Perception

Twilight woke up in the void.

There was a throbbing pain in her head that seemed to crush her sense of reality from within. Although she was lying down, she could feel her head swaying left and right on a rough stone surface. Time, if it had any meaning anymore, seemed to stop for a disorientated Twilight, as she tried to bring herself together.

A period of time passed. As her body muscles were recovering from the strain of the action, Twilight could finally afford to try sitting up on whatever she was previously lying on. Pushing herself to the side, her worn-out hooves could feel the floor she was lying on. Dragging herself up, she glanced around frantically, finding that she was trapped in a prison cell. The iron fence that encased her inside the cell extended up to the top of the ceiling, to prevent any aerial escape. What garnered her attention more was the dim magical illumination that was blindingly bright to her eyes.

"Starlight?" Twilight called out, as she started shaking her head to dispel the terrible sense of nausea left ringing in her mind.

"Twilight?" Starlight's voice rang into Twilight's right ear, with an undeniable hint of relief in her voice.

"Starlight! We have to escape from here!" Twilight exclaimed loudly, ensuring that Starlight could hear her comment audibly. Twilight knew that they were most likely be trapped in the prison cell for all of eternity under the whim of that malicious Nightmare Moon, which was something she was sure neither of them would subscribe to. They needed to break out, to have any chance of their fight for freedom. She dashed around the perimeter of the fence locking her in, gripping onto the rusty iron bars that reinforced them, in desperation. Twilight could physically feel the solid build of the fence with her front hooves, which made her heart sink into despair.

"I've already tried everything, Twilight," Starlight replied with tell-tale dejection in her voice. "The iron bars are way too robust to break apart; and that magically imbued crystal renders our magic useless!"

"Does...does that mean we are trapped in here...forever?" Twilight questioned, the strength in her voice wavering. Her heart was unprepared to accept the tragic truth, as her mind was desperately trying to find some way to convince herself otherwise. The darkness that enveloped her seem to creep ever closer into the confines of her spirit.

No response came from the other side of the room. Twilight, who was still holding onto the iron bars of the fence, expended the last of her strength to attempt to pull it open, to no avail. Eventually, her hooves slipped down the rusty surface of the iron bars in resignation.

Twilight had no magic, no friends to help her...nothing. She now painfully knew how futile any breakout attempt she could concoct would be. What little hope that she had prior was extinguished to join the darkness that encircled her sense of the stark reality in which she was thrown into.

"Twilight...I'm...sorry," the familiar voice uttered softly as a faint thud could be heard towards Twilight's right.

Twilight felt the impetus to acknowledge Starlight's remark, yet when she opened her mouth, words failed to come out, resulting in a long, ensuing silence throughout the prison.

The long silence made the already anxious Starlight to feel even more uncomfortable. Thinking back at her sudden apology, she was unable to predict how Twilight would react to it, after all that she had done, especially when she betrayed her kindheartedness in the past. She so desperately wished now to make amends there and then, since all this would not have happened in the first place. She woefully underestimated how a small change in the past could cause things in the present to spiral out of control. She knew that this entire fiasco was all her fault. Her thirst of revenge against Twilight Sparkle pushed her into this recklessness.

Her actions influenced every single pony in this universe, to serve under the bidding of Nightmare Moon. Her 'friends' were enlisted into Nightmare Moon's service, to confront her as part of their duty. And to defend Twilight, her nemesis...she killed one of them.

She bowed her head down in regret, staring down into the emptiness of the ground. While her feelings rushed into her conflicting heart, her overloaded mind could not control them. She could feel her face twitching at the huge impulse of experiencing emotion from every part of her heart. It was an incredibly excruciating experience.

"You are?" Twilight replied, shattering the long bout of eeriness. The doubt in her voice could be so clearly be deciphered by Starlight.

"I truly am...look Twilight," Starlight summoned her courage to confront herself by pausing to take a deep breathe. "I know I have done so many...despicable things against you but...I did not expect this to happen."

Starlight forced her mouth open to continue her apology, but her emotions got the better of her. Despite her dehydrated state, tears were expelled from her moist eyes. As they slid down in dribbles, her mouth could taste their salinity. She wailed out loud, after coughing incessantly on her saliva having nearly entered her windpipe.

Twilight could hear the helplessness emanating from that corner of the room. That pang in her heart...she felt it again. She inadvertently shifted her eyes away from Starlight's voice, as if she wanted to avoid observing Starlight breaking into pieces right before her.

"All because of me...seeking revenge against you...I had to resort to such a reckless scheme,"Starlight struggled to string her words into coherent sentences as her despondent self wrestled with her tears trickling down. "All because of me...I killed my...friend. All because of me...we are forever trapped here...and left to rot for eternity."

Twilight's ears picked up every word that came from the side of the prison, her eyes unblinking despite the darkness.

"I know, Twilight...I know that no...apology could possibly make up for this," Starlight continued, composing herself slightly. "But I am genuinely...remorseful. So if we trapped here forever...please forgive me."

"No, Starlight, you are wrong," Twilight spoke up, summoning the necessary courage from her conscience. "I am at fault too."

Starlight jerked her head up towards the direction of Twilight's cell, shocked, even as tears landed down onto the cold surface below from the side of her face.

"Starlight...I've been reflecting about this since the time we left your village," Twilight continued with regret. "I turned you into an exile of your own village, without explaining why your thinking was flawed. I never considered your feelings, your prior experiences or anything for that matter. All I did was stop what you were doing, kicked you out and forced my ideals onto you. It is because of this...it drove you to this mess and led you to regret your decisions. As the princess of friendship, I realise now that what I have done to you was so...reprehensible. Can you...forgive me?"

As Twilight spoke, Starlight's jaws gave way, bringing her mouth wide open.

"I must...forgive you," Starlight replied after a long pause. "Knowing that we will be trapped here permanently...at least we can now live in solace...together."

"Thank you," Twilight said, as she turned back towards Starlight's general direction. "Together...at least we can support each other through time immemorial."

Starlight nodded in agreement. For once, she felt that there was a genuine soul out there in the darkness that would care for her well-being, as a true friend. This treasured feeling was long lost in her mind; it reminded her of the time before her only friend left her back in her hometown, but yet she did not experience it during her time in her village. At last, her mind could finally comprehend the differences in the authenticity of the friendship that she had built throughout her life.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Prior to their conversation, she would have no idea how to go about helping Starlight cruise through her sorrow or to change her perception. She was particularly fearful at the potential possibility that Starlight would reject her explanation and they would be forced to live out their separate ways in their segregated prison cells for the rest of eternity. Having got this tricky situation out of the way, Twilight went back to lie onto the ground in comfort, a cautiously optimistic smile emerging from the side of her face. As she pondered over the fast-paced events that occurred, a sudden thought popped into her mind.

"Starlight, do you think that there is any way we can travel back in time back to our world without that spell?" Twilight suddenly asked. "If we can find a way to breakout, we can at least get back to our time-"

"Time travel, I see?" a recognisable, venomous voice pierced through the stale air. "Now that's something I would like to hear..."