The Equestria Healing Process

Chapter 3

             “Twilight Strong, Part 1”

As Discord went on his mission to bring back to Tartarus, Twilight and her friends sifted through the wreckage of what was left of Ponyville's Golden Oak Library.  Her home since moving to Ponyville was all but gone, only the library portion of it remained as well as the basement, but her bedroom with all the books that she had owned, all the memories that she had made were gone with the library when Tirek fired a blast of fire at Twilight in an effort to gain the alicorn magic that was inside her.

It seemed like at that moment, her life was frozen in time and as much as Twilight wanted to turn back time and save her library, it would do no good because she would just see it get destroyed all over again.

“I can’t believe it is gone,” Twilight thought to herself as she observed the carnage caused by the blast.  “All the memories and books that I have ever had, gone forever.”

Twilight then looked down and picked up a book that had been blasted outside, only to have it disintegrate into dust.  Her eyes began welling up with tears upon seeing this happen as it was one of the books that she mentioned to Pinkie Pie back at Rainbow Falls that had held great sentimental value to her.  In a sense, Twilight had to realize that this was a turning point in her life.  She had a castle now and a kingdom to call her own, but letting her old life go was not going to be easy.  Nevertheless, her friends were sympathetic to her cause and perhaps nopony felt more sympathy for Twilight than Applejack, who had her barn on Sweet Apple Acres knocked down several times only to have it brought back good as new.

But, this was different.  Golden Oak Library was a tree and repairing it would not be easy and both Applejack and Twilight knew it.

“I know how it feels right now, sugarcube,” consoled Applejack, placing a hoof around Twilight’s neck.  “But, you are going to see that things will get better.  We will find a way to replace all the books and other items that you lost.”

But Twilight stayed silent as she began to cry silently, despite all the words of encouragement.  In fact, all of the main six were worried about their friend’s plight, even Pinkie Pie's mane and tail had nearly deflated all the way because she was so sad for Twilight.  All of them realized that Twilight had always been there for them and now they needed to be there for her.

In fact, although the library was Twilight’s home, in a sense it was all their home as well.  All the memories that they had together were inside the library, from Twilight's first party in Ponyvile to her mental breakdown over an overdue friendship letter to Celestia and all the way up to her transformation into an alicorn princess.

“I have to agree with Applejack, darling,” added Rarity, shaking off the dirt and ash off of her hooves.  “Things will get better and after all, Fluttershy and I can always recreate all of your dresses and outfits that you lost in the explosion.   In fact, now that you have a castle, you are going to need a whole new wardrobe in addition to the dresses I'm going to recreate for you.”

But much like her books, Twilight's dresses and outfits had held great sentimental value to her.  Her gala dress reminded her of the lesson that she learned about not being critical about something that was generous given to you; her best mare dress reminded her of her brother's wedding and how she was honored to be his best mare; her birthday dress from Rarity reminded her of when she and her friends celebrated her birthday in Canterlot while Rarity was trying to impress the Canterlot Elite; her Starswirl the Bearded costume reminded her of Nightmare Night, when she helped Princess Luna regain the respect of Ponyville; her winter wrap up vest reminded her of how she was able to rally Ponyville together and help them wrap up winter on time.

But, Twilight did not lose everything in the explosion as her Smarty Pants doll was still with Big MacIntosh and the rest of the Apple Family back at Sweet Apple Acres.  Spike was not so fortunate, either.  He had lost his bed, blanket and all the pictures he had of Pee Wee, the baby phoenix that he had saved and briefly took care of before returning him to his parents.  But, that didn't matter to him as his main concern was Twilight and her situation.

“Of course,” added Applejack.  “Instead of thinking about this moment in your life, think of the good memories that were in this library.  Why, Rarity and I had our sleepover here remember?”

“Indeed,” said Rarity, also trying to stay upbeat.  “I still and will always remember that night for as long as I am alive.”

Although Twilight was happy to hear that at least a portion of her old life survived, she still stayed silent with her head still down pointed at the floor. True, her physical memories were gone, the internal memories would still remain with her, although she didn't want to think of it at that moment. It wasn’t until a loud gasp was heard and Twilight snapped out of her trance and ran over to the doorway to find out what was happening.

“He wouldn’t dare,” cried Rainbow Dash, who picked up the remains of another book from the charred floor.  “He absolutely wouldn’t dare!”

Her friends looked closely at what Rainbow Dash had found and it became clear to them that what they saw a charred copy of one of the Daring Do books.  It was actually the same book that Twilight gave Rainbow Dash when she was laid up in the hospital.  Because of this book, Rainbow Dash became a Daring Do fan for life.  Although she had all the other Daring Do books in Cloudsdale, this one in particular was Twilight's and reminded her of that day she had first became a fan.

“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash,” cried Fluttershy, flying over to join her friends at Dash’s side.  “I know these kind of books meant a lot to you.”

“Of course they did, Fluttershy,” snapped Rainbow Dash, spiking the charred book down onto the floor with tears welling up in her eyes.  “I wouldn’t be who I am without these books.  Hay, I love Daring Do just as much as I love the Wonderbolts.”

Fluttershy backed away slightly from Rainbow Dash after hearing her snap like that and the pain began to get to Twilight who then looked down at another book that was at her feet. However, Rainbow Dash knew that the true victim of this tragedy was indeed Twilight and felt like wanting to give her entire collection of Daring Do books to her.  Seeing her stand in the doorway, Rainbow Dash calmed down and trotted over to her.

"Actually, Twilight," she said, calming down and placing a hoof on her shoulder.  "If you want to have all my books, I'd be more than happy to give them to you.  You'll need them more than I do."

Twilight smiled weakly at this sentence of encouragement, but knew that Rainbow Dash's daring do books belonged to her and her alone.

"No, Rainbow Dash," cried Twilight, wiping away a tear from her eyes with her hoof.  "They're your own books who make you who you are, so you should enjoy them."

"Aw, Twilight," remarked Rainbow Dash, touched by this.  "I just feel so bad for you with all the books and pictures you lost.  I'd just wish we could help you recover from this."

But, Twilight didn't respond and merely walked past Rainbow Dash and into the library's remnants looking up at all of the books that had been destroyed.  Although some books remained in their spots, they were most likely damaged beyond repair and Twilight knew it.  Just then, she saw a book that had seemed to have survive the blast. Picking it up with her magic, she saw that the well preserved book looked familiar to her and looking at it more closely, she let out a loud ragged voice gasp.

“How could this one survive?” Twilight cried upon seeing what she saw.  “This is the book that was about Nightmare Moon.”

Twilight and her friends were lucky that at least one book survived the blast and brought it outside and onto a small pile of salvaged items that Twilight would bring to her new castle.

“There must be more that had survived,” said Twilight to her friends, now feeling slightly optimistic.  “Keep looking harder.”

So they did look harder for anything that had survived, although it was beginning to seem hopeless to rescue anything more that had survived.

Just then, Twilight looked up and saw her fellow princesses fly down and land right next to her.  Twilight ran over and gave them all a hug upon seeing their arrival, while once again crying softly.  Much like what they had said to Discord, the princesses were all going to be there for Twilight during her moment of crisis.

“We're really sorry about the library, Twilight,” sympathized Cadence, knowing the pain her sister-in-law had at that moment.  “If there is anything Shining Armor and I can do back in the Crystal Empire to help you replace anything important that you lost…”

But, Twilight nodded her head sideways as a tear trickled down her face.  Celestia and Luna also could see the pain that was in Twilight’s eyes and felt like they should do something to help her.

“No, Cadence, the library and everything I ever had is gone,” Twilight sighed sadly as she looked up at her fellow princesses with tear filled eyes.  “I accept it, I have a castle now.  It's time for me to move on.  Besides, nopony was inside the library when it exploded."

“That is true, Princess Twilight,” said Celestia, placing a wing over Twilight.  “But, we understand just how hard it is to lose a home of so many years.  Especially if that home was something that was very important to you and your friends.  Just know, even though your home is gone, you have a castle to call your own and we will be happy to help you replace everything that you have lost.  Remember, you may not be my student anymore, but we will be here for you just as you will be here for us."

Twilight was happy to hear this as she and the other princesses once again looked out over the destruction of Golden Oak Library.  At that moment, several other residents of Ponyville came forward to view the destruction, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  Not too long ago, they had started becoming students of Twilight in a period of time that Twilight had referred to as "Twilight Time."  At that point, Twilight began to feel that she and her friends were not the only ones who were struck by this loss.

“But, I cannot help but wonder,” said Twilight sadly, as she stared at the Cutie Mark Crusaders admiring the loss of Golden.  “How is all of Ponyville going to react to the loss?”

“I’m sure they will be sad, Twilight,” replied Cadence, standing next to her sister-in-law.  “But, this is why you are here.  You now have the purpose to spread friendship throughout Equestria and there is no better time to start than now.  Everypony needs a little friendship especially after something like this."

Twilight then realized at that moment that Ponyville needed friendship to get through this dark period in their history.  However, she could not be feeling cheated because Tirek was still in Tartarus, unpunished for his crimes. She had lost everything in the library all because he wanted her own Alicorn Magic as well as those of the other princesses.  Almost immediately, the other princesses quickly picked up on Twilight’s feelings of anger and resentment.

“Twilight, is everything all right?” asked Cadence, seeing Twilight go from sad to angry.  "Was it something we said?

“No, I’m fine, Cadence,” replied Twilight, now trying to hold back tears of anger.  “It’s just that I am more angry and sad because Tirek did all of this to us.  There must be a way for him to pay for what he did.”

“There is going to be a way for you to make Tirek pay for what he did,” said Celestia, trying to comfort and reassure her youngest equal.  “We’ve sent Discord to bring him here for punishment.  You can have your chance along with the rest of us to say what you want to say to him.”

"However, I think your students may need your support," advised Luna and motioned Twilight to go over to them.  Seeing their friend and mentor walking towards them, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle each ran over to Twilight and hugged her tightly.  They were still young fillies and still didn't understand the severity of the situation that Twilight was in.

"Oh, Twilight, we're so sorry for you," said Sweetie Belle, as she and the other crusaders broke away from their grip on Twilight.  "If there is anything we can do..."

"Thanks girls," said Twilight smiling.  "But, all that matters is that you and all of Ponyville are all safe after what has happened.  It's just a library, I can always create a new one in my new castle."

"But, this was much more than a library," cried Scootaloo, spreading her small wings out slightly.  "This was the place where we could go and visit you whenever we felt like it.  With the library gone, are we still going to have Twilight Time?"

"Of course, we will still have Twilight Time girls," said Twilight softly, rubbing her hoof on Scootaloo's head.  "I think maybe, over time, that this will be even better than the library.  But, my castle will never replace my library."

"I agree," sighed Sweetie Belle, lowering her head down.  "We started Twilight Time here and discovered our abilities here under your guidance."

Apple Bloom then realized that there was something that she needed to do for Twilight.  Reaching into her saddle bag, Apple Bloom pulled out Twilight's Smarty Pants doll that Big MacIntosh had been keeping for some time.   The Apple family decided that upon hearing the news about the library's destruction, that Twilight's doll would be returned to her.

"Actually, Twilight," she said, handing her Smarty Pants.  "We've decided to give this back to you as a way of helping you cope with the loss of the library.  It;s a way of us saying thanks for all you have done for us since we became your students."

This made Twilight's eyes well up with tears once again as she accepted her doll back in her possession.  She then grabbed Apple Bloom and the youngest member of the Apple Family hugged her mentor as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked on.

"Aw, Apple Bloom," cried Twilight as she and Apple Bloom broke apart.  "You don't have to do this.  This is Big MacIntosh's."

"No, Twilight," replied Apple Bloom.  "It's yours, Big Mac just grabbed it when he had the chance.  He was going to return it to you eventually.  In fact, when we were in the apple cellar, we were concerned for Applejack and all those we cared about, including you.  You're like a mother to us and we could never live with ourselves if anything were to happen to you."

But, Twilight didn't respond as she stared at her doll while hearing this and the crusaders once again got into a group hug with their mentor as the princesses looked on from a short distance away.  As far as they were concerned, they were seeing Twilight with students of her own.

"It seems Twilight Sparkle has really grown up from your being your student, sister," remarked Luna.  "She has students of her own to teach now."

"Indeed," replied Celestia, as she watched her youngest equal with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  "I'm very proud of her taking on this role.  Tirek tried to take all of this way from us and he didn't succeed.  We will soon let him know about this.  He may have drained magic and destroyed monuments and structures, but he didn't succeed in taking the magic of friendship.

But deep down, despite everything that Twilight had experienced, Celestia knew in her mind that Twilight did not know that they were imprisoned in Tartarus and soon she would  know the whole truth about what had happened to them when Tirek was in Canterlot.  But for right now, they needed to support Twilight and the town of Ponyville with every chance that they got.

Meanwhile, as the mourning continued in Ponyville, Discord and the Canterlot royal guard were nearing the gates of Tartarus with the intent of bringing Tirek back to Equestria...