They had their destinies back, and they knew who they were. Everything was, in a sense, back to normal- except there was one final errand that the lavender unicorn knew she had to attend to before everything could be considered fine. They had all made a mad dash for the library, the six of them; if Twilight could fix a spell that not even Starswirl the Bearded could finish, who were they to stop her?
The atmosphere in the library was both energetic and frightened. What if something were to go awry and everything would be mixed up again? One pony in particular, a timid buttercream pegasus, was especially worried. No, she thought to herself as the Element of Kindness was placed on its rightful spot on her neck, I need to be brave and let go of my worries. For Twilight. With Twilight at the center, the formation was complete, and the six shared a series of nods and glances.
"All right," Twilight's voice was calm and collected, what was expected of Celestia's student, "is everypony ready? I'm not sure what will happen when I read this, so we all need to keep our heads."
Nervous murmuring travelled through the room: worries, anxieties, and doubts. Luckily, Applejack spoke up in an attempt to raise everyone's spirits. "Ah'm sure everythin'll turn out just fine, y'all. Think of all th' times Twilight's stood up for and believed in us. The least we can do is return the favor."
"Yeah!", Rainbow Dash added with even more enthusiasm, "This is Twilight we're talking about. She's totally got this. I know it."
The rest of the six seemed to be in mutual agreement after that. There seemed to be less and less doubt and more enthusiasm than before. Twilight took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and then began to recite the now finished spell.
From all of us together,
Together we are friends.
The Elements seemed to begin reacting to the spell, glowing as the six felt their hooves lift off of the ground.
With the marks of our destinies made one,
There is magic without end.
As Twilight finished the incantation, beams of light shot from the five necklaces directly into the tiara- the Element of Magic. They formed a large radiant circle of energy that encased Twilight's body. Her eyes began to glow the same pure, brilliant white and all of a sudden...
...she was gone.
Gasps of shock emitted from the five ponies, plus a scream from Pinkie. All of them began to mutter at the same time, all of them except for Fluttershy. She was only able to stand wide-eyed, tears daring to spill but she held most of them back, staring at the spot where her friend previously stood. I thought something was going to go wrong... why didn't I say something? After all this time, am I still so shy to the point I can't even speak... even if my best friend's life was possibly in danger, I-I didn't...
A hoof rested on her shoulder, causing the pegasus to squeak as she was startled out of her thoughts. The hoof was a vibrant pink, recognizably Pinkie Pie's. "Awh... don't be spooked, Fluttershy! After all..." there was something haunting in Pinkie's eyes, as if she was afraid Fluttershy would up and vanish as well if she didn't keep a close watch on her, "...being happy and laughing makes everything spooky go away."
Rainbow Dash raised a hoof and opened her mouth to respond to that, to break it to Pinkie that a few heartfelt giggles wouldn't just bring back their friend, but an orange hoof stopped her. Applejack gazed at Rainbow Dash with a dull look and simply shook her head.
Rarity seemed to be the most collected about the whole thing, and not even she could be considered fine in her current state. Spike was screaming, tears gushing down his face as he screeched Twilght's name repeatedly in the hopes that it might bring her back somehow. The fashionista was at his side in an instant, allowing him to brush against her for a comforting touch, while all the while levitating tissues towards him.
After a few minutes of the six remaining silent and appreciating the comfort of one another, it was surprisingly Fluttershy who broke the silence. "What... what happened to T-Twilight...?"
"Ah'm not sure." Applejack's tone of voice sounded as monotone as her expression. "Ah lied to her."
The five exchanged confused glances before the party pony spoke up. "What do you mean, Applejack?"
She sighed and, if it were possible, her gaze seemed to sadden even more. "Ah promised her that she'd be fine and nothin'd go wrong. Ah lied to Twilight."
"Applejack." Spike was looking at the farm pony with stern, almost lecturing eyes, despite the tears still fresh in them. "You couldn't have known this would happen. None of us did."
Guilt flew through Fluttershy's body, the weight of it suffocating and she found it more difficult to breathe. "...I knew. Um, sort of. I thought s-something would go wrong, but... but I didn't..." A single tear fell from the pegasus's eyes to the floor and she darted out the library door as swift as she could manage.
Pinkie began to chase after her, when a voice from behind her stopped the party pony in her tracks. "Let me do it."
The voice belonged to Rainbow Dash, who in mere seconds was in front of Pinkie, her wings unfurled, ready for a chase. "This isn't the first time I've comforted her in her darkest moments." Memories of training to break the wind speed record entered her mind, and she did her best to dismiss them. "Trust me. I should be the one to do this. You guys need each other right now, and Fluttershy needs me."
Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack exchanged glances before Rarity suddenly nodded. "Go, Rainbow. You're right, dear, about one thing; Fluttershy needs you."
Dash nodded and whispered a 'thank you' before rushing out the library door and after Fluttershy as fast as she could. She found Fluttershy running intently toward the Everfree Forest, much to Dash's confusion. "Fluttershy." She glided down so she was next to Fluttershy, flying at the same speed Shy was running. "Where are you going?"
There was no answer, but the shortest of gazes from Fluttershy and she formed a vague idea of her plans. "Oh." They picked up the pace in unison, as if they could read the mind of the other. "That makes sense, after all..." After a few more minutes of running, they landed in front of a hut that could only belong to one zebra. "...The only one who knows just as much about freaky magic as Twilight does would be Zecora."
Fluttershy timidly lifted a hoof to knock on the door to Zecora's hut, but Dash beat her to it. The door opened and a confused zebra stepped out. "Ah, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. To what do I owe this unexpected surprise?"
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond, but surprisingly it was Fluttershy who spoke. "We... we were wondering if we could ask you about something."
"Of course, my dear Fluttershy. Both of you, come inside." The pegasi cautiously stepped inside, Rainbow Dash being especially careful, as the last time she'd been reckless in Zecora's hut she ended up creating a potion for some sort of feather flu.
The three of them sat and discussed what had happened, Rainbow Dash doing most of the talking while Fluttershy merely piped up and chimed in at random intervals when she wished to add something. "I do know of what you say. You won't like it much, by the way." Zecora stood up and trotted over to one of the shelves filled with books on various topics. She picked up one with a black cover and made her way back over to the two.
"To save Twilight Sparkle before we run out of time," Zecora flipped open to a page describing something known as 'magic overload', "you must enter the confines of the young mare's mind." She passed the book to Rainbow Dash, who began reading aloud.
"Magic Overload is extremely uncommon, though it has happened before in the past. When a unicorn absorbs too much magic energy, they go into a sort of coma from shock. However, this is no ordinary coma."
"A c-coma...?" Fluttershy squeaked, fear in her voice. "Will Twilight be all right? Will she wake up?"
"I'm gettin' there, Shy." Dash retorted, returning to the book. "The unicorn has to be physically pulled out of the coma from somepony else. When a unicorn goes into magic shock, their magic builds a strong barrier around them while they sleep. This barrier must be broken, or the unicorn will never wake."
As Rainbow Dash spoke, Zecora went back over to the shelf where she got the book and retrieved a small charcoal-colored pill. She went back once again to them and placed the pill in front of Fluttershy. "Wh-why me?"
"You were the one who had doubts, my dear. Now you need to be strong and overcome your fear."
She was instructed to swallow the pill, and she did as told without an argument. As soon as she swallowed, dark clouds began to obscure her vision.
"Be strong, do not succumb to fright! As you drift off, think of Twilight!"
Images of her lavender unicorn friend entered Fluttershy's mind, stronger than the darkness that continued to grow and obscure her vision. She tried to whimper out Twilight's name, but all that came out was a gasp for air as she blacked out.
Author's Note
I got the idea for this fic while in class. I did the cover art myself, though I will admit it's not the best.
Ideas are welcome, and as always constructive critisism is wanted as well.
