Chapters With everything that has been happening as of late, Twilight's mind wandered to the last pony she had been with a few years ago. She worried about her. Yea, the pony in question had been displaced because of Starlight's little time travel adventure, for lack of a better word, but she still worried nonetheless. She had ran into her counterpart from that reality and came to the understanding that this was her " wedding day".
The memory was still fresh, " Am i seeing things or are you another me? Oh no no, You're a Changeling aren't you!" a lavender unicorn with a familiar bowl-cut styled mane shouted.
"No! Im not a changeling, I'm from another reality actually. Somepony I'm chasing after tried to alter time and I'm trying to stop them from mucking it up further." The Alicorn said nervously to her younger self.
"Time travel? That spell is locked away in the Canterlot archives," A unicorn named Twilight Sparkle found herself telling this other version that was standing in front of her. That spell was put under lock and key. No pony could break the seal that was placed on it without tripping a number of magical runes and alarms.
"A pony in my timeline named Starlight was able to steal that spell and stop me and my friends from meeting,"Alicorn Twilight spoke to her unicorn self. It was like staring into a mirror at times. She could also tell that this version of herself was much stronger and better honed with her magic then she was back where she was from. This Twilight also seemed, distracted by something.
It was nice seeing a version of herself that was utterly happy and not constantly stressing over the littlest thing. Twilight walked down the hall with her unicorn self until they got to the next area. She found it interesting that in this timeline there was a stain-glass window of her friends and Trixie defeating Discord. So here in this world Trixie took friendship in sooner then she would in her world. It was kind of nicing see that kind of effect. That meant that it was only a matter of time before Trixie would find something worthwhile in their timeline. Her other self took notice of the older Twilight staring at Trixie's mural on the window.
"Im assuming that you know Trixie as well?", she said, with her Alicorn self nodding.
"In my world Trixie tried to get revenge on my friends and i by using the Alicorn amulet. It didnt end well and she ran away before I really had the chance to talk to her." Alicorn Twilight said as her other self rubbed her head.
"That happened here as well, but i was able to convince her that the Amulet was going to corrupt her essence and that if she tried to use its full power it would kill her." The older Twilight took note of those last words and got a solemn look in her eyes again. She hoped that the Trixie of her world was going to be ok then.
"Im just trying to find my fiancee," The unicorn Twilight managed to blurt out. It was like the two had read one another mind or something. "Im supposed to meet Dead at the banquet for my Brother's wedding. Its a shared Ceremony. My Brother, i mean our Brother since your me as well, is marrying Princess Cadence and Im marrying Dead Loyalty. I suppose she might have a different name where your from,", Twilight's young self exposited.
The Alicorn version of Twilight seemed deep in thought before hugging her unicorn self."Oh! Im so happy that I didn't end up single forever!" her words almost echoed through the halls. She put a hoof over her mouth when she realized just how loud she had been. Her other half could only snicker.
"Celestia is going to be presiding over the ceremonies, you should come if you're not too busy chasing that other pony." The older Twilight thought about what her other half had said. On one hoof she'd love to see if Shining looked the same compared to her version. Then again, she wondered how Celestia would feel seeing two Twilight Sparkles. The older mare bit her tongue and decided to escort "herself" to the banquet hall. Maybe she'd be able to inform this version of Princess Celestia of what Starlight had done.
The Two of them entered the room to find everypony enjoying the good food on display. As soon as Celestia spotted the older Twilight, the alicorn motioned for the sun Princess to join her on the balcony that was adjacent to the hallway.
"Just in case your wondering Celestia, I'm not a changeling. In fact, I and another pony were pulled here from another Timeline altogether."Twilight could sense that comforting instinct in this Celestia that she had always felt in hers, but there was something more. This version was more battle-hardened it seemed.
"I know Twi, in fact I've been aware from the start."That was, informal of Celestia to use the same nickname that Rainbow called her. She felt a wing surrounded her and pull her towards the Princess of the Sun. What's more, was the kiss Celestia just softly planted on her cheek.
"Princess," Twilight stammered. Celestia smiled a bit as Twilight started to blush. "So um, about why I'm here, there's a pony from my reality named Starlight Glimmer. She blames me for stopping her plans for " Equality" as she called it. Her idea was to remove another's cutie mark in the misguided thought that it would make them truly happy,", Celestia let her pause for a minute. It seemed like this was taking a toll on her. "She stole a Time spell, 'that' Time spell from the Canterlot Archives and was able to complete it. This is the seventh reality that I've experienced because of her. And all the others were worst then the last!" Twilight nearly started crying into Celestia's chest fur.
"There's something i must show you Twilight." And with that Celestia beckoned her guest to follow her. They left the festivities and ended up traveling down into the Canterlot dungeons. "Im unsure if she's the one you are looking for Twilight, but my guards caught this mare trying to infiltrate the Castle moments after you must have arrived." There seemingly chained to a wall was Starlight Glimmer. She was unconscious, so as a precaution Twilight lit up her horn and used the memory spell to see if this was the one from her reality or not.
As she stepped back, her face turned from one of content to that of anger. And not anger towards Celestia. This was the Starlight Glimmer from her dimension. She turned around in time to see the time portal open up in front of her and the other Celestia.
"I suppose that means your time is up," Celestia chuckled. She released the unconscious Starlight and transferred her to Twilight's custody. Twilight shoved Starlight through the portal before turning back to Celestia.
"I realized that.. I'll never get the chance to test this with the Celestia that i know, " , she paused before craning her neck up and kissing Celestia on the mouth. "You never know Twilight," before being brushed into the Portal by Celestia wing.
As the portal disappeared Celestia stood there for a moment and wept before saying to the night sky," Life is full of chances Twilight Sparkle. I have the feeling you have two mares that love you unconditionally."
After they had finished talking to each other Twilight rushed to find Starlight before her counterpart's perfect day was to be ruined by her rival. Twilight had to make sure that didn't happen. What she didn't count on was that the pony her counterpart was supposed to marry would end up being dropped into her world instead. The Temporal Anomaly would displace this pony, leaving them trapped in Twilight's reality instead. And she'd realize that she had the same feelings for her.
There was a palpable tension in the air right now. Only a select few could sense it and Twilight was one of them. She was flying around her castle at an unusually fast pace right now. Twilight had a lot on her plate right now. She had to fix the Castle bathroom, ensure that Starlight was taking her duties seriously when she was around, and guarantee that her reports were still making their way to Princess Celestia.
There was something else though. Another pony that her mind drifted to. Dead Loyalty. They hadn't spoken for several years now. The princess felt conflicted when her thoughts drifted towards the mare. On one hoof she was in a relationship with Rainbow Dash. But there were other days she felt like reaching out to her. To feel her embrace right now. She knew what had happened in Dead Loyalty's reality because of Starlight's tampering with the timeline.
In a way she had two mares that looked almost identical except for their color schemes, and both shared the same intensity of love for her. Twilight wanted to make sure Dead was alright. There were times where it seemed like Rainbow wasn't exactly ready to have a steady relationship. Twilight liked their dates that they went out on. But it felt like she wasn't interested in pursuing marriage if it came to it.
There was something else that Twilight was feeling right now. Something more profound. It felt like a merging of consciousnesses. Like she and her counterpart had merged bodies at the moment their realities had momentarily connected. She was having a hard time describing it.
It was like at that very moment she was briefly connected to her alternate self, she could feel the full range of emotions her counterpart did. The Happiness she felt when her partner proposed. The night of passion the two shared the night before the Changeling Invasion.
She stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity before being snapped back to her senses. She finally remembered that she was going to set up a tea party to catch up her friends. They hadn't had one in the longest time. At least not since the destruction of the Golden Oaks Library. She had to get back to setting the table.
She figured after this was all over she'd check in on Dead Loyalty. She was even willing to offer her a room in the Castle to stay in. A part of her wanted to keep her close, extremely close. She just wasn't sure how Rainbow Dash would feel about the matter. She decided she'd ask her later after everything was sorted.
She looked around the castle and took in a deep breath. After everything that had transpired, she felt that this would help them all relax. Especially after the chaos caused by Starlight's misuse of that powerful spell, and the clean up that Twilight had to do in the wake of it.
"Everything is all set,", the purple alicorn thought to herself. Twilight had the tea party all set up. They had all agreed to meet at the castle for tea time, she had even considered inviting Discord, but it seemed he was a tad busy looking after Fluttershy's animal friends again. This was going to be some relaxation therapy, she thought. What could go wrong?
And yet there was a small nagging sensation that marred her thoughts for a moment. What if they all canceled on her for some reason. NO, she thought, they wouldn't do that without a good explanation, they were her friends after all. There was no way they'd make an excuse to get out of something like this. She could still feel it though, something was chipping away at her conscience. They weren't going to back out on her, not after all the effort, she had put into this, especially not now.
That was when she heard a knock at the door, and opened it not to find her friends, but the mail mare Derpy. She was holding five letters in her teeth. After she gave them to Twilight, she turned around and flew off to her next customer. Twilight always had wondered how Derpy was able to fly at all with the way her eyes were. That was a thought for another day she told herself as she turned and trotted back into her Castle Foyer. That sinking came back to her as she began reading the letters that had been delivered. She decided that she needed to take a walk and relax a little bit.
That was when she got within four feet of the Park and happened to notice Rainbow Dash snoozing in one of the trees that laid before the running path. Was she skipping out on the Tea Party as well? A small voice in the back of her head told her to make sure Dash wasn't going to just bail on her this time around. There was a part of her that told her to make sure Dash didn't skip out on sharing time together. But was she willing to cross the line? She had scolded Starlight for using such a powerful spell herself in an attempt to skip out on Friendship Duties, or in her case a reckless miss use of a spell.
But what would have happened if Twilight had done it... again. Was Starlight even aware of how reckless Twilight herself had been when she was a Unicorn? Did Starlight know about Twilight's misuse of the Want It Need It spell? or what was commonly referred to as the Smarty Pants incident. She was so deep in thought that she was oblivious to the cyan colored hoof that was being waved in front of her face right at this very moment.
Rainbow craned her neck and tried snapping her hoof to get Twilight's attention before finally opening her mouth to say anything. It seemed like she was a million miles away right now.
"Uh, Hello, Egghead?"Dash's voice snapped Twilight out of whatever trance she had put herself in.
"Oh Hi Rainbow,", Twilight stammered,"are you going to come to the tea party later?", she calmly asked her mare friend. At same moment she uttered those words. She also wanted to say,"oh by the way, i ran into your double from another reality awhile back." But she felt it was best to wait until the proper moment arrived.
"Absolutely", she said," Right after I finish my nap,", with that Twilight decided to go check on where the others were. She had to find AJ after feeling content upon hearing Dash's answer.
How much longer would Dash's nap take, she thought as she approached the front of Sweet Apple Acres. She had to find out if the others were going to come at all. It wasn't a pressing matter, but it was important to her to catch up with them at the most. She was sure that she had to find out if anypony else was going to back out on her.
At least Rainbow said she'd come. There had been a few times in the past where her loyalty to Twilight and the others had come into question but she always pulled through and showed up. At least back then as far as Twilight was concerned. But all of that was in the past now. She had to keep looking.
That's strange Twilight thought to herself as she approached Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was always out checking her trees in the past. But now she was nowhere to be seen. She got the sinking feeling that something here wasnt right. She couldnt find Aj, and when she went back into town, she noticed that there were fewer ponies out and about. Like the population of Ponyville was slowly decreasing the more she traveled through the town.
It was the most perplexing thing ever. As she continued to travel around town, she started to realize that she could be the only one in town left alive. It couldn't get worse, could it? She found that thought clawing at her mind as she tried to think about it. Something else started to weigh on her mind, what if they never came back?
What if all her friends never came back. What if Twilight was the last one of her kind. Not only the last pony. But what if the princesses were gone too. What if she was the last Alicorn? That was when she heard a scream.
She found AJ about a mile out of town, her forehoof broken and mangled from a bear trap that somepony had set to trap local game and wildlife. Twilight ran towards her friend, screaming out her name in the process.
"AJ!", she screamed, bounding towards the earth pony as she did so.
"Twilight? Thank Celestia.", she replied, weariness and desperation evident in her voice.
"Yes it's me, What's happening to the town?", Twilight asked.
"Ah dont know sugarcube, it just started gettin' like this within the last few months,", Applejack was short of breath when she tried to speak. Twilight levitated her onto her back and took her back to the Friendship Castle. There was a full medical bay that recently been installed at Twilight's request. She had wanted one added to the castle in the faint possibility that Ponyville Hospital was overwhelmed with patients. So she thought it was a good idea to open a clinic.
Now came the hard part. Her and AJ would try to get to the bottom of what was happening. What she didn't realize right then and there was that there was a simple explanation for all this. She started to wonder if all of this was a side effect of Starlight's interference with the timeline and Dead Loyalty's arrival.
What if half of the town's population had been transported to another reality with no way back.
The dream was the same. She'd get up and wander through a dark hallway, calling out somepony's name that she couldn't remember. She'd turn around to see something slither out of the darkness and make its way towards her. Trixie would find herself running from whatever this creature was. She'd wake up wanting to scream.
"Gods," Trixie thought to herself, " What is happening to me." It was always the same question that she could never find an answer to. She woke up in a cold sweat again. There were times she wanted to scream at her own reflection. It wasn't the same after the ALicorn Amulet disaster. She'd look in a mirror and see a hideous version of herself laughing back at her.
The only pony she'd ever told this too was of all beings Fluttershy. She was the only one that actively seemed to care for Trixie's well being after that incident. Not even Twilight knew that they had been talking to each other. Trixie always felt comfortable in her presence.
"It was the same nightmare again," she had found herself telling the mare. It was always the same start and ending. It was like a sick game was being played out in her mind that she would never have control of. She could tell Fluttershy was worried about what this was doing to her.
"Take a deep breath and tell me what happened this time," Fluttershy reassured her by putting a hoof on her shoulder. Trixie thanked her by putting her own hoof on top of Fluttershy's before taking a breath. It was the least she felt she could to right now.
"I was walking down the hallway when something came slithering out of the blackness,"Trixie had to pause before continuing. She felt like she had been robbed of air for a moment but gathered the strength to press on with her story. Her life wasn't exactly perfect. Her mother was a mentally asylum patient and her own father was a drifter that barely contacted her at all unless it was to boast about his new gig in Las Pegasus.
It wasn't until Starlight had recently come into her life that she could trust herself enough to confide in another pony excluding Fluttershy. She stared at her hooves before finishing the tale.
"What happened next?"Fluttershy pressed her.
"The thing started to chase me, screaming why did you abandon me?" The look on Trixie's face was enough to tell Fluttershy that she was tired but needed to finish describing what had happened in her dream. Trixie pulled Fluttershy into a hug before she kept going.
"Afterwards I woke up and decided to come here for our daily session." Fluttershy could tell now that she was relieved to have gotten that off of her chest. She hugged Trixie back and told her she was glad to be of help.
"I don't mind, Your making good progress Trixie. Im glad to help another pony when it comes to stuff like this. Ive never told anypony this either but my mother used to tell me a bed story as well. I think she meant to instill confidence in me when she'd tell it to me at night so that I wouldn't be so scared." This caught Trixie's attention by the Fluttershy could tell she was looking at her now.
"Really? What was the story about?"Trixie put a hoof to her cheek, now invested in what Fluttershy was telling her. It was an old wives tale to be honest. Something about it enraptured her.
"IT was about a place called Silent Ponyville,"Fluttershy turned to see the color drain from Trixie's face. That place wasn't just a Mare's tale. It was someplace that no pony ever wanted to hear of. Something chimed that spelled the end of their Therapy session. Trixie got up and thanked Fluttershy again before walking out the door.
Fluttershy turned towards the direction of the sound and rounded the corner to see somepony poking her music box. They just gently tapped at it out of curiosity. She recognized the mane and tail colors as belonging to Dead Loyalty. If Trixie had been smarter that day, she could have run into the mare before seeking her out in the Forest.
"Um, can I help you Loyalty?" This caught her attention. And not in a bad way. She just stared at Fluttershy before speaking anything at all. She didn't know her that well but her resemblance to Rainbow Dash was a bit striking in Fluttershy's eyes. She always wondered if they had been twins separated at birth. To be honest the truth would be a bit more of a stretch.
"Not really. Im just remembering what you were like in Cloudsdale." That caught Fluttershy off guard. As far as she remembered they had never seen each other there. All she knew was that Dead Loyalty had recently shown up in their lives. The only one that had knowledge of where the mare was from was Twilight. And she didn't like talking about it that much. Fluttershy would have remembered her if they had come across each other back when she was a filly. And the only one that did live there at the time was Rainbow Dash. The more she thought of it, the more she started to wonder why those two looked alike and yet had never met each other.
That was when she remembered what Twilight had said over a year ago. Dead Loyalty had been displaced from an alternate Timeline after the incident with Starlight Glimmer messing up the Timelines. She also hated hearing the name Rainbow Dash from what Twilight had been willing to speak of.
Trixie prepped herself for the trip with Starlight. She felt that now was the right time to express herself to her "friend". She wanted to be so much more with her. This was the right time to tell her she thought to herself. She'd tell Starlight just how much she loved her. And that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with her.
Even though the Everfree forest wasn't as out of control as it used to be, there were still some parts that were widely unexplored. Tales of lost ruins were known to exist. And no pony knew where they had originated. A number of expeditions had been sent out and only one had returned. And even then the team lead eventually died of his injuries. No pony knew what other treasures or horrors they contained, one thing was certain. There was still enough mystery to draw in one's curiosity. That would get the better of Starlight Glimmer before her and Trixie's camping trip was finished. Trixie was holding something important back from the mare she loved. She wasn't sure at first how to go about explaining the real reason for coming out here.
"I mean I know that mare is out here i just have to keep searching," Trixie was looking for somepony specific. Somepony that could help her with a certain situation to be honest. She had to make sure that her eyes weren't going to play tricks on her when she finally found out where this pony was.
While she was at it she decided to stop and wait for Starlight to catch up. Their camp wasn't too far now. IT was the same spot they always traveled to when they did need to get away from town every now and then. Trixie liked it because she could see the Moon and the night sky on a clear night. She'd always find herself staring at the moon until Starlight would get her attention.
"The moon is so beautiful tonight," she told Starlight as the two of them sat on the ground. She noticed that Starlight was blushing a bit when she said this. That was what she also looking for. It was just more confirmation of what she was already feeling. Starlight did feel the same way Trixie thought to herself. She was certain of it.
There was another mare that lived out here besides Zecora that Trixie need to see for some " guidance" as she decided to call it. A mare that Starlight didn't even realize was out here, one that had been personally affected by Starlight's little Time travel escapades all those years ago. There was also the matter of how much longer she could go without watering her plant Phylis. Twilight had told her once that were some underground ruins that she had always wanted to explore but never had the time to.
She could feel that her emotions were getting the better of her right now. She had to maintain control regardless. They were out here for a reason. A reason that was standing in front of her brushing a silver and white mane. There were so many other emotions she was feeling right now. There was one that kept creeping into her mind.
What if her love interest didn't feel the same way she did. There had always been mixed signals between them as of late. There were times where it was like Trixie wanted to pull her into the wagon for some " fun time". There were others where Trixie didn't seem that interested in romance at all. It left Starlight feeling somewhat confused.
How much longer till we get back to town, was constantly rolling around in Starlight's mind. She was trying to distract herself from the obvious question that started to form. It was so simple in her head. Hey Trixie, she'd ask, do you love me? How hard was that to ask. She realized a lot harder to ask in pony right now. There were a lot of other things weighing on her mind as well.
"what would my friends think," She told herself over and over. She knew Twilight and AJ might understand because of the relationships they were in. The uncertainty factors were Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. She hoped that they wouldn't be too judgemental because of their past experience with Trixie. She still had to be sure when they got back to town to at least make sure there wasn't any real problems that would arise.
Starlight found her concentration wavering a bit when she saw Trixie standing there in the pale moonlight. The way the wind passed through the showmare's mane. And the way the light seemed to shine off her eyes. It wasn't until she took her magicians' hat off that Starlight felt like she could just lose herself completely in those shimmering blue eyes.
Her concentration finally became broken at that moment. Trixie had taken her magicians' hat off to pull a twig or two out of her mane. The silverish mane that stood in contrast to her ice blue-tinted irises. Those eyes that Starlight could just lose herself in anytime she looked into them.
"come on Starlight, you can do this, just trot up and ask her point blank" she thought some more. Why was it so hard lately to just confess how she really felt. From the moment they had first met in the spa, Starlight Glimmer had realized that this was the one mare that she wanted to spend eternity with.
Through all the perils that they had overcome together the bond between the two mares was only strengthened. She knew that she'd push on and ask her for her hoof in marriage. Right now, she needed to sit for a moment. All this thinking was making her a bit exhausted.
Starlight and Trixie were on their way back to Trixie's wagon when Starlight felt a chill in the air. It wasn't usually this cold on the outskirts of Ponyville. Trixie didn't seem to notice the chill in the air at all as she was busy focusing on packing her equipment into her travel wagon. She paused for a moment to look back at Starlight though. Starlight's mane was glistening in the cold air tonight.
Trixie thought she looked so beautiful right now. And of course Trixie was trying to do her best to hide her feelings towards Starlight but it wasn't exactly easy. Especially when she was right there standing a few feet away from her. There were so many times she wanted to pull Starlight into her Wagon and share her feelings with the lavender mare. There was always a palpable tension between them at times. It was like Starlight was conflicted herself in how she felt towards Trixie as well.
There was also the matter of Starlight's former friend Sunburst. Trixie found her mind wandering again. It drifted back to the days when she had dispised Twilight and her circle of friends. But the more she thought about how jealous she had been, the more she came to the realiztion that Twilight wasn't trying to out do her. It clicked that Twilight didn't want her own friends to think she was a show off like Trixie. That she had been just as socially awkward as Trixie had been at the time.
Her mind snapped back to the present when she noticed Starlight was looking at her in a concerned manner. She decided to just come out with the truth right then and there and gauge Starlight's response accordingly.
"Starlight,", she began.
"What is it Trixs?", Starlight had become fond of calling her, " What's wrong?", She braced herself for whatever answer was going to be coming her way.
"I love you." There Trixie thought, just put it out there and see what happens she said to herself.
A look of utter shock washed across Starlight's face. No other emotion, just a brief wave of shock. It was just as she hoped too.Trixie did have the same feelings for her that she felt for Trixie. It felt so sudden just hearing it uttered like that. She was sure that it wasn't in that 'I love you as a friend' kind of tone.
It was that ' Starlight I have loved you from the moment we meet' kind of tone. And she was ok with this. She could feel that connection again. It was like it became more focused as she repeated in her mind. What worried her now was the look on Trixie's face. She was taking too long to come up with a response back. That had to be it.
" Trixie," she began," Why did you wait to tell me?", she watched as Trixie's eyes softened a bit after hearing that. There was more of a natural connection between them then there had been between her and Sunburst. She had also felt that she'd be lying to herself if she had actually tried to date him at all. And then there was the matter of his family pushing them to get closer. Also, It didn't help that his older sister was Sunset Shimmer.
Starlight and Sunset never really got along back then. Now, they were more or less friends. That still didn't stop Sunset from acting protective of her little brother. It wasnt as bad as it used to be between them, especially now that one of them was aware of a certain show mares affection towards the other. Sunset could tell right away how Trixie felt about Starlight.
Right there under the moonlight of Luna's beautifully crafted night, Trix and Starlight had their first kiss. This was the mare Starlight knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Little did she know she'd have to broker a deal with the devil in order to keep her soulmare alive. Trixie wanted to tell Starlight about her experience with the Alicorn Amulet. That it did more then just suck the life out of the wielder in exchange for the use of its power.
Or that Starlight would have to go through literal hell just to reverse its effects on its host.
Dark magic infections were not something to laugh at. They've been recorded through out history. Twilight was well aware of them. She had always been told by Celestia to never practice that type of magic for fear of how dangerous it would have been in her hooves. She was the element of magic after all. The last thing Celestia wanted was to see Twilight succumb to its temptation. Back when she was a unicorn Twiligiht had easily used it to find Sombra's hidden lair where the Crystal Heart had been stored away.
"Dark Magic Case Number 34: Subject has shown increased hostility to those that were once friends and family. Subject has mastered even the highest form of teleportation with having little to no knowledge of it beforehoove." That was just the first case that had documented. The previous cases hadn't been due to the fact the transcribers in all of them had been killed during the observation phases.
Every case after that had been conducted with better safeguards enforced. There was one case of note that caught Twilight's attention.
"Subject Number 35 Case Study: Name: Trixie Lulamoon. The subject has shown a tremendous increase in Magical ability after being subjected to the affects of the notorious Alicorn Amulet. The color of her magic aura has been altered from a calm Azure blue to a deep crimson Red. Subject shows outright hostility towards the name Twilight Sparkle.
Of note the offensive side of her is extremely dangerous. She was observed casting Fiery Bombardment, Spectral Missile,Bound Sword,and several fire and shock spells that could leave scorch marks on its intended target. The subject complains of hearing voices and claims to see that of a shadowy figure attempting to beckon her further into the darkness. Its our estimate that she is able to be released, but needs to to find a cure before it consumes whats left of her body and soul." Twilight felt a cold chill go through her. She felt bad now for how she had treated Trixie when she first saw her with Starlight.
There was no way to get word to them seeing how they on vacation. Even though they were in the Everfree forest it was difficult to send telepathic messages through that place. It was as if somepony had set up a ward that prevented that from happening. She had to wait until they returned on their own so she could tell them what she had just discovered.
Starlight and Trixie had been dating for the longest time now. There were ups and downs but the two of them were going to see this through to the end. An end that included marriage. They had to consider how their friends would feel about the engagement. Both of them knew that Twilight would be more understanding then some. Trixie had hoped that this little camping trip would be able to square any small problems that still existed between them.
She clutched her chest for a moment. She could feel some sort of burning sensation. Not the kind you'd get from eating spicy foods or indigestion. This was something else. Her vision started to darken and she could hear voices. It was like the shadows of the trees were moving and trying to claw at her. That was when it struck her what was happening to her.
It had been twelve years at the least since the incident involving the ALicorn Amulet. She thought back to the warning the store owner had tried to give her about it. At the time she just nodded and left the shop. But now it was all coming back to her. The Alicorn Amulet was an artifact created by a powerful unicorn mage. A mage that had been corrupted by dark magic and became the consort to the King of Shadows, King Sombra.
A Unicorn that her and Twilight had both looked up as foals. Clover the Clever.
Even now though, she could feel that something was wrong. Trixie didnt feel right. In fact she felt something that she had not felt in a long time. She felt cold. Isolated. Abandoned. A part of her knew she wasnt really alone. She had Starlight to warm her heart, among other things. But this felt different. This was a dark magic infection.
It slowly dawned on her that this had to have been from her experience with the Alicorn Amulet. But what would happen if Starlight found out. Could Trixie stand to tell her what was happening? Or would she continue to hide it from her marefriend. Later that night Trixie decided that she had to say something to Starlight about what was happening to her. She just had to figure out to break it to Starlight without making her friend panic.
Dark Magic infections were not the most pleasant thing to go through. They were known to start slowly and once past a certain amount of time corrupt and destroy the users body. The pony would cease to exist on all planes of existence, there was no way to bring them back save for the most forbidden magic known to exist. It required a Blood Pact with a powerful Necromancer, and those were rare in Equestria after the royal sisters came to power.
There was one that was rumored to still exist, but seeking her out meant death in most cases. Her name was Dead Loyalty, and upon close examination was a dead ringer for Rainbow Dash, minus the color scheme. Trixie had heard of her on one of her road trips outside of Ponyville. When Starlight was asleep she snuck out the trap door she had in her wagon to avoid waking her friend up and started off in the direction of where Loyalty's cottage might be. She knew from a map she had that it was near their location in the Everfree Forrest.
When she finally got to the general area of where it might be, she heard a raspy voice calling out from a nearby tree.
"What the buck do you want, I'm trying to take a nap here.", Out of the branches came a grey coated and black maned pegasus. All the descriptions Trixie had heard were spot on, outside of her name she looked exactly like Twilight's friend Rainbow.
"I wasn't expecting you to be Rainbow Dash's evil twin,", Trixie huffed. When she looked back at the mare after saying that under her breath, Dead Loyalty was giving her the most bone-chilling stare, one that rivaled Fluttershy's.
" You mention that name again, and i kill you where you stand." Loyalty said, trying to hold back her rage. That was a name she didn't want to hear. Trixie didn't know that Dead Loyalty was related to Rainbow in a way that would break time itself. And it was mostly because of Starlight fucking with the Timeline.
Years ago, when Twilight came back from preventing Starlight's tampering of the main Timeline, she returned to find a magic anamoly engulfing her castle. when the distortion faded, Dead Loyalty was standing in front of her, the mares eyes full of grief. She automatically hugged Twilight, kissing on the lips and saying that she was so glad she was alive. Twilight asked her to remind her how they knew each other, and Dead told her that they were on their honeymoon when Canterlot was attacked by Chrysalis and her Changeling army, she thought that Twilight had been captured, so she went to find help and saw a bright light in the sky. Then she woke up here.
Twilight explained that she had been pulled into a time distortion as a result of Twilight's battle with a unicorn named Starlight Glimmer. After hearing that and being shown a photo of Rainbow Dash and Twilight together, Loyalty told Twilight that she needed some air. That was about 12 years ago from Dead Loyalty's perspective. She hadn't been back to Twilight's castle since. So Dead Loyalty started studying the Dark Arts to see if there was another way for her to get back to her own timeline.
Trixie could only stare at her perplexed as she told the showmare everything that had happened to her and why she was here now. Trixie stared at the ground for longest time before finally getting it off her chest.
"Starlight is why I'm here, she's reformed herself and is doing what she can to atone for her past crimes. And so am i, which is why i need to know if you're familiar with Dark Magic type infections." She said.
"They're not easy to overcome, you know that right?", Loyalty said with some remorse in her voice.
"I have to try, I love Starlight too much not to at least make an attempt to cure this,", Trixie's eyes were filling with tears. Dead Loyalty opened her cottage door and rummaged through a bookshelf before pulling a spell tome off the shelf.
"This may be able to help you out, but you need to be careful,", Trixie nodded as she levitated the tome into her saddlebag.
"You know, Starlight and i are friends with Twilight, i could at least tell her that your ok if you wanted,", Loyalty paused before opening her mouth.
"Thanks, but I'm gonna do it myself."She said that before taking to the air. Good luck Trixie thought to herself, to both of us.
Twilight's Castle
Right as Twilight and Rainbow were about to sit down for dinner, Spike came in and told her she had company. Ponies were disappearing, Starlight and Trixie weren't back from their trip yet, and she already had a sneaking suspicion who it was that had come to visit. She couldn't even tell Dash that she met her exact double and had felt the same emotions for Loyalty that she had felt for her Twilight.
As if in on que, Dead Loyalty walked into the room. Rainbow's jaw nearly hit the floor. She was looking at an exact double of herself, minus all the grey and black. She was even more perplexed when Twilight walked right over and hugged this mare.
"Look Twi..", she stammered before being cut off.
"I know why you left Dead, and i don't hold it against you,", She held her close, she understood that Dead Loyalty need time to find a way home, and if that didn't pan out, come to terms with starting a new life here.
There would always be that part of her that loved Twilight. The part that found it harder and harder to let go of her. Loyalty turned to Rainbow and stared at the mare for what seemed like hours before speaking.
"I wont get in the way,",she started,"But know this, if you ever think of hurting her.. I'll put you in a world of hurt."Rainbow could tell she wasn't joking. It was almost like staring into a mirror. She could see the anger and pain in her green tinted irises. Rainbow Dash would never think of hurting Twilight. And yet she started to wonder about her mirrored reflection standing in front of her right now.
"I need to know, what was your reality like?" Dead Loyalty stared at her for a moment before telling her what her life was like in her reality.
"Well, in my timeline Twilight and I were friends for years. Hell, Rarity and Applejack are married where i come from. The same events that happened here also happened in mine. We beat Nightmare Moon and restored Princess Luna. Discord was another matter."Rainbow could tell just be her inflection that the encounter with Discord must have had a different outcome than in her reality.
" Discord got free from his stone imprisonment and started wreaking havoc. It wasn't until he laid eyes on Fluttershy that something in him changed," Dead Loyalty continued," It was as if he had found someone that he had lost over a millennia ago. He helped us when The Changelings attacked Canterlot. That was also the same time that Twilight, my Twilight, and I were on our Honeymoon." As she spoke those last words, Rainbow took a step back.
The brash pegasus stared at the ground for awhile. Im not ready for that kind of commitment , she thought to herself. Yea, she loved Twilight, and dating her had some great benefits. But Marriage? She didn't feel she was even remotely ready for something like that. She had seen how Twilight reacted around Dead Loyalty. The way they talked to each other, the way Twilight had just pulled the mare into an embrace like they had always known each other.
As the three of them took some time to get a grip on everything that was occurring Twilight decided she needed some much deserved rest.
"Dead, you can use my shower and spare room if you like, I'm gonna get some sleep."Twilight then turned to Rainbow Dash. "I'll see you tomorrow Rainbow." Boy she was tired. All this tension in the room and the following exposition really took a lot out of her.
"Yea, i need to go check on Scoots when i head home," Rainbow flexed her wings as she opened the balcony window and flew off towards her cloud home. Dead Loyalty could only hope that she didn't spook her too much with what she had just said.
It really was a lot for the mare to process. Not only did she meet a doppleganger from a parallel universe. This double also had the same feelings she did for Twilight. She figured that she was only getting in the way of them working things out. Yes she still cared about Twilight, but it was also clear that Dead Loyalty cared deeply for her too. For the time being Rainbow decided it was best if she stayed out of the way so to speak.
She hoped that Twilight would understand. She couldn't imagine what Dead Loyalty must have suffered through after she told Rainbow Dash her story. Dash wasn't the most level headed mare at times. She was brash and impulsive. Something she noticed was sort of there in Dead Loyalty, but seemed more tempered with patience and time.
"Maybe this really is for the best," she thought to herself. Rainbow opened the door to her cloud house to find Scootaloo asleep on her bed. She smiled softly as she climbed into bed and patted the filly on the head. She made sure it wasn't too much to fully wake her. She looked like she was having a fun dream by the way she was kicking the air with one leg.
Despite the disappearances of most of the town, things seemed to have quieted down for now. It was as if half the town had just up and vanished. Twilight had gone to check on Applejack when all of this first took place. Something crossed Rainbow's mind. Everything had stopped after Dead Loyalty showed up. She wasn't an egghead like Twilight, but the more she thought about it, the more she started to realize that it was as if they had been erased from history.
Maybe she was overthinking it. She'd find out in the morning if her little theory had any merit to it. Rainbow Dash wanted to believe that this Dead Loyalty wasn't going to do anything to hurt Twiligiht herself and her threat earlier was in jest. She wanted to sleep on this until the morning. That night she had the worst nightmare. She was in Canterlot yelling Twilight's name. She searched every room and couldn't find her. She ran down the hall thinking she saw her turn the corner. When she got there she reared back when saw who was in front of her.
"One little pony all by herself,"somepony said as they came out of the shadows. Queen Chrysalis. There was something wrong with her though. There were parts of exposed bone and scratches all over her body. Rainbow backed up until she was up against a pillar.
"Waht are you doing here?" Rainbow stuttered. This was the last creature she wanted to see. For all her bravado she knew that she could never taken on a being like Chrysalis all by herself.
"Dont worry, I know this is a dream," She said,"Im contacting you because I wanted to."Out of all of them Rainbow Dash was the one that she wanted to contact. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be honored by the Queen's presence or not. Chrsyalis had her attention she could tell.
"That pony Dead Loyalty is from the same timeline I'm from, and somehow Im stuck in this null realm because of her and a pony named Starlight Glimmer. I don't know why but when i hear that name I'm filled with rage. Maybe you can tell me why."Rainbow Dash decided to tell her, she earned that much.
"Starlight Glimmer and our version of you got into a battle not too long ago. She freed the Changelings from your control." The look she was giving Dash after hearing that last part was enough to kill a dragon a hundred times over. It was a look of seeing rage.
"Your telling me that i lost everything to a single mare!!" Chrsyalis screamed in the confines of the halls." that was it she thought to herself, this Rainbow Dash was going to help her whether she wanted to or not. She bring her into the real world and from there they'd part ways.
She was going to kill this Starlight Glimmer for taking away her empire. It was the least she felt she could do. She would also find herself in this timeline and tell her that their plans were nearly successful. They had nearly replaced the PRincesses before this Starlight Glimmer showed up. She wanted to smirk but that could wait till later.
"I want you to concentrate hard while i hold on to you,"Chrsyalis told Rainbow Dash. And as much as she thought this was a bad idea, Rainbow Dash decided to do as she was told. As she woke up she turned to see a dark figure curled up in a ball on the floor of her cloud house. She poked at it to see it was alive.
"This is where we part ways," a voice said. Chrysalis got to her hooves and stared at Rainbow Dash for a moment. She wasn't sure why she was doing this but Rainbow got up from her bed and put her head against Chrsyalis chest. She heard the faint echoes of.. a heartbeat. She had always been lead to believe that Changelings had no hearts like Ponies did. The Queen noticed this and decided to educate the mare.
"If your doing what i think your doing, then let me explain something to you. We had hearts at one point, until that bastard Discord severed our connections to them. And Starswirl the Bearded cursed me before then. Now if its alright with you, I'll be going." Chrysalis wasn't mad, or even annoyed when she spoke. She just needed time to herself.
She'd come back here if she needed to. She wanted to reward Rainbow for being loyal enough to listen to what she had to say. She knew exactly how she'd repay her.
It was like darkness was following Dead Loyalty everywhere she went. Even if it was unintentional, it was still distressing, to say the least. She just wanted to live a happy life with Twilight and forget about what had happened in her own universe. Even Twilight could tell that she was happier than anything else when she was around. She felt the same way when in her presence. It was like a weight had been lifted off of both their shoulders.
She felt like telling Twilight but decided to keep it to herself for now. She didn't want to worry the mare. She always felt safe around her. She would mutter something under her breath and like a cue, Twilight cocked a grin and told her she had heard that little quip. Loyalty almost smacked herself in the face with a wing.
"Way to go," she told herself.
Something didn't feel right Twilight thought to herself as she lay asleep. Her bed felt lighter than it should have. She and Loyalty had been sleeping together for a while now. She tried to deny it, but she also thought she had heard the faint echoing of a pony's laugh. It wasn't the kind of laugh that brought a smile to some pony's face. It was a mocking kind of laugh. The kind that Nightmare Moon had been known for in the history books that Twilight used to read as a filly when she had first heard about the Mare in the Moon. She knew she had to force herself out of bed now.
That's when Twilight awoke to find the spot next to her empty. She and Loyalty had shared the bed together, she was sure of it. She figured maybe she was already up and making breakfast, but when she pushed the door to the hallway open all she heard was an unbearable silence that greeted her. She trotted down the hall trying to keep her composure, hoping that when she rounded that corner Dead Loyalty would be there to greet her with a stack of pancakes.
She got to the kitchen to find her marefriend collapsed on the ground, her eyes closed and twitching as if she were having a horrible nightmare of some kind. Twilight rushed over to her side and tried to wake her. She jostled her so much the mare bolted upright screaming Twilight's name in a bout of sadness and panic.
"Dead, it's ok," Twilight said in the dim light, "I'm here babe."She rushed over and pulled her into a hug. The lights should have turned on when one of them had entered the room, but everything was still dim as if the sun had just lost all its light. She kissed Loyalty with a peck on a muzzle before asking her the obvious question.
"What happened, why were you in the dark like this?" Twilight hoped she'd be able to answer. The later question on her mind though was did she really want an answer. She couldn't stand losing the one that she cared about, not again anyway.
"I had gotten up to get a late-night snack when i thought saw something out of the corner of my eye creeping through the room. I gave chase and cornered it here in the kitchen. Then something overtook me and i blacked out. The last thing i thought I saw was Fluttershy coming towards me, but her eyes were replaced with blackened voids. Like two voids staring into me. Then I heard your voicing calling to me and jolted awake." Twilight kept her in that hug even after hearing what she had just described. It sounded dreadful, to be honest.
She helped Loyalty to her hooves and took her to the front door of the castle. They had to leave here and see if their other friends could help them. And that was when she heard a scratching sound coming from the hallway. She cast a candlelight spell and pushed the door open, poking her head around the corner to get a better sense of what direction the noise was coming from. That's when she looked up at the wall. For a moment she thought she saw a yellow feathered wing disappear into the darkness. It was the words that caught her attention. Carved out in what looked like a black, almost bloody substance were the following letters.
"Why did you abandon me!" As soon as Twilight and Loyalty had uttered those words to themselves a voice echoed those words from the darkness. A voice that sounded distorted through the gurgling sounds it was making. They both turned to see something horrific crawling its way across the floor towards them. A walking corpse that had mottled yellow fur and what looked like two broken and de-feathered wings shambled towards them. A torn section of pink hair and a patch of skin bore what looked like three butterflies.
Twilight was paralyzed with fear as it approached her. It couldn't be she screamed to herself. Fluttershy?! Dead Loyalty grabbed her and ran to the door, bucking it open and running into the streets outside of the Castle. For a moment she looked back and saw that 'Fluttershy' was gone. They had to find the others. She had to make sure that both her and Twilight weren't going insane.
Against her better judgment, she started by going to Fluttershy's cottage. To be sure that her friend was really there and hadn't become some kind of walking dead. As she approached she noticed that it didn't look run down at all. Loyalty snuck up to the door and knocked on it with a hoof. The door opened to reveal a very much alive Fluttershy. And not an eldritch abomination like they had just seen.
"Oh my what happened?" Fluttershy whispered in her usual tone. Twilight looked almost pale in comparison to Dead Loyalty's muted colors. Fluttershy really wanted to hug Loyalty. I mean she looked just like Rainbow Dash despite her color scheme. She had a hard time believing that this mare was from an alternate universe. And yet she believed it. She flicked an ear to get a better grasp of what was being said. All she had heard was that a Zombie version of her jumped out of the darkness towards the two of them.
She was reminded of the old mares tale about Silent Ponyville. She used to be told that story when she was a filly. And it always creeped her out even to this day. She never really told anypony else that. Even Rainbow Dash, and they had been friends for the longest time. They used to live near each other back in Cloudsdale while attending Flight camp. If she were as assertive then as she is now, Gilda might not have been so mean to her at the time. She could tell that they were staring at her to see if she had been listening to what was being spoken of.
"I was making Twi and I a snack when I thought somepony had broken into the castle. So I chased them and blacked out afterward. The creepy part is that something came out of the shadows that looked like a zombie version of you Flutters. "She was very blunt in that response. So much it looked like Fluttershy was going to faint. Luckily she didn't have to worry about that. The mare steadied herself after her knees looked like they were going to give out on her.
They asked if she was alright, Fluttershy assured them that she was fine. Hearing something that unsettling had made her knees a bit weak was all. She explained that she was reminded of an old Pony tale about a place called Silent Ponyville. It was a mirror version of their town but it was filled with monsters and a deadly mist that would obscure all vision. She tried to explain it to her friends without wanting to scare them.
"thank the Goddess its only a tale and not real," Dead Loyalty muttered under her breath. She didnt want them to know that she knew of that place. It was a nervous jest on her part. She had gotten lost in the Everfree Forest once and had been transported somewhere that sounded just like that place. She was able to escape from there, but she was also scarred by it.
Even after ending up in this timeline with Twilight, she still heard the sounds of a haunting music box when she'd go to bed. Its why she'd wake up in a cold sweat. Twilight was the only thing that kept her sane, otherwise that haunting tune would have driven her nuts years ago.