A Glimmer of Hope: Reborn

“I kinda miss the crazy sparkle butt,” Matt sighed as he shifted through yet another book. “This one’s nice but, I’m always thinking she’s gonna pull a fast one on us and I’ll be back on an operating table with my beating heart in her hoof.”

A week had passed since their formal meeting with the princesses. While they couldn’t leave the castle quite yet out of bureaucratic reasons the last time a foreign “invader” had come to Equestria, they did have free roam of the various rooms and corridors. He figured since there was nothing else to do until Friday, when the rest of the Elements would come over to help Twilight try to find a way to bring Nick back, he could at least try to speed up the process.

Ivy was helping too, her compassion for Twilight’s heartache encouraging her to try and get this world to how it SHOULD be. This was her second chance, another shot at trying to fix Equestria.

“You’d think Twilight would have a section over summoning rituals and the like,” she mused, as she closed another book with a yawn, stretching out. Her tail knocked over a stack of thankfully already read books, causing her to giggle. The pile was quickly straightened out by teal magic, a lilac colored hoof entering the doorway.

“Well like you learned in our meeting last week,” Starlight walked in, carrying a tray of sandwiches, some glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. Surprisingly for her, she was used to and on rather friendly terms with the pair at this point, most likely from interaction with them every day. Then again, with everything she had witnessed until now, she was sure there would be nothing really that would throw her off guard anymore than meeting these two. “Summoning magic isn’t really supported here, which is lame, but I guess for good reason. You two have been at this for a while. Why not take a break for lunch?”

Both of them perked up at the mention of food. That was another motivator for the pair, better than whatever they got while imprisoned. It was strong enough to even soften Matt’s demeanor , but only slightly he’d always add on to that admittance. Placing their books down, they went to join the unicorn at a nearby table.

“Twilight still trying to get the Tree to talk?” Matt inquired as he took a sandwich, biting into it crudely.

Starlight sighed and nodded, pouring herself a glass of lemonade. “Not to blame you two, but once she started realizing that the Tree of Harmony was behind almost everything that has happened, she’s dedicated herself to try and reach out. At one point she broke down in hysteria and tears, begging for Nick to come back. I had no choice but to give her a tranquilizer, with the help and blessing from Tempest of course. She hasn’t eaten in days...” she trailed off, worry and lack of sleep showing themselves on her face.

The two slightly nodded in understanding, a solemn silence falling over all of them. Minutes passed as they all thought about what they were missing in this mystery. They knew that Matt and Ivy being here meant that something was meant to happen, and the Tree seemed to only speak truths from what happened so far.

Ivy grimaced and slapped her hand against the table in anguish, startling the other two and almost knocking over the pitcher.

“Ivy what the hell???” Matt glared at her.

“This can’t be it!” she sobbed, tears flowing down from under her mask. “Not all over again!!”

“I don’t follow,” Starlight looked at the lamia out of concern.

“Being helpless, useless!” Ivy continued. “Starting off thinking that we’re going to do good only to find out that we’ve hit a dead end!! Why??? Why was Nick able to complete what he was tasked with but not us?? Are we not determined enough? Strong enough? If the Tree wanted us to find him, why didn’t it give us a fucking sign or clue?? SOMETHING to get us going in the right direction!!”

“Ivy,” Matt tried to reason with her. He wasn’t too sure what happened to her during her ‘adventure’ but obviously it was just as traumatic to her as his own failure was to him.

“Why do we have to be stuck in this fucking castle!!” She was now blinded by her building anxiety and anger. “Why can’t we be out helping Twilight?!? That poor mare has been through enough! Let US carry some of her burden, it’s the least we could do!”

“Ivy!” Starlight took a forceful tone with her, along with some magic to shake her out of her current state of mind. It worked, as the girl turned her head towards the mare.

Seeing as she got through to her, the unicorn released the magic. “Getting hysterical isn’t helping anyone. I just told you what I had to do with Twilight just to make sure she didn’t hurt herself. I will not hesitate to do the same to you.”

Her threat further pacified Ivy, who was now just crying. Going over to her and handing her a box to tissues, Starlight let go of the breath she’d been holding.

“We’re going to find a way Ivy, ok?” she reassured her. “We always do, no matter how bleak the present looks. Twilight and the other Elements escaped an invasion. WE summoned 6 heroes we thought were lost to … that’s it!!!”

“What’s it?” Matt was now focused on Starlight, mostly due to the loud “squee” noise she made after her epiphany.

“I know how we can bring back Nick! Or at least try to! That tranquilizer I gave Twilight should be wearing off soon! This will probably be the best news we’ve gotten! Why didn’t I think of this… before…” She was about to rush out the door, but just like that, Starlight lost her momentum and was back to previous mood. She remembered what happened the last time such a plan worked.

“You sure you’re alright Starlight?” Matt tilted his head towards her. Maybe it was that time of the month for these two, like hell if he knew.

“Yes… no...I don’t know…” her ears pinned back to her head and she plopped down.

Deciding he’d at least get SOMETHING out of this rollercoaster of emotions, Matt pressed on. “Well can you at least tell us what your great idea was before you decided it didn’t seem to have any merit.”

“Well it was because I didn’t think it was such a good idea at the time we did it either. It turned out I was right but…”

“But?”

“I just don’t know. What if, when we bring Nick back, we bring everything he defeated as well? The creatures of the Everfree, the villains, even Phobetor! All that everyone suffered through, it’d be for naught. I mean we were able to banish the Pony of Shadows, but…”

Ivy and Matt looked at each other in mutual confusion. Apparently there were some things left out that the ponies didn’t tell them.

“So what you’re telling us is, you have been able to bring ponies back from the dead?” Matt bluntly put it out, not sure how else to phrase it.

“Well they weren’t really dead… as a matter of fact, I don’t know what happened to them in Limbo,” Starlight tried to think if this could work out in the end. There were so many pros and cons to trying this again. If only they had contact with the Pillars.

The sound of someone clearing their throat broke them all out of their thoughts. Turning towards the source, they saw that Tempest was standing there, supporting what looked to be a ghoulish Twilight. There were bags under her bloodshot eyes. Mane, tail and fur a mess that accompanied the consequences of neglecting personal hygiene, namely bathing.

While the others flinched at the sight, Tempest stood there slightly unamused that she was the only one looking over Twilight this whole time. She shook it off though, they were all trying to help her as well with what they had been doing.

“Princess Twilight has something to say to you all, although I still think she should save whatever’s left of her voice and get some rest,” she looked to the mare leaning on her with genuine concern and a bit of a motherly look.

“It’s - alright cough Tempest cough,” the alicorn wheezed, trying to get as much air into her lungs as she could. This was important, no matter how much it hurt to talk. She gave them all a weak smile. “You don’t know,” she took a deep breath. “How much I appreciate what you all are doing for me cough.”

The two females smiled while Matt, even despite seeing Twilight in this state, crossed his arms and nodded towards her. She still looked like she had more to say, so they didn’t interrupt.

“Thank you Starlight, for giving me that tranquilizer, although it still was rather sneaky,” she weakly laughed which threw her into a coughing fit. The mare she addressed blushing hard and pinning her ears.

Once she recovered, Twilight shook her head, making her slightly dizzy. “It’s alright. The sleep did do me some good. I had a, well not a dream but more of a vision. I got to see… him again,” she teared up and sniffled at recalling what was probably just what her subconscious wanted to see. Still it seemed more than just that, like Nick actually was speaking to her.

Everyone, including Tempest waited on baited breath for Twilight to continue. “Starlight, you’re right. We need to do what we did with the Pillars again.”

“Not the best performance Clyde, but I think she’s desperate enough to see our hero again, that she believed it.”

“I apologize, benevolent Astris. It has been a while since I’ve taken a mortal form, let alone that of an, ugh, animal.”

“I won’t have you speaking poorly of our chosen one now Clyde, especially since so much depends on him.”

“Why him though? Why not any of those other humans that passed through Limbo. There are other timelines we could go through and alter.”

“That is the whole point Clyde. We didn’t have to interfere in this one, he made all his decisions himself, just like the others. Also he was able to topple Phobetor. If we play our hand too early, well…”

“She’ll catch on and could turn him against us. I understand now,” he lowered his head. “I again humbly apologize for doubting your decisions, goddess.”

“It matters not Clyde. All we have to ensure is that we get to that one event where it is too late to go back. After that, well, I suppose we shall see how everything goes down.”