Of all the things that Twilight had expected to experience in those final moments, a new and unfamiliar voice was not one of them. And yet, as soon as those words were uttered, her eyes snapped open. When she gazed out on the sight before her, she could not help but raise both hooves to her mouth, stifling the gasp that threatened to emerge from her. For here, in stark contrast to that dark realm she'd found herself in before, was a place she actually did recognise. And, more importantly, it was a place that, given everything she'd been through today, she had not ever hoped to see again; the astral plane. This ethereal realm, a veritable heaven, was bathed in stars and starlight, as if forged of magic itself. Gone was the bleak darkness that had surrounded her, and gone also was the swirling vortex of magic that had come so close to ending her life, as it had her older self. Instead of destruction and emptiness of what lay beyond, she now found herself here, which could not have been further removed from her previous circumstances if she'd tried. And yet, as she looked upon this beautiful realm, she felt no elation, nor joy, nor relief, but rather, confusion. How had this happened? Why was she still drawing breath? These questions, and many others, continued to pour through her mind, and yet, she soon found her attention drawn elsewhere, as a dry laugh echoed around her.

"Surprised to be here, young one? I cannot say that I blame thee. After all...given what thou hast experienced, it is no small thing to find thyself here, of all places."

She did not recognise the voice, but it was unquestionably male, and also had a feeling of being very, very old. If she had to describe it, she'd say it was akin to a kindly grandfather, deep and trustworthy. And yet, as she darted her head left and right, she saw no sign of him. Although her present situation was, naturally, far better than what she had been through mere moments earlier, Twilight still found herself rather worried about all this, and so, her voice, when she finally managed to get some words out, were hushed and full of uncertainty.

Um...hello?"

She mentally slapped herself for her rather meek response. Whatever this new presence was, she was certain that he wasn't going to appreciate such timid reactions. As such, she started to compose herself a bit better, clearing her throat somewhat and standing tall. Silence followed her words, and she narrowed her eyes a little. For while this place was indeed a far cry of the darkness and gloom she'd come from, this ethereal mist around her was nevertheless not much better to see through. However, after a considerable amount of time had passed, she soon found herself, yet again, hearing the sound of approaching hoofsteps. She turned, trying her best to see who it was that was drawing near. But, when she did, she found her eyes widening with shock, much like she did when her elder self had made her presence known not so long ago. The one emerging from the starry mist was, as she'd expected, a stallion. A unicorn, to be precise. He was slightly taller than her, a pale grey in his fur, but bright white in his mane. But, his most distinct feature was his long beard, stretching almost as far as the floor itself, if there actually was a floor in this pale. He was clad in a blue cloak and hat, not unlike what Trixie used to wear, with the latter garment adorned with many jangling bells. As she saw this figure approach, she felt her breath catch in her chest as she whispered.

"Star...Starswirl the Bearded?"

The elder stallion smiled warmly at the young unicorn, and stopped as soon as he came within a few feet of her. Silence fell between the two, and Twilight had a feeling, deep within herself, that she recognised almost immediately. It was the same sense of amazement and awe she'd felt when she first saw Princess Celestia raising the sun, back when she was just a little filly. And here, in this place, she found herself just as awe-struck at the sight of this old stallion before her. When she finally realised just how much she'd been staring at the guy, she coughed nervously, with a slight blush appearing on her face, before finally managing to get some words out.

"Um...good evening?"

But Starswirl merely raised an eyebrow at that.

"Good evening? Pray...what dost thou mean by that?"

Twilight opened her mouth, ready to provide some sort of response to that, only to be interrupted when Starswirl resumed speaking.

"Dost thou mean to wish me a good evening, or dost though mean it is a good evening whether I want it or not?"

Needless to say, Twilight was somewhat taken aback by this sudden line of questioning.

"Er..." she began.

"Or, perhaps, thou wish to say that thou feels good on this particular evening. Or art thou simply stating that this is an evening to be good on?" Starswirl continued.

Silence fell yet again between the two unicorns as Twilight looked to her fillyhood hero as if she had no idea what he was talking about, which, technically, she didn’t. As Starswirl watched her, with that kindly smile of his, patiently waiting for a response, the young unicorn finally gave one.

"Um...all of them at once...I guess?"

Yet again, Starswirl raised an eyebrow, and in this moment, Twilight couldn't help but feel that he was sizing her up somehow. As one might expect under such circumstances, she found herself somewhat unnerved by his behaviour. Eventually, after letting out another nervous cough, the young unicorn finally started to speak up.

"Mr...Mr Starswirl? Sir? Not to sound rude or anything, but...what's going on?"

For the first time in all of this, Starswirl started to look quite serious, as he narrowed his eyes a little, with his smile fading completely. He said nothing, but instead stood to one side, raising his hoof and silently inviting Twilight to walk beside him. Nervously, she did so, and the two unicorns strolled together in this magical place in utter silence for several minutes. Eventually, Starswirl did speak, but when he did, his tone was completely devoid of the warmth it had before.

"I have been watching thee, Twilight Sparkle. There are few things in the mortal world that have ever managed to catch my interest...but sensing magic that could manipulate time itself...that was something I had to look into."

Twilight looked to the older stallion, looking more than a little confused at those words. However, ever so slowly, understanding began to dawn on her, and her eyes widened as she spoke.

"Oh...of course! The time spell my older self used was based on your displacement spell, wasn't it? I'd almost forgotten about that."

The stallion gave a nod at that.

"Yes indeed. An impressive feat to accomplish what thou did, sending back a whole lifetime of memories, and even a fragment of one’s mind. Even I couldn't have imagined doing something like that."

Twilight looked away from him, her expression becoming one of sadness.

"For all the good it did me."

The stallion turned to look upon her, seeing the clear guilt in her eyes, and gave a nod.

"I cannot bear thee fault for feeling as thou does. Many errors thou hast made in thy life, since thy move to Ponyville. I know well the feeling of regret. To know one's actions and see them as failure."

Twilight looked at him, and saw honesty in his face. Given everything she'd learned about the old stallion in the past, there was no doubt in her mind that he knew what failure felt like, even if it was not, perhaps, to the same scale as what she had wrought. But, as they continued to walk, one question above all burned in her mind, and now sought to be asked.

"Starswirl...how can you be here? Records say you died centuries ago."

Upon hearing that, the renowned unicorn let out a hearty chuckle.

"Has it truly been so long? Well then...perhaps I am not Starswirl at all. Perhaps I am merely the spirit of that old stallion, lingering in this heavenly place. Perhaps, instead, I am a physical form of the magic of this place itself, taking the shape of one whom thou would feel comfortable talking to. Or maybe...maybe I am merely and old and foolish stallion, who, in life, ventured into a realm no mortal was meant to dwell. Who can say?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that rather odd response.

"But...why are you here? I remember this place form the first time and...it was Celestia who greeted me."

Starswirl gave a single nod before replying.

"Indeed she was. However, thy mentor is currently in Ponyville, speaking with thy friends, and thy son. All of them are quite worried about thee, since thou disappeared. The princess has not even thought to come here, lest she find nopony here."

Twilight looked to him, not quite sure if he was serious or not. If it was true, that just made her feel all the worse, knowing that she had put her friends through even further hardships. Still, Starswirl was as difficult to read as Celestia, that much was certain, perhaps even more so, which really didn’t please her in the slightest. Nevertheless, it was here that the old stallion finally stopped walking, prompting Twilight to do the same. He turned, looking her right in the eye, and for a moment, there was silence between them. Yet again, the smile upon Starswirl's face began to fade, albeit very slowly, and when it was gone, only then did he speak to her.

"Twilight...dost thou know what this place is?"

The young unicorn was taken aback by that, but nevertheless started looking around. It was exactly as she remembered it from her future memories. Starlight and a feeling of magic all around. She knew this place well, and more importantly, she knew what happened when she arrived here. Looking back to Starswirl, she gave a single nod.

"Yes...it's the astral plane."

Starswirl nodded back.

"Then thou knows of what happens next?"

Twilight stared at him, trying to see if he was lying or not. But, as she feared, there was no trace of deception in his eyes, merely honesty. She couldn't believe the words, couldn't grasp her mind around it, but, the moment she knew what was to occur, she then took a few steps backwards, shaking her head furiously as she did so.

"No...NO! That...that can't be right! Do you meant to tell me...after all this...my ascension is still happening?!"

Starswirl said nothing, and gave neither a nod nor a shake of his head, but merely stared at her. Despite him giving no answer, Twilight knew what it would have been, and began to pace up and down before him, still having great difficulty in understanding why this was all happening.

"But...why?! Everything that's happened...everything I've done...the mistakes I've made...how can you still consider me worthy after all that?!"

The elder stallion took a step forward, his face grim and serious.

"Twilight...this decision is not mine, and nor was it Celestia's. This occurrence, this change that happens only once in a lifetime...is beyond any of us."

Twilight looked to him, showing clear confusion over his words, prompting him to explain.

"In my mortal life, I devoted myself to magic, and understanding its mysteries. And during those long years, I learned one thing above all else...that magic lives. It is not merely the means by which unicorns manipulate objects around them, or how pegasi fly, or how earth ponies tend their fields. It is deeper than that. Magic...is engrained in every facet of our world, from its weather, to the earth beneath our hooves....to time itself, and even forces we do not know."

He looked away from her, recalling centuries-old memories of all the things he experienced, with a look of near-nostalgia crossing his face as he continued speaking.

"And the power you find here, that which raises a mere mortal pony...to that of alicorn...that is, perhaps...the deepest magic of all. It feels, it thinks, though in a way I doubt we can every truly understand. It is what decides who is worthy and who is not."

Slowly, he turned back to her, raising a hoof and gently placing it upon her shoulder.

"And that power...has decided that thou, Twilight Sparkle...are worthy."

The young unicorn couldn't believe what she was hearing, and thus, found herself shaking her head again, pulling herself away from Starswirl's hoof.

"But...I'm not worthy! I can't be worthy! You know the things I've done. The things I almost did! How...how can that magic see me as deserving after everything that's happened?"

She looked away from him, still very much upset over this new revelation.

"I...I should have died back there!"

The old stallion narrowed his eyes somewhat.

"But thou did die."

Immediately, Twilight's head snapped back in his direction, and soon afterwards, he looked away from her in a rather uncomfortable manner.

"Well...from a certain point of view. The Twilight you were once destined to become, that angry and bitter mare of the future, has indeed died, both the fragment in your mind and the one that once existed in the centuries to come. That Twilight's life has come to an end, washed clean from history by thy actions here today, replaced instead by the mare thou will become, free of the influence of thy once-future self."

But Twilight was still unconvinced by those words.

"But...how can those great powers, or whatever is making this decision, possibly think of me as deserving of this?"

Starswirl looked at her, seeing the distraught look upon her face, and his own expression softened considerably, leading to him speaking in that same, grandfatherly way he did before.

"Twilight...has thou forgotten what thou attempted to do, not mere minutes ago?"

Twilight looked to him, and for a moment, began to understand, though she said nothing as the older stallion began to confirm her suspicions.

"Thou...were on the verge of ending thy own life! When faced with the choice, a choice that could have put thy friends and family in danger...thou chose to sacrifice thyself, rather than let that happen. That is not nothing, Twilight. That is an act that few can ever claim to be willing to do. It was that devotion to thy friends that makes thee worthy."

But Twilight, rather than appearing happy at that declaration, now seemed to be anything but. She shook her head again, gaining a look of both sadness and anger, with her eyes beginning to well up as she spoke, her voice containing a tint of both disbelief and fury.

"So...so that's it?! After all I've done...the crimes...the atrocities...the lies. After all that...my ascension still happens?! After all this, I get some wings on my back, a crown on my head, and get treated like some wonderful person? After this whole ordeal...it goes the same way it did before?! Me, flying off into the sunset in triumph while those below look at me with awe?!"

The old stallion stayed perfectly still as the young unicorn continued on her tirade, seeing the fury, the disappointment, the self-loathing, and many other feelings, all come pouring out. The sense that she did not deserve this great change was evident all over her face, made even clearer by the fact that her tears had finally come forth, flowing down her cheeks with the sheer weight of what she'd just learned. But Starswirl looked down to the ground briefly, letting out a sigh before raising his head to her again.

"Twilight...thou misunderstands what is happening here."

Looking back to him with tears still staining her cheeks, Twilight raised an eyebrow, prompting the stallion to explain himself.

"In the first timeline...thy ascension was a reward. It was the gift granted on thee by the powers-that-be for all the good thou hast done, not just in making friends, but in helping friendship in a way that no others have done before. Thy change, on that day...was a blessing, and an honour."

The moment he finished speaking those words, his expression became more steely, which was a look that sent quite a chill down Twilight's spine, before he continued on.

"But now? Now...it is no blessing...and no honour. Instead...it is a pact. A promise between thee and the greater powers. For thy words are true, Twilight. Thou hast indeed committed many wrongs in thy time, and that is what thou must now set right. Thy change here is not for glory...but to merely give thee the means to try and make up for everything thou hast done."

His frown deepened as he spoke further.

"Thy first ascension was a triumph. This one...is penance. For while nopony can state that thou were entirely responsible...the deeds were still done by thy hoof, and thus...we find ourselves here."

The young unicorn stood there, in complete silence, as the truth of the old stallion's words sank in. In her heart, she knew it to be true. After all that she had committed, there was little chance of those great powers, wherever or whatever they may be, actually seeing fit to reward her, as they had in the first timeline. No, for while they may have looked into her heart and seen more good than she herself was willing to acknowledge, they could not and would not forget or forgive all of the other things she'd done. In this moment, and against all sanity, Twilight found some small measure of comfort in that. She would not simply be walking away from this, free to do as she wished. There would be no reward for her, but simply, a chance. And that chance, despite everything she’d experienced, began to ignite within her heart a small flicker of hope. Hope that, no matter what dark deeds lay behind her, there was opportunity to make things right. Granted, "making things right" was the drive that had put her in this mess to begin with, but now, free of the corrupting influence of the mare she was once destined to be, maybe, just maybe, she could do things better than she had been doing before. Needless to say, she found herself breathing a long sigh at all this, looking up to the ancient stallion before her, speaking softly, though still shaken.

"So...what happens now?"

The stallion, seeing the look of acceptance upon the young mare's face, allowed his expression to soften somewhat, speaking in a gentler tone than he had before.

"That...is up to thee, Twilight Sparkle. If thou truly accepts this new role that fate wishes to grant thee...then thy friends are the first step."

Twilight tilted her head, showing a clear lack of understanding at that.

"My friends? Wha...what do you mean?"

Yet again, Starswirl looked to her with somewhat narrowed eyes.

"Thou knows what I mean, young one."

Twilight looked on, her expression slowly changing, from confusion, to understanding, to fear, and then, finally, to acceptance once more. She did indeed know what the old stallion meant, though she lamented it. But, as with so many things that she'd experienced on this journey, she steeled herself, taking a deep breath before nodding, agreeing to the unspoken terms. Starswirl nodded at that, and as soon as he did, he closed his eyes, starting to take a few steps backwards. Twilight, at first, didn’t know why he was doing this, but moments later, all became clear, as she noted, to her shock, that she was starting to become bathed in a bright magical aura. She remembered this well, and soon enough, found herself rising above the ground, with magical energy pouring out from her at every angle. As she spun in place, she looked on, as Starswirl gave her a final reassuring smile, before fading away into the aether. Now alone, the young unicorn shut her eyes tightly, feeling the magic around her begin to surround and consume her entirely. She knew this feeling as if it was yesterday, and yet, it was still an amazing experience, as she felt great power surge through her rapidly. Twilight didn’t know how long this had been going on, but eventually, she found herself no longer having that same power around her. Instead, she opened her eyes to find herself in an even more familiar place.

For as she looked around, Twilight discovered, to her surprise and joy, that she was once more in her home; Ponyville. She was standing in the middle of the main street, not far from her library, and as she looked upwards, she found that it was still the middle of the night, just as she'd left it. The stars were twinkling all around, and the moon was shining brightly upon her. It was, needless to say, a beautiful sight, but the young unicorn found that she had little time to admire it, for she soon heard her name calling out to her across the midnight air. Turning, a smile formed upon her face, as she saw that it was none other than her friends, rushing over to greet her. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, Trixie and even Princess Celestia were all charging to her as fast as their hooves could carry them. Twilight smiled warmly at them, with tears threatening to form in her eyes once more. But, as she took a step closer to greet them, she stopped, for she found, to her slight confusion, that all of them had ground to a halt, looking to her as if they'd just seen a ghost. Although taken aback by this, Twilight's expression soon became one of understanding, as she slowly turned her head, in an attempt to look upon her own back. And when she did, her eyes widened. For there, just as she suspected, were a pair of large, lavender wings, which she now instinctively spread out.

If the night-time wasn't silent before, it certainly was now, as all of her friends looked to her with utter shock plastered all over their faces. Confusion and surprise as clear in their eyes, as indeed it was in Spike's. But, as Twilight looked to Celestia, she found that her mentor was deep in thought over this. In time, the elder alicorn broke out into a knowing and proud smile, in much the same way that a parent would look upon a child who had accomplished something incredible. But Twilight did not feel the same as her, and eventually, as her friends began to rush towards her once more, Twilight found herself despondent as they began to shower her with praise and congratulations. They smiled and cheered for her, as if she were some kind of hero, but none of them knew. None of them knew the thoughts that were pouring through Twilight's mind at this very moment, and as her friends continued speaking, she began to reach up with a single hoof, taking off the Element of Magic that had been with her this whole time. Looking upon it, she found, as she perhaps suspected, that the jewel at its top was no longer dark, as it had been for so long. No, this jewel was pure, utterly cleansed of the corrupting influence she had carried with her for so long. And through it all, those words echoed in her mind; you know what to do. In time, she narrowed her eyes, and finally spoke out.

"STOP!!!"

Immediately, and as one might expect, all of her friends instantly stopped what they were doing, looking to her with shock at her reaction, Spike more than the others. Twilight took a few calming breaths, looking up to see Celestia, who had gained a look of obvious concern for her student. Fear began to grip Twilight’s stomach as her new responsibilities become abundantly clear to her, and she looked to each and every one of her friends in turn before letting out a deep sigh.

"I...I thank you all for your kind words. But...you shouldn't say them. I don’t deserve your praise. I don’t deserve your admiration. I...I have something important to say…to all of you."

The mares all looked to each other, clearly having no idea what Twilight was talking about. All, that is, except Celestia, who took a step closer before addressing her student.

"Twilight...are you sure?"

Twilight looked to her, and knew in that moment that Celestia suspected what the newly-made alicorn was planning. Though it brought her no joy to do it, she gave a nod, confirming Celestia's suspicions.

Yes...it's time."

As the lavender mare looked back to her friends, she found that it was Rainbow Dash who spoke next.

"Time? Time for what?"

Twilight took a deep breath, and then exhaled for a few moments, before finally saying what she needed to.

"It's time...to tell you all the truth."