in the not-too-far distant future.
Utter silence filled Twilight's chamber, save only for the sound of her quill scratching across the paper as she wrote. Bags had begun to form under her eyes, a testament to how little sleep she'd allowed herself in favour of such relentless writing. Even now, despite her best efforts, stacks of written rules and renewed laws stared mockingly down at her - a reminder that her new duties, hard-pressed as they were, had no intention of getting any easier.
As if on cue, one of her guards burst urgently into the chamber, a parchment held in his hooves.
“Princess, I bring bad news. It's about Rainbow Dash,” he said.
Twilight claimed the parchment with her magic aura and unfolded it. Her stomach tightened up as she noticed the tell-tale smudging and stains... tear stains.
Dear Twilight,
I'm sorry to tell you this, but I fear that Rainbow Dash is dying. She cannot hold on much longer. I found her unconscious in her house. I don't know how long she's been like that, but thank Celestia I made it in time. Right now she's resting in Bonneville’s hospital, room 103. She's on life support as we speak, and wishes to see you one last time. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but I'm not strong enough to do this alone. I've buried too many Elements of Harmony as it is; I'm not going to bury her too. I just can't.
Your Friend,
Scootaloo
Twilight sank to her hind legs, as her tears collided with the ground. Her courage shattered into millions of pieces as the only friend she had left, the only mare who had stood by her side through the trials of time... was dying. Twilight's sobs resounded throughout the room, yet the guard remain firm - not knowing whether to comfort her or leave.
“Princess, I'm sorry...” he said.
Twilight sniffed and wiped the tears away from her eyes. “Just...please leave me alone,” she uttered. Using all the strength she felt she had left, she rose and turned her back, sparing the guard the sight of a princess' pitiful weeping.
He bowed his head respectfully, backing up toward the door in compliance with her wishes. “Of course, Your Highness."
Twilight proceeded to her desk, anger boiling within her heart, just itching to be released. Without a second thought, she lashed out and swatted the stack of papers aside, spilling them all over the floor. “Please survive this, Rainbow. You're the only one I have left.”
Twilight's horn shimmered to life with a faint purple hue as, without thinking, she channeled magic into one of her oldest, most iconic spells. The light faded as quickly as it had come, and Twilight was gone - whisked away on the wings of her teleport spell, the only evidence she'd ever been there a large insignia, shaped like her cutie mark, burned into the floor.
Twilight appeared in front a hospital door that read '103' - the room with Rainbow in it. A shiver traveled the length of her spine and back again, as a growing unrest in her gut morphed into anxiety, and then into actual fear as to what she might find on the other side of that door. She sighed, pushing the feeling down and forcing the door open with her hooves...
“Oh no,” Twilight uttered as she gazed at the horrid scene before her. Rainbow was positioned sitting up straight on the hospital bed, her chest slowly raising up then falling back down. Still, amidst the trauma of whatever she knew was to come, Twilight had to take solace in one fact: at least she was still breathing. She sat on the chair next to Rainbow's bed.
Rainbow twisted her head to see who had entered the room. “T-Twilight? Is that you?” she uttered in a coarse, weakened, and possibly dehydrated voice.
Twilight clutched Rainbow's hooves, compressing them with all her strength. All the signs told her this was the end, and try as she might, she couldn't do a thing about it. All the power of an alicorn princess, and what good was it? In a heartbeat, she'd have traded all that power for just one more day with her friends, but it wasn't meant to be. Destiny had chosen her and her alone to live through this, no matter how much she willed against it with all her heart.
Rainbow cast a weak smile, trying to light up the mood. “Hey Twilight, nice to see you. Been a long time since we last saw each other. I missed you...”
Twilight returned a smile even though she felt like she wanted to cry. “I've... been busy Rainbow. You know, the princess duty,” she said with a chuckle, though the effect was compromised by all the sniffling. “I've missed you too, I'm so sorry, I didn't visit you before. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't-"
Rainbow place a hooves onto Twilight's lips to muffle her inane rambling, and shook her head. “Don't get too mushy I don't wanna see you cry... before I go,” she said as a tear traveled down her cheek.
Twilight nodded and understood Rainbow's wish. “I miss the others too, Rainbow."
“Me too.“ Rainbow's eyes searched the room for a sudden purple-maned, orange-coated. “Where's Scootaloo? I thought she would be here...”
Twilight's heart ached, knowing Rainbow would soon find out her little sister didn't stay beside her. She placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, shaking her head solemnly.
Rainbow's ears drooped down.“Oh,” she uttered.
“Hey now, I'm sure she had a good reason why she didn't come and-”
“It's because she doesn't want to see her only family die.”
Twilight couldn't think of a way to reply to that because, grim as it was... they both knew it was true. Instead, she plucked a random positive thought from the storm of emotions clouding her brain. It was a futile attempt to lighten the bleakness of your best friend's deathbed, but she'd be damned if she didn't try. “... So, how's Ponyville?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Good, I guess. Library's been shut down due to no pony volunteering to look after the place. But, if I'm lucky, when I get out of here, I'll make every pony know the name Rainbow Danger... Danger...”
An earsplitting beeping sound came from the heart monitor beside Rainbow's bed, as her ears dropped down, her eyes gently closed, and her faint breathing came to that peaceful, inevitable rest.
Twilight placed her ear on Rainbow's chest hoping to hear a heartbeat, but there was none. “No... No!”
Tears escaped from Twilight's eyes as she gazed upon her deceased cyan friend. Wrinkles draped over her face showed the years had not been to kind to her.
“Rainbow, don't do this to me! I lost too many of you guy. I'm not losing you!” Twilight threw her mind back to elementary school, desperately remembering the motions for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Alas, her actions were correct and her timing prompt, but to no avail.
She tried numerous times to alter Rainbow back to life, each more desperate and foolhardy than the last, but it wasn't meant to be. Some things just couldn't be undone. “WAKE UP, RAINBOW!” she shrieked, hysteria setting in and pushing her ever closer to the breaking point.
Rainbow's body continued to lie there, motionless, unfettered by the incessant wailing of her friend no more than two feet away. The heart monitor's flat line continued uninterrupted, a morbid reminder - almost a taunt, even - as to the irreparable nature of this. it's yet another death she has to watch, helpless to stop, and it once again reminds her of the conversation she had with Celestia all those years ago - and how she foolishly shrugged it off.
Celestia surveyed the kingdom from atop the castle balcony with an even demeanour, silently admiring her work as the gentle melody of chirping birds danced around her. The morning sun, hanging precariously close to the horizon, beamed its beautiful light upon the land as ponies shuffled back and forth amidst the streets of Canterlot.
Sadly, all was not as serene as the picture implied, as an angry unicorn mare burst through the balcony's doorway, caring nought for the noise she made or impression she gave the patient princess.
"Good morning, Twilight," said Celestia without actually looking at her visitor. Even without her "sixth sense" into her loyal protege's true feelings, the heavy breathing and blatant sobbing she could hear clued the old princess in that all was not well. She stayed silent, though, and waited for the lavender mare to speak her mind.
"So... this is it, then," Twilight began in a low, trembling voice. Even the simple act of talking was encumbered by the constant sobbing, but she fought through it; what she had to say needed to be said. "I get immortality, while my friends get nothing," her tone elevated to a shout on that last word, causing her voice to break, "... they... they get to grow old and die, knowing I won't!?"
"Twilight..." Celestia sighed, gracing her pupil with look of sincere, unmasked remorse. Still, she chose her next words with the usual diplomatic precision she was known for. "You knew the consequences all along. Luna and I made sure to warn you of the ramifications of choosing this path. You agreed to them."
Any other day, when Twilight's emotions hadn't gone nuclear, she'd have been genuinely taken aback by such an open display of weakness... of mortality on the part of her usually neutral, infinitely wise teacher. Alas, she was too far gone to give concession.
"'Chose?' Twilight bellowed, her horn and wings flaring up out of instinct. She had no intention of actually attacking; it was just a consequence of wielding powerful magic on a hair-trigger. "'Agreed?'" She stamped the ground repeatedly, until her hoof was a cracked, bloody mess. She didn't care, though. The stress relief had helped to ease her resistance, allowing the tears to flow freely. "Don't you dare pin this on me! Don't you dare! It was you who made me this way! I didn't want this!"
Celestia remained silent, her brow furrowing slightly - betraying the pain she felt a little more obviously. Pain at seeing her beloved student torment herself this way. Pain at the thought of that same student so wildly blaming her for something even she couldn't control. Pain at knowing the element bearers, whom she considered her friends as well, had passed. Twilight's anger was clouding her judgement for the time being, causing her to forget that she wasn't the only one suffering here.
"That's what being a princess is all about, Twilight," Celestia whispered. "You don't get everything you want, despite how Luna and I make it look. Our charge is more a burden than anything else. We live to see many die, knowing that despite our ability to avoid that fate for ourselves, we can do little more than watch."
Twilight's rage surged even higher, at the cost of stability and coherence. Wisps of magic began to spark from her horn, heating up and distorting the air around her, but she paid it no mind. "But why did you choose me!? What made you think I was the one you had to choose!? Did you 'see something' in me? Did you decide to dictate my life right on to this curse you call 'destiny!?'"
Celestia frowned. "What I saw was a strong mare. A promising mare. A mare with a keen intellect, strong moral character, leadership potential, and a sense of empathy for her fellow ponies. I saw a unicorn who could change Equestria forever, for the better. To guide it into a golden age of providence should I, or my sister, ever pass. I saw potential in you, Twilight. I still do."
"But I don't want that potential! I don't want that... honor. I don't want to... be... an alicorn..." the fires of her rage burned out, seeing her collapse to the floor as the weight of it all, both literally and figuratively speaking, held her steadfast. Not... if it... means..." her righteous spiel ended there, deterioriating into incoherent sobbing.
Celestia couldn't help but feel pity for the poor mare; she'd had thousands of years to come to terms with the implications of eternal life, and to develop the mental fortitude to maintain neutrality even through the worst of times. Twilight, meanwhile, boasted a fraction of that lifetime, of that experience, of that strength... she had nothing to fall back on. All she could do was crack, alone in the dirt.
Only she wasn't alone.
Twilight barely noticed the imposing, yet gentle form of Celestia nuzzle up next to her, draping a comforting wing over her shoulder. "Twilight, how you feel is perfectly natural. I don't expect you to be happy with immortality's downsides. I certainly wasn't. Luna can attest to that."
She grinned a little with nostalgia, as Twilight made the effort to look up at her through teary eyes.
"Ask her yourself. I nearly had a breakdown when my first husband passed. She had to buck me in the face to snap me out of it." Celestia's grin evolved into a full smile, as Twilight adorkably giggled a little amidst the sobbing. "Pain is a part of life. Everything we have, we stand to lose. That is where the joys of immortality come in, Twilight."
Twilight's nerves calmed as the absence of anger made way for its logical successor - fatigue. She leaned in closer, snuggling up against Celestia's comforting embrace.
"I promise you this, Twilight: you will never be alone. Through sickness and health, turmoil and wealth, you will never be alone. Neither I, nor Luna, will ever leave you without somewhere to turn. We are together in this, forever. Understand?"
"Y-yes..." Twilight managed to weakly stammer out.
"Now," Celestia helped them both rise to their hooves. "Let's get you some breakfast, shall we? Can't lead Equestria into a golden age of providence on an empty stomach."
A veritable army of nurses burst through the door, quickly followed by doctors, but it was too little, too late. They didn't even need to pry the despairing Twilight from the scene to make room for their emergency protocols, for the lavender mare had already retreated to the corner, a broken husk, to cry alone.
Alone.
“What happened!?”
“Doctor, she's not responding,” one of the nurses said.
“Hit her with the defibrillator,” the doctor ordered.
The nurse pressed the two metal plates onto Rainbow's chest and looked at the doctor expectantly for his say-so.
“CLEAR!”The lifeless mare's back arched off the bed as electricity coursed through her body, falling limp again as the doctor looked to the heart monitor for any positive changes. Naturally, he was rewarded with none, but this wasn't over yet... in his eyes, anyway.
"I'm trying it again maybe it'll work this time," the nurse uttered as she readied the defibrillator for another try.
"Again," the doctor ordered.
"CLEAR!" The Nurse shocked Rainbow again and, once again, her back arched off the bed only to fall limp once the stimulation passed.
Twilight closed her eyes as the doctors and nurses tried to revive Rainbow. This is not happening. This is not happening! The sounds of frenzied shouting and defibrillator shocks went silent as Twilight fell unconscious, the stress overload finally getting to her.
Twilight's eyes shot open, and she was greeted by quite possibly the most beautiful sight in her entire life: all of her friends standing around her in the library, adorned by their Elements of Harmony necklaces, and all sporting worried expressions.
"Where am I?" She looked around to identify her surroundings, answering her own question in the process, before the grim realization set in. “... Am I dead?”
They exchanged a confused expression and Applejack spoke up. “Yer in the library, and why in the wide world would you think that, sugar cube?”
“Because... I saw it," Twilight stated with a fatalistic air. "I saw a princess who'd follow after her mentor, a mare that would sacrifice herself for her friends, for them to live their lives. An alicorn angry and alone, a dark path laid out in front of her... I saw it."
Feeling her eyes begin to water, Twilight quietly turned away to conceal the coming flow of tears. On one hoof, she simply didn't want them to see her cry, yet... there was more to it than that. The mere sight of them alive and healthy, knowing the cursed 'destiny' she was in for to watch them all die, made it all the worse.
The premonition, while morbid, was crystal clear. Above all, it was hers. Hers to accept. Hers to come to terms with. Hers to endure, forever alone...
The growing emptiness in her soul found itself halted, as a sudden pressure wrapped around her like an empathic blanket. The sensation of body warmth was unmistakable; a simple, universal gesture of kindness known to most as a hug. She smiled, opening her eyes and doing her best to return the awkward six-way embrace.
"We're here for you, Twilight," said Applejack. "Don't ever forget that."
"We'll always love you, darling," added Rarity.
"We'll never leave other. We'll always stick together."
Twilight sniffled a little, gently breaking the group hug. She made for the desk, retrieved a quill, and went about writing quite possibly the most important letter she ever would.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I regret to inform you that, in spite of my best efforts, I was unable to complete Star Swirl the Bearded's spell.
However, in the process, I feel I have learned one of the most valuable lessons pertaining to the magic of friendship to date: its merits, while vast, are not infinite. Even my young life has proven that nothing is truly that simple.
I know now that I still have much to learn - not just about life, love and commitment, but also sacrifice, sorrow and pain. These things go hoof-in-hoof. To invest ourselves in the former while neglecting the latter is a recipe for unhappiness and regret; to dwell on the latter without indulging the former leads to cynicism and emptiness.
I pray that my studies under your tutelage may continue, if you would do me this honor.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
The moment the last letter had been written and the quick-drying ink had begun to dry, Twilight let out a deep breath she didn't realise she'd been holding in. She set the letter aside for Spike to deal with upon his return, resolving not to look at it again. Those words had come from the heart. Her feelings had guided that quill to say precisely what she felt she should say. Revision from an intellectual perspective could only spoil them.
She turned to her grouped-together friends, smiling ear-to-ear, as a faint... spark flashed in her eyes for the briefest instant.
Nopony noticed.
It didn't matter, though. The sight of them grouped together, physically and symbolically as the very elements of friendship, was refreshing to Twilight in ways she could never have comprehended or considered before. It was like their first night together all over again.
She took a deep breath. This was the beginning of her second chance, and she'd make darn sure she kicked it off in the most obvious of ways: "So, does anypony want some icecream?"