With a few stray rays of light shining through the gaps in her curtains, Twilight squinted and cracked her eyes open. It was morning, and the lavender alicorn slowly rose from her bed while letting out an elongated yawn. Once she sat upright, Twilight stretched out her legs and fluffed her wings.
Using her magic, she lifted the curtains and allowed the sunlight to flood her room with a golden hue. Slowly blinking a few times, it took Twilight a minute for her eyes to adjust to the brightness of Celestia’s light. Once she was able to glare out towards her room, the princess of friendship couldn't help but smile. With her body taken over by the sun's warmth, the comfort of being well rested soothed over and rendered her in a good mood. Twilight sensed this day was going to be splendid, the best day of her life!
Getting out of bed, Twilight hummed a sweet tune and headed for the bathroom. Her first order of business was taking a shower, so she hopped in and closed the curtains behind her. Shortly after, streams of warm water ran down her entire body as she now sang her happy melody. The relaxation caused by the warmth washing over her muscles, setting them free from the stiffness caused by sleep, reinforced her positive mood and almost made her belt out the words to her favorite Sapphire Shores song.
Twenty minutes later, the happy Twilight emerged from the shower. With her wet mane clinging to her neck, Twilight shook some of the water off before using a drying spell. The next half hour was spent combing her mane and brushing her coat. She then smiled in the mirror, satisfied with her work.
Once her grooming was done and over with, she ran at full gallop towards the exit. She was eagerly impatient, wanting to find out what joys this day had in store for her. The princess then hastily opened the doors and was met with the sight of her personal royal garden, which still managed to overwhelm her due to its sheer glory.
Taking a few steps outside, Twilight gasped. Coated over the healthy, green grass, how the morning dew shined from the sunlight nearly took her breath away. She saw a transparent carpet of polychromatic light spread over the grassfields, decorating the land with little spots of red, blue, and violet light. Treading into those grassfields, Twilight strolled along the gravel maze of walkways, which lead to every single point of interest the garden had to offer.
The first point she reached was an assembly of marble statues, each depicting an Element of Harmony bearer. The statues were accompanied by a patch of berry bushes, tables and benches to rest on, and an oak tree, which hung over the entire scene.
Twilight flicked her ears up, picking up the pleasant babble of water. The walkways were accompanied by a river that weaved through the maze of gravel.The stream either mimicked the path’s pattern,strayed away from the path, or flowed underneath small bridges.
The trees casted a coat of soft shadows on Twilight, offering her protection from the sun’s rays. Spread throughout the garden, those trees were big and healthy. Some of them even bore some kind of fruit, be it cherries, apples, or pears.
With everything together, the garden painted a beautiful picture with a mare standing amidst nature’s most stunning scenery.
Twilight then looked towards the outskirts of the garden.
The whole area was surrounded by a wall, and what a splendid wall it was! The bricks were dyed in a lavender hue, flawlessly stacked ten feet high. The wall was not interrupted by any gates, further enforcing the sense of security it inflicted in Twilight.
For Twilight, however, the biggest highlight were her friends, scattered about the garden. While Fluttershy was having a conversation with a pair of squirrels, Pinkie sat on a picnic blanket and had her mouth stuffed with cupcakes. Meanwhile, as Rarity admired a particularly colourful bunch of flowers, Applejack sat down next to Pinkie.
The farm pony seemed to be enjoying the company of her friends, happily munching down on an apple pie in front of her. Spike was treating himself to a bowl of gemstones, constantly throwing them into his mouth like they were potato chips. As for Rainbow Dash, she soared through the sky just beyond the boundaries set by the wall.
All of them waved and smiled at Twilight upon noticing her arrival. Overwhelmed by happiness, she smiled at the sight of her friends. She knew, as long as they were around her, everything was going to be fine. As long as these ponies graced her with their presence, everything was in order.
After lending a few seconds to ponder upon what to do next, Twilight decided to fly with Rainbow Dash. She would, of course, first need to fly over to her.
Twilight bent her legs a little, she proceeded to jump into the air, using her wings to defy gravity and engage in flight. She enjoyed the feeling of her sensitive feathers picking up every little gust of wind that flew her way. This enabled the princess to read the air currents and move her wings accordingly.
The alicorn thought back to a time when she was a complete rookie at flying and had huge trouble traversing even short distances. Thanks to the flying lessons from Rainbow Dash, however, she became quite adept at gliding through the heavens.
She really did owe Rainbow, and the rest of her friends, so much.
Steadily closing the distance between herself and the cyan pegasus, Twilight’s speed decreased the closer she got to her friend. She then came to a dead stop a few feets away from her target.
The only thing standing between the two friends was the wall, located several feet below them. The air above it, however, emitted a faint glow, ever so slightly blurring out everything behind it. Both were indicative of a magical barrier. It was powerful enough to prevent her from breaking through. Twilight knew, since she had tried many times to penetrate it.
Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash's figure. Her mouth was moving, but no sound could be heard. Her smile was wide, but no real emotion could be seen. As she hovered there, smiling and waving at Twilight, her body slowly became see-through. Rainbow Dash faded out of existence, eventually disappearing completely.
Twilight sunk back to the ground. She slowly peered her head around, only to see the rest of her friends fall victim to the same fate.
The garden's image began to shift as Twilight’s mind slipped, letting go of its own illusions. The landscape around her was still beautiful, but it's glory was scathed by dark slashes left behind by powerful magic. These marks were leftovers from the princess's many outbursts and failed attempts at fleeing her prison.
As these images of reality hit her, the lavender mare was plagued by flashbacks. Her mind raced back to the fight against Tirek, to him holding her friends captive, and to her denying negotiations. At the time, Twilight thought she had to put her personal affairs behind her. As one of Equestria’s princesses, surely she would need to value Equestria above all! Even if it hurts, right? To her, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time, albeit the most painful. She was prepared to make sacrifices, wasn’t she?
The battle that ensued afterwards was long and daunting, but Tirek got one thing wrong. They were at no impasse. As the dust finally settled, she was the one still standing, even if just barely.
The alicorn shook her head. Those were memories of a reality she long pushed aside and chose to ignore. As she tried to escape into her own realm again, however, whispers began to echo in her head. Twilight knew those whispers belonged to the tiny scraps of sanity that had persevered inside her.
You will have to accept it one day. Accept it and assume your place as one of Equestria's rulers again. It will need you when times of woe arise once more. I beg you, ascend from this pit of madness you threw yourself into...
...
One day, but I am not ready yet, Twilight thought to herself, silencing those whispers. She then began to wear her fake smile, something she had grown so accustomed to. All the flaws in the world around her slowly disappeared as she once again indulged in her hallucinations.
Author's Note
Once again, huge thanks to Nugget.
I should also credit JackRipper, as his story “They're Gone“ inspired this one.
Also, when it comes to writing storys touchscreens blow, like, big time.
