For one to find themselves back in the same place once more, through trial and error for what felt like forever, only to circle right back to where it all began. It was the never-ending cycle of hope and tragedy.
At least... that is from what could be guessed by what can be seen. Looking around, it is the same void as ever. Looking forward, there is the faint teal glow. Two sources of light eyeing down and progressively getting closer.
As it approaches, soon reveals a familiar shape, too dark to recognise any distinctive features. But the head lights pierce through, staring down the pathetic and hopeless. It asks, why bother? There was no answer to give.
It should be obvious why. But this promise to oneself so long after, the worth begs to question more and more. A desperate attempt? Or what is thought to be needed?
The figure reaches a hand out. It is cold to the touch. The familiar amber could be seen, but who could tell if it was the real thing?
If perfection is achieved, it would matter not. It counted on all being right, to return what should be no longer. That has been the goal for so long now.
Yet after every failure, you wake up again, still stuck in the dream.
It was a grim night in the city of Canterlot. A storm battered down endlessly to those on the surface, forcing the general to seek shelter and wait for the tempest's rage to subside.
However, the shout of the rain went ignored by a lone scientist, who worked tirelessly in her basement laboratory on her greatest project yet! Professor Twilight Sparkle paced corner to corner of her lab, examining her machines that buzzed and shined, and going back to her computer to type away. Everything was working in tip-top order.
In the centre of the room sat a table with a white tarp over it. Beneath the tarp laid a lifeless figure, with connected cords and wires dangling out of the fabric and plugged into her other machines. This was her life's work: a creation unlike anything the world has ever seen! Having spent close to a decade in the making, it was all coming down to this very night.
Upon confirming that everything was functioning as expected, Twilight took one last chance to see her creation before it was finally time. She reached to grab the tarp at the top, but her hand stopped before she could touch it. She refrained herself now, and ultimately decided that she would look into her eyes again once she was complete.
Instead, Twilight just looked down at the tarp with a small smile. "It won't be long now," she said to her. A yawn was then heard. Twilight turned to see her little companion, who has stood by her side through thick and thin, had now woken up. "Couldn't have chosen a better time, Spike. You're about to witness something wonderful!"
Spike was not the same young pup from so long ago. Now, he was a grown dog, with lots of fight in him left, yet prefers to choose the more relaxing side of spending time. But all in all, his place was always to support his best friend. "Is this it? Is tonight going to be the night?" the talking canine asked. His tail began to wag.
The scientist's heart was racing at an incredible rate. Never before has she gotten so close. The nerves caused her to breathe deeply to maintain herself; and yet, she still had full confidence in saying, "Yes, Spike. All is functioning as planned. All that I basically need to do now is... do it." It was an alien situation to find herself in now. It was almost scary to press on, but she knew she had to do it. It was now or never.
She took towards her computer once more and transferred all remaining data over to her creation, including the latest update to the artificial intelligence she invented especially for her. It took a few minutes, but soon enough, the bar on the screen was filled with green. On screen came the message, 'Transfer Successful.' This was step one of the final phase. Second was to insert the main source of power which would truly bring her to life.
She reached into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out a small, black jewelry box. However, upon seeing it in her hand, her entire body froze and her breathing stopped. It was as though at the moment, she had completely forgotten how to move forward. In the moment, she saw the memory of the hand that gave it to her. She recalled how frail and cold it felt. But then, she was pulled back to reality by feeling a fluffy paw press against her leg. She looked down to see Spike look up at her with his large, comforting eyes.
With her senses regained, Twilight opened the box to reveal the main source of power: a small yellow necklace. Attached to the chain was a charm with a red and yellow sun insignia. With this jewel, it bound Twilight and friends of old together, each of them bearing a similar gem of magnificent power. They were connected through the magic this gem held. This was her very presence, and tonight, it was the key to perfection.
Twilight clutched the geode and brought to the machine. She lowered part of the tarp and revealed the creation's chest plate. A small compartment opened. Twilight placed the gem inside and closed the flap. Step two was now complete. And now, it was time for the third and final step: bringing her to life.
Twilight grabbed two pairs of safety goggles, slipping one pair over Spike's head, then the other pair for herself. The scientist took notice of her dog's confusion, attempting to shake the goggles off his head. Twilight then knelt down and held his body still while she readjusted his goggles to be more comfortable.
"You're going to want to keep those on, Spike. Once activated, the whole lab will shine as bright as a star," Twilight explained, moving towards a lever on one of her generators. She placed her hand over it, giving a long, nervous breath as she prepared to pull. "Ready?" she asked, more to herself.
Even with his protection, Spike took cover behind a desk. "Ready, Twi!"
The time finally arrived. She pulled the lever down, and all generators surrounding the creation simultaneously came to life. Tons of electricity was sent through the cables and into the creation.
The duo watched as the electricity surged under the increasingly glowing tarp. The creation underneath appeared as no more than pure light! In the centre of the creation, a warm orange glow emanated from the chest compartment. The magic of the geode was successfully cooperating with Twilight's machines, just as she hypothesised!
Excitement filled the adult scientist as she watched her life's work, after laying in dormancy for so long, her greatest dream was being given new life!
But suddenly, the lab was consumed in a red light. "Warning! Warning! System overloading!" Twilight's computers said. "Please initiate emergency system shutdown immediately!"
"What?! No, no!" Twilight then scrambled towards her computer and began typing furiously. The power surge had caused for her computer to go haywire, she could barely do anything with her machines. "Not now, not now!"
"What's happening?!" Spike shouted amidst the chaos.
"I don't know! I thought I balanced the electricity being sent through the generators, but for some reason, they're producing an overwhelming amount of power! I can't rebalance it all manually! Something is tampering with the machines!"
While Twilight tried to break through her now useless computer, Spike looked up at the subject on the table. He saw that the orange glow had consumed everything under the tarp, and the same glow was shooting through the cables and into the surrounding machines. A thought suddenly came to him.
"Twilight! The geode!" he called out, pointing his paw directly to the table.
Twilight moved her eyes up and saw the effects of the geode as they only worsened! The combined power of science and magic proved to be too much! She predicted that if she couldn't shut everything down now, the entire lab could be blown to smithereens!
She looked around for any possible solution. Her eyes were drawn towards a large socket on the wall; it powered all of her machines. She wasted no time to run to the power source and begin yanking the plug out. It was too heavy to be done so easily, but she gave it her all, placing her boot against the wall, using the added strength to pull.
The room was then consumed in a blinding light. The machines had about reached their limit. Spike backed off and hid behind protection, preparing for the worst. But Twilight had not yet given up, still pulling with every ounce of strength she had. Finally, with a loud grunt, Twilight managed to pull the plug out of the wall, falling back onto the floor. She had killed all of the power in the room, and the light quickly faded away, leaving everything in pitch darkness.
Twilight was left panting, recollecting her bearings. "That was... too close," she said between breaths. The scientist carefully wandered in the dark until she found her desk, feeling around for a flashlight. "Spike, you okay?"
"Umm... I'm not sure. I can't see anything," Spike replied from somewhere in the lab. "I think I've gone blind!" It was then that Twilight found a flashlight and switched it on, pointing it towards the purple dog. Spike looked up with a dumb smile. "Oh. Guess not, heh..."
Twilight scooped up her pet and ventured more through the powered down basement. No machine was running anymore, but they all gave off a warm smell. Had they be running for a few seconds longer... Neither of them wanted to imagine.
The flashlight's beam was shone towards the table. Through the blankets, they could still see the orange light only faintly glowing in the centre of the creation, but as they approached it, the light dwindled until it was none more than a weak wisp, and by the time they reached the table, it was gone.
Placing the flashlight on the table, Twilight used her free hand to pull away the tarp, revealing the attentively designed, the perfect... the motionless... creation. An android laying at just over five and a half feet tall, made with an amber plating. Streaks of red and yellow artificial hair splayed out, surrounding the face of the android.
The way she laid, it only caused for Twilight to remember the last time she saw that face, she recalled being unsure if she had gone deaf or not, only being able to hear a high pitched drone. Twilight's heart began to pound in her chest. She hoped that it would not be like then.
The machine remained still, but hope was not lost yet. It was just another failed test, but it only paved the way for successes along the line. She prayed for that to be so. Coming to the conclusion that it was not meant to be just yet, Twilight opened the android's chest compartment to take out the magical geode, but as she pulled it out, she realised that something was strange about it now. The bright orange shimmer of the gem was gone, replaced with a dull, lifeless grey. This wasn't right.
"What's going on?" Twilight asked. She held the geode by the chain, allowing the gem to dangle in the air. The sun insignia which always stood out now had a crack going through it. The warmth that it always exuded was gone too. In her hand, the necklace was stone cold.
"Twilight?" Spike spoke up, "What's wrong with it?"
She had an idea, but she was scared to admit it. Just by the thought of it, she felt herself begin to tremble. "Th-The geode... there's a crack," she managed to say. The geode swayed in her shaky hand. "The magic, I... No. No, it can't be gone!" Twilight refused to believe it, but she could not take her eyes off the shattered jewelry as the broken edges reflected her light's beam. There was no use denying, the magic once contained in the gem had dispersed and withered. There was nothing more inside the geode.
It was empty.
Twilight stood still, as though the broken geode had her in a trance. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to do. With the magic - her magic - gone...
"Twilight?" Spike said, pressing a paw onto his owner.
"There's nothing left," Twilight whispered, her eyes beginning to water. Without looking away from the gem, she placed Spike onto the floor. However, the dog was persistent in trying to bring Twilight back down by propping himself up against her leg.
"What's going to happen now, Twi? Is there anything you can do?" he asked.
The moment Twilight opened her mouth, she found herself stuck with a lump in her throat. Her thoughts were scrambling for a solution, or a reason to believe that this wasn't really happening.
After a moment, she came up with the strength to silently say, "I think I need to be alone right now."
Spike stood still for a moment. He spent it trying to process her command, but he refrained from saying anything else. Just by looking up at her, he could tell that it was all but fine. But, in the end, he ultimately respected her decision and left Twilight alone in the dark underground. Before he took for the upstairs, Spike looked back at Twilight, who hadn't moved an inch from her spot, but he could see her empty fist clenching in an attempt to hide her trembling.
And as soon as Twilight figured she was alone, she immediately collapsed onto a nearby chair with her head held in her hands. Inside her, she could feel years of pent up grief trying to break through, but she held back as much as she could. All that came out were quiet choked sobs, but even she couldn't completely silence it. Tears fell from her face and onto the lens of her glasses.
For so long, Twilight had clung to her hope in this last ditch effort to keep a promise she made. It was her goal to return something so precious to her, and it counted on everything being perfect; even the smallest semblance of imperfection, she spent forever ironing out.
And now, on the very night that it counted most, it was all gone. The one factor that could not fail her did exactly so. Through her blurred vision, Twilight looked down at the broken geode on the table beneath her. The magic of this gem, made for the wearer in mind, would have provided a direct link to her very self. The connection to this gem, it had her empathy, her conscience. This gem was her! And without it...
Twilight almost choked on her own sobs trying to repress the thought.
Without it, she was truly...
Twilight fought as hard as she could, but the reality was now...
She was truly gone.
How could she have been so stupid? Out of everything, how could she have overlooked the intensity of the magic?! This damn, useless jewel, shattered by her own incompetence. This was her fault. It was all her fault!
Twilight scooped the geode into her hand and closed it over into a fist. She tightened her grip, part of her hoping that she would crush it. But as compact as her hand soon became, she hadn't the strength to do it.
Just the sight of it, her unfixable mistake, it enraged her. She stood up, turned back towards the darkness and threw the geode with all of her strength and a horrible shout. It quickly disappeared. She heard as it hit the wall and then rattled on the floor.
She was then the only thing she could hear, with her hateful cry and burning breath. Her body felt tingly, and she could barely stand. The failed professor collapsed again onto her chair. Her mind was a complete blur; knowing not of what to do or where to go. For the first time, Twilight didn't have an answer.
She spun around in her seat towards the table. There still sat the android, dead as could be. Twilight laid her head down as she looked across her creation. Truly, a thing of beauty she was. Built as a dream, only to become an obligation. She was unlike anything the world would ever see. At least... she would have been.
Without that final factor, she wasn't perfect, and now, she could never be.
As Twilight rested herself beside her loss, her eyes began to feel heavy. It had been a long night already. Whatever the next step was, she was sure she'd find out come morning time when her head was more clear. And so, she allowed her eyes to close and drifted into slumber.
But beside her, there was a quiet whirring, and a soft pair of lights shined towards the ceiling, unbeknownst to the scientist.
"Power source undetected. Switching to backup battery. Please stand by," she said.
And here the hopeless circles back to once more, but it is different this time. The surrounding void is now a great white, blinding to the eyes like the sun. There is a weightlessness to the atmosphere, unable to tell if one is standing or floating.
Looking forward, it could be seen again. The teal lights piercing through an approaching silhouette. Its form was unrecognisable now, constantly morphing, struggling to keep its shape.
It moved closer with soundless steps. Once it was directly in front, it held out what looked to be an arm. Then came the urge to take the hand, but it phases through. It cannot be touched. And yet, it grabs hold of the arm not belonging to it and pulls in closer with great harshness.
It holds its head towards the ear.
It spoke.
"You failed me."
Twilight's eyes fluttered open, still able to hear the words echo in her head. Her eyes burned and her cheek was damp. How long had she been out for? She wiped her face with her hand, but suddenly felt something glide down her arm. A blanket?
It was then she also realised that her basement lights were back on too. Strange. Twilight played with the thought that perhaps Spike returned. But the idea was put aside as quickly as it was considered. There was no way a dog, a talking one no less, could drag a blanket this high up, let alone reactivate the power. So, what did this?
"Good morning," a robotic voice came from behind.
Twilight quickly turned around, and her heart nearly stopped by what she saw.
"Your body temperature decreased in the four hours and twenty-three minutes that you slept. I took the liberty of finding you a cover to regulate that." It was her! She stood tall and her screen eyes glowed brilliantly.
"I can't believe it. Sunset Shimmer, you... you're alive!" Twilight couldn't refrain herself. Had she not have been made of heavy metal, Twilight would have tackled Sunset to the ground with her jumping embrace. Sunset's body was also stone cold at the moment right now, but Twilight didn't care about that. She just had the happiest smile on her face.
"Finally! Just finally!" Twilight shouted with glee. "It's been so long, I wasn't sure if we'd ever see the day. Heck, I can hardly believe we're here now! I guess the magic that spilled out of the geode spread across your system, which, while not the intention, alternatively worked out," she nerded out. "It's... a bit complicated and I'll have to study it more later, but right now, I don't care. Here you are! I did it!"
Sunset stood in silence for a moment, processing what was happening. "I'm afraid I do not understand," she spoke with a monotone voice. "Are you my creator?"
Twilight brought her face back into Sunset's view. That wasn't exactly the greeting she was expecting. "You know me, Sunset. Twilight? Twilight Sparkle?"
Sunset was still for another second before speaking again. "The name 'Twilight Sparkle' is not logged into my hard drive. Please stand by while I store this."
"What?" Twilight questioned. This wasn't right. Why was she talking like this? "Come on. Stop playing, Sunset. The Friendship Games. Camp Everfree? Our friends, tell me you remember them."
"I'm afraid I have no memory of all things you have listed," Sunset answered in the exact same tone.
The scientist's eyes fell. "No. It can't be." She turned towards where she threw the powerless geode and picked it up off the floor. As well as this, she unclipped her own purple gem from around her neck and held them up to Sunset. "You have to remember this. These stones. The magic they carry, it binds us together. Please, Sunset." The desperation in her voice became more apparent with every word.
"I'm afraid I have no memory of these 'geodes'," the creation said.
Twilight's hands fell to her sides and she backed away from the robot. "Then it didn't work..." she said quietly, bringing the broken gem close to her chest. She sank down to her knees as she began to tear up. "She's really gone, forever."
As the robot watched Twilight, it could only tilt its head to the side. "It appears you are struggling with troubled emotions. Is there something I am able to assist you with?" it asked.
"No. You can't help with anything, because you're not her," Twilight said. She didn't look up at the machine anymore. She didn't want to.
"Who is 'her'?" the robot asked.
"She was Sunset Shimmer, the greatest person between this and her world. Whenever there was a problem, you could bet she was the first to answer. She always gave it her all to make sure that everyone around her was happy. In a way, she took care of everyone better than she took care of herself." Twilight began to choke up.
"I see," the robot responded. "Then would it improve your emotional state if I do become more like this 'Sunset Shimmer'?"
"That's the thing..." Twilight's voice became cold, with her hand clenching around the cold gem. She slowly rose to her feet again, but her head remained low. "I don't want you to be like her. I want the real her. But you? All you are is a failure! You aren't her! You can never be her!" she shouted without looking up. "All I ever wanted was to have her by my side again. I've spent years ensuring that every minute detail was correct. Right down to a T. Nothing could have been more perfect! But, of course, I just had to throw it all away right at the end! I just wanted it to be like she never left, but with this useless piece of junk now in pieces, there's nothing I can do anymore! She is gone for good this time! I have killed her!" Twilight broke at that moment. There was nothing to hold her back anymore. Thus, she fell apart.
The android could only watch. It did not know how to proceed further. Instead, it looked down at its own metal hands. Despite being made to perfection, what did it matter in the end with only the most crucial component being rendered impossible to implement?
"I'm... sorry that I cannot be what- who you wanted me to be," it said.
"It's just not fair," Twilight said through her sobs. "She gave everything to please everyone, and the world takes her away for it!"
The creation took a step towards its creator. "What happened to her, if you don't mind me asking?"
Twilight took a moment to think over her choices. They weren't memories she liked thinking about, but with current circumstances, there was no use trying to bury them. She sighed through her nose and began to recall.
"After graduating from high school, most of our friend group was moving on to college. Meanwhile Sunset was... between worlds. With friends and family on both sides of the portal, she was in and out constantly. After a while, my friends and I began to notice that Sunset was slowing down.
"She passed it off as nothing and kept doing things how she wanted, but it only became worse over time. She looked dull and weak. She became much scrawnier, like she hadn't been eating. Then one day, some of us meet up at her place, and out of nowhere Sunset has a seizure. I just stood there like an idiot as it happened, not knowing what to do. I was so scared!" Twilight took a second to herself, having to reflect on that image again.
"We immediately brought her to the hospital where she receives diagnosis that a malignant tumor had formed in her head. No one was sure how this could have happened, but I suggested it was the constant use of the portal. With the constant cellular reformation that her body had to undergo while crossing worlds, something had to eventually go wrong. And it did.
"The doctor told us that she should have come when we first noticed symptoms, and that it was left untreated for too long. He suggested treatment that would keep it at bay for a bit. Sunset was never the richest of our friends, so we each helped out where we could with funds, but I already knew what was coming, and I figured it wasn't going to be long.
"Sunset stayed at the hospital for a while after. We made sure to visit her all the time, but one day, it was just her and me..."
Twilight walked through the automatic doors into the hospital's reception room. Her chest would always feel heavy walking in here, while at the same time, she was also excited to see her friend. She went up to the receptionist and asked if she could see her, to which she was then guided through the long halls to a door leading into a lone room.
Peaking inside, she saw the window open with the sun piercing through. The light shined down on Sunset, who was laying on a bed, reflecting off her face and hair like gold. All while she stared back at the sun, looking so peaceful. Beside her sat her heart rate monitor, beeping away at a steady, consistent pace.
Not wanting to scare her entranced friend, Twilight knocked on the door. Sunset turned to her with a smile.
"Hey Twi!" Sunset greeted rather weakly. "How was school today?"
Twilight dropped her backpack onto the floor as she took a seat beside Sunset's bed. "Pretty good if I do say so myself," she said smugly. "Acing anything and everything thrown my way, as per usual. I think I'm even starting to impress Professor Starswirl now."
"I expect nothing less from my favourite nerd," Sunset commented.
Twilight proceeded to act overly offended. "You're a nerd!"
The two then shared a laugh, with Sunset being rudely interrupted by a sudden coughing fit. Fortunately, she was quickly able to calm herself down and turned back to Twilight with her kind expression. "So, how's the planning for that little 'project' of yours coming along?" she asked.
"Oh, great!" Twilight announced enthusiastically. "I'm still just working on the blueprints for it right now, but given time, this thing is gonna be revolutionary!" She threw her arms up high, hardly able to contain her excitement just by the sheer thought.
Sunset gave another light chuckle. "Who would've thought, the one to change the world is the one still afraid of ladybugs?" Right after, she was sent into another coughing fit, this one sounding much harsher than the last.
Twilight leaned closer with concern, putting her hand on Sunset's. She noticed how cold it felt. "Woah. Are you okay?"
Sunset nodded, using her other free hand to wave Twilight off. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Say, is, uh, anyone else coming today?"
"Sorry, no. Everyone's very busy today, but they wanted to let you know that they can totally make it tomorrow."
Sunset gave an understanding hum. However, Twilight could tell that her friend still seemed disappointed by the news. "That's too bad. I was kinda counting on all of you guys being here today."
This was the moment Twilight's heart began to pound out of her chest. "Why? What's wrong?" she asked with a worried tone.
"I've... not got a lot of time left, Twi. It's been hard trying to stay awake, but I couldn't go yet without saying goodbye." Sunset turned away and slowly reached over to the table beside her. Meanwhile, Twilight was left in a daze. She immediately had a million things she wanted to say, but nothing was able to escape her mouth. She noticed now that the monitor on the other side of the bed beeped faster.
Sunset turned back with a small, black jewelry box, her hand struggling to maintain a tight grip around it. "Here, I want you to have this. So that there's always a part of me with you," she said, holding the box towards Twilight.
The bespectacled girl reluctantly took the clam-shell box and opened it, revealling a yellow necklace with a charm that had a red and yellow sun insignia on it. Twilight looked to Sunset and shook her head. "Oh, Sunset... I-I can't accept this."
Sunset smiled reassuringly. "Yes, you can. Thing's got no use where I'm going. I trust you more than anyone to keep its memories alive. Can you do that for me, Twi?"
Twilight sniffed, wiping her eyes beneath her glasses. "Okay, Sunset. I will, I promise." She smiled back, but she was beginning to crack.
For the next minute, Sunset just stared at Twilight, taking in every detail she could. She never really noticed before just how small her nose was. It was adorable! But then, Sunset's moment was interrupted as she suddenly felt something within her. Instinctively, she laid a shaky hand out towards her friend. The monitor continued to get faster.
Twilight took the signal and placed her hand on top of Sunset's. The amber girl grasped as tight as she could, rubbing her thumb against the other's fingers.
Sunset grinned. "Sweaty palms," she said, raising a brow.
Twilight couldn't help but laugh, despite it breaking her down even further. She squinted her eyes and scrunched up her face as she attempted to hold back the waterworks. She was on the verge of crumbling.
"Hey," Twilight heard. She opened her eyes again to see Sunset still smiling as happy as ever. "It's okay."
"I just... I don't know what I'm going to do without you," Twilight replied, choking up.
"Well, whatever you do, remember that I'll always be smiling down on you. Just make sure you keep smiling too, yeah?"
Twilight nodded. "Yeah."
The monitor was now uncontrollably fast. "You're going to do great things, Twilight. I just know it."
Twilight could hardly see her friend anymore through her blurred vision. She rested her head onto her friend's cold hand. And then, she could hear nothing else. All that was left was a long, piercing ring...
"...She believed in me, and all I've done is fail her," Twilight finished. She sat in her desk chair in front of the android.
The lab felt desolate. The scientist sat in silence, hoping to hear the voice that would prove her wrong. But it was lonely deep below. Her throat hurt and her eyes burned more than they ever have, as though for the first time, she truly mourned.
"I just miss her so much," Twilight said breathlessly.
The robot contemplated its next move. It could sense how its creator felt, but letting her know that served only as a reminder of her shortcomings. It felt puzzled. It felt sorry. It wasn't her. Even so, it had to try.
The robot stepped forward. "I think she would be very proud of you," it said.
Twilight became quiet as she slowly brought her head back up, looking as though her creation had gone haywire. "Why? What could I have possibly done that would make her proud of me?"
The creation looked down at itself before answering. "Perhaps just managing to move forward without her means more than you realise. But while moving forward, what you forgot to do was move on. You forgot to keep smiling."
Twilight thought over the words of her creation. All this time, she had been so focused on making it seem like nothing ever changed. The promise she made, after so long, it contorted into something that meant another thing to the genius-turned-fool. Who was she truly doing this for by the end?
Even thinking of this, it failed to make her feel better, because there was still one crucial detail. She sighed. "What does it matter? I still broke my promise. I couldn't keep the geode safe. Her memories are gone."
"On the contrary," the machine replied. "Memories are immortalised both physically and mentally. This geode is only one of a variety of things that could hold significance. As long as you and everyone who knew her remembers her name, Sunset Shimmer's legacy is not lost."
Twilight stared with bewilderment. Through her blurred vision, she could just about see no difference anymore. "For a second there, you almost started to sound like her," she said, rubbing her eyes.
"But I am not her," the robot said. "Does that make me defective?"
"I... I'm not sure," Twilight answered. She was left to wonder what was real and what wasn't. By opening up, she felt revealed to a new realm of uncertain possibilities. "I've been trapped inside my own head for years, now. I don't even know what I want anymore."
"Do you remember what you did want?"
Twilight stared into nothing as she tried to look into her mind from so long ago. Looking back, it was clear to the scientist that she wasn't that same little dream chaser. In all the years she let pass her, it wasn't until now that she recalled her goal. "All I wanted then was what any young mind wanted; to change the world. I wanted to make a machine that could think and feel like a person. When she left, that changed, and I never realised."
Twilight's grip on the geode loosened as she saw her creation more clearly. "At some point, I didn't want a machine anymore. I just wanted her. But I can't bring her back. I never could. For so long, I've been chasing a pipe dream. I moved inch by inch towards making my desires as perfect as can be. And the finished product... is you," she finished.
The creation looked down at its shiny hands with a sad look. "But I am a failed result. I am walking with a design that is not mine. So, what am I?"
"You..." Twilight soon realised she hadn't an answer to give. It being alive now, the scientist had nothing left she could give it. "You are whoever you want to be."
"I do not understand," the creation said, cocking its head to the side.
"Maybe not yet," Twilight said. She dropped the geode on the table at her side and stood up. She placed her hands onto the robot's and managed to give a small smile. "But I'll help you. Anything you need; I'll be there."
"And will I finally be more like 'her'?" it asked.
Twilight shook her head. "You were never meant to be. It's my fault for losing sight of that. But it's okay now, because I'll show you the world, and someday, you'll be able to choose your own path." She pulled the robot's hand and walked them towards the stairs leading up. "Come on, we gotta tell Spike the big news!"
The robot moved one foot at a time up the steps. Behind the door at the top, it could see light piercing through the rims. It was heading towards a world unknown in hope of finding purpose, rather than the one it could not fulfill. It wasn't her, and that was okay.
The robot suddenly stopped halfway up the stairs. Twilight looked back to check on it.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"If she were here now, what would she think about me?" the robot asked.
The scientist gave a reassuring smile and moved down a few steps to place a hand on its metal shoulder. "She would say that you are perfect."
The two moved on towards new beginnings for them both. For the scientist, freedom from the binds kept her in the past, and for the creation, a chance to discover and be its own self. The door opened to reveal the beautiful light on the other side, and the two ventured towards it.
But before closing the door, Twilight glanced back towards the darkness. It felt like she was finally leaving for the first time in years. Down there became her world, but no more. She was finally ready to move on. The genius felt uncertain on what to do next, but whatever it would be, she would make sure that she kept on smiling.
She then looked towards her creation, which was taking in the new environment. It was a struggle to come to terms that she couldn't achieve her goal, but something new was gained from those ashes, and she felt fortunate to have that now.
Was everything going to be okay? Yes, Twilight felt that it would. Her greatest creation was alive, and to have them by her side now, everything might turn out just fine.
Twilight finally closed the door to the basement, and down below, the geode remained.
Author's Note
Special thanks to leeroy_gIBZ for their review of the original story way back in 2019! Looking back... yeah, I really didn't do this concept justice, what with the very rushed scenes, half-baked plot points and just straight up bad writing.
I hope I finally did this idea some proper justice this time round! I'm much prouder of it now!
I don't think I could've done anything better to commemorate now 30 stories on this website!
