Author's Note

Ah, you've made to the final chapter of Fireflower's fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before, a Mature one no less on the grounds this chapter deals with heavy subject matters proven to be unsuitable for those ––– you know what? Fk it; you've made it this far so there's no use in me repeating what I'd said before in the regarding the stuff I had y'all read since December.

That being said, I want to say thanks again for putting up with my story this year, especially if you been reading the prequels as well since years ago: I honestly wished that I could have done this sooner, let alone finish it; of course, this chapter was the hardest because I was expecting to keep it short like the others but the length was too much for me to ignore considering its potential.

One last thing before I sign off, I want to let y'all know since I've gone back to writing Twilight again, I had to rely on some media for some inspiration, especially since this will be about what she'd to go through but don't fret: it'll all be over soon enough, seeing that we all happen to like her as she were; besides, this ending will be very special and with good reason no less, like before but comforting.

Dawn

An absolute absence of light currently dominated the otherwise almost colorless environment; of course, it didn’t mean it was lonely or without some semblance of substance or sound in the very least. Even so, there was almost no way whatsoever it was either a solid vision of terrain or even the earthly ground to say thereof; not helping matters was the endless legato of wind mixing in with rain. Only the sea of countless fluids was there, being easily translucent due to the lack of solidarity concerning whatever compounds therein coexisting amongst each other despite the flotsam and jetsam. Nevertheless, the very dangers themselves were already still ubiquitous overall because of these minimal traits, lacking of both safety and security while seemingly filled to the brim with endless freedom.

Trapping within the dark oceanic terrain was a lonely individual floating about, all four limbs pointing downward to their collective owner’s ignorance. The very occupant in question had some dark skin which possessed a feminine structure, with the complexion and texture of herbs and spices fit for a meal. A set of multicolored locks made their way from the very darkness thereof, providing some form of illumination with only hues of sapphire, plum, and rose. Even though she wasn’t moving on her own free will, her eyelids were barely open, flashing a pair of amethyst orbs circumnavigating about so to speak. Worn over the female’s body, a rose red dress with hot pink accents were matching her slippers and star; in addition, she donned a pearl crown of flowers.

“Shining, you must marry me…” a feminine voice instantaneously traveled throughout the very fluid but it didn’t even belong to her at all.

As bubbles of air had escaped from the corporeal woman, another ethereal voice, this time now masculine, quickly replied, “I can’t…!”

“Marry me…!” the first voice echoed back already, “you want to continue our bloodlines, don’t you…? Then, you’ll have to marry me…”

“Hah…!” the second echo gasped about.

The primary voice spoken out with calm comfort, “Princess Amore’s legacy will always be with Equestria, let alone its subjects; after all, if it weren’t for her, then we may as well not exist at all, or at least as we are… Don’t be sad, Shiny: I’m certain that we’ll meet her again someday, all of us will; besides, she’s the whole reason for the occasion and it’s what she would’ve wanted…”

It didn’t take long for the lonely individual’s eyes to widen about, forced to see an abundance of fluid pouring right into her body at once; as a result, she’d was gasping for oxygen even as it’d escaping from her orifices, quickly coming to terms with the situation at hand. The corporeal woman had wasted no time whatsoever searching for a clear path to escape the enclosing threat of drowning, swimming upwardly in a rampant determination as soon as she’d seen the light directly above her station reflecting about with a brighter color. Sure enough, she’d found what had been desperately need upon awakening: no longer was she assaulted by the excess achromatic liquid, though her respirations had yet to cease being erratic; even the relief that came to pass wasn’t enough to deter her suspicions overall.

“Fuck…!” the corporeal woman heaved as she was frantically searching for a place resembling of dry land within the darkness, the few stars above her acting as her guide, “how did I end up here of all places: this doesn’t look like anyplace that I know of, let alone on the map of Equestria; on the other hand, it seems that I’m in a river but which one and where…?”

“Shiny…” a feminine voice was now heard entering the atmosphere as well as the listener’s airspace at once.

This had prompted the corporeal woman to look around for the source of it all, only to find nothing of proper substance; as such, she was a little frustrated but still kept her focus on staying up as she cerebrated about, “Shiny… what’s so shiny about this place…? The only thing that’s shiny are some stars but not that many; down here are some rocks and water, nothing more, nothing less…”

“Shiny…” the distant voice had spoken again as its listener was on the lookout for a solid terrain to latch onto, “Shiny…”

“Hmm… come to think of it, what if that voice was referring to my brother: who else happens to be called by that nickname, besides my family; if that’s the case, then where are they… where is he…?” the corporeal woman now ruminated as she’d happened to be now paddling about in search of the other speaker straightaway.

As she was swimming across the fluid surface of her own uncharted territory, she was calm on the outside but thinking all throughout beyond the time: her attempts to abandon loneliness, if at all proved to be successful yet she’d not been so put at ease by the stardust memory of a similar monotone voice; because of a singular clue therein, the enigmatic environment grew about too.

The corporeal woman couldn’t resist hearing the same word over and over again while on the move; however, the distant voice grew about in emotions, alternating between laughing and crying with the occasional howl, “oh, Shiny…”

“I don’t like where this is going: is Shining in danger…?” the lonely listener lightly lisped lackadaisically, leering at the lighter landmasses left behind likewise, “either way, I have to get there soon enough…”

“Oh, my little knight, Shining Armor…” the ethereal speaker lilted before laughing softly again.

At this point, the corporeal woman’s ears were assaulted by sensuous mewling; this left her green in face as she’d struggled to control her reflexes: of them, she’d swallowed some surmounting substances back down her throat and gagged, “didn’t expect to hear this all of the sudden; why now though…?”

“Oh, Shiny… you’re so bad but I like it…” the distant voice sighed softly to no one’s comfort if at all, especially the lonely listener herself, “it’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a husband; are you all mine… are you all mine…?”

“Blech…!” the corporeal woman coughed out, letting loose an assortment of lukewarm hues on the liquid area she’d attempted to hold in: as if the chunky salsa of nausea splattered in a wayward cluster wasn’t enough, her struggle to stay afloat meant she was currently surrounded by said discharge, much to its owner’s indignant contempt overall; nevertheless, she’d persisted.

Despite everything, the lonely listener’s ears were treated to the sounds of singing soon enough:

This day was going to be perfect
the kind of day of which I’ve dreamed
since I was small
Everybody had gather ‘round
Said I looked lovely in my gown
What they didn’t know is I’ve been fooled by all…

“That’s Cadance singing; that can’t be right: she’s not even around…” the corporeal woman cerebrated, shaking away the memories of her sickness as she was still back on the search, “still, where is she; what is she doing here: why is she singing…?”

This day was going to be perfect
the kind of day of which I’ve dreamed
since I was small
But instead of having cake
with all my friends to celebrate
My wedding bells, they didn't ring for me at all…

I could care less about the dress
or even partake in any cake
the vows in which we would’ve said
that through any kind of weather
I’d want us to be together
I wonder could he’d care for me at all

The eponymous entity continued, prompting the lonely listener to look.

Though comforting, the corporeal woman remained suspicious, thinking silently about to herself, “if she’s still alive, then why here; could my mind be playing tricks on me: is my shame and guilt coaxing me to accept a false hope within this dream…?”

True bride would love the groom
With all heart within its room
Yet I’d still wanted himself all mine

The ethereal singer continued the aria, voice growing in decibels as its listener swam intrepidly:

Early escape, now it’s all too late
No chance here to save the day
Hope, they’ve been lying as they say,
“we don’t fear this war may be lost
to the ones who’d stop at no cost
Not care for, love, or cherish them each day”

For I’d oh so loved the groom
All my thoughts he’d done consume
Oh, Shining Armor, I’ve been here so soon
Finally the moment had arrived
For me now an unlucky bride
The wedding we didn’t make
His fate has ended up all fake

Shining Armor should’ve been…
mine, all mine…

“It’s so creepy: could this have been the real Cadance; if so, then how I didn’t have noticed it?” the corporeal woman spoke as the laughing grew louder, this time with an echo piercing the air and liquid around the former entity in question.

It wasn’t long until the listener had found what she was looking for, just as her strange journey was at an end; coincidentally, the ethereal voice sang:

This day should’ve been perfect
The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed
since I was small
Everybody’s under control
Every male and female, young, ol’
Such a great girl should’ve gone had it all…

“Finally, dry land…” the corporeal woman cheered softly, climbing out of the fluid almost in an instant before taking a stand keenly, “now then…”

“Do you like it, Twilight Sparkle…?” a tender voice had greeted the titular traveler without any kind of hesitation whatsoever even as the latter was coughing up some water still trapped within her very mouth.

Standing before the eyewitness was a tall woman residing amongst the dead trees and its barren landscape beneath their very feet. Like Twilight, her counterpart had donned a triumvirate of long tresses, albeit of purple, pink and gold curls held in place by a veil. Unlike the darkly skinned woman, the tall denizen was brightly skinned, also bearing some orbs of amethyst over the latter’s grin. Twilight’s correspondent was clothed to the height of elegant fashion in a flowing white dress with some goldenrod accentuation. Speaking of which, the tall woman wore jewelry made up of various metal and gems sparkling about, including one crystal heart.

The darkly skinned observer started to shed a teardrop as she’d ran towards her complementary counterpart, sniffling about, “Cadance, I’m so sorry…!”

“What for, my charge; what do you have to be sorry for…?” the aforementioned denizen had soothed Twilight straightaway, the former’s dress catching the latter’s streams amongst other stuff, “you did nothing wrong…”

“Of course, I have… I mean look at me, Cadance: I’m standing out there in parts unknown with nothing more than a wet red dress and pink glass slippers; if anything, then the fact I’d just had to wade through my own vomit earlier is just only the tip of the iceberg…!” the darkly skinned straggler wept profusely, much to the brighter correspondent’s growing shock and confusion.

Cadance hugged Twilight gently and whispered softly, “it’s okay, Twilight… it’s nothing too serious: I’ll help set us up the campfire while you slide out of your dress; it’s the least I should do…”

“Aren’t you worried that we may not be alone; what if there are voyeurs nearby: worse yet, what if they’re planning to do awful things to us both…?” the darkly skinned straggler had inquired, breaking away from her brighter counterpart’s hug to look around intently, “it’s bad enough we’ve lost you once; I don’t want to see you go again, not any more…!”

“Let me worry about you: I’m more grown than you by virtue of being your former sitter; besides, my auntie didn’t chose me on a whim, you know…” Cadance interjected, snapping Twilight out of the blue.

Calming down, the darkly skinned straggler wasted no time reaching for her back as she’d sighed, “you’re right… I should just relax at little: like I’d said, I’d swam through my own vomit recently so the least I can do is not catch a cold or worse; at least with all this water, it won’t show up for long…”

Almost immediately, Twilight had casted aside her rose red dress, left with only but a pink ensemble of a brassiere, panties, stockings, and garter belt clutching the integuments; considering her undergarments, she’d bore supple bosoms dense like deflated volleyballs yet offset by jagged edges nearby both shoulders with scars and scabs painting a white hot picture of pain and panic.

“I see that you’re still hanging in there: even after what they’d done to you, you’d still lived on; always strong enough to carry through to the bitter end…” the brighter skinned observer commentated about, unfazed by the paradoxical complexion therein so to speak of, “if anything, I should’ve been able to help you out more often; you were my responsibility, for her sake…”

“It’s not like we’d predicted this would happen here and then, especially in Ponyville: all that I’d wanted was to save Fluttershy and look what it’d led us; it’s just that I’d never thought someone would go this far to have me die in a fire, let alone trick me into using a joke fire extinguisher…” Twilight sniffled about as she sat down before Cadance.

The tall woman joined her shorter correspondent right away and sighed softly, “me neither, you’re weren’t just some hero that Equestria needed, you were like a sister to me; as a matter of fact, I was willing to postpone the wedding until you’d recovered: Shining even went so far as to guard you with his life when no one else could at time…”

“I know: that’s a debt I can never repay no matter what; we’re siblings and siblings are supposed to watch out for each other, not let themselves be destroyed or worse, destroy one another…” Twilight snuffled about as Cadance soon put a leftmost arm around the former’s shoulder gently, “it’s funny talking about bonds when I’ve been neglecting my own throughout a lifespan so far. Even amongst likeminded individuals, my connections were never this strong nor were getting stronger either: neighbors, friends, family; of course, this didn’t make us bad people if at all… or so I’d thought. Still, there were exceptions no less, especially considering who I did for and why: ever since I was little, I’d always looked up to Princess Celestia as if she were my actual mother; still, even I knew deep down in my heart and soul that was a gross exaggeration and with good reason no less, something many knew well. Overall, I’d thought of myself as different from the others because of my fixation on books and schoolwork, fiction and otherwise; sometimes, I find the time to lock myself in my own room for so long, I could only leave to eat, bathe, and go to school: one time, I’d passed out from starvation over the weekend. Retroactively speaking, I shouldn’t have let it dominate my whole life, at least that was what she’d thought about me; I remember the day before the Summer Sun Celebration and how I’d let myself blow off my only friends from school: Moondancer took it harder than the rest of them ‘cause she’d seen as the more closest to me. Still, I’d gone away to Ponyville, my only home away from Canterlot, all to do Princess Celestia’s bidding no less: originally, I was supposed to go out and make friends but it seemed to me that there had been more to it than it’d met the eye; after all, I was more worried about Nightmare Moon returning here of all times than simply making friends, especially new ones. That said, I’d never looked down upon them the whole time, especially not since we’d freed her sister from that influence; even to this day, I’ve felt nothing but sorrow and rage in having to abandon those girls, but they weren’t the only one whom suffered since my absence: classmates, neighbors, and even my family… even now, I can’t go on further knowing what had happened. All the pain they had suffered, whether it was beatings, rape, or losing their home in a fire, they’d paled in comparison to what I’d seen you go through and your our wedding no less; you’d deserved so much better than what Mercury had done to you, especially since he’d risked so many lives. I’m so sorry for everything: I’ve been pushing so many people away I had to go away to make new friends only to risk losing them all, not to mention the fact I’d left my old friends and family behind to let them suffer before me; I know far too that nothing I say or do is going to bring you back but please understand, I had no malicious intent whatsoever in letting you die, Cadance.”

“That’s so sweet of you to think this way, Twily; however, I, too, have a confession to make: I’m not the big sisterly figure you’ve grown to know and love…” the tall woman cooed, her eyes glowing a toxic jade; at the same time, the shorter counterpart’s sclera was also tinted with a similar color as well.

As soon as Twilight’s eyes returned to normal, she’d started squinting about in a struggle to stay still, all the while sputtering, “what are you talking about…?”

“Oh, you poor deluded fool; even after what had been happening recently, you still don’t realize it: I’d already told you…!” Cadance laughed derisively, watching her target become weary and fatigued all of the sudden as some aura left the latter, “perhaps, my words have no effect on you; it’s like what everybody says: ‘actions speak louder than words’. Wouldn’t you agree, Twilight Sparkle…?”

“What… are… you… saying…?” the eponymous woman groaned as a bright light flashed afore her eyes.

The peer in white was engulfed by an aura of toxic jade, enveloping herself into the sparkling fire and electricity much too soon. The otherwise well–kept tricolored tresses Cadance had wore were now a darkly translucent teal dyeing all the diaphanous strands. Her skin even turned darker, more so than the darkly skinned eyewitness with intestinal accents of aquamarine glycosaminoglycan. Cadance no longer wore the amethysts around her eyes but rather the emeralds splashing around with such accompanying precision. Even so, the floral veil and white dress combo was no more, so was the wearer’s identity; unlike Twilight, the former became nude. Because of it, the Cadance nearby ceased to be chaste and modest, curvaceously bearing a dense bust, petite navel, and wide hips.

The jaded impostor mewed softly as she and the adjacent shadow had towered over her weary target, “ah, that’s much better; it’s such a shame, though: the fact that no one has even dared to notice what had happened, not even you…”

“What are you talking about: who are you and what have you done to Cadance; matter of fact, what have you done to me?!” Twilight exclaimed as she’d discovered herself feeling much heavier than her body actually was during her small movement, “I can’t even seem move as much as I need to now more than ever; what is this dark magic you’ve placed upon me now?!”

“Changeling magic, honey, the finest in all of Equestria, no, the world, if I do say so myself; by the way, you can now call me Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, not that squib of a sex bomb you’d called your babysitter…” the taller woman quickly answered her shorter target without a care in the whole wide world whatsoever as the former soon started stretching out the true form.

Although Twilight averted her gaze away, the heartbeat began to increase following the jaded impostor’s sudden reveal as the former had attempted to crawl away, prompting the latter to latch on the adjacent foot with its owner whimpering about, “no…!”

“Where do you think you’re going, missy: off to head out into parts unknown again after all this trouble; is that any way to treat a familiar face?” Chrysalis gradually snarled as she’d dragged her target over to the former’s side without effort, “of course, you were always expecting your precious Cadance to be there when nobody else could, not that you’d been faultless anyway. It’d taken only merely weeks to fit myself into where your sorry excuse of a princess had been in: all that I’d done was simply disguise myself as her precious groom and trick her into going on a walk with me at night when everybody else was asleep, even that ruler’s nocturnal sister no less; after that point, everything had fallen quietly into our grasp. As soon as Cadance was in my captivity, my changelings were more than ready to wait until the royal wedding came to pass as scheduled: the moment the captain of the guard and I were wed, my children would descend upon the crowd and take over this pathetic city of Canterlot then the rest of Equestria, at least that was the original plan. It seems that despite my perfect disguise of her, only one amongst you in attendance had been able to see through it after all: a lowly little foreigner whom had asked far too many questions one too many times and to one too many people so to speak; even with you around, you were this close to agreeing with that meddler before he was shut down, not that it matters anymore though. What did matter was how he was able to stop the wedding from coming to pass as well as my plan to conquer the entire nation: before I’d ever even managed to consummate my union to your dearest brother, Shining Armor, that bastard Mercury ruined it all; sat me on ablaze with a crudely made acid bomb some kind of holiday tree and right in front of our audience no less. All that I knew was if it hadn’t been for that treacherous fuck, then everything I’d ever wanted would’ve been firmly in my grasp: their precious rulers harvested day in and out, the guard captain my husband to control, and everybody else drained out of love; of course, as you can see from my presence, the plan fell through along with their dreams as well as your kind’s dreams.”

“What about Cadance: what were you going to do to her, leave her alone to rot; what if you’d wanted to harvest her of love?!” Twilight grunted as she was struggling to escape the jaded impostor’s grasp yet to no avail whatsoever.

As Chrysalis had then grabbed onto her target’s left arm, the former took a whiff of the latter’s hair and said, “oh, heavens no, I was going have something more pleasurable for a super special woman such as herself here: considering how everybody looked up to Cadance recently, I was going to let her undergo a little heartbreak completely. Then, as soon as she’d given into depression at the sight of myself stealing a kiss from Shining Armor, she would be vulnerable enough to let herself be opened to any changeling willing to get a taste of her; sure, Celestia and Luna would also be available as one of their rightful rewards but the sensation of watching their precious Cadence turned into a whore would be the most sweeter. It’s not like that I want to kill any of them, especially since they had so much potential to me and my brood after all these years: considering the fact the three of them were so grown and sexy, turning any of them into martyrs would galvanize their subjects; with that said, as far as you and your neighbors have seen earlier, Mercury has already gone down in history as Cadance’s killer. Still, having to feel my aftereffects since I’ve been gone is oh, so breathtaking at the end of the day when it comes to Equestria: with every single subject under the princesses’ influence living in fear, it’s clear they’ll never be seen in the same light ever again; of course, the only thing I’ll miss even more than the hope of taking him as my king is indulging in simple pleasures of life.”

“You really are an evil woman…” Twilight muttered before feeling a few sharp lines connect with back, one in which had opened up the brassiere so completely, its owner’s cleavage had fallen out of place rather quickly, “ah, what on Equestria are doing now?!”

“Feeding myself: us changelings gain our strength from the love of other sapient lifeforms, especially your kind, Twilight Sparkle; speaking of which, your little fucktard of a man ruined our special plans so I will ruin you…!” Chrysalis hissed intensively, fondling the titular target’s bosom as well as licking away some sweat off of the latter’s cheek.

Twilight felt the structural integrity of her own body being compromised before getting thrown back onto the ground, this time laying supine as she’d spat out in return, “screw you, shapeshifting bitch: you don’t deserve to have my brother as a husband or me as a sister after what you did to Cadance; as much as I hate to admit it, Mercury was right to thwart your plans!”

“Indeed, what’s funny is that I’d also sensed some love for her from the likes of him; forcing Mercury to watch her be ravaged would’ve been enough to break him…” the jaded impostor laughed as she’d lowered herself on top of her shorter target’s body, enamored with the near symmetry between the two, “I’m done with him as well as Shining for that matter; now then…”

“Mph…!” Twilight muffled as Chrysalis was stealing a kiss from the former, both eyes accented by the blushing about due to the extremely close distance betwixt themselves; of course, the latter felt some trace amounts of physiological resistance underneath, taking the time to catch a pair of wayward forearms straightaway so to speak.

Of the two women, the jaded impostor grew more eager to explore her target’s mouth against the owner’s wishes, unwilling to surrender despite being trapped between both flesh and soil as the aura of concupiscence grew around their collective area; soon, the osculating onslaught ceased as the former exhaled to the latter, “it’s no wonder why you look up to that prissy princess bride. Compared to her, you have still lived your life untouched by both men and women alike: what a shame, her princess’ most faithful and hopeful student lying on the wayside, alone and unloved by all; it’s safe to say had you been able to be surrounded by more men rather than women, you would’ve been all set for the rest of your life. Under normal circumstances, a pretty smart girl such as yourself would’ve been able to enjoy anybody’s company, let alone mine especially; if anything, then all the love you’ve given me while I was alive and kicking it in Cadance’s form is still more than enough for me to indulge myself in the pleasures of your moist and supple flesh, Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps, had my plan to take of Equestria had gone off without a hitch, I would’ve let one of my changelings take your virginity afterwards, provided that I’d broken you well enough as I should’ve done with Cadance, Celestia, and even Luna herself; come to think of it, those friends of your you’d spoken of could’ve enjoyed their company like the lot of your dear neighbors.”

“My friends…?” Twilight stuttered, her eyes leaking about as they’d flashed between cleared amethyst and clouded emeralds, “no, please…”

“I’m taking you for myself and I’ll take very good care of you; after all, we changelings feed off of love…” Chrysalis cooed as she’d took aim at her teary target’s bust and started latching onto one of the two nubbins with a tongue, earning a brief shriek from the latter as the former swirled about to little end in sight so to speak of overall.

Even as Twilight brimmed with willpower, her body was still unable to move even so much as an iota buried within a single muscle whatsoever, prompting herself to cry ever so softly, “help me, anybody… Stop it…!”

“How do you like it; doesn’t it feel good…?” the jaded impostor moaned, running her hands over upon the lighter flesh of her target’s body before poking underneath the fabric of latter’s supersaturating undergarments, “your body doesn’t lie; Twilight, you really are a beautiful woman…”

“STOP IT…!” the aforementioned maiden wailed.

Before Chrysalis was even able to continue her intrusion, a loud voice had boomed belonging to neither her or the lighter skinned target underneath, “LET THE MAIDEN GO, THY DECEPTIVE USURPER…!”

Almost instantaneously, the jaded impostor had spontaneously combusted, rays of light emerging from her own dark body as she screamed about. Chrysalis’ flesh began to singe quickly as the bright flames started to consume her straightaway while leaving Twilight unharmed in the process. Even though both women were still nearby overflowing sources of water for the taking, only the jaded impostor was already disintegrating here.

When the assaulting belligerent Chrysalis disappeared in a mass of photons and fire, the heart inside the young maiden beat against her chest as she already looked upward at the very source. It wasn’t even long until Twilight was quickly accompanied by another feminine figure, this time descending from above almost immediately to the former’s overwhelming relief so to speak of. The new visitor bore a complexion rivaling the likes of the young maiden herself, albeit fifty shades darker as they were already free of such irregularities plaguing about before and after. Glimmering about in the cold distance was but a pair of cyan irises glowing about alongside with the rest of its owner’s eyes, capturing Twilight to remain firmly calm at attention straightaway. The floating female’s elongated hair had flowed to and fro, sparkling about as each and every one of its tresses were a bluish tint with both lighter and darker hues alike coexisting in harmony. Aside from the small obsidian tiara matching a widely white crescent necklace, the new visitor had donned a long shimmering dress colored in pink and a pair of some achromatic slippers too.

“Princess Luna… thank you…” the young maiden gasped as she was in awe of such a presence yet barely able to move again, “please tell me… what is going on…”

“Perhaps thou hast already discovered an answer to thy own question, fairest Twilight; after all, thou art in control of thine own phantasmagorias: in this case, it seems that thine survivor’s guilt refuses to be parted away…” the titular elder sighed as she’d now stood on the ground gently at once so to speak of.

It was at this moment Twilight took the time to sit up and cover her bared chest with the red dress from before, taking the time to speak softly, “even so, I’d never managed to consider the possibility as to why I’m being singled out for such things: up until this moment, all that I could think of were how everyone I’d close to got horribly affected by the war ever since. It’s been at least seven years and I’m still feeling guilty about what had happened throughout this passing time: people have lost their lives, liberties, emotions, equality, all of it, and not just to the invaders; even worse, some of those people have been someone I’d known for who knows how long. Classmates, friends, neighbors, and even family were suffering about and I couldn’t even stop it from happening: heartbreak, injury, accusations, arrest, deportation, homelessness, insanity, imprisonment, rape, torture, kidnapping, suicide, even murder; the fact they’d all suffered through at least one thing, if not, after another still hurts me to this day. We’d known that at least four of my friends had suffered the most compared to the likes of me, even considering my own injuries: Lyra reduced to the changeling’s sex slave, Minuette turned into an unwed prostitute, Applejack ravaged by syphilis alongside Jasper, even Rainbow’s scared off of intimacy; still, none of which paled in comparison to what I’d seen on that fateful day. My dearest sitter Cadance, or rather maybe someone pretending to be her, was killed in front of me by someone who should’ve been more trustworthy and during my own brother’s wedding no less… yet, I still feel as if it should’ve been me instead of her even though I’d been burned before the event came to pass. I think that to call what had happened funny would’ve been an insult to comedy itself, especially considering all these events here and there: it was terrible seeing everyone at the wedding gripped in fear, but Cadance, she was like a part of the family even before then and see her body burnt to a crisp made me breakdown in tears like I was back to being a newborn again. Even now, I’m just so confused as to what to think of it: I’m mad at Mercury for killing Cadance, I’m mad at the changelings for attacking Canterlot, I’m mad at myself for not seeing the signs like I should’ve done when Cadance changed; I’m mad at everyone, present company excluded of course.”

“Tis normal to feel indignation: ‘tis what we doth with it that’s important; even now, I’d ruing the choices made even before mine banishment…” the regal figure sighed as the young maiden dressed herself back into the drying clothes slowly but surely, “speaking of which, Twilight, art thou aware of Princess Amore…?”

“Barely, if anything, I really wish that I’d bothered to remember all the details: come to think of it, I believe she was one of your first pupils, Luna…” Twilight answered the eponymous princess softly, removing the flowery diadem right away.

A sky full of stars appeared above the two women as the eldest of them said, “indeed and she was also mine sister’s as well, long after the Pillars disappeared; as a matter of fact, Princess Amore was the main reason for the wedding: Cadance was the last remaining descendant through her blood. Even before the invasion, the heritage was concealed to the public in fear of any malefactors seeking to quash the bloodline once and for all; the truth of the matter was she’d been meant to liberate her people from the millennial curse placed upon her ancestral hometown: although Canterlot hast been the progenitor of modern Equestrian society, the Crystal Empire was main. It’d held many people much like our kind long before we’d even been able to reach their realm; as a matter of fact, it’d even been ruled by the very princess whom I’m speaking of right now: Amore mayhaps been the youngest compared to even myself but she was so much like thyself. With that said, her tenure didn’t last long as either of us hoped: a being calling himself Sombra deposed the princess outright and established himself as King of the Crystal Empire; afterwards, Celestia and I were called upon to free her subjects from his reign, only to witness it disappear before our very eyes into the land of the ice and snow, never to return for another millennia. Even to this day, the curse that the usurper had placed onto this realm haunted the both us for the rest of our waking lives; the worst part was the fact that we weren’t even alone in all this so to speak of: a lone survivor named Radiant Hope witnessed it already happen despite her efforts to warn us about the truth regarding him. After that fateful day, we swore to keep this area of Equestria was being explored not only out of the hopes for the Crystal Empire’s return but also out of respect for what we’d been led to presume to be one of the last of Princess Amore’s subjects, the very same woman whom had been deprived of both hometown and her neighbors so long ago.”

“So Princess Cadance was the last living descendant of Princess Amore; but if that’s the case, then why didn’t she tell me about it…?” the youthful maiden asked the lonesome princess, a face hot with confusion and wet with sadness, “she was like a sister to me: we did everything together, told stories to each others, even shared the same thoughts at times! I thought her being switched around with Chrysalis was bad enough but I’d never considered the possibility she’d been this important, let alone related…!”

“I understand that and the idea that her bloodline ending with Cadance’s demise was still no different from Radiant Hope witnessing Amore’s defeat at Sombra’s hands; even now, she’s still had to be surveilled out of concern for her own life being taken by her own hands, much like thy brother…” Luna replied, also shedding a tear in the process.

Twilight had cerebrated about, “oh Shining…”

“It’s clear that even with return of the Crystal Empire, we’ve stood at the end of an era: the end of the Somber era, as we’ve put it; between Amore’s downfall and Cadance’s death as well…” the lonely princess still had continued speaking to the young maidenly counterpart nevertheless, “nothing was ever the same; now, Equestria hast changed once more and we’re paying the price. The real question is wilt thou continue to suffer in silence alongside Radiant Hope or carry onward with thy sitter’s legacy though her memories…? What’s interesting is that we could’ve saved them all: we could’ve ceased that brute’s reign of terror before it’d truly begun, yet we didn’t; on the other hand, had we’d arrived at the Crystal Empire far too earlier, we, too, would’ve been trapped in there for an entire millennia, forced to fight against Sombra for our freedom until either of us submitted. We may have been powerful enough to wield control over the day and night cycles for over a millennia but we art not immortal; even Cadance herself, may she rest in peace, knew this all too well and her very demise is our burden alone that we must carry on with…”

“But what about the others: my family, my friends, my neighbors, even Radiant Hope; how must they carry on…?” Twilight sniffled about.

A brief sigh escaped from Luna before being backed up with words, “the same way they always have, much like thyself: they may thinketh of themselves as weak because of the pain they’ve suffered but that’s not true; even today’s younglings have found themselves stronger to carry that weight. Even without the death and destruction waged upon our homeland, there willst always come a time for choices, no less than two but otherwise finite nonetheless: as always, even the right options have their fair share of consequences; seeing thou art suffering from the shame of it all, I’ve been willing to intervene like I have with the others before.”

“The others, you mean my friends; are they still okay…?” the young maiden wept, now looking away from the lonely princess as the former clutched the abdomen, “even they have to know I’m still sorry for all this; after all, we were supposed to be stronger than all this, not dented iron…!”

“Perhaps, they’ve an answer for it…” Luna said.

Twilight was then greeted by another rather surprising sight, albeit just as pleasant as the very princess’ arrival, if not more so: a quintet of young barefooted women in similar attire such as the initial twosome, although less formal overall; likewise, they were all different from each other. The first was bright skinned yet tickled pink like her hair with both irises of a big blue nearly matching the likes of Luna’s eyes: the former wore a snow white shirt and some denim shorts with some yellow leg warmers, not that any of them had minded, especially the youngest thereof here. Nearby was another fair skinned individual with pink hair, albeit with a reminiscence of lemon chiffon in a lighter shade with eyes of teal ready to move heaven and earth: a long emerald splashed nightgown was covering up most of its owner’s body yet both forearms had remained bare. Standing next to the lemony compeer was yet another brightly skinned bystander, this time with ivory integuments and eyes of starry sapphires: like the former, the latter’s attire also covered up much of the subject’s body, except the face was bare; additionally, a straitjacket had overlaid the gown. Then, another light skinned onlooker had seemed to be standing out and about with shorter hair possessing thin racing stripes resembling the entire spectrum: unlike the others, a set of jet–black undergarments were tightly hugging its owner’s body, offset by the presence of both muscles and curves. The last of these was not like the others for she happened to be a dark skinned blonde with eyes in an emerald splash matching that of the jaded impostor except they were free of toxicity; like the ivory correspondent, the former also wore a white gown but both forearms were free like a bird.

The maiden in red was on the verge of breaking out into joy before the bouffant counterpart blurted out instantaneously while waving about without so much as a care in the whole wide world whatsoever, “hey there, Twily, long time, no see: pretty sweet to be living inside a dream now, huh?! Of course, there was that one time with Moondancer but it doesn’t count; after all, parallel universes are so overrated nowadays, am I right…?”

“Huh, what are you talking about, Pinkie: you’ve even seen her as well, at least since you’ve heard about what happened…?” Twilight had stammered about in slight confusion before smiling big in utter relief again like before, “this sounds so… so… anyways, I’m so happy to see all of you girls again; words cannot begin to describe my regret for what happened so long ago!”

“Tweren’t nothing, Twi; if anything, Ah am still the one whom has a lot t’ be sorry for the most; after all, stranglin’ a child, let alone a sister, still haunts me to mah soul…” the freehanded woman in white sighed softly, looking upon her own palms to find them roughed up and callused as such with violet mosaic clusters on the left.

The tanned blonde’s bounded correspondent couldn’t resist holding back a bloodstained tear yet stayed calm enough to reply, “at least you’re still getting the help you need after all this time: I don’t think I could stand to look at Sweetie Belle any longer if it had been her instead of you; even saying it’s too painful for the likes of me. Come to think of it, there’s no telling how long it would be ‘til the inevitable day of my demise: the sheer idea that I’d gave into my first instinct to attempt a murder–suicide rather than help her; even that horrid girl from Peachtree had a heart and soul to realize what she’d been doing was wrong too. Even now, I’m still okay with Sweetie Belle hating the whole world for what she’d gone through besides my own disgusting deeds; as a matter of fact, the whole mess she and her friends had to endure was just too much for them to deal with at any age whatsoever: the war was bad enough on its own but to think all this happened despite having saved Equestria more than once, I’d–––”

“Relax, Rarity… it’d be wise to not let that tumor of yours grow any further; after all, even I’d be better off dying if anything happened to Scoots…” the rainbow haired observer interjected, looking down at her abdomen to see a bleeding crack in her undergarments, “I couldn’t go a day without thinking about how I’d slept with whichever guy or gal my age before the whole war. The fact she’d to hear me orgasm as I was bleeding from those glass shards inside my vagina did little to distract me from seeing her cut up like an orange before getting stabbed in the head; I don’t know what Scootaloo would’ve done if it were the other way around with the both of us, let alone what my parents would do if they’d ever found out I’d perished with or without her…”

“Don’t even get me started on that matter: even I dread the thought of my parents learning what had happened to me before and during the war; who knows what my brother would even dare to do…” the lemony woman entered the conversation piece finally, shedding the cleanest of tears amongst themselves in the process.

Luna then jumped back into the circle, the sky growing warmer and brighter ever so slowly, “let us not reminisce on past transgressions, be if thine own or others; you’ve all been able to succeed in embracing life and the lives of others to the point of defending them with thine own: the fact thou hast been chosen by the yestertide Elements of Harmony is proof of it all. Considering the dire circumstances regarding mine return, their choosing to be wielded by thee was meant to be the passing of the torch in which both of us sisters had once held since its prior inception by our mentor Starswirl and company. Even maiden Twilight’s departure from her home in Canterlot had been planned by my sister Celestia in an overtly successful decision to rescue myself from the Nightmare Forces’ control; of course, transitioning back to homeworld hasn’t been so effortlessly as we’d originally thought, especially considering the inception of a holiday which had followed ever since my banishment. What had not been planned, however, was the extent of the darkness we’d been compelled to confront at home and abroad: it seems that compared to the foes mine sister and I battled against together, the troubles in which Equestria had been dealt with, though mundane, still proved to be unspeakable overall; bone–grinding, blood–curdling, sweat–inducing terror. The fact that all of thee hast endured them in one extent and/or another was tragic on its own: ransacking, plundering, and the smashing of teeth and nails, amongst other horrors in this age; they weren’t something that anyone, especially heroines such as yourselves, deserved to endure. My sister would’ve rather these serialized tales of unfortunate events didn’t come to pass yet the evil we and our predecessors have fought so hard against have wreaked havoc on thine minds and bodies as well as that of both kith and kin alike; even without the use of might or magic, the folly of our kind persists, the adulation of evil continues guiding our world to the very brink. Thankfully, in light of mine redemption, we still believe that the people of this world, especially our own subjects, can redeem themselves and my sister wishes to entrust us with the power to do so; this world and its inhabitants can see the light and the warmth that friendship brings towards themselves much like before, lest the dark and cold destroy everything we hold near and dear. In the past seven years since mine return, not only have I studied the changes with the millennial timeframe, mine sister’s court had observed it too: even to this day, there were civilizations much like that of King Thrace’s domain, devoid of love and friendship, as well as that of our own; in betwixt them, they’ve managed to build thriving civilizations, surviving in modernity. Now, tell me, Twilight Sparkle, what saith thee now: in spite of everything which had come to pass, dost thou honestly wish to abandon everything you’ve all learned from each other and thyself; art thou planning surrender to the forces of negativity and evil or continue on with the struggle on the side of positivity and good like thou and thine peers hast done like before…?”

“Well, when you put it in that way, the least I can do is still keep going; I still have so much to live for: my family, my friends, my neighbors, my nation, my princesses, and my ideals…” the maiden in red had answered all of them, grandly smiling about despite her currently watery eyes, “for far too long, I’ve let myself be shut off from the whole world throughout my own entire life. Up until this moment years ago, I’d never considered the possibility I’d been able to find something that’s been missing inside of me, let alone remembered what it’d even looked like; even now, this heart of mine has been on edge lately due to a string of failures plaguing my mind, body, and soul as well as others such as yours and our kith and kin through these years. The fact that all of you’ve arrived here in my time of need shouldn’t have surprised me after all that we’ve been through lately; besides, if it weren’t for Princess Celestia here, who would’ve dared to know what could’ve happened to the lot of us here: if anything, then this whole world, including Equestria itself, would’ve ended up as a desolate wasteland, devoid of any and all life. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to step out of my shell and home thanks to her, despite the pain and suffering we’d all endured: barring the war, I’ve been able to empathize with the others and strengthen my old bonds between friends and family too; additionally, I’ve been graced with the opportunity to make new friends as well, each bearing a specific quality to unlock the Elements. Even though that things have changed between the six of us, one of the only constants we do still happen to share are our bonds: each of them represent a commitment we’ve made to not only each other but to ourselves and to others inside and outside them; as much as I lament what had been done to many of us, I have more than enough reason that we can still carry on the legacy. Seeing that everybody still chooses to look up to and sympathize with us, I can still see to it that our journey’s not over even yet: although that everything is calm now, I still believe that there are still some adventures already awaiting for us to be even told; it’s clearly miraculous that we’ve been allowed to survive after all these years and should it come down to it, we still can…”

“Hmm, no despair; how interesting…” the lone princess spoke.

Twilight held back some laughter and said to Luna immediately, “what point is there for me being in despair…? After I wake up, I’m looking forward to seeing you all once again: all I got to do is keep traveling around Equestria for an entire week at least; after everything we’ve been through, nothing else should matter…”

“Be sure to treat it as nothing then, lest you’ll all fall down into a much similar path I’d been on a millennia ago…” the lone princess replied as she’d begun to dissipate before their eyes almost suddenly so to speak, “thine lives are still worth living in this troubled world; thou mustn’t throw or, worse yet, let them be taken away…”

“YES, YOUR MAJESTY…!” the smiling sextet stated, most of which soon joining in with Luna with the maiden in red retaining her corporeal form.

It didn’t take long for Twilight to be alone again naturally, standing on the brilliant green among the riversides with nothing but a sky full of stars fading out as the golden sun rose to greatness; although she wasn’t unscathed, a sense of relief took hold of her body as amethyst orbs looked had upwardly with an abundance of hopes and dreams waiting to become fully realized at once.

The maiden in red whispered, “goodbye…”