Chapters She was the only one.
Twilight Sparkle was the last pony in Ponyville and all of Equestria. The disaster Discord had brought to the streets, or the destruction the Parapsrites had caused some time ago were a joke compared to the terrorism brought onto Twilight Sparkle presently. All of the mayhem could not compare to the threats she felt now: loneliness, isolation, and solitude. But did Twilight Sparkle truly feel lonely? Not really.
Without any food being consumed by anypony but her, Twilight had an endless supply of vegetation available to her. She had all of Ponyville to herself, and all of the free time in the world to do whatever her heart desired. Most of her days she spent studying and practicing magic, and has become quite fluent since. With no one to injure or get in her way, Twilight was free to practice her magic on anything, such as the apple trees in Sweet Apple Acres that Applejack and Big Macintosh would otherwise be tending to.
It was not just the Apple Family who were absent. Everypony was. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom have not been heard from in days. Not only that, but none of the other residents of Ponyville have been heard of, either: Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Snips, Snails, Bon-Bon, Daisy, Derpy Hooves, Lyra, Carrot Top, Vinyl Scratch, Cheerliee …Not to mention Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Canterlot, who have not given word to Twilight in who knows how long. Not even the Zecora or Steven Magnet or even Spike have been seen. Twilight was the only breathing being in all of Equestria.
To most ponies, this sincere sense of isolationism would’ve broken their spirit, but Twilight – for reasons beyond anyone’s comprehension – did not crack under the pressure of eternal loneliness. That was not peculiar: as a filly, Twilight had no friends and did not socialize much until she was relocated to Ponyville where she met her friends: Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack. The peculiar part of this whole predicament was that it seemed to anypony who would be monitoring Twilight would understand that she looked like she belonged there as a lone individual.
She never cried over the loss of her friends. She never seemed to miss anypony, and she never seemed to wonder why it was that she is the only pony in Ponyville she knows. If she traveled to Fillydelphia or Cloudsdale, she would discover for herself that she was alone in those cities, too. It also appeared that she had forgotten about the Elements of Harmony, the most powerful sources of magic in all of Equestria, which remained as symbols of her everlasting friendships were nothing more than five faded memories and five faded hearts. Even still, it would seem that she had all the company in the world by having no company at all.
This paradigm has been going on for what has felt like years and years. And to Twilight Sparkle, it probably has been. To any other pony, you could know that this is only a feeling, and not the truth. But what was able to break Twilight of this interminable isolation? From the looks of things, it looked like nopony could free Twilight from this nightmare (although, she isn’t dreaming). Fortunately, there was a single being who would be the answer to this question, and the liberation of Twilight Sparkle, the Omega Pony.
This pony looked exactly like Twilight in the way her body was configured. She was a unicorn, with a mane of all the same color except for two separately colored streaks which differentiated themselves away from all the others, aligned just to the right of her horn, if she was facing you. Only her fur was completely white, quite like that of Rarity’s. And her mane was a slightly darker hue of white; almost grey-looking. The two streaks of her mane were yellow and teal instead of pink and purple. And as for her cutie mark: instead of an arrangement of stars, this pony’s cutie mark was of one large six-pointed star, somewhat like Princess Luna’s, vibrant and vivid. The only real bold color of this pony were her eyes, which were also purple like Twilight’s.
This pony is named Belief. She, like all ponies, is a living, breathing individual. However, the reason why she was never accounted for in the Ponyville population count or the Equestria population count is because this pony is an alien. Nopony has ever known of her existence prior to this quandary. However, this time of times, she feels, is the perfect time for a revelation. Twilight has clearly forgotten about her friends, the Elements of Harmony, and the magic of friendship. Belief knew this could not continue.
One day, Twilight left the library to take a break from reading and get some fresh air. That, or Twilight was out to lunch. Belief was not certain of this, but the fact that Twilight did not carry her backpack was the evidence she needed. Either way, she was away from the books and willing to listen. And Belief needed nothing more than Twilight’s attention.
Belief hid in the recesses of Ponyville, lurking behind Twilight without a single word spoken from her lips or sound made from her hooves. Twilight did not see her. And it was not until she was approaching Sweet Apple Acres for a midday snack that Belief made herself noticeable. Uncertain of how to make first contact with Twilight, Belief hid behind some trees, pondering to herself. She found a red delicious apple on the ground at her hooves and got an idea. She picked it up with her mouth, aimed and threw it as hard as she could, the apple bonking Twilight in the back of the head.
“Ouch!” Twilight exclaimed, more puzzled than injured. The apple landed right beside her. She identified the weapon of choice. “What the-?” Twilight looked around anxiously, looking for the source of the apple. Since it came from behind, she turned and took a good look around, not seeing Belief as she squeezed herself in the shadows of a tree trunk. “That was odd,” Twilight said. She turned around and continued walking when she heard what sounded like a pony’s hooves bucking apples from an apple tree. A quick glance behind, and a green apple came flying at Twilight’s face at full speed. Twilight fell to the ground.
Now panicked, Belief darted from the apple tree and rushed over to Twilight who was on her back, but still conscious. She groaned from the pain.
“I’m really sorry,” Belief mumbled, her voice sounding like Twilight, but her tone was so calm, it was if she were Fluttershy. She stressed out the “really” when she spoke. “I meant to only get your attention.”
“Eh…huh?” Twilight asked, her vision coming into focus. She finally got a glimpse of Belief, a pony which she did not recognize. Her eyes shot open. “Ah! Who are you?” she asked, panicked, struggling to get to her hooves.
“My…name…is…Belief,” said the almost-identical-looking pony, her voice practically inaudible. But Twilight seemed to not make that connection to when she met Fluttershy upon her arrival here in Ponyville.
“What?” Twilight asked, now standing, putting her right hoof to her head, straightening her eyes.
“My…name is…Belief,” Belief repeated.
“I’m sorry?”
Belief gulped. She blurted: “My name is Belief.”
“Do I know you?” Twilight asked.
Belief shook her head. “No,” she replied sternly, “but I know you.”
“You do? How?”
“I’ve been watching you, Twilight Sparkle.”
“How do you know my name?”
“I said I’ve been watching you, Twilight Sparkle. And it’s not hard to learn a pony’s name when she’s the only pony in Equestria….other than myself. But I have seen your past, when you were with your friends, and-”
“Wait. Friends? What friends? I don’t have any friends!” Twilight exclaimed.
Belief sighed, stepping around Twilight, pacing. “You truly don’t remember, do you, Twilight?”
“Remember what? What are you talking about?” Twilight asked, turning herself around to make eye contact with Belief.
“Your friends, Twilight Sparkle,” Belief snapped. “You know: Rainbow Dash and Applejack and Rarity and Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?”
Twilight gave Belief a blank look, her pupils shrunken, her ears pointed downward. She did not speak.
Belief sighed again. “I know this is going to be hard to believe, but you don’t belong here, Twilight Sparkle.” Silence from Twilight. “Allow me to explain: everything about your life that you have been experiencing is nothing more than a falsified reality.”
“I’m still lost,” Twilight remarked.
“Come with me,” Belief said, starting in the direction away from Sweet Apple Acres. She led Twilight to Sugarcube Corner.
“What are we doing here?” Twilight asked upon their arrival.
“This is Sugarcube Corner,” Belief answered. “Your friend, Pinkie Pie, worked here for Mr. and Mrs. Cake. She lived in the attic upstairs. Come. There is much to see.” Belief walked up the stairs into Sugarcube Corner, climbing up the stairs in the back, which led straight to the attic to where Pinkie Pie was supposedly present, along with her pet toothless alligator, Gummy. But there was no Pinkie Pie or Gummy. Her furniture: the bed, the fireplace, the table-and-chair setup she had since her birthday party were all still there. But Pinkie was nowhere to be found. Stranger still: there was no evidence of time passing on the furniture. No dust gathered, no deterioration occurred, and the cake left on the dining table near the staircase was still fresh. It was as if Pinkie Pie had just bolted from her living quarters in a moment’s notice.
“I don’t get it,” Twilight began, looking around, “what is there to see?”
“There is nothing to see,” Belief replied, “so therefore there is tons to see.”
Twilight looked confused. Belief turned around to face her. She guffawed. “I mean that figuratively,” she added, “clearly, if there’s nothing to see literally, then there’s nothing to see. But what I mean is the fact that there is nothing to see here means there is much for you to see.”
“I don’t see how that makes any sense,” Twilight remarked, “if there’s nothing to see, how can I see anything? I can’t see if there’s nothing for me to see.”
“You’re speaking literally,” Belief said, “I’m speaking figuratively.”
“That doesn’t help!” Twilight yelled.
Belief groaned. “I know it doesn’t!” she stopped suddenly, sounding like she was confident in what she had to say next, and she was cutting herself off. “Twilight, you have been studying magic this whole time, yes?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you recall how to perform the spell which allows you to look through things?”
Twilight shook her head. “It seemed pretty useless to me: why would I ever have the need to look through things?”
“Normally, you would be correct,” Belief began, “but under these conditions, you are wrong. That spell is the only way for you to understand, Twilight Sparkle, what my intentions are. I hereby dismiss you for today. Go home and learn that spell. You will be needing it if you are ever to be freed from here.”
“Be freed?” Twilight asked. “Freed from what?”
“Good day!” Belief exclaimed in dismissal.
Twilight sighed and exited Sugarcube Corner.
“This is going to be harder than I thought,” Belief said to herself after she was sure Twilight was not within hearing range. “Twilight, as expected, is a wise pony. But even she does not realize the danger she is in. And it is as if she craves loneliness, and that friends will only get in her way. This is not like the Twilight Sparkle I was expecting. But once she is fond of that spell, she shall know what is happening here. The successfulness of my mission is low. Very, very low. But between my teachings and Twilight Sparkle’s smartness, we just might find the answers.”
Belief returned to the shadows of Ponyville until the following day, where she reported to the library. Twilight was out front, reading. She closed the book and rose to her hooves, turning around to face Belief.
“I am ready,” she said.
“Very good,” Belief replied, “now we return to Sugarcube Corner. It is time to reveal what is hidden in front of your eyes for far too long, Twilight Sparkle.”
Belief led Twilight back to Sugarcube Corner, and back to the loft where Pinkie Pie lived, completely ignoring the whole first floor of the building. Twilight noticed that. Belief knew that the first floor would be futile. Twilight did not know that, but she figured there was a reason behind Belief’s methodology. Belief positioned Twilight in front of the table-and-chair set with the birthday cake and the unusual arrangement of objects on chairs: a fallen triplet of rocks, a sack of flour, a bucket of turnips, and a dust bunny.
“What happened here?” Twilight asked.
“Cast the spell, and you shall find out,” Belief said.
Twilight gulped and lowered her head, closing her eyes and concentrating. Her horn illuminated, and, after a few dramatic moments of undivided attention to the spell, a small explosion occurred in front of Twilight. An intangible object – like an abstract window – appeared in front of Twilight’s eyes. Within the window-like object was an exact duplicate of the table-and-chair set, the color completed erased, the image within the window animated and alive.
There was Pinkie Pie – a pink-furred pony with a magenta-colored mane and blue eyes, her otherwise light and fluffy mane popped and dangling from her head and her flank like curtains. She was in a funk, alternating from serving the inanimate objects beverages and cake, and total insanity. Her eyes parted from each other completely, her irises too vibrant for optimal vision, and her behavior too bizarre to describe. The scene only lasted in front of Twilight for only seconds before spontaneously disappearing from sight, like the popping of a bubble.
“What was that?” Twilight asked, turning her head from the table-and-chair set to Belief.
“That was Pinkie Pie, one of your many friends in Ponyville,” Belief replied.
“That was Pinkie Pie?”
Belief nodded. “Indeed it was. It was during her Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome.”
“Her what?” Twilight asked.
“Pinkie Pie was under the impression that you and your friends no longer wished to attend her parties and did not want to be her friend anymore, so she, well, popped and threw a party for Gummy with only her, her pet crocodile, and a random assortment of objects she found in her loft. Naturally, when you guys persuaded her otherwise, she inflated back into normality.”
“I noticed you said ‘popped’ and ‘inflated’ as if this Pinkie Pie were a balloon,” Twilight remarked.
“Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark was a picture of three balloons – did you not notice that?”
Twilight shook her head. “It all happened so fast.”
“That is out of our control,” Belief remarked, “you shall learn of your past, and learn to see what has become of you now, Twilight Sparkle, one memory at a time. Come! There is much more to see!”
Belief led Twilight all around Ponyville. She saw glimpses of her past from who knows how many weeks. One was from a race Applejack and Rainbow battled each other in during the fall. Another was from when Twilight had been given tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala; another led to a scene from the Grand Galloping Gala. More showed images from an attack from a species of parasite called the Parasprite, a scene of Rainbow Dash performing the legendary Sonic Rainboom, and one of the ponies of Appleloosa in a war with buffalo native to the land. Altogether, Belief had Twilight perform the spell twenty-eight times. And twenty-eight different images haunted Twilight as she and Belief returned to the library.
“Well?...” Belief asked, having hardly spoken a word since they began exploring Ponyville, “anything you have to say, Twilight Sparkle?”
“I…I don’t understand,” Twilight replied after a long pause, unsure of what to say. “I thought this whole time…everything in the world was right.”
Belief shook her head. “You are wrong, Twilight Sparkle. You have been living in another world: a world identical to the real one you’re supposed to be living in, but without any memory of anything that is externally important to you, such as your friends. Your fondness of magic stayed with you because you have been studying magic long before you met your friends, so it became an internal part of your well-being. But your friends are just friends.”
“So…everything I have seen…that all happened?” Twilight asked.
Belief nodded. “Not necessarily in the order you witnessed them, but everything you have seen has happened. You were there for all of it. You were the center of attention, Twilight Sparkle: the newbie who needed the fellowship, guidance – and, most importantly, friendship – of those five other ponies who dedicated their lives to your well-being and understanding of the magic of friendship.”
Twilight was silent. Her mind raced with doubt and uncertainty. She grew cold with disbelief and misunderstanding. Something inside her snapped. She began to back away.
“No…no! This can’t be true!” she exclaimed.
“It is, Twilight Sparkle. This is your life: as it should be. Everything you believe now is an illusion. What you’ve been taking glimpses at is your real life.”
Dark clouds quickly formed in the skies above the otherwise clear and sunny world of Equestria. Thunder rolled and lightning crackled above, rain beginning to pour interminably from the black sky. The ponies’ manes drooped with water.
Twilight was as neutral as the sky: not believing that this world was not false nor true. Now her mind was made up. She believed in this world, and not what was reality. The sky reflected her confusion. A heavy wind picked up, the tress of Equestria leaning from the gale. Visibility plummeted. Twilight retreated from Belief that very moment, disappearing into the distance as a thick fog rolled in.
“This is not good,” Belief mumbled as the storm of chaos ushered itself in.
“Twilight!...Twilight!...Twilight!” Belief called for her friend at the top of her lungs. There was no response. They were both lost in the disaster surrounding them. Belief could not begin to imagine what the weather was like for the real Ponyville: swallowed into the stomach of an inevitable apocalypse; engulfed in discord, disharmony, destruction, and being sent down a tunnel of blazing fire.
Time was short. Belief continued to scamper the streets of Ponyville, crying out for Twilight, wherever she was to be found. She was nowhere to be seen, refusing to respond to Belief’s countless calls. When Belief found her in the library, it was clear to her why Twilight was so silent: she was not able to talk. She was preoccupied. She wore the crown she used to defeat Discord and Nightmare Moon.
“If Belief is right, everything will go back to normal,” she said to herself. She closed her eyes and recited the magical words aloud, “Loyalty! Honesty! Laughter! Kindness! Generosity! Magic!” Her eyes illuminated, her body being picked up off the ground and suspended in the air. A huge wave of light exploded around her, the light in her eyes fading, Twilight collapsing to the ground in a heap. The crown fell off her head and broke into two pieces, the star’s brightness receding.
“Twilight!” Belief exclaimed, approaching her. “Are you alright?”
Twilight shook her head. “No...I’m not. The Elements of Harmony did nothing, Belief! I’m powerless!”
“Because you were alone, Twilight. All you used was the Element of Magic. You need all six Elements in order for them to work. You need your friends, and more importantly, you need to believe in them!”
The second half of the library was ripped from the first half, exposing the ponies to the intense, storming weather outside. The debris of the storm all went flying into a tornado approaching Ponyville. The tornado acted as a black hole: once something entered, nothing came out. The end of the world was near.
“Believe in them, Twilight Sparkle! Know that this is not your fate – this is not reality!”
Twilight fell silent. She seated herself on the ground and hid her head in her hooves. “It can’t end this way…” she whispered, “…there’s got to be another life I have to live…” Just then, as tears formed in the corners of her eyes, a spark pulsated inside her. It was all clear to her now.
Twilight got a feeling in the pit of her stomach. She began to feel the emotions she had not felt for the longest time: loneliness, misery, and misunderstanding. She began to cry.
“I miss them!” she cried, weeping on the ground.
Belief took her hoof to Twilight and lifted her chin up.
“I want to see them again!” she continued, “I want to hear their voices and laugh with them again! What has happened to me? How did I ever live without my friends? Why did I ever leave?”
There was a moment of silence from Belief as she let Twilight continue sobbing.
“That I can’t explain,” she said softly, in attempt to ease Twilight’s pain, which so far was not going so well. “All I know is that you have appeared here, in this alternate world of a false Equestria, with no memory of your life prior to this newfound world. Though, Twilight Sparkle, you don’t have to stay here in this fictional reality. In fact: you never even left!”
“Wha-?” Twilight began, poking her head up, staring into Belief’s eyes, which had illuminated into a bright white light.
A spherical object which resembled a bubble of plasma glowed around Belief, lightning-bolt-like pulses of light shooting out in all directions, the whole apocalyptic Equestria becoming increasingly brighter until no matter of any kind could be seen but the white light. Then, there was an explosion, which could be heard from all corners of Equestria. Everything seemed to stand still.
The light dimmed. And animation returned to the world. Life began to revive itself. Nopony had realized what had just happened…except one: the Omega Pony: Twilight Sparkle, who was at a large dining table, standing with Applejack and Pinkie Pie and Rarity and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
“Ya OK, Twi?” Applejack asked, who was standing on the right of Twilight at her seat at the table, a plate of apple-oriented treats in front of her, such as an apple pie, an apple fritter, and caramel apples.
Twilight blinked. She looked down in front of her, a plate of the highest-quality hay she had ever seen in front of her, a few bites taken out of it. Then she looked up to her friends, all five of them staring right back at her. “Um, girls, this is going to sound weird, but I don’t remember what is happening.”
“We defeated Discord!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, taking a huge bite of cake and swallowing it whole.
“And united together as friends,” Rarity added.
“It was so awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“And now we’re having a feast Princess Celestia prepared for us after our appearance in Canterlot upon our celebration,” Fluttershy whispered.
Princess Celestia entered the room.
“Princess!” Twilight called.
“Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student, are you alright?” Princess Celestia asked, approaching the pony.
“Yes, Princess Celestia,” Twilight replied. “I have a report on the magic of friendship.”
“Really, Twilight? But you have already completed your assignment for today.”
Twilight looked ahead, her five friends staring back at her in smiles. She turned back to the Princess.
“I would like to add something still,” she said.
“Very well, Twilight. What is it you have learned?”
“I learned that no matter what, you should never forget about your friends. The truth is, Princess Celestia, I was stuck in another world: one where I had forgotten about my friends, and I was not freed until I believed in them again. They are the most important things to me, and when I knew that was the truth, I was set free. Because the truth, Princess, will set you free!”
“Did you hear that? We’re important!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
“A truly remarkable thought,” Rarity added.
“And what an important lesson in the magic of friendship,” Princess Celestia remarked. “Perhaps the most important of them all.”
“Thank you, Princess.”
Princess Celestia lowered her horn onto Twilight Sparkle, as a unicorn-to-unicorn salute, and quietly left the ponies to themselves.
“Now, wat’s this mumbo-jumbo 'bout an'ther world?” Applejack asked.
Twilight smiled. “Long story,” she said.
That night, as Twilight read a book on her bed before going to bed, she noticed a bright light outside her window, on her balcony. She got out of bed and ran outside to the light, where Belief stood alone.
“Belief?” Twilight asked.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Belief said.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to congratulate you on your success: you made it back to the real world…and you still remember who I am. That is excellent.”
“I still don’t quite understand,” Twilight mumbled.
“Twilight Sparkle, you were trapped in a world of forgotten memories, one in which only everything important to you was possible. I showed you your memories, and, using your magic, you were able to see for yourself what you were missing. It was only when you realized you missed your friends that you were able to leave that world and return to the real world of Equestria…” Belief seemed to pause her speech.
“Were you going to say something else?” Twilight asked.
“And so…you’ve set me free,” Belief finally said. She turned around to face the moon in the night sky.
“Will I ever see you again?”
“Of course you will, Twilight Sparkle,” Belief began. She turned back around to Twilight and extended her hoof. “I will always be with you…in here.”
Belief returned her attention back to the moon. She stared up into the sky, the moon shimmering in her eyes. There was a bright light, which surrounded Belief completely. When it dimmed at last, Belief was gone, a stream of light flowing endlessly to the heavens of Equestria.
Belief played an important role to Twilight, a role which brought her back to the real world, where she would once again be with her friends, forever to learn about the magic of friendship. Belief may never return to Ponyville. She no longer had to. She knew in her heart that she would only need to return in case Twilight ever had to become the Omega Pony again. She lived within all the ponies of Ponyville and Equestria, being in those who truly believe.
