???????
???????

In hindsight, she really should have expected something like this.

The laws of magic and energy meant they couldn't simply be destroyed after all. They had to go somewhere.

All the same, even if she'd had time to learn about what could happen, this probably wasn't what she had expected.

Twilight could see nothing but a dim whiteness around her, stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. There was no point of reference for where anything was. Yet her hooves felt solid ground underneath them. Her body was as damaged as it had been at the tomb, yet she felt no pain. No bodily needs, no stimulation against her coat. When she looked down though, she could still see her chest and legs, feel them as she rubbed them against each other. There was nothing to indicate exactly what state she was in, yet she knew in her gut that she wasn't actually dead.

At a guess, the final effect of her spell had gone slightly differently to her intent. In the heat of the moment, there had simply been no time to think of what else she could have done. With how much magic had been involved and the way it hung in the air, it had to have been incredibly powerful. It wasn't impossible that she had been shifted into an alternate plane of existence, or even accidentally created a sort of pocket dimension. Whatever it was though, she knew she was stuck in her own personal limbo for now.

Twilight slowly turned in a full circle, looking for any sign of variance in the landscape. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing around, above or below her. In a way, she could consider that a blessing. It meant there would be no distractions while she worked on finding a way out of here. This limbo had been created by her magic. It was entirely possible that she could manipulate it, maybe even find a way to return to Equestria through it. Where and when were questions she couldn't answer right now. Of course, there was also the other reason she couldn't go immediately.

Her horn glowed with its familiar aura and with a mental flick, it pulsed brighter as the world around her shifted from white to black. That told her all she needed to know about her control over this space. After several seconds the glow momentarily shifted to a pale orange before a spark of the same colour shot off in front of her. An aqua one followed, sparking to the side instead. For several seconds her magic flashed rapidly, more sparks of every colour firing off all around her. She didn't even need to look to see how many there were. Sixty-two. One for each lekli present at the Tomb of the Gods.

By the time she let her magic settle, the 'floor' around her was illuminated with all their glows. Standing before her, all around her, were the spectral forms of the fallen alicorns. Under regular circumstances the sight would have been incredibly intimidating. While their physical statures varied, from lithe stallions a head shorter than her to a twelve foot tall beast with so much muscle it was hard to determine their gender, they were all equally conscious now. Thankfully, in their current state they were incapable of harming her or attempting to jump into her body. Especially when she effectively controlled the universe around them.

"So...That's that then."

Caligo's voice was like ice to Twilight's ears. She looked forward to see him stepping toward her, the other lekli looking toward him too. His body was still the same form as when he had during their showdown and his aura now flickered between orange and silver. The sight felt like an insult to her, and to Sunset Shimmer's memory, but she simply stared back at him without giving any hint of her feelings.

"I hope you can live with genocide on your conscience," He continued, managing to stare her down without an actual body. "The question now is, what happens now?"

"What happens now?" A voice whispered from somewhere behind her. Others joined in, one after the other, their voices becoming a constant hiss.

"What happens now?!"

"What happens...Now?"

"What happens now?"

Twilight could see them moving to surround her, their voices slowly becoming more threatening as they closed in. She didn't even blink. She could influence the space around them that her magic had created. While she couldn't exactly harm them either, she could keep things under control. With a simple thought she cast a barrier around herself and rapidly expanded it. The lekli were pushed back several dozen feet before stopping, falling silent as they were repulsed. They all glared coldly at her, yet none tried to resume their threats.

She could tell that they still had some power, but none were strong enough to attempt anything at present. That would have to be the first half of what happened next: Finding a way to neutralise the strength of the lekli once and for all. She couldn't well return home with their threat still lingering. The second half would likely be even harder. Finding a way to safely escape or dispel this limbo she had placed herself into, and returning to Equestria and her friends. These would potentially be the most trying tests to her magic she had ever faced. But unlike the trap she had placed herself in these last few weeks, she had every faith she would succeed.

She had her memories of her friends and loved ones to keep her going.

She had a clear, challenging goal with no distractions to keep her focused.

And she had all the time she needed to figure it out.

Twilight allowed herself to smile as she sat down and closed her eyes, horn glowing faintly as she reached out through her magic, trying to learn as much as she could about the space. There were worse ways to spend her time trapped here. And she was certain that she would see everypony again. When the time was right.

One day.

The end

Author's Note

On October 1st 2015 at 10:16 pm, I began work on what would become the Quickverse.

On December 7th 2018 at 11:37 pm, the final piece was completed and now, slightly behind schedule, it's all uploaded.

So ends what I would tentatively dub the 'First season' of the Quickverse. I still have quite a few ideas rattling around for S2, but between the stresses of writing constantly for so long (multiple burnouts included) and G4 of pony starting to wind down, I couldn't say with any certainty if it would be written. I'll lay the ideas out at a later date so that there's something to come back to if I go ahead, but for now...

I want to genuinely thank every single reader I've had. You guys and girls have been the reason I wanted to keep telling this story, in the hope that I kept putting a smile on someone's face as they read. From those of you who responded positively enough to get one or two stories on the popular list, to those who just stuck around long enough to leave a downvote. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.

I still have one or two actual stories still to write, only semi-related to the Quickverse at best. For now though, I'm taking a rare break that I think I've earned. Hopefully I'll see you all again sometime. Quick Fix, out.