A True, True Ex-Friend

Chapters

The End of Friendship
How Much I Love Them
A New Dawn
Together

The End of Friendship

Dawn had swept over all of Equestria, the morning sun sat high up in the sky, and Princess Celestia was pacing in her throne room as she commonly did whenever faced with a crisis not easily solved. She had screwed up. Big time. And now her dearest former student was going to suffer heavily for it.

Her head turned towards the great hall's massive doors, palpably awaiting Twilight's arrival. Less than fifteen minutes ago, she had sent her a letter through Spike's specialized delivery channel that read:

Twilight,

You must come to Canterlot at once, and you must come alone. There is an urgent matter we need to discuss.

Princess Celestia

It had been scrawled quickly, and lacked any of the elegance that Celestia's letters normally contained. But now was not the time for elegance. She was still struggling to decide how she was going to deliver the dreadful news. To be vague and reveal only a little, allowing Twilight to figure out the rest for herself, or to just come right out and explain it with the painfully vivid detail that it deserved? And if she chose the latter, would she look Twilight directly in the eye and see her gut-wrenching facial reaction, or look away, awaiting her reaction to come in the form of a shout, yell, or cry?

A dark blue flash of light accompanied with a bursting sound signaled Princess Luna teleporting into the room beside her.

"I trust you would like me to stand by your side, sister?" she asked.

"Thank you," Celestia replied, feeling only slightly better.

"Do you really think she'll be able to do this?" asked Luna.

Celestia stopped in her tracks and stared her younger sister directly in the eye.

"She has to. It's not a choice. There is no other way."

Luna shook her head. "You do realize that she's going to hate you for this, right? You put that journal in her hooves. You encouraged her to finish his spell."

Celestia closed her eyes, knowing that Luna's words were true.

"I know it is my fault. I'm not ignorant to that, nor will I deny it."

"Do you expect her to forgive you?" asked Luna.

Celestia shook her head, feeling her heart sink deep within her.

"No, I do not. And I wouldn't blame her for it either, especially since—"

Celestia stopped suddenly at the sight of an increasingly nervous Twilight stepping inside the throne room. Given the unkempt nature of Celestia's hastily-scrawled letter, she knew that she had not summoned to receive any positive news. She trembled as she approached the two sisters, staring warily into their grim expressions.

"You wanted to see me, Princess Celestia?" Twilight said as she stopped just before the steps up to the throne.

Celestia fidgeted with discomfort . "I...do not even know how to say this."

An icy shiver traveled through Twilight's body, and she felt as though she were a leaf being carried by a winter wind until it eventually landed in a heap of snow. This had to be something incredibly serious, perhaps even a matter of life and death...

"S-say what?" she questioned in a shaky voice.

Celestia closed her eyes, realizing that this could not be avoided.

"I recently found something out about Starswirl the Bearded's formerly unfinished spell—something quite unpleasant."

"Which is...?" Twilight asked, wishing that Celestia would stop being vague and just come right out and say it.

"When I told you that he abandoned the spell, it was not because he gave up on it. It was because he died before he found the solution to complete it. Starswirl was...a very proud pony. He took a lot of pride in his accomplishments. That very spell was intended to be his greatest work, or at least that was what he had hoped. Being unable to find the solution drove him to madness. He likely knew that other unicorns would attempt to finish his masterpiece, and he detested that notion. I never knew until now just how deeply his madness ran. I never knew that he...cursed the spell."

Twilight's eyes widened. "What...?"

Luna took a step forward as though suddenly on cue to speak.

"'By wrath of all Tartarus, by rain of blazing fire, may whomever succeed where I failed be subject to the loss of his dearest companions at the eve of the tenth moon since completion.' That's the curse."

"What does that mean...?" Twilight asked fearfully.

Luna looked towards her sister, urging her to explain, and Twilight did the same. Celestia lowered her head so as not to see Twilight's reaction to her next words.

"As of right now, your closest friends are going die on the evening of the tenth moon since you completed the spell. That would be this evening, when the clock strikes six."

Twilight stood utterly motionless for several seconds; the icy shiver that traveled through her body before now seemed to entirely freeze over her blood, bones, and organs. She felt as though her insides would shatter to pieces if she moved even an inch.

"How can we save them?!" she cried frantically.

"There is only one way..." Celestia said, raising her head again.

"Tell me!" Twilight shouted. "I'll do anything!"

Celestia inhaled deeply, expecting an even worse reaction from her next words.

"You must break your relationships with your friends. So long as you have no 'dearest companions', the curse will not take effect upon them and they will remain safe. I'm afraid that is the only way you can save their lives until I manage to write a spell that can circumvent the curse."

Twilight's frozen insides shattered at once, falling into millions of sharp, icy pieces. She nearly collapsed to the floor.

"Break...my relationships...?"

"I'm afraid it's the only way," said Celestia. "It should only take me a few days to write the spell. Once it is finished and they are out of harm's way, you may go to your friends, explain the situation, and rekindle your relationships with them. But whatever you do, you absolutely cannot tell them before I'm finished. They will only be saved if they truly believe that they are not your friends anymore."

Twilight went silent for several seconds, attempting to process all of this information.

"How long have you known about this?!" she cried, now angry.

"Since earlier this morning," Celestia answered. "I received a tremor in my sleep, the same as I did when Tirek began gaining power. I was unsure what it meant, but I received images of Starswirl and I knew that it had something to do with his spell. I searched for an answer all throughout the night, and I finally learned about the curse by reading through Clover the Clever's notes. It appears that she was the only one who knew that Starswirl had cursed the spell."

She paused and humbly dropped her head in sorrow.

"I realize that the blame falls solely on me. It is my fault that you are in this mess, and it is my fault you must do this now. But there is simply no other choice. Even working at my hardest, even if you stood by my side assisting me, I do not believe I would be able to complete a counterspell before six o'clock this evening. A curse that may potentially cause the death of several ponies is exceptionally powerful, and to even begin, I would need to have a grasp on the nature of the dark magic used to create it, and that alone takes a great deal of time."

Twilight shook her head, unable to accept what Princess Celestia was telling her. All of this would have been enough to make for a considerably terrifying nightmare for her, let alone a reality.

"This isn't happening. This cannot possibly be happening," she said in a frantic voice. "There is no way I can believe that Starswirl the Bearded, the wise pony whose knowledge and magic kept Equestria safe for many years, would ever do something like this."

"It is difficult for me to believe as well, but at the same time, it does not particularly shock me," said Celestia. "Starswirl had believed that he was going to ascend to an alicorn someday, and thought that his spell would be the key. He'd be turning over in his grave if he knew that the pony who did finally complete the spell became an alicorn herself."

Twilight shook her head again.

"You actually expect me, the Princess of Friendship, to just go up to my closest friends of the last few years who now mean more to me than anything, and who just received their own thrones in my new castle, and tell them that we can't be friends anymore without telling them why?"

Celestia bit her lip uncomfortably, unable to think up a response.

"You can give a reason, it just cannot be the reason," said Luna, answering for her. "No matter what, Twilight, you cannot tell your friends about the curse under any circumstances. As my sister said, the only way they shall remain unharmed is if they truly believe that they are no longer friends with you. If you tell them, you will most certainly doom them to death."

"No!" Twilight cried. "I can't do this! Even if it's temporary, I just can't bear the thought of doing that to them."

"I understand that," Celestia replied with a nod. "But you will have to do it, because they will die if you do not. You must not let that happen."

"There must be something else we can do!" Twilight said desperately, on the brink of tears. "Isn't there a memory spell or something that you could use to erase their memories of ever becoming friends with me?"

"I've considered that, but it would simply be erasing far too much—so much that I would not be able to guarantee that all of it could be restored. And before you ask, using Discord to erase their memories again would only present the same problem," said Celestia.

"How are they going to die, anyway? In 'a rain of blazing fire?' Isn't there something we could do to prevent that? Maybe we could put a magical barrier around all of Ponyville?" Twilight suggested with even more desperation in her voice.

"I'm afraid that won't help," said Luna, shaking her head. "A curse has the potential to cancel out any magic. That is why we must gain a deeper understand of the nature of its dark magic before we can even begin to start writing a counterspell. We must develop a spell that it cannot cancel out."

"I assure you, we have thought of everything possible to prevent you from having to do what you have to do now," said Celestia. "There is no other way. But just keep in mind that it will not be forever. As soon as the counterspell is finished, you may tell them about the curse and they will understand that your only intention was to save their lives. But until then, they must believe that they are not your friends."

Twilight was overcome with an inescapable sense of helplessness such as she had felt when Tirek had sucked every last drop of magic from her body. Her legs felt weakened and she dropped to the floor, wishing in her mind that this was simply some horrific nightmare that she could just wake up from, but there was no indication that she was sleeping, no indication that this was anything but a reality from which there was no escape.

"How could you do this to me...?" she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Celestia walked forward until she was standing above her former student. She affectionately touched the top of her head.

"I am so sorry," she said with sincerity. "Believe me when I say that I did not intend this. But what's done is done. This is a problem, and it needs to be dealt with. If you cannot save them, their blood is on my hooves. I do not expect you to forgive me, but I give you my word that I will make this right. I shall work night and day on this counterspell until it's finished."

Twilight slowly picked herself back up onto her hooves and wiped her eyes, finally coming to grips with what she needed to do.

"What about Cadence?" she asked, looking fiercely into Celestia's eyes.

"I believe Cadence will be fine," she said. "Fortunately, there is no indication that the curse applies to actual family, and she is now under that protection."

"What about Spike?"

Celestia paused briefly, knowing that Twilight's reaction to her next words would be worse than it had been for anything else she had told her. This was the moment Celestia had feared since the very minute she learned about the curse...

"I'm afraid...Spike is included."

"No!" Twilight cried, shaking her head and taking a few steps back. "No, no, no, no, no, no! There is absolutely no way I can do that to him!"

"You will find a way," Celestia said, nodding sorrowfully. "You'll have to..."

Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it almost instantly. She turned around as though to leave, took a few steps towards the doors, and then stopped.

"Maybe I could have gotten past it if it were just my pony friends. After some time, maybe. But when I'm staring Spike in the face and telling him whatever I'm going to have to tell him to convince him that we're not friends anymore, and when he's crying his heart out and begging for me not to send him away—something that I once promised him that I would never do—I believe that will be the moment when I'll know that I will never be able to forgive you for this."

Celestia froze in place, and a tear fell from a sullen eye. Without another look at her former mentor, and without another word spoken from any of them, Twilight walked out of the throne room doors.

****

Clad in his apron and chef's hat, Spike meticulously flipped over eggs from his frying pan to a plate, being especially careful not to break the yolk. Cooking in the castle's massive kitchen was still an unfamiliar experience, but at least he would no longer have to worry about burning the place down, as the marble walls and floors of the castle were not quite as flammable as the dry wood of a hollowed-out tree. He was in the middle of buttering toast when Twilight came walking into the kitchen, looking more nervous than she had when she walked into Celestia's throne room.

"Hey, Twilight!" Spike greeted, quickly placing the toast on the plate and hurrying over to set it down on the kitchen table. "I made you breakfast. I figured you would need a pick-me-up after you got back. I left the yolk whole, just how you like it."

"Thanks...," Twilight said as she looked down at the plate, wishing that she had any semblance of an appetite.

"What's wrong?" asked Spike, noticing how concerned she appeared to be. "What did Princess Celestia say? It's not another Tartarus escapee or anything like that, is it?"

"No," Twilight answered, shaking her head.

"Well, what is it, then?"

She shook her head again. "I....I can't say."

"Oh. I take it you're not going to eat, then?" Spike asked, disappointed.

Twilight turned her head away from him, saying nothing.

"Twilight?"

"I have to tell you something...." she said in a nervous voice.

"Yes?" Spike said, trembling with sudden worry.

Twilight inhaled deeply, and her eyes moistened with tears. The atmosphere between them grew silent and unspeakably chilling as a sharp fear swept over her entire body. In that moment, the reality of her task suddenly presented itself with horrifying vividness. She had to do this, and if she failed, he would die...

Twilight finally opened her mouth to speak. "We can't..."

She slipped into a long pause, struggling to find adequate words for what she needed to tell him. She heard nothing but the sound of her own breathing, and if it were any more silent, she may have been able to hear her own heartbeat.

"What? Can't what?" Spike asked after several seconds had gone by. His words traveled to Twilight's ears in a distorted slow motion.

She quickly turned back around to face him, instantly breaking away from the silent and chilling atmosphere.

"Nevermind, it's nothing," she said with a vague sense of relief. "I just need to be alone right now."

Twilight hurried out of Spike's sight before he had the chance to see any tears. She climbed several stairs up to her new bedroom and closed the massive double doors behind her. She threw herself facefirst onto the bed as the tears progressed from her eyes and off of her face. Her pillow soaked them up as they fell.

I can't do this! I can't do this! I can't do this! I can't do this!

It only took two words for her to realize the sheer impossibility of her task. She had spent the entire flight back home thinking about what she would say to Spike, yet she could not even begin come up with anything sufficient enough to explain why she would be breaking away from him, especially since she had hatched him and he was family to her in all but blood.

Of course, it was not as though thinking of a way to end her relationships with her pony friends would be any easier. At this point, they were just as much family, and seeing them hurt and upset would be just as painful to her.

Realizing that lying there was not going to solve anything, Twilight suddenly threw herself off her bed and began to pace frantically all about her room.

Okay, okay, okay, okay. Gotta think of something. How can I get them to stop liking me?

She began to think up methods based on her experiences in Ponyville:

She thought back to the day she first arrived in Ponyville—a day that now seemed like a lifetime ago. She hated the way she had treated her future friends. They had been nothing to her but a waste of her time—an obstacle keeping her away from her objective. Yet they had remained largely oblivious to her feelings and still attended a welcome party in her honor, under the belief that they were now her friends. If acting standoffish did not help her lose friends then, it certainly would not work now...

She thought back to the day Trixie showed up in Ponyville—how much her friends hated her boasting and how much she had feared that they would see her as a show-off if she faced off against her. Unlike Trixie, Twilight had more than enough magical skill to back up a fair amount of boasting. However, her friends had long since come to rely on her magical prowess, and suddenly boasting about it would simply come off as unusual to them, rather than annoy them enough to want to end their relationship with her. And besides, Rainbow Dash had been struck with a boastful ego on several occasions, yet they had never once even considered dropping her as a friend. Unfortunately, this was not a viable option...

She thought back to Trixie's return to Ponyville—how she had magically manipulated her friends to do her bidding under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet. Twilight knew that if she ever tried anything similar, her friends would certainly think that she was also possessed or influenced by something or someone. Moreover, she did not think that she could bring herself to use her magic to actually do them harm, and so she quickly discarded the idea.

She thought back to the day she had encountered Discord for the first time—how he had twisted her friend's personalities to the opposite of who they truly were. Twilight had known that something was off about their condescending behavior, though nevertheless, they angered her enough to the point that she wanted to leave Ponyville and never speak to them again. Acting like an incorrigible jerk seemed like most ideal way of losing her friends, but she was not sure if she had it in her to do so towards them. And even if she did, they would likely be able to tell that she was only forcing it and not being sincere, particularly since there would be no apparent catalyst behind it...

"Ohh, this is impossible!" Twilight yelled frantically, dropping to the floor. No matter what method she came up with, the thought of ending her friendships with the ponies she loved so much remained utterly inconceivable. She still wished that this entire thing was a dream that had continued to go on far past the point where it became a nightmare, or perhaps even an elaborate prank...

Her thoughts were instantly broken by a sudden knock on her bedroom door.

"Twilight?" Spike called from outside.

She sighed. "Come in..."

The left door opened and the young dragon entered the room. A perplexed expression spread across his face at the sight of Twilight lying on the floor.

"Umm, are you okay?"

She wordlessly picked herself back up.

"Could I ask you something?"

"Uhhh...sure," said Spike, looking a bit more perplexed.

Twilight paused a moment, gathering her thoughts.

"What are your plans for the future? What do you want to do with your life?" she asked him.

Spike blinked. "Huh?"

"You're really good at baking," said Twilight. "In fact, you're really good at a lot of things. I'm sure you wouldn't have any problem getting a job elsewhere if you wanted to. You don't need to live your life tied to me. In fact...I'd rather you didn't."

Spike's perplexed expression instantly shifted to one of worry. "What...what are you saying?"

Twilight bit her lip and stared down at the floor.

"Uhhh....maybe you could...leave for a while, find a job somewhere else and start living on your own?"

Spike's eyes filled with tears at once.

"Are you...sending me away?"

Twilight took a few heavy breaths. "I....I think..."

Before she said any more, Spike immediately fell to his knees and began to weep.

"You said you would never send me away! You said—"

"I'm not! I'm not!" Twilight said instantly, wrapping him in a hug. "I'm sorry, Spike. I was just—"

"I don't want to leave," Spike interrupted, his voice broken by sobs. "I don't ever want to leave you."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Twilight said with a sigh. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"What did Princess Celestia tell you?" Spike asked, wiping his eyes. "Does she want you to send me away?"

"No, it's nothing like that," said Twilight, shaking her head. "I just can't tell you right now. Not because I don't want to, but because it's for your own good."

Spike went silent for a while as the notion that his worst fear was coming true gradually died down. He wiped away his remaining tears.

"I just really need to figure things out on my own right now," said Twilight, releasing him from her embrace. "I need you to not worry about me."

"Okay...," said Spike, looking disappointed. "But you're not sending me away, right? You promise?"

"I promise," Twilight answered with a warm, yet somewhat insincere smile.

Spike smiled back and left the room, closing the door behind him. Twilight hung her head.

No question about it, this was indeed going to be impossible...

How Much I Love Them

"We can't be friends anymore. I'm sorry, but this is how it ends. It's okay to me mad, it's okay to hate me, but that's just how it has to be. Understand?"

The mirror did not respond.

"Well?!" Twilight demanded, looking fiercely at her reflection.

Several seconds passed, and it soon became clear that it was not going to answer her. She sighed.

The hours had passed by slow enough that they may as well have been days. The morning gradually turned to late afternoon, and with every minute that passed, Twilight grew more and more nervous. It was now two minutes past four, but the clock upon the wall was not telling time—it was only counting down to her friends' imminent deaths. And there was only an hour and fifty-eight minutes to go...

"Twilight?" Spike called with a simultaneous knock on her door.

"Uhhh...come in," Twilight called, quickly levitating the mirror back to its place in a corner of the room.

The young dragon stepped inside.

"Princess Celestia just sent this...," he said, giving her a scroll with a tiny note clipped to it that read: FOR TWILIGHT'S EYES ONLY. Do not read this, Spike.

"Oh. Thanks," she said.

"Sure thing," Spike sighed, clearly disappointed at being left out of the loop. He exited the room with his head hung dejectedly.

Twilight quickly opened the scroll, hoping that this would be news that Celestia had already finished the counterspell and she was now off the hook...

Time is running out. In two short hours, the curse will take effect. You must hurry.

Twilight angrily crumpled up the paper and tossed it away. As if she really needed to be reminded that she was running out of time—as if it was going to make the task any easier or the solution come any quicker...

After endlessly thinking it through over and over for hours, it now felt as though the best solution was to simply wing it: to come out and tell her friends that they could not be friends anymore and be cruel and nasty enough that would never want to see her face again.

Okay, so how would I go about doing it...?

Twilight could think of only one reason as to why she would feasibly end her relationships with them—something that she had feared ever since becoming an alicorn: the question of whether or not she would obtain immortality. She feared the notion that she would live on agelessly, forced to watch her friends grow old and ultimately die. If it ever did happen, it would somehow seem like a better choice to end her friendships and grow apart than to grow even closer and have their eventual deaths be that much more painful. Indeed, this felt like the ideal platform to use as to why she would suddenly sever ties with them out of the blue.

Okay, now how am I going to tell them...?

Gathering her friends up and telling them all at once would certainly be the best option, as it would save her the awkwardness of saying the same words over and over again for each of them. However, she knew that she would need to use an entirely different set of words for Spike, as his incredibly long dragon lifespan would easily cancel out the "immortality" excuse. But even as she tried to think up some other excuse to use for him, she felt a lingering fear that getting him to actually hate her would be impossible, and that intense sadness and grief would be the only emotions he would feel.

I'll just have to be firm, really firm, and tell him that I was lying when I said I would never send him away. And ff that's not enough...I'll just tell him that he's not a good enough assistant for me. Yeah, that'll work. I can do this....

Twilight hurried over to the mirror.

"I can do this, right...?" she asked her reflection.

This time her reflection appeared to respond. It shook its head solemnly.

"No, you can't."

"Sure, I can!" Twilight replied, laughing nervously. "You'll see! It'll all be fine. They're going to hate me, but they won't hate me forever."

"You can't do this," her reflection said sternly.

"Yes, I can!" Twilight yelled at the mirror. "I can, and I really don't need you telling me that I can't! I'd rather have them hate me for little while than have them be dead, so I'm going to do this!"

"You'll never get Spike to hate you," her reflection said. "And you won't be able to stand hurting him like that. Just face it. He's doomed and you know it."

"Ugh, shut up! SHUT UP!" Twilight screamed. Without thinking, she aimed her horn directly at the mirror and shot a swift laser blast. It instantly shattered to pieces, with tiny shards flying all over the room.

Breathing heavily with frustration, Twilight looked down at one of the mirror shards and bitterly shook her head.

"Who asked for your opinion anyway...?"

****

As the clock neared twenty minutes past five, Twilight found herself standing just outside of her castle, where she had asked her soon-to-be ex-friends to meet her. She stiffened up as she saw them approaching. This was it—the moment that was going to decide their fate. If she was not convincing enough, if she failed to make them hate her guts, they were most certainly doomed...

"Thanks for coming, guys," Twilight said when they were all present.

"What's up, Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"There's something...we need to talk about."

They each stared at her, optimistic expressions adorned upon their faces, clearly not expecting anything remotely on the level of what she was about to tell them.

"Things....things have to change sometimes," Twilight said, looking away from their positive faces. "All good things come to an end eventually. That's just a fact of life."

A brief silence fell over them, during which time her friends exchanged confused glances with each other.

"Uhhh...what?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"We have a nice thing going on here, but it was going to have to end sooner or later," said Twilight. "And, unfortunately, that time is now."

"Whatever do you mean, Twilight?" asked Rarity.

Twilight looked them back in the eye, trying her hardest not to let any grief show in her face.

"I'm sorry to say, but....this is where our friendship ends."

"What?!" the five cried in unison.

"Yes," Twilight nodded. I'm afraid so."

"Uhhh, is this some kind of a joke?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"It's not a very funny joke...," added Pinkie.

Twilight shook her head slowly. "It's not a joke. I'm serious."

"I don't understand," said Applejack. "Yer really sayin' that we aren't friends anymore?"

Twilight felt her eyes glaze over with tears, and she closed them to keep them from noticing.

"Yes. I am..."

The wind blew, carrying an icy chill with it that instantly fell over all of them. Tears filled the eyes of Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash cut her eyes into a glare and Applejack shook her head.

"W-Why not?!" Applejack demanded.

"Because...we're just on entirely different levels now," Twilight said, opening her eyes again after she had successfully suppressed the tears. "I'm an alicorn, and if I end up living as long as Celestia and Luna, it would just be better if I don't have any personal connections to beings that are not immortal. I'm sorry, but this is just how it has to be."

"You cannot possibly be serious...," Rarity said incredulously.

"What about defending Equestria? You need all of us for that, don't you? Or did you just suddenly forget about that?" snapped Rainbow Dash.

Twilight shook her head. "I almost defeated Tirek by myself, without your assistance. I'm sure that Celestia, Luna, Cadence and I will be able to handle anything that comes our way. We don't need you."

Twilight instinctively stepped back as Rainbow fiercely lurched forward, glaring her dead in the eye. She felt as though she were a single snide remark away from getting a swift hoof to the face.

"Oh, I get it!" Rainbow said contemptuously. "Now that you're a princess, we're not good enough to be your friends anymore, right? I guess it doesn't matter that we were the ones who helped you become a princess in the first place, does it? No, it's just all about you now. Well, I hope you have a nice, long life. And while you're at it, go die in a fire."

With that, Rainbow flew off in a bright flash of color. Twilight closed her eyes again to suppress more oncoming tears. As painful as Rainbow's words were, at least they served as a strong indication that she was now safe...

"That's not really true, is it?" asked Fluttershy, her cheeks moist with tears. "You don't really think we're not good enough to be your friends anymore, do you?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, I do. This just isn't working anymore. We're not on the same level, and it's time to stop pretending that we are. Ever since the day I became a princess, our friendship was doomed to die."

A fresh stream of tears poured from Fluttershy's eyes.

"After all we've been through, yer just gonna end it right here? Just like that?" said Applejack, stamping her hoof in fury.

"This is just how it has to be..."

"But...you're the Princess of Friendship...," said a solemn Pinkie. "How can you be the Princess of Friendship without any friends?"

"I guess I'll just need a new title, then," Twilight replied.

"The 'Princess of Betrayal' seems quite fitting to me," Rarity said bitterly.

"Did we do something?" Fluttershy asked, sobbing loudly. "Is this about something we did?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, it's nothing you did. This just couldn't last forever, and now is that time that it has to end."

Fluttershy turned and flew away in a fit of sobs. Rarity took a menacing step forward.

"You think you can just come into our lives, make us love and care about you, and then just choose to walk away?!" she said angrily. "It does not work that way, Twilight!"

"I'm afraid it does," replied Twilight. "You can hate me for it if you want, but this is how it ends. We just can't be friends anymore."

"Please, Twilight," begged Pinkie Pie. "I don't want to not be your friend anymore!"

"Sorry, Pinkie, but I don't want to be your friend anymore."

Pinkie fell into a hysterical fit of wails and scurried off as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had done before her. Rarity watched as she disappeared from sight, then turned back to Twilight, shaking her head in disgust.

"You're unbelievable...."

With a loud and agitated "hmph", Rarity also exited the scene, following after Pinkie. Twilight looked at Applejack, who now curiously appeared to be much less indignant than she was a moment ago.

"I don't truly believe yer sincere about this," she said.

"I am," Twilight replied instantly.

"I don't think so," Applejack said, narrowing her eyes. "I think yer only doin' this 'cause yer tryin' to protect us from somethin'."

"You're wrong," Twilight replied even quicker. "Please, Applejack, just go."

Applejack took a step forward, looking deep into Twilight's eyes as if they would offer some subtle hint that her words were untrue.

"Are we in danger?"

"No."

"Are you in danger?"

"No!" Twilight shouted, backed away as though repulsed. "Just go, okay?!"

"Whatever happened to 'our friendships will never, ever be broken?' Remember that? That was what you said right before we gave up the Elements."

Twilight shook her head. "I shouldn't have said that..."

"Did you mean it?"

Twilight sighed. "I did. But now I don't."

Applejack shook her head in disbelief. "You were my family, ya know? I considered you family."

"I know. But it's not like I wanted to be a part of your family anyway," Twilight said condescendingly.

Applejack glared fiercer than Rainbow Dash had.

"I wish I could take back all the years we've spent with you. They don't mean anythin' now."

"Good," Twilight said as a tear suddenly fell from her eye. She turned her head away to keep Applejack from seeing it. "So can you go now?"

Applejack shook her head again and turned to leave. When she was finally out of sight, Twilight retreated back into the confines of her castle. The moment she stepped hoof inside, she collapsed to the floor and wept, finally allowing the pain and grief tearing her up inside to wholly consume her.

****

They're safe now, and that's all that matters. They won't hate me forever.

Even as she attempted to reassure herself, Twilight feared that she would never be able to rid her thoughts of the faces of extreme sadness and anger that her friends had expressed towards her, nor the words they had spoken. They were permanently ingrained into her mind. The task had indeed been the hardest thing she had even done in her life, and it would only become harder still, as Spike's life was still at risk. If what happened that morning was any indication, he would be utterly inconsolable. Twilight now began to wonder if her reflection in the mirror had been right—if she truly did not have it in her to do this after all. This was the same dragon whom she had hatched and loved from the moment he was born. This was the same dragon who had dedicated his entire existence to serving her, simply out of his own love and attachment towards her.

But it had to be done...

Somehow, it had to be done...

5:38 PM. Only twenty-two short minutes before certain death would be coming for him.

Curse you forever, Starswirl the Bearded...

She never would have completed his spell, never would have even touched it had she known she would have to do this...

How loudly would he cry? How persistently would he beg?

How would she be able to live with herself for it...?

She may as well have been tasked with ripping his heart from his chest and stomping on it...

Twilight picked herself back up and attempted to hide that she had just spent several minutes crying. When finally composed again—or at least as composed as she could possibly make herself in that moment—she searched the castle for Spike. When she entered the kitchen, she found him preparing their dinner: succulent haysteaks with a side of corn and mashed potatoes that Twilight was going to have absolutely no desire to eat after doing what she was about to do....

Now was the time...

"Spike, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," the young dragon said, hoping that he was finally going to be told what had been going on with her all day. He set their dinner to the side, and approached her with curiosity.

"Things...have to change...," Twilight said, stopping herself.

"What has to change?"

"No, I mean....all good things eventually come—." She stopped herself again, shaking her head rapidly.

Spike looked confused. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Twilight took a deep breath, attempting to focus her thoughts, which were scrambling every which way. All she could think about was her poor dragon dropping to his knees, overwhelmed with sadness—a sadness that she was going to have to act utterly numb to in order to convince him that they were no longer friends. And she simply did not think she could do that....

"Look, you've been a great assistant, but we....it's just not—"

A look of worry spread across Spike's face again as it had that morning. At that moment, Twilight shook her head, tears stinging her eyes.

"I....I just can't do it! I can't...."

"What?!" Spike cried, concerned. "You can't do what?!"

"We have to get out of here. Right now," she whispered, wiping her tears away.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you're in danger, and I won't lose you," Twilight said as she levitated her confused dragon onto her back.

Before Spike had a chance to respond, Twilight made a charge towards the front balcony of the castle and flew out into the evening, Spike hanging onto her neck for dear life.

"What's—whoa! What's going on?!" he cried as she gained altitude.

"Princess Celestia informed me that Starswirl cursed his spell," explained Twilight. "He made it so that I would lose my closest friends to a fiery death tonight. The only way I could save them was to end my relationships with them, and that included you, too. But...I just couldn't do that to you."

Spike's stomach turned over. "I'm going to die...?"

"Not if I can help it," Twilight said reassuringly.

After several minutes of flying, Twilight had left the borders of Ponyville and found herself above the Everfree Forest. She flew directionless, her only concern being to find somewhere, anywhere, Spike would be safe. She felt her young dragon shiver intensely, clearly afraid as to what was going to be happening within the next ten minutes. Twilight herself also shivered with fear, wondering if she had truly made the right choice—wondering if her inability to see Spike hurt would cost him his very life.

As she crossed into Ghastly Gorge, Twilight eventually came across an enormous rock that slanted upward so that there was an opening underneath which was large enough to provide shade and refuge to a traveler who had been walking through the gorge for hours.

"Get under there," she ordered as she landed near the rock. Spike hopped from Twilight's back and did as he was instructed.

But Twilight knew that the rock would not protect him. Only she alone stood any chance of saving him now...

Within moments, the time carried over to six o'clock, and an enormous bang suddenly erupted from the sky. Twilight looked up...and there it was. A massive fireball was hurling towards them at an incredible speed. Starswirl's Wrath had finally come, and she knew exactly what she had to do...

After taking a quick and possibly last look at Spike, Twilight shielded herself in a protective forcefield and took off to the air. The fireball drew closer and closer as she climbed higher and higher into the sky. This was the only possible way that Spike's life could be saved now. She would protect him as she always had, even if it came at the cost of her own life. There was no time to even stop and admire the irony of the famous bearded pony whom Twilight spent innumerable hours reading and studying about was now the pony who would be the death of her.

It was getting closer. Even several yards away, Twilight felt scorching heat emanating from the massive ball of fire. Her horn began to illuminate, charging up a blast as powerful as she could possibly make it. Although without the magic of Celestia, Luna, and Cadence coursing through her blood as it had when she faced off against Tirek, she knew that no matter how potent her blast was, it would not be quite enough to counter the fireball's raw fury and power.

Yet she still had to try...

Starswirl's Wrath drew even closer...

Closer...

Finally....

BOOM!!!!!

When only a few short yards away, with sweat pouring from her entire body, Twilight blasted Starswirl's Wrath with all the power she could muster from within. The blast did little to slow its descent, and it soon came into contact with her forcefield, pushing her back towards the ground with it. The forcefield provided Twilight with only minimal protection, and it failed to suppress the intense heat that she felt ripping into her skin.

Screaming with pain, Twilight gathered up another great wave of power and blasted the fireball again in the hopes that she would be more successful in stopping it. The blast struck Starswirl's Wrath directly in its core, and it now seemed to fall with much less speed. The heat was unbearable, and the pain was even worse, yet she refused to relent, even if it meant draining every last drop of magic from her body. But Starswirl's Wrath would not be stopped so easily, and its tremendous power gradually began to crack her forcefield. Twilight was powerless to repair it, as every bit of magic in her body was being channeled into her blast.

The cracks quickly began spreading to every inch of the forcefield, until finally...

SMASH!!!!

The forcefield shattered, and Starswirl's wrath finally made contact with Twilight's body. She was struck with an indescribable pain worse than she had ever felt in her life. Her screaming intensified as she felt her mane and tail burn away. But in spite of the pain, she pressed on, and continued blasting at the fireball with everything she still had.

After a while, she struggled to remain conscious, and feared that Starswirl's Wrath would likely incinerate her to a crisp before Spike was out of harm's way. But there was no longer anything she could do to protect herself, so she just kept on blasting....

...and blasting....

...and blasting...

...until...

BOOM!!!!!

Starswirl's Wrath suddenly dissipated, exploding with such force that Twilight instantly fell back down to the earth, permanently drained of all magic. Her entire body was singed and blackened, and her mane and tail were almost completely gone—only a few isolated clumps of hair remained on each. What feathers still remained on her wings were blackened like the rest of her body. She crashed hard, landing near the rock where she had left her baby dragon.

"Twilight!!!" Spike screamed, rushing towards her as tears filled his eyes.

Twilight opened her eyes, and a smile appeared on her face when she saw that Spike remained unharmed.

"Thank goodness you're okay...," she said, her voice weak and dry as though she was in desperate need of a glass of water.

"But you're not," Spike said, wiping his tears. "We have to get you help."

Twilight shook her head in slow motion.

"No, Spike. I...I won't make it."

"Yes, you will," Spike said instantly.

"No...this...is it for me."

Tears returned to Spike's eyes at once. "No, Twilight! We have to—"

"Listen to me, Spike," Twilight interrupted. "I need...I need you to tell my friends how much I love them. Tell them how sorry I am...for all those things I said. That I only did what I did....to save them. And tell Applejack...she was right."

Tears fell rapidly from Spike's eyes, and they dripped upon Twilight's burned body.

"No, Twilight, no! Don't leave me!" he cried with immense grief. "You can't leave me!"

Twilight raised a hoof to his chin, and a single tear managed to loose itself from her eye.

"Oh, Spike. I'm so sorry. I just...couldn't do it. I couldn't hurt you like that..."

Spike grasped Twilight's hoof and kissed it, his face soaking wet with tears falling every second.

"I....I don't want to go on without you, Twilight..."

Twilight frowned. "Then this was all for nothing. Please, Spike, I need you to p...promise me that you'll find....a way to keep living without me."

Spike lowered his head. "I...."

"You'll be fine," Twilight said with a smile. "You're going to live a very, very long life. A very happy life. You will find your place. You will find love, and you will be...very happy. You'll never forget me...but you will move on. Please, promise me."

Spike nodded solemnly. "I promise."

"Oh, my little dragon," Twilight said, as another tear fell from her eye. "Hatching you was the best thing I ever did in my life. I'm so sorry that I won't be around....to see you grow up. But just know that....I'll always love you."

"I'll always love you, too," said Spike, wrapping his arms around as much of her body as he could.

After a few moments, he no longer felt her heartbeat. With a faint and hopeful smile across her face, Twilight closed her eyes as life slipped from her body.

"Come back...," Spike whispered, his entire body trembling.

The moon rose up over the gorge, the evening air grew cold, and Spike felt a sense of loneliness such as he had never felt before in his life. Twilight was gone. Gone forever...

"Please come back..."

A New Dawn

Spike clambered out of his tiny bed in the dead of night, unable to sleep. He crawled into the living room where he found his favorite purple unicorn filly deeply engaged in a book by the light of the fireplace. He silently crept up from behind her and climbed onto her back.

"Oh hi, Spike," Twilight said, turning her head to smile at him.

The dragon hatchling pointed inquisitively at the book.

"I'm reading about Starswirl the Bearded," Twilight said as she turned back a few pages. "Look. It says here that there was once a massive cloud shortage that prevented pegasus ponies from making rain, which made it almost impossible for earth ponies to grow crops. Then Starswirl came in and enchanted the earth ponies' crop seeds, making it so they would only need minimal water to grow. It says that he ended a potential famine that could have lasted for years. Isn't that amazing?"

Spike gurgled in agreement, despite not understanding anything she just said.

Twilight closed the book. "I hope I become a great unicorn like Starswirl someday..."

Spike wrapped his arms tightly around Twilight's neck, snuggling onto her coat as though he intended to make her his bed for the night. She giggled.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed. You may sleep with me if you need to."

Twilight took only a few steps, and did not move again. The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed, and a chill fell over the young dragon. He opened his eyes to find that he was now laying on the floor. Twilight was gone without a trace, and the fire that had been burning brightly in the fireplace was suddenly extinguished, leaving the room cold and dark.

Spike shivered, filled with fear. There was no purpose in even crying out for Twilight, because she wasn't there, and he knew it. She was gone—long gone. Gone to a place where he somehow knew he would not be able to follow her. As his fear increased, the room appeared to grow darker and darker until he could see nothing, not even his own claws in front of his face. Feeling overwhelmed and immensely frightened, he curled up into a tiny ball and began to weep...

****

Spike awoke instantly, briefly forgetting where he was and everything that had happened. It was just after dawn, and he quickly realized that he had not woken up in his own bed back at the castle, which was certainly where he would have preferred to wake up. Instead, he was back beneath the rock in the middle of Ghastly Gorge. To his horror, the nearly-charred body of Twilight Sparkle lay beside him, now cold and utterly lifeless.

Upon seeing it, he suddenly remembered everything. He remembered Twilight facing off against the massive fireball that had been hurling down to destroy him, he remembered sharing a few final words with her just before she died, he remembered dragging her body back beneath the rock, unwilling to walk back to Ponyville and leave her in the middle of the gorge, and he remembered crying his eyes out until he finally fell asleep.

Tears filled his eyes again. It was almost impossible to accept that she was gone, and in such a horrific way. The charred and burnt blackness of her body was unnervingly difficult and painful to look at.

Spike climbed out from under the rock and looked up into the early morning sky, wondering how he was going to get himself and Twilight back to Ponyville. There was not a single soul around, and it appeared to be that way for miles in either direction of the gorge. With that thought in mind, Spike suddenly realized that he did not know exactly which direction Ponyville was; he could not remember from which way they had flown to get there.

He sighed, kicking at the dirt. I wouldn't mind if I just stayed right here. Maybe I could find something to use so I can dig a hole and bury her, and then I could just stay here until I figure out what I'm going to do...

Just minutes later, he suddenly saw somepony flying above the gorge. At first glance, he thought it was a pegasus, but he soon noticed that its body type instead matched that of an alicorn. The pony descended down towards his location, and Spike was able to see that it was Princess Luna.

"How did you know—?" Spike asked once she landed.

"Where is she?" Luna interrupted, looking more grim and serious than usual.

Spike pointed towards the rock. Luna looked at Twilight's body and dropped her head mournfully.

"What happened?" she asked.

Spike shook his head, unwilling to even begin recounting the events that led to Twilight ending up a charred corpse.

"She sacrificed herself so that you would live, didn't she?" asked Luna.

Spike nodded slowly. The thought that Twilight chose to die for him only pierced his body with an intense guilt for remaining alive. He began to think that he might have preferred it if she had just stayed beneath the rock with him, bracing each other as they awaited an inevitable death.

Luna shook her head. "I'm so sorry."

"Can't you bring her back? Please? Isn't there something you can do...?" Spike asked, looking deeply and desperately into her eyes.

"There is no cure for death, nor is there any spell capable of reversing it," said Luna. "I am sorry, Spike."

Spike dropped to his knees in helplessness, his guilt growing even more intense.

"Come now. We need to go," said Luna as she magically conjured a tarp from thin air and tightly wrapped Twilight's body inside it.

"Go where?" asked Spike.

Luna lowered her knees for Spike to climb onto her back.

"I will take you back to Ponyville so that you may inform your friends about her death. I will take her body back to Canterlot with me to inform her family."

Spike warily climbed onto Luna's back, and she lifted off the ground, carrying Twilight's covered body in her magic. She set off in a westward direction, and from up high, Spike was able to see that they had been deep within the gorge. It would have at least been a day's walk back to Ponyville on foot.

"You come into ponies' dreams, right?" Spike asked as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "So I'm probably just dreaming, right? I must be dreaming—how else would you have known where I was?"

Luna shook her head solemnly. "You're not dreaming."

"Then how did you know?"

"The dream you had earlier," answered Luna. "When I look into a dream, I am able to obtain information about the dreamer, including the dreamer's location. That is how I was able to find you."

Spike did not speak again. As impossible as it was to believe, it was painfully clear now that nothing was going to change the fact that Twilight was gone. It was around this time yesterday that he was forcefully awakened by Celestia sending her hastily-scrawled letter which threw Twilight into a sudden panic. Had he known that would be her last day alive, he certainly would not have left her alone as she wanted. He sadly looked over at Twilight's body floating beside them in Luna's dark blue magical aura.

After a relatively short flight, Luna landed in Ponyville nearby the castle.

"Break the news to your friends, and when you're all ready, meet us in Canterlot," she said as Spike hopped off her back. "Then we will discuss our next course of action."

"Fine...," Spike said, hanging his head.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Luna.

Spike shook his head; the question may as well have been a joke. "No."

Luna frowned. "Rely on your friends for comfort. You are not alone in this. It will be a sad day for all of Equestria."

With that, Luna flew off, still carrying Twilight's body. A cold sensation ran across Spike's scales as he feared that he had just seen it for the last time.

He lay curled up on the ground for several minutes, unsure of what to do. He remembered Twilight's dying wish, but he did not feel like informing her friends of her death, particularly since he was having so much trouble accepting it himself. Spike felt as though his entire life had come to a screeching halt. After dedicating so much of his existence to Twilight, what would he do with his life now? How would he find the strength to go on living without her? Did he even have a place in pony society anymore? Without Twilight, he was simply lost in the dark, just as he had been in his dream...

"Spike?" said a voice that he instantly recognized as Applejack's.

She was standing just above him, a single saddlebag hanging from one side of her back. Spike looked up at her, but could not bring himself to say anything.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He shook his head, and after a few seconds, Applejack glared fiercely.

"I don't believe it! She ended her friendship with you, too, didn't she?! Why, of all the cold-hearted things I've ever heard a pony do in all my life! And ta think I came all this way just to give this back to her...." She reached inside her bag and removed Smarty Pants. "I shoulda just thrown it in a fire!"

"No, Applejack." Spike said, picking himself up off the ground. "Twilight....is dead."

A flood of new tears unleashed from his eyes and he quickly descended into a weep. Applejack stared at him in bewilderment.

"What? That can't be..."

"She...she wanted me to tell you that you were right," said the inconsolable baby dragon. "You were in danger and she was....trying to save you."

Applejack shook her head. "I knew it..."

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Applejack...," Spike said, his voice broken by intense sobs.

Applejack affectionately wrapped her hooves around him as tears began to fall from her own eyes.

"There, there sugarcube..."

"I...I don't know if I c-can live without her."

Applejack held the young dragon tightly for several minutes as he continued to weep, feeling more sorrow for him than she did for Twilight's death. She had always felt something of a loving bond towards him, which intensified after he briefly dedicated his services to her and subsequently saved her life.

"Could you tell me what happened?" Applejack asked as his weeping died down.

Spike wiped his eyes. "She was...there was this huge fireball that was coming down to kill me and she....she stopped it."

"A huge fireball?" questioned Applejack.

Spike nodded. "I guess there would have been one coming for you, too, if she hadn't..."

"But why?" asked Applejack. "And where'd this fireball come from, anyway?"

"Twilight said it was....Starswirl's spell—the one that she finished. He cursed it to make it so that her friends would die. I guess the only way she could save you was to let you think that she wasn't friends with you anymore."

Applejack went silent, thinking all of this through.

"We need to tell the others," she said. "We were gonna meet at Sugarcube Corner for breakfast this mornin'. Do you feel like comin'?"

"I'm not hungry," replied Spike, shaking his head.

"Nor am I. What I meant was, do you feel like tellin' them right now?"

Spike sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I have to tell them."

"Well, let's go..."

****

Luna suddenly burst through the throne room doors, interrupting another one of Celestia's nervous paces. She had been waiting all night to hear from Twilight, unsure whether or not her task had been successful. The conceptual portions of the counterspell were scribbled onto a sheet of parchment in the study, untouched ever since the clock struck six PM. Celestia could not shake the feeling that there was no longer any need to complete it anymore...

"Did you find her?" she asked at once.

Luna nodded solemnly. "I did."

She carefully placed Twilight's body at Celestia's hooves, closing her eyes so as not to see her reaction.

"NO!!!" Celestia cried instantly, levitating the tarp off of Twilight's body to stare into her burned and near-unrecognizable face.

She burst into tears at once, kneeling down beside her former student. "NO NO NO NO NO!!!"

Luna opened her eyes again and watched as her sister gently stroked Twilight's face while she wept. She had not seen her sister cry in this manner since they were both fillies—millenniums ago. Only now was she truly made aware of just how much Twilight meant to her.

"How did this happen...?" Celestia whispered after a few minutes.

"Must you ask?" replied Luna. "She could not bring herself to end her friendship with Spike. She sacrificed herself so that he would live."

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Celestia whispered.

"Well, it did happen," Luna snapped. "And exactly what else were you expecting? You may as well have tasked a mother with abandoning her child."

Celestia shook her head in numb disbelief. "She...she was supposed to do it..."

"Well, what happens now?" asked Luna. "Spike is telling her friends. We're going to have the be the ones to tell her family, and how do you think they'll react when they learn that this only happened because of a curse in a spell that you tasked her with completing? I can only defend you so much."

Celestia did not respond, her somber eyes remaining glued to Twilight's corpse. Luna soon left the room, shaking her head.

"If only you'd left well enough alone..."

****

"...and she wanted me to tell you how much she loves all of you, and how sorry she is for everything she said," Spike finished, staring into the tearful faces of Twilight's former friends.

As expected, no pony had any will or desire to eat at the moment. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie began to wail almost uncontrollably. Rainbow Dash bit her lip, wrenched with unmistakable guilt.

"I told her...to go die in a fire. That was the last thing I ever said to her..."

"How could I have been so foolish?" Rarity said to herself as tears welled up in her eyes. "I should have known she would never..."

"We had to believe that she was bein' honest," said Applejack. "We wouldn't be here now if we didn't. She saved all of us."

"She saved us....and now we've lost her forever...," said Rarity, unleashing her tears.

Applejack looked up suddenly to see that Mrs. Cake had approached them.

"Did...did I hear you correctly? Did you say that Twilight is dead?" she asked in disbelief.

Applejack nodded somberly.

"Oh my!" she cried, putting a hoof to her mouth. "I'm so sorry!"

"Buck this!" Rainbow Dash shouted angrily over all the wailing, causing every head to turn towards her. "First that stupid spell switches up our cutie marks, and now it kills our friend?! Somepony's going to pay for this!"

"She's right," said Rarity, wiping her tears. "We simply cannot let this slide."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" asked Applejack. "Starswirl is long gone."

"Starswirl wasn't the one who gave Twilight the spell to complete, was he?" Rainbow said, a surprisingly sharp bitterness in her voice.

They each fell into a deep and cold silence as they realized with whom the guilt lay. Without a word, Mrs. Cake uncomfortably retreated back into the kitchen, no longer wanting to be involved in their conversation.

"I...I don't like where this is going..." Fluttershy said nervously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Fluttershy," snapped Rainbow. "Are we just supposed to ignore the fact that Celestia is the reason why our friend is now dead, and why we were almost killed, too?"

Fluttershy closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly, as she often did whenever Rainbow expressed frustration towards her.

"Well, it ain't like she knew about the curse," said Applejack.

"What difference does that make?!" retorted Rainbow. "She's been in possession of his journal for how many centuries now? She's had plenty of time to find out about it."

"But what if she's super sorry about it?" questioned Pinkie Pie.

"I'm certain she is," replied Rarity. "But that still does not change the fact that this is her fault."

"And in the end, what was it all for?" said Rainbow Dash. "Twilight became an alicorn princess, and she would have potentially become immortal and outlived all of us. It was never even worth it. Never!

Applejack sighed. "So what're we gonna do, then? Lay down charges and have her prosecuted?"

"I don't know, but she will answer for this," said Rainbow. "You may be okay with her getting Twilight killed and almost getting us killed, but I'm not, Applejack."

"I'm not okay with it," Applejack protested. "But I don't think we should be irrational about this. I mean, this is the same princess who raises the sun every day."

"Oh, and because of that, she should just be absolved of any wrongdoing?!" snapped Rainbow.

"I can't forgive her," said Spike, shaking his head. "I never will."

His words triggered a short pause. Sitting beside him, Rarity tenderly placed a comforting hoof around the young dragon. He did not react to it, instead dropping his head to look at the floor, as though ashamed to be accepting pity.

"I'm sorry, Applejack, but Rainbow Dash is right," resumed Rarity. "Celestia may not have killed Twilight directly, but she's still the reason why she's....gone. We owe it to her to make sure that she receives proper justice."

"Umm...I'm not really sure about this," said Fluttershy. "I don't like the idea that we're...against Princess Celestia."

"Me neither," added Pinkie Pie. "We can't really be against Princess Celestia, can we? That would mean that we're against all of Equestria, and if we're against all of Equestria, we can't be the ones who defend Equestria, and if we can't defend Equestria, we'll—"

"I don't think it'll just be us, Pinkie," said Rainbow Dash. "Once word gets out that Twilight died because of Celestia's actions, all of Equestria will probably be clamoring for justice, and I, for one, am not letting this go."

Applejack sighed with disappointment. "I seem to recall you saying once that you'd always be loyal to the princess."

"That was before she nearly got us killed," retorted Rainbow. "I'm more loyal to my friends than I am to her, and that's why I'm going to be proving my loyalty to Twilight by making sure that Celestia does not go unpunished for this."

"Well, what kinda punishment would be good enough for you?" asked Applejack. "A few years in a prison cell? A few months in Tartarus? Or maybe....her execution? Mind tellin' me which one would satisfy you the most?"

Rainbow paused to think for a few seconds. Rarity looked uncertain, as if trying to decide between two different outfits to wear to a formal event. Spike did not look up.

"I don't know," said Rainbow. "But she has to pay for this in some way."

"There's a fine line between wantin' justice and wantin' revenge," said Applejack. "I want Celestia to own up to her actions, but at the same time, I realize that this wasn't somethin' that she intended ta happen."

"I don't care," Spike said indignantly. "Twilight is gone now and it's her fault! I wouldn't care if she was executed for this."

Again, his words triggered a pause in the discussion. Applejack and Rarity stared at him with wide-eyed shock. Fluttershy appeared to be conflicted, as though she did not want to be apart of the conversation anymore, yet still did not have any willpower to leave. Pinkie Pie looked as though she were dying to throw a party if for no other reason than to leave all of this unpleasantness behind her.

"We deserve justice, and Spike especially," resumed Rainbow Dash after about a minute. "You wouldn't be so understanding if her actions ended up causing the death of Apple Bloom, would you?"

Applejack sighed, refusing to respond. Rainbow Dash nodded her head, taking Applejack's silence as indication that she made a valid point.

"You know, this was probably a long time coming," Rainbow said. "I had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before she got one of us killed. Just weeks ago we were captured by Tirek, even though she thought that us not knowing about their transferring power to Twilight would keep us safe. But it didn't. We got captured anyway, so it was all for nothing. But at least if we had known, we would have been able to offer her our help."

Rarity nodded. "Indeed. So what do we do now?"

"Princess Luna wanted us to come to Canterlot when we were ready," said Spike. "I think I'm more than ready."

"I am, too," replied Rainbow Dash. "Guys?"

Rarity nodded. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked at her with nervous uncertainty.

Applejack shrugged, admitting defeat. "Fine."

"Well, the Canterlot train should be arriving soon."

One by one, they each walked out the door, Applejack deliberately staying behind. Feeling defeated, she shook her head with frustration and followed them out.

****

Celestia gently placed the tarp back over Twilight's body, no longer wanting to look at it. Luna soon re-entered the throne room.

"I've sent a letter to Cadence and Shining Armor," she said. "I told them to come to Canterlot but did not tell them why. Meanwhile, Twilight's friends may be here soon, and we still need to tell her parents."

Celestia nodded. "I'm finished."

"What?" asked Luna.

"Do you not see?" said Celestia, starting her sister dead in the eye. "I needed her to do this, and she couldn't. Her blood is on my hooves, and of all the countless centuries I've been ruling this land, I have never caused the death of a pony whom I did not intend to die. This is it for me. There's no going back now."

Luna looked hard at her. "You are sure?"

"I do not want you to defend me," said Celestia. "In fact, I want you to tell anypony who asks that it was all my fault. I'm prepared to accept whatever consequences may come."

"Then who shall rule Equestria?" questioned Luna.

"Must you ask?"

Luna blinked with surprise. "Me? But I am only the Princess of the Night."

"Now you must become the Princess of both night and day, as I did."

"But I have never raised the sun."

"It is nothing complicated."

"And what then shall happen to you?"

Celestia sighed. "When word of this gets out, I may no longer be welcome in Equestria. I do not know what will happen to me."

Luna shook her head. "I...I am not sure I can do this. Was it not you who said that we were meant to rule together?"

"That is what I believed when I banished you—that I would not be able to do it all alone," said Celestia. "But I found a way, and so shall you."

"I believe you exaggerate," said Luna. "After more than a thousand years of rule, I do not think the citizens of Equestria will turn against you over a mistake like this."

"It is not only this," said Celestia, shaking her head. "I realize now that I am simply unable to protect my subjects anymore. I failed to protect them from Discord, from Chrysalis, and from Tirek. Chrysalis was right beside me—right under my nose—and yet I could not see her. I trusted Discord to stop Tirek, and that was a grave mistake that nearly allowed him to win control over all Equestria. This is just the final straw. I know now that I am unfit to continue ruling. No matter what comes of this, I am stepping away from the throne and relinquishing it to you. Tomorrow shall be a new dawn, and you will be the one to bring it."

Luna was stunned silent. Celestia nodded to ensure her seriousness.

"Now, summon her parents here, and let's get this over with..."

****

Spike stared somberly out the train's window, thinking about the upcoming confrontation. The ride to Canterlot was mostly silent, and all of the sadness and grief that had briefly been lost while they discussed Celestia's guilt instantly returned—even Rainbow Dash shed a few tears. But Spike was all out of tears to shed, at least for the moment. His guilt still wore heavily upon him, and it blended well with all the rest of his mournful and uncertain feelings. He tried not to think about Twilight and he tried not to think about what he would do with himself now, but more than anything, he tried not to think about tonight.

For tonight, there would be no denying how different his life would be from now on. He surely expected that he would receive no sleep, instead remaining awake in the quiet darkness just waiting for the sunrise.

Ever since he began living with Twilight, he had almost always slept beside her in the same room, and even on the rare occasion when he did not, it was almost never for more than a single night. He could still remember several nights over the years when he was awakened by a nightmare: he would climb out of his tiny bed, walk over to Twilight, gently poke her to wake her up, then ask to sleep with her. And without fail, she would always scoot over and allow him to climb into her bed, then fall back asleep, a protective hoof extended over his body. Naturally, these occurrences had become less common as he got older, but sleeping next to Twilight was now a habit that he was used to. Even in the large castle with more than a dozen rooms, he had still opted to share a room with her.

But tonight....tonight would be the first night he would never again sleep next to Twilight. The habit was broken forever. He was not even sure where he would sleep now, as he certainly did not want to go back to that stupid castle again...

"Spike?"

For the second time, he recognized Applejack's voice.

"May I talk to you?" she asked, taking a seat beside him.

He shrugged. "I don't mind."

"I don't wanna say I know what yer goin' through, but I do at least know how yer feelin'," said Applejack. "Angry, confused, even scared. Probably thinkin' how unfair it all is, probably thinkin' 'why'd this have to happen', or even 'why couldn't it have been me.' I know what it's like. The first day is always the hardest. It's gonna be quite some time before things start feelin' normal again, but sooner or later, they will. Because one day, you'll get used to her not bein' here anymore."

Spike sighed, no longer wanting to hear what Applejack had to say. While he was well aware of her parent's death, he still did not think that she could possibly relate to his feelings. They had not sacrificed themselves to save her, and so she was not carrying that kind of weight on her back like he was.

"Yesterday, I told Twilight that all the years we spent together didn't mean anythin' to me anymore," Applejack continued. "I wish I hadn't said that—not because I know now that she was only tryin' to save us, but because it wasn't true. I was just tryin' to hurt her, and I know did, because I saw a tear fall from her eye. She tried to hide it from me, but I saw it. And at the time, it felt good to see her hurt after everythin' she had said. But later on, I realized that I knew that statement wasn't the truth, because I consider the years since you and Twilight came to Ponyville to be the best years of my life. And I wouldn't trade them for anythin', not even then."

Spike turned his head to look at her, and Applejack tenderly removed her hat as a gesture of affection.

"I'm sad that she's gone, but I'm also thankful that she chose to save you," she said. "I'm thankful that we didn't lose you, too."

Spike's guilt prevented him from feeling touched. Feeling lost for a response, he turned his head back towards the window. The train crossed through a tunnel, and the entire car went dark for several seconds, triggering a silence between them.

"I understand being upset at Princess Celestia," Applejack resumed once they exited the tunnel and light returned to the car. "I honestly do. But she wasn't the one who cursed the spell. It was Starswirl who did that, and that's why I blame him more. I understand if you never want to forgive her, but you really think she deserves to die?"

Spike huffed, his eyes fixed on Canterlot Castle, which was now only a short distance away.

"I don't know. I mean, if she had just..."

Spike failed to finish his thought, and Applejack's face dropped in disappointment, feeling that this talk had been a waste of time.

A few short minutes later, the train finally reached Canterlot Station and came to a quick stop. Wiping their eyes of any remnants of tears shed during the ride, the six friends exited the train, beginning an unusually slow stride towards the castle. None of them had discussed or gone over what they were going to say once they were standing face-to-face with the primary ruler of Equestria, and so their slow walk granted them some time to think on it. Fluttershy and Pinkie both avoided thinking about it, and their own slow movement was instead a result of wanting to avoid this confrontation for as long as possible.

Shortly after their train left the station, a sharp rumble faintly trembled the ground beneath each of their hooves while an unbearably loud screech simultaneously reverberated in their ears. They turned their heads to see that another train, which appeared to be decorated in a magnificent crystal casing, was zooming quickly into the station. They had each seen this train before—it was the same train that Princess Cadence had arrived in on the day she spent with Twilight some months ago.

When it came to a stop and the doors opened, a pair of crystal pony guards stepped out instantly and stood firmly at opposite ends of the doorway. Princess Cadence and her husband exited the train, both looking particularly nervous and none too thrilled to be there. They soon caught sight of the six friends and hurried towards their direction, an unwarranted sense of relief washing over both of them. The two guards receded back into the train and it chugged away moments later, trembling the ground in its wake once again.

"I suppose you were all summoned here as well?" Cadence asked as soon as she approached them.

"Where's Twilight?" asked Shining Armor, noticing his sister's absence.

The friends exchanged nervous glances with each other, realizing that Cadence and Shining Armor had clearly not been told the reason why they were summoned.

"I...I think this about somethin' that concerns her. Maybe Princess Celestia wants us to know about it first," answered Applejack, hoping that her friends would go along with her attempt to feign ignorance. To her relief, they each nodded in agreement.

"Oh. I guess we should go find out, then," Cadence replied nervously.

The couple walked swiftly in an obvious hurry to get inside the castle and find out what they had been summoned for. The six friends felt compelled to move at the same pace, causing them to lose time to think and allowing the confrontation to come that much sooner. They were inside the castle before they knew it, and still without any idea as to what they would say.

When they entered the throne room, they were surprised to see that it was empty, save for a single guard—a guard whom Shining Armor recognized from his days of being Canterlot's Royal Guard captain. Unfortunately, however, he could not recall his name.

"Good, you've all arrived," the guard said, approaching them. "The Princesses are awaiting all of you in the castle infirmary." He looked towards Shining Armor. "It's good to see you again, Captain."

"Uhhh...likewise," Shining responded, still unable to remember the guard's name.

"Why the infirmary?" asked Cadence.

The guard looked hesitant to answer. "Uhh...just go and you'll see."

As it turned out, Shining Armor was the only one among them who knew the location of the infirmary, as he had frequently sent his subordinates there whenever they suffered training-related injuries. They walked to the far west end of the castle where they met Princess Luna standing just outside the infirmary doors.

"What's going on, Princess?" Shining asked.

Luna said nothing, and instead motioned with her head for them to go inside. Cadence stepped through the doors first, where she quickly found a distraught Twilight Velvet and Night Light weeping over a bed where a somewhat grotesque figure lay, the sheets pulled up over most of her body. Celestia stood stiffly beside them, her eyes respectfully closed.

"Mom? Dad?" Shining Armor said as he entered the room. He looked at the grotesque figure on the bed, and realized that it was not so unrecognizable after all...

"NOO!!!" he rushed to the bed, his wife just behind him.

At the visual confirmation of Twilight's death, her five friends also huddled around the bed and broke down harder than any of them had before, briefly putting the inevitable confrontation on hold. Still lacking in tears to shed, Spike turned to walk back out of the room and sat against the wall beside Luna, shivering uncomfortably at the sounds of their distress.

"How could you let this happen?" cried Twilight Velvet to Celestia. "We trusted you with our daughter's life!"

"Yes, I know," Celestia nodded. "And I loved her like my own."

"How did this happen?!" Cadence tearfully demanded, prompting Celestia to take a moment to explain the curse.

Shining Armor had never sobbed so loudly in his life, at least not as far as his parents could recall. They would never forget how thrilled he had been at the notion of getting a baby sister, and how he held Twilight with such loving care shortly after she was born, knowing that he would do his best to be everything that a loving big brother should be.

"And so Spike is the one who gets to live, huh?" Twilight Velvet said with contempt in her voice. "Is that supposed to be an even trade? Because, it's not."

"Don't you dare place blame on Spike for this!" Rarity snapped at her. "Twilight loved him enough to die for him, and you should respect her sacrifice."

"Respect her sacrifice?!" Velvet roared. "Well just answer me something, what will he do with his life now? He had no goal or purpose outside of serving my daughter. So what will his oh-so-important life that was apparently worth more than hers consist of now? Will he leave to be with his own kind, hoarding gems, gold, and whatever else, napping for whole an entire century, and then migrating from one hole in the earth to the next? Is that what my daughter gave her life for?!"

Just outside, Spike's ears caught every word Velvet said. As she finished, he stood up and dejectedly walked off back the way they came, ignoring Luna's inquires as to where he was going.

Applejack stamped a hoof. "Ma'am, you have some nerve to be poundin' him over this as if it's his fault. Twilight died right before his eyes! You have any idea how he's feelin' right now? You think he's relieved that he's here and she's not?"

"Enough!" shouted Cadence. "Just stop it!"

Twilight Velvet and Applejack said nothing more, yet still stared coldly at each other.

"It is not Spike's fault," said Celestia. "It's mine, and only mine."

"Oh, you've got that right," snapped Rainbow Dash. Celestia showed no reaction to her comment.

"Why did you even give her that journal?" questioned Night Light.

"I believed that she could complete the spell," Celestia answered.

"And why did you want her to?" he asked, staring her coldly in the eye.

"Because..."

"Because you wanted her to become an alicorn, didn't you?" Night Light interrupted. "Because you wanted her to become immortal so that she would never leave your side, didn't you? Because you wanted to steal our daughter from us, didn't you?"

The room went silent for a few seconds, and every eye fixed on Celestia. She turned her head to look at Twilight's body, ignoring their penetrating stares.

"I did want her to become more like me, yes, but only because I thought that she earned it. Only because I thought that it was the next step for her."

"And only because you wanted her for yourself, right?" said Night Light.

Celestia looked him in the eye. "I am in no position to argue that."

"So...what happens now?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Because you can't possibly think that we're just going to let this slide, can you?"

"Of course not," Celestia answered. "I must be sentenced for my actions." She looked in the direction of Twilight's friends. "To that end, the sentence I receive will be left to the discretion of you five as well as Spike, since I put each of you in danger. Whatever the six of you believe I deserve, it shall henceforth be put into motion, and I will not protest in any way."

The five ponies exchanged uncertain glances with each other, obviously taken by surprise. It was unexpected enough that Celestia made almost no attempt to defend herself, but the notion of deciding the fate of the pony who ruled Equestria for numerous centuries before they were even born was almost entirely unthinkable. Twilight Velvet raised a curious eyebrow, as though she did not think that these five ponies, who were mostly strangers to her in spite of her daughter's fondness for them, were capable of passing down a suitable sentence for the one most responsible for her death. Or perhaps she simply believed that Celestia was attempting to somehow grant herself an easy way out...

After a few silent seconds during which every pony in the room slowly reeled from shock, Celestia made a stride for the door, speaking only once more before she left:

"I await your decision..."

Together

No one had spoken for a long time. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the sound of weeping, and even that had begun to gradually die down. Twilight Velvet and Night Light now appeared more agitated than sad and they stared down at Twilight's face with scorn, clearly still upset that Celestia allowed this to happen. Shining Armor leaned his head against his wife's, their eyes both mournfully closed.

Most of the remaining weeping came from Pinkie, who was cradled in the hooves of Rarity. She would have been almost just as distraught if Twilight had simply left town for a month, but thought that she was dead was a territory completely uncharted to her. Fluttershy also contributed to the weeping, and she lay curled up on the floor, declining Applejack's attempts to pick her back up. Having laid a few of her animal friends to rest over the years, death was not an unfamiliar concept to her, but she still thought it to be the absolute worst thing in the world. Rainbow Dash's tail swished slowly as she fought herself to avoid looking upon Twilight's body. Her mind was thoroughly fixated on the last words she said to her, and how much she wished she had said just about anything else. She knew that she had not truly meant those horrible words when she said them, but she had just been so angry, so intent on hurting her....

The silence between them was complimented by a rancid smell that reached each of their noses, the source of which could have only been the corpse they were all huddled around, now seventeen hours dead.

"I'm sorry all of you, but I think it's time that we....take her to the mortuary," said a nurse who suddenly approached them. "These beds are for....well....she just can't stay here any longer."

No one had any trouble guessing that she intended to say that the beds were for living patients. Twilight Velvet looked at her husband and they both nodded reluctantly.

Fluttershy picked herself up off the floor and they all cleared away from the bed as a pair of unicorn orderlies stepped in to magically lift Twilight's body onto a stretcher. They covered her entire body with a white sheet and carefully moved her out of the room, where Luna no longer stood outside the doorway. They continued to move her down the corridor from the end opposite the one they had taken to get there, with Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, and Cadence following closely behind them. As the five friends started to follow down the hall as well, Velvet soon stopped and turned to face them.

"If you all don't mind, I would like to be alone with my family," she said, suppressing hostility in her voice. "Besides, don't you have some decision-making to do?"

Without waiting for a response, she rejoined her family. The mane five did not take another step in their direction and instead only watched as they all eventually reached the end of the corridor, turned a corner, and disappeared from sight. Applejack rolled her eyes with annoyance, hoping that Twilight Velvet's contemptuous attitude was purely a result of her grief, rather than an indication of who she really was.

C'mon, ya'll, let's go," she said with a sigh.

"Where's Spike?" asked Fluttershy, prompting everyone to look around for the dragon.

"Uhh...did anypony see him come in the room?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Rarity shook her head. "I can't say I did..."

They went back inside the infirmary, but Spike was nowhere to be found. When they asked the nurse, they were told that she had seen him sitting outside of the room, but never saw him walk inside.

"Let's just head back. We'll find him," said Applejack as they made their way out of the infirmary.

However, they did not encounter Spike on their walk back to the main wing of the castle. Unsure of where else he would be, they decided to walk back to the throne room. As they entered, they saw that neither Spike nor Celestia was there, but Luna was curiously sitting upon the throne, a look of discomfort adorned on her face. When she caught sight of the five ponies, she immediately removed herself from the seat and swiftly glided over to them.

"What is it? Have you come to a decision already?" she asked at once.

"Uhhh...no," said Rainbow Dash. "We're actually looking for Spike. Have you seen him?"

"Oh," said Luna, looking somewhat relieved. "Yes, he walked off some time ago. He did not say where he was going, but I assumed he was just taking a walk to clear his head."

"How long ago?" asked Fluttershy.

Luna raised a hoof to her chin in thought. "At least a half hour or so."

The five friends exchanged vaguely worrisome looks with each other.

"Maybe he's just at Donut Joe's or something?" suggested Rainbow.

"Yes, I'm sure he's fine," Rarity replied.

"Thanks, princess," said Applejack. "Couldya let us know if you see him?"

Luna slightly bowed her head in a nod, and the mane five made their way to the exit to continue their search.

"Wait."

Luna's voice stopped them in their tracks. As they each turned back to face her, they were surprised to see that she now appeared to be uncharacteristically sad, perhaps even on the brink of tears. Her serious and stern composure was broken.

"I know it is not my place to say this—my sister would not even want me to. And I know that this decision falls on you alone, and that you all now have mixed feelings towards her after what has happened. But nevertheless, I must selfishly beg something of all of you."

Luna lowered herself into a bowing position, a tear loosing itself from each eye as she closed them.

"Please....show her mercy. Please..."

The mane five stood silently in place, looking to each other as though hoping that someone would have an idea for how to respond, but none of them did. The sight of Luna, a princess of Equestria, bowing before them with such humility and sorrow was almost as unnerving as the thought of deciding Celestia's sentence. After nearly a minute of silence passed, Luna opened her eyes again as though to make sure that they were still there.

"Uhhh...we'll...," Applejack responded instinctively to Luna's stare, hoping that someone else would finish her sentence.

"We'll....show her all the mercy we think she deserves," finished Rarity, and a relieved Applejack nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Thank you," Luna said as she raised back up, looking less than content with their answer.

She turned and walked back to the throne without saying another word. The five friends resumed their walk out of the throne room, not feeling any more comfortable about their task ahead.

****

As their train slowly pulled back into Ponyville Station, the mane five readied themselves to plow through the doors the moment they opened. Spike had not been at Donut Joe's, he had not been in the castle, and he had not been anywhere else they searched. They had scoured Canterlot thoroughly for nearly an hour and eventually heard from a ticket taker at the train station that he boarded a train back to Ponyville by himself. A subtle, yet prominent worry hung over the five friends during their ride back home. It was abundantly clear to all of them that Twilight's death meant the biggest loss for Spike, and they were not entirely sure about how he was thinking and feeling now that he was abruptly thrust into this unfamiliar situation. The one constant in his life was now gone, and that was a pain that none of them could understand...

The train came to a stop and the friends quickly exited, setting a course for the place where they most expected Spike to be. The tree-like castle still remained standing, apparently unaware that its primary owner was no longer living—not that it had a mind of its own....or so they hoped. Yet it was still not something that they could positively rule out, considering that it was somehow able to accurately construct itself with six thrones, each bearing their cutie marks with a miniature throne for Spike right beside Twilight's. It had to have at least "known" who they were, "known" what their cutie marks were, and "known" that Spike was important enough to have his own. Unfortunately, the castle was a mystery that Twilight had yet to crack, and somehow, the mane five would have thought it preferable for it to have shriveled into the ground, reverting itself back into the unopened box. It did not seem appropriate that the castle would still be there with no princess to occupy it. And it was now such an unpleasant eyesore sitting on the edge of town, or so Rarity opined...

A cool, yet uncomfortable breeze fell over them as they entered the castle, and they only began to feel colder as they continued on inside. It was an unusual sensation to be walking inside Twilight's home while she was no longer there. It had not been her home for very long, yet they already shared a number of fun moments within its walls, most notably, in Rainbow Dash's words, "the most epic game of hide-and-seek EVER!"

"Spike?!" Rainbow Dash called out, her voice echoing across the castle walls. There was no reply, and the emptiness now felt almost intolerable.

They each hurried up the steps to Twilight's bedroom, where they finally found the young dragon trying to fit Smarty Pants into a massively stuffed backpack. Shattered pieces of a mirror were spread all over the floor.

"Well, there you are!" Rarity exclaimed with aggravation. "We've been looking all over for you!"

Spike ignored her, continuing on with what he was doing.

"What're you doin', Spike?" asked Applejack.

After a ton of effort, Spike finally managed to squeeze the raggedy doll inside his backpack. He then snapped it shut, placed it on his back, and began to walk towards the door.

"Uhhh...where are you going?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I'm leaving," Spike said flatly, looking sternly at his friends as though he were asking for them to move away from the doorway and allow him to go.

"Leaving?" questioned Rarity.

"For now, I'm just going to find somewhere else in Ponyville to stay," explained Spike. "I'm not sleeping in this castle ever again. And after Twilight's funeral, I'm going to go move somewhere else."

"Where?" asked Fluttershy.

"I don't know," Spike answered, shaking his head. "But I'm not staying here anymore. I just...can't. I'm really grateful that I got to know you guys, and I'll write to you once I've found a new place to live."

The mane five looked at each other incredulously. Every facet of Spike's demeanor told them that he was being completely serious about this. Tears welled up in Pinkie's eyes at once at the notion of losing yet another friend.

"But...we don't want you to leave, Spike..."

"Why are you doin' this?" demanded Applejack. "I just told you that I was glad that we didn't lose you."

"If it were up to me, you would have," Spike muttered.

"Bite your tongue!" scolded Rarity.

"I mean that," he said. "I wish Twilight hadn't saved me. I wish we had just died together."

Everyone stared at him in stunned silence, now immensely thankful that they had found him when they did.

"But....why, Spike?" asked Fluttershy with desperation.

Spike sighed, looking anxious and overwhelmed.

"I heard what Twilight's mom said about me. And I think she's right—my life wasn't worth more than hers. I still don't know what I'm going to do with my life now, and I'm afraid that I'll never figure it out. After what happened before, I know that I don't want to go back to be with my own kind again, so I'm just going to start walking until I find somewhere I belong."

"You belong here," said Applejack. "You can stay with any one of us if you want to, Spike. None of us would mind havin' you for a guest."

Spike shook his head. "I'm not going to be anypony's problem."

"You wouldn't be anypony's problem, darling," said Rarity. "We love you."

Spike dropped his head so as to avoid letting anyone see the tears in his eyes.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because I still don't know what I'm going to be doing with my life, and I don't think I'm going to find the answer here."

"You don't have to do this, Spike," said Rainbow Dash. "Who cares about what that dumb bit—"

"Yes, I do!" Spike cried with frustration, shaking his head in such a way that his tears shot out in all directions. "I have nothing now! Nothing! Before Twilight died, she made me promise that I would find a way to keep living without her. So I'm going to keep that promise and find a way, because right now, I don't have a way. I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to let me go. I already feel guilty enough that I'm still alive while she's not, and I'm not going to feel even guiltier by not keeping my promise to her. I'm sorry, and I'm really going to miss you guys, but this is something that I have to do."

Again, the mane five looked at each other, expressing sorrow for their dear dragon friend.

"Ya can't leave just yet," Applejack said with a sigh. "There's somethin' we all need to do first."

"What?" Spike asked, shrugging.

"Princess Celestia has left it to us to decide what sentence she'll receive for this," informed Rainbow Dash. "That includes you as well. So we need to come to a decision."

Spike squinted with confusion, wondering why she would do such a thing.

"Will you stay?" asked Applejack.

"Okay...," Spike said, dropping his backpack to the floor.

"I say we use the thrones to do this," suggested Rainbow Dash. "I've been dying to put those things to actual use, and...well...this may be our only chance."

As they made their way back down the stairs, Pinkie Pie let out a sigh of both boredom and anxiety.

"Could anypony else really use a cupcake right about now?"

****

High upon the Canterlot Castle balcony, Celestia sat gazing off into the distance where she could see almost halfway to the Crystal Empire. Sunlight and wind brushed past her in equal measure as they always tended to do while she was up there. She had always thought it to be the best view Canterlot had to offer, and there was little reason to believe otherwise. Her eyes fixed upon a gliding hawk several yards away and she watched as it circled around the sky, perhaps either hunting....or simply enjoying its own freedom. As she wondered what its intentions were, Luna silently walked onto the balcony from behind her.

"I will miss this view," said Celestia, responding to her sister's presence without turning to look at her. "Of all the countless hours I've spent mulling things over in any other room in this castle, I could even begin to express how grateful I am to this balcony for being the one place I can truly go to just clear my head. To not think. I hope that it serves you as well as it has me."

Luna took a few more steps forward until she was standing level beside her sister, and her eyes instantly widened in shock as she noticed that Celestia was not wearing her crown, nor her golden collar around her torso. After a fair bit of skepticism before, only now was Luna fully convinced of the sincerity of Celestia's desire to give up the throne, for these were two items that she never took off—not even as she laid herself down to sleep each night. However, her elegant horseshoes still remained on her hooves, and Luna instantly remembered that Celestia once told her that she no longer liked the feel of her bare hooves touching the ground.

"Were it to turn out that the sentence you receive is not too severe, would you come back to the throne once it has run its course?" Luna asked after reeling in from the shock of Celestia's appearance.

"No," Celestia said, her eyes remaining fixed on the hawk.

Luna sighed with frustration, yet was not surprised by her answer.

"Why not?"

"As I said before, I am no longer able to defend my subjects. I am unfit to rule."

Luna shook her head irritably. "You made a mistake. A grave mistake, yes, but still just one mistake. After more than a millennium of ruling Equestria on your own, I do not believe that this alone makes you unfit to rule."

"It does to me," said Celestia. "And as I told you before, this was simply the final straw. What happens if next being who threatens Equestria achieves that goal simply due to my failing ability to make sound decisions?"

"So you would rather pass that burden on to me than to deal with it yourself?" Luna snapped.

"I believe that you at least deserve a chance, particularly since you have been on that end yourself," said Celestia. "Furthermore, you posses a number of abilities that I do not—abilities that could prove useful during such situations."

Luna said nothing and sat herself down, staring out at the view for a long while until her eyes eventually stuck themselves upon the same hawk. They watched it together as it continued to circle meticulously around the sky within certain invisible boundaries.

"I do not believe I can do this. Not on my own."

"I am confused," said Celestia, shaking her head. "Have you not always wanted this? Have you not felt that you've simply been living in my shadow all these years? Have you not always wanted to be the one to bring ponies joy from raising the sun? Your chance to shine is finally upon you, and yet you say that you do not believe you can do it? I do not understand."

"I did not want it like this..."

"I know you can do this," said Celestia. "I now believe in you more than I believe in myself."

Luna shook her head as though attempting to prevent herself from being flattered. "In any case, you still may not be receiving that harsh a sentence."

"Why do you think so?" asked Celestia.

Feeling a deep sense of shame, Luna lowered her head, knowing that her sister would not like what she was about to say.

"Because I begged for them to show you mercy."

Celestia instantly shot her sister an intense glare. "You should not have done that. I do not wish to be shown mercy."

"Do you not hear yourself?" Luna asked, scoffing incredulously. "What is it you want, exactly? Do you wish to die over this?!"

Celestia returned her gaze to the view, shifting her eyes rapidly in search of the hawk.

"Perhaps..."

Luna stared at her with both astonishment and fear, feeling that she did not even know the pony with whom she was speaking.

"You do not understand," said Celestia, responding to her sister's stare. "Twilight was my protégé for over ten years. She was not only one of the most competent students I've ever had, she was also one of the most exceptional magic users I've ever seen. There is simply no telling what she could have accomplished in her lifetime. I loved her as my own, and now she is gone because of my failure to once again detect malicious intent under my nose. Perhaps if you had a protégé whom you nurtured for a decade, only for her to be indirectly killed by your own actions, you'd feel as I do now. This is it for me, sister, and that is just the way it is."

Shaking her head with both sorrow and pity, Luna left her alone, and Celestia's eyes once again found the hawk just before it swooped down in a deadly lunge to claim its meal.

****

"Okay, the discussion for the disciplinary measures to be taken against Princess Celestia will now commence!" Rainbow Dash called out.

On the base level of the castle, each of the mane five were seated in the circle of thrones specifically designated by their cutie marks. Twilight's throne, the largest in the circle, was occupied by Spike, who had refused to sit in the miniature throne beside it.

"Okay, then. So...how do we even begin discussing this?" Rarity asked.

"Well, let's just start with the charges," said Rainbow. "Seems like we're looking at....one count of involuntary ponyslaughter, with six counts of attempted involuntary ponyslaughter."

Applejack squinted her eyes. "How in tarnation can somethin' be 'involuntary' if it's 'attempted?'"

Rainbow Dash grunted and glared at her with annoyance. "Well, I'm not really sure how else to say it. What difference does it make, anyway? You know exactly what I meant."

"Surely, there's no question that whatever sentence we come up with, this shall be the end of her rule for quite some time," said Rarity. "I suppose this means that Princess Luna will be taking up the mantle?"

"I guess so...," muttered Spike.

"Okay, so let's throw some ideas around," said Rainbow. "What do you guys think Celestia deserves?"

The circle fell into silence, and the only responses Rainbow Dash received were those of "uhhs", "hmms", and other such sounds of uncertainty.

"I think it would help if we knew what kinda options are open for us," said Applejack. "I mean, Princess Celestia isn't some ordinary pony who can just be thrown in a prison cell...."

"Sure, she can," Rainbow said, shifting her head towards Rarity. "There are ways of suppressing magic, aren't there?"

"A unicorn's magic, yes," Rarity said, nodding. "As for an alicorn's magic, I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure. I've never heard of it happening before."

"Well, I'm sure we could come up with something if it does come to that," said Rainbow, shrugging.

"Well what, then?" asked Applejack. "I don't wager we could just make her give up her power. To whom would it go? I suppose it would go to Princess Luna, but then again, Twilight was the Element of Magic, and she could only barely get a grasp on havin' extra magic. Luna never bore the Element of Magic, so we don't know how well she'd handle it."

"Look, it doesn't matter right now," Rainbow said irritably. "Besides, Celestia did say that she would not protest in any way with the sentence we chose. Maybe we wouldn't even need to rid her of her magic."

"So she's just going to live in a prison cell with all her magic, knowing that she could free herself if she ever wanted to?" questioned Spike. "I don't see how that's going to work."

Rainbow Dash groaned, slapping her hoof against her forehead.

"I...I don't want to send her to prison...," muttered Pinkie. "Prisons are for criminals, and Princess Celestia isn't a criminal, is she?"

Rarity bit her lip. "Well...no, darling, but..."

"Pinkie's right," said Applejack. "I don't believe sendin' her to prison is the answer we're lookin' for."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "So what is the answer, then, Applejack?"

"I dunno," Applejack replied, shaking her head. "That's why I asked what kind of options we have."

"I guess that would also rule out Tartarus, then, wouldn't it?" mumbled Spike.

"Indeed," replied Rarity. "If Celestia does not belong in prison, she belongs in Tartarus even less."

Rainbow Dash looked upwards in thought, rubbing her chin.

"Unless....we were to sentence her to guard duty or something," she said. "That could work, right? After all, Tirek would never have escaped if somepony else had been there in case Cerberus left his post."

Applejack also rubbed her chin. "Hmm....I dunno. How long would this sentence last?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe ten years or so? We could debate on it."

"Most unfortunately, this brings up the issue of her magic once again," said Rarity. "She would not be much of a guard if she were forced to give it up, but we know the problem that the alternative option presents."

Spike nodded. "What's to stop her from abandoning her sentence whenever she wants to?"

The group fell into another brief silence. The tremendous weight of what they were doing and the pressure that accompanied it was beginning to get to all of them, and at that point, no one looked like they wanted to be there.

"Umm, shouldn't we be asking ourselves what Twilight would want?" questioned Fluttershy, breaking the silence. "That's something we should take into consideration, isn't it?"

"You're absolutely right, Fluttershy," said Rarity. "Twilight's voice should be heard as well, even though she's not here to give it."

"I see what you mean, but I'm not sure if that's possible," said Rainbow Dash. "I don't really know how she'd be feeling about Celestia right about now."

"Me neither...," Spike said, hanging his head sorrowfully.

"Well, how about when we reach a decision, we ask ourselves if Twilight would agree with it?" suggested Fluttershy.

"I'm afraid it's possible that we might not all agree on a sentence," said Rarity. "And if that happens, we may need to put it to a vote."

"If it does come to that, I think it's only just that Spike be granted Twilight's proxy," said Applejack. "That should help if we're evenly split."

"Agreed," nodded Rarity.

Spike looked up at them with discomfort. He did not know what the word "proxy" meant and would have felt too embarrassed to ask.

"So...anypony else got any ideas?" asked Rainbow Dash.

As expected, there was not a single coherent response to be heard from the circle. Rainbow shifted her eyes at each of her friends, silently expressing annoyance at their indecision.

"I suppose...there's always exile?" suggested Rarity with an insincere tone which indicated that it was not something she was actually in support of.

"Exile to where?" asked Applejack.

Rarity shrugged. "Somewhere in Equestria, I suppose? Remember that remote place where we found Daring Do? Perhaps somewhere around that area."

"Okay," Rainbow nodded. "We can work with exile, can't we?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head. "That's too cruel..."

"I agree," said Fluttershy.

"Oh, come on!" Rainbow huffed irritably. "This is actually one of the kindest sentences she could receive. She wouldn't be in prison, nor in Tartarus. She would be free to live on her own terms, and that's definitely better than—"

Rainbow stopped herself, snapping her mouth tightly shut and looking down casually as if hoping no one had noticed that she had not finished her sentence. Unfortunately, every eye in the room remained fixed on her, impatiently awaiting her closing words.

"Better than what?" questioned Applejack.

Rainbow looked up again to see everyone staring at her. She sighed, knowing that she would have to finish after all.

"Better than...having her executed."

"Havin' her executed?!" cried Applejack at once. "You're not honestly leavin' that open as a sentence, are you?"

"Well, I initially wasn't," muttered Rainbow Dash, nervously. "I was just kinda leaving it as a 'last resort' type of sentence, just in case we couldn't really think of anything else."

Applejack blinked with disbelief. "So what yer sayin' is that we should have her killed if we can't figure out anythin' else to do with her?!"

"Well...uhh...no," Rainbow stammered. "But then again, why should we be ruling this option out? After all, this was the way justice worked in the ancient times, wasn't it? Eye for an eye. If you killed somepony, you were put to death yourself."

"Celestia did not kill Twilight, Rainbow Dash," corrected Rarity.

"She did as far as I'm concerned," mumbled Spike.

"It's not like she hasn't lived a really long life," said Rainbow. "She's lived like, what, more than fifty of our lifetimes? And honestly, who's to say that she wouldn't end up ending her own life anyway? You all saw how she was in there. It kinda seemed to me like she had already given up on herself."

"Well, I would never agree to that decision," Fluttershy snapped.

Applejack shook her head incredulously. "Yer really considerin' this?! After Luna knelt down and begged us to show Celestia mercy, you would honestly even suggest that we decide to have her executed?!"

"Calm down, Applejack," said Rarity. "There's simply no need for us to be—"

"No! You wanna talk about puttin' somethin' to a vote, let's put this to a vote," Applejack demanded. "Everypony who believes that Celestia deserves to die for this, raise your hoof....or claws."

The circle fell into a transient, yet uncomfortable silence, during which not one hoof rose to the air—not even Rainbow Dash's. Spike shifted in his seat with confliction, knowing that everyone would expect his hand to be raised because of his earlier remark, but much to Applejack's satisfaction and Rainbow Dash's subtle disappointment, it was not.

"That's what I thought," Applejack said indignantly after a few moments. "So since nopony thinks she deserves to die, I guess that means that we're ruling that option out, right?"

"Fine, it's ruled out," sighed Rainbow Dash. "So what's next, then? Huh? If we're not going with exile, then what else have we got left?"

The discussion paused yet again, this time for much longer than all of their previous pauses. Determining a sentence for Celestia was turning out to be just as difficult as each of them had anticipated—perhaps even more difficult. Spike scratched at the seat of Twilight's throne, both out of boredom and uncertainty.

"It seems like our options are drying up quick as can be...," Applejack said, breaking the silence.

"Would there be anything particularly wrong with simply stripping Celestia of her title as princess?" asked Rarity. "She'd still remain in Canterlot, but no longer as the ruler of Equestria. Perhaps this could last for.... twenty years? That length of time is nothing to her."

"I think that could work," said Applejack, nodding. "What do you think, Fluttershy?"

"That would be fair enough," Fluttershy responded.

Rainbow Dash shook her head with a deep sense of revulsion.

"Uhhh...that's a joke, right? It must be a joke."

"Why, no, it's not a joke," replied Rarity, looking as though she had just been insulted. "I thought it was a reasonable enough sentence that we would all be able to agree on."

"Well, no, I don't agree with it at all," Rainbow snapped. "This is all you think Celestia deserves after getting Twilight killed and putting us on the path of certain death? She should just be allowed to continue to live comfortably in her castle without the pressure of having to rule over a country? No, that does not sound anything like a punishment to me. It sounds like a long vacation."

Spike nodded in agreement. "It's not enough."

"Well, we could always have her move out of the castle and live someplace else," said Applejack.

"Perhaps we could even line her up with a job to do as well," said Rarity. "It would not be anything like a vacation."

"No. It's still not enough," Rainbow said at once.

Applejack sighed with frustration. "What else can we do, Rainbow Dash? This feels like we'd be showin' Celestia the mercy that she deserves. She's not a criminal, and she doesn't deserve to be treated like one. She made a mistake and she actually did make an attempt to fix it. She wasn't just sittin' on her flank, she was hard at work on a counterspell. So this sentence seems fair enough to me."

"Indeed," replied Rarity.

Fluttershy and Pinkie nodded, and even Spike appeared to be much more comfortable with the decision, as he no longer scratched at the seat. As she looked about the circle, Rainbow gritted her teeth, seething with anger.

"You ponies are unbelievable! Am I the ONLY one who hasn't forgotten that Twilight is DEAD because of Celestia?! Am I the ONLY one who still wants to see her punished for it?! AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO'S STILL LOYAL TO HER?!!!"

Rainbow's friends' mouths lay agape, stunned silent by her sudden hostility.

"We all want to see her punished, Rainbow!" cried Applejack. "But you'll have to forgive us if we want to be a bit more rational about it than choosing to have her executed just because we don't know what else to do with her! Because believe it or not, we ain't that senseless!"

"OH, WELL EXCUSE ME!!" Rainbow Dash roared. "No, you're absolutely right, Applejack. We should instead just let her off with a simple slap on the hoof since we can't figure out what else to do with her. Because that's just how much our friend's life is worth to you, isn't it?!"

Applejack jumped out of her seat in fury.

"Oh, her life wasn't worth anythin' to me?! I'm sorry, but was I the one who told Twilight to go die in a fire right to her face?! Nope, THAT WAS YOU!!!"

"STOP IT!!! JUST STOP IT ALREADY!!!" Pinkie screamed, bringing the room to instant silence. She removed herself from her seat and began to walk off. "I'm not doing this anymore..."

"Pinkie...," Rarity called after her, but the pink pony continued to walk until she was out of sight, and everyone heard the castle's front doors open and then almost instantly slam shut.

When Applejack looked back at Rainbow Dash again, she was surprised to see that she did not appear angry anymore; instead, only an empty expression was adorned upon her face while her eyes appeared to become increasingly downcast. Without saying a word, she zipped quickly out of the room, and the front doors were heard slamming shut again.

****

Pinkie and Rainbow's departure seemed to suck away any and all sense of motivation from the circle. Everyone remained sitting uncomfortably in their thrones without saying much more, or without knowing what to do next. Spike resumed scratching at his seat as tears slowly returned to his eyes—in the silence, his thoughts had returned to nightfall, which now seemed to be drawing ever closer.

"We're not supposed to be doing this...," Fluttershy said in a low voice.

"Doing what, Fluttershy?" asked Rarity.

"Doing what we're doing: trying to come up with a sentence for Princess Celestia. It doesn't feel right. We're not supposed to be against her like this..."

Rarity nodded. "I see what you mean. I do so wish that this had never happened..."

"She ruined my life...," said Spike, as a few tears fell from his eyes. "It's because of her that I have to leave now. I just can't forgive her..."

Rarity frowned. "Oh, Spikey-boo..."

"But you don't want her to have her executed, right?" asked Applejack. "You didn't raise your hand earlier..."

"I know Twilight would be mad at me if she knew I wanted that," Spike said, shaking his head slowly. "But I still won't ever forgive her..."

He lowered his head and now allowed his tears to fall upon the seat.

"Maybe Rainbow Dash is right," said Rarity, watching him sorrowfully. "Maybe that sentence really isn't enough. I mean...you saw her body. I do not even want to think about what Twilight must have gone through to end up like that. I do not even want to think about...how much she suffered..."

Rarity cupped a hoof over her mouth just as her eyes began to well up with tears. Applejack nodded with sorrow, fighting back tears herself. Spike shivered intensely, remembering how Twilight threw herself at that massive fireball...

"I know," Applejack said. "But I still don't think it's fair to just pin the blame all on her, or to punish her like she's the only one responsible, or like she actually wanted this ta happen."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," said Rarity, attempting to compose herself again.

"So...what do we do now?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well...I suppose there's nothing for us to do but find Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, right?" questioned Rarity.

Applejack glared and shook her head. "We can go fetch Pinkie, but just Pinkie. I don't know about anypony else, but the last thing I need right now is for Rainbow to be tellin' us that we don't care about Twilight."

Fluttershy frowned and tightened her lips. She could not help but feel a possible misplaced sense of sorrow for her close friend...

In a sudden wave of motion, they each removed themselves from their thrones and headed back to the castle's front doors. Shortly after stepping outside, they came to an instant stop once they saw Rainbow Dash lying upon her side with her back towards them just mere steps away from the castle. Her body trembled only slightly, yet still enough for them to notice it from where they stood.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy called, quickly brushing past her friends to rush to her side.

Her eyes widened upon looking at Rainbow's face. Applejack, Rarity, and Spike walked closer and were able to hear silent, yet passionate sobs. Rainbow Dash was crying.

"Are you okay?" questioned Fluttershy, instantly feeling silly for asking that question.

Taking a steady, yet hesitant breath, Applejack cautiously walked to Rainbow's front and lent out a hoof.

"C'mon, let's get you up."

Rainbow reluctantly took Applejack's hoof and pulled herself upwards into a seated position. She immediately moved her forelegs to her face to wipe her tears, doing so in a manner that appeared as though she were attempting to hide her face out of shame or humiliation.

"It's all my fault...all my fault..."

"It's not your fault, Rainbow Dash," said Fluttershy. "Why would you think that?"

No one could clearly see Rainbow's face, but they could tell she was still sobbing with how broken her next words sounded as she uttered them.

"I....I...told her to...die in a fire. And she did. Maybe if I...if I hadn't said that....she'd still be here..."

"That's not true, Rainbow," Fluttershy comforted, tenderly placing a hoof on her back.

"Why did I say something like that to her?!" Rainbow Dash cried, finally lowering her forelegs from her face so that her friends could now clearly see her tears. "I regret it so much! And now I'll never be able to take it back. I....I wish I could take it back so much!"

Applejack let out a sigh. "Rainbow, I don't—"

"I wanted to just pin the blame all on Celestia," Rainbow said, cutting her off. "It was....it was easier than pinning blame on myself. I wanted to believe that if I acted like she was the only one responsible, it would let me off the hook. I wanted her to be the one to suffer for what I said. But I understand now that I don't deserve to be let off the hook, because it's not Celestia's fault that I said what I said. It's only mine..."

Applejack shook her head. "I shouldn't have thrown that back at you. I'm really sorry, Rainbow."

Rainbow shook her head as well. "Don't be. You were right. It was me."

A shade a pink suddenly appeared in the corner of Applejack's eye, and she looked up to see that Pinkie Pie had approached them, her eyes also moist with tears and her mane partially deflated.

"We're all still friends....aren't we?" she asked.

"Of course we are, dear," said Rarity with a smile.

Pinkie shook her head solemnly as tiny droplets soaked her cheeks.

"It doesn't feel like we are..."

"We are, Pinkie," Applejack assured her. "It's just...sometimes friends don't always see eye to eye. But that doesn't mean they're not still friends."

Pinkie wiped at her cheeks, appearing to be reassured by her words, yet still full of doubt.

"Are we ever going to be the same again? Are we ever going to be able to laugh and have fun? Are we ever going to have parties and play together again?"

Applejack cast her eyes to the ground. "It's...it's gonna be some time, Pinkie..."

"Oh...," Pinkie replied, an obvious helplessness in her voice.

"Indeed, it will be some time," said Rarity. "Because as unfortunate as it is, friendship cannot always be about having good times together. We must all face hard times at one point or another, and now we've come to one of those points. But the great thing about friendship is that we do not have to face them alone." She threw a hoof around Rainbow Dash's neck. "We get to face them together. We get to lean on each other for comfort and support, because that's what friends do."

She threw another hoof around Fluttershy's neck, and this action was repeated by all of them until they formed into a group hug.

"We may not know what lies ahead, but I could even begin to express how much better I feel knowing that I have all of you here with me."

The mane five squeezed each other tightly with affection and love, all disagreements resolved, all exchanged hurtful words forgiven. Wedged uncomfortably between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Spike lowered his eyes, deep in thought...

****

As the hour drew late, Luna began her regular moon-rising duties, feeling fearful of what was soon to come. Ten minutes earlier, Celestia had received a letter through Spike reading:

We've reached a decision and are returning to Canterlot now. Meet in the throne room.

Since reading the letter, Celestia's eyes remained closed. Several millenniums' worth of memories swirled around her mind—defeating Sombra alongside her sister, hosting the Grand Galloping Gala year after year, overseeing the construction of Canterlot Castle, opening her school largely for the purpose of finding potential bearers for the Element of Magic, and severing her connection with the Elements following Luna's banishment...

Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, and Cadence were also in the throne room, having reluctantly left Twilight's body after being informed by Luna that Celestia's retribution was forthcoming. They were seated in a vertical line along the right side of the throne room's narrow red carpet. Once finished with her moon-raising duties, Luna teleported into the throne room, taking her position just to the left of her sister. No words were exchanged between any of them; they all just stood watching the doors, waiting for them open...

Celestia and Luna and not spoken since their conversation on the balcony. With every passing minute, fear continued to grow within Luna's joints as she wondered what kind of sentence her sister would receive, as the mane five's response to her request earlier had not particularly filled her with much assurance. But on the other hoof, she also feared that they may have shown her so much mercy that Celestia would not accept their sentence and instead opt for something....worse. Letting out a silent sigh, Luna pitifully stared up at her sister, whose eyes remained close as she continued to reflect upon her own life.

After a long while that felt like hours, the throne room doors finally opened, and in walked the mane five along with Spike, who rode upon Applejack's back. After making a relatively slow pace towards the throne, they stopped only a few feet away from the two sisters, each silently expressing astonishment at seeing Celestia without her crown and collar. Applejack was not particularly thrilled to see Twilight Velvet again, and the feeling appeared to be mutual, as Velvet stared at them with less-than-subtle contempt.

"We've come to a decision, and as per your word, we expect it to be put into motion," said Rarity.

"It shall be," said Celestia, finally opening her eyes again.

Rarity nodded and looked to Rainbow Dash, who spoke next. Spike climbed off of Applejack's back.

"You made enormous blunder, and I'm not sure if any of us will ever be able to forgive you for it. Because of that blunder, we're stripping you of your right to rule Equestria in favor of Princess Luna. As for how long that will last still remains in question."

"In question?" Celestia said curiously. Rainbow looked to Applejack, who spoke next.

"You made a mistake, but we're not keen to place all the blame on you, because you don't deserve all the blame. But what we do feel you deserve is a chance at redemption."

Twilight Velvet squinted her eyes with both confusion and agitation. Luna focused her mind intensely on every word spoken.

"I do not understand...," replied Celestia, shaking her head. Applejack looked to Fluttershy.

"From this point on, you will reclaim your place as the Element of Magic. Whenever a threat comes to Equestria, you will be facing it along with us."

"And that's in addition to a number of other tasks you will be responsible for while you're living alone in Twilight's castle, which will be your new home." said Rainbow Dash.

"It won't be much fun. Actually, it won't be any fun," Pinkie said sorrowfully, shuddering at the thought of living life without having fun.

"You would offer me a chance to redeem myself? Why?" asked Celestia.

"It's no question that your rule has fallen on hard times since we started protectin' Equestria," said Applejack. "Now we know that it's become too much for you to handle."

We're letting you help us defend Equestria against any future threats that arise," said Rarity. "Your actions during these moments will put you on the path to redemption, or drag you away from it, depending on how you handle them. It will most likely take quite some effort to redeem yourself in our eyes, but we remain confident that you can do it."

Celestia bowed her head with dignity. Though she was still unsure whether or not she would actually be willing to reclaim the throne again, this would surely go a long way to make her feel better about her ability to protect the citizens of Equestria. Unexpectedly, she now felt grateful that she had been shown mercy after all.

"This is what you have decided, then?" she asked.

"Your wings are broken," said Rainbow Dash. "We're giving you a chance to mend them—to fly again."

"We feel that this is what Twilight would want," added Spike.

Celestia bowed her head at them again. "I am honored."

Twilight Velvet scoffed and shook her head with irritation, though her husband appeared to be far less upset.

"I knew it," she snapped at Celestia. "You deliberately let them decide your sentence so that you could get off easy, didn't you?"

"Honey, I—," Night Light began, but Shining Armor cut him off.

"Honestly, mom, that sounds good enough to me."

"It seems a reasonable sentence to me as well," Cadence said, nodding. "But in my opinion, it should have happened after Celestia failed to detect Queen Chrysalis impersonating me right underneath her nose. It feels like this has come too late, but nevertheless, I support it."

Luna turned her head towards Velvet. "You need not forgive my sister, but at least know that if she could have done anything to save the life of Twilight Sparkle, she would have."

Velvet looked to her husband, who gave her an apologetic smile to indicate that he was in agreement with what they said. Sighing, she shifted her eyes towards Celestia.

"Do not be a disappointment. You had better live up to every expectation placed on you, because that's exactly what our daughter always did for you."

Celestia nodded slowly. "Understood."

Velvet then looked at Twilight's friends. "And I'll be expecting all of you to hold her to that, particularly since you are the ones who decided to give her this chance."

Each of the mane five also nodded in agreement.

"We'll do our best," assured Rarity.

"And you," she said, looking directly at Spike, who tensed up at once. "Please make our daughter's sacrifice meaningful. Do not let it go to waste."

Spike stared at her blankly without responding in any way, not even with a head movement. With that, Twilight's parents briskly walked out of the room followed closely by Shining Armor and Cadence, not a single word of farewell uttered by any of them. Applejack stared at them as they left, unusually thankful that Twilight Velvet had left satisfied—or at least satisfied enough.

"That's that, I suppose," said Rarity.

Rainbow Dash nodded and looked at Celestia. "This will go into affect starting tomorrow, so spend the night packing up."

"You may also wanna make some kinda statement to the citizens of Equestria as well," said Applejack. "They need to know what's happenin'."

"I will take care of that," replied Luna.

Fluttershy hung her head. "We're sorry it's come to this..."

"I am, too," said Celestia. "Spike, may I speak with you?"

Lacking enthusiasm and feeling the eyes of his friends upon him, Spike sighed and stepped forward.

"I am so sorry," Celestia said with deep sincerity. "Ever since I laid eyes on Twilight's body, I wondered what I was going to say to you."

"I'm not going to forgive you," Spike snapped, narrowing his eyes at her.

Celestia paused for a moment without any reaction to his words. Luna frequently shifted her gaze between her sister and the infant dragon.

"I wanted to tell you that I believed Twilight could do it. I believed that she could temporarily break away from you. I did not only wish to believe it, I needed to believe it, because I would not accept any of you dying on my watch. You should know that it was only when I told her that she would need to sever her relationship with you that she truly doubted her ability to forgive me. And if you had died, I know that she would not have wanted anything to do with me ever again. But I am certain you do not need to be told how much she loved you, for her love is the reason why you stand before me right now."

"I still wish she hadn't saved me," Spike said with bitterness. "And I still don't know what I'm going to be doing with my life now, but...." He looked back at the five ponies behind him. "....I know that I won't be leaving my friends. Because they're all I have for support now."

The mane five bestowed a warm smile upon him, which he returned to the best of his ability, but his mournful feelings prevented it from being quite as warm as theirs. As he faced forward again, Luna took a few steps in his direction until she was standing directly above him.

"Spike, I would be honored if you lent your services to me."

The dragon blinked inquisitively. "Huh?"

"The truth is, I do not wish to be ruling this country alone. I think that if I had a good assistant—an adviser of sorts—I would be feeling much more confident about what lies in store for me. You would live here, but you'd be able to see your friends anytime you want, so long as I'm not in need of your assistance at that moment. If you truly need a new purpose in life, this is what I offer you. What do you say?"

Spike stood frozen in place, taken aback by the opportunity that was being dropped directly into his lap. He looked at his friends, who each displayed their own gestures of encouragement.

"I accept," he said with a positive and hesitant breath.

Luna smiled at him out of genuine gratitude, now feeling instilled with confidence as she said she would be.

"Thank you."

"Very well, then," Celestia said with a nod. "During these last several hours, I've come to realize that my expectations of Twilight were often far too high—so high that I was perhaps under the belief that failure was almost impossible for her. Because of that, I now feel that I will not be truly redeemed unless I am held to the same standards. You six are not the only ones who will need to be convinced that I am ready to rule again. I will need to be convinced, too."

"Tomorrow, I shall give a statement to all of Equestria explaining what has transpired," said Luna. "And we will also begin the planning of Twilight's funeral."

With all business finally taken care of, the mane five along with Spike (who decided to go back to retrieve his backpack) turned to leave. Nothing would ever feel the same again—Spike would still miss Twilight every single day of his life, Rainbow Dash would never stop regretting her final words to her, Celestia would never stop blaming herself for Twilight's death, and the mane five would never be able to enjoy each other's company quite as much as they did when they were six. Yet as they walked out of the throne room and ultimately boarded another train back home, they were confident that the worst was now behind them.

The new dawn was coming.