The solution to darkness

Aline blinked. A few seconds later, she did so again. And again. But the darkness did not leave. Were her eyes actually open? Of course she was not aware of everything that was happening outside. She was hardly aware of Tsuyo who sat in a chair, watching over her. Everything was dark now, anyway, and not just outside.

Junai… she did not dare to think that she would never see him again, because she knew she would not be able to bear it. Gone… As her child, her Daiya, gone… But why was she still here? Here, in a world that would now forever be clouded in darkness…

Hikary’s eyes… they had changed. The moment Twinkle Star had broken her seal, they had changed. Memories had returned to her, she remembered, everything that had happened to her that she had not even thought had happened. Twinkle Star did not know what it was, and she knew she would never know it all. But Hikary remembered, and that was all that mattered.

Twinkle Star could not even remember how she had broken that seal. It just had to be done, so she did it. But how she had done it, she had no idea. That was why she felt she could not possibly live up to Hikary’s request.
“I… Hikary, I can’t do that. I don’t know how I broke your seal. I want to do it, really, I do, but…”
“Twinkle Star! Stop talking nonsense!” Hikary snapped. “I know you don’t really know how you did it but you did do it which proves that you can if you really have to. And you have to, even more than you had to with me.”

“Trust her, Twinkle Star. You will be able to do it.”  Calin whispered. Twinkle Star glanced at the yellow pony that was standing behind her. Taira was her name… The pony she had once met in the mountains of the old Friendship Lands. She knew it for sure, she recognized the powers that were flowing freely through the air. But she also knew that this pony was not like her, not like Hikary even. Hikary was a pony with very strong royal powers that exceeded even those of Regina to be sure, but that was all there was to her. But Taira, on the other hand… There was something peculiar about it and even though Twinkle Star couldn’t really place it, it frightened her.

“Why is she so important, then?” Twinkle Star asked.
“Because he… Aras can’t open the gate of the Heavens without her. And she will not help him if she remembers. In the past, he had to seal her mind so often because she kept remembering and because of that she kept trying to run away. But now that his power has been restored, he did something to her… she won’t remember unless you break her seal.” Hikary answered.
She was almost begging Twinkle Star to do it, to release her sister. Twinkle Star had so many questions, and she did not even completely trust Hikary. How could she, after all the horrors this pony had, at least partially, created? Calin’s trust was the only thing that kept her from attacking Hikary right now. And besides, Hikary was not, and would never be, the main problem there. The black pony was. And if they needed that yellow pony, Taira, to defeat him… But for now, he seemed to do nothing except stare at the yellow pony. Were they trying to open the gates once more?

“How do I know he won’t kill me the moment I approach her? How do I know she won’t?” Twinkle Star asked. For a moment Hikary looked as if she did not understand why Twinkle Star would ask this, but she recovered quickly.
“He won’t kill you, Twinkle Star. You have to trust me on that. He won’t do it. All he could do…” Hikary glanced at Calin and began to whisper, “is use Calin against you. He will threaten to kill her if he gets the chance. But if you are quick I might be able to protect her. He will not kill her quickly… He will need her if his plan succeeds.”

Twinkle Star nodded, but she did not know why. It all came down to one thing… could she trust this pony?
“Please, Twinkle Star…” Hikary whispered. “Save my sister.”
For the first time, Twinkle Star traced emotion in the blue pony’s voice. Her sister… she meant a lot to her. And if Hikary and Calin were correct, Taira was the one able to defeat the black pony that had harmed her family.

“Well, then…” Twinkle Star felt the same determination rise inside her. The black pony, the one who hurt her family, the one who probably killed Junai… The one who had taken Calin… He had to be defeated.
“Let’s do this.” “I will distract them. Approach Taira. You will have to wait for the right moment. She has to keep still or you will not have enough time to touch her with your glow. Be careful, Twinkle Star… your powers are not yet unlimited.” Hikary warned her.

“I will be careful.” She promised Hikary.
“Good. Then wait just one moment longer.” Hikary closed her eyes. Twinkle Star first did not notice what Hikary was doing, because she seemed to do nothing at all, but only a few seconds later her eyes were blinded by the small spark of light that was coming through the curtain of clouds above them. Then she realized what it was; she was destroying the clouds. So that was how she was going to distract him…

And it seemed to work. He began to scream. Would he not be able to break the gate when there are no clouds?
“You miserable fool…” He hissed at Hikary. But instead of attacking her, as Twinkle Star had thought, he focussed once more on Taira. He said something she could not understand and a moment later another beam of light shot towards the sky, created by the two crowns. They were trying again…
“Do not waste time.” Calin urged Twinkle Star.

Twinkle Star could feel it now, too. They were trying harder than before. Was he afraid of something? He should not be… regarding his powers, regarding the powers of the yellow pony, there was nothing he could possibly fear. Yet he seemed to be in a hurry… Was there something he did fear, at least until he had opened the gate?

Twinkle Star realized now was her opportunity. If the yellow pony had to focus, she could not allow herself to move. She just had to be quick enough…
“Stay here, Calin. Whatever happens, stay here, stay safe.” She whispered to the girl, and then charged at the yellow pony.

She felt her powers rising again. She did not dare to think of how she was doing it because she was afraid to lose her focus. The pink glow reappeared, but she was not the only one who saw it in the returning light. She heard Aras growl something and a moment later the beam of light disappeared once more. The yellow pony was staring at her now, but she was still not moving, so Twinkle Star kept charging.

Right when she thought she was close enough, the yellow pony jumped and ran a few meters away from her. Twinkle Star stopped abruptly and turned around.
“I will not let you get away…” She whispered.
The breach in the clouds kept growing larger and larger, and the light of the sun was blinding them all. Twinkle Star knew it was because her eyes had gotten so adjusted to the darkness that it was so blinding, but somewhere deep inside the strength of the sun did not feel natural, as if it had been forced to glow stronger to aid…

A strange thought occurred to Twinkle Star. If the blue pony could somehow control the clouds, then could the yellow pony not control the strength of the sun? Was such a thing even possible? She began to run towards the yellow pony again, but once again when she just had gotten close enough the pony ran away.

She did not see the blast of the black pony coming towards her. But thankfully for her, Hikary had. She had released a blast of her own that hit the blast of Aras at full force and made it dissolve into thin air. So, he was finally attacking her, he had probably realized what she was about to do. And he could not lose her… For then he would not be able to break the gate of the Heavens.

This only gave her more strength to go on. He must not break open the gate… whether the Heavens should be opened once more or not she did not know, but she did know it should not happen by force. The glow reappeared once more and she charged at the yellow pony, who once again avoided her at the last moment. Avoiding her… but not once attempting to attack her.

An idea entered into Twinkle Star’s mind. She did not know if it would work, if the yellow pony would fall for it, if she could summon her powers to do such a thing… But she had to try, because otherwise the yellow pony would keep avoiding her. And she needed contact with her…

“Have it your way, then!” She yelled at the yellow pony.
She summoned powers she had always hoped she did not have, and pointed her blast at the yellow pony. It shone bright even in the renewed light, and from the corners of her eyes she could see everyone was utterly confused. Not only Aras, who thought he had been so sure what her plan was, but also Hikary and Calin.

This time, the pony did not move. She knew movement was not going to save her from a blast of royal powers. The only thing that could was a counter attack, and so the yellow pony too summoned her powers and released a blast towards Twinkle Star. The blasts hit in the middle, lighting up the entire sky. And it was exactly what Twinkle Star had been hoping for.

The very moment their blasts met their powers became connected. Twinkle Star summoned the glow that had freed Hikary and she was relieved that she could do so, and she immediately directed it towards Taira. However, something different happened. The flash did not turn blue as it had with Hikary, but bright red, and it encircled the entire pony not for one moment but for what seemed like an eternity.

“You cannot break it, Twinkle Star!” Aras yelled, releasing another blast aimed towards her which Hikary was once again able to deflect.
“Oh yes I can!” She screamed back.
She thought of her family, her friends, Junai… no one was allowed to do that to the ponies she cared about. For the sake of the persons that were most important to her…
“I will not allow you to go on like this!”

The blast shone even brighter red. Everything seemed to be drenched in blood for a moment before the light suddenly flashed blue and disappeared. The yellow pony fell on the ground, unconscious. Twinkle Star felt her powers fading now that their goal was achieved, and she suddenly felt extremely tired. This had drained her, much more so than with Hikary. Something special was going on with this pony… her seal had been different, but she could not explain why.

She could no longer let her legs support her body, and Twinkle star too fell on the ground. It was damp and cold from being in the darkness for so long… Had she done it? She heard someone yell her name, far, far away… and then everything returned to the darkness.