My Little Redemption

by F-ShyAustin

Rating: teen
Tags: Big Macintosh, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Granny Smith, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 13067

Twilight Sparkle, after thinking that she fulfilled her destiny, finds that a week later, she feels empty. She and her friends must band together and discover the true magic of friendship, as well as face their pasts, and find their true destinies.

After fulfilling her destiny, Twilight Sparkle is faced with a feeling of incompletion; a feeling that what just happened... isn't all there is. Now, she and her friends must face their respective pasts, and fulfill the destiny that truly awaits them.

Rating: Teen for struggles that adults often face. Nothing bad, just some caution. This may be a bit confusing to young viewers.

Published 2013-05-02 19:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-15 04:33:09 UTC

Chapter I

Chapter I

“Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there lived two regal sisters who ruled the land. The eldest, Princess Celestia brought forth the sun during the day, and the younger, Princess Luna brought forth the moon and the stars at night. This was seemingly incessant. But eventually, Luna became jealous. The earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns played in and relished her older sister’s day, but slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, Luna refused to lower the moon and stars to make way for the sun. Her older sister tried to reason with her, but Luna would not hear of it. Luna had turned into someone not entirely herself, a monster, even: Nightmare Moon. To make way for the sun, then, Celestia was forced to do exactly what she feared might one day happen. She harnessed the power of the most powerful objects known to pony-kind: the Elements of Harmony. She defeated her younger sister, banishing her to the moon itself for 1000 years…”

This was the first time Twilight Sparkle had really started to look back on the events that had brought her to where she was now. She had, according to her mentor and teacher, Princess Celestia, discovered all there is about friendship. Not to say at all that she didn’t need friends anymore; quite to the contrary, in fact. But still. Wasn’t there more?

“Surely I can’t be at the end of the rope,” Twilight thought to herself. “This can’t be all there is.”

Maybe she was having a down day. After all, Celestia had just told her the week before, after completing the unfinished spell by Starswirl the Bearded, the she would not be her teacher “in the same way as before. Now, you are our teacher”, she told her. But “teacher”?

Twilight still lived at the library with her brother/assistant Spike, and still loved it. But again, maybe she was just having a down day.

“Off to Sugar Cube Corner for me, I suppose,” thought Twilight on a whim. “I need to talk to Pinkie Pie.”

As Twilight walked along the road to the center of Ponyville, she saw the various sights that she saw every day: The open-air market, Rarity’s dress shop, and the house that Fluttershy lived in. It didn’t feel the same. Though it was a far-fetched idea, it seemed almost uncanny to her that the feelings she was having were the same as those that the crystal ponies had described when the Crystal Heart had not yet been found.

“It feels the same, but something’s missing,” Twilight remembered. “Almost an eerie feeling.”

“Hey, Twilight!” shouted a couple of Ponyville’s citizens in unison.

“Hi, girls,” Twilight said back.

“How’s it going?”

Twilight would have answered, but she was too lost in thought to consider answering. She had never felt this way before, and somehow, deep down inside, she knew that Pinkie wouldn’t be able to help.
Pinkie Pie was a master of baking and parties, and as such, was apprentices under Mr. and Mrs. Pound Cake, who owned Sugar Cube Corner. It was located on the other side of town that the library where Twilight lived was. The walk over had given her plenty of time to think, but it hadn’t really gotten her any closer to what she was seeking. If anything, she was actually more confused than ever.

“I’m a princess,” Twilight thought. “Shouldn’t I know all this? I’ve fulfilled my destiny! If this is all there is, shouldn’t it be a little more glamorous? Less… sad? Downtrodden, even?”

“You alright there, sugercube?”

Twilight heard the all too familiar drawl emanating from the orange pastel pony in front of her. She didn’t look quite the same. She reasoned that maybe her down day was effecting her senses, so she ignored it.

“Apple Jack! Am I glad to see you!”

“Um…You too,” Apple Jack smiled. “You were yellin’. Thought somethin’ might be wrong.”

“Oh…yeah. That was - I was just – thinking, is all.”

“Pretty loudly, too. Somethin’ wrong?”

Twilight mulled it over in her mind before responding. She could trust Apple Jack, couldn’t she? Of course she could. Apple Jack was the embodiment of honesty. To say that Twilight couldn’t trust her would be ludicrous.

“Um…AJ, I've been feeling really down. Like, I’m... maybe I'm incomplete. I feel empty. Like I’m… I… never mind - I’m not making sense.”

Apple Jack’s face was visibly downcast now. “No, you are making sense.” She returned. “Unfortunately,” she added under her breath. “Go on, Twi.”

O...kay. Have you ever… had the feeling that there was something more to your life than what you were doing right now? Like there was something more?”

Apple Jack thought about it, as was obvious by the look on her face. The look of pain was clear to Twilight now, as if she had uncovered a long buried element of Apple Jack’s past.

“Well, to be honest, ever since my parents – well, you know… passed on? Ever since that, I’ve felt kind of – empty, I guess. I suppose after that, I felt like there was more work to be done, and not enough pony to do it. I felt kind of alone. I mean, I had Grannie and Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh, but I just felt – empty. Like there was more than work to be done. It just didn’t – doesn’t - feel right. Is that what you mean?”

Apple Jack was a tough pony. Her exterior was evidence enough of what she did for a living, but what she had just told Twilight was unprecedented to say the least, especially after only having talked to her for one or two minutes, tops.

“Well, sort of.”

A pregnant pause ensued as both ponies stared at each other.

“…Sort of? You know, Twi, this sounds serious. Almost like this is the same thing I’ve been dealing with. You wanna head on down to Sweet Apple Acres so we can talk about it?”

Her question passed through her audience’s ears without an answer. At least for a long while.

“Yes. Yes, I think I need that.”

The two ponies walked side by side down the road together. It seemed odd that these two would walk together: an Alicorn princess and an earth pony. But despite Twilight’s transformation, both were still very good friends. They walked in silence, nodding at the occasional wave from various passersby. As they neared the farm, Apple Jack cleared her throat.

“Well, here we are. Let’s get to the house. I don't know what’s going on, but I’ve got a feeling that Grannie might.”

“I’m game for that,” Twilight muttered. “Lead the way.”

As they walked into the house, Twilight spotted Grannie Smith on her usual chair, rocking back and forth. She wasn’t sleeping, though. She was thinking – deeply, too.

“Howdy, girls,” she finally said.

“Hello Grannie Smith,” Twilight and Apple Jack returned.

Apple Jack spoke. “Hey, uh... Grannie?” She was visibly putting effort into sounding at least a little cheerful.

“Yes?” Grannie’s voice was laced with age, but its drawn-out nature was distinctive to the Apple family, and could be easily discerned, even in Grannie’s.

“Can we talk to you?”

“Now, honey, when have I ever NOT been able to talk to y’all?” Grannie quipped.

“Well -” Apple Jack started.

“We have a question,” finished Twilight.

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Grannie remarked.

“I -”Both girls started in in unison. “We’ve been feeling kind of down lately.”

“Not lately, Grannie,” Apple Jack said in her defense. “Ever since Mom and Dad -” She pushed back a wave of emotion.

“- died. I feel… empty. I think we both do.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. Grannie’s face froze and all three ponies stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. As Grannie began to understand the full scope of what her grand-daughter had just said, she began to move slowly to the bookshelves in the family room that held the scrap books.

“Apple Jack...” Grannie started slowly, “…I – I loved my son and daughter-in-law as much as you loved your parents. When they died, it was traumatic for all of us. I even saw your brother get teary. But you wouldn’t remember that. When they died, I began to realize that – well - that ponies die. I always thought that I would go before they did, but it seems I was wrong.”

Twilight and Apple Jack stood silently, seemingly dumbstruck.

Grannie opened up a scrapbook, and pointed to one of the pictures.

“See here? This is when your ma and pa got married! It was a joyful day for all of us; the day when they were ready to step out into the world and take it on. Big Mac was born just a year and a half after their weddin’ day. Now that was joy if you ever saw it!

“Then you came along a few years after, and Apple Bloom after that. You were just 5 years old when Apple Bloom was born! Can you believe that? But… a few years after Apple bloom was born, your ma started having… problems. Nobody knew what it was, not even the best doctors of Canterlot. She eventually withered away, and your pa was never the same. He died of grief just about a year later.

“Things ain’t never been the same since. I was already gettin’ old, so I couldn’t do too much, ya know, ‘cept make my zap apple jam that I made every year, and host the family reunion once in a while.” She chuckled a little at that.

“You started developin’ a work ethic I ain’t ever seen before - in nopony. Some might say you became a workaholic; so dedicated to your family that, to see them die, you felt like you owed them somethin’. It ain’t somethin’ I can rightly explain now.

“Apple Jack, you worked and worked from sunrise to sunset, like a full-grown stallion. An’ I think if sweet Celestia had let the sun be up longer, you would have worked that much longer. I think that’s where you are now.

“When I was your age, I had the same feeling you’re having right now. I found what I was looking for, because a very wise stallion told me once that ‘Everypony has a hole in their heart that only He can fill.’ I didn’t know who ‘He’ was, but that stallion said ‘He’ll find you if you look for Him.’”

Twilight spoke up, after a long silence. “…Him? Who’s Him?”

Silence.

“I could tell you,” Grannie slowly answered. “But this… this is somethin’ you’ll have to find out yourself. But…” she continued. “You – everypony – was meant to find Him. Trust me. He’s lookin’ for you, too.”

All three ponies stood there, not saying a word. Finally Apple Jack spoke up.

“Grannie – this isn’t… that God stuff again is it? You know how hard I’ve tried to accept that; that this God person loves everypony, that he has a plan for me – for us. But how could such a loving God allow my own parents to die like they did?!”

Grannie tried to reason with her, but she Apple Jack went on.

“How could he take both your son an’ your daughter-in-law, and then still claim to love you?! How?! It doesn’t make sense! After all these years, you’d think that He would let off on me, that He would give me the strength that He said he would! He lied to us, Grannie!! How can you believe in a God that tells people lies like that?!”

Apple Jack stormed out of the house crying, like so many times before. Twilight stood there in dumb silence, contemplating how to take it what had just happened. She had never seen an outburst like that from AJ before. Grannie settled to a silent reserve. Apparently this wasn’t the first time this had happened. A tiny tear slipped from Grannies right eye as she sat back down on her rocking chair.

“I’m sorry…” Twilight was about to say. But Grannie got to speech first.

“She’ll come around. One day, she’ll realize how much He loves her. He told me she would.”

Twilight didn’t know what to say. She stayed in the same place for a good while before Grannie started again.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Twilight.”

“I – It’s alright,” was all she could manage.

Twilight turned to walk out the door, when Grannie spoke one last time.

“I know, I think, what you're goin’ through, Twilight. You need to find Apple Jack. She needs you. But trust me on this: look for Him, and He will find you. He’s already lookin’.”

Chapter II

Chapter 2

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Twilight.”

“I – It’s alright,” was all Twilight could manage.

She turned to walk out the door, when Grannie spoke one last time.

“I know, I think, what you're goin’ through, Twilight. You need to find Apple Jack. She needs you. But trust me on this: look for Him, and He will find you. He’s already lookin’.”

* * *

Twilight left soon after, and began looking for Apple Jack. But no matter where or how hard she looked, she was nowhere to be found. Sweet Apple Acres was huge, so it was likely that she was there. In fact she probably was there. But there were hundreds of acres, and it was doubtful that Twilight would ever find her.

“I’ll never find her if I don’t look,” Twilight thought.

So look she did; but she never did find her. At least, not that day.

Twilight made her way to the library and slept. The next day, she woke up tired. That night’s before sleep hadn’t been very restful. In reality, she had hardly slept at all. Yesterday’s events still flickered through her mind, and she was still trying to sort out Apple Jack’s outburst and her confusion. Try as she might, though, she never was able to understand those events. Grannie Smith’s words began echoing through her mind, eminently clearly. Maybe… yes… she did understand. Or, at least, she thought she knew what to do so that she could understand.

“But trust me on this, Twilight: look for Him, and He will find you. He’s already lookin’.”

This made her feel a little bit better, but she still didn’t know who “He” was.

Twilight spent the day looking for Apple Jack. She could have given up, but honestly, without Apple Jack, every one of the entire cavalcade of ponies, all six of them, along with their respective Elements of Harmony were rendered useless. They ran into that unwelcome surprise when they tried to defeat Discord without Rainbow Dash more than six months before.

Twilight didn’t eat all day.

“Finding Apple Jack is much more important than eating,” Twilight said to herself.

The sky started to turn dark, but Twilight ignored it. That one mere fact was drowned out by her excitement; it seemed that her effort had indeed paid off. She spotted Apple Jack sitting under a tree, about a hundred yards from where Twilight stood.

She ran to the tree as fast as she could, stumbling a few times, but she didn’t care. She has just spent the entire day, and half of the last, looking for AJ, and a few stray roots and stumps weren’t going to stop her in any way. But as she neared the tree where she saw Apple Jack first, she began hearing a voice. It was unmistakably Apple Jack’s. But she wasn’t just talking. She was crying, too.

Twilight gazed at the tree that her friend was behind, and stood there, not knowing what to do. A million different thoughts began plaguing her mind. “Why is she crying? She’s Apple Jack! She doesn’t cry, she sucks it up and moves on!” Suddenly it occurred to her that AJ hadn’t quite been herself yesterday either. Something else was up. Something deeper. Something much more profound.

* * *

Deep in her sleep, Apple Jack was thrown into a prison. Not any ordinary prison, though. This was a prison meant for one single purpose: to hold the universe’s most evil and vile being to ever be created, and all who served it. This was… something that Grannie Smith had talked about. A spark of memory ignited inside AJ’s mind. This was… eternal death.
Throughout the entire prison, she saw good ponies that she was familiar with. These ponies were… good; honorable. She thought, and thought some more, but she couldn’t remember any of their names. Was she even asleep?

“Of course! “This isn’t true! This is just a dream,” Apple Jack thought.

She ran for the wall. She pulled back her head and struck it against the wall.

Pain.

She reeled, and her head swam. This was not a dream; at least not an ordinary one. This was something entirely different: something sinister.

“Painful, isn’t it?” Apple Jack heard the echoing voice from no distinct location. It came from… everywhere; from the walls, from the stalactites that so frighteningly hung from the ceiling, even from inside her own head.

“Who – Who are you?” she frantically called out.

“I… am your punisher,” the voice hissed back.
Slowly, a large being slipped from the ceiling and dropped down next to Apple Jack. It smiled wickedly, its jagged excuses for teeth protruding from its mouth.

“I am your punisher,” the being repeated.

This being was unlike anything that Apple Jack had seen before; even after having fought Discord, the lord of all chaos; Chrysalis, the Changeling queen; and even the evil King Sombra. He had the wings of a changeling, flaming eyes that leaked darkness much like Sombra’s had, and talons the size of a griffon’s. Beyond that, there was no way to describe him. He was gruesome.

“I am Apollyon; Destroyer,” he grinned wickedly. “Prepare to meet your doom.”

As Apollyon raised his taloned hand to strike Apple Jack down, another voice called out.

“Stop!”

Apollyon paused and turned toward the voice. His eyes rested upon a large stallion with a dramatically gleaming coat. His appearance had gone unnoticed, it seemed.

“Who dares enter my domain?” Apollyon glared.

The voice didn’t respond. Apple Jack couldn’t help but glance at the newcomer as well. As she did, she looked into his eyes. They were a brilliant blue, but something about those eyes let her escape the reality that she was dreaming of. She dreamed – within her dream. She saw a tall, wooden post with a crosspiece on it. It was bloody. But there was something – someone – nailed onto it. She heard words coming from the dying man’s mouth.

“It… is… finished,” he deliberately stated, so matter-of-factly.

Apple Jack stood there, tears welling, but the scene before her eyes backed up, as if her dream was being rewound. She began hearing scraps of words, of conversation. She heard the Man’s voice again. Hundreds of times, each saying soft, kind words, seemingly meant for Apple Jack.

“I came that they might have life”, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”, and more. Despite the fact that she had been watching the scene rush past her for only a few seconds, it seemed longer – months, years maybe. Of course she knew it wasn’t. It was illogical.

The scene snapped back to the scene of the bloody cross. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” and later, again, “It is finished.” The last three words had the same impact as they had had before.

Apple Jack slipped back into reality, still looking at the blue-eyed Stallion. He held an astounding resemblance to the man in Apple Jack’s other dream, however possible that was. “Maybe… was he –”

“I defeated you!” AJ’s concentration broke when Destroyer interrupted.

“I defeated you and your slaves long ago, Apollyon,” the stallion answered. “You have no right to touch what is paid for.”

“So he is… Him?” Apple Jack quietly whispered to herself.

Apollyon raged, and lunged for him. He was enormous, but the stallion quickly struck down his enemy, and stood the victor.

“Your time will come, Apollyon,” He said. “Come, child,” he directed at Apple Jack.

Apollyon, despite his downfall, seethed, and dove again, but the stallion disappeared this time, along with Apple Jack, leaving something behind. A heart; it was Apple Jack’s heart. It was made of stone, but it was cracked, revealing a soft inside. It too, then, vanished.

* * *

Apple Jack appeared in the middle of a field with the stallion. They stood there for a long while before Apple Jack looked up and spoke.

“Who are you?”

“I am known in your world as Silver Light, son of The Master, father of the Dynasty of the Chosen.”
Apple Jack marveled. “Are you –?”

“I am He.”

AJ stood, and began feeling empty, as if a part of her was missing. Silver Light held something in His hand. It was her heart. Though cracked, it was made of stone.

“This is what you are missing, Apple Jack,” Silver Light started. “Your heart is hard and heavy. I’ve knocked before, and I’ve tried to come in before, but I have been unwelcome every time.”

At this Apple Jack started to cry quietly. Silver Light had hit a very soft spot.

“You need me, and you know this. Your heart, hard as it may be, is redeemable, and I want to redeem it. Are you willing to let me now?”

Apple Jack began to sob; more loudly now, but she nodded apologetically.

Having said this, he set her heart on the ground and crushed it with his right hoof. Apple Jack stared in horror and pain, but instead of being destroyed, the stone ground away and washed in a nearby stream, like sandstone. A smaller flesh heart was left behind. Silver Light breathed on it, and it began to glow.

Silver Light was an earth pony, like Apple Jack, but despite His apparent lack of magic, he somehow began lifting her into the air. He breathed upon her heart again, and both watched it turn to dust. But instead of falling to the ground, it made its way to Apple Jack’s body, which began to glow brightly, much like Twilight’s when she received her wings. Wings… did she just… nope. No wings. But something had definitely changed.

Silver Light spoke again. “Go forth, now. I will be with you, and so will The Master. You have been redeemed. You are now part of the Dynasty of the Chosen. I know you still have many unanswered questions, but trust me. You will, in time, begin to understand.”

Silver Light’s voice began to drift away, but the last of his words that Apple Jack could hear were probably his clearest.

“…Remember, Apple Jack. I will be with you. Share what you now of me. I am needed in every life.”

Apple Jack woke up suddenly, frightened at what she had just experienced. She sat there, under the tree, weeping. She had never felt this way before, and she was completely unaware that Twilight was standing just a few yards away from her. She hadn’t even slept in her own house last night, but instead in the orchard; the part furthest away from the house. Before last night, she knew that her grandmother loved her with all her heart. What she had gone through made so much sense! And yet… something was… off. “You have been given a gift,” a voice said to her. No one else could hear it, but it was not her own. "Your gift was meant to be shared.”

* * *

Twilight stood behind the tree her friend was behind and watched it, not knowing what to do. A plethora of thoughts began eating at her mind. “Why is she crying? She’s Apple Jack! She doesn’t cry, she moves on!” Suddenly it occurred to her that AJ hadn’t quite been herself yesterday either. Something much different was happening.

Her first thought was that she shouldn’t interrupt whatever was happening. Then she recalled Grannie Smith’s words to her.

“...You need to find Apple Jack. She needs you...”

“Here goes…” Twilight thought. She stepped forward, her emotions holding her back. She disregarded them though. This was too monumental. She started forward, taking each step slowly. She was almost to the tree when she heard Apple Jack talking again. As Twilight stepped from behind the tree, Apple Jack let out a little yelp.

Twilight frantically eyed her friend. “What happened, AJ?”

Apple Jack took a very long time to respond. “I… I had a dream. Twilight… I found Him!” she half-cried, half-said.

“Him?”

“Oh my goodness, Twi, it was horrifyin’, and… wonderful,” Apple Jack went on.

She proceeded to tell her the entire story of her dream, from the encounter with Apollyon and her dream savior, Silver Light, to the story of how her heart was cracked and made of stone, and was made new again. For such a crazy-sounding dream, it sounded incredibly rational, considering how changed Apple Jack seemed to be, but Twilight was skeptical. To be perfectly honest, she wasn’t sure she could believe that.

“If He is really who Apple Jack says is, the supposed son of The Master, wouldn’t He have done something to change me, too?” Twilight thought. “After all, He claims to love everypony, but… never mind…”

Twilight kept all her thoughts to herself, instead only vocalizing the ones that told AJ that she was happy for her. But she sensed the pretense.

“You… don’t believe me. Do you Twi?”

“It… just seems unlikely. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true,” she quickly said.

It was almost disturbing that Grannie’s words kept repeating through Twilights mind, but once again they did.

“Look for Him, and He will find you…”

These, now, were words for Twilight, not Apple Jack. Now it was time to find her Him. Or The Him. She wasn't sure which. Twilight was a student of magic, though, and as such, was used to concrete evidence, and logical thinking. This story of Silver Light had never been told to her before, and as true as it seemed, it seemed too good to be true. Apple Jack was her friend, and nothing she could do could ever change that. But what she said… something about it didn’t add up.

* * *

There was one person she knew whose judgment she could trust, though. Pinkie Pie was still in the back of her mind, and she still intended to talk to her, but currently, she needed to talk to the mare who knew everything Twilight knew. She wasn’t supposed to even be her teacher anymore, but she now knew something Twilight didn’t, and she needed to – had to find that out.

Author's Note

The introduction of Silver Light and the mention of The Master in Chapter two was only possible because of "Saint", another user on this site. The Dynasty of the Chosen was my idea, but all renditions of Jesus and God are from his mind, not mine. All credit to said characters goes to Saint Whisper. Go check out his stuff!

Chapter III

Chapter 3

Twilight stayed at the farm with AJ, but both of them eventually made their way to the house, when they parted. Apple Jack began sobbing again when she told Grannie what had happened. After so many years, she had finally found what neither Grannie herself, nor any other pony could seek for her. She now understood Silver Light in a way that Twilight was incapable of. At least, not yet.

As sweet as it seemed, this was a moment reserved for those two, and besides, Twilight HAD to get to Canterlot as soon as possible. Someone resided there whose advice she desperately needed.

The train station was located on the outskirts of Ponyville, in between Fluttershy’s house and the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. It was mostly a silent walk, but as she neared the train station, she began thinking out loud.

"Why is she like this now? So different from yesterday…”

Twilight looked around cautiously, making sure nopony else was around to hear what she was about to say.

“Her parents are still dead, Grannie hasn’t changed at all, and physically speaking, Apple Jack is till the same, too! She understands this whole Him thing, and I don’t. Why don’t I understand?!?”

A few ponies were staring at her; she must have been closer to the station than she thought. She walked to the counter and waited for a clerk to come. It took a while, but eventually one did show up.
“One ticket, Canterlot, round trip,” Twilight said.

“Sixty-two bits,” the clerk returned.

Twilight dug through her bag with her magic to get the coins that the answers to her questions ultimately demanded, while at the same time realizing that prices had gone up. It was fifty-five last time.

Oh, well.

She handed the money to the clerk, who hurriedly cashed it and gave Twilight her ticket.

“Gate 2B.”

Of course. She had made this trip before, many times. She didn’t need anypony telling her which gate she needed to go to. She was about to lash out at him for that, but then realized, by way of his nametag, that he was new here. “Silver Lining,” his tag read, and below it, “Proudly Serving the Ponyville Community for __ months.” He hadn’t even finished his first month. They must have had a high turnover rate if they measured other ponies’ employment there in months, not years.

Twilight made her way to the station, and got on the train. It unexpectedly occurred to her that she could have flown to Canterlot, but she pushed the thought out of her mind. It was simply too far. That was a job reserved for royal guards, and even then, that was a situation where two Pegasi pulled a Princess’s chariot, not just one. Flying was too foreign a thought to her right now, anyway.

As Twilight found her seat that her ticket had defined for her, she looked around. She didn’t normally pay this much attention to other ponies, but this time, she couldn’t help it. There were doctors, lawyers, merchants, and other prestigious members in society. Virtually each and every one’s career was recognizable by his attire. They were all on their way to fulfill their quest in the common city of Canterlot. Twilight couldn’t help staring at each pony for a least a little while. Today, instead of telling herself her normal excuse of “their business is none of mine”, she began pondering how many other ponies in Equestria were feeling as empty as she had been. Maybe… everypony needed the experience that Apple Jack had been subject to – no, not subject to, rescued from.

Maybe even she did.

For such an intricate thought process, she only spent thirty seconds or so thinking before she found her seat, which next to a prominent-looking doctor. She sat down on it and tried to make herself comfortable, which was nearly impossible. Thought STILL drained her brain of all energy that was expendable, which, granted, hadn’t been these past few days.

Sleep didn’t come easily, but Canterlot was quite a ways away, and it eventually came, if for no other reason, then that it was tired of taunting Twilight’s inability to take advantage of it.

* * *

A couple of hours into the trip, Twilight shot awake. She had either dreamed or subconsciously heard a loud noise. She awoke, frantically trying to remember what she and her friends had done to fight off the Changelings before, but quickly realized that there were no Changelings. They were instead passing over a dangerous-looking overpass that looked like it had held train tracks for hundreds of years. As it creaked, she remembered that she had wings, as did a little over half of the rest of the population of the train, so in the event that things turned sour, there was plenty of wing power to prevent any deaths, providing that each Pegasus saved a life. Twilight felt calmer and lay back in her seat. Suddenly, panic hit her all over again. She didn’t feel her seat. Come to think of it, she couldn’t feel any of her hoofs. Her entire body was completely numb. She looked around desperately. She noticed all the other ponies around her. They didn’t even look solid anymore. They all floated around, their shapes loose and waving around, like seaweed, driven and tossed by the water. She wondered how she didn’t notice it before.

The same panic that hit her when all her friends turned against her in the battle against Discord hit her at that moment. She stood up abruptly and began heading toward the back of the train car.

Then it struck her.

Hard.

As she stood up, she left her body, in its entirety, behind. Every degree of terror that had ever struck her affected her at that moment. She still possessed the sensation of breathing, and her soul/spirit – or whatever she was – was hyperventilating. The closest she could come to accurately describing what was happening was something she had read about in one of her books. It was called an “out-of-body experience”. The book said that spells like that were only reserved to powerful unicorns like Starswirl the Bearded, though. The only other time she had ever heard of that spell was in the rare mention of some obscure legend from time long past, even before the Princesses had ruled. Despite the fact that Twilight had “fulfilled her destiny”, like Celestia said, she still didn’t know how to do that spell; which could only mean one thing: someone else must have done it. She didn’t know who, and she anxiously analyzed her situation, trying to find out what may have caused such a surge in arcane energy. She looked around, scanning her surroundings hurriedly, when she found her answer. She saw a unicorn-like creature whose horn was surrounded with smoky-red energy. It penetrated all areas of its environment, transforming the entire landscape, once green and growing, into a barren wasteland, filled with dead, black trees, and complete with spurting flames and an evilly black sky.

She looked back at the unicorn – or whatever it was – and stared into its eyes. It smiled cruelly, and made its way to Twilight. She kept staring at it, half-refusing to believe what her mind told her she was seeing.

Ten seconds later, the creature came to a stop in front of her, and she found herself staring into the distorted face of unmistakable evil.

Twilight was so in shock that her heart skipped a beat – or two. She quit breathing. Somehow, the creature’s smile grew, slowly becoming more and more evil and twisted.

All of a sudden, Twilight remember what Apple Jack had said that Silver Light told her. “I will be with you, Apple Jack.’”

Twilight called out in panic. “Silver Li – ”

“Don’t Bother,” were the creature’s first words. Its voice sounded like 2 voices at once, much like Twilight remembered the changeling queen Chrysalis’s voice. This… creature… was not she, though. Aside from its leathery wings, it held no resemblance.

“Wh – what do you… mean?” Twilight asked.

“I killed Silver Light long ago.”

“But… you COULDN’T have! Apple Jack told me – ”

“All an illusion, my dear.”

“Who are you?” Twilight worriedly asked.

The creature laughed a deep guttural laugh before responding. “Your world once called me Deceiver. Few know of me now, but I still work hard to bring your world to their knees. You, though, were no effort at all.”

Twilight’s face questioned the creature called Deceiver. “What are you talking about?”

He grinned maliciously. “I deceived you into thinking that knowledge was more important that relationships, that you needed this world more than you needed friends.”

Deceiver kept talking and Twilight kept panicking. It was incessant. Everything Deceiver said seemed so true, and the more he spoke, the more depressed she became and the more she began to hate herself for falling for such a seemingly common tactic. The creature must have noticed, because he stopped speaking and began smiling a toothy grin.

Twilight ignored the creature. The events of the day were blurry in Twilight’s mind. The only thing she could really remember clearly was the conversation she had had with Apple Jack.

Wait. Apple Jack. She told me that Silver Light appeared right after that thing was about to kill her. Maybe… will he come for me, too?

Deceiver spoke once more.

“You think you are a strong, valiant mare,” the creature further explained. “You are so sure of yourself, of your logic, that when something comes along that you can’t explain you push it off without a second thought, like the feeling of the future that your pink friend possesses. Now, you are in the midst of death, and you must die. He unsheathed a large obsidian blade that Twilight had not seen before, and rose up to strike her down.

"Now is my moment. Now is when my savior will come."

She watched in exciting expectancy as the blade slowly came down, Deceiver’s face filled with malice. Time slowed. The blade finished its swipe.

It went through Twilight’s heart, and the violet mare’s blood began flowing freely. In the last few seconds of her consciousness, she began seeing a vision: a dull grey thread being held between two pairs of pincers. The thread had a plaque in front of it, which displayed the string’s label: Twilight’s cutie mark. A dark-colored unicorn took up a pair of scissors and brought them to the thread. Twilight now understood. Her life was about to be ended. But as the scissors dramatically began to close over the thread, another pony entered the scene: a large stallion. He used his own hooves to reopen the scissors from the other end; by the blades. But as he did so, the blades pierced through his hooves and his face contorted in pain.

Throwing the scissors aside, he used the blood from his own body to coat the string’s two pieces, almost ritually. Then something miraculous happened. After the pieces floated up into the air and once again became one piece, they began turning from their blood-stained grey to a bright, shining silver. Silver… The stallion looked exactly how Apple Jack had described Silver Light. He slowly turned to Twilight, and mouthed the words “I AM He.” He then disappeared and Twilight went unconscious.

* * *

As Twilight went unconscious in that world, she became conscious in the world where she first laid eyes on Deceiver. She was still in her seat, clicking over the same railroad pass. Nothing had changed. With the exception of her. The lack of change Twilight saw in her environment was made up for the drastic change that had taken place inside of her. She looked around herself, trying to see if anything had truly not changed. But something else had. The doctor who was originally sitting in the seat next to her no longer was. Instead, another stallion pony was. He was slightly rugged-looking, and his cutie mark was a rough-hewn wooden cross in front of both Princess Luna’s and Princess Celestia’s cutie marks, almost as if to say that the cross, or whatever it represented, completely superseded the princesses’ rulership. The pony’s presence indicated to Twilight that she still wasn’t quite in the real world. She looked into the stallion’s eyes. She knew those eyes. Silver Light. She nearly fell off her seat from shock and fear, but the rough stallion caught her. She gazed into his eyes once more, and was greeted by a warm, kind voice that covered all fear, all frustrations. She heard three familiar words escape His mouth:

“I AM He,” he said.

“Who are – Who is He?” Twilight asked in wonder.

“He is I. I am not from here. I hail from another land: the land of hope, dreams-come-true, and forgiveness; the land of eternal life. But long ago, I was born, flesh and blood, into your world. I came to live the same kind of life that the sinful live, but I lived it sinlessly. They hated me. They beat me. They spit upon me.”

He looked down at his cutie mark. “They nailed me to a cross.”

Everything he had been saying would have brought forth a great measure of anger, had it been said by any other. But He said all that He did about them – about what they had done to Him – with pity, with a tone of forgiveness in his voice.

“I came,” he stopped short to regain his composure, and to wipe a single tear. “I came that they – you – might have life, and have it to the full.”

Twilight was moved by Him. “You came to earth and died. For…me? Why? I’m nothing.”

“You are everything. And I love you. I love your world. I want to know you like you know yourself, but deeper.”

Twilight now was driven to the verge of tears.

"To think that somepony would leave the world of perfection – dreams, hopes, eternal life – to live a life as any other pony? Because he loves me? My world? That’s… unheard of! But he did…”

“You came to save me, and my world. How... can you save me?”
Silver Light firmly responded. “I already have saved you. My saving you is my free gift to you, because I love you. Now, all you must do is accept my gift, and spread the joy you experience because of it. In this way, your sharing will bring others to me.

“I want to accept it. But how can I? I don’t deserve it.”

“I have redeemed you. Confess with your mouth that I am Lord in your life, and believe in your heart that my father, The Master, raised me from death. If you believe that in your heart, you will be justified. If you confess it with your mouth, you will be saved. That is how you accept my gift.”

Silver Light’s voice started to fade, and Twilight started to dissolve out of His world.

“Take this. It will help you along your way. Read it, and let Me, through it, be your guide.”

Twilight took a book out of His hoof. On the front, in bold scripted letters read “The Timeless Words of The Master”.

She finally disappeared from that world. A she slowly drifted back into realit, she noticed that she was inside of her body. Her out-of-body-experience had ended, but she was still clutching the book. Time must have not have been concrete in her vision. The train had just finished crossing the rail-bridge over which she had first seen Deceiver, who she now presumed to be one and the same with Apollyon from Apple Jack’s dream.

With nothing to do, time to burn, and book in hoof, Twilight opened up the book and started reading.

In the beginning…

Author's Note

I think its pretty obvious now to my readers who Silver Light is, in at least an allegorical sense. Once again, I'd like to thank Saint Whisper for allowing my the liberty of the use of His characters: Silver Light and the Master. These two characters are not my ideas, so all credit goes to him. Thanks for reading, enjoy, and be looking for the next chapter. I've been on vacation and I had no Wi-Fi or anything, so despite the fact that I've been working on it, I haven't uploaded it yet. I AM almost done though, so it will be coming soon. Thanks, and God bless!

-F-ShyAustin

Chapter IV

Chapter 4

Twilight finished reading the first section of the book, called Genesis. She knew that Genesis was a word from a long-dead language that meant “Origin” or “Beginning”. It was about how The Master had spoken the world, all the planets and stars, Celestia’s sun, and Luna’s moon into existence; how he had created the first night and day, the first fish of the sea, and the first stallion and mare. It even told the story of a great flood that took place, when The Master saw that the mares and stallions of the world had become evil. Although He saved a righteous stallion along with his family and two of every creature on earth, He had to destroy all the rest of His creation. Eventually, the book recounted the history of The Master’s chosen ones, how their nation was built, and how He fulfilled his covenant with them to make them a great nation.

It was all intriguing, and Twilight recognized from the very outset that The Master, though not one to mess around, loved His chosen ones, and never broke His promises. It was almost surreal to think that someone as big as He would want to have a relationship with someone as small as Twilight, or any other pony for that matter.

Twilight resolved that since there were two books, the “Elder Testimony” (in which Genesis was the first book), and the “Good News and Writings of the Redeemed”, she should read both of them “to get the full experience”. She started reading the first book of “Good News and Writings of the Redeemed”, and it wasn’t very far into it that she fully realized that the entire book was about Silver Light: how he came into the world as a foal, was raised by his earthly parents, lived a sinless life, and ultimately died on a cross for the sins of the world. There were four accounts of this, each written by one of Silver Light’s disciples on earth, and each slightly different. But the fourth started out differently.

She began to read.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Master and the Word was Master. The Word was in the beginning with The Master.”

Twilight’s mind wandered slightly. Though she still read consciously, part of her mind pondered upon what she was actually reading. It seemed as if this book was written specifically for Twilight; for the unbeliever in her. It started out in the very beginning – the creation account – and ended with hope and warnings about the end of the world. She let her head edge down and began reading again.

“All things were made in the beginning through Him, and apart from Him, nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of all. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness could not understand it.”

Twilight remembered early in her life, when she was just learning basic levitation spells. Celestia had told Twilight how important it was for her to keep her mind pure, to never let darkness come in, and to always make sure that light dominated in all her studies. She further explained that darkness was never meant to be together with light. They were two completely different things: necessary, but opposite. In the passage that she had just read, it made complete sense, but it seemed as if darkness was personified; almost as if it as a real and living thing. Softly, Silver Light’s voice made its way to Twilight’s mind.

“Apollyon, Deceiver, Destroyer. He goes by many names, but darkness is his residence.

She was confused. If The Master created everything, doesn’t that mean that He created Deceiver and darkness, too? Doesn’t that mean that He created a haven for Deceiver to dwell in?

Yes.

She began to become angry. She was angry with The Master for creating the very idea of darkness, which scared her ever since she was a foal, and for creating… something that – that tried to kill her! If it wasn’t for Silver Light showing up in her dream, she would be a bloody, lifeless mess!

But I did come.

Twilight closed the book in frustration and set it down on its spine, but it stubbornly fell open again, to the middle of a section called “Letters to His Beloved through Isaiah.”

Out of curiosity, Twilight began reading in the middle of the chapter, awestruck by the poetic lines.

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of Master I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north.’”

Twilight mulled the passage over in her mind. She could only assume that “Day Star” and “son of Dawn” were two other names Deceiver carried. But he fell from heaven. Was he…

I made him, too. He wanted to take my Father’s place, to be worshipped as He was worshipped.

He was an angel once – driven mad by his own desire: the prospect of becoming God, becoming The Master; equal.

For a split second, Twilight thought about what it would be like to take His place.

She thought to herself, “To take the place of pure deity? How exciting, how divine!”

How destructive. Silver Light’s voice echoed through her mind once more. Deceiver was selfish. Deceiver was greedy. Deceiver was driven by evil. That… is why we made him leave. We forced him out. It was necessary, for heaven was not meant for his kind to dwell. A third of heaven partook in his folly, seeking royal honor which they did not deserve.

Those were the last words that Twilight heard from Silver Light for the time being - the train was just arriving at Canterlot. Twilight had so many questions to ask her teacher. Why was she purposed to be magical? Who decided that? Why had Celestia never told Twilight about Silver Light? Why was she an alicorn and what REALLY was her destiny? Who was Deceiver, and why had she never encountered him, Silver Light, or the Master before?

Twilight was still confused, and her mind was saturated with questions, but she wasn’t as depressed as she had been two mornings before.

Normally, when she needed to see the princess, she would make an appointment, or she would come to Ponyville. Occasionally, they would be together in social contexts, such as Hearth’s-Warming Eve, a royal wedding, or maybe at the Grand Galloping Gala, but coming and talking to the Princess Celestia on such short notice was generally frowned upon, though not openly by Celestia herself. This was a very rare occurrence, though, and she wouldn’t mind very much, Twilight was sure. She galloped to the castle in which the princesses almost always were, completely ignoring the fact that she was a princess and she should hold herself as such. The task ahead was much too important to let such trivial matters get in the way.

She approached both double doors and opened them slowly with her magic. They were heavier than Twilight remembered, probably because of her high stress levels. She trotted through and approached the princess, whose throne was at the end of a long strip of red carpet, fit for royalty alone.

“Princess Celestia?”

The princess looked up and sighed in what seemed to be much relief.

“Twilight…”

“Is… something wrong?”

She waited awhile before responding, as if she was trying to decide how to respond in the first place. After contemplating, she trotted to a pillar which was beside her throne and magically picked up a rolled-up scroll. “Spike sent this to me yesterday.”

She didn’t bother reading it to Twilight, but instead, gave it to her directly to read for herself.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I know that you are proud of Twilight and of her accomplishments, and I’m glad to have been her assistant during the times that she has been learning. I myself have done my share of growing – mentally and emotionally both. But I am worried. Twilight has fulfilled her destiny. I know she will still need me. Just because she’s a princess now doesn’t mean she’s invincible, but she hasn’t spoken to me at all, almost as if I simply don’t exist. I’m not offended, but I am bothered… and worried. She seems to have something on her mind, and I doubt I can help. What in the world can I, or should I do?

Sincerely, Spike.”

Twilight finished reading the letter, but didn’t look back up. Instead, she kept reading it over and over, trying to figure out how to ask Princess Celestia the questions that had been wracking her brain for the last two days. It seemed the letter she had just read provided a perfect venue through which to respond.

As if on cue, the princess spoke up. “I’ve been worried about you, too, Twilight. What’s going on? I want to help you, to understand what is happening, and I know you’ve grown, but I also know that sometimes, others are not meant to grow alone.”

Twilight almost started crying again. She not only had the princess’s full attention, but she also had been invited to ask every question that she had. She had the gift of time, and she needed it. But she couldn’t spew words, hoping they would come out as rational thoughts. No, she had to take this slowly.

She began by telling the story of the past two-and-a-half days, starting by explaining what had happened the first day: the feeling of being incomplete, and the same feeling being present in Apple Jack. She then explained Apple Jack’s storming out on Grannie, AJ’s divine experience the next day, and her own experiences just hours earlier. There was so much to tell, but Twilight told it all. Celestia listened intently and kindly, taking in every word, every syllable.

It was a long tale, and despite how much stress Twilight had been under, she managed to tell her tale with very little incongruence.

The royal hall was silent for a long time after Twilight finished her story. Finally Celestia mustered up some words.

“Do you still feel empty, Twilight?”

“Well… come to think of it, no… not as much, ever since I talked to Silver Light.”

“He was an earth pony. Wasn’t he?”

“Um… yes,” she answered, though she wasn’t sure why Celestia would ask that.

“Twilight, before I explain anything, I want to tell you something. I know that I told you that I am no longer your teacher in the same way as before. Now, this world is your teacher, just as you are this world’s teacher. But I know something that you don’t know. I want to tell you about what you are; what I am; what Cadence and Luna are: The Essence of the Alicorn. Did Silver Light give you a book that looked like this?”

Celestia looked beside her throne and pulled a book from a small box similar to that which held the Elements of Harmony.

“Yes, he did. That… looks just like –”

“He gave me this… long ago.” Celestia swallowed hard and carefully opened the book to the beginning and began to read. Her voice was firm; powerful.

“In the beginning, The Master created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Celestia spoke again to Twilight. “The Master is the father of Silver Light, who is the son figure of what we call God. But there is a third: the Holy Incarnate. He guides, He corrects, He instructs all who follow The Master.” The Master, Silver Light, and the Holy Incarnate are all God. There are three, and they are one: the Triune. Similarly, there are earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns. They are three, but we are one: the alicorn. We have been put in place as rulers to guide, to teach, and to correct, much like the triune Godhead would.

“The concept of the alicorn is simple. We possess the strength of an earth pony, the magical abilities of a unicorn, and the freedom of flight of the Pegasus. But the earth pony, Pegasus, and unicorn represent so much more than just abilities and gifts.

“The Pegasus represents the Holy Incarnate. It gives life, moral guidance, and freedom, much like flight does to us and our fellow Pegasus friends. Your friends Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are perfect representations of this. Rainbow Dash possesses the gift of freedom of flight, while Fluttershy, though not one to use her wings, was given the gift of effortless communications with animals, a type of freedom very few possess. But ultimately, the Holy Incarnate gives us the ability to access a part of God once reserved only The Master’s chosen ones."

Twilight nodded.

“The unicorn represents the father figure of the trinity: The Master. The unicorn is the representation of the aspect of creativity that The Master possesses. Take for example, your friend Rarity. She has a creative mind when it comes to fashionista. She can create a new outfit for somepony in just a few days, and it can always look different! Or take yourself. You completed the spell that Starswirl the Bearded could not, because you possessed a greater ability to create; to complete something not ever completed before."

Twilight leaned forward in anticipation, but her eyes welled up. She had waited too long for this.

“The earth pony; so plain, so simple. And yet, so divine. The earth pony represents Silver Light, the savior of the world, born into the world as any other, as an earth pony. He was born to serve, much like Pinkie Pie and Apple Jack. Pinkie serves. She serves her friends, and she serves the Ponyville community. And while her job, a mere baker, may seem like a less-dignified occupation, it is how she uses it that is so wonderful. She uses her talent to give back to her town, to try to become the friend of all, and ultimately to serve. Apple Jack is much the same way, in the sense that she uses her intuition to know when to do what on Sweet Apple Acres. She has the ability to get down and do the dirty work that others –”

Celestia chuckled.

“–that others, like Rarity, would shy away from. AJ does work in much the same way as Silver Light would have done it during his time on earth: selflessly and carefully, but with an ultimate purpose in mind.”

“I – I never thought–”

“I had the truth revealed to me,” the princess interrupted. “I thought I had fulfilled my destiny, and in a sense, I had, but I had no idea who Silver Light, the Holy Incarnate, or The Master even were. I, too, was once in the place you are in now.”

Twilight mused on what Celestia meant, finally settling on a truth that she would have never previously thought possible: Princess Celestia, her mentor and teacher, was just like her.

“Twilight,” the princess began again. “We were put in place by God to rule all the different types of ponies. He chose us because He knew we would do so with the same intent that He would: to rule in love, to hold a firm grasp on order, and to protect our own. THAT is what makes friendship magic, Twilight. You were called to fulfill your destiny from the very beginning. The Master qualifies the called. He doesn’t call the qualified. You weren’t qualified, because you didn’t understand friendship like you do now, but through an understanding of friendship, you became qualified to fulfill your destiny, which is–”

“To rule with love, grace, and purpose, just like Silver Light, The Master, and the Holy Incarnate would,” Twilight blurted.

“…You truly do understand,” Celestia smiled. “I am so proud of you, Twlight.”

Twilight grinned like she never had before. She still had many unanswered questions, but she didn’t need the answers. Not yet. Those questions, elusive as they may be, would be answered in time. She knew. She knew why she was purposed to be a ruler, and ultimately, she knew her purpose in life. She knew her destiny, and destiny now called.

Author's Note

This Chapter was incredibly hard to write, because I had to make sure I kept Celestia and Twilight both in character, while at the same time not infringing on doctrinal truths established by Christianity. It was, all in all, a pretty fun chapter to write, though. If I made any mistakes, please be sure to point them out to me. I am extremely open to constructive criticism.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter V

Chapter 5

Apple Jack didn’t normally sleep this late.

Wow. 8 o’clock.

She finally managed to work up the steam to get out of bed, and began awkwardly stumbling around, as was her daily routine. She stepped a hoof out of her bedroom and peeked around the corner to see if Big Mac had gotten up yet. Most likely he had, and most likely Grannie was still in bed. Yup. She didn’t need to come any closer to hear the distinct snores.

The thought of Silver Light crossed Apple Jack’s mind. She wasn’t finished yet; she knew she had been redeemed. As Silver Light said, she had now been grafted into the “Dynasty of the Chosen”, and though she wasn’t even sure what that meant, she had a feeling that it was the reason she felt so different.

The day before, she had cried into Grannie’s shoulder, apologizing over and over for not listening to her pleas to seek Him; Today, although she wasn’t as emotional as she was when she first woke from her dream – or vision. She wasn’t sure which it was yet. In fact, she was sure about very few things right now. She had spent most of her life living the life of a good pony, but now, the only thing she knew was that she wasn’t finished yet. There were still more tasks to complete; there were still more questions to be answered.

Apple Jack’s redemption didn’t explain why her parents had died the way they had. In fact, she was more confused about it than ever.

There’s gotta be a book or sumthin’ in Twilight’s library that I can borrow that says something about this whole thing.

The Ponyville library would be her first stop, then. That is, after she finished all of today’s things-to-do. Hopefully she would get to it today.

She walked with purpose now, something that she had begun noticing just recently. She had been completely changed – the way she walked, held herself, thought of herself, and worked the farm. They had all changed.

In the eyes of any other pony, Apple Jack went about her daily routine in much the same way as she had any other day, but to AJ, this wasn’t any other day. She was changed, and for the better; she did what she did normally differently. At least, in her opinion she did. She bucked about half the trees in the west orchard, which was a good three hours of work; she remembered that she needed to go help Big Macintosh carry the apple barrels to the barn. She galloped over to the orchard by the house, where they had bucked the trees the day before; she spotted Big Mac trying to lift one of the barrels onto his back, which was normally a job reserves for two people. Apple Jack snickered. Big Mac was always the one who tried to do things himself.

“Hey Big Mac! You gonna lemme help?” Apple Jack shouted across the orchard as she ran toward him.

He stopped straining at the load, looked up and smiled. “Eeyup!”

He hardly ever spoke, something AJ still didn’t quite understand. Maybe she’d been around Pinkie Pie too much and talking was becoming a little too normal. Memories of Pinkie’s incessant questioning of “cherry-chonga” or “chimi-cherry” still echoed through her mind, but they made her smile a little anyway.

“Welp, let’s get a move on,” Apple Jack said as she finished thrusting the apple barrel on Big Mac’s shoulders. He walked away, looking at Apple Jack a little curiously, but he turned back around humming a little tune their mother used to sing them when they were just foals. It normally made Apple Jack ache a little inside when he did something that brought up memories like that, but today was a completely different scenario. Wasn’t it? Of course I was; she was sure of it.

She followed Big Mac to the barn to get the wagon, after deciding that carrying one barrel at a time wasn’t very efficient. They had a lot of work to do today, since a lot of the work was left for Big Mac to do himself. Apple Jack’s time spent talking to Grannie the day before was not a waste, but it did eat a significant chunk of time out of the day.

The mare called out. “Hey Big Mac! I’m gonna get the wagon. We’ll get more done that way, don’cha ya think?”

Her older brother nodded energetically with approval. “Eeyup!”

She trotted over to the end of the barn where the wagon was stored and hitched herself to the front. It had been awhile since it had been used, and the wheels were a little stuck in the ground. Apple Jack managed to pull it out with a little effort, though.

“Alright, let’s get to it!” she barked, catching Big Mac a bit off-guard. She laughed a little. He was always the tiniest bit shy and normally flinched when he got shouted at. It didn’t happen too often anymore, but then, he hadn’t taken any of Grannie’s apple fritters lately either.

Big Macintosh was almost always silent, and never one to speak too many words at one time, so when he did, it was a relatively monumental event. His gruff voice spoke up.

“You ok, AJ?”

She glanced over at him, taken a little unawares by his questioning, rather than his customary “Nnope” or “Eeyup”.

“Yeah, why?”

“You seem different. Happier?”

“Yeah. Did Grannie tell you anythin’?”

He smiled mischievously. “Nnope. But I might’ve… overheard something. Finally found Him, did you?

“Yup. Took me long enough, huh?”

He laughed before answering. “Eeyup. I always thought you would, I just wasn’t sure when.”

“How long?” Apple Jack asked of Big Mac, in reference to how long since he’d first encountered Silver Light.

He thought it over. “Twelve years. But my experience wasn’t as scary as yours. He wanted in my heart, so I let ‘im in.

“You were only ten? How was it so easy for you?”

He chuckled, but his face quickly changed to a solemn expression, something she hadn’t seen to that effect since she had tried to convince him that she could buck the entire Sweet Apple Acres in week by herself. “It wasn’t easy. But after Mom and Dad passed, I had to learn to trust somethin’ – someone – else. I… cried. A lot.

“Most nights, I cried myself to sleep. But one night I had a dream. Silver Light showed, and He told me who He was and what He wanted to give me: life, and life everlasting. I always heard Mom and Dad talk to us about that, and we never took ‘em seriously, but after seeing how fast life could be snatched away, eternal life sounded a whole heck of a lot more appealin’. So of course, I let Him in, and, well, you know the rest of the story.”

“That's more words than I've spoke since I knew ya,” he said matter-of-factly.

Apple Jack had never heard Big Macintosh talk for that long.

I… I think I understand now. I’ve run away from all this because I thought Mom and Dad weren’t no more. They were finished, and Silver Light couldn’t exist if ponies died like my parents did. But He does. He was tryin’ to show me somethin’ through it all. Big Mac understood, and I didn’t. Not ‘till now.

“I think I get it,” Apple Jack said after a long silence, and after having trotted at least another thousand feet. “The end–”

“– is where we begin,” Big Mac completed her sentence, as if he had known what she was thinking the entire time.

“Their earthly end was ultimately their beginning, and now, it’s our job to lead other ponies to see the same thing through Him.”

Big Mac smiled big. “Eeyup!”

Satisfaction snuck onto Apple Jack’s face, until she sported a full-blown grin.

* * *

Being afternoon, Twilight wouldn’t be able to get back to Ponyville until at least midnight, so she took up Princess Celestia’s offer to stay overnight in one of the castle rooms. As always, it was more comfortable than her bed at home, however foreign it may have felt.

She got up the next morning feeling incredibly refreshed. It was a new day, and not meant as an intentional cliché this time. It really felt like it. It felt full of life and opportunity. Many times when Twilight was on the train, it was to save the world; most recently, the Crystal Empire. Today, though, despite the world being intact without Twilight’s and her friends’ expertise, she felt like she had saved it. Or maybe she felt like she could take it on – subdue it; make it see the love of Silver Light. Yes. Celestia’s song still echoed through her mind.

♫…to fulfill your destiny… ♪

Destiny… destiny wasn’t such a curious thing after all, was it? Except… it occurred to Twilight that her destiny wasn’t at all what she thought it might be. Frankly, she wasn’t at all looking forward to ruling ponies, day and night, for the rest of her life, or whatever the immortal renderings of what alicorns lived were. She had been looking seemingly into foresight, somewhat mesmerized by the possibility of ruling in the manner that Silver Light had intended for the alicorn race, but she realized that pursuing the skeptics, and relating to them the love, joy, and happiness offered by serving The Master, Silver Light, and Holy Incarnate – the Three – was her destiny. This was her ultimate purpose, her reason for living – and not at all something she would have decided for herself.

This… destiny… was conjured up and predefined by The Master long ago, in the depths of creation, before Twilight even existed. To turn down that destiny, despite the fact that Twilight truly wanted to pursue it, would be nothing short of betrayal. After the blood and tears that Silver had shed for her – for everypony – there was no backing down now. She was committed – grafted into perfection. And now, she had every intention of fulfilling those perfect expectations of spreading the love of Silver Light. That was final.

Twilight gathered her belongings, which included nothing short of her royal decorations and her saddle bag, and walked out her quarters’ door, to be greeted by the warm sun. She must have slept in later than usual, which was definitely out of place for somepony as organized as she, but it was of no consequence.

She made sure to leave a thank-you note for Celestia, for her generosity with both her time and the castles quarters. Out of habit, she signed the note “Sincerely, your faithful student Twilight”, but quickly crossed it out and rewrote her benediction as “Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle” in a more scriptish Equestrian. She may as well start practicing that closing now and now was as good a time as any.

She pulled out her round-trip ticket, which, as funny as is seemed, had been purchased under completely different circumstances, and levitated it in preparation for presentation to the station clerk. Princess Twilight Sparkle had temporarily left Ponyville, and now she was coming back. This time, though, she had a new credential on the back of her name: “Princess Twilight Sparkle, Child of The Master”. It was time to go home.

Author's Note

It's been over a month since I've published a new Chapter, but trust me, this story is still alive a kicking! This is the shortest Chapter that I've uploaded, but I think it's the best written and definitely the most interesting. Of course, there are differenc perspectives between authors and readers, so tell me what you think!

There are two major references in this chapter that you may or may not get. If you find them, be sure to post a comment to say what you think it is, and where it comes from. I'll reveal that in bout a month.

***Here's a hint, though. They're both dialogue.***

Chapter VI

Chapter 6 (Incomplete)

Fluttershy looked around. She was in the Everfree Forest. There really wasn’t anybody here – just her, Angel and nature itself. And Him or course. That was always obvious. But was He really there?

“What’s so special about me?” Fluttershy asked herself. “I’m just a yellow mare with wings. Is there more to this whole thing? I just feel empty…”

Questions flew through her mind as fast as she could ask them – questions about identity, questions about who she truly was. Was she just pretending? She had broken before during her episode with Iron Will. Was that who she truly was? Was the Fluttershy that everyone knew and loved just a mask?

“Who am I?” She wondered aloud. “Am I really me? Or am a just a masked monster?”

Fluttershy’s parents weren’t ever really the best. Her mom deserved some credit, but her father was very absent during her growing-up years. It had taken a very long time for her to break through and finally trust Silver Light for who he really was. She had just always seen Him like she had seen her own father. Absent, uncaring, unloving. Maybe? Or… yeah. Maybe.

It was doubt. It had found a tiny crack in Fluttershy’s trust and burrowed in like a worm seeking warmth. That’s really all it was – a pest.

Fluttershy stopped and turned to Angel.

“What am I supposed to do? Sit back and let this thing eat at me? I’m tired of being a pushover! What’s so hard about letting Him take over?!”

Fluttershy rarely got this loud, but this time, it wasn’t just volume. It was tears, too. Angel looked her in the eyes and glared. He pointed at the ground with his foot and tapped.

“Stand here? Why?”

Angel motioned for her to be quietly. Fluttershy looked around and stood where Angel pointed. It was right next to a massive tree, as least twice as wide as Fluttershy was tall. She looked up slowly, scaling its height with her eyes, following it up, further. She never reached the top. It just wasn’t there. As she stood, neck craned and confused, she looked back down, trying to regain her senses.

“Whaa…?”
She felt like she was looking for something that wasn’t there – because… well, because it wasn’t. Pretty simple, actually.

“…Looking for something that’s not there… That’s… familiar…”

Fluttershy had been thinking, but at this point her eyes flooded with tears again. That thought process surfaced a bunch of memories that she had tried so hard to suppress.

“…Looking for something that wasn’t there…”

A father.

Security.

Trust.

A friend.

So many things she wanted, and so badly, too. But they had all been seemingly denied to her.
Everything froze. Nothing moved, save for Fluttershy blinking and the wind rustling through the trees.

“You have a past. But you don’t have to hold onto it.”

Fluttershy heard the voice. It sounded like it was coming from a fairly long way off, and yet, so close; so clear. And familiar. She knew that voice beyond the shadow of a doubt. It had to be Him.

Fluttershy could hear Silver Light, but she couldn’t see Him – not unless she closed her eyes. She leaned against the tree and closed her eyes once more and fell into a deep, long-awaited sleep.

* * *

Foreword

Foreword:

I first had this idea when I started watching My Little Pony. Yes, I am a brony, but I tend to portray what I see in the show as a representation of what I think the producers, Lauren Faust and Jayson Thiessen, see in some aspect of their own lives. They do (and did) so with no shortage of creativity and imagination. What I’m going to attempt to do here it to put the characters from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic into a loose sort of allegory. I don’t doubt that this will be relatively difficult, but at the same time, I tip my hat to Thiessen and Faust. They, coupled with their intuitive intellect and imagination, have managed to develop every character in the show, complete with their flaws, their weaknesses, their strengths, their pasts (though the interpretation of such takes a keen eye and listening ears), and especially their prospective futures. I intend to delve into and define their pasts, something that isn’t clearly defined in the show. I’m sure that I’ll have PLENTY of material to work with. Before I start, though, a disclaimer. Although I plan to incorporate the same personalities of the characters in the show into the characters in this Fan-fiction, I am in no way associated with Hasbro (although I’d like to be), nor do I own any part of the characters of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

To those of you MAY be reading this out of curiosity, welcome to the herd. You’re soon to be drawn in by the genius of the characters’ personality, as well as identify with the struggles they all face.

BROHOOF TO ALL!!!

/)*(\