Fading Twilight

Chapters

Dawn
Noon
Afternoon
Sunset
Twilight

Dawn

“Spike, take a letter.” The purple scaled dragon retrieved a quill and roll of parchment from a nearby bookcase and gazed up at the second floor where Twilight was looking down at him, her front hooves on the balcony. “Dear Princess Celestia, I’ve learned a very important lesson today.” Spike wrote furiously, trying to keep pace with the lavender unicorn’s quick mouth. “I’ve learned that if I kill a pony, then I should separate myself from my friends and go insane.”

Spike’s claws stopped in the middle of the sentence, and though he wanted to look at Twilight in disbelief, he was overcome with a sense of utter terror, a sense that was digging into the very core of his being that stopped him from lifting his head. He forced himself to look at Twilight, and immediately regretted it, jumping back with a scream. Twilight’s eyes had transformed into horrible black pits, and her irises had become so small he wouldn’t have been able to spot them if they weren’t completely white and set against the piercing blackness. She was sporting a horrible smile that couldn’t fit on her face, and her cheeks had been split open from the corners of her mouth to the bottom of her ears. Blood poured from every orifice, and the soulless eyes were directed straight at Spike, freezing him to the spot with a fear that chilled his body to his very soul. Her mouth opened much wider than it should have, her torn cheeks giving it the ability to stretch beyond normal pony anatomy.

Her voice had dropped to an octave Spike had never heard before, and he could only shake as the pony whom he considered his big sister spoke in her new demonic voice. “Spike, why aren’t you writing this down? You’re my number one assistant, and what kind of assistant doesn’t take a letter?” As she spoke, her head had begun to lean to the right, but as it reached what should have been its limits, it continued to bend. There came horrible snapping sounds, and her head was completely upside down. Spike realized with repulsion that it was still going, and it finally came to a rest in the position it had started from, though there were subtle differences now, like the skin that was twisting its way around her neck. “Well, Spike? What do you have to say?” He gave a small yelp, completely forgetting that Twilight had asked him a question as he was too busy watching her head complete its horrendous rotation.

He sputtered, trying to get something out, but the fear that had encased his body in ice had reduced his thought processes to be virtually nonexistent. Twilight slowly walked to the top of the stairs, maintaining eye contact with Spike the entire time. As she descended, the candles that lit the interior of the library went out, leaving Spike surrounded by a pitch blackness that was only matched by the eyes of the monstrosity slowly approaching him. He had lost sight of it, but his ears were still working perfectly, picking up the small creaking noises that each step of the staircase made as Twilight made her way down. With each step, Spike felt an overwhelming sense of panic course through him. Twilight reached the bottom of the stairs and started to lumber her way towards Spike, the baby dragon trembling so much it was a wonder that he was still standing.

Out of the darkness came Twilight’s face, so close to Spike that their noses were touching. Unable to look away from her eyes, Spike stared into an abyss that ate away at him every second he looked into it. “Come join me, Spike. Insanity, not ignorance, is bliss. You just need to give in to the madness.” Spike could feel himself slipping away from the library, away from the horror staring at him, but what was waiting for him on the other side? “I miss you Spike. Do you miss me?” Spike’s vision was blurring, and Twilight’s face was becoming a swirling mass of purple, black and red. “You miss Rarity too, don’t you? If you give in, Spike…” There was nothing but darkness.

“You may just see her again.”

Spike awoke screaming and thrashing, the hay underneath him drenched in sweat. He gasped, trying to catch his ragged breath. The image of the black holes that passed for Twilight’s eyes were burned into his mind, and he knew it would be a long time before he would forget them. “Spike! You okay, sugarcube!?” He heard Applejack’s frantic voice cry out for him and a few seconds later the door of the barn burst open. Applejack was missing her trademark hat and there were heavy bags under her eyes. Behind her the first rays of Celestia’s sun were gradually replacing the darkness of Luna’s night.

Spike rose up on shaky legs, falling back onto the wall for support before answering Applejack. “I’m… I’m fine. It was just another nightmare.” The cowpony had a worried expression and a slight frown as she walked up to the disjointed dragon, wrapping him in a motherly embrace.

“Hush, now, it’s alright, Spike. It was just a dream. It can’t hurt you.” If Spike’s shivering body was any indication, he either didn’t believe her or the dream was so horrible no words could help to calm him. The sun rose slowly as they held the embrace, and Spike eventually stopped shaking, yet he still held strong to Applejack. “Do ya want to talk about it?” She asked in a concerned tone. He viciously shook his head. “That’s fine, ya don’t have to if you don’t want to.” The silence held for a minute more, until a bell rang out from the Apple family house. “Come on, Ah’m sure Granny Smith’s cooked up somethin’ real good.” Spike said nothing, instead opting to make his way to the house, leaving Applejack in the barn.

Nearly a year since Spike came to call Sweet Apple Acres his home, Applejack still worried about how he was adjusting to his new life. The way he always awoke from his sleep in a hysterical fit of yelling could have taken the place of the rooster. He had woken her so many times she wondered whether or not he had gotten a good night’s sleep since moving to the farm. Thinking back on the restless nights she had spent twisting and turning in her own bed, she guessed not. Her thoughts began to drift away from the breakfast no doubt awaiting her, and went back to the day her life had been changed forever…

Princess Celestia stood on the platform of the train station looking over the five friends in front of her, all of them felling as if a part of themselves had been ripped from them. Celestia’s beautiful white coat somehow seemed duller, and there was a look of sadness etched across her face that was repeated tenfold on the expressions of the four ponies. The one dragon’s eyes were completely blank, staring off into bright blue sky that seemed to mock the six standing on the platform with its carefree appearance. He hadn’t spoken to anyone in days, and any attempt at conversation was met with the same blank look and closed lips. Celesta knew she had to appear strong for the broken friends before her, but her heart had endured more pain in the past few days than it ever had during her millennia long rule. The most traumatic experience of her life had been banishing Luna to the moon over a thousand years ago, and even that now paled in comparison to what had happened to the Elements of Harmony.

“Thank you all for coming to see Twilight Sparkle off.” The four ponies shifted uncomfortably, and it was impossible to tell if Spike was listening or not. “She will receive the best possible care, and I will personally overseer her treatment. I… don’t know how long it will take for her to rebuild her psyche, but I will do everything in my power to help her recover.”

“Will we be able to visit her?” Rainbow Dash asked, breaking the silence the friends had taken. Her normally brash voice sounded like it was on the verge of breaking.

“Yes, you may. In fact, that might be the best solution. She’s going to need all of your help to pull through this, and if you see her in person, I’m sure it will help her mental state.” Celestia turned her attention to the vacant dragon. “Spike, I want you to stay here in Ponyville.” No reaction. “I urge you to visit, but Twilight will also need time alone to heal, and I would be too busy to watch over you if you were to stay in Canterlot. I’m sure that one of your friends would be more than happy to take you into their home.” Her eyes shifted nervously to the four ponies, hoping one of them would prove her words to be true.

Applejack spoke up. “Of course we’ll take care of him. Ah’m sure Ah can find some space around the farm for you, Spike.” She looked expectantly at him, trying to give him a reassuring smile, but there was no response. Her head drooped, eyes covered by her hat as she turned back to Celestia. “Ah’ll take him home with me.”

“Thank you.” The train whistled, signaling that is was time for the princess to board. “Please, don’t spend too much time worrying about Twilight. As I said, she will need time alone, and so will you. All of you.” She walked through the doors of the train and onto the red carpet that decorated the interior of the car. “I’m sorry.” She closed the doors, and a few seconds later the train started to move. The five could only watch as the train became smaller and smaller in the distance, taking away their friend and leading her to an uncertain fate. They stood around, unsure what to do with themselves now that Twilight was gone. Eventually they went their separate ways, but not before agreeing to meet back at the same spot in a few days. Though they all were going through pain of their own, Twilight’s pain must have been must worse. The way she had acted at the funeral, causing such a distraction that she had to be escorted back to the library, how she had tried to hang herself the day before…

Applejack made her way off the platform with Spike, the dragon complying without argument, without any emotion, really. She had no idea what she was going to do with Spike, or what she was going to do about herself. A few days ago she had convinced herself she was just in a terrible nightmare, that she would awaken safely in her bed and would visit the Carousal Boutique, finding Rarity occupied with another one of her dress designs.

If only it had been that easy.

Applejack snapped out of her memory as a particularly bright spot of sun hit her square in the eyes. She shielded herself with a hoof and made her way to the house, catching a whiff of baked apple as she opened the front door. In the kitchen, her four family members sat at the dining table. A hearty breakfast of assorted apple confections that sat on the table couldn’t mask the crushing sense of depression that surrounded them. She took a seat next to Spike and the family began to eat, save Spike. He simply picked at the apple pie in front of him. Applejack sighed and put down the tart she was eating. “Sugarcube, ya gotta eat somethin’. Ya don’ wanna go out today on an empty stomach.”

He stopped poking the apple and turned away from her. “I’m not hungry.”

“Come on, now, a growin’ dragon like you has to eat. How ‘bout this nice fritter?” She handed him the baked treat, which he violently slapped away. Applejack was surprised by his outburst, and the rest of her family had stopped eating as they watched the purple dragon jump from his chair and run out the front door. Applejack gave chase, leaving the stunned Apples behind. “Spike! Spike, please, come back!” She saw a flash of purple head into the barn and she ran over. Inside, Spike had thrown himself onto the pile of hay that served as his bed and had started to cry. Applejack, not wanting to upset him, took a seat next to his racking body and put a hoof on his back. When he didn’t knock it away, she spoke up. “Spike… I miss her too.”

He flipped around, and with tears streaming down his cheeks he yelled at her. “You didn’t love her!! She wasn’t the first crush of your life! She… she…” He couldn’t finish his sentence, and buried his head back in the hay.

“Oh, Spike…” She hugged him. He offered no resistance. “Ah loved her too. She was our friend, and the time we had together was the most magical time of our lives… but you have to accept that she’s gone.”

“NO! I won’t! I don’t want to forget her!”

“Ah know it’s hard… Ah still can’ get a good night’s sleep… but what you’re doin’, Spike… do you really think she’d want you to be livin’ like this?” The sobbing stopped, and Applejack tightened her grip on the dragon. “She may be gone, but you can still keep her alive by livin’ life to the fullest. Don’tcha think that’s what Rarity would want ya to do?”

Spike took a second before answering. “I… I guess that makes sense. It doesn’t make it any easier, though. I still miss her…”

“Ah do too, sugarcube. Ah do too…” They held the embrace in silence, unmoving. “Today’s the anniversary… me an’ everypony else are goin’ to visit Rarity, an’ I was wonderin’ if you wanted to come with us.”

Spike sniffed and rubbed his eyes, facing Applejack as he did so. “Yeah… yeah, I think I want to.”

“Alright, then. We got about a half hour ‘fore we gotta move, so why don’ we grab some breakfast before then?”

“That sounds good.” The two helped each other up from the hay, and started back towards the house. Before they had gone too far, Spike spoke up. “Applejack, do you think we could visit Twilight after we see Rarity?”

She stopped in her tracks, and Spike looked at her quizzically, waiting for an answer. “Ah… Ah don’ think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” Spike’s voice had gained a bit of anger.

“Twilight… she’s… how to put this… she needs time on her own, and the last time I visited her, she wasn’ doing well.”

“Well, how long ago was that?”

Applejack bit her lip. “That was ‘bout… shoot, Ah think it was a couple months ago.”

“A couple months!? You mean Twilight’s been stuck in the castle without us for months!?!” Spike voice was rising, and he was looking at Applejack in disgust. “How could you leave her alone like that?

“Ah didn’ want to leave her, but there’s somethin’ about Twilight that’s changed! You remember what happened when we all visited her that first time.” She could see Spike’s face contort as the image of Rainbow Dash on the ground flashed in his mind, her wings twisted in ways they were never meant to. “She didn’ get any better. Spike, Ah want to visit her too, but right now, Ah think it’s just too risky.”

“So we just let her rot away in some room?”

“Spike, she’s not alone. Remember, Princess Celestia is giving Twilight her full attention, and if anyone can help her, it’s the Princess.”

“If the Princess is watching her, that’s good… but I still miss her.”

Applejack embraced him. “Ah know you do. We all do.” The sun shined down on the two, and they released the grip. “Now, we still need to eat. Come on, ‘fore them fritters get cold.” Spike obeyed, following her into the house and shutting the door behind him.

*******************************

The yellow pegasus lay atop the covers of her bed, staring blankly at the paneled ceiling. She noted with disinterest that light was streaming into her cottage from the outside. On her stomach slept a small, white rabbit, having kept her company the night before for as long as he could stay awake. She tried to recount how long she had been awake, but almost as soon as the notion set in her mind, she tossed it away as she would a piece of trash. There simply wasn’t a point in it. There wasn’t a point in anything anymore.

It had been nearly impossible to continue living when the accident first occurred. The only thing that had kept her from crying nonstop had been the comfort of her friends, but as time tried to mend the hole in her heart, she lost her passion, her love of all things small and furry, her love of everything. Her best friend was gone, killed indirectly by the actions of another friend who had been taken away from her. She didn’t blame Twilight, not at all. In fact, she missed Twilight nearly as much as Rarity, which made it all the worse to know the kind of state she was in, kept alone in Canterlot while her shattered mind tried to piece itself back together. She wanted to visit Twilight more than anything else, but ever since the last time, seeing how she had pushed all of them back, how she had snapped Rainbow Dash’s wings with a simple thought…

Since then, she tried to find solace with her other friends, but they had changed in their own ways, and in dealing with their own problems, didn’t have any time for her. She thought back to the times before the accident, when she and Rarity had met up at the spa house for their weekly makeovers and massages, and could feel tears start to well up. She tried to fight them back, but the memories she had stirred were too much, and she wept openly as she cursed at her pillow, her animals, and the life she now found herself in. This awakened the bunny on her chest, and he started to stroke her mane in an effort to calm her down, with little success. Fluttershy cried for what seemed like forever, letting her pent up emotions spill out onto the bed in the form of her tears. Finally, with the help of her bunny, she pulled herself together long enough to force herself out of bed.

She spread her wings and took flight, holding onto the bunny that was looking up at her with worried eyes. She set him down near his food bowl and went about her morning routine of making sure every animal was fed and watered, if only because it took her mind off Rarity. Her animals came to her, trying to give her reassurance, but she turned them all away. Once she had finished she took a seat in her large chair and stared at the two framed pictures that sat on her nightstand. The two unicorns were beaming at her, as if they were completely unaware of the horrific fates that awaited them. Fluttershy stared at the pictures, an inexplicable rage beginning to build within her. Their perfect smiles, their obliviousness to the outside world…

They were mocking her! They were laughing behind those smiles, at her, at the pain she was going through without them! She wouldn’t take it from those two any longer. She flew at them like a pegasus out of hell, sending the night stand flying as she grabbed the two portraits and shoved the stand away. Her brow was burrowing its way into her eyes as she scowled at the two ponies taunting her in their glass cases. She raised her hoof and chucked the portraits to the floor, the glass smashing as it connected with the hard wood. Fluttershy wasn’t done, as she started hammering the glass into fine mist while shouting at the top of her lungs, “DON’T SMILE AT ME! YOU’RE DEAD!! AND YOU’RE INSANE!! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO BE HAPPY ABOUT WHEN YOU’RE LIKE THAT!?!” The rage that had so quickly filled her left as suddenly as it had come, and she looked down at the mix of glass, ripped paper and blood in horror. She rushed to the bathroom and pulled out a first aid kit from the medicine cabinet, rinsing the blood from her hooves in the sink. She soaked the cuts in alcohol, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood as she did so. She wrapped her still bleeding hooves in bandages, their white plaster gradually turning red, but it seemed to slow and eventually stop over several minutes. She sighed and changed the bandages, and this time they kept their white color. She gingerly took a step, and winced in a bearable pain. She took flight, following the trail of blood that led to the mess in the living room. She cautiously picked through the glass and picked up the largest pieces of the two pictures. All that was left of Twilight’s picture was her smile, which without a body to go with it, disturbed Fluttershy for a reason she couldn’t pin down. Rarity’s eyes were all that was left, and Fluttershy couldn’t bear her friend’s gaze, tossing both of the pieces of photo away.

She cleaned the mess as best as she could, but there was no removing the dark red blot that now adorned her carpet. With the glass swept and the blood mopped up as best as possible, she collapsed back into her chair, and began to cry. She cried because she was ashamed of her outburst, because of the pain that she had put herself through, because she had just destroyed the last physical memories of her two friends.

But most of all, she cried for the friends that she had lost, whether permanently or gradually. The friends that had once been inseparable, the friends that now couldn't help her when they couldn’t help themselves. She curled into a ball of yellow fur, weeping, until she cried herself to sleep. It seemed like only minutes later that she was awoken, as a white paw gently stroked her head until she awoke. Angel held a pocket watch, holding it up and pointing to it. Fluttershy quietly thanked him and hovered herself out of the chair, heading for the front door. She left her house behind and began the long flight to the Carousal Boutique, wiping her bloodshot eyes as she flew.

*******************************

“Pinkie Pie, it’s time for breakfast.” Mr. Cake called up the stairs went unanswered, just as he had been expecting. He heard a rustling from upstairs, and Pinkameina Diana Pie silently appeared at the top of the stairs, the right side of her face hidden by her mane and the other half showing no emotion whatsoever. “Good morning, Pinkie.” She didn’t acknowledge him as she descended and walked past him towards the kitchen. Mr. Cake had seen her turn into a husk of her former self, and while the shock of it had diminished, it never got any easier to see her like this. He followed her into the kitchen and took a seat next to his wife, their two foals in their booster chairs next to them as Pinkamenia took a seat across from them. Pinkamenia took a cupcake from the tray in the center of the table, ate it, and walked back to the stairs.

Mrs. Cake turned to her husband. “No change?”

Mr. Cake sighed dejectedly. “None. I don’t know what to do. None of her friends have been able to snap her out of it, and nothing we’ve done has been able to help her.”

“Oh, the poor dear… do you think she’ll be like this forever?”

“No, I don’t think so. She needs time to move on, but hopefully she’ll be back to her old self, in time.” He turned his attention to his children, who were by now clamoring for their own breakfast. “It’s a shame, what happened to her friend. That unicorn was such a nice pony.”

Pinkamenia retreated to her room, closing and locking the door. She walked over to a chair in front of the window of her room and took a seat, looking out on the ponies that were going about their daily business. She didn’t take notice of them, nor did she notice anything. She simply stared, focusing on nothing. Ever since the accident, Pinkamenia rarely left the house, and only did so to visit the grave of her friend. The rest of her time was spent inside, staring out into nothingness.

The usually vibrant pink of her coat and mane had gradually diluted over the past year, and her mane was stuck in its straight style, no matter what she did to it. Not that it mattered to her. Pinkamenia hadn’t held a party in over a year, and it was with heavy hearts that the townsfolk had taken notice. The lack of a cheerful pink pony, the happiest pony in town, had dampened the lives of everyone, and combined with the accident, Ponyville had changed for the worse. What everyone needed was an escape from their troubles, but with Pinkamenia in her condition, they would have a hard time finding it.

As time passed, Pinkamenia didn’t move. She simply waited, and waited, and waited. The Cakes called to her, trying everything possible to get her to come out of her room, but like so many times before, they failed. Pinkamenia, however, did have a reason for leaving the house today. As the sun reached its pinnacle, she walked away from the window and exited her room. She silently exited the bakery, ignoring the Cakes who watched her with worrying eyes. Heads turned as she made a rare appearance in public, but like the Cakes before, she gave them no thought. She was entirely focused on the boutique that was once her friend’s home, and was now her final resting place.

*******************************

Sunlight streamed into the pristine room, broken into a symmetrical pattern by the shades of the window. The spotless hospital room held one bed, which was in contrast with the organized nature of the room. Its covers were wrapped around the pegasus who was twisting in her sleep, obviously in discomfort. With a quick rock to one side, she fell off the bed, roughly landing on her stomach as she woke from the fall. She grumbled as she untied herself from the covers, finishing up just as a pony clad in a white overcoat came in, no doubt attracted by the sound of the fall. He carried a clipboard with various papers attached to it. “Are you alright, Rainbow? Did you hurt anything?”

Rainbow Dash took a seat on the edge of her bed, taking care to not hit her wings on anything. The casts she wore helped to protect them, but it still hurt if they took a hit. “No, I’m alright, just having trouble sleeping.”

“Still?”

“Yes, still,” she answered with a cold gaze. “Friends dying will have that effect on you.”

The doctor cleared his throat. “O-Of course. I’m sorry.” There was a slight pause. “I seem to recall you saying that today was a special day. Does it have anything to do with your friend?”

Rainbow turned away from the doctor and hung her head. “A year ago today is when we lost Rarity. My friends and I were all going to meet up at her grave at noon. That’s why it’s special.”

“And how are your friends taking it?”

She put her head in her hooves. “Not well. The only times I see them are when they visit, or when I just happen to bump into them in town or something. They’ve… changed. At least, most of them have. Applejack seems to have kept her head on straight.” Her wings fluttered, and she grimaced in pain. “The others, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle… I don’t know what’s happened to them.”

The doctor flipped through the papers of the clipboard, eventually stopping on one. His eyes became slim as he studied the paper. “Twilight Sparkle? The unicorn who attacked you and crippled your wings was your friend?”

Rainbow Dash suddenly threw herself off the bed, rushing up to the doctor. Their faces were nearly touching as Rainbow started to yell. “Don’t say that! Don’t you dare say she attacked me! Twilight’s one of my closest friends, and she would have never done what she did if Rarity hadn’t gotten herself killed!” She was huffing as she backed away from the doctor who was trying to shield himself with the clipboard. “Sorry. I just don’t like people talking about my friends like that.” She walked back over to the bed and took a seat again. “Doc, how much longer am I gonna be stuck in this hospital? I’ve already read the entire Daring Doo series twice, and I’ve been away from my cloud for way too long.”

“Rainbow Dash, you do realize how badly your wings were injured, right? Even with a full year of recovery, you still have roughly six months before those casts can come off. Even then, your flight will never be as efficient as-“ He was cut off by the hoof that smashed into the wall next to the bed, and as it withdrew, he could see a sizable hole in the white plaster. The rainbow haired pegasus said nothing, instead massaging her drywall covered hoof, her eyes hidden by her mane. The doctor cleared his throat again, sweat beginning to form on his brow. “A-As I was saying, you won’t be able to fly at your peak performance anymore.” He flipped to another page on his clipboard. “It says here you were the one who performed a sonic rainboom in the Equestrian Flyer’s Competition. I’m sorry to say, but something like that just won’t be possible once your wings heal.”

Rainbow merely continued to rub her hoof. “I know. Oh, how I know.” Her voice was beginning to crack. “Ever since I was a filly, all I wanted was to become a Wonderbolt. I guess that’s out the window, now, huh?” She wiped her eyes and got a hold of herself, determined to not let the doctor see her break down like this. “Dammit, why did this happen? Is it some kind of cruel joke someone’s getting off on?” A moment of silence. “I just want things to go back to the way they were.” She was silent as she got off the bed and walked to the window, opening the shades and looking at the sun that was now in the middle of the sky. “What time is it?”

“Just about noon.”

“I guess I slept in a bit.” She moved away from the window and started towards the door of her room, the doctor flinching as she drew closer. “Sorry about the wall,” were her final words to him as she left. The doctor retrieved a pencil from his coat and hurriedly scribbled on a piece of paper that had a picture of Rainbow Dash, eyeing the brand new hole in the wall as he did so.

*******************************

The sun was beating down as the six friends stared in disbelief at the hole that had once held the coffin of their late friend Rarity. Emotions ranged from overwhelming anger to utter disbelief, but one thing was clear to each of them;

Rarity was gone.

Fluttershy fell to the ground and covered her head with her hoofs, Pinkamenia kept her silence, and Rainbow Dash was frantically running to each of the ponies that had come to investigate the scene, drawn to it by the cyan pegasus’ shouting. “WHO DID IT!?! DID ANYONE SEE WHO IT WAS!? TELL ME, FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE!!”

As she ran helplessly around, looking for answers, Applejack and Spike investigated the hole, the dug up dirt having been thrown aside next to it. "Ah... Ah just don' understand... what would anyone gain from doin' this?"

Spike couldn't respond, as the implications of this horrific discovery were flying through his mind, but as he felt a rumbling in his stomach, he wouldn't have to. A burp, and in a flash of green fire, a scroll dropped to the ground in front of him. Applejack snatched it up, and with an increasingly fallen face, read the letter aloud.

Spike, I need you to gather your friends. Twilight has fled the castle, and I fear her mind is still too unstable for her to integrate back into society. I have dispatched my guards, and they are looking for her now, but I urge you and your friends to search for her yourselves. The faster we can return her to the castle, the better. If she won't comply willingly, do what needs to be done to bring her back. I know it sounds horrible, and I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that, but she is one of the most powerful unicorns I have ever met in the thousand plus years of my life. You must stop her before she does something drastic, something that could not only endanger herself, but all of you and possibly Equestria itself.

Please hurry. I fear we are running out of time we never had in the first place.

Noon

The parchment slipped from the cowpony’s hooves, a mix of shock and disbelief on her face as her friends struggled to take in the revelation. Spike had taken a seat, cradling his head with his hands as he stared at the ground. Fluttershy’s body was silently shaking as she sobbed, her head still hidden by her hooves. Pinkamenia kept her silence, but for the first time, a hint of emotion was showing on her face as her mouth formed a small frown, her eyes darting back and forth between the desecrated grave and the scroll in front of Applejack. Rainbow Dash, having suspended her interrogations of the townsfolk to listen to Applejack, could only gape at her friend as the same thought ran through their minds.

“Rainbow, you don’ think…”

“NO!” Rainbow’s sudden denial caused Applejack to take a step back as the crippled pegasus ran over and took hold of the scroll. “There’s no way she could do something like this!” Rainbow quickly read the letter, then threw it to the ground. “This doesn’t prove anything! Any sick bastard could have done this! It’s just a coincidence that Twilight’s escaped from Canterlot!” Rainbow’s voice lost its fiery tone, and was replaced by a much smaller one that held a hint of doubt. “It…It has to be, right?”

Applejack walked over to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Rainbow, Ah know it looks bad, an’ Ah’m not sayin’ for certain it was Twilight, but ya gotta look at the facts. She’s been goin’ through a lot… and if she thought this was a good idea…” She stopped, unable to continue with her train of thought.

Spike spoke without looking up. “How could she think this was a good idea? What would she have to gain from doing this?” No one answered him.

Applejack, finally over the initial shock, raised her voice as she tried to get a hold of the situation. “Come on, y’all, right now it doesn’ matter why anypony would do this, we gotta find whoever did it and bring ‘em to justice.”

“I’m right there with you.” Rainbow’s voice had regained its normal brashness, joined by an overtone of pure rage. “If it turns out some creepy sicko did this, I’m gonna stomp his head into the ground!”

Spike rose to his feet, a look of concern on his face. “And what if it’s Twilight who did all this? What are you gonna do then?” He had asked not out of contempt, but out of worry.

Rainbow avoided his gaze as she answered. “If it really was Twilight… which it probably wasn’t! But, if it was her, we’ll just snatch her up and bring her back to the castle. After that, we can put Rarity back to rest.” She looked for support from her cowpony friend and got it in the form of a nod.

“Sounds good. We can get her back to the Princess, and if it was her, we can return Rarity to her resting place.” The dragon and the pegasus agreed with her, and Applejack turned her attention to the silent pink pony and the yellow Pegasus that lay still on the ground. Before she could say anything to Pinkamenia, the mute pony nodded. Satisfied that she was with them, Applejack sat next to Fluttershy and gently put a hoof on her shoulder. “Shy?” She had tried to ask as quietly as possible.

Fluttershy raised a plaster covered hoof, here eye catching Applejack’s before she hurriedly returned the hoof to its place over her eye. Applejack began to stroke her mane, speaking in a hushed tone. “Ah know this is hard for you, sweetie, but you gotta be strong, for Twilight’s sake. We’re her friends, and right now, she needs us more than anythin’.”

Fluttershy’s voice was so low that Applejack had to lean towards her in order to hear what she said. “Are we really Twilight’s friends anymore? Are we still friends at all?”

“Sugarcube, what are ya talkin’ about!? Of course we’re friends! Why would ya say somethin’ like that?”

Fluttershy uncovered her head, and it looked like she was about to burst into tears again. “Haven’t you been paying attention? Ever since… since… the accident, we’ve drifted apart from Twilight… from each other.”

“Fluttershy, Ah… Ah had no idea you felt like that… Ah mean, Ah know we’ve seen a lot less of each other, but we’re still friends, sugarcube.” Spike, Rainbow Dash and Pinkamenia had walked over to the two. “We would never intentionally push you away, would we?” She asked the three around her, and Rainbow Dash and Spike agreed, Pinkamenia giving her a slight nod. “See?” With that, she embraced Fluttershy, and was joined by the others. They held onto each other for what seemed like forever, until they reluctantly relinquished their grips.

Fluttershy had managed to give them a small smile, and was met by the smiles of her friends, Pinkamenia even managing to give her a small one. Applejack, however, lost hers as she turned attention back to the matter at hand. “We’re still missin’ a pony. We need to get goin’ an’ find Twilight as fast as possible.” The others agreed, and they all stood. “Ah don’ have the first clue about where she might be, but the Princess did mention she sent out some guards to look for her.”

“Yeah, but why let some guards find her when she needs us the most? The more time we waste here, the longer Twilight’s out there, all alone.” Rainbow’s friends didn’t need any convincing, and the six friends set off, not knowing where Twilight Sparkle was, only that they needed to find her.

**********************

High above the foreboding Everfree Forest flew a group of four armored pegasi, the polished metal of their royal armament shining brilliantly in the light of the midday sun. Leading the flight was a large white stallion, his cream colored tail flapping wildly in the breeze. He turned back to the three following him and shouted out to them, “Keep a lookout for any signs of magical tampering! This unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, is supposed to be the Princess’ prodigy, so there’s a good chance she’s using her magic to hide herself.”

One of the guards, his coat a mix of a deep purple and blue, voiced a question. “What kind of magic are we expecting, Hoplite, sir?”

“Apparently she’s the embodiment of the Element of Magic, so it means she can use pretty much any kind of magic she wants to. The Princess wasn’t specific about what exactly she’s capable of, but if she was powerful enough to be the Princess’ personal student, we need to expect anything.”

Another o f the guards, a gray coated solider with a darker shaded tail suddenly called out, “Sir, there’s a clearing in the forest over there.” He pointed down to the forest with a hoof, and as Hoplite followed it, he caught sight of a small breach in the tree line.

“Nice catch, Observer. You and Night Watch will follow me in. Fleethoof, if we aren’t back in ten minutes, head back to the castle and inform the Princess about this place.” The three guards gave their commander a salute, and the strike team flew to the ground, leaving behind their teal colored companion.

The three soldiers flew through the small breach and landed in a small patch of land, land that was surrounded on nearly all sides by the forest. Strange plants grew everywhere, and the trees were so closely intertwined that it was impossible to see past the first few tree lines. An almost unnatural silence had taken over, a silence so profound that the guards could hear their own breath. Ahead of them lay what seemed like the only visible way through the thick vegetation, a small, worn path that led into darkness. The guards started down the path, and as they got further away from the opening that led to the sky, the darker it became, until they could barely see each other in the dimness.

Night Watch jumped as a strange guttural noise came from somewhere deep within the forest, causing Hoplite to put a hoof to his mouth. “Quiet,” He whispered in a hurried tone. “Don’t attract any attention! We don’t know what’s in this forest, and I’m not too keen on finding out.” Night Watch gulped and gave a quick nod, his eyes shifting to and fro, looking for and subsequently hoping not to find the source of the noise. The only sounds that now graced their ears were the trudging of their hooves upon the hard ground.

As they continued on, the blackness around them somehow seemed to worsen, until they had to look down at the ground to make sure they were still on the path. The air, Hoplite realized, seemed to have dampened and grown heavier, causing him to quicken his breath. His ears perked as he heard a strange sound, a sound so light he questioned whether or not he had actually heard anything. He stopped, and complete silence washed over the guards as they followed their leader’s example. The same noise, slightly louder this time, shook all doubts from the commander’s mind. He listened intently, and for a third time, the noise permeated the air, even louder than before. If he didn’t know any better, he would have guessed that it was a mare’s laugh that was following them. He waited, trying to confirm his suspicion, but the noise didn’t come back. He shook his head and the guards continued on.

The silence was shattered as Night Watch yelled out, causing Hoplite to jump in surprise. He rushed over and covered the guard’s mouth as the eerie stillness took over once more. “You idiot!” His voice, while still low, held fury and contempt. “What did I tell you!? Now you’ve given our position away!” Night Watch’s eyes were bulging out, and the commander risked a glance into the darkness around them.

He felt his heart skip a beat as he found the cause of his underling’s scream. A nightmarish face, not five feet away, was barely illuminated by the purple light coming from its horn. The appendage was nearly hidden under the tattered rag that could only have been the creature’s mane. He could hardly see its face, and its body was completely obscured, but he what he saw shook him to his very core. The face was stoic, but as time dragged on, its mouth slowly spread into a terrible smile that began to stretch the limits of its face. Even more disturbing than the smile were the thing’s eyes. They were darker than the midnight sky, and they held two microscopic dots of white that were locked with his own eyes. Hoplite could feel the eyes of this thing burrowing their way into his retinas, and try as he might, there was no escaping this thing’s petrifying glare. He felt his entire body lock into position, completely at the mercy of his enemy. Just as quick as the demented creature had appeared, the aura of its horn flashed, and when the commander’s eyes had recovered from the sudden burst of light, the monster was nowhere to be found. The commander, free of the hellish stare, quickly rounded and tried to get his troops moving.

At least, he would have, if they were still there.

He spun around, desperately trying to find them, but in this darkness, the only thing he found was a hole in the ground. He tripped, twisting his ankle in the process. He let out a grunt of pain as he fell and met the cold dirt. The unmistakable sound of laughter could be heard, the same laugh that he had heard just a few minutes ago. He got to his hooves, ignoring the pain in his ankle and started to run with a limp. With no idea where he was or where he was going, he simply ran, following the path as best as he could. The laughter had risen in volume, filling his head and blocking out any thoughts besides escape. His breath was ragged, the fire in his leg slowly spreading outwards, and there was nothing ahead but more darkness. In a single moment of weakness, he let the laughing get to him, if only for a second. It was enough to distract him from the path, and he smashed head first into a tree, knocking him out cold and causing his helmet to cut into his forehead.

The laughing cut out, and unbeknownst to the unconscious and bleeding guard, a figure emerged from the forest, standing over him. It was the thing he had seen before, but there was no escape for him now. With a flash of purple light, the creature and the guard were whisked away, leaving only the sinister darkness of the forest behind.

**********************

Fleethoof flew quickly over the trees, their thick growth preventing him from seeing into the forest. He wasn’t sure exactly how long ago it was that his compatriots had entered the small hole in the tree line, but at the least, fifteen minutes must have gone by. He would’ve gone to the Princess, if not for the scream that had come from within the forest just a few minutes before. He searched, frantically trying to find the source of the yelling, but the tops of the trees prevented him from seeing anything. With a heavy sigh, he gave up the search and changed direction, flying towards the great castle in the distance.

**********************

The six friends had been travelling for just over an hour, and they had nothing to show for it. None of the ponies in Ponyville had been any help in their search, and they had decided to move their search towards the surrounding areas. The first place outside of town they went to check was the Everfree Forest. The midday sun was beaming down on them, filling them with hope that their mission would be successful.

Rainbow Dash led the group, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Behind her, the rest did the same, staying ever vigilant. Applejack had fallen to the back of the pack, hoping to get a word in with Fluttershy.

“Shy, do you really feel like we’ve been driftin’ apart as friends? Now, Ah’m not mad or anythin’ like that, Ah just want to know the truth.”

Fluttershy answered nervously. “Um, well, yes. I mean, I don’t blame you, I couldn’t, it’s just… ever since Rarity… passed on, I think we haven’t been spending enough time together. Maybe if we had, Twilight wouldn’t have…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, as the events of the day had started to weigh down on her.

Applejack comforted her friend, trying to put her worries to rest. “Don’ think like that. Even if it was Twilight who… did that, Ah’m sure she wasn’ in her right mind when she did it. We’ll get her back, Shy. Ah promise you we will.”

Fluttershy smiled, though her eyes still looked a little doubtful. They had lagged behind the others, and hurried to catch up, Applejack walking alongside Pinkamenia once they did so. “Pinkie, Ah know everypony’s had some hard times, but don’ ya think one of your parties would help to cheer everypony up? It’s been so long since you had one, an’ Ah know for sure Ah could go for one.” Pinkamenia looked at her with a seemingly confused expression, and seemed as if she was about to answer, but decided against it, keeping her silence. Applejack frowned. “C’mon, Pinkie, it’s hard movin’ on, but don’ ya think Rarity would rather you have fun than sulk around all the time?” Again, Pinkamenia seemed like she was going to say something, but said nothing. Applejack sighed. “Well, at least think about it.”

Leaving Pinkamenia behind, Applejack ran up to Rainbow Dash, but wasn’t expecting her to stop in her tracks. She got a face full of rainbow colored tail for her troubles, and was about to scold Rainbow when she untangled herself form the hair and saw why she had stopped.

High in the sky, the vague but unmistakable form of Princess Celestia was quickly approaching them. She was moving rapidly, and touched down in only a few seconds. There were slight bags under her eyes, and she looked like she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a very long time. The six friends, though stunned by her sudden appearance, bowed their heads in respect.

"Thank goodness I found you all." The friends noticed that she had ignored the gesture of respect, and listened as Celestia spoke hurriedly. "One of the guards I sent out came back with reports of a possible hideout, and I had to see it for myself. I believe they found her, for none of the others have returned." The friends looked to each other, their faces a mix of confusion and concern. "I was just on my way to retrieve you all, but I see that won't be necessary." Without another word, her horn glowed with a yellowish aura, and they were all whisked away from the sunny path they had been walking on.

**********************

Hoplite’s head was pounding and his eyes unfocused as he stirred groggily, trying to gain his bearings. The first thing that stuck out was the ground, or at least what he thought was the ground. The tree trunks were extending downwards, and above him lay the tell tale dirt of the forest floor. He couldn’t piece together what exactly was wrong with this until the fire in his ankle returned worse than before, causing him to moan in pain and snap into focus. He felt pressure building in his head, and when he tried to raise a hoof to it, he found his front legs bounded together by a strange current of purple light. Try as he might, he couldn’t break free of the strange glow, and when he tried moving his back legs, he found that they too were trapped by the light. He struggled against the bonds, but it was a hopeless act. He let his hooves fall limply and looked around, trying to figure out where he was.

He was in a circular and flat patch of land that was surrounded on all sides by the trees that he had become all too accustomed with. There seemed to be a large box of some kind on the opposite him, and in front of it, a purple campfire was shedding the first light he had seen for some time. It was strange to see the forest lit up with purple. Of course, he was seeing all of this upside down, as he finally figured out why the planet had flipped; he was strung up by his back legs in a tree. He looked up and found that the same aura that held his hooves together had a hold of his back hooves, acting like a rope as it went up to the tree above him.

There came the snapping sound of a branch underhoof, and he quickly turned towards the direction of the noise, which happened to be behind the strange box. The first thing he saw stepping out from behind it was the same ghastly face that had met him in the forest, and as he watched with a quickening heart beat, the monster made its full appearance known.

It was a unicorn, there was no doubt about that, but its body had undergone some kind of transformation that had morphed it into its present horrific state. Hoplite guessed that the unicorn was, or had been, a mare, but he reasoned that it didn’t matter at this point. The purple light of the campfire allowed him to see the ribs that were sticking out underneath its ragged coat, and its mane and tail were both tattered and unkempt beyond belief. It was smiling at him, the same awful smile that had seen before. The same black eyes that had petrified him before were staring into his, but for some reason, he didn’t feel himself turn to stone. He could only guess that this thing was toying with him, getting some kind of sick pleasure from it. For a reason he couldn’t find, seeing this thing upside down scared him infinitely more than when he had seen it right side up.

He started to thrash against his bonds as it drew closer to him, never losing eye contact. He closed his eyes, foolishly trying to escape from its glare. When he opened them again, he thought for a split second that the campfire had gone out, but when the dots of white suddenly shifted, he knew that the monster was standing face to face with him. He let out a startled scream, the monster completely unaffected by it. He had started to hyperventilate, and no matter what he did to try to calm himself, the unblinking eyes in front of him stopped his efforts in their tracks.

The thing lost its smile as it opened its mouth, and in a mare like but gravelly voice, spoke with him. “I knew Celestia would send someone to find me, but I was so hoping that it would be my friends. Instead, I get you. You poor, unfortunate pony.”

Hoplite gulped, and as the connection between his mission and what the creature had just said made itself clear, he spoke in barely more than a hushed whisper. “T-Twlight Sparkle?”

“Here I am, in the flesh,” She responded with an almost cheery tone, “But to be fair, my flesh has seen better days.” She frowned, looking down and picking at her coat with a hoof. “Of course, that was before I killed my friend.”

Hoplite had started to breathe faster as the warped mare spoke, and he could barely muster enough courage to speak up. “I’m here to bring you back to Canterlot …”

She started giggling at this, her voice somehow more disturbing when it was in delight. “Oh, how I admire a guard who keeps the mission at heart.” She stopped, and lost her smile as she looked at him. “I can’t let you do that, though I’m sure you knew that already. If you didn’t, well, let’s just say all your problems will be over soon.” She slowly stroked his face, sending tremors throughout his entire body. “I’m sorry this mission fell upon you, I truly am. I’m sorry for a lot of things…”

Hoplite sensed Twilight weakening, and he took a chance, realizing full well that this could be the difference between life and death. “Twilight, why are you doing this? Why did you run away from the castle?”

She let go of his face, turning away from him and lowering her head. “You wouldn’t understand, no one will. I’ve… I’ve done horrible things… and I’m redeeming myself for them.”

“Twilight, where are my men?”

As her horn lit up with the all too familiar dim light, Hoplite could see a glimmering red liquid coating it. He felt his stomach drop, or rather rise, given his predicament. Before he could say anything, Twilight walked forward and put her horn to his exposed throat. He had never given thought to how sharp a unicorn’s horn was before, but as he felt the tip of Twilight’s horn touch, he was certain it had been sharpened beyond how sharp a normal horn should have been. “Twilight, please,” He begged, desperately trying to ignore the prickling feeling on his throat. “This isn’t going to solve anything… do you really think killing me will help redeem you?”

Twilight was still, staring at him as she processed her thoughts. Her horn let off, and she took a step back. “I’m doing this for Rarity… all of this began when she...” She fell to her knees, tucking her legs into her body. “I just want things to be the same… and I’ve already tried to bring her back to life.” Hoplite lost her there, and as he tried to understand what she had just said, she continued on. “Of course, that didn’t work, so if I can’t bring her back…” her voice was rising, a mix of maniacal cheerfulness and crushing sadness somehow exiting her mouth at the same time. “Then the next best thing is to make everypony else just like her! Not just my friends, but everypony else! I’m creating a perfect world for all of us, and you’re going to be one of the first ponies to join!” She had begun laughing and crying at the same time as Hoplite looked down at the demented unicorn, trying to break free of the bonds once again in a futile attempt. “I promise you won’t feel anything!!” His eyes widened, and the last thing Hoplite saw was the purple blur of a rapidly approaching horn.

It was over in a split second.

The only sounds that now filled the small area were the simultaneous laughter and sobbing of the wretched purple creature. The tears on her cheeks were joined by the lines of blood flowing over her head, and she could feel the blood soaking into her mane. She tried to step back, but her horn was stuck on something. With a quick pull and a squishing sound, she pulled her horn free of what had once been Hoplite’s right eye. Blood and ocular fluids covered her horn and the top of her head, bus she couldn’t care less. With a wave of her head, the light that bounded the guard’s hooves disappeared, dumping his corpse unceremoniously to the ground. Blood began to pool underneath the canal that had been its eye.

She continued to laugh and sob as she dropped to the ground, covering her head with her legs. The opposing sounds could be heard in the deepest reaches of the forest as they echoed out from the lonely and pitiful creature that had once been the Element of Magic.

Afternoon

The dark forest was lit up with the brilliant golden light of a teleportation spell, and a second later, six ponies and a dragon appeared in the middle of a small area of the forest.

“Jeez, Princess…” Rainbow Dash muttered, rubbing her slightly dazed head. “You could’ve at least warned us about that…”

“I apologize, but it’s imperative that we find Twilight as quickly as possible.” Her horn started to glow with her bright yellowish magic again, and the area they were in was illuminated by the golden light. With the shadows around them banished to the forest, they could see that they were in a small area that was nearly surrounded by trees. A small path that led deeper into the darkness marked the only way forward. Celestia led the others onwards, though even with a princess leading most were shaking as they glanced nervously around at the trees. Fluttershy could barely walk, and it took both Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s help to get her to move. The orange and blue ponies stood on opposite sides of the yellow one, helping her walk as they trudged deeper and deeper into the unknown that was the Everfree Forest.

As they ventured deeper into the forest, the air around them grew thicker, and the temperature was beginning to drop. The alicorn in front suddenly stopped, nearly causing the others to walk into each other.

“Why did ya stop, Princess?” Applejack asked, adjusting her hat.

Celestia hushed her, motioning for them to be quiet. At first they heard nothing, but as the shadows of the forest started to play tricks on their minds, a soft rhythmic sound started to fill the forest around them. The sound grew louder, and it almost sounded like a mare laughing, but abruptly shifted octaves to something more akin to crying. The disembodied noises started to switch back and forth between joy and sorrow, the contrasting noises growing ever louder. Fluttershy covered her ears as the others shifted around uncomfortably, looking around for the source of the ominous sounds.

Just as suddenly as it had started, the noises cut out, leaving them in a silence that somehow seemed worse than the alternating noise. Celestia stood her ground, unfazed by the trickery of the forest, but those behind her were noticeably shaken. She turned back and gave them words of encouragement. “Do not worry, my little ponies. I will protect you from anything that may lurk in this forest.” While not fully convinced, the presence of a princess was able to keep them walking down the obscured path, albeit with darting eyes and shivering bodies.

After an indeterminable amount of time in which they followed Celestia down the shadowy path, they came upon the literal end of the road. The path that had led them into the forest was blocked by the trees of the forest, and there was no way past the huge trunks that blocked their progress.

“Great, a dead end,” Rainbow Dash said with a grimace. “Any bright ideas to get us out of here, Princess?”

Celestia either didn’t hear the pegasus or simply didn’t answer, as her attention was drawn towards the trees that blocked the path. She was only a few feet away when the trees suddenly parted, opening up to reveal a small area that was illuminated by the purple light of a fire opposite of where the group was. With Celestia leading the way, they cautiously stepped into the encampment. As the last of the group walked tepidly past the trees, they suddenly shifted back into their original position, trapping the group in the strange area.

The purple light shined brightly, giving them a view of the area where they now trapped in. It was a small, enclosed patch of flat land that was surrounded by trees. On the other side of where they had entered, the purple fire burned in front of a large, mysterious box. However, before any of them could get closer to it, a twisted creature shambled out from behind it. The ponies and dragon behind Celestia stepped back at the sight of the deformed unicorn as the princess confronted it in the middle of the clearing.

The unicorn looked to be malnourished, as its dull purple coat was sporadically missing patches of fur, and its ribs were painfully visible under its worn coat. Its face… how its face could have gotten like it was shocked and horrified Celestia beyond anything she had ever seen before. Dried blood coated the creature’s horn and face, and if the terrifyingly large smile plastered on the creature gave any indication, it was ecstatic to see the ponies and dragon in front of it. The disgusted alicorn couldn’t take her eyes off the hideous beast, and with a mix of utter revulsion and dread, realized that this thing was in fact the very pony she was looking for.

“Twilight! What have you done to yourself!?” Celestia couldn’t believe her eyes as the monstrous unicorn smiled insanely at her. Twilight’s horrific eyes were locked with hers, and the others were all staring in fright and shock at their former friend.

“Oh, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for all of you to arrive! I’ve finally found a way to correct the errors of my ways!” Twilight burst into a fit of maniacal giggles, causing the others to back away from her. Her friends were speechless as she continued, “It was entirely my fault, I don’t deny that. I was the one who ripped all of us apart that day, when I pushed Rarity under that train…” She laughed once more, but this time she was cut off by the desperate cry of a crippled pegasus.

“Twilight, it wasn’t your fault! We don’t blame you for anything! We’ve already gone over this, why can’t you accept it!?”

“Quiet!” Twilight belted, sending Rainbow Dash scurrying back to the others. Celestia positioned herself between her student and the group of ponies. “You weren’t the one she fought with! You weren’t the one who chased her on that platform! You weren’t the one…” Twilight suddenly started sobbing, tears of blood running down her cheeks and onto the cold, hard ground.

Applejack inched forward, still blocked from Twilight by the princess. “Twi…please…whatever you think you’re doin’… it ain’t right. Can’t you see you’re destroyin’ yourself? We can help you, you just gotta give us the chance.”

Twilight’s head jerked up, causing Fluttershy to yelp and whimper in utter dread while the cowpony quickly backed away. “No. You can’t help. I have to do this alone. Once I’m finished, not only will we all be with Rarity again, but everypony in Equestria will be bonded together in harmony. But until then, you will NOT interfere with my plans.” Her horn started to glow, and Celestia responded by preparing her own magic. “I’m sorry it had to be like this, but there simply isn’t any other option.” Twilight’s eyes lit up with magic that engulfed them in a literal black fire, the dark flames licking over the edges of her eyes.

“Prepare to join Rarity.”

The color of the unicorn’s magic shifted, the bright purple aura around her horn replaced by the same darkness that filled the abyss that served as her eyes. A bolt of black magic shot out, aimed straight at her friends. Celestia’s horn flared, and a shield of golden magic materialized in front of them. Twilight’s magic struck the shield, dissipating as it hit.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia’s voice boomed out, filled with a terrifying rage that none of the ponies around her had ever heard before. “I will warn you only once to cease this madness! If you attack again, I will have no choice but to forcefully bring you back to Canterlot for treatment!” She got her answer in the form of another bolt of magic. It struck her shield, the golden magic fluctuating but holding steady. Celestia steadied herself, hunkering down to the ground as she pointed her horn towards her former pupil. She rushed forward, the shield clearing the path for her. Twilight threw a few more bursts of magic, but the princess would not be stopped now. The golden shield wrapped itself around the demented unicorn like a net and threw her to the ground. Twilight struggled against her bonds, but the shield had a firm grip on her, holding against all of her attempts at escape.

Celestia and the others slowly approached her, wary of the black fire that still consumed Twilight’s eyes. The princess stood over her student as she spoke. “It is obvious to me now that you were in no shape to be released. I do not know what you have done, but I will do everything in my power to help you overcome this terrible curse you have brought upon yourself.”

Twilight stopped fidgeting against the shield and looked up at Celestia, her expression unreadable behind the dark pits that served as her eyes. “If any pony could understand, I was hoping it would be you, Celestia.”

“There is nothing to understand here Twilight. You are a danger to yourself and to others, and you will receive the help you need whether you want it or not.”

Twilight laughed at her with a hint of mockery. “Oh please, don’t tell me you’ve never had to deal with death before. Over a thousand years of life, over a thousand years of death. With such a long lifespan, I’m sure you’ve taken a life before.” Celestia was obviously distressed by what she was hearing, and she was slowly backing away from the trapped unicorn. “Do you feel the regret? The shame? The fleeting hope that you could have done something different?” The Princess of the Sun couldn’t believe that her best and brightest pupil was now dissecting her life in such a way. “You’re the only one who could possibly understand what it’s like, taking the life of another. After all, you’re the one who banished Luna.” Twilight’s fiery eyes made contact with Celestia’s, her mouth forming the terrifying smile her friends had become all too familiar with. “How does it feel, knowing that you deprived her of a thousand years of life?”

“ENOUGH!” The royal Canterlot voice echoed throughout the dark forest, bouncing off the trunks of the trees. The ponies behind the angered alicorn were shaken by her sudden outburst, and even Twilight seemed to have taken an interest in the princess’ rage. “I have heard enough!” Celestia’s horn was flaring with golden energy, and her shield started to ripple. “I will bring you back to Canterlot and treat you myself if I have to!”

Although Celestia was a near immortal entity, she was still a pony. A pony with awe inspiring powers and a thousand years of life behind her, perhaps, but a pony none the less. At the moment, as she stared down at the monster Twilight had become, she was faced with one of the most difficult challenges of her entire life. One of the most kind and promising ponies she ever had the pleasure of knowing was now a deformed mass writhing on the ground in front of her, continually denying the help that she so desperately needed. Twilight had become like a surrogate daughter Celestia, and to see her like this now…

Celestia lost her focus for a split second. It was all Twilight needed. In the second that the princess was distracted her shield rippled violently, and the pony trapped underneath it unleashed her raw power. The energy that surrounded her horn glowed blacker than the shadows of the forest, and she focused all of energy she had accumulated into the tip of her horn. In a huge, ear popping burst, the dark magic radiated out at the speed of light, engulfing the forest in complete blackness.

The Elements of Harmony screamed, calling out for each other in the soul piercing darkness. Tumbling sounds could be heard as they tripped over their hooves and fell to the ground. The shadows were suddenly banished by the princess of the sun when she ignited her horn in the bright golden glow of her magic. As the light replaced the darkness, the ponies that had tripped over themselves rose back up, with the exception of a hyperventilating yellow pegasus. Applejack and Pinkie Pie rushed over to help her while Rainbow Dash and Spike looked around the foreboding clearing.

“Rainbow Dash…why is Twilight doing this?”

The question caught the blue pegasus off guard, and it took her a moment to respond. When she did, there was an extremely uncharacteristic tone of uncertainty in her voice. “I…I don’t know. I knew she was suffering, all of us were…but this…” Rainbow shook her head. “I didn’t think she would be feeling so much guilt…”

“What happened to her?”

“I don’t know, Spike!” The baby dragon flinched back from her, and the Pegasus knew that she had gone too far. She comforted him in a quick hug. “I’m sorry. It’s just… Twilight… I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

Before Spike could say anything else, a golden bubble appeared over them, and they were joined by the princess. “Get back and join the others, now.” The two obeyed Celestia and hurried over to their friends as the princess covered them all with the golden bubble.

“Princess, where’d Twilight go?” The orange cowpony questioned uneasily as her eyes shot to and fro around the forest.

“She has escaped. It was my fault, I let her play my emotions against me. I do not know where she is, but I have no doubt that she’s watching us as we speak.” That particular remark caused Fluttershy to squeak and bury her head underneath her bandaged hooves.

As if on cue, the crazed laughter that only Twilight could have managed filled the small clearing, causing the ponies to jump and look desperately for the source of her voice. Celestia held her ground, unfazed by the sudden maniacal laugher.

“Sorry about all that, Princess, but I couldn’t just let you keep me imprisoned under that shield of yours, now, could I? However, don’t think my words didn’t hold true. You miss those who came before, I know you do, but you never had the gall to try to bring them back.” Twilight’s disembodied voice was coming from every which direction. “I’ve done what you never sought to accomplish. I’ve found a way to bring the dead back from the cold embrace of eternity.”

“Twilight, please, you must realize that death is inevitable, that all ponies will face it someday!” Celestia was shouting out into all directions, hoping that something she said would be able to get through to her student. “Rarity’s death was untimely and tragic, but you cannot change what happened! You must face the fact that she has passed on! The only thing you can do is put the past behind you! If not for your sake, then for your friend’s sake, for my sake!”

“Twilight, we only want you back!” Spike’s yelled out to the forest, tears starting to well up in his eyes, “I miss you, we all do! All we want is your old self back! Why can’t you get that through your thick skull!?”

There was complete silence. The ponies and dragon’s heads darted around, looking for any sign that Twilight was still listening, or if she was even still there.

“…You want me back? Is that what you want?” Twilight’s voice had lost much of its former malice, and there was a detectable hint of doubt in it. “If you want me back, then you will allow me to continue with my plans. You can’t understand it now, you won’t, but I am doing what’s best for all of us.”

“Twilight, what’s best for all of us, for you, is for you to surrender yourself and receive the proper care you need,” Celestia could sense Twilight’s armor beginning to crack, though she still kept the shield up, not taking any chances. “If you allow us to help you, we can all get past this together.”

“Yes. I think I’m beginning to see what you’re saying.” The ponies and dragon under the shield broke into hopeful smiles, as it seemed like their words had finally made an impact on their friend. “We’re all going to get through this together. All of us. Together. Forever.” The ponies’ smiles turned to frowns as they gave each other looks of puzzlement. None of them were able to follow what Twilight was saying, and the subdued tone she was using only served to further their confusion. “There is a way for all of us to be together again. It will take time, but it will all be worth it in the end, trust me.”

“This is the only way,” Twilight’s voice echoed out, her last sentence repeating over and over as it grew smaller, until it was eventually lost to the forest.

Underneath the shimmering shield, Twilight’s friends were waiting for something, anything, to happen, but the forest fell into a disturbing silence like so many times before. After a few minutes of complete silence, in which those under the shield could hear their hearts beat against their chests, Celestia lowered her shield and illuminated the campsite in her golden glow. “Stay here. Twilight may still pose a threat.” The others watched as the princess slowly walked towards the strange box opposite their side of the clearing.

In over a thousand years of life, Princess Celestia was certain that she had experienced every possible surprise that life held for her, but as she reached the mysterious box and gazed inside it, she was met with a sight that would be etched into her memory until the day she died. The box, she realized, was a coffin, one that was missing its top. Inside, a writhing, withered pony was squirming around, its horribly decayed body giving Celestia a clear view of pony anatomy she would not soon or easily forget. Bones, ligaments, and muscles were all in varying stages of decomposition, and the few tufts of grim covered, discolored white hair did nothing to hide the grisly sight. The horrible creature’s bleached skull was clearly visible, as there remained very little to cover it. A cracked and nearly broken horn was protruding from the top of the skull. Its eyes had long since been eaten away, and the voided eye sockets were somehow staring straight into Celestia’s own eyes. The creature’s mouth moved and a guttural moan escaped, which was the final breaking point for the petrified deity.

She stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over her own hooves as she desperately tried to vanquish the shocking images from her mind, with absolutely no success. The group behind her had been watching the entire scene play out, and started running towards her when they saw her stumble back, but the princess held out a hoof before they could get any closer. “Stop! Stay where you are, do not come over here!”

“Princess, what’s the matter?” Rainbow Dash called out, speaking for all the ponies currently holding their ground in the middle of the encampment.

“Do not come any closer!” Celestia shouted back at them, her horn glowing as she turned around. Another golden shield appeared, this one blocking access to the coffin from the ponies on the other side of the magical shimmering wall. Pinkie Pie raised an inquisitive hoof and reached out for the shield, withdrawing it as the shield held strong against the silent pink pony.

Satisfied that her subjects were protected from the horror in the coffin, Celestia set about to figuring out a way to dispose of the horrible creature. It was obvious that this thing had been brought back to life through the darkest of magic, and in the princess’ mind, the pieces of the puzzle laid out before her started to connect, even though she would give anything to leave it unfinished.

What Twilight had said about bringing the dead back to life, how she had been so adamant about returning Rarity to life…

Rarity.

Celestia looked back at the coffin and saw the three diamonds enameled on its side. Her eyes grew wide as realization struck, and was thankful that she had put the shield up to protect the others. With them preoccupied behind the shield, she then had to decide what to do. There were a thousand emotions running though her mind, each fighting to overpower her, but with a tremendous amount of force, she was able to push them to the back of her head. She had to stay focused. She had to grant the Element of Generosity peace, here and now, but as she racked her brain for a solution, there was only one discernible option that came up. In lieu of any other way out, the princess walked back to the coffin. She looked inside, and the corpse greeted her with another bone chilling moan. Celestia, her sight starting to blur with tears, raised a hoof and positioned it over the exposed skull of the living corpse.

“Forgive me, Rarity. May you find everlasting peace in the next life.”

She could have sworn that she heard Rarity thanking her over the splintering and cracking sounds.

The Element of Generosity fell still.

Celestia withdrew her hoof as quickly as possible, using her other hoof to wipe her eyes. As her eyesight became unclouded, she noticed a small book on the bottom of the coffin. She grabbed it with her magic and started towards the group of ponies still trapped behind her shield. She released it, and without a word, teleported them out of the forest that would haunt their memories until the day they died.

Sunset

A bright flash of yellow light signaled the unmistakable teleportation field of Princess Celestia, and a second later, the group of shaken friends emerged from the spell to find themselves inside the main chambers of the Canterlot castle. The dying rays of Celestia’s sun graced the throne room, made all the more brilliant by the stained windows through which they passed.

The ponies shifted around anxiously, still on edge from the encounter with their deformed friend in the forest. Celestia walked up the steps to her throne and set the mysterious book down, flipping through the pages as she took in what the book had to offer.

Those behind her stepped away from her as they started to converse among themselves, each one desperately searching for an answer to the countless questions they had. “Ah… ah just don’ get it… how did Twi get like that?” Applejack asked her friends, hoping one of them would have an explanation.

Rainbow stared at the floor, too caught up in her own thoughts to answer her friend. Pinkie Pie kept her silence as usual, and Spike just waited for someone else to begin. Fluttershy, however, spoke up in barely more than a whisper. “That… that wasn’t Twilight.” The others looked to her, waiting to see what she meant. “At least… I don’t think it was.” She muttered, looking down at the floor. “Our Twilight wouldn’t attack the princess. She wouldn’t attack us.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, backing Fluttershy up, “that thing couldn’t have been her!” There was a murmur of agreement from the ponies, thought their conviction was more hopeful than factual. “I mean, yeah, since…” Rainbow paused, searching for the right words, “the accident, Twilight hasn’t been herself, but she wouldn’t attack us!”

The sudden sound of a book slamming shut caused them all to jump and turn to the source of the noise. Never before had any of those in the throne room seen Princess Celestia show a hint of fear or worry, except for times of great duress, but as the princess turned and faced them with wide eyes, a sense of overwhelming dread spread throughout them. Celestia, an immortal being, was looking at them in a primal fear, and they could only listen with dulled senses as she spoke.

“I must find Luna. She will know more about this than me. I shall return soon, and for no reason will you leave the castle.” It wasn’t a request. In a flash of golden magic, Celestia teleported to some unknown location in hopes of finding Luna, if her words were to be believed. This left only the five friends, alone in the great chambers of Canterlot castle.

The tension in the air was palpable, and the silence as the friends waited weighed down on them along with their newly found fears for Twilight. Applejack, stretched to her breaking point, finally broke the sickening silence. “Now, don’t y’all go worryin’, I’m sure the princesses will be able to do somethin’ about all this, we just gotta believe in ‘em.” Her flash of optimism did nothing but elicit blank stares from her friends, and she withdrew away from them with a sigh, lowering her head as she did so.

“Hold on…” Spike said, looking at the book. The ponies watched as he made his way up the steps towards the throne, eyeing the book carefully as he did so. His eyes were narrowed as he approached it, and he let out a gasp as realization struck him. He ran up to and grabbed hold of it, closing it and inspecting its cover. After a moment, he turned to address the ponies waiting on him. “I knew I saw this somewhere.” He said somberly. “This… this is the diary Rarity gave Twilight on her birthday last year.” He walked back down the steps and started to flip through the pages, much like the princess had minutes ago.

“What’s it say?” Rainbow Dash said, trying to get a closer look at the pages. The others crowded around him, each trying to see what insight the diary had into Twilight’s possibly demented mind.

The diary started simply enough. The first few entries went into her daily life, mundane things long forgotten, and other things typical of a pony’s diary. However, a pattern began to emerge in the pages. The mention of a fight with Rarity in one of the first entries, then a mention of another incident between the two. The ponies and dragon reading stopped and looked at each other, knowing full well what was to come. Fluttershy’s eyes began to tear up, waiting for the inevitable. The journal continued as Twilight and Rarity’s friendship deteriorated, eventually culminating in the day that still haunted those reading. Spike’s voice had begun to crack while reading towards the page they all knew was coming, and on entry thirteen he had to hand the book over to Applejack, his eyes blinded by his tears. He took a seat on the steps and buried his face in his hands, quietly sobbing as Applejack read on.

“Oh no…” She whispered, looking at a page covered in jumbled words and seemingly pointless scribbling. “Ah didn’ know it affected her this much…”

“Well obviously it did!” Rainbow shouted in a sudden burst of anger. “Damn it, why didn’t she tell us about this!? We could have helped her!” Rainbow’s shouting caused Fluttershy to squeak and burrow into the floor while Pinkie and Applejack took a step back.

“Rainbow, don’ get upset! We can still help her, ah’m sure of it!” Applejack scolded the flustered Rainbow, turning her attention back to the diary. She skipped around, since there were hundreds of entries to be found, but it was obvious by the random words and scribbling that Twilight had fallen deeper and deeper into insanity as time went on. This continued until entry one seventy four, when the crazed writing suddenly disappeared and the journal took on the pristine look it had before the accident happened. “What the hay? It looks like Twilight just stopped bein’ loopy here.” She quickly read the page, but what she found only left her with more questions than answers. “Necromancy? Study of the dead? Does this mean anythin’ to you?” She asked the ponies still listening.

“It means that Twilight Sparkle has enacted a plot that endangers us all.”

The ponies jumped at the unexpected voice, turning to the throne to find Princess Celestia and Princess Luna watching them. “P-Princess! Ah didn’ know you were back!” Applejack forced a chuckle out, but fell silent under Celestia’s steel gaze.

Luna walked down the steps, past the dry eyed yet silent dragon. “May I see that book?” Applejack offered it up in an outstretched hoof and Luna hovered it over to herself, quickly reading through the page. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked to her sister with a hint of anxiety in her voice. “I am afraid your fears are true, sister. If this journal is to be believed, then Twilight Sparkle has indeed taken a dark path.”

Rainbow Dash, fed up with being kept in the dark, let her annoyance overtake her. “Hold on! What do you mean Twilight has ‘taken a dark path’?” Rainbow looked to Celestia for answers, but she simply pointed towards her sister. Rainbow followed her hoof and stared Luna down, waiting for anything that would explain what their friend had become.

“The journal mentions a book Twilight found in the archives.” All eyes were on her, no one so much as breathing while Luna spoke. “It is my belief that she will use it in an attempt to transform us all into something…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. The others waited for her to say something, but she wasn’t paying them any attention. She was thinking things over, with no consideration for the ponies that she had just left in silence.

“Wait a minute, princess,” Applejack asked, looking up at Luna, though the princess was still studying the journal, “what exactly are you talkin’ about? Ah mean, yeah, Twi ain’t in the best of shape, but she can still be saved!”

“I am sorry,” Luna responded, her attention divided between Applejack and the book, “you do not know of the dark magic that has festered inside Twilight Sparkle.” Luna, convinced that she had their undivided attention, continued. “During my reign as Nightmare Moon, I had many subjects under my control. As you can imagine, they explored the darkest reaches of magic in order to bring about my return.” She was visibly uncomfortable, as if she had banned herself from talking about this particular subject. “Those ponies… they crossed the barriers of life and death in their search. They defied the rules of nature itself, and in doing so, they could shape reality into any form they wanted.” Luna looked to her sister, almost unsure if she should continue speaking. Celestia nodded, eliciting a sigh from Luna as she resumed. “The darkness they uncovered was collected over the years, eventually resulting in a book that combined the most horrific spells and incantations imaginable.”

“A book that I thought was out of reach,” Celestia said, cutting Luna off. She lowered her gaze to the floor, away from those looking to her. “I hoped it would, after you all rescued Luna from Nightmare Moon, simply vanish from memory, lost to time like so many things before it.”

Luna nodded solemnly. “But it would seem that Twilight Sparkle has found it, and if we do not act soon, she will undoubtedly do something that will endanger us all.”

“I can’t take it anymore!” To everyone’s surprise, Rainbow Dash ran up to a shocked Princess Celestia, their faces nearly touching as she let the emotions of the past year out in a furious tirade aimed at the poor princess. “You won’t tell us anything about Twilight, and now you’re saying she’s going to ‘endanger’ us, whatever the hell that means! We’ve already lost Rarity, and now you’re saying we’ve lost Twilight, too!? Fuck you!!” There was a gasp from everyone in the room as Rainbow took a breather. Celestia could do nothing but take the verbal onslaught as Rainbow continued to shout. “Twilight needs us right now whether she wants us or not, and here you both are,” she glared with misplaced hatred at an innocent Luna before turning back to Celestia, “telling us she’s some kind of monster who’s going to kill us!” Tears were running down her face now, but she was too caught up in her emotions to notice them. “She’s not a monster! She’s. Our. Friend!!” The castle nearly shook with Rainbow’s last words, and she was panting hard as she finally finished. There wasn’t a closed mouth in the chamber as she walked away from them all. She made it to one of the nearby windows before curling up into a ball and sobbing loudly. Applejack and Fluttershy rushed to her aid, and all three wrapped each other in a hug as Rainbow wept.

Celestia, having recovered from the spontaneous outburst, began walking towards the group of traumatized friends. She stood over Rainbow Dash, but it was not in anger. Rather, she fell to her knees and wrapped the three in her wings, holding them close as tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Rainbow couldn’t help but stop crying as she watched in awe. This was Princess Celestia, the omnipotent being that she had heard stories and legends about growing up, and here she was, crying like a filly that had just broken its favorite toy. “Princess?” Rainbow asked tentatively, uncomfortable with the whole situation. “A-are you okay?”

Celestia wiped her eyes with her wings and looked to the three ponies watching her intently. “No, Rainbow Dash. I am not okay.” She raised her head and saw the nearly vanquished sun from behind the stained glass window. Her horn glowed with magic, and Luna’s followed suit. The two sisters struggled slightly, but they had done this hundreds of times before, and in a coordinated effort, Celestia banished the sun as Luna raised the moon. The castle’s interior darkened, but not to the point where those inside were blinded. Celestia looked back to Rainbow, whose face echoed the princess’ fear and worry. “I just fought the best and brightest student I’ve ever had, and there is no doubt in my mind that she has been corrupted by the book.” Her eyes dry, Celestia rose up and walked back to the throne, the heads of her subjects following her path. “I cannot face her again. I cannot… look upon what she has become…” she trailed off, unable to finish her thought. “There is only one hope for her now.” She turned around, looking to the remaining Elements of Harmony. “It is up to you to convince her to stop. If you do not, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

There was silence. The Elements looked to each other, trying to grasp what they had just been told. The life of their friend, and possibly the lives of all the ponies they knew and loved depended on whether or not they could pull Twilight back from the brink of insanity. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Applejack joined the others near the throne. Rainbow looked to each of her friends, speaking for all of them as she addressed Celestia. “Fine. We know what to do. But where’s Twilight now?”

“Her journal describes how precious you are all to her, and it is my belief that she would return to the spot that held the most significance for your friendships.” Celestia herself wasn’t convinced with this theory, but it made the most sense to her, and if she was wrong, well, there wouldn’t be a chance to regret anything. “If this is indeed the case, then I think Twilight has fled to the spot where you all first received the Elements of Harmony.”

“Ya mean…”

“Yes. The castle where you stopped Nightmare Moon.” Celestia allowed them time to gain their thoughts before continuing. “We must act now. Luna can teleport you all there.”

“But..” Fluttershy whispered, her voice barely audible, “what about you, princess? Won’t you come with us?”

Like so many times before, Celestia looked away before saying anything. “No… I… cannot face Twilight now…” she wrapped her wings around herself, almost as if she was trying to hide from the others. “I am sorry.”

The princess said no more, and the others reluctantly forgot about her for the moment being. “Alright,” Rainbow said, her voice barely retaining the brashness it had boasted so many times before, “we teleport in, save Twilight, and get on with our lives.” The others nodded, though the straightforward attitude was only present in the determined pegasus.

Luna’s horn began to shimmer with a deep lavender aura. “Hold on, my subjects. It has been a while since I teleported so many at one time.” Her horn flashed, and an instant later, the castle’s throne room was empty save one distressed princess.

“Twilight Sparkle… please, come back to us… come back to me…” The princess’ words echoed in the huge chamber, but the only pony to hear them was a lonely Celestia, her figure dwarfed by the immense properties of the castle.

“Why have you done this to us?”

*********

Deep within the Everfree Forest, the ruins of a once great castle towered above the trees, the crumbling stone and mortar of its decayed towers a testament to the castle’s faded glory. Inside the throne room of the ruined castle, the creature once known as Twilight Sparkle was staring at the platform that once held Nightmare Moon. It was in this very spot that Twilight and her friends had first discovered the bonds that connected them, this very spot that they had defeated Nightmare Moon and saved Princess Luna. It was in the same spot that Twilight now stood, a year gone by since their bonds had been severed on that fateful day.

In front of her floated a decrepit and aged tome, the same one she had found buried deep within the archives of the Canterlot castle. Twilight set it down in front of the empty platform in front of her, opening it to a page filled with strange symbols and a crude drawing of a sphere that was made of a swirling black energy. She studied the symbols, though she was already quite familiar with them. In the days before she fled the castle, she had in secret riffled through the book in search of something, anything, that would hold even a glimmer of hope for her and friends to be reunited with Rarity.

She had found it.

The spell had no name, for even those who wrote it were frightened of the terrible prospect of the spell being casted. The symbols outlined how, through the intense concentration and magic only an extremely powerful unicorn could possess, the spell would cast them all into the limbo state that Rarity was held in. There were warnings inscribed in the book, cautioning that the effects would be irreversible and that it should be used only as a last resort. Twilight almost laughed at the notion that such a terrible book would caution the reader in any way.

She finished reading through the instructions and tossed the book aside. This was the moment she had been waiting for, and she had already memorized each and every step it would take to reunite herself and her friends with Rarity. She hunkered down and concentrated, her horn glowing with the black magic that had overtaken her magic’s normal purple color. Sweat broke onto her forehead as she dug deep, reaching into every magical reserve she had in order to make the spell work. Her energy was slowly increasing, and a second layer of magic formed, somehow even darker than the first one. Twilight’s eyes closed and her face twisted in pain as her horn started to burn as if it was on fire. Her legs nearly gave out on her, but she stayed on her hooves through sheer force of will. She had come this far, and she wasn’t about to let a little physical toil stop her now.

She yelled in pain as her horn was concealed in another layer of darkness, this one so dark her horn disappeared from view. Her body was shaking violently, and she had no choice but to fall onto her back legs. Her horn was now burning in agonizing, searing torture, and Twilight was certain that it would burst into actual flames at any second. Tears of blood started to seep from her eyes. She felt that she was about to pass out when she finally let her collected energy go free.

The darkness exploded from her horn, casting the entire chamber into blackness that put the Everfree Forest to shame. The swirling mass of magic suddenly shot towards the empty pedestal and started to whirl around it, taking the shape of the sphere in the book. The dark magic whipped around like a tornado, slowly gaining mass and energy. Twilight, battered and exhausted, looked upon the horrible mass of black as a smile spread across her face. She rose up and slowly backed away from the pedestal, taking care to not fall as she was still extremely weak from the effort of casting the spell. She backed up to and slid down one of the decayed walls of the castle, still staring with glee at the black mass.

“Just a matter of time…” She murmured to herself, fiddling with her hooves. She looked up to the ceiling and saw a quickly darkening sky through the cracks of the castle. “Soon, Rarity. Soon, we’ll be back together.” Twilight closed her eyes, weary from the effort of creating her salvation. No longer would she be in pain, no longer would her and her friends be separated. This is for the best, she thought, as she began drifting into what would be her final slumber.

“Do you really believe that this will bring us together?”

Twilight’s eyes shot open at the sound and found herself face to face with herself. In front of her stood Twilight Sparkle, but this Twilight was different. Her coat and mane were immaculate, and her eyes were back to their old, purple selves. The dried blood that caked the now shivering Twilight on the floor was nowhere to be found on the one standing above her. For a reason she couldn’t realize, this version of herself scared her more than anything else in her life had before. The emancipated and monstrous Twilight turned and nearly stumbled as she began running away in a desperate bid for escape, but it was no use. Wherever Twilight would run to, the other one would always be there, waiting for her. Whoever, whatever, this thing was, she wouldn’t let Twilight go free.

“Who… who are you!?” Twilight screamed as she tripped over her frantic hooves, yelling out in surprise and pain as she hit the floor hard. She moaned and was rubbing her scrapped leg when she remembered why she was running in the first place. She threw herself around to find Twilight standing over her. “What do you want!?!” Her white irises were dilated in fear, and she could barely stand to look up at herself.

“Do you really think this will bring us together?” Twilight asked in the same emotionless tone she had used before. Her face was static as she stared down at her corrupted self, no hint of emotion showing through.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Twilight shouted at herself. The unicorn standing above her turned and looked at the mass of blackness that was still gaining mass. She turned back to the panicking unicorn and said nothing, electing to simply stare at her with the expressionless face that burrowed into Twilight. “What… that?” Twilight tore her gaze away from the strange sight of herself and looked to the sphere of black energy, then back to Twilight. “That’s going to save me! That’s going to save us!” For the first time, the normal Twilight showed emotion in a flash of anger.

“You don’t get it, do you?” She asked with hateful eyes.

“What’s not to get!?” Twilight’s shouting echoed out in the empty castle. She pointed a hoof at the swirling blackness. “That spell will send us all into the same plane of existence! We can finally be together again!”

Twilight simply shook her head at the corrupted unicorn below her. Her face had become passive once more. “Twilight... how did you get like this?” The Twilight on the ground looked at herself with fearful confusion, though kept her silence. “What happened on the platform that day wasn’t your fault.”

“No,” Twilight’s eyes shifted to the left, away from the gaze of their purple counterparts, “this was, is, and always will be my fault. What I’m doing here, I’m doing for my friends.”

“Is that what you really think?” Twilight’s voice was starting to rise with a deep hatred, and her face reflected the shift in her tone. “Do you honestly think your friends would want you to do this? To kill everypony just so you can see Rarity again!?” Twilight was on the verge of shouting. “They’ve all accepted her death! If you weren’t so blinded by the idiotic belief that you could somehow bring her back, you would have seen that!”

Twilight was trying to back away from herself, but for every inch she backed up, the other unicorn stepped with her. “What do you want from me!? What are you!?”

Quicker than Twilight could see, a purple hoof struck her face, causing her to reel back from the sharp pain that hit her an instant after the hoof. She gently touched the stinging sensation on her face as she looked up at herself with wide black eyes. There was an unmistakable look of anger on Twilight’s face now as she stared down at her cowering doppelganger.

“I am Twilight Sparkle. I cannot say what you are, but if there is any shred of decency left in the wretched husk you call your body, you will stop this madness, not matter the cost.” Twilight gave a final disgusted look before turning away and walking towards the vortex, which had grown to be larger than the pony that now stood before it. “What you have done is irredeemable,” she said without looking at herself. “This… this proves it.” She turned around, making eye contact with Twilight. Her face, while still filled with anger, had taken on an air of sadness as well. “What have we become?”

Twilight didn’t answer. The two’s eyes were locked for several seconds before the one standing near the black mass looked away. There came the sound of thunder, and a moment later the gentle patter of raindrops filled the broken castle, let in through the cracks in the ceiling. Twilight once again turned away from the vortex and walked back to her corrupted self, stopping just short of her. “Who do you think I am, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight stared at herself while she tried to answer the question. “I… I don’t know who you are…”

Twilight seemed sad to hear this, and shook her head with closed eyes. “Then I cannot help you.” She opened her eyes, and looked at Twilight with a sad frown. “It would seem that the Element of Magic is truly and forever dead.”

Twilight could only watch in silence as her doppelganger stepped closer to her. She didn’t move back, as she knew there was nowhere she could run where she could escape. The rain had picked up, and it came crashing down on the two unicorns as Twilight stared up at herself, waiting for something to happen. “I have done everything I can to stop you, Twilight. If you continue on this path,” the crack of thunder filled the sky, “you will lose the only remaining friends you have left.”

*********

Twilight awoke gasping and panting, the image of deep purple eyes burned into her mind. She was slumped against the wall of the castle, and the dying crack of thunder could be heard in the distance. A hard rainstorm had rolled in, and the cracked stone floor was lined with newly formed puddles. Twilight’s heart was racing, and she stood up on shaky hooves as the dream played back in her mind.

“I… I was dreaming…” she muttered to herself. “Just a dream… not real…” She continued to ramble on as she made her way over to the still swirling black spell that was now the size of the pedestal it hung over. She stopped in front of it and took in the spell that would transform all of her friends into the same monstrous creatures that she turned Rarity into. By simple chance, she looked down into one of the puddles that had formed and nearly gave herself a heart attack as she screamed and jumped away from the rainwater. The fleeting image of horrible black pits with white centers replaced the image of purple eyes she had awoken to.

Twilight fell to her haunches and put a hoof to her eye as she stared at the black vortex. Slowly, she looked back into the puddle, and while she didn’t flee in terror, she was overcome with a sense of terror at the sight of the demonic unicorn looking back at her. She knew that the creature looking back at her was indeed herself, but she didn’t want to believe it. She realized that her mane had uncharacteristic shades of red in it, and she frantically ran her hooves through it. She could only tremble in shock as the blood ran down her face and dripped off her chin, its soft patter indistinguishable from the rain that continued to pour down on her.

Twilight cleaned her mane as quickly as she could, desperately trying to erase all evidence of the murders she had committed while she murmured incoherently to herself. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, I can fix this. I can fix this. I can fix this.” Her eyes shifted to the right and came upon the discarded book. Forgetting her mane, she rushed over to it and began aimlessly flipping through pages. With no clear goal in mind, Twilight turned to the spell’s page and absent-mindedly skimmed over it.

“Yes… this will fix everything… won’t it?” she hesitantly asked herself. “I… I think it will. Why wouldn’t it?” She collected the book with her magic and brought it back over to the spell. It was now roughly the size of five ponies, and steadily increasing in size. Twilight’s blackened eyes were set in stone on the vortex. “They don’t understand now… but they will… I think.” She sat down, her figure noticeable against the dark sphere. She began to run her hooves through her mane, eliminating any of the blood that survived her first attempts. “I think… I think… I think…”

Her muttering eventually broke down into unintelligible blubbering as the black mass marched slowly onwards to its intended goal.

Twilight

The storm was increasing in intensity as a dark, shimmering field of magic announced the arrival of Twilight Sparkle’s final hope. The group appeared in a crumbled section of the castle while a thunderstorm boomed high above, and as Luna’s magic faded, they found themselves in an oddly familiar situation. They were in the section of the castle where Twilight had been teleported away from when they had confronted Nightmare Moon, but now the situation had been reversed. Applejack ran to one of the windows and knew immediately that Twilight had chosen the castle as her base. High above the ruined chambers of the central keep, dark storm clouds circled around the crumbling towers, much too quickly for them to be natural. Wherever they had come from, it was obvious that magic had played a part in it.

“It looks like Celestia was right!” She called to the others, pointing to the clouds. “We gotta get up there, now!” She took off running, heading up the same path they had used when they faced Nightmare Moon. The others followed her as an explosive crack of thunder filled the sky.

When they ran into the main chambers, they came to a halt when they saw what was waiting for them on the other side of the chamber. It was as if the storm had somehow made its way into the castle. A huge black cloud hovered above the same platform where Nightmare Night had made her final stand, and in front of it, a small figure sat, watching the intimidating spectacle. The figure was so small that it could have been in danger of being eaten by the storm.

The figure’s ears perked up and it turned around. Instantly, the friends knew that they had found Twilight. Her nightmarish eyes had become frighteningly familiar, and even from across the chamber, the dark chasms were all too distinctive. Spurned by the arrival of the others, Twilight stood up and took a stance in front of the strange storm. There was the faintest hint of a smile on her face, but it nowhere near matched the blood chilling smile they had seen before.

“T-Twilight?” Applejack stuttered, looking past her friend to the vortex that actually seemed to be growing bigger. “W-What is this?”

“Isn’t it great?” Twilight said, to the bewilderment to the others. “This,” she motioned towards the storm, “will fix everything I’ve done.”

“Twilight,” Luna said, methodically walking up to her, “you’re not well. Just let us help you, and we can end this madness…”

“You aren’t going to touch it!” Twilight yelled, her shriveled body hunkering down in a defensive position. Her horn started to glow as she threatened them. “How many times do I have to tell you!? This will solve everything!!” With an extremely impressive display of magic, a gigantic barricade of semi-transparent darkness rose up between Twilight and her friends, reaching up to the ceiling of the castle and effectively cutting the two parties off. Rainbow Dash, undeterred by the barrier, walked up to and put a hoof on it, pushing it with all her might. It didn’t budge.

“Damn,” she muttered, glaring at both the magic and its castor. Even in her current state-or perhaps because of it-Twilight was still more than capable of bending magic to her will. “Twilight! You have to stop this!” Rainbow wasn’t sure if she was listening, or even if she had the capacity to understand that it was her friend speaking to her. “You’re just going to hurt everyone if you don’t stop!”

“Don’t you think I know that!?” Twilight shouted, her voice starting to crack. “That’s the whole point of this spell!”

“What does that mean!?” Rainbow shouted back, desperately hoping that Twilight still had a shred of sense left in her withered form. “Just talk to us! All we want is for you to come back to us!”

Those behind Rainbow slowly walked up to the barrier as Twilight took a step back. She was dangerously close to the hulking mass of black behind her, but she didn’t seem to be concerned about it. She was entirely focused on the ponies and dragon facing her down, the friends that she so desperately wanted back.

“You don’t understand, Rainbow.” Twilight’s nightmarish eyes made contact with Rainbow’s magenta ones, causing her to flinch back from the disturbing unicorn. Her shouting had stopped, and it was replaced with a softer tone. “I can’t come back now. The spell,” once again she motioned to the vortex behind her, which had swelled to disturbing proportions. “It can’t be stopped now.” She was staring, emotionless, into the disbelieving faces of her friends as she spoke. “It’s too late for me.”

There was silence in the room, none of them daring to breathe as Twilight's words sunk in, and then…

“NO!” Everyone jumped at the sudden outburst. The timid, bandaged pegasus had flown straight at the barrier with no regard for her own safety. She slammed into the unforgiving magic, and everyone in the ominous throne room could hear a sickening crack as she collided.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack yelled out, running over to the now whimpering pegasus. Pinkie followed her over while Rainbow and Spike stayed close to Twilight. “Fluttershy! Come on, sugarcube, speak to me!” Fluttershy simply whimpered in response. Applejack stroke her mane while comforting her. “I’m here, Shy, it’ll be all right…”

Rainbow looked back and forth between Fluttershy and Twilight, her face contorting into rage and contempt. She was infuriated that Fluttershy would do something so stupid, infuriated that it was Twilight who was partly responsible for hurting her, and infuriated that Twilight had continually denied the help she so obviously needed.

“Damn it, Twilight!” Rainbow bucked against the shield with all her might, knowing full well that it wouldn’t do anything, but she was past the point of rational thought. “Hasn’t it gotten into that thick skull of yours already!?” Rainbow could feel tears stinging her eyes as she shouted at the seemingly impassive unicorn behind the barrier. “We just want you back!” Rainbow slumped to her flank, looking up at Twilight while tears ran down her cheeks. “Why can’t you see that…” Rainbow looked back at her one final time in disgust, then made her way over to Fluttershy, who had fallen silent.

Twilight watched and contemplated in complete silence. Here were her friends, willing to throw themselves at her impenetrable magic, willing to hurt themselves to the point of breaking bones, and for what? A chance to help her? She was already past the point of saving.

Wasn’t she?

There came a soft tapping sound, snapping Twilight back to reality. In front of her stood Spike, his small form at odds with the gigantic barrier that he was tapping. He looked at her with a hint of fear in his eyes. Twilight, as ridiculous as it seemed, couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness at the sight of her assistant so frightened of her. “Twilight?” He managed to say as he stared into the black pits that served as her eyes. “Why are you doing this? Can you at least tell me that?”

As many times as her friends had already asked her these asinine questions, each time they were asked they struck a deeper and deeper chord within Twilight. She had expected these questions from her other friends, but now it was her assistant, the little dragon that she had raised since his birth, who now wanted an explanation for her actions. She realized that he was still waiting for an answer. “Spike…” she began, unsure of her next words, “this… this will be for the best.” Twilight wasn’t convinced that her words were correct, but what else could she say to him? She had taken from him the first and only love of his life, and the only way she could make it up to him would be to bring that love back. “You and Rarity will finally be together again, Spike. You’ll be together forever.”

“But… Rarity’s dead, Twilight. I only want you to stop this.”

Spike’s words took the breath out of her, stunning her into silence. This couldn’t be right! Here she was, offering Spike a chance to be with Rarity again, and he had just rejected the offer. Instead of his love, he had chosen her. Her, the pony who had killed Rarity! Her mind was a storm not unlike the one above her as she tried to comprehend why he wanted her more than his lost love.

“Spike… don’t you want her back?”

He maintained eye contact as he spoke. “Of course I want her back,” he said in anguish, “but she’s dead. How can she come back from that?”

Twilight had the answer to his question. She could tell him now about the abomination in the coffin, but to do that to him…

“Why can’t you just stop this and come back to us?”

“Spike,” she began hesitantly, unsure of her own convictions at this point, “I can’t come back.” She looked back to the black mass that was dangerously close to her now. “This spell can’t be stopped now.” She dared to walk closer to him, but he took a step back in fear. Twilight could feel her heart drop when he stepped back. “It’s too late for me.”

Spike said nothing. He looked up at Twilight with uncertain eyes, then walked to the group surrounding Fluttershy. Twilight put a hoof on her barrier, desperately wanting him to stay, though she couldn’t say why. The group ignored her, as if they had already lost her to the magic behind her. Twilight was so focused on her friends that she didn’t notice the tall, dark indigo figure of Princess Luna until she spoke.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight jumped and turned to the princess. Luna’s face was impassive, but her voice held a tone of understanding, one that only Luna could hold for Twilight right now. “What happened to your friend was nothing short of a tragedy, but what you are doing now, you are only tainting her memory. Look at me!” Twilight had been avoiding Luna’s gaze, but at her command, Twilight reluctantly looked at the princess. “Do you honestly believe that this is what Rarity would want you to do? To endanger not only your friends, but all of Equestria?”

“But…”

“Twilight. You were the one who saved me from Nightmare Moon. You showed incredible courage in the face of danger, but more than that, you believed that there still existed goodness inside me.” Luna’s voice softened as she talked. “I know there is still goodness inside you, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna reached out for her, stopped by the magic that cut her off from her one time savior. “Please, stop this madness.”

Twilight waited for her to continue, but she fell silent. Without thinking, Twilight turned around and looked at the vortex. It was only a few feet away from her now, causing her to back up and take a seat against her barrier. She held her head in her hooves as she took in just how large it had become. The tome had said that the spell would activate when it reached its optimum size, and Twilight guessed that that time was dangerously close. In a few minutes, everyone in Equestria would be transformed into the same creature she had turned Rarity into, doomed to an unimaginable fate she alone chose for them. She would do to them what she had done to her, turn them all into unfeeling, vacant husks of what they once were…

“Luna?” Twilight couldn’t bring herself to look at the princess.

“Yes?”

“I…” Twilight could barely make out her next words, “I’m going to try and stop this.” Twilight heard Luna gasp slightly and take a step closer.

“How?”

“I’m sorry…” Twilight said, ignoring Luna’s question. She stood up, her back still facing the princess. “I’m sorry, Luna. For everything.” With that, she started towards the swirling black mass.

“Twilight, what are you doing?!” Luna cried out, putting both hooves on the shield. Her cries alerted the group next to her, and the ponies rushed up next to the barrier, though Pinkie stayed behind with the injured Fluttershy. “Stop! That magic will rip you apart!”

True to Luna’s words, tendrils of dark magic suddenly lashed out at Twilight, drawing blood as they struck against her small frame. She grunted, but kept walking to the center of the raging storm, undeterred by the pain she was in. The closer she got to the center, the worse the lashes got, until her dull and ragged purple coat was coated in crimson. She finally succumbed to the magic and fell to her back legs, causing the others to cry out for her. Even though she couldn’t make out what they were yelling, Twilight thought it was pleas for her to stop and come back to them.

What they didn’t understand was that she was doing exactly that.

She turned her head one final time to look at them, and despite everything that was happening, she managed to give them a small smile. The others didn’t have time to say anything as Twilight, ignoring the serious injuries inflicted upon her, rose in blistering pain and ran directly into the center of the spell. Black tendrils whipped across her body as she ran into the spell. Her figure was lost in the darkness, the seconds dragging on for what seemed like an eternity as her friends waited for some sign that she was still alive.

Suddenly, there came a blinding flash of purple from within, and in a deafening crescendo, the swirling mass exploded outwards at a terrifying speed.

They barely had time to acknowledge the wall of evil magic heading towards them before it engulfed everything.

*********

Spike groaned as he rubbed his stunned head, opening his heavy eyes to find himself in pitch blackness. He got to his feet and nearly stumbled in the darkness. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but his eyes couldn’t pierce the dark shroud, no matter how long he waited. He felt a surge of panic run through his body. “Hello?” He called out, hoping that someone was around to answer him. “Can anyone hear me?”

As if activated by his words, a small dot of purple light appeared in the distance. Without any other point of reference, Spike couldn’t tell how close or far away it was, but at least there was something else in this bleak landscape with him. In lieu of any other option, he started towards it, hoping that he would find his friends at the light and, against all odds, Twilight.

He had walked for what he guessed was a few minutes when he bumped into something in the dark, sending him to the ground. Before he could sit up to figure out what he hit, the object wrapped its front legs around him and gripped him in a tight hug.

“Spike!” Despite having his lungs crushed by the hug, Spike recognized the voice. It took him a little by surprise, as Rainbow Dash usually wasn’t this friendly.

“Rainbow… you’re… crushing me…” Spike gasped as she released her hold, Rainbow backing up to give him room to catch his breath and stand.

“Sorry,” she said, rubbing her neck, “it’s just that I was worried I was all alone in here. Wherever here is.” She took a moment to look at the purple light before speaking. “Have you seen any of the others?”

“No. You’re the first thing I’ve run into here.”

“Well,” Rainbow said, looking around, “I guess we don’t have any choice.” She nodded towards the light started towards it, Spike following behind her.

Their footsteps echoed out in the strange, bleak landscape. For all they knew, they were completely alone in this suffocating place, and no matter how long they walked, the purple light never seemed to come any closer.

“Geez…” Rainbow sighed, looking to the light. “Why don’t we rest here, Spike? My wings are killing me.” She flopped down on her legs, Spike sitting beside her. The light was still as far off as when they began walking.

Rainbow reached back and unwrapped the bandages around her wings, unfurling them to their full width. She grimaced and quickly retracted them. “Guess they’re still healing…” she said, more to herself than to Spike.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any idea where we are?” Spike glanced around the area as he spoke.

“I have no idea.” Rainbow ran a hoof through her multicolored hair and shook her head. “All I remember is that huge storm cloud and Twilight…” she trailed off as her thoughts turned to her friend. Spike’s eyes shifted to her own, then away. He buried his face in his arms. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure she’s alright.” Spike ignored her. She sighed and rested her head on the ground. “We’ll find them, trust me.” He mumbled something under his breath. Rainbow closed her eyes and tried to empty her mind, but the thought of her friends kept her from having any kind of rest.

“Hello? Rainbow? Spike? Y’all out there?”

Rainbow’s eyes shot open and frantically scanned for the source of the noise. “Hello!?” She shouted and shot up. Spike fell to the ground when she did so. He regained his composure as the accented voice cut through the darkness.

“Rainbow!? That you? Where are ya?” The unmistakable voice of their cowpony friend was growing louder and Rainbow took off towards it, Spike in hot pursuit.

The two groups came closer and closer, their voices growing louder with each step, until the leaders of the groups collided and crumpled into a heap of blue and pink. Rainbow untangled herself from Pinkie Pie and helped her friend up, grabbing her in a hug that she gratefully returned. She caught sight of Applejack and let go of Pinkie when she noticed a mass of yellow on the cowpony’s back.

“How is she?” She asked, walking over and stroking Fluttershy’s mane.

Applejack adjusted herself, making sure that Fluttershy wouldn’t fall off. “She’s knocked out, but ah think she’ll be okay...” She looked around, as if something was missing. “Hey, have ya met up with the princess?”

“No.” Rainbow replied. “It was just me and him.” She pointed at Spike.

Applejack frowned at her friend, Rainbow shrugging in response. “Well, we gotta find both her and Twilight.” She looked over at the light that still seemed to be some distance away. “We were following that strange light over there when we ran into you.”

“Us too. You think she’s over there?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Applejack again adjusted Fluttershy and started walking towards the light. Rainbow, Spike, and Pinkie followed behind her.

After walking for a few minutes, Spike spoke up. “Is it just me, or is that light getting brighter?” Sure enough, the longer they walked, the closer and brighter the light was.

“About time,” Rainbow grumbled. “I’m sick of this place.” She took lead of the group, leading them to the light. It only took a few minutes to reach it.

The light was radiating so brightly that the group had to shield their eyes as they approached. When they were only a few feet away from it, the light reached a crescendo, and the area was filled with it as the purple burst outwards. The group was taken by surprise and dove for cover as the light retracted and dimmed. When the stunned ponies regained their composure, they looked to its source. They gasped as it was finally made clear.

It was Twilight, her shimmering coat of beautiful fur, a perfectly set mane and tail, and shining purple eyes that no longer held any trace of the evil that so completely consumed them before. She was smiling at them, though it was more of a sad smile than a happy one. Her friends were gaping at the sight of her, unable to speak through the shock of seeing her back to normal, and their surprise didn’t diminish when she started speaking.

“Hi, guys. Are you okay?” They managed small nods. Twilight’s smile grew a centimeter, though her sadness was still very apparent. She caught sight of Fluttershy and gasped. “Oh no, will she be alright?”

Applejack shook her head, clearing her mind enough to answer Twilight. “Uh, yeah… she’s just sleeping right now..."

“That’s good to hear, I thought she was really hurt for a second.” Twilight's concern was genuine.

"So that light was you?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes. I wasn't sure if anyone else was here, so I figured I'd put that light up as a signal for you guys."

With the initial shock of seeing Twilight like this, her friends could really focus on her, and they noticed something strange about their friend. For some reason, while they looked nothing out of the norm, she actually seemed to be semi-transparent. If they observed carefully, they could actually see through her into the darkness beyond. Spike didn’t let this little detail go unnoticed.

“Twilight, why can I see through you?” Twilight looked down at her hooves inquisitively.

“I… don’t really know, to tell you the truth.”

“Does it hurt?”

“No, it doesn’t. In fact... I don’t really feel anything...” Her face scrunched in concentration for a few seconds until it suddenly lit up as if in revelation, but before she could say anything, a series of hoof steps could be heard behind her.

She spun around and immediately felt her stomach turn to lead. Three translucent figures, just like her, had walked into the range of her light, but it wasn’t their sudden appearance that surprised her, it was who they were. The three pegasi were wearing polished royal armor that shone in the dim purple light. Twilight immediately recognized them as the three guards she had killed within the Everfree Forest, though none of them bore the scars she had inflicted upon them. They remained motionless, their faces impassive as they observed their killer. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, closed it, opened it again, and closed it, all without saying anything. The utter shock of seeing her victims walking again was too much for her to process, and she watched in distress as they approached. For reasons she couldn’t determine, seeing them filled her with a sense of bone chilling dread. For all she knew, they were here to exact their revenge on her, and it was with reluctant honesty that she admitted to herself that she deserved whatever they did to her.

Their intentions weren’t at all what she expected them to be. The middle guard, the one she recognized as having killed with her horn, walked up to her, causing her to flinch involuntarily as he drew closer. He stopped a few feet from her and spoke. “We don’t blame you.”

“…What? But-”

“We don’t blame you.” He repeated. Without saying anything else, he returned to his comrades. They turned and left in sync, leaving behind a perplexed Twilight. They reached the edge of where her magic illuminated the area and were lost in the darkness. The others continued to watch, waiting for them to come back. Seconds passed, no one spoke, and when it seemed like they had departed for good, a figure could just barely be made out in the darkness. As the figure walked into the soft purple glow of the light, its image would be burned into the memory of those watching for the rest of their lives.

Her pearly white coat was tinged by the magic, and her mane, naturally purple, shone nearly as bright as the light emanating from Twilight. Not unlike the guards and Twilight, she was translucent. She walked out to her speechless friends, the friends that had lost her a year before. She wasted no time in approaching Twilight, smiling all the way.

The sudden appearance of the guards was enough to send shivers down Twilight’s spine, but now, with her here, Twilight had fallen into a nearly catatonic state, one that the others had fallen into as well.

Through sheer will power, she managed to gain control of her mind long enough to squeak out a single question.

“Rarity?”

Rarity said nothing as she walked up to Twilight and grabbed her in a crushing hug, one that she was too shocked to return. The two unicorns held their embrace while their friends watched, mouths agape. Twilight stuttered as she tried to formulate a response to this, but she settled for finally acknowledging her long lost friend, returning the hug tearfully. She buried her face in Rarity’s shoulder as she began to cry.

“I can’t believe it…” Twilight mumbled through Rarity’s tear stained coat. “I...I..."

"Quiet, Twilight," said Rarity's sophisticated voice, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was her. "You don't need to say anything."

"It's just... how?"

“Dark magic works in mysterious ways.” The ponies jumped at the voice. Out of the darkness walked Princess Luna, stopping just short of the group watching the two friends' reunion.

“Luna!” Applejack yelled. "We were worried about you!"

Luna responded without taking her eyes off the two unicorns. "I'm fine, Applejack, though I thank you for your concern. It's them I'm much more worried about." She pointed an accusing hoof at Twilight and Rarity, eliciting a variety of confused reactions from everyone present.

"No offense, but what are you blathering about, princess? In case you didn't notice, Rarity's back!"

If Luna was offended by Rainbow's remark, she didn't show it. "This is a forbidden place we are inhabiting right now. The spell you stopped, Twilight, its purpose was to bring the dead back to life, right?" Twilight nodded. "And a spell like that must have a very high cost for casting it." Another nod.

"Whoa, wait a minute, guys," Rainbow said, walking up to the two, "I'm not exactly an expert in magic, so you're gonna have to run that by me again."

"That spell was evil, Rainbow," Twilight said, staring at the ground. "Necromancy, the magic of the dead, requires a piece of the caster's soul for a spell. What I tried to do..." She tore her gaze away from the stunned pegasus, ashamed by what she had done. "Even though it didn't work, I still had to give something of myself to stop it, and given the sheer magnitude of the spell..." She couldn't finish. Twilight herself had come to the conclusion of what had happened to her when they were discussing the meaning of her translucency.

"You gave your life to save us." Luna said, finishing for her. Twilight bit her lip and nodded, hesitantly looking at her friends. They were too shocked to speak. "This place," Luna said, drawing attention away from Twilight, "I believe it is a sort of Limbo. Only a place such as that could support both the living and the dead."

"I think you're right." Twilight agreed. "The spell wasn't stopped completely. I might have prevented it from destroying Equestria, but I had to sacrifice myself to do it."

Rainbow looked at Luna almost pleadingly. “She’s kidding, right?” She chuckled nervously and turned back toTwilight. “That’s funny, Twilight. Really… funny…” The situation finally sunk in, and she whimpered as she realized that this wasn’t a joke. “No. No, you can’t! We already went through this!” She cast a teary eyed glance at Rarity as she yelled.

“I know, Rainbow. I don’t like this anymore than you do, but I chose this path when I picked up that book. I’m sorry.”

Rainbow was shaking from anger, from disbelief, but most of all, from a soul crushing sadness. She moaned, Twilight's figure blurred by her tears. “There’s nothing you can do?”

“No.”

Rainbow sighed shakily, her legs quivering so badly it looked like she was going to fall. Luna came over and supported her before she fell. A low groaning noise focused everyone’s attention on the pegasus lying on Applejack’s back. Fluttershy, still groggy from hitting the barrier, stirred from her sleep and gazed around. “Mmm… Applejack?”

“Yeah, sugarcube?”

“Did we save Twilight?”

Applejack shot a quick glance at the two ethereal figures. They both nodded. “Yeah… yeah, we saved her.”

“That’s good...” Fluttershy was unable to finish, as unconsciousness took her away from her friends. Twilight and Rarity were watching with concern as Applejack once again adjusted Fluttershy. She nearly dropped Fluttershy in surprise when Spike shouted without warning.

"Your bodies!" He yelled, pointing a claw at the two unicorns, "They're disappearing!" True to his words, they were beginning to fade out, more so than they already were. Twilight and Luna shared a glance.

"The spell's effects are beginning to wear off." Twilight said.

"I fear you are correct." Luna agreed somberly.

"And there's nothing more we can do." The princess nodded. “Then… this is goodbye.” Twilight admitted sadly, catching each of her friend’s eyes. She could tell by their distressed faces that they were all in denial. “I’m sorry, but it has to be this way. This whole thing started when I tried to bring Rarity back.” Her voice was starting to shake, but she tried to hold strong for the others.

No one spoke. The only sounds were the muffled sobs of Rainbow Dash. The tense moment was broken when Spike walked up to the two unicorns that had had the biggest impact on his life. He stopped just short of the two and looked up at them, the two regarding him with the kind of love only they could give him. “I’ll miss you.” He walked up and went to hug them, but instead of grabbing them, he stumbled right through them. His momentum carried him a few feet away. He turned around, mouth agape at the ghostly figures. He returned to the group, putting distance between himself and the unicorns. Even though passing through them hadn't hurt, it wasn't something he wanted to repeat.

Rainbow collapsed to the ground, everyone else following suit. Applejack carefully laid Fluttershy down next to her.

There they all sat, the ponies and dragon that would eventually return to Equestria and the two destined to move on to another life. Though they had only been together for a relatively short time, it had been the best time of their lives, and they wouldn’t leave each other unless they were forcibly ripped apart, which, they had come to realize, was exactly what would happen in just a few minutes.

Their last time together finally came to an all too soon conclusion when Twilight and Rarity began to fade out completely, their bodies becoming increasingly transparent. The others, knowing that there was nothing they could do, simply waited and tried to enjoy the remaining time they had with their departing friends. As Twilight grew fainter and fainter, her magical light began to dim. Sensing her time coming to a close, Twilight pulled Luna aside and quietly whispered something in her ear. Luna nodded to show that she understood and the two returned to the group.

“This is it, girls.” Twilight said apprehensively. “Before we go, I just wanted you to know…” she paused, looking each of them in the eyes. “I wanted you to know that I love you, all of you.” She extended her hoof, placing it in the center of the circle they had made with their bodies.

“We may have had our differences,” Rarity said with a small smile, “but you were the best friends I could have ever asked for.” She put her hoof out, next to Twilight’s.

“I will be forever grateful that I had the opportunity to know you both.” Luna put her hoof in.

Pinkie placed her hoof in without saying anything, but everything she needed to say was conveyed by the sad smile she gave Twilight and Rarity.

Rainbow was shaking her head, tears dripping down her nose and landing with a soft plop on the ground. She was staring at the ground, but raised her head long enough to give Twilight an emotionless nod and put her hoof in the circle. She lowered her head and continued glaring at the floor.

Spike put his hand in without hesitating. “I’ll always be your number one assistant, Twilight.” He looked at Rarity, fully ready to confess his love, but as the two locked eyes, the understanding they shared far surpassed any words they could convey.

"Ah love you too, girls." Applejack extended a hoof.

Fluttershy, to the surprise of those around her, put her hoof in, even though it didn't look like she was conscious. Whether or not she did it intentionally, no one would know.

Seven hooves and one hand, two spectral, six normal, all together. The darkness crept up, covering them, consuming everything in sight. The purple light had nearly faded away, and so too had the unicorns, their bodies just barely visible. Their hooves and hand, though two weren’t touching, were together to the end. The final wisps of light finally gave out, and the world was plunged into the darkness they had all become so accustomed to. The fleeting image of their friends’ faces would be the last time any of them would see either of the unicorns in the flesh.

It wouldn’t be until they awoke in the castle that they realized their consciousness had also been slipping away into the darkness. Broken and shaken from their goodbyes, it took everything Luna had left to teleport them away from the castle, away from the memories they would carry with them the rest of their lives.

*********

Under a heavy and drizzling overcast sky, the citizens of Ponyville gathered for the second time in as many years to say their final goodbyes to their friends. Two coffins, one for each friend, were laid to rest on Stargazing Hill. It had been argued that Rarity should have been returned to the original spot next to her boutique, but the remaining Elements had argued vehemently that the only thing to do would be to entomb their friends together. The unfortunate guards would be buried near Canterlot, but for now, all attention was on the funerals of the two unicorns.

The Elements and Spike sat away from the other ponies. The pain of having to repeat such a traumatizing event, while hard on everyone, was exponentially tougher on their souls. Fluttershy couldn’t bear to look at the graves, instead choosing to rest her head on Rainbow’s supportive shoulder and cry into it. Spike sat with Applejack and Pinkie had excluded herself from everyone with her silence. Occasional well wishes and supportive sayings, while thoughtful, did nothing to alleviate the unbearable pain they were in. It would be a long, long time before any of them were able to return to even a shred of normalcy, and even then, their lives would never be the same.

If there was any light in the darkness that surrounded them, it was that they had been able to say goodbye to the two before they left.

The coffins were lowered into the ground, and while muffled and sniffling sobs could be heard around the crowd, nothing came from the friends. Still in shock over what happened, or maybe just too tired to mourn, they only stared in silence as their friends departed from Equestria.

When the ceremonies finished, the ponies began to file out, until eventually only Spike and the Elements remained. They stood at the foot of the graves and looked down at the freshly dug patches of dirt. Applejack took her hat off and held it close to her chest as she spoke. “I guess this is goodbye, girls...” She said to her departed friends. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for them, then backed away to let the others say their final goodbyes, one by one.

“You might have been an egghead,” Rainbow said with a small, forced chuckle, “but you were the best egghead anyone could ask for.” A smile had formed on her lips as she reminisced, but it quickly vanished as she came back to the present situation. "And you were the drama queen to end all drama queens, Rarity... but you were still one of my best friends." She clenched her wet eyes and stepped aside for Fluttershy.

The poor pegasus stared for a few moments before tearing her gaze away, unable to accept the fact that her friends were dead. “No, no, no…” She muttered as she walked away and into Applejack’s open embrace.

“Don’t worry sugarcube, we’ll get through this together.” Fluttershy sniffled and ignored her, but didn’t break away. Applejack squeezed tighter as Pinkie took her turn.

She opened her mouth and closed it repeatedly, looking for the words she hadn’t used in over a year. After searching unsuccessfully for a couple of seconds, she eventually chose to hang her head and say her goodbyes silently. She turned and started down the hill with Fluttershy, who had detached herself from her cowpony friend. Finally, Spike took his turn.

He sat down and stared at the two gravestones in front of him without saying anything. Applejack looked at him worryingly, but she was interrupted by Rainbow.

“Now what?”

“We go on living," she said, still keeping an eye on Spike. "It’s what they woulda wanted.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said, looking up at the gray and soulless sky. “We should… for them.” She took one final look at the graves before turning to her friend. “But… do you think we can?”

“Ah don’t know, Dash.” Applejack tilted her hat down. “It ain’t gonna be the same without them.” She glanced at her other friends walking away from them. “You know what happened to Twilight when she was taken away. If we don’t get through this together…” She trailed off, not wanting to think about the past few days. She nearly flinched when she felt a hoof fall on her shoulder.

"I'm here for you, AJ. I couldn't help Twilight, but I can at least make sure you don't go insane." Her voice filled with contempt near the end, but it was more contempt for herself than her friends. Applejack placed her hoof on Rainbow's.

"It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault." Rainbow was silent, but she at least seemed content with Applejack's words. "You did what you could, sugarcube."

"Thanks, AJ. That didn't make me feel better... but thanks." Rainbow released Applejack and walked down the hill, leaving only the cowpony and the dragon on the hill.

Spike was still silently sitting near the graves. Applejack walked over and stood behind him.

"Are you alright, Spike? Is there anything ah can do to help?"

"No. I just want to be alone."

Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. "You sure?" Spike turned and looked at her.

"I'm sure." His voice held no emotion.

"Well, alright, if that's what ya want." She turned to leave, getting halfway down before spinning around and calling out to him, "If you need a place to stay, you can always come back to the farm with me!" He didn't acknowledge her. She sighed and left him to the graves.

How long he sat there, he had no idea. The drizzling sky eventually settled down and patches of clouds opened up that allowed the sun to punctuate Equestria with its warm glow, a glow that was completely lost on the small dragon sitting on Stargazing Hill. He had been in complete silence as he reminisced on fond memories of both his surrogate sister and his first love. A smile found its way onto his face as he looked at the sky and remembered times when Twilight would read a book to him before he fell asleep, but it was quickly lost when his gaze lowered and fell on the tombstones.

An idea struck him that made him question his sanity, but it tugged incessantly at the back of his mind until he couldn't ignore it any longer. Shifting around to make sure he was alone, he moved closer to the graves and whispered to them. "Twilight... Rarity... if you can hear me, tell me that you're okay." He still couldn't believe he was doing this, but if it put his mind at rest, then he would do it.

He waited. And waited. And waited.

Nothing happened.

He sighed and mentally kicked himself for doing something so stupid. "What was I thinking? They're dead. They can't hear me." Somehow feeling worse than when he arrived at the funeral, he stood up and was about to leave when a patch of sky opened up and a pillar of light hit the exact spot he was in. He stared at the light on the ground before looking up at the sky in disbelief. He shook his head and tried to explain the phenomenon away. "That must have been a coincidence..." He started down the hill, still trying to disprove the light when he looked back one final time. "Just a coincidence," he said to himself, and yet...

He banished the thought from his mind and continued down, but because of that pillar of light that was almost certainly a random act of nature, he couldn't help but feel that there were two unicorns out there, somewhere, that were looking over him.

*********

Luna walked through the corridors of the Canterlot castle, her footsteps echoing loudly in the lonely rooms as she passed through the throne room and into Celestia’s private quarters. It had been a week since the funeral, and Celestia hadn’t talked with anyone since then. She caught a glimpse of a dying sun, a sun that should have gone down hours ago. The cloudless sky closest to the sun took on a light pink hue, while further out it turned to a very familiar shade of purple. The sun was just barely visible over the mountains that surrounded Canterlot.

Luna had been visiting Ponyville, too caught up with her business to notice the sun when a group of worried ponies approached her about its extended lifespan. She had rushed to finish her errands and quickly teleported back to the castle.

She walked through her sister’s bedroom, taking note of the pictures of ponies on various pieces of furniture. One photo sparked her interest, and she couldn’t help but take a closer look at it, carefully picking it up. It showed the six ponies that Luna had become so attached to and subsequently lost. They were stacked on top of each other and were smiling to their heart’s content, ignorant of the grim reality that awaited them. Luna felt her spirits drop as she looked at the two ponies that would never be in another picture. However, even though Luna knew that such a picture would never be taken again, she could almost feel the joy and happiness that radiated out from the mares’ faces, and she could’ve sworn she felt a little bit of that elation herself.

“Looking through my things, Luna?”

Luna nearly dropped the picture in surprise, swiftly setting it down with bumbling hooves and turning to find her older sister. She had been so entranced by the picture that she hadn’t heard Celestia enter the room from the balcony that overlooked Canterlot. There was something… off about the Princess of the Sun. The air of grace that usually accompanied her was gone, and the black rings under her eyes suggested that she had been awake for some time. Not to say Luna had been sleeping peacefully, but it seemed Celestia hadn’t had a moment of peace in ages.

“Sister…” Luna began hesitantly, wondering whether or not Celestia would be upset that she had been handling her possessions, and such a precious one at that.

Before Luna could continue, Celestia silenced her with a wave of her hoof. “Luna. I must speak, and you must listen.” She beckoned Luna to the balcony, the younger sister following obediently. The two alicorns ventured out onto the wooden balcony and were met with the brilliantly colored sky, made possible only by Celestia’s tampering with the natural order of time. “You must forgive me for keeping your moon from our subjects, dear sister,” Celestia said softly as she gazed up at the sky, “but I find this time of day to be the most beautiful.”

Luna turned her attention to the sky as she spoke. “There is no need to apologize, Tia. Wherever you find comfort is fine with me.” The two shared a quick, slight smile before looking back to the sky. “I assume you wish to talk about her?”

Celestia sighed wearily. “Was it that obvious?” Her eyes dropped, and her mouth followed suit. “In all our years in this land, she was one of the most extraordinary ponies I ever had the pleasure of meeting. The magic she wielded could have matched even our powers. She was one of the Elements of Harmony, part of the cornerstone that defines everything we stand for. The future of Equestria couldn’t have been brighter with her leading the way. And I let her die.”

Luna stared at her sister in shock as Celestia looked away. She caught sight of a growing wetness in her sister’s eyes before they were lost to sight. “Celestia… how could you say something like that? You know that’s not true.” She didn’t appear to be listening, and if she was, Luna’s words weren’t having any effect. “Why would you even think that to be true?”

Celestia avoided her sister’s gaze while she spoke. “I should have seen the danger she was in.” Her regal voice was nearing the breaking point, and it was as if speaking about Twilight was causing her physical harm. “When she was staying in the hospital, I should have seen that she was a danger to everyone.”

“You did everything you could-”

“No I didn’t! I didn’t do anything to help her!” Celestia snapped in cold fury, causing Luna to step away from her. Celestia glared angrily at her for a second before she could register what she had done. She gawked in disbelief before shamefully turning away. “Oh, Luna…” Before she could finish, she was wrapped up in the loving embrace only her sister could give her.

The emotions Celestia had been hiding away for over a year finally burst forth from the dam she had constructed inside herself, and she began weeping into her sister’s shoulder like a foal that had broken its favorite toy. Luna held the embrace strong, not caring that her dark coat was being stained by her sister’s tears. She slowly stroked Celestia’s mane as she held her tight.

“I couldn’t even be there for her final moments…” Celestia managed to whisper between her raspy sobs.

“You may not have been there physically,” Luna said gently, still stroking her mane, “but she kept you close to her heart.” Celestia quieted herself at Luna’s words, looking up at her in confusion. “Her last words were, ‘Tell Celestia I love her.’”

Celestia couldn’t believe it. Her prodigy, the one she had abandoned to evil, wasted her final words on an idiotic pony that didn’t deserve them. How could Twilight have forgiven her for what she did and, infinitely more importantly, what she didn’t do?

Luna caught the look on Celestia’s face and tightened her grip. “Twilight gave her life so Equestria could live on. We can't forget what she did for us, but we must live on. Do you think she would want you to grieve while ignoring the needs of Equestria?”

Celestia, her cheeks stained with tears, looked at her sister. "No." She whispered.

“Tia… you don't have to let her go. But this isn't the way to remember her.” Luna said quietly, still stroking Celestia’s flowing mane. Celestia, with tears running down her cheeks, looked back and forth between her sister and the rays casted by the sun, in particular the purple rays located at the zenith. Luna nodded, and Celestia closed her eyes and focused her magic with all her might, her horn lighting up with her golden magic. Luna copied her, and in perfect synchronization, the sun finally fell below the horizon as the moon rose over the opposite side of the sky. Celestia just barely caught the fleeting image of the fading purple sky before it was extinguished and the darkness of the night blanketed Equestria.

She looked to the heavens before uttering a single, nearly inaudible phrase;

“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle.”