One Month in Equestria

Twilight gasped as the guards beside her tackled both of the creatures away from Luna’s squirming body.

The rock had shattered her skull entirely, splattering blood all over the ground nearby. Her eyes had gone white and there was blood seeping out of her nose, ears, mouth and even eyes.

He had killed the Princess of the Night.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!” the guard who had tackled Jack to the ground bellowed.

He was slamming Jack against the ground over and over again. The way it looked, they were going to have two deaths to deal with at this rate.

“Leave…! Leave him a-alone!” Twilight yelled, dropping to her haunches as she sobbed. “He was just scared! He was protecting his sister!”

“By killing the Princess?!” the guard shouted furiously.

There was another rustle of leaves and Rainbow Dash was suddenly in the clearing with them.

“Twilight, I lost him!” she yelled. “Did you see where he…?!”

She went silent and her jaw dropped at the sight of Luna’s quivering corpse.

“Sh-She’s not…! She can’t be dead!” Twilight yelled frantically. “Princesses are… They’re immortal! I r-read about them!”

“Immortal doesn’t mean unkillable!” a guard shouted. “Somepony go and get us some reinforcements! We can’t take these things back to base by ourselves!”

“I’m on it,” Rainbow Dash said coldly and quietly.

She flapped her wings hard and flew up above the treetops before turning in the direction of Ponyville and flying away so fast that Twilight could swear she was going to perform the Sonic Rainboom again.

Twilight sobbed quietly as she watched her friend go and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to look at Luna again. It wasn’t how brutal her murder had been, it was just the idea of a Princess dying.

A pained whimper from Jack’s sister drew her back into the real world. One of the guards restraining Jack looked up at her and growled, stepping off of him and marching towards her.

“N-No!” Twilight yelled, running over to stand in front of her protectively. “She didn’t do anything! L-Leave her alone!”

“Whose side are you on?!” the guard yelled, glaring at her with nothing but hate.

That was a good question. Whose side was Twilight on?

Why did she suddenly feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility for these creatures she’d never even seen before today?! Was she going to just turn her back on her own species that she’d lived with for her whole life for these complete strangers? Was she just going to let these three be damned for all eternity because they were scared and made a mistake?

There were so many conflicts in her head right now, and she didn’t know how to resolve any of them herself.

But this one that presented itself to her right now, she knew the answer to.

“You saw that she did nothing!” she yelled, trying to sound as authoritative as she could. “Are you going to base your opinions of someone on what someone else has done?”

“Miss, I’m not taking any chances,” he growled, putting his hoof on her shoulder and pushing her gently to one side. “Now, stand aside!”

Jack roared – literally, roared – as he hurled the guard on his back across the clearing and hurtled towards his sister. He put his arms out in front of her and stood as Twilight had: protectively.

“You heard the lady,” he growled so fiercely that it made Twilight shudder. “My sister did nothing!”

“I th-think that tree was…” his sister sobbed as she sank lower to the ground. “It’s… It hurts.”

Twilight spun around to face her and moved to help, but Jack growled at her.

“You stay back too,” he spat.

His sister’s whimpers turned into pained moans, drawing his attention to her. After a second of heart-breaking sobs, moans and whimpers, he turned back to face her slowly.

“I can h-help her,” Twilight offered. “Please."

“Hurry up, then.”

He stepped to one side and she rushed forwards, examining the wound that had grown increasingly worse than what it looked like when she’d first seen it. It had some form of brown… moss, to use the best term, growing around it now, and the blood that was leaking out of the wound had turned a horrid shade of yellow now.

“Hello,” she said as sweetly as she could manage, looking her in the eye. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s yours?”

“I’m… J-Jenny,” she replied, smiling weakly. “W-What happened to your wings?”

“Hi, Jenny,” Twilight whispered sweetly.

“You’re not usually like this, T-Twilight,” Jenny commented with a weak laugh. “When did… Ow… When did you become a nurse?”

Twilight looked back at Jack and gave him a confused look. He shook his head and pointed at his sister forcefully.

“You’re from a TV show back where… we come from,” Jenny gasped, her wounded arm twitching. “It’s weird th-that we’d end up here, o-of all places.”

“Could I just… leave you here for a second, Jenny?” Twilight said warmly, moving away from her slowly.

“No, you don’t,” Jack snarled, grabbing her by the leg. The guard took a step towards him instinctively, but Twilight held up a hoof to stop him. “Not until you’ve helped her.”

“I need to talk to you,” she whispered, glancing back at Jenny. “Can we talk in private?”

“No chance, Miss,” a guard barked, glaring at Jack. “Not with these two. If it’s bad news, just say it and get it over with.”

“You are aware that she did nothing, right?!” Ryan yelled, making a noise for the first time in a while. “How can you be so heartless towards an innocent person?!”

“J-Just… tell me what’s wrong,” Jenny muttered, her veins pulsing through the skin with dark green light. “I’ve had bad news all my life. W-Why should it stop now?”

Twilight sighed and closed her eyes. “You may have a very rare infection that… really hurts,” she said calmly. “I can’t confirm it without some scientific equipment, but…”

“Is th-that just a nice way of saying it kills you?” Jenny laughed weakly.

“N-No! You’ll be…!”

“Can you stop it?” Jack snapped.

“If I had the right materials, I could try… But first I need to clean the wound before it gets too infected to cure. I need something sterile.”

“There’s a first aid kit back in the car,” Ryan stated.

“What’s a car?” Twilight asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“I’ll take you there,” he said, pushing himself up.

His guard shoved him back down to the ground quickly. “You’re going nowhere with her, murderer,” he spat, leaning in close to Ryan’s ear. “You just want to kill again, don’t you?" He growled in a low tone, "You disgust me.”

“For crying out loud, come with us then!” Ryan yelled angrily. “You want to let another innocent person die? Who’s the real monster here?!”

Twilight had been pushing that to the back of her mind, focusing on anything else to stop her from losing her collected calm. She felt more tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked over at Luna’s body again.

“Get up then,” the guard muttered, jumping off of Ryan’s back and hoisting him upright. “You try anything, and I’m authorised to use lethal force.”

“No, you’re not,” Ryan countered. “If you’ve been authorised, you’d have done it by now.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll use it anyway. The only witness we’ll have is a traumatised pony who the killer was going for.”

“Come on, Twilight,” Ryan growled, staring right into the eyes of the angry guard staring right back. “We’d better get that kit.”

Twilight tore her eyes off of Luna’s body and hurried after them. When they were out of sight and earshot of the others, Ryan sighed and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked quietly, glancing at the guard marching beside them anxiously.

“It’s nothing,” Ryan replied hastily, implying quite the contrary. “It was just… We were on our way to the hospital before we got here. Jenny’s got… some sort of disease that hasn’t ever been seen before, or at least recorded.”

“W-What is it, exactly?”

“She has something that eats, quite literally, her blood cells and changes them into something… something that isn’t good for humans.”

“Is that what your species is called? Humans?”

“Yeah.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes again. “She was going to be operated on today. They said they were going to try and cure it. They even had the best doctors from all over the world come in to work on it.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Twilight whispered, seeing a single tear fall to the ground from Ryan’s cheek out of the corner of her eye.

“We’re here,” their escort barked, pushing through the brush to reveal the strangest contraption Twilight had ever seen. “Hurry up and grab your stuff.”

“Aye, sir,” Ryan replied calmly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of keys with some strange oddments on the ring that kept them together.

He pressed a button on one of the keys and there was a clicking sound and a flash of lights from the contraption, startling Twilight, her escort, and the two left watching the thing.

“What was that?” Twilight asked.

“I unlocked it,” Ryan explained, grabbing what had to be the rear of the machine and lifting a large door open. “I’m guessing you guys have never seen a real car before.”

“Just hurry up and grab that kit,” the escort barked. “I’m gonna have a word with my associates.”

He marched over to his fellow guards and whispered something to them. The only words Twilight heard were ‘watch him’, but his speech went on a lot longer than a little warning should have. Ryan rooted around in the back of the car, ignoring them all. Twilight wandered a little closer, only earning a stern glare from her escort, but she ignored it.

“I-Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked, peering into the back of the car. “I mean… I really do want to take this thing apart and see how it works, but I don’t think that should be my priority right now.”

“Curiosity killed the cat, Twilight,” Ryan joked. “But, yeah. You’re welcome to.”

She smiled and leaned in to help, but was surprised to see that what they were looking for was right in front of them; a green satchel with a white cross and the words ‘first aid kit’ printed onto the front.

“Keep searching,” Ryan whispered, rummaging through a few books and some boxes. “The part of this show that my niece watched said that the Princess we met had a sister. What are the odds she’s going to be furious that her sister is now… no longer with us?”

“U-Uh…” Twilight stammered quietly, glancing around anxiously. “She’s p-probably going to… issue a death sentence to all of you.”

“I wouldn’t have thought a land of friendship magic even had a death sentence.”

“I-It’s more of a d-deterrent. Th-The law says that any act of treason this high is punishable b-by death. Th-That’s why it’s never happened b-before.”

“Hm.” He grabbed the first aid kit and smirked humourlessly. “And she’s the Princess?” Twilight nodded. “Is it friendship or dictatorship then?” He stood up and held the kit above his head, showing the guards that he had what he was looking for. “Here we go!” he exclaimed. “Thank you very much, Twilight. I wouldn’t have found it without your help.”

Twilight remained still for a moment before moving out of the car, allowing Ryan to slam the door into the back of the car shut. He pressed another button on his key and the car clicked and flashed lights again.

“Now come on,” the escort barked at him.

“Yes, sir, right away, sir,” Ryan responded with a tiny smirk and a sort of mocking salute.

He led the way back to the others and Twilight hurried to stand by his side. “Y-You said ‘cure it’,” she said quietly, continuing their previous discussion. “D-Does that mean… It’s going to be very bad for her?”

“I should’ve given the exact details,” Ryan said calmly. “They said if they didn’t operate on her today, she’d have less than a week left.”

“W-Why did they leave it so late?” Twilight asked. “Sh-Shouldn’t they have… d-done something s-sooner?”

“I thought so too, but they didn’t think it was that dangerous until this morning. They gave us a call and said they were sending an ambulance, but it was stuck in traffic. I drove her to the hospital myself. I’ve never broken so many traffic laws at once in my life, not even in Grand Theft Auto.”

Twilight stayed quiet and looked down, her heart breaking another time. When they stepped into the clearing, her heart broke once more at the sight of two guards crafting a makeshift stretcher for Luna’s body.

Luna.

These humans had…

She finally comprehended what had happened.

“W-Why…?” she sobbed, feeling more tears stream down her face. “Why am I…?” She collapsed and sobbed. Ryan turned back to face her and hurried to help her up, but a guard stepped between them. “Why did she… have to d-die?”

“Hey, purple pony!” Jack yelled. “This thing is getting worse! Get over here!”

But Twilight merely sobbed, letting her tears drop to the ground.

Why did Luna have to die?! She didn’t deserve it! That monster had murdered her in cold blood! He knew she was vulnerable and yet he did it anyway! Why was she helping them?!

And then Jenny screamed.

No.

She had to help her. Jenny had done nothing wrong except being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was already dying. The least Twilight could do was ease her suffering.

“Oh god, it hurts!!” Jenny screamed, thrashing as Jack held her down.

Twilight stood up with a teary-eyed snarl and marched towards Jenny with a fiery determination in her eyes. She snatched the first aid kit out of Ryan’s grip with her magic and ripped it open. She quickly scanned over the contents before grabbing some antiseptic gel.

“Hold her, please,” she growled emotionlessly. “Jenny, I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt. If this is anything like our antiseptic material, it’ll get rid of the infective part of the infection. We’ll need to get you to a hospital to treat it properly.”

“It already hurts!” Jenny sobbed.

“Jenny, look at me,” Jack said, turning her face towards him with a finger on her chin. “You’re going to be fine. We’ll sort this out. Don’t worry.”

“Twilight,” Ryan whispered, nodding his head at Jenny.

Twilight got the message and moved forwards quietly. Jack glanced at her, and Jenny would have too had he not stopped her.

“Come on, Jen,” he whispered. “You can do this. Just keep looking at me. It’s gonna be fine.”

Twilight rubbed some of the cream onto the wound, making Jenny scream again. Jack closed his eyes as they welled up with tears and restricted Jenny’s squirming, at least of her wounded arm, to ineffective wriggles.

“It’s okay, Jenny,” Twilight whispered soothingly, rubbing more antiseptic gel into the wound. She breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the moss dissolve into nothingness. "There, see? It’s going.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” said a voice behind her that was very familiar. “You will leave the creature to face judgement for its crimes.”

“Oh, Christ,” Ryan whispered incredulously.

Every nerve of Twilight’s being was screaming at her to obey, but she hadn’t finished her work yet.

“I’m s-sorry, Princess C-Celestia,” she breathed, her fear rising. “I-I can’t r-right n-now.”

She took out some gauze from the first aid kit and unravelled it, ready to wrap around the wound.

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia replied, calmly and furiously at the same time. “Now step away.”

“Back off,” Jack growled, pointing at her accusingly. “She did nothing. In fact, that one over there did more damage to her.”

“Why, you insolent, little…!” Celestia snarled, dragging Jack away by the collar with a fiery magic. “You honestly think that my sister would dare harm an innocent creature without provocation?!”

Celestia had never been this angry before. In her whole reign over Equestria, she had never once used her magic on someone so aggressively without needing to defend herself or others.

Twilight shook with fear as she finished wrapping the wound. When she’d tied it up carefully, she turned to face the punishment she deserved for betraying her Princess and mentor by saving the innocent.

She was in tears. Celestia looked as though she was crying herself dry. Her eyes were bloodshot, she was panting breathlessly and her horn was glowing with fire.

Actual fire.

Twilight had never even read about this kind of magic before. Yes, Princess Celestia was the Princess of the Sun, but she’d never utilised that power so much until now.

Understandably, of course.

“Twilight Sparkle, you will tell me exactly what happened here,” she breathed severely. “What are these monsters? Why did they come here?! What gives them the right to EXECUTE MY SISTER?!!”

“Princess, I’m so sorry,” Twilight wept. “They were… defending themselves. I was j-just… helping the one that… Princess L-Luna...”

“YOU THINK LUNA WOULD DO THAT?!!” Celestia screamed, stomping a hoof so hard that the earth beneath it cracked. “SHE DID NOTHING!! NOTHING THAT WOULD WARRANT SUCH A CRUEL DEMISE!!”

“L-Listen, Princess,” Ryan stammered, stepping back from her. She turned to face him with tears gushing from her fiery eyes. “W-We… We don’t know how we got here. W-We’re… as confused as you are. More than that, we’re scared.”

“AND SO YOU SHOULD BE!!” she screamed, slamming Jack into the ground powerfully. “NOT OFTEN IS IT THAT WE ARE THIS FURIOUS!!”

“Princess, it w-was an accident!” Twilight cried, shrinking before the Sun Princess’ gaze as it turned on her once more. “O-One thing led t-to another! S-She was trying to stop it all a-and… they w-were defending themselves!”

“FROM WHAT, PRAY TELL?!! IF THIS WAS AN ACCIDENT, WHAT WAS IT THAT BEGAN THIS ENTIRE ORDEAL?!!”

“A-All I heard was Jack screaming and then Luna calling for g-guards.”

“SO IT IS YOUR FAULT!!” Celestia bellowed as she rounded on Jack again, who was recovering from his heavy impact with the ground. “YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF ALL THIS!!”

“H-He was just trying to… protect me, P-Princess,” Jenny whimpered. “He was… s-scared.”

“We saw this one pinning Princess Luna,” a guard snapped, motioning his head at Ryan. “Then the other one came at her and…”

“B-But… we got here when she hit Jack with a stunning spell!” Twilight yelled frantically. “When Ryan tackled her, he told Jenny to grab Jack and run!”

“YOU SEEM TO BE ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THESE ANIMALS, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!” Celestia roared, glaring at Twilight again. “DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS?!!”

“No, ma’am, she did not,” the escort guard put in. “The only ones in on this act were these… ‘humans’.”

“Look, Jack was terrified,” Ryan said calmly, stepping closer to Celestia. “While his actions were a bit extreme, he was only protecting his sister. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same if you thought someone was trying to hurt your sister.”

Celestia seethed in silence for a few moments before dropping onto her haunches and sobbing. Her flaming aura faded away as Twilight approached and hugged her warmly. A minute passed before Jack was back on his feet and tending to Jenny again. Ryan glanced between the two pairs and hurried over to the siblings.

“L-Listen, I don’t mean to offend, but she’s going cold,” he said after checking Jenny’s temperature. “We need to get her to a hospital.”

“Show some damn respect!” a guard barked angrily.

“N-No,” Celestia said sternly as she wiped her tears and pushed Twilight away gently. “I… I am not… c-cruel. W-We should… t-take her to a hospital.”

The guards glanced at each other anxiously.

“Thank you, Princess,” Ryan thanked, bowing lightly.

She glared at him fiercely. “Do not think this removes your punishment, human,” she spat, the last word containing more hate than Twilight had ever heard from Celestia.

“I know that,” Ryan replied, leaning down to help Jack carry Jenny away. “But can we please get this sorted out first?”

“Guards,” Celestia said sternly, not looking away from Ryan. “A detachment of the Royal Guard is on its way. You will take my sister to the palace and have a doctor… repair her image. I will not bury her like that.”

“Yes, ma’am!” the guards barked collectively, saluting as one.

“Uh, if you’re going to leave, wouldn’t it be better to take a guard with you?” asked one of them.

“If they so much as look at me the wrong way, I shall rip them all to shreds,” Celestia said so coldly and calmly that it made Twilight shudder.

She watched Celestia march away, not even faltering in her step as she led the humans out of the Everfree forest. It was obvious that she was going to exact harsh vengeance upon these poor humans, but was that truly the right thing to do? Was it right to slaughter a group of terrified creatures for trying to protect themselves?

Twilight just didn’t know whose side she was on anymore.