Twilight stood in the middle of the castle. Her mentor, teacher and role model stood before her with a somber face. Celestia had told her that they needed to talk immediately. Twilight felt uneasy as Celestia slowly examinated her. At last, Celestia sighed.
"I presume you wonder why i brought you here on such short notice, but I am afraid the answer is unpleasant."
"What is going on Princess? Is it about the strangely hot weather? And the mysterious noices?" Celestia nodded, and tilted her head in a gesture to follow her. They walked down the halls, and Celestia continued to talk.
"The strange noices and weather are actually connected. and during these circumstances, I wouldn't be surprised if one or another earthquake occurs soonly."
"But what makes it happen? Why should there be earthquakes? Princess, please tell me." The pleading voice Twilight had was almost tear jerking, and Celestia had to swallow before she could go on.
"I am afraid we have to deal with a meteor."
"A meteor? How large?"
"Very large. So large, that it could end the world." Twilight kept her mouth shut, processing what she had heard. Soon, tears started welling up in her eyes.
"S-so, you mean that we're all g-gonna die? Just like that?"
Twilight looked up on Celestia with sad and pleading eyes, praying that this would just be some cruel joke. Celestia remained silent, her lips trembling, like she was on the brinch of crying. Instead, she nodded. That simple nod changed everything. Twilight, sat down, her legs unable to bear her anymore. She started to sob, tears flowing freely out of her eyes. She felt tears dripping in her hair, and looked up to see Celestia sitting beside her, and with her wing pulling her faithful student closer. They sat like that for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Twilight was able to talk again. She whispered into her mentors chest, more to herself than anyone.
"I-Is it really nothing that... That we can d-do? At all?"
"I am afraid not, my dear. All we can do is wait. There's one thing that would work, maybe. If an object is plunged against the meteor in enough speed it might explode in the air. But you would have to fly in hypersonic speed. Not even all four of us alicorns magic combined would be enough. I'm sorry." Celestia hugged Twilight tighter as the young pony started crying again.
"It's just...if we would have gotten more time... I-I barely had a chance to live with her. R-rainbow... I, wanted to...to m-marry..."Twilight wasn't able to finish the sentence; the realization was too much.
"You wanted to marry Rainbow, right? You told me that a mere week before this bullshit." Twilight got a little caught off guard by Celestias choice of words, but nodded, since the statement was true. They sat quiet for a little while, until Celestia finally stood up.
"I am terribly sorry for this, my faithful student, but I must really go. I have promised my sister to spend the evening with her. I want to ask you of one single favor though. Tomorrow, I shall let the rest of my faithful subjects know about our fate. But I will thank you kindly if you could inform Ponyville. I'm not sure how many towns of devastated ponies I can take. I beg you, princess Twilight, please take Ponyville for me."
Twilight took a long look at Celestia, and realized how worn out she looked. Her glum and tired eyes had bags under them, and lost that spark that she always seemed to have. She was slouching and her head hung low. Her mane and tail seemed to have lost all magic, as it hung limp against her body. The color in her mane also seemed to have dampened. And if you looked carefully, you could see the ribs poking out. Seeing her teacher in this state made Twilight melt, she couldn't do anything else than say yes.
"I promise."
"Thank you." Celestia smile weakly and sat a hoof on Twilights shoulder."You should return to your loved ones,"she said, walking Twilight out of the castle.
While out of the castle, everything seemed to darken. An orb of fire occupied the sky and provided the only light as it grew larger. The meteor. It was gonna fall down. Nothing could stop it from impact.
Twilight awoke violently, throwing her hooves around and screaming on the top of her lungs, awakening the Pegasus beside her.
"Aah! Who's attacking!" Rainbow screamed, until she calmed down enough to check her surroundings. She saw Twilight curled up on the other side of the bed, crying heavily. She quickly crawled to Twilight, hugging her tightly.
"Shh...it's alright...it's okay now, I'm here, you're home. Nothing will hurt you." Rainbow carefully stroke her marefriends mane and whispered calmly. The heavy convulsions gradually stopped, until she was just sobbing into Rainbows chest. Twilight looked up on Rainbow Dash and started to apologize.
"Rainbow, I'm so so sorry. I-I was just having it again," she said, breaking out from the cyan pony's embrace.
"It was a nightmare again, huh? Mind telling me what?" Rainbow asked. Ever since Twilight got home from Canterlot she had been haunted by various nightmares, although when Rainbow had asked about it Twilight pretended she didn't hear or changed the subject. The first day she had been trying to find out, but eventually gave up. But they seemed to get worse, and Rainbow really wanted to help."You know, keeping it a secret won't help anypony. Ever since you confessed about that meteor you've been woken up screaming," Rainbow continued.
Twilight was drooping in sweat and tears, and looked generally beaten, but it was for her best. She gave a sad sigh and started talking.
"When princess Celestia called me to the castle, she told me about the meteor. How almost nothing could stop it. How I, we, are all doomed to end. It wasn't really formal. Trust me, she looks even worse than I do. But, ever since then, I can't stop thinking about how we took life for granted. And how everypony had their lives before them. How...how it all...is gonna e-end just like that. We was supposed to get married!" Twilight broke down once again, causing Rainbow to quickly embrace her marefriend again.
After a while, Rainbow couldn't hold it in anymore. For every tear Twilight shed, she wanted to cry three. Her tears slowly dripped into the alicorns purple mane, as quiet as possible. Rainbow wanted to remain strong, but the weight of truth was unbearable to hold with a brave face. Rainbows quiet suffering didn't go unnoticed, even though she tried. After Twilight had calmed down again, she could feel Rainbow shaking.
"Rainbow, are you okay?"she asked.
Rainbow sat silent for a while and allowed Twilight to hug her. She needed someone who made her feel safe. At last, she shook her head.
"No. I'm not fine. Not you either. Not anypony. We're all gonna die. Unless you're suicidal, you're feeling worse then if you had cancer."
Rainbows blunt yet honest answer surprised Twilight a bit. But she knew that it was correct. They didn't need to say anything else. After a long time of silence, Twilight stood up.
"I can't go to sleep now. It's almost morning, I'll make some breakfast."
Twilight and Rainbow sat at the breakfast table and talked a little.
"Rainbow, which date is it?"
"July 24th."
"Tomorrow is the calculated day of impact then."
"Mmhm."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. Usually Rainbow was quite engaged in their chats, after all, that was what brought them together. Today, she seemed unusually dull and replied vaguely. It worried her.
"Rainbow, you okay?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Could you please tell me what's in your mind?"
"Nothing important."
"Oh really? Seems important enough for you to forget that this may be the last time we can be together!?"she said harshly. Apparently, that was enough to make Rainbow look at her and look a little guilty.
"Sorry, Twi. I was just thinking about what you said earlier. You said that there was 'almost' nothing that could stop it."
"Why do you wanna know?" Twilight asked. She already suspected where Rainbow would go with this, and she didn't like it.
"Well, duh! If there's something I can do, I wanna do it!"
"But what if I tell you it's dangerous!"
"Then I'll still do it!"
"But I don't want you to!" Twilight screamed loud enough to startle Rainbow Dash, who jumped back in surprise and hit her head in a bookshelf. When Twilight saw what she did, she quickly sat down, a shameful look on her face."I'm sorry,"she said as Rainbow walked up to her.
"Don't be. But I should tell you why I want to. I don't wanna see your pain. I don't want to be reminded of our fate. I don't want to see you cry, hoping for another day. I would do anything to make you smile, to allow you to live. Anything." Rainbow stared into Twilights eyes, and knew that everything she said was true. This mare was her everything. Her smile, her tears, the friendly aura. Her bravery and kindness. She loved Twilight. More than anything. "I want to because I love you."
Twilight sat in deep though for a while, comparing the pros and cons of telling Rainbow the way to possibly destroy the meteor. All of her common sense told her not to, that Rainbow would try and die. But her heart told her otherwise. Rainbow had comforted her countless times these past days, telling her would only be the right thing to do. Sure, she might try, but still, all she wanted was to make Twilight smile.
"If there's someone or something travels with hypersonic speed against the meteor, it's likely it'll blow up. But so will the object or pony."
"But, why haven't you or Celestia or somepony else levitated like, a huge stone or something against it then?"
"Levitating a stone huge enough in that speed is nearly impossible, even if we would combine our powers."
Twilights voice gave no room for arguments, inplying that the conversation was over. After both ponies had eaten up, they walked outside. Because of the hot weather, not many ponies was outside. The few that was brave enough to face the heat ran around to finish their errands fast or sat and stared, deep in thought. Twilight and Rainbow on the other hoof walked peacefully, trying their best to ignore the huge black stone, slowly drifting closer. Although it seemed distant, both of them knew that it was on its way- fast. They went to the park and chose a nice tree to lay beneath, the shadow providing a little protection against the heat and preventing them to see the meteor. Rainbow decided that it would be now or never- she had to tell Twilight her plan now.
"Um, Twi?"
"Yes?"
"I've been thinking, and I have to ask you a question."
Twilight looked curiously at Rainbow, wondering where she would take this conversation. She nodded, allowing her to proceed.
"Well, what would you give to live on? If the meteor would be destroyed?"
Twilight froze. She knew exactly where this woul lead, and exactly what Raibow wanted. But she couldn't lie.
"I'd give almost anything. But I would only want to live with you."
"I know. But, I don't want you to be sad."
"I'm not sad. Even if I would be, I have you. I wouldn't be able to live on without you."
Rainbow got silent. She couldn't do this, it would be selfish. But she didn't want Twilight to die. Rainbow cared none about herself. She could take it. But every foal stallion and mare who didn't deserve this, it just wasn't fair. She had to destroy it. But not now.
It was nighttime again, but Rainbow didn't sleep. Instead, she watched her marefriend toss and turn in their bed. Emotions flowed trough her head, it ripped her apart. Love, anger, and fear gave her the urge to cry. She placed a hoof on Twilights mane, gently stroking it. It was soft and clean, and slightly messy from turning her head. Rainbow Dash knew that this was probably going to be the last time she would stroke that mane. For the first time, Rainbow started to feel melancholy. She didn't want to do this she wanted to lay here and hug Twilight forever. But she couldn't. She would never forgive herself. Even though Twilight denied it, Rainbow knew that she wanted to live on. And what kind of marefriend would she be if she denied her loves wish?
Rainbow let out a deep sigh. It was now or never. Tomorrow would be too late. She had to destroy the meteor, and die. But save everyone else. Save Twilight. Failure was not an option. Rainbow dash crawled out of the bed and walked over to the side that Twilight was facing at. Rainbows body shook uncontrollably. She leaned forward and kissed Twilight on the forehead. Warm tears soaked her skin, but she was making no effort to stop. No one saw her, or would ever see her again.
"I love you." Rainbow leaped out the window.
The air outside was a bit chillier than on the day, though nowhere near as cool as it would be normally. Rainbow had always loved flying at nighttime. The air was free and full of oxygen, and everything was beautiful. Small things that usually made her happy. Then, she felt free. Now, she felt numb. All these little things did not matter. She focused at her task, which seemed impossible. Rainbow had to fly at hypersonic speed to have a chance. She had only done one Rainboom before. Now, she had to do five. Rainbow Dash flew straight up for seemingly an eternity. When she stopped, she was sweating, both from effort and from the heat of the meteor. She was roughly ten thousand feet above the ground. The air was thin and hard to breathe, but Rainbow didn't make a big deal with it. She pulled her wings closer and started to dive. The air formed around her fairly quickly, and soon she had made one Rainboom. She wasn't bothered by the wind resistansce, it was familiar by now. Rainbow gasped as she saw another con pull closer to her.
Two Rainbooms.
Now she had to slightly squint her eyes. Her wings got a numb feeling.
Three Rainbooms.
The wind resistance was almost unbearable. It was like someone had grabbed her tail and pulled her back. She kept going.
Four Rainbooms.
Rainbow Dash wanted to scream, her whole body was hurting, and it felt like her wings was gonna pop off. She kept flapping, unable to stop.
Five Rainbooms.
Now she had reached her goal, and it felt as though her skin was gonna rip off her body. With all her might, Rainbow leans up, towards the meteor. She was approaching it incredibly fast. Rainbow was blinded by the flames. She shut her eyes tightly and thought,I love you, Twilight Sparkle!
Three seconds from impact.
Twilight awoke to a ear shattering sound. She stumbled towards the window and looked out, immediately wishing she hadn't.
Outside, a large rainbow in bright colors spread out against the sky. Twilight knew that rainbow all to well. It was Rainbow Dash. But it didn't stop there. She hopelessly watched as her love flew across the sky, making Rainboom after Rainboom. Twilight knew what was gonna happen. She effortlessly wiped away some of the tears that ran across her face. After Rainbow has broke the sound barrier five times, a rainbow streak pulled up, against the meteor. She screamed. She cried. Then everything went white.
Twilight slowly opened her eyes and coughed out some dust. She shakily got up on her hooves. At first, she didn't remember what happened, but soon the memories came back. Rainbow Dash. The meteor. The Rainbooms. The impact. Twilight looked out through her window, and saw a clear blu sky. But no Rainbow. A sob escaped her lips, and she felt tears forming.
"No." Twilight shook her head. This couldn't be happening. It was just a dream. Twilight hurried out.
Outside, there was a lot of ponies as confused. They were meaningless. Most of them was happy. Twilight felt a sting of betrayal. How could they be happy? She galloped down the streets of Ponyville, always looking up in the sky. She suddenly came to a stop, and squinted her eyes. A cyan colored object was twirling down in the air. Twilight saw a ray of hope, and leaped into the air. Although, she was mistaken. The object never grew. Instead, Twilight hovered, waiting for the object. Soon enough, a delicate feather landed in Twilights hoof. A feather representing her everything. An everything that was gone.
Ugh...
Rainbow Dash tried to open her eyes, but found it hard. Her eyelids were heavy and refused to open. In fact, her whole body was just a mess,
I'm Rainbow Dash, best flyer in Equestria and bearer of the element of Loyalty. I am one element out of six, the others is controlled by my friends. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Wait. That's not right. It's one more, yet I don't recall having any more friends...
Rainbows eyes shot open as she remembered what happened and most importantly, why she couldn't remember having more friends.
The meteor! Twilight! And, the hell is this place?!
Rainbow was now able to take in her surroundings, and was to say the least compeletly terrified. There was nothing to be seen. Rainbow was merely floating in a dull void. Eventually, Rainbow couldn't take the silence.
"Hello? Is anypony here?" she called out, but nopony answered. Rainbow was starting to get frustrated. If this is the afterlife, then I am dissapointed.
Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared in front of Rainbow, forming a big screen. The screen flickered, and showed a lavender colored alicorn alone in a bed. Crying.
Twilight?
Rainbow watched the screen with interest, staring at what she could only assume was the present.
This is hopeless, I'm a total wreck... I'll never be the same again! Twilight sighed. For the past days, she's been locked up in her room, crying her eyes out. The ever present feeling of agony was an emotion she had come to embrace. Twilight pulled herself up in sitting position, dried her eyes and stared at herself in the mirror. She hoped that something would happen, anything. Anything to show her this was just a bad dream. Nothing more than a nightmare.
Silence. The world remained still. Twilight screamed in frustration.
"I want you back! I can't do this anymore... not without you..." Twilight threw herself back on the bed and felt tears rolling down her cheeks. She turned around and closed her eyes, hoping to get pulled away from the misery in her dreams.
Where are you? You promised to always be here...
I'm closer than you think... Look around.
I can't see anything...
Not yet. Wait a second.
A loud explosion was heard, and a beautiful rainbow spread itself over the darkness.
It's... amazing. Just like you always were.
I never broke my promise, you know. I'll always be with you, in your heart. Just as you'll always have mine, even now beyond death. Every rainbow you see will be my apology.
I'd rather trade every rainbow in the world to have you back.
... I know. I'm sorry Twi, but no matter how much I'd love to, I can't come back. I was stupid and selfish, and now we both pay the prize.
You sacrificed yourself to save me... no matter how much I'd like to think so, it wasn't selfish. It was love. But you had so much left to live for!
I wouldn't have lived long enough to accomplish them anyways. Besides, I always had my dream right beside me. I also made her a promise. A promise to never leave her side, and protect her from anything. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I knew there was a chance to save you and I didn't take it.
I want you back. It sounds selfish and rude, but I can't go on.
Yes you do. You're Twilight Sparkle, the greatest alicorn to ever live, formerly engaged to the most awesome mare in Equestria! I trust in you, Twi.
But, I don't trust myself.
Well, it's up to you. Just remember to live, okay? Don't waste your life trying to get back what was taken away.
I'll try.
It's morning, time to wake up. Remember that I'll always be here. I love you.
I love you too. Just one more thing. Is this real? Or is it just a dream?
Well, obviously this is a dream. But what in the world says that it can't be real?
Twilight woke up to the sound of glass shattering on a wooden floor. Still not fully awake, she jumped out of the bed and walked downstairs to see what happened. To her surprise, a rainbow-maned pegasus stood in her kitchen, shaking the dust and glass shards off her coat. Twilight was chocked. She rubbed her eyes, and thought it was just a fragment of her imagination, but knew it wasn't. She had clearly heard the glass shattering, and the pony in front of her looked anything but dead. Twilight gave out a small shriek of joy and hugged the pegasus, then immediately gasped in horror.
She was cold. It was a kind of cold that made you shiver in fear. Twilight put a hoof on her chest. She couldn't feel a heartbeat. Terrified, Twilight looked into the dull magenta eyes.
"R-rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow smiled bitterly and sighed.
"No, I'm not as real as we both wish. This took most of my willpower too, but we're running out of time. I have to be honest with you. That meteor... it was just the beginning. Something is coming, soon. I don't know what it is, but my gut tells me it isn't good."
Twilight felt as if she was hit by a rock. Dazed and worried, she spread her wings. She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts, once again looking at Rainbows spirit. It was starting to fade. Saddened, she walked up to Rainbow once again.
"Will you stay?" she whispered. It was a childish question, yet it felt so right. Rainbow smiled and hugged Twilight.
"I can't stay in this form, but I am always in your heart. And if you want to, we can talk in your dreams."
"Every night?"
"Your wish is my command, princess."she teased. A dull light enveloped Rainbow. She sighed."It's time to go."
Princess Celestia sat quietly focused on her throne, a large pile of papers in a magical grasp. The sound of a quill frequently scratching on paper was the only sound that could be heard. That was, until an other alicorn came bursting through the double doors that led to the throne room. Celestia gave out a startled gasp and lost control of her magic, and the neatly organized papers dropped to the floor. Neither of the alicorns gave them a second glance. Celestia stared with a motherly worry at Twilight who seemed to have trouble forming proper sentences, what came out of her mouth was a fast paced mess of incoherent words. Celestia held a hoof up to silence Twilight, but to no avail. She shot a beam of light from her horn, that burst into a thousand smaill suns. The sight silenced Twilight, and when she seemed calm enough Celestia made the lights disappear.
"Please Twilight, I cannot make reasonable sentences if you speak that fast. Now, take a deep breath and please tell me whatever is so urgent that I need to hear it without a warning." Celestia said and motioned for Twilight to sit next to her."
"Rainbow Dash, well appeared in my house today. She looked normal, but she was...distant. She didn't breathe, and her body was cold. It seemed like some sort of spirit, and she told me... she told me something was attacking Equestria."
A deafening silence spread itself over the room. Celestia was silently processing what she just heard, and Twilight sat uneasily beside her and waited for a response. Suddenly, Celestia stood up and walked towards a covered window, Twilight quick to follow her.
"Did she give any specific details about this 'enemy'?"
"No, Rainbow just told me it gave her a bad feeling."
"I feared that." Celestia stopped in front of the window and pulled away the covers with her magic. Underneath was another window of stained glass. The background was fiery red, and everywhere was ponies in ripped clothes, rusty armor and tired faces. In the middle of the window was a big black circle, that was eerily similar to the meteor. Surrounding the circle was some sort of aura, that resembled the magic aura unicorns have."Do you see it?"
"See what?" Twilight looed up on Celestia with a feeling of dread. Whatever it was, she had a feeling it wasn't really something nice.
"Look closer.On their backs."
Twilight squinted her eyes and studied the glass closer. Then she saw it. Small black stubs was etched to the majority of the ponies backs. She swallowed hard. "What is that?" she asked, fearing the answer.
"That is the result of a curse cast by a powerful unicorn long ago. Those black stubs are what's left of the pegasi's wings. And I'm afraid the curse has been once again awoken. Let me tell you the story of Starswirls sister and his biggest mistake, Sunray the Divine..."
Once upon a time, when Equestria had just been discovered by the three rulers, Clover the Clever once again went to her mentor. For she felt that the love their hearts had been ignited with wouldn't last forever. Clover was afraid that the three pony tribes would once again drift apart by hatred and fear, and the land would be covered in ice as it was before. But Starswirl was naive and happy, and didn't acknowledge Clovers precautions with seriousness. That was one of his biggest mistakes. Because what Starswirl did not know was that the one pony to become his fall was the one closest to him. It was his sister Sunray, whom he loved dearly despite her being distant. In truth, the two did not spend many hours together, both occupied with their duties. Sunray spent most of her time out in the land, exploring and discovering new places almost every day. Starswirl kept mentoring Clover, and read up on spells and curses, most of them about time or fate. But Sunray was also a bearer of hatred. She was jealous of the pegasi for their ability to fly and manipulate clouds. She also felt superior to them, for she felt the magic she practiced as a unicorn was more powerful and greater. Therefore, she despised the pegasi. One fateful day, a dark corner of Sunrays mind took control over her body. That was the day she created the Sunfall Curse. On the night, she cast the curse, and the results were fatal. A meteor almost as large as the moon came crashing down on Equestria. But with combined strength, the pegasi were able to destroy the meteor. Enraged, Sunray made the other part of the curse. She created thousands of small fireponies, so called Flamanes, and made them obey her. She ordered the Flamanes to go inflict harm on every pegasi they saw. So the fires did. They burnt every pair or wings they sawand fed off the pain, growing stronger until they combined their bodies, turning into aone big Flamane. Luckily, Starswirl had seen it all and defeated the Flamane. He then turned to his siter. With a tear in his eye, he sealed his sisters horn and exiled her from Equestria, once again creating peace. But things were never the same between unicorns and pegasi again. And what starswirl did not know was that the Flamane, controlled with dark magic, created two ancestors...
"...And I'm afraid it was my sister and I. Starswirl taught us to live in peace and harmony, but our mere presence is cursed. As long as we live, the curse can set off if a rift of any kind has been created between a unicorn and a pegasus."
Author's Note
Because I am a bad person and want Twilight And Celestia to feel guilt. Please don't kill me...
And if you do want to kill something, kill some time and write a comment, it would make me happy!