Multiversal Voyage

Universe 31870

“Prince Blueblood?!” Rarity repeated in shock. Of course, she was perfectly aware of how scummy the stallion was; however, she never imagined he would ever resort to murder. Then again, she didn’t know him that well beyond their first encounter… She still couldn’t help but be doubtful. “Are you sure?” She voiced her concern.

“If I were, I’d be at his throat, already,” Twilight sighed, clicking her tongue. “The issue is that I have no evidence. I can’t afford to risk wasting even more time running after an innocent, even if I don’t like them,” She muttered the last part to herself.

“There must be some clues… or witnesses,” Rarity tapped her chin while in thought. Since Princess Luna had been cursed at the ball, then investigating the ballroom was a priority. Unfortunately, the hesitance in Twilight’s gaze told her otherwise.

“We should… but I can’t, in good conscience, do that if it doesn’t guarantee results,” The lavender unicorn shook her head. Clearly, the situation was getting to her considering how much she was sweating. Rarity noted another difference between this counterpart and her Twilight.

The one she knew would have been quite vocally nervous and would have been running around with panic-induced ramblings every step she took. This one, on the other hoof, desperately tried to hide her fears and keep them buried deep within her. Now, this issue was bringing them all out. Beyond the sweating, Twilight was tapping her foot, biting her lower lip. Her breath was even getting ragged.

“And you have a witness, right here!” Noble suddenly spoke up, having finished dusting himself after the fall.

“I do not trust a witness who would be happy to see their ruler’s demise… even after they made a deal,” Twilight spat, making Noble gasp and recoil as if every word she spewed was laced with venom.

“I resent this accusation! I love my country! Just as I love our princess!” The noble defended himself, puffing up his chest. His words only managed to get an eye-roll from the unicorn.

“I am sure everyone here believes that,” Twilight nodded mockingly. Meanwhile, Rarity watched their back and forth, wondering if she should intervene.

“Look, why do you keep refusing my help? Don’t tell me… Are you still holding a grudge because I flirted with you last year?” Noble asked. While Twilight didn’t answer directly, she scoffed and looked away, which seemed enough of an answer for the unicorn noble. “I already apologized for that!” He stomped the floor.

“Did you apologize to your wife?” The lavender unicorn bit back, making the other unicorn huff.

“Do you want my testimony or not? Because if you don’t, I’ll kindly ask you and your men to leave!” He gestured to the guards, who tried to look impassive as they witnessed their bickering. Before Twilight could answer, Rarity finally stepped in.

“Please, can we stop fighting during such a crisis? We are in a hurry,” The white unicorn reminded them, silencing them both. Twilight breathed out, grateful for her new friend’s interjection.

“You’re right, Rarity… I’m sorry if I was being rude,” Twilight apologized to the noble with a strained and forced smile… and didn’t say anything else. It was obvious she was waiting for an apology from him, too, but since he didn’t look like he wished to say anything positive, the mare simply rolled her eyes and spoke again. “Can you, please, tell us what you have seen?” She questioned.

“Of course, helping a lovely lady such as yourself will be my pleasure! Nothing strange happened during the ball from what I’ve seen. However, something did happen, which may go your current lead’s way. I’ve noticed Prince Blueblood speaking to the princess that night,” Noble recounted the night’s events.

“The prince talking to his aunt? I am impressed, Noble! This will be a valuable testimony, to be sure! It may even be all the evidence we need!” Twilight sarcastically commented, much to the other pony’s chagrin.

“Oh, please, captain! You are smarter than this! A mere royal guard may think nothing of it,” Noble argued, earning a few looks from the guards surrounding them. “But you and I know better. Their relationship has been strained for years! Ever since it was declared Prince Blueblood has no possibility of claiming the throne. He never talks to the princess unless it is absolutely necessary!”

Twilight remained silent. Rarity couldn’t quite figure out what was going through the other mare’s head, but from what she could deduce by her expression, it seemed Twilight discerned truth in his words. She was aware of Blueblood and Luna’s relationship, too.

“That may be, but this isn’t evidence. I can’t go on a wild goose chase over this,” Twilight mumbled before pacing. There had to be something else. Anything! It was a wild guess, but perhaps a guard noticed something? She wasn’t an expert on curses, but sometimes, spells would leave residual magic. That residual magic would have been gone by the time she and Rarity arrived to check on the princess, but it might not have been too late for a guard to see. “Who discovered the Princess, first?” Twilight asked out loud. Every guard present in the room was a royal guard stationed at the castle, he was bound to be here.

“It was me, captain,” A female guard stepped up. “Princess Luna wasn’t waking up or responding, so I went to check on her. That’s when I called the castle’s doctors,” She explained.

“Have you noticed anything strange about Princess Luna? Apart from the curse, of course,” Twilight inquired. The female guard hummed, recounting this morning’s events. Noticing the guard’s pensive and unsure expression, Twilight lightly pressed her. “Any detail at all. Anything that’s out of place. Was there… an aura around her or…”

“There was something… unusual,” The guard hesitantly spoke up.

“Yes?” Twilight perked up hopefully.

“Maybe it’s nothing, but the princess…” The guard’s eyes shifted to Rarity, then to Noble. The stallion rolled his eyes and backed away out of earshot. “Didn’t have her usual blankie. Instead, I found this at the foot of her bed, I thought it was a mistake but I noticed her state before I could throw it away,” She explained before pulling out a white cloth out of her armor.

Twilight eyed it curiously, then grabbed it in her magical hold, bringing it closer to her.

“Princess Luna sleeps with a blankie?” Rarity muttered in surprise.

“Indeed, she had it ever since I’ve known her. This obviously isn’t the same one since hers is colored like the night sky,” Twilight responded, looking over the cloth. Rarity narrowed her eyes, taking a closer inspection.

“Can I see this?” She asked. The lavender mare handed it to her without hesitation. “This isn’t a blankie. It’s a handkerchief,” The fashionista stated while inspecting it. It was made from soft material, and she quickly recognized it as silk. Specifically, silk from Saddle Arabia. Blue embroidery spread in a line across the piece of cloth’s edges. Now, this pattern she recognized. “I think this is from Equestria Elegance. It’s a store in Manehattan,”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked in surprise.

“Of course. I’ve collaborated with them a few times and am intimately familiar with their products. They do dresses, suits, handkerchiefs… This embroidery is their trademark,”

“Then, all we have to do is contact them and ask which of the nobles brought this handkerchief!” The guard exclaimed in realization. However, Rarity narrowed her eyes, still closely inspecting the piece of cloth. She had seen this somewhere… She turned it around and widened her eyes as images flashed through her mind… images from that first Grand Galloping Gala… and the first time she had seen this handkerchief… all those years ago.

“No,” The fashionista interjected before Twilight could order them to go ahead. “This is custom-made. As I said, I’m familiar with all their products, and I know this particular handkerchief isn’t in their catalog,” Rarity explained and showed them the back of the cloth, revealing another embroidery on its center, depicting a tall blue unicorn surrounded by a sun of the same color. “And I’ve also only seen one pony in possession of this… Prince Blueblood,” She muttered disappointingly. She knew he was a jerk, but she never thought he would stoop this low. She disliked him, of course, but she couldn’t help being disappointed over this.

“I trust you,” Twilight declared calmly, looking back at the handkerchief. “But why did Princess Luna have this? Did she take it to lead us to the culprit? This… This is absurd,” The lavender unicorn shook her head nervously. “How did she know she was put under a curse? How? And how did she know it was Blueblood? No… If she knew… then why didn’t she do anything to stop him?! Why didn’t she tell me anything?! This doesn’t make sense!” Her breathing quickened as she backed away.

“Twilight!” Rarity quickly snapped her out of it, grabbing her shoulders. Now, this was a reaction she could recognize from the Twilight she knew. “Whatever the answer is, we’ll know it once we save Princess Luna. Until then, let’s focus on the task at hoof, alright?” The white unicorn gently soothed her. The other mare’s breathing slowly became more regular, processing Rarity’s words.

“Right… We need to take care of this…” Twilight agreed, a lot calmer than a second earlier. “Thank you for the testimony, Noble,” She thanked the stallion, who proudly puffed up his chest. Then, the lavender mare turned to the guards around them. “This is likely our last chance. If Prince Blueblood isn’t the culprit either, then we’ll lose our princess. I want you to follow the same plan. Pegasi, you go through the windows. Unicorns, put up a shield around the house to prevent everypony from going in or out. Earth ponies slam the front doors open with me,” She ordered.

The guards all nodded in response. Now it was time for the moment of truth. They couldn’t afford to be wrong now. Not again.

Only an hour later, everyone was in place. Unicorn guards had already put in shields to surround the Blueblood mansion. Pegasi hovered above it, waiting for Twilight’s signal to bust in. The earth ponies stood by the two unicorns’ sides in front of the door.

“Prince Blueblood! We just want to ask some questions! Please, come out so that we can resolve this peacefully!” Twilight lit her horn and shouted, seemingly using a spell to amplify her voice. “We have confirmation that you are inside! Consider this your last warning!” The lavender mare warned him. However, they received no response. “Very well,” She sighed before turning to the Earth Ponies. “Blast that door open,” She ordered before firing a flare from her horn, signaling for the pegasi to break through the windows.

“Yes, ma’am!” An earth pony replied. He and three other stallions lined up before the large wooden doors. On the count of three, they slammed their hindlegs into them, breaking them to pieces. As soon as the first splinters touched the floor, several magical beams hit the guards in the back. They howled in pain before falling to the ground and allowing the unicorns from the mansion to shoot at the rest of them.

Twilight quickly jumped in front of them, followed by Rarity as they both used their magic to create a barrier and defend against the enemy unicorns.

“Take your shields and attack as soon they take a breather!” The lavender unicorn ordered the earth ponies behind them.

Thankfully, the shields the royal guards carried held a special resistance to magical attacks. It was the best way for non-unicorns to defend against enemy spells.

She was aware Blueblood had guards, but she never expected there would be so many. Even when the earth ponies managed to get in, they still had to fight non-unicorns on top of the horned ponies that attacked them earlier. Rarity could already handle herself in a fight before, but after the training sessions and sparring she had with Twilight, she felt unbeatable. None of the ponies attacking them could even land a hit as she blasted them away with magic or by slamming them with a magical shield.

“Captain! We can’t find Prince Blueblood anywhere,” A pegasus landed beside Twilight as she wrapped a magically created rope around a pony.

“What do we do, now?” Rarity asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry,” Twilight assured her before lighting her horn. A wave of purple magic pulsed through the mansion, highlighting every door surrounding them. “This spell reveals all doors… including hidden ones,” She explained, her gaze locking onto the floor. A pink square shone through a nearby carpet, prompting the unicorn to walk up to it and lift it. As expected, there was a large trapdoor. “The coward must be hiding down there. The guards will take care of the commotion here, we should deal with Blueblood,” Twilight spoke to Rarity and the guard. The pegasus nodded and went back to his duties while Rarity used her horn to lift the trapdoor, revealing seemingly an endless amount of stairs, leading to pitch-black darkness.

“This looks scary,” Rarity commented, slightly afraid. She was used to worse, so she wasn’t terrified or anything, but she wasn’t totally serene, either.

“No need for a flashlight,” Twilight responded, conjuring a small ball of light, which hovered between the two of them. “Let’s go!”

Rarity took one last look at the mess in the mansion, the guards rounding up Blueblood’s employees, then turned around and followed Twilight. She had a bad feeling about this situation. The more they went down, the worse that feeling got. Especially since they couldn’t even see the bottom of this staircase. It was cold, too.

“Everything will be fine, right, Twilight?” Rarity asked, her breath halted.

“Of course, why wouldn’t it?” The other mare put on a reassuring smile before closing her mouth and letting silence set in. The only sound reaching their ears was their footsteps against the cold steps of the staircase. A few seconds later, though, the lavender unicorn spoke again. “I just wanted to say… I had fun these past few days,” She bit her lower lip.

“I… Had fun, too,” Rarity answered hesitantly. “But I’ll have to leave, eventually. And I need to know that you’ll be fine,” She admitted.

“That I’ll be fine? Why?” Twilight arched an eyebrow.

“Because… I want to make sure you’ll have friends. Now, I know what you said, darling, but you can’t be alone all your life… This will be devastating,” Rarity explained. Twilight, on the other hand, remained silent. “If you run from everypony like you did with Minuette, then you’ll always remain lonely, and I don’t want that for you,”

“Why?”

“Because I’m your friend,” She replied, and for once, Twilight didn’t object to it. “I want the best for you, and I wish I could teach you everything I’ve learned with my friends, but… I can’t stay here for too long. They need my help, too,” The fashionista looked down.

“I… I’ll try, ok?” Twilight finally spoke, to Rarity’s surprise. “I’ll talk to Minuette, and I’ll try. I really will. Maybe it’s time I change some of my views,” She muttered. “I may have been wrong about some things,” The unicorn admitted.

“Really?” Rarity uttered, surprised.

“Of course. I don’t make empty promises,” Twilight replied. Though, Rarity could feel there were other things she wanted to say, but kept quiet instead. The fashionista wished her friend would open up her heart a bit more, but she figured they made a lot of progress already.

“You know… When I got here, I wanted to teach you the magic of friendship. I think we’ve made a lot of progress,” Rarity admitted, which only confused the other mare.

“What is that magic?”

“Exactly what it sounds. It’s friendship, and… it’s complicated and confusing, but it does make one quite happy,” Rarity softly explained while Twilight focused all her attention on the white unicorn’s words. “I have years of lessons ingrained in my mind. It’s something you learn throughout your whole life, and it’s never too late to start,” She added, remembering when she became friends with the girls. She remembered that fateful night that changed her life forever and for the better. “I’d say there’s nothing stronger than that in the whole world. When I saw that a Twilight Sparkle didn’t learn it yet, I couldn’t help myself. And yes, I know, you’re not my Twilight, but you’re still my friend. It’s probably why I managed to improve so much during my stay. Because it was with you,” She declared, smiling warmly at the other unicorn. “Did you feel the magic of friendship at any point during my stay?”

“I…” Twilight didn’t respond. Instead, she looked ahead, thinking deeply about the mare’s question. “I don’t know. I wish I could say yes, but I just… have no idea. I really do want to know what this magic is like, but I can’t even tell my feelings. I feel…” She paused, looking for her next words, only to cut herself off as they finally reached the bottom of the stairs. “We’re here!” She exclaimed before hurriedly running forward, followed by her friend. They didn’t need to go far because they were met with a steel door only a few meters later.

It looked sturdy if anything. They could easily break through it, but it wasn’t needed. After all, that door could easily be a trap. Maybe teleporting inside was a better idea, especially since she had a feeling she knew what was behind that door.

“Get ready. We’re likely to face some resistance,” Twilight warned the other unicorn, who nodded. With a raise of her horn, they were both teleported inside.

As expected, it was a training room. It was so large you could fit the entire Canterlot Castle inside, the walls, floor, and ceiling were white with black lines set in a check pattern. In the center of the room stood Prince Blueblood. So, he prepared a battlefield? That could only mean he had help. Even if he could use curses, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe he could win against an elite unicorn… was he?

Rarity glared at him. He looked exactly the same as he did the time she had met him at the Grand Galloping Gala. There even was that smug smile adorning his face. She wished she could say she hated him, but she didn’t. Yes, he was rude and a self-centered jerk, but he wasn’t evil either. He never attempted murder, so she had already moved on from how he treated her years ago. However, looking at this version of him… repulsed her. It was a strange feeling.

“Oh, captain Twilight. What do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” Blueblood inquired with a small smile. “And who might this beautiful lady be?” He asked, turning his gaze to Rarity, which only earned him a glare.

“Cut the pleasantries! You’re suspected of placing a curse on the Princess! Your response to our investigation tells us enough!” Twilight shouted back.

“I don’t know how you came to suspect me, but it doesn’t matter. Your fight is not with me, captain,” Blueblood smirked. Suddenly, two flashes made themselves known in front of him, a clear sign of teleportation. Twilight expected to face more enemies, but once she had seen the faces of the new arrivals, her body froze in shock.

“Sunset and Starlight!” Rarity gasped, as shocked as her partner. While she had little interactions with Sunset, she was quite familiar with Starlight. Nevertheless, neither of them was the type of pony to murder someone! At least… not in the current time… Not like they were in the past…

“I see our reputation precedes us,” Sunset grinned proudly.

The two unicorns looked the same as they did in Rarirty’s original universe, except for the golden leg guards they were wearing. While the mares stood flabbergasted, Blueblood quickly retreated toward the back of the room.

“What… What is the meaning of this? What are you doing? Why are you helping him?” Twilight questioned in confusion.

“Oh, many reasons, really,” Starlight chuckled.

“You’re familiar with them, Twilight?” Rarity asked.

“The three of us studied under Princess Luna until…” Twilight began speaking, only to be interrupted.

“Until she ultimately made you her apprentice,” Sunset completed her sentence.

“So that’s your motive? Revenge?”

“Of course, not. Although it’s a nice bonus, we figured that the two of us had a lot of potential together. With Princess Luna out of the way, Equestria will belong to us,” Starlight retorted, much to Twilight and Rarity’s shock.

“So you became Blueblood’s mere henchmen?” Twilight spat with disgust.

“Oh, please,” Sunset scoffed, rolling her eyes. “See, the issue is that we want to take over the world, but have no care for politics. In fact, we don’t want anything to do with it. Blueblood is a dog. Who do you think holds the leash?” She explained, narrowing her eyes. “But how can you say you are any better? You are always in Luna’s shadow, trailing behind her like a little lost puppy. Quite obedient, too. Face it, you’re nothing but a puppet with no will of your own,”

Twilight opened her mouth to argue. Of course, she had always been obedient, it was her duty! It was also what she wanted. She cared for the princess and was ready to fight for her no matter the circumstances. However, before she could say that, Starlight cut her off.

“But you can change that. Join us. Together, we will be unstoppable. Our only obstacle is the princess,”

“Twilight, you…” Rarity turned to look at her lavender friend, worried. However, Twilight gave her a reassuring smile before looking back at the other two unicorns.

“You think I’d sell my soul so easily? Princess Luna taught us to use our powers responsibly! How could you fall so low?!” It seemed Twilight’s answer didn’t please them, but it didn’t look like it surprised them, either. If anything, they were expecting it. Sunset watched the lavender mare with disappointment.

“You’ve always had such a misplaced sense of justice. That’s probably the one thing I hate most about you,” Sunset frowned before getting into an offensive position, which Starlight quickly did, too.

“Rarity, go and take care of Blueblood. I’ll deal with them,” Twilight stood on guard.

“What? No! Look, there’s two of them, one for each of us. We can take them!” Rarity argued.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t. They’re both elite unicorns. That means they’re on the same level as me. Individually,” Twilight furrowed her brows. Her nervousness was on full display, which prompted Rarity to protest. However, the other mare spoke before she could. “Please, trust me. Your words from earlier? I’ll keep them in my heart for as long as I fight. I promise,” She affirmed, now sounding much more confident.

Rarity remained conflicted, but she could hardly distrust her friend when she was spoken to like this. How could she? Maybe it was a terrible idea. However…

“Okay. I’ll deal with him. Be safe,” Rarity finally said resolutely. Twilight raised her horn and teleported the white mare near Blueblood before focusing on the two elite unicorns standing in her way.

The moment Rarity was teleported, which she expected, she fired a magical beam in Blueblood’s direction. She wasn’t aiming to kill, goodness no. However, she was going to make sure she was out of commission for when Twilight would make him dispel the curse. Unfortunately, it seemed the prince was prepared for it. With a single move of his horn, he blocked it with a barrier.

“I’ve seen everything! To think a peasant would try to harm me,” Blueblood shook his head in amusement. “I’ll have to teach these two a lesson for letting you pass so easily,” He glared Rarity’s way.

“Don’t worry, my prince. I will try not to damage your mane too much,” Rarity replied mockingly.

The comment ticked off Blueblood since he quickly resorted to lashing out with a magical beam of his own. Rarity conjured up an ethereal shield, shaped like a gem and deflected it just in time. Seeing that Blueblood continued with a relentless assault, she waited for the best opportunity to sidestep and get out of the way. Thanks to the things Twilight taught her these past days, she could carefully analyze the stallion’s moves to determine what his next course of action would be. Unfortunately, she could also see that Blueblood wasn’t a pushover unlike the original. When he finally needed to pause, Rarity sidestepped and took another shot.

The stallion cried in pain, the tip of his ear smoldering a piece of it had been blasted off by the fashionista’s hit. It seemed he tried getting out of the way, but only managed to change the target of her beam.

“You… You’ll pay for this!” Blueblood clenched his teeth as he charged toward, lighting his horn at the same time.

Rarity stood her ground, ready to take him on without fear.

While the two were focused on their fight, it was difficult to ignore the struggle occurring behind them. A large ball of light violently bounced off the walls and ceiling before dissipating in thin air.

The three unicorns fought fiercely and mercilessly, using a different spell with each attack. Ever since Princess Luna became the sole ruler, unicorns fought to perfect their craft and discover the limits of magic as well as its origins. Countless unicorns sought to be the strongest, to learn the most spells, and to discover all the secrets of magic. That was why the number of spells was a requirement to become an elite unicorn. Every time a unicorn would create an offensive spell, another would make a counter to it. Sometimes, the original unicorn would create one themselves! After all, what if someone used their own spells against them? They needed to be ready to counter them. Thus, nearly half of the spells an elite unicorn learned were counters to other spells they knew.

When Sunset summoned a sea of flames, a torrent of water would spray out of Twilight’s horn. When Starlight conjured up a wave of acid, the lavender unicorn froze it. When Twilight tried to trap them in stone, they liquified it. Every spell was launched instantly after the other, while constantly moving and avoiding the enemy’s attacks.

The fact that the training room could hold these natural disasters colliding without breaking was a miracle in itself. Even if the three of them were rarely hit, the unicorns were aware it didn’t mean anything. A single misstep would cost them their lives. Even if Sunset and Starlight outnumbered her, they knew better than to underestimate Luna’s student.

As a beam of light dangerously approached Twilight, the mare raised her horn. Just as she did so, Starlight lit her own, generating a magical pulse out of it right when the lavender unicorn teleported. Starlight instantly looked up to her right to see a pink spot in the air and shot a magical spear at it. The spell to detect the destination of a teleportation was one of the handiest when it was created as any unicorn who thought they could escape would be cut off right at the end. Because they couldn’t focus instantly after teleporting, they were vulnerable.

The spear hit its mark the instant Twilight appeared, impaling her in the gut. However, once she was hit, she dispersed into particles! A duplicate! A second later, the real Twilight came out of the spot Starlight shot at.

“Delayed teleportation!” Starlight spat in annoyance. Right. When the spell to detect the destination of a teleportation was created, another unicorn thought of a counter by making a teleportation spell that wasn’t instantaneous. Twilight replied by firing blue needles at her. Starlight widened her eyes and lit her horn, only to be hit in the chest by the needles. Her body quickly turned to stone, starting from the spot where she was hit; however, the mare suddenly came out of her own shadow while her statue crumbled to dust. “That was close…” She exhaled.

“We don’t have to fight,” Twilight tried to reason with them as she landed, panting. They were all tired, but the other two unicorns still had an advantage over her.

“Spare us the lecture. It’s a shame you’ll never change, we could have accomplished so much together,” Sunset shook her head while Twilight narrowed her eyes. “You can’t even see that Princess Luna isn’t needed anymore! If she wasn’t so weak, then she wouldn’t be dying of the curse right now!”

“Don’t you dare talk of her that way! You know how much she lost!” Twilight shouted in response, glaring.

“And that’s what I was talking about,” Sunset whispered in disgust. “Look at you. You’re pathetic. Luna shaped you like a doll with no feelings of her own, a doll devoted to her, and her alone. Ever since we’ve studied with you, we haven’t seen you with any friends or family! Your life is empty and meaningless!” The amber unicorn yelled before releasing a torrent of little stars made of light in the other mare’s direction. Twilight, who was taken aback by the last remark, noticed it just in time before light enveloped her hooves and allowed her to jump high enough to dodge.

“That was my own decision, and I hated myself for it ever since! Don’t speak ill of my teacher!” As Twilight shouted this, she stopped herself before she could launch another spell.

The student of the night’s eyes wandered to Rarity, who was still fighting against Blueblood. The mare and stallion were still engaged in their fight, but thankfully, the prince looked more damaged than the fashionista. Twilight bit her lower lip. Sunset wasn’t wrong. Of course, Twilight knew she didn’t have anything or anyone. She decided to dedicate her life to Princess Luna and become a worthy student… The best unicorn there was! She thought she was ready to sacrifice anything, yet… Years later, she lived the same mundane, empty life. Training, studying, training, studying. Even if she believed in what she trained for and who she fought for… This world was so lonely. She couldn’t even make friends. She didn’t even know how to talk to ponies without barking orders.

Every day, she wanted to reach out to her family. Every night, she dreamed of doing it as if they came knocking into her head, crying for her to come back. And every day, she thought that if she did reach out, she would lose what she obtained since studying under Princess Luna, that her sacrifices would have been for nothing.

Ultimately, her choices led her to fight these two unicorns, and most likely, her death. Was there any meaning at all to a life so empty?

Yet, it persisted. Her will to live. As long as she wasn’t certain that Princess Luna and Rarity were all alright, she couldn’t afford to lose!

“Not so fast!” Starlight shouted as green tendrils wrapped around her horn. She fired them only a second later, shooting them at such a speed that the lavender unicorn couldn’t have enough time to teleport. Instead, she lit her horn with a blue light, which vanished right before she was hit in the head by the other mare’s attack.

“Huh? What? Where am I?” Twilight staggered while holding her head.

“It’s over!” Starlight shouted as she fired a beam of magic even bigger than herself. However, Twilight’s horn flashed blue again. Her eyes regained focus and understanding, allowing her to create a shield just in time.

“Memory wipes won’t work on her!” Sunset admonished Starlight. The spell to protect oneself from memory-wiping magic would copy the user’s mind and store it before giving it back to them once they were hit with the memory-erasing spell. “We should assume that every spell we know, she knows, too! Forget versatility! We need to beat her with pure power!” She explained. It wasn’t quite a bad strategy. The two of them combined certainly had enough power to take her down, and there was nearly no spell to make up for that power difference.

Twilight clenched her teeth as both unicorns fired a beam of magic at the same time. Both beams merged, making a bigger and more potent one with shades of red and blue. The lavender mare quickly created an ice wall, which was obliterated in less than a second, but that gave her enough time to jump and avoid their combined attack.

The student of the night brought her horn down, firing a spinning purple disk. The advantage of it was the way it moved since it didn’t go in a straight line. Instead, it veered right to attack Sunset from the side and not the front. The unicorn raised a shield at the last second but was still thrown back so hard the air was expelled out of her lungs, causing her to skid across the ground.

“You little…” Starlight glanced at Sunset before glaring at Twilight. She let out a battle cry and shot another beam of magic. This time, however, the captain of the royal guard was prepared. She answered with a beam of her own, which was about the same size… only a little more potent. The moment the beams clashed and burst with various colors, Starlight grunted, feeling much more pushback than she expected. It would have made an impressive light show if only it weren’t for the danger of death lurking above their heads. “No… No…” The unicorn uttered nervously. Finally, Twilight’s attack won over hers. Starlight could only widen her eyes and jump back as quickly as she could before it could land. The ground exploded, blowing a dust cloud and throwing her back.

“Damn it, Starlight! I told you we need to attack together!” Sunset scolded her. Multiple small beams flew across the air, each taking a random path ultimately leading to the amber mare. The unicorn’s moves were swift and precise, knocking away every beam with her horn before creating a single barrier to deflect the last three. As she skidded across the floor, her eyes slightly widened in realization once they landed on her attacker. “An opening!” She raised her horn, conjuring ethereal threads and wrapping them around Twilight’s legs.

The night’s student didn’t have enough time to react before being slammed to the ground to the point she was certain some bones cracked.

“Immobilize her!” Sunset commanded her partner, who barely managed to go back to her hooves.

Starlight cast her spell without leaving any room for Twilight to breathe and preventing her from escaping. The lavender mare gasped, her body suddenly freezing as if it had been wrapped by an invisible force. She knew that spell. It only prevented her from moving and teleporting, but she could still use magic! Unfortunately, she didn’t use its counter. She had no other choice but to make a barrier around her to block the torrent of flames Sunset expelled from her horn as well as the lightning bolts coming out of Starlight’s. Not good. Not good at all! She was stuck! She needed to find a weak spot and quickly!

Rarity barely deflected one attack before doing the same to another one while slowly being backed into a corner.

“What is wrong? Getting tired?” Blueblood mocked the panting mare. Though, he didn’t seem in great shape either by his ragged breath.

“Not at all,” Rarity shook her head, trying to keep a confident smile. Blueblood furrowed his brows.

“Who even are you? A guard? Did Luna employ you? No matter how much they’re paying you, it can’t be enough to risk your life in such a way, can it?” He sneered.

“They’re not paying me anything,” Rarity glared, disgusted by the prospect alone.

“What is this? Charity?” Blueblood laughed. He could only wonder what hit that mare on the head to cause her to do something so unreasonable.

“I don’t need to be paid to help a friend!” Rarity shouted with indignation.

“What nonsense. There is no point in doing something with no benefits in return,” Blueblood shook his head, then lit his horn, boredom visible on his face. “I will finish this farce,”

Rarity tried backing up again, only for her butt to hit something. She spun her head around and realized with dread that she was against the wall. Then, there was only one thing she could do…

The unicorn tried to remember Twilight’s words and the training they went through for her to learn to teleport. However, the more she focussed, the more the instructions she was given… became clearer as they were mixed with all her memories of this version of her friend. If she failed here, then she wouldn’t only lose her life, she would fail Twilight, too. They would both die! She had been scared when she arrived in this world; more than anything, she felt alone. While she was relieved to see a familiar face, she quickly understood that this Twilight and the one she knew were not the same… yet, it didn’t deter her. This counterpart had her own feelings, thoughts, and fears, some similar to her original Twilight while others couldn’t be more different. She had to grow that bond differently. Ultimately, Twilight slightly made this world feel like home.

She couldn’t let her efforts go to waste! With revived confidence and determination, Rarity finally cast her spell and… disappeared in a bright flash – a flash so strong it blinded Blueblood for a second.

“Teleportation?!” The prince cried while rubbing his eyes. Rarity reappeared behind him, breathing heavily.

“I did it… I did it? I did it!” The fashionista celebrated, jumping up and down excitedly.

“Not so fast!” Blueblood turned around, ready to fight, only for the mare to create her gem-shaped shield and slam him against the wall with it. The stallion huffed with the air knocked out of his lungs.

“You were saying?” Rarity raised a mocking eyebrow while the prince struggled to stand up.

Twilight was not in a better position. In fact, it was much worse. Even if she protected herself from the flames and lightning, the heat was still getting to her! Because of it, she couldn’t even focus on that counterspell. Instead, she was focused on other things.

“I had to shut down my lungs because of the smoke and to keep them from burning, but I don’t know how long I can keep up without breathing!” Twilight thought, trying to look for any opening that might give her the edge, but there was none!

The heat was unbearable! She couldn’t even sweat because the water just evaporated nearly instantly, and she felt like her coat was on fire! Her vision was getting blurry as if her eyes were covered with tears, and her horn was close to bursting from overheating. It was like… It was like she was in…

“Using that barrier was a mistake, Twilight! Don’t you realize what you’ve done? You made a giant oven!” Sunset shouted, grinning like a madman.

“You’re being cooked alive!” Starlight finished her partner’s sentence, snickering at the sight.

No, no! She wasn’t! Was she? Twilight frantically looked around, fighting to find a solution somehow! if this continued, she might actually burn alive! Her nerves were already going haywire! Something was… Suddenly, blood burst out from various spots all over her body and flowing over it. Her blood somehow burned her even worse! She was an idiot! She quickly cast another spell. She needed to give up on the lungs. They could be restored later, anyway. What she needed to protect was the heart and the brain. If she lost them, then it was all over!

“Even your blood is boiling!” Sunset remarked pridefully. “Wouldn’t it be easier to give up? Wouldn’t you like to end this pain?”

Blood poured out of Twilight’s mouth while her vision reddened. Maybe she was right. She couldn’t fight anymore. She was barely conscious. All she had to do was remove the barrier and she would be vaporized in an instant. After all, there was no point fighting back, was there? She couldn’t find an opening here, and even if she survived… She would only go back to that meaningless life. She was sure Princess Luna would survive on her own, anyway. The princess… never needed her.

Twilight began closing her eyes, getting weaker by the second. Even the pain started fading away. Maybe this wasn’t a bad decision… Twilight. A soft and elegant voice spoke her name. The lavender unicorn opened her eyes wide as Starlight finally faltered even if only for a second. There it was! The opening! She used that single second of movement to light her horn and fire a wide-range spell all around her, and mostly at the unicorn who held her down until now.

A dust cloud formed as Sunset was pushed back again, and Starlight screamed in pain before she could defend herself.

“S-Shit! My eyes! My eyes! Sunset, I can’t see!” Starlight screamed with her eyes closed and bleeding, waving her horn around in panic. The mare clenched her teeth and began randomly blasting destructive spells around her. “Where are you?! D-Don’t get any closer, Twilight!” She yelled, continuously firing spells around her, even at the risk of hitting Sunset in the process, who kept dodging every time. Unfortunately for them, even in her current state, Twilight could dodge them, too. After all, there was no thought or logic behind Starlight’s random attacks.

“Calm down, would you! You’ll get us both killed!” Sunset shielded herself from a beam with a barrier. And Twilight was getting closer and closer! “Use the Sight spell, idiot!” She hollered.

Having finally heard her, it seemed Starlight came to her senses and raised her horn to cast the spell… but was too late. A small red laser sliced through her diagonally before vanishing. The mare stood in place, the light in her horn fading away. Then, slowly, and with a spongy sound, her head slid off her neck.

Twilight breathed heavily from behind the unicorn’s headless body, who soon collapsed with blood erupting out of her neck.

“You… You’re going to pay for this!” Sunset screamed in rage. Twilight, who was beyond exhausted at this point, rushed forward while charging every bit of magic she had left in her horn. However, before she could even do so, she was blown away and sent flying in Rarity’s direction.

The lavender mare skidded to a stop, groaning in pain with every spot of her body hurting with agony, as if it had been torn apart.

“Oh, my Luna! Twilight!” Rarity immediately rushed to her side. “What happened to you, darling?” She asked, helping the other mare to her hooves.

“Did you take care of Blueblood?” Twilight inquired with a croaky voice.

“I knocked him out,” The fashionista gestured to the unconscious stallion several meters behind them.

“Not killed?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow. The user needed to be killed for the curse to be dispelled forcefully.

“I… Don’t do that,” Rarity shook her head, looking over the unicorn’s body. She had never seen such injuries before. She didn’t even know how she managed to stand the sight. She was more worried than disgusted. Twilight was covered in blood, and not because of cuts, but rather as if her blood vessels blew from the inside. Her coat was darkened as if it suffered burning, and her mane was a mess. Her hooves were cracked with some blood spilling out of them.

“Heh. It would be a shame to dirty your hooves, anyway,” Twilight weakly snickered, only to be interrupted by a cough escaping from her throat. Rarity patted the mare’s back comfortingly. “I’m sorry. I failed. I couldn’t beat them both. I only have enough juice in me for one small beam, and that won’t take her down,” She explained. Sunset barely had a few scratches, too. She was still in nearly peak condition. The student of the night knew when a cause was lost.

“No! You did more than enough! Look at you! I don’t think I could even stay awake in such a state!” Rarity reassured her. However, Twilight couldn’t get to respond before Sunset spoke out.

“What a shame. If you had joined us, the three of us would have conquered the world already!” The amber unicorn sighed. “No matter, with you and Luna out of the way, I can deal with the other elite unicorns. No one will stand in my way when I take over Equestria. You did delay my world domination plans for a few decades, though,” She glared before magic crackled around her horn. “I’ll have to repay you in kind,”

Twilight glanced at Rarity. The fashionista didn’t even look afraid. Before she could speak up, the white unicorn stepped forward.

“It’s alright. I’ll fight you,” She stated resolutely, much to the surprise of everyone.

“What? Rarity, you have no chance!” Twilight argued. However, the other mare didn’t reply. Instead, she gazed at her, as confident as always. “You already know? And you’re still willing to try? You’re willing to sacrifice your life for me?” She gasped.

“Of course,” Rarity nodded.

“But what about your friends?” Twilight questioned.

“You’re my friend, too,” The fashionista retorted as if it was obvious. The lavender unicorn’s breath nearly froze in her throat. She didn’t know, but somehow she managed to keep her tears from coming out to the surface.

Twilight sniffled and put a hoof on Rarity’s chest, pushing her back, much to the mare’s confusion.

“Run. I’ll hold her off as long as I can,” She declared before stepping in front of the white unicorn.

“Now, you know I’m not letting you do that!” Rarity immediately argued. “I will…”

“You were pretty impressive back there,” Twilight interrupted her.

“Huh?”

“I saw what you did. That teleportation was pretty cool. You’re a quick learner,” Twilight praised her before turning her back to her and focusing her gaze on Sunset. “I have a lot of things to thank you for, or to talk to you about. You can’t believe how much I wish we could talk every day, actually,” She let out a weak snicker. “You… my only true friend. But I doubt she’ll give us much time,” She gestured to Sunset with her head. The other unicorn smirked confidently, seemingly not bothered by their little conversation. “So, I’ll just say this… Thank you,” She choked. Even if her face was hidden from view, Rarity could almost hear the tears the lavender unicorn was sniffling.

“What are you two blabbering about over there? Don’t tell me you’re about to beg for your lives,” Sunset mocked, the light in her horn growing brighter and bigger.

“Twilight…” Rarity spoke softly, coming to face the other mare. As expected, some tears were rolling down her cheeks. “This is really stupid,” The fashionista gave her a small smile.

“What?” Twilight uttered in shock.

“I told you already, I’m not leaving you behind. Not for anything, so whatever you want to say, you’ll say it once we’re out of here,” Rarity assured her, making Twilight shake her head in disapproval. “We’ll fight her together, then”

“No! I told you! I can’t fight anymore! I’ve used up all of my magic, my horn can’t take any more!” She argued, only for Rarity to put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.

“You’re never out of magic when you’re with a friend. This is one of the things I learned back home,” The white unicorn stated. “If we do it together, I know we’ll win. Though usually there’s six of us, I think I know how to make this work with only the two of us,”

“Rarity, I…” Twilight didn’t know what to say. This magic of friendship… She never even thought something like this existed, but could it work? It seemed surreal to even think such a thing would be enough to take down an elite unicorn. Yet, she wanted to trust her friend. No, she felt like she could believe in her no matter what. “I trust you. Besides, I suppose that dying would be better if I’m not alone,” She weakly joked. Rarity could only roll her eyes at the absurdity, but she smiled nonetheless.

“Huh?” Sunset arched an eyebrow. Just as her spell reached its peak, which would have blasted a hole in the training room and vaporized the two unicorns down to their atoms, they did something strange. Twilight and Rarity closed their eyes as their horns suddenly touched, and then to Sunset’s disbelief, tendrils of magic began spinning around them. They grew stronger and stronger until the two mares were slowly lifted into the air. “What… What is that spell? I don’t recognize that magic?!” She blinked, confused. What was going on? She had a bad feeling about this! She needed to end it here! Quickly, she shot her spell in their direction right when they opened their eyes; revealing pure and bright whiteness. Her spell vanished as if it broke the moment it made contact with them. “No way!”

Before the amber unicorn could even react, a pink beam of magic charged at her, hitting her head on, and squeezing a guttural scream out of her. The elite unicorn couldn’t even do anything as she was shot to the ceiling. It pressed her harder and harder while burning her back until it broke through, shooting her through every floor until she reached the inside of the mansion and even went through the roof. With her broken body, Sunset could only scream while flying higher and higher in the sky… until the beam stopped and blew her to dust.

Sunset Shimmer was reduced to nothing.

It was warm. Incredibly so. She never felt anything like it before. It was so… serene and calming. Twilight found the feeling soothing and was slightly disappointed to see it end so soon once their hooves touched the floor again.

“This… Wow, I never felt so strong before… A different kind of strength,” Twilight whispered while Rarity smiled in understanding. “It felt weird. The good kind,” The lavender mare clarified, letting out a weak snicker. “Better deal with Blueblood and finally save Luna,”

“Will you be alright?” Rarity asked worriedly.

“I’ll need to go to the hospital after this, but I’ll live,” Twilight gave her a small smile. Suddenly, something crackled, instantly catching her attention. Twilight swiftly pushed Rarity out of the way and shot a single beam in response to another that was about to hit the fashionista before she stepped in.

“G… Argh…” Blueblood gurgled with blood gushing out of his sliced throat. It seemed the elite unicorn’s spell had hit its mark. However, for some strange reason, the stallion smirked in victory before collapsing to the floor, dead.

“That was close,” Twilight breathed in relief, turning to check on Rarity.

“Thank you -OH, LUNA!” Rarity screamed, covering her mouth with her hooves. Twilight arched a confused eyebrow, then lowered her eyes to gaze at herself.

“Oh,” She could only utter when she witnessed the hole in her chest. The poor mare spewed her life juice out of her mouth, unable to stand on her legs anymore, she fell to the ground.

“No, no, no! Stay with me!” Rarity yelled, rushing to her side and holding up Twilight’s head. The unicorn already looked out of it!

“In retrospect… I should have seen this coming,” Twilight chuckled, only to nearly choke on her own blood.

“Don’t talk! We’ll get you someplace safe!” Rarity said as she tried to lift the other unicorn.

“Don’t, please. It’s… I know when I’m out for the count,” Twilight coughed, struggling to breathe.

“How could I look anyone in the face if I give up on you? How would your family feel?”

“Don’t you get it yet? I don’t have a family,” Twilight sniffled, trying in vain to hold back her tears. Rarity widened her eyes in surprise. She did wonder where they were and why Twilight never talked about them. “When I was chosen to study under Princess Luna, I abandoned them because I thought they’d hold me back. I even avoided making friends… I haven’t talked to them in years. The more time passed, the more I was afraid of doing it,” She admitted, choking on her tears.

“You can do it once you recover from this! I’ll even help you if you want! I’ll be there, okay?” Rarity reassured her, desperately hoping Twilight would cling to life. The fashionista could feel tears streaming down her face, slowly realizing there was nothing she could do. “Why did you even take that hit for me? I know killing Blueblood and saving Princess Luna was essential, but-“

“Rarity. Don’t be silly. I did that for you,” Twilight revealed, her eyes faltering and her voice growing weaker. “I have always been ready to give my life for the princess. To me, it was natural. It was my duty as her student, as the captain of the royal guard, and as a citizen of Equestria. I never imagined I would do it for someone else,” She spoke slowly, any hint of her earlier strength gone. “Back there, I got these flashes of my life. Most of the good memories… were about you,” She admitted.

Rarity widened her eyes in shock. Was that true? No, why would she lie about this now? But… Twilight had lived decades, so to think most of her good memories were about her touched Rarity at her soul, which was further breaking her heart.

“I had fun. Lots of fun. I guess I just thought that… I couldn’t have the strength to live if I watched you die,” Twilight smiled, barely perceptible. “Sorry I was rude to you when we met… sorry about everything I said…” Tears ran down her cheeks again. “I wish we would have had more time,”

“We do! Just hang on, okay?!” Rarity immediately interjected. The fashionista didn’t even know how to handle this! This was the first time in her life she was losing a friend in such a way… and she couldn’t even do anything to help! She was powerless! “Princess Luna needs you!”

“She never has. She had countless students over the centuries, I’m only one of many,” Twilight retorted. No matter how much of a prodigy she was, Luna had seen thousands of geniuses live and die before. She wouldn’t be an exception. The princess would find a replacement eventually. Twilight wasn’t even mad about it. This was something she was already aware of. What brought her closure and peace of mind was something more intimate than a simple teacher-student relationship. “I can only hope that you… won’t forget about me,” She tried to smile, only to have no strength left and fail.

Oh, well. She said what she wanted to say. She was fine with this if a memory of her, no matter how small, lived on in Rarity’s mind, no matter how deeply buried it was. As long as Rarity, even subconsciously, remembered her, she was okay with it.

“No! Stop talking like this! Please, Twilight! Please, somepony help! Someone has been injured!” Rarity begged her, and the lavender mare truly wanted to answer her prayers. Unfortunately, she couldn’t keep her eyes from closing.

This was so different from earlier when she was dying to Sunset and Starlight. It was agony, and filled with despair then. She was dying with regret. This moment felt… colder. But the gentle warmth around her made up for it. Sure, she had quite a lot of regrets even now, but for some reason, she had an easier time letting go of them. It wasn’t so bad, after all.

As the ringing in her ears muffled Rarity’s cries, it still allowed the student of the night to hear her voice. As her vision blurred, she could still see the other mare’s face as clear as day. That was when she realized something else. Twilight always believed that Princess Luna would be the last face she’d see and the last voice she’d hear. As darkness enveloped her, she snorted.

Huh. She supposed this sight wasn’t bad either.