Twilight walked along the dark hallway of the ruined crystal castle, her eyes having adjusted to the dimly lit area. Her soft steps were the only sound to be heard for miles around, going at a slow, calm pace due to her bandaged forehoof. Although she knew exactly where she was going, she felt lost. Not once in a long time had she thought about how alone she was, the pain in her head was much too unbearable for her to bother thinking about the events of many years ago.
Come on now, it's not too far away. Twilight thought to herself, barely opening up her wings and trying to glide along to pick up her pace before falling down onto the ground and continuing her slow trot. Twilight went this way every day, as it was the only area where she could be free from all the troubles that the ponies that remained went through. The room where her diary that she and her friends wrote in their lessons about friendship was laid on a small stand by Celestia before her passing.
As Twilight approached the broken door, a bubble appeared right in front of her face, at first being cloudy but quickly fixing itself to become readable.
Hey Twi, what's with the injuries?
"The hay is that?" Twilight tried to touch the bubble, her hoof going through it. "Well, if you must know, my injuries came from the time I tried to save Equestria by fighting the evil that was storming through Canterlot." She paused to hang her head. "I ran up to it and my magic caused an explosion, sending a few ponies and I all the way to the Crystal Empire. I haven't seen anypony who was anywhere else in Equestria since." Tears started to form in her eyes before she decided to sit down and think about the cause of the bubbles.
How long has it been since you've seen them?
Twilight looked up at the question before starting to cry, tears rolling down her cheeks. She always tried not to think about how long ago it was since she'd been with her friends. "I'm 293. Rarity was the last to pass, and I was 31 at the time." Twilight paused to begin the trot to her small, beat-up mattress in a small corner of the hallway. "I miss her so much, I miss them all so much."
I really hope those bubble things are just a fragment of my imagination. Twilight thought, laying her head against the mattress. Pillows were hard to come by, especially after the death of almost everypony. Oh well, it's better than nothing, and at least I have the bubbles to keep my company, right? Twilight closed her eyes and went to sleep, unfolding her wings to use them like a blanket.
Where are the other princesses?
"Can this day get any worse? First I lose my dear best friends in a big fight to save Equestria from a major source of evil which almost wiped out the entire pony race and now these random bubbles won't leave me alone until I tell the tale of it again!" Twilight yelled, being rudely woken up by another bubble. She gave a long sigh before she opened her heavy eyes, wishing she could return to her slumber which had been interrupted.
The annoyed alicorn got up from her mattress and begin the trot once more to her special little room with the diary, the only real room in the hallway. Her pace was much slower than before in an attempt to make the bubble get bored and go away. "The other princesses left the world as true heroes, better than anything I could ever be." Or hope of being. Twilight thought grimly. "During the battle against what they believed was the ultimate evil, they never backed down. They never stopped fighting... not even when they almost ran out of magic.. not even when Cadence fainted and never came to..." Twilight said, her eyes shining with tears. "I was the only one left after Luna and Tia tried to wield the powers of the sun and moon to fight and they died from magical overload." Twilight finished her sentence and stopped trotting.
I just want them back. I want them all back. Tia and Lulu and Cadence. And my friends. Pinkie and Fluttershy and Rainbow and Applejack and Rarity. And mom and dad and Shiny. And all my friends from Ponyville. Lyra and Bon-Bon and Nurse Redheart and Cheerilee and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and.. Twilight opened her eyes to see her body shaking. Okay Twi, compose yourself here. You don't want to make a fool of yourself like this. You don't want any more ponies hiding from you.
Ponies hiding from you?
"Oh for buck's sake! You can read my thoughts too!?" Twilight deadpanned, growling at how stupidly annoying the bubbles were and how stupid she was for even bothering to answer their questions that kept making her sadder and sadder. Letting out a grunt and quickly covering it up with an awfully fake-sounding cough, she decided to answer the question. "There's less than a hundred ponies still remaining in Equestria after the incident more than two centuries ago, and all of them are located here under the Crystal Empire. I'm the only one who stays in the ruins of the crystal castle which was pushed underground with the explosion. Everypony else makes sure that they're miles away from it, staying in other houses that were pushed down below the ground. They don't like the fact that I'm an alicorn and I'm now powerless." Twilight said, too tired to bother pausing her sentence. The bubble faded away and gave such a flash when it disappeared that the distressed alicorn knew no more would be coming.
Having finally finished wasting her time answering the questions from the bubbles, Twilight eagerly finished her walk to the little room where the diary of her and her friends' lessons about friendship sat. She sat down in front of it and flipped to a random page using her hoof and began reading. 'Dear diary...'
Twilight looked up to find her head to the ceiling, a magically painted illustration of the two royal sisters together in a sunset. It was that picture alone that made Tia decide to place her beloved friends' diary in that little room, away from any damage that could be caused. She blinked a few times before the realization of where she was hit her.
"Oh come on, I didn't fall asleep in here again, did I?"
Whatever. Twilight thought to herself, dragging her hooves off the ground and standing upright. As soon as she did, she found herself face to face with yet another text bubble. Guess these things like me. She snickered to herself.
Sorry to interrupt your solitude, your highness. These bubbles are coming from an alternate universe that is full of ponies and other beings that want to help you. We can see what is happening to you, and yes, we can read your thoughts.
There are also some beings, no doubt, who will enjoy your torment. Please try to ignore them.
Is there anything we can do to help? Perhaps your time travel spell could be used to forestall the attack before it happens? I know there is little magic left in your universe... Perhaps...
*1 spell point*
Twilight sighed. "Well, thanks for the explanation. I guess that helps me understand. The least you can do to help is keep me company, but I don't think you can do much else. As for the time travel spell, even with that added boost of magic it'd only help me out for a few seconds which won't change anything." She replied quite boldly. She couldn't be bothered doing anything other than answering the questions of the bubbles that appeared, so she trotted out of the room and flopped down onto her mattress.
Do you ever wish you weren't an alicorn? So that you don't have to endure this pain?
"Maybe. Just maybe. If I wasn't an alicorn the other ponies would have nobody who actually has the power to help, but if I wasn't, I could be with my friends... I miss them... I miss them alot..." Twilight mumbled, tears forming in her eyes before she brushed them away with her hoof.
If you're powerless, how are you managing the Sun and Moon?
Twilight looked up at the ceiling before closing her wet eyes. "I don't. When Celestia and Luna died, the sun and moon just.. vanished. The sky is only black now. And I'm not powerless, I'm just incredibly weak. My alicorn status is the only reason I have any power at all, though."
So when shall you confess to the murders of all of your friends? Do it now and we shall go easy on you >:/
Twilight looked at the bubble above her head. She didn't expect to receive such a question. She looked at the bubble which it was written in and gave a sad smile at the memory of her friends which quickly faded to a depressed frown. I need to be left alone by these things. Twilight thought as she began sobbing and used the little boost of magic she had received from the first bubble earlier that day to cause a minor magical explosion, destroying all the bubbles. A few moments later, she felt herself becoming weaker before passing out on the stone floor.
