After Day

I woke to a rather pleasant zing thrilling through my body. I'm not sure what caused such a stir, but I felt the waves of chaos from miles away, like a pent of storm of causes finally took effect in the most contrived way possible. I would've been shaking in excitement if my being wasn't still encased in stone.

Instead, I was going to pocket this excess power and use it to lessen my sentence. A bout of havoc this appetizing could easily shave off a century or so, yet I soon found out that none of it would matter.

My prison began to crack and so did my psyche. Already?! I didn't have time to come up with a cool entrance or any relevant jokes! What if I unironically reference a dead meme by mistake?!

"I rise! 525,600-ish minutes will give y-" I just about broke out ol' reliable when my brain registered what I was seeing.

"Heh, I know this one. 'Such a crick in the neck,' right?" A rather heavenly chuckle shook me to my core.

'Oh, me. Oh, my.' Tall and serene with flowing hair? Check. Sharp looking, drop dead gorgeous, and purple? Also, check. 'That's all my boxes ticked. Alright, Perry Sullivan, don't screw this up.'

"Hey, Twi Twi. Been a while, hasn't it?" I tried to lean on a counter that wasn't there. Normally, it would've worked, but this time of all times landed me in the dirt.

"Hello, Dizzy." Twilight Sparkle's voice is like satin. It drifts over my ears as her magic puts me back on my feet. "Quite a while, I'd say. Quite an eventful week, too. Definitely too long, yet bizarrely short."

I straighten up so we're both at eye level. "I could only imagine."

"Hmm?" She studied me a moment and I stiffened under her watch. Is this what self-consciousness felt like? It sucked. "Oh, right!" Her eyes widened in realization. "Code: D-O-A-T-L / 0-5-2-7-2-0-1-9."

'She's figured out the codes? I knew she was a fast learner, but slow down. You've got all the time in th-' My thoughts come to a stop when I processed exactly what code she used and what situation it pointed to. I swallow dryly and hope I misheard her. "How many?"

"To be honest, I stopped counting." Twilight lightly pawed her chest, her ears pinned back adorably. "I used to keep track of it in a journal. I even created a self-renewing spell that would automatically cast itself without conscious thought based on my own biological clock, just so I would never forget to preserve it through the loops, but once the years waned on...."

"It stopped mattering." I looked up at the clear sky. A certain pressure weighed on my chest. I hadn't felt something like it in many years. "I'm sorry, Sparkle. Nobody else should have to go through that."

"You sound more sincere than the last few times you said that." She giggled and that weight faded away.

"Well, how can I help it? You've escaped! All while looking so... wow." I just gesture to her. Truly a sight that couldn't be put into words.

Her giggle evolves into full on laughter. I'm on cloud nine. "Gotta admit. Didn't think my appearance would shift so drastically." She ruffled her new wings and stretched her limbs. "Not all against it though. It's a nice change. Flying's cool."

I nod absentmindedly while looking respectfully and admiring her power. "That's good to hear. Wouldn't want you cracking like little old me."

I flop back onto the ground. She stared for a moment before I gathered up enough courage to be serious for a while.

"I truly am sorry for what you went through, yet I can't lie and say that I'm not at little glad at it happening." I feel her lay next to me and I don't dare face her. That weight was returning. I hated it so. "I'm glad to no longer be the only one to have experienced it. To go through the trials of being so utterly alone yet surrounded by loved ones day after useless day. To devise a method of escape and finally rip your way out of that prison only to find yourself...."

I hesitate and stare at the claw and paw that had been hooves. I wanted to clench them shut, but a pair of purple claws reached out and held them. They pull me over, so I'm facing Twilight. She's also laying on her side, a toothy smirk on her beak and her dragon tail swaying comfortably.

"Irreversibly changed? Yeah."

"You're taking this a lot better than I had."

"That's because I had a friend by my side to ease me into it. I had someone who could understand and guide me when I had just about given up for the hundredth time." Twilight pulled me into a hug. "Thank you, Discord." She felt so soft and warm. Being stone was so cold and stupid.

"And, we can work together to make sure nopony ever goes through it, again."

'Such compassion coming so freshly after her escape.' I scoff. "I suppose I could help look into it. We have eternity after all."

"Eternity, indeed." Twilight pulled away from the hug and rolled to face the sky. Her eyes wandered for a bit before she chittered in amusement. "The Sun's rising at a different angle."

I lazily followed her gaze and laid by her side. The grass felt great on my back, the wind caressed my fur, and the birds sang a brand new melody.

In that moment, the little things felt the most euphoric.