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An hour passed after Twilight and her friends agreed to cooperate with the demons under constraint. It was far into the night now, but none of them could even think of sleeping, despite being emotionally exhausted from all that happened. It was a particularly bitter pill to swallow for all of them, still not fully believing it really ended up coming to this. If they were working with the demons and accepting their ways, what even made them any different from the BloodClaw Cult now? Still, it was only intelligent to be sceptical about the Underworld League and their intentions. So long as they remained close by and would not sleep, neither would any of the ponies or reapers.

The messengers of death themselves did not express their feelings, mostly because they didn’t have any. But even they found it hard to believe they were now back to working with their original superiors. But despite everything, Twilight remained their mistress. A pony was still in control of the true Book of Death, not a demon. They still could find some form of comfort in that knowledge. They might be cooperating with whom they had been fighting against for over one thousand years now, but this would only last for as long as Twilight Sparkle got an advantage out of it. Unfortunately, though, despite the leadership circle’s best attempts, Despair was not budging the slightest bit to change the conditions she was giving them. Fluttershy and Derpy Hooves where the only reapers permitted to join the siege of Canterlot Castle. All the others were not even allowed to get near the castle, forced to remain in the shadows far away, cutting off all paths to the city to prevent messages from spreading should a cultist spot the attackers and try to warn the population. It was their task to make sure that, once the battle between the leadership circle and Blueblood started, the corrupt king would not get any help. The demons simply could not afford to be close enough for Blueblood to spot them and give the order to help him. Considering that he had the powers of three alicorns at once, not having the reapers help with the attack was a huge problem. It was clear that, once again, it would be up to Twilight to deal the most damage. She was the only one who could even hope to stand a chance against him, all her friends only acting as assistance for her. Despair was really telling the truth. She pushed Twilight to improve herself, made her become this incredibly mighty being she had become. Twilight and her arcane powers were needed, otherwise such a small group would never be able to defeat the King of Corruption.

The thoughts and realizations kept creeping in over the past hour. Had everything they had been doing been predicted? Were they just walking down a road which the demons provided without even noticing it? Especially Twilight kept pondering on these questions as she sat outside of the door, staring at her right front hoof. She had been covered head to hoof in ash, dust, rubble, mud, slime, blood and guts before. But even after having been through all that, she never felt as filthy and disgusting as she felt right there and then. A part of her just wanted to cut off that hoof which shook the claw of her arch enemy. No matter how much she would wash herself, she would never be able to ever get this feeling to go away again. Just how could she have become reduced to… this. Eventually, Twilight thought to herself that it was pointless to even keep thinking about what she had done. She let out a sigh and put her hoof back down to the ground as she came to the conclusion that all which was left now was to, once again, just keep pushing forward.

Her eyes started wandering around again. She looked back inside to check on those under her protection. Applejack and Caramel seemed to be doing fine. They were holding each other closely for reassurance. Looking more closely, Twilight was in firm belief that the orange mare even had a little bit of a bulge on her belly. Was she that far in, already? No matter if this was just her mind playing tricks on her or not, the thought brought a smile to Twilight’s face.

Babs Seed tried her best to calm down Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. But the twins had been through just too much and would not relax as long as there were demons still around. Carrot Cake and Cup Cake also seemed to still be nervous. At least the demons had the decency to leave the shack again and remain outside.

The purple mare let her focus stray more. Fluttershy, Amber and Derpy were with the other reapers, talking to them. It seemed like they were arguing, assumably justifying Twilight’s decision and reasoning over the circumstances.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you like that,” Twilight heard Cadence speak.

With a quick turn of her head, she could see her sister-in-law standing next to Maud Pie with an ashamed expression. Maud looked back at her, but as usual failed to form any kind of expression.

“So long as you don’t attack me, I don’t mind,” Maud responded calmly.

“Speaking of attacking,” the mixed voices of Despair suddenly interrupted, approaching the two and instantly gaining displeased glances from Cadence. “Have your other cannibal friends survived?”

“Yes,” Maud answered straight away, surprising the fallen alicorn next to her a bit about how open she was with the demoness.

“Good, then you and your friends will help us clear the path for Twilight. You will not help fighting Blueblood directly, but you are free to kill and eat as may of the cultists as you like,” the Guillotine of Hope demanded.

“Okay,” Maud replied shortly.

After that, Despair simply smirked and walked away again. Maud seemed to want to be alone for a bit, walking off, too, behind the shack. Cadence then returned to Shining Armor, who had decided to sit down next to Twilight.

“I’m so pathetic…” Cadence started, nuzzling her face into the fur on her husband’s side. “When I thought I lost you, I completely lost control. This just isn’t like me… I’m sorry.”

Shining Armor smiled at his wife, another black tear which he had no control over rolling down his face, having to swipe it away before he hugged her tightly.

“Honestly, I don’t think I would have been acting much different,” he stated, then focused his sister with a worried expression. “How are you coping, Twily?”

The purple mare let out another sigh. This time, though, it was a frustrated one, followed by her leaving her ears hanging again.

“I hate myself for this. But if this is how things have to be, then so be it,” she explained.

“We just need to make sure to get out of there as soon as Blueblood is dead,” Shining Armor suggested.

Twilight gave a short smile to her brother to reassure him. But on the inside, she thought that it was pretty silly that he, of all, was thinking this, considering that there was a demon right in his mind, watching and listening to everything they were doing.

Now that she was thinking of the demons, she started to focus on them more. Malice was sitting on the ground, a short gallop away from the shack. It showed that he was made out of a reaper’s soul… Crystal Blossom’s, tragically… as he sat down in what seemed to be a meditative pose. He was so still, it felt just as unnatural as he was. Only the enormous cloak covering this mountain of black bones slightly moved with the occasional breeze. But his glowing eye sockets were constantly aimed at the shack. Twilight couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine as she now felt his stare. Just like Slendermane inside of Shining Armor, Malice was watching and listening closely the whole time.

The purple mare came to realize that she heard faint singing closely by, making her ears go up again. She decided to get up and investigate, tracking down the noise to the left side of the shack. Twilight felt a bit dense when she realized it was only Toxica, acting like a juvenile pony again. She had drawn some lines into the ground and was playing hopscotch by herself. Of all the demons Twilight encountered, Toxica confused her the most. That child-like behavior and naivety was so convincing.

“She was really mad at you, Twilight,” Despair commented suddenly.

Twilight winced heavily, turning her head around to the demoness with wide open eyes. Despair grinned in response. She did this on purpose.

“You said you wanted me to stay alive. Maybe you should stop trying to give me a heart attack, then,” the purple mare returned with an angered expression.

“If I can’t kill you, you will at least have to endure me scaring you every once in a while. This also helps you to stay alert,” Despair argued, smiling wickedly.

Twilight huffed shortly before returning her attention to Toxica. Despair knew her presence was not appreciated, yet still decided to stand right beside her.

“She was really eager to get her hooves on Shining Armor. If it was for her to decide, she would have flailed him alive, just to get even with you,” the Guillotine of Hope explained.

“With me? Why that?” Twilight wondered, her slightly monotone voice giving away that she wasn’t truly interested in a conversation.

“She cared a lot about Succubus. When your reaper friend Ditzy Doo consumed her, we were all very angry. Toxica in particular would have loved to take revenge. But when she came to understand that Ditzy only acted based on your orders, her focus shifted on you,” Despair continued.

“A demon who values friendship. Pah. Now I heard everything,” the purple mare commented in incredulity.

“Succubus was her sister, just like she was my sister, or Slendermane’s or even Malice’s. We may all be very different, but we are all related. We are the children of our queen Nightmare Moon and as such, we stick together,” Despair clarified while giving Twilight a calm but malevolent look. “Still, Toxica isn’t like you, or even me. When I was born, I was already fully formed and adult. That is what happens to most of us. Toxica may be older than me, but she will stay a child forever.”

“Because Nightmare Moon thought it would suit her role the best?” Twilight wondered, returning Despair’s look with an equally arrogant and malevolent one.

“No, because the soul she is based on was a particularly cruel yet naive one,” the demoness replied shortly.

Twilight was about to give a sarcastic comment, but Despair decided to approach Toxica. The little green demoness didn’t seem to have noticed their entire conversation. But as soon as she spotted Despair, Toxica stopped playing and came bouncing over to her.

“Despy!” the Cloud of Disaster greeted cheerfully, like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks.

“We were talking about you. Say, would you mind telling Twilight whom you were born out of?” Despair inquired.

Instantly, Toxica’s expression shifted to an angry one as she focused the purple mare.

“I still don’t like her. She got Succy consumed,” the small demoness replied.

“I think it would hurt her if she found that out, though,” Despair argued with an evil smile.

Toxica’s eyes went wide for a moment, focusing Despair. She then, too, began to grin widely, baring her many jagged teeth. Quickly, her attention returned to Twilight.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie!” the filly-sized demoness called out.

Instantly, Twilight felt a wave of shock washing over her. Her eyes went wide and her whole body petrified for a moment.

“H... How in the world is this possible? I saw Pinkamena dead with my own eyes and there were no signs that a demon escaped from her. Obsidian surely would have told me something this important!” the purple mare wondered, aghast.

“Think, Twilight Sparkle. Yes, the one you saw was reaped before a demon could birth out of her. But there was a time when more than a single Pinkamena was roaming Ponyville, don’t you remember?” Despair commented, lowering her head a little and grinning evilly. “With so many clones wandering around, one was bound to get lost in Everfree Forest. It was an interesting test to see if the Mirror Pool could not only copy a pony’s body and mind, but also their soul. Little Toxica here is the result of this experiment.”

This shocked Twilight. Even she had no idea this was possible, though this thought should have crossed her mind at some point, she figured. But soon, her angry and confident expression returned.

“That would explain where so many of you came from in the recent years. You captured ponies, made them use the mirror pool and then used the clones to make more of you,” Twilight analyzed.

“You wish it was that simple to explain our numbers, hm? No, we never managed to find the Mirror Pool, even though we had been thinking the same thing. Now, it doesn’t matter anymore. Wherever it was, you sealed it off for good. No pony or demon will ever be able to use the pool ever again,” Despair countered.

Hearing that actually relieved Twilight. Of course, she could not take Despair’s words as definite truth. But if they actually were able to utilize the pool, the number of demons would have exploded noticeably. The Guillotine of Hope seems to once again be able to read Twilight’s thoughts as her grin grew wider and she continued.

“But can you imagine if we, by sheer chance, would have caught the original? Toxica is already one of the strongest demons in existence, but can you even picture how strong she would be if we had caught the real Pinkie?” she questioned.

“Who says we didn’t?” Toxica commented, chuckling a bit.

“I guess we may never know,” Despair added as she looked at the little green demoness with a smirk.

After that, Toxica simply turned around and bounced back to continue playing. Now knowing this, Twilight realized the typical trademark Pinkie Pie bounce should have been a dead give-away all this time.

“So… this is what happens when Pinkamena loses her soul to a demon. I am glad there aren’t more of her,” Twilight commented in despise.

“She once had a play-fight against an, as you call them, Devastator. She blasted it across the entirety of Tartarus with playful ease. Just a few more of her would have been enough to wipe out all life in Equestria. But it was never meant to happen, it seems,” Despair remembered.

Twilight didn’t even want to think of that possibility. Not even the Toxica in existence should have ever come to be. Every demon, for that matter. But all things considered, this was still an outcome for the better, she concluded. Not even saying another word, the purple mare turned around and started walking back to the front of the shack, Despair still accompanying her.

“Will you stop following me?” Twilight demanded.

“You are not in any kind of position to make demands,” Despair reminded with an evil grin.

Twilight saved her breath. It was pointless to argue with a demon, Despair in particular. Her eyes simply focused on the entrance of the shack. Shining Armor and Cadence had gone inside now, holding each other closely. The Cake twins finally managed to calm down and fell asleep as the first of anyone around here. But Babs also looked very tired, apparently struggling to stay awake. Carrot Cake and Cup Cake were not faring any better.

“You really should all go to sleep soon. It will take a day before we reach Hades from here,” Despair suggested.

“So you can do Pete knows what with us while we are asleep? So long as you are awake, I stay awake,” Twilight argued.

“Then you are out of luck, Twilight Sparkle. Demons don’t sleep. Ever,” the demoness replied casually.

That was something the purple mare actually was unaware of. Not even the reapers seemed to be sure about this fact. Or maybe Despair was bluffing. She would put that statement to the test, Twilight figured. She kept wandering around aimlessly, trying to get a moment by herself. But the shape-shifting demoness would not stop pestering her.

“You may disagree, but I believe a conversation between us is long overdue. We have been fighting each other for a long time now, but never really got to know one another,” Despair commented.

“And I would like to keep it that way. I have nothing to say to you, Despair. You represent everything that is wrong in my eyes,” Twilight returned.

“I can tell you are bored, though. Your mind is craving exercise. Something to help you stay sharp,” the Guillotine of Hope analyzed, then started casting a spell to make a set of chairs and a table appear. “You have beaten me in combat before, but can you beat me in a game of chess?”

“I’m already very fed up with playing your games,” the purple mare replied, feeling insulted from the insinuation.

“And yet I keep insisting,” Despair spoke as she climbed onto one of the chairs, gesturing at Twilight to take the other place.

Yet another frustrated sigh escaped Twilight. If the situation were to be just slightly different, she would simply launch Despair across Equestria. But if she wanted to play chess against Twilight, there was nothing she could do now. Knowing Despair, she would keep pushing Twilight harder and harder with ever more extreme threats until she agreed anyway. Unwillingly, the purple mare sat down, putting her elbows onto the table and resting her head in her front hooves with a very annoyed expression.

“Let’s just get this over with,” she mumbled.

Another small flash followed, letting a board and chess pieces appear on the table. The demoness let all white figures float to Twilight while giving herself the black ones. How fitting, she thought to herself. The pieces were quickly arranged and the first few moves were made. Twilight could immediately tell that Despair was playing for a long game, frustrating her even more.

“35 years ago, Obsidian Shards annihilated the Pie family, only allowing Pinkamena Diane Pie to escape,” Despair started telling out of the blue.

“Why do you keep mentioning these events in history?” Twilight wanted to know.

“I will let you in on a little secret, Twilight,” the Guillotine of Hope started, her expression now shifting to one Twilight had never seen before. She looked very sad and exhausted. “We actually want to sleep. We are all linked to our queen, as you know. So everything she feels, we also feel. She is tired. Very, very tired of all this fighting, so we are as well. It doesn’t matter if we are ancient or newborn. We all feel this same overwhelming tiredness. But revenge has never been achieved. This hate coming from the red darkness still burns strong in us, preventing us from resting.”

As usual, Despair completely dodged answering Twilight’s question. But what she just revealed instead was, frankly, quite intriguing. If even the smallest bit of what she had just said was true, it would hint on that the demons actually don’t want to keep fighting. Could this be used in some way? Could there be a base for a form of peace negotiation? It seems impossible, but Twilight had managed to do the impossible countless times before.

“I’m also sure you are curious about why I look the way I am. Especially since I am a Skin-Walker and can shape myself into any form I like,” Despair resumed the conversation as she moved a pawn forward.

“Guess I am about to find out now?” Twilight wondered in a more sarcastic tone, still not showing real interest in speaking to her greatest enemy and instead focusing on the game.

“It is actually exactly for the reason that I am a Skin-Walker and can take any form I want that I choose this one to remind myself of whom I am. The heart-shaped hole and colors remain to remind myself of what I started out as. The blades on my hind legs, as well as the maws in my front legs, are to remind me of what I have become. I keep the approximate shape of Chrysalis’ horn and the streak of mane across my face to keep in mind that it is due to her that I have become this strong. But as for the bandages around my hind legs… I know what you think of me, Twilight Sparkle. But all my arrogance aside, I actually do acknowledge defeat. They remind me of the fact that I lost against you… and serve as motivation to never let it happen again,” the demoness spoke surprisingly open about herself, but regaining her evil smirk near the end.

Again, Twilight had nothing to say about any of this as she simply put her knight in position. Only in her mind, she actually processed her words. With that knowledge, her strange mixed voice consisting of those of Queen Chrysalis, herself and something new also became explainable. Still… Chrysalis was worthy of partially shaping herself after, but Moondancer and Spike were not even worth mentioning? The words of the shape-shifting demoness only made her hate Despair even more. But what is to be expected of a demon in the first place.

“I also have to admit that you made it very difficult for me to get to this point for all these years,” the Guillotine commented.

“Well, I am glad I could provide a challenge,” Twilight replied in the most sarcastic tone she could muster, causing the demoness to grin.

“If only you had known that it was exactly your hope that made it so hard for me. Had you ever figured that out, it would have taken many more years and maybe you would even have gotten your rebellion so far that you would actually have been able to plan a siege of Canterlot Castle yourself. I may be the Guillotine of Hope, but hope is exactly my biggest weakness. As you mentioned before, it all comes down to my name. I flourish from the despair of others, but hope weakens me,” Despair explained as she let her rook move to the side.

This made Twilight go wide-eyed again and drop the bishop she kept afloat. She just completely casually revealed how she could have been defeated all this time, and still could. Another trick, perhaps? Or was her thoughtless babbling causing her to give away secrets Twilight was never meant to know?

“Got your attention with that, hm?” the demoness commented, grinning sinisterly yet again. “Then I also suppose you would like to know the weaknesses of all the other members of the Underworld League. It is simple, really. Just think of what defines each of us and think of the opposite then. Slendermane thrives on fear, so courage is his greatest weakness. Toxica is very playful and immature, so maturity and seriousness are her weaknesses. Succubus was all about temptation and desires. With her, you can actually see what I mean with our weaknesses. A reaper, a being of complete self-control and discipline, defeated her. As for Malice, he is pure power and megalomania. Modesty and selflessness could still bring about his downfall, even with all the power he has.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Twilight wondered in genuine surprise as she finally placed the bishop in position. She realized that none of the other demons even reacted to the demoness revealing these very intimate and critical details. Not even Malice objected the slightest bit.

“Because it doesn’t matter anymore if you know this or not. Do you remember when we met again after my defeat, during your first attempt to kill high priestess Black Widow? I told you that we crossed the point where nothing could be changed anymore. Until recently, this knowledge would have only delayed my work by some completely unnecessary years. But now, you will never even be able to use this to your advantage,” Despair explained, moving her own knight now.

“We will see about that,” the purple mare finished, emphasising her words by placing her queen in striking position.

Despair seemed unimpressed and simply used one of her own bishops to block the way. Twilight knew she was expecting of her to take the bishop, so she decided to take down a pawn in range of her knight instead. But just two turns later, Twilight lost her queen to one of Despair’s pawns. A move she did not see coming, angering her quite a bit.

“Another thing you won’t find in any history books is that all of ponykind actually got our names wrong,” the demoness started again, still smirking over the move she pulled off. “We were originally called de manis. Spirits of the depth of the mind. But thanks to Celestia, the population forgot more and more about us, until we became reduced to scary stories before the rise of the BloodClaw Cult. De manis, demanis, demans, demons. It deteriorated more and more over time.”

“How very fascinating,” Twilight growled in sarcasm, trying to salvage her lost queen by moving her pawn forward.

The rest of the game only lasted a few more minutes. The purple mare quickly had to face that the loss of her queen crippled her critically. Despair chipped away at her pawns one by one. Twilight could manage to take a few of her figures out, but became cornered more and more. The development of this game angered her a lot. It just reminded her too much of how her entire rebellion had been going.

“Checkmate,” Despair announced eventually as she completely surrounded Twilight’s king.

“Hmpf… You just got lucky,” Twilight replied, turning her head away with an angry expression.

“Being a sore loser?” the demoness wondered with another smirk.

Twilight didn’t need to justify herself, she thought. Especially not in front of Despair. She was about to get up when the demoness suddenly moved forward and pinned Twilight’s front hooves on the table with her own, forcing her to look back.

“This is more symbolic than you seem to realize. No matter what you do, you can’t win against us. You can’t,” Despair explained.

“Why?” Twilight asked, now getting loud and pushing herself up as well. “Because you are so many? Because you are stronger? Because only the reapers and the elements of harmony can actually defeat you? I have found ways before and I will find them again!”

Despair kept on smiling cockily, just staying there for a few seconds, drinking the moment in before she slowly sat back down and let her front hooves slide away from Twilight’s.

“No. Because we are in the right,” the Guillotine explained.

“That is not how I see things,” the purple mare responded, slowly sitting back down as well.

In the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Applejack looking through one of the windows of the shack. After turning her head to her, she saw a mixed expression of worry, curiosity and disbelief. This made Twilight realize how the scene between her and Despair looked like right now. The thought of actually bonding with the demon who ruined her life and the lives of so many others disgusted her deeply, so she simply got up again.

“I’m done with this,” she announced before starting to walk away.

---

Ten minutes passed after Twilight decided to walk behind the shack, looking to be by herself for a while. She felt the late hours weigh down her eyelids, yet kept them up with all her might. After being humiliated like that, the purple mare sought another form of distraction. But looking for Maud and what she was up to proved to be not very captivating. Maud simply looked around for rocks and analyzed them. It really showed that she had been living on a rock farm for most of her youth. Boredom only made Twilight get more tired, so she eventually decided to walk back to the front. Malice was still sitting there and watching. Toxica stopped with her game of hopscotch and instead was climbing through a tree. Sadly, due to her strong poison, it was already dead by the time she came back. The leaves were falling off one by one as the little green demoness jumped between the branches. A look inside the shack revealed to Twilight that she was actually the last one still awake. Everyone else had fallen asleep. Even the reapers came to the conclusion that with the demons now on their side, there was no threat left to worry about and all decided to get some much needed sleep. But just a slight shift of Twilight’s focus made her become outraged again on the inside. Despair was leaning her upper body against some railings, having shifted her appearance to that of a white mare with red mane and a red moon cutie mark. It took mere seconds before she spotted Twilight.

“Still as childish as back then, I see,” Despair spoke in a different, much more feminine voice.

“You heartless monster… Isn't it enough that you devoured her soul? Do you have to ridicule Moondancer as well?" the purple mare wondered.

“You are one to talk, Twilight! After everything you have done to me!” Despair continued, still impersonating Twilight’s long dead friend.

“Very funny… You demons have such a sick sense of humor,” Twilight condemned, turning her focus away because the memory still hurt.

At last, Despair gave off a sigh in her normal voice. She let go of the railing and walked over to the purple mare.

“I might not be her, but I am made from her soul. I know absolutely everything about Moondancer there is to know, even including your perspective on her. This is the closest thing to her you will ever get to encounter. I am giving you the opportunity to get some real closure, all for the sakes of improving your performance when we go for Blueblood. Use this opportunity to talk to her while you can,” the demoness explained.

“I'm not falling for it. This is all just for your own entertainment, like everything else has been so far. But I am done humoring you. Just do something good for once in your horrible existence and let her be,” Twilight demanded with a firm, serious look.

Despair gained a very displeased expression. She quickly looked over to the shack, then cast a spell on it. A bubble formed around the ruined building, sealing it away from the sounds of the outside. After that, the demoness refocused Twilight and gained an angry expression.

“No, you shut up, just for once! In a sense, I am Moondancer! I can act perfectly in her character and I'm not doing this to make you suffer, but to give you a chance to talk to her! If you don't want it, fine! Seems like not everypony appreciates the chance to apologize to a friend they completely destroyed and see how she would have thought about all this!” Despair shouted, then turned around, still keeping her form.

Twilight found herself out of words or arguments. Needless to say, this just couldn’t compare. If there was a way to bring the real Moondancer back, Twilight would do nearly anything to do so. She kept the weight of her completely unnecessary death on her shoulders for so long now. The mere thought of actually being able to talk to Moondancer in some way and apologizing to her… It was tempting.

“Alright…” the purple mare spoke shortly.

With that, Despair turned back around. She looked exactly like Twilight remembered Moondancer. That long red mane. Those hopeless eyes. It even felt like her. For a moment, they both just stood there. The purple mare found it surprisingly difficult to say anything as she soon came to realize. For a few moments, there was an awkward silence, like the one between a child about to confess to their parent.

“So… um…” Twilight mumbled, trying to find the right words to start.

“You best keep your mouth shut, Twilight,” Despair growled in Moondancer’s voice again.

This broke the moment for the purple mare, letting her expression change back to a sceptical one.

“I thought you wanted me to talk,” she recapped.

“Ugh! You really don't get it, do you? I am acting in her character right now! After all this, she would still be angry at you,” the demoness spoke in her own voice again, seeming genuinely frustrated. But immediately, she switched back into character and changed her voice back. “But then again… I'm sorry, Twilight… You know me… I always had a tendency to let my emotions get the best of me.”

“I… see…” Twilight commented, still not sure what to think or say.

Another moment of silence passed, during which Twilight looked away. This needed more getting used to that she assumed. She never even dreamt of something like that ever happening. Then again, nothing was like she ever thought would happen. After sorting her thoughts for a while, Twilight lifted her head again and took a deep breath.

“Look, Moondancer. What happened to you… I never wanted this to happen… I know, I shouldn't have reacted like I did. I was such an idiot for hurting you like that when you were already very fragile. I had no idea I would kill you with that. I'm… I'm sorry…” she spoke, really needing to force herself to take this as serious as possible.

‘Moondancer’ did not say anything. Her expression became very sad and her ears started hanging instead. Then she started looking at the ground.

“You know, Twilight… I… I used to be really mad at you for a long time for what you have done to me. I really wanted Despair to make you suffer… But when it actually happened… When I saw how she treated you and almost killed you… I, so to say, died again a second time…” she admitted.

“You… you did?” the purple mare wondered, astonished to hear this.

Instead of an answer, the replication of Moondancer started turning around, giving Twilight a gesture to come along with her. Still a bit reluctant, Twilight followed. They both ended up by the railing again, leaning their front legs over it and staring into the night.

“For quite a while, I really hated you for making me suffer like that and it only became worse after I died. I can't say I really like what I have become, either. This is worse than death, Twilight. Much worse and it hurts even more that I am in this state because of you. But… no matter how I look at it… or rather how I look at you… I can’t help but admit that, despite everything, I still love you,” Moondancer confessed, her tone more sad than anything else, though.

“Moondancer…” the purple mare mumbled, again trying to find the right words.

“No, Twilight… you said and did enough already…” the replicated mare interrupted.

After that, Twilight didn’t know what to say anymore. She just started hanging her head, guilt filling her yet again. But Moondancer noticed the effect her words had on her and started focusing her again.

“Not like that. Don't get it the wrong way. I made you suffer as well, Twilight. You always just aimed to do the best. You know, it wasn’t you who killed me. I killed myself. I was the one pushing you so much and trying to force you… I couldn't think clearly anymore when the moment came and I could finally let out everything I had to carry inside of me for such a long time. I was the one acting the fool… So now, it is my turn to apologize to you, Twilight. I'm sorry I tried to force you to love me. I was rushing it all too much and I should have stopped it after I realized you didn't want me as your marefriend,” she spoke, her voice and expression surprisingly composed.

“Oh, Moondancer…” was all Twilight could say, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“I swear, if I had had more control over myself, things would have turned out quite different. Yes, I suffered a lot because of you. But you also suffered a lot because of me.You know… looking at it now, I kind of have to admit I deserve what happened to me,” the white mare concluded, letting her ears hang again and gaining a sad frown.

“Don't say that. Nopony ever deserves to be devoured by a demon,” Twilight insisted.

“Well… be that as it may, I am what I am now. You have been blaming yourself for my death for so many years now. It’s enough. I just want you to know that… it's alright. I'm not mad at you anymore. And I don't want to see you suffer because of me anymore. I don't know how things will turn out for Equestria in near future, but I wish for you to have a long and happy life and find somepony who loves you just as much as I do,” Moondancer spoke.

At this point, Twilight was sniffling and fighting her tears. She would have never thought that hearing this would mean this much to her.

“Is… Is that really what you think, Moondancer? Really?” she wanted to make sure.

“Yes… What happened back then at the Grand Galloping Gala Midnight Masquerade is all the past now. I hold no grudge against you anymore. Looking at the big picture, you suffered even more than I did by now and I know, somewhere deep inside me, beyond all the madness that filled my mind, I just want to see you happy. So please, forget about it. You don't have to carry any guilt because of me anymore. Just… please… never forget me,” the white mare requested.

“As if I could ever forget you, Moondancer. Thank you… Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me,” the purple mare spoke, unable to hold back her tears any longer.

Moondancer began to smile. She lifted one front leg away from the railing, offering a hug. Against Twilight’s better judgement, she accepted the hug. Another huge wave of relief filled her as she held her long dead friend and surprisingly, Despair did not use the moment to harm Twilight in any way. She simply let go again after a while.

“Well… I suppose that’s it, then. Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle. I love you, even if you don't love me back. Have a nice life. Fare well,” the white mare spoke, still smiling.

“Goodbye, Moondancer. I will never forget. I hope, one day, you too will find some kind of peace,” Twilight finished, still crying a bit, but smiling, too.

As soon as they finished talking, Despair changed back into her regular appearance. The gentle, happy smile was gone and in its place the smirk of the demoness returned. After having gone through so much emotion, the purple mare needed a moment to recollect herself.

“You really think that this is what she would say?” she wondered.

“Without a doubt. I have her in me, you know,” Despair confirmed.

“I… never thought I would ever say this. But… thank you,” Twilight spoke.

“Let me just make one thing perfectly clear,” the demoness insisted, getting close to Twilight and giving her a very, very serious look. “This does not make us friends. She may forgive you, but to me, you are still just as guilty as all other ponies. I hate you with every fiber of my being. I’m just doing this because I have to in order for you to be emotionally sound when we attack.”

“Don’t worry, Despair. The feeling is mutual,” the purple mare answered.

With that Despair seemed to be satisfied and backed off again. Twilight took a moment to let this staged encounter sink in. Suddenly, the night didn’t seem so gloomy anymore. It appeared to have been Twilight’s imagination after all.

“How about Spike? Do you want to talk to him as well?” Despair wondered.

Still feeling quite emotional, Twilight had to consider this thought for a moment. But eventually, she ended up shaking her head.

“It would not be the same. I knew him better than you did,” she rejected.

“Suit yourself,” Despair commented with a shrug. “How are you going to spend the rest of the night? Another game of chess, perhaps?”

“No. I think… I can actually sleep now,” Twilight analyzed.

“Good. Rest up, then. Tomorrow night will be the hardest and most important battle you have ever fought,” the Guillotine of Hope insisted.

Twilight simply nodded and started walking to the shack, dispelling the bubble around it and stepped inside. Soon, she was laying down, resting between her friends. A soothing thought that, despite the circumstances, quickly put her to sleep.