All Dreams Die Once You Wake Up

The room she sat in was made of white stone and had colored windows. A red carpet went from one end to the other, flanked by many columns. She sat before a stairway that lead up to a beautiful throne, whose surface reflected the bright light of the midday sun. Never had she seen a sight like that and she immediately became completely enthralled by it. She didn't even notice the stranger moving up to her and seating herself beside her.

Do you like it?, the whisper asked.

She answered, "Yes.“

It is the most wonderful of places, we found. Never did we think that we'd gaze upon it again and never had we thought to bask in the glorious blaze of our own light once more.

"It's a ruin where I come from.“ She looked over the windows who each served a memory for a deed once done. She only recognized the defeat of Discord, the events that would unfold on the other windows were entirely unfamiliar to her. Some dark blue pony moving underground, some strange figure with a six-colored mane standing in the darkness.

It is a ruin because time alone only knows the decay of things already born. We know better than you, Twilight Sparkle, that ponies are on the verge of completely forgetting what they are, even our beloved cousin was unable to change that, in the end.

She looked at the throne. At its feet grew red flowers and by the sides of the carpet the entire first step was a pond, with life brimming in it. On its second step stood the throne itself. A majestic, golden seat, emblazoned with leaves and swirls, cushioned with the most softest of pillows, a small candle at it's side and the sigil of the sun at its most upper top. Such a fine seat, she thought it was.

"Your. . . cousin?“, she asked the whisper.

We are nearly all gone from the world and when the last of us dies, so does the last piece of harmony that clings to the world. All that has happened to you would have happened much sooner and never would the world have seen these days. Cadance had waited for her knight, yet she had arrived too soon for him to be born and the elements have yet to appear, either. When she lived, they had not yet found the strength to bind themselves to those bodies destined for them.

"The Elements of Harmony? The Wise Goat said that I was one of them...“

For the beast its many lies that one was the truth and the fact that you are here and not in the realm of the eternal dreams is proof enough for that. Do you know what you did, Twilight?

She shook her head and looked to the ground, "I don't know what had happened. I don't remember anything. . . We were before the crack and suddenly, a giant pony came out. I didn't know, but the feeling of it was off-putting. It was happy and sad, angry and mellow. I didn't know what to do and then-“

You did something that would have been impossible to most, you stared into the eyes of the first Nightmare and lived to tell the tale. Twilight, We will be frank with you since this is important. This tale may still end bad for you and all you hold dear.

That came as a shock to her. In the tales, the hero always triumphed, no matter what. So she asked the whisper: "How?“

Magic is not as wonderful as your stories made it out to be, the whisper explained with both warmth and sadness in her voice, Magic in and of itself came from the Crystal Empire, truth be told, and it was heralded by two ponies: Star Swirl and Sombra. Brothers they had been and each had their own vision of magic. Star Swirl saw the potential to help ponies, Sombra sought to use it as a weapon. They never understood each other but Sombra made a deal with Star Swirl that they'd both teach the unicorns in magic, so they were able to use the full spectrum of their powers. While Star Swirl thought it a good idea to work in harmony, Sombra still only intended the worst. His lessons taught the ponies to sought out power and that strength was the only means of survival in this world.

She found herself listening to the tale and tried to figure out what it meant but as of now came to no conclusion. She just looked at the throne that rose up before them and listened in on the whisper's tale.

Sombra and his students then betrayed the Crystal Empire, they murdered their king and queen, enslaved their ponies and Star Swirl needed to retreat south, there he met the two young alicorns and told them his tale, so they might free the Crystal Empire. What remains is that Star Swirl, until his end, never cared for the power magic held but only for the good it could do. Sombra on the other hand only cared for power. He betrayed and enslaved to achieve more greatness than before and in the end, he payed dearly for it. Do you get it, Twilight?

There was a pause and She looked down. She was thinking, she was a smart filly, she could answer this. She felt a hoof brushing over her mane and calmed herself.

"Magic is more than just being able to cast spells,“ she finally answered.

She heard the whisper laugh, That is the first half, my dear Twilight. I think that the rest will come to you soon enough. For now it will do just fine.

She felt how the hoof left her head but she still felt how it had touched her, how warm it had felt, how familiar. Yet she did not recognize the whisper's voice, or maybe she did? She couldn't say.

"I. . . I wanted to save them, I really did. I didn't want the power, I-“

We know, our little pony. You are a weird little spot in the this grey world, everyday waking up and finding yourself in the wrong room. Your very existence is bound to magic and only you can bring it back to the world, therefore it searches for you and you search for it.

She didn't understand, so she just looked at the flowers, the red, beautiful flowers.

Still, there was more Sombra's tale than just the lust for power. Now, Twilight, Magic is at its base a force of chaos, lead by emotions. Sombra utilized the darkness of his heart, the hatred and the fears he held within him and it turned him darker with every spell he cast, while Star Swirl helped others and felt better for it. Do not, under any circumstances, use the power you feel near Magia ever again. It is the most powerful of vile magicks and even Discord became afraid of it. It will eat at you, tear you apart and forever cripple you. With every time you use this power, the worse you will end up. There aren't many chances left for you.

She wanted to turn around, but found she couldn't. She was fixated on the throne. The only things she could do was listen to the whisper and answer its faint warmth. "Why me? Trixie loves magic more than any other pony I know? She seems more fit than me.“

We cannot tell you about the tiny Lulamoon, for her story is one that she needs to see to an end with her own strength. But you? Why you, indeed? We asked ourself that question a long time ago. Who would bear the element of magic and how would it show? Everypony is bound to the fabrics of magic, for they are everything we are. From the color of our coats to our cutie marks, magic defines how we look and it defines how we look at ourselves. Did you know? Everypony has a special talent. The talent of our sister was to rule the night, while ours was to rule the day, others could do such simple things like stand on one hoof and We once knew a pegasus who could fly through any weather with his eyes closed. . . We believe it might have been Wonderbolt himself.

Anway, your talent is magic itself and because of that you were always connected to it. Even if you would not want to believe it yourself, it still is the truth. But this talk is coming to an end, we feel, and all dreams die once you wake up. You will remember little, if anything from this conversation we fear, but also hope that you take the one important thing with you.

Twilight turned her head to her left and looked into the alicorn's magenta eyes. Her coat was white and the mane moved in an ethereal wind. The little unicorn's mouth opened and closed, but she couldn't get a word out.

We may not see each other again, but I wish you good luck, my faithful student, Celestia said and Twilight felt the feeling in her body returning.

The scenery blurred out as she opened her eyes again. There was grey stone above her and her body felt weak again. She was shivering and her heart was pounding. She smiled, her heart was pounding, so she was alive. She took one look to her side where Trixie stood, the filly with half her teeth missing. Lyra stood beside her, looking worried and also very green,while Derpy looked relieved. "You're back,“ she gasped happily.

Twilight coughed. "Yeah,“ she said, "are there possibly any muffins we could eat? I'm starving.“