Chapter 1: Exploring the present, reliving the past
Author's Note: Please review and tell me how I can make this story better. I strive to improve as a writer, and with constructive criticism I can. Thanks!
Pinkie: So, whaddya think? Why aren't you reading more?
Twilight: I think this all fits and doesn't fit at the same time.
Pinkie: Keep reading, Twilight!
Twilight: Okay... Meanwhile, at the Crystal Empire, King Night Light and Queen Twilight Velvet were mourning the apparent loss of their only daughter, Twilight Sparkle... You had to bring my parents into this, didn't you?
Pinkie: Who else would be your parents and Shining Armor's?
Twilight: Fine... The queen's late parents began to visit her in her dreams from the depths of the underworld...
"They told me not to lose hope," the queen told her husband that night in their bed chamber.
"What could that mean?" Night Light's amber eyes shined with hope. "That she's alive?"
Twilight Velvet sighed deeply and shook her head. "I wish I could tell you. That was all they said."
xxx
Meanwhile, in the Equestrian castle, Princess Sunset Shimmer gazed at the numerous twinkling stars and bright moon in the night sky.
Twilight loved... loves, loves stargazing...
"Twilight," the young princess whispered into the night. "Come home, please." She used her magic to remove her gold wedding ring from her horn and look at it. It was a shiny, ruby ring.
She uttered a spell under her breath, and the ring turned into an iridescent heart of mist - half a heart.
The other half was with Twilight.
That night, Derpy, the messenger goddess, flew to the luminous moon and spotted the sleeping, snoring princess. It amazed even the gods that a unicorn could have an alicorn's wings, but they all knew she earned them. Not everypony came back from the land of the dead unscathed.
But, Derpy did not see any wings on her now. She looked like a simple, distressed unicorn. She had a worn out satchel beside her flank, and her straight mane was disheveled.
Derpy landed beside her and poked her face. "Yoo hoo!" She shouted cheerfully. "Princess Twilight? It's me!"
The princess groaned and groggily woke up. When her eyes settled on the bubbly pegasus, she gasped and rose.
"D-Derpy? The swift goddess?"
"Hi! That's me! But simply Derpy will do! How are you breathing on the moon?"
"Luna, er, the moon goddess is merciful. She bestowed upon me the ability to breathe like the gods until I return to Earth..." She slumped sadly. "Whenever that is..."
"But that's why I'm here!" I came to -"
"SHUSH!" Twilight laid a hoof on Derpy's lips, effectively silencing her. She looked around wildly before answering. "With all due respect, what are you doing here?! The goddess will find you!"
"But I came to -"
"She came to take you back to Earth." The moon goddess Luna revealed herself from one of the large craters of the moon. Her midnight blue mane flowed prettily and glistened under the stars. She maintained a stoic countenance, but her sea green eyes revealed her true feelings. They focused sadly on Twilight. "I release you, Twilight Sparkle."
The young princess turned away from Luna. Up until that point, she firmly believed that Luna was confusing love with lust by taking her away from her friends and kidnapping her two years ago. But when she saw the way Luna looked at her now...
She really loves me, Twilight realized, her head dipping in remorse. And she doesn't deserve this. I don't deserve her.
"Luna..." They dropped formalities after two years of an awkward friendship on the moon. "You know I have to go. I'm truly sorry I can't reciprocate your feelings for me..." She finally looked the goddess in the eye. "But I have a wife and daughter back at home. I miss them, and they're probably worried sick."
Luna nodded. "I know. But are you ready for the trials ahead?"
"Trials?"
Luna frowned and stared off into the distance. "My brother is relentless, Twilight. Believe me. He made me Nightmare Moon, a raging monstrosity. I know you did not mean to end Tirek's life. But rest assured, he will find some way to avenge his son."
Twilight watched the goddess dip her head worriedly and felt obliged to hug her. The goddess stiffened in her arms, but she quickly returned the embrace.
"Don't worry about me, Luna. Thank you for everything... oh beautiful goddess." She decided she should bring back formalitites. Derpy watched them with a small, sad smile.
Twilight released Luna, and the alicorn dipped her head and pecked Twilight's cheek, making the princess blush. "Farewell, Princess Twilight Sparkle."
Derpy flew over to Twilight's side and nudged her. "Well, let's fly, Twi! Bye, Lulu!" Derpy grabbed Twilight's hoof and tried to take off, but Twilight would not budge. "What's the matter?"
"I can't fly, Derpy. I don't have my wings." Luna took them away after she tried to escape.
Luna signed and reluctantly raised her hoof. Twilight was instantly wrapped in a thick, silvery mist, and she felt her back tingle. Her wings had returned!
As Twilight and Derpy flew off of the moon, Luna watched them depart and dropped her facade, letting the tears blur her vision.
Goodbye, my love.
Sombra chuckled evilly as he watched the wind god, Zephyr Breeze, squirm in his shackles. "I have you now, tiny wind god. I'm in control now. You will be my slave and help me destroy Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
Twilight: So... Princess Luna now loves me...
Pinkie: So, it's definitely a fanfic, Twi! Told ya so!
Twilight: What is a fanfic?
Pinkie: Look it up. Even Spike knows what it is. Don't you?
Spike: Yep. Sparity's my OTP.
Twilight: Er... I should ask, but I won't...After they flew for several hundred miles (which was no huge feat for the messenger goddess and a magical unicorn with wings), Twilight paused and turned to Derpy...
"Thank you, Derpy. I can take it from here."
"You sure?"
Twilight nodded with an earnest smile. "Yes, I'm sure. The mighty Celestia has done enough for me. You both have. Thank you."
After Derpy left, Twilight resumed her flight. But then, a familiar shiver tingled up her spine as a harsh wind brushed against her wings.
"Feel my wrath, princess..."
Twilight gasped and whirled around. The fire god smiled sinisterly at her. At first, only his head was visible, for the rest of his body was a swirling black mist. But then, he transformed back to his true form and rested on a nearby cloud.
The young princess gasped in fright. She had never seen the god Sombra in his true form. He was adorned in a blood red cape lined with fur, white horse fur. His midnight black mane rippled in the wind. Dark violet mist seeped from his eyes, which had bright green pupils and garnet red irises.
He was undeniably handsome as she would imagine a god would be. Nevertheless, his mere presence made her shiver. He was truly the god of fear.
"We meet again." Twilight gulped and tried to fly away, but the winds, which suddenly grew stronger, began pushing her in his direction.
He's going to kill me!
"Wonderful idea, princess." He complimented, reading her mind. "But what if I took what you took from me? Family? Kin?" He snarled indignantly as his cloud circled her. "Such as the puny daughter of yours?"
Twilight's eyes widened frantically. "No, don't! Please! I - I didn't mean to -"
"But you did, didn't you?!" The winds picked up ominously. Sombra's eyes turned white, and he conjured up a red ball of fire with his bare hooves. Twilight panicked when she realized that he froze her. She could not move or speak. She was completely helpless.
"This is for Tirek," he hissed menacingly, drawing him closer to her. Their chests almost touched, and the trembling, wide-eyed princess felt his warm breath on her face. She never felt so mortal in her life.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, he exhaled and set Twilight's wings on fire.
"I have learned from our last encounter that taking your life would be much more pleasurable than watching your squirm in your fears." He cackled and released her, watching her pathetically attempt to flap her wings and fly away from the approaching storm. "I will see you in Tartarus, Twilight Sparkle!"
The smoke emitting from her wings burned her eyes and slipped into her nostrils. The storm clouds did not permit her to see where she would land, and she could barely see at all.
I'm going to fall to my death! Lost in a coughing fit, she fell, faster and faster, until she felt nothing at all. No burns. No pain. No worries.
I'm dead, Twilight decided, as she began to lose consciousness. The god of the underworld will take my soul. Sombra will imprison me. I'm sorry, Sunset, Starlight...
Twilight: So... you killed me?
Spike: King Sombra would be the one who would kill you.
Twilight: Thanks, Spike.
Pinkie: Who said I killed you? Keep reading!
On a balcony of the gleaming Crystal Empire, a young filly named Applebloom was gazing at the night sky as Sunset back in Equestria. She, along with her two best friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and hundreds of other minors, were put on a train to Ponyville. Their caregivers on that train put them on another train with more caregivers to the Crystal Empire. The three fillies were babies when the Changeling War began. Soon, they would have to leave their potential guardian, Princess Cadence herself, and return to their kingdoms. Applebloom was a princess of the Applelooza Kingdom, Scootaloo was a princess of the Cloudsdale Kingdom, and Sweetie Belle was a princess of the Diamond Kingdom.
To the young filly, the moon looked strange that night, like it had lost some of its splendor. But before Applebloom could ponder more over that, a stranger phenomenon occurred. A lavender streak shot across the sky, and the balcony rattled as something magnificent, something powerful, hit the ground with a resounding thud.
"Oh my gods!" Applebloom's jaw hit the floor. "My stars! It's a shootin' star!"
"Is it dead?"
"It's not an it! She's not breathing!"
"Yes, she is, you guys!"
Twilight groaned deeply and opened her eyes. Three young fillies formed a semicircle around her and watched her intently and anxiously. She did not want to scare them away, so Twilight smiled as sweetly as she could.
"Hello. What... happened?"
The filly with the cherry red mane and yellow coat spoke up first. "Well, uh... You kinda fell outta the sky, I think. I saw a shootin' star last night, and we think it was you."
"I see." Twilight writhed in pain as she tried to gently flap her injured wings. The fillies gasped once they noticed the blackened feathers of the violet mare's delicate wings.
"You were marooned," the filly with the lavender mane and white coat spoke up. "I think..."
"That's not it!" The final filly with a magenta mane and orange coat shouted. "Sweetie, she was kidnapped and she escaped! That's why she has the burns!"
"Now see here! She was the shootin' star! I saw with my own eyes last night! It landed here. She's here."
"But she's not magical." The filly with the white coat glanced at Twilight. "Are you?" Twilight chanted and healed herself in response, and the children gasped in awe.
"See?" The filly with the yellow coat beamed at her. "I am Princess Applebloom. This is Princess Scootaloo, and this is Princess Sweetie Belle."
Twilight dipped her head and smiled warmly at the fillies. "Pleased to meet all of you."
"Are you a goddess?" Scootaloo asked nervously.
"No, wait!" Sweetie Belle's bright green eyes widened. "I know her! She's... Rarity!"
"Wait." Twilight stared at Sweetie Belle hopefully. "Rarity? Princess Rarity? Do you know her? She's here?!"
"What is it, Sweetie Belle?" Twilight gaped as a familiar unicorn with a white coat and indigo mane walked up to the group. "Shouldn't you three be watching - " Once she saw Twilight, her royal blue eyes widened.
"Tw- Twilight?"
"Rarity..." Both of them released shrill squeals, startling the three fillies, and they embraced each other with huge grins.
"I thought..." Twilight sniffled and looked at Rarity with teary eyes. "I thought you were dead. I thought all of you were dead."
"Me? Us? What about you, darling? You were left to defend yourself after that vicious goddess kidnapped you!"
Twilight cocked her head. "What are you talking about?" Luna isn't vicious... Great, I have Stockholm Syndrome...
Twilight: (blushing) Pinkie!
Pinkie: What? You were on the moon for two years, and she was your only friend!
Twilight: I feel like your implying something that I really don't appreciate.
Pinkie: What? That you're nitpicky?
Twilight: No, that I'm reclusive!
Spike: Well... Both aren't far from the truth.
Twilight: Do you want me to keep reading this or not?
Pinkie/Spike: YES!
"Why, the moon goddess, of course! We were all so worried about you after she attacked the ship!"
"And her nightmare form is terrifying if you ask me," a new voice added. Twilight craned her neck and looked behind Rarity. A familiar baby dragon was smiling at her.
"Spike?" This cannot be happening...He's okay... "SPIKE!" She almost knocked Rarity down as she ran over to him and hugged him with all her might. Rarity and the fillies giggled as Spike rolled his eyes and turned blue from lack of air.
"T - Twilight! You're... You're choking me..."
Twilight quickly released him with a pout. "Spike, what do you expect? I haven't seen you or the girls in two years!" She held him close and nuzzled his cheek with hers. "Great Celestia, I missed you."
Spike could not help but tear up. "I... I missed you, too."
Scootaloo, who was not fond of sappy moments, coughed and got everyone else's attention. "I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but... care to fill us in, your highness? You are the legendary princess of the moon, aren't you?"
Twilight gawked and turned to Rarity. "You told them about me? That's sweet but..."
"Oh, darling! I didn't have to! You're a legend."
Twilight sheepishly chuckled at that. She was an unusually modest princess. "Well, what are ponies saying?"
Rarity shrugged. "Some say the goddess killed you. Others claimed she brainwashed you and made her your spy or minion. Some even say you banished her from the moon and took over it yourself!"
Twilight?" She turned to Spike. "What did happen?"
"Will you stay?" Princess Luna asked one starry night. "Forever?" Blushing, Twilight cleared her throat and pushed her thoughts about Luna aside. She did not love Luna, but the situation on the moon was terribly and unforgettably awkward.
"I'll explain everything later. Just tell me where we are."
Rarity perked up. "The Crystal Empire, of course! After our daring adventures, Spike and I worked together and bought a shabby shack and turned it into a boutique. We work there now."
Twilight smiled in relief. Her family ruled over the Crystal Empire. She would finally see them again after several years.
Hopefully, she could see the rest of her family soon, too.
Princess Cadence watched her only child, the infant princess Flurry Heart, play with her dolls. "I wonder where your sitters are, dearest..." The three fillies slammed the door open and galloped over to the princesses. "Speaking of the devil..."
"PRINCESS CADENCE!"
"We saw - "
"There was -"
"Magical!"
Cadence raised her hooves, and they all stopped shouting. "Slow down, children! One at a time, please."
"Your highness," Applebloom piped up. "Remember the shootin' star I told you about earlier this morning?" Cadence nodded. "Well, we found it. It's the princess!"
"Which princess, honey? You'll have to be more specific."
"The legendary princess!" Scootaloo exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "Princess Twilight Sparkle! She came back from the moon! Alive!"
"And she knew my sister! Isn't this wonderful, your highness?" Cadence turned pale and did not move a muscle. "Cadence?"
"SHINING ARMOR!"
"You have crossed me for the last time, wind god." Sombra snarled and made the shackle on Zephyr's neck tighten, choking him greatly. "You lead the princess to the Crystal Empire, on purpose, didn't you? After I specifically ordered you to drown her in the ocean!"
"My sister..." The wind god rasped. "The lost goddess of spring... She is a queen now. I can't challenge death."
"Hmm..." Sombra rubbed his chin and released the iron grip on Zephyr. "You're right. She has the god of the dead on her side, too, and I cannot compete with him. He knows her story. I'll have to make her death look like an accident." He grinned wickedly to himself. "Once she's mine, I'll make her watch her family suffer and die! Then, I will kill her!"
After her happy, wonderful reunion with her parents, her brother Shining Armor, and his wife Cadence, Twilight joined her royal family for an exceptional dinner of the greenest salad, the tastiest mushrooms and wine, the sweetest fruits and chocolate cake, her favorite. Flurry Heart's three sitters were allowed to join them, too, and Rarity and Spike sat beside Twilight.
"There's something else," Shining Armor spoke up after their long conversations about the food, the kingdom, and recent events. "Well, somepony else..." He called for one of the many servants, and a nursemaid with gentle eyes trotted over to the table with the infant Flurry Heart riding on her back.
Twilight was about to tear up again. The infant had her older brother's turquoise eyes and Cadence's delicate features and wings. She had a white coat and a curly mane with three streaks of color - turquoise like Shining's, and pink and purple like parts of Cadence's multicolored mane.
"This is Flurry Heart," Shining Armor introduced proudly. The nursemaid gave him his daughter, and the young prince nuzzled the filly. "She's your niece."
It took every ounce of Twilight's willpower not to sob her heart out as Shining Armor put the giggling filly in her lap. She smiled through her tears as her niece inquisitively tugged at a few strands of her long, straight mane and smiled innocently at her.
"She's beautiful," Twilight whispered.
"Thank you, Twilight." Cadence grinned softly. "Flurry Heart, this is your Aunt Twi."
"Twi!" The filly repeated.
Twilight gently tickled Flurry Heart, making her giggle even more. "You know, Starlight was about your age, Flurry Heart..." Her smiled was immediately replaced by a sad, faraway look. "...When I left."
Shining Armor nodded to the nursemaid, and she gently took Flurry Heart away. "What happened, Twilight? I told you what's been happening here since you left." He cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Now please tell me about your journey. I can tell it troubled you, some way or another."
"Fine," she responded curtly. "If you tell me how my wife and daughter are."
Cadence shook her head. "We can't be specific, sweetie. They haven't responded to our letters for years. We've sent messengers though. It's grief that's silencing them, but they're fine as far as our messengers can tell."
Distressed, the lavender mare shivered in her seat, as if a cool breeze drifted into the room. "They think I'm dead."
"Well, duh!" Sweetie Belle chirped. "You've been gone for - " Her older sister Rarity fixed a deadly glare on her, effectively shutting her up.
"But are you sure that they're well?" Twilight asked Cadence, ignoring Sweetie Belle's outburst.
"They're fine, Twilight." Cadence smiled confidently at her. "I promise. Please tell us what's been troubling you. What happened to the rest of your companions? Rarity mentioned that there were others."
Spike stood up from his seat and frowned at Cadence. "Now wait just a second!"
"Your highness," Rarity began urgently, "please don't make her bring up such awful - " Twilight raised her hoof, and Rarity held her tongue. Spike sat back down.
"It's okay, guys." Twilight took a deep breath and looked at her entire family. Her parents, especially, were watching her with baiting breath. She was not the same pony they last saw. This pony was wiser, stronger, and sadder.
"It started after the Changeling War..."