The Deepest Magic

Canterlot, Train Station
April 6, 12:58 PM

Celestia watched Twilight follow her friends aboard the train. She had accompanied them to the station to see them off on a mission she never wanted to give. But with Sky still unconscious and the Chimera posing a very real threat to the city of Foalumbus, she was left with no choice.

Shining Armor had already dispatched a troop of pegasus knights to Foalumbus in hopes of beating the Chimera there. The rest of his guards had boarded the train before Twilight and the others. Celestia typically did not approve of such a show of force, but the threat was too great. She hoped it would support the citizens more than frighten them.

“Well, this is it,” Twilight said, standing in the doorway. She twisted her head around to look into the cabin and muttered something before returning her attention to the princess. As she spun back around, the tiara on her head glistened in the sunlight. “I wish that Sky was coming with us.”

Celestia eyed the Element of Magic carefully. “We all do,” she consoled. “And maybe he will join you. But right now, we need you to go in his place. I am sure you’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Twilight replied. “I still remember that first encounter with the Chimera. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Night Mare Moon was evil, but she only wanted to rule and get her way. Discord was…well, he was just chaotic. And Chrysalis was only looking for power and somewhere to grow her empire. The Chimera…it just wants to destroy. It doesn’t care what it is. It just runs on inflicting pain and torment on everything. It’s…terrible.” She shuddered from the memory.

Celestia stepped forward and raised Twilight’s head with her hoof. “Then you will need to be stronger than its hatred. Remember what the magic of friendship has seen you through, and you will have no need to fear the Chimera.”

Twilight gazed into the alicorn’s eyes for several seconds, apparently lost in thought. Finally, her eyes broke free, bringing a determined look to the unicorn’s face.

“Right,” she said confidently. “We’ve faced an entire invading army before. What’s one monster?” She smiled broadly, but Celestia could see the tinges of doubt behind her student’s brave face.

“Remember, this isn’t your journey alone. You have your friends with you. Rely on them, and let them rely on you. Your strength is each other.” She stepped back as the horn sounded at the front of the train of cars. “Be safe.”

“We will,” Twilight replied as the door shut. She continued to hold her student’s gaze, even as the train began to crawl from the platform. As the car began to speed up, Celestia found herself trotting alongside it, unwilling for it to leave her sight. Twilight pressed her hooves against the glass, staring with wide eyes at her teacher. As the platform ended, Celestia came to a screeching halt as Twilight’s face escaped her view.

She had never felt so apprehensive about dispatching the Elements against a foe. Night Mare Moon. Discord. Even Chrysalis and the changelings. None of them had truly scared Celestia as much as the Chimera. It had already shown its complete disregard for life, and its imminent descent upon Foalumbus indicated that its thirst for destruction had not been satisfied. And now, she had sent her most faithful, capable subjects against it. She felt her teeth pressing into her lip.

“Please,” she whispered, “let me be right about this.”

Lily’s heart sank as she watched the train depart the station. Celestia stood silently upon the arrival platform, and even from this distance, she could sense the anguish the princess was feeling. She raised her horn into air as it began to glow, and an eerie stillness fell over the nearby area as her calming spell took effect. She wasn’t certain that it would reach the princess, or if it would even have any effect on a pony as powerful as she was, but it made her feel just a bit better to be doing something to help. It was better than nothing.

In the streets below, life in Canterlot continued as it always did. Ponies wandered the streets, waving and chatting to each other on their way to and fro. There were Equestrians from all walks of life: there were the high-brow, upper-class citizens that Canterlot was known for; the normal, working ponies that drove the prosperity of the capital city; the royal guards that held their silent vigil over the city every moment of every day (and night); and, of course, there were the visitors to the city, including tourists and travelers that simply wanted to come just so they could say that they “had been there.”

But even in the midst of all the citizenry, Lily couldn’t help but focus on the one pony that wasn’t there. He was here, in the palace, lying motionless in a sleep that he might never emerge from.

Her spell faded as she turned and walked back inside from the patio. The open doors had let in the fresh air, which she had hoped would lighten her mood. Unfortunately, it had not. Instead, it had simply given her more to see through a gloomy perspective.

She reprimanded herself for being so depressed, but deep down she felt that there were few things that she could feel positive about. Her home was destroyed. Her boyfriend was in a coma. Most of her friends had been consumed by a monster, and may be lost forever, and what few had not suffered that fate were now pitted in an increasingly hopeless battle against that same monster. Her life was in tatters. The only positive feeling she could find was hope: hope that somehow, somepony would find a way to undo all the tragedy and save Equestria from this nightmare.

And that somepony was lying in that bed.

She crawled onto the bed and laid herself beside Sky’s sleeping frame. She reached over and somewhat playfully ruffled his mane with her hoof. “I’ve only known you for a few weeks,” she said softly, “but it’s been long enough for me to know that you’re not this lazy. You’ve overslept.”

She eyed the pegasus curiously, hopeful (but not expectant) for some change to occur. After a few moments of no activity whatsoever, she began to speak again. “The empire’s in danger,” she began. “The Chimera’s on the loose, and we aren’t sure that we can stop it.” Suddenly, her words began to flow in a torrent, as she found herself unable to hold them back. She stood up, looking straight into Sky’s face as her speech stopped only for the occasional sob. “Oh, Sky, Polarmino’s gone! It’s completely gone! The Chimera went there and destroyed it! It went there to get me, but I had already come here, so it just destroyed everything! And now it’s on its way to Foalumbus! Foalumbus, Sky! Your family! Your sister! That’s where they are! The Chimera is trying to destroy everything and everypony you care about! You need to save them! They need you!”

Sky still lay motionless in the bed, heedless of Lily’s pleadings. She could hear her heart pounding in her head, like the up-tempo beat of a club song. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just…I don’t know how much more I can take. I’ve almost lost everything, Sky. My friends, my home…maybe even you. And if it doesn’t stop…I don’t know how I’ll go on.”

She slowly returned to her position of lying beside Sky. She leaned in close to him and lightly touched her nose against his. “Come back, Sky. I need you.”

“Hnnngggaaaaaaaahhhh!!!”

He lurched forward, pulled by some force outside of his own will. Finally mastering himself, he stopped, trying to figure what he had just experienced. “What…what was that?”

Ahead of him, the dreadful city of lights continued to shower the entire area in a terrible revealing glow. He had managed to gradually inch closer to the city over the last however-long-he-had-been-here, but in reality, it wasn’t really that much closer. He just couldn’t muster up the courage to encounter those lights...especially so many of them.

Until just now.

It had been amazing. A surge of energy and desire so powerful that he had completely forgotten his fear and had rushed headlong towards the source of his urging before he realized what he was doing.

He stared at the glowing hub before him, trying to concentrate. “Is it you?” he asked. “Are you calling me again?”

Expecting an answer?

“Maybe not with words,” he replied to the voice. “But if I can feel the influence of this…whatever it is, maybe I can make it respond to me. Maybe I can find out what it is, exactly.”

I thought you already knew what it was. It’s a creature; a life form.

“I do know that,” he agreed. “But I don’t know what its connection is to me. Why do I feel what I do in response to it? Is it looking for me? Does it know who I am, or who I used to be? It might be the key to answering all of my questions.”

The voice was silent. He calmly waited for a reply, but no response could be heard. “What? No advice to offer here?” he asked, trying to bait the voice into perhaps revealing something.

What good would advice do? You already seem to have made up your mind to go find this thing and discover what it is and what it knows about you. All you have to do is go after it.

The suggestion sent a disturbing ripple through his thoughts. It was true: the only thing he could do was go and find this creature. It was the only way to learn anything. But the problem lay in getting there. It was surrounded by countless other creatures, whose presence intimidated him to the point where approaching them required every ounce of willpower he had. And if there were more than one of them…well, it wasn’t likely that he would be approaching at all.

Ah, but that’s right…you’re scared of all the other lights in there. What a conundrum.

The suspicion that the voice was less of a friend than it appeared rose again in his mind. If the voice had merely been joking or teasing him, it would have been fine. But this didn’t feel like a simple joke. This was…mockery. It offered no valuable advice on how to approach the problem, nor did it offer any actual support. It was as though it wanted him to stay where he was. It was like it wanted him to be miserable, stuck in the mire of making a choice between two impossible options.

“Some help you are,” he retorted. “You just keep talking, yet very little of what you say is actually of any use. Are you just infatuated with your own voice?”

Hmph. So this is how you repay all the help I’ve given you? With ridicule?

“Help? What help?” he countered, almost laughing at the irony of the response. “Everything that’s happened up to this point has come about by my own decisions! It seems obvious to me now that every time I ask you something, your response has done nothing but muddy the issue and cloud my judgment. You don’t want me to move forward. You’re trying to stall me.” He paused as a new line of reasoning became clear to him. “What is it that you’re afraid of?”

He thought that he heard a deep, menacing growl, but it disappeared after a moment. What would I have to be afraid of?

“I don’t know, but I think I’m beginning to understand. Whatever it is that’s in there,” he said, looking at the city again, “you don’t want me to get to it. Something will happen when I find it, and you’re scared of whatever that is.”

You sound quite certain of yourself. But I am merely a voice. What could happen that I would be afraid of?

“I’m wondering if you’ll disappear once I find that light.”

An eerie laughter filled his thoughts. Disappear?! the voice cackled. Oh, I can assure you, I will not disappear. I am quite permanent.

“But every voice has a source,” he thought. “And now I wonder if it isn’t me that you’re scared of. Not me as I am now,” he said, explaining himself, “but what I may become.” He let the statement sink in. “It’s me that you fear, isn’t it? You’ve done nothing but try and hold me back for what little memory I have.” He suddenly felt a rise of emotion within him as the truth became clear in his head. “I’m supposed to get in there and find that light. And you’re terrified that I just might do it.”

The voice was silent, but he wasn’t done. “I don’t know what makes me so scared of the other lights, but I know enough to know a villain when he speaks. And I’m through with listening to your lies and advice. I know where I belong, and it’s in there, with that light! It calls to me, beckoning me to make a decisive choice, not sit around, doing nothing but weighing my options! I don’t care about the fear anymore! I’ll get nowhere if I just stay here! I’m willing to face my fears!

“And, whatever happens, I will live with the outcome.”

I see. Then be off. I have no use for one who scorns my advice. But I dare say that if you find what you seek, then you will understand what I have told you, and you will yearn to be able to make your choice again.

“But I will face the future, not run from it,” he replied. “I’m done stalling. Enjoy the rest of your existence. I don’t need you anymore. In fact, I think I’ll enjoy the silence.”

He steadied his mind as he stared into the glowing city before him. In a flash, he broke into a full charge toward it, throwing off his fear. “No more waiting.”