Final part: Assumed Reality

Twilight no longer had any tears to cry. There was no more grief, no more pain, no more hope, and no more resistance. Only the cold harsh reality remained. Spike sobbed and Twilight glanced down at him saying “ Spike, there is no use in crying. It doesn’t matter anymore, we are done.” Her voice was flat and devoid of emotion.

“But Twilight!” gasped Spike, “ we can’t just give up like this. There has to be a way out of this… This…this has to be some kind of sick joke…Twilight please.

Rarity interjected with an impatient cough. “Can we please move this along? I have lots of things to do and I am generously lending you my valuable time to hear your case. Now than if you don’t mind.” She cleared her throat once more.

“Oh right,” said Rainbow Dash as she briskly deposited Twilight on the platform with spike and released her heavy bonds leaving only a chain around her hooves.

Fluttershy stood still, staring down at her hooves as if ashamed. Rarity straightened her back in an attempt to look proper. Apple Jack lay back in her chair, which was placed beside Rarity’s. The two ponies made a clear juxtaposition, the prim and proper judge and the offhand mayor.

The crowd remained deadly silent and for a moment there was an uncomfortable pause as Rarity surveyed the purple pony and dragon in front of her. Twilight said nothing. Her mind had gone blank in an attempt to cope with her seemingly imminent demise. Spike had finally stopped whimpering and was pulling himself up, trying to look as brave as he could.

Rarity began to read from a scroll that she had produced from within her podium. Yet Twilight heard nothing, she had retreated within her self and a plethora of images began to flow through her, projected on the back of her mind like a photograph. She saw the first time that she had cast a proper spell for her parents, they had been so proud. She recalled when her brother had taken her out of Canterlot to fly kites that they had made from some think parchment and curtain rods. She remembered when she had hatched Spike, and the long nights they had spent chatting with one another. Next she began to remember when the princess scolded her, for a rude remark she had made to another student. Than she recollected on the multiple times that she had been teased and made fun of by other young fillies. Next she remembered when her brother left for the royal guard service, and how upset that had made her.
All of the good memories and all of the bad memories, this was Twilight’s life. All of her memories, her experiences, her feelings; was this really what they led up to? Was this moment right here and now her sole purpose for living. Was everything in her life up till now preparing her for this? This cruel, unfair, sad and dismal fate, was it really to be her final recollection? Who was she after all, some random that would be dealt with and swept under the carpet to be forgotten pony?
NO! She was not some random pony. She was Twilight Sparkle and even if that meant nothing to anypony in this town it meant something to her. She was not ready to die! Not here, not like this, not now. Snapping out of her brief defeat, Twilight looked up at the tribunal a new look of determination in her eyes. Spike noticed the change, and moved closer to hold her hoof.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celectia. And I am here to perform a census of Ponyville.” Her voice was now filled with an uncharacteristic confidence.
Rainbow Dash glanced up from a parchment that she had been reciting while Twilight had been introvertedly pondering. The bemused Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “ We’ve established that already. Now then, where were we before I was punctually interrupted,” her voice dripping with sarcasm, she continued. “ The crimes committed by Twilight Sparkle can only be classified as cold blooded murder. Pinkie Pie, the victim, was simply minding her own business when she was brutally killed by this outsider with her magical abilities.” Applejack snorted with amusement, and Fluttershy began to tug on her mane nervously.
“ Wait!” shouted Twilight breathlessly. “ I didn’t kill her I just gave her a little nudge.”
“HAH!” exploded Rainbow Dash “ A nudge that broke every bone in her body, and smashed the life out of her.”
“But…but I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t my fault. She tried to kill me.”
Rarity began to tap her hoof on the podium, bored. She sighed, “ We do not have all day dear, and I have things to do, places to be. So I will rush this up and decide the verdict immediately.” The crowd listened intently.
“ But I haven’t even had a chance to defend myself,” interjected Twilight.
“Oh don’t worry dear I plan to go easy on you,” the white ponies voice was soft and comforting and Twilight felt her heart jump with hope.
Rarity smiled sweetly down at the audience and twilight, her gavel held aloft in preparation for the verdict. “ So then everypony, for the crimes committed by Miss Sparkle, her penalty shall be…death by execution.” The gavel hit the podium with a “Whack!”
The guillotine was snugly fit around both Twilights and Spikes necks by a solemn Fluttershy. Fluttershy went about her dark work, refusing to meet Twilights eyes. Twilights heart had sank to its lowest point. To be given hope, only to have it ripped away is utter cruelty. She held Spike’s hand as tight as she could to try and comfort him, but there was no comfort in this demise.
The crowd of ponies had divulged into talking amongst themselves concerning the verdict. Rainbow Dash stood by to make certain Twilight would not try anything to escape. However Twilight knew there was no escape. There were dozens of ponies all around her, and her bonds restrained her.
Rarity trotted up and held a measuring tape up to twilight with her magic. “ Hold still dear, I need to get the measurements for your coffin. Would you like any decorations on it?” Twilight did not answer.
“ Everything is…is ready,” muttered Fluttershy. Twilight braced herself for the end.
“ Twilight, I’m sorry. I love you,” muttered spike weakly. Twilight squeezed his hand with her hooves.
Could this really be the end? Twilight looked around at the plaza. The hideous hues of green and brown that she had noticed before seemed somehow softer and more natural now. She noticed that the dead trees were not in fact dead, and even yielded a few green leaves scattered amongst their branches. For the first time she noticed that the dull houses had brightly painted window frames. This place, Ponyville, was not as dismal a place as she had thought. She began to see beauty where she never would have seen before.
As Fluttershy placed her hooves on the lever for the guillotine, Twilights heart grew suddenly warm. She closed her eyes and faint smile graced her lips. Gradually a faint light illuminated from Twilights horn. Growing brighter and brighter the warm light bathed the podium with a splash of magnificent colors. Fluttershy stood dumbstruck, staring at the light.
The crowd stepped back uncertainly as Rainbow Dash bellowed, “kill her now, she must be trying to escape!”
Everything seemed to happen at once. Rainbow Dash vaulted toward the podium, Rarity covered her eyes cowering behind her podium, Apple Jack bolted upright in her seat as she tried to scramble away, and Fluttershy pulled down hard on the lever dropping the heavy blade.
Time seemed to slow down. Twilight opened her eyes to survey the chaos. Everything seemed to be frozen in place except her. Twilight felt the razors presence above her neck by a few inches. She could have tried to escape but she instead embraced it. She accepted everything, her life, her misfortunes, and her pleasant memories. All that was her being, it wasn’t ready to be ended. She couldn’t expect happiness to seek her out all of the time; sometime she just had to create it herself.
The moment ended as quickly as it had come on. The blade fell, light flashed, and it was all over.

The dirt crumbled softly and the long grass bent as the wheels of the chariot passed over, and grinded to a halt. A bright purple pony and her small dragon companion stepped out of the gilded golden chariot and on to the bright and pleasant streets of Ponyville.“ Is this really the right place, Twilight?” Inquired the small dragon.
The purple pony gazed at her surroundings. The quaint white buildings with brightly painted window frames, the vibrant green trees, the vivid cheerful colors, and the brilliant sunlight bathing the town in its warm glow. Somewhere a pink pony placed the final tier on a sweet frosted cake. Elsewhere a tireless pony worked, collecting apples and wiping sweat from her brow. In the sky a blue pony lay napping in the fluffy warm embrace of a cloud, lazily awaiting her shift. On the outskirts of town a yellow pony sang softly to the animals, smiling brighter with every note. In colorful shop a white pony carefully measured out a length of fabric, humming contentedly to herself.

“Yes, spike this is definitely the right place.” Said the Purple pony, a smile spreading across her face.

-Dedicated to a friend, Davy Downpour. Without his encouragement i would have given up writing.