Odyssey of my friendship

The chamber was in turmoil, the two princesses were ready to use their magic at any moment.

Celestia gave advice to Rarity:

"Rarity! Please leave the chamber. Twilight Sparkle is not aware of her actions. She's a very dangerous person."

Twilight was even a little amused by this.

"Celestia, just because I woke up a little early doesn't mean I'm dangerous or the demon you think I am. You can expect no provocation from me, and I won't give you any reason to use force on me. And at the end of the day, I'm in the mood to talk. So it would be smart not to make a big deal out of it, don't you think?"

To the entire monologue of the apprentice, Celestia replied coldly:

‘’We have read your diary up to the thirty-second entry. What do you have to say for yourself? You know that killing ponies, under the strictest prohibition!"

There was silence, as the patient seemed to be lying there, remembering that unfortunate world.

"Oh, I remember. And I'll answer your questions right away. Yes, I was abused, but no, I'm not going to kill the aristocrat here. And the third answer is yes, I did. Because it was necessary. I made what I thought was the right decision at the time."

"Was it necessary?"

"You don't ask a disease to go away with words, do you? Or treat it with antibiotics? I was the cure-all. I eradicated the virus that was parasitising the social mass of those poor people. I'm not sure I know the history of your reign, but I sure hope you didn't have to take part in such things,’ Twilight studied the lamp on the ceiling until Celestia asked again."

"Then... Why did you attack me? I saw so much aggression in you at that moment, but I also saw nothing but emptiness in you, I thought it was just a daily routine for you."

After pondering the question for a moment, Twilight turned her head in her direction.

"You were just prey for me, you see... Alicorn horns are a rare resource. I've always saved my strength and distributed the contents of my luggage as optimally as possible. Remember the mathematical NP-complete backpacking problem? Now I can solve it intuitively, without the need for complicated calculations. But you have nothing to fear, I don't set myself the goal of resource extraction now. In fact, I don't have any thoughts of that kind anymore. I've made my peace."

"Then, dare I ask, what are your goals?"

"A holiday. I haven't had such a rest in years. My instincts don't scream, I'm not hunted. I don't need to run from anyone, I don't need to save everyone. I'm just taking a break from all this shit. You know? Of course you do. You've both ruled for over a thousand years without a day off, and I'm sure you'd both like a break."

At one point, Twilight started talking. Celestia thought she couldn't hear them again and was delirious. But after a little while, she continued again:

"And while I'm here, I'm being guarded from outside threats, or even let everyone think I'm the main threat. Is there any point in me running away or provoking you? I think not. And I don't care right now if you consider me your friend, student or the like. I'm on holiday. And when I do, I'll just walk around and try to enjoy the beauty of the area."

Celestia immediately became wary.

"Twilight, I don't know how sane you are right now, but you do realise we can't let you go right now, don't you?"

A chuckle came from the side of the bunk. A smug smile appeared on the alicorn's face, and her look was one of terror.

"Because you're afraid of me?" Twilight quipped wryly.

After all, she knew that the princess knew about her strength levels. It was not for nothing that the scientists had been scanning her body for five days and had leaked all the information online to princesses and interested parties.

Celestia wanted to answer firmly and coolly, but all that came out of her mouth was the frantic rant of a frightened foal:

"I... I'm Not afraid of you."

"Yes, you are, Celestia. I can read fear in the eyes of other creatures. How's Discord? Alive and well? I apologise from the bottom of my heart for attacking him. Speaking of which, can I have some water? I can't have that pleasure chained up with all six limbs and lying on my back. I realise this sanatorium is all-inclusive. But I'd like to take the comfort plus."

Rarity's immediate reaction to the shackled phrase was to be outraged.

"Twilight? You... Why, Princess Celestia?" Rarity didn't know how Twilight was positioned and didn't even realise that she might be shackled to the bed, her entire body covered in a white blanket.

Celestia did not answer Rarity's question, all her attention was now on Twilight, she diplomatically tried to refuse her request, intending to get answers from her.

"Yes, of course, but later. Right now I'd like a little more information from you."

Twilight addressed Rarity directly then, letting the princess' reply pass her ears:

"Rarity, please go get some water, this is going to be a long conversation. My throat is like the Arabian Desert right now. Hey, can I sit or stand up to stretch already? My body needs a daily workout, how am I going to keep myself in shape if I'm lying on my back all the time?"

"Sure, Twilight, I'll be right there!" Rarity immediately raced to get a carafe and a glass to fill it with water and bring it to her. And while the outsider ponies were away, they continued the conversation in a more straightforward manner.

"No, we can't let you do that. You are forbidden to leave this bunk, that's an order."

"Why is that, I wonder?"

"We can't take that risk! As ruler of Equestria, I should have already sent you to Tartarus for your actions and crimes!"

Twilight, having lost interest in this conversation, made eye contact with the lamp on the ceiling again.

She only half-whispered to herself:

"Come on, Celestia. Why is it that Discord is the most intelligent of the three deities so far? Why have you stooped to his level with your sluggishness and sloppiness? Why don't you do what he does, study from afar! And now he probably thinks I don't notice him!!!!" Twilight shouted louder, as if he was in the next room.

"I'm sorry, what!!!" Diarch was taken aback by this.

"He told you everything while I was asleep. I heard each and every one of you in that fancy lab of yours. But you're all trying to pretend it doesn't matter! Enough of this farce!"

"Twilight! Enough!" Luna decided to join the conversation, noticing that her older sister was starting to lose ground in the conversation. "This isn't a heart-to-heart, it's an attempt to resolve a conflict, stop being a clown! You need to be serious! Do you know what an unenviable position you're in right now?"

She snorted in response, but she found something to say right away:

"Counter question: does Tirek, who is now in Tartarus, have similar conditions? Is he just as immobilised, with no access to water or food? And is he being forcibly induced into sleep by various drugs?"

Luna did her best to parry:

"No, but you..."

"I haven't harmed this world in any way, to begin with. And if you don't want to consider the good things I've done, then you don't have to consider the bad things I've done either. I don't need to get all Themis-y on the scales here."

Rarity walked into the room, carrying a decanter and a glass of water in her telekinesis.

"Twilight, water. Let me, get you drunk, dear!" Rarity walked over to the couch in a crouch, holding the decanter and glass. She filled the glass with water and was ready to get her drunk.

"I'll drink it myself."

There was a nasty scraping of metal from the side of the couch, Twilight suddenly lifted the bedspread with one hoof. Twilight then picked up their water glass to bring it to her mouth and greedily sipped at the cool liquid. Celestia shivered slightly, fear filling her twin alicorn hearts once more. Luna in turn warily lit her horn on alert, ready to fight back at any moment. The satisfied patient soon placed the glass on the table next to the carafe that stood.

"Oh-oh... Thank you, Rarity. Leave it here. I'll get up later and finish the rest."

"Twilight!" Luna exclaimed, looking dumbfounded at the torn piece of mangled metal left in the bed.

"Oh... if you want to talk, let's do it on equal terms. I'm not a prisoner. You think I'm a criminal, judging by your behaviour. So be it, but in return I will demand the rights of a criminal. Food, water and a three by three metre space with proper oxygen, shower and toilet. I also want to be able to write to my family. I promise not to have shivs and phones, but I will trade toilet paper and soda bottle caps with others!"

Luna was getting annoyed with this behaviour.

"Stop talking down to us! We're not going to agree to those terms!"

Rarity didn't want to hear her friend talk like that and stood up for her:

"She is not a criminal! I'm sure of it!"

"So... Celestia, Luna,’ Twilight shook her head and sighed heavily and began to explain." You don't want information that's important to both of you to get into your heads. If I wanted to escape, I would have escaped by now. I've escaped from prisons that would seem quite desperate to you.

This tone of conversation, confused Celestia, she sobered almost immediately from the waves of her fear.

"Is that a threat?"

"No, oh-oh... Why am I still trying to get through to you and explain that I'm not going to threaten or harm you! You can put me in jail or Tartarus if you want, I'm just trying to make it clear. If I want to, I can get out, I can get out of Tartarus or any of your prisons, and before you know it, I'll be home reading my old favourite books."

"How do we know... that you're definitely our Twilight?"

"The crown,’ Twilight answered quietly." She brought me home. And it will synchronise with the Elements of Harmony here. I want to see Spike, my parents, Starlight, my brother, my niece, my nanny Cadence. Will they come to see me?

Both monarchs immediately shouted ‘No!!!’ in sync.

Twilight squinted her eyes, looking at the two angry faces:

"Aha, then I have no business being here."

Twilight calmly pulled her legs and wings out of the shackles without much effort. The shackles squealed as the three watched in stupor as she easily crushed the metal like plasticine. She stood on all four of her legs, crunching her stiff limbs and neck.

"Twilight! Please don't do anything you'll regret!" Rarity hugged the alicorn tightly, nuzzling her face into her chest because she was a head taller than she was and there was no way to hug her properly.

Sparkle only stroked her head lightly, letting her know that she wasn't going to run away or worse, become disruptive.

Giving Rarity a motherly squeeze, she turned to the princesses.

"So, Celestia and Luna, you're scaring my friend with your antics. Your excuses?" Twilight glared unceremoniously at both of them and reprimanded them like naughty children.

It was as if Celestia and Luna hadn't heard what she had just said. The older sister warned her student.

"Twilight! Don't move! Or we'll use force!"

"Well" Twilight calmly let go of Rarity, allowing her to stand beside her, and tried to grab a glass to pour herself a drink, but was suddenly hit by a beam of magic on her hoof, causing the glass to shatter.

Celestia's nerves were slowly giving out, she wouldn't have wanted to attack Twilight, but at this moment she thought she wanted to take the glass and throw it right at her to seize the moment and run away at the same moment.

"I said don't move!"

"So, we've reached a dead end" Twilight didn't even flinch at the pain on her leg where the magic had hit. "Ew... Stained wool and a burn, that doesn't smell good. Notice, you attacked first, and I didn't even do anything or make any attempt to attack. And like I said before, I'm not to be expected to provoke. Don't you think you could be considered a threat right now? Your actions could cost you dearly, Celestia. Now let me drink my water in peace."

Despite the tense atmosphere in the chamber, Twilight calmly took the carafe of water and began to drink greedily.

It wasn't long before an angry Luna got involved in the event.

"You did that on purpose! So that your sister would hurt you! You could have defended yourself!"

"Only you can use magic in the room, I can't. How could I have defended myself?"

"You broke the shackles like paper with magic."

"Magic? Are you sure? It was my physical strength. I turned your third-rate alloy with physical strength alone. You know, Applejack could break those shackles if she put her mind to it."

Both princesses whispered quietly:

"Impossible..."

In front of the monarchs sat a beast of superior strength, both physical and magical.

"Sixteen Exaltations. I was accepted and deemed worthy by many sacred relics, they shared their power with me. Amount of magic, sixth sense, parallel thinking, great regeneration. And much, much more" Twilight finished her water and set the carafe back down. "So, I've finally had a drink. We can continue our conversation."

"Darling, and your wound?" Rarity looked at her friend again.

"Rarity, sit on the couch. It's okay, it's not bothering me. Celestia, Luna. You have my word that I will not leave my castle without a drastic need to do so, and I will not harm anyone. If you need me, you can always contact me through Spike. But know this: if you want to pin made-up crimes on me out of thin air, hang me, it won't work. You try to kill me, kill me. You can get rid of me now. But... you'll also have to get rid of Rarity. Either way, the others will try to get back at you. Victims will be victims, there will be war and destruction. Genocide of the entire world order, and then instead of monarchy, anarchy will rule and reign. Do you want that? I doubt it."

Celestia and Luna thought about Twilight's proposal. They couldn't do anything against her, so they had to agree.

"All right, Twilight. We'll put you under house arrest, but there will be a 24-hour guard outside your house. So that no outsiders can get in or out!"

‘Perfect, I should have done that right away.’

"Oh yes. One more thing, not a threat, but a warning to you. I know what you are capable of in an emergency or stressful situation, Knightmare Moon and Daybreaker" both of them cringed at those names, but continued to listen. "If you touch either of them with a hoof or dare to blackmail me" she looked at them with a very serious look and her voice became colder,"I will personally come and destroy you both. I hope you heard me."

Afterwards Twilight became softer in her tone and even smiled quite a bit:

"Now I would like to go home."

Both monarchs had to agree, they had never had such stressful negotiations in their lives, not even in the middle of a war.

They had no way of knowing that the criminal would turn the tables and set her own terms.

In fact, she could have agreed to even worse conditions if someone had not been so stubborn and listened to the ‘criminal’ more carefully.

* * *

Twilight was moved from being a criminal to being a quarantined mare who needed to be isolated for a short period of time. Accompanied by guards, she was soon taken to her castle. Twilight entered the Friendship Palace alone. Exhaling the busy day through her lungs, she sank into her thoughts.

‘It's so quiet at home. It's been so long since I've been here, now I wish I could take a bath and get some sleep.’

"Surprise!!!" they all shouted with glee.

The main party organiser was Starlight. Pinkie wasn't among the crowd for some reason.

"Twilight! Welcome home!" shouted the keepers of the Elements of Harmony. Then it turned out that Pinkie hadn't been able to free herself due to work pressure.

"It's been so long since I've seen you all."

A kind, sweet smile appeared on her face. Maybe it's a dream. No. Could it be oblivion, or is she dead? No. She's standing on all her hooves. It's all real.

"Twa-a-a-ay!" Spike ran up, hugging her hoof because he was too short compared to her.

"Spike," Twilight hugged him gently in a motherly way. This was who she wanted to see the most in the castle.

"We arrived as soon as we heard you'd been released from the hospital! Twi!" Her parents and her older brother and Cadence walked up to her. "You've grown up!" Shining gently patted her little sister's mane.

She didn't bother spoiling the moment or bickering, for it was unnecessary. Let the others know as little of her past as possible. They would sleep better. And with her friends, she would always find time to talk. She carefully hid her extraneous thoughts behind a smile. She decided to reassure Spike first and foremost.

"It's all right, Spike. It wasn't anyone's fault there. If there's a problem with the mirror portal, it's only my irresponsibility and my thoughtlessness."

Twilight walked towards the crowd of ponies to finally rest. To rest mentally and forget about all her problems that had been accumulating for years.

* * *

The day passed quickly. Twilight and her apprentice Starlight sat by the fireplace and drank cocoa and buns. Spike had long since retired, and the family was in the adjoining bedrooms. Twilight pulled up a log in the fireplace with a poker. She decided to talk to her apprentice in private.

"Not a word to anyone about what was written in the diary, Starlight."

"Not a word. I promise, Master."

"Well, well, well. What kind of teacher am I to you?"

"Not at all! With your years of experience, I feel as green as a young sprout! Teach me what you know! Please?"

Twilight smirked, looking at Starlight. Her face could make her look cute at this moment, well, could she say no to her?

"If you're interested in anything from the diary, I'll tell you."

"Twilight! Please tell me about the first time you made an irreparable, rash decision. I need to know what mistakes are best not to make... If you don't mind."

"No. I don't mind. Smart ponies learn from mistakes. So listen up, Starlight. It was two hundred and ninety-nine years ago."

And so, with a cup of hot cocoa, the story of Twilight's journey through uncharted and dangerous worlds continued.