Old Vengeance
Chapter 1: The Deal
Twilight was levitating the ball to lead Cerberus to Gates of Tartarus. Twilight and Cerberus have been running for long duration. Twilight was slowly getting bored and losing stamina due to using magic and running at the same time. Cerberus wasn’t even tired because it is big and fast after all. Although Cerberus was pretty dumb and dull. Twilight ignored Cerberus. Because she was getting annoyed by it as well. She kind of a
wished if Cerberus could talk. So, she won’t be bored. But then she instead thought about the gate.
”I hope I didn’t miss the gate. If only I could teleport right now. And have a look around. But, I’m sure the gates are around here. Or not?”
And gaining confidence back with an optimistic thought.
“Nah, I am sure of it. No need for doubts.”
Thinking to herself, lost in her thoughts. Almost forgot that the Cerberus was still following. She wanted to quickly lead Cerberus there and be done with it. Of course, she knew the risks she was taking. But she wasn’t actually gonna do anything risky there. She was just gonna bring Cerberus there and wanted to go back quickly to tell her friends about it. Or so she thought to herself.
“I just have to find the gate and throw the ball there. Everything will be fine after it.”
It seemed easy enough to her. If she just leads Cerberus there, then the rest was easy enough for her. Since she can teleport back.
“And perhaps I could go to Canterlot and visit Princess Celestia and... Luna of course.”
After running that seemed like hours, Twilight finally reached the Gates of Tartarus.
At the gates. Twilight quickly threw the ball near the gates. Then she looked at the gates. Thinking of how magical and spectacular than anything she has seen. Twilight admired the gate. Wanting to stay a bit and know a lot more about The Gates of Tartarus.
“No… I shouldn’t. It’s dangerous... when I am done, I am supposed to go back immediately and then report to Princess Celestia after disaster is over and everything will be fine.”
After hesitating, she lets out a sigh and thought with a new decision. That was a little bit risky but it seemed fine for the unicorn mare.
“Hmm… since Cerberus is here. And I have did my job. And the disaster is prevented… Or what if it is not? Nah, this would have surely worked. Since, I am just looking around and Cerberus is protecting it too. Perhaps, I could look around and see what I can find.”
Twilight knew that she was taking risks by staying. But, she couldn’t just leave the gate. She never actually saw something like this in real. And, she wanted to know about it herself rather than reading it from a book. Twilight was interested in knowing about the Gates of Tartarus. So, she was investigating the environment.
“Hmm… what if this is… no… this isn’t useful either. Perhaps, I should just go now. I haven’t found anything interesting.”
Just when she was going to go she was suddenly interrupted by strange voices. Twilight wasn’t scared. But surprised to hear a noise all the way here.
“Who’s there? Explain yourself.” She said loudly.
Then a distortion and some statics can be heard from the voice. “Twwwiii-lii-ght. Coome to us. You must *static* save Equestria… you’re the only one that can do it...” the voice said.
Twilight didn’t reply. Of course she didn’t fall for it. She was cautious and readying her spell.
"Come… to the gate… you can exterminate the demon *distortion* you will be… re-w-warded.”
Twilight was surprised at the request but she knew that it was gonna be something bad and said in response,“Do you think I will be fooled that easily? I don’t trust you.”
After some few seconds the voice responded back. “We can give you *static* knowledge...”
She was surprised. And she did want to investigate more about the knowledge but she knew the risks were too high. “Why do you want me to exterminate the demon? You also know that knowledge cannot be physically transpor-”
“Stop the *distortion*. We want you to stop the *static*.” Cutting her voice instantly.
“The demon… it has enslaved us. We are held as *distortion*.”
“But, how are you he-”
“You have to enter the gate quickly. The gate is opening fully…… If the *static* gate opens… the demons will come…. And *distortion* every one of you… Cerberus can’t fight the *static* of demons all by itself… If you enter the gate now… The gate will be disrupted. You can eliminate them by simply using *static* and *distortion*… *static*uickly!”
As soon as the voice was gone. The gate was opening. Twilight had no choice but to enter the gates.Twilight thought before entering the gate.
“Looks like I will have to save everypony in Equestria by slaying a mighty demon that I don’t even know. *sigh* If only my friends were here with me. It would have been a lot easier… but I have no time to lose…”
“Uhh… what happened? Where am I?” Then she got up on the ground. She was somewhere familiar.
“The dirt and the blue sky… it all looks same. Is this how inside the world of Tartarus looks like? And I am on top of a mountain? What?” She was confused and asked herself in thought.
“Maybe, if I get to that edge and look around, I might know what to do next.”
She could see the edge. She had clear sight to use teleportation. She tried using the teleportation spell but it failed. She couldn’t believe it. She wasn’t able to.
“WHAT? I can’t use my teleportation spell somehow. I guess this universe works a bit differently. And it is not good. It must be hard for earth ponies. Oh well at least I can climb up from here.”
She didn’t think of much other than looking around and see where she was. She was slowly climbing to prevent slipping off. And then she finally got on top of the mountain. And then, Twilight instantly became speechless and shocked. She couldn’t believe what she was actually looking at. It was... Equestria! The land was full of utter chaos. Asteroid-like things falling from the sky, small black dots flying around. The forest was on fire. Ponyville was destroyed, other ponies and her friends were nowhere to be seen. She couldn’t understand why and she was extremely shocked. It was very unexpected.
“Oh no… THIS CAN’T BE… THIS JUST CAN’T BE… This has to be a dream. Something like THIS can never happen. But how?” But then she was interrupted by an unknown flash from behind her. After looking back, she saw a mare but that wasn’t just a normal mare. The mare looked demonic. The mare had black coat, yellow mane and tail. With deep purple eyes. Her mane and tail was hovering moving like a flame. And it was actually walking towards Twilight.
“YOU CAUSED THIS! YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING! YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER CAME. DIE!” the stranger yelled.
“What? But… but I don’t understand,” Twilight said.
The mare was coming closer and Twilight was walking back. She tried to use her horn. But, she couldn’t.
“What? No no no no! It has to work. I... can’t use it. Something must be preventing me,” she thought.
The mare was coming too close and Twilight moved back as far as she could but she was running out of space on that edge. And she was about to fall.
“DIE!... DIE!... DIE!” The mare was saying tyrannically.
Twilight had nowhere to escape. The black smoke suddenly moved itself from the back of the mare. Moving towards Twilight, hitting her and she was… falling down. Twilight was screaming and falling to her death. But, nopony heard her other than that mare. Just when she was falling. The mare was looking down at her. Smiling devilishly. Then, everything got sucked into deep black hole. Leaving nothing in it’s path. But, then Twilight actually felt something. Just as Twilight woke from her nightmare and opened her eyes. She was lying in a strange environment. In a space of emptiness. She barely got up. And everything around her was plain white and nothing more.
“... Hello? Is anypony here? Hello? Is there anypony here?”
She looked around. And ran everywhere. She tried running around for long and had no luck.
“Am I dead?”
And just as she sat down, tears coming from her eyes and was starting to cry. She heard something from her behind. She turned to look behind herself. She saw somepony she didn’t expect. It was… Discord.
“Well, if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle. The pony who turned me into stone.” he said with an evil grin. Discord didn’t seem to be surprised at all.
“Wait… How? We turned you into stone. What do you want Discord? What is thi-” Twilight began.
“Ahh… You are so annoying. Stop all the questions will you?” He replied, cutting off Twilight’s voice.
“I am not trus-“ she said.
“Oh… I can see why you aren’t trusting me. Let me explain you some things. I am here. As far as you can see. But, in real I am in Equestria. In the gardens. Imprisoned in stone. This universe as far as you can see. Is within my mind. Everything here is white isn’t it? Well, looks like I had a good job of fooling you with those weird things. But, looks like it was effective.” He said playfully. Smiling at Twilight.
But, she was nervous. “But... what do you want from me?” The unicorn said in confusion.
“Oh, yes. I will just say it straight-forward now. I am not here to toy with you. But, I did. Didn’t I? Oh, I just couldn’t handle my habits. Anyways, how you got here, in my mind. Is an another thing. You see… Back when I conquered Equestria for a temporary time using my well thought plan to observe your friends for a very long time.
I made up a backup plan. I went to this cheesy named gate called The Gates of Tartarus. So, I thought it would be cool if I attached myself to it with my own mind. Don't ask me how I did it. It was magic. But you are the Element of Magic and I am sure you know about that pretty much. So I did some little tweaks and here we are. In my mind. Nice isn’t it?” he said. Teasing Twilight.
“Wait… did you say something about observing me and my friends? Even when you were in stone?” she asked.
“Well, looks like you became much smarter than before. Read a lot of books huh? Yes, I have been observing your friends for a very long time. To be exact, I started observing you all when a rainbow wave came. Of course, do you wonder how I noticed the things before the rainbow wave came? Again, magic!” he said.
“… you... have been spying us all along?” Twilight was getting nervous.
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?” he said, making her even more upset.
“WHY? Why did you spy us? And how did you-”she began.
“Why not?” he said, laughing and cutting Twilight's voice afterwards.
“Stop it Discord. I don’t know how you spied on us. But, I am gonna find that demon and then-” Twilight said.
He cut her off again. “WAIT STOP IT! Will you? I will get to the point now and keep the chit-chat to minimum. I will make it clear now again. I am not here to toy with you and neither do I want to talk with you... at least not for long.”
The last few words caught ‘Twi’s attention and she was surprised that Discord was acting so serious. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“I brought you here for a reason… No, not the one you think. I am not the demon. And that voice you heard is just… let’s just say it was my plan to bring you here.”
Twilight was both angry and confused at Discord’s action. “WHAT? YOU BROUGHT ME HERE?” Twilight shouted. She was angry that she got into this situation because of him.
“Now, now calm down. I want to discuss a little… business with you. And I can see why you are confused and angry all of a sudden. Don’t worry. If you just listen to me. You will know what to do and you WILL cooperate with me… even if I don’t force you to.” Discord said, politely and calmly.
She noticed that Discord was still serious about it so she calmed down. “…what is it…” She said nervously.
“I am here to make a… deal.”
Twilight became upset again. “Are you kidding me? I will never make a deal with YOU!”
Discord was frustrated so he just wanted to get straight to business. “I get frustrated quickly when things don’t go according to plan. So, just LISTEN to me!”
Twilight was silenced. She actually didn’t want to talk to Discord. But she had to because she had no choice. If she hesitated, things wouldn’t go well. That was obvious.
“ 'I have brought you here for a matter of great importance' that is what she said. Didn’t she? Did any of you notice what you were all doing? To save Equestria? Save Equestria from having it’s own mortal freedom? And instead have law and let the ponies with no food and bits… suffer? That is what you and your friends wanted. Huh?” he demanded.
Twilight became speechless. It was hard for her to believe it. She didn’t even know there were ponies suffering from hunger and poor. But, she was surprised more about Discord being the Element of Chaos while still worried about the poor. But, even if Discord wasn't worried about it. It was all true.
“But, I am not blaming you and your friends. Maybe you all didn’t know. Hmm? Anyone would do it too if they were instead of you. Because… orders from… CELESTIA!” he said with an angry shout, calling Celestia’s name. He seemed somewhat… more angry to Celestia. “Celestia... has always been a tyrant. Even before she turned me into stone with Luna. If only Luna understood that I was helping everypony with free food and fun. She didn't want to take my word for it because Equestria would be conquered by Chaos if she did so. But, she still didn’t understand that I was using Chaos for the betterment of Equestria. She said that Chaos can never be used for harmony. I felt really bad for Luna and I knew one day she will understand me."
Twilight couldn't say anything because she was shocked that Discord did talk to Luna but more importantly. She wondered why Luna didn't say it to her before.
"Also, during the Nightmare Night Festival. Did any of you notice an... eye? Nah I am sure none of you noticed it. Why, I am so clever. I also used several other methods to spy you all too. Which means I have watched you and Luna as well. I noticed that there is a special... ‘connection’ with you two," Discord said.
And Twilight argued back. "What? No. I definitely have no ‘special connections’ with her. I was just trying to help her. That is all"
"Now now Twilight Sparkle. I know everything about it. And I am sure you have a ‘connection; with her because I just noticed that you are arguing back. Which means you are trying to defend her. No worries. I don't spread gossip," Discord said, laughing loudly afterwards.
“What... I... can't believe it... But... why would I?” Twilight thought.
Even though Twilight didn't want to believe it. She did not want to believe it herself, but it was bugging her.
"Okay okay. That was a good laugh. But anyways let's get back to the topic," he said.
Her mind was pondering with many and lots of feelings. She did not want to respond.
"Celestia said that everypony was in state of unrest, unhappiness and it was miserable, to you and your friends before. LIES! Everyone was happy. No theft, bully and hunger. Haven’t you all seen why Celestia was no longer connected with the Elements of Harmony? I am sure you all thought that was because all of you got connected with the Elements of Harmony so she was replaced or, had something to do with Luna becoming Nightmare Moon? NO!" he shouted.
Twilight was too shocked to even say a word. She started dropping a tear. It was too hard for her to confront the situation. Even though Twilight was smart. She was still a young unicorn. But although she did notice that Discord just suddenly got angry again. Because Discord always seemed to do so when he talked about Celestia.
"When The Elements of Harmony, long before you were born. It was like a weapon. A tool. That can be used by anypony. Of course, Celestia had it before. So, she used the Elements of Harmony on me with Luna. And I tried to convince Luna before it happened. If she helped me, I would still be the ruler of Equestria. But Luna would have the power to control the sun and the moon and manage the situations as well. But she didn’t understand it. She didn’t want to understand it. I tried to help her because I knew that she will become jealous and fill with anger just like her parents did," Discord said.
“But... I thought Discord has always been so evil... and he had good intentions for Luna as well? But... that is...” Twilight thought.
"And then, after I failed to bring harmony, I was turned into stone. But, Luna suffered worse than me. On a place full of boredom with nopony to talk to FOR 1000 YEARS! And I knew she would become slightly jealous and then even more jealous of Celestia, and you know the rest. Of course, it was Luna’s fault. But... Celestia made mistake too. A big mistake. She could’ve used the Elements of Harmony to cure Luna from Nightmare Moon. But instead she used it to BANISH Luna to the moon permanently. Because she thought every criminals are supposed to pay for their crimes no matter who it is," he said.
“But... my teacher... she can't be that harsh to her own sister Luna... this can't be true.”
"But then one day, a rainbow wave came. It knocked away Celestia’s Elements of Harmony. Because they have finally found their own truthful owners so they were sent with wave. To the destroyed ruins where you have found them. Celestia couldn’t find them. Even if she had, she still wouldn’t be able to use the Elements of Harmony. That is why Celestia said that she was no longer connected and she needed your help on Luna and… me.
And didn’t you all notice that she only gave it to you and your friends when there is a danger in Equestria? And keeping it to herself at other times? You think she was just keeping it safe? NO! She kept it to herself to interact and tamper with it. Hoping to become it’s owner and master. But, she failed. After all, all of you could’ve just simply had the Elements on yourselves all the time as well.”
Twilight was shocked. She couldn't think of anything to calm herself down. She had no choice but to listen to Discord again.
"She hasn’t just made a big damage to me other ponies or your friend Luna. She made some impact to YOUR FRIENDS as well! Of course, you are included too. If she didn’t beat me. They wouldn't have suffered that much."
“No... this can't be good. Not my friends... I do not want them to suffer because of the truth like me.”
"Oh do you wanna know what your friends could have become? Let’s start with Pinkie Pie. Whose life was full of boredom and rocks. Working on a rock farm. Because, her family was poor. So, they were forced to work on a rock farm for years.
Rarity. Whose parents left her in Ponyville alone, for royal call. And she wanted to make dress for the show. To not just become fabulous. But a something to bring her parents back as well. Must have been hard being like an orphan, huh?
Applejack. Who could have lived in Manehattan and have her own family’s Sweet Apple Acres’ business farm be abandoned and crumble and have their farm be sold out. And live in an unsatisfying city with grump people on the street and living under the Orange’s.
You. Your life could have been a dull life with no friends and do you know why they decided to take an egg hatching test from you? Think about it yourself, why would they want a little filly unicorn to force hatch the egg? Don’t you think it’s hard? It was under Celestia’s orders. Why? She knew that you were an egghead. So, she thought to give you a something more… harder. And she didn’t care if you will fail or not. Your parents even annoyed her too. You could have had no friends and when you… die. Nopony would’ve been there. Your parents would’ve come but you know why, right? But then she understood that you had great potential in you so she picked you as her student.
She banished Luna to the moon for 1000 years. If she didn't you wouldn't feel bad about Luna and she would have even been happier."
Twilight's mind was slowly starting to fill with anger and wrath. She couldn't control herself. She wanted to know more from Discord on how to beat Celestia.
"Celestia come back to her own hallway after she picked you as her student. She noticed that her Elements of Harmony was gone. And after failing to find it after searching for years. And after hearing about your cutie mark story. She decided to initiate some plans after noticing that you are capable of using it. She was really excited about it. After all that, she started taking advantage of your for friendship reports. Hoping to become the owner of the Elements.
Oh I almost forgot Spike. Do you know why Spike has no wings while little fillies can fly around? And Spike is a dragon after all? Celestia used YOU to make damage to Spike too. Celestia noticed Spike was gonna be an useless dragon. So, she made Spike your test rabbit during the exam. And when you succeeded in force hatching Spike. Spike had a little problem with wings. He might have wings when he has grown up or... will never have wings. And lastly. The two I have always been interested in."
"...What... do you mean about Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash?" Then she was instantly confused and was willing to know why Discord said that.
"Oh you don't know it right? Then let's just say that they have ‘special connections’ like you and Luna do. Does that interest you? Then I can’t say much if I separate those two so, I will say both of them together. All of you would be in a worse situation if it weren’t for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Do you know why?”
Twilight was too shocked to respond back. She couldn’t bear the many thoughts of her friends, Celestia and Luna. She was totally in a very deep shock again. She didn’t notice all this before. But, it was too much for her to handle it. She couldn’t comprehend the situation of her own mentor being an enemy to all of her friends, other ponies and for her. And this moment had changed her life forever. And she was dropping tears after
hearing she also damaged Spike’s wing growth speed. Many deep dark thoughts were within Twilight. She just wanted all this nightmare to end. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare and wished if she never ever heard about this. But it was a reality.
“I thought you would know it. Ahh I haven’t talked this much. I hate it. But, I guess I will have to. Do you remember how Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash got their cutie marks? Even though, I don’t know how they did. Both of them couldn’t have got it if it weren’t for the other. That is something I know.
And so did the rest of your friends and you got your cutie marks with their help. A help that can never be fulfilled in return. If it weren’t for them, it would have been a deep eternal sadness for ALL OF YOU! Those two... have always been together. Of course I found it disgusting and weird. Because you know that they are both... mares. But have to say that I was amazed at how they both lived through their life.
The most interesting is that they have been through every kind of situation in life together... suffering, happiness, love. Which is why that might be the reason to have such a crush. If you spend too much time with anyone. The chances of having a crush on that pony is really high. Which was something worth knowing about.
I don't know why you or even that romance novel reader Rarity didn't notice it. Especially when you already know that Rainbow Dash always took care of Fluttershy and she protected her from anything that makes her friend cry or annoys her. If it weren’t for those two. I wouldn’t be here telling the truth now! Because I wouldn’t even have cared about it if it weren’t for those two. But seeing such sadness like that. I knew who was responsible for it. I have had enough of it. I couldn’t just keep being a sitting duck. So I have decided to take an action and I called you here. Celestia was the enemy of all of you, all along. Right in front of your eyes.”
“… B-but… it can’t… be true…”
Discord wanted to get straight to business because he wasted too much time explaining the mare unicorn many things. “Enough talk of the past. I am gonna talk about the deal. The future. I want you and Luna to banish Celestia to her own sun… forever! I don’t know about your friends. But I am sure they won’t believe it. Which is why I chose you since I thought you would be smart enough for it and you do so. It’s like that old saying. 'To cure a poison will require a poison.' Luna will help you. She has felt my pain of being imprisoned. She has deep wraths for Celestia now. Celestia could have saved Luna. Upsetting isn’t it?
You have to talk to Luna and banish Celestia to her own sun with Luna. I can’t get out from this dimension. I have permanently been banished by you and your friends. I can never forgive what pain you have brought to me and a future disaster for everyone. But if you banish Celestia... I will no longer regret anything. The land of Equestria will be under a better leader. Princess Luna. Ask your questions of her. Now go! Enough talk for my entire immortal life.”
Twilight was in deep shock. She was in a pain. Her heart broke deep than any words can describe. After hearing such thing about her own mentor, friends and hearing that she has feelings for another pony but she did not want to believe it. Nopony can actually comprehend the situation.
Discord opened a portal for Twilight. Twilight was still shocked. She couldn’t even move before hearing Discord's final words. “What are you waiting for? GO!”
Twilight slowly walked through the portal. She couldn’t think straight. She was consumed by deep thoughts. But, then her heart filled slowly... with anger, wrath and sadness.
Just when Twilight was gone. Discord looked back. And then instantly had an emotion. He frowned and dropped a single tear after thinking about the past. But soon his eyes filled with anger and wrath. And he thought about Celestia. "This is not over Celestia. You started it first and I am will finish it now for what you have done to me for all these years. Now is the time for you to suffer my pain!" And he teleported away and was nowhere to be seen.
Old Vengeance
Chapter 2 :Risks
Twilight walked out of the portal. She looked back and wished that she hadn’t had a conversation with Discord or ever came here. She didn’t want to think about it anymore, but she couldn’t help it. She thought it would be best if she didn’t tell anyone except her friends. Twilight looked back at the portal, regretting her previous decision.
“I... I can’t believe it... I never should have came closer to that gate... I could have just led Cerberus here and left this place...”
Twilight was dropping tears and frowned with a deeper sadness than any words can describe. But then she was starting to blame herself with anger.
“You did this Twilight... you took the risks and you entered the gate,” she scolded herself. “YOU ARE THE STUPID PONY WHO STARTED THIS. There is no looking back now... You have to finish what you have started Twilight... YOU CAN DO IT! JUST KEEP CALM AND THINK OF A SOLUTION!”
Twilight was freaking out and was angry at herself. She almost wanted to just kill herself for this. Instead, she suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious. She was drifting into the Dreamland like before.
She was in some sort of a hallway. It took awhile for her to regain her stamina and look around the place. Once she got up she noticed that she was in Princess Celestia’s hallway. She was confused at first, but then she figured that she was having another nightmare.
“Why am I here in Canterlot... am I having a nightmare again?” Twilight wondered. “This is definitely weird. This has to be happening for a reason. Perhaps, I could look around and get at least a clue on what is going on, since nopony will find me doing it. Speaking of nopony, why isn’t there anypony here in the hallway? Not even the guards are around.”
Twilight was nervous about the current situation. She was even having a hard time understanding both reality and her nightmares. Twilight decided to go to one of the windows to take a look at the situation outside. It was just the sight she was afraid she would see. It was what she saw before. Equestria was on fire, small black dots were flying far away, and nopony could be seen.
“I am back in a similar situation just as how my previous nightmare was. I am sure this is not an ordinary nightmare. Hmm... what if these nightmares... are trying to tell me something? Anyways I have to hide and look around to find anything interesting before I think deeply about my nightmares,” she thought.
After some thought, she moved to one of the giant pillars in the big hallway. Twilight looked around for clues. She was cautious of her environment and the situation outside. She noticed a dim cyan light behind Celestia’s throne. Twilight moved until she could see the source of light. It was that vault door that was once used by Celestia to keep the Elements of Harmony safe.
“Huh? What is that?” she thought, puzzled. “I thought the Elements are no longer in there... Perhaps, I could check it rather than thinking too long. But I have to be aware of anypony and anything dangerous.”
She slowly snuck up to the vault door. Twilight tried to open it with her hoof, but she found it was locked.
“I have a strange feeling that the Elements are not in here,” the mare mused. “But what could be emitting the light? Is it something magical and powerful? Even though I do not know what is in there. I am having a feeling that this is something essential to save Equestria from those problems. Maybe if I just--”
Twilight’s thoughts were soon interrupted by noises coming from behind her. She quickly hid behind the throne. She heard the sound of footsteps, and then a conversation between the two unknown ponies.
“I can’t believe she was siding with that enemy,” the first said.
“I told you before. I was beginning to suspect that she might be a traitor. And you didn’t believe me. This is all your fault!” the second voice replied angrily.
“What do you mean MY fault? You didn’t handle the situation if you were suspecting it. I did not know this would happen, so this is all your fault!” the first speaker yelled back.
“Interesting... although I have no idea what they are if I judge it by their voices. They pretty high-pitched though. But I still don’t know what they are. I need more clues. They may be my enemies. They are talking about their failures. That means they
are not some regular ponies.” Twilight thought.
Suddenly she heard a sound like wind blowing, and some hooves stepping on the floor. Another voice could be heard as well.
“SILENCE! It was both of your fault,” the new voice commanded. “You two even tainted our abilities, histories and honors. How could both of you be fooled when we were the ones who was supposed to be fooling them. So I think a small punishment will be required for you two.”
“Please have mercy on us Queen Elixir! We did not know any better. It is our mistake. Plea-” the first speaker pleaded.
“How about... DEATH!” the third voice responded coldly.
A bright light flashed, and sounds of pain could be heard from the first two ponies. The Queen was laughing and enjoying watching the two ignited servants. A strange bright green light was created from the flame and some weird noises were heard as well. It seemed quite harsh for Twilight.
“That is... really brutal,” the unicorn thought. “Even for her own servants... Hmm... Queen Elixir... I’ve never heard of her before, not even in my books. They can’t be some regular ponies. That is obvious enough for me. What could they be? Especially with abilities and histories? That means they are some sort of a clan or something. Maybe the one that pushed me over to the edge in my previous nightmare was one of them? I have to peek at least slightly to understand how they look. Then it will be easier to identify them later.”
She peeked a bit to identify the unknown enemy. And just as she moved, the Queen stopped walking and looked around. Twilight quickly hid behind the throne again.
“Dang,” Twilight cursed silently. “If only I could have at least identified her color. But I have to focus on hiding. She might find me soon if I stay here for long.”
The Queen spoke. “I know it is you. I know you are here in this hallway. Come out so we can handlel this business between us more easily.”
“What? But how did she know that I was here?” the purple mare thought. “I don’t know if I should go out. I will have to hear another response to be sure.”
“COME OUT!” the queen commanded. “I know you are there, hiding from me. Come out so we can talk and end this in a polite way. I don’t want to waste my time and neither do you. I can blast your hiding spot in seconds. This is my last warning.”
“I have no choice but to come out now,” the unicorn thought. “My horn isn’t working, just like before. At least I will have a chance to see what this Queen looks as well.”
Twilight stood up and came out from the behind the throne. “I am here. What do you want from me?” she asked.
Twilight looked around, trying to spot the Queen. The result was quite unexpected for Twilight. She saw... herself! The queen did look a little different. She had deep purple eyes. Her voice was a bit higher than Twilight’s own voice.
“We meet again,” her doppelganger said.
Twilight’s mind was full of thoughts. She didn’t know if that strange unicorn was just similar to herself or something else. Twilight found the intimidating unicorn’s eye color to be strangely familiar. She focused on talking to try and get some information out of her double if she could.
“Who are you? Why do you look like me? And wha--” Twilight began
“Stop now,” the queen commanded coldly. “I am the only one who asks the questions here. You have no choice but to do so as I want.”
Twilight froze upon hearing such a response from an intimidating unicorn that looked like her.
“As you can see. Canterlot, Ponyville, Cloudsdale and all of Equestria is now already mine. And I have never been more happy like this before,” Queen Elixir smiled. “However, I have been trying to find you. You have been trying to stop my plans as well. I do not know why you are trying to, but it is all useless. You can never defeat me. I am more powerful than Celestia and Luna! You can’t even use your horn. I see that my ‘gift’ worked perfectly fine.”
“Wait... does that mean we have met before as well? And what happened to Princess Luna and my friends?” Twilight wondered.
“That’s right. My ‘gift’ worked perfectly fine. The reason you are still alive now is because I wanted you to witness how even more powerful I am going to become. And the time has come! WITNESS MY TRUE POWER!” the Queen shouted.
The clouds were moving by themselves, gathering above them. The clouds became dark, and a lightning bolt hit the ground. Twilight woke from the nightmare.
Twilight quickly got up from the ground. She was exhausted. It was night-time, which was quite unexpected for her. Before she had fainted, it was day-time.
“Oh... my head hurts a lot... nevermind that. I have to warn my friends in Ponyville and decide what to do together with my friends. But I might just collapse on the ground right now. I wonder how long I was unconscious. Probably some hours. I really need to find a way back to Ponyville, but I can’t move and I am so tired... my head... it hurts... it hurts a lot. I can’t handle it because it is too painful for me. But I have to go to Ponyvil--” Her thoughts were interrupted as she fell unconscious again due to the stress she has suffered. Twilight’s mind was full of random thoughts, feelings, and worries. She couldn’t handle it all. Twilight just wanted to go to Ponyville and talk to her friends about it and explain what actually happened. She just wanted her friends to be close to her, and tell them what happened. She wouldn’t regret it if she couldn’t tell the truth.
“...W-where am I?” Twilight wondered hazily. She opened her eyes. Twilight found herself in her own library, lying in her own bed. The unicorn couldn’t move because of her body’s condition. She was confused about how she came here. She tilted her head to the right a little bit. She looked near the window, and saw the one pony she did not expect to see. It was Luna, sitting and looking through the window at the stars.
“P-Princess Luna?” she stammered.
Luna heard Twilight and looked at her, then came closer to her and sat on her bed.
“WE DID NOT NOTICE THAT THOU WERE AWAKE,” she shouted. “HOW IS THY HEALTH?”
“I am alright. Thank you for asking me about that Princess Luna,” Twilight replied.
“WE ARE PLEASED TO HEAR SUCH NEWS!” Luna responded.
“But Princess... how did I come here?”
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE! WE FOUND THEE LYING ON THE GROUND DURING OUR NIGHT PATROL! SO--” Luna paused, noticing Twilight was covering her ears. She smiled sheepishly. “I apologize for using the Royal Canterlot Voice, Twilight Sparkle,” she said in a much quieter tone.
“Don’t worry about it. You have no reason to be sorry about it. You can talk in anyway whenever you want, Luna,” Twilight said, smiling. Then the lavender unicorn noticed that she just called The Princess of the Night by her real name. She instantly tried to apologize for doing so. “Oh I am so sorry for calling you by your-”
“It is okay Twilight Sparkle. I prefer to keep it that way... It is more... comforting... and short,” the moon goddess replied.
“Luna... you can just call me Twilight as well. It is more friendly and short. And we are really best friends as well,” Twilight said with a kind and gentle tone. Then she started remembering about what Discord said to her. She wondered if she was really starting to develop... feelings for The Princess of the Night.
“What Discord said... is it really true? Maybe he was just teasing me. But still... I am somehow much more comfortable around her, more than I am with my other friends. But I’ve spent much more time with my friends than with Luna. Why am I starting to develop certain feelings for her if I wasn’t friends with her that long? I am trying to... be at her side and listen to her problems and try to help and calm her down... Just thinking about it nearly breaks my heart. But my feelings probably just end there. There is no way I would have special feelings for The Princess and a... mare,” Twilight thought, frowning.
“Twilight... is something bothering you?” Luna asked.
“…Oh excuse me, I was just thinking about something… nothing interesting at all,” Twilight said hastily.
“Oh... did you have anything to say to me? You look worried about something,” the alicorn asked.
“Should I tell her about what happened to me, right now?” Twilight wondered. “This may be the only chance to say what happened... and she would definitely help me and we can talk to my friends about it… Although... I don’t understand why Discord said that my friends wouldn’t believe it at all. They are my friends! And they will always help me when I am in need. He only suggested that I should talk about this with Luna…”
Twilight sat up and moved closer to Luna until she was sitting next to her. “Luna… I have to say this now and this may be the only chance to say it,” she said carefully.
“Well… what did you want to talk about Twilight?” the lunar princess replied.
“… Do you know about what actually happened to me?” the unicorn asked.
“… No... I do not know even have a single clue about what happened to you. Did something terrible happen to you?” Luna asked worriedly.
“Luna… I have always trusted you with all my heart. That’s why I am going to tell you about this. However, It will be very shocking. And it is okay if you refuse to hear it.” Twilight looked away.
“‘Twilight... how can I refuse to help my best friend when she is in need of help? Of course, I would help you with it. You can tell me about it and I want to help you no matter if it is hard or even if it challenges me.” Luna smiled at her.
“Thank you Luna. I can’t thank you enough. I was afraid that I might get rejected. It means so much to me,” Twilight said. She couldn’t help but hug Luna. The other pony was very surprised, and the Princess blushed a little bit since she didn’t expect to receive such a hug. She always needed a warm hug to calm herself after her past as Nightmare Moon. And so, Luna hugged Twilight back so tightly that Twilight had trouble breathing. The lavender unicorn gladly accepted the hug from her.
“I can understand how hard it was for her. Being trapped in a cold place with nopony to talk to must have been so terrible... I am very surprised that she is still okay, and she is even willing to put her mistakes in the past. That is a huge step in overcoming your own mistakes. I am so grateful for her, and I will always enjoy a warm and a nice hug with her to help her leave her problems in the past,” the purple unicorn thought.
After some seconds of hugging, they slowly parted from each other’s embrace.
“... I want to thank you for the warm hug ‘Twi... I am just... so happy to have made somepony happy,” Luna said.
“Thank you Luna... But... I am sorry for this... I need to talk to you about what I mentioned earlier. I would hate to lose a chance and I think I better say it now,” Twilight replied.
“What did you want to talk about, Twilight?” the alicorn asked.
“I was on my way to Gates of Tartarus with Cerberus...” the unicorn began.
Twilight started explaining everything she had heard and seen to make it understandable for Luna. Twilight didn’t say that Discord told her that she has feelings for Luna. She figured it would be awkward and it would be better to leave that out.
“... and Discord said that you... are the only pony that can help me to defeat... Celestia,” she said finally.
Luna was stunned. “Twilight... that is... very shocking. I did not expect you would have such... shocking news... Just thinking about how hard it must have been for you saddens me very much. And... it is true that Discord talked to me before, that Chaos can be better than the Harmony itself sometimes... That is, when he wasn’t imprisoned in stone... If only I knew better, and helped him instead of helping her beat him... This is all happening because of me, isn’t it?”
“Luna... please don’t blame yourself for that. This isn’t your fault and every... pony makes mistakes. And we learn from our mistakes to become a better one,” Twilight said.
“I... You’re right, Twilight. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Luna.”
“Anyways, we have to think of something to do about the problem. How about your friends? I am sure they will help you. Why did Discord say that none your friends will believe it?”
“I do not know about that, Luna. But we have to at least try asking our friends. Although, I don’t have any doubts about them. I know they will help us. Also... Luna... I have been having... strange nightmares lately. They are not just an ordinary nightmares. This is probably gonna be weird and unbelievable... I do not know about my first nightmare but in the second one, I saw myself as a devilish queen conquering all of Equestria... But I do not know if that was actually me.”
“Twilight... you will never be a monster like that. Ever. Don’t worry about those dreams... Only time can tell the reasons for those nightmares.”
“You are right Luna. And looks like it will be morning soon... since you are going to stay up tonight to lower the moon... do you want to try stargazing using my telescope?”
“What do you mean ‘stargazing’ one of my own stars?”
“Oh... I forgot that you never tried something like that. Come and look at this.”
The alicorn followed Twilight when she got off her bed to lead her to the telescope. The unicorn thought it would be a fun thing for the Princess to do.
“Come closer, I will show you how to use it. It is really easy and simple,” Twilight said. The lavender unicorn showed the basic operations of her telescope to Luna. When she found a star for her to stargaze at, she started setting the focus. Twilight was really enjoying this. Not because of her telescope, but because she was with Luna. Twilight wanted to show her how fun simple things can be. “See? It is simple. Try it now.”
“What does it do Twilight?” Luna asked.
“Look through it. I promise you that this will be fun for you.”
Luna came closer to the telescope and then slowly moved her head to the telescope’s lens to look through it... she gasped. “Twilight... that is... amazing. I kind of a doubted a bit when you first said that stars are just like sun, just farther away... but now I believe you completely.”
“Yes and I am happy that--”
“Wait... if I was raising thousands of suns every night and Celestia was raising only one sun every day... doesn’t that mean I was doing a lot more effort than her? Then why did... nopony understand me?”
“Luna... you have to understand that sleeping at night is just in our own nature. Everypony... no... everyone likes taking a rest from their hard day’s work. Which means every one of us likes night as well. Everyone understands you.”
“You’re right, Twilight.” Luna sighed. “If only I knew that before I was... banished to the moon... But no worries about it. I understand that it was my fault for being envious.”
“Luna, it is amazing that you can leave such things in the past so easily. I mean, it’s not a bad thing. I am just really amazed and happy about it.”
Luna noticed that it was going to be morning soon. Luna stood up and used her powerful alicorn magic to lower the moon. Soon the sun was rising, and the ponies were all waking up. It was just another day in Equestria. The alicorn looked at Twilight. “Thank you for staying up through this whole night and having a nice conversation with me. It has been a pleasure. It meant a lot to me, Twilight,” she said with a smile.
Just as Luna spoke, the unicorn suddenly remembered something very important for her and Luna.
“Oh, Twilight... how can you be so ignorant and stupid like this! You have to say it to her. She accomplished something you can never do and you can’t be like this,” she thought.
“I am so sorry Luna, how rude of me to almost forget it. I just wanted to... thank you a lot for bringing me here safely. I don’t know if I could have made it here if it weren’t for you... You have saved everyone’s lives... and mine Luna... I can never thank you enough for this. I just... don’t know what to say.” Twilight moved her head to Luna’s neck, crying with happiness.
Luna was very surprised, but soon she moved one of her wings halfway around Twilight’s neck. She closed her eyes and lowered her head to comfort the unicorn. Twilight suddenly turned her head to look at Luna to say something, they both accidentally ended up kissing each other on the lips. Luna opened her eyes in surprise. She was blushing a lot and she was too shocked to do anything about the intimate moment.
Twilight was blushing and too shocked to even comprehend the current situation. They were both somehow starting to slightly enjoy it until Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie came in slamming the door open. They all noticed what was happening, all except Pinkie Pie.
“HELLO TWILIGHT!” the pink pony chirped. “What’cha do yesterday? Oh, you two are playing a game? Can I jo-”
Rarity shoved her hoof in her friends mouth.
Twilight and Luna had noticed that they were not alone anymore; they instantly pulled away. Everypony in the library was shocked, and the awkward moment continued. Luna and Twilight were worried and afraid of the new future that was going to change their lives forever.
Pinkie Pie wasn’t very shocked. She was rather more surprised than shocked. The other ponies were too shocked and couldn’t even think of a good way to start a conversation. Every one of them tried to find a good way to start a conversation, especially Twilight and Luna.
Just then, Spike came into the library, oblivious to what just happened. “TWILIGHT!” Spike yelled. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you! I was worried, so I told your friends and... Princess Luna?”
Luna tried to avoid the awkward moment. She was willing to get out of the library, but she wanted to help her best friend to say the dark truth.
“... I a-am sorry for making the... situation worse, dear friends... But we have something important to discuss with all of you as well.” she said carefully.
“Yes, Luna and I have talked about it. However, I have to say that the news will be quite shocking for everypony, and it will change your lives forever... in a bad way,” Twilight said.
Rarity, being the drama queen and romance novel reader she was, had quickly noticed the strong relationship between the two of them. The fact that Twilight just called the Princess of The Night by name only proved her suspicions correct. She quickly responded to prevent the awkward moment from continuing. “No worries, Twilight. We will all help you no matter what happens. After all, we are your friends, right?”
“... Ah’ agree with Rarity,” Applejack said.
“I am ready for the news, Twilight. I am your number one assistant after all! But we have to hurry!” Spike added.
“OF COURSE we are your friends, Twilight! And we never even broke a promise. Doesn’t that sound really great? I know because... IT IS! Maybe we can party after we solve this problem?” Pinkie babbled.
“Pinkie! This is a serious problem. A problem we have never ever had and bigger than any of us expected. But no offense to you though.” Twilight chided her.
Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Ohh... if you mean serious... you really mean serious?... Okay then...”
“Hmm... If we act quickly, we might have a better chance. I think I should just tell them about the current problem. I can tell them what happened in-depth later,” Twilight thought.
“Friends... I will tell it straight forward now and explain it later... Discord is now our ally and Princess Celestia has been our enemy for a long time,” she said simply.
The room was silent for an instant. Then everypony decided to talk at once.
