Author's Note

Written by FictionFlyer
Inspired by the parody poster and description by Dan232323
Special thanks to LAGGxFITZY, imacrazytwkr, and Rated Ponystar.

The Lost Element

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HACKERS

It was always the same. The screaming, the gunfire, the sound of jets flying overhead, his menacing cackling, followed by his screaming as he was incinerated. It always ends the same, that jet flying towards them. The calls for it to stop are ignored as it drops it's payload. The bombs hit the ground, right near where they were standing.

Twilight was then jolted awake with the sound of the alarm. 6 a.m., it read. Twilight huffed in frustration. Her head was sore. 'Overdid it again.' She thought to herself, as she eyed the hard seltzer cans on the kitchen table. She stumbled down the stairs and immediately disposed of them before turning on the coffee maker and grabbing the carton of FillyaLite. She chugged some of the carton before pouring it into the mug and adding the coffee. She turned on the stove and threw some eggs and bacon on.

"You up Twilight?" Spike called.

"Yeah." She replied. "You want breakfast?"

A few minutes later they were at the table eating. Or rather Spike was eating his. He couldn't help but notice her staring at her breakfast, almost hypnotized.

"You ok?" He asked, sheepishly.

Twilight looked up at him briefly. "Not really." She quietly replied before taking a bite of her eggs.

"Still having those nightmares." He asked.

Twilight nodded. "Every night now Spike."

"Have you talked to Luna about them?" He asked. Twilight was starting to feel a little irritated.

"I have." She replied. "She's tried to clear them, but they just keep coming back." She then pushed her plate aside and laid her head down. Spike got up and walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. He could hear her start to cry.

"I don't know what's wrong with me Spike." She said in between sobs. "Ever since the Crystal Empire nothing has been right with me."

"It wasn't your fault." He said reassuringly. "That pilot was the one who disobeyed orders." He then gripped her shoulder. "Honestly Twi, I think that place just made you worse."

Twilight's head shot up. She was looking at him dead into his eyes. Spike's heart skipped a beat.

"I---I---I didn't mean it like that." He nervously stuttered out. Spike winced as he braced for the incoming barrage.

"No." She growled. "You're actually right." Spike seemed to ease as she ranted. "She told me that hellhole would help me, but all they ever did was gaslight and torture me! And she clearly didn't give a fuck!"

She was about to continue when Spike, suddenly, coughed up a scroll.

"Speaking of the devil." He said handing her the scroll. He clutched his stomach. "Does she not get technology? Why does she insist on sending these still?"

"She finds it easier and more personal I think." Twilight said. She read the scroll over before placing it down on the table.

"Well." She started. "Seems like she wants to talk to me." She then turned to Spike. "Pack a bag. We're going."

The two quickly packed a few overnight bags before leaving. As they made their way outside, Spike turned around and noticed Twilight standing in the doorway. He couldn't tell what she was doing, but it looked as though she was talking a final look of the place before finally closing the door. And with that, they made their way to the train station.

As they made their way through town, Spike could feel the ponies staring, accompanied by silent murmuring. He could overhear some of them.

"She's out?" One said.

Another one, "I thought she moved away."

A third, "Somepony told me she was dead."

Spike just listened and kept walking. Twilight could hear them too, along with a few somewhat unsavory comments. Ones that hurt more when she walked by a few familiar places.

Sugar Cube Corner, still bustling with ponies going to get sweet treats. She could see the Apple Farm, surprisingly, still as busy as ever. But the cottage was quiet and a bit overgrown. No animal could be seen on it. Then the boutique, boarded up, abandoned, and slowly showing signs of weathering. He heart shattered once again as she remembered that awful night and what led to this.

Spike put a hand on her back as she tried to hold back her tears. Neither said a thing as they continued on to the station.

The EquesTrak was one of the fastest and most efficient rail lines in the world. The old and slower steam powered locomotives had been replaced with high speed electric trains. It used to take 3 day to travel by train from Las Pegasus to Manehattan. The introduction of high speed lines cut that in half.

Spike and Twilight sat in the car for regular commuters on the way up there. It wasn't a long ride, only an hour and a half. Spike noticed her staring, almost blankly out the window as they pulled away from the town. Twilight watched the world pass by as the train moved up the mountain to Canterlot. The world just seemed to be one big blur as trees, rocks, and houses passed by at lightning speed. It was hypnotic. Calming.

She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep when she suddenly felt Spike tug on her shoulder.

"C'mon Twilight, we're here." He said.

It didn't take them long after leaving the train to arrive at the castle gates, which were opened for their arrival. As they walked through the courtyard, Spike couldn't help but notice Twilight clenching her fists. Looking up he could see her face. It was slowly contorting and twisting into a scowl. He hoof steps were starting to get more angry as they approached the main door. He watched as she seemed to get more and more furious as they walked down the main hall to the Queens Chambers.

Celestia was sitting at a table that had just been prepped for herself, Spike, and Twilight. Tea and cakes had already been set up. She sat calmly sipping some tea reading a news article on her tablet. Suddenly, the doors were blown open with such force it was a surprise they didn't fly off their hinges. The guards were taken aback by the violent entrance and prepped themselves ready to fight.

"WAIT!!!" Celestia shouted, just as shocked at the brazen entrance. She did settle slightly calm down upon seeing it was Twilight and Spike. However, upon seeing her student and how angry she looked, a new wave of uneasiness washed over her as the two took their seats. She dismissed her guards and told them to shut the, now slightly damaged, door behind them.

For the first few minutes they sat in silence. Spike was sitting, munching on finger sandwiches and cookies. Celestia was, nervously, sipping on a cup of tea, which slightly shook in her hand. She was developing a cold sweat as she looked at Twilight, who just sat there, staring her down.

"Do tell, my teacher," Twilight finally spoke, her tone so cold a Windego could get a chill from it, "why did you invite us here on such short notice?"

Celestia inhaled. "Well, my faithful student," she began, "I've been thinking about you and what happened." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I know that night was a tragedy, and it was hard to lose them. Believe me, I grew to love them myself." She then seemed to choke a bit, holding back tears. Twilight, however, was stone faced.

"But?" She asked, poking her to hear what was next.

Celestia sighed before continuing. "But I figured it was time to help you heal." She then pulled out her phone and hit send on it. Twilight felt hers vibrate and picked it up. She opened the notification to find a train ticket, open ended to anywhere in Equestria or the Crystal Empire.

"I know you will never be able to replace them." She continued. "But I believe that you can make new friends just as easily as you did with them."

Twilight didn't really respond, just looked at the ticket. Shen then smirked before putting the phone away.

"Where's Luna?" She asked. Celestia nearly choked on her tea as a few drops spilled on her white dress.

"Oh, um." She stammered. "She's away helping the army in Unicornia. Since the surrender, she's needed in weeding out their remaining commanders. Not to mention helping with the upcoming reconstruction."

Twilight almost scoffed in disgust. Celestia took another sip of her tea when her student casually blurted out, "Typical. Sending someone out to do your dirty work while you sit here and stuff your face."

Spikes jaw dropped open as his eyes went wide. Celestia nearly choked as she spit out her tea. Never had she heard student talk like that.

"E---e---excuse me?!" She nearly shouted.

"You heard me." Twilight snarky said. "This whole war, you sat on your fat ass while Luna, Cadance, my brother, my friends, and I were out defending this nation." Celestia nearly spoke up when Twilight put her hoof up. "No! Shut up! I'm talking now!"

Celestia sat back and listened as Spike moved his chair slightly away. Twilight took a deep breath then continued.

"You sent out my brother into that frozen hellscape, knowing that someone tipped the Unicornians off." She began.

Celestia immediately interjected. "The odds were good, and they completed their mission."

"Correction, only three completed the mission." Twilight snapped back, "The other seventeen of your agents you sent out there were killed because of that leak. You almost got Shining killed, along with your best agent. Thank Faust for Private Sentry."

Celestia reflected on that week. The Unicornians, a theocratic regime whose government was an ally of Sombra and Chrysalis, were planning to fire a new rocket towards Vanhoover to show their military capabilities. Their plans failed when Shining and his team were able to sabotage the several of the site's facilities and signal an airstrike on the main missile silo. The base was destroyed, but seventeen soldiers out of the twenty sent in were killed in the initial phase due to a mole in the Inteligence Services. The mere mention of that week always made her breakout into a cold sweat.

"I don't even need to mention what nearly happened to Luna during the battle with the Changelings, or Cadance during our siege of the Crystal City." Twilight sternly said. "But I will mention what happened to me afterwards." The queen held her breath. "I watched that plane come down and drop its bombs right on my frien----no, my sisters, while my brother screamed for them to stop." Twilight held back a sob. "I didn't even get to say 'goodbye'. They couldn't identify their remains, so I didn't know which body was which."

She then looked her mentor dead in the eyes as they went from sorrow to anger.

"Then I come to you for help, and what did you do? You sent me to that hell hole of a psyche ward. I was tortured for eighteen months. I could explain all the horrible things they did to me in there if it was worth wasting the air saying it. And to add insult to injury, you didn't even bother to visit me!!! WHY?!?!" She screamed as she slammed her fist on the table, sending some of the pastries flying. "Because I was no use to you anymore, was I?! Because the Elements of Harmony are useless relics."

By this point, Spike had fled under the table, taking a few finger sandwiches with him.

"Twilight." Celestia, choked out. "That's not true. I care about you, I really do. And I did try to---"

"LIES!!!" Twilight screamed. "All you ever did was lie to me! All you ever did was use me and my friends. All you ever did was make us do your dirty work while you took the credit. And I won't stand for it ANYMORE!!!"

Celestia's heart was beating so fast it felt like it was about to shoot out of her chest. Never in her life had she thought she'd be talked to like this by Twilight. She knew this wasn't like her at all. She looked back at Twilight who was standing in her spot, panting with her head lowered. She could hear her students silent sobs in between her panting.

"What happened to you?" She thought.

"You used me." Twilight sobbed. "All you ever did was use me."

The Queen was about to say something when Twilight put her hand up.

"I'll take it." She stated. "I'll go. Alone."

Before Celestia could say anything, she was briefly blinded as Twilight teleported out of the room. She quickly reached under the table and grabbed the quivering dragon before they took off after Twilight.

Twilight's eyes barely began to dry as she arrived back at the station. She stormed through the concourse towards the platforms where several trains were already boarding. Her eyes darted from one to the next, trying to pick which one to board. Finally, she focused her view on a train at the platform furthest from her. Her ticket at the ready, she bolted over to the conductor. With a quick scan, she was cleared to board. She had only made it up the first step when she heard her name being called out. It was her.

"Twilight!!!" Celestia called. "Twilight please, wait!!!"

Twilight turned around just as her mentor ran up to the car door, a panting Spike in tow.

"That's it?" The Queen questioned. "You're just going to leave everything and everyone behind?"

"No." Twilight flatly replied before turning to Spike. "I'll send for you once I get settled somewhere."

Spike just ran up and hugged her, which she returned.

"I'm sorry," She said, "but I have to be alone for a while."

"I understand." Spike said. "Just be careful. Ok?

"I will." Twilight said with a slight smile. He then backed up off the train as Celestia came forward.

"Where are you going?" She asked, her voice starting to crack.

"Not sure." Twilight replied flatly. "Anywhere I guess."

"Will you at least let me know when you get there?" Celestia pushed.

"Only when I send for him." Twilight said pointing to Spike. "Other than that," She paused, "...this'll probably be the last time we speak."

Celestia's blood froze. "What are you saying?"

Twilight then looked her mentor dead into her eyes. "I'm saying...as of now, I am no longer your student. This'll be the last time we'll see each other."

Celestia began to sob as Twilight turned and walked into the train car. The whistle then blasted loudly as the train began pulling out of the station. The unicorn sat down in her seat, shaking from the adrenaline. She looked out the corner of her eye to see her mentor walk towards her window. She could see tears flowing freely down her face as she walked alongside the train as it slowly pulled out of the station. Soon it began to pick up speed as Celestia, seemingly, tried to keep up the pace with it. The chase was short lived as the monarch slowed her pace. Twilight looked back, just in time to see Celestia and Spike both wave at her before they were out of sight.

Twilight turned back around. The adrenaline had begun to wear off as every emotion began to set in. She put her face into her hands and began to sob loudly, not caring who heard. Not that it mattered, there was no one around to hear her. The train car was empty.