Sacrifice

It was amazing how something so sacred, the very definition of harmony, could so easily become a force of chaos and destruction. The bearers were now gone. Not with a scream of terror, or a clear mark of death; they were simply gone. The best comparison Twilight's thoroughly frazzled and traumatised mind could come up with being: went poof. Blink, gone.

But the element of harmony, princess of friendship and defender of Equestria had learned to think fast; to react to dangerous situations, even a hair's length away from death. So, a mere minute from her death, Twilight Sparkle preformed two spells. The first, a temporary spell, made to keep her memories safe for ten minutes. The other was simply a spell to reverse time.

Now, the phrase 'reverse time' can mean many different things to many different ponies, but allow me to make this clear: Twilight Sparkle, having witnessed a lifetime of memories and a glimpse of death, did not jump back in time, nor did she travel to an alternate universe. There were not two Twilights, nor would there ever be. It was like pressing the rewind button on your TV remote; whatever had been done, was undone in a fraction of a millisecond.

The time she found herself in was just before her entrance exam to the school for gifted unicorns, twenty minutes until she lost her memories and ten until the sonic rainboom.

It was now that everything would change.

It was now that reality began to set in.

Twilight knew what she would have to do, as with any problem: Find the source and neutralise it. The question was, what would you do if you, yourself were the problem? It certainly added complexity to the mix, or it would if Twilight didn't know the answer to that as well.

Get rid of herself.

She would have to change everything she could from this point forward; no longer would she be the element of magic, no longer would she be Celestia's personal student, no longer would she be Ponyville's librarian, no longer would she be Spike's adoptive sister...

You may be thinking, 'but Twilight is the element of magic, she has to go to Ponyville!'

If so, I don't blame you. Twilight was not picked at birth to be one of the elements; she wasn't chosen because she would always be the element, no matter what, it was because she was there. Akin to a piece of an almost finished puzzle, she could be interchanged with any other piece that fit.

It stung, in a way, that Twilight was not, in fact chosen because she was simply the greatest, or that she was the very embodiment of friendship, but because she was the ideal choice.

In the same way, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing; it meant that the solution was simple.

Simple, but not easy; do not confuse the two.

If ever asked before this time, Twilight's answer would be, 'Of course! I would give up everything to know that my friends were happy.' without a hint of hesitation or satire. But, given the very situation to prove it, even the embodiment of kindness and the princess of the sun would hesitate.

Twilight didn't know how much time she had left; this was her only shot. If she failed, Twilight would never forgive herself.

But couldn't there be another way to do this? couldn't there be a way to keep her life and save everypony in the process? Maybe, but there was no time. The only way to be one hundred percent sure that her friends would be okay was to give them up.

Twilight took a moment to let regret fill her heart.

Regret that she never truly appreciated what she had.

Regret for Rainbow Dash. She was cocky, and egotistical. RD would always have her rivalry with Applejack, and deep within her, and everlasting dream. She would defend a stranger from any foe, and would be there for her friends most of all. There would always be comfort in knowing that even if the leadership position of the Wonderbolts were handed to her on a silver platter, all the fame, the glory, the riches, she would give it up in a heartbeat, without a single thought, for them. For Twilight.

Regret for Rarity. At first glace she seemed petty, even shallow, even though it was not all true. For on the inside, it was, in fact the reverse. She did not simply enjoy fashion, It was her passion; her reason to be. It was her career, not a mere casual hobby. Rarity had proven time, and time again that she would more than literally give up everything to save somepony.

Regret for Fluttershy. She could barely speak her name at first, but she would grow, Nopony had to try more than Fluttershy just to speak in a normal voice, but soon she would have more friends than she had ever imagined, or ever dreamed having. She had the most beautiful singing voice; no matter how hard she tried, the timid pegasus couldn't hold back when given the chance, so long as almost Nopony was watching, to sing. It had made Twilight wonder if she would have gotten a cutie mark in singing, if not in animal care. But above all, she was truly kind, and willing to conquer her greatest fears to save a friend.

Regret for Applejack. A true friend, and the worst liar ever to grace the face of the planet. She would be stubborn at times, and more willing to give help than to accept it, but if nothing else that pony was joined at the hip to her family. Who she holds in highest respect, as well as her closest friends, who she considers family. Applejack could always be trusted, and would always trust a friend.

Regret for Pinkie Pie. She was downright random and neigh-impossible to explain, so much so that most things, including and particularly the casual breaking of laws of physics could be summed up as 'Pinkie being Pinkie'. Twilight could've once looked back and laughed at the time she had actually tried to figure out Pinkie sense. If there was one thing that what always on the piny party pony's mind, it was parties, or otherwise and more likely, making her friends smile. The one thing that could bring a smile to Pinkie's face, it was another smile, and if there was one thing that could make anypony, even Cranky, smile, it was Pinkie Pie.

Regret for Spike. Her number one assistant, and the only resident dragon known to Equestria. Though he may complain, and though he may deny it, they two had a bond that was beyond words, and beyond thought.

Regret that she wouldn't even have a memory of them, in mere minutes.

Twilight allowed a single tear to drop from her eye. Time seemed to slow as it fell. Twilight imagined that it was filled with Pinkie's laughter, Fluttershy's singing, Rainbow Dash's smirk, Applejack's honest eyes, Rarity's gentle touch, Spike's sarcastic, but dependable personality, and her own love for them all, and the life that was now lost.

It fell with splatter to the ground; gone, gone, gone, in a blink. Went poof.

"Hey!" A light blue filly just behind Twilight snapped, "are you going to go, or what?"

Twilight turned, with a genuine, but sombre smile and said,

"You first."