The Darkest Part of the Day
She read her books at lightning speed. The entire library floated in a storm of papers and heavy books. Every time a book was found to be of no use, it was tossed forcefully from the room with a blast of magic. She searched and searched for a book to fix her situation. None of the books in her library told her how to fix this problem. Her mane began to fall out of place with all the times she tossed her head angrily. Oh please. Oh please. Oh please let there be a book to help! Twilight practically screeched in vexation with the uselessness of her books. They had never failed her before, always containing an answer to her problems somewhere.
But now they revealed no answers. She searched through yet another large book, tossing it aside angrily when it revealed no answer. The force of her chaotic reading had shaken pages loose from her books, but she didn’t care. She needed an answer.
She felt a pang of regret for her books. They had always been there for her, and they always will be. They were her friends, before those other five came along. Applejack with her Honesty, Fluttershy’s kindness to all creatures, Rainbow’s loyalty to Ponyville, Rarity’s giving acts, and Pinkie’s crazy antics and laughter. She loved all of them, even more than her books. They hated her now. She didn’t know why, and she didn’t even care. She just wanted her friends back, so she was searching for something, ANYTHING that her oldest friends would have to say. The dusty pages mocked her as they floated in the storm.
With a cry of anguish, she cast the books away from her with a pulse of magic. It was hopeless. Her friends hated her now, and now she lost her oldest ones as well. Tears began to drip onto the scattered papers, smearing away the words as they flowed along the creases in the paper. She sat alone in the paper-clad room; hurt dripping from her eyes in the form of tears. How could they hate me? What did I possibly do? She wondered to herself as she delved into her memories for anything that could help her. This wasn’t the first time that she searched through her mind, but that didn’t stop her.
Nothing. She couldn’t remember what she did wrong. It was as if some spell was cast over her to make everypony hate her. I HAVE to get to the bottom of this! I don’t want to lose my friends! With mental pep-talk given, she set about scouring the books for more advice and information. She didn’t notice as Celestia’s sun began to drop deep into the horizon to make way for Luna’s silvery moon. She always paused when the moon came up, admiring its beauty. It didn’t need any fancy adornments to be beautiful. Even with its craters and deformities, it was still stunningly beautiful.
Twilight wished she could be like the moon sometimes. Nopony would see her then, and she could read her books in peace. She caught herself feeling jealous of the moon, something she hadn’t felt for years after coming to Ponyville. Another wave of sadness washed into her as she thought that. Now there was nopony for her. She was alone in this large cruel world. She stumbled around the library, blinded by her tears that flowed down her face. In one corner, she found a gemstone left by one of Rarity’s visits to pay for some book whose pages were ripped slightly. In another, she found a cowboy hat that AJ made her. On top of the Daring Doo Section, she found a tuft of cloud and a number of cyan feathers. In her kitchen, she spotted a couple of cupcakes left uneaten at a party thrown by Pinkie Pie. And in her bedroom, she saw her quilt that was hoof-stitched by Fluttershy.
She looked around her house sadly. “We’ve had some good times haven’t we?” Now she knew she was crazy, because nopony else was there. “I mean, when I first came here, all I did was worry about getting back to Celestia and my studies. Now that I finally have to leave here, I don’t want to go back. I want to stay here, with all my friends.” She could barely speak through her sobs, but a part of her forced her to keep going, to say these words that had built up during her search. “I wouldn’t want to leave here knowing that everypony else hates me. I don’t want that. But I don’t know what to do anymore.” She tried to say more, but the sadness overtook her, choking off the words in her throat.
She walked over to her desk, with a lone piece of parchment set upon it. Well, if I’m returning home, I should write a letter to Celestia as to why I am. As she wrote, she poured her soul into the last letter she would ever write to Celestia on friendship. Just one last letter would be all she needed. She wrote and wrote, her tears running through the ink in some places. Once the sun had arisen once more, Twilight sealed her letter. As she walked slowly through the library, she hummed a small tune that she had learned from someplace as a filly. She sat in the middle of her old home and sang.
My little pony, my little pony
aaah aah aaah aaaah
I used to wonder what friendship could be
Until you all shared its magic with me!
Big adventure!
Tons of fun!
A beautiful heart
Faithful and strong
Sharing kindness
It's an easy feat
And Magic made it all complete
You had my little ponies
That used to be my very best friends
Her song complete, the now friendless Twilight Sparkle set out to deliver her last letter, walking in the darkest part of the day.
Twilight.
The end
Epilogue: The Last Report
Epilogue: The Last Report
Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna,
Today I have a very important lesson on the Magic of Friendship. I learned this lesson personally, and at great cost to myself and my friends. The lesson I speak of is that friendship doesn’t last forever. Nothing does. You see, when somepony else says “best friends forever”, they don’t really mean it. Everypony will drift from their friends eventually. It’s only how the world works. I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. They always hated me, it’s only natural to put on a nice face. I just wish I saw it sooner. Friendship will fade into nothingness like your day does to the night. It has to end eventually, just like the day does to make way for the darkness.
-Your faithful Student
Twilight Sparkle
Celestia stroked the purple mare curled up at her side as she read the letter. She read over the tear drop stained letter again and again, her own tears beginning to add to the paper. "Oh Twilight..." Celestia kept stroking the motionless mare at her side, feeling the softness of her coat and mane. The five ponies present in the room also wept. They sat in a semi-circle around their friend, tears dripping onto the floor beneath them.
"Princess, what.... what happened?" Rainbow Dash asked her with an unsteady voice.
"Twilight here exhausted herself coming here." Celestia replied with a soft voice. "She pushed herself too hard. She knew that she wouldn't make it here alive, being weak with her sadness, but she came never the less." The sadness in her own voice was mimicked in the other five's gasps. Sadness gripped them all.
"Why... why did she think we hated her?" Fluttershy asked with a voice barely more than a whisper.
"I think that somepony who wanted to get back at her for something must have done it. I can recognize a hate-spell. The pony's magic who cast it is unfamiliar to me though, but that is of no importance right now." Celestia made to continue, but her words were choked off with a sob. She bent her head down to the purple form and kissed it softly on the head.
"Good bye Twilight Sparkle."
