The Plane

“I want to visit her family.”

Twilight looked up from the letter on which she had just finished a paragraph.

“Goldspark's?”

“Yeah.”

“That won't be a problem. Do you want me to come with you?”

“Yes.” Cold fumbled around uncomfortably. “But you don't have to.”

“I'll send word to her family. It's better to obtain permission; ponies can react very differently to personal losses such as this.”

Cold nodded. “Thanks.”

Twilight made a few corrections to what she had written, then she put the quill aside.

“I hope you aren't offended if I ask you this... but can I be sure that you won't...”

“Kill myself?”

“Or do some other stupid thing.”

“Yes. I haven't fought this hard just to throw my life away once it is safe. It's just...” She sighed. “I just wish that she was still alive. It's one thing to know that I denied eleven other ponies the chance to live, but... it would be so much easier to accept if I also saved somepony. But as is, I only saved myself, and now I feel like I owe it to the others to live it as best as I can.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “She was a smart kid, wasn't she?”

“Yeah.” Cold wanted to chuckle, but it came out more as a sob. “She came up with a proof for the existence of infinite prime numbers in the spawn of like an hour. That was one of the puzzles in the... blasted place.”

”Quite impressive, indeed.” Twilight stocked, and looked at her for several seconds before she continued. “But as far as your life goes... I want you to know that we will do everything we can to make up for what happened. Nothing can restore your memories, but we can give you back the life you lost.”

“How?”

“By temporarily pausing your aging, making you younger, or a combination of both. However you like.”

Cold blinked. “Really?”

“Yes,” Twilight said emphatically. “Nopony may trade with lifetime, but if somepony has life taken from her by force, then Celestia will give it back to her. Otherwise, you would always feel like twenty years were missing from your life.”

“But I did live them.”

“Even so. Reaching an age without that many years to look back to is a terrible fate. Have you not felt it yet?”

“Yes.” Cold lowered her gaze. “Yes, I have. It feels like I'm only just starting with my life, and the knowledge that I have lived for twenty years does not change a thing.” She breathed out slowly, comprehending the news. “This... is a great gift. It's...” Cold stocked. “It's more than I expected. It's immeasurably precious.”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, it is. So, I take that you want to have it?”

“I do. I... I need to think about how exactly I want it to be, but yes.”

“There are some restrictions, of course. You must not tell anypony about it without permission from the princess, and you may not get back your whole lifetime. The way ponies produce memories is different in every stage of their life. The matter will have to be discussed in more detail with the princess.”

“Yeah, of course. Thank you.”

Twilight nodded again, then she smiled. “Crimes of this magnitude happen very rarely in Equestria. If they do, it is our job to compensate for the living as best and as just as we can. I am only involved because I had a part in catching the pony who did this, but I know that the princess will take a great interest in how well your situation can be handled.”

“Cold?”

“Hm?”

Cold had spent the last few minutes doing nothing in particular, just enjoying the tranquility of the moment, and watching Twilight work.

“Not that I mind, but... you know that you can go out whenever you want, right?”

“But you don't mind?”

“No.”

“I...” Cold sighed. “I'm not ready to meet anypony else yet. I'm not even two days old, remember?” She giggled, and to her own delight it sounded almost natural. “You know, I... even though I spent less than a tenth of my life in the plane, it still feels like... like I've been in there for most of it. Like I just got out. It's not just because it was terrifying, but also because it's the first thing I have experienced. When I was there, it was the only life I knew. Mh... don't worry, I'll go out soon enough. I just need a little bit more time to process everything. And staying here with you is nice. Peaceful.”

“Well, you can stay for as long as you like. Company is nice, especially if it's as quiet as you are.”

A smile hushed over Cold's face. “Yeah. Well...” She bit her lip. “You know, it would all be so much easier if she... that's what really hurts me. I just... I wish so much that she was still alive. So much...” She closed her eyes. “It's the same thing again. This... loss that I feel, it's the first strong emotion that I know, and I don't know how to deal with it yet. That's why I need time...”

“Twilight?”

It was two days later, but the scenario was identical. Cold was sitting on the floor of an upper room in the library, watching Twilight as she was reading up on something in a large book about teleportation magic. Not wanting to be a distraction, she had waited for Twilight to put the book aside before saying anything.

“Yea?” Twilight turned around.

“I can't fly. I tried to earlier today. Do...” She stocked. “Do you... know somepony...”

“Somepony who could teach you how to fly?”

Cold nodded. Twilight smirked.

“I do. And I know she'll keep it private if you ask her to.”

“Oh... good.”

“You're actually... well, at the very least a passable flier based solely on your wing muscles, but more likely a pretty good one. The physical requirements are there, you just need to relearn the technique. I don't think it'll take as much time as learning it from scratch.”

“Who is she?”

“She's captain of the local weather team, but that's a job way below her qualification. In truth, she's one of the top fliers of her generation. And she's one of my closest friends.”

“And... you're sure she's not overqualified for...”

“No. You worry too much, Cold. She'll enjoy teaching you how to fly. And who knows, once you have relearned how to do it, maybe she'll actually get a more capable flying partner. An orphanage from  Manehatten? Most pegasi who are great fliers don't live in places such as this. Chances are you'll be one of the best fliers in Ponyville."

“Alright... thanks.”

“Do you think I'll fit into Ponyville?”

Twilight, who had just finished practicing deforming magic on a small rubber ball, stepped back from her desk and turned around.

“I do. You're kind, uncomplicated, and super considerate. And Ponyville is one of the friendlies places in Equestria. You'll have no problems getting along.” She tilted her head. ”Does this mean you're ready to go outside?”

“I think so.”

“That's great.” She gave her a smile. “Would you like me to take you somewhere?”

Cold sighed in relief at the offer. “Yes, that would be wonderful.”

“We can go right now.” Twilight lead Cold towards the staircase. The walk down seemed to take next to no time, and Cold almost regretted her decision, but there was no backing down now.

“You still seem to be nervous. If this is because of our meeting with Goldspark's family, I can easy reschedule that to a later day.”

“No, it's not that. I want to go outside.”

But it was more than that. During the last few days, her fear and pain and slowly been taken over by excitement. Everything was open to her. Every place was somewhere she could go to, even the sky. Every activity was something she might enjoy, if only she tried it out. The world was large and beautiful, and it was time for her to see some of it. Her heart beat like a filly on her first day of school when she stepped in front of the library door.

“Let's visit my friend Fluttershy. She lives outside of town, so you'll get a look of Ponyville and meet someone nice, without being put through too much at once.”

Cold nodded. Her eyes ahead, she stepped closer to Twilight than it was necessary. She was ready to finally meet the outside world, for the first time in her life.