Chapters Warning, the following chapter contains a scene that certain readers may find disturbing. Readers discretion is advised.
Twilight opened her eyes as she felt a breeze run through her mane. She noticed she was staring at the ground and looked up. There wasn’t much to see. As far as she could tell she was in some kind slope in some bad-lands or desert. She quickly got up and glanced around her, Night lay on the ground just behind her. She nudged him to try and wake him. He groaned but soon had his head lifted up as well to glance around him.
“Where are we?”
Twilight looked up at the cloudy sky and then back to the wasteland surrounding them. “I am not sure, but I don’t think we are in Equestria anymore. None of this looks like any of the Atlas’ I have seen. Sure we have deserts, but the ground look black and damaged. It just doesn’t fit with anything I have ever seen before.”
Night got up slowly and pulled back his hood. He ran a hoof through his blood red mane and sighed, “Well, maybe we will get a better idea once we get to the top of this incline.” He then casually began walking to the top. Twilight continued to inspect the ground as he did so. “Strange,” Twilight muttered to herself, “The ground has faint traces of dark magic within it. I have never seen anything like it.”
“Mother of Luna…”
Twilight jumped, surprised at the sudden outburst and language, “Night!”
Night glanced back at Twilight who stared daggers at him. Night cringed, “Sorry, I don’t know where that came from. But you really need to see this.”
Twilight continued to glare at him but began walking toward him all the same. When she reached the top, her breath immediately caught in her throat. She now knew where she was at. But she did not want to believe it. Just beyond the hill she was standing on, lay Ponyville. Or at least what was left of it. Unlike how it looked back in her Equestria, this one looked like it had gone through a war, then abandoned. Some things remained recognizable. Rarity’s boutique still stood, though looking wrecked. Most of the houses and shops were gone. Her library was a leafless tree missing some parts of it. Sugar Cube Corner was nowhere to be seen. The ground looked just as bare as the ground she was standing on. Seeing her home like this, not only looking worst than she had left it, but seeing it after being gone for awhile; it almost hurt just to look at it.
Twilight felt a tear run down her face, “What…Happened?”
Night glanced upwards towards Canterlot which loomed in the distance, “Whatever happened, it seemed to have happened everywhere.”
Twilight glanced up and followed Night’s gaze. Twilight gasped at the sight. The once mighty and proud looking city along with its amazing looking castle was in ruin. A pink like fog surrounded the city. The waterfall that once fell from it, looked distorted in color.
Twilight tore her eyes away, unable to look at it any longer. She glanced back down at what was left at her house before turning back to Night. “I think it’s time we started to look for clues as to what happened here.”
Night continued to stare off into the distance. “Shouldn’t we be looking for a piece of the Door?”
Twilight shook her head, “It could be anywhere here in Equestria; I would not know where to even start. I have not seen a single pony nor Shadow roaming around down there. Knowledge is power. Let’s start by understanding this Equestria and finding out how it got this way.”
Night glanced away from Canterlot, tired of looking at it himself, “Alright, what’s the plan?”
“I am going to check my library to see if I can find any books telling about what happened here. Though there is a chance I may not find much left. You on the other hoof, I want you to go down and search Rarity’s place. It is one of the few buildings still standing and perhaps there may be some clues left in there as to what happened and maybe why that is.”
Night nodded in confirmation, “Alright, yell if you find anything.”
“Same goes to you.”
Both ponies nodded and split off. Twilight quickly made her way to her library. Once she was close, only then did she stop and stare at what was left of it. The south side appeared scorched. Some leaves could still be seen somehow attached to it but for the most part it looked bare. Painted over the sign used to say library was a bold red “Keep out.”
Twilight flinched at the sign but proceeded through the door anyways, what she saw as soon as she stepped in, however, made keeping her breakfast down almost impossible. She took a few steps in, unable to comprehend that this was here library.
The walls of her once great library were covered in graffiti, made of urine and occasionally blood. Disfigured body parts could be seen on the walls and shelves. But that was just the tip of the ice berg, her books appeared to have been burned to the point that they were almost unrecognizable. Twilight felt herself gasp in shock. Upon doing so, however, Twilight began notice that she had woken some ponies who had just a moment ago, been sleeping on the floor. They all appeared to be wearing scraps in what Twilight could only assume to be armor. One of the pony closest to her, a brown one with the most armor on, rolled over and looked up at Twilight. He grinned upon seeing her, “Well, look what we have here.”
Twilight took a step back only to find the door had shut behind her. There was now a pony leaning up against it. Twilight took inventory and noticed that there were four ponies in the room. All them Earth with one having some kind of strange looking device strapped to his sides. They appeared to be some kind of metallic rods. Twilight remembered Pinkie Pie showing that her party cannon could be fired by pulling a trigger like device if need be. From what Twilight could tell, it seemed to have this trigger like device. Twilight was unsure what exactly such small canons like his could do, but she did not feel like finding out. Twilight did her best to stay calm as the leader got up and began circling her while the others stood nearby. “
So…” Twilight said trying to break the tension and pointing at the mechanism, “Those are some interesting mechanisms you got there.”
One of the ponies smirked, “You're acting like you have never seen a gun before.”
“Gun, you mean like a cannon?”
One of the other ponies laughed, “Well I’ll be damned, must be a vault dweller.”
Another pony got closer and began inspecting her, “But she doesn’t have the jumpsuit. In fact she isn’t wearing anything at all. Nice figure though.”
The rest of the ponies nodded as the each grinned at her. Their faces making Twilight feel more and more uncomfortable by the minute.
Then Twilight felt something lift her tail, followed by a small breeze in her neither regions. Twilight quickly turned her head around and saw that the leader was holder her tail up with his hoof. Twilight’s face went red as she jumped back in shock.
“Hey, what are you…?” Twilight felt her mind go blank for a second, before the gears starting turning and shouting the alarms.
Get ahold of yourself Twilight, you have a weapon... But they could still overwhelm me. Perhaps I should look for an alternative?
Twilight knew it was time to get out of there now. But one of the ponies was still blocking the door. There where two behind her and the leader was just off to side of her laughing. “Maybe if I sprint up stairs, I can go out the window or perhaps lock myself in, and plan out an escape. Maybe the pony up against the door isn’t all that strong, maybe…” Twilight’s train of thought came to an abrupt halt as she felt something no mare should be feeling at a time like this. She felt on tongue in her neither regions. Twilights face went red again as she jumped forward. Her breath was caught in her throat as her heart rate began to quicken. Right now she felt only one thing, she had just been violated. She felt scared... More scared then ever before. But at the same time she felt something, something she had not felt in a long time, complete and absolute Fear.
The other ponies around her began to laugh in hysterics over Twilight’s reaction. Twilight turned around looking shocked, but still did her best to glare menacingly at the pony behind her. The brown Earth pony simply grinned and licked his lips. He opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it was, it was soon caught in his throat as a bright light appeared in front of him. All the ponies in the room stopped laughing for a moment and stared at Twilight’s Keyblade. "Stay back, all of you! I am not afraid to use this!"
The leader was the first to recover, "Well would you look at that, never seen a weapon like that before. Mind if I hold it for a moment?"
Twilight turned and faced him, looking as menacing as she possibly could.
"Aw, don't be like that," said the brown pony behind her. Twilight turned her face toward him, she noticed that he was lowering his head towards her backside again, "What do you say we have some fun?"
As soon as Twilight felt his breath on her, Twilight's adrenaline went through the roof, :"I SAID STAY BACK!"
Twilight held nothing back. She swung at him with everything she had. An echoing crack was soon heard as her Keyblade struck his head hard and sent him flying on impact. The pony flew like a bird but fell like a rock. Blood began to pour from his nose, but he lay there, unconscious. His body barley twitched.
The room grew dead silent for a moment as no pony moved, the Twilight turned and faced the pony standing against the door. This one was black with a scar going across his mouth Ok, I just need to get out of here now! . The pony noticed she was coming towards him and pulled out his knife and held it tightly in his mouth. He then lunged forward intending to stab Twilight. Twilight parried it with her blade before spinning around and slamming her Keyblade hard into his head. The motion caused his head to spin around hard. Another crack could be heard as his neck broke. The pony gurgled before slumping to the ground just like his friend.
Twilight stared in horror, he appeared to be alive but without medical treatment he could... Twilight shook her head, No, I can't worry about that now, I need to get out of here.
Just as Twilight put her hoof on the door, she noticed something she hadn't noticed before. The door had a lock made on the inside. And this one did not have a Keyhole. It had some kind of crazy looking mechanism that, like the gun, Twilight had never seen before.
Twilight quickly turned around and noticed the other two ponies quickly closing in on her.
The last two, being the leader who was grey and had one yellow and one white eye, and the dark brown pony with the guns, came at her at once. The leader brought down his sledge hammer while the other pony began to fire his guns. Twilight ducked out of way and jumped back when the gun fired a piece of metal that grazed her. Twilight shouted out in pain. As both ponies quickly adjusted and took another go at her, Twilight looked at them both terrified.
"Get back, I'm warning you all!" Twilight flinched as she saw the leader getting ready to swing his hammer at her. Twilight quickly put up her reflective spell in defense. The leader watched in awe as brought his sledge hammer down with his mouth only for it to bounce off shield as though it were made of rubber.
The pony the guns launched a barrage of metal pieces at the bubble, hoping to break through. Instead, the metal pieces just stuck to the bubble and continued to pile up as the pony continued to fire over and over. He soon stopped himself when he realized that wasn't doing anything to her.
Twilight grunted and clinched her teeth as the shield glowed and burst outward. Both ponies were knocked back. The brown one found himself flung hard against the wall before being barraged with his own ammo.
Twilight watched in horror as the pieces of metal pierced his body. The pony screamed in pain as holes continued to appear all over his body. He finally stopped crying out however, when one of those holes appeared on his head.
The pony slumped to the ground as soon as the barrage ended, his blood covering the floor around him like a red carpet. His eyes stared off into the oblivion. The leader, having been blown back against the wall as well, staggered to his feet. He looked at the gun pony with shock then turned and shouted at Twilight in rage.
“You… Bitch!”
Twilight felt her mind begin to break, "This can't be happening. This has to be some crazy dream. I just want this to end!"
The leader coughed as he limped over to pick up his sledge hammer that had been blown away from him. Before putting it back in his mouth he pointed to Twilight with his hoof, “ Oh don't worry, I will be sure to make it all end. I will crush your legs. I will break your skull. I will have my way with you whether you are alive or nearly dead. But I will not let you leave here alive!”
The leader picked up his sledge hammer and charged Twilight. Twilight turned away, unsure what to do anymore. She knew she needed to fight, but this was going to far out of her control. She closed her eyes, held out her Keyblade and in desperation yelled, "Fire!"
The room feel silent for a moment, so Twilight quickly opened and eye in time to see that she had stuck her Keyblade's end into the leaders mouth. The leaders eyes grew wide as fire poured into his body. Twilight yelled out in surprise and yanked her Keyblade out. The leader staggered back and closed his mouth. He stood there for a moment, unsure what had just happened.
Then he grabbed his chest with his hooves. He coughed and groaned as he began to stumble around in pain. He lay on the ground and he coughed again. Blood and fire spilled outwards from his mouth. The pony looked back up at Twilight before screaming in agony. Twilight watched as her blood went cold and her face went pale. "I'm sorry," she whispered as the fire consumed his internal organs. More blood and fire escaped his throat before the fire could be seen burning its way outside of him. The leader gave one last gurgle before slumping over, as the fire consumed what was left of him.
Twilight stared at what was left of the leader and began to back away. She soon felt her hooves step in something wet.
Twilight glanced down and saw that she was standing in a pool of blood. She then stared at the now blood soaked hoof. Twilight felt her heart begin to beat faster than ever before. She turned and quickly looked at each pony she had taken down. Two of them were dead. The other two were badly injured. The realization hit Twilight like a ton of bricks. Without thinking she slowly began walking up the stairs to her room in a dream like state. Once she got to her room she realized that it too had been burned and little of it was left. Twilight sat in the middle of it and stared back down at her bloody hoof...
Then, she screamed.
*
Night quickly kicked down the door, just moments ago he had been going through the broken down boutique when he had heard weird banging sounds that he had never heard before. At first he dismissed it as the perhaps it was the surrounding places falling apart. However, moments later, he heard Twilight's scream. Night’s heart almost stopped as soon as he heard it. But luckily his brain managed to get his legs going before his heart did.
Once he got there, he found the door locked. Night Glider turned around and putting all his strength into his back hooves, he kicked the door down. Night winced as he felt a bit of pain shoot up his hind hooves but the door gave way all the same. He quickly ran inside. Night glanced around the library that had clearly been desecrated. But what really drew him; was the two dead ponies that lay around the room. Night winced as each appeared to have died in a pretty awful way.
Two others lay nearby as well, both appearing unconscious. Night examined their injuries, from what he could tell, the brown pony had a concussion but should live. The other didn't seem so lucky. His neck appeared to be badly damaged. Without any hospitals to go to, it was unlikely he was going to survive. Night looked at the pony grimly but knew that there was not much he could do for him. Night shook his head and turned around, his eyes then fell on the stairs. Bloody hoof prints could be seen going up them.
“Twilight? Are you up there?” Night got no answer. He decided to follow the trail. He quickly climbed the stairs and when got to the top, yet again he felt his heart stop. Sitting in the middle of the room, was Twilight. She was covered in blood and staring at nothing. Her eyes appeared to be glazed over. Night ran up in front of her, “Twilight, are you alright?”
Twilight didn’t answer him, she just continued to stare off into the oblivion. Night quickly took off his cloak and wrapped it around Twilight. He then carefully shook her, “Twilight, I need you to look me in the eye. Are. You. Alright?!” Twilight blinked as though if she were coming out of a daze.
“Night, when did you get here?”
Night could now tell that she was in shock. Night was unsure what to do other then try and figure out what went on downstairs.
“Twilight? Can you tell me what happened?”
Twilight blinked again then stared up at Night. “I killed them,” she whispered.
Night looked at her in shock before glancing back at the stairs. “Twilight, I need you to start explaining.” Night stared back at Twilight and looked at her with worry.
Twilight looked away from him, “They were going to…” Twilight fell silent.
Night grunted, “Twilight, were they attacking you?
Twilight nodded, “Yes… But it was more than that.” Twilight gestured her bloody hoof towards her lower regions.
Night’s face went pale as the gears began to turn, “Wait, they tried to assault you?!”
Twilight didn’t say anything but nodded her head.
“And so you defended yourself. So you had no choice.”
Twilight stared up at Night, “But I killed them! I got so scared and lost it. I killed them all!” Tears began to flow from Twilight’s face. “I did not mean to! It just happened and I…” Twilight went silent again.
Night opened his mouth to let her know that she had actually only killed two of them. But then the realization hit him that in the long run, she was right. The pony with the broken neck would not survive long. And the pony with the concussion would not survive well in a desert like environment. There was very little chance for him and almost none for the other to survive over time.
Night took a deep breath, sat down, before reaching his scaly wing around and pulling her close, “Twilight, it is not a sin to fight for your life or to kill those who would do harm to others, especially to you.”
“I should not have had to kill them.”
“But you did and there is nothing we can do about that now. You are alive, and that is all that matters.”
Night stared down at Twilight who slowly lowered her head into his chest, “The worst part is… I don’t feel remorse for them. I know that I should. I feel awful that I killed them. But I do not mourn them.”
“They tried to do the worst thing any pony could possibly do to another. It’s ok.”
Night glanced down and saw Twilight trying to hold back her tears. "It's not ok! I should have found some other way. I should have just stayed calm and tried to figure a way out of there. At the very least, I could have held back." Twilight took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "But I didn't. I was so scared I was going to be violated by them or worse. I just defended myself and it just... Happened..."
“Twilight, I’m sorry. We should never have split up. But you are a warrior now; a hero. And sometimes, heroes have to kill the bad creatures.”
Twilight was silent but Night could tell that she was listening.
“Sometimes you have to fight, but don’t be afraid. For you hold the mightiest weapon of all.”
Twilight lifted her head up and looked at him in surprise, “I have heard that line before, in a dream.”
Night gave a small laugh, “Really? So have I…”
Twilight became silent again. She glanced around the room occasionally as Night continued to sit there with her.
Night was silent for moment before he spoke up again, “Listen Twilight, this world may be darker. It may even make us do things we never thought we would have to do. But as long as we have the Keyblade and stick together, we will get through this. I promise you this.”
"Night, I don't want to kill again..."
"I wish I could say you won't have to... But we have to be realistic. This world is obviously far more dangerous then any other Equestria we have been to so far. I want to tell you that I will be there to help but I am sure there will be times where we will be split up again. And you may have to do the un-thinkable again."
"Twilight, you do want to find your friends right?" Twilight looked up at him in surprise but quickly nodded her head.
"In this world, if you are to survive, if you want to find your friends, if we are to save our Equestria... Then you must be willing to fight for them, no matter what it takes."
Twilight's eyes grew misty, but she refuse to let any more tears fall. "If I do... Have to kill another pony... Please remind me afterwards that we don't have to stay here. Remind me what we are fighting for. I feel like that is the only thing that is going to drive me at this point."
"I promise, I will."
Twilight looked at Night and gave a small smile, “Thanks… For everything and for being my friend.”
Night smiled back, “I have a feeling that the only way to survive this wasteland, is with friends.”
Twilight nodded as they both hugged each other one last time. They both knew that the journey was going to be hard, but at least it would be possible, so long as they remembered what they what they were fighting for.
Twilight took a deep breath before breaking the embrace. She took a step back and then held out her hoof, “Do you mind? I’d rather not walk back down there.” Night gave her an odd look before remembering her teleportation abilities.
“Sure, I understand.” He put his hoof over Twilight’s as she lit up her horn. Night closed his eyes for a second; there was a flash and a popping sound.
When he opened them, they were standing just outside of Rarity’s boutique. Twilight cleared her throat and Night glanced back at her. Twilight looked uneasy but had apparently decided it was best to break the awkward tension. “So, what did you find in Rarity’s place?”
Night rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, “Sorry, but it looks like anything that could have been of any value, had been taken. There were however, some ponies who did not take to kindly to visitors. Hopefully they will think twice before underestimating someone… Whenever they thaw out.”
Twilight looked down gloomily at the dry blood on her hooves. Night’s cape doing little to hide her mind from the fact that somepony else’s blood still covered her body.
Night internally faced hoofed. “Too soon, you jerk,” he muttered to himself. Quickly trying to change the subject, Night glanced around. “Hey, that’s an interesting looking statue.”
Twilight glanced up and saw Night pointing at a statue in the middle of the square. Twilight put her hoof to her chin, it looked like somepony she knew. Twilight stepped closer and soon began to recognize who the pony was. “Its… Big Macintosh!”
Night stepped closer and examined the statue, “Who was he?”
“Big Mac was the brother of my friend Apple Jack. But why is there a statue of him here?”
Night motioned Twilight over with his hoof, “Look at this, it hard to make out but from what I can gather, he sacrificed himself in order to save Celestia.”
“He saved Celestia in this world at the cost of his life…”
Twilight glanced away somberly and then stared up at the sky. “I wonder what happened to my other friends in this world?”
Night placed a hoof on her shoulder and smiled, “I don’t know your friends, but if they are anything like you, I am sure they did everything in their power to stop whatever happened here.”
Twilight glanced back down and smiled, “Yeah, you're right. They would never give up in order to keep Equestria safe.”
Night nodded, “Then let’s do our job and make sure that our Equestria stays the same.”
Twilight nodded her head, her eyes starting to fill with her usual glow. Night glanced at the area around him, “Is there anywhere else we can go to look from clues?”
Twilight put her hoof to her chin as she thought for a moment, “We may be able to find something down at Apple Jack's farm. She mentioned to me at one point that Granny Smith kept a journal. Perhaps if the house is still standing, the journal could possibly still be there.”
Night nodded his head, “Lead the way.”
Twilight took off at a brisk pace towards Sweet Apple Acres. It was just outside of town and luckily they didn’t run into any more trouble along the way. However, as they got closer, Twilight began to slow her approach. Twilight felt her enthusiasm leave her as she got closer and closer to the farm. The once beautiful trees were wilted and dead. The ground was dry and the whole place was silent. Not a bird nor animal could be heard. Twilight could see the barn was somehow still standing but the house was nowhere to be seen. As she neared the barn, it became more and more apparent that no clues would be found. The barn had partially caved in. Twilight stopped and winced at its dilapidated state. She turned back to Night who was trying to pick an apple from one of the trees. Surprisingly, despite their look, apples were in fact still growing from the ugly looking trees.
“Night, I don’t think you should eat from those trees. They look poisoned.”
Night was hovering just a few inches from an apple, “Relax Twilight, I don’t plan on eating it. I just want to get a closer look.” Night picked an apple and smelled it. He flinched then chucked it at the tree next to his. The apple exploded on impact. Both Twilight and Night then watched in horror as the juice from the apple began to melt the tree as though if it were made of acid. Night immediately took off away from the trees.
He landed next to Twilight with a look of shock still hanging on his face, “Um, let’s promise each other not to eat anything while we are here.”
Twilight nodded her head silently. "I'm going see what's left in the barn."
She turned around and walked into the barn, only to disappear from site as soon as she walked in. Night blinked as he stared at where Twilight had been a second ago. He then quickly stuck his head in, “Twilight? Where did you go?”
A voice could be heard just below him coughing, “Down here.”
Night leaned forward and realized that there was a small hole just in front of him. He extended his wings outward and then lifted them upwards. Night jumped forward and began to flap the edge of his wings causing him to slow his decent as he fell into the hole. The drop was surprisingly short, and as soon as he head could no longer see the top he could already feel the ground below his hooves. Night took a step forward and realized that the ground sloped downwards slightly to the point that after a few more steps he could walk without having to slightly bend his head. Night knew that being half Thestral meant that though he could not see as well in the dark as his full blooded brethren, his eyes could adjust far quicker than a normal pony and soon he could just make out a small silhouette of a pony just a few feet in front of him.
As he got closer, he could just make out an annoyed look playing across Twilight’s face. Night placed a hoof on Twilight to her know that he was nearby. Twilight nearly jumped as soon as he touched her, “Whoa, calm down. It’s just me.”
Twilight growled, “Sorry, normally being in the dark like this would be no problem. I can usually just light up my horn enough to give off some light. However, it seems that not even a basic light spell will work anymore.”
Night gave her an apologetic smile, even though he knew Twilight could not see it. “Don’t worry, I got it covered.” Night summoned his Keyblade. Twilight shut her eyes as the light from the blade caused her eyes that were slowly adjusting to the darkness, to bug out. Night turned his head and pointed his Keyblade at the ceiling before whispering, “Sublucent.”
Night's Keyblade, Oblivion, glowed at the tip before shooting out a small ball of light. The ball traveled upwards before stopping just before it reached the ceiling. The ball then expanded just a bit. The ball of light then grew bright as it literally lit up the area surrounding them. Twilight blinked as her eyes adjusted again to the light.
Once she could see clearly again, she turned to Night, “Wow. How come you never used that spell before?”
Night’s Keyblade disappeared before he gave Twilight a small smile, “Up till now I never really needed to. My eyes work just fine for me in the darkness. But I realize that you aren’t able to see like I can.”
Twilight glanced around here before staring back at Night and smiling, “Thanks.”
“No problem. Now let’s see where this leads. The ball of light will follow me wherever I go so stick close.”
Twilight nodded and did as she was told. Night led the way with Twilight close behind. They followed the cave for a few minutes before Twilight decided to end the silence.
“So, while you were in that other world, what exactly happened?”
Night visibly shuddered before answering, “Fine, I guess I should probably fill you in... When I first arrived in Canterlot, I knew right away that this world was different. The ponies there seemed… How should I put this? …More crazy yet somehow fun to be around. I went looking for you; though after a while I began to realize that you may not even be in this world. I then tried looking for a way back and ran into some ponies talking about a raffle. I asked them about that world and learned quite a bit about it before some guards bumped into me and got angry about it so they decided to throw me in jail for disturbing the peace.”
Twilight felt her jaw drop, “You got thrown in prison? Without a trial or a chance to explain your side of the story?”
Night chuckled, “Like I said, it was a very strange world. Luckily I managed to get out of my cell using the Keyblade. I then realized that I could perhaps get back using the mirror room from this world if it exists. I ran a full speed to get out of there. That turned out to be a mistake. I ran so fast I forgot to watch where I was going and ran into human. Dropped my Keyblade on impact.
“Wait, what in the world was a human doing in an Equestrian prison?”
“Just wait, it gets better. After having a little back in forth, the Twilight of that world appeared behind him. At first I thought it was you, until I saw the wings. Then a black pony with holes in her legs and bug wings showed up as well.”
“Sounds like a strange pony.”
“She was… Anyways, you picked my Keyblade only for it to appear in my mouth. I took that as confirmation that it wasn’t really you. I then said a quick goodbye before I ran off.”
“So how did you find the room? Canterlot castle isn’t exactly the easiest place to get around in.”
“That is a story I shall have to pick up for another time,” Night said as his voice seemed to grow darker. He motioned for Twilight to stop.
Twilight looked at him in curiosity. Night turned to Twilight and pointed at something Twilight almost missed had he not pointed it out. Lying on the ground, leaning up against the wall, was the skeleton of young unicorn pony.
Twilight bent down to examine the remains. A small box almost completely unrecognizable lay nearby. However, there seemed to be a small golden object still resting in it. Twilight picked it up carefully and realized that it was an old locket. Doing her best not to damage it, Twilight slowly pried it open. Twilight stared at the picture for a full minute before staring back at the skeleton pony and then back to the picture inside. Night watched as the locket fell from her grasp.
“Twilight?”
Twilight pulled the hood of her cloak over her face, trying desperately to hide the fact that she was trying to hold back the tears. Twilight was silent for a moment before she slowly got to her hoof and began to walk past Night back towards the way they had come.
Night turned and held up a hoof as he tried to stop her, “Twilight, what is it?”
Twilight shook her head, the hood still masking her face. “I just need to get out of here, is all. I just need some air.” Twilight’s voice seemed to crack with the word air. She quickly pushed past Night before galloping out of the light and into the darkness. Night shouted after her, but she was gone before he could even take one step.
Night stood there in silence before turning around to pick up the locket. Night examined the interior. On the right side held a blurred picture of what looked like a filly unicorn and an adult Pegasus. On the left were four simple words: For my special muffin.
*
Twilight fell to the ground as soon as she cleared the barn. Tears leaked from her eyes despite her best efforts to hold them back. Having to kill a random pony was going to be tough, but it was only after seeing a skeleton of somepony she knew, she realized right then that it would possibly be a taste of what was to come. The facts were obvious, a war or some catastrophe had happened and very few had survived. But it was the realization and knowing that there is a chance that every pony she ever knew in this world could be dead. Worst, she may end coming across their tombstones.
This world reeked of death and sadness. Twilight punched the ground underneath her hoof. “Out of all the worlds we could have gone to, why this one!”
Twilight didn’t want to cry anymore. By now all she felt was angry. Angry at this world and at everything that had happened up till now. She’d had enough. Twilight knew that there was nothing she could do at this point. But still, why this world? What is it about this world and why does all this bad stuff have to happen? Why couldn't she have found another daughter or perhaps a world where Trixie was the Element of Magic? Anything was better than this place.
Twilight sat there quietly, trying to come up with better world ideas, when she felt a scaly wing drape over her shoulder. Twilight didn’t even need to look to see who it was. “I just needed some air,” Twilight muttered. Night didn’t say anything; instead they sat there in silence. Twilight would open her mouth occasionally to try to say something, but the words would not come. So they sat there until Twilight finally managed to take a deep breath and slowly got up. She walked up to the wall of the barn, raised her hoof, and before she could even stop to think about the repercussions, she slammed it as hard as she could against the wall.
Pain immediately shot up her forehoof but she didn't care. Twilight drew her hoof away and was surprised to see that she had made a decent sized dent into the barn. Night grunted in response, “Feel better?”
Twilight examined her hoof before nodding, “A little bit actually.”
Night smiled and nodded. Though his hood covered her face, night could still make a out a small smile coming from Twilight. Twilight opened her mouth to say something but was cut off as a loud bang echoed off in the distance. Both ponies turned and stared off towards the middle of the deceased apple orchard. Night immediately got up to investigate but stopped when noticed that Twilight was hesitating.
“Twilight?”
Twilight shook her head, “Sorry but I am not too keen to having a repeat of what just happened a little while ago.”
“But what if it’s some pony that needs our help?”
Twilight stared at the ground as her body gave a small shudder.
“Twilight, remember what I told you, so long as we stick together, we will get through this. We will accomplish nothing by sticking around here!”
Twilight shook her head, “You don’t think I know that?! I just…”
Night took a deep breath ran a hoof through his blood red mane, “Twilight…” Night was all out ideas for a second until his eyes widened as an idea sprung from his head. “Hey Twilight, what if that was one of your friends down there?”
Twilight shook her head, “I know what you are trying to do Night. You’re going to try to convince me to go down there because it is something that I should do. If I want to save my friends, I can’t just sit around here and do nothing. If we want to save our Equestria, I can’t just sit here wondering when my next breakdown is going to happen. Well Night, you know what…?”
Twilight took off with towards the orchard at break neck speeds. She turned her head slightly as she ran, “You're right!”
Night watched her go in silence. He stood there for a moment before shook his head, “I am beginning to wonder if she is already broken or getting smarter. Honestly, I can’t tell anymore.”
Night took off into the air in a full on sprint, hoping to catch Twilight before she got too far ahead of him. He swooped down low, doing his best to dodge the trees as each came close to knocking him out of the sky. He could just make out Twilight in front of him before he accidently plowed straight into her. Both ponies yelled out in surprise before rolling into a tree. Night groaned as he shook his head, trying to clear the stars from his eyes.
“Uh, Night?”
Night opened his eyes and looked down only to realize that he was sitting on top of Twilight. She was staring up at him while he sat on her stomach. Night felt his face go red as he quickly got off of her, muttering sorry over and over as he did so. Both ponies were silent for a moment before another bang rang out, this time sounding extremely close. Both Twilight and Night poked their heads out from around the tree in time to see three ponies fighting off some Shadows.
These Shadows looked familiar; in fact, they looked just like the ones they had fought on the train while on their way to Canterlot. The only difference was that these ones had breast plate armor and dark silver gauntlets that made their hands look more like sharp claws. The ponies themselves looked interesting too.
Two were unicorns while the other was a pegasus. The pegasus was brown, wore a black hat and a leather vest. He had a gun mechanism similar to what Twilight had seen before on one of the ponies that attacked her. There was also a unicorn who Twilight had to admit looked too beautiful to be in world like this. She had a charcoal color fur and her white mane with a dash of red and yellow that really helped to make her stand out. She wasn’t doing much fighting but she was occasionally putting up a shield spell over her and her allies whenever she could if the Shadows got to close for comfort. And finally, the last unicorn was gray with a brown mane. She was wearing a blue barding and was using a small cannon like device should not be able to do damage at that size, yet somehow it was.
Twilight could hear the three yelling at each other but due to the noises their guns were making, it was hard to tell what was being said.
Twilight tapped Night on shoulder, “You know, there is a chance they may be just like those other ponies we have come across.”
Night turned around and smirked at her, “We will never know unless we help them.”
“I figured you’d say that. One three?”
Night nodded and summoned his Keyblade. Twilight took a deep breath and prepared herself before shouting, “Three !”
The Shadows all turned to look at the unicorn as she came charging in at them. Twilight took their surprise as an advantage and brought her Keyblade down upon the head of the Shadow closest to her. It disappeared in a puff of smoke much to Twilight’s delight. Just second earlier, she was worried these things may be stronger, but it appears that she may have become strong as well.
Twilight grinned as he began to light up the field launching fire balls at any Shadow that came close to her. Soon the whole area was clear, save for one, which Night quickly took care of by dive bombing into it. His blade made a clean swipe through the creature, before he slowed himself in order to stop from crashing into the nearby trees. Once peace had returned to the orchard, Twilight and Night regrouped and stood in front of the group of ponies they had helped.
The brown pegasus pony was the first to speak, “Well I’ll be, never seen a creature like you before,” pointing his hoof at Night.
Night flexed his wings, “I’m a half Thestral, my name is Night Glider.”
“Nice to meet you. Thanks for the help,” replied the charcoal colored pony. “My name is Velvet.” Twilight and Night could practically hear the silk and smoothness in her words. She pointed to the pegasus and then to the unicorn standing next to her, “This is Calamity and Littlepip.”
Twilight nodded her head and lifted back her hood, “My name is Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet some friendly ponies at last.”
Twilight watched as all three ponies jaws hit the ground. Twilight looked at Night in confusion before looking back at them.
Littlepip was the first to recover, “Um, I don’t suppose somepony has an explanation for this.”
Calamity grunted, “I can think of only one. We have all finally lost it!”
Canterlot, Twilight’s Equestria…
Luna walked into a small study where Dinky was busy dusting off the shelves. She set a big box down next to her. Dinky stopped what she was doing and looking up at Luna with curiosity. Luna smiled down at the young filly, “Hello Dinky, would you mind taking a break and helping me shelve these elixirs Twilight received on her journey?" Dinky nodded enthusiastically, glad to have any other job than just simply dusting or running around to make sure there aren’t any cracks in the lower levels. Though the castle could withstand a constant barrage from the Shadows, it was still a good idea to strengthen the weak points.
Luna scooted the box over to an empty shelf; she was just about lift a jar out of the box when her horn suddenly began to flash a dark blue color. Luna frowned and growled, “It seems that the Shadows are giving the door everything they have. I must go and reinforce it. Will you be alright putting those away yourself?”
Dinky nodded and gave a small bow, “No problem, princess Luna.” Luna nodded her head and left the room, silently closing the door behind her. Dinky immediately set to work, pulling the first jar out of the box with her hooves. The jar was clear with a green glowing liquid inside of it. Dinky set it down of the floor in front of her. She then closed her eyes and began to concentrate hard. While working around the castle, Luna had been taking time out of her day to help Dinky learn simple spells to help out even more. Before, telekinesis was not an easy thing for her to do and the only thing she could pick up was a letter for a few seconds. Now however, with enough concentration, she could lift a two pound jar of liquid and set it on shelf no problem.
Dinky opened her eyes and was happy to see the jar was just hovering over the shelf. Dinky dropped her magic and let it fall an inch. It made a small thumping sound but stayed where it was. Dinky hummed a little tune to herself as she repeated this process. Moving all the jars out of the box and onto the shelf, however, Dinky found herself getting done a lot quicker then she had originally thought. Dinky stared at the last jar she had placed on the shelf. Upon staring at it for awhile she began to notice something odd when looking at some of the others. Some of them were a glowing green, but some were just a dark green.
Dinky levitated a glowing green jar onto the floor in front of her before doing the same with a dark green one. She then carefully popped off the tops. Dinky took a small sniff of the glowing green one and immediately felt sick to her stomach. She stuck a hoof her nose as she quickly put the top back on. After carefully making sure the top was secure, she moved to the other jar and gave it a sniff as well. She stuck out her tong and made an ‘ack’ noise. It too smelled awful but this one smelled familiar. Dinky took another careful sniff and released it smelled like spinach juice. “That’s odd,” Dinky muttered to herself.
She examined the box again, wondering if perhaps Twilight was given the wrong one. She tried to lift the bottom to see if it was labeled only to find that the box was somehow still heavy. Dinky placed a hoof to her chin, puzzled. After a moment of thought, she gave the box a hard shove. Upon doing so, she heard something shift inside of it. Dinky grew even more puzzled. She got up on her hind hooves and looked inside the box. She could clearly see the bottom. Dinky stuck her hoof in pressed lightly down of the bottom of the box, only to jerk it away when the bottom seemed to drop a bit. Dinky bit here lower lip. “What in the world ?” She thought to herself.
*
Nyx opened her eyes. She found herself staring off into complete darkness. Nyx could feel herself start to panic as she wondered for a moment where she was. It took a few minutes to remember that she was sitting in a box, or at least, a hidden portion of it thanks to Apple Bloom. Nyx also face-hooved as she began to realize that she had accidently fallen asleep. Nyx took a deep breath, before slowing exhaling. “Alright,” Nyx thought to herself, “I made it to Twi’s world… I think. Now all I have to do now is find Twilight. Hopefully I can convince her to let me come along if I show her how determined I am to help.” Nyx smiled to herself.
She then felt her ears flatten as her spirit fell a bit. “Mom’s going to be angry though. She is probably worried sick about me. I feel bad leaving her without saying good-bye. But I am a big pony, mentally anyways, and I want to help Twi in any way I can. Hopefully mom will forgive me when I come home.” Nyx sighed to herself. She was about to push against the ‘fake bottom’ when the box shift. Nyx felt herself shift along with the box. Surprised, was about to push against the top when it pressed down on her by itself. Nyx felt it hit her right in the head.
She growled in annoyance and pushed it back up a bit, only for it to push back down on her enough to slam to face against the ground. Nyx lit her horn up in anger as she grabbed the fake bottom and pushed hard upwards. Light immediately spilled into the box. She heard something land with a thump right next to her followed by a much smaller thump. That got Nyx’s attention. “Uh, oh.” Nyx slowly lifted up her head out of the box and saw a grey filly unicorn on her back holding her head. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be in a bit of pain. Nyx crawled out of the box and quietly made her way over to her. She gently nudged the filly with her hoof. Dinky jerked her eyes open in surprise. Her eyes locked on Nyx and grew to the size of dinner plates.
Nyx rubbed to back of her head with her hoof, “Sorry about that, my name is…”
Nyx found herself cut off as the filly's mouth opened up and yelled a single word that seemed to shake the walls, “SHADOW!”
Dinky was like a lightning bolt. As soon as the words escaped her lips, she was already across the room trying to open the door with her magic. However, she was in too much of a panic to concentrate. Nyx ran over to her and stopped just a few inches away. “Please, listen to me Dinky.”
Dinky turned around in surprise, “How do you know my name?”
Nyx gave her a reassuring smile, “You and I are in the same class in my world.”
Dinky’s horn dimmed, “Wait, you mean you’re not a Shadow?”
“No, my name is Nyx. I’m from another Equestria.”
“Ok…" Dinky looked at Nyx with confusion, "Why are you here? And why do you look the daughter of Nightmare Moon?”
“It’s a long story.”
Dinky frowned, walked over and sat on the couch across from the door. “We have plenty of time. Luna won’t be back for awhile.”
Nyx cringed, “I’d rather have Twi find me than Luna.”
Dinky nodded her head and looked at Nyx smugly, “Tell me your story, and I’ll make sure that Twilight will meet you when she gets back.”
Nyx sighed. It seemed she had little choice in the matter. She walked over and jumped up onto the sofa. She sat down right next to Dinky. “Alright, it all started when my mom, Twilight, first found me in a rose bush…”
Just outside the room, unbeknownst of the two fillies, the princess of the night also began to listen to her tale. Having heard Dinky, she had rushed up to help her but stopped when she heard Dinky talking to another filly. She decided instead of barging in, perhaps it would be better to see who this mysterious stranger was. She opened the door just a crack in time to see Dinky on the sofa talking to a little black Alicorn. This caught Luna off guard but she appeared to be of little threat. Luna stayed silent as she listened to the little black filly tell her tale…
**
Littlepip’s Equestira, Apple Jacks Orchard
Twilight and Night sat next to each other while Littlepip, Velvet and Calamity sat across from them. A fire had been made as is seemed to quickly be growing dark outside. Twilight held her Keyblade outwards as she was just finishing up on how she had ended up where she was now. All three Wastelanders kept their full attention on her. Occasionally, Littlepip would stop Twilight to ask about her world and the other one she had visited. What she considered to be most exciting, however, was the idea of both worlds being what she considered peaceful despite all that had happened. When Twilight did finish, the whole camp was silent. Littlepip seemed to be in awe while Calamity and Velvet were doing their best to wrap their heads around all that had been told to them. Twilight grunted to get everypony’s attention, “Now that I have managed to fill you all in how I am not dead and talking to you all, how about you fill me in what happened to this world. And maybe what happened to me and my friends.”
Velvet opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. She put her hoof to her chin before turning to Littlepip sitting next to her. “I think it would be best if you told them everything. You’ve seen far more than we have through those memory orbs. I believe you may give our history better justice.”
Littlepip scratched the back of her head with her hoof, “Are you sure? I mean, you are a better story teller.” Velvet quietly nodded her head and smiled at her, causing Littlepip to blush. Littlepip took a deep breath before looking at both Twilight and Night. Her whole demeanor seemed to change in an instant as she began to recount what had happened.
“About 200 years ago, a school for gifted unicorns was built near the zebra territory. It was not long before a small group of zebras came by looking for help. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, the zebras were killed. What happened next was a domino effect. A zebra blew up the school in revenge. Almost all who were there perished. Celestia blamed herself and allowed Luna to take over. The zebras took it completely the wrong way. You see, they still viewed Luna as Nightmare Moon and thought she had taken over. The zebras thought that by taking over, they had taken the minds of the ponies as well. Soon it seemed to them, that Nightmare Moon had to be stopped.
However, the innocent ponies had to be dealt with as well. They figured that they had been enslaved and could not be saved. A war soon broke out between Pony and Zebra kind. The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, in order to combat the Zebras, became known as the Ministry of Mares. They each set about creating their own ministry to help in the war efforts. Rarity with the Ministry of Image, Pinkie with the Ministry of Morale, Apple Jack with the Ministry of Wartime Technology, Fluttershy with the Ministry of Peace, Rainbow Dash with the ministry of Awesome…” Littlepip turned her head and looked directly at Twilight, “And, the Ministry of Magic lead by Twilight. It was thanks to them that that we had an explosion in technology as we tried to outdo the Zebras in every possible way. But at the same time, it is what also lead to Equestria’s destruction. ”
Twilight’s gaze broke away from Littlepip as she stared off into the distance. “What happened?”
Littlepip’s voice became cold, “The Last Day happened. Twilight, your friends helped to change the very course of the war, however, one of them also lead to our defeat. Fluttershy was trying to create a spell that would heal all ponies but unfortunately, that meant the opposite side as well. What’s worse, some of the Zebra’s got their hooves on it and completely redesigned it creating the worst Mega Spell ever created.
The Last Day occurred in Canterlot. The Zebras were barraging Canterlot with Mega Spells. Canterlot was able to fend them off with a powerful shield spell. But that is what the Zebra’s had intended. One of them managed to make their way into the city and set off a bomb within the city. It released a cloud of death that killed or mutated most of its inhabitants; including Luna and Rarity. Mega Spells soon rained from the heavens, killing off most of Equestria’s population including most of the Ministry of Mares. We still don’t know what happened to Rainbow Dash. There is a chance she could have survived. But she would still be dead by now anyways.”
Twilight shifted uncomfortably, “So what happened to me? I mean the Twilight of this world.”
Littlepip looked away grimly, “Some things are better left unsaid…”
Twilight shook her head, “I understand. So in other words, everyone I knew is dead.”
Littlepip turned back to Twilight about to say more but closed it, deciding not tell her what had happened to anyone she had knew that survived. Most of them aren’t really the same and never will be. So instead she glanced at Twilight apologetically, “I’m sorry.”
Twilight shook her head, “It’s alright, not like it’s my world truly. It hurts to know that I won’t be seeing my friends and to hear what happened to them. But there is nothing we can do. What’s past is past.” Littlepip could see the pain in Twilight’s eyes but chose not to press on.
Twilight rubbed the back of her head with her hoof, “What I don’t understand is how somepony could live in such a wasteland like this?"
Littlepip shook her head, “I come from a place called Stable 2. It is where both Velvet and I were born. She eventually escaped and I went to look for her the next day. Neither of us have returned since.”
"Was Calamity born in a similar place?" All three ponies shook their heads.
Calamity grunted, “Well, I come from an Enclave above dem clouds.” Calamity pointed his hoof towards the sky, “I left after deciden it weren’t worth being there after see’en the way tha treats other ponies. Just don’t sit right with me.”
Littlepip nodded her head, “It wasn’t long after I escaped that I came across him. We didn’t exactly hit it off very well at first. Getting shot four times after meeting someone doesn’t usually end well.” Calamity cringed a bit a looked away in shame. Littlepip got up and walked over to him. She sat to next to him and nudged him. “Hey, it was my fault though. It was thanks to that experience that I learned to be more careful out here and try to think with my head.” Calamity smiled and Littlepip continued, “Later on I came across Velvet.
After rescuing her, she began to travel with us and we have been friends ever since.”
Twilight cocked her head, “Rescue?”
Littlepip and Calamity grinned sheepishly. “It’s a long story.”
Twilight opened her mouth to question it, but then thought better of it. “So it’s just you three traveling as a group then?”
Littlepip shook her head, “No, there were two others. One was needed back at her back home, something about a creature problem. The other… is no longer with us.” Littlepip’s ears dropped as she refused to meet Twilight’s gaze.
Night Glider decided it was time to change the subject, “So what are you all doing here anyways?”
Littlepip shook her head as she tried to refocus herself, “We received a message from a friend of mine, Homage, that there were some strange black creatures popping up near Ponyville. They seemed very hostile and surprisingly more dangerous than most creatures around here. I couldn’t resist checking it out. I gotta tell you though, was not expecting this mission to be so strange and unexpected.”
Velvet glared at Littlepip, “We traveled all the way across Equestria to see some strange new creatures only to be attacked and nearly killed in the process. Sounds like a normal mission to me.”
Littlepip smiled apologetically, “Anyways, now that introductions are out of the way, what your plans?”
Twilight glanced back at Night who shrugged his shoulders. Twilight grimaced, “In all honesty, we don’t know. We are looking for an artifact, a piece of the Door. Without it, our Equestria is doomed. But we have no idea where it is. It could be anywhere.”
Littlepip put a hoof to her chin. She thought for a moment before her face brightened, “Oh, I might know someone who can help. He keeps an eye on everything that goes on in Equestria. If anyone has an idea where it is, the Watcher should be able to help. I can take you to him.”
Twilight grinned, “Well it looks like we will be following you then.”
Littlepip's face seemed to be glowing, “Yes, I can’t believe I will be traveling with the famous Twilight Sparkle!”
“You do realize I am not YOUR Twilight.”
“But you are Twilight and that is good enough for me.”
Velvet and Calamity shook their heads in amusement.
Night grunted, “How soon until we leave.”
Calamity glanced up at the sky; it had grown much darker. “I reckon we can head em out in ta mournin.”
Velvet shivered as a breeze blew by, “I don’t suppose we could maybe sleep in the barn?”
“Bad idear, could be full a Raiders.”
“Night and I were just in there. Aside from the hole at the entrance, there was nothing there.”
Littlepip stood up, “The barn it is then.”
Everypony stood up and made their way toward the barn. Twilight and Littlepip lead the way. Both chatted back and forth in more detail about how their adventures got started and both them found a few things in common when it came to how much trouble seemed to find them everywhere they go. Littlepip laughed out loud once Twilight had finished talking, “It seems that trouble finds us no matter where we go huh?”
Twilight snickered, “Yes, but I have a feeling that as long as we stick together, we can handle what comes to us.”
Both ponies nodded their heads at the same time.
Two ponies who were never meant to meet, had just become best friends.
Twilight stirred as she felt something cling to her. It seemed like just moments ago it was dark out and she had fallen asleep, but now she could see more clearly through the cracks in the barn that it must be day. It had to be day time, yet the sun was still not out. Twilight’s eyes fell upon her new group. Night was leaning against the wall; his wings curled around his body . Velvet was curled up close to the entrance and Calamity seemed content with sleeping while standing up, with his head resting against a small hole in the barn door. All were accounted for, except for Littlepip whom Twilight could only assume was the one currently squeezing her like a doll.
Twilight shifted as she tried to turn her head but her captor’s body was too close. Twilight groaned to herself. Littlepip seemed to be muttering in her sleep. Twilight nudged Littlepip with her shoulder and waited for Littlepip to wake up and realize who she was clinging to. That didn’t seem to work however as Littlepip simply flinched and hugged Twilight closer. Twilight felt some precious air leave her lungs. The strange bracelet Littlepip was wearing was practically digging into Twilight’s chest. Despite being small, Littlepip seemed to be rather strong.
Twilight closed her eyes and grunted as she began to wiggle and push against her captor. After a few minutes with little success, Twilight opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. It was then that Twilight began to notice that there was a pony sitting right next to her. Twilight felt a bit of sweat run down her cheek as she turned her head slightly and saw Night trying his best to hold back a grin. “Having fun?”
Twilight felt herself grow cold and her eyes widened, “This isn’t what it looks like!”
“Oh really, because it kinda looks like you have found yourself a special somepony last night.”
Twilight growled as Night picked up his cloak that was laying next her. He casually slipped it back on but left the hood down. He then turned back to Twilight, “Would you like me to leave you two love birds alone now?”
“Seriously, I need some help right now.”
Night chuckled, “She couldn’t do that for you last night?”
Twilight felt her cheeks go red, “You know that’s not what I meant!”
Night struggled to control himself, “Alright, hold on.”
Night Glider slowly got up and walked around. He stood facing Littlepip’s backside. He then summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at her, “Rise and shine.” The tip began to glow blue.
*
Littlepip sighed in content. Despite sleeping on the ground, she felt more comfortable than ever. Homage was sleeping next to her and feeling softer than ever. Though she did toss and turn a bit, Littlepip continued to feel content knowing that she had a warm pony to snuggle up with. Nothing could ruin this moment.
It was then that Littlepip felt a blast of something cold hit her right in the back. Littlepip yelled out in surprise as she let go her special pillow and looked around wildly as a shiver ran down her back. The first thing that hit her was the fact that she was in a barn; the second was that Homage was nowhere to be seen, just a grinning pony in a cloak and an annoyed looking Twilight.
The wires quickly connected in Littlepip’s brain, “Oops.”
Littlepip rubbed the back of her head with her hoof and stared at Twilight apologetically, “Sorry about that. I thought I was sleeping with someone else.”
Twilight gave Littlepip an odd look, blinked and then sighed, “I guess it’s alright. But next time, you’re sleeping as far away from me as possible, alright?”
Littlepip nodded her head, glad that she was getting off easy. She turned around just as Velvet and Calamity began to stir. Velvets gaze fell on Littlepip instantly, “Ok, I am only going to ask this once, Littlepip, why and how are you covered in snow?”
Littlepip felt a shiver run down her back again. She quickly shook herself off, snow rained down onto the ground from her back. “I accidently mistook my sleeping partner. Twilight decided the best way to wake me up was to use a strong weather spell on me.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, “First, you would not let go and your weird bracelet was starting to hurt. Second, that was Night, I can’t perform spells like I used to.”
“Wait, that pony can do magic? And now you can’t?”
Twilight shook her head, “When I was given this Keyblade, my magic stopped working the way it used to. Now, all I can do is fire, reflective and teleportation spells. Night can perform an ice spell as well.”
Littlepip tilted her head before nodding, “Ok, not sure I understand. But so long as you can still fire shots at our enemies, that’s good enough for me.”
Calamity glanced through the crack in the barn door, “If ya’ll are done with clearing up dem problems, I’d say now is the best time ta get a move on.”
The rest of the group nodded as they began to grab all that they had. They left as quietly as possible to be on the safe side. None of them said a word even after they left Ponyville. An awkward silence fell on the group and continued for several hours. While Littlepip was burning with questions she wanted to ask Twilight, she was unsure how to ask all of them at once. Velvet and Calamity would occasionally glance back at Twilight like they wanted to start a conversation, but it seemed that words would die in their throat every time they looked back. Night pulled his hood up over his head, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Twilight could practically feel the uneasiness in the air. Unsure what to say or do she tried to focus instead on keeping an eye out for anything that might be trouble. But it was just a big open wasteland as far as the eye could see.
What Twilight suspected may have been an open field was now a dry dead desert. Twilight stopped and brushed some dirt that the wind suddenly kicked into her eyes. But as soon as she removed it, more of it seemed to blow into her face. Twilight growled in frustration. Littlepip looked up and noticed that Twilight was lagging behind. She glanced a ways back and saw Twilight was battling the wind and dust as it seemed to be annoying her to no end. Littlepip slowed and turned around. She casually fished around in her bag using her magic and produced a pair of goggles once she reached where Twilight was standing. Twilight stopped rubbing her hoof over her eyes when the goggles were lifted up and strapped to her head by Littlepip.
Twilight blinked in surprise and placed the goggles over her eyes. Instantly it was like the dust was no longer there. “Wow, thanks.”
Littlepip nodded her head and smiled, “You’ll get used to the landscape eventually. but for now this should help.”
Twilight nodded and remembered she still had a black bandanna still tied around her neck. Grabbing it with her telekinesis, she brought it up over her mouth to keep the dust from coming in while she was talking. Littlepip smile grew bigger. Twilight looked at her in curiosity, “What?”
“Sorry it’s just… If you told me two days ago that I would be helping Twilight survive the wasteland and getting the chance to help her save Equestria, I’d not only think you were crazy, but I would also think it would be more likely that I would be able to make out with a celebrity and meet Celestia face to face in one life time. Though now that I think about it, I have done both recently.”
Twilight cocked her head while Littlepip chucked to herself internally. Twilight and Littlepip quickly noticed however, that their friends were getting well ahead of them.
Both Twilight and Littlepip began to run to catch up with the group, once they did so, Twilight turned back to Littlepip, “So… Celestia is still alive?”
“Yes, at least her consciousness is anyways.”
“Wha?”
“It’s a long story.”
Twilight glanced ahead and back to Littlepip, “I think we’ve got time.”
Littlepip nodded and began her story, “Ok, so back when the war was still going on…”
*
Velvet glanced behind her and saw Littlepip talking up a storm while Twilight seemed to be listening intently. “Well, they seem to be getting along well.”
Calamity glanced behind him and then back at the way in front of them, “Looks ta be that way. Littlepip sure knows how ta tell a story, don’t she?”
Velvet smiled and nodded her head. She then glanced to the right of her and saw Night staring at the ground in deep thought, his hood blocking out his eyes and casting a shadow over the rest of his face. Velvet stepped over and slightly nudged him, “Hey, you sure are quiet over here.”
Night shook his head as he regained himself, “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. You just seem a little out of it.” Velvet lifted up her hoof and pushed Night’s hood back a ways so that she could see his face. “So tell us about yourself. What’s your relation to Twilight?”
Night pushed his hood back of his head with his hoof, “We’re just good friends. I met her not too long ago. She crash landed right into my homeland. I actually watched her fall and it reminded me of something. It reminded me of my past when…” Night shook his head, “Doesn’t matter.” Night was silent for a moment before he continued. “Anyways… Turns out that she was a Keyblade bearer, just like me. I could tell there was something special about her the moment we met. Ever since we fought against that giant Shadow together, we have been traveling together and trying to save our Equestria.
At first, I did my best to teach her what I knew. She was a quick learner and soon she was learning how to do amazing feats on her own. I feel like a proud teacher. But lately, I am beginning to wonder if maybe she sees me as something more.”
“Do you feel the same for her?”
Night glanced off into the distance before turning back to Velvet, “Not sure yet. Maybe? I don't know... Right now, I’m just happy to be friends, I guess.”
Velvet raised an eyebrow and looked back at Calamity. Calamity caught her look and immediately grimaced upon seeing it. It was a look he had known all too well at this point. It was the look of ‘time for me to play matchmaker.’
Calamity shook his head, knowing that somehow he could be dragged into this later. He opened his mouth, about to say that he wanted no part of it when a bullet flew past his face, just inches from hitting his nose. Calamity blinked in surprise before his training and experience kicked in, “Raiders!”
Calamity dove for some rocks nearby just as wave of bullets was unleashed near where he was standing a second ago. Velvet and Night dived for the spot Calamity was taking cover at. Littlepip grabbed Twilight and dragged both of them behind some boulders just off to the left of Calamity, Velvet and Night. The whole group flinched as a wave of bullets hit the rocks they were hiding behind. As soon as the barrage of bullets ended, probably due to a reloading sequence, Calamity took that as the advantage and returned fire from his cover. Littlepip had also taken out her revolver. Twilight looked at her with curiosity and pulled her handkerchief back down, “What’s that?”
Littlepip stared at her in surprise but then quickly remembered that guns had not yet reached Twilight’s Equestria. “This is a revolver. It has the power to shoot these metal things called bullets. When it hits, it can either kill or do major damage.” Littlepip put her hoof to her chin, “It’s called Little Macintosh,” she said as an afterthought.
Littlepip then turned around and stuck her head partially out. The wristband she wore began to glow and make odd sounds just before she fired it. The bullet went clear across the field. Twilight lost sight of it but she could hear somepony cry out just second later before a body slumped to the ground out from behind the rocks in front of them. Twilight felt her jaw drop slightly. She nudged Littlepip after she dived back down into cover. “Hey, what exactly was that?”
Littlepip lifted up her hoof that held the bracelet, “This is called a Pipbuck. It is a device given to most Stable Dwellers. It gives us the ability to lock onto targets easier, keep track of our stuff, listen to radio and much more. It is like having a super computer strapped to you.”
Twilight felt her eyes grow bigger in amazement. She stared at the strange device in front of her. “You have to show me everything! This has got to be the most amazing piece of technology I have ever come across.”
Both Twilight and Littlepip flinched as a stray bullet bounced off the top of their cover.
“Later,” they both said at the same time.
Twilight summoned her Keyblade out in front of her, “I think it’s time we ended this.”
“Unless you want to be pony swiss-cheese, I don’t think a sword will work here.”
Twilight smirked, “Just sit back and watch.” Twilight stood up and began to leave her cover. Littlepip instantly became terrified and dragged her back before a bullet to take her out. “Are you insane?!”
Twilight looked calmly back at Littlepip and smiled, “Trust me. I know what I’m doing. I promise it will all be over soon.”
Littlepip felt her heart jump out of her throat as Twilight began to casually walk out from cover and stand out in the middle of the firing range. “Hey, over here! You want something to hit? See if you can hit me.” It took every bit of Littlepip’s will power to not run out there, grab Twilight and drag her back into cover. Instead she watched silently from behind the rock. Sweating bullets, she held her breath as every Raider seemed to pause for a moment before turning their guns towards the crazy unicorn. Twilight’s smile grew as every single Raider trained their guns towards her direction thinking they were about to get an easy kill. Almost in unison, every Raider fired their bullets at Twilight.
Twilight whispered under her breath and a big bubble quickly encased her. The bullets stuck to it like glue, every single one of them stopped before they could even get an inch from hitting Twilight. Every one of the Raiders stopped firing in surprise and stared as their bullets seemed to hover around Twilight, before their faced turned to terror as the bullets turned around and the bubble exploded outward. Now every single bullet that was fired was now being returned to the sender and all the Raiders could do was curse as the bullets hit their mark. Several of them died before it could even register in their brain what happened while others tried to duck back down in time. All them were hit however as the bullets ricocheted of the rocks behind them.
None of them were safe from the onslaught.
Once the bullets stopped flying, the area became very quiet. Not a single soul moved from where the Raiders had taken cover. Twilight grimaced as the death and the knowledge of her actions hit her again, but this time she was ready for it. She did her best to accept it. Taking a deep breath, Twilight turned back towards Littlepip, and almost burst out laughing. Littlepip was in a state of pure shock. Her face seemed to be frozen in state of a pony that had just seen Celestia raise the sun for the first time. Littlepip was beyond impressed.
Twilight then turned towards the rest of her companions. Both Velvet’s and Calamity’s jaws had hit the ground and seemed to be having trouble finding their words as they both seemed to just stand there and sputter. Night was silent. though Twilight could just make out a grin forming underneath his hood.
Twilight felt her face go red as everypony continued to stare at her, “So, I guess you all have never seen anything like that before, have you?” Everypony but Night nodded their heads in unison. Twilight grinned, “Well… now what?”
Littlepip was the first to recover, “I…uh…Maybe now is a good time to set up camp. It is going to get dark soon anyways.”
Everypony again nodded their heads silently. Twilight felt her checks grow warm as she quickly tried to move out of the spotlight.
*
It was dark by the time everypony had set up camp. Camping near the rocks gave them a little bit of cover; having to sleep out in the middle of an open wasteland was never a good idea. Twilight used her Keyblade to get a fire started and soon everypony was seated around the small camp fire.
Unlike the walk over, everyone was talking to one another. Twilight and Littlepip were swapping stories, Velvet was leaning against Calamity as he told Night about his childhood and some of the best times he had with Littlepip. Night listened intently, only interrupting to ask about a certain town or weapon he did not recognize. After awhile, everypony seemed to settle down. That is, until Twilight nudged Littlepip just as she was starting to drift off.
“Hey, you promised you would show me your special bracelet later. I want to see what all it can do.”
Littlepip yawned, “I don’t know Twilight, I feel kinda beat. How about I show just one thing and then we call it a night?”
Twilight scrunched her face but nodded her head nonetheless.
Everypony’s head turned to Littlepip as her Pipbuck began to glow. She fidgeted with it for a moment as she set it to radio. Littlepip then began to turn the dial looking for a good station until she found what she was looking for. Soon a voice could be heard coming from the Pipbuck, “This is BarroBroadCaster here with all your favorite musical hits. Tonight, we have something that will really help those nerves feel relaxed and fill you with nostalgia as we remember the good old days.” Music of a young singer could be heard then coming from the bracelet. Twilight at first felt her heart grow with excitement, but then felt her eyes grow heavy as the singers voice begin to lull her to sleep. The singers voice was sad yet calming. Yet it also seemed to fill everypony with a bit of hope. Everyone drifted off as the sweet melody played into the night.
Twilight awoke as the sun began to peek over the horizon. Thankfully, no pony was wrapped around her this time. Littlepip was sleeping nearby but just out of hooves reach. Twilight glanced over and saw that Night, Velvet and Calamity were already awake and chatting amongst themselves. Both glanced over when they heard Twilight give a small yawn. Night got up nodded to her, “Sleep well?”
Twilight stretched as she slowly got to her hooves, “Better than last night anyways.” Twilight glanced over at Littlepip still sleeping
nearby.
Night nodded silently as Calamity went over to where Littlepip was dozing. He carefully nudged her with his hoof. Littlepip opened one eye and glanced up at Calamity, “Just need to know one thing,” she whispered.
Calamity looked at looked at her with curiosity, “What’s that?”
“Did I sleep with anypony again last night?”
Twilight rolled her eyes, “Relax, I made sure to fall asleep just far enough away from you last night.”
Littlepip let out a sigh of relief. She smiled and got to her hooves.
Twilight turned towards her, “How much farther until we reach this Watcher?”
“Not much farther actually. If we leave now, we should be there in just a few hours."
Everpony gathered up what little they had. Littlepip took the lead, being the only pony at this point who knew the way. Twilight stuck her goggles over her eyes before she ran up and joined Littlepip at the front of the group as they began a brisk walk east. Twilight racked her brain, trying to remember where they might be, having studied several Atlases and maps of Equestria. Twilight glanced around her, trying to get a bearing on where she was. But it was nothing but wasteland as far as the eye could see. Nothing in this world seemed to look like anything she has seen back at home. "Guess the apocalypse can do that to landscape it seems," Twilight thought to herself.
Twilight glanced back at Littlepip who was doing her best to remember the exact path she took last time. “So, who is this Watcher? What is he or she like?”
Littlepip winced, hoping that the subject would not be brought up. “Well, he is certainty an interesting character.”
Twilight nodded, “Is there anything more you can tell me about him.”
“The Watcher likes to be left anonymous if at all possible. He is a bit of a hermit.”
Twilight glanced off into the horizon, “Interesting. I can’t wait to meet this mysterious pony.”
Littlepip smiled and nodded, but she was sweating on the inside. “Let’s see. This could either be a really touching moment, or could end up with somepony's ass on a silver platter. He will recognize her as Twilight instantly and maybe if I don’t tell her, the shock of both of them meeting might be enough to forget that this is not our worlds Twilight. After all, there is the slight chance he might get angry seeing a double of his once good friend and practically older sister. It would be like meeting a clone who says she is the person you love, but then finding out that they are nothing alike. This may not end well. Or it I could be over thinking this.
Well, I have gotten out of worst situations by winging it. No reason to stop now.”
Littlepip continued to lose herself in her thoughts, so much so that she almost walked right into Twilight when she stopped suddenly.
“Is that it?” Twilight pointed her hoof up at a tall mountain with a large cave at the top. A trail could be seen curling around the mountain. Littlepip nodded her head, about to say yes when her eyes got sight of something just off to the right. Squinting, Littlepip removed a pair of binoculars. Focusing them in, Littlepip could now make out a caravan. It seemed to be in a heap of trouble as shadow like creatures appeared to be attacking them. “Damn it, what’s a caravan doing all the way out here?”
Calamity went and stood next to her, a pair of binoculars sat on his face as well. He raised his hoof and pointed at the entrance of the cave, “That ain’t all we got ta worry bout.” Littlepip and Twilight glanced up at the mouth of the cave. Twilight had to squint but Littlepip could clearly see that it was blocked, and it was currently being attacked by a similar type of shadow creature. It seemed like they were doing everything they could to get through.
Littlepip put away her binoculars and glanced back at Calamity who was doing the same, “Alright, looks like we have two problems we need to handle now.”
Twilight turned to Littlepip, “Should we split up?”
Littlepip put her hoof to her chin in thought, but it was Calamity who spoke first, “Might not be a bad idear. I’ll take Velvet and Night. You an Twilight can go help Watcher.”
Night stepped up and placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, “Will you be alright?”
Twilight gave him a small smile, “Yeah, don’t worry. I can take care of myself. Plus, I have Littlepip to help me as well.”
Night looked uncertain but nodded his head all the same. “Good luck.”
Calamity also nodded at Littlepip, “Take care yourself an Twilight.”
Littlepip grinned, “I promise, we’ll be just fine. Now go help those poor ponies.”
Calamity tipped his hat and took off towards the caravan, Velvet and Night followed on hoof. Littlepip glanced back at Twilight, “Since you can’t use any of the spells you used to, looks like we are going to have to sprint up there on hooves.” Littlepip glanced back at the mountain and cringed, “This should be fun.”
Twilight held her hoof out in front of Littlepip, “Relax, I can still teleport. It’s not as far as some of the last few teleportation’s I have done. So long as you are willing to supply some extra magic, we should be able to get up there no problem.”
Littlepip scratched the back of her head with her hoof, “Um alright. It’s just; I’ve never teleported like this before. Anything I should know before we jump?”
Twilight put her hoof to her chin, “Hmm, keep you eyes closed until we get there... Oh and I have been told that some ponies feel a bit sick after teleporting so watch out for that as well." Littlepip nodded, starting to look a tad nervous but ready all the same. She lit up her horn as Twilight did the same. Littlepip felt her magic leave as Twilight began to draw from her. Twilight closed her eyes in concentration, so Littlepip did the same. There was a loud pop and feeling of being pulled in all directions. Littlepip opened her mouth to scream out in surprise but found she could not move. However, no more than a second later, another loud pop could be heard. Littlepip felt the ground change underneath her hoof. Littlepip opened her eyes, and found herself near the edge of a cliff.
Littlepip quickly turned around and saw that the mouth of the cave was right behind her along with the creatures who had yet to take notice of them. Littlepip glanced back at Twilight who was shaking the stars out of her eyes. Littlepip was about to say something when her last meal came rushing up to great her. She quickly turned around and emptied her stomach over the side of the cliff. The feeling of hoof on her back became apparent after awhile as more began to flow out her mouth. Littlepip swore under her breath between each upchuck. Finally after her stomach had been completely emptied, Littlepip turned around and groaned, “Sweet Celestia, my stomach feels liked it just got bucked into next week. Never let me do that again!”
Twilight smiled apologetically, “Sorry about that. Night isn’t much of a fan either if that helps.”
Littlepip shook her head, “Ugh, I feel like mood just went down the tube.” She turned around and faced the Shadows behind her and ginned, “But at least I can take out my feelings on something.”
Twilight turned and examined the Shadows. Not too surprising, these ones appeared a little different than last time though not by much. These Shadows stood on two legs, wore shoulder pads, had helmets and had metal gloves. What set these ones apart was the fact that these gloves had mole like claws to them, made for digging. The Shadows were at the moment digging into the rock, slowly chipping it away. Twilight flashed her Keyblade into existence while Littlepip took out her Little Macintosh. The Shadows continued to pay no head to the ponies behind them, but that was all about to change.
Twilight concentrated on the one that appeared to be making the most progress. Twilight pointed at it with her Keyblade and Littlepip took aim at the same one. Littlepip smirked before firing; Twilight followed up with a fire spell as soon as the shot rang out. Both the bullet and fire ball hit their mark. Before the Shadow even knew what had happened, the bullet had traveled through its exposed neck, disintegrating the head, with the fire ball consuming what was left. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the Shadows heads all turned to their dissipating comrade.
They stared at the spot for moment before all of them turned to face their attackers. Twilight counted four Shadows altogether. Littlepip quickly glanced over to Twilight, “I count four. That’s two for each of us.” Twilight nodded and rushed towards the two standing on the right while Littlepip took aim at the ones on the left. Twilight swung hard at the one on the way right. It dodged and began digging down quickly into the ground. Twilight quickly lost sight of it. Twilight then turned to the other one only to see a hole where it had been a moment ago. Twilight took a step back, knowing that they could surprise her at any moments. Twilight kept her eyes trained on the ground as she continued to move around. She was not going to let these creatures sneak up on her.
It didn’t work however; Twilight felt the ground give way under hooves just as the thought passed through her mind. Her whole body fell into a small pit. The creatures then began immediately clawing at her. Disoriented, Twilight swung the Keyblade around her; bouncing it off the walls of the hole she was now in. She felt on of the creature’s claws ram her in the nose. That was the final straw. Twilight raised her Keyblade in anger and put up a reflective spell. The creature blows to Twilight stopped in an instant. The bubble absorbed the blows and was quick to dish it back out. Unfortunately for Twilight, the hole was small and when the bubble exploded outwards, it then turned around and hit her as well. Twilight felt herself being launched out of the hole like a cannon. Littlepip glanced over at Twilight just as she tossed a grenade into the hole the Shadows she had been fighting disappeared into.
Twilight hit the ground just as two more explosions rocked the ground near her. Once the smoke had cleared, Littlepip went over to check on Twilight, “That was some explosion you made. Are you alright?”
Twilight groaned and wiped some dirt off her face. She then lifted off her goggles that were covering her eyes. “I’m fine. The explosion was an explosion of force and not fire. It hurt a bit but that is nothing compared to having become one with the ground like those Shadows did.” Twilight shook the rest of the dirt off of her, “Come on. Let’s go meet this Watcher.” Littlepip stashed away her weapon and followed Twilight to the mouth of the cave. The whole mouth of the cave was completely covered in large rocks. Twilight grabbed one of the larger ones from the top with her telekinesis and ripped it from the blockade. The boulder landed with a loud crash a few yards away from Littlepip. Once the rock was removed, light could be seen coming from deep within the cave. Twilight and Littlepip glanced at each other before climbing up and into the small hole in the cave.
The cave was surprisingly warm with a small breeze occasionally blowing through. Twilight and Littlepip walked in silence until the came to the caves antechamber. Twilight felt her jaw drop at the sight of it. Lining the walls of the chamber, were tons and tons of books. A small fireplace was set up just off to the side giving it a rather homey kind of touch. On the other side of the room was a bunch screens that reminded Twilight of some of the giant ones she caught glimpses of in pictures of Manehatten. The screens showed different areas of Equestria.
Twilight stared at the screens until a voice spoke from an adjacent chamber, “Do not take another step. I heard you break my defenses you awful creatures. But know that just because you managed to make it through my wall, doesn’t mean that the worst is behind you. If you have any brains at all, you will leave now and never return.
Littlepip grinned, “Leave? Now is that any way to treat a friend?”
The voice seemed to soften, “Oh, Littlepip. I am assuming that if you’re here, those creatures outside have been dealt with?”
“Yep, you won’t have to worry about them for awhile.”
“Thank you, you always do have a way have helping those in need when they least expect it.”
Littlepip smiled and scratched back of her head with her hoof, “Anyways, I brought a friend here in hopes that you could help her.”
The voice seemed to grow stern, “You know I am not a fan of strangers, unless this one is an Element of Harmony.”
“She is actually. And believe me, she isn’t a stranger.”
The voice seemed to grow curious, “What do you mean?”
Twilight glanced over as a creature came out of the adjacent chamber into the main chamber. It was a dragon. But not just any dragon, the purple scales and green spines could only match up with one particular dragon. A dragon Twilight knew all too well. As soon as their eyes met, the whole atmosphere of the room seemed to change.
“Twi… Twilight?” The dragon seemed to sputter in disbelief as he stared at her.
“Hi Spike,” Twilight said as her heart seemed to melt at the sight of him.
Spike extended his claw and gently touched Twilight’s face to make sure that she was real. Tears began to fall from his face, “I can’t believe it.”
Twilight looked up at Spike with sorrow in her voice, “Spike I’m sorry but…” Twilight soon found it impossible to speak as she found herself being quickly grabbed by Spike and gently held her against him in loving hug.
“Twilight, I’m so glad you are here. I just can't believe it!"
“Spike,” Twilight said softly.
Spike closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears. “Twilight... When I woke up and I learned what happened… My world shattered. Then I learned how you died. I thought I would never be happy again. I mourned your passing, as I tried to remember all those times we spent together. They meant more to me then everything else in the world. But you can’t touch a memory. You can’t hug a memory. You can’t talk to a memory." Spike opened his eyes and gazed off into the oblivion. "You can never truly love a memory.”
“Spike,” Twilight spoke louder this time.
“You have no idea what it is like to wake up and find everything you love gone or dead. To know that even if you fix some things, you can’t repair the lives lost.”
“Spike!”
Spike glanced down in surprise, noticing that tears were flowing freely from Twilight as well. “Spike… you're like my little brother and you always will be. I care about you more then you will ever know. The last thing I want to do is make you hurt more then you have obviously gone through. But I have to tell you something. Something, you may not like to hear.”
Twilight took a deep breath before continuing, “I am not your Twilight. I am from another world. I have not come back from the dead, and the Twilight you know is still gone.”
Twilight glanced up at Spike but was unable to read his expression so she continued, “In my world, I lost my Spike to the Shadows. I also lost my home and my friends have been sent to who knows where. They could be dead for all I know.” Twilight wrapped her hooves around Spike the best she could, “I wish I could be your Twilight. I wish this reunion could be the real one and for once we could be both be happy, even just for a moment. But the world is a dark place. Sometimes, things don’t go the way we wish it could. Spike… I wish I could take away the pain that you have obviously endured but I can’t. I wish I could go back and change my past just like you wish you could do the same. But there is nothing we can do. I…” Twilight searched for the right words but none came. Twilight felt a fresh supply of tears coming as she tried to think of a good apology. She glanced up at Spike and was surprised to see him smiling. Twilight stared at him in confusion.
“You may not be my Twilight. But you are still the Twilight I remember. Just having you here, is enough to fill this old dragon with nostalgia of the good old days.”
Twilight shook her head, “But… This isn’t right. I can’t fill the void and I shouldn’t be.”
Spike gently shushed her, “Please Twilight, as a friend. Let me pretend... Just a little longer?”
Twilight sighed in defeat, “Ok.”
Both dragon and unicorn grew silent as they each lost themselves in their own memories.
Littlepip rubbed her hoof with her eyes, glad that things had worked out. A smiled played across her face, “Amazing, so that’s what he looks like when he actually smiles.”