Duskfall, Lightning Dust, and Starlight Glimmer awoke to find themselves in a desolate wasteland. The sky was overcast, the landscape was nothing but dirt and rocks, and to Duskfall and Starlight, the world felt dead as it looked. As if there was no more Magic to be had, if it even existed in this dimension at all.

“What happened here..?” Lightning asked as she cast her eyes out over the devastation. There was no telling where on Equuis they were, but given their history, it was likely this had once been in or near the Everfree Forest.

“I don’t like this place,” Duskfall murmured as she stood, fluffing her wings to get the dust and dirt off, “And how the hell am I supposed to fix a world like this? I think everything’s dead!”

“Fortunately, that is not your concern,” The trio snapped to the sound of the voice. Standing in a spot where they were sure no one was before were now two figures draped in black cloaks. One looked equine but the other seemed to be bipedal. Whoever they were, they had POWER. Even in what Duskfall presumed was a resting state, she felt like a 20 watt light bulb before UY Scuti, the largest star known to mankind. She couldn’t tell how much power was coming from each of the figures, but it was staggering nonetheless.

“Who are you? Where did you come from?!” Starlight asked fearfully, her ears pinned against her skull and taking a few steps backwards.

“Do not fret, we mean you no harm. Young Starlight, my companion wishes to speak with you. Duskfall, you are the one I have a message for,” The bipedal figure stated. The equine one beckoned Starlight forward nonverbally.

“Well, given you can likely squish us with barely a thought, I don’t see how we can refuse, right, Starlight?” Duskfall glared at the Unicorn. Starlight looked like she was about to protest, but sagged her head and shoulders and followed the hooded equine.

“Should I go off someplace?” Lightning asked hesitantly. She was watching Starlight walk off and wasn’t sure if any of this would be for Duskfall’s ears only.

“You may stay, Lightning Dust. Your own path has been irrevocably altered. Trying to hide the truth from you now would be pointless. Of course, if Duskfall wishes you to leave, that is her prerogative,” The bipedal figure said plainly. It was impossible to tell if they were moving under that cloak or even if they had a specific sex.

“I’m fine with Lightning staying, but what do you mean, ‘her path has been irrevocably altered’?” Duskfall questioned, a puzzled frown appearing on her face.

“It may make more sense if I deliver the message and explain to you who I am. Duskfall Sparkle, the contract is complete,” They said.

“Contract? What contract? I don’t remember- FUCK! Time travel bullshit, isn’t it?” Duskfall gazed skyward, frustrated and trying not to express her annoyance any further lest she annoy the super powerful being.

“To your mortal understanding of Time, yes, I believe this would fall under ‘time travel bullshit’,” The being sounded slightly amused.

“Do I get to know the terms of the contract or when I actually make it?” Duskfall asked, an eye turned towards the being as she continued to try and hold in her displeasure.

“No. If I were to tell you any more than I already have the contract would become void. Even this notice was only agreed upon because certain people felt you needed to know all this trouble actually amounted to something,” It almost sounded like this being wasn’t pleased with this, but who could possibly have the ability to bargain with someone of this level of power?

“Didn’t you say something about introducing yourself?” Lightning suddenly spoke up and Duskfall felt a surge of affection for the Pegasus. Maybe a few things could be pieced together with the name of this being.

“You are correct; I did say I would do that. Very well, I am Lady Fate and before you ask, no, that is not merely a pretentious name. I am the personification of the concept, one of the cornerstones of all creation,” Fate introduced herself.

“Oh, so the thing about Lightning being off her path would be-”

“The path I had preordained for her, correct,” Fate interrupted Duskfall, “But that is simply the nature of the beast. I am merely an end point that can be averted, unlike my sister Destiny who is an inevitable choice or choices all must make in their lifetime. Many of my fellow Concepts are quite interested in you, Duskfall Sparkle.”

“I almost don’t want to know how I ended up involved with the Concepts…” Duskfall groaned, laying down and burying her head under her hooves.

“But you will find out, maybe someday in the far flung future, centuries from now or maybe next week. The simple fact of your existence makes it so. It has nothing to do with myself or my sister. Who and what you are assures that you have garnered our attention. What you do with that attention…” Fate trailed off.

Duskfall didn’t know how to take Fate’s vague words. Fate seemed to be hinting at something to do with the Winter Solstice, but Duskfall couldn’t decide if Fate was suggesting she would succeed or fail with that ritual. Maybe this was Fate’s way of getting even with whoever had forced her to deliver the message about the contract? Sending Duskfall’s mind into turmoil over the outcome of the ritual would nicely cut off any sense of relief over the stress she had accumulated over the past 5 months being worth something in the end.

“In any case, I do believe you wish to be sent home as soon as possible. I’ll send you on your way once my associate finishes her little chat with Starlight,”

Starlight was hesitantly following the robed equine away from her…enemies? Friends? Frenemies? Starlight wasn’t exactly sure what her relationship was to the Alicorn and Pegasus was anymore. Having over 300 years of memories jammed into your head with all the subtly of a sledgehammer was a good way of making you question everything you’d ever known or thought you knew, especially when those memories were as…flavorful as Duskfall’s.

“You’re a really stupid bitch, you know that?” Starlight was startled out of her thoughts by a voice that sounded entirely too familiar. Out of eyesight of the others, the figure Starlight had followed pulled back her hood to reveal…Starlight.

“I- You- WHAT?!” Starlight exclaimed, pointing in shock at the other Starlight. She looked almost identical to her except for an eye patch over her left eye.

“Only proving my point,” Other Starlight remarked with a decidedly unamused glare.

“Well how am I supposed to react when an interdimensional doppelganger insults me?!” Starlight demanded, stamping her hoof in anger.

“Do you want to guess how this world ended up like it is?” Other Starlight asked suddenly, completely ignoring Starlight’s anger, instead turning her gaze out towards the horizon.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Starlight demanded to know. A part of her was almost angry enough to march right into Other Starlight’s face, but the overwhelming power difference between them encouraged her to exercise caution.

“Everything. I’m the one who destroyed this world. I was in Canterlot during Tirek’s attack; I saw how everyone he drained lost their Cutie Marks. So, I decided to teach myself how to do the same. I miscalculated. Instead of just ponies, I drained the whole world dry. Nothing on this world was capable of surviving for more than a few days without magic. Because of me, this Equuis is nothing more than a ball of rock hurtling through space. For my hubris and crimes, I was cursed with an immortality not unlike Duskfall’s and bound to be a servant of Fate for… probably until the End of Time,” Other Starlight explained before letting out a hearty sigh, her face turned down in shame.

“That’s…a sad story and all, but I still don’t get what that has to do with me,” Starlight said rudely, a skeptical expression on her face.

“Because you’re exactly the same kind of arrogant, self-important, delusional twat I was. I’m lucky. Every time I die I only get raked over the coals a few times before being sent back and I might be able to earn redemption one day. I’ve seen plenty of other Starlight Glimmers who weren’t so lucky and most of them haven’t even come close to what I’ve done. Still don’t see what this has to do with you? Think about how easily you picked up Dark and Changeling Magic. You’re a sponge, Starlight. The two wisps of your Cutie Mark? Unlike most versions of Starlight, those wisps aren’t leaving the starburst, they’re being sucked in. Just. Like. Mine,” Other Starlight’s stare bored into Starlight’s very Soul. Starlight gulped involuntarily.

“Why are you telling me this? Aren’t there other Starlights who ‘have it worse’?” Starlight asked, a slight note of challenge in her voice, as if she didn’t believe she needed this talk at all.

“If I had a choice, I’d have left you alone until you met your own sticky end. Unfortunately for me and luckily for you, your dimension is about to change radically. A whole host of different kinds of Magic are about to be made known on your Equuis and Lady Fate and a few others have decided you’re too much of a risk. So they gave me a chance to smack some sense into you and finish what Duskfall started. I’d suggest you listen to me. A few of the Concepts are quite…imaginative in their punishments,” Other Starlight warned with a dark smirk now on her face as if imagining the various possible fates Starlight might endure.

“So, what, be a good little girl, stay in line, and I’ll be fine?” Starlight asked with an arched eyebrow. Other Starlight laughed, as if Starlight had just told the world’s funniest joke.

“Because that worked out so well for Duskfall!” Other Starlight cried out as she was clutching her sides, gasping for breath. Suddenly a memory of a certain unintentional performance floated through Starlight’s mind.

“Then what, do you want me to go insane too?!” Starlight yelled angrily, stamping both front hooves in rage.

“Oh, honey, insanity isn’t all pumpkin bombs and prostitution. Most of us Starlights are some level of crazy, generally Antisocial Personality Disorder. You’re already insane, so it’s just a matter of learning to control it before it’s too late like Duskfall has or letting it control you and being destroyed for it. She gave you everything you need, every lesson she learned about her own Insanity. Obviously it isn’t one-to-one applicable, but it’ll point you in the right direction,” Other Starlight remarked, her ears swiveling backwards at some sound Starlight couldn’t hear.

“What if I don’t change?” Starlight asked and Other Starlight just chuckled again.

“Starlight, if you were a lost cause, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Other Starlight said bluntly, her ears returning to a forward facing position.

“It was all for nothing? Everything I’ve done…Sunburst…just pointless?” Starlight questioned, a feeling of being lost creeping in on her.

“You’ll find the answer to that eventually. Whether it’s before or after it’s too late…that’s up to you. Anyway, we should wrap this up. The boss is done talking with Duskfall and she’s very anxious to return home. Any last questions or worthless curses you want to throw my way?” Other Starlight inquired as she started walking back in the direction they came.

“Why are Duskfall and her little friends considered the ‘good guys’?” Starlight asked petulantly. Other Starlight glanced over her shoulder.

“Are you sure you want the answer to that or are you just whining? Because that sounds an awful lot like my whining voice,” Other Starlight remarked before continuing on. Starlight muttered under her breath something vaguely insulting with a scowl on her face, “Hey, if it makes you feel better, Duskfall is fixing to do something astonishingly dumb and will be punished accordingly should she go through with it. So at least you can probably laugh at her later. Misery loves company, after all.”

Starlight wasn’t sure if that was comforting or not, especially when this ‘astonishingly dumb’ thing could end up with her as a target. She was also getting the strong impression Other Starlight was done with the conversation, and so kept her mouth shut as they walked. Soon, they met back up with Duskfall, Lightning, and Fate.

“Are you all prepared?” Fate asked the trio as Other Starlight took her place beside her mistress. Duskfall and Lightning looked at her in shock for a moment before snapping out of it.

“Yeah, I just really want to hug my friends and then crash in my own bed for a week,” Duskfall replied honestly, “I just wanna make sure Starlight isn’t going to cause trouble right off the bat if we have to sleep first.”

“You will be transported directly into the crystal castle and you will be awake. However, I do not believe Starlight will give you too much trouble,” Fate seemed to gaze at Starlight, who felt the oppressive weight of her power.

“I’m on trouble making hiatus,” Starlight decided. Duskfall looked Starlight over, as if trying to find some small tell that Starlight was lying.

“Alright, well, you’re still getting community service, but you’re also staying in the castle where I can keep an eye on you,” Duskfall told the Unicorn in a tone that brokered no argument. Starlight was tempted to roll her eyes, but given there were two people perfectly capable of destroying her and the fact that Duskfall had bested her in the past, Starlight choose to save her insolence.

“Very well, I shan’t keep you any longer,” And just like that, suddenly the trio found themselves in the crystal castle. A moment later, a small white Alicorn with a rainbow mane appeared.

“DUSKFALL!” Harmonia plowed into the Purple Alicorn with no regard for anything other than some desperate idea that by clinging onto Duskfall she might prevent her from being pulled away again.

“Oof!” Duskfall gasped as Harmonia knocked the air out of her, “I’m glad to see you too, Harmonia.”

“You were gone for three weeks and everyone was starting to give up hope and I couldn’t find you on the Weave and stop leaving us!” Harmonia didn’t release her death grip on Duskfall as she babbled on.

“Only three weeks? It was a little over five months for me,” Duskfall shouldn’t have mentioned that. Harmonia pulled back just long enough to look Duskfall in the eyes before her own bugged out and somehow her hug got even tighter.

“I just called everyone; they’ll be here soon…welcome back, Duskfall. We missed you and we all have a lot to talk about,”

Author's Notes:

It's over. It's finally over. Duskfall is home and a number of events I had originally intended to have chapters for have been done off screen. This whole interdimensional arc took up waaaaaaaaay too much time. Like I said, this wasn't supposed to go on nearly as long as it did. As I don't want Shattered Souls to end up dragging, I chose to cut some events to make room for Duskfall's extended adventures thru the Multiverse. I think it's a fair trade.

That's mostly what the "we have a lot to talk about" line was alluding to. Duskfall needs to be caught up on recent events. Also, the Winter Solstice is about 3 weeks away. Just FYI.