Author's Note
This expanded story was intended to be published in time for Christmas.
The One and Only
"Spike," Applejack slowly turned her head. "Ah..." she cleared her throat. "I have something to tell you."
Spike glanced up from his half-eaten apple. "Hm?"
"I'm Twilight."
He blinked, taking another, slower bite from the apple, chewing and swallowing before continuing his wordless stare.
"I'm serious, Spike," Applejack dropped to her haunches beside him. Every second she spoke she sounded more like Twilight. "And so is Fluttershy, and Rainbow, and every other pony here in Equestria."
Spike looked down at his apple, then at Applejack, then at the apple again before dropping it to the ground. "Alright, AJ, let's take you to Nurse Redheart."
"But Nurse Redheart is also Twilight," Applejack added. "We are all of her, and she is all of us."
"Ooooo-kay," Spike backed away from the mare before taking off in a sprint. "TWIIIIIIIIII!" he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. "TWILIGHT!"
"Twilight!" Spike slammed the door open, heaving. "Twilight--why... you... you've gotta fix her!"
It was dark inside.
Twilight sat silent on her cushion, her horn lit and her eyes shut. A stream of glimmering magic spiraled from her horn, snaking up and out of the room through an open skylight in the ceiling.
"Tw-Twilight?" Spike stepped inside. "Twilight? Is everything alri--"
He winced as the floorboards creaked beneath his feet.
...Floorboards. He momentarily traced the wooden panels from the interior of the room, beneath his feet, and over to...
The doorway.
That's where it ended.
He took another step, this creak louder than the last. This time around, Twilight seemed to hear him.
Her horn ceased its glow, the final wisps of mana rising like curls of smoke into their singular escape.
She opened an eye.
"Twilight," Spike waddled into the room and sat down in front of her. "Applejack started acting weird. Said that she was you, and that you were--"
"Everyone," Twilight shut her eye again. She drew in a breath. "Spike."
"Yeah?"
"Please, let her in."
Spike looked over his shoulder. "Let who--"
Applejack loomed silently behind him. He turned back to Twilight, whose horn was once again lit. Weakly, but lit nonetheless.
"Let her in," Twilight whispered again.
Spike stepped aside. Applejack entered the room and sat down beside Twilight.
There was no light in her eyes.
The glow of Twilight's horn once again dissipated, and Applejack slumped to the floor.
"Applejack!" Spike lunged for the mare. He was stopped by Twilight, who set him down where he was moments prior.
"I'm so, so sorry, Spike. They're telling the truth."
Spike stared at the lifeless form of Applejack heaped on the floor beside Twilight. Nothing was natural about the way she laid. Or at the very least, it was the most uncomfortable sleeping position he'd ever seen.
"W-what?"
Twilight coughed weakly. "They're all gone. They've been gone for years now. I thought you knew. Or at least, I thought you noticed already."
"What are you even talking about, Twilight?" Spike flung a claw toward Applejack. "We need to get AJ some help! That's not how she's supposed to be!"
He heard a quiet sigh escape Twilight as she lit her horn again. Applejack's body shuddered for a moment before keeling back over into a more natural position. A glimmer of liveliness even returned to her eyes, which widened at the sight of Spike.
"AJ!" Spike gasped. "You're--"
"Ah knew you'd be worried," Applejack leaned over and plucked her hat off the floor. "But Ah didn't think you'd..."
"Applejack?" Spike stepped closer to the mare, who sat frozen in her current position.
"--Take this long," Twilight finished Applejack's sentence. "I thought you were just playing along."
"Playing... along... what are you talking about, Twi?" Spike flung his arms up. "Why is Applejack frozen? What do you mean they're all gone? Is this some kind of sick joke? Where's Rainbow? I'm sure she's in on this too--"
Twilight closed her eyes again, the aura around her horn intensifying just a little. A quiet thump came from up above, followed by Rainbow Dash peeking in through the open skylight.
Spike returned his own gaze to Twilight, once again backing away. "She is in on this. No, no no, this is too weird for me," he stepped out of the room, only to find Rarity and Fluttershy standing in the hall. "Rarity!" he sprinted towards her. "Rarity! Talk some sense into Twilight!"
A tear slid down Rarity's cheek as she crouched down to Spike's level. "Never underestimate the power of a book on vocal impressions, Spike."
"No," Spike stepped back again. "Not you too." His eyes darted to Fluttershy, who only hung her head in silence. "Fluttershy?"
Rarity's posture went limp as Fluttershy seemingly awoke. "I should've told you sooner, Spike. I'm so, so sorry."
Spike grimaced at the sight and sprinted down the hall. He had to write to Celestia about this. None of this was norma--
He ran face-first into Twilight.
"Please," streams of tears now ran down her face. "Please, stop. I can't... I--" she fell to her haunches. "I can't keep this going any longer, Spike. Tirek, don't you remember him?"
Spike gave a slow nod.
"When he took all the magic?"
Another, slower nod.
"And when he was defeated?"
"Twilight," Spike grabbed her by the shoulders. "Cut to the point. What's Tirek got anything to do with this?"
Her voice came hurt and broken. "It wasn't just magic that he drained from their bodies. Even after everypony's magic was restored, they began to drop left and right. Not a day went by without me hearing reports of another body arriving in Ponyville's hospital. They still breathed; their bodies were perfectly fine--but their minds?"
Twilight's horn went dark again.
A muffled thud from behind marked the collapse of both Rarity and Fluttershy.
"Gone with the magic. It came slow at first--ponies would forget things here and there. But gradually, they began to loose their footing. They'd run into things, their words would meld into incoherence, and before long, they were nothing but husks of their former selves."
"But what about Pinkie?" Spike glanced over his shoulder. "I haven't seen Pinkie acting like tha--"
"She's the same as the rest. She's just... not here at the moment."
Twilight pointed a hoof to her horn. "They all live within me now. Or at least, they try to. I can hear their voices--every single one of them. When we stripped Tirek of the power he stole, there were some... unintended side-effects."
She lit her horn again. Spike heard a quiet shuffling of hooves as Rainbow Dash stepped up beside Twilight.
"Every pony you see out there today--" Twilight side-eyed Rainbow Dash's still form. "--Those are puppets. In all but name. They still breathe, but it's through me that they truly live. It's all I can do to keep them alive. To give the voices some semblance of their past lives."
She lowered her hoof.
"I am the last pony in Equestria, Spike. All of my strength... everything I do... is for these ponies to continue their lives, even if I have to stop living my own."