the guilt you’re feeling; I honestly hope I never have to. However, you have to stop beating yourself up for it, as well as stop blaming Mystia for what Twilight did. I know Twilight much less than you do, but I at least know that she’d never had forgiven herself if she had left Mystia there; she’s far too selfless,” Luna consoled.
“I know all of this too well, Luna. It’s the only thing that keeps me going.”
Both sisters immediately looked forward as a guard, his breath labored, entered into the room. Quickly regaining his composure, he stood erect and saluted the Princesses.
“Forgive my intrusion, but I have urgent news,” the guard said.
“It’s alright. What news do you have?” Celestia replied.
“It’s regarding Twilight; she’s woken up.”
Celestia’s eyes went wide as she gasped. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Was she still dreaming? No, she was sure she wasn’t. Could it possibly be true?
“Are you sure? I’ll not tolerate jokes about her well-being,” Celestia said.
“Well, she is awake, but… I was just told to come get you immediately. You’ll have to see for yourself, Princess.”
“Very well,” Celestia acknowledged. “Thank you for telling me. Luna, go with this stallion and ensure that he is rewarded for bringing this knowledge to me.”
“Of course,” Luna agreed. Celestia immediately left the room at a brisk pace and made her way to the end of the hall. At first appearance it seemed to be an ordinary wall. However, when Celestia pulled a nearby unicorn statue’s horn, the wall slid began to rotate, placing Celestia on the other side of the wall.
Inside was a staircase, one that spiraled down for three floors. It led to a subsection of the basement that was once used to house Mystia in a form of stasis so as to prevent her body from aging. She was gone now, off to Ponyville to replace Twilight. Twilight’s body now took her place under constant medical watch.
The transition of Twilight’s unconscious body happened shortly after Mystia awoke. After she had told Celestia what had happened, Celestia knew that it would be a long time until her student awoke. Twilight’s friends had agreed to her transfer so as to ensure her survival.
They had stopped visiting a few months after; they had sadly given up all hope. No, that wasn’t it. It was the same reason that Celestia had stopped visiting her: it’s easier to forget somepony than it is to remember them knowing that you’ll probably never see them again.
Celestia sighed as she reached the door into Twilight’s room. If it was true, she wasn’t sure how she was going to respond. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped inside.
In the middle of the room was a magical force field that was powered by controlled magic. It was a special field that slowed the body’s ageing by a few thousand times, essentially ensuring that the pony inside never ages. At the power it was running, millennia was equal to about a month of aging.
Inside the center of the field sat Twilight. She was hooked up to medical machines just like she had been at the hospital. Celestia quickly ordered the field down and took her place next to Twilight’s bed for the first time in four years.
“Twilight, are you really awake?” Celestia asked, her eyes burning from tears that threatened to reveal themselves. Celestia listened carefully with her breath held as she awaited any type of response.
“I apologize for calling you down here under false pretenses, Celestia,” said a mare as she stood up from a nearby desk.
“The guard you sent told me that she was awake. Is she…”
“I’m sorry. That poor guard didn’t want to lie, but I insisted. I know how you are and I felt it best for you to hear it from me while she’s right here.” Celestia’s heart dropped; she was fairly sure what the news was, but she was also uncertain. It could be anything ranging from her condition worsening to… Celestia didn’t want to think about it.
“What is it?” she asked as she took a seat next to Twilight.
“I’ve been monitoring her condition for the past two days. I was pleasantly surprised when she started showing signs of improvement, such as slight movements or an increased heart rate.”
“That’s great news!” Celestia exclaimed, not caring to hold her excitement. She didn’t care if she seemed a giddy school filly; she wasn’t holding up appearances. The doctor she had appointed was one of the finest in Equestria and didn’t bury herself in politics. That meaning she didn’t even see Celestia as a princess, merely a simple mare. To her, Celestia was just a private client with an intriguing case.
“You didn’t let me finish. At about three last night she suddenly worsened. I had come in extra early as I was interested in her condition. The nurse that was on duty mentioned that she showed was showing signs of extreme improvement beforehand, followed by the sudden drop,” the doctor explained.
“What are you trying to tell me? Is she getting better or not?”
“I’m afraid she’s far from improving. She’s dying.” Celestia’s heart dropped. That was what she had feared. She wanted to cry, to feel something, but she only felt numb and disassociated. She had been preparing for the news for a long time, but now that she was hearing it she couldn’t fathom it. It was as if her brain was blocking it out, but she was aware it was true. Denial and acceptance at the same time.
“Could she start to improve again?”
“There’s no telling, honestly. It was gradual improvement with a harsh drop. She’s in the worst condition she’s been in since I took over her case. As it is now she’s got about a week left,” the doctor told her. Celestia simply shook her head lightly and looked down at Twilight. Her mane was a mess, much like it had been after long nights of studying. The stasis she was kept in meant she hadn’t aged at all; her mane was still exactly the same length.
“I did have another reason for calling you down here. I wouldn’t tell you about it if I thought there was another way, but honestly I don’t think she’s going to start improving. Whatever is happening in that coma dream of hers, she’s obviously given up-“
“Don’t you dare say that. She’s strong; Twilight never gives up. I’ve known her since she was just a filly and she’s only gotten surer of herself. I’ve never once seen her quit,” Celestia snapped.
“Well, whatever you want to believe, she’s not likely to improve. Now, do you want to hear about it or do you want to take your chances waiting for her?”
“I… I don’t know. Let me know what it is and I’ll think about it.”
“I’m just going to tell you now; it’s not a way to fix her. It’s more of a way to ensure that she had no more misery and that you can tell her goodbye. It’s a heavily experimental procedure, one that we’ve only done on a pony once before. It has a high success rate, but it is fatal,” she explained.
“If it’s fatal, what’s the point?”
“Let me finish. Using magic as well as medicine, we’ll be able to forcefully pull her out of the coma. However, the trauma will destroy a good part of her nervous system; she’ll be dead within ten minutes. The upside is that she will mentally be awake. She’ll be in no pain at all and she’ll be able to hear everything around her. In the best cases she might even be able to speak back, but it’s highly unlikely.”
“It would end her suffering?” Celestia asked as she brushed a tuft of hair out of Twilight’s face.
“Yes. I’m not sure what type of world she’s in, but from what that other mare said… It isn’t a place I’d want to stay in. I know it’s not easy to sentence somepony you love to death, but it’s your call. Either way, I want to monitor her improvement for three more days at most and I’ll be dropping the stasis so that she’s not under any magical influence. After those three days are over you’ll have to make the choice.”
“I don’t think I can,” Celestia admitted.
“You have to. This is the point when I’d tell you what I think is best, but honestly I don’t know. She could start improving, but she could also worsen. If she gets any worse than this, the option will become unavailable.”
“Can I have some time alone?”
“Of course. Come find me when you’re done; I’ll be preparing to drop the stasis.” Celestia nodded as the doctor grabbed a few notes and departed from the room. With a grim demeanor, she looked down at Twilight and began to ponder as to what she should do. She’d watched so many of her students die, most of them in suffering near the end. Every single time it was of her doing; she brought her beloved students to their end. She put them hoof in hoof with death after they had trusted her with their lives.
She had a choice in the matter. She didn’t want to think that she once again put a student to her death, but she took slight solace in the fact that she could end her suffering. She began to recount the story that Mystia told her of her time in there, how it was such a hellish place. She also replayed Twilight’s heroic sacrifice in her mind as recounted by Mystia over and over.
The beeping of machines was the only thing sound in the room as Celestia stared at her student. She had to make a choice she knew she could never make. Twilight’s life, and in a way, death, were in her hooves. She allowed a tear to drop and land on the bed beside Twilight as she thought of the repercussions of both decisions. It quickly occurred to her that it didn’t have to be her choice alone; her friends held as much importance to Twilight as she did.
With that thought in mind she nodded slowly to herself and closed her eyes. The next three days would be a sleepless hell, but she knew she’d not sleep until the decision was done. On the third day she’d allow her friends to see her and together they would decide what to do.
If anything, they could all say goodbye; that would make Twilight happy. Either way, Celestia knew that she was done, she knew she couldn’t be a good leader in her current condition. After their decision, she would have another announcement to Twilight’s friends. She wanted to think about it.
The stasis bubble went down. The three days had started.
Twilight could no longer feel her heartbeat. It was an odd thing to not feel; she had never even noticed that she could actually feel it until it was gone. She felt cold; her brain seemed to not even want to work.
She knew she was dying, or she was dead. There was nothing, no consciousness. The dark void was gone, the world was gone. She… was gone. She wanted to fear the thought, but she could feel nothing, no emotions at all. She wanted to feel something, even sadness. She even wanted to feel the burns on her body, but there was only nothing.
Electricity snapped all around her, lighting to darkness with momentary snaps of light. There was nothing to be seen; she was nowhere. With each electrical snap she could feel something returning to her consciousness: memories.
These memories weren’t normal, however. She felt like she was a stranger looking in, another being witnessing her cherished memories. They played through her fragmented and numb mind quicker than she thought possible, yet she was able to live through each of them with such vividness that she felt as if she was living her life once over.
She remembered her first book. It was a silly filly’s story, the kind with only three words on a page. She was only about four at the time and she’d never tried to read before. Shining Armor had offered to read it to her, but she was stubborn. It took her a week, but she learned to sound the words out and read it perfectly. That was the start of it all; she loved reading.
Her parents had been so proud of her that she taught herself how to read. From that day on they always made sure that she had a new book to read and by the age of seven she was reading at near adult levels.
Twilight felt happy. She was actually happy. The memory took her back to a time of simplicity, back to when she had no troubles. All it was back then was simple books and herself. The happiness continued even as she thought of something she didn’t want to think of; there would be no more books to simply pass the time. She felt herself wanting to be sad for the thought, but could only keep smiling.
The memory changed to the summer sun celebration she had first seen Celestia perform. It was perhaps her fondest memory. She watched with great anticipation as Celestia announced herself before performing the ceremony. Strangely, it was as if she was witnessing it again for the first time. She was in awe at the beauty; she wanted only to return to Celestia and thank her for the greatest memory of her life. There would be no more Celestia, she knew that. No more lessons, no more days spent under her wing learning about magic.
Her life continued on. The next memory was one that she forgot about a lot; it was a simple outing between her and her brother. It was shortly after Twilight had joined Celestia’s school; Shining Armor was beaming proud of her. The two went to the lake for the whole day. She smiled as she remembered the sun shining brightly. She could vividly feel the warmth on her body and the cool water on her hooves.
It was such a small memory, but the happiness held an impact on her. It was the last day that the two of them spent an entire day together. Shortly after that he began to focus more and more on his career as a royal guard. She had never realized the meaning to that outing back then, but as it played back… it was a celebration of the two growing up. They were both following a dream and had set the first wheel on the track of destiny. It would slowly pull the two apart, so they defied destiny and combined their tracks one last time.
It was nighttime before the two left. She still remembered that moon; it was the most beautiful moon she’d ever seen. She took in that memory of the moon, realizing once again that she’d never see it again. She’d never see her brother again or her parents. It was a painful thought, but she could feel only a cool happiness as the moon stained itself in her memory.
That was the last night of her childhood. She matured quickly after that. There were no more books that she read to pass the time, no more outings with her brother that lasted for more than an hour. It’s hard to remember the night when everything changed, so she often forgot it. Looking back, she wished she could relive that night over and over for eternity.
But time moves on; she had more memories to go. She grew in years, studied under Celestia. She began to study astronomy and found out about the moon. Perhaps due to that night it brought her great interest. Funny how things tied together like that. Nightmare moon soon became a curse in her mind and soon the day came.
Her friends were there. She never realized it before, but she felt so empty without them there. Once there were back in view of her memories she felt complete. Together, the six of them took down Nightmare Moon and set their friendship in stone. Everything after that she recalled perfectly; they were the best memories she could ever hope to relive. As the memories neared their end, she became aware of the electrical snapping again. They had been continuous, almost coinciding with the playback of the memories. But now… they were fading.
Twilight entered the dark void. The memories became scrambled and seemed to be broken. She was in her own void, but memories of being in another person’s wasn’t supposed to happen. The mystical place couldn’t handle it. The memories slowly cut themselves off; her mind erased them to relieve of her final pain. She realized what the electricity was; it was her brain, the synapses connecting and forming life.
Her memories all combined together into a mush of extreme happiness as the synapses slowly slowed, eventually coming to a stop. She knew she was dead, that she’d never see her friends again. She was alright; she’d always be strong. She knew they’d keep her in their hearts, that she would never leave them.
Twilight smile to herself as the final electrical snap shut itself off. The nothingness quickly became a final memory, one that wasn’t real. She was in Ponyville and the sun was setting. It cast a beautiful golden glow over the town.
Spike was waiting outside with her friends. They all looked exactly as she remembered them. Not only that, but everypony else she knew was there. That is except for two important ponies in her life: Celestia and Luna. She was confused at first, but remembered that they were immortal. She’d not ever see them in the afterlife.
The library was her final link to life. As soon as she left she’d be gone from the world forever. But what was the point in staying? Her friends waited for her so that they could spend eternity together. She wouldn’t get better, she knew that. Best to just accept it and go to the afterlife.
Her front door seemed to shine brightly as she neared it. The closer she got, the happier she became. Every bad emotion slowly left her mind as she got closer and closer. This was the end of life and she was ready to move on. She’d wanted to experience life a bit longer, but she had made peace with the fact that she wouldn’t.
She put her hoof on the door and took a deep breath. Somewhere, a final electrical impulse went off in her brain.
“Do it,” Celestia softly said. The doctor nodded and began to treatment. Everypony Twilight held dear sat around the room, staring at the dying mare.
It had only been a day and a half since the stasis had ended, half the time Celestia had to make a choice. She’d gotten word that Twilight had worsened and there was nothing to be done. Her brain was slowly shutting itself off; Twilight was dying.
Luckily, everypony that Twilight knew was already in town after being notified that they’d be allowed to see her. In just ten minutes they’d been notified and were quickly shown to her room. Celestia tried her best to quickly explain what could be done and they all understood. It was almost unanimous that they would end her suffering, even though none of them wanted to see Twilight go.
That’s where they all sat. Celestia gave the order to do the procedure; soon Twilight would be out of suffering and able to hear them all say goodbye. She wouldn’t have to be alone in her final minutes.
“Okay, is everypony ready? The moment I do this she’ll become extremely unstable. However, she will no longer feel pain and you’ll be able to say goodbye,” the doctor announced. Everypony responded with a simple shake of their head. Celestia was the only one to speak, to say yes.
Twilight’s heart monitor seemed to go off the charts almost instantly. Everypony slowly began to stand up to say their farewells, but were stopped by the wide eyed gaze of the doctor. She quickly darted over to Twilight and began to examine her vitals.
“What’s wrong? I thought you said she’d become unstable,” Celestia asked.
“I didn’t even activate the procedure!” the doctor responded, her voice erratic. “Yet she’s acting as if I did. It’s impossible, but… but she’s actually waking up!” she exclaimed. Everypony instantly lifted their heads and waited in anticipation as the doctor continued to do whatever it was she was doing.
“Twilight, can you hear me?” the doctor asked. Slowly, Twilight groaned and moved her arm slightly. Celestia let out a slight laugh of relief and began to get near.
“Twilight, we’re here. Come out of it, I know you can,” she began to cheer as she took a place on the other side of the bed.
“C-Celestia?” Twilight asked, her eyes slowly opening. Everypony began to smile widely at the sound of Twilight’s voice. They wanted to crowd her and let her know that they were there, but knew they would have to give her some space.
“Twilight, It’s me. Don’t worry, I’m here. We’re all here, waiting for you to come back to us,” Celestia happily cried. She almost jumped back as Twilight instantly shot up and looked around the room.
“Whoa, don’t strain yourself,” the doctor quickly said. “You’ve been in a coma for quite some time. We’ve had you under stasis, so there wasn’t much deterioration of the muscles, but it’s still not a good idea to jump up like that.”
“Twilight, are you really awake?” Mystia asked as she walked over to the foot of the bed. The two made eye contact for a second before Twilight nodded. All they had to do was make eye contact however and Mystia instantly knew. Smiling widely, Mystia began to laugh through her teeth before going into an outright, almost maniacal, laugh.
“What’s so funny, Mystia?” Celestia asked, her smile fading slightly.
“It worked. After a thousand years, it finally worked!” she gleamed, her eyes filled with madness. “Twilight, get up and give them the bad news.” Everypony looked confused as Twilight slowly started to get up from the bed. Celestia neared Mystia and began to demand what she was talking about. The doctor began to stop Twilight.
“You can’t stand up so quickly, Twili-“ she started before stopping mid-sentence, her mouth wide open and pupils shrunken. Everybody gasped as the doctor fell, struggle to get up, and passed out. Twilight smiled and pulled herself from the bed.
“Oh, what a gathering to greet me,” Twilight said, her mouth still in a grin. “Oh wait, you’re here to meet Twilight, aren’t you? So sorry, but she won’t be making it.”
“Twilight, what are you talking about? I know you’ve been out, but you ain’t makin’ a lick of sense,” Applejack asked.
“It’s simple. You can thank Celestia and Mystia here. Well, Mystia mainly; Celestia was just a pawn,” Twilight answered.
“What are you talking about? Who are you?” Celestia demanded as she stepped forward. “What did you do to Twilight?”
“Who am I? I’m the ruler of Equestria, the one that brought an end to evil. I’m the one born to the moon, the one that is written nowhere. Celestia, think hard, you know who I am,” Twilight said with a glare.
“You’re… no, that’s impossible. You’re dead! You died in your own fire when you destroyed ancient Equestria,” Celestia answered, fear in her voice.
“That’s right, Celestia,” Mystia interrupted.
“Mystia, what’s going on? What happened to Twilight?” Celestia pleaded.
“I must say, it’s nice to see that you can show fear. This has been a plan of mine since the day I found out about the dark void. You see, there was something about it I never told you: it housed him, the one born to the moon. It was a realm he made for himself. However, I found out that he was dead and past any point of revival. However, there was a way,” Mystia explained, stepping away from Celestia and next to Twilight.
“What happened to Twilight?!” Celestia demanded, anger and fear written on her face.
“Don’t worry about her, she’s at peace now. I lead her to believe there was escape from my world, but there never was. She hopelessly began to look for it but she was claimed by a fire,” Twilight responded. Everypony in the room immediately started at Twilight, but felt themselves come in contact with a force field.
“Mystia, why?” Celestia asked. “I mourned for you, Twilight sacrificed herself for you! Was this the plan all along?”
“Don’t you get it? I hate this world! After my mother died I knew there was nothing but evil in the world. I only accepted being your student so that I gain the power to destroy everything. Celestia,” Mystia laughed, “I played you like a fiddle.” Celestia’s eyes widened and she began to say something, but just allowed her head to hang.
“Go ahead, Mystia, tell them your big plan. I can tell they want to know. Besides, I need to get used to this body. Being a mare is… definitely different,” Twilight said.
“As soon as I found out about the Dark Void I started to research everything about it. Oh, how happy I was when I found out about him. In just a single night he razed Equestria to the ground and ended all evil. Even better, I found out that he wasn’t even dead! Well, his body was, but the Dark Void was where he was trapped. Within just a few weeks I found out he could be revived.
“However, there was of course a catch: only a pony of extreme power could host his body. Not only that, but only those of a certain bloodline could enter his realm: Twilight’s bloodline. But Twilight wasn’t the original plan. You see, I wasn’t powerful enough to host his soul. But my brother… I played him into entering with me. Together, we would traverse the dark void and resurrect Mom.
“But I wasn’t ready for the violent nature of the void. My brother’s life was claimed before we could come in contact with his soul. Following that I quickly found myself alone and without a plan. But I remembered your habit of taking students in. I also remembered that you could never forget one of your students, being the soft-hearted weakling you are. All it took was copying the spell to enter the world and sending it back to you. Another thing: I never lost my powers. I could have left at any point, but why do that? I held leverage over you.
“It took longer than I wanted for you to send someone, but you finally did. Oh, how giddy I was to find out that she had power and she was related to my brother! In fact, she was more powerful than he could ever be. Not only that, but she was destined to become a princess as well, wasn’t she? I watched and waited as she made her way through, helping her along with my powers. She’d had been dead as soon as she got there if I hadn’t held her hoof through the way. Funny, she always thought the void was having mercy on her.
“Finally, she made it to me. I played the part of the innocent trapped victim perfectly. I made her believe I was trapped and played on her strong sense of duty by making her think it was me or her. Being the selfless pony she was –she was your student after all- she chose to save me. As soon as she did she actually doomed herself; I reversed the spell and took all her power and teleported myself out. I was ready to die, to teleport to nothing, but I actually found my body waiting for me. Since then, it’s just been a waiting game. And it’s finally done; he’s back in Equestria!”
“Give her back!” Shining Armor yelled as she disrupted the field with a large charge of magic. As soon as it was down, everypony charged except for Celestia. However, before they were able to reach him, they were all encased in small force fields made of dark magic. Everypony looked at Twilight and Mystia with anger, but they only gave a shrug and looked at Celestia. Her eyes were dark purple and her horn was emitting dark magic.
“Celestia, not you too,” Cadence said.
“I’m sorry. I wish there was something we could do, but you don’t know the power he holds. All of Equestria gone in just the matter of a day. I… I’ve been weak for so long. Ever since I banished Luna to the moon I’ve doubted myself and I’ve grown weaker since then. So many students that I’ve killed, or…” she trailed off as she looked at Mystia. “There’s no winning the fight. Mystia, let them go. They’re not the evil you want to destroy.”
“Very well, we’ll let them go,” Twilight said. “Oh, and you can refer to me as your god. Don’t be afraid; everypony in my time did.”
“Celestia, we can take him! Let us go,” Rainbow demanded. “Twilight wouldn’t want this.”
“I…” Celestia started, making eye contact with each of the ponies in the room. They each held hatred towards her, she knew that since the day she revealed it was her fault that Twilight was gone. “I’m sorry. Cadence,” Celestia said as she looked directly into Cadence’s eyes. “Twilight can’t be gone. She only dreams, and only she can stop him. She’s no longer in the dark void: she’s just asleep. You know what to do.” Cadence tried to make sense of what she was told, but was unable to before they were all teleported from the room.
They were all in Luna’s room. Luna jumped back as they all appeared in front of her.
“W-where did you all come from?”
“Celestia sent us here,” Cadence said. “I’m afraid that Twilight is… Something took over her body and it’s evil. Whatever was in the dark void is free and Celestia decided to side with it to protect us.”
“What? Who was it?”
“He said a lot of things, like he was the one who razed Equestria and the one born to the moon, whatever that means,” Cadence answered.
“He’s back?! Celestia always feared, but I never believed her! He’s just a legend, the one thing even we fear. It’s because of his influence over the moon that I was taken over by Nightmare Moon so long ago. It corrupted me and I saw him; I saw everything he did to Equestria in the name of destroying evil. If he’s back…”
“What is there for us to do? We could take him by himself, but it would appear that we’ve been played the fool by Mystia. She’s the one behind all of this,” Cadence explained.
“Everypony, could you please give me and Cadence a moment to speak?” Luna asked as she swept her eyes over the faces of the ponies. They all began to protest, but quickly admitted defeat and left the room. As soon as they were gone, Luna sighed and sat on her bed. “I fear that I must admit I knew of her treachery.”
“You what?!” Cadence angrily asked, moving forward towards Luna.
“Well, to an extent. I always had a hunch that she wasn’t who she said she was. Despite my sister’s protests, I decided to enter her dreams soon after she returned. And I fear that the things I had seen should have scared me more. But…”
“But what, Luna? If you had said something, Twilight would be-“
“You think I don’t know that?” Luna snapped, jumping from the bed. The two were mere inches away from each other, anger their only expression. “I wanted to say something, but I was admittedly looking out for my sister. She’s emotionally unstable; hearing that her student could be manipulating her and I, as well as Twilight, would have devastated her.”
“And you’d rather have her suffer through what’s going on right now? I’m so sorry to say this, but your sister is less important than Equestria’s fate. Or did you forget that, Princess Luna?” Cadence angrily asked. The two stared at one another for a moment before Luna growled in anger. Cadence’s eyes went wide as Luna screamed and sent Cadence flying back into Luna’s desk, breaking it in half.
“We took an oath to protect Equestria, yes, but we’re more important to each other than Equestria will ever be. Every single thing we’ve done throughout history has been for the sake of Equestria, no matter the consequences it would have on us. Celestia sent me to the moon for a millennium just to protect Equestria. Don’t you dare tell me that I’m not allowed to be selfish for once in my life,” Luna screamed, lifting Cadence off the ground and tossing her against a wall. Cadence groaned and slowly picked herself off the ground.
“You were hurting Celestia more by putting Twilight in danger,” Cadence pointed out as she wiped blood from around her mouth. Luna started to attack again, but stopped herself. Looking down at the floor, she turned and took a seat on the bed again.
“We’re not perfect,” Luna admitted. “Both Celestia and I have made mistakes that still haunt us to this day. Our lives may seem great from outside, but the truth is so much harsher than that.” Luna looked up at Cadence, tears streaming from her eyes. With a soft sob, she continued, “Neither of us have been emotionally fit to rule for at least a thousand years. Celestia’s breaking point was with Mystia and was only further worsened by my banishment. She may seem to carry on well, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Twilight was her saving grace. Ever since my return everything has been about Twilight, about how she is destined to become something great. But she never got over Mystia. Because of her magic, I couldn’t enter he dreams, but I knew of her pain. Emotionally, she died a thousand years ago. Twilight only sparked her return to life, but the day she was declared comatose…
“That day is a day I remember well. Throughout the entire day she simply walked around with the same blank look on her face. Any attempts at communication garnered the same blank stare, nothing more. By the end of the day I was more worried that I’d ever been. That night I visited her. For the first time that entire day, she spoke. Do you know what she said?” Luna asked, making eye contact with Cadence.
“No,” Cadence responded, wiping away the last bit of blood.
“She said that she killed Twilight. She knew what she had done was the wrong choice, but she couldn’t stand to not do it. After that she just cried. It was the first time I had seen her cry since Mystia’s disappearance. When Mystia returned she didn’t even begin to show improvement. She was happy to have Mystia back, but she knew it wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Soon after, I started entering Mystia’s dreams.”
“Luna, I’m sorry, I-“
“It is I who should apologize. You were only doing what you could to protect Twilight. I’d have done the same for my sister. I realize now that I’ve made yet another wrong choice to add to my memories. But this time I can right the wrong. Cadence, this is important, did Celestia tell you anything else? She wouldn’t have sent you here if she thought all was lost. There has to have been a reason.”
“Yes, actually. She said that Twilight was still alive and that she was only dreaming, whatever that means. But I don’t see how-“
“Then I know what I must do,” Luna interrupted.
“Excuse me?”
“I wish I could explain, but I fear we have little time. Cadence, a war is brewing. We’re too late to stop Twilight’s host from gaining power and being released on Equestria, but we’re far from too late to bring Twilight back.”
“You can bring her back? How?!” Cadence gleefully puzzled. Instead of answering the question, Luna simply stood from the bed and walked over to Cadence, putting a hoof on her shoulder.
“I need you to take everypony to the Crystal Empire and shield it with all your magic. I’ll lead the resistance against Twilight’s host here and hold him off for as long as I can. The important thing is that you all survive. You all hold a connection to the conscious realm, one that Twilight can connect to and bring herself back with.”
“I can do that. What about Celestia, she-“
“Celestia is… she’s not herself. If I know her, and I do, she will step in when she needs to, but will generally let things run her course. Until she has to, she won’t do anything that will harm Mystia or Twilight. The way things are going, I fear that she will have to make that choice soon,” Luna said.
“Luna, thank you. I’ll protect the others, I promise.”
“And I’ll protect Equestria,” Luna responded. The two nodded slowly at one another before Cadence left the room and explained what they were to do. They would all be safe, Luna was sure as she’d ever been. With sadness written on her face, Luna laid back on her bed and closed her eyes.
Instantly she was welcomed into the world of dreams. She quickly sifted through all of the dreams, trying her hardest to find the one she wanted. After a few minutes of searching, she found the one she needed.
It was a dream that didn’t seem real, even to her. It was fuzzy, hard to access, and had a dark feeling to it. When she was finally able to enter into the dream, she only saw two things: Twilight and a door. Nothing else, just those two. Beyond the door was absolute darkness and the door itself seemed to be faintly reminiscent of realizing the horror of mortality.
Twilight was literally face to face with death. However, she had the luck of being allowed to make a choice. There was nothing Luna could do, this she knew. However, she had to try. Utilizing every ounce of her powers, she whispered two words. They echoed through the room, but Twilight showed no signs of hearing them. Luna looked with dread as Twilight reached out and put a hoof on the door. Not caring for her own well-being, Luna tried once more, using so much magic that she caused herself to black out.
However, right before she faded from consciousness, she could have sworn she saw a glimmer in Twilight’s eye; a ray of hope.
Twilight sighed to herself as he placed her hoof on the door. She held no feeling through her entire body and was only aware of it because she could see it in a mirror. Yet, somehow, the door felt warm and seemed to pull her closer.
She didn’t want to die; nopony did. It wasn’t death that she was afraid of; it was leaving everything she knew behind. Her mother, father, brother, friends… Celestia. Everypony she loved would never see her again; never know that she fought so hard to make it back to them. They would never know that she carried out her promise to the end, never fulfilling it.
The door beckoned as if it was a living figure. She could hear her mind being filled with the sounds of happy laughing and the voices of her friends. They were right on the other side; they were waiting for her.
They weren’t real; she knew that all too well. She always wondered what the afterlife was like, but she always assumed it was a place where she was free to do what she wanted for the rest of eternity; her own little slice of never-ending nirvana. They weren’t real, but they were there; they were her friends, even if they were the friends she had created in her mind. They were all she needed.
She smiled and pushed lightly on the door. It wasn’t enough to open it, not yet. She wanted to be entirely sure this was the choice she wanted to make. If she opened that door, she’d be accepting death, accepting that she had given up. But if she didn’t, what would be the repercussions? Would she be stuck in limbo forever, forced to never see anypony again? She didn’t want to give up, but she didn’t want to be alone anymore.
“You always…” a voice echoed from the walls. Twilight gasped and stepped away from the door as she heard it. Normally, she wouldn’t have paid the voice any mind; she was after all knocking on death’s door. But that voice… it seemed real. She knew in the deepest crevices of her mind that it was real.
“…made me proud,” Twilight finished. She stared at the door, wondering how she could have so easily given up. Nopony had given up on her; she would never give up on them. She didn’t care if she had to traverse a million dark voids; she would make it out of there and back to her friends. Turning away from the door, she smiled and whispered, “I’m coming home.”
“Celestia, you did the right thing,” Mystia said, staring at Celestia with a smile. “Together, us three will rid the world of evil.”
“You used me,” Celestia sorrowfully said. “I took you in, made sure you had a good home and you used me.”
“Yes, I did. Do I regret it? No. I’ll admit, at first it was nice; I thought I might actually have a chance to live a normal life. But then the nightmares began…”
“Why didn’t you say anything? Luna and I, we could have-“
“Helped me? Protected me from my nightmares? You should know better than anypony, the nightmares never stop. Even after you wake up, they’ll still be there, eating away at your sanity and emotional state. You play it off like you’ll be fine, but you never are. We both suffered badly, but the difference between us is that I’m brave enough to do something about it,” Mystia pointed out.
“Brave? No, Mystia, you’re a coward. Sure, the bad things in life haunt us, but what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. You should have taken what happened, no matter how bad, and lived with it. I’ve suffered so many deaths through my long-lived life, but did I ever go to such extreme lengths to get them back? No, I-“
“And what about dear little old me, hmm? Did you not sacrifice Twilight, your supposed favorite student, to save me? Did you not go to extreme lengths to bring me back to you? Face it Celestia, we’re the one and the same,” Mystia argued. The two maintained angered eye contact with one another from across the room. As if feeding off the anger, Twilight, or rather her host, simply looked between the two with great interest.
“Isn’t fate cruel?” He asked, stepping between the two, wobbling slightly as he continued to adjust to the shortened stature of Twilight compared to his male form. “Two souls corrupted with misery and regret, yet they both hold on dearly to ideals they hold. One gave in to a greater power to relive herself of the pain and punish those responsible; the other let it fester within her fragile mind, rotting away at her mental state.”
“What do you know about fate?” Celestia asked, anger in her eyes.
“What do any of us know about fate?” he responded, his smile dropping to a frown. “None of us know what bindings destiny holds on our hearts, nor do we intend to follow the path carved out for us. Every living thing is the same in this concept; all of us are prisoners to fate. Two students, one mentor… you’d think it would have a happy ending, but that is rarely the truth. I once had my own student, you know.”
“You did?” Celestia asked, more shocked than anything. Naturally, she could care less what the possessor had to say, but she couldn’t deny her curiosity either.
“Yes. Back in my time, taking an apprentice was unheard of. It happened rarely, but never on a major level. But I saw promise in the young mare and I believed she would rise to greatness. Unfortunately, I never got to see if that belief would become a reality.”
“Let me guess; you killed her?” Celestia asked, her focus now completely on the stallion inhabiting Twilight’s body. Mystia simply sat in the background absorbing the words between the two immortals.
“I’d never do such a cruel thing. She meant the world to me,” he solemnly admitted. “She had only been my student for a short year, when…” he trailed off, tears filling his, or rather, Twilight’s, eyes. “There was a riot in the town of Moonlight Grotto; she was there for a visit. It was the last time I ever saw her.”
“Better she die than live under your hoof,” Celestia snapped, taking the stallion by surprise.
“You think I don’t know that? I single-hoofedly razed Equestria to the ground in revenge; she never would have wanted that. I had a moment of weakness, so I killed… no, I tried to end it all, but something went wrong. After that, I meditated on what it was I had done while trapped in the void. At first I was depressed, not angry. But as time went on and years turned to centuries, hatred festered inside and boiled to a brim. Surely you’ve felt the same anger, have you not?”
“I…” Celestia started. She didn’t want to admit it, but she had before, on many occasions, lost her temper. “I have.”
“You’ve felt that anger towards the world for things that happened to you. Yet, somehow, you remained strong and never acted on that anger. I’m not evil; I’m weak. There’s a difference,” he explained, sadness still his sole tone.
“Then give up; let Twilight come back to our world.”
“I want you to listen to me carefully. You too, Celestia. My intention was never to come back to this world so that I may take it over, or to destroy evil. I know when I awoke I did sound rather, well, evil. But that was just the hatred left over from the void. There’s nothing left now. No, I came back because...” he trailed off, his eyes sinking to the floor. Mystia seemed absolutely horrified at her chance at revenge showing such a soft side. She had imagined he’d been stronger, more ferocious. As she looked at Twilight, she could see that the stallion inside wasn’t at all he was cracked out to be.
“Then why take over Twilight? Bring her back, now,” Celestia commanded, hoping to take advantage of his weakness.
“I can’t. I mean, I can, but then I’d have no chance of ever escaping the void. You see, I took over this body for one reason; to escape the void. I never told you who that bloodline belonged to, the one of which Twilight belongs to, did I? Right before I ‘died’, after destroying Equestria, I learned that my student had indeed survived. I told the truth when I said I never saw her again, but right before I entered the fire, I felt her magic. The void is her creation, a magical realm to punish me for what I’d done.”
“Everything that you went through, Mystia, everything that Twilight went through were memories that my student suffered after I destroyed Equestria. She knew of my love for her and punished me by making me see the world I created. The thorn field with the shed. That was where she treated her wounds from my terror. The cavern of hope where she gave birth to a beautiful daughter. The white room was her own void as she passed on from the world.”
“But I thought that you-“ Mystia started.
“That I created the void? No, I was never strong enough for that type of magic. But she was. I took the credit of creating the void to spare myself sorrow. It was her all along, your very own ancestor. In time her daughter carved out a civilization after finding a small group of survivors that had blocked history from their minds. Using the gift of magic that her bloodline carried, she raised the sun and moon. By the end of her lifetime she was considered a god amongst mortals. I don’t know anything after that, but by the state of modern Equestria, I can tell she succeeded in rebuilding what I destroyed,” he continued.
“The first civilization… Twilight’s a descendant of the great ruler?” Celestia asked. “I knew there was something special about her, but…”
“I’m afraid I let my anger at the student I loved cause me to hurt her ancestors. Fate works in mysterious ways doesn’t it?” he asked, repeating himself. “I can’t help but wonder if she foresaw this all of this. Maybe she was able to see further down the track of destiny than any of us could.”
“No,” Mystia interrupted, stepping forward angrily. “What are you, bipolar? I sacrificed a thousand years of my life to save you from that stupid void, and this is what I get? A pansy, emotionally ruined weakling that had bouts of anger? What happened to that pep you held the moment you woke from the coma?”
“Think of it this way, young Mystia,” he started. “Have you ever had a nightmare or dream where you injured yourself and you could still feel the pain after you woke? Ever had a nightmare that was so horrifying that you still were scared when you opened your eyes? I was the same way. The void not only trapped my physical mind, it trapped my emotions as well. Since the moment I was put into that void, I could feel only anger. Now that I’m awake, the nightmare is over. All I can think about is everything that happened and that I did. It would be best if you forgive the world before you make the same mistake I did.”
“Dammit, I won’t let this happen! I’ll make the world pay for what it did; I’ll destroy this wretched world if it’s the last thing I do. If you won’t help me, then I’ll do it myself. Even if you won’t help me, I still can make use of you,” Mystia angrily shouted before charging at Twilight. Despite what she thought he would do, he made no attempt to fight back.
“Mystia, stop this!” Celestia screamed. She quickly stepped forward and trapped Mystia in a force field. “I won’t stand by and let you screw everything up again. Besides, you never held the power anypony else in your family did. You were the black sheep of Twilight’s bloodline.”
“I may not be as powerful as the rest of my bloodline, but I learned a trick in the void. If I had known he would be so weak, I’d had just done it while in there and left,” she said. Celestia’s eyes went wide as Mystia teleported out of the magic bubble and hastily made her way to Twilight. The two stared at one another for a split moment. He closed his eyes and nodded slowly as Mystia touched her horn to his forehead.
Celestia watched in horror as the two floated into the air, their manes flowing freely in the wind. A bright blue aura began to surround the two, gradually growing thicker until it was nothing but a neon blue ball floating in the sky. After a minute suspended in the air, the ball instantly dissipated and the two fell hard to the ground. Celestia wasted no time in using the best of her magic to trap Mystia in a super –force-field.
“That won’t do any good,” Mystia said with a cocky grin as she stood. “I now know every spell that Twilight knows.” Ready to demonstrate her new powers, Mystia teleported from the force-field with ease and walked slowly up to Celestia. “I know you hate to admit it, but Twilight surpassed you magic wise years ago. If she were to ever disagree with you, she’d destroy you and your sister in mere seconds. And now that power belongs to me.” With little effort, Mystia easily released a ball of energy from her horn that flew quicker than Celestia could dodge. Hitting her in the middle of the chest, Celestia fell back with a groan.
“H-how?” she asked, her magic completely disabled.
“You needn’t worry on the how, Celestia. All you need to know is that you failed to protect your beautiful Equestria. I wish I would have taken this route sooner, but I suppose a thousand years isn’t that long. But look at it this way: you’ll finally be freed from the world. With a slight cast of my magic you will leave the mortal world. You can finally be happy.”
“Then do it. Twilight’s gone. You aren’t who I thought you were. What point is there to keep living if I have to do it alone? Kill me,” Celestia pleaded. “Just end my pain right now, please!” Celestia slowly rolled over and began to cry uncontrollable. “Let me pain come to an end. Do it!”
“So, you finally broke? I never thought I’d see the day. I wish I could keep you alive long enough for you to see your world burn, but I’m not stupid. The moment I left you’d start devising a plan like you always do.”
“I’m just happy that Twilight never got to see what you’ve become,” Celestia sobbed.
“Goodbye, Celestia.” Mystia smiled as she began to charge her magic. Celestia closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. Celestia forced herself to stop crying as she waited for her execution. If she was going to die, she wasn’t going to die with sadness. Using her final moments, she thought about the happy times with Twilight. Celestia smiled. The last thing she heard was the sound of magic being cast.
Drip. Drip. The sound of water landing on a surface nearby filled Celestia’s ears. It was surprisingly pleasant to hear, almost calming in a way. She allowed herself to continue laying back with her eyes closed, just listening to the slow, peaceful music that was water droplets.
She wasn’t dead, that much she was sure of. She had no idea what had happened, but she had somehow been teleported to wherever she was now, far away from the reach of Mystia. She couldn’t help but laugh at her luck, her cursed nature to survive everything.
“It’s a beautiful sound, isn’t it?” a sweet, gentle voice asked. Celestia nodded and opened her eyes to see she was in a deep forest. Droplets of water fell from the canopy above, moistening the cool soil. Dark oak wood trees littered the world around her, adding to the dark, yet somehow peaceful, nature of the forested area.
“Who are you?” Celestia asked, standing from her spot on the ground. Her back was soaked and dirty from the wet soil, but she could care less. The voice echoed in her mind as if it never quit speaking.
“It’s not a question of who I am, it’s a question of who I was,” the voice responded, sweet and gentle. “But to answer your question, I am one who existed long ago. When I lived, I went by the name of Circadia.”
“Circadia… I’ve never heard the name before. Who were you, Circadia?” Celestia asked. She slowly walked over to a tree and touched it with her hoof. She couldn’t help but notice that she couldn’t feel anything but inner peace. It was as if she couldn’t be angered or saddened even if she watched someone murder her own sister. It was a strange, but not at all protested feeling.
“My name was never important. What was important was what I did,” Circadia started. “It happened long before your time, back when every living thing worshiped the moon as their god.”
“You don’t mean…?” Celestia trailed off. As soon as it clicked in her head, she heard a twig snap behind her. Turning around, she found herself face to face with a mare that resonated the very example of beauty. Her coat was ice-white and her eyes a beautiful sapphire color. But the thing that stood out the most was her mane. She didn’t think it possible; bet she had the mane of her most beloved student, Twilight. The only difference was that was midnight blue with light blue and pink highlights.
“The world we lived in was a cruel one, but we were happy. Life was never easy, but we always had the bare essentials of what we needed. I was young back then, only about sixty-three-hundred-and-six moons, or seventeen years in your time. It was on my seventeenth birthday when I met him.
“I was naïve and believed that he would take me as his student, even though asking such a thing was considered heresy. I didn’t care; I asked. When I feared the worse, he did what I least expected: he accepted. He took me in and taught me the way of the moon, or magic as you call it now. We believed that the unicorns were the overlords in our world; they were the only ones capable of using the moon’s power in the form of magic.”
“Magic comes from within; even earth ponies are capable of their own type of magic,” Celestia corrected.
“In time, after the archaic way in which we lived ended, ponykind learned that. But it was different for us. He taught me the most powerful magic known to our kind at the time. We shared a love between one another.”
“Romantic love, or…?”
“The love that you share between your students. A love that can only be shared between two that bond on a spiritual level, ignoring the mortal functionalities such as the heart or the brain. You should know more than anypony; it’s a love that is similar in concept to the way a mother loves a daughter, but on a level incomprehensible to the mind.”
“I know the feeling,” Celestia admitted. Instantly, her mind flashed with images of Twilight and she felt herself reliving every happy moment the two shared together in just a matter of seconds
“You’re remembering her, aren’t you? Good.”
“What was that? What is this place?” Celestia asked, looking around. The trees had all become overgrown and seemingly darker than before, but her sense of tranquility had only increased.
“The dark void. Or rather, it’s my form of the void. You’re not the first to visit here. Matter a fact, a certain goddess that you know recently visited,” Circadia calmly pointed out.
“I don’t know any-“Celestia started before gasping. Her eyes went wide and she stepped closer to Circadia. “My sister was here? When? For how long?”
“Too many moons to count. I believe a millennium in your time. It was my understanding that you banished her to save her from herself, correct?”
“Yes, but how did she-“
“I adopted her into this realm right before you banished her. Together, I helped her rid herself of her jealousy and hate towards the ponies that dwelled in the day. I took her back to a time when the moon ruled over us all. Celestia, understand that she never suffered a moment in her time of banishment. I kept her here, safe from everything painful. The feelings you feel right now, the peaceful nirvana inside of you, that’s the only thing she felt for a thousand years.”
“I- I-“Celestia stammered, her eyes filling with tears. Ever since the moment she had banished Luna, she had felt only regret. She thought she had punished her with a thousand years of misery and pain, but she couldn’t have been further from the truth. Circadia had fixed Celestia’s wrong and given Luna the only thing she needed; a thousand years of rest from the world that continued to fail her.
“Before she left, I removed myself from her memories. She returned to you never knowing who I was, but remembering well the peace she felt. Even through everything, she never blamed you. She knew you did the right thing.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Celestia asked as she wiped away a tear.
“To ease your pain and suffering. I’m afraid that I must admit that the void is my creation. I originally meant it as a place to punish… him,” she whispered, cringing at the thought of her mentor. “After he burned all of Equestria, I was all alone. The day he thought I had died, I was seeing my lover. When the town was attacked, I escaped, but my mate was not as lucky. I took cover and could only watch as he razed all of Equestria in fury.
“I created the void to make him see the error of his ways. It was a magic that I had taught myself. I fear I must confess that it’s a very taboo magic, one that most likely doesn’t exist in your day and age. You should know that there is more than one void. One exists in each of us; it takes a powerful magic user to open it. As of now, three voids are open. One is collapsing on itself; that is his void. The second is the one you’re currently standing in. The third… It’s the one that is traversed by the pony who will finally put an end to my magic,” Circadia explained.
“Mystia said the dark void is a terrible place. This doesn’t seem bad at all,” Celestia pointed out.
“The voids aren’t bad place at all. Do you know what the void really is?”
“I must admit ignorance,” Celestia replied.
“The void is a beautiful place where all our happy thoughts reside. It’s the place where we come to in times of peace. It’s our inner beauty, the place where all that is good resides. Tell me, have you felt a single bit of pain since you’ve been here?”
“No, I’ve felt happier than I have in years,” Celestia admitted.
“Tell me, what do you see? What does the void tell you?”
“What do you mean?” Celestia asked.
“The void manifests differently for everypony that enters. For me, I see… well, I’m afraid you wouldn’t comprehend. Your sister saw the castle where the two of you resided as well as the woods deep around it. So, what do you see?”
“We’re in deep woods. It’s raining from what I can tell. It’s dark, yet so peaceful,” Celestia observed.
“Does it hold any meaning to you?”
“No, nothing.” Celestia waited for Circadia to say something, but she only shook her head. Celestia slowly walked around and examined everything she could, hoping to find what it was she was supposed to find.
The dripping slowly continued as she walked around hopelessly, trying her hardest to remember what the place was. She kept thinking she had it, but never seemed to put her hoof on what it was. Finally, after a few minutes of wondering around aimlessly, she walked over to Circadia and admitted she didn’t know what it was at all.
“I doesn’t surprise me that you can’t remember, Celestia. Immortals remember so little compared to those that have a death to know of. It’s hard to make memories when you know there is little reason to cherish them; death never grows closer. Time is an infinite stream of which there is no end.”
“I don’t believe I understand,” Celestia admitted with a confused expression of her face.
“Celestia, the life you and Luna live isn’t as you thought it was. Neither of you are immortal; you’re long lived. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be around until the end of time.”
“I still don’t follow, Circadia,” Celestia responded. Circadia sighed and stepped aside. Almost in an instant, the dripping began to hasten as if the rainfall above had grown heavier. Celestia stood and watched everything around her, waiting to see what would happen. A few minutes passed without anything happened. Right as Celestia was going to give up and demand to know what was supposed to happen, she saw it.
She saw herself running through the trees, her main soaked and coat ruined. All accessories that she normally adorned, such as her crown and jewelry, were absent. Even stranger, she couldn’t recall that point in time. No matter how hard she tried to put her hoof on it, she couldn’t remember it.
“Sometimes the happiest time in somepony’s life is when the suffering comes to an end. You are by no means a happy being; you constantly beg for death. So why would it be that your void is remember the happiest moment of your life?”
“I don’t follow…” Celestia repeated, still unsure as to what she was witnessing. Circadia didn’t continue. Instead, she just nodded to Celestia and had her keep watching. She watched as her other self darted through trees, stopping in the clearing that the two stood in.
“Luna, I’m here!” the other Celestia yelled. “You promise me that you’d come back to me if I came here. Please, don’t let me be alone anymore!” she cried. The other Celestia collapsed to the ground and began to cry harder than she ever had.
“I never-“ Celestia started.
“This wasn’t during Luna’s banishment. This was long ago; far longer than you can remember. Just watch; seeing it will explain everything about who you are. You’ll finally understand your curse and blessing,” Circadia explained.
“Shh, my dear sister,” Luna said, emerging from the sky. “I’m here now. You don’t have to be alone anymore,” she consoled, nearing the dream Celestia. Instantly, Celestia jumped up to try and hug her younger sister. But as she did, she simply passed through.
“It’s been so long. Please, let me be with you again,” dream Celestia pleaded.
“You will. Just lie down and relax. You feel it, don’t you? The peace inside?” Luna softly said.
“I feel only pain, dear sister,” dream Celestia responded.
“I’m here now, Celestia. You need only close your eyes and remember the good times. Let the worries of the world leave you; there’s no need to serve it anymore. For once in your life, live for yourself. Let happiness take over for the pain. The world no longer needs us,” Luna consoled. Dream Celestia sniffed and looked up to her sister. Making eye contact, Luna smiled and began to fade away. However, Celestia didn’t cry; she only smiled.
She closed her eyes and laid her head down on her forehooves. Slowly, her breathing began to steady. In just two minutes, her breathing had slowed to a crawl. By the third minute, Celestia was smiling happily; she took a final breath.
The real Celestia looked with confusion at the scene. Seeing Celestia’s confusion, Circadia stepped closer and stood right next to her. The dripping returned to its original state, but Celestia’s body didn’t move.
“This is the day you died. The world had become self-sufficient for the first time since you and your sister arrived in the world. It no longer needed you, so you were called back to the place where you may know peace. I know this is a lot to take in, but you need to know who you are.”
“I… I just watched myself die. How can that be? I’m still alive, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you’re alive. That’s your curse. The world will call you when it needs stabilizing. I fear that I’m the one to blame for this. It all began a bit after the fire had destroyed Equestria. I found a cave where I gave birth. If you don’t know, that is where I gave birth to a beautiful daughter that single-hoofedly restored Equestria and brought upon a new age,” Circadia explained. Celestia had heard all this before from the stallion that took over Twilight’s body, so she wasn’t too surprised.
“I name her Twilight,” Circadia finished. Celestia’s blinked twice and cleared her ears. She wanted to believe she had heard her wrong, but she knew she hadn’t. Circadia, noticing Celestia’s disturbance, nodded in confirmation. “Yes, my daughter’s name was Twilight. She brought the world back life and brought happiness to a hurt world. But that’s not the whole story.
“The truth of the matter is that I didn’t give birth to one daughter. No, I was blessed with three children. The first I named Twilight, the second and third I named Celestia and Luna.” Celestia wanted to stop the story, but she knew in her heart that Circadia wasn’t lying. “However, the cave I gave birth in... there was something there, a magical entity. It visited me in my dreams that night and told me of the fate Twilight had to lead. But my other two daughters, they were destined to die before the age of five.
“I didn’t want to believe it. But sure enough, by the time the two were five years old, they began to grow sick. They were both gone before I even knew what had happened. Twilight grew up alone, never knowing she even had sisters. I never told her; I couldn’t. Neither did I tell her when I was visited by the same being that inhabited the cave. He told me that he could restore my daughters to health and give them a life. The downside was that they would become servants to Equestria. They would always know sadness and pain through their lives, but I didn’t care.
“I took the deal. Three days later, I was visited by my two daughter; they were fully grown. Neither remembered who I was; they didn’t remember anything. The deal meant that they would live for extreme amounts of time, at least until Equestria no longer needed them. But what I wasn’t told was of another part of the deal, one I didn’t know of until after my death.
“Twilight, my daughter, received the same curse. No, she wasn’t granted a longer life, nor did she have the unfortunate downside of living through pain. What she did receive is a variation of you and your sister’s resurrection curse; she would come back to the world when the end of Equestria was nigh. She would be the one to put an end to the curse I laid on my old mentor and indeed myself.
“Thousands upon thousands of years passed. Twilight’s daughter had children and her children had children. My bloodline lasted throughout all of Equestria’s history, always represented in either one mare or stallion. You and your sister died only once, but you returned when Equestria needed you. The one called Discord was causing chaos; you two were called back.
“I’m afraid your curse will never end, Celestia. But Twilight’s is coming to an end; she has the power to destroy the voids I created and put an end to the greatest evil that ever threatened Equestria. She had already destroyed his void by allowing him to leave it. She can only destroy mine by killing him and any of those that entered it. On the day of her death, I will be set free from eternal life; I can finally be with my daughter again,” Circadia solemnly explained.
“So, are you saying that Twilight will win?”
“There are no guarantees. The curse only said that she’s return when the void threatened the world and it would end if she beat it. She’s a strong mare and even stronger now that she had the grace of being taught by her sister. Now, as much as I like seeing you and I wish I could spend a thousand years with my third daughter, it’s not meant to be. I’ll be sending you back; you, Luna, and Twilight need to win,” Circadia softly said with a smile. It was a smile for Celestia, not for her.
“One question; what is his name? I feel only you know.”
“His name isn’t important. But I suppose I can humor you,” Circadia said as she started charging her magic. Celestia felt herself become engulfed in a ball of energy and became aware that the world was fading. “His name is Nox.”
Circadia sighed as Celestia disappeared. She realized she’d never see any of her daughters again. She had caused everything that happened to her children. Because of her, Celestia and Luna would always know pain. But she took solace in knowing that she had given them the chance to grow together; Celestia had raised Twilight. Their time together wasn’t eternal, but it was good.
Circadia smiled. The curse would end soon; she knew her daughters would find a way to win.
