Chapters Twilight waved goodbye to the fillies as they loaded into the royal chariot headed back to Ponyville.
"Bye Auntie Twilight!" called Daring Dash. Twilight waved to the departing chariot with a smile. She always loved to have the fillies over, they were a bright spot in her world.
"My" she said, "she looks so much like Rai-" Twilight stopped herself there, but not soon enough, and the flood of emotions were threatening to spill over as Twilight's legs shook and she shut her eyes tightly. She felt something starting to... give. But before she lost herself completely she took a deep breath, as she did many times before, and mentally forced herself to regain composure. She couldn't let the fillies see her like this, she had to be the cheerful and happy Auntie Twilight to them. She was just finishing her emotional fortification when she heard the all too familiar sound of Celestia's hoof steps come down the stairs to the rear patio. Celestia stood by Twilight and watched the carriage disappear over the horizon.
"Congratulations my dear student" Celestia said as she turned towards Twilight. Twilight continued to stare towards the last position of the carriage. "Is there something wrong?" Celestia asked, obviously worried.
"Hmm? Oh, just tired" said Twilight, "I'll be going to bed now if you don't mind." Celestia nodded but still looked unsure as she watched Twilight head up the stairs to her room.
Don't worry Celestia she told herself, Twilight just needs some time. Celestia would've thought over this more, but the anniversary celebrations meant that she had a backlog of royal business to attend to. She gave a sigh and prepared for a long night as she sauntered back to the throne room.
Twilight walked onto an open field, a warm summer breeze making the grass move in waves. In the distance, the rays of the sun could be seen glowing from behind the horizon, giving a nice warm glow that still illuminated the area.
"Twilight, you're late!" called Applejack in a surprisingly loud voice.
"Sorry girls," Twilight said with a pang of guilt, "I was just busy with some royal business."
"Ah Twilight, always somthin', huh?" Applejack said.
"Oh calm down Jackie!" said Pinkie Pie, "Twilight's here now, so the fun can START!" Twilight felt herself rise as she looked around, all her friends were here, albeit very aged, but with a vibrancy that belied their years. Pinkie was trying to hop up and down, Rainbow Dash was lazily gliding through the air, Applejack was cutting a pie with shaky hooves, Fluttershy wheeled over to some arguing animals, and Rarity was trying to get aforementioned Applejack in a conversation about this "crazy new style" all the kids are into. Twilight smiled as she joined them, giving little thought of how little time they-
Twilight woke up before that thought could surface. She had been having that same dream for a while now, and she kept telling herself it did her no service to repeatedly dream about their very last monthly picnic together. Yet she couldn't stop dreaming about them, it hurt her to do so, not to stop thinking of them would be unbearable. She looked at the clock, "2:45 AM."As she also did every night, she took the time to reinforce those supports, mend cracks in her composure that would appear all to often. She then set to work pushing thoughts of her dream out of her head. She had become very good at this as she did it every night for the past-
"So unhealthy. "
Twilight bolted upright and looked around in the darkness, which was pretty feeble considering the lack of, well... light. She strained to hear anything else but there was no sound, save for the whistling of a soft breeze through the window. She could have sworn that she sensed a presence near her, and hear a voice, but it disappeared before she could focus on it, and there was a chill in the air despite the downy blankets on her bed.
She didn't get much more sleep that night.
The next morning was business as usual, with Twilight walking out to the town district of Canterlot to run errands and see how the townsfolk were doing. The town was busy as always, with shops displaying their wares and vendors calling promoting the products they had for sale. She was walking by the Doughnut Shop when she heard a strangely familiar voice.
"Ah told ya, I ordered that load long ago, an' ah never got it delivered." Twilight snapped her head around to the source of the noise, but was disappointed to see that it was just some mare complaining about a barrel delivery. This one had slightly darker hair and a cutie mark of a bottle of cider. Twilight knew everyone from ponyville and most from Canterlot, but not this one. She walked over to the donut shop's display stand to listen in while she pretended to observe the pastries, and thought it strange when she learned that a pony was here all the way out from Appleloosa. Nonetheless, she quickly turned away and started to walk off.
But it wasn't "you know who..."
Twilight looked around again, only to be disappointed a second time when she didn't see anyone that could've make the remark. "who are you, and where?" said Twilight under her breath, a chill running up her back. She got no answer, and went about finishing her errands for the day with considerably less energy than usual.
On her way back to the castle,Twilight passed by some fillies playing tag in the remaining light of day. One of them walked up to her.
"Hi pwincess, would you like to play with us?"
"Gem, don't bother the Princess, she is probably very busy" said an older pony walking towards the two, presumably her mother. "Excuse us, you majesty" she said, bowing to Twilight.
"Oh, it's quite alright. You don't need to be so sorry." Twilight assured her. Even so, the mother was visibly sweating and trembling. "Please stop worrying, really. It's only more annoying that you are treating this like a big deal. The mare gave a little yelp in surprise and quickly rose to her hooves. Twilight shook her head to herself when the mother wasn't looking and continued back to the castle.
"Goodnight Celestia."
"Goodnight my dear student."
That night, Twilight was unsure about going to sleep. She lay in bed, not really sure what to expect or if anything was even going to happen. She looked to the window and stared there for the longest time, both hoping and dreading for something to happen. She thought back to those messages she kept receiving, "no, don't think about them" she told herself. She knew what it was saying but dare not admit it. Who was talking to her like this, and why? Eventually she gave up, closed her eyes and drifted off to see her friends again.
Twilight once again joined her friends at the picnic in the clearing. She was about to join Pinky Pie in her one thousand five hundred seventy second game of "patty pie". "Alright!" began Pinkie, "Patty pie patty pie baker's mare, bake me a pie as fast as you"- Twilight was laughing but stopped at Pinkie's abrupt pause, for this was not what happened in her dream. She looked up and around, everything was still, as if it we're frozen in time.
Suddenly she felt a presence enter, and she knew that chilling presence, the same one she felt whenever she received those strange messages. Something told her to turn around, and there was a glance of a robed and hooded figure stepping out from behind a tree. Hello, "Auntie Twilight" said a voice that both soothed and chilled to the bone.
The figure stood there, the hooded robe concealing all features except for his horn and eyes that peered out from the shadow.
"No, it can't be. How are you in my dream?" Twilight said as she backed away from the newcomer. The invader seemed to look around indifferently. After regarding Twilight for a few seconds, he spoke.
"How boring," he began, "I'd imagine you would've changed the dream by now, considering how much pain it causes..." Twilight now at least knew from its voice that this was a stallion speaking.
"Have you been the one sending me the messages?" Twilight asked.
"Oh please, don't pretend you don't know the answer" he smirked slightly, "Now as to how I am here, let's just say that Miss Luna's ability to enter dreams it's not as... exclusive as most ponies think." He held up his hoof, "now before you go about all that nonsense about "ohhhh! Who ARE you?" Let's just say I am someone here to help ." Twilight highly doubted this naturally, and was struggling to come up with a response when they both heard a noise.
"Twilight!" The muffled yelling of princess Luna could be heard as if from behind glass, "Twilight!" Luna cried again.
"Pity our meeting has been cut short," said the robed one, "I should probably strengthen that magic cloaking spell next time." He then mused for a second, "oh, and by the way, if you want answers, I'd keep your special guest a secret for now." At this, he flipped his robe and vanished clean out of sight. Suddenly, Twilight saw her vision fly up into the sky until she was about to hit a nearly invisible dome of magic. Forgetting about the properties of dreams, she closed her eyes for impact-
-To find herself sitting up in her room with sunlight streaming thought the window, which was closed this time. Twilight looked over to the clock, "10:34" it read, she had slept through the entire night.
"Twilight!" The door crashed open and Luna accompanied by two royal guards rushed in. "Twilight, art thou alright?" Luna said as the guards began sweeping the room, their faces tense with apprehension. "We sensed a magic intrusion around here."
"Well, it was... nothing I know about" Twilight said, suddenly realizing that she wanted those answers more badly than she wanted to tell Luna the truth.
"Hmmm," Luna tried to hide the suspicion in her look and tone. They both stared at each other, Luna's face was one of scrutiny and Twilight's of false innocence.
"All clear m'am," said one of the guards.
"Very well." said Luna, "Come, we must leave Twilight to her... privacy ." Twilight did her best not to break out into a cold sweat as she watched Luna leave walk out the door.
Twilight dragged herself through the day, getting many strange looks from Celestia and Luna alike, which she ignored. She saw them whispering to each other when they thought she wasn't looking, also ignored. They kept looking like they wanted to talk to her, ignored. All she wanted was to get back to talking to the invader, he had the answers. Finally night came, and with a quick "good night" to Celestia, she went to her chambers.
Twilight looked around for a few moments, and after seeing that all was quiet, cast a magic cloak spell to hide any "adventures" she might have while asleep. She felt a familiar pang of guilt as she considered how much she was hiding from Celestia and Luna, but made it go away for now. She then laid in bed and closed her eyes.
"Welcome, and thank you for your cooperation" said the figure as it stood there military style, back turned to Twilight. Twilight looked around, the dream was still set in the picnic scene, but her friends weren't there. She felt a cold feeling without the imagined comfort they brought. "Strange, isn't it," said the figure, "when you don't have those that you trust there to comfort you." He then turned to her, "Tell me, Twilight, would you say you have deep regrets for what has happened to you?" he inquired in an impossibly soothing tone.
Twilight was surprised at this sudden question, but stood up straight and said in her trained royal voice, "no, I have no regrets really." She felt pretty good coming off as so confident and professional, but raised her eyebrows when the figure didn't even flinch.
"Well," he started in a suddenly scathing tone, "now that I have affirmed that you are a total liar, the healing can begin."
Twilight stepped back, her mouth agape at what the figure just said. She was telling the truth, wasn't she? "Well, I see I've surprised you a bit, take a seat." He motioned over to the picnic blanket where a small lunch had been set out. Twilight studied him carefully, but his robe and monotone voice was not giving her much about him. "I have no doubt you are trying to find any exploits in my character." He casually droned, "rest assured, you will learn nothing of me unless I deem it necessary." Twilight cautiously sat down, not once taking her eyes off him.
"Go ahead, ask."
"Why are you doing this to me?"
He intensified his gaze, "I've already told you, I'm here to help." Twilight kept looking at him. He continued, "I realize that you are not as happy as you think you are," He pointed at her, "as you know you are. Now don't get upset if I come off as accusative" He scratched his chin, "Look, I'm not here to do any harm, if that's what you think."
Twilight suddenly felt indignant, "help? Is invading my dream using forbidden magic what you call help?" She was fuming, but he simply remained where he lay with that blank stare, infuriating her more, "the only help you could offer is telling me how to get rid of you sooner, and now here you are telling me I am not happy with myself!" Her lower lip stuck out slightly, "I was perfectly fine, and I don't need you to come in and- and-"
"-Help you remember." He stated. Twilight didn't respond, but nor did she give him the satisfaction of softening her expression. "Perhaps what we need is a little- field trip ." He waved his hoof, and suddenly the scene changed to the back of the castle where the coronation celebration had taken place. There was bits of paper and decorations on the floor, the most notable one being the banner, but it was folded over so all it seemed to say was Happy Anniversary . "Look," he said, and the scene then went to a time-lapse of the castle as pieces were repeatedly demolished and rebuilt.
"Look," he said again, and the scene then changed to a location that Twilight thought she couldn't bear to look at. There was a grassy field in a clearing, and a small place fenced off near the edge. The fence bordered a plot with six particularly shaped stones that were engraved with words.
Here lies Fluttershy The element of kindness
Here lies Rarity The element of generosity
Here lies Rainbow Dash The element of loyalty
Here lies Apple Jack The element of honesty
Here lies Pinkie Pie The element of laughter
Here stands a monument to the binding element that brought them all together Twilight Sparkle The element of magic
Twilight found not only could she look at the gravestones, but that she couldn't look away, try as she might. Again, her legs turned to jelly, and she bowed her head with her eyes shut tightly.
"There there," he said, "let it all out."
She would have, she really would, she was even just about to. But if the fillies can't see her like this, neither can he. "No". Twilight right then stiffened up, and, turning slowly towards him, said sternly, "Leave. Now."
He nodded once, made as if to walk off, and the scene faded away to darkness.
Off in Canterlot, in Celestia's castle, down the hall, in Twilight's chambers, and from underneath a blanket fold, a single tear wet the ground.
"Sister, I worry about her."
"I do too, but what can we do?"
"I could always break down the barrier-"
"No, I trust my student has reasons for blocking off insight to whatever she it's doing."
"But there is someone else. One that, from what I've managed to glean, may be trying to convince her into... A transcendence."
"..."
Twilight backed away from the crack in the doors to the throne room, puzzling over what she had just heard, Transcendence? She had yet many more questions, questions that a certain someone was going to have to answer. But those were going to have to wait, as Twilight was told she was going to have to go to Ponyville for a routine check up. After saying goodbye to Celestia, she spread her winds and took off.
She thought it strange as she pumped her wings, that despite all this time she had these wings, along with all that training from a loyal friend, she was still very clumsy with her flight. She was repeatedly told that she would get the hang of it, but she was not much better than when she first got them.
Perhaps they don't belong to you.
Twilight landed on the balcony to the library just as the sun was setting. The plan was to spend the night there, take care of business the next day, and return to Canterlot the same day. Before she went into the house though, she looked out to the horizon and watched the last rays of sunlight go out, the appearance of which connected with her somehow, but she wasn't sure why.
Twilight entered the Carousel, where Rarity was busy stitching together a dress she had torn the other day. "Oh, Twilight!" Beamed Rarity, "you just HAVE to come and see my latest creation!"
Twilight giggled, "no thanks Rarity, I'm in sort of a rush here. Did you fix my dress yet?"
Rarity lit up, "Oh, why yes! I even took the liberty of adding a stylish green trim, it will look absolutely MARVELOUS on you, don't you agree?" Twilight studied the fix carefully, the stitch so seamless you would need to look for a few seconds before you had any idea there was anything wrong with it. And of course, Rarity's color choice for the trim was spot on as always.
"It's wonderful, Rarity." Said Twilight.
"I had hoped so, nothing less for my be- best..." Twilight looked over to where Rarity was now collapsed on the floor, her wrinkled legs shaking with effort.
"Rarity!" Cried Twilight, as she ran over to the now still figure. She tried to pick up her friend, but Rarity simply turned to dust in her hooves. Twilight screamed at this as the dress set on fire and turned to ash and the Carousel crumbled around her-
Twilight sat there among the ruins, a tear-less whimper emanating from her bowed head. She felt a presence enter, but either didn't notice or care.
"Poor Twilight " said a mocking tone.
"Why are you doing this? You didn't need to..." Came a weak response.
"Oh, but I did. Do you know what would've happened had I not?"
Twilight heard a groaning noise. She looked up and saw that two of Rarity's mirrors had not been destroyed. Not only that, but they were now parallel to each other. The groaning noise came from the mirrors that were growing and stretching, they extended left, right, and up into infinity. She looked up, and looked to the side, and could see nothing but reflections of herself extending endlessly into the "mirror tunnel" until the light became too weak, ending in equally infinite darkness.
A voice emanated from nowhere, "So, let's review. You say you have nothing to regret, yet you repeatedly dream about your late friends, you can barely keep a straight face when you see something remotely reminiscent of your past life."
"Poor Twilight!" He repeated as he appeared in the reflection but not beside her. He pulled his hood back, revealing... Fluttershy's face. In whose voice he/she said, "I mean really Twilight, do you expect us to believe-" he switched to Apple Jack "-that though you live-" Rarity: "-in a drafty, and quite frankly empty castle-" Rainbow Dash: "-along a near equal who still calls you her student without missing a beat,-" Pinkie Pie: "-surrounded by thousands of adoring subjects, but none that you can call-"
"-friend ?"
This last word had Twilight looking back at herself again, but this reflection was a little shorter, without a crown, without gold slippers, without wings. And glaring at her. Twilight stared back, willing it with all her power to go away, yet there it, she remained. Said the voices of all her friends, "you don't regret anything ?"
"This act, this ruse that you have been playing at, is nothing more than a defense against the great agony that you have been feeling. Am I not right?" Twilight didn't respond. "That's quite alright, you are not ready to admit that I am correct."
"Please" cried Twilight, "just stop talking!"
"But talk I must! And talk I shall!" He was speaking loudly now. "For you to know the truth !" He was defiant, oblivious to Twilight's silent pleas. "Did you know" he started, "that at the graveyard, that monument was supposed to be your gravestone, that it took them 20 months after Pinkie's passing to realize you would not die? " He spoke faster, louder, "did you know, that your dear princess Candace spent 30 months up at a mountain resort to recover from the DEATH of your brother, General Shining Armor, the better part of her stay spent literally wallowing in her tears?" He motioned to a magic screen, were a view of the princess of love could be seen sitting in her throne room, a hollow shell of her former self. "Do you know why you were so long the center of Celestia's attention, why she tried so very hard to get you to where you are now?" He suddenly calmed down to almost a whisper, and leaned close to Twilight, putting a comforting leg over her. "It is because she failed another, one that you know very well, and plays a big role in your transformation." He got up and paced a little. "Alas, he is no longer with us, but that's the point you see."
Twilight found herself in an imitation of the "cosmic dimension" that Celestia brought her to when the destiny spell was cast. The figure spoke, "Star Swirl the Bearded, who I am sure you know well about, who some say even you may have surpassed in magic skill." He had conjured several pictures of the great mage, chronicling his many achievements. "He had great potential, but I'm sure you know everything about him, and about Celestia." A strangely goofy smile played across his lips, "but I bet you didn't know about them " he sang, followed by an unfitting kissing gesture.
Twilight gawked in spite of herself, "you don't mean-"
"Oh but I do. You see, super powerful wizards catch the attention of certain all-powerful princesses, and this princess tried very hard to make sure that she didn't lose this one for more than one reason. Now things are getting interesting, hmm?" He gestured, and they were at the scene of Twilight and Celestia right after the "Destiny Spell" was cast.
"Wait," said Twilight, "have you been accessing my memories?"
He turned briefly to her, "Yes, now listen" he said.
"-You have managed to accomplish even what Star Swirl the Bearded could not" said Celestia of her memories.
Twilight knew what she was looking and listening for, the way Celestia's voice became ever so slightly quieter, the way her voice subtly cracked, the way she turned away slightly at the words "could not." It all made sense now. "You mean to say, I am a sort of redemption for Celestia?"
He responded, "In way, yes. But it goes further than that." He cleared his throat, "not only were you among the most qualified for the transformation, but you stood out because of something you had, or rather didn't have." He then looked at Twilight with something approaching pity, "Affection. Sure, you had respect, sisterly love, and of course Friendship, but Celestia knew that you were still too... complex to fall for the petty routine of romance and thus have your heart broken, something I know that you can't deny." He quickly added in, "its funny really, you were actually sent to Ponyville to get you further away from a certain danger."
Twilight thought back and thought about maybe how things could've been had she managed to find her special somepony, but no one ever seemed to suit her. She sighed. He continued, "but what Celestia did not realize was that in many ways, Friendship is a far more powerful magic than Romance."
"But that's only because she did not know true friendship like I do" Twilight finished, surprising herself at this statement.
All the figure did was nod, "now you get it."
Twilight's head was swimming with conflicting thoughts as she approached Canterlot. She was overwhelmed at the amount of information the figure had given her. Suddenly it hit her, how did he know so much about the princess? "Unless" she thought, "he also has been accessing Celestia's thoughts as well." She further contemplated these new revelations, but couldn't think of anything else. With a heavy heart, she headed towards what would surely be a day to remember.
"Hello Twilight, how was Ponyville?" asked Celestia brightly as Twilight walked in.
"Oh, all the usual" Twilight said casually. "It has been a long day-" she started to walk out, "-so I think I'll just-" the doors and windows to the throne room shut quickly and quietly in front if her, but with a certain finality. Twilight turned back to face Celestia again, and the gaze she received made the room instantly seem 20 degrees cooler.
"How was Ponyville?" Celestia repeated gently, but with a hidden bitterness that hit Twilight so bad she took a step back. There was a hidden tension in the air that Twilight never noticed before, but now it made itself known, and it was suffocating. Twilight struggled not to collapse to the sheer weight of it. "Visit any... Friends?" Celestia now got up and looked as if she would start walking towards Twilight. "Not too aggressive " Celestia warned herself, she needed to handle this delicately.
"What friends?" Twilight shot back.
"Oh, forgive me for being so insensitive, it is simply that we know that you have been having conversations with a certain pony, and we would absolutely love to hear all about this new friend of yours." Celestia said this in the most carefree manner, but there was a dangerous glint in her eye that purposefully gave away her intentions. Luna just stood off to the side, motionless. Twilight could not tell Celestia anything, and both of them knew that.
So began one of the greater battles of history. But this one was not fought with magic, weapons, or even words. This was a battle of complete silence as the two sides stared each other in complete silence, neither one backing down, the only motion being an occasional blink. The air was still, and the sheer tension of it all did in fact lower the temperature by a few degrees. They stood like this for no less than two hours or so, the three of them. This battle would have no winner, nor a loser. Celestia and Twilight both realized this and simultaneously but begrudgingly stopped in a draw.
"Well" began Celestia after a deathly silence, "in the best interests of you and the kingdom, me and Luna have no choice but to keep you in this castle and under close watch until we can come to a resolution."
Twilight was taken back by this, "what? You can't do this! You haven't even explained why!
Celestia visibly regretted being so direct. She calmed down and took a deep breath, "Listen Twilight, have you heard of the ritual of transcendence?" Twilight nodded, it was what gave her her wings and princess title. Celestia continued, "It would appear from what we've observed from your accomplice that he is trying to convince you to do one again."
Twilight tilted her head, "but I thought only you could appoint new alicorns.
Celestia's expression became more somber, "that is true, I only can appoint new alicorns, but if performed by one of my appointees, it simply transfers the wings to the new recipient."
Twilight stepped further back until her back bumped the stained glass window that depicted her. A certain someone hadn't mentioned that. Mistaking Twilight's confusion for defeat, Celestia explained again, "So now you see, we need to keep you under close watch until we can bring in this deceiver for questioning." She turned to two guards standing by, "escort Twilight to her room, and do not let her leave until-"
"What was Star Swirl the bearded to you?" Twilight blurted.
Celestia raised an eyebrow, she did not expect this at all. Though, if it would satisfy Twilight to answer the question, she would comply. "He was... a great student of mine, and a good friend." Celestia became very concerned as she saw a look form on Twilight's face, one she could not quite identify. "Guards" she said hurriedly, "take the princess to her chambers, now." The guards hesitated, they did not expect themselves to have to basically arrest Twilight. Twilight made a move towards the window. "Twilight-" Celestia said as Twilight looked back one last time with what she now saw as a look of betrayal, and leapt straight through the window, breaking it into thousands of glittering pieces, and tears.
Twilight didn't know where exactly she was flying as she sailed through the air, she just needed to get away from the castle. That question was a test of sorts, and Celestia had inevitably failed. She heard the regret in Celestia's voice. Celestia had lied to her.
Twilight flew for what seemed like forever, and was surprised to find herself approaching Ponyville, she certainly wasn't thinking of going there, but perhaps she was after all. The town was too far off, so she drifted to the mountain that once housed the sleeping dragon. It took all her remaining concentration to land in the cave without crashing, but she managed to stumble into a semi-comfortable position on a conveniently shaped rock. She was exhausted, but couldn't sleep. So she just lay there, again not sure what to do, and finally decided to let her mind go free.
At first when she observed her mind, there was just a jumble of colors and other thoughts. But as she sifted through the mess, there surfaced an area of her memories that she would otherwise not explore. It was not quite a dream, more like a hallucination almost. She found herself in Fluttershy's cottage by her bed. There were some flowers on her side table, and soft light filtered through the window. All of her friends in their advanced years were around the bed, including Twilight herself, but the real Twilight had an overhead view of the scene. She knew the scene, it was the day that she and her friends talked to Fluttershy for the last time. She wanted the scene to go away, and it did, only to be replaced by the scene with Rarity. The scenes continued in the same order that they said goodbye: Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie. Twilight watched as her friends faded away and their numbers decreased, and not until now did she notice that when they said their goodbyes, none of them had any regret. They just lay there calmly with a smile, not fretting over anything, not begging Twilight for an age spell or the like. They all seemed so peaceful.
After watching Pinkie Pie, Twilight was surprised to see the scene continue to change. It changed to a view of the day after Pinkie's passing, to where past Twilight was sitting in front of the statue erected in her friend's honor. She saw herself tear up and wanted so badly to be at that time as well if it meant she could be closer to the memory of her friends.
Twilight snapped out of her half-dream to the sound of crying, her own. It was soft at first, but increased in intensity in little time as she could almost hear the emotional supports that she had spent so long putting up come crashing down, but she didn't care. She found that those same supports that she thought made her strong had also made her stiff and cold, so she set to work breaking down all that remained in a frenzied rage of mental fury, and in doing so discovered that the supports were but glass. When she was done, she never felt better, and though she continued to bawl like never before, she smiled, just a little bit..
"Poor Twilight" said a voice of genuine concern.
Twilight heard the familiar voice and slowly raised her head, seeing the figure as a result. "You" she simply said.
"In the flesh" he bowed.
Author's Note
Yeah, this took a while, but it was hopefully worth it.
The figure stood at the entrance to the cave, dripping a little as it had been fittingly raining for a while outside. He didn't make any advancements, he just stood there, waiting.
"How did you find me?" said Twilight.
"A gem-finding spell modified to track alicorns. It was pretty easy to sort through who was who once I had your signature." Even in all his calmness, he was visibly shivering from the cold, yet he remained otherwise stock still.
"Is it true?" Twilight said, "Are you really trying to convince me into a Ritual of Transcendence?"
"Note how you did not say this with fear or anything, just curiosity, which is good." He paused, "Do you want the short answer or the long answer?"
"Give me the long answer," Twilight replied, "we have time."
"Not as much as either of us would like to think," he said as his horn glowed a little and he tilted his head as if listening for something. "Nevertheless, you shall have as you desire." For once, he sat down.
"I have in my years, which are not nearly as much as yours, witnessed many people I know and love pass on from this life into the next," Twilight heard a slight sadness enter his voice, "whatever that is." He took a few moments to gather his thoughts. "I was born in an important family, you know, the kind where all of their offspring must appear to the world to be perfect in every way, never to get into trouble, and always to remain steadfastly loyal to whatever they were charged with." He turned to Twilight again, "But you don't want to hear about all that, it's boring really. No, I'll get to the important stuff. Do you remember Fair Flight, Shining Armor's daughter?" Twilight nodded. "Well, when I say I come from an important family, I meant I am Fair Flight's descendant. So an all actuality I really meant it when I called you 'Auntie Twilight' when we first met."
Twilight widened her eyes, she had lost track of her family tree, probably because she didn't want to be reminded of the parts that no longer existed.
He went on, "So now here I am, trying to get you to perform a Ritual of Transcendence with obvious consequences, and I haven't even explained why, pardon my manners." He breathed in deeply. "Over those same years of mine, I have studied all over the world the way of magic and sorcery. I have traveled to the most remote of places to find ancient tomes and forgotten books that frankly should've stayed forgotten. And yet, in all my research, I came upon this horrifying and humbling realization. True immortality does not exist." He let that sink in. "I have accessed hidden records, and found accounts of previous beings that do obtain such a status, and yet they all meet their end one way or another."
"So what am I?" said Twilight. "I am immortal" -she choked on that word- "aren't I?
"Now there's the problem. the body can be immortal, but the mind cannot, if that makes sense." Again a tone of sadness entered his voice. "Those previously immortal beings I've mentioned, with all of them I've noticed a pattern on how they meet their end. One, they are defeated and destroyed. Or two, self will. Now guess how many went the way of the first option?" Twilight didn't respond. "Exactly one, and only because he didn't have the heart to fight harder."
Twilight finally had something to say. "But this is not self willed, you are just trying to convince me!"
"No," he said firmly, "do you remember what I said not to long ago?" He conjured another magic screen, showing a previous encounter. Twilight of the screen said, "and I don't need you to come here and-" "Help you remember." The figure finished. "So you see, I am trying to help you remember, to realize that you cannot go on like this forever. There are only two known constants in this world, the sun, and the moon. And twilight, twilight is but a moment between sunset and moonrise. Twilight cannot, should not last forever!" He calmed down, and seemed to consider something for a while. "Look, if it will make you trust me any more..." He reached for his hood, and pulled it back. The pure white face that was revealed was in deep contrast to his dark demeanor, and to the charcoal black mane that he also possessed. But what really got Twilight was how much he looked like her brother, dear Shining Armor. His stature, his hair, his military posture, and those eyes that could stare down the toughest foe, while still being soft enough to comfort someone at the end of a hard day.
Twilight felt the tears welling up and cried again, loudly and without restraint. She didn't care if this pony saw her, nor if the whole of Equestria saw their heartbroken princess and were washed away in her tears. Her crown fell to the ground.
She felt a body embrace her, he spoke quietly, "Poor Auntie Twilight, we are all slowly dying , every day. I am, Spike is, nearly everypony you know is, even you. But you have been dying for far too long, dear aunt." Twilight could hear his voice crack a little, "It breaks my heart to see you this way, which is why-" Twilight just pulled him in harder, warm tears flowing down her cheeks and onto his chest.
"I understand," she croaked, "you just want to help."
Twilight lay there as T.L. (as he told her to call him) set to work preparing the ritual. He worked quickly and efficiently, with no pause. "Another thing you may not know," he said as he marked runes in a standard incantation circle, "is that Celestia had an entire room set up with these symbols in preparation for a Ritual of Transcendence for when she would need one." He then went to the cave entrance and started up a barrier spell.
"You still haven't explained one thing," Twilight said, "Celestia told me that you will receive my wings if we do this. What about then?"
"Do you think I want your wings?" He said as he strengthened the barrier, "No. But don't worry, I've already anticipated that, and I wont receive your wings."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because," he said simply, "I am not worthy to be an alicorn."
"Are you ready?" asked T.L.
"I- I guess."
"Good, now remember what I told you about doing this correctly. It should come naturally, but you still have to concentrate a bit."
Twilight nodded hesitantly and closed her eyes, what she was about to take on would surely mean the end of her.
But it's all right, isn't it?
She looked over to T.L. for a second, his horn was glowing and he looked like he was listening for something. He saw her looking and waved for her to continue, so she closed her eyes again, but not before seeing him activate another rune outside the circle. As she concentrated, she heard a sound like a magic blast hit the barrier at the cave entrance, followed by more blasts. "Don't lose concentration!" She heard T.L. think. She found that he was right when he said it would come naturally, so she concentrated her magic and let it flow through the runes which started glowing brightly. She reached the point where she could stop and let the spell continue on its own. When she opened her eyes, she at first saw T.L. charging the rune that he put up, creating a stronger barrier. But it was failing. "A little help would be nice. " Twilight ran over and helped augment the rune as colored swirls and wisps from the Ritual flew around in brilliant hues. "Remember to at least concentrate a little on the Ritual for it to succeed." He strained a little, "and maybe speed it up please." Twilight started to try to speed up the ritual when she heard a familiar voice from the other side of the barrier.
"Twilight!" Celestia shouted, "Twilight! What are you doing?" Celestia knew of course, but momentarily refused to believe it.
"Leave us alone, Celestia, we know what we're doing." T.L. said.
"He just wants your wings!"
"Hah! Hardly, I can solemnly pledge on Celestia's Sun that that is not my goal."
"You can't do this Twilight!"
"But she can! And guess who gave that power to her?"
Twilight listened to the exchange between the two, and though the Ritual required little effort, she trembled. Was Celestia right, was this all a big scam? She fought with herself again, the strength of the Ritual waning and increasing as an exact measure of her confidence. Celestia was her longtime mentor, the one she's trusted all her life. But T.L. just made so much sense, he knew her, and he was family too.
"Twilight, think of all you're leaving behind." Celestia pleaded.
"Think of all you already have left behind."
"Please, just think this over!"
"For what, another ten years? A hundred? A thousand? She's made up her mind."
"Don't believe what he says!"
"Why? Because I'm the only one who's told the complete truth? "
Celestia could only watch as Twilight looked one final time at Celestia with wide eyes, and finished the spell in a brilliant flash of light, leaving Celestia all alone in the cave.
"Twilight..."
She was once again in the Cosmic Zone, but it was real this time. The colors swirled around in the background, and though they were like sand in an hourglass counting down minutes, Twilight felt strangely at peace. She looked around, and could see the magic screens that Celestia had used to show Twilight her accomplishments, only they were blank this time. There was a silence in the air, but it was broken by a whining ball of light that appeared a few feet in front of Twilight. The ball expanded and then popped, leaving a slightly dazed T.L. He quickly shook off the confusion and looked around as well, contemplating the illusion of floating in the middle of a cosmos while still standing on "solid" ground. He looked at this back and noticed that his robe was gone. He then turned to Twilight.
"Hello there," he said, "what now?"
Twilight thought for a second, "Well, when Celestia took me here, she toured me past all these screens." She gestured at the two rows of blank screens that formed a rough hallway.
"Alright then," he said, and they started walking slowly along side by side. The silence returned, but T.L.'s presence made it awkward. They walked past several screens, all of them displaying a steady white glow. Twilight looked at him confused. He caught her look and stopped walking. He explained, "These screens show the recipient's accomplishments in life, as they did for you." A pained expression flashed across his face, "And as you can see, I there are none for me to have displayed." He started to walk again, but was stopped by a loud whooshing noise as the screens started moving towards a central point. They both watched as the screens joined together, forming a much larger screen that nearly took up their field of vision. An image then started to appear on screen. At first it was unrecognizable, but became clearer as it focused. It showed a younger T.L. in a library reading books and surrounded by them. It then went over his life, depicting him reading more books, exploring ancient ruins, and practicing magic vigorously. The view then changed to T.L. in a robe- talking to Twilight in her dreams, arguing with her, and finally comforting her and convincing her to do the Ritual. As it showed this, the screen glowed brighter and grew bigger, engulfing them both in its light. They both looked at each other with concern, and the last thing either of them remember is the sensation of falling.
Celestia laid there in the cave, a deep frown on her face. She kept asking herself, "What did I do wrong?" She repeated this phrase over and over, "What did I do wrong? What did I do wrong? -do wrong? -do wrong?" -wrong? -wrong...
Wrong
She thought back to all years that she and her faithful student had shared, all those great memories. She always seemed so content, even happy. But yet a chill went up her back as she thought of the very real possibility that it was all just a facade to hide a... tortured soul? She then split those memories into before and after the erecting of the memorial statue to the bearers of harmony. She then saw in Twilight what Twilight had seen in her: regret, loneliness, sadness. The joy of this revelation of how much they now knew of each other was matched by the great sadness of how distant she realized they had really been all those years. And now she may never see Twilight again for the same reason she had to banish Luna, neglect. Shaking her head slowly, she berated herself over her foalishness.
Her mourning was interrupted when she heard the sounds of a transfer spell. She looked over and saw swirling wisps signaling the end of the Ritual. As they dissipated, she saw Twilight gently lower to the ground. "Twilight!" Celestia called out. Twilight looked over to Celestia, she looked as if she was going to step towards her but collapsed instead. "No!" cried Celestia as she rushed over to Twilight and took her in her arms. Celestia shook Twilight a little, but she didn't respond. That is when Celestia noticed that some of Twilight's hair and mane had turned grey, and those were followed by more strands, all dulling and whitening at an alarming pace. Celestia tried again to revive Twilight when she heard another transfer spell. She looked as the wisps deposited a white figure with his back turned to her. He started to turn around but abruptly stopped, something twitched at his side. Celestia watched as a few muscle movements were tested, followed by the unfurling of two great wings.
Twilight's wings.
"You-" Celestia said, but stopped when he lowered his wings. He had not a look of greed, or malice, or even excitement as he observed his new addition. No, this was a look of surprise, then confusion, then-
Just a simple sadness, one that encompassed every part of his body. "Celestia?" Twilight said weakly. Twilight looked over to T.L., who looked back to them, and she could see that sadness, she could see the distance in his eyes as the full implications of this turn of events settled down. He again observed his wings as more of a burden than anything else, and a heavy one too.
Celestia nearly yelled, "Bring her back! Bring her back! I demand you to!" She continued in this matter repeatedly, and all throughout this Celestia, the great unmovable Sun Goddess, trembled as a child would when cold. T.L. just stared at his wings, not saying a word as he barely noticed this verbal assault directed at him. Celestia was approaching the first stages of hysteria when she heard a faint croak.
"Celestia", said Twilight, "It's all right, Celestia. Please, don't shout at him." She coughed a couple of times. Celestia looked at her with a confused look that contained questions of her own. Twilight sat up a bit and cleared her withered throat a little, "It's... alright Tia, I'm okay with this, and I've done the right thing." She looked over to T.L., who stood still by the entrance.
"I don't understand," he said, "why did I..."
"Maybe," said Twilight as she smiled grimly, "you were worthy after all."
His eyes widened a little. He said calmly, "Hmm, well what do you know? The first and only person I ever lied to, was myself." He found where his robe was, flipped it onto his back, and with one final look to Twilight said, "by the way, the name's Tunnel Light." He then silently left the cave.
The air was mockingly pleasant and warm as Celestia held Twilight in her arms, stroking her mane as she took increasingly difficult breaths. "Oh Twilight," her lips trembled, "why did you have to do this?"
Twilight took in a deep, shaky breath, "You know Tia, when you made me a princess all that time ago, I wasn't sure if I would be able to fulfill my duties, if I would be wise enough to rule like you." She opened her mouth wide, but didn't cough, she just yawned. "But now, I think after all I've been through, I am at least wise enough to say this. Do not mourn for me Tia. If anyone is to be mourned for, it is you, you are the one who is going to have to go on and watch countless others come and go, and there's nothing we can do about it. Even if we want to believe otherwise." She then nestled her head into Celestia's side. "I am so tired Tia, and I want to rest now." She yawned again.
"Please, just stay a little longer" Celestia said. Twilight laid back and closed her eyes, but opened them back halfway.
"Tia," she almost whispered, "I'll make sure to say hi to Star Swirl for you, if that's alright."
Twin streams of salty tears flowed down Celestia's cheeks. "Yes, I'm sure he would love to meet my star pupil."
"Don't worry Tia," Twilight said almost inaudibly, "everything's going to be just fine." And so, for the last time, Twilight yawned, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep and relaxing sleep.
"Goodbye, my friend."
Twilight walked onto an open field, a warm summer breeze making the grass move in waves. In the distance, the rays of the sun could be seen glowing from behind the horizon, giving a nice warm glow that still illuminated the area.
"Twilight, you're late!" called Applejack in a loud voice.
"Sorry girls," Twilight said, running over, "I was just- "
I was there, you know. Well, not there in the strictest sense, but there through the eyes of the ponies, and dragon, attending. I actually was a distance away in the Everfree forest, doing my little mind-sight spell. Oh, that spell, so many secrets I've learned from it, some dark, some sad, but never happy. Secrets are never happy, for why would they be a secret? So about the service, few words were spoken to those there in favor of a respectful silence. The fillies were more restless than melancholic, such nice kids, they were too young to fully comprehend the impact of what happened, a boon more than anything. They buried her body a little after sunset, something I found quite fitting. After everyone had left I... flew down to the fenced off plot of land, and looked at the stone. Instead of a large, fancy plaque though, I was presented with a gravestone identical to the other five. It said:
Here lies Twilight Sparkle The Element of Magic
Simple, fitting, just like her. I'm sure she would've wanted it. I stood there for a while, just looking at the stone. It was then I sensed that a post-death rune had been placed on the back of the stone. Lighting it up, it read:
Tunnel Light:
When I first met you, I thought you were here to hurt me, to drive me to madness. But as I listened to you talk to me, berate me even, something came to me, you gave me something I had been without for years. Hope, and a friend. In these few days we've known each other, you have made me realize that I have been secretly wanting somepony to talk sense into me, somepony that could be plainly, even painfully, honest with me, like my friends of old. And now with your help, I get to see them again. I can not thank you enough for this. One more thing, tell Celestia that I am not angry with her, she shouldn't have to live with any more grief than we all know she already has. Show her this message, comfort her as you have comforted me, that is your special talent after all. This message will disappear after three days, but I hope that it will stay with you both forever. -Love, Twilight
I could tell you what I did after that, but that would ruin the magic of the moment. I said my final good-byes, and headed off to Canterlot.
It was three days later, and Celestia sat at her throne. Tunnel Light stood at attention in front of her, ready for his verdict. "Tunnel Light," she stated, "for committing actions that led to the passing of Twilight Sparkle, I sentence you... to life. a life of using your special talent to help others pass from this life to the next. You are to continue in this matter until we can find somepony to take your place."
Tunnel Light bowed, "I will serve you dilligently and with integrity" -he looked back up at her-
"until the day I die."
