She had lost it all. Twilight, the princess of friendship had lost her friends. Years had passed since then, and all she could do was ask "what now"? The answer was simple. There was nothing, anymore. There was no "now". There was only what happened after them. She'd change it, though. She had to change it. So, what to do?
If she wasn't to die, then she had to have not cast Starswirl's spell in the first place, right? She didn't have to be a princess to be with her friends. Twilight would be in charge of her own destiny again. Her horn blazed, as she cast the spell. The entire world engulfed in magic, and then.... To her shock, everything started to move backwards.
Twilight had expected everything to be back in a flash. Or at least rewind faster, but no. She started walking backwards against her will, closing the book, levitating it back, then leaving the room, her wings even flapping backwards. Everypony around her was the same, the difference was, they didn't know that they were undoing anything. While she was fully aware.
She sighed heavily. The decision had long been made. If that meant living life backwards, then so be it.... But what did that mean? Living backwards? Literally living in the past? Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, then decided to let it happen. Whatever happened.... Happened.
She had been there for awhile.... A few negative centuries, by her count? It was hard to count something in your head, for so long. Yet there she was, by her friends sides. Oddly enough after reliving her time with them backwards for awhile, hearing all their words in reverse, being with them longer than a lifetime... She was tired. Tired of them. Tired of their voices. Tired of missing them. Tired of remembering.
Then Starlight runs back to her village in reverse. Twilight sighed at the victory. The undoing of the victory. Then she inwardly cringed, remembering as she watched, mouth screwed shut, as Starlights outstretched hoof slowly drew away, her major life change and reformation, undone by a spell made long after her decision.
Her friends walked backwards, away from the village, and soon the map would be no more.
As Twilight and Spike walked backwards, into the carriage, her eyes brimmed with tears. Now she'd endure more years without them. More years in reverse, but soon, alone. She had made this decision for them, hadn't she? This was wrong, and she couldn't even undo it. This was SELFISH and she couldn't undo it. It had taken her a lot of reflection, as she watched her life, her progress, her friends, their progress, unravel at the casting of her curse, that she had thrust upon them and herself.
She unsent that first fateful letter to Celestia, Moon Dancers present undamaged, one day to be damaged yet again, carelessly. All of Twilight's progress in friendship, gone, like the years that she had foolishly thrown aside, for her own happiness.
Soon, Twilight herself was sure, she would be no more.
Everything was dark. The air around her was crisp yet soft, like freshly fallen snow. Her hooves glided right above the ground. The last the she remembered was that she was aging backwards. But here she was, confusedly an adult, wings intact. "Where am I?" she muttered, her voice echoing throughout the void. Was she dead? Did she destroy the entire world?
"I.. Did, didn't I? I'm... I'm sorry! Please, I know nopony is there, but if somepony is, I'm begging you, help! I didn't mean to! I wanted it to stop! I didn't.... Me- I didn't mean to!" But she did mean to. She meant to do all of this, and now everything was gone. It was all her fault. Tears dripped, floating, yet landing on the nonexistent floor below. Her eyes forced themselves open. She could have sworn she saw something in her blurred, warm vision.
She blinked the tears out of her eyes, and realized she DID see something. It was something small. A glowing blue ball, like a star, below where she "stood". Like a magnet she was propelled from it, and yet like a magnet, Twilight was determined to stick together, despite the repel. Her wings spread, and flapped her toward the ball, forcing herself through whatever was pushing her back.
She reached a hoof toward the light, the only sign of anything in this awful place. Eventually, her hoof touched it. Before it could be repelled from her, she wrapped her other foreleg around it, desperately gripping it, as if hugging it. She was all that was there. And so was this. From behind her eyelids, she could see everything getting brighter.
She opened her eyes, the ball of light engulfing her in it's rays. Her surroundings went blue, and the pressure softened into a welcoming embrace. Around her was Luna's dreamscape. The place where Twilight had been turned into an alicorn. The astral plane. "Hello? Is anypony there?"
Then, like on the day of her change, Celestia came in as a blur, getting clearer as she approached. "Twilight Sparkle." She said, portraying no visible reaction to what she had done.
"I'm sorry!" Twilight sank to Celestia's hooves, teary-eyed. "I'm sorry!" She didn't know what else to say. She had destroyed Luna's reformation, and everything good in her own life in one act of selfishness. "I'm sorry!" She had watched as all that she loved was torn from her due to a split second. "I'm.... I'm sorry...."
Celestia sighed, and brought Twilight back to her hooves, looking her in the eyes. ".... You won't remember any of this soon. But I'll make sure this doesn't repeat itself. I'll make sure that spell is gone."
Twilight gaped.
"I understand why you did it. How my decision affected you. How destiny affected you. But know that even an alicorns life isn't infinite. And a life without friends isn't forever. A life without your old friends isn't worthless, Twilight. You CAN make new friends. And when it finally is your time, you'll have met many friends in your lifetime and you'll have a surplus afterward."
"I'm sorry we never talked about this." She ushered Twilight forward toward a light. ".... Maybe now that I know what went wrong, next time will be the last." Twilight turned around to ask Celestia what she meant, then she was shoved in. Then everything was dark. She didn't remember a thing.
Then she was born again.
Author's Note
Have a nice day!
