Sparkle

Chapters

The Dark Light
Out Of Time
The Light At The Shore
Lucid Darkness

The Dark Light

The giant double doors at the end of the throne room burst open along with the echoing sound of hooves galloping forward.

"Your highness!"

The stallion guard ran until the bottom of the steps, nearly falling trying to bow.

Upon her mauve cushioned and aureate curled throne, a lavender alicorn sat, giving the guard her full attention. "What is it?"

"It's Starswirl. They found him in the archives," he panted, attempting to catch his breath.

"Does he want one of his old scrolls?" Twilight asked.

"No. He's.. passed on."

Twilight felt her body freeze, her ethereal sparkling dark sapphire mane still flowing.

"Would you like to see him?" The guard asked, his voice laced with awkwardness.

Her eyes searched the room for nothing in particular as her mind worked. "No. We must prepare the funeral," Twilight finally said, her tone calm.

"Uh, yes, your majesty, and one guard found this," he reached back in a small saddle bag and held up a piece of paper in his hoof.

Twilight's horn channeled her magic, levitating the note in front of her. The first thing she saw was in bold letters: "for Princess Twilight only".

She opened the note. The handwriting was pristine and neat and had a residual style of old texts. She began to read.

Twilight, if you're reading this then I'm probably not in this corporeal realm anymore. I've moved beyond the veil and into the aether or beyond. Or I've simply ceased to exist. But with my passing I bring graver news. Equestria is in danger from a distant star. When I was a mere young stallion, I had a dream of a star that spun and shone light from both ends. In the dream, the star began to collapse before it exploded and from both ends a deadly beam shot forth, vaporizing all life, leaving a scorched earth. Recently a few moons ago, the dream occurred once again but more vividly. This could be mere coincidence having the same dream again, but I find my cognitive abilities drawing me back, leading me to dwell on the dream. It has affected me to point of being the reason I attempted to create a time spell long ago. But in recent moons, I have become more vigorous in my efforts, looking for any star in the sky or a sign of the coming catastrophe. It has proven futile as I have found nothing. Whether that's a blessing or a curse I'm not sure. The only lead I suggest you follow is to dig into astrological positions and ancient texts in mine and Celestia's vault. There may be something disclosing such an event or foreshadowing it. Using a telescope also wouldn't be the worst idea. But in my dream, the event happened when the sun had set. Keep a keen eye Twilight, for I feel the fate of Equestria is in your hooves one last time.

Her eyes left the note and rested on the throne room floor, gazing at nothing.

"Is everything alright your highness?" The guard asked, breaking the silence.

"Could you please locate the ambassador? I'd really appreciate it."

"Yes, your highness," he bowed, turning away and leaving with the resounding thud of the double doors.

Her gaze rested on the throne room floor and traveled along the ray of sunlight that came through the mosaic glass window.

The window had fractal shapes showing the legendary six ponies using the elements of harmony to vanquish the legendary Spirit of Chaos.

The memories flooded back into Twilight's mind. The remembrance evoked mixed feelings of sadness and happiness. It was almost nostalgic.

"Why so glum?" An old male voice reverberated throughout the throne room.

The picture of the chimeric serpent dragon displayed a starry flash before it began to move.

"Starswirl passed away," Twilight replied "But I assume you already knew that."

"Why would I have asked in the first place?" He replied, resting his jaw on his closed paw. He sighed. "But that is indeed quite the tragic thing to hear."

With trepidation, she continued, "he left me a note."

"Don't tell me he lost hope and used the rope. I didn't even do anything."

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it was natural causes. But the note warned me of something. Of a possible coming disaster."

"Possible?"

"It's not a hundred percent but he was concerned enough about it to leave me the note and where to begin researching."

"A disaster that may or may not be coming has you stressed," Discord replied, examining his talons. "Surely you've learned this lesson before."

"I'm not too concerned…"

Discord disappeared and reappeared with a starry flash in his normal form. "We don't need a ruler going through a severe case of neurosis."

The double doors opened, revealing a familiar purple scaled dragon with green spines, though he had aged into a young adult.

"Oh, no. Discord's here too?" The dragon said in jest, sauntering toward them.

"Spike, Starswirl just passed, and it'd be great if you could represent me while I get some things done."

"Oh. Uh, sure," Spike replied, his tone feigning indifference despite the jarring news.

"I suppose I'll be off then," he sighed. "Ring me if events become dire," he said, snapping his talons, disappearing with a starry flash.

Twilight stared at the crimson carpet, the sound of running water echoing in the room.

"You seem to be taking it well?" Spike asked.

"... it was gonna happen someday, right?" Twilight mumbled.

Images of her friends entered her mind.

"I guess so," Spike answered, looking down in introspection as well.

Twilight began down the hall, heading toward the double doors. "If you need anything I'll be in the archives."

The lock on the cage door was encapsulated in a magenta aura, before clicking, causing the door to swing open. Twilight entered the archives, beginning toward its center.

She immediately attempted to find the Starswirl wing. Finding it, she began magically lifting scrolls and books out, scanning their covers. She found a couple interesting texts, reading the table of contents before flipping to numerous pages.

Nothing stood out to her for the most part. There were some interesting questions with some interesting theories and hypothesis' but nothing specific to the event she was told.

She did however find a small diary. Instead of skimming, she actually began to read. This lasted for a while until she reached a wall of text.

I woke up from the strangest dream. I witnessed a star explode, shooting a beam of white energy towards the earth, reducing it to nothing but embers and a scorched sphere of rock. What perturbed me the most was how real it felt. Dreams can be and are mystical in nature. I've had dreams that have come true to the fullest extent despite previously knowing of the event. It makes me curious if it's connected to what deja vu is, or if free will even exists. While there is an argument to be made, I’m strongly inclined to believe it is real. Because most ponies act as if they do and when you tell them they don’t, they easily get annoyed like myself. But perhaps not. Perhaps this is all fixed on a set path and is all predetermined until the end of time and subverting fate or altering destiny is impossible. The most interesting answer would be both which would create a paradox. But I’m going to err on the side of free will which is why I’m going to concern myself with the dream. I may ask Celestia or Luna for some input on this matter.

Talking with Celestia, she offered that it probably was nothing to worry about. Though she did say it could possibly be a vision, she recommended I research just in case which I was in full agreeance with. While I've found nothing, this string of events has made me desire to look into time. I feel as though I've made some interesting progress. With the help of magic, time travel may indeed be possible.

Destiny is a curious thing. Many have experiences that feel personal and meaningful. Like discovering what it is you’re truly meant to do. Though the most idiosyncratic appearance is of meaningful ‘coincidences’. The term I recall vaguely hearing escapes me. But it feels as though there is an odd magical force at work. Whether this is true is to be determined. Perhaps these are the work of the mind, a placebo, and all of it is a mere pareidolia. Perhaps everything has already happened forever ago.

Twilight herself found free will interesting, she tended to agree with Starswirl, though there were times she doubted herself especially in her younger years.

Not to mention the fateful Tuesday morning where she fulfilled a loop. But she also recalled the events with the castle harmony map, leading to a timeline fracture.

She read further. Coming across an interesting passage.

Due to recent events, I'm curious if I should examine texts in ancient prophecies. I'm skeptical they'll offer anything but maybe there will be a correlation. I doubt it. My time is better spent coming up with a time spell.

Images appeared in Twilight's mind. And what lied in the image was a very specific book. She felt strangely compelled and felt an odd will come over her. It was like a gut feeling or intuition but also felt like something was telling her to go.

She shut the diary before magically sliding it back into its designated place.

Twilight knocked on the violet wooden door, her gaze fixated on the crescent moon cut into it.

The door opened, a tan colored mare with an amaranth mane with purple and violet streaks tied up stepping into the sunlight. Her dark purple eyes widened behind her spectacles.

"Twilight? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Moondancer. I came to see if you still had the key to my old home."

"Uh, yeah. Do you need it?"

"Yes, please."

Moondancer receded back into darkness, leaving the door open as Twilight heard rustling.

It wasn't long before a golden key with an hourglass bottom magically floated out from the darkness.

"Here you go."

Twilight channeled her own magic, encapsulating it in her aura. "Thanks. So how have you been?" Twilight asked, with a frail smile.

"Great actually. I just got back from a dinner with our friends."

Twilight felt a ball of joy burst within her. "That's great to hear! Are they doing alright?"

"Yep. They're doing fine."

"Well, I'm glad."

"Do you want to come with us at some point?"

Twilight's eyes flicked to the hourglass on the key. The current events travelled through her mind. She figured she could probably find or make the time despite her regal status, not that she didn't want to go, because she did, but the issue was she didn't know if she even had that time.

"Unfortunately, I don't think I can make anything right now," Twilight replied, with a dampened smile.

"Oh, okay," Moondancer replied, her eyes faltering for a second. "You are the ruler of Equestria now and all that," she said, in Twilight's defense, reciprocating her dampened smile.

Twilight felt a splinter of guilt that she couldn't find a way to remove. "Starswirl passed today," she confessed.

"Oh." Moondancer appeared visibly taken aback.

The silence lengthened and thickened between them until eventually Twilight broke it.

"Where should I leave the key if you're not home?"

"I'll probably be home but you can fit it through the moon in the door."

Twilight nodded before stepping forward with a foreleg held out, gesturing for a hug.

Moondancer obliged.

"Well, it was great to see you again," Twilight said, quietly.

"Yeah. You too."

They separated before Twilight turned and began toward her first home.

The key entered the door before turning, unlocking it. The door opened, allowing the lavender Alicorn to enter before beginning up the stairs.

Her eyes laid upon the giant hourglass in the room. She found herself drawn to it. Standing before it, she stared at the pale sand and it's construction, seeing it's golden highlights and regal size.

Memories manifested of her using it long ago.

Her horn channeled a violet energy, creating an aura holding the top of the hourglass. The hourglass was tipped toward her before being flipped upside down, causing the sand to funnel and pour down at a steady stream into the empty end.

She watched for a few seconds before turning away, facing her old giant wall of books. Her horn glowed before various books at random spots were pulled forward and began circling around her. Reading certain books, she would detach them from the circle and off onto a discard pile while pulling new ones from the wall to enter the circle.

This continued for a while before her eyes glanced at a familiar cover. The rest of the books snaked out of the circle and onto the discard pile, leaving only one.

She simply stared at the book, before eventually opening it. She skimmed through the table of contents, seeing things like: Epoch of Darkness, The Schism, Divine Gaurdians, Revenge Of The Dark Side Of The Moon, Leviathan, The Great Deception, The Great War. But her heart fluttered upon seeing one title.

Death Of A Star.

Reading the page number, she turned each page slowly as if they were delicate and had the possibility to ignite. The number grew until she finally turned the last page before it.

On the thirtieth year of the star marked one's birth, a star will die, and on the fateful limbo of day and night on the second day, a star will fire its energy of duality at Equestria.

The book slowly lowered as Twilight stared at nothing. Her mind raced, trying to decipher what she read and if it was true. She brought the book up again and began rereading the passage, over, and over.

It couldn't be true, she thought. But it was strongly opposed by the fact it was true once before. She tried to fathom it being an astronomical coincidence. But rationality began to fall as her rapidly beating heart told her otherwise.

Her breathing increasing, she turned and trotted away toward the stairs, leaving the room with the hour glass still pouring it's sand.

The room was basked in silence, until the door was hurriedly opened, allowing a distressed lavender Alicorn to enter.

The safety one normally feels in the confines of their room was vacant, and did nothing to stave off her welling anxiety.

She crossed the room before taking a seat at a highly ornate desk that flowed up. She stared at nothing on her desk, her mind reeling.

Thoughts passed in rapid fire as she attempted to formulate the endless possibilities and quell the internal rising doom.

With haste, her eyes flicked up and scanned the books on the shelf in front of her. Levitating a book in front of her, she riffled through the pages, stopping at specific points.

She attempted to find any magical solution, using the ancient texts to her advantage, from ancient artifacts, cosmic magic, to dark magic...

She tossed the remaining book onto the desk, her brows furrowed, a heat and feeling of excessive power rising.

Her psyche was split into two. One was irate, resentful at the fate she had no choice in and was given. She wondered why she even bothered with it all when it all was for nothing. Why she was even given an existence. The spirit of rebellion welled.

And with a whisper, it offered a simple solution to stop it. Power.

She gave a shaky sigh, her vision beginning to blur.

A glint fell to the floor.

A heavy minute passed, with sniffling and the tapping of teardrops filling the air. Eventually, there was silence.

"So, is there any particular reason the sun's not down yet?"

Looking over, she saw Discord snaked around the top of her bed that was shaped like a star.

In response, Twilight opened a drawer and opened a regal box, which held the amulet she was given years ago.

Levitating the amulet, she stood up and walked unto the balcony. Her gaze rested on the device as thoughts of the future and past filled her mind.

"Forgive me, Princess, but is there a reason you're neglecting your responsibility?"

She lowered her head, closing her eyes. Slowly, the sun descended toward the horizon, before the basking glow faded below, leaving a purple sky and the appearance of the brightest stars.

After a brief pause, the silver moon rose up into the sky, becoming the beacon of light in the darkness along with the sea of stars.

"So. How are things?"

"... Dire."

"It seems so according to your eyes and cheeks."

"Why did you even ask?" Twilight mumbled.

"Well, there is such a thing as tears of joy."

Gazing up, the moon reflected from her eyes. "I can assure you what I'm feeling right now is far from joy."

"Can I ask you what one would ask themselves while writhing in agony?"

Her visage was blank as she mulled over his question.

She sighed. "I did some reading and it seems Starswirl was right."

"How are you certain?"

"I read it in an ancient prophecies book."

"And you believed it?"

"It was right once before. It disclosed Nightmare Moon's return."

"Does that make all of them true?"

"I don't know… I just hope I'm wrong."

"... What did it say?"

"On the thirtieth year of the star marked one's birth, a star will die, and on the fateful limbo of day and night on the second day, a star will fire its energy of duality at Equestria."

For the first time since she could remember, she noticed Discord was quiet. The pause lengthened and almost became unbearable until she spoke.

"Please don't tell me you're behind this."

"Why in the world would I be behind this?"

"I don't know! Maybe because you've orchestrated things before, things that almost destroyed Equestria!"

"What would I have to gain from destroying the planet? Firstly, there would be no chaos to sow without a playground, and lastly and most importantly, Fluttershy would be gone."

"You've put all of us in danger before, including Fluttershy."

"I thought I could use my power to stop anything that would come in harm's way!"

Twilight bit her tongue as she could feel herself about to say something rash. She exhaled through her nostrils. "Could you use your power now to stop it?"

"I'm afraid it's most likely also out of my reach," he replied lowly.

Twilight felt a lead blanket drape over her. Her gaze lifted from the platform to the earth far below and specifically to a small little town in the distance.

"Should I tell them?"

"Your friends? That's up to you."

"... And Equestria."

"No. It's best left unsaid."

"But they deserve to know."

"Never underestimate the madness of a large group my dear princess. Telling them would do more harm than good. Some of the greatest evils are committed in groups. And we're not absolutely certain yet," he muttered lastly.

Twilight contemplated challenging his cynical view, as she believed ponies were capable of great things and she's seen triumph and humility in dire situations. But she didn't dare be fully naive as old history showed the divisive triad they all lived in long ago. Even recent events showed some degradation.

She vaguely remembered Discord's sowing of chaos through lies and white lies. But unlike Discord, the truth mattered to her.

"There's no comfort in the uncertainty," Twilight finally said.

"For now, we should attempt to come up with a way to stop this," he said, waving his talons as if he was holding an invisible object for a second. "I'll be in my thinking tree."

Twilight felt his presence vanish with the sound of an odd magical blast. Turning around, she left the moonlight and entered back into her darkened chamber, taking a seat at her desk.

She flicked a lighting stick against a rough surface creating a small flame at its end. She brought the flame to a chamberstick, transferring it, before blowing out the flame on the stick, leaving a trail of smoke.

Levitating six scrolls in front of her, she stretched one out and floated a quill above it. The quill moved swiftly but with elegance, slowly traveling to the left before resetting and periodically being dipped in ink. This process went on into the night, with the only light emanating from the chamberstick on her desk.

The void was eerily silent and vacant of any nebulae. But stars shone, being a beacon of light and repelling complete darkness.

One star was close, and its energy was powerful, eliciting an undulating hum and vibration felt in being like a heartbeat, trapping the internal song. It shone two beams of light from opposite ends, spinning endlessly.

Until a sound escaped and resonated.

The energy pulled inward before beams of white shot from both ends. One beam hit a planet, the energy pulverizing the atmosphere and burning it into embers and scorched earth.

Author's Note

What could've caused such a disastrous thing? I guess me haha. Or maybe something long, long ago.

Out Of Time

Twilight jolted up, her chest heaving and her heart pounding. Examining her surroundings, she immediately noticed she was sitting in her chamber, the silver moonlight rays passung through the balcony threshold indicating it was still night.

After a few minutes she calmed down, and despite the shot of adrenaline, she could immediately feel the exhaustion weighing her down due to lack of sleep.

She recalled the vividness of the nightmare. Like a vision.

She bowed her head, closing her eyes.

Her eyes opened to the book she was reading. She realized it was no wonder she drifted off.

Her eyes glanced to the bed, it's form alluring and calling her like a siren to rest. But her mind and resolve said no. Despite having broken her previous bad habit of letting her mind ruminate and worry, she found that the situation demanded it despite her royal duties. Like raising the sun.

She looked at the clock.

A thought crossed her mind of choosing not to fulfill her task, but she discarded it despite her somber state.

She took the amulet and entered the balcony, beginning to lower the moon and raise the sun, making the morning light encapsulate the sky.

Her gaze fell on the amulet again as memories of Celestia and Luna manifested once more.

She wished they were here. But their disappearances marked the day of her true solitary reign. Which was coming to an end.

Her brows furrowed as anger began to rise again, with similar feelings from the night before resurfacing.

"Any new ideas?"

Twilight's ears flicked and eyes slightly widened in response as she was internally startled from the familiar old sardonic voice.

Turning, she noticed the chimeric serpent dragon floating in the air with his arms crossed, his crimson pupils staring at her. He raised his bushy white brows and bowed his head, asking for a response.

"No. I researched some ancient artifacts but the ones that may help are residing in unknown locations."

Some ideas crossed her mind but were discarded- like imbuing the atmosphere with magic making it a stronger shield. If only there was a way to move the stars.

"I thought about creating a pocket dimension for us to reside," he said, "but it would require too much magic to make and to upkeep."

"I don't think everypony would've been able to fit anyway," Twilight dismissed. "And I'm not too keen on abandoning Equestria."

"We're running out of time," Discord growled, stroking his beard in thought.

Time.

"What if we went back in time and told our past selves earlier to give them more time to solve it?"

"You and I both know that's a terrible solution."

"What if we went back in time to stop the star from being created or got the Elements of Harmony."

"Those may be strong enough. But there's small issues like knowing which star to abort and shattering the time space continuum. And perhaps you're familiar with the Butterfly Effect."

Twilight's ears lowered as she sighed.

"Why are you proposing time travel, I thought you of all ponies would be against it."

"Starswirl was researching time spells. And I'm willing to do anything at this point."

"Did he say what for?"

"Not exactly. Maybe there's some sort of magic in the past he wanted access to? Or maybe he wanted to find a way to alter time on an object? Or to change an event? Go outside time? Stop time?"

"Then it appears we're out of luck. I might as well reek havoc and create chaos with the time I have left," he stated, tossing his arm, "I don't suppose you have another deus ex machina token lying around?"

The oppression and weight of everything was starting to take a toll on Twilight's psyche. She'd never felt so grim in her whole life. She was waiting to physically turn grey.

Discord gave a sidelong glance before his shoulders slumped.

A heavy silence fell over them for a while before Twilight broke it. "I invited the others over to dinner in the Canterlot garden," she mumbled. "Would you like to come?"

"It may be our last."

Silence fell again until a suprising sound captured Twilight's attention.

Discord chuckled. "You know, I never thought I'd be here. I used to indulge in warping reality, creating existential misery, and misfortune... Life indeed tends to be ironic."

"... You've come a long way."

He inhaled deeply and blinked rapidly a few times, before bringing a fist in front of his mouth, clearing his throat. "Yes, well, what time is the dinner?"

"Six-thirty sharp."

"Then I shall see you then," he replied lowly, snapping his talons and disappearing in a starry flash.

Twilight entered her chamber, setting the amulet on the desk. Sitting down, leaned back and closed her eyes.

But before she could even really think, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

The door opened revealing a familiar purple scaled and green spined dragon.

"Hey, Spike."

Spike stood at the center of the room, his pose rigid. "It must've hit you pretty hard huh?"

"... yeah."

"Well, um, the funeral planning is going well. It's planned for the day after tomorrow."

Noticing she didn't respond, Spike sauntered to her side, noticing her eyes were closed and had bags under them.

"Did you sleep?"

"A little," she replied.

"Are you reading to not think about it?"

She remembered she still had a book open in front of her and stacks beside her. "Yeah," she sighed, shutting the book and floating it on the stack.

"You have to get some sleep, Twilight. You know how you are without sleep."

"Yeah. I'll try to get some tonight. "There was a brief pause before she spoke again. "I invited our friends for dinner in the garden tonight."

"When is it?"

"Six-thirty sharp. Will you be there?"

"Sure," Spike answered cheerfully.

"Well," Twilight said, standing up. "Let's finish the day."

Author's Note

It seems it's inevitable. If only she had learned it sooner. So the next chapter is going to be the last. This story could've been way longer with a whole bunch of time travel shenanigans but I'm gonna be honest, I don't know if I'm ready for that. My caliber in writing is still fairly low. Which I hope doesn't result in a disappointing ending. Most of the time I don't really make elaborate plans, I just write to see what happens. Though sometimes I have a vision and I write to get to that vision. I'm kind of a hybrid but I lean towards freewriting. I wish I didn't because I've always wanted to write a twist ending. But I may release a bonus alternate ending I had in mind if I get around to it.

The Light At The Shore

Twilight exited the giant threshold into the daylight, her horn alight. She sauntered down the stone path, examining the vast garden in front of her, looking for a spot for the table.

Her hooves soon met dirt as she passed hedges with elaborate fencing and bouquets of flowers and beautiful trees.

Eventually she reached a clearing, with the beauty of the garden surrounding her, and a glimpse of stone statues and a familiar hedge labyrinth ahead of her past a few dozen trees.

With a creaking thud, in the clearing now sat a slim rectangular table, with a firm and thick wooden base. Her horn still channeling magic, a white mat was rolled over it with gold embellishments and highlights at its edges. Seven plates were placed on the table, seven sets of three pieces of embellished silverware were placed adjacent to each of them along with seven glasses. Satisfied with the symmetry, she magically pulled a cart forward full of various goods. She levitated a giant pitcher of water and a large bowl of fruits with more than a dozen apples surrounding the mound's circumference at its base. She put a few bowls of various vegetables on either side of the fruit bowl, with a few sweets as well. More sweets than usual. She finished it all off with chairs with mauve cushions.

She pulled one out near the center at one side and sat down, waiting for her friends' arrivals.

Time ticked by as Twilight stared at nothing.

Eventually, part of her wondered if they'd show up at all.

"So how's it hangin'," a raspy but still somewhat young feminine voice called.

Looking over, she saw a familiar cyan pegasus with her signature semi unkempt prismatic mane and cerise eyes. Rainbow Dash floated over before sitting beside her.

"Sheesh, you look tired," Rainbow noted.

"Yeah," Twilight replied.

"Wow," a soft hush voice said, "you picked a really good spot, Twilight."

A butter colored pegasus with a long curled grayish rose mane and cyan eyes floated over.

"Hey, Flutters," Rainbow greeted.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" A borderline shrill but cheerful feminine voice chirped.

Bouncing forward past Fluttershy was a grayish raspberry earth pony with a brilliant raspberry poofy mane and light cerulean eyes.

Pinkie Pie gasped upon seeing the table. "Wow, that's a lot of food!" She pulled a chair out and sat down. "Woah, these cushions are comfy," Pinkie proclaimed giving comfy an extra syllable as she bounced up and down.

Suddenly, a starry flash appeared at the table, revealing a certain draconequus. "Why hello, everypony. Or would it be everycreature now? Whatever," he dismissed clawing the air.

"Oh, boy," Rainbow droned.

"Anywho," Discord muttered before resuming his pretentious cadence, "may I offer you a paw and claws?" He asked, pulling a seat out.

Fluttershy gave him a nervous smile and almost blushed but obliged, taking the seat.

Discord pushed it forward before sitting in a chair beside her with his hands clasped together on the table.

Twilight's ears flicked as she heard more commotion approaching.

Sauntering forward was a white unicorn mare wearing a large tan hat partially concealing her stylish curled indigo mane and who also wore a pair of sunglasses covering her would be azure eyes.

But alongside her was Spike who appeared to be talking with her with his hand on the back of his head.

"So are we waiting for the others before we eat or?" Pinkie asked.

"According to proper eating etiquette," Discord stated, "I'm in favor of waiting for our fellow companions."

"That's surprising coming from you," Rainbow noted to Discord.

"So yes?" Pinkie asked.

Rarity eventually arrived at the table laughing at something Spike said before taking a seat. "Twilight, darling! It's so great to see you," Rarity gushed, opening her forelegs for a hug.

Twilight obliged and wrapped a foreleg around her.

When Rarity pulled away, her visage dawned one of concern. "My, did you not sleep well? It looks like you have the world on your withers. Whatever has happened must've been absolutely dreadful."

"I'll tell you after we eat," Twilight replied.

"Sorry I'm late, y'all. Big Mac had trouble gettin' up today and there was minor flooding at the orchard."

Approaching was a gamboge earth pony mare with emerald eyes wearing a brown stetson over her blonde mane.

"Wasn't me," Discord replied. "Besides, you all know I prefer ice skating over water skiing.

"Oh, boy," Applejack mumbled.

"That's what I said," Rainbow added.

"Was it because of the beavers?" Fluttershy inquired.

Applejack took a seat next to Pinkie. "These chairs are mighty comfortable."

"That's what I said!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Without that country twang," Pinkie added, emphasizing twang.

Applejack gave her playful smirk, before gazing past her at Fluttershy. "Uh, we never found out what caused it. Ah reckon it coulda been the mornin' rain. You can come over and check if you want."

"The weather team probably left the clouds out for a little too long," Rainbow noted.

"You could stop by and let me know if it doesn't clear up tomorrow," Fluttershy replied.

Twilight's frown deepened ever so slightly.

"Can we dish up now?" Pinkie asked.

"We're all present so I don't see why not," Rarity replied.

Pinkie pounced, beginning to take slices of a wide range of desserts.

"Darling, don't you want a little more healthy things in your diet?" Rarity asked, placing a few vegetables on her plate and some hay.

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away," Applejack added.

In response, Pinkie grabbed an apple and placed it beside her plate.

"I still don't know how you're slim, Pinkie," Rainbow said.

"Exercise silly," Pinkie replied.

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

After dishing up, everyone began eating. Except for Twilight.

"I wish there were some ruby cupcakes," Spike noted, his sharp teeth piercing into an apple.

Discord raised his talons, his middle finger and thumb pressed together.

"Found some!" Pinkie called.

Out of nowhere, Pinkie pulled a small tray of cupcakes with various gem pieces sprinkled over the frosting.

Twilight felt a nudge from her right side.

"Why don't you have a plate?" Rainbow asked, still chewing.

"I'm not really hungry."

"Um, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked. "Could you pass me a slice of banana bread?"

Before Rainbow could reach the plate, a slice of banana bread levitated into the air. Discord directed it with his paw, floating it onto Fluttershy's plate with a snaggletooth smirk.

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Also, Rainbow," Rarity started, "would you mind trying these on?"

Rainbow noticed Rarity's shades floating in an azure aura. "Uh, sure?"

The shades were gently placed onto her face.

"These feel lame," Rainbow responded after a few seconds.

Applejack chuckled.

"Yes, I tend to agree," Rarity said, " they don't really fit on you."

"Can I try?" Spike asked.

Smiling, Rarity magically pulled the shades off Rainbow's face and placed them on Spike's.

Pinkie began to chortle, with Fluttershy hiding her muzzle behind her hoof.

"That bad?" Spike asked.

"I actually quite like how they look," Rarity replied.

"Is the cake any good, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked.

Pinkie swallowed, "It's nothin' to go home and rave about," she dismissed waving a hoof, with a sly smile. "But I think you should try some of the lemon cake!"

An empty plate was placed in front of Twilight. "My apologies for the plate not being pristine," Rarity said, her voice a hush.

Twilight stared at the plate and particularly at the star shaped symbol at its center closely resembling her Cutie Mark.

"So Twi," Applejack began. "Are ya ready to tell us what happened? You look tired and you've been mighty quiet through the whole dinner."

Twilight glanced at Discord, his eyes repeating what he said last night.

"You don't have to tell us right away, we don't want to make you uncomfortable," Fluttershy said, her soft and soothing voice unable to soothe the misery within Twilight.

"Um, well…"

"Come on, Twilight," Rainbow encouraged "we've always got your back."

Twilight sighed and hung her head. "Starswirl passed yesterday."

"Good heavens, that's simply awful," Rarity replied.

Applejack took her hat off and placed it over her chest while Fluttershy stared at the table.

"That sucks," Rainbow replied simply, also staring blankly at the table.

A heavy silence hung over the table, each second adding weight, as everyone wilted from diminishing spirit.

"That's quite the downer," Pinkie said. "I know it's easier said than done, but we should move forward and live the best life we can while we still have time. I'm not saying we shouldn't be sad but we should smile and celebrate the fact he was here. Even despite everything that's happened. Like us. It can get really, really, dark but if you wait, and see, that's when the light shows itself. And I'm sure he's in a good place. So let's make some of those sad tears into happy tears."

"Well said, Pinkie," Applejack said. "Starswirl was a hero and went through a lot. And we've been through quite a lot too, and we're stronger for it."

"Mhm," Fluttershy nodded.

"Our journey has been quite profound hasn't it?" Rarity said. "Borderline divine."

"Yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed. "And I'd be willing to die for you guys just to keep it going."

The smile that graced Twilight's lips was the catalyst for a thought that provided an answer to her past resentment.

Despite the hardships she endured, she lived because she loved her friends, loved the times she had, the joy she felt. She valued all the experiences. If she could, she would do it all again.

Something surfaced from the depths and dreary undertow of her mind, a profound thought that felt different and exotic from the rest. So much so it caused other thoughts to cease. The idea was grim but it offered a chance.

"Geez. I wish I was as inspiring as you guys," Spike said.

"Discord can I talk with you for a minute?"

Discord glanced at Twilight, seeing she had stood up and nodded for him to approach. "Excuse me ladies and gentledrakes, important business to attend to." Discord walked beside Twilight, speaking low enough for her to hear. "Quite eloquent and elegant speeches," he noted.

Twilight said nothing and continued ambling on the grass further into the garden.

"So where are we headed?"

Twilight stopped under a tree, pivoting to face him.

"Don't make me regret telling you."

Discord raised a brow.

"I thought of something at the table. What if we used magic to go into space, and created a barrier to block the beam to lessen the blow against the atmosphere?"

"The amount of magical energy required would be preposterous, and if we somehow succeeded, there would be no way we would have enough energy to make it back."

"I know."

Discord was silent, his gaze falling to the grass. After what felt like a minute, he turned around, his red tail creating a breeze of wind before he began back toward the table.

Twilight watched with a frown as she was left alone under the tree. Eventually she sighed, making her way back toward the table.

Once she had arrived, she noticed two seats were vacant.

"What did you two talk about?" Rarity inquired.

"Royal matters," Twilight replied, taking a seat. "Pinkie, could you pass me a slice of lemon cake."

Twilight entered her chamber, sauntering to her desk before taking a seat. She pulled out two scrolls one for her friends the other for Equestria.

She began with the scroll to Equestria, the quill elegantly flowing across the page.

She started with an apology for the circumstances of her absence. She labeled the forms and changes in power and new wielders of certain responsibilities that should be maintained or shifted before delving into a backup plan if all else fails, ending in the construction of a relic of requiem.

Finishing the long scroll she signed the end.

She then began on the final scroll.

She started with condolences, and an explanation for her disappearance and an attempt to soothe any anger or misery. She moved on to thanking each and every one of them, pouring her soul into the quill that left the ink. Until she finally reached the end of the paper.

Her eyes traveled to the clock, noticing it was the time.

The amulet floated beside her as she entered the balcony.

The sun slowly descended toward the horizon, the light fading to reveal a purple starry sky.

She floated the amulet back toward her chamber before flapping her wings. She sprung from the ground, flying up into the sky.

The air eventually started to thin, causing her to alight her horn, encapsulating herself in magic. With a final flap, she pushed into zero gravity.

She could feel the oppression of the cold trying to smother her magical barrier. She floated forward into space, leaving the planet further away. But once she had gone for around a minute, she stopped.

Her horn still channeling magic, a bright white ball formed at the end of her horn before a purple curved barrier formed in front of her that slowly started to expand.

Once she started to strain, she stopped, examining how large it was. It was roughly half the size she wanted it to be.

Hope was flickering inside of her until she noticed another strange unstable magical barrier forming beside her.

Looking over, she saw Discord with both hands in front of him, his brows furrowed.

She felt a smile tug at the corners of her muzzle.

But eventually she looked away and into the vacuum of space, before bowing her head and closing her eyes, waiting for the end, with and for everlasting love…

A powerful blast of energy collided with the barrier, its energy dispersing away and around it. But after a few moments, the barrier began to crack, before shattering.

Author's Note

Denial, Bargaining, Anger, Depression, Transcendence? I really like the title of this chapter. It feels almost perfect in a way. But I hope I didn't disappoint with the ending. This ending is the first vision I had for the story. But if you want, you can read the next chapter which is an alternate ending I thought of while writing. It's a little more climactic. But I hope you enjoyed it and you can leave your thoughts if you have any. Have a nice day or night.

Lucid Darkness

Author's Note

So this is an alternate ending I thought of. I didn't go with it because to me, I didn't know if it was enough for Twilight to transform into her evil alter ego. She's been through a lot by this point. But I wrote it because I thought it was cool and wanted to see how I'd write Midnight.