Library of the Past

Library of the Past

by InfantHorizon

Twilight got up out of her bed. Her mane and tail were both a big mess. She groggily got up, just as she had every night for the past two months. Once again, she was limited to only a few meaningless hours of sleep. She slowly forced herself to grab some hay from a cupboard and eat it. It tasted bland, barely having any flavor at all. She didn't even care, and continued to eat it.

She finished her very sorry excuse of a breakfast and grabbed a photo album off of her bookshelf. Tears ran down her eyes as she looked at the pictures of her friends. She turned to a page of Fluttershy and her helping the animals out of their dens on her first Winter Wrap-Up. As hard as it was to find out what she was able to do, she had to admit, it was still a fun day. The next page showed Rainbow Dash laughing at her as she tried to fly. Rainbow was always so confident and cocky, and boasted way too much, but...she was a really great friend, and flight teacher. The pages were getting wet. They already had many dried tears on them from the last time she looked through them though, so it wasn't as if they were going to get anymore ruined than they already were.

Applejack and Twilight were sitting in a ditch, watching as her barn was being torn to pieces by Rainbow Dash. Applejack. She could be arrogant and stubborn when it came to other ponies giving her help, but she never lied and was always a good friend. All of her friends were. Practically bawling now, the depressed purple alicorn turned to the next photo. It was Rarity, having a good time running back and forth between the party her friends hosted and the one the townsponies of Canterlot were hosting. Rarity was obsessed with beauty and cleanliness, and was a bit annoying about it sometimes, but when her friends needed something, she always gave it to them. Twilight blinked a few times to attempt to get the water in her eyes to stop flowing, but after it didn't work, she once again turned to the next page.

The page she came across next, although it was a picture of the pink party pony, Pinkie Pie, just made Twilight get more depressed. Twilight was drinking some red liquid, which turned out to be hot sauce, and Pinkie was staring at her, smiling and talking about random nonsense which, at the time, she wasn't really paying attention to. She wished she had listened to every last word of that mare. But it was too late to listen to her now. She didn't make any sound anymore, none of her friends did. She erased the though from her head.

The next photograph the album held was one of a certain purple dragon. He was on top of a ladder, grabbing a book for her. He was even smiling. When she even asked him to do work for her, he did it happily with no arguing. He was the best assistant ever. But his greed had taken him over, and he now rested in a cave at the top of a mountain, which was filled with gold, diamonds, and his favorite: rubies. He even fought another dragon to get in there. Twilight went up there to try to convince him back down, to help her again, but it didn't work. He didn't even remember her. That was the worst of it.

Twilight wiped more tears off of her face and turned to the next page, which brought the tears she just removed back to her face again. Her big brother best friend forever, standing on a balcony while kissing Cadence. Shining Armour was there for her every single day as a filly. He was the only friend she ever thought she would need. Thinking about that led to more thoughts about her friends, which made her more sad. She put the book back and cried for a few more minutes, not even worrying if anything were to happen.

Twilight realized something when she stopped crying. Even with her friends gone, she may still be able to go on. She had Celestia, her mentor! She smiled and began trotting to the door, when a loud BOOM! sounded. It frightened her, so much, for some reason, that she actually fled to her lab in the cellar. She hadn't been in there for a while. She ducked for a few moments, and then, after she discovered nothing was happening, she opened her cellar door once more.

What Twilight saw made her even more upset than ever. She was now standing in a room full of flaming bookshelves. She spotted a large flaming rock in the wall. She had been hit by a meteor. But...from where? She attempted to use her magic to remove it, but it wouldn't budge. She tried all of the advanced levitation spells she knew, but she couldn't lift it. Finally, she pushed her magic as strongly as she could through her horn and everything went white.

***

Twilight woke up, her whole body aching. She stood up, her eyes still not open, and stretched her legs and wings. She opened her eyes, slowly. Her library was back to normal. A red unicorn was standing beside her. "Princess," he said, nudging her, "are you okay?"

She shook her head a few times. "No, I'm not! My friends and family are dead, my dragon is gone, and my library nearly got destroyed!"

"Yeah," said the stallion said, "that was my fault. I didn't mean for my spell to go out of control like that."

"Well if you're done annoying me and burning down my house, then get out!" snapped Twilight. The stallion quickly galloped away. Twilight sighed and began to cry again. She was actually hoping that everything went white because she was dead. That's how she was thinking. If she died, she'd be done with depression, and she could be reunited with her friends and family. That wasn't going to work. She couldn't let herself make a decision like that. Could she?

No. She needed to stop thinking like that. Twilight galloped to the bookshelves and looked for a book on suicide. She read several of them, each of them telling her the same basic idea: its not a good idea. Before she could read another, the same stallion that almost ruined her house came back up to her.

"Princess?" he said, worriedly. Twilight quickly shoved the book back onto the shelf so he couldn't see.

"I thought I told you to get lost!" she thought about how she was acting. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind. What?"

"Well," said the stallion, surprised, "I was trying to 'get lost', but it appears the door is jammed."

"What are you talking about? asked Twilight. "The door looks just fine." She trotted over to the door and tried to push it open. It wouldn't move. "Oh, I see. Hold on."

Twilight lowered her horn and it began to glow. She tried to move it. Nothing. She tried harder. Nothing. She tried as hard as she possibly could, making her vision go white again. When she stood up, the stallion was pouring water into her mouth. She coughed and stood up. She looked at the door. Still not open. She tried to ram it down, but she couldn't. The red stallion tried the same thing, but couldn't get it. Then, he simply used a very light movement spell, and the door opened.

"WHAT!?!?" yelled Twilight as she slammed the door on the unicorn. "Now my MAGIC is terrible, too?"

Luckily, she could still levitate a paper and quill. She began writing.

Dear Princess Celestia,

How are things going for you? Sadly, I cannot say they are going well for me. My house was nearly destroyed, and I can barely use my magic. AS you already know, my friends and family are gone, and I am slowly losing the will to continue. Or, I was. I can no longer say I am losing the will to continue. That is because I already have no intentions left of living on. Please, I write this as I lose the rest of my ability to think clearly. If you get this, please come to my library immediately and help me. I fear that it may be too late. If I don't make it...please, please tell the ponies of Ponyville...that they need a new Winter Wrap-Up coordinator.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight rolled up the paper and made it into a magic scroll, which she then sent using her magic. She went back to her bed, and for once, fell asleep until morning.

***

Twilight awoke feeling a bit more rested, but still depressed beyond imagination. She made a promise to herself. That morning. If Celestia didn't come that day...she would end her suffering. She went on as she did yesterday, eating a bland breakfast and crying at her photo album. She decided to read for a while, so she picked up the latest Daring Do book. She remembered how much Rainbow Dash loved those books. She put it back and cried again.

Evening had just begun, and still no sign of Princess Celestia. She ate her dinner, which consisted of the rest of her hay. She would get more in the morning if she was still alive. She looked through her photo album one last time. Would your friends want this? Would they want you, Twilight Sparkle, to give up this easily?

But, why wouldn't they? I'd get to see them again! Sometimes not everypony gets to live until the end. Some must die early to be happy.

Twilight, listen to yourself! You're going to kill yourself because your friends are gone? What about Celestia! What about Ponyville, and everypony else? They still need you!

Why do they need me? They can figure out how to organize Winter Wrap-Up day on their own! Besides, this is for the better. I can't live like this! Not in the library! It holds too many memories of the past!

With that, she took the knife that she was now holding with her magic and slid it into her stomach. The last thing she heard was the door opening, and Celestia calling her name.