Archmage: Beyond the Crystal Mirror "Vigilance"

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Twilight stood before the Crystal Mirror, her lips turned down in a frown. She heard somepony enter the chamber, but their hoof-falls couldn’t tear her eyes from the perfect, glossy surface. She was watching; waiting.

“Three weeks.” Luna’s voice settled beside her as the lunar princess pulled up. “Three weeks you’ve been sitting here, staring at the mirror.”

“You know why.” Twilight muttered.

“I know your excuse… I’m just wondering why you remain adamant on not budging. Twilight, you haven’t slept in three weeks.”

“I don’t need to, Luna.” Twilight felt her lips turn down. “Not when it’s out there.”

“Have you spoken with her yet?”

”Oh she has, my love.” The night’s voice joined the other two, all three entities sitting opposite the mirror now. ”I condone her actions in that world. As long as she vows to never replicate them in this one.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. This is my home.” Twilight sighed. “I’m not going to violate your trust or harm our relationship like that. Not now, not ever. Still, there’s a problem.”

”The other night in that world, where Twilight murdered Scorch’s Marem. She might find a way through to the root world.”

“I already told you, that’s impossible.” Luna scoffed, standing and advancing towards the mirror. “Let me show you.”

“Luna- no!” Twilight jumped up as her lover approached the mirror, but couldn’t stop her as Luna’s horn glowed brightly. The surface wiped aside, revealing a shattered landscape. The world through the mirror was dark and depressing, a jagged landscape of wrecked earth stretching away as far as the eye could see to meet a black sky. But Twilight could only see flashes of that world through the being before her.

“Is that… Is that the night?”

“This is the same world you just came back from.” Luna explained, turning to her with a frown. “Six thousand years down the line.”

“By the stars.” Twilight breathed. “Is it really?”

“And this,” Luna pointed at the snarling, thrashing beast before them. “Is the night, trying to come to our world. Look. She’s decimated her world in an attempt to get to you. Here we are, the portal open between us… Yet,” Luna dropped her hoof. “She cannot come through. Your fears are irrational, Twilight. She cannot harm you.”

They remained silent for a long while, watching as the night in the other world thrashed the mirror again, her magic lashing out to impact the glass surface. Twilight could see the shockwaves of her rage radiating outwards, further breaking and scarring the world. She turned away then, the first time in three weeks she’d torn her eyes from the Crystal Mirror.

“Stop it.” She grimaced, tears welling behind her eyes.

“Very well.” She heard the mirror wipe aside, and felt the tension leave her muscles. It was almost like burying a corpse. Gone but not forgotten, though Twilight could begin healing the mental scars of condemning that world to its fate. She didn’t exactly have a choice; she had to defend herself. But there were other avenues than murdering Scorch’s entire marem, and losing control of that darker, innermost part of her being.

“Twilight,” Luna approached, laying a hoof on her side. Twilight flinched away, turning to Luna with wide, fearful eyes.

“Don’t touch me!” She whimpered. “I’m a monster.”

“Twilight, please…” Luna appeared wounded. She had every right, of course, but she hadn’t seen what Twilight saw. Done what she did. “Listen to me… I want to help you.”

”Relax, child. I hold no malice in my heart for what you’ve done in that world.” The night joined Luna, both of them standing opposite her with faint smiles, though their eyes betrayed their true emotions. In Luna’s, Twilight saw hurt. A pain the likes of which Twilight should never have impressed upon somepony she cared for.

And in the night’s infinite gaze, Twilight saw something that made her truly scared.

She saw fear.

In a flash of light, Twilight was gone.

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Celestia was the first to find her, atop a seldom-used tower, sniffling with her wings over her face.

“You two are always so curious to me.” Celestia spoke quietly, gingerly nosing her way under Twilight’s wing until she was curled up at her side. “You hold such reverence for the night, and claim her to be some all-knowing, mysterious being who would just as soon smite you where you stand than listen to your troubles. I doubt I’ll ever understand the night and the turmoil it puts you through.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Twilight whimpered. She didn’t curl against Celestia, but she didn’t push the solar princess away, either. “The day is so much easier to understand. Probably because he’s so simple. ‘Use your strength to seize mine.’ The night, she’s… She’s so much more difficult.”

“Because she offers her power readily. I don’t begrudge her for it, but it is an alien concept to me.” Celestia chuckled as she began nuzzling Twilight’s mane, using her cheek to gingerly stroke the luxurious strands. “I understand the things you’ve seen, Twilight. Luna and I, we’ve seen and done things ourselves. Things neither of us are proud of. The gryphon wars, and the formation of Horseshoe Bay… Well, I don’t need to tell you the horrors that went on there. You’ve probably read the texts extensively.”

“Jormungand, Io, and Tiamat… Drowned in the ocean, or at least swept out to sea. You stopped just short of Nest and the Eyrie…” Twilight sniffled, lifting her head. “It’s one of my favorite stories.”

“Well your ‘stories’ never told of the atrocities both sides committed against one another in the war. The waters of Horseshoe Bay were red for a decade after we sunk the land into the ocean.” Celestia spoke quietly, though her face was dark. “Luna and I both attributed our fair share of violence to that accursed soil. Some believe it was the war that attracted the three great serpents there. Others say it was the thousands upon thousands of lives lost in the fighting. Others still say it was the great storms born of the ferocious magic either side unleashed upon the other. Me, well…” She sighed and stood up, offering a hoof to Twilight.

“I’m of the former group. I think the three came because of the blood and the death.” She helped Twilight to her hooves, using her wing tips to brush Twilight’s face free of tears. “I understand what you did, Twilight. What you had to do to survive. Yes, there may have been another way to handle the situation, but violence often speaks volumes on Saddle Arabian soil. Luna told me what happened to that world, but I think she left out a certain other part. Will you let me show you?”

“I don’t want to see that thing aga-“

“Please.” Celestia cut off Twilight’s weak complaint, cupping her chin so their eyes met. “For my sake.”

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“You see,” Celestia’s horn glowed as she swept aside the surface of the mirror. “This is two short weeks after your departure from that world. Everything is calm and quiet.” The cavern was dark, though Twilight could see the red glow of Spike’s snoring flare out on the glistening cave walls sporadically.

“Celestia, I-“

“Another seldom-known feature, Twilight…” Celestia began casting another spell, though this one was rather familiar to her. “Is that constructs can enter the mirror, and come back through.” She finished creating a small metal sphere with an aperture in it, the size and shape of an iris. It looked like a disembodied, sphere eyeball. Twilight knew it to be a scrying orb, one that could observe what it saw and play back an image for the viewer. It was a powerful spell that only very skilled unicorns and the princesses themselves could cast.

“Since you fear the night’s promise to destroy you should you ever re-visit that world, I’ll not ask you to step through. And, quite frankly, I don’t want to expose myself to such risk either. Thus,” Celestia tossed the scrying orb through the mirror. Twilight watched as it lit with the golden glow of Celestia’s magic, spinning about on the other side of the mirror to get a handle on its surroundings. Then, with blinding speed, the sphere shot off through the cavern, undoubtedly going to observe the world. “We’ll let that be our eyes, and you can see the benefit of your actions.”

“Benefit?” Twilight scrunched her nose. “I sincerely doubt there was any benefit to what I-“

Almost as if on cue, the orb shot back through the portal, coming to a rest on Celestia’s upturned hoof.

“I’ve done this before. Not with this world, mind you, but…” Celestia chuckled as the scrying orb’s iris leapt to life, painting a square of light in the air before them. “Ponies are so predictable sometimes.”

The image showed the world through the scrying orb’s point of view as it flew through the cavern, out of the Crystal Palace, across the Timberwolf Territories, over mountains and into Saddle Arabia. It arrived at the site of Twilight’s most fearsome display of power, the shadowfire-blackened crater in the middle of the Grottolands. There were ponies gathered all around the smooth black surface. None of them dared set foot inside. Indeed, there was nothing to behold. The entire crater was as smooth as glass. It was featureless, not a single bone or body remaining. Twilight could count maybe twenty ponies around the rim, with ever-more approaching from the next-nearest grotto.

Twilight saw familiar faces. Emerald and other members of her marem. As they approached, each of them bowed their heads before looking down into the crater. Among the last to arrive was Rarity. She looked into the crater, her eyes watering. She fought the tears for as long as possible before breaking down completely. Twilight watched her dearest friend and lead mare collapse into the sand, her tears falling down the smooth surface of the crater.

“Celestia, I-“

“Watch.” Celestia urged silence, giving Twilight a faint smile. The image sped up a bit, and Twilight watched as the ponies began to leave one by one, going back towards the last oasis they had come from. Rarity was the last to leave, waiting until the sun had sunk well beneath the horizon and the stars dotted the night sky. She went to join her marem, the scrying orb following after her. The image continued to speed up, almost like a cinema machine playing at four times the normal speed.

After four more days, Rarity returned to the crater, carrying what looked like a wooden plank. As Twilight watched, she planted it in the sand, using a brief spell to solidify its hold, rooting it to the side of the black glass surface. She left, but the orb didn’t follow. Instead, it hovered closer to the sign, revealing what had been written there.

’In loving memory of Dusk Hoof. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.’

“Rarity went on to live a peaceful life after that.” The image flickered and died, and the scrying orb dissipated into golden pinpricks of light. “At least, I can assume. But the night doesn’t make any more trouble for this world for a long while, I assure you.” Celestia spoke, turning back to the mirror. “The aftermath of your actions had no effect on the immediate well-being of that world. See,” Celestia wiped the surface of the mirror again, and this time the cavern was empty. As they watched, though, cracks appeared in the cavern wall.

Twilight watched as the cavern was rent asunder. The image spun as the mirror was blasted through the air, tumbling end-over-end to reveal brief flashes of a scarred, broken landscape. The night appeared for a brief moment, snarling into the mirror as she righted it. Another blast of magic struck the mirror, the shockwave radiating outwards over the decimated land. Twilight watched as the familiar sight of the night raging at the mirror played out again.

“This is five thousand, nine hundred and eighty-seven years after your departure. That world enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity before the night was coerced to attack the mirror. Look at the world around her, Twilight. Do you see crystal kingdom anywhere? Any remnants of that empire? Any ponies who may have lived there are either dead or gone. The night’s wrath has done nothing to damage anypony. Not in this world. Not yet.” Celestia wiped the surface again, turning to Twilight.

“What you did had a terrible effect on your psyche, and I understand that you’re scarred. But I hope you’ll take some solace in the fact that your brief interactions with Rarity helped shape her into who she was. And I’m certain she went on to accomplish many great things, considering Scorch’s marem was no longer an issue to her.”

“You see,” Luna’s voice came to Twilight. She walked quietly across the hall towards them, a sad smile on her face. “The night in that world detests you for what you did. But she would never harm another pony, let alone one of her own, to exact vengeance. I meant to show you that before, Twilight… Six thousand years of unprecedented peace and prosperity in that world.”

“I’m sorry, Luna.” Twilight hung her head dejectedly, tears dripping down her muzzle. “I… I was so scared, I didn’t even want to look…”

“It’s fine, my love.” Luna wrapped her in a warm embrace, kissing her cheek tenderly. “I understand the need to mourn for the losses you’ve incurred. I cried in much the same way after the war in Horseshoe Bay… I killed many gryphons and rebel ponies, but in the end we’ve bartered a lasting peace with the Eyrie, and Saddle Arabia has little impact on us anymore. We are at peace for the actions I’ve taken.”

Twilight gave one last choked sob before pulling away and wiping her face free of tears. The past three weeks caught up with her in a rush, and she hung her head with a groan.

“I need to rest.”

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One full-day nap later, Twilight awoke feeling a little more sore than she could recall, but rested nevertheless. After a bracing cold shower, she emerged into the castle, intent on finding her love and apologizing properly… With plenty of sweat and a few curious hoofservants wondering what the thumping in the walls was from. Much to her chagrin, she found Luna in the Crystal Mirror chamber, alongside Celestia.

“It lives.” Celestia teased, smiling as Twilight approached.

“Did you sleep well?” Luna asked, though she seemed to be engrossed with the book in her hooves.

“Foals don’t sleep that well.” Twilight stretched one last sore muscle before coming to a rest before the mirror. “What brings you two here?”

“Well, we were thinking…” Celestia and Luna shared a look, the lunar princess snapping her book shut as they both faced her. “We need to send you on a vacation.”

“What?” Twilight pulled up short, scrunching her nose. “Look, I know I’m out-of-sorts a bit, but I don’t need to go-“

“Through the mirror, Twilight.” Luna finished, smiling at her. “You’ve visited worlds with terrible atrocities, worlds full of blood and strife and destruction. I think it’s time you see the good that can come of these worlds, my love. There are wonders in other worlds that don’t exist here. Furthermore, there are worlds that haven’t been wracked by war or violence or bloodshed. Worlds where our love is stronger than it is, even now. Happy places.” Luna turned towards the mirror, her horn glowing as she wiped the surface once, revealing a mirror to the hall they stood in now.

“We want you to experience the nicer worlds, Twilight.” Luna said with a hint of melancholy in her voice. “You’ve been exploring the negative and the hurtful. We want you to see the positive, and the happy. No more prophecy-destroyed landscapes. No more vengeful marems. No more shattered princesses. Go to a world where you and I never fought, where we were more forthcoming with information about your parents. Go see the worlds I know to exist where even Celestia has found love, where the great serpents never ravaged the Bloodlands; indeed, where the Bloodlands were never called that. I want you to see the magical wonders of Equestria, and to see the places that never were in this world.”

Celestia echoed Luna, smiling as she gestured towards the mirror. “I would like to see who it was I fell in love with in these other worlds as well. Be sure to take notes… If not a few pictures.”

Twilight looked between the two of them before her eyes settled on the mirror once more.

“You know what?”

A smile graced her lips.

“That sounds like a good vacation.”

She stepped through the mirror.

Author's Notes:

Obviously, this chapter isn't meant to attribute much to the plot. Rather, it's meant to kind of wipe the slate clean following the Saddle Arabian Nights arc, and help re-orient us as we move forward. I know it's been a long while since I've put anything out there, and I apologize. It's been a hectic few weeks, but nothing keeps an author from publishing more than his own laziness. I'd complain of depression as well, but I've been laughing and smiling too much of late to claim that.

With any luck, we will move forward into the next major arc, where Twilight explores various worlds that are more ideal than her home. I hope to publish more over the course of about a month.

Thank you all for sticking with me thus far.

Sincerely,
-Loyal