My Journey To The Stars

Twilight Sparkle looked outside of her vessel, staring into the depths of the darkness that surrounded her. The stark blackness of the void outside was contrasted with the pristine whiteness of the inside of her new home, the Eclipse 1. She pulled her eyes back in from the black, to give her eyes a break from the unknown.

She took a moment to admire the condition of her ‘ship’, if you could call it that. It was untouched by any sort of filth. The pure white walls sparkled brilliantly. It contained the bare essentials in furnishing, while having huge cupboards containing all her food, her suits, her notepads, her books. It was supposed to be a home away from home, after all.

Twilight had always been one for simplicity, preferring to live in a hollowed-out tree over a castle. Many would say that it were not fit for a princess, but Twilight thought otherwise.

Twilight sighed loudly.

Nopony heard it.

She looked outside again.

It was just black.

There was nothing.

No sun, no moon, no sea, no land, just nothing.

Nothing.

Twilight frowned.

She decided she was tired enough to sleep. She flapped her wings to propel her, and she floated slowly to a ‘bed’. It was a ‘bed’ in the same way that an apple was an orange. It was more akin to a modern stretcher than a bed, complete with straps. It was the only way to prevent herself from floating in her sleep. Using her magic, she strapped herself in, and tried to get into a comfortable position. She sighed once more.

Nopony heard it.

Sleep was a fruitless effort at this point, and she loosened the straps. She floated away from the bed, and past a cork-board with many items pinned to it, including a calendar.

She stared blankly at the calendar. It was the day before Hearth’s Warming…

She would be celebrating it by herself. She closed her eyes.

As she reopened them, her eyes darted to the clock, nailed to the wall of the craft. 7 AM. She levitated her marker and she crossed out the date on the calendar. 24/12 had come and gone.

Crisis averted.

She didn’t want to celebrate Hearth’s Warming all by herself.

She sighed.

Nopony heard it.

She continued staring out the window.

An object caught her eye.

A large rock passed by the ship. She levitated a clipboard towards her, and started frantically writing.

Name; Object A0114

Type; Asteroid

Location; Approx. 5 light-days from Object P0032-b

Description; Object is very large. Appears to be made from very valuable materials, such as platinum. Possible mining location in future? Multiple craters, presumably from past impacts.

She rested, clipping the pen to the spine of the clipboard. She continued staring at the rock, mesmerised by the beauty of the object. Despite it’s scarred outside, Twilight thought it was beautiful. The minerals shone in the light from inside the Eclipse 1. She smiled weakly.

She continued looking through her notes, and she thought about what her mission was. What she was doing in space. Why she was even there in the first place, when she could be home with all her friends, rather than in a stupid, cold bucket floating aimlessly in nothing. Twilight sighed again.

Princess Celestia had given her a very special research task. She needed to gather information on their galaxy. She wanted to be aware of inhabitable planets, potential mines, and other useful objects in the vast expanse of space. For this, she was required to live on the Eclipse 1 for several years. Celestia estimated about six years, although she was going to keep Twilight informed of any changes. Twilight only hoped that her mission would be shortened.

The spacecraft itself was almost brand new. They had only developed this technology recently, after many years of research. It was designed to last forever, and to keep a pony alive for many years. She was well stocked with non-perishables and oxygen.

She wondered why she volunteered for the mission. She thought it would be interesting. To be the first pony to live in space for so long. On the other side of the argument, she was a princess, and she had so many friends in Ponyville. She was devastated to leave them, but she had to do it.

It was for the greater good, she said.

She sighed again.

Nopony heard her.

Twilight was already six months into her journey. She sighed again. If her calculations were right, it was Hearth’s Warming. She imagined Spike, all alone in the library, wrapped in blankets in front of the fire. A strange, bittersweet feeling would wash over him. He would be lonely for the first Hearth’s Warming in years, but would he be happy, regardless? He would be truly independent for the first time.

She imagined Fluttershy snuggling up in her little cottage, surrounded by her little animal friends around a fire. She imagined Rarity, cuddled up with Sweetie near their Hearth’s Warming tree, which would have been beautifully decorated with many exotic ornamentals. She imagined Rainbow Dash and Applejack in front of an old-fashioned fireplace, with the rest of the Apple family around. She imagined Pinkie warming up with a plate full of gingerbread ponies, with a Hearth’s Warming tree, covered with candy canes. Twilight laughed a little, at the thought of Pinkie and her sugary treats. She would be so hyper.

Twilight closed her eyes and sighed.

Would she ever see them again?

She shook her head. Of course she was going to see them again.

In five years.

She continued to stare out the window, as if to remove the thought from her head.

She heard the radio buzzing. She looked over at the radio. It was built in to the console of her ship, with a single microphone extending from the smooth surface.

“szzzz- Princess Twilight?” the radio crackled.

It was Celestia. She wanted to speak.

Twilight hovered over as fast as she could. She pressed down on a red button.

“Princess Twilight, reporting in,” she stated in a cold, robotic fashion.

Several seconds later, the radio replied.

“Ah, Twilight. It is a pleasure to hear your voice again.”

“As it is yours, my Princess. Do you have any news about my friends? I heard Applejack and Rainbow Dash were getting married.”

Celestia paused.

“Twilight, it is important for the mission that I keep this information from you. I know you miss your friends, and you desperately want to hear from them, but I fear it will affect your performance.”

Twilight sighed.

“Well, is there any news on my mission?”

“Only what you’ve told me.”

“Could you shorten it?” Twilight asked, with some eagerness.

“Twilight, your hope is misplaced. I have no real indication of how far away you are, how many planets you’ve discovered, anything,” Celestia continued. “On that topic, I wanted to ask for an update on your information. Have you gathered much?”

“Indeed. Since our last contact, I have discovered several solar systems similar to ours. I have also found exactly 32 planets, four of which seem to be habitable, and over a hundred asteroids. I’m not sure, but I think a great many of those asteroids could be used for mining.”

“Ah! That is splendid news, my student. Keep up this level of work, and I may be able to shorten your trip by a year.”

“That would be very much appreciated, Princess.” Twilight said.

“I know it will be. Tell me how you are holding up, my faithful student.”

Twilight paused, and thought about her reply.

“I suppose I’m going fine. I’m a little bit lonely, but it could be worse.”

“If it helps, I can start contacting you more often.”

Twilight chuckled, and said, “Oh Celestia, you don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine, I’ll get over it.”

“Oh dear, I must be going now. Somepony’s gotta raise the sun,” Celestia said with a lighthearted chuckle.

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle. Usually, such a tame joke wouldn’t amuse Twilight, but she has been without contact with anypony for so long. She’d do anything for a moment of happiness.

“I shall contact you again in three months.”

Twilight sighed again, before saying, “I shall be waiting.”

“Oh! And I almost forgot…” Celestia suddenly said.

“Merry Hearth’s Warming, my faithful student.”

Twilight’s face dropped. She was reminded of the fact she was spending it alone. It’s as if Celestia wanted to hurt her.

“Oh…” Twilight tried her hardest to maintain composure, “um… thanks, Celestia. Merry Hearth’s Warming to you too…”

The radio went silent.

Twilight let several tears drip from her face. She didn’t want to spend Hearth’s Warming all alone. She wanted to go home. She didn’t want to do this.

Twilight shook her head. It was her first contact with another pony for months, and it had lasted little over a minute. She gently kicked off from the control panel and slowly drifted to her bed. She strapped herself in, and closed her eyes.

She sighed.

And nopony heard her.

Twilight stared from the glass into the unknown.

She was so happy to be the first pony to live in space long-term, but now, it felt worthless.

She turned around and looked at the other side of the ship. The other wall was covered in marks. Ever since Twilight’s calendar had run out, she began tallying the days. She had no idea what the date was back home.

She had tallied 683 days.

She gasped, after realizing she’d only been up there for almost two years. Her eyes were watering up. She burst into tears.

“I-I’m never gonna see them agaainnn!” she cried.

She heard a beep from the control panel. She floated over and looked outside. Several light-minutes away, she saw a singular fragment of rock.

Curious to see what happened, she veered off-course to explore.

She noticed quickly that she was within a tiny asteroid field. She checked her map of the star system, and found out a planet was supposed to be where she was. She gasped, and the tears returned.

An entire planet had been destroyed.

She stared into what remained of the little planet. A tear fell from her eyes and floated in front of her. She shook her head and levitated her notepad to her.

Name; Object AF0013

Type; Asteroid Field

Location; Approx. 7 light-hours from Object P0236

Description; Seems to be created as a result of a recent collision with an unidentified object, most likely an Asteroid. Approx. 10 light-minutes large.

She levitated her notepad back to its standard position, and she continued to observe the field. She rubbed her face to remove the teardrop, only to realise it was floating in front of her. She sighed.

Nopony heard her.

“...why did I do this?” Twilight asked herself aloud.

She half-expected an answer. Her reply was nothing.

“I wish I was back home. I want to see my friends again…” Twilight closed her eyes, painfully remembering everything.

“Would they even remember me?”

Twilight let the tears flow from her face into the empty space.

“W-would they still be my friends?”

She cried.

Nopony heard her.

“Why was I crying over a stupid planet being destroyed?!” her sadness turned to frustration.

She shook her head again.

“...I need some sleep…”

Twilight kicked off from the wall of the ship again, floating towards a small cupboard. This contained all her personal possessions. Atop the cupboard was a small, hoof-held mirror, held down by a small strap. Twilight used her magic to unbuckle the strap and levitated the tiny mirror towards her face.

She looked into it. It was just Twilight Sparkle, staring back at her. She stared at herself. Apart from looking a bit sleep-deprived, she didn’t look any different from when she had left. She certainly did feel different. She wanted to go home. She didn’t know why she had left. She was so alone, up there in space.

Suddenly, she felt anger bubbling inside her. Why was she so stupid? She knew it was going to be a long time, and yet she was dumb enough to accept this absurd deal. Why? Was she so vain as to leave her friends so she could be in history books?

She screamed and threw the stupid little mirror away.

The mirror sped away, until it collided with the wall. It cracked and slowed down significantly.

Twilight started crying.

And nopony heard her.

Twilight stared at the clock.

It stared back at her.

She began to frown.

“...what are you looking at?” she grunted.

The clock said nothing.

“Hey! I’m talking to you!”

She kicked off from the floor, and floated until the clock stared her in the face.

“That’s right! What are you looking at?!”

Anger built up inside her.

“Answer me. Right. NOW!”

She swung her hoof at the glass clock. The glass shell cracked violently. The display of the clock disappeared.

She pulled her hoof back, and raised it to her mouth. A tear escaped from her eye.

Suddenly, the radio crackled.

“szzz- Princess Twilight?” a familiar voice emitted from the speakers.

“Celestia!” Twilight said, almost swimming to the control panel.

She slammed her hoof down on the console.

“Celestia! Boy, am I glad to hear your beautiful voice!”

“...yes, as am I,” Celestia awkwardly replied.

“You know who else has a beautiful voice? Shutterity or whoever that was, I could really hear her voice right now.”

“...have you collected any more information, my student?” Celestia avoided the topic.

“Yes! Yes I have! I’ve got a whole load of it! A whole ten notebooks, with loads of all the spacey info you could need! Yes, yes, yes!” Twilight eagerly replied.

Celestia was silent.

“Celly? Can you speak again, please? I want to hear your voice,” Twilight almost begged.

“...um, yes. Here is my… voice… in all it’s glory…” Celestia was confused.

“Y’know, Celestia, being up here, it’s really given me something,” Twilight paused, before continuing. “I miss hearing ponies talking. Up here, it’s pretty lonely, y’know? Sometimes I read books aloud, just so I can hear somepony speak… it’s nice.”

“I suppose it is.”

“Yeah, you ponies back on Earth take this for granted. Just contact with other ponies… it’s just...”

“I understand you, my faithful student. You need not explain. After all, I have not stopped hearing about it from Luna,” Celestia said with a chuckle.

“How is she? Luna.”

“She’s just fine, Twilight.”

“...how are my friends?”

Celestia paused. She chose her words carefully.

“They… they are concerned about you, but they are otherwise fine. As am I, Twilight.”

Twilight stared into the distance. How far, she did not know. Could she measure it in light-hours? She had no idea. She hated that. She didn’t even know how far away she was from home. Her big, cozy castle. She wanted nothing more than to return.

“Twilight?”

“Hmm?”

“...how are you feeling?”

“Oh! Just fine, Celly! Totally! Totally fine!” Twilight said.

“...I am concerned about you.”

“Celestia, have I ever told you about how beautiful your voice is?” Twilight asked, and continued before Celestia could answer. “It’s like honey, but in aural form. It relaxes me, it feels nice to my ears. Can you please keep talking to me? I want to hear your voice!”

“Twilight, stop this.”

“No!” Twilight screamed.

The both of them stayed quiet. Twilight broke the silence.

“...how long have I been up here?”

“Almost five years now…”

“C-can I come home?”

Celestia paused. She had extended Twilight’s mission last time by several years, but the trip was clearly taking a toll on her, much more than Celestia had originally thought. It may have been minor now, but who knows how much worse it could get. She made her decision. She wasn’t going to kill her faithful student like this.

“...yes.”

Twilight was silent.

“In fact, I want you to turn around right now, and head back. As of now, your mission is officially over. I can’t have you risking your mental health over this. You have collected more than enough information on the topic over the course of these five years. You are dismissed, my faithful student.”

Twilight maintained professional conduct.

“Thank you, Celestia.”

“My pleasure, Twilight. Godspeed.”

The radio fell silent.

Twilight smiled.

She started jumping for joy.

“I’m going back!”

And nopony heard her.

Black.

Black.

Black.

Why is it so dark in space?

Twilight’s eyes throbbed. It was from one extreme to another. Totally white, to totally black. Sometimes, she wanted to smash that fucking mirror, and gouge her fucking eyes out, but she resisted the urge, no matter how strong it came at her.

After all, when she got back to Earth, there would be so much to see! Oh how much the world would have changed in ten years! Would her friends even remember her?

Twilight started crying at her last thought.

Nopony heard her.

She stopped sobbing briefly. She needed to keep her composure. After all, she’d kept it for nine years. She’d be damned to ruin everything now. Earth was almost in sight. Just one more light-year.

Just one more light-year. Just one more light-year.

That was all she needed to do. Just one more light-year, and she’d be back, and she’d see all her friends again. Celestia didn’t give her an update last time.

Twilight was quite anxious to get home as soon as she could. She told herself one more light-year, but that was twelve light-months, which is 365 light-days, which is 8,760 light-hours, which is 52,560 light-minutes, which is 31,536,000 light-seconds, which is…

Twilight slammed her hooves on the bottom of the Eclipse 1 in anger. What a long time to wait. She just wanted to get home. She screamed out in anger.

Nopony heard her.

She started crying again.

Of course nopony heard her! She was constantly reminded of that. Nopony was goddamn there to hear her! She screamed louder. She kicked the ship again, accidently launching herself off the floor. She smacked her head on the roof violently.

She screamed again, which turned into a pathetic whimper. She started sobbing again.

“I-I-I just wanna g-go home…”

Nopony heard her.

Nopony heard her.

Nopony heard her.

She didn’t even care at this point. She would have killed the other pony at this point. She would have eaten him too. Yep. No evidence. Starting at the throat. Talking is so overrated. Twilight didn’t need to talk to anyone for months, years even. She was all by herself. Just her, herself, and Twilight Sparkle. Yep, that was all there was. Just Twilight, that was all she needed.

Of course, she missed her friends. She wanted to see them all again. Shutterfly, Apple, the fashionable one, Rainbow Flash, Surprise, the dragon, all of them. She missed them. She missed them very much indeed. She wanted to see them again. She missed them very much.

Very much.

But she didn’t need them. Or their stupid voices. Voices are stupid. Twilight hates voices.

Voices.

Voices.

Voices.

Twilight hated her voice. Voice. Voice. Voice.

That’s such a stupid word. Voice

She started screaming until her throat went raw.

“Voice! Voice! Voice! Voice!”

She coughed up blood. She could feel the iron taste in her mouth. She spat it out, and looked at the mixture of saliva and blood floating in front of her.

“Voice!”

She continued screaming, and continued shredding her throat.

And still, nopony heard her.

After ten years of flight, the Eclipse 1 finally landed back in Canterlot. She was greeted by thousands of cheering ponies. Who are these ponies? All these voices. They were all beautiful. Twilight stumbled around madly. She needed to get her land-legs back. What a stupid term. She saw a white pony with purple hair trotting towards her. The unicorn wore a pretty dress, filled with many colours, and a hoofbag hung around her neck. She looked familiar. Who was it? She couldn’t quite remember. Her voice would probably sound nice. The noise was deafening.

“Twilight, darling, let’s get you away from these ruffians!” the white unicorn exclaimed, with a certain urgency in her voice.

“Um, okay…”

The white unicorn waved at a huge metal box. What the hell is that thing?

“Um, what is that?”

“Oh! They call these ‘cars’. They are much more efficient for transport than those old carriages. Basically, they are safer, and don’t use slave labour to work.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“I really wish you were here to see them when they first came out, they are amazing!”

A door opened up, and allowed Twilight and the white unicorn inside. Twilight was stunned.

The ‘car’ sped off.

Suddenly, the white unicorn spoke up, “Um, Mr. Driver, could you take us to the Starswirl Hotel please?”

“Sure thing,” a gruff voice replied from the front.

“Thank you, darling.”

“Wow!” Twilight exclaimed.

“What is it, my dear Twilight?”

“Your voice, it’s so beautiful!”

“Well, thank you Twilight! Usually people praise me for my fashion sense, but it’s always nice to hear I have a nice voice too.”

“It’s like a flower, but verbal!”

The white unicorn shifted around awkwardly, “Um, yes, I suppose you could say that.”

“Can you keep speaking, please? I love your voice!”

“Um, okay then… well, do you like my dress? It’s very pretty, in my opinion. I made it myself, especially for this occasion. It’s been a long time since you’ve been around, but now I have my own office here! And I have people to help me make these dresses. But this one? I made this one myself...”

Twilight could listen to the white unicorn speak forever.

Several minutes later, she wanted the white unicorn to shut up forever.

“...and sometimes, I like to drink fine merlots and come up with dress designs. And after that, I like to slip under the covers of my bed and read a good romance novel.”

“We’re here. The Starswirl Hotel.”

“Ah! Yes, how much will that be, sir?”

“Thirteen bits.”

“Thirteen?!”

“Yep, prices have gone up. Sorry ma’am.”

“I wouldn’t pay thirteen bits for a three course meal!”

Twilight slipped out from the car while the two argued about the price. She did remember the Starswirl Hotel. She remembered Starswirl. How couldn’t she? He was only the greatest magician Equestria has seen!

“Come on, Twilight, we must be going.”

The white unicorn rushed them inside.

While the white unicorn talked to the hotel staff, Twilight sat in the foyer, staring into space. God, she hated space. All these ponies glorified space. It’s just dark and lonely up there. She was glad her voice had healed well. She couldn’t speak for a month. Then again, she didn’t have anypony to speak to. Nopony would hear her. She closed her eyes for a short second.

When she opened them, the white unicorn was in front of her.

“Come, Twilight, we must be going.”

The white unicorn rushed her towards two steel doors. She pressed an arrow going up (towards space) and the doors opened. They stepped inside.

“What’s this thing called?”

“Oh! This is an elevator! It makes it much easier for ponies to get to different floors in a hotel. They are really quite handy. Stairs were such a pain!”

The white unicorn pressed a button, and the doors closed.

They arrived at their desired floor, and the white unicorn swiped a card through the door. Magically, the door unlocked, and allowed the two inside.

The hotel was nothing short of luxurious. The carpet was velvety, and cushioned Twilight’s hooves. The walls were coloured a dark blue, and light flowed in through a large window. In the middle of the room, there were two single beds, and on the opposite wall, there was a huge glass screen. Twilight would need to ask about that. She smiled.

She felt like she was home.

Despite only being a hotel room, she already felt like she had more room to move around.

Both ponies sat down on the beds together. They faced each other.

“So…” the white unicorn began.

“So what?”

“Twilight, do you remember me?”

Twilight rubbed her chin.

“Umm… you like dresses and fashion… you’re…” Twilight paused, before sighing in defeat, “I don’t know, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I’m Rarity.”

“That’s it! It was on the tip of my tongue!”

Rarity giggled poshly.

“So, do you remember the rest of us?”

“Um, there was the party one…”

“Pinkie,” Rarity interjected.

“Yeah, and the shy one…”

“Fluttershy,” Rarity said with a twinge of sadness in her tone.

“The dragon?”

“Spike.”

“The one with rainbow hair…”

Rarity gasped, and looked away, before saying, “Rainbow Dash…”

“Aaaaanndd… the apple one.”

“That’s Applejack.”

“I love your voice.”

“Well, um, thank you, but you’ve already told me this, darling.”

“So, where are all my friends? I wanna hear their voices!”

She heard a bleep coming from the bag that Rarity was carrying. She pulled out a sleek, thin rectangle. She tapped the rectangle with her hoof. Twilight watched in mesmerisation. Rarity looked over.

“Oh, you must be wondering what this is. This is a mobile phone. You can instantly talk to people using it in real time, like the radio inside your ship. It’s a very cool machine!”

“Ooookaaayy...”

“That was Pinkie sending me a message. She says she’ll be here soon.”

“Was it a voice message?”

“Twilight, can you cut that voice crap out?! It’s weird!” Rarity spat with sudden aggression.

Twilight hesitated, but stopped. She paused for a moment.

“Twilight, you’ve been acting… how do I say it... a little bit, ‘off’ since I picked you up. What’s going on?” Rarity asked with a voice of concern.

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing! How dare you even suggest that! I am perfectly fine, mentally and physically!”

“Okay, Twilight! I’m sorry for suggesting anything.”

Twilight was thinking.

“Just Pinkie, that’s all?”

Rarity sighed painfully.

“Unfortunately, yes. Celestia mustn’t have told you the full story.”

“What full story?”

“Twilight, a lot has changed while you were gone. Not just society, but us. Your friends.”

“Tell me, I’ve got all the time in the world,” Twilight begged. “Plus, I get to hear your voice!”

“If you insist. I’ll start from good news to bad news.”

Rarity cleared her throat.

“Spike, he grew up. He became far too big to live in Ponyville, so he just flew away. Just five years ago, actually. He’s off in the mountains with his dragon friends. He promised to visit, but he hasn’t. I think he’s moved on, Twilight.”

“Oh.”

“I became a very successful fashion designer, and I decided to move out of Ponyville, several years before Spike left. You see, we’d been drifting apart without you, and, well, I saw no reason to stay. I moved to Manehatten. I only came to Canterlot to see you arrive home.”

Rarity paused, and thought.

“The Cake’s bakery was shut down, and Pinkie has been living by herself ever since. She has a typical office job, 9-to-5. She had to fake a sick day to come down here,” Rarity chuckled.

Twilight giggled as well.

“Fluttershy… her house was burnt down by a lightning storm. All her animals… perished in the fire.”

Twilight gasped.

“She moved in with Applejack to take care of the animals at the farm. She’s never fully recovered. She’s even quieter than before, she doesn’t talk to anyone.”

“Rainbow Dash… oh Rainbow Dash… I don’t know how to put this lightly,” Rarity said, wiping a tear off her cheek. “Rainbow, as you know, was engaged to poor Applejack. After many, many delays, she finally managed to schedule a day when it wasn’t going to rain. She was perfecting a trick to perform at the wedding, and… it didn’t go so well. She hit a boulder and... died... almost instantly.”

Twilight let a tear roll from her eye.

“Oh my God…”

Rarity sniffled, and continued,  “Applejack was extremely distraught. What made it worse was the fact that Granny Smith died a week after Rainbow did. Applebloom moved out several years later. Applejack had absolutely nopony to talk to, except Fluttershy and Big Mac. Coupled with the fact that Fluttershy barely talks anymore, it’s essentially just Applejack and Mac.”

The two stared at each other.

“So…”

“So… yeah. That’s what’s been happening between us,” Rarity said, with melancholy in her voice, “I wish we had stayed together, but nothing is ever perfect.”

Rarity looked at her mobile phone for a moment, before she slid it back into her hoofbag.

“You know, Twilight, I really do miss them,” Rarity started. “I miss Rainbow Dash a lot. She and I were really getting closer, you know? I was helping her pick out a dress for the wedding. She wanted a suit,” Rarity chuckled for a short while, “and I told her she needed to wear a dress. She looked absolutely stunning in the one I picked for her. And Applejack, she looked wonderful in hers. It was all for nothing, now...” Rarity sniffled. “I miss hearing Rainbow’s raspy voice, telling you that you’re an ‘egghead’, or that I’m ‘too fancy’.”

Twilight was tearing up.

“Those… selfish ponies…”

“What?!” Rarity yelled in shock, and anger. “How are they selfish!? Ponies they loved died, and you’re calling them selfish?! Rainbow Dash died, and you’re calling her widow selfish!? Do you have a heart?!”

“Because they don’t appreciate what they have! They have more ponies around them! They can talk, ponies can hear them!”

“What is it with you and voices!?”

“Speaking! Being understood! Ponies, hearing my voice! My voice!” Twilight yelled.

“Twilig-”

“Hearing another ponies voice is a blessing, and they just abuse it! They have other ponies to talk to, to hear their voices, and they hear these ponies voices! Voices!”

“Twilight, shut up about the voices!”

“No! Don’t you understand, you bitch?!” Twilight stopped, looking at Rarity’s shocked expression. “I’ve been in space for ten years! You know how long ten years is?! Celestia called me every six months! I had nopony to talk but myself! Can you even comprehend what it’s like out there?!” Twilight stopped and calmed down, and continued. “Rarity, if you had been what I’ve been through, you’d realise that just talking to another pony is a luxury. It’s given me a whole new perspective. Just hearing all these beautiful voices… for ten years, it was just me, me, me, and Celestia every now and then. It really is the simple things, Rarity. The voices. Ponies to hear me. Ponies for me to hear. It’s...”

Rarity looked at Twilight, with a look of sympathy and understanding. She got up from the bed, and trotted until she sat beside her friend, and threw her hoof over Twilight’s back.

“You know, Twilight, now I understand…”

“Sure, Rainbow Dash might be dead, Granny Smith might be dead, all of Fluttershy’s animals are dead, but does that matter? I don’t mean to sound cold, but can’t they take pleasure in being around those who are alive? There’s still three of them there, they can talk. They can talk… and ponies will hear them…”

Twilight started crying. She was mentally unstable, and she knew it. She had gone mad. Her friendship with all of them had dissolved entirely. She’d never see them again. Spike was a full grown dragon. Rainbow Dash was dead, Fluttershy and Applejack were hermits. Pinkie had surely changed. Rarity? She wouldn’t be seeing Rarity at all. Rarity was living far away in a different city. Her journey to the stars had ruined them. Her friends weren’t all physically dead, but their friendship had been dead for a long time. From the minute that rocket left Earth.

And now, in their current state, that former friendship would never be repaired. They were all permanently separated, if not physically, then mentally. She’d never hear their voices again. Nothing would ever be okay again. They were all dead inside.

She bawled.

And this time, somepony did hear her.