Chapters Dear Princess Celestia,
Today, my friend Pinkie Pie discovered something rather extraordinary. What do you know about the mirror pool?
Twilight Sparkle frowned at the frankness of her letter. It wasn't typical for her to send a letter asking a simple question, but she needed answers. After what she did, she needed closure that it was the right thing. She'd tried to rationalize that it could wait until morning, but every second that ticked by, she couldn't help thinking about where she had sent those Pinkie clones. She didn't kill them, she knew that much, unicorn magic is never that powerful, unless fueled by vicious hatred. It was a teleportation spell that she'd used, but using a teleportation spell without a destination in mind can sometimes have disastrous results.
Twilight paced around the room frantically, stopping every once and a while to check the clock as its hands crawled painfully slowly across the face. Outside, the sky was dark with the promise of morning in a few hours, but now, not even a star grazed the empty sky to make up the breathtaking celestial she loved so dearly.
"Relax, Twilight..." Spike murmured from his bed in the corner of the room, watching Twilight gaze out her window in the direction of Canterlot. "The Princess almost never sends mail this late at night..."
"You don't understand!" Twilight exclaimed, turning to face Spike. "This is important! Surely the Princess will understand!"
Spike started to object, when suddenly, his sentence was cut short by a loud belch.
The scroll fluttered to the ground, but Twilight dove across the room to catch it. Spike rolled his eyes while Twilight frantically unfurled the letter. The letter was as frank as Twilight's, but coming from the Princess, the urgency of the letter sent Twilight into a swirl of fear.
Your presence is urgently requested in Canterlot. Please come alone, Twilight. It is time.
Twilight watched the lonely fields pass from the windows as the train tore through the countryside. Outside, the first glimpses of sunlight broke the jet-black night. Twilight thought of the Princess, standing on her platform, the top of her horn exploding into a shimmering spectacle of light, scattering across the land towards the East.
The train broke into a tunnel, and the light disappeared. The train rocked gently, but this was the only sound that interrupted Twilight's own train of thought. At this hour, almost all the carriages were deserted. When the train finally tore from the tunnel, Canterlot could be seen in the crepuscular morning light.
Twilight tore through the castle courtyard and up the spiral steps to the Princess's office, where she would undoubtedly be waiting. Why had she been so frank and shocked with her reply? Did she somehow offend her?
Princess Celestia was looking out the window when she entered.
"Good morning Twilight. Thank you for coming on such short notice," Princess Celestia said simply, without turning her head.
"Princess Celestia! What's wrong? Has something happened?"
Celestia chuckled softly, before turning to face her student. "I suppose I should be asking you that same question."
Twilight hurriedly explained the events of the previous day. How Pinkie had cloned herself, but oh, please don't blame her, she didn't know any better...
"And so I teleported all the Pinkies back where they came from..." Twilight finished, exhaling deeply as the Pinkie Pie-esque rant was over. "You do know about the Mirror Pool, right Princess?"
"Oh, yes, all to well. I was wondering when this day would come. I supposed part of me was hoping it never would... but such hopes are illogical."
Twilight blinked in confusion. "Pardon me, Princess?"
"Twilight, the Mirror Pool is unlike anything I have ever seen. Pinkie Pie used it for cloning, but its also capable of a much greater purpose. Are you familiar with the multi-universe theory?" Celestia was now crossing the large room towards Twilight, wearing a solemn expression.
"That there is more than one universe connected to Equestria? A parallel version of our own?"
"Not exactly parallel, and yet not drastically alien, either. Different choices may be made by different ponies, and the world may vary greatly from what we know, but it will be Equestria all the same. Twilight, the mirror pool is a gateway to another world, perhaps an unlimited amount of worlds. Pinkie wasn't cloning herself when she found the mirror pool, she was extracting alternate versions of herself from these separate realities."
Twilight was lost for words for a moment, simply nodding her head to show she understood. The idea of meeting herself, without the burdens of time travel (she simply did not want to go through THAT again) was more than fascinating.
"Twilight, the time has come, for you to make your own choice, perhaps the most important of all. Through the mirror pool lies another Equestria, one with a history darker than ours, yet intertwined with ours. I need to ask you to do something that I would never entrust with any other pony in Equestria," Celestia was now face to face with Twilight, her solemn expression replaced with something Twilight had never seen of Princess Celestia. The Princess of the Sun was afraid. "You need to be the one to do this Twilight..."
"What... what about Princess Luna? Or Shining Armor? I mean, its not like I'm a figure of royalty or anything..."
Celestia chuckled softly before shaking her head. "If they could go, believe me, I would send them along with you, but unfortunately that cannot be so."
Twilight was annoyed by the Princesses secrecy, but knew better than to show it. "Is it...dangerous?"
"Not to you, Twilight. You are the most trustworthy pony I can send."
"Why though? With all respect Princess, I need to know all the details before I agree to..."
The Princesses solemn expression returned, causing Twilight to trail off. "I understand your skepticism, Twilight, but I don't know fully the reason myself. But I have seen the evidence before me. A long time ago."
Twilight Sparkle thought for a long time about those last words. She'd never known the princess to be oblivious to something, especially something so "dark" and "dangerous." But she knew one thing for certain. The Princess was relying on Twilight, and she was not about to let her down.
"I'll do it," Twilight said simply, and Celestia nodded.
Princess Celestia wasted no time in explaining.
"Twilight, a long time ago... a little over a thousand years, I was visited by a most peculiar pony. Or, I should say, I found him peculiar at the time. This pony gave me explicit instructions to speak with a pony named Twilight Sparkle regarding these matters once something called the "Mirror Pool" was mentioned by Twilight Sparkle herself."
Twilight was stunned. "M...me? But... how is that possible? How can a pony from so many years ago know about me?"
"This ponies name was Starswirl the Bearded. Perhaps that answers your question?"
"You mean... THE Starswirl the Bearded? The most renowned conjurer in all of Equestria?"
"The one and only. You may not realize it, Twilight, but you will achieve great things. Starswirl always had a strange habit of studying history in both directions," Princess Celestia chuckled at this, as if reliving some distant memory. "You can imagine my surprise the day I dropped in on your magic exam when you were a filly. The name "Twilight Sparkle" was one I had nearly forgotten. And yet it isn't until now, so many years from then, that I can finally fulfill Starswirls instructions."
"And what might those instructions be, Princess?"
Princess Celestia began her slow trek back to the window, before suddenly turning and using her magic to close the door to her office. After she had done so, she spoke. "As I have explained, the Mirror Pool is not merely a pool with magical properties, but a gateway. And now, in another realm, that much is known. As a matter of fact, it is known through quite a large number of alternate Equestrias."
"Meaning what, exactly? Those Pinkies may try to return?"
"Oh, heavens no. If that were Starswirls great fear, then I would regard him as much of a madman now as I so foolishly did then. No, Twilight. What if another one of those realms were not, shall we say, as...diplomatic as ours. What if, say, in another Equestria, Princess Luna and I had been unsuccessful in our efforts to thwart Discord?"
"Then... he'd have easy access into our world!" Twilight realized, cursing herself for not considering this sooner.
"Exactly. However, whether or not Discord is the problem remains to be seen. You see, Starswirl was significantly vague in his futuristic predictions. I must apologize for this, but much like yourself, I badgered him for more information, but received none. I'm sure Starswirl had good reasons for holding it back from me, but at the moment it is his secrecy which has prevented me from knowing for sure what lies beyond the mirror pool."
Twilight thought about why Starswirl would have been so secretive about this. What good reason would he have to withhold such important information, from the Princess no less.
"Is it safe to assume that we should take the Elements of Harmony with us?" Twilight asked.
"I'm sorry, I truly am, but your friends cannot accompany you on this journey. You need to do this alone. Which leads me to my last instruction. No matter what the consequences, no matter how important you may think it is, you must promise not to interfere with the lives of the other ponies," Princess Celestia paused, contemplating exactly how she should word her next point without it sounding too terrible. Deciding it was impossible, she continued. "This means that if you are the only pony standing in the way between the life or death of another, even your friends, you must..."
"Let...them die? But... how? How can I do that?"
"Twilight, your interference in another realm brings both of ours in grave danger. You need to let things occur in the natural progression of time. Whatever does not directly correlate with the safety of our world does not concern us, and I need you to promise you will allow these events to occur."
"I... I promise, Princess," Twilight sighed, but then thought about how unlikely a life and death scenario would be in Ponyville in which the bearers of the elements of Harmony could not handle it alone.
"Good," The Princess replied, before turning and lifting a scroll of her desk. "Now then, lastly, this scroll has been in my possession ever since that visit from Starswirl. Please take it with you, and use it when its necessary, and only then."
Twilight nodded, and the two shared their farewells. As Twilight turned to leave the room, Princess Celestia spoke.
"Ah, I forgot to mention, do you still have your Nightmare Night costume in your possession?"
Twilight had been unaware that Celestia had known about it. "Yes, Princess..."
"Good. I think it would be wise to take it with you."
The sun was high above the trees as Twilight walked through the Everfree Forest, her saddle-pack filled with what Princess Celestia had instructed her to bring.
Ahead, was a thick forest of brambles, knotted together in a nearly impenetrable wall of foliage. Twilight used her magic to separate them, and saw that the path twisted downwards towards an underground cave. Light was emanating from something near the end, and Twilight concluded that this had to be the spot.
Deeper and deeper through the cave she traveled, when she saw what she had come searching for. The pool was glowing with light like the sun, and Twilight remembered what the Princess had instructed her to do.
The tip of Twilight's horn began to glow, dim at first, as she tried to remember exactly how the spell Princess had taught her went. When she became confident she remembered, she closed her eyes, the tip of her horn glowing brighter and brighter, before she heard a large splash. Opening her eyes, she saw the crystal clear water quickly loosing its reflective qualities and growing dimmer and dimmer, the supernatural light fading away. Suddenly, there was an explosion of light, forcing Twilight to once again close her eyes, this time not with concentration but with an instinctive reaction to not blinding herself. When it was all over, Twilight opened her eyes cautiously and examined the pool. The previously beautiful pool was now of a dreary and mysterious hue, a silver fog hiding herself. Before she could change her mind about it, Twilight leaped into the murky water.
There were no bizarre lights or sparks of blinding colors as Twilight traveled between the two worlds. She was simply thrown out of the pool and back onto the spot where she had jumped in. Twilight looked around cautiously, trying to determine if it had in fact worked. Outside, the noon-day sun was gone and the light of the moon could be seen through the hole in which she had emerged. Twilight stopped to make sure she was undamaged by the endeavor, before trotting out into the night.
The brambles she had separated had returned, but much thicker. Twilight could see that moving them out of the way could be difficult. Instead, she focused on the clearing peaking out from the forest of thistles. In a quick flash, she had teleported into the clearing, and back into the forest.
The Everfree Forest was significantly different. It seemed more well-kept, as if it were frequently inhabited by ponies for a long time. There was a clear, defined path to Ponyville not far from where Twilight was. Twilight turned to look at the mirror pool cavern and found it was nearly impossible to spot through the brambles. If she hadn't emerged from the other side, she would never have known it was even there. Twilight realized that she was probably the first pony in this Equestria to ever have seen the mirror pool.
Walking down the path, Twilight couldn't help but be amazed by the millions of stars dotting the night sky. She was surprised that the mirror pool not only altered space, but time as well.
After a significant time on the path, Twilight could see the lights of Ponyville ahead.
Not long after Twilight was out of the forest did things begin looking strange in Ponyville. Twilight looked for a long time at Fluttershy's cottage. The cottage was in a state of disrepair, it had obviously been abandoned for perhaps decades. Its design was significantly different, too. Fluttershy had taken extreme measures throughout her life in Ponyville to ensure than the cottage was just as much of a home to her animal friends as her own, but none of that was evident here. The cottage was a tiny, ugly ramshackle.
The clock tower visible from Fluttershy's cottage was also gone, in its place a large industrial smoke stack spewing black fumes into the night sky. More smokestacks were visible lining the outskirts of Ponyville, Twilight could see their own trails of smog pouring into the troposphere. There was very little vegetation, the few trees straggly and looking as delicate as paper. From the looks of them, they were long dead, only preserved by the lack of anything around to interfere with them. The only trees Twilight saw flourishing were native to the Everfree Forest, and looked out of place in the familiar landscape of the Ponyville Outskirts. Typically the sunlight decimated these intimidating looking plants.
Twilight approached Fluttershy's cottage, gazing through the rickety door supported by only one hinge.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight called, hopefully, knowing full-well she was not around. What could have happened to her?
Twilight returned to the path and began trotting towards Ponyville, at a quicker pace than before. As she approached Ponyville, she was shocked to see a huge chain-link fence encasing the town. A light humming sound told her it was electric. The path continued on to a large gate, guarded on both sides by royal Pegasus guards. Their physical appearance was virtually the same as what she remembered, but their armor was a dark violet. They saw Twilight traveling down the path from a distance. As Twilight approached, she saw one of them whisper to the other, and the other turn and stare directly at her. At this moment, a surge of fear shot through Twilight Sparkle. As the two guards regarded her with their blank, unforgiving stares, Twilight decided the best course of action would be to turn around and run back into the forest, knowing full well these pegasi would be able to out-fly her with ease. Just as Twilight was about to begin her escape, the two guard ponies held their hoof to their foreheads in a salute, before opening the gate for her to enter. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and saluted back at the guards.
Twilight pondered the actions of the guards as she walked towards Ponyville. Apparently she was regarded as some sort of figure of importance here. Surely not a Princess, but the actions of the guards led her to believe that this worlds Twilight Sparkle was also a student of Princess Celestia.
Ponyville was, simply put, a ghost town. The poorly constructed buildings all had their shutters closed, and the small amount of ponies Twilight could see in the distance scurried from building to building in a nervous trot. Twilight passed a group of fillies who evidently had not noticed her.
"Good evening!" Twilight said kindly.
To Twilight's shock, the young ponies turned around in terror, before bowing down to Twilight. One filly spoke nervously. "G-good evening... Mrs. Sparkle!"
This greatly distressed Twilight. These innocent fillies were reacting to her with complete and utter terror. The filly that spoke was quickly shushed by her peers. Twilight walked past them, feeling guilty for some malicious deed she had not performed.
The town of Ponyville looked surprisingly similar to her recollection of it, but in a greater state of disrepair. All the ponies she passed bowed in her presence, in the same nervous fashion as the fillies. Protruding from the town was an immense tree, its few leaves a dark yellow. Twilight realized this was her library, in the same straggly condition as all the other vegetation in Ponyville. It, like the town she was now in, was surrounded by a large electric fence, this time unguarded. There were no lights on in the library, but it was obviously not abandoned. "Looks like Twilight Sparkle isn't home," Twilight thought to herself.
In the center of the town, where Twilight remembered a fountain being, was an odd structure. Twilight thought it looked rather similar to something she had seen on the cover of one of those books Rainbow Dash was always reading to young fillies and colts on Nightmare Night. Its purpose or name escaped her at the moment.
Across from the odd structure was another building that Twilight was also unfamiliar with. Unlike most of the other buildings in Ponyville, this one was rather well kept. Twilight decided it would be better to get a close look inside the building, and started crossing the town towards it. It was as she was doing this that something disturbed her. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but something seemed...off about these ponies. Like...something was missing.
And then she realized what it was. No pony she had seen bore a cutie mark to identify their destinies. Even more distressing was the fact that other than the two royal guards, there had not been a single Pegasus or unicorn.
The yellow mare searched frantically for a way out.
She'd been trapped long enough to know that her friends were not coming to her rescue, no matter how much she needed them now. Were they her friends though? It was rather difficult to know for sure... friends wouldn't have allowed her to get into this situation. Tears welled in her eyes as she pondered how she'd gotten herself into this mess, and what they'd say about her foolishness. Not that she would ever know, now. She already knew what the ponies in this awful town had planned for her. She wished she could just fly away from this unforgiving world, to some refuge where death didn't stalk the land, killing the plants and animals and leaving the ponies so frightened.
Giving up on her fruitless search for escape, the yellow mare sat down, gazing at the moon up in the sky and trying to wonder how long she'd been in here. She felt like she hadn't eaten in weeks, which was probably rather accurate. What had she done to deserve this? She continued to cry quietly in the dark, eyes fixated on the stationary moon above.
Twilight Sparkle approached the large building cautiously, having seen the guard ponies from the street. The door was open, and Twilight could see a large pony sitting at a tall desk reading a newspaper. Upon noticing Twilight approaching, the guard pony put down his newspaper.
"Good evening, Mrs Sparkle. Back early, are we?"
Twilight wasn't exactly sure where she had been, but she knew better than to question him on it.
"Indeed I am," Twilight said assertively, trying to fit the role of "filly-scaring mare" the best she could.
"Well, she hasn't been doing anything but crying back there. They seem so tough, until they realize they've lost," The guard pony laughed absurdly at this, and Twilight returned this with an awkward chuckle. "Did the Princess decide on a time for tonight?"
Twilight had no idea what he was talking about, but shrugged her head in a way that said she didn't know. Why was it necessary for everypony to talk to her in such cryptic and secretive sentences?
"Well, the Princess will be here sometime soon anyway. She'll be pleased to see you back early," The guard pony turned, motioning towards a dreary corridor behind him. "Down the corridor, and through the door at the end," With that, the guard pony returned to his paper, leaving Twilight to wonder just who or what was waiting for her at the "end of the corridor."
Twilight traveled down the corridor, her nervous hoof-steps echoing across the dank passageway.
Reaching the door now, Twilight turned back to look at the entrance to the building. It was a clear run, providing she could get past the guard, if anything went wrong. Twilight cursed her own cowardice, and opened the heavy iron door, only to be completely shocked by the pony she saw within.
"F...Fluttershy?" Twilight gasped, in utter amazement. Fluttershy was evidently trying her best to appear menacing, but failing miserably. She was atrociously malnourished, and it was with great horror that Twilight realized she could see ribs through the yellow pony's coat. Fluttershy's mane and tail were cut quite short, sticking up in several places and looking like it had not been cared for properly in months. It looked as if it had been cut with a shard of broken glass as opposed to proper barber tools, it's generally disheveled nature a stark contrast to the extreme effort Twilight had seen Fluttershy put in to her mane and tail.
Her friend did in fact have a cutie-mark, the familiar three butterflies, and Twilight Sparkle considered this with relief, realizing that the Fluttershy of this Equestria found her destiny despite all the oddness in the world around her.
"Yeah, that's right! Fluttershy! And just what do YOU want, you...you terrible...pony," Fluttershy let out a quiet exclamation of frustration at her inability to think of an insult.
Twilight had to pause for a moment to fully understand what she was seeing. The building was some sort of dungeon or prison, that much seemed obvious to her, but what she had trouble understanding was why Fluttershy, of all the ponies in Equestria, would ever be contained in one.
"Fluttershy, what...what happened? What are you doing in there?"
Fluttershy laughed, not her normal, quiet chuckle, but a malicious, sarcastic one. "As if you don't know. Well, we're all soooo happy here in Ponyville to see you back!" Fluttershy was on the verge of shouting now, and Twilight knew that if the guard were to come, she would not be able to explain why she had no idea what the hay was happening. She indiscreetly closed the heavy door with her magic, unsure if it would be enough.
"Fluttershy, can you please quiet down?" Twilight tried desperately to get her friend to relax.
"Quiet down, huh? You want me to QUIET DOWN?" Fluttershy was furious now, panting hard as she paced around her small cell and glaring at Twilight through the bars.
"Fluttershy! Please! I'm just here to... to help you."
"Ah, and I suppose that's what those guards of yours wanted to do, too?" Fluttershy's voice was now a shrill, frustrated howl. "I can't believe you'd have the...the AUDACITY to expect me to listen to a pony like you!"
Twilight was quickly beginning to hate her alternate self more and more. "Fluttershy, listen to me, I'm going to get you out of there...somehow."
Fluttershy scoffed at this, but then looked at Twilight in confusion when she realized she was being serious. "W...why? Is... is this part of your little plan?"
"I don't have a plan, Fluttershy, I don't even know whats going on or why you're in there. I can't explain now, but I need you to trust me, alright? Can you do that?"
"Hmm, lemme think about it...NO!" Fluttershy was back to yelling now. The guard pony would be coming any second now. "I'd rather die in this horrible town than help you!"
Fluttershy was showing a strange amount of courage Twilight had never before seen in her friend, but then again, she'd just found out she was some sort of back-stabbing tyrant. Twilight was desperate now... she wouldn't last ten minutes in this world without some help. Gazing quickly around the room, Twilight decided she would have to help Fluttershy whether she wanted it or not. She opened the door lightly and shot a quick glance down the hallway. The guard pony was still reading his newspaper. He had not heard after all.
Closing the door again, Twilight turned to face Fluttershy, who was regarding Twilight with a confused expression.
"Step away from the back wall, Fluttershy," Twilight said simply, and Fluttershy shook her head in refusal. "Fine! Whatever, don't move! It's for your own safety, Fluttershy!"
Twilight closed her eyes to concentrate, and her horn began to glow. Knowing full-well she would have very little time to restore the cell to its original condition, Twilight had to be fast.
Fluttershy yelped in fear as a crack began working its way around a large circular shape on the rear of the prison wall. Twilight then used her magic to pull it towards herself, exposing a nice, clean exit for Fluttershy.
"Go!" Twilight said frantically, as Fluttershy stood staring at her in shock. "Fluttershy! The guard is going to be coming any second now! Go! And wait for me," Fluttershy simply nodded to show she understood, and high-tailed through the opening. As soon as she was through, Twilight placed the wall-portion back in the hole and hoped to Equestria the guard didn't hear.
Somehow, by some divine luck, he hadn't. Twilight knew this was where the hardest part of her little jailbreak came in.
She paced slowly up to the guard, sampling her "filly-scaring voice" repeatably in her mind until she figured she had it right. Using her magic, she lowered the guards newspaper, causing him to look at her in surprise.
"Would you care to explain to me... why Fluttershy is NOT HERE?" Twilight yelled, straight in the guards face.
The guard simply chuckled and raised his newspaper again. "Door at the end of the hall, Mrs. Sparkle. Like I said."
Twilight decided she had to up her act a bit to make it seem less like she was moderately annoyed and more like she was furious. She started by using her magic to engulf the guards newspaper in a sudden burst of flame. "You think this is some sort of joke?" She said coldly. The smile on the guards face dissipated instantly, and he quickly cantered to the end of the hall.
Twilight stood in the doorway as he searched the empty cell frantically.
"No...no, no NO!" He was panicking, hyperventilating, searching the bare room for his prisoner. He turned suddenly to look at Twilight Sparkle. "She was here. I saw her this morning... I swear I did!"
Twilight gave him a look of disbelief, before turning her back to him.
"Insolent fool. Do you have any idea how much danger your carelessness has placed us in?" Twilight thought about Fluttershy, probably hiding behind a small tree or trash can, whimpering in fear. "Find her. She can't have gone far. If she isn't back in this cell by sunrise, you'll have me to answer to," With that Twilight Sparkle strode out of the room.
"Wait!" The guard pony called, skepticism on his voice. "Sunrise...? What are you talking about?"
And then Twilight became aware of how long it had actually been night. Much longer than any night back in her Equestria. She thought frantically on how to respond to the guards statement.
"Figure of speech. You have until 6 o'clock in the morning," With that, Twilight stormed out of the building, leaving the guard gaping in confusion.
Fluttershy crept silently between the sad houses, glancing around cautiously to make sure she had not been sighted. Her mind was a beehive, as she tried to determine why Twilight had helped her out. Wait for her, she'd said. Fluttershy knew doing so would be suicide, she had to get out of Ponyville as fast as possible. But how? She couldn't just fly over the fence, and the two gates were guarded eternally by the agents of the night.
Fluttershy hid in the shadows, when suddenly, she heard an alarm start blaring through the town. So they'd found out she'd escaped. Fluttershy decided her best bet was to tunnel under the fence, and she started frantically clawing at the dirt in a terrified frenzy. Suddenly, she heard the hoofbeats of a pony behind her.
"Fluttershy! You made it!" Twilight said excitedly. "We need to get you in doors. Follow me!"
Fluttershy looked up at Twilight Sparkle, and back down to her pathetic attempt at escape. She realized she would never be able to dig fast enough to get out of here on time. She had no choice but to trust Twilight Sparkle. "O...okay, Twilight Sparkle. But don't think I still don't hate you, just because you're helping me..."
"Whatever. Now listen to me. The town is crawling with guard ponies right now, looking for you. We need to make it to my library...somehow."
"Library?" Fluttershy shrieked. "You're a unicorn! Use your freaky teleporting powers!"
Twilight shook her head sadly.
"I'm afraid I just can't risk it, Fluttershy...I'm willing to bet there is some sort of anti-teleporting magic spell on this fence, and I'm in no mood to be burnt to a crisp tonight."
The two mares crept through a dark alley, with Fluttershy lagging behind significantly at Twilight's request. Twilight looked at the town, the guards, and finally, her library directly across the town square. There was the odd structure in the center, and it looked like they could hide underneath it, at least for a bit. Twilight motioned for Fluttershy that it was safe for her to come.
Fluttershy let out of muffled yelp of surprise when she saw the odd structure.
"What? What is it Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, seeing her friends look of shock. "What's that structure supposed to be?"
"Is...is this your plan? You want us to HIDE under that? That's suicide!"
"Why? What is it?" Twilight asked, quickly becoming as panic stricken as her friend.
"R...Rainbow Dash called it...a gallows," Fluttershy whispered.
And then Twilight saw exactly what was going on. "What sort of sick version of Equestria is this?" She gasped.
The square was as void of guards as it ever would it be. It was now or never.
"Alright, Fluttershy, fine. New plan. You fly over the electric fence, and run for it. You need to run fast as soon as you're over, because the guards will no doubt see you."
In that moment, Twilight noticed something she had foolishly overlooked.
"Your wings...Fluttershy. What happened to your wings?" Where any normal pegasus would have wings, Fluttershy's were gone, torn out, with a few surviving ligaments protruding through a mediocre bandage on both sides.
Fluttershy looked at her sides, and then directly at Twilight. "How clueless are you? They do this to all the pegasi. Me and Rainbow Dash were most likely the only pegasi left in Equestria. That is...until I got captured."
Twilight felt like she was about to faint. Never before had she seen such inhuman acts committed to innocent ponies.
"Alright, Fluttershy, then we don't have a choice. Come on!" With that, Twilight dashed underneath the gallows, followed closely by Fluttershy.
The two mares glanced quickly around to make sure they hadn't been sighted. Twilight's library was too far for them to make it the same way. They needed a diversion.
Twilight's eyes scanned the town square, before settling on the town hall. Its patio was leaning on a single pathetic strut, with much of the building weighing it down. The building should have been condemned. Twilight aimed a precise blast of magic, and hit the strut. There was a tremendous boom as part of the building collapsed, causing most of the guards to dash towards it. Now was their chance.
Onwards they galloped, across the desolate town square and towards the library. There was a panel by the gate to the electric fence, which Twilight assumed only she could open. There was a cylindrical opening, and Twilight thought it looked very similar to the box the Princess hid the elements of harmony in. Running with this assumption, Twilight placed her horn into the opening, and sure enough, the gate opened.
Wasting no time, the two ponies dashed into the library as the gate closed behind them. Outside, the searchlights of the Royal Guard pierced the eternal night.
Twilight watched the commotion from the refuge of her library, peering through the small cracks in the closed blinds. Fluttershy was pouring chamomile tea into two porcelain tea cups, humming some long forgotten melody to herself.
The library was surprisingly similar to what Twilight Sparkle was accustomed to. It was by far the nicest building in Ponyville, but, this seemed rather obvious when Twilight considered how important she apparently was in this Equestria.
"Twilight Sparkle...umm, could you please take a drink of this tea?" Fluttershy asked from the kitchen, where she had been cowering for nearly an hour. Twilight sighed and picked up the teacup.
"Why? What did you do to it?" She asked skeptically, gazing into the dark-yellow liquid.
"Oh, nothing. I'm just making sure you didn't poison it," Fluttershy said with an eerily uncomfortable smile.
Twilight sighed again, and drank the tea. "There. Not poisoned."
Fluttershy smiled, genuinely this time, and sipped her tea lightly. "So, Twilight, are you going to perhaps explain why you're doing this?"
Twilight saw no other choice. "Fine, but I warn you, the story is going to sound ridiculously unbelievable. I'll start from the very beginning. When I was writing to Princess Celestia-"
Out of the blue, Fluttershy spat out her tea in surprise. "Did you say Princess Celestia?!"
"Yeah... why?"
Fluttershy didn't answer right away, instead stirred her tea and sat thinking, before finally looking back at Twilight. "Oh, it's nothing. Continue with your story."
Twilight Sparkle explained to her friend the whole story up to their encounter back in Ponyville. Fluttershy remained quiet, staring at Twilight through the awkward silence, as if expecting her to continue.
"Look, I know it's hard to believe, but somewhere, in another Equestria, I'm best friends with you, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. I don't know whats going on here or why the world here is so ugly, but I do know that you know who those ponies are. I'm asking for you to trust me, Fluttershy, and bring me to them, wherever they are."
"I'm very sorry, Sparkle. I appreciate you saving me, and I appreciate the chamomile tea, but I still can't trust you...I wish you're story was true, but I'm not going to make another mistake and put my friends in danger."
Twilight could see she wouldn't able to convince Fluttershy this way. She had to try a different tactic.
"Fluttershy, I'm about to use magic on you, you need to promise me you aren't going to freak out," Without giving the yellow mare a chance to react, Twilight began casting the memory spell she'd learned from the Discord Incident.
Fluttershy fell to the ground as her mind was suddenly assaulted by a multitude of memories. She saw herself in some of these, smiling, in a bright, vibrant world. She was with her friends, and they were happy throughout all these. She saw Twilight Sparkle there, too, smiling like the rest of them. This world she saw unfolding before her was the paradise she'd always been dreaming of.
Twilight watched as Fluttershy stood staring up at the ceiling, her diluted pupils focusing on nothing. In time, she blinked and looked at Twilight Sparkle.
"Is this what it was like where you came from? Is this what we are like in your Equestria?"
"Yes, Fluttershy. And it can be like this in your Equestria, too, if you let me help. I know you as a dependable, kind pony who would face against a ferocious dragon just to defend the ones she cares about. And I can see in your eyes that you're no different in this world."
Fluttershy's eyes began to well with tears, and Twilight knew she'd finally gotten her friends trust. After a moments hesitation, Twilight leaned in and comforted Fluttershy with a gentle hug, which she was pleased to see Fluttershy return. Not even an hour ago, this very same pony had despised her with every fiber of her being.
"T...thank you for showing me that, Twilight." Fluttershy sniffled. "I guess even I can forget sometimes what kindness really means."
"Considering what you've been through, I don't blame you in the slightest." Twilight said, giving Fluttershy a forced smile. "Can I get you anything? Food, maybe?"
Fluttershy nodded frantically, which Twilight had been expecting. Considering her frail, almost skeletal appearance, Twilight was slightly amazed at how she had been able to evade the guards and make it to the library. Her guess was that she had been fed the absolute minimum amount of food to keep her alive, something which disturbed Twilight to no extent.
Well past midnight, judging from the square clock on the library wall, Twilight was busily sifting through the gathered books on her surprisingly familiar shelves while Fluttershy was laying in what was most likely Twilight's own bed, trying to fall asleep and failing miserably. Endlessly switching positions in the large bed, Fluttershy let out a defeated sigh and stepped back onto the floor, her eager eyes examining Twilight as she lifted one of the books from the shelf to look at it's cover.
Seeing her out of the corner of her eye, Twilight was about to question her about why she was in Ponyville, but Fluttershy spoke first.
"Umm, Twilight...I know you're not the one who took them, but...would you happen to know what the guards did with my stuff when they captured me?"
"I wouldn't really be able to tell you." Twilight said, shrugging. "It's probably back at that prison, but you can look around here if you want."
Nodding, Fluttershy turned and left the room. Twilight heard her searching upstairs for several minutes while she resumed her own hunt for a decent, descriptive history book. She was utterly shocked to find that none of this Equestria's history was documented, and even more shocked that nopony seemed to have a problem with it.
"Yes!" A gleeful shout came from upstairs, Twilight instinctively flinching in fear, before facehoofing at how tense she was where Fluttershy had frightened her.
In seconds, the yellow mare herself was standing at the foot of the stairs. Twilight gawked at the sight of her timid friend wearing a silver metallic helmet and four matching boots. A light looking flanchard was also resting on her back, with two holes cut in the sides, which had obviously been intended for Fluttershy's wings. The armor was a simple affair, quite obviously crafted from the remains of some long forgotten metal structure. Despite this, it did not look crude at all, and had an almost...Rarity-esque flair to it.
"Woah." Twilight chuckled. "I never would've taken you for the armor wearing type..."
Fluttershy laughed sheepishly and shrugged.
"Well, it seems a bit excessive to me, too. It's really Rainbow's idea. But, it's done it's job, and after I was almost shot out of the sky by a unicorn guard, I chose to not really question it too much."
"Right...I was going to ask you about them..." Twilight began, when a sudden knocking at her door interrupted her.
"It's the guards! Shoot, it must already be morning, and they still haven't found you yet! Fluttershy, go hide upstairs!" Twilight shrilled, and Fluttershy obeyed without a word and hurriedly ran up the stairs, as Twilight crossed the library to her door to greet the guards.
There were no guards on the other side of the door, but Twilight would have given anything for there to have been.
"Hello, my faithful student! How goes the evening?" Nightmare Moon asked, stepping into the library.
Twilight stood in silent shock as the Princess of Shadow strode into her house. How should she refer to Nightmare Moon? Princess Moon? No, that didn't sound right. Princess Nightmare? That made a little more sense, but still did not seem right.
"Umm...fine, your majesty," She said as calmly as she could.
"Back early, are we?" Nightmare Moon asked, making her way into the kitchen.
"Yeah...yeah, I am," Twilight was eager to change the subject, before Nightmare Moon asked her something she couldn't answer. "And what brings you here so early?"
Nightmare Moon turned to look at Twilight, with her icy blue eyes. "I trust you came to an agreement, then," She spoke coldly, ignoring Twilight's question.
Twillight's mind was working furiously. Agreement about what? Twilight thought frantically at where she could possibly have been. Judging from the dust on the surfaces in her home, she must have been gone for awhile. But gone where? Where would Nightmare Moon possibly have reason to send her dystopian-leader protegee to discuss something apparently very important. Twilight knew she was grasping at straws, but she didn't have a choice. She had to answer Nightmare Moon's questions.
"Yes, yes we did. They shouldn't be a problem anymore," Twilight cursed herself for the riskiness of that last sentence, but Nightmare Moon didn't seem to have a problem with it.
"Are you expecting a guest this late in the evening, Twilight Sparkle?" She asked, looking around the empty house.
Twilight's heart skipped a beat. How did she know Fluttershy was here?
"No, Princess, I wasn't. But you're always welcome to stay, if you want."
Nightmare Moon smiled at this, and Twilight couldn't exactly tell whether that smile was of gratitude or of suspicion.
"It appears I entrusted our guards with too much during your absence. Fluttershy's escape was obviously made possible by someone in Ponyville," Nightmare Moon turned towards the stairs and climbed them slowly. Seeing nothing of interest on the upper floor, she turned back to Twilight.
"So, you won't be staying?" Twilight asked nervously, eager for Nightmare Moon's departure.
"Thank you, my loyal student, but that won't be necessary. I have business to tend to with the Royal Guards and their negligence. We shall discuss the details of your journey later."
"Of course, Princess..." Twilight tried to finish her sentence off with a convincing smile, which seemed to appease the Princess of the Night.
"Have a good night, my faithful student."
With that, Nightmare Moon turned and left Twilight's house, closing the door behind her.
If she would have turned to look back at the library, she would have most likely seen a yellow pony with a short pink mane hiding behind a thin branch on the uppermost platform. Instead, she continued to walk, closing the gate with her magic behind her.
"Something is wrong here," She said to her royal guards, bat-like ponies, unlike the guards in Ponyville. "For safe measures, don't let Twilight Sparkle leave without my approval."
The guards nodded and one flew of to tell the others.
As soon as Twilight saw that they were gone, she quickly dashed up her steps to her upper floor.
"Fluttershy? You can come out now, she's gone," No answer. Twilight frantically searched the room for Fluttershy, before hearing the sound of nervous breathing through the thin leaves overheard.
"Fluttershy! The coast is clear!" She called, loud enough for Fluttershy to hear. Momentarily, the timid pony pushed the unlocked window open and crawled back into the library.
"What did she say?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "Did she mention me?"
"Uhh...sort of. She seemed rather suspicious of me," Twilight sipped her chamomile tea, and tried to calm her beating heart. "But that doesn't matter, because we're leaving here tonight. Do you know a way out of Ponyville without using the main gates?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "Not that I know of. I got in here by flying... doesn't look like I'll be getting out the same way."
"I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you...losing your wings, I mean."
"I appreciate your concern," Fluttershy replied, looking down at the floor. "But I don't really want to talk about it."
Twilight weighed their options. Flying out was off the table. She couldn't just walk through the gate with Fluttershy, especially not with Nightmare Moon in Ponyville. Tunneling under the fence seemed like an alright plan, providing they could find a shovel, and Twilight knew full well there would not be one in Ponyville. She had to consider the fact that every second Fluttershy spent out of hiding was one she was in lethal danger.
"Well, looks like we only have one option then. We're teleporting through."
Fluttershy looked up in surprise. "You're alright with doing that? But I thought it was incredibly dangerous!"
"It might be, and I didn't really want to. First of all, it produces a rather loud bang and a bright flash, meaning any chance of escaping Ponyville silently is pretty much impossible. The guards will most definitely hear us, and I don't think either of us are capable of outrunning them. And, finally, its entirely possible that the fence is designed to deter from teleporting through anyway...and even if it isn't.." Twilight realized she was painting a rather grim picture of Fluttershy's fate, so she stopped talking.
The two sat in silence for a bit, before Twilight spoke again. "I'll go first. I'll teleport through my electric barrier to make sure its safe, and then I'll teleport you through."
"What if it isn't safe?" Fluttershy asked, showing concern for Twilight's well-being for the first time.
"Well then I'm sure you'll find out pretty quickly. Judging by what I've seen so far in this Equestria, I'm willing to bet that fence gives you more than just a little shock."
The two mares gazed through the rear window of the library at the landscape beyond the fence. The two gates were rather far from the library, meaning they just might be able to get some distance covered before the guards even made it over the fence.
"Alright, so, here's the plan," Twilight said, ducking under the window and motioning for Fluttershy to do the same. "The other side of the fence is pretty close, so I should probably be able to teleport us from inside the house. This means the guards won't hear the first teleport "bang."'
"But they'll hear the second, since we'll be outside at that point," Fluttershy finished.
"Exactly. Which means that assuming there's no electric field, I'll be teleporting you over immediately, so be ready for that. As soon as we're on the other side, we need to run as fast as we can. This should take us..." Twilight frowned, trying to recall how the view from her rear window looked back home. She remembered there being thick bushes, but here, the land stretched in harsh, desolate plains for miles, uninterrupted by foliage. Past the thick bushes at home, she seemed to recall the distant outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight looked in the direction of the farm, to the north west, and saw only industrial smokestacks and a large abandoned factory in the distance. She knew that if she continued north from where they were now facing, they would eventually come across the river created by the vast, beautiful waterfalls of Canterlot. She saw no reason why they wouldn't be there... the geography of this Equestria WAS the same, after all.
"Well, Fluttershy, I guess its now or never," Twilight said simply, giving up on trying to find out what lied ahead. "Are you ready?"
Fluttershy gulped and nodded slowly.
Twilight backed up, and instructed Fluttershy to stand clearly in sight from the window as soon as she saw her leave. Twilight looked at her destination long and hard, memorizing ever last detail. She'd used her teleportation abilities many times with ease, but never under this much pressure. She had to be sure she didn't mess this up.
Twilight closed her eyes, the image of the straggly, dead trees on the other side burned into her mind. She tried her best not to focus on the electric fence, knowing full well she could accidentally teleport her or Fluttershy into it. Deciding it would be best to just get this over with before thinking any longer, Twilight's horn began to radiate pink light. Then, for a brief moment, there was nothing, as Twilight instantaneously traveled beyond the fence.
Fluttershy had very little time to react, before she, too, was teleported next to Twilight. Without missing a beat, the two ponies dashed on into the night. For a short while, the only sound was that of Fluttershy's armor rustling as she sprinted, but after a few seconds, the two mares could hear an alarm shrieking into the night, as Nightmare Moon's Royal Guards tore into the air.
Twilight heard Fluttershy scream in surprise when she turned to face Ponyville. Turning to do the same, Twilight saw two pegasi darting across the air towards them. They would be upon them in a a few seconds.
"Do something, Twilight!" Fluttershy cried.
Twilight's horn instantly started glowing pink, and instantaneously, she and Fluttershy were teleported a short distance ahead. Fluttershy yelped in surprise and nearly lost her footing. Behind them, the pegasi increased speed and quickly covered the distance they'd teleported. She teleported them again, only to be met with the same problem. Twilight knew that if she kept this up, she would eventually tire herself out, and they would catch up. Instead, she stopped running and faced the oncoming ponies.
"What are you, crazy?" Fluttershy screamed, seeing Twilight standing there. Suddenly, Twilight's horn flickered to life again, and two quick lasers of magic shot out, striking the pegasi. Fluttershy rejoiced at this, finally stopping her run and rejoining Twilight.
Twilight watched in horror as the two pegasi suddenly started spiraling out of control, before hitting the hard dirt ground with a resolute thud. Twilight was certain she had heard a sharp snap as the two ponies hit the earth headfirst.
"No...no, no no..." Twilight repeated, over and over, eyes fixated on the limp bodies of the two guards. Fluttershy was looking at Twilight with a confused expression, and Twilight finally broke her gaze with the motionless pegasi and faced her friend. "I didn't mean too... it...it was an accident... I just wanted to stop them, not...I panicked..."
"Twilight, those ponies were trying to kill us. I guess its unusual for you to see this sort of thing, but killing and death isn't that uncommon around here."
All this coming from the mouth of the Element of Kindness. Twilight could hardly believe it. She may have just committed murder. What would Celestia say? In Equestria, only a few murders had been committed, throughout all of history, and the punishment had always been the same. Banishment. Permanently. Twilight started to walk towards the fallen guards to help, but Fluttershy stopped her.
"Umm, Twilight, I realize you're broken up over this, but don't you think we should...continue escaping?" She said nervously, pointing at the lights of Ponyville behind them and the earthbound ponies springing to life.
Twilight could see the desperation in Fluttershy's eyes, and knew she was right. Still, the guilt was there, and Twilight wondered if it would ever go away.
Behind them, earth ponies and unicorns scoured the land with flashlights for their pegasus leads, while large searchlights cut through the darkness. The sound of the sirens in Ponyville grew muffled by distance as the two mares continued on into the night.
In time, Fluttershy and Twilight slowed their pace, as it became evident they had shaken their pursuers. Twilight decided it was safe to stop, at least for a few minutes, and she motioned for Fluttershy to do the same.
"Where exactly are we headed, Fluttershy? You know where the other four are, right?" Twilight Sparkle asked, glancing around behind them, as if to see them standing there.
"Of course! Umm... lets see..." Fluttershy thought for a minute about where she and Twilight were, trying to orient herself. "They should be...umm, Rainbow Dash had given it a special name..." Fluttershy gave up on trying to remember the name, and decided she should just describe it. "Its a huge mountain, Rainbow said it would be perfect, since we had a clear view of the land in case anypony tried to attack. And there's a huge lake, and some small waterfalls..."
"Canterlot?" Twilight asked in surprise.
"Yes! That's right, Canterlot! How did you know?"
Twilight shrugged. "It's the same thing in my Equestria, but there's a huge city built into the side of the mountain, and no lake. Its the most royal place in all of Equestria!"
Fluttershy pondered this for a moment. "Is your princess nice?" She asked cautiously.
"Princess Celestia? Fluttershy, you would love her! She is the wisest and most powerful pony in all of Equestria! We actually have two princesses in my Equestria. There's Princess Luna, as well. She's kind of intimidating, but she means well, and she's very kind."
Twilight saw tears watering in Fluttershy's eyes as she spoke. "I've heard stories about the two sisters here. They forbid most ponies from talking about them," Fluttershy looked down at the dirt. "I wish I lived in your Equestria, Twilight. I don't want to be here anymore," Fluttershy was crying now, and Twilight moved to comfort her.
"Fluttershy, I know its hard, but can you tell me what happened to Princess Celestia?"
Fluttershy sniffled and looked up at Twilight. "Nopony really knows for sure. Rainbow Dash seems to think she was banished to the sun, and one day she'll return to rescue all of us from Nightmare Moon."
"Where I come from, Fluttershy, the six of us are the ones who stop Nightmare Moon. Do they allow ponies here to talk about the Elements of Harmony?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "No. But that's about all we're not allowed to say. Harmony, sunlight, and Celestia."
Twilight remained quiet for a long while. In time, Fluttershy's breathing grew lighter and Twilight could faintly see her closed eyes in the dark. Twilight realized it had been at least two or three days since she herself had gotten sleep, but she knew better than to let her guard down. Twilight sat thinking in the dark for what must have been hours.
She remembered what Princess Celestia had told her about interfering with this realm. Twilight couldn't remember a time when she deliberately disobeyed the Princesses orders, but now, more than ever, she felt she had to. She knew now why she was sent into this world, and no threats of impending banishment could sway her from her goals.
In time, her mind strayed to the two pegasus guards. Were they still lying there out in the cold, or had one of the other guards found them, and saw what she did. Twilight couldn't decide which was worse. She knew there was a faint chance they were alive, but she wasn't about to get her hopes up for it. She thought about the gallows, the amputated pegasi, and the dingy cell Fluttershy starved in for days, tried to rationalize that she shouldn't feel sympathy for them, but it was fruitless.
Twilight had been meaning to ask Fluttershy just how she and her other four friends managed to avoid imprisonment for so long, and why Fluttershy had chose to come back to Ponyville. She told herself those questions could wait until morning, before remembering that it would never come.
Nightmare Moon paced furiously across the library, before turning to face the guards gathered by the door.
"Do you have any idea...any idea AT ALL, how much chaos your incompetence has created? Do you have ANY CLUE? Not only did you let a clear and obvious threat to Equestria escape a LOCKED PRISON CELL, but you let her AND her accomplice escape a fenced in TREE?"
"Your majesty, we did not know Twilight Sparkle had gone rogue until last night. If you would have simply..."
Nightmare Moon gave him a deathly stare. "If you know whats good for you, you would stop speaking to your princess in that tone, you pathetic worm. I do not want to hear any of these excuses. I do not want to hear about why there was no magic shield put around Ponyville, why two perfectly competent pegasi guards were nearly killed, or why you unicorns did not simply immobilize them with magic. Most importantly, I do not want to argue about these matters with you peasants. I chose you to be my royal servants because I saw promise in you. Would you perhaps like to join the ranks of the residents here in Ponyville? I'd be happy to oblige..."
A terrified murmuring rose amongst the gathered company. Many looked at their surviving extra appendages, envisioning what would become of them once they no longer had the right to their possession. Only one guard had the courage to speak.
"Princess, permission to speak freely..." He received a curt nod from Nightmare Moon, so he continued. "Why has Twilight Sparkle joined ranks with the rebels? Surely she realizes their defeat is imminent."
"I do not know the answer to that question, nor do I see any reason to answer it even if I did. It does not matter WHY Twilight Sparkle has joined the rebels, the only thing that matters is that she's done it," Nightmare Moon scanned the faces of Ponyville's Royal Guard, and dismissed them with one final remark. "You ponies have one last chance. Be thankful for it. I want security doubled on all the gates, a magic barrier in place, and a manhunt for Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy in operation within the hour. I will provide a reward to your party if you can bring me the two of them alive. You are dismissed."
After the guards had left, Nightmare Moon turned to look around the library.
"Why indeed, Twilight Sparkle," She said to the empty house. "Why indeed."
Fluttershy awoke after sleeping for around five hours, to see Twilight staring up at the stars. She walked slowly over and sat down next to her.
"I'd meant to ask you last night, but I fell asleep..." Fluttershy began sheepishly. "Why did you come to this Equestria in the first place?"
"To help, I suppose," Twilight said, yawning. "I don't exactly know myself..."
"But, surely there must be reason why Celestia would send you! Why would our Equestria be so important if there really are so many others?"
"Well, she must have known something about my position here. Anypony else would have been killed as soon as they were seen approaching Ponyville. As for why...well, I mean, its just a guess...but...I don't think it would be possible for me to travel to any others..."
Fluttershy looked at Twilight with wide eyes. "Why not?"
Twilight sighed as she tried to simplify something she was skeptical about herself. "The mirror pool is like a gate, right? A door between two worlds? Well, doors only ever have two sides. So, while there are certainly other alternate Equestria's, this one is the only one we can directly travel between. I mean, we can pluck other ponies from their respective realities, but I don't think we can travel safely between them."
Standing now, Twilight cast a furtive glance back to where they had come from.
"What about you? Why did you come back into Ponyville if it was such a terrible place?"
Fluttershy swatted the dirt with her hoof. "Back? I'd never been to Ponyville before. Rainbow Dash sent me to... to break into your library...sorry about that..."
Twilight laughed. "You don't have to be sorry, Fluttershy! It isn't my library, after all. But why? What were you expecting to find in there?"
"A clue about where you'd gone, I suppose. Rainbow Dash seemed to think Nightmare Moon was preparing another attack, and wanted to know the details. I didn't count on the alarms when I flew over the fence..."
"An attack? Against who?"
Fluttershy gave another sheepish grin. "We aren't far from Canterlot, now. I think it'll be better if you see them in person."
Twilight Sparkle gazed at the moon, for a long while, before turning to begin writing her letter, glancing around to make sure she was not being watched.
Dear Princess of the Night,
I am sorry to announce that my return to Ponyville will most likely be delayed, due to some unforeseen complications with the changelings. In terms of the signing of our new trading agreement, it seems imminent, but these creatures seem to be very untrustworthy. I trust you have measures in place assuming they betray us. Your wisdom is always appreciated in these dark times.
However, assuming their intentions towards us are good, I believe we have furthered our relationship with our valuable allies. Their ability to imitate lifeforms perfectly is incredibly fascinating . The concept of an imposter in a place where she is trusted is a simply foolproof surveillance plan.
As for Fluttershy's execution, I am disappointed to announce I will not be present during it. I realize how vital my presence in Ponyville is, so I apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Assuming all goes according to plan, I should be back within two or three days. Please write back swiftly, informing me of the situation in Ponyville.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Satisfied with the letter, she sealed it carefully with magic, to ensure it would not be opened by any other than the princess. She opened the door to her temporary living chambers near the top of Queen Chrysalis's royal castle. It was a truly incredible place, unlike anything in Equestria. They were forever in Equestria's debt because of the heroic actions of the Princess, being creatures of the night, and Twilight's visit was met with incredible accommodations.
Twilight handed the letter to her royal guards standing outside her door.
"Delivery to Her Majesty. Do hurry up," Twilight said coldly, walking down the hall without bothering to face the guard. In time, she found herself standing on the balcony overlooking the far reaches of the abstract land. Unlike Equestria, Chrysalis's Kingdom was greatly covered in vast forests of odd, black trees with leaves like the wings of insects, that did not need the sunlight to flourish. Life in the night was good, after all.
Twilight looked up at the moon, in its regular position at the top of the world.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle was also staring at the same stationary moon, with the same alien feeling of hatred and fear that she'd felt ever since she realized just how unforgiving this world was. Fluttershy noticed Twilight staring at the moon.
"Takes some getting used to, I guess. Twilight, what was the sunlight like?"
Twilight paused, unsure how to answer that. What DID the sunlight feel like? She'd never really thought about it, it was just...so natural for her. And yet here was Fluttershy, who, like every pony here, had only ever known cold and dark, asking what the sunlight was like.
"You'll see for yourself, Fluttershy," Twilight answered. "I promise."
Twilight Sparkle turned from the balcony now, and started down the steps to the crown room, where she would be speaking on behalf of the Princess in front of the most important representatives of Queen Chrysalis's realm, as well as the Queen herself. She'd felt honored that the Princess has entrusted her with such an important job, and she had no intention of letting her down.
Twilight respected Nightmare Moon more than any other pony in Equestria. She had kept the world in order for centuries, battling the evil forces of the Resistance. She treated all the subjects under her beautiful celestial sky equally, ensuring there was food and shelter for everpony, and punishing those who disobeyed with her desire for a better Equestria.
Twilight had grown stronger than any other unicorn in Equestria under the teachings of her wonderful mentor. She was given responsibility over Ponyville, one of the few remaining resistance settlements, converting the society-tiered dystopian wreck into a settlement where all her subjects recieved her love equally. The settlement was sheltered from the dangers of the outside wastelands, the monsters and rebel-ponies stalking the earth, waiting for a chance to kill.
Twilight Sparkle wouldn't let anything stand between her loyalty to Nightmare Moon.
Twilight and Fluttershy stood on the shore of an immense river, with Canterlot Mountain jutting up into the sky on the other side.
"Well, I guess flying over it is out of the question..." Fluttershy said dejectedly, staring across the large body of water. "I guess I sort of forget about this...I'm sorry Twilight."
"How well can you swim, Fluttershy?" Twilight sighed, trying not to be annoyed by the delay.
"Umm, well, I've never really had any reason to learn..."
"Perfect. That's just brilliant," Twilight huffed, walking down the shore of the river. She'd never seen any river of this size in her Equestria, although without the aid of sunlight to evaporate properly, the higher water levels were not too surprising.
"I could wait, Twilight...you could cross, and get help from Rainbow Dash."
"And what would I say to her, or anypony there for that matter? 'Oh, hey! I'm Twilight Sparkle! I know you all hate my guts, but can you come with me across the river to see your crippled friend whose supposed to be dead?"'
Fluttershy nodded, seeing her point. "Can you do something with your magic?"
Twilight continued to pace the shore, thinking. Perhaps. It was too far to teleport in one shot, but if she might be able to cross the river in two or three jumps. But then there was Fluttershy's swimming problem.
Twilight explained this idea to Fluttershy. "If you were to jump into the lake, right now, how long could you tread water?" Twilight asked, feeling guilty about asking a pony who didn't know how to swim to jump into a lake.
Fluttershy peered into the lake nervously. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"We should only be in the water for a few seconds between each teleport, and it should only take 3 jumps to cross. Easy as pie."
Fluttershy stared out across the black water. She couldn't help but feel terrified by the thought of being amongst those silent waves. Even if she could swim, she knew for certain she wouldn't be comfortable in the deep, mysterious water. The opposite coast was almost completely shrouded in darkness, due to the moon being blotted out by the clouds overhead, meaning they could end up spending much longer time in the river than what it seemed. However, Twilight was relying on her, and she desperately wanted to see her friends again. While unable to determine why, Fluttershy felt safe around this Twilight Sparkle. She just hoped she could explain to her friends that Twilight could be trusted.
Finally, Fluttershy nodded. "Alright, Twilight. When you're ready."
There was a sudden flash, and the two ponies found themselves thrashing around in the dark water. Fluttershy watched Twilight carefully, trying to imitate the way her hooves were churning the water. Without any warning, Twilight teleported them both again, sending them flying into the water some distance ahead.
The waves had gotten unnaturally tall upon landing in the water for the second time, and Twilight had trouble keeping her head above the water so she could see the shore. Fluttershy was thrashing furiously at the water, bobbing further and further under the water with each wave. As Twilight prepared for their final teleport, she felt something grab her leg, and she was pulled downwards into the darkling depths.
Thrashing furiously at the water, Twilight kicked desperately at whatever it was that was dragging her down. Above her, Fluttershy's drowning figure slowly disappeared as she was pulled further and further into the black water. She had been too terrified to turn to see what was grasping her, but she was running out of breath quickly and she needed to escape.
The beast grasping her was unlike anything she had ever seen in Equestria. It had what appeared to be thousands of thin, baleen like tentacles, attached to a grotesquely hairy spider-like body. It had sharp pincers and large antennae. Its beady red eyes illuminated the deep river with a harsh red light as it descended further towards its underground lair. It was at least the size of a small house. Twilight pulled furiously, trying to free her leg, but it was grasped too tightly.
Deciding she had no other option, Twilight fired a quick laser blast from her horn at the creatures enormous body, and as it cried out in pain, Twilight managed to pull her leg free. She only hoped she would have enough magic to perform her last teleport. She swam frantically upwards towards the surface, as the strange beast roared in frustration, its voice distorted due to the water. It was pursuing Twilight furiously, its pincers and mouth open. Fluttershy's figure came into view, but she was now sinking under the water, still thrashing against the large waves caused by the insect. Twilight had been charging her horn ever since she'd fired the laser blast, and now she teleported herself and Fluttershy blindly as the creature finally closed down on them. The two ponies were thrown headlong onto the opposite shore while the creature broke the water where they had been, soaring into the air before crashing back down again.
"Next time..." Twilight said, shaking in fear and shivering in the cold night air. "Lets just build a raft..."
Twilight followed Fluttershy as the yellow mare led her around Canterlot Mountain.
"Umm...It should be close now," Fluttershy said, casting quick glances at the river far below them.
"Something wrong?" Twilight asked.
"Well, I'm just not really sure how to convince Rainbow Dash to let you in...I think shes already kind of cross with me for getting caught back in Ponyville...she might not even let me in..."
"What? Why? Fluttershy, I'm sure they'll be overjoyed to see you're alright!"
"Yes, but Rainbow Dash seems to think the other Twilight is in alliance with the changelings...do you know about them?"
"All to well," Twilight responded. "And I guess it wouldn't look good if her worst enemy showed up from a land of shape-shifting ponies with her supposedly deceased friend..."
Fluttershy nodded, but said nothing. In time, she motioned towards a solid rock face.
"There," Fluttershy tapped it lightly with her hoof, and the rock shimmered and flickered with a magical aura. Twilight had seen magical barriers like this before... they could only be opened from the other side.
Fluttershy tapped the rock, audibly this time, in a rhythmic pattern. Two short taps, three longer ones, followed by four short taps.
"It...it's Fluttershy.." The yellow mare said, shuffling nervously.
"Fluttershy?!" A voice, unmistakably Rainbow Dash's, came from the other side. "You're ALIVE?"
"Y...yes... I brought a friend, too."
"Who is it? Are you 100% sure it isn't a spy?" Rainbow Dash asked from the other side of the barrier.
"Umm, well, I mean...sort of, I guess."
Twilight face-hoofed at that last remark. Fluttershy wasn't exactly aspiring confidence.
Suddenly, the rock shimmered from the inside out as Rainbow Dash walked through the magical barrier cautiously. She froze dead in her tracks as soon as she saw Twilight Sparkle, before grabbing her and shoving her towards the edge of the cliff.
"I should just push you off right now, Twilight. Just what did you do to Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash snarled. A few rocks jarred loose from underneath Twilight's hooves, tumbling down and splashing into the river far below them.
"Rainbow Dash! Stop!" Fluttershy shrilled. "Twilight helped me escape from Ponyville! She's...she's my friend..."
Rainbow Dash's eyes shot from Twilight Sparkle to Fluttershy, and back to Twilight. "What did you do to her? Hmm? What sort of sick experiments did you do, with your 'magic' and your 'science?"'
"Rainbow, please! Listen to yourself! Please, just hear me out!" Twilight pleaded, now dangling mostly over the edge of the cliff.
"I've heard you and Nightmare Moon's lies long enough," Rainbow declared. "Why would you ever think I'd show you mercy after what you've done to my friends?"
Just as Rainbow Dash was about to push Twilight off the mountain, a voice boomed, coming from every direction at the same time.
"Attention citizens of Equestria !" The voice was undoubtedly some sort of twisted variation on the Royal Canterlot voice, raised to ridiculous volume, echoing across every corner of Equestrian Land. "In light of recent events, I shall be altering your civil rights temporarily. I am sure many of you are quite aware of the nature of these events. Twilight Sparkle, my former student and mayor of Ponyville has deliberately disobeyed the force of peace, and instead chosen to join the savage ranks of the Rebels."
Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight with a look of utter disbelief.
"The first pony to bring me Twilight Sparkle, dead or alive, shall be rewarded substantially, and may even be taken into consideration when I choose the next pony to be my student. Do not be a fool, and do not join the ranks of these traitorous rebels, who seek only to disrupt the peace and well-being I have brought you. Thank you, and have a good night, my subjects."
The three mares on the cliff listened, shell-shocked, as the voice echoed faintly across the distant land, and the silence of night returned.
Rainbow Dash started to speak, but was interrupted a scream of agony from Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight Sparkle felt like her own mind was being broken into by some omnipotent force. Nightmare Moon's voice ran out again, but in her normal speaking voice, barely audible. She could see Fluttershy crying in fear and Rainbow Dash asking her something, but there was no sound. Eventually, even her vision blurred, colors appearing where they didn't belong, so it felt like she was looking at the world through stained glass. She closed her eyes, and tried to focus on the words Nightmare Moon was saying.
"...an unwise choice, Twilight Sparkle. One you should never be forgiven for. I saw potential in you. I saw you one day ruling this world in my place. But now, you have proven that you would prefer to die in a hopeless, bitter war against what everpony here knows is right. Do not expect any mercy from any of these ponies, Twilight Sparkle. They are barbaric monsters who will not hesitate to kill for their own safety. If you would like to remain alive, return to the Castle of the Eternal Night, alone. I, unlike the company you have chosen to surround yourself with, am capable of forgiving your mistakes. Consider these words."
Suddenly, Twilight felt extremely dizzy. She opened her eyes, and when she did, she was taken aback by what she saw. She was back in Ponyville...her Ponyville. But it was empty. The buildings were all dark, except for her library, which was still surrounded by an electric fence even though there had never been one in this version of Equestria. The sky was stuck directly between night and day, both sun and moon facing each other from the east and west, the sky an otherworldly red. Twilight started walking towards her library, since it seemed to be the only occupied building.
She could see the outline of a large pony through the window, but couldn't quite make out who it was. The gate to the house was not closed, and the door to library opened by itself as Twilight approached. Inside her library, she was shocked to see Princess Celestia.
"Princess!" Twilight called out in relief. "You're here to help us fight Nightmare Moon!"
Princess Celestia simply shook her head.
"You disobeyed me, Twilight Sparkle. I had given you specific orders not to interfere with the lives of other ponies for fear of disrupting the worlds. Not only did you do just that, but you nearly ended the lives of two ponies, an act of violence you know is never allowed in Equestria."
Twilight tried to answer, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't speak. Her body simply refused to cooperate.
"I'm sorry, Twilight. I truly am. I haven't had to banish anypony in centuries, especially not one as loyal as you."
Twilight felt her whole world being turned around. Outside, the sun was finally setting and the moon began its ascension, but the sky remained red. Twilight closed her eyes tightly, trying to wake from this nightmare. After a long time, she found the courage to open them.
She was looking straight into her own face. As if from a mirror. Twilight looked around in astonishment. It wasn't a mirror after all. It was an underground pool of water. Twilight realized she was back at the Mirror Pool, but instead of beautiful white light onto the walls of the underground cavern, the whole area was covered in a harsh red light, like the eyes of the insect in the river. Outside was pitch black. There was no sky, trees, or earth. Nothing.
Twilight turned back to the mirror pool, gazing into the pool again. This time her reflection wasn't there. Everything else was reflected clearly in the motionless water, but Twilight was simply not there. Suddenly, Twilight felt an unnatural force pulling her into the pool. Twilight was dragged under the water, and everything went white.
Twilight blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the starry sky above her. Her head throbbed profusely as she awoke, memories of her most recent conscious moments slowly banishing the confusion and disorientation she felt as she tried to rise to her feet but immediately fell back down as a headache split across her skull. From the sound of things, it looked as if Nightmare Moon was aware of her activities back in Ponyville, and most likely knew she was an imposter in this world.
She was still on the edge of Canterlot Mountain, although from the sight of it she was completely alone this time around. Not even Fluttershy was around to greet her as the outlines of the lake and distant plains revealed themselves to her.
"Perfect." Twilight spat, realizing she was completely alone with no means of entering Canterlot Mountain, and with the town of Ponyville under such heavy surveillance, she probably couldn't even return to the Mirror Pool to go home.
Where could Fluttershy had gone? Surely she wouldn't just leave her here...
"You're awake..." A familiar voice whispered, her tone one of complete relief. "Thank heavens. Here, this should help your head a bit."
Fluttershy placed an odd, repulsive looking black flower onto the ground next to Twilight and sat down herself. Her coat was dripping water, and Twilight could only assume she had gotten the odd plant from the lake somewhere. Twilight simply prodded the flower and looked to Fluttershy for an explanation as to why they were still outside.
"I'm a changeling, apparently. And you're hell-bent on slaughtering everything Rainbow holds dear. And she's taking a huge chance just by letting you live." Fluttershy let out an exasperated sigh and motioned towards the flower. "These are the sort of things that grow in the night. I know it looks disgusting. It'll probably taste disgusting, too, but its pretty good for treating insomnia, headaches. That sort of thing."
Compliantly, Twilight lifted the vile flower to her mouth and, squeezing her eyes tight, swallowed it whole, trying her best to not let it touch her tongue on the way down.
"So, what next, Twi?" Fluttershy asked, once she had finished. "How do we convince them we're not what they say we are?"
"Urgh...I...I have no idea! I would say Rainbow is being too stubborn, but she really has good reason to not trust us. More reason than she has to trust us, anyway."
Fluttershy looked utterly heartbroken, but nodded in agreement at Twilight's words.
"Yeah...I just thought Rainbow would be happy to see that I was still alive, but she has the safety of The Resistance to think about."
Suddenly, as if by some divine coincidence, the stone door in front of her once again shifted and shimmered and none other than Rainbow Dash stepped out, followed closely by Applejack.
"Rainbow..." Fluttershy whispered, looking up at her friend with pleading eyes. "Please...I'm not a changeling...you have to believe me!"
"I don't know what to believe, Fluttershy. But I know what I need to do. It's my job to protect my friends, and the integrity of the Resistance. I don't know what sort of stunt Twilight and Nightmare Moon are trying to pull, but we're not buying it."
"Good! Rainbow, I'm glad you feel that way!" Twilight said suddenly, causing Fluttershy's hopeless expression to change to one of confusion. "You're the Element of Loyalty! And...Applejack!"
Twilight turned her gaze to the orange earth pony, whose dirty blond mane looked naked without her familiar Stetson. Applejack had been refusing to meet her eyes, but now that she did, Twilight already started to regret addressing her. The look of absolute hatred she received from one of her closest friends was crushing. Twilight tried to muster a few words about Honesty but stopped when she realized she was simply babbling like a foal.
"Element of Loyalty." Applejack repeated, not to the unicorn in front of her but to Rainbow Dash. "Is she talkin' about what I think she's talkin' about?"
"Probably. She really thinks we're dumb enough to trust her. And, for the record, Fluttershy, no, I don't think you're a changeling. But whatever sick things Twilight did to you to make you trust her, I don't want to know."
"I know you don't believe us..." Twilight asserted. "But I'm telling the truth. I'm here to help you guys defeat Nightmare Moon. I know Celestia. And I know all you guys, but its...you're different. Please, you have to trust me!"
"Look, Twilight..." Rainbow Dash said coldly, still watching them from the entrance way. "I'll humor you. Explain why you're here. And then I'll decide whether or not I need to stop you from ratting our location out to your murdering mentor."
"Rainbow!" Fluttershy pleaded. "You heard what Nightmare Moon said! She's helping us now!"
"I don't care. Even if I DID believe her, we don't need any help."
Twilight wondered how she could possibly explain her situation to Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy had been easier, she was rather naive, but Rainbow...
"Is Pinkie Pie around?" Twilight asked, getting an idea.
Rainbow Dash sighed in frustration and turned to leave, the magic barrier reassembling itself behind her. Applejack, however, stayed behind, and continued staring at Twilight with those cold, terrifying eyes. She was quite obviously avoiding Fluttershy, given the fact that she never once acknowledged or even looked at her supposedly-deceased friend.
"Please don't be mad at Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said softly to Twilight. "She's not normally this mean. She's really a nice pony."
Twilight nodded. "I know, Fluttershy. You were the same when I first met you," Twilight had meant this to be lighthearted, but Fluttershy obviously didn't think it so.
"I'm sorry, Twilight," Fluttershy muttered, looking at the stone ground.
In time, the stone door once again shimmered and Rainbow Dash reappeared, followed closely by Pinkie Pie.
"Alright, I got her. Now ask—"
"Oh wow!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, jumping up and down. "Is this really THE Twilight Sparkle! Like, the all-important, everyone in Equestria hates her, helps Nightmare Moon, EVIL Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight couldn't help but giggle at Pinkie's strange reaction of joy at being greeted with her worst enemy.
"Not exactly, Pinkie. Rainbow Dash here wants to know why I'm helping you guys now, and I thought maybe you could help prove my point. Do you remember any incident where you were suddenly transported to a different version of Equestria?"
"She can't be serious..." Applejack muttered under her breath.
"Well, there was the time I had this CRAZY dream where I was in a super-duper party filled Ponyville with a bunch of my friends."
Twilight smiled with delight. "Exactly! And I was there, right, and I teleported you back here?"
"Whoa...that's sorta creepy, Twilight...you had the same dream?"
"No, Pinkie, it wasn't a dream at all!"
Now that Twilight had a trustworthy testimony from one of Rainbow's close friends, she proceeded to explain her whole story from the moment she traversed through the mirror pool.
"Its true..." Fluttershy whispered nervously when she was done. "She was the one who helped me escape..."
Rainbow Dash apparently didn't hear Fluttershy, and looked cautiously from Pinkie Pie to Twilight, unconvinced.
"I still don't understand why you're here"
"Princess Celestia sent me," Twilight replied, and Rainbow Dash intensified her glare on the purple mare. Even Applejack broke her resolve and looked genuinely interested. Obviously caught off guard, Rainbow simply motioned for Twilight to continue.
"I think it has something to do with Nightmare Moon, and the mirror pool. She didn't directly tell me, but I think I understand why now."
"Well then enlighten us," Rainbow Dash was pacing now, refusing to make eye contact with anypony except Twilight.
Twilight thought of how best to explain without casting suspicion on herself. "The mirror pool is a doorway between two worlds. Its molecular compound is unique, and unlike anything else in Equestrian histo—"
"Cut to the chase, egghead," The cyan pegasus cut in peevishly. "I really don't have the time or the patience for your scientific mumbo-jumbo."
"Alright, fine! So, the mirror pool allows for streamlined access across our Equestrias, right? I got in here by just jumping in. So what if Nightmare Moon does the same thing?"
"Why would she do that?" Fluttershy piped up. "What would it accomplish?"
"Look at this Equestria, Fluttershy. I hate to break it to you guys, but I don't think its got a long life ahead of it. So what do you do with something that isn't any good to you?"
"Re...replace it..." Fluttershy murmured, her voice dropping considerably as she realized how horrific it would be if Nightmare Moon was allowed access into such a carefree and innocent realm.
"So it's all about YOUR Equestria," Rainbow Dash said, her voice changing from suspicion to disgust. "You really couldn't care less about us, could you?"
"What?! Of course I do! The only way I can help my Equestria is to save Nightmare Moon the trouble of saving yours!" Twilight looked at the gawking faces of her friends. "Please, just trust me!"
Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other and back at Fluttershy and Twilight. Looking at the faces of these ponies, Rainbow Dash knew she should feel nothing short of hatred, anger, and perhaps fear, but, as much as she wanted to deny it, she knew there was something else there, too. Saying all this to Applejack, she was startled to hear that the earth pony felt the same.
"I mean...what do we have to loose..." Applejack muttered. "If anythin' goes wrong, we outnumber them by thousands."
Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated 'humph,' before slamming her hoof down hard onto the rocky ground, the sound echoing across the dark water below.
"Fine, Twilight Sparkle. I can't believe I'm actually doing this."
Nightmare Moon approached the landing chariot, and addressed its passenger with a booming voice.
"Twilight Sparkle! Explain to me right now what is going on!"
Twilight Sparkle ran up to the Princess as soon as the chariot landed.
"I have no idea, Princess! I was hoping you could explain to ME what is going on."
Nightmare Moon examined her student carefully. This was definitely not a changeling. It was easy to tell when you knew what you were looking for. Nightmare Moon suddenly started barraging Twilight with questions. Where she had been, what year it was, how she had been appointed as her student. Twilight answered each of these questions clearly and concisely, unlike her vague and panicked explanations back in Ponyville.
How exactly could she be certain that this was her loyal student? She decided the best way was to ask her a question she knew she had only told her students. She hadn't been lying when she expressed her confusion, and, most importantly, Nightmare Moon felt a certain amount of trust when talking to her.
"Twilight Sparkle, one last question, if I may. Where is Princess Celestia?"
And Twilight answered.
Rainbow Dash led Twilight Sparkle from the small grotto into an immense crystal cave. She recognized this as the cave where Chrysalis had sent her and Cadence, but this one was hugely inhabited by ponies.
"All refugees," Rainbow Dash said, seeing Twilight's gaze of wonderment. "Escapees, survivors of wars, newborns. We've formed a whole community right under Nightmare Moon's nose."
Twilight thought of the ponies back in Ponyville, their terror and suppressed freedom, and herself as the leader of it all. She shuddered at the though.
In time, they reached a smaller cavern, albeit much larger than where Twilight had been during her slumber. There, she saw Rarity sitting with a multitude of mare and colts, many of which had the signs of malnourishment Twilight had seen in Fluttershy back in Ponyville. This must be important members of The Resistance. Twilight recognized many of the ponies, including what she remembered as a mailmare pegasus back in Ponyville, a white earth pony nurse (who, even in this reality appeared to be some form of doctor,) and even the mayor of Ponyville back home. Twilight could have sworn she'd even saw Trixie when she had first entered the hall, but if she had really been amongst the gathered ponies, she must have left swiftly upon seeing Twilight.
From the looks of things, Rarity was trying to calm the panicking ponies.
"It's alright!" Rainbow Dash announced, seeing the anger flicker into the eyes of the ponies in the hall as they glared at Twilight Sparkle. "She's just here for a few hours."
"No..." Twilight asserted. "I'm here for as long as it takes to defeat Nightmare Moon."
"Indeed?" Rarity questioned. "Pray-tell, Rainbow Dash, what exactly is this all about?"
"Well, believe it or not," Rainbow Dash began. "It's pretty much exactly what Fluttershy said...do you remember when Pinkie Pie told us about her weird dream?"
"I don't understand why we are digressing from Twilight's story with these irrelevant details..." Rarity urged.
"Well, Pinkie Pie's dream wasn't a dream at all...she was teleported into my Equestria through the mirror pool."
Twilight Sparkle entered Nightmare Moon's throne room nervously. Nightmare Moon was gazing at Ponyville in the distance, but turned when she saw Twilight approaching.
"Has your research hailed anything?" Nightmare Moon asked.
Twilight nodded her head. "Indeed it has, Princess, although it appears to be an unproved observation from an ancient lunatic. He claims that a location known as "the Mirror Pool" is capable of cloning, and he even stipulates that he himself had cloned himself, passing the doppelganger as a clone before killing it when it started taking over his life. Like I said, a lunatic. No records of any "mirror pool" exist..."
The Princess of the Night nodded. "Unproven, certainly, but so far its the best explanation we have. The Twilight Sparkle I saw in Ponyville was most definitely not a changeling. Did he write anything about how the pool functioned?"
"Only that it was a mystery that he planned on solving. That was the last thing he wrote. What is our next course of action then, Princess?"
"Simple. We arrange a meeting with the other Twilight Sparkle."
"And you think she'll simply come on request?"
"There is a significant chance she will. Remember, she is your clone after all...she'll most likely attempt to commandeer your life, similar to the plans of the 'ancient lunatic."'
"A clever deduction, your majesty. As always."
"You're loyalty is appreciated, Twilight Sparkle. Let's hope I'm not wrong in believing it is present."
"So, wait a minute, Twilight not only knows how to kill Nightmare Moon, but is willing to help us do it?"
"No, Rarity," Twilight replied. "Not kill. And as a matter of fact, without my co-operation it is completely impossible," She cast a sideways glance at Rainbow Dash. "That is, unless any of you are capable of advanced magic."
"And these...Elements of Whatever," Applejack questioned. "Where'd you think they would be?"
"That...is where we are sort of stuck," Twilight confessed. "If she somehow managed to banish Princess Celestia to the sun, she would have had to been wielding them...chances are she still is."
"And...umm...there's no other way she can be defeated?" Fluttershy stammered.
"As long as we're working together...I don't think we need them. You see, in the Equestria I come from, the six of us each represent the Elements. As long as we work together, the Elements will answer to us regardless of who is wielding them."
"And you're sure about this?" Rainbow Dash asked skeptically.
"Well...no."
A collective murmuring rose through the other five ponies. Finally, Applejack spoke up.
"So, lemme get this crystal-clear," She jeered. "You want us to walk up to Nightmare Moon's castle, with nothin' but our bare hoofs, and expect some magical rocks help defeat Nightmare Moon, all just 'cause you said so?"
"I WANT TO HELP YOU PONIES!" Twilight snapped. "What else do I have to do to prove that? In my Equestria-"
"In your Equestria," Rainbow Dash repeated. "That's all you ever seem to talk about. Why don't you just go back to your perfect little world and let us deal with our own problems."
"Because it just so happens your problems are the reason I'm here in the first place. Your problems are the reason I saved your friend, your problems are the reason I blindly teleported through a lethal fence, and your problems are the reason I was almost eaten by a giant lake monster today. Your problems are also why as soon as I get back to my 'perfect little world,' I have to answer for deliberately disobeying Princess Celestia's orders and endangering my 'perfect little world.' Your problems are why I'm going to have to say goodbye to everything and everyone who ever mattered to me as soon as I return. So, if I'm most likely going to get banished as soon as I go home, its not like I have anything to loose anyway. Do you? Or would you rather live in darkness forever?"
The murmuring began again, but Twilight knew she'd gotten through to them. Fluttershy, who had remained silent for some time, walked up to Twilight.
"So...what's our plan?"
"I...I need some time to think about it."
Twilight shook her head in a fruitless attempt to clear her line of sight from her own disheveled mane as she looked across the faces of a thousand expecting ponies, some with narrowed eyes and pursed lips, others clamoring amongst themselves and casting sideways glances at the nervous pony in front of them, and the other five off to her right. Rainbow Dash was kicking the ground idly, Rarity and Applejack stared at her between their own personal whispering. Pinkie Pie was bouncing around, chatting with any and every pony she could find, and Fluttershy gave Twilight a supportive grin.
"Ahem. Hello, citizens of Canterlot. My name is Twilight Sparkle. Please do not be alarmed or confused by my presence here, as I'm sure many of you are. I assure you I mean no harm, and am in fact here by decree..."
Rainbow Dash looked up at this pause, and waved a hoof at her to continue.
"...by decree...of Princess Celestia."
Unsurprisingly, the cavern instantly exploded in uproar, and Twilight's next words were lost in the din of a thousand pony voices, all asking her for an answer she couldn't possibly provide. Trying without avail to silence the crowd, Twilight found herself pacing backwards, nearly falling off the stone table she was standing on. It was all over, so suddenly. There was no way she could explain to so many furious ponies that she meant to help them.
"Hey!" A familiar voice screamed over the din. "Can't you see she's talking? For Celestia's sake, everypony shut up and listen!"
Struggling for words as everypony instantly quieted down and resumed their disturbingly synchronized staring, Twilight instead faced her friends as she spoke again.
"Th...thank you, Rainbow Dash. Ahem. As I was saying, I'm here by decree of Princess Celestia. Whether you believe me or not, Rainbow Dash has assured me that you will be following my every command as I lead you all towards a sunny tomorrow. I realize I'm asking for an amount of trust nopony in this room wants to give me. I realize that many of you have seen your own kin..." just say it and get it over with, Twilight told herself internally. "...killed...at my request. I'm not here to rationalize what has been done, nor am I here to admit that I am responsible. I don't agree with the actions of Nightmare Moon. I don't agree with the laws put in place in Ponyville, or in all of Equestria. I despise this world as much as every last one of you here. That is why I've come to help you all."
As soon as they had seen she was finished, the cavern exploded in chaos again, causing Rainbow Dash to bring a hoof to her face and motion for silence, something she promptly received.
"...Well, that was certainly...something, Twilight. Very cheery. I especially liked the part about you killing peoples kin. Anyway, you all heard the mare. You're listening to her now, for better or for worse. I'm not exactly keen about it myself, but I don't really see any other option anymore. She seems to know how we're going to bring back the sun, and we're going to need to trust her if we hope to see it. So I don't want to see any more glares or hear any more hushed whispering. Is that understood? Good. Now then, Twilight, if you will, I believe they all have questions. For the love of Equestria, one at a time, please."
Nodding politely in response, Twilight stepped forward and faced the crowd. Dozens of hooves shot up, and Twilight pointed to one at random and smiled at him.
"If Princess Celestia sent you here, where is she?! Why would she leave us all here to die?" He screamed, receiving a multitude of agreed mutterings.
"Umm, well, it isn't exactly that simple." Twilight began. "You see, while Princess Celestia did send me, she isn't exactly...here. As a matter of fact, I'm not really supposed to be, either...." While she hated to do so, Twilight turned around and gesticulated wildly for help from Rainbow Dash, who simply blew her mane out of her eyes and stepped forward.
"Why Twilight is here isn't important, alright? She just is. Next question."
Twilight gazed around her grotto sleeping quarters to make sure she was not being watched. Considering the immense distrust every single pony in the Canterlot Caves had been taught to feel towards her, the past few hours had really gone incredibly well. She had answered most questions successfully, although one recurring inquiry continued to disturb her the more she thought about it.
Tonight, she would finally be getting some answers as to what had caused Equestria to be like this. She found her saddle-pack, still damp, and withdrew the scroll Celestia had given her. She'd nearly forgot she had it. It was, (thankfully) undamaged by the water, and the ancient characters still clearly legible. She used her magic on the scroll, unsure about what it would do.
"I know you said to use this scroll when it was completely necessary..." Twilight said to the empty cavern. "Well, it's necessary now. I need answers."
The scroll began sparking with light, shooting electricity every which way, the sound reverberating around the room at a deafening volume. She heard hoofbeats running towards her chamber, but the room was completely white with electricity at this point. Suddenly, without warning, Twilight felt herself being pulled violently by some unnatural force, as the last lights of the cave disappeared with the dissonance of light and sound.
Twilight Sparkle felt her whole world shifting and turning. If she focused carefully, quick flashes of Equestria could be seen through the torrents of light...always different. At some points it would be Ponyville, other times Canterlot Mountain.
As Twilight watched the landscape shifting, she slowly started noticing patterns in what she was seeing. Dead trees grew leaves and descended into the earth, the electric fence surrounding Ponyville was dismantled, the buildings becoming less and less derelict. Soon, the buildings, too, were dismantled, trees replacing where they once had been. Minutes turned to hours as Twilight gazed at this magnificent spectacle.
In time, the torrents of light grew less and less dramatic, as the pull on Twilight loosened. Twilight watched as the decades slowed into years, the years into months, and soon, she found herself able to walk freely, the pull completely gone. She noticed she was no longer in Canterlot Mountain, but in a large forest growing on what she assumed would become Ponyville.
Unlike the time-scroll she had used when she broke into the Starswirl Wing in Canterlot, this one seemed to allow her to remain for longer than a few seconds. She just hoped she would eventually be pulled back, and not be stranded here.
Twilight wondered how far back she had gone. At least centuries, but it could be longer. Twilight realized with a start that the sun was shining here. She had gone back before Nightmare Moon had taken over Equestria. The sun was a dim twilight, however, and in a few minutes it would be night.
Her thoughts were interrupted by an immense burst of orange light in the sky behind her, the sound of an explosion following closely. With no other leads, she ran in the direction of the flash.
As she ran, more and more quieter explosions pierced the silent twilight. Branches and thorns got in her way, scratching her body significantly, but Twilight didn't care.
Her bloodshed was the least of her concerns as she realized what she was witnessing.
She was standing on a cliff, overlooking the ancient Palace of the Royal Sisters. It was recently damaged, and Twilight concluded this must be the result of the explosions she had heard. High above the castle, Princess Celestia was nimbly dodging violent barrages of magic from Nightmare Moon. Celestia performed a sleek turn and hovered in place, facing Nightmare Moon.
"Sister! I implore you, stop this madness!" She screamed, almost begging. Her voice, despite the distance, reverberated across the castle courtyards and up the cliff where Twilight was watching in horror.
"The great Princess Celestia..." Nightmare Moon sneered. "So loved by the world, so powerful, reduced to begging. Look, the sun is setting...on both Equestria, and your rule over it. Where are your precious Elements now?"
"Luna, please! Think about our subjects..."
Nightmare Moon continued as if Celestia had not spoken. "You did not possibly expect me to be so foolish as to leave them for you to use them against me. Then again, you've always had very little regard for your sister, haven't you?"
"Luna...you know that is not true. You know that you mean more than anything else in Equestria to me."
"I've been eclipsed by your greatness for far to long, Celestia," Nightmare Moon whispered angrily, as six objects began spinning around her hovering body. They began to glow as they spun, each a different color. They spun, faster and faster, until they were a blur of rainbow light.
Celestia tore off as soon as she saw exactly what Nightmare Moon was wielding. She flew rapidly over Twilight, with Nightmare Moon in close pursuit. Twilight ran after them through the forest, faster than before. She was not paying any attention to where she was running, her eyes fixated on the figures of the two alicorns flashing in and out of sight through the thick canopy overhead. Suddenly, the blur of light haloed around Nightmare Moon's flying form tore off ahead of her, striking Princess Celestia, the resounding impact and blinding surges of light seemingly covering all of Equestria for a mere second. Twilight watched in terror as the body of Princess Celestia fell, down and down. Nightmare Moon had stopped, watching the sunset and moonrise, paying no attention to the great crime she had just committed.
Twilight dashed through the trees, faster than she'd ever ran before. She could hear Nightmare Moon laughing above her as she watched the setting sun.
Eventually, she thought she could make out the white form of an alicorn in the growing thickets ahead.
"Princess Celestia!" She screamed, tears forming in her eyes. "Please don't be dead...please..."
Twilight could see Celestia's chest moving up and down, and gasped with relief. Celestia looked up at Twilight Sparkle, not with surprise or anger, but with sadness.
"My dear pony..." She started, her voice labored and weak. Twilight Sparkle could see a large gash tearing through Princess Celestia's side. Through it, blood was gushing rapidly, not red, but a metallic silver, with luster like the edges of a rainbow. She was unfamiliar with healing magic, but she tried her best to close the gash.
"No..." Princess Celestia struggled. "It is too late, my little pony. My time, like all others eventually, has come to an end. If I cannot save this world in life, then let my blood bring forth hope for my subjects."
"Please don't die, Princess....please."
Princess Celestia attempted a smile as she turned to face Twilight Sparkle, eye to eye, wincing in pain at the effort.
"You are not from this world. I can see it in your eyes. They have seen many trials, dangers, but there is also so much love and compassion in those eyes. Do not loose sight of it in the days to come. What is your name, my dear?"
"T...Twilight Sparkle..." she said between sobs.
"A name I shall remember, long after this night. The name of Equestria's last chance for hope."
Nightmare Moon had stopped laughing above. She would undoubtedly be coming down to finish the job soon. Princess Celestia noticed Twilight's skyward glance.
"Do not blame my sister for what has happened. If the world lives in hatred, even of her, my death will be meaningless. I will always love my subjects dearly, and I will always hold a special place in my heart for my dear sister, despite these events."
Princess Celestia turned to watch the moon rise over Equestria, tears running down her face. "I am sorry. I am sorry this world is all I could leave behind for my subjects."
With that, Princess Celestia closed her eyes, her blood continuing to seep into the earth underneath.
"Please...no..." Twilight cried softly, as Princess Celestia breathed her last breaths, her sides moving rapidly, before stopping completely.
The Princess of the Sun was dead.
Twilight wept softly into the growing night for what seemed like hours. In time, she became aware of strong wing-beats flying overhead.
"Celestia!" Nightmare Moon's voice called out into the night. "Celestia, show yourself!" Her voice grew increasingly desperate as she continued to call the Princess's name.
"Please, Celestia. Please, answer me," Nightmare Moon's voice was quavering, as if she was holding back tears. "Sister..."
Twilight hid in the thick bushes close to Princess Celestia's body. She heard Nightmare Moon land close by.
"No...oh please, no..." Nightmare Moon whispered, seeing Celestia's body. She ran up to it swiftly, cradling her older sister.
"I'm sorry, Sister. I am so, so sorry. I did not want for this to happen...please...forgive me," She was crying now, but making no sound. "Wake up, sister. You are just sleeping...please, speak to me..."
Nightmare Moon looked down at the earth, staring for a long time at her reflection in the shimmering liquid seeping into the earth.
"What have I become..." She cried softly to the world that was now hers. Equestria meant nothing to her, the only thing that mattered was her sister.
Underneath where the Princess lay, her blood dripped, down and down, dripping into an empty cavern, the translucent liquid forming a pool shimmering with light.
Twilight Sparkle could smell electricity growing in the air, and she knew her time here was limited. She ran through the forest quietly, not wanting to interrupt Nightmare Moon's mourning. When she thought she was far enough, she sat in the dirt, waiting for the familiar magical pull. She looked up at the moon's position in the sky, where it would remain for more than a thousand years. With the death of the princesses came the end of night and day, the moon hanging as a reminder of the tragedy she had just witnessed.
The electricity grew stronger, and when Twilight tried to move, she found it was impossible. The minutes once again blurred into hours as she watched the world age and die in a vivid time lapse.
When the blur of years finally slowed, Twilight was alarmed to find that she was not back at Canterlot Mountain, but still in the Everfree Forest. The clearing where she had waited was surprisingly unchanged from a thousand years ago, and she had no trouble orienting herself in the direction of Ponyville.
She started walking in the direction of Ponyville when her head began to ache. Suddenly, Nightmare Moon's voice was within her own mind again, much clearer than before.
Hello, Twilight Sparkle. Do not worry, the message I am about to present is not a threat. Your presence is cordially requested at the Castle of the Eternal Night, in the Everfree Forest. You have been temporary absolved of your crimes. Undoubtedly, you have many questions...as do I. Let us meet in peace and settle our differences without the aid of violence or retaliation. Or would you perhaps like the blood of more ponies on your hooves?
Twilight recognized a trap when she saw one, but after what she had just seen, she had a whole new perspective on Nightmare Moon's reign over Equestria, and the eternal night. She wondered how exactly Equestria descended so quickly into chaos, and knew this was the only way she was going to get answers. She remembered what Princess Celestia had said to her moments before dying. About how the world would only get worse if the hatred of Nightmare Moon were allowed to flourish. This spoke volumes of the Princess. Even in death, her last thoughts were with her sister, and not her own downfall. Twilight knew she had to be as brave as her, no matter what the cost might be.
A staircase stretched down from the cliff where she had watched the showdown between Celestia and Nightmare Moon. The Castle had since been repaired, but was largely the same. She found it miraculous that in more than a thousand years, Nightmare Moon had preserved the castle exactly as she remembered it.
Twilight reached the bottom of the steps and stood facing the castle, its sharp spires jutting into the air. There were no royal guards or harsh electric fences. It was absolutely unprotected, Nightmare Moon was obviously fearless towards the intentions of The Resistance. Twilight walked towards the entrance to the castle, fear tingling down her spine. What was she doing here? Before she could even consider turning and running back, the large wooden gate to the castle courtyard opened by itself. Nightmare Moon was standing on the other side.
"You came," Nightmare Moon said, without much emotion. "Thank you."
Twilight wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she changed the subject. "I suppose you've spoken now with the other Twilight Sparkle. I trust she is watching us right now..."
Nightmare Moon looked at Twilight with her cold eyes. "You're honesty surprises me. What exactly are you, Twilight Sparkle? A clone?"
"Something like that. I'm not from around here, if that's what you mean."
"And yet you came swiftly..."
Twilight shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood."
Nightmare Moon began walking across the courtyard towards the entrance of the castle. Twilight Sparkle followed her, and the two went on without a word. After crossing a long causeway and ascending a tall set of stairs, they entered the throne room. Nightmare Moon turned to Twilight.
"I promised you answers. And I am willing to give them to you."
"Those things you said about your subjects when you spoke with me telepathically...you don't believe them, do you?"
"I love my subjects dearly, Twilight Sparkle. I am only trying to protect them from further harm," Nightmare Moon replied defensively.
"You love them," Twilight scoffed. "You murder them. You make them so afraid that they cannot even rebel against you, and the few who have the courage to stand up to you are shown no mercy whatsoever."
"YOU ARE WRONG!" Nightmare Moon suddenly screamed. "You know nothing of these matters, and yet you flaunt your thoughts around based on what little evidence you have seen. Do you think this is what I want? To rule the world under threat and fear?"
Twilight said nothing in reply.
"No," Nightmare Moon continued, pacing across the room. "It wasn't always like this, Twilight Sparkle. You might not believe it, but there was a time when my subjects lived in happiness and tranquility under the light of the moon. There was a time when I did not need executions or imprisonment to maintain order."
"Was that before or after you murdered Princess Celestia?" Twilight heard herself say.
Nightmare Moon whipped around quickly. Twilight braced herself for the royal Canterlot voice. It didn't come.
"Both..." Nightmare Moon whispered. "After the death of the Princess, I was overcome with guilt. I was responsible for the night that plagued the land. I tried desperately to raise the sun, but to no avail. Ponies were frightened, and in their fright, they turned to the only mare who offered any comfort. They did not understand what I had done to Princess Celestia, or why I had taken on such an intimidating form, but they chose to follow blindly. As the decades bled into centuries, my subjects lost any sense of doubt, and looked at me the same way they had looked upon my sister. But the peace was short-lived. I had thought that my subjects had forgotten the sunlight, but I was wrong. After more than five centuries of blind trust, more and more ponies gathered in protest of the night, demanding for the sun to be raised and the truth to be revealed. The name of "Princess Luna" was all but forgotten as I became known to my subjects as "Nightmare Moon." It didn't take long for the protests to escalate into full-scale civil wars."
Nightmare Moon stopped, and motioned at a stained glass mural of a violent war. One side of the battle was depicted under the sunlight, while the other took place under the moon.
"As you've probably already guessed, I was victorious in maintaining my control over Equestria. The survivors of The Resistance surrendered, and some escaped to the distant mountains, where their kin undoubtedly still remain. Yet others fled to the Changeling Kingdom, but I doubt they were met warmly. My authority returned, I tried desperately to regain the trust of my subjects, but I knew things would never be the same. The seeds of rebellion and doubt had been planted, even in the minds of those who fought for the night. It did not take long for those seeds to flourish into hatred, and another war seemed imminent. In a last attempt to prevent more vicious bloodshed, I saw no other choice but to begin reigning under the order you see today. I wish for nothing but peace, but I know that a pony guilty of my crimes can never be forgiven."
Twilight Sparkle was stunned. "Did you ever tell them about what happened to Princess Celestia? Did no one understand?"
"Twilight, it is impossible to forgive what I have done. Since the last sunset on Equestria, every action and order I gave to my subjects, every tragedy and triumph I watched unfold within my kingdom, one thing has always been present in the back of my mind. Guilt. I have never forgiven myself for what I have done, and I know I will never be able to. Every time I enter this throne room, something is missing. Every time I make announcements to my subjects, I long for the soothing voice of Celestia along side my own. I sit on a throne built over the corpse of the only pony who truly ever loved me. And yet so many ponies have approached me, calling me a murderer, that I betrayed the order of Equestria...as if I needed the reminder."
Twilight thought about her time travel scroll. She debated whether or not she should tell Nightmare Moon about it. For the sake of Princess Celestia, she decided she would have to. She explained what she had seen, and what she had the ability to do, but Nightmare Moon shook her head sadly.
"I have considered time travel magic for a long time. But even if I were able to reach back in time to the day I used the Elements against my sister, I am a vessel of evil...I cannot prevent the actions of what I have done. There is a civil war still raging, Twilight Sparkle...right here," Nightmare Moon motioned to her brain. "There are two voices, there always have been, ever since the beginning, ever since before it happened. Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon, locked in an epic battle for mastery over this body you see before you."
Twilight thought about Princess Luna, back in Equestria, fighting back Nightmare Moon, everyday, having no direct control over her choices without having to wage war for each one.
"I can see it in your eyes, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare Moon's words were reminiscent of Princess Celestia's final words. "I can see bravery in them, the desire to do what is right. I have never seen that in my Twilight before...hers are filled with the same icy desire to control as mine. No remorse, or mercy...not like you. You are different."
Twilight couldn't tell whether to be frightened or flattered.
"I have been waiting for a long, long time for somepony who so efficiently represents the Elements Of Harmony. They cannot be wielded alone by a mere mortal, and they will no longer answer to me. I am powerless, Twilight Sparkle. I cannot raise the moon or the sun, all of Equestria has remained in this same frozen night since Princess Celestia died."
Twilight considered these words for a long while, comparing them to what she had seen over the course of the few days she had been here. Indeed, Nightmare Moon did not seem as blatantly evil as she remembered her, but she certainly was not the sort of pony she could see being respected.
There was still one thing bothering Twilight though. One thing that didn't quite add up.
"Why tell me all this?"
Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and broke her glare on Twilight.
"Hope, I suppose. This world will not survive much longer. Each century that comes to passes I am amazed that there are still ponies alive to see it, but I know that this world does not have many centuries left. I've done my best to provide food and warmth against the growing cold that covers the land, and I have been successful for this long, but in the end, I cannot save Equestria from myself. But perhaps you can. I will defend myself to the very end, because as I have said, I am a creature of hatred and loathing. I do not want to perish, but I certainly do not want to see my subjects perish either."
Suddenly, Nightmare Moon's expression changed from solemnity to anger and she furiously slammed a hoof down on the ground, cracks like spider-legs crawling across the marble floor.
"I know about the Mirror Pool now, Twilight Sparkle. I know where you come from. And I truly wish I did not."
"I...I understand." Twilight replied, and amazingly, she did.
"Your presence in this realm is changing you, Twilight Sparkle, for the worse. I'm sure you would take comfort in knowing that you failed to kill the two pegasi guards who were pursuing you back in Ponyville. But be warned, you are not from this disharmonious Equestria, do not expect to leave it unscathed by the bitter hatred I have unleashed upon this world. I suggest you leave now, if you hope to maintain your innocence, but I think we both know you will not. But at least leave my presence now. I have told all that I possibly can anyway."
Twilight Sparkle nodded in comprehension, turning to dash across the throne room floor, but stopped at the end of the hall when she heard Nightmare Moon speak again.
"Your world...the innocence and beauty...I hope you understand that I will do anything to save my subjects,Twilight Sparkle. Anything."
Without turning to acknowledge this statement, Twilight swiftly continued her exit, her hoofbeats drowning out Nightmare Moon's final whispered lament.
"Don't let me." She said to the empty room.
Through dark corridors Twilight ran, leaping down steps and darting through courtyards until the Everfree Forest was sprawled ahead of her, separated only by a stone archway.
"Not another step, imposter," Twilight Sparkle sneered, blocking her escape.
The courtyard was silent as the two stood, waiting for each other to make the first move. Finally, one spoke.
"You are unwelcome here, imposter," She snarled, standing her ground.
Twilight looked at her evil counterpart. She could escape if she really wanted to, even without the aid of magic. But she did not want to. She remembered Fluttershy, the gallows in Ponyville, the terrified fillies, and the amputated pegasi. She thought about all the ponies who had died at Twilight Sparkle's command, all the fear and suffering her reign had no doubt brought upon the world. She thought about how close her own friend had come to being executed at this monsters command. As she pondered the actions of her evil doppelganger, the more anger fueled her magic. She wasn't about to run away. This worlds Twilight Sparkle would pay for what she had done to Ponyville.
If the world lives in hatred, my death will be meaningless. Celestia's voice echoed in Twilight's mind.
"The only one who is unwelcome in this world is you. And I know you can see that on the faces of every pony who you think you're above. For more than three days, I've lived as you. I've been spit on by everyone in Equestria. How does it feel for that to be your reality?"
"I feel no sympathy for these meaningless peasants."
"Get out of my way now. I don't want to fight you," Twilight Sparkle lied, her voice quavering. The other Twilight noticed this and laughed maliciously.
"You don't want to fight me? Your morality will prove to be your downfall. Like the pathetic Princess Celestia."
Twilight had heard enough. It was time she put the teachings of Nightmare Moon to test. Her horn began glowing with pink light, and the Twilight standing in the gate followed suit, her horn glowing an icy blue. The two mares stared at each other as the magic grew, splashing light on the courtyard walls, illuminating the darkness around them. Twilight Sparkle wore an expression of utter hatred as she prepared her magic. Nothing the Princess had said could stop her now. No mercy existed in her heart to prevent her from discharging justice in the form of a spectacle of magical destruction.
When Twilight Sparkle was performing research on the Mirror Pool for Nightmare Moon, she overlooked one specific theory that would perhaps have prevented her from confronting Celestia's prodigy, and ultimately prevented her own downfall.
The culmination of brilliant light finally exploded in a pink and blue vista of blazing magic. Twilight was thrown backwards from her guard at the gate, sailing through the air before hitting the ground behind her some twenty feet away, the last flicker of blue light fading from the tip of her horn.
Twilight walked slowly to her fallen foe. Nightmare Moon's prodigy was breathing heavily, trying desperately to regain enough magic power to defend herself. Twilight calmly looked down upon her evil self, her horn resuming its display of pink light.
"You...you won't..." Twilight Sparkle struggled, trying to determine how she had been bested by an imposter. "You will show me mercy...as Celestia would."
"You may have heard..." Twilight responded coldly, still looking down at her foe. "Princess Celestia isn't around."
"Please...you will show me mercy..."
"Did you show any of the 'meaningless peasants' mercy?" Twilight muttered, and her doppelganger's eyes grew wide with fear. "I'm sorry, I truly am, but you don't deserve any mercy from me, so don't think you'll be getting any," Twilight looked into her foes eyes one last time as her magic splashed the forest with pink fire.
Twilight Sparkle looked across at the river, at Canterlot Mountain jutting into the sky, before teleporting across in two swift jumps. She looked up at the cliff above her, teleporting onto that, too. It had taken her at least a day to return to Canterlot. She wondered what her friends had been thinking, after they found her abandoned room. She looked at the camouflaged magic barrier, breaking its magic easily, and called out when she was on the other side.
"Good evening, citizens of Canterlot. What have I missed?"
A hush fell over the main hall, followed by running hoofbeats, and a pair of strong wingbeats.
"Where have YOU been?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Twilight Sparkle is dead," She said simply, walking past Rainbow Dash.
"You...you can't be..." Rainbow stuttered.
"I had a nice conversation with Nightmare Moon, too. I was invited, of course."
Rainbow Dash's expression changed from confusion to anger. "YOU! How did you find us?"
"Relax, Rainbow Dash. I'm the other Twilight Sparkle."
Just then, the remaining four ponies caught up to Rainbow Dash, and stood gaping at Twilight.
Twilight Sparkle explained everything she had seen and heard over the past day.
"Wow..." Rainbow Dash voiced, when Twilight had finished her story. "I didn't think you had it in you..."
"Neither did I," Twilight replied. "And the worst part is...I know I should feel guilty about what I did...but I just don't."
Nopony said anything for a long time.
"Regardless, dear, it had to be done. We are just a tad shocked that you of all ponies would be the one to do it," Rarity began.
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie continued. "It must have been a totally-awesome-magical-showdown-spectacular!"
"So..umm...what now?" Fluttershy interrupted nervously, seeing the discomfort in Twilight's expression. "Do we face Nightmare Moon?"
Twilight wasn't sure. Should they? Were they ready? Her friends weren't exactly the Element-representing ponies she remembered them as. She remembered what Nightmare Moon had said about her student. How she couldn't wield the Elements of Harmony because of the evil in her heart. Were her friends the same?
"I...I don't know..." Twilight stuttered. "I mean, where I come from, each of you represent one of the elements...I'm not sure if it'll work the same here."
Twilight recounted the time they had ventured through the Everfree Forest and defeated Nightmare Moon, and the time they had used the Elements to defeat Discord. She explained who represented each element, and how drastically different they're lives had been.
"So...in other words..." Applejack retorted. "We 'ave no chance of defeatin' Nightmare Moon."
"I never said that!" Twilight countered. "I'm just not sure it'll work the same way. We're never going to know until we try."
"Can...can I maybe stay here...while you five..." Fluttershy quavered.
"No!" The five mares shouted in unison.
Rainbow Dash turned, her eyes dubiously scanning Twilight Sparkle. "I'm about to risk my life based on your hunch...if I die...I'm totally killing you in the afterlife. What proof do we have that there even is two Twilight Sparkles, anyway?"
Twilight reached into her saddle-pack without a word, grabbing something and placing it in Rainbow Dash's hoof.
"Proof enough for you?" Twilight asked as her friends examined the severed unicorn horn, an exact duplicate of Twilight's. Fluttershy looked like she was about to faint. Even Rainbow Dash's typically stoic expression was replaced by one of surprise.
"OK, I'll bite. Do you know where we can find Nightmare Moon? Preferably in the morning?"
Twilight nodded.
"Although, I don't exactly feel comfortable attending my own funeral..."
The six mares sat at the stone table, as Twilight Sparkle told stories of her life in Equestria. She focused on the happy stuff exclusively, watching with pleasure as her friends laughed. It was in that moment that she knew that everything would be alright...it had to be. She saw the smiling faces of her friends, forgetting altogether that she had only known most of them for two days. Twilight Sparkle was back home, with all her friends. There was no eternal night, there was no Nightmare Moon, there were no executions...there was only six friends, laughing.
They continued on all through the night, long after the last torches of the hundreds of Canterlot residents were extinguished. Twilight was in the middle of telling about when Fluttershy had saved her from a cockatrice, when she stopped dead in the middle of her sentence. Some dark demon had come calling, bringing with him something Twilight knew she deserved, but would have given anything to not have. Guilt.
Only a morning prior, Twilight had become a murderer. She had the choice of sparing a life, and she chose not to.
"Uhh...Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked cautiously. "Something about a chicken?"
Twilight heard Pinkie's voice as if it were coming through a tunnel. A tunnel that was caving in around her.
Why had she done it? Where did the hatred come from? Twilight Sparkle had spent her whole life trying to rationalize, make logic out of things that seemed illogical, trying to discover every secret the beautiful land of Equestria had to offer. And yet she couldn't answer a simple question about herself. She looked into the concerned and confused faces of her friends across the table, as a few stray tears hit the stone.
"I...Celestia..." She started, trying desperately to get the words out. This was a nightmare...one she wanted desperately to wake up from. Twilight knew she was wide awake, the events in the castle courtyard had happened, and there was nothing she could do to change that.
Twilight ran from the dining hall to her sleeping quarters, crying silently as she ran through the caves, her magic lighting the walls blue. She stopped running, looking at the changed color of her magic, somehow not surprised.
"Twilight...?" A soft voice called from behind her. "Are you okay?"
"Fluttershy...I'm fine, thank you."
"You thought about her, didn't you," Fluttershy whispered. "About...the other Twilight. About what happened."
"How can I ever live with myself, Fluttershy? How can anypony live with themselves after doing something like that?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "A pony like you shouldn't worry about that...you aren't a bad pony, Twilight."
Twilight laughed. "Yeah, right. I'm a real role-model," She said, staring at her hooves.
"You are, Twilight. You are to me..." Fluttershy continued to whisper, apparently afraid the other four would overhear hear from down the corridor. "When I was in that cell, nothing mattered anymore. I didn't care. I gave up on Equestria because I thought it had given up on me. I was terrified of dying...but everyday I live, I'm terrified anyway."
Twilight looked up at Fluttershy, who was staring at her own hooves.
"When you rescued me, I thought maybe there was still hope for Equestria...I thought maybe Rainbow was actually right about Princess Celestia. I started caring, for the first time in my life, about my future. I never thanked you for rescuing me back in Ponyville...I'm so sorry..."
"You don't have to thank me for that, Fluttershy," Twilight gave her friend a comforting hug. "I still don't understand where the anger came from, back in the Everfree yesterday. I don't understand why I did what I did."
"Twilight Sparkle was a bad pony...you...you shouldn't feel sympathy for her the way you do..."
"Fluttershy, you're the Element of Kindness. I know you don't believe that. I don't believe it either. It doesn't matter how good or bad she was...what I did can't be justified."
"Maybe not..." Fluttershy speculated. "But it can be forgiven...your Princess Celestia will forgive you, I'm sure..."
"I don't think I can ever go back now, Fluttershy. I should stay here with you guys..."
"No. You need to go back, Twilight. The stories you told us about your friends back home... they need you more than we do," Fluttershy replied. Twilight saw the kindness in her friend, the selflessness that was so familiar to her back home, yet so alien here. "I'm scared about tomorrow, Twilight...I'm terrified."
"You aren't alone," Twilight conceded. "We're all terrified. Anypony who denies it is a liar. Now, we should get some sleep. Go tell the others... and Fluttershy...Thank you."
The six mares stared at the open, unguarded gate to Ponyville from their hiding spot behind the fallen stump of an immense tree.
"Something's wrong..." Rainbow muttered.
"Yeah! Maybe Nightmare Moon decided not to be a big meanie today, since there's a big party!"
"Funeral, Pinkie...not a party..." Applejack sighed.
Rarity turned around, glancing back in the direction of Canterlot. "I think, perhaps, we should abort this plan, girls. It was a good idea, Twilight, but I think I would prefer not dying, if that is alright with you."
"Sure!" Twilight countered. "Let's wait until she's back at her castle, surrounded by royal pony guards in the middle of the Everfree Forest!"
Reluctantly, the six ponies left their hiding spot and strode into the desolate town.
Ponies watched nervously from beyond tattered shutters and in shadowy alleyways as the five mares followed the purple unicorn, as she led them to the heart of the town.
There was no sound, save for the distant wind gusting over the barren plains surrounding Ponyville. No birds called, and the hoofbeats of Twilight and her friends echoed across the grim town. Over the eastern horizon, the moon was shining, its brilliant light uninterrupted by overhead clouds.
Twilight glanced over at the gallows, standing alone in the town square. Her library was boarded up, and the town hall was surrounded by harsh warning signs.
A crying filly or colt broke the night silence momentarily, and the whispering wind repeatedly slammed the door of some forgotten shop or home. Ahead of them, standing tall and alone in the town square, was Nightmare Moon.
She frowned when she saw Twilight Sparkle, disregarding the rest of the assembled company.
"Do you feel guilt, Twilight Sparkle? You think you have the authority to steal away my student's life like that? Do you think you are a hero...or a savior? I thought perhaps you had the potential to be one. I suppose I was wrong. "
Twilight stopped walking when she was about twenty feet from Nightmare Moon. "Yes, I do. I do feel guilt. I understand what it's like now...I wish I didn't...but I do."
Nightmare Moon nodded, and for the first time acknowledged the other five mares behind Twilight Sparkle. She chuckled softly as she examined her opposition.
"I was certainly expecting more. Are you certain these are the best ponies you could find who represent the Elements of Harmony?"
"I guess we'll find out," Twilight responded, fear darting down her spine.
"The Elements of Harmony have been dead for a long time, Twilight Sparkle. They have been dead for centuries. They have been dead ever since I used them against Princess Celestia."
Twilight wasn't surprised at this. Nor was she worried. Nightmare Moon apparently did not understand that the Elements of Harmony were as immortal as this infernal night.
"No matter," Nightmare Moon continued. "Let us finish this struggle once and for all. Let us see how much power your little Resistance has against a Princess."
With that, the Princess of the Night flew into the air, hovering above the buildings of Ponyville, her form silhouetted by the bright moon. She turned to look behind her, basking in its beauty, before beginning to charge her magic.
Twilight glanced back at her friends. They were nervously standing behind her, and from the expression on their faces, Twilight knew they did not expect to come out of this town alive.
"Elements of Harmony!" Twilight called into the silent night. "Now, more than ever, lend us your power! Be with us in this moment! For the reign of the Royal Sisters!"
Slowly, a dim light began swirling around Twilight's uncompromising figure. As the light grew brighter, it began swirling with increased intensity. Soon, Twilight Sparkle was basked in a bright sphere of dazzling light, splashing against the town of Ponyville, illuminating ever surface in a blinding torrent of radiance.
Five swirls broke free from the sphere, each beginning a new sphere around each remaining pony. The light slowly changed in color, and soon, six distinct spheres of blazing magic blanketed the sad buildings.
A sudden shriek of pain interrupted Twilight's concentration, and she opened her eyes to see if they had succeeded. She closed them quickly as they were assaulted by the sphere surrounding her. The cry was followed by four others, and Twilight realized what was happening. The Elements were rejecting their bearers. If Twilight didn't do something, her friends would be torn apart by the supreme power of the Elements of Harmony.
"Twilight!" Somepony screamed, unmistakably Rainbow Dash. "Twilight, what's going on?"
Twilight desperately wanted to respond, to comfort her friends or say SOMETHING to explain what was happening, but she couldn't seem to find the words as the spheres of light continued to grow in intensity. It was only a matter of time before each and every one of them were completely vaporized by the Elements of Harmony.
Across the town, still suspended in the air above the town, Nightmare Moon looked down at her opposition with surprise, and then at the town of Ponyville...her town, for the last time. She saw fillies and colts watching the standoff, most cowering in fear. She saw the desolate landscapes and barren vegetation, the ramshackle buildings and the harsh outlines of the smokestacks in the distance. She had never wanted Equestria to end up like this...what would her sister think? Now, it looked like her reign over Equestria was finally over.
"Stop, Luna!" Twilight could have sworn she had heard Nightmare Moon raging furiously. "This is betrayal! Stop this madness now!"
A sudden burst of rainbow light interrupted her raving, as the six spheres converged, and finally exploding in a volley of magical energy. The spheres disintegrated, and the six mares watched as the rainbow flew through the air, striking Nightmare Moon, and enveloping her in her own sphere of white-light, her screams piercing the night. The sphere descended, touching down onto the ground, before suddenly imploding. The silhouette of Nightmare Moon was slowly peeled away by the intruding light, and Princess Luna fell to the ground, unconscious.
Overhead, the moon continued its delayed voyage across the night sky.
And then everything went white.
"Hello?" Twilight Sparkle called nervously, examining the infinite void she found herself in. There was no buildings, trees, other ponies...nothing, for miles. She could not even see what she was standing on, if she was standing at all.
"Am...am I dead?" She whispered to nopony in particular.
There was no answer. Twilight listened for a long time, and thought she could make out the sound of some distant wind blowing through a forest. Where the sound was coming from was a mystery to her, but it remained static, not growing or decreasing in volume, but remaining the same barely audible drone.
Above her in the sky, there seemed to be an imperfection, like a bright light was shining through the pure white curtain she was surrounded by. It was rather small, and Twilight assumed it must be this realms sun. Twilight Sparkle continued trekking into the void for hours, before giving up and collapsing onto the...could she even call it ground?
"I guess I deserve this..." She said aloud, her voice echoing off some non-existent structure across the empty void. "I just didn't really think the afterlife would be this...empty."
"It is not, my dear child," A familiar voice spoke from behind her.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight exclaimed with delight. She whipped around, and there she was in all her majesty, the magnificent Princess Luna. She was standing proud, her tall dark figure a harsh backdrop against the blinding white background.
"Indeed, it is I. We are most pleased to have returned, Twilight Sparkle, and we owe our presence to your actions. Your bravery shan't be soon forgotten."
"I suppose my crimes won't be, either," Twilight replied, looking down at the invisible ground. "Am I dead, Princess? What...what happened?"
Princess Luna stopped to think, before smiling weakly at Twilight.
"I suppose in a way, you are. At your own hands, if memory serves."
Twilight nodded slowly. "I mean me, Princess. Not your Twilight Sparkle. Is this the afterlife?"
Princess Luna looked confused. It was obvious she only remembered vague details of her life as Nightmare Moon, and was just realizing now how impossible it could have been for Twilight Sparkle to have faced off against her back in Ponyville. However, despite her confusion, Twilight still had the impression she knew more than she was letting on about their climatic battle in Ponyville.
"No...this is not the afterlife," She said slowly, as if she was just now noticing it. "And yet I recall your funeral quite clearly. While you are most certainly alive, I can't doubt my own memory."
"And how far back does your memory go, Princess? Do you remember your sister? What happened to her?"
Princess Luna nodded sadly. "I cannot forget that as long as I live. And yet I sense the same guilt in you. I cannot understand the crimes you're responsible for, Twilight Sparkle. I cannot understand your presence in my realm. But a great debt is owed to your actions, and your bravery. And while this is not the afterlife, I'm afraid you are indeed confined in this void—"
"This void? Princess, where AM I? And please, could you just...say it clearly?"
Princess Luna stopped, considering what Twilight already knew of the Elements of Harmony, before continuing. "You...are confined within the Elements of Harmony...That is...your subconscious is. I suppose 'limbo' would be the best word to describe where we are. The Elements have apparently backfired against you."
"What exactly do you mean...backfired?"
"I simply mean to say that they have initially rejected your ability to wield them, but have been altered by an external force, as if another pony of great magical ability assisted with allowing you to wield them." To Twilight's shock, Luna followed this statement with what looked like an insightful wink. It happened in a fraction of a second and it was perfectly plausible that she had simply mistaken it as a wink. Luna didn't dwell on the action at all and instead continued. "Yes, external magic of a substantially powerful nature. I have never seen anything like it, myself, and I have my doubts the Elements will ever function correctly again."
External magic. Twilight pondered this, wondering what other pony could possibly desire the sun as much as she did, not for herself, but the ponies of this realm. Again, she could have sworn from the expression on Luna's face that the Princess of the Night knew exactly what 'external magic' had assisted her. Suddenly, a loud cracking noise interrupted her thoughts, her eyes widening as the smell of static electricity filled the air.
"Can you get me out of here?" Twilight asked, growing desperate. She knew the Princess couldn't stay long, and when she left, she would be left alone in this wasteland for all eternity.
"Yes, child, I can. I have every intention of doing so. However, we're afraid we cannot hinder long here...it must be now that we depart."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "And why would anypony want to stay here? There's nothing here!"
Princess Luna looked around, before nodding at Twilight Sparkle. "I understand. However, you must be warned that the Elements of Harmony are a very powerful force, one that will not be so easy to penetrate through, even by a Princess. They now have a grasp on you, and will be unwilling to let you go without first inflicting damage, most likely on your cognitive functions."
"Perfect," Twilight muttered under her breath. "Alright, Princess. When you're ready."
Princess Luna closed her eyes, and began charging her magic. Suddenly, she stopped and opened her eyes again, turning to face Twilight Sparkle, who was gazing up at the odd sun in the sky above.
"We have a question for you, Twilight Sparkle."
"Go ahead, Princess."
"My subjects, in Equestria. They shan't be anticipating my return, I would think. I can't remember much, but I remember their fear clearly. And I remember my own guilt clearly."
Twilight turned to look at Luna, who was staring up at the limbo sun. "They didn't fear you, Princess Luna, they feared Nightmare Moon. I'm sure they'll be pleased to see you're back. Besides, they've been fighting for so long to see the sun. I think its time your raise it for them."
Princess Luna smiled at Twilight, before closing her eyes and casting her magic again, pulling them both from the ethereal plain of nothingness.
"Well...I mean...it sorta worked," Rainbow Dash said cautiously as every mare and colt surrounded the body of Princess Luna. "I don't really see how a dead Princess Luna is in anyway an improvement though..."
"Rainbow...she ain't dead! Look! She's breathin'!" Applejack asserted.
"Well, she LOOKED dead! Besides, who SLEEPS after being trapped for a thousand years?"
"Oh! Oh! I know! Pick me!" Pinkie Pie screamed above the two.
"Well, I would just like to point out the fact that Twilight is also apparently unconscious," Rarity stated.
The gathered company of mares turned to look at Twilight Sparkle, who was passed out in a perfectly circular crater near the center of Ponyville. The crater appeared to be rather hot, and Twilight Sparkle's mane and coat was charred and burned.
"Umm...Twilight?" Fluttershy asked gently, too afraid to venture into searing crater.
Simultaneously, Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna started to stir, before opening their eyes. Twilight blinked, before becoming aware of the extreme temperature of the rock she was laying in and leaping out. She looked around the wrecked Ponyville, at the destroyed buildings, the night sky, and the town of Ponyville staring at her dumbfounded.
"Hello, folks," Twilight began, her gaze sweeping across the gawking faces. "What happened to Ponyville?"
Twilight Sparkle, receiving only blank stares in response to her perfectly legitimate question, continued to examine this odd Ponyville she found herself in. Princess Luna was standing on the other side of the town, her proud figure blending in with the dark night. She flew gracefully above the town, and every pony in Ponyville watched as she followed the moon on its ascent into the sky.
"CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! HEAR YOUR PRINCESS!" She screamed in her Royal Canterlot Voice. "IN SEVERAL HOURS, THE ETERNAL NIGHT SHALL CEASE! THE REIGN OF THE ROYAL SISTERS HAS RETURNED!"
Collectively, every pony in Ponyville started up a cheer that echoed into the empty night. Fillies and colts screamed in delight as they ran out from their hiding places to see their ethereal Princess, and the more mature of the Ponyville residents bowed in respect. They were apparently unfazed by the intimidating stature of Luna's deafening voice, given the magnificent news she was presenting.
Twilight walked up to Fluttershy, still staring at her as she crawled from the crater, before barraging the yellow mare with questions.
"What exactly is going on Fluttershy? What happened to your wings? Where am I?"
Fluttershy bent her head nervously. "Umm...well, Twilight, it looks like your plan worked...and..."
Suddenly, Fluttershy stopped talking as she realized something. She remembered what Twilight had told her that morning...of her guilt, her fear of how Celestia would respond to her crimes. She couldn't know for sure what had happened to Twilight's memory, or how far back she had forgotten, but she knew better than to explain to her the horrors of this Equestria all over again.
Twilight looked at Fluttershy impatiently. "...Well...?"
"Well...Twilight, what do you remember last? Maybe we...umm...can start from there?" Fluttershy asked hopefully.
"I remember going through the Mirror Pool...nothing after that...Please Fluttershy, just tell me whats going on!"
"I...don't know..." Fluttershy stammered.
Twilight was about to call Fluttershy out on her blatant lying, when Princess Luna landed between the two.
"Twilight Sparkle!" She spoke happily, in a normal speaking tone. Fluttershy bowed immediately.
"Princess Luna! Surely you of all ponies can tell me...whats going on..."
Princess Luna cast a backwards glance at Fluttershy, and then back at Twilight Sparkle.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're not of this world. I've spoken with you already but I have my doubts you remember."
Twilight shook her head. "Sorry, Princess, but apparently I don't remember anything."
"Perhaps it is better this way," Princess Luna said, closing her eyes. Twilight wondered exactly what it was about her memory loss that the Princes envied. Behind her, Fluttershy shuffled uneasily, obviously having something to say but being too afraid to say it. Luna noticed this, and nodded at the yellow mare.
"Well...I...I was just thinking that maybe...it would be better if Twilight...didn't remember..."
Princess Luna nodded in agreement, before turning back to Twilight.
"Your friend is right, Twilight Sparkle. Your past in this realm is an unnecessary burden on your conscience. One you shouldn't need to bear."
Twilight looked impatiently from the Princess to Fluttershy. "So...what? Go back? To the Mirror Pool? But I just got here!" Twilight exclaimed irritably.
"Actually..." Fluttershy said. "You've been here for almost a week...and you've had more of an impact on Equestria than any pony ever before you. You were a hero, Twilight...even if you don't remember it. We're going to miss you here, Twilight...but I'm sure there's ponies out there that miss you even more than us."
The rest of Twilight's friends had made there way over now, and were smiling at her kindly, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who was staring at her hooves.
"You did good, Twilight," Rainbow Dash murmured, and Twilight got the impression she had no exactly been on good terms with Rainbow Dash here. "Who would've thought..."
"You certainly did! Admittedly, I had my doubts, but you have defined yourself as a true hero indeed!" Rarity complimented.
"Wow...talk about cheesy," Pinkie Pie interjected, receiving annoyed glances from her friends and a light chuckle from Princess Luna.
"You're stayin' for the Morning Sun Celebration, ah hope?" Applejack asked.
Princess Luna shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid this cannot be so. Twilight Sparkle, you said your dwelling origins are beyond the mirror pool, correct?"
"Well...yeah. I mean, I'm still from Equestria, but not this one I guess."
"The Mirror Pool has always been a mystery amongst even the most intelligent of Equestrian scholars," Princess Luna explained. "It's nature has always been a mystery to me, but I think I have a decent enough idea of what created it, and what now will close it. And I'm afraid if you don't return to your Equestria before the sun is high, you perhaps never will."
"But...why so soon? Why do I have to return before the sunrise?"
"We cannot know for sure whether or not it is mandatory for your return to occur prior to daylight, but if my prediction is correct, then return to Equestria would render itself impossible."
"Alright...So I guess its better to be safe than sorry," Twilight translated, looking up at the moon, now beginning its descent from the midpoint of the starry hemisphere. "I'd better get moving now then..."
"Twilight, before you do..." Princess Luna began gravely. "I just want to tell you, from the hearts of every pony in this world, that we couldn't thank you anymore. You may not remember what you've done here, but believe me when I tell you that nopony will ever forget this act of valor. So, one final time, thank you, and farewell. I wish you the best in whatever life awaits you on the other side. "
Twilight Sparkle looked at her friends and the Princess one last time, before smiling, saying her hasty final farewells, and dashing through the odd gate in the direction of the Everfree Forest.
Fluttershy considered running after Twilight into the forest, but deciding she simply couldn't follow Twilight into whatever better world she was returning to, watched her first Equestrian friend disappear into the woods ahead. Besides, she had the sunlight to look forward to.
Deeper and deeper through the cave she traveled, when she saw what she had come searching for. The pool was glowing with light like the sun, and Twilight remembered what the Princess had instructed her to do.
Twilight Sparkle gazed into the clear water, remembering the spell she had seemingly just finished casting. The water clouded over after she had finished casting her magic, the pink light from the tip of her horn casting light on the walls. Outside, the moon was likely finally dipping over the horizon, and in a few minutes the first beams of sunlight would shoot through the narrow opening and into the murky water.
Twilight wasted no time in leaping through the water. She was suddenly and abruptly jolted backwards, and found herself glancing around, trying to determine if anything had actually changed. She waited for a long time, watching the sky grow brighter and brighter in its familiar pre-dawn light, before the sun finally broke through a gap in the thickets.
The empty cavern on the other side bore no witnesses to the amazing miracle of nature unfolding in the Mirror Pool Cave. As the first glimpse of light struck the sparkling water, the light exploding and imploding at the same time, growing brighter and dimmer, the pool sparkling in one final torrent before calming, the last projection of magical light dying out as the sunlight illuminated the cave for the first time in a thousand years.
Its purpose complete, the Blood of the Princess lost all magical potency, flickering calmly before settling, leaving the cavern filled with nothing but plain, clear water and the light of morning.
Finally leaving her guard at the side of the pool, Twilight turned back to the entrance of the cavern and was shocked to see Princess Celestia standing there.
"Good morning, Twilight Sparkle! I've been rather worried about you since you're departure. Everything went well, I assume?"
Twilight was at a loss for words, particularly because she didn't know the answer herself. From what Princess Luna had said, it sounds like it did, but she still had no idea what it was that she had done.
"I...I guess so, Princess...I still have so many questions though..."
Princess Celestia frowned slightly. "You defied my instructions, didn't you? You interfered in the affairs of the other world? Please don't lie to me, Twilight Sparkle..."
Twilight Sparkle was shocked. Apparently she did, judging by what Princess Luna had said.
"I...I don't know, Princess! Honestly, I don't remember anything from the other realm."
"You don't remember...?" Celestia said stoically, raising an eyebrow.
Twilight explained to Celestia what little knowledge she possessed of the events of her week in the alternate Equestria. She described what it looked like, what Princess Luna had said to her, and how her friends had thanked her for some act of valor. Princess Celestia remained quiet through Twilight's recounting of the events of the past few hours, before turning and walking wordlessly past Twilight Sparkle into the Mirror Cavern. She looked at the clear water for a long time, before beginning to cast the familiar spell to turn the water murky.
The water remained clear.
"As I suspected," Princess Celestia said gently, running a hoof through the plain water. "The Mirror Pool has closed, most likely across all Equestrias. Whatever its purpose was, it appears you have helped in fulfilling it."
"At what cost, I wonder," Twilight Sparkle muttered, more to herself than Celestia. "I disobeyed you directly...I don't know why I did that, Princess...I'm sorry..."
Celestia continued to stare into the clear water, her next words a barely audible whisper.
"Ah, but you did not disobey me, Twilight Sparkle. You disobeyed yourself."
Celestia turned to Twilight, forming a light grin, and the two walked out of the cave into the morning light. Twilight didn't speak, hoping Princess Celestia would elaborate on her cryptic point. When it became clear that she would not, Twilight stopped pacing, and Celestia did the same, turning again to face her student.
"You told me to observe the other Equestria, but to NEVER interact with it. I didn't do that...as a matter of fact, whatever I did in there...it sealed the mirror pool forever. You said Starswirl himself warned you this might happen, and to never under any circumstance do exactly what I did."
Princess Celestia chuckled softly and started pacing again, and Twilight followed.
"I would think it's much easier to tell somepony disguised as another than it would be to tell the difference between a perfect duplicate, wouldn't you agree, Twilight?"
"I...I guess so...you mean, like a costume?" Twilight was confused by the abruptness and irrelevance of the question, but at least tried to look interested.
"Indeed. Do you remember what I told you to bring before you left Ponyville a week ago?"
"Yeah...my Starswirl The Beard-" Twilight Sparkle stopped suddenly, realizing exactly what Princess Celestia was suggesting. "You mean..."
"The scroll, Twilight. It's a time travel scroll, given to me a long, long time ago. But you already knew that, didn't you?"
Twilight nodded, withdrawing the scroll from her saddle pack and setting it down in the middle of the clearing.
"Now, Princess? Or should it wait?"
"I would think now, Twilight. Better to get this whole time paradox business out of the way as swiftly as possible, don't you agree?"
Twilight nodded again, charging her magic and casting a nervous grin at Princess Celestia, before the minutes blurred backwards into hours.
Twilight found herself in the middle of a slightly different Everfree Forest. The clearing she had been standing in was populated largely by odd looking bushes, but they were the least of her concerns as she looked in shock at the explosion of light in the distance.
Twilight started to run, but stopped when she realized she still had to change into her Starswirl the Bearded costume. She simply couldn't believe she was supposed to imitate her idol in front of the most powerful and intelligent pony in Equestria. Hastily, she threw on the wrinkled hat and stuffed the time travel scroll back into her saddle-pack.
In the distance, the explosions had stopped, and Twilight could faintly hear laughing cutting through the night. It sounded familiar, but Twilight couldn't quite put her hoof on where she had heard it.
Until she saw the castle, and watched in surprise from a high cliff as a rainbow of light struck Nightmare Moon as Princess Celestia faced off against her high above the forest floor. Princess Celestia looked up at the moon for a long while, lowering herself downwards onto the ground sorrowfully. Twilight heard her whisper something faintly, but couldn't make out what she had said. She looked frantically for a way down, before taking her chances and teleporting downwards. She made it most of the way, but fell significantly nonetheless. Shaking herself off, Twilight dashed towards where Princess Celestia was standing in the destroyed castle courtyard.
"I'm sorry, sister...I truly am," Princess Celestia whispered into the night. "I sincerely hope the wrath of the Elements do not extend your exile for long...I will miss you."
Princess Celestia's lament was interrupted suddenly and abruptly by rapid running hoofbeats. Shocked, Princess Celestia whipped around, wielding the Elements of Harmony in case they had failed in there first attempt to defeat Nightmare Moon.
Instead of the terrifying form of her sister's twisted caricature, Princess Celestia found herself facing a purple pony in the oddest clothing she had ever seen. If it weren't for the graveness of the situation, Princess Celestia would surely have laughed.
"And who might you be?" She said awkwardly, still wielding the Elements of Harmony.
"Uhh...Starswirl The Bearded... but I don't have time to explain! You need to remember what I'm telling you right now, because it is VERY important...or...it will be," The odd pony stammered nervously, adjusting the hat atop his head. "In...roughly a thousand years, a pony by the name of 'Twilight Sparkle' will mention something called the 'Mirror Pool.' It is imperative that she investigates whatever is beyond it..."
Twilight Sparkle cursed herself for her terrible male pony vocal interpretation, but Princess Celestia seemed more focused on her costume anyway. She realized this was probably the last chance she would get to prevent her from disobeying the Princess in the future, and preventing whatever 'conscience endangering action' she had performed in the alternate Equestria.
"And also, it is important that Twilight Sparkle does NOT INTERFERE with the affairs of whoever and whatever she might find when she investigates the Mirror Pool. Doing so may rupture all of existence!"
Twilight could already feel the magic sparking around her as the time travel spell wore off. She had better get out of here before she made too much of a paradox-inducing exit and pulled Celestia back to the future with her or something. She turned around quickly, dashing across the castle courtyard. Suddenly, she realized something and turned back around, returning to Princess Celestia. As she ran, she withdrew the time travel scroll from her saddle-pack.
"And also, give this to her when she disembarks!"
Twilight ran across the castle courtyard again, leaving Princess Celestia gaping in confusion at this obviously mentally-handicapped pony. Suddenly, the fleeing pony exploded into electrical light, and the only thing that remained when the light dimmed was the battered blue hat, which quickly burst into flames.
"And that..." Twilight panted. "...Is that..."
Princess Celestia laughed cheerfully at Twilight's costume. Twilight, noticing this, quickly and violently ripped off the white beard and blue cape.
"Indeed it is, Twilight Sparkle. You've done well...whatever it is that you did in there," Princess Celestia motioned to the opening to the Mirror Cavern. "I'm sure your friends will be pleased to know that you have returned. We've all been quite worried about you."
"Yeah. Do they know..."
"About the Mirror Pool? No, they do not. I think it would be better if we kept this whole experience between the two of us. I think there is a reason that you do not remember what is on the other side. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation as to what the Mirror Pool is, it is even likely that you yourself at one point knew the answer. Who can really say."
Twilight smiled at her mentor. She was still shocked that Celestia did not blame her for potentially endangering all of reality, although it was likely there was no danger whatsoever...the more Twilight thought about it, the more it made her head spin. She understood what the Princess was saying about how some things needed to remain a mystery, but she still wanted to know desperately what it was she had done on the other side that was better to be forgotten. She had so many questions, and would have given anything to return to the alternate Equestria, but she knew that was completely impossible, and for the better.
Twilight and Princess Celestia continued walking towards Ponyville, as the sun rose above them, its beams covering the land in a vibrant mosaic of beautiful light that nopony found particularly interesting or surprising. Sunlight was ordinary and expected. It was perhaps taken for granted, as was the peace and tranquility that every pony in Equestria lived in.
Princess Celestia cast a subtle sideways glance at her smiling student. She had only seen memories cleared this precise before, and it was as a result of Element-Backfiring...it had happened dozens of times in Equestrian history...ponies trying to wield the Elements for their own personal gain and finding themselves unable to control such supreme magic. It took a unicorn of extreme magical ability to override the desires of the Elements themselves...
She had gone in to rescue these poor misguided unicorns each time they so foolishly and selfishly entrapped themselves within the Elements of Harmony. Most of them were utterly terrified and had sworn to never commit such actions again, and most of the memory loss caused by the ordeal was short-term and harmless.
Most of the time.
Rarely, she had seen ponies go mad, loosing every memory and instinct they had learned in their lives. It was not a pretty sight, watching as ponies forgot their friends, family, every beautiful moment they had experienced, burning away due to one evil act of greed, or some lust for power they could not possibly understand. She shuddered at the thought of this happening to her most faithful student. She couldn't bring herself to ponder the thought much longer, as she looked into the smiling face of Twilight Sparkle as she ran forward to reunite with her friends who had been worrying excessively about her absence.
Overhead, the sun continued to shine across the wonderful land of Equestria as life in Ponyville moved forward to a better tomorrow...in more worlds than one.
Princess Luna stood on the top of the library looking out across her land. Down below in the community of Ponyville, everypony was celebrating, some of the older and stronger ponies working together to tear down the gallows and electric fence. Fillies and colts were engaged in their games, something they had never once had the chance to do until now. The sun shone on through out the day, its heat and light casting waves of hope across the beautiful spectacle.
The Princess of Day and Night remained at her post on the top of the library for much of the day and well into the night. When night fell, many ponies grew afraid, fearing that the day was a onetime thing, but Princess Luna assured them the sun would rise again. She just hoped she remembered how to raise it...it seemed like so long since her sister had showed her.
Luna had considered the possibility of her sister returning when the sun rose...it wasn't impossible. She waited through the night patiently, waiting for the moon to finally complete its pilgrimage across the night sky. When the time came to raise the sun, she would find out once and for all if she was worthy of being the sole reigning sister with such a responsibility. She knew there would be hard times ahead...she knew not all the ponies in Equestria trusted her right now. Many of them had looked hopefully at the first sunrise for the return of Princess Celestia, only to be let down when she did not return. Other ponies still cowered fearfully around her, despite her best efforts to appear friendly and welcoming. She smiled, spoke with her subjects, trying to build as much trust as she could. For the most part she was successful.
For the most part.
The moon was dipping over the horizon now, most of Ponyville looking to the East for the sun. It was time...
Princess Luna flew into the air, following the sun upwards as she focused all her magical ability in raising the Equestrian star into their earthly sky. When its light began to shine across Equestria, another collective cheer grew out among the watching ponies. Luna turned around to smile at her residents, who were again celebrating the coming of a new day. Perhaps she would partake in some of the festivities today...
Instead of flying down immediately, Luna continued looking hopefully to the East, eagerly anticipating the return of her sister. As she continued to wait, the sun rising slowly, its light growing brighter, the minutes passed slowly, and Princess Luna knew that her sister would not be returning.
"I don't know if you can hear me, sister...I doubt you can, from wherever you are...but if you can, I hope you understand how much I miss you...I hope you understand how much I wish I were with you right now."
And yet Luna knew deep inside her time to join Princess Celestia was not anytime in the near future...as long as she reigned over Equestria, she would remain immortal, ageless, watching as her subjects lived and died, hopefully happily, as new generations bled from the old ones, as Equestria shifted and changed, she would remain the same, and Princess Celestia would never return. Such was the way of life. Without anypony to take her place on the throne, with the only bearer of the Element of Magic gone, most likely forever, she would remain alone for a long time....her punishment, she supposed, for what she had done.
"I'll see you again sister...I know we'll see each other again..."
After all, nothing lasts forever.
In another world, one without sound nor light or colour, a purple unicorn opened her eyes suddenly and looked frantically around. Her name, her past, her present location, it all escaped her fervent and panicking mind.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle," An icy voice suddenly called from the darkness and she started thrashing around, looking for the source. To any other pony it would be the voice from a nightmare, the fearful whisper of darkness and despair.
But to the allegedly deceased Twilight Sparkle, the voice of her beloved mentor was one of hope.
Hope for revenge.
INTERLUDE
The gathered company of changelings all turned to watch as the purple mare ran from the gathering hall.
"Mrs. Sparkle" Prince Echo called after her, but she ignored him.
Twilight didn't bother stopping at her room, instead tearing across the castle courtyard to where her chariot was parked. Her pegasus guards had followed her out of the main hall to see if she was alright, and she ordered them to set off at once.
"Something has happened. I need to be back in Ponyville as soon as you can manage," Twilight repeatably rubbed her temples, trying to get the Princess's angered voice out of her head. She hadn't done anything of the sorts... and Queen Chrysalis had promised to refuse any access into Equestrian soil by any other race other than ponies. And even if it wasn't a changeling, she needed to prove to the Princess of the Night that she was loyal to nopony but her.
As Twilight's pegasi tore off into the sky, a messenger pony landed onto the balcony, where Nightmare Moon stood, watching the path from Ponyville for signs of life.
"How goes the night, your majesty?"
"Fine, thank you," She replied, without breaking her gaze of the path.
"Letter, ma'am. From Twilight Sparkle."
Nightmare Moon turned at this, surprise in her eyes.
"A letter? When was it sent?"
"Sometime yesterday, if memory serves. Perhaps earlier. It has been a long flight," The pegasus handed Nightmare Moon the letter, gave the Princess a polite nod, and flew off into the night in the direction of Ponyville.
Nightmare Moon read the letter several times over, trying to understand just how this pertained to the activites of the previous three days. Twilight had been in Queen Chrysalis's empire during the events of Fluttershy's escape, according to this letter, which was sent around the same time Twilight Sparkle had been conversing with the Princess in person. Nightmare Moon immediately thought of the changelings, but knew that she could tell an imitation from the original, especially by the fluidity that her student had used magic. Changelings could not imitate pony magic, especially not magic as advanced as teleportation.
She stopped to consider that perhaps the letter was written by somepony else, but the magic barrier and royal emblem on the side contradicted this, too. Nightmare Moon wasn't naive enough to believe that there were two Twilight Sparkles in Equestria, but one by one, her rational explanations were quickly rendered as impossible by her fervent mind.
