Prologue: Another Attempt
A queen will do a lot for her subjects, even give up her own child if it meant giving them a better life, despite the obvious pain that causes for the children in question.
Sunlight showed over the Equestrian capital city of Canterlot. The city was bustling as the sun looked down from on high, the mare that controlled it busy dealing with her subjects. The activity in Canterlot’s higher-end districts was at its peak. However, most of the daytime activity took place in the lower districts of Canterlot, where the majority of the city's stores and restaurants were located.
But today was different. Today, Canterlot was host to a new resident, carried through the streets by an adoring unicorn mare. She approached the door to a bookstore, a bundle held close with her magic.
As the mare entered the store, the proprietor looked up and smiled when he saw who it was. "Welcome back, dear. How did it go?"
"Wonderfully! Just look at her, Night Light!" The mare said, holding the bundle out to her husband.
Night Light stepped from behind the counter to look at the bundle more closely. Inside was a sleeping unicorn foal with a purple coat and a darker mane with a pink stripe. Smiling down at the foal, he asked his wife, "Does she have a name already?"
"No, or at least not that we know of," his wife, Twilight Velvet, sighed in reply. "The Royal Guard found her alone in the snow. With no sign of her parents or any belongings, they said her name was up to us."
"Alone in the cold, at such a young age... what was she even doing so far north?" Her husband asked.
"They had no idea," she responded. "The only hoofprints around were hers, but there's no way such a young filly got so far from civilization on her own. It was a miracle that a patrol found her before it was too late."
"Well, we should probably decide on a name before Shining Armor wakes up from his nap. I hope he's excited to get a little sister. Let's see, her mane is striped kind of like yours and she was found in the snow... what about Twilight Frost?" He suggested.
"No, that doesn't feel right, but maybe something close," she said. "Snow glitters and sparkles, though. How about Twilight Sparkle?"
"It's perfect!" Night Light said, directing a loving smile at his wife and newly adopted daughter...
Many years later...
"What in the...?" Twilight muttered in confusion, as the door she tried to open slid along the wall to avoid her. The day had been a series of revelations for her, from the existence of the Crystal Empire to the fact Celestia had let her believe that Dark Magic was nothing but a fairy tale. Of course, she could forgive the latter, as the reasons for keeping something like that secret were obvious, but it was still a shock to discover. The fact that she had been able to call upon the same Dark Magic to reveal the staircase King Sombra had hidden on her first try had also been surprising, but a pleasant surprise, given the situation.
A moving door at the bottom, though? That was just weird.
"Stop, ugh, moving!" Twilight exclaimed as she chased after the door, only to run face-first into the wall where it had been but a moment before.
A few seconds later, the door came to a stop right where it had been when she first arrived.
Letting out a grunt of frustration, Twilight fired a beam of Dark Magic at the crystal on the top of the door, the new power coming to her even more easily than before.
The door slowly swung open, a bright light shining from within.
"Spike, I think it's here!" Twilight called up the staircase, as she rushed toward the doorway...
Suddenly, Twilight was plunged into darkness, wrapped in a cool, calming embrace. As she looked up from where she lay, she saw a pair of softly glowing white eyes looking down at her. The embrace that held her began to slowly rock her, and then she heard a matronly voice begin to sing.
"Sleep my little Ira,
Dark and dreams between.
One day when you're big and strong,
You will be a Queen!"
"Goodnight..." Twilight heard herself murmur.
Twilight's consciousness began to fade, but as they did, she heard the voice whisper, "Goodnight my little Princess, tomorrow your journey begins..."
"Twilight... Twilight!" Spike's voice roused her from the strange vision. As Twilight shook her head to clear it, Spike rambled on, "I know you told me to stay up there, but you were down here for such a long time, and you weren't answering, and I got worried, so I came down here and you were just staring at that wall, and I was calling your name, but I couldn't seem to get your attention and... What were you looking at?"
Twilight carefully examined the doorway - which now showed another but a blank wall beyond it - from one side. 'What was that?' Twilight wondered. 'I feel like I've heard that voice before... but I can't remember where.'
"I mean, it's just a wall," Spike said, as he approached the door straight on. As he did, the crystal on top of the door glowed with Dark Magic, causing the baby dragon to fall under its sinister enchantment, his eyes glowing bright green.
"Ponyville? But how did I get-? No!" Spike cried out, clearly seeing something Twilight did not. "I don't wanna go! Please Twilight, don't make me!"
Twilight swung the door shut, Spike's eyes returning to their normal color as the spell on him ended. Seeing the young dragon looking around in confusion, she said, "It's some sort of Dark Magic that traps you in an illusion. If I had been by myself, there's no telling if I ever would have escaped..."
Looking nervous, Spike stammered out, "W-well, it's n-not like meant to help! I'm sure Celestia would understand that it was an accident and-"
Twilight cut him off with a hug, "It's alright, Spike. I'm grateful, and I'm sure Celestia wouldn't want me stuck in some trap either. Hopefully, since I didn't ask for your help, it won't count against the test. Now, let's open this door the right way."
Focusing hard on all her happiest memories, Twilight called upon her magic once more and opened the door properly. Beyond the door were more stairs, leading upwards in a way that defied the physics of the castle's layout. Hurrying up the stairs (with a bit of magical assistance) Twilight and spike reached a room at the top of the castle.
"The Crystal Heart!" Twilight called out in joy, as she saw the object she had been searching for floating before her. Knowing there was no time to lose, she rushed forward.
...Only to hear an alarm sound as she set hoof on the circular pattern on the floor beneath the floating artifact, a pattern which began flashing ominously. Reacting swiftly, Twilight leapt for the Crystal Heart. Just as her hoof touched it, however, dark crystals burst from the floor, surrounding her and knocking the Heart away.
Glancing around and seeing nothing but the crystal walls enclosing her, Twilight exclaimed, "The Heart! Where's the Crystal-?"
"It's here!" Spike replied from outside the area of the trap. "It rolled over to me when you dropped it."
"Don't move!" Twilight called out, as she peeked through a crack and saw the dark crystals spreading towards Spike. Seeing him take her literally and freeze up, she added, "You can move, just not towards me."
Once Spike had backed away to safety, Twilight focused her magic to teleport outside the dark crystal trap... only to be teleported right back in a moment later. "How could I have been so foolish? I was just so eager to get it," Twilight bemoaned her mistake. "And when I saw what was going on outside, I..."
"You have to get out of there, Twilight!" Spike shouted. "You have to be the one that brings the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadance! If you don't, you'll fail Celestia's test!"
"King Sombra's already attacking the Empire. He could reach the Crystal Ponies at any moment. Reach Princess Cadance, my brother, my friends... There may not be enough time for me to find a way to escape," Twilight said. Thinking for a moment, Twilight resolved herself, turning to Spike and declaring, "You have to be the one to take the Crystal Heart to the Faire."
"Me?" Spike replied incredulously. "But, Twilight-"
"Go," Twilight interrupted him.
Spike still hesitated, "But-"
"GO!" Twilight yelled, as the dark crystals closed in on the young dragon and the Crystal Heart. Spike grabbing the Heart and rushing from the room was the last thing she saw before the dark crystals completely filled the room, blocking her sight of everything beyond the magic circle she stood on.
Twilight had no way to tell how long she was trapped there. It felt like hours. Had Sombra won? She had no way to know. Had Spike succeeded? Surely she would have been freed already if that were the case. After what seemed like an eternity, she heard a roar of unadulterated fury, and a moment later the crystals surrounding her began to crack. Relief filled her as she realized that the Crystal Heart had been delivered.
Then she screamed, as the searing light shattered the crystals and swept over her, and her world was nothing but pain.
Author's Note
Whoo boy, it has been a while! Hard to find inspiration for writing, these days, especially for my standing stories, but I was able to find inspiration for a new one.
For those who haven't realized it already, this story was inspired by the story 'Change' by tom117z.
Will Twilight be alright? How will this change events to come? Find out in future chapters of Umbral!