Original Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gX9lbH2gpl_XLKihu2jTfZHnUYL5--l3lLg5-VfL948/edit?usp=sharing

After Despair appeared in Ponyville, Obsidian Shards and Derpy Hooves became highly alert. There was no doubt she was after the keepers of harmony, Twilight particularly. No matter what, the reapers had to keep them protected.

The six friends were told to not leave the village for a while. Obsidian even went so far as to suggest Rainbow Dash and Applejack to temporarily occupy a house inside Ponyville, but that would not be possible. Zap-apple season was coming up, so AJ had a lot of work to do; Missing out the harvest would be fatal for the whole family. When it came to Rainbow, she was known to be daring and restless; No one could tell her to stay hidden.

Despite the best efforts of the two reapers, they were completely unable to follow Despair’s tracks. It seemed like she was planning everything in advance, making sure nothing could possibly interfere with her plans.

Meanwhile, Twilight began isolating herself. The mix of her weakened mental condition and the fear she suffered from her encounter with Despair made her stop leaving her library at all. She even stopped writing letters to Princess Celestia, afraid they might get caught by demons on the way.

Twilight started becoming paranoid. She felt like something was watching her constantly. From the corners of her eyes she kept seeing creatures, seemingly jumping out of sight each time she looked. Occasionally, she even believed to hear whispers. That only made her fear increase to a state of panic, in which she decided to set up a force field around the library again. Her paranoia increased to the extent that she no longer trusted her own friends. Each time one of them tried to visit and comfort her she refused to open the force field, arguing that she can’t be sure if they were real or demons in disguise.

What made this all even worse was the fact that now all the things she ever had done wrong kept on looping in the purple mare’s mind. From minor things like misjudging Pinkie Pie’s attitude towards Gilda, to the horrible end of Moondancer she caused by rejecting her, everything was present. Slowly, especially while thinking of Moondancer and Spike, she began to wonder if this wasn’t actually a proper punishment for her. After all the terrible things she had done, being stalked by a demon she helped to be created seemed appropriate to her. So, her stress, fear and paranoia became also combined with depression.

Twilight grew weak. This was all too much for her. Within one year, she had witnessed so many horrible things. She just wanted the terrors to end and wished this was all just a bad dream she could just wake up from. Little did she know that this wish was about to come true.

---

A couple of days later, the pegasi created a big storm to rehydrate the land again. Twilight cowered in her library, reading through the adventures of Daring Do again in vain hope that her thrilling stories would be able to overlay the voice in her head. In the wild mix of thunder, rain, story impressions and whispering in her mind, Twilight became unable to hear anything else around her anymore. So as she looked up to take a short break, the purple mare became heavily startled as she spotted a black creature through her window, hovering in front of her force field and looking at her. In her condition, her first instinct was to seek cover, expecting this creature to have been Despair or another demon. It took her awhile to finally realize it was Obsidian, checking on her.

Not even the black stallion was allowed to go past her force field anymore. The fact that her situation became worse worried him, yet he couldn’t do much about it. With the suspicious behaviour of the demons and Despair lurking around, the reaper didn’t have the time to focus on helping her anymore. Her retreat had a positive effect on her safety, though. Being in the middle of Ponyville, guarded by two reapers checking on her frequently and she having herself locked in her library made her pretty much the most secured pony around. So, after Obsidian saw that she was, considering her state, relatively okay, he flew off again to patrol through the rain.

Even after Twilight came to understand that this had been her friend, it still took her awhile to calm down again. She returned to her books and kept on reading until it got dark.

---

By now, the purple mare only finished two books. She would be much further if she wouldn’t have to fight against the voice in her head all the time. But as the moon rose over the land and the storm reached its peak, the voice suddenly stopped. For the first time for weeks, it was somewhat calm around the purple mare again. So calm and so suddenly, it actually scared her. Just when she started to wonder if she actually missed this voice accompanying her, it returned.

“Go outside.”

Twilight’s eyes opened widely as this idea shot through her head. Why would she want to leave her library? Especially now that the storm was at its full rage.

“Your friends need you. Go outside.”

Twilight suddenly felt uneasy. Out of thin air, she became worried about her friends.

“Froggy Bottom Bog. Go to Froggy Bottom Bog. Help them.”

The purple mare couldn’t stop thinking about her friends. She had a strong feeling that they were in danger. She also precisely knew where they would be right now. After some more wavering, Twilight finally decided to break her force field spell and run outside.

---

The storm was powerful. Within seconds, the purple mare became soaked. The heavy rain instantly washed away all the hoof prints she made in the muddy ground, making her untrackable if she would get lost. But Twilight didn’t care. She just wanted to reach Froggy Bottom Bog as fast as possible. She was so lost in her thoughts and emotions that she didn’t even question where she got the feeling her friends were in trouble from, or why she knew it was happening there. She just kept running until she finally arrived.

Indeed, five pony-sized figures were standing under a tree in the distance, apparently cowering in fear, while another seemed to guard them from a threat Twilight yet could not see. As Twilight ran through the bog, not even the frogs were making any noises. Every animal seemed to have retreated. When Twilight came closer, she realized the six silhouettes truly looked like her friends.

The purple mare finally came close to the tree. Panting in exhaustion, she slowly walked towards the figure which seemed to be Obsidian. Perforated bat wings, curved horn, red eye on the right side. Yes, it had to be him.

“Obsidian! What is going on here?” she asked.

The black stallion did not respond. He kept on maintaining his battle stance, looking at the swamp in front of him, while the rest of Twilight’s friends still cowered in the shadow of the tree.

The purple mare became very worried now. She jumped next to the black stallion to assist him. As soon as she went in position, the black stallion slowly turned his head towards her. Twilight looked up to him, hoping for an explanation. But what she then saw froze her in shock, silencing all sounds around her.

Even though she was right next to him, he still only looked like a silhouette and both eyes... not just his right one, but both eyes were red.

Twilight turned around to her friends. The silhouettes now opened their eyes as well. They all were red. Before she could react, the demons jumped out of their positions to pin her down.

“Well done, my underlings,” a voice spoke, coming from the tree. Another pair of red eyes opened up and approached the purple mare. Despair.

Twilight struggled, screamed in panic, tried desperately to cast any spell to defend herself, but nothing worked. As Despair was just in front of her, the fear forced Twilight to look her into the eyes again. But this time was unlike any time before, because nothing happened. No flashbacks came to her vision. No sensation of utter paralyzation overwhelmed her. The demoness and the magical mare just looked at each other.

“You have slept long enough, Twilight. It’s time to wake up,” Despair spoke and started casting a spell.

Moments later, a big bright flash was to be seen and everything became white around the purple mare.

---

“Wake up! C’mon wake up, Twilight! Please!” Twilight heard a familiar voice pleading.

The purple mare found herself lying in her bed at the library as she awoke again. She was very weak and could hardly move her limbs, but as she finally opened her eyes, she couldn’t believe who was standing there.

“S...Spike?!” the purple mare spoke weakly.

“Twilight! Oh boy am I relieved you are finally awake again! I almost thought you wouldn’t wake up anymore this time!” the baby dragon stated and embraced her.

Twilight was still too weak and stunned to react. After almost thirty seconds, she found the strength to hug him back and cry out in joy.

“Spike! You are back! I thought I would never see you again! I’m so sorry!” she spoke out, still crying and holding the baby dragon tightly.

“Uh... what are you talking about, Twilight? I didn’t go anywhere!” Spike responded.

“Of course you did! Don’t you remember our fight on Hearth’s Warming Eve?” Twilight wondered.

“Fight on Hearth’s... oh no... don’t tell me it happened again...” he answered in a depressed tone.

“What happened again, Spike?” the purple mare wondered.

“Twilight... whom are you married to?” the baby dragon asked, confusing the purple mare even more.

“Married?! Spike, what the hay are you talking about? I’m not married!” she responded.

“Oh no... it really happened again...” Spike commented while loosening himself from Twilight and helping her up again. “Look, I’m really not good at this kind of stuff. I really like you, Twilight. So I don’t want to say anything that could hurt our friendship. Just... please go outside and talk to your friends, okay? They are much better at this than me.”

Twilight was still very confused, but decided she should follow his advice. Something seemed to have happened she was unaware of. Before she left the library, Twilight embraced her number one assistant one more time and apologized again for the way she had been treating him, promising such a thing will never ever happen again. He, though, didn’t seem to understand what she was sorry for. Then, the purple mare slowly went outside.

---

A couple of minutes later, Twilight arrived at the marketplace, where all her other friends were meeting up. Pinkie Pie was the first to notice she was approaching them.

“Oh my gosh! Girls! Look!” she announced, causing the others to instantly turn around.

“Twilight!” they exclaimed at the same time, then rushed over to her and embraced her.

“Woah! Calm down, girls! What’s the matter with all of you?” the purple mare wondered.

“Ya have fallen in coma again, Twi,” Applejack explained.

“Coma? Again?” Twilight asked.

“Yes. And this time, it was longer than ever before! We were so worried about you!” Rainbow Dash continued.

“I don’t understand! What are you talking about?” Twilight wanted to know.

Now the happy and relieved faces of her friends became filled with sadness.

“Oh no, darling. Did you lose your memory again?” Rarity concerned.

“What do you mean, Rarity? I still remember everything! Where is Obsidian by the way? And what happened to Despair?” Twilight asked.

“Obsidian? Despair? Sheesh, Twilight. What have you been dreaming this time?” Pinkie wondered.

“What?” was all Twilight could say in response.

Right now, the purple mare didn’t understand anything anymore. But at least her friends knew what to do. They had witnessed this often enough by now. So they just gently held her again and started explaining.

“Twilight, sugarcube... you had a bad accident a few months ago,” Applejack started.

“An accident? What kind of accident?” Twilight wondered.

“You got poisoned by Basilisk Tongue. We still don’t know how this could happen, but you owe your life to Zecora,” Rarity explained.

“We were so lucky she was just nearby. She could give you an antidote just in the last second. If we needed only a moment longer, you would be dead now!” Fluttershy continued.

“W...what? I-I don’t remember any of that!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Of course you don’t. That accident left its marks on you. Every few weeks, you suddenly fall into coma. And sometimes, when you wake up again, you don’t remember anything anymore,” Rainbow Dash answered.

“Not just that, but you keep having really bad nightmares while you are in coma! When you wake up again, you think they all were real!” Pinkie Pie added.

“Really?” Twilight asked, having a lot of trouble to believe what she just got told. Her friends, though, nodded in confirmation.

“How often did this happen by now?” she wondered.

“This is about yer tenth time ya fell into coma and the sixth time ya lost yer memory,” Applejack responded.

“Wow... I... I don’t know what to say,” Twilight stated.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Pinkie wondered.

“Well... it was late at night and storming. I ran outside, because something told me you were in trouble. I ran to Froggy Bottom Bog and I found you there, or rather i found a group of demons that looked like you,” the purple mare explained.

“Demons? What are demons?” Rarity wondered. This scandalized Twilight.

“How could you possibly forget about the demons! Obsidian taught us everything about them!” she proclaimed.

“Who is this Obsidian you are talking about?” Fluttershy asked.

“What?! How could you, of all ponies, forget your partner?” Twilight spoke, half shouting.

The eyes of the other mares went wide open and jumped to Fluttershy.

“You have a partner? Since when? And why haven’t we heard of this Obsidian before?” Pinkie wondered.

“I-I don’t! I have no idea what she is talking about, honest!” the yellow mare explained. Now the eyes wandered back to Twilight.

“Are ya sure you didn’t just dream all that?” Applejack wondered.

“I... I’m... not sure...” Twilight responded. This whole situation was extremely confusing to her right now.

“Twilight... everything you told us so far never happened. The last time you fell in coma, we were all on our way to the spa. You just suddenly fell over and didn’t wake up again,” Fluttershy explained.

“How long have I been sleeping?” Twilight wondered.

“A good three weeks. We were worried you would never wake up again!” Pinkie responded.

“I... I don’t understand this... what was real and what was not?” the purple mare asked.

“Phew, sugarcube. Yer askin’ for a lot there. I’ve got no idea what ya’ve been dreamin’ this time. But it sounds like yer had quite a heavy nightmare. This may take a while to get sorted out,” Applejack replied.

“Yeah... I better get Moondancer. I’m sure she will be happy to see her awake again,” Rainbow Dash stated.

Twilight’s eyes suddenly shot wide open, completely shocked to hear that name.

“D-did you just say Moondancer? She is alive?!” Twilight questioned with a shaky voice.

“Gosh, Twilight. You dreamt she died? That’s really the worst nightmare you had so far!” Pinkie Pie stated.

---

Half an hour passed while Rainbow Dash was away. Meanwhile, Twilight had an intense conversation with all her friends to filter out what was a dream and what was reality. It seemed like the very most gruesome things she had experienced were all a lie. Then finally, Rainbow Dash returned, followed by a young white unicorn mare with a long red mane. It was Moondancer.

Her eyes filled with tears as she rushed over to the purple mare and embraced her. Twilight, though, didn’t move at all. She made an expression as if she had seen a ghost.

“By Celestia, you have no idea how happy I am to see you awake again!” Moondancer stated, tears rolling down her face. “How do you feel? What do you remember?”

“M...M-Moondancer... is this... are you real?” Twilight wondered, still completely shocked.

“Of course I am! What did you dream this time?” the white mare responded.

Twilight did not reply. This whole situation seemed extremely surreal to her. Was she really awake? Or was this all a dream right now? She needed to make sure.

Twilight bit herself hard in left front leg. This sudden action shocked all the present ponies. But as soon as she did this, Twilight regretted her action as a sharp pain ran through her body and she even caused herself to bleed a bit.

“What in tarnation did you do that for, Twilight?” Applejack wondered.

No, this wasn’t a dream. This felt real. Everything around her felt real. She really must be awake now.

“Sorry... I just wanted to make sure that I’m not still sleeping. I can’t believe all this. Everything I thought that happened never happened? There are no demons? No reapers? No curse called Maledictum Insania?” Twilight asked. All her friends shook their heads.

“Obsidian Shards doesn’t exist? And neither does Despair?” she kept on asking.

“At least we don’t know anypony named like that,” Rarity responded.

Now, Twilight became mute. She still had huge problems understanding. Apparently, everything that she thought happened in the timespan of an entire year was all just her imagination, caused through the long-term after effects from a critical poisoning. Obsidian never came to Ponyville, never gained their respect by defeating a Salamander, never took her and her other friends on a journey through the underground of Everfree Forest, never joined them on the Grand Galloping Gala Midnight Masquerade, never took them to Tripudium Messōrum, never fell in love with Fluttershy... never existed. This all overthrew everything she believed in once again. The purple mare lifted her head again, looking at the white mare.

“Moondancer... how did we meet?” she wondered.

“Oh my... you... you don’t even remember that anymore?” Moondancer responded with a sad expression, holding a hoof in front of her mouth. Twilight’s friends gently held her to comfort her.

“Yes... I’m sorry...” Twilight responded.

“It’s okay... I don’t blame you... It’s all the fault of that damn poison...” Moondancer stated. Then she took a deep breath in.

“After you moved to Ponyville four years ago, we had lost contact. Not that we really had a lot of contact before to begin with... no, sorry. Forget what I just said. I forgave you about that. I’m sorry... well we met again on the Grand Galloping Gala Midnight Masquerade. Do you remember that?” Moondancer continued.

“Yes... so that wasn’t a dream... but what happened then?” Twilight wondered.

“Well... we had a pretty harsh discussion. I blamed you for disappearing without a word and you were very sorry. Then... I confessed my love to you. You were very shocked at first and unsure about it, but you didn’t want to hurt me. You said you needed a bit of time to think about this. I had no idea what you would think of me now... that was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through... But finally, you decided to take me with you to Ponyville. Since then, we live together in your library,” Moondancer replied.

“So you live with me... I... wait... Spike told me I was married... did... did we... are we...?” Twilight wondered, very insecurely.

“Yes, my darling...” Moondancer responded, blushing. “After you took me in, I really tried hard so you would love me. It took you a few weeks, but then you also confessed your love to me. We were so happy together... It’s hard for me to imagine you don’t remember any of this... Anyway. About four months ago, we finally decided to get married. That was the most wonderful moment in my life! All my dreams came true and you, too, enjoyed our time together a lot. We went to Fillydelphia for our honeymoon. Do you remember Fillydelphia?”

“No... I’m sorry...” Twilight stated lowly. Moondancer sighed.

“Well... I can promise you it was incredible. We were both in such high spirits all the time and we would still be the happiest couple in all of Equestria if this Pete forsaken accident didn’t happen... I still thank Zecora everytime I meet her for saving your life. I honestly wouldn’t have known what to do anymore if you would have died...” she stated.

Again, Twilight's mind was blown. How could she not remember any of this? And more importantly, what was she supposed to think of Moondancer now? The purple mare was very unsure what she should feel for her. Apparently, they used to be a happy couple. Was the nightmare in which Moondancer died maybe a part of her personality that was afraid of losing her, because she loved her back? Twilight never thought she could ever have a relationship with another mare, let alone marrying one. Or was she? During her coma, she dreamt so many things that were very far away from truth and reality, even regarding her own personality. Twilight didn’t even know herself anymore. It was like she woke up in an alternate universe. Everything seemed so familiar, yet was so different.

“Twilight? Are you okay, my darling?” Moondancer wondered, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Oh. Y-yes... well no... I mean... oh gosh... I don’t know... I don’t know what to think anymore...” Twilight stated.

“That’s okay, Twi. This isn’t the first time that happened to you. You were just about as confused the other five times before. We’ll help you getting used to this again,” Rainbow Dash commented.

“But those nasty after effects seem to get worse. We really should get a doctor to check on you and have a talk with Zecora. Maybe she got a potion to help you,” Rarity suggested.

“Good thinkin’. Don’t cha worry too much, Twi. Everything’ll be alright again. We’re all here for you,” Applejack spoke.

“Thank you... thank you all. I’m so glad I have friends like you,” Twilight responded.

“Ah, it’s okay. We are all P.F.F’s as you would say!” Pinkie stated.

For the rest of the day, Twilight’s friends and Moondancer helped her around, trying their best to help her getting used to being awake again.