Author's Note

What's funny about this is it's supposed to be a Starlight story, and yo boi this chapter barely got Starlight in it, da fug is dat mean dud also whats wit all dis space an sheeit (Also, just realized the spoiler tag was never removed; been looking for it for months)

Fun fact: I wrote most of chapter 1 on my phone on the way to and from school.

Fun fact 2: This is the first Starlight story I've written.

Fun fact 3: This is the first story I've written with Starlight in it.

When I Finally Came Home

Time is funny.

Is it weird to say that? Time is funny?

I've never asked anyone that before. Well, I never assumed to ask anyone, not even Clanks. It was a strange feeling. All this time, all these books and all this space, not once did I ever think to ask if saying that time was ever funny. It's not a joke, or maybe it is, and I'm simply not getting it.

Hmm...just thinking about it, it makes it funny.

Even here as I sit, on this old wooden chair, looking at one of the last stars alive in the universe as it slowly dies away, with my own little set of sunglasses rested on my head, I wonder just how much I've seen, and how much I've yet to see. Maybe it would be a long time before I could ever get it or understand. Maybe-

Suddenly, I watched as the red giant in front of me started to pulse and flash, signaling its imminent destruction. I've seen the same thing plenty of times across the cosmos, but it was always so exciting. I felt like such a child, and I wasn't ashamed to feel it. With enough time to spare, I went to grab Clanks. He was an old machine I built myself to combat my loneliness. That, combined with magic, gave him a life of his own.

"Clanks!" I yelled to him. "Hurry, it's about to start!"

"What's about to start?" Clanks asked. "The explosion?" It wasn't like he had a monotone voice, far from one, but he reminded me of what a robot would sound like if you tried to give it life-like emotion - tried being the keyword.

"Yes!" I answered. "Hurry, before we miss it!"

Sure, we were only on the opposite side of the dome, but the best thing about seeing a supernova was being front and center, not back and side. I grabbed Clanks by his metallic hoof and hurried him over to where I had been a moment before. The massive star was starting to pulse harder, flash and give off excessive heat - not that it mattered in the dome.

Then, with a great bang and a flash of bright, vibrant color, the star exploded, causing even the dome to shake. It was strange: The dome didn't even exist in the universe, and yet when exposed to enough force, it could feel the presence of a dying star or a comet passing through it, so technically, it did have some grounds in it.

The shaking from the aftermath of a supernova lasts hours, last time I checked, and as cool as it was to see the aftermath, I could only tolerate enough shaking for a couple of minutes. Focusing my strength into the dome itself, I concentrated until I could feel my body relax and begin to glow. And just like that, the entire dome and its contents were whisked away to another part of the universe.

But there was not a star or cluster to be seen in sight.

"Didn't you tell me recently that the final stars were starting to die?" Clanks asked me. "Was that not the last star?"

"No," I answered him. But the answer was filled with doubt. "It couldn't have been. I've checked, double checked, even septuple checked. There should be a few more stars out there."

Clanks didn't respond back straight away, instead looking outward, to the contents of the black abyss that was once space. Once filled with all kinds of stars, galaxies, planets, moons, and such, now there was nothing to be seen.

"Should we go exploring?" I asked him.

"I don't mind that," he answered monotonously.

He does it only sometimes.

So we set off, using my magic to guide the dome through the blackness, hoping to find more stars or even planets. Perhaps there was some life out there? Surely? It couldn't have been just me and Clanks, even if we technically weren't in the universe.

We searched for a while. I could feel the metaphorical wind brushing against my body as we flung ourselves at light speed across Creation. But no matter how hard or how long we looked - there was nothing, other than the occasional black hole.

I released the dome and faltered a bit to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Clanks asked me, to which I nodded.

"Yeah," I told him, "I'm okay. I just never get used to that, no matter how many times I've done it."

"Would you like to take a break?"

"Yeah. I mean, no. I mean...hmm...I need to check the schedule." I got up from the ground and walked over to the bookcase just outside the Library. I placed it there to ensure I would never lose track of my journals, and so far, it's helped me.

It also never occurred to me until just now that the dome has its own lighting system, which was a good thing in its own, otherwise I would have been bumbling about in the dark, and I likely wouldn't have been doing anything. Anyway...

I picked out the journal-slash-schedule book I wrote specifically to track every star's birth and eventual death or expected death. A short time ago, I started to make sure to track every star that was left. Clanks came over and simply observed me looking through the pages, until I found the page I was looking for.

"Aha!" I exclaimed. "B-2948, or simply 'Holus'. Wait...Holus..." Then it hit me as soon as I could understand what I was looking at. "Oh."

"What is it?"

"Well...the star that just blew up?" I reminded him. "That was Holus. It was the last star I named and...presumably, the last star in the universe."

"So, does that mean..." I knew what he was going to say, but I stopped him.

"Not necessarily," I remarked. "Once the remaining black holes all die out, then you can consider the universe kaput. However...I guess the final star dying marks the beginning of the end."

"How long will it take for every black hole to die out?"

"I..." I paused, raising an eyebrow. "I'm actually not sure. I think that's something I've never seemed to explore. The books have taught me everything there is about black holes: How they're formed, what they do, how they die...but they never mentioned how long it would take for every existing one to die."

Pondering on new thoughts and ideas is always an opportunity, as long as there is a thought and an idea to be explored.

"How do you feel about another adventure?" I asked Clanks.

"I wouldn't mind one."

"Great!" I said, but then paused. "As soon as my mind's had time to heal, we're off to find a black hole. ... It's strange."

"What is strange?"

"Not once have I ever needed to eat, drink, or sleep here. And yet, every time I've ever used my magic, I feel...weak. Why is that?"

"Perhaps your brain is functioning differently from your other organs," Clanks suggested. It wasn't a reasonable answer or suggestion, but it was also its own thing to think about.

"I'll have to look in on that. I'll go take a look in the library and see what I can find on it. ... If I can find anything on that. Do you want to come with me?"

Interestingly, Clanks shook his head. "I'm going to stay out here. Perhaps a star will wander by. Maybe we are wrong."

I pointed to the book and simply said, "The book doesn't lie, Clanks. But...I'm hoping it does." I then walked into the Library and shut the door behind me. The vast size and dimensions of the interior never got old, but the ceiling always grew newer. There used to be hundreds of thousands of stars constantly above my head, galaxies spread across millions of light years, filling my eyes with constant wonder.

They were all gone now, dead and nothing but debris floating in the abyss. It was depressing to think the day would come where I would see a supernova for the very last time, and that day was today. But I guessed that all good things must come to an end, even if I don't like it.

It was thoughts like that where I wished I could enter the universe and spark some life into it. Could that even be possible? Is it possible to create new stars from nothing? Another Big Bang, perhaps? So many questions, and it took so long to ask them.

Would they ever be answered now?

Shaking the thoughts away from my head, I wandered down the hallway. Virtually every shelf on both sides, in all four halls, were now filled to the brim with every bit of knowledge of every event that occurred in the known universe. From the Dinosaurs to the destruction of Crypsus's ecosystem, and even to the death of the last star, it was all here. The shelf that housed all the recent stars' deaths now housed a new book, seemingly appeared from out of thin air. But I would read that later.

I started to make my way over to the 'anatomy' section, commonly the area that housed the anatomy of the three races.

Do other non-unicorns use magic? How long would it take them to learn it?

"I suppose I'll find out, maybe," I said to nopony in particular.

The brightness of the hall was significantly dimmed just a bit without all the stars to shine down, but the glow of the place certainly has not been lost. In fact, thanks to my magic, I'm definitely sure I can see much farther than I ever used to. Did I forget that?

I hated forgetting things.

...Speaking of forgetting things.

"It'll have to wait," I said to myself as I started running down the hallway, skipping the anatomy section, and immediately dashed towards the four-way intersection, or simply 'The Cross,' as I always called it. Clever, I'm aware.

Similar to the bookshelf outside, the Cross was a part of the Library where I placed all of the important trinkets and gadgets I either made or found all throughout the dome. I used to put them all in alphabetical order, but I eventually grew old of the routine and simply stuffed it all away. Now I was starting to regret, as it was tough to find-wait...

"Aha," I softly exclaimed as I picked up the small piece of equipment in my hooves. It was a helmet that consisted of metal and wooden parts. It was no doubt that I created it a while back. The only problem is that I don't remember creating it, but it was near me when I woke up the first time, I just didn't pay much attention to it until afterwards.

On the edge of the helmet are some scribbled words, written in permanent marker. "DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, PUT THIS HELMET ON UNLESS YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND."

I never seemed to get the message of those words. Unless I want to understand. I've already, more or less, understood virtually everything about the universe as is - what wouldn't I understand by now?

As I held the helmet in my hooves, I grew a pinch of nervousness. I was hardly ever nervous anymore, but every time I was, I could feel my heart beat faster and harder, and my head pound just slightly. There was also this dizzy feeling too, but it was never enough to knock me to the floor, even when it felt like I was ready to.

"What could I not understand?"

Or better yet, what did I understand that I no longer do?

With a sigh, I gripped the helmet tightly. "Only one way to find out, I guess. Well...here goes."

After a few seconds of uncertainty, I made my decision, and carefully placed the helmet onto my head. It fit with ease, and it was clear just from it that I made it myself. After I put the helmet on, nothing seemed to happen, and I was wondering if it was malfunctioning or not working at all.

"Must be broken," I told myself. "Doesn't matter; I can always fix it-"

And just like that, it all flooded back to me, slamming into me at a million miles an hour, like a train crashing into a mountain. All of the memories I had forgotten, all of the ones I tried to push back, push away. One after the other.

The Grand Galloping Gala, the Royal Wedding, the Crystal Empire, the Coronation...

Twilight Sparkle. How could I have forgotten about her?

"Ready for a night to remember?"

It was the night of the Grand Galloping Gala. The first one I ever went to. It was so terrible, but I had such a great time, even if it meant just being with them.

"I have faith in you."

The first ever flight competition I raced in. I told her how nervous I was that it was all gonna go bad, and that I was bound to embarrass myself. But Twilight stepped in and lent me her confidence. I impressed everyone that day, even those who didn't believe.

"Nnngh!" I grunted as the memories continued to pour in. All of our adventures together, every moment we shared, every bad encounter we ever faced - Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, Starlight Glimmer-...

Starlight.

The moment I remembered that name, I found myself furious. It was the first memory of her that came first. The village, the order, the equality... the mane cut. Even she thought it was ridiculous.

Seconds later, it was overshadowed by the real Starlight. The one I knew, the one I came to know and learn with. My friend, Starlight Glimmer - not the imposter that she used to be.

Starlight Glimmer.

The day it all went wrong, so very, very wrong. I couldn't hold it back, and I didn't want to hold it back, either. I let it all come back to me, no matter how hard my body fought. I could feel the tears run down my cheeks as I started to feel the anger, the fear, the uncertainty in my body that used to be there all come back. I could remember the emotions I used to share.

I...

I grabbed the the helmet and ripped it off my head, throwing it several hooves away and screaming loud into the air, gripping my head as I fell to the floor. As soon as the air left my throat to keep me from screaming, I started breaking down into tears, sitting up against one of the shelves. My scream echoed into the depths of all four halls, but I didn't care of it.

For a good few seconds, I continued to cry, but I tried to be quick and hold it together. Who knew trying to do just that could be so hard?

I let out a sigh, but it was choked with tears. Attempting to hold myself together, I took deep breaths, my back planted firmly against the shelf.

"Okay," I said. "Keep it together. It's okay."

Was it? Was it now?

For a few minutes, I sat there and didn't try to get up or move until I was entirely relaxed. With the things I knew now, it would be much harder to do so - but I had the time to practice, at least. Eventually, I was able to breathe normally and stifle my tears, even as they wanted to break out again, prodding my emotions.

I found myself staring at the other side of the hall, at the other shelf. The books, it was like they stared back at me. I've read all of them.

Even hers. Even Twilight's.

Twilight. I was in love with her at one point. Was the feeling ever mutual? Would I ever know?

Would I want to know anymore? What about-

"Hey," I heard a voice say calmly, prompting a feared scream as I looked up, my hooves shaking just slightly. It was Clanks looking back at me with a concerned tone. "I heard you scream from outside. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you okay?"

It took a second for me to reply. "Yeah, Clanks. I'm okay. I just...ugh...it's a long story. Kind of." But Clanks wasn't one to simply ignore the problem at hoof; he was quick to notice the piece of equipment sitting on the floor a good distance away.

"You decided to try on the helmet, didn't you?" he asked me, to which I nodded. "What did you see?"

How could I even answer that question just right?

"I...I saw what I needed to see."

...Close enough, I guess.

"Do you need more time to heal your mind?" Clanks asked, "or are you ready for the adventure?"

Right. The adventure. I actually forgot about it for a second. All I wanted to do was find out or discover how long it would take for all the black holes to decay. And then I had to remember forgetting. Funny.

Time was funny.

...

I think I understand it now.

"Actually, Clanks," I said, "I'm ready, but...I think I have another idea."

"What is that?" Clanks asked.

* * * * *

After gathering the books necessary for my so-called 'plan,' I met with Clanks outside the Building and laid them down on the table. Opening one of the books, I pointed to the necessary page.

"All of the stars are dead," I said to Clanks, "but the energy they give off still remains, somehow, somewhere, out in the cosmos."

"But if all of the stars are dead, where is the energy?"

"Answer this question: What is so powerful in the universe, so pulling, that not even light can escape?"

"A black hole," he answered, not even hesitating to follow it up with his own question. "Are you considering-?"

"That we go for a ride in a black hole?" I finished for him. "Definitely."

"But why would you want to do that? It seems, as you call it, insane."

I sat on the opposite side of the table and held up a wing, raising three fingers. "There are three reasons: Energy, speed, and time." Opening up the other books and going into vivid detail over the three words, I readied for a speech.

"Stars give off an excessive amount of energy, even more so when they explode into supernovas, for starters. This energy is sucked up by a black hole until it reaches the event horizon. Therefore, black holes contain the most energy in the universe, presumably long after the star has been swallowed. Speed is essentially, in all purposes of the word, a boost of its own energy. We can use this to slingshot across the black hole and gain enough traction to proceed with step three: Time. The closer someone is to a black hole, the further time is distorted. Someone orbiting a black hole can find themselves several years or decades in the future and looking the same, whereas their friends have all aged or passed. If we can slingshot ourselves around a black hole, we can be able to logically travel through time."

I gave myself a moment to breathe and prepare even more words to say, but Clanks spoke up first, asking, "But why would you want to do that?"

Of course - he didn't know.

"I'm gonna use it to bring us back home."

Even as a machine, Clanks tilted his head in processed confusion. "But don't black holes only allow a user to travel forward in time?"

"Well, yes. It's physically impossible to travel backwards using a black hole. But I planned for that." Reaching into a makeshift satchel, I picked out a parchment that was only recently written by me, and I presented it to the curious robot. "Behold: Pastonius Incarnus!"

Clanks didn't immediately react, but instead repeated the name of the spell.

"The name's a work in progress," I answered, "but the spell is all here. From what I remember and what I've read, this will allow us to harness a black hole's energy and reverse it. When we do that..."

"We'll be able to travel back in time?"

"Exactly!" I exclaimed. "We can travel back in time to the moment I was zapped here and see my friends again!"

"Is it okay if I ask another question?"

"Of course," I told him with a smile. He was always welcome to-

"How will we be able to reenter the universe? Any and all attempts to breach the dome have failed so far."

...Right. I didn't think about that.

"Good point," I said, my ears beginning to deflate, already feeling defeated. He was right.

Unless...of course!

"Reason number four," I spoke up, raising another wing finger, "Gravity."

Clanks didn't answer, and so I continued without pause. "Black holes are the strongest centers of gravity in the universe. Anything and everything that falls into one is eventually crushed, broken down, and turned into the smallest bits of matter that creation can...well, create. So, I have an idea."

I grabbed a piece of paper and started to write down what I was talking about: a little version of the dome, a black hole, the gravitational pull, etc. All the stops.

"So, this is us, and this is the black hole. At first, the wrap-around is gonna be slow, yawn-inducing. But the closer we get to the singularity, the faster we're gonna go, and the more energy that's gonna be surrounding us. What I need to do is start building up my magic when we're at the outer edge, and keep building it up until we reach the event horizon."

"How will we know if we reach the event horizon?"

Glancing around, I inspected the glass window that created and completed the dome, observing it carefully, before turning back to Clanks and giving him the answer.

"If universal physics are any indication...we'll be in the event horizon when the glass starts to crack." Clanks immediately started to look at the dome himself, taking in my words. "After that, we'll have about five seconds before we hit the singularity. Those five seconds are all the time we need for this to work."

"Why?" he asked. "What will you do in those five seconds?"

"If I time it right, and I release all the energy from my magic at the exact moment the glass shatters, not only will we be zapped back into the past, but we'll also be free from the dome's dimensional plating, meaning..." I let him finish for me.

"We'll be inside the universe."

"Exactly!" I answered with a smile. Planting a hoof into the ground, I let out a burst of magic that pushed us into the direction of the coordinates Clanks gave me of a nearby black hole. I didn't want to waste any large amounts of energy teleporting us there, because I simply wouldn't have enough time to prepare, and...well.

"Now, with the coordinates you gave me, and at the speed we're going, I say we've got about," I said, pausing only for a moment to do the calculations in my head, "...two hours before we reach the black hole. If I take it easy, I should have more than enough energy to do my magic...no pun intended."

"What will you do for the next two hours?"

"Me? Well...I'm gonna go read."

"Read what?"

"There's something I need to...check."

I wasn't far from the truth. Leaving Clanks to relax out here, I went back inside the Library and started to wander down all of the halls until I found what I was looking for, the section that said 'Equis.'

To think at one point, I forgot the name of my own home world. Only now I remember why.

The shelves under the entire section were full, almost like they could be overfilled. But they all fit just right, for the planet and those living on it ran its course long ago. Would that technically mean I was the last of my kind? I pushed the thought out of my head and pulled out the book I read a long time ago and never dared to take out again.

'The Life of Starlight Glimmer.'

I fell in love with her. I didn't try to hide that thought when I realized that. Maybe a part of me thought the way I fell in love with her was wrong, but the rest of me didn't choose to care. I thought I would've loved Twilight so much more if I read her book. But it was when I read her book that I realized we could never be together the way that I hoped. For a while, it hurt, but I came to understand that and accept it. Should I have waited?

I opened Starlight's book. I didn't read some of the contents - when it was about Starlight, it was all about her - but I read only what I wanted to know that even Twilight wanted to know, her history and the life she lived...even the part after I disappeared. It was the one way I could have ever interacted with the real world.

But today, I skipped to the final page, the one page I dreaded and hated. 'Death,' it read. There was one single photo on the page, a photograph of Starlight when she was an elderly mare. I had a hard time believing it. I knew Starlight when she was just a few years younger than Twilight. To think the day would come before it did that I would see her as an old mare, wrinkles, frail muscles...

I read one of the excerpts.

"Starlight Glimmer's final hours were spent in anguish, fear, and sadness. As her body failed her mind, she experienced hallucinations and traumatic memories that came back to haunt her after years of isolation. In her final hour, her grandchildren attempted to calm her and keep her at peace, but she refused to stay silent, breaking down into tears and crying even as the pain began to take hold."

It hurt to read the next line. She mentioned me.

"Where are you...? Where did you go? What did I do?"

I looked at the picture of her and rested a hoof on it, stifling a sniffle and keeping a tear from falling again.

"I'm right here, Starlight," I said to the picture. "I've been here this whole time. I'm right here. And I swear...I'm coming home. I promise."

"Starlight Glimmer fell into a coma soon after and passed away at the age of 91, surrounded by friends and family. She never married. Her body was laid to rest in the Canterlot Honor Cemetery. The stallion in question remains missing to this day."

We'll see about that.

* * * *

I read over the books and the parchment, doing some final preparations, because I knew there were no second attempts.

Two hours came and went like they were two minutes, and before I knew it, the black hole became visible. At the speed we were going, it would be another minute or two before its gravity would start to pull us in.

I'd never been close enough to a black hole before to really see what it was like. The sight was really something. It was exactly as they called it: a black, circular hole that was truly the meaning of black. It seemed to be blacker than the abyss of former space. The only reason that I could even see it was due to the light still surrounding it.

"What is that?" Clanks asked me.

"That is the leftover energy from whatever stars used to be here," I answered. "Half of the energy is immediately sucked into the singularity, but the rest just revolves around the outer edge, like a maelstrom, just slowly falling into the darkness. Right there is the energy of entire stars and supernovas and gamma rays. It's more than enough energy."

"Why is the energy required again?"

"The dome can absorb my magic, and with my magic, it can absorb energy nearby, but it's never enough to make any noticeable impact on the outside. Because all that energy is packed up tightly together, if I time it just right, I can power up the entire dome and not only light it up like a Hearth's Warming tree...but I can turn it into its own time machine."

"Do you believe it will work?"

I didn't answer straight away. But I was confident.

"Yes," I eventually answered. "I'm not entirely sure if it will work exactly as I predict, but I believe it can."

"Are you sure you wish to try this particular method?" he then asked me. "We could find a less harmful way-"

"No, we can't," I reminded him. "We just saw the last star in the universe explode. Granted, it was pretty fun, but...the point is, Clanks, that this is our only shot. If we wait until the last black hole rots away, then we'll be stuck in the dark forever." I turned away from him and looked over to the black hole. "And then I'll never see my friends again."

It was quiet. The dome rumbled and creaked as we neared our destination. I let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry," I told him, "I just want to go home."

"It's okay."

"It's been so long."

Clanks rested a metallic hoof on my shoulder. "I know."

Suddenly, the entire dome lurched forward a bit, as it finally entered the black hole's gravitational pull. We had a minute at best. Truly no turning back.

"Okay," I said, "no distractions. Here we go. You ready?"

"I'm ready."

Closing my eyes, I started to concentrate on building up my magic. In a matter of seconds, I could feel the sensation start to flow throughout my body; it was a familiar feeling, but the feeling that wasn't all too familiar was the build up. The tension rose with every second that passed, with every bit closer to the black hole that we got. I opened my eyes again just to see how close we were.

Then, once we were close, the shape of the light around us, of reality itself, began to bend and contort. Some of the light moved one way, while the rest moved the other way. It was hard to describe it, really, but it was something the likes of which I have never seen before in my entire life. Even Clanks found himself baffled and amazed.

Thirty seconds.

As space-time continued to distort around us and the black hole grew closer, I continued to build my magic, letting it build further and further, until I could even feel my eyes begin to glow - but I could only feel it, not see it.

The dome began to creak and rumble as the force of gravity outside began to increase, and started to take its toll on the inter-dimensional 'vehicle.' The Library, even with its doors shut tight, howled in pain as its contents started to strain. Interestingly, the very structure itself seemed to hold on, to persist greatly.

And then we approached the event horizon. There was no further warning.

The glass began to crack, and the structure of the entire dome, inside and out, started to creak and rumble. The place shook as it tried to hold itself together, only to start falling apart. Gravity began to whirl sound around, only intensifying by the second. The lights of the sky enclosed us in a tube and started to come down upon us, while they fell away against the black horizon.

Finally, in a single, split moment in time, the glass of the dome shattered, coming down upon us, the Library began to force itself down, and I unleashed every torrent of energy I had across the dome. With leftover instinct, Clanks fell to the ground and flinched, only to find that he was still alive. He stared with a robotic look of surprise as he observed his surroundings.

The trees were still in place, the grass was still just as green, the Library remained intact, only cracked and damaged. The glass that once protected us from the universe now lay all around us, broken into several pieces and, if you looked at it one way, appeared invisible.

I let out a pained grunt as the magic coursed through me, and through me, filling the library with life and power that it had never seen before. I could feel every star, every nova, everything the black hole had destroyed, and with a single scream, I unleashed it upon us, and a white flash zapped through us, its beams flashing out through the darkness.

And then, as if in a single frame of time, I was elsewhere. The sheer force of my arrival knocked over several bystanders, tents and pop-up shops in the region. Windows were shattered, doors were blown in, and the sound of nearby beings screamed in surprise and shock. I didn't even have to see it - I just had to hear it.

Another grunt left my lips as I gripped my head with a single hoof, falling to the ground. It took only a second to register that I was on grass; I could feel the material touch my hooves, the pebbles of rocks and mixed gravel rubbing against them. It blew in the wind.

Wind...how much I missed it.

I opened my eyes, suddenly having a moment of clarity. I was surrounded by buildings, many of them homes. All around me were ponies, animals, collapsed shops and broken glass. Everyone looked at me like I was something different, like I was - in all sense of the word - entirely alien.

"Where am I?" I whispered to myself.

All it took was simply looking up and out, into the distance, to understand. Standing far away, visible to my eyes, the Castle of Friendship.

"Ponyville," I said.

I looked around, and all of the features of the town Ponyville became familiar and noticeable once again. Sugarcube Corner, Quills And Sofas, Ponyville Cafe, Carousel Boutique...

Pinkie Pie...Rarity...Starlight.

"I'm home."

And like that, the clarity was gone, and the darkness was back again...it just wasn't the same abyss - thankfully.