Library of the Past: Part 1
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.
Library of the Past: Part 2
Celestia gasped at what she saw. Her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, was lying on the ground in a pool of tears and blood with a knife in her gut. The Princess shut her eyes and fought back tears. If she had only been there a few minutes earlier...but it was too late for that. Twilight was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. Nopony knew a spell which could reincarnate the dead. If that were so, nopony would be gone.
She took her hoof and slid Twilight's eyes closed, letting her tears drip on the alicorn's face. She knew this wasn't her fault, yet she couldn't feel anything except guilt and remorse. It felt like it was her fault. In a way, it was. No, she couldn't think like that. It wasn't her fault, not at all. Not all ponies get to end happily. That's just how things are. That's how things always will be.
Celestia took one last glance at her student before removing the knife and slowly dragging herself outside. She looked up. The sun was shining, all of the ponies were outside having fun or earning money for their families, the beautiful trees had bright green leaves slowly swaying in the wind, and all of the grass was a bright, life-like color. It should have cheered her up, but all it did was make things worse. She couldn't help but think on this beautiful day, let alone any day, her faithful student passed away. And now... now it was over. She had her sister, but... they still had never gotten over the Nightmare Moon incident.
Celestia found herself standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down at a flowing river. She realized she was in the Everfree Forest and shuddered, but then decided it didn't matter too much. Zecora lived there for years, and not once had she gotten severely injured by some monster. She put her mind back on the river. She had noticed tears flowing down her face and falling into the river. It was such a fast river. Once her tears went in, they became part of the river and moved along with it, never to be distinguished as tears again. Just like Twilight. Once they left, they didn't come back.
The princess began her trip back to Canterlot. Once there, she would have no choice but to once again pick and choose what laws passed, who did what, what each criminal was sentenced with... and she would do it for eternity. She was one of the two rulers of Equestria, and she was like a god. She was immortal. Age did not affect her. Suicide was not even an option; it would just be a lot of pain.
As Celestia sat in her throne, she wondered what it would've been like to know what Twilight was thinking. Was she crazy? Depressed? Scared? Or was there something else that cause her to do what she did? Celestia didn't want to think about the subject anymore. She just needed some rest. She began to walk to her bed.
"What are you doing, your Highness?" asked a guard.
Celestia turned to him. "I just need some rest. Tell Luna she should take over for a while."
"Yes , Princess." The guard left her in the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Celestia simply sat on the bed. She turned to her nightstand to look at the picture of her, Twilight, and Twilight's parents in a picture frame. She lost it.
The princess bawling into her hooves. She sis not care about the noise. Soom enough, the others would find out. Tgen, they would possibly understand why she was feeling so bad. However, there was no way anypony would ever understand how she truly felt inside. This was a tragedy greater than no other, and she would have to live with it for the rest of her life. Overcoming this event would not be easy.
She tried to contain herself from crying any longer, as she was only making her eyes hurt now. They were completely red and soaking wet, not to mention stinging. Celestia rubbed her eyes one last time before passing out on her currently drenched bed. She remained in bed for three days.
The news of Twilight's death was spreading quickly. Everypony who heard was saddened. Some even cried. But nopony felt as much pain as Celestia did. She would have to live with it forever. The guards were constantly checking on her for the three days she was gone, feeding her, giving her the news, and just being there for her. They were very congenial, but Celestia remained depressed.
After three days, Celestia returned with a speech to the entire land of Equestria. "Ponies, unicorns, pegasai, ane all other Equestrians," she had said after stepping up onto a stage, "As you may have heard by now, my faithful student, Twilight..." she was crying as she attempted to mention the name. " Twilight Sparkle passed away." There were some murmurs in the crowd. Celstia sniffled. " Now," she said, "this is very sad and schocking to all of us. But you need to stay strong. Luna has been running both shifts as of late. This is going to change. Luna will once again only be doing the night shift."
"Celestia," asked a front row pony, "soes this mean you are returning?"
Celestia scanned the audience and rested her hooves on the podium. "No," she said, "that is not what it means. Princess Cadence shall be continuing the day shift."
The crowd seemed confused as to why this would be. Many of them got restless, and several of them were screaming questions at her. The guards readied their weapons, and the audience stopped.
"Now," Celestia said, tears falling from her eyes, "I am going to deliver more sad news." She began lettinf her tears flow rapidly across her cheeks, soaking her fur as they dripped to the ground, one by one. "I am not returning. Not now, not ever. I am leaving, to go see my student once more."
Luna turned to her sister. "What do you mean?" She had asked. Then she noticed Twilight's knife in Celestia's hand. "No!" she screamed. But it was too late. Celestia lodged the knife into her stomach.
"But... how?" asked Luna as ahe began crying with her sister, "How do you expect to die? We're immortal! Why would you want to die?"
"No, Luna," the princess said weaky to her sobbing sister, "we aren't immortal. Twilight finished a spell of Starswirl the Bearded's that desteoyed all immortality in the world. I... I spent three days... going through letters she sent me, teying to find it. And seeing those letters only made the idea of suicide seem better. Luna," she said, as ahe gasped for breath, "take good care of Equestria."
"No, sister! Hang on!" Luna turned to the crowd. "Is there a doctor? A nurse? Please, help!" No one stepped up. The ponies in the crowd were for the most part attempting to leave the scene. Very few had stayed and attempted to watch. "No, sister, don't do this to me! Celestia, listen to me! How do I reverse the spell? Answer me! Celestia? Celestia!"
Luna cried for hours while hugging her sister. Celestia har really gone. She would never see her again. Her sister, the one who saved her from being a terrible fiend, the one who had cared for her ever since she was a filly, the one who loved her, and was... there for her. Gone. Forever.
Luna wasn't just sad, she was angry. The world should not be this cruel. It couldn't be. But... it was. There was her sister, dead, right in front of her. There was only one way to see her again. But... did she really want to end up like Twilight and Celestia? No, she didn't. But there was no other way she could live happily. If the spell eliminated immortality, then all she woumd have to do would be...
"Sister," said Luna as she pulled the knife out of Celestia and closed her eyes, "I love you." She jammed the knife into her head. The process was completely painless, and she died that instant. The bodies were recovered an hour later. For the rest of their lives, Cadence and Shining Armour were in charge of the Sun and Moon. And every year on that day, Equestria would honor their deaths by reading a book. By doing so, the pobies were reminded that it all started in The Library of the Past.