Blue.
It surrounded her like an endless field of seas- like the skies had lowered themselves, gracing everything with its everlasting vastness. Her body felt like that of a bird's, her wings like small feathers, falling steadily... and steadily... and steadily. Every passing shade of blue contrasted with her purple body, her mane fluttering with little confidence.
Everywhere she looked, blue passed by. And its colors changed, despite how endless the spectrum of blue felt. For it grew darker and darker as she fell deeper and deeper. Truthfully, the blue made her feel relieved, so its decision to slowly fade did not come off as a pleasant thing to her.
The spectrum grew darker...
And eventually, everything had gone dark.
In the darkness, five lights approached her, surrounding her body closely. They stuck closely to her, their glow illuminating her body with red, blue, green, orange, and finally, pink.
She felt... warm. Something warmed her soul, despite feeling alone.
What was it again...?
...
...
...
Twilight's eyes fluttered open groggily.
A peaceful sky blue greeted her. No, it was not the color that greeted her, but the feeling of warmth that still remained within her. She could feel it, deep in her beating heart- a soul filled with hopes and dreams for a bright future with everything and everyone she treasured.
It felt nice to do nothing but relax sometimes, actually. Her insistence with reading books or diligently doing her duties in Ponyville often came off as defining traits of hers, but once in a while, putting everything aside for a moment of quiet felt immensely satisfying. Unknowingly holding her breath, she stared at the soft, dark blue above.
Stars sparkled in Twilight's eyes, their form painting the dark blue gradient in her vision. It was only after a few seconds had passed did she finally sigh.
What... am I doing here?
A thought struck her. She must have been doing something to end up in such an oddly foreign area. She had seen stars countless of times, yes, but the air felt different from Ponyville's homely aura. What had she...?
Oh.
Right.
Twilight had a sudden fever- one she had not expected- and collapsed. Where she had exactly collapsed, her memory failed in remembering for her, but she knew exhaustion had taken its toll on her. Had it been fatigue? She did not know.
There were too many holes gaping in the cloth that was her memory. Just by that alone, she knew something was off.
Pulling at her hooves, she let out a small groan as she pushed herself up. Beneath her lay a field of white mist- almost like clouds, but neither poofy nor familiar to her. A blanket of misty air, condensed only to barely resemble the familiar clouds of Equestria.
Where am I?
As she stood on all four of her hooves, she noticed that absolutely nothing moved. The mist beneath her barely reacted to her hooves, leaving no puffs of mist whenever her hooves pressed against it. All the stars refused to move, only glittering brilliantly in different sizes. And the gradient blue refused to change, keeping its soft, dark hue.
Stepping forward, Twilight looked around the vast, yet seemingly empty world. It all felt like a dream. Most of what she observed did not make sense here, but she also felt her heart pound quite like it normally should- quickly, at the thought of being trapped in somewhere unfamiliar to her without her friends.
"Hello?" She called out, continuing to move forward. "Hellooooooooo?"
At the very least, could Princess Luna be around?
...
Apparently not.
A confused frown replacing the once idly curious one she had earlier, Twilight hastened the pace of her hooves. Not enough to tire herself out, but not too slow, either. In the case that something unpredictable appeared, she had to be ready for the worst occasion.
Her head felt woozy, still. Everything felt like a dream, despite her body itself feeling quite real. She still had her wings and her horn, but aside from that, she-
Oh!
Eyeing her wings, Twilight stretched them. There were her wings, alright.
With the flap of her wings, she took off into the air. Elevating herself up made the world around her seem even odder, however. For one, the skies never felt like they got closer no matter regardless of how high she got. The floor also seemed to move away from her ever so slowly, no matter how quickly she flew up.
Was it that she was slow, or the world simply refused to budge much from herself? Either way, her wings felt much, much heavier than usual. Trying to fly after waking up from a bad condition might not have been the brightest of ideas.
Ears drooped as she realized just how clueless she felt. She closed her eyes and focused on attempting to use magic of some kind, only to find that nothing came to her. Again, and again, she tried, but none of her magic even had the chance to at least start up.
"Hello...?" She tried again, weakly.
Her head still felt fuzzy, her body felt sluggish, and she almost doubted that her eyes saw things correctly. Nothing scary popped up in particular, yet she felt powerless.
If this is a dream, please wake up! Twilight told herself. Please...!
But she didn't.
Lowering herself in the air, she let her hooves press against the white sheet of mist beneath her. Her gaze fell to the mist below her. She kept juggling through ideas, but nothing in mind popped up as the right answer.
Should she keep moving forward? Perhaps, but there was no guarantee of what she could do in this situation. She trotted forward slowly, unsure of what to make of the empty world. The warmth in her heart had faded a little, with a lonely breeze making its way in.
As she lifted her gaze up ever so slightly, the corner of her eye caught something. Her vision darted towards...
...Nothing?
Weird. She swore she saw something glow. Perhaps she was seeing things...?
Again, in the corner of her eye, something moved. She turned quickly, only to be greeted by the usual blue gradient of the starry skies.
"H-Hello?" Twilight asked. "Is anypony there?"
Stars, stars, and sparkles. None moved- all except a few. Twilight blinked as she squinted, only to find a couple of stars sparkling and moving in the infinite gradient.
She then realized these sparkles were much closer than she thought them to be. Before long, she found herself backing to the side as the trail of small glittering stars moved right past her.
"Um," She began, wondering how she should refer to the unknown entity. "Do you understand me, perhaps?"
Silence.
Silence.
Silence...
...but the chime of a small bell answered her silence.
"M-My name is Twilight Sparkle!" The alicorn continued, feeling a surge of hope returning to her as she spoke. "I do not come to harm anypony- would you please hear me out?"
Please!
Gulping, she saw the trail of stars stop abruptly. The last of the glitters faded as they approached to where it had stopped.
Then, a soft light emitted, blanketing Twilight's eyes in a pristine white. She covered them with a hoof, only lowering it when she could see the dark blue gradient in the corner of her eye once more.
And before her was a figure she could not recognize.
What appeared to be a bipedal creature came into view, though it was unlike anything she had seen. Possessing a thin body with long legs covered in clothes that almost seemed like that of a performer's, its hands and head were disconnected- floating, as if its wrists and neck were invisible. Its fairly spherical head had a beige tint with a puffy blue hat worn on it, with a scarf leaving behind glittering stars wherever it went.
It looked nothing like any bipedal species she had seen before, despite some physical similarities.
Leaving behind a beautiful glitter of light, the two-legged being leaned forward, its long eyelashes moving up to reveal the mesmerizing pair of pristine blue. It stared at Twilight Sparkle with what appeared to be a big wide smile. Despite what appeared to be some kind of face paint marking the being's face, Twilight could tell that it bore no sign of hostility.
Its face was written with pure amusement.
Glancing to her side, Twilight stared at the floating entity. Not knowing what to refer to it, she opened her mouth to speak, fervently thinking over what to say.
"May I ask who you are?" She asked first.
Tilting its head, the floating entity's smile widened, its eyes squinting ever-so-slightly. Lying in the air torso down, it kicked its legs up and down, as if it were excited to see Twilight.
Yet, it spoke no words. Opening its mouth, the chime of a light bell rung softly. For some reason, the bell's echo calmed Twilight down, though it didn't help her in understanding what it meant at all.
For now, Twilight decided to give it the very original name of "Bell" in her mind. It didn't seem like it would read her mind and berate her for her originality, anyway. As soon as she thought that, however, the floating being smiled further.
...Please don't tell me it's reading my thoughts, Twilight thought miserably.
"W-Well, it's fine if I don't know your name for now," she said aloud, forcing a smile out of courtesy to the entity's. "If you don't mind, could you tell me where I am?"
At this, "Bell" closed its eyes... laughing. One chime after another, five chimes of a bell rung from the floating being. It sounded so happy, Twilight couldn't tell whether to laugh with her or feel offended.
Floating down to Twilight, the being peered into the alicorn's eyes. Despite its warm gaze, Twilight recoiled slightly, not knowing what to feel about the mysterious being. After all, she knew nothing about it aside from the fact that it existed, and seemed to find Twilight amusing.
A few seconds passed with their gaze locked to one another. A nervous gaze, an amused one, and the endless skies with nopony to watch the two. It sounded like a nightmare on paper.
Then, it lent a hand.
For most of her life, the particular gesture of lending a hoof wasn't unfamiliar. Yet, the hand with five fingers extended towards her made her thoughts roll frantically. Could she trust this entity? Could she trust the "Bell"? Its intentions didn't seem bad, after all...
...Twilight Sparkle, the alicorn thought without a trace of amusement, stop setting yourself up for the biggest jinx of your life.
Glancing around one more time, she timidly raised a hoof.
It eventually pressed against the palm of the being's hand.
A surge of warmth entered Twilight's body as "Bell" wrapped its hand around her hoof. This... isn't a bad feeling, Twilight admitted to herself, almost falling into a daze at just how fuzzy she felt. For a moment, it felt as if she woke up from a pleasant dream. Her daze didn't last long, however, as she soon found herself being pulled into the air gently.
"Huh? Oh, um, I can fly with you, though I'm not sure how long I can fly for," Twilight said.
She didn't even know as to where "Bell" wanted to go.
Then again, there weren't many choices Twilight had.
As the being elevated itself up to the skies, it steadily brought Twilight closer and closer to itself. And, closing its mesmerizing eyes, it gently wrapped its arms around the alicorn.
Had it... hugged her?
Why is Bell hug-
A moment later, a blast of air suddenly rammed into Twilight's face. Utterly surprised, the alicorn closed her eyes instinctively, only barely able to peek them open eventually. With its arms wrapped around her, "Bell" suddenly launched itself at an extreme speed that definitely seemed like a parallel to Rainbow Dash's typical speed. A soft, excited chime left "Bell" as it spun once in the air, slowing itself down for Twilight's sake as the skies suddenly turned into an extravagant pink.
With the speed of their flight slowing down, Twilight opened her eyes wider, only to find an unbelievable sight.
Pillars of light were everywhere, shining through pink clouds above and below them. They pulsated with a warm, energetic essence that excited Twilight just by looking at them. Winged creatures of light soared past the light pillars, as if they were valiant phoenixes traveling the skies together. A flower made of orange essence bloomed out of thin air in front of "Bell" and Twilight, letting out a sweet and enticing aroma. All the clouds happened to even look like poofy cotton candy!
Keeping Twilight in its grasp, "Bell" flipped forward twice before pressing its legs against the flower. It then propelled itself towards the clouds above, pushing through the ceiling effortlessly. Twilight shut her eyes again, only to be greeted by another peculiar sight when they opened once more.
Green fields were directly beneath them. Grass! Grass lay everywhere, as if the clouds beneath had never existed. Dozens of giant trees were planted here and there, some of them growing fruits. Apples, oranges, and melons- and dozens and dozens more! At the corner of her eye, Twilight swore she witnessed a tree growing hard-cover books.
What on Equestria is going on? She wondered, completely taken aback at the beautiful scenery passing by. Just moments ago, she wondered if she would be left alone in a desolate world forever. Not all of her memories had even returned yet, but here she was, with the bipedal entity she named "Bell" taking her on a joyride through what could only be described as a dreamy world.
Twilight enjoyed understanding concepts. Discovering the intricate details behind ideas and concepts overjoyed her, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say that it was more than just a hobby to her. Being curious and understanding as much as she could just felt right for her.
She knew nothing of the world surrounding her. It was not Equestria, yet it felt radically positive. Things that even magic could not show commonly surrounded her. Yet, despite understanding none of this...
I... feel happy.
A soft chime echoed from "Bell". Glancing up, Twilight found herself staring at the exotic, yet mysterious being carrying her in its slender arms. What was it? Or rather, who was it?
They began flying above an endless sea of water under the day skies. "Bell" lowered itself as it let one of the tips of its delicate shoes leave behind a streak of blazing cyan, fishes basking in the beautiful water. Twilight felt some of the water splash against her cheek, and "Bell," in all its unspoken courtesy, brushed it with a gloved thumb, keeping her in its embrace.
Stretching its legs, "Bell" spun, and it spun once more! And it spun again and again and again! Like a figure skater proud to present an unseen audience the performance of a lifetime. For "Bell," the entire sea was yet another performing ground. Rainbows popped up here and there every time "Bell" pulled off a stunt, and "Bell" began to chime happily at the sixth rainbow.
Despite all the spinning, Twilight lacked the usual nausea one would expect from such actions. Instead, the world changed color every time "Bell" spun, until eventually, a luscious purple came to view.
And as the spinning stopped, so had the presence of the seas. Instead, "Bell" walked like a fashion model, crossing its legs in every step it made. Monumental, jagged diamonds surrounded the two as Twilight found herself being carried down a runway. She blinked when she noticed that she now wore some kind of frilly dress, though "Bell" itself seemed to remain exactly the same as it had before. Cameras crafted out of gemstones flashed rapidly at their direction, the flashes colored in brilliantly different colors.
Ruby and sapphire. Emerald and amethyst. Rose quartz and carnelian. More and more flashes painted the walkway, until eventually, it turned into that of brilliant opal!
Yet there wasn't much of an audience, present. Twilight looked up, only to find "Bell" pouting as some kind of string lowered itself down. With a firm grip, the bipedal entity pulled on it, killing the lights.
A brief silence returned.
And the sound of the lights being turned on clicked.
Having instinctively closed her eyes, Twilight opened them, only to be greeted with passing clouds above her. She lay on her back, with "Bell" nowhere to be seen. Scrambling back onto her hooves, Twilight looked around, realizing that she was on a giant eagle. She could see a bunny eating carrots next to a bear eating honey. She could see a praying mantis sitting on top of a sleeping tiger's nose! They all sat across her, minding their own business and seemingly respecting each other's, though they paid her no attention.
Had eagles always been colored blue and dressed oddly, though?
...Uh-
At that moment, a familiar chime entered her ears. A moment later, Twilight found her eyes locked into the eagle's head, which had turned slightly to see Twilight. Its eyes were a brilliant blue, with a certain mesmerizing touch to it.
"Wha- You can transform too?!"
Another chime rang from the eagle as it turned back to face the front.
An eye twitched as Twilight Sparkle gave up on trying to make sense of what had just happened within a few minutes.
What was the purpose all of this?
She knew nothing, really. "Bell" showed her an exuberant, pink, warm world, a field full of trees growing fruits and books of all things, a sea full of rainbows and life they had passed with high speed stunts, and a light show in the guise of a fashion runway. And now she was on top of a giant eagle- which turned out to be "Bell"- with a bunch of creatures living in harmony.
Lying down rather uncomfortably, Twilight took a deep breath and let out her longest sigh yet.
...
...
...
...Though...
...it kind of reminds me of them.
...Them?
All of a sudden, everything vanished.
The world turned into a blank void, with nothing to entertain or amuse her with. Instead, Twilight found herself lost in her thoughts, wondering what she meant.
Them.
Right, she had friends. They were friends she could never bring herself to replace with anypony else. Friends who stuck with her through her hardest times, and the happiest of them all.
Her eyes widened as something came back to her.
"Twilight, wake up!"
"Oh, this is the worst! This really IS the worst...!"
"E-Everyone! Let's pipe down, for a sec!"
"But- But Twilight, she's...! We gotta do somethin', now!"
"Please, wake up, Twilight!"
"WAKE UP!"
Twilight gasped.
And so did "Bell," it seemed. A soft chime left it once more, its gaze piercing into Twilight's yet again. No more did it have the body of a massive eagle- it had turned back into the bipedal form she had seen earlier, sitting in a hunched manner as it stared at Twilight curiously.
They were now on an old stone-tiled platform with bright blue skies of day surrounding them. Everything that had just happened was certainly not just an illusion. Her mane had been flowing wildly in discord, which led to it looking rather disheveled, and Twilight still felt the adrenaline from all the places she had seen.
Twilight looked up at "Bell," who only tilted its head.
Another soft chime left it.
"My friends..."
That's right.
She hadn't collapsed of fatigue. Something had hit her head really hard. Twilight highly doubted that any of Pinkie Pie's contraptions could hit her THAT hard intentionally, so she gave her friends the benefit of doubt for being the reason she had collapsed.
But if it wasn't them, then what hit her?
She couldn't remember what exactly did, however. But...
Turning to "Bell," Twilight Sparkle found herself staring at the odd entity. She wasn't even sure of whether to call it a creature or not anymore. But all of the places she had been brought to- they were all surprisingly familiar to her, despite having seen them the first time.
Which led her to a curious thought.
Was it possible that "Bell"...?
...
No, Twilight thought to herself. It has to be...
Looking up to "Bell," who sat politely in front of Twilight, she asked,
"Were you... reminding me of my friends?"
It blinked at her. For a moment that felt like forever, Bell's gaze met Twilight's once more- only this time, the alicorn's gaze was not of nervousness, but rather, genuine curiosity.
A wide smile grew in its face as it tilted its head to the other direction.
So she knows who I am...
Chaotic? Yes, it was all too chaotic. For a moment, she almost felt like she'd be lost in the chaos forever, but the reality was that it only lasted for a few minutes.
Getting back up on her four hooves, Twilight tried to think of something to say. At the moment, there was only one thing she could think of for this mysterious being.
Smiling back, Twilight spoke with genuine appreciation,
"Thank you very much."
And quite the reaction it brought out of "Bell," it did. A chime, and another chime, followed by lighter and lighter chimes as the mysterious entity clasped her hands, pressing them against its tilted head. It seemed delighted and content with Twilight's response.
What could she say? Twilight herself felt grateful to "Bell." What could have ended up being a nightmarish fever dream turned into a marvel of colors in a dreamlike experience that led her to remember how she fell unconscious. Better something good than something terrible.
Standing up as well, "Bell" stood with the tips of its two feet. It raised a hand as it closed its eyes. In one steady motion, it drew an imaginary circle in front of itself, and a blazing circle of pure light drew into existence behind its slender form. Within the boundaries of the circle was a familiar town Twilight confidently called her home.
"Ponyville!" Twilight gasped in delight. "Bell," she began, no longer hiding the name she referred to the entity with, "How did you- no, more than that! I will be able to return to my home with this, correct?"
Maintaining its wide smile, "Bell" closed its eyes as it provided a gentle nod. Twilight pranced up and down joyously, exploding with happiness at the prospect of not being stuck here. All the implications that stated otherwise up to that point just scared her quite a bit, but what more did she have to worry about anymore?
"Thank you so much, Bell!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"
As she approached the portal, a giddy feeling rose up in her heart. Every trot felt like it erased whatever doubts she had left in being hopeful again. A few steps before the portal, however, she froze.
Turning behind her, Twilight glanced at Bell's direction. It simply faced her, slowly waving with a small smile.
Oh, right.
For a moment, she forgot that she still knew nothing of "Bell." Apparently she almost forgot that this was her first time meeting the mysterious being, though it hadn't done anything to clarify its identity.
An odd feeling bubbled in her heart as she trotted back to the bipedal entity.
"Um, Bell?"
Perking up at Twilight referring to it again, the entity stopped waving and gave the alicorn a patient smile.
"It'd be wonderful if we can meet again." Twilight admitted, though her smile was that of hopeful curiosity. "Will I be able to see you again, perhaps?"
At this, "Bell" put up a thoughtful look. It tapped a finger against its round chin a couple of times before its expression practically screamed "Eureka!"
Raising a hand, "Bell" snapped its fingers, causing an ocarina to pop out of nowhere. Plucking it out of the air, it reached out and lightly tapped Twilight's horn with the instrument. In a flash, the ocarina vanished. Confused as to what just happened, Twilight shook her head as she blinked rapidly for a moment, as if she woke up from a daze.
Looking back up, Twilight found "Bell" opening its mouth as it let out a series of chime. A low note, a high note, and a balanced note. And again, a low note, a high note, and a balanced note.
Much to her own surprise, Twilight heard her own voice whisper to herself,
Euneiro.
And with that, it tapped its head with a finger, winking at Twilight.
Euneiro? Twilight blinked, staring at the elegant being before her. That's the closest thing that could resemble its- no, their identity.
While she still had no idea what Euneiro was exactly supposed to be, judging by their name, they had something to do with dreams after all. Perhaps just not in the way Twilight imagined. Calling Euneiro an "it" started to not sit well with her mind, especially with how the extent they went to help her was almost colossal.
Euneiro must be telling me to call them with a flute? Twilight concluded, though she remained unsure about the thought. Before she could think about it any further, however, she felt the entity lift her body up yet again with their two gloved hands.
With a friendly, warm smile, Euneiro gave Twilight another hug. This time, however, they clearly had no intentions in blasting right into the skies again.
Ponies weren't wrong when they say smiles are contagious. In the end, Twilight herself smiled as she hugged Euneiro back. As they broke away, Euneiro walked over to the portal. Each step felt light, yet meaningful.
And as gently as they had met her, Euneiro let Twilight go into the portal, bidding her farewell.
A sweet farewell from the confusing, yet fascinating world it had shown her.
Author's Note
Behind-The-Scenes 1
