Last Request

by Cynical

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Crossover, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 16343

Twilight Sparkle has one last request, 'What if I'd said yes?'

Honoured Tradition and Final Regret both have very special jobs. They can let a pony go back through their memories to live their dream as they lie on their deathbed. It's a rewarding job that leaves them feeling happy afterwards… it also pays extremely well.

When they get a call from Celestia herself to go and visit a client, all expenses paid for by the Royal Treasury, they meet the unicorn that started it all and has one final wish.

What if she'd said yes?

A/N: To The Moon parody. What more can be said?

Published 2013-03-25 02:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-08 16:59:43 UTC

House Calls

Rule Number One: Give the patient what they want

~Excerpt from the guide to Memory Wishers, by Twilight Sparkle

"Doctors Tradition and Regret to the assignment office please."

The intercom made itself known to the two doctors in question as they sat in the employee break room, sparsely populated by less than a dozen staff members and shared by a large pool table at which a unicorn and a pegasus were half-way through a game. At the sound of the intercom, the pegasus, who was aiming for the final ball on the table, jumped slightly, tapping the ball and missing the black by a mile. He let out an annoyed groan as the unicorn took the cue from his grasp before using her magic to pot the black without showing any effort whatsoever, laying the cue down on the table afterwards and glancing back at her opponent.

"Are you coming or what, Regret?"

He let out an annoyed grunt and followed after his companion, his bad mood already being forgotten as the prospect of a new job took over his thoughts.

"Soooo…” he started speculatively, “what do you think we're going to be doing this time? Visiting another duke maybe?" he asked as they entered a room full of lockers, making his way towards a locker at the far end of the small room while the unicorn stopped in front of a locker much closer to the door.

"Maybe; or maybe it's going to be another aged stallion wanting a bit of peace in his final days. You know it's a mixed bag," came the exasperated reply as both lockers opened simultaneously, regardless of hooves or magic. Both ponies drew out a lab coat from their respective lockers.

"Or maybe it'll be another super awesome pony like we had last week,” the one with 'Doctor Regret' on his badge replied, “When he wanted to give us complete control over his life."

"Or another foal, cut down in their prime as they ask for what they could have been. Don't get your hopes up just yet," the unicorn with her own badge – proclaiming her to be 'Doctor Tradition' – finished, walking out the locker room with companion in tow.

They reached the front desk moments later, curiosity nibbling at both of them now. A bland mare with horn-rimmed spectacles was sat behind the desk, sorting out numerous piles of paperwork as the two approached her.

Flashing Honoured Tradition a smirk and a wink, Final Regret slid along the desk with a – what he thought was – smooth, "Hello there gorgeous, what have you got for us today."

The mare looked up, bored, and simply knocked out his elbow from under his head, causing him to flop against the desk and onto the floor, letting Honoured move forwards instead.

"Doctors Tradition and Regret, we hear you have an assignment for us?" she said, rolling her eyes to herself as Regret groaned from below her.

"Folder's over there, you know the drill,” came the flat reply. Not that Honoured could exactly fault her for that. She could sympathise about the nine-to-five desk job that had idiots like her co-worker coming in to visit every now and again. She nodded her thanks to the receptionist before lifting the folder up with her magic and giving the prone stallion a kick to get him up. He let out another groan and used the proffered hoof to help himself up, sending a final glare to the receptionist before moving onwards down another corridor.

After a few more moments of trotting along in silence, Regret spoke up, "So… what's in the file?"

Honoured rolled her eyes, "You know company policy, we can have a look when we get to the study rooms."

"Never understood that.”

Smirking, Honoured let her eyes roll once more as they continued on their way to the study rooms. The company had made its guidelines very clear; employees were to keep to their own files so as to maintain customer confidentiality; not that the gossip didn’t get passed around sooner or later. But then the gossip was almost always passed around after the assignment had been completed.

They continued down the sterile passage in silence, the only sound being that of the sharp click and clack of hooves on the marbled floor. Eventually they reached a nondescript door on the left and slipped through into a small room with a table and around five chairs in the middle. Honoured continued straight to the table, placing the folder in the middle as Regret flipped a sign on the back of the door to ‘In Use’, then made his way to an unoccupied seat next to Honoured.

“So…” Regret said impatiently after a few seconds of further inaction, waiting on his partner to open file.

Honoured just shook her head slightly, smirking, before she drew the folder towards them and flipped it open, withdrawing a single sheet from the stack within. “Ok, let’s see,” she started, her voice business-like and brisk, “mare, eighty-three years old-”

“Anypony famous this time?” Regret interrupted.

Honoured ground her teeth silently before she unclenched her jaw and looked down the page. “Looks like a Miss Twilight Sparkle,” she answered, trying to keep her voice level, “Ring any bells with you?”

Regret shook his head solemnly, “Then again,” he said thoughtfully, “that doesn’t mean much with my celebrity knowledge, what does it say her previous occupations were?”

Honoured’s brow creased as she flipped the page, then her eyes widened as she read the ‘Previous Occupations’ list. She silently levitated the sheet over to Regret and held it there as he read the three lines.

Student of Princess Celestia

Element of Harmony: Magic

Founder of Magical Memories plc.

“That’s certainly a CV…” Regret said after a low whistle, “So we’re going to see to the boss’s last wish? Talk about bragging rights.”

Honoured shot her colleague a look as she withdrew the sheet from his view again, scanning more of it, “You know what policy states, no-pony is different from another, it’s just another name when it all comes down to it.”

Regret waved his hoof in the air non-committally, “Yeah… but this is the boss, the one who made all this stuff and started it up; that counts towards bragging rights if I know anything,” he finished, puffing out his chest.

“That remains to be seen,” came the snarky reply.

Regret blanched and glared at Honoured who was carefully ignoring the glare she was attracting. “What’s her wish anyway?” he asked once he was sure he wasn't going to snap, “Someone like her, I wonder what she regrets.”

Honoured nodded thoughtfully, a vague noise of agreement echoing across as she withdrew another piece of paper from the folder and scanned it. Then scanned it again, flipped it, flipped it again, and re-read every word.

“Something wrong?”

Honoured shook her head slightly, her features faintly bemused as she passed the sheet over, “Not so much wrong as vague…” she admitted, “Here; see if you can puzzle it out.”

Regret took the sheet and scanned the only words on the page:

What if I’d said yes?

New Faces

A client plays host to a great number of potentially priceless memories, to abuse the position you find yourself in would be immoral and a punishable offence

~Excerpt from Memory Wishers by Twilight Sparkle

“So... what do you think it means?” Regret asked after a while, “It’s not exactly much to go on.”

Honoured shrugged, placing the sheet back onto the desk as she focussed on the rest of the folder. “For all we know,” she speculated, withdrawing another sheet from the folder and laying it on the table with the others, “anything at all. What if she’d said yes to the mailmare as she offered to bring a parcel to her, what if she said yes to a risky business decision, it’s hard to tell.”

“Or maybe…” Regret started, already thinking of the other… less-mundane possibilities. “Maybe she turned down the offer to become a superhero at one point in her life, that might be it,” he finished with a grin.

Honoured didn’t even look up, “doubtful… a mare of her standing. It’s probably something a little more down-to-earth than that,” she said in a thoughtful voice, withdrawing more and more sheets from the thinning folder and scanning each one.

Regret muttered something about ‘only joking’ before starting on the sheets himself, reading each one that Honoured passed down until he spotted a single line of type that caused his eye. He slid the sheet back across to his companion, “Seen this? All expenses to be paid by the palace themselves; why pay for it at all? She could have probably added it in as a retirement package seeing as she ran this whole gig for a good half a century or so.”

“Did you ever meet the boss?” Honoured asked as she scanned the proffered sheet again.

Regret furrowed his brow; he could almost picture her… an ageing lavender coat and… was it black spectacles or navy? “I think I did… once or twice,” he replied slowly, gazing off into space as he attempted to remember his employer.

He was brought out of his reverie as a hoof jabbed him in the shoulder, breaking him from his trance and causing him to fix the culprit with a glare.

She just chuckled to herself, already starting to replace the files within the folder, “Well either way, I guess we’re going to meet her sooner or later; probably sooner unless you have anything you want to grab?”

“No, I’m good,” Regret assured her, “Do you want me to go and sign out the equipment, or don’t you think I’m qualified enough for it?”

“Well… now that you bring it up…” Honoured started as she slid the last sheet back into the folder and took out a small card from the lip, “and since you offered so nicely, I see no reason to deny you this,” she continued with a honeyed smile. The card sailed its way over to her colleague while her smile remained.

“Thanks…” Regret said, catching the card and looking at Honoured in confusion, “I’ll meet you at the teleporters shall I?”

Honoured nodded, levitating the folder beside her as she stood up and made her way over to the door, opening it and waiting patiently for Regret to pass through, smiling innocently at him as he slipped through and made his way towards the equipment depot.

Once he was out of sight, she shut the door behind herself and started snickering quietly, making her own way towards the teleporters.

It was fifteen minutes later when her colleague finally rounded the corner – a large steel box balanced between his wings – to find Honoured, sat next to the wall with a cup of coffee held aloft in her magic.

“Enjoying yourself?” she asked her laden colleague.

Regret just gritted his teeth, staying silent as he continued past her.

“I would have used my magic,” she continued regardless, getting up and walking beside him, “but then you kindly offered to save me the effort, thanks for that by the way.”

“You could still do that,” Regret grunted from between his teeth, trying very hard to keep the strain from his voice.

Honoured paused for a moment as she observed her colleague before her, “Pass…” she decided, “it helps build character anyway.”

Regret just groaned his disapproval as Honoured started moving again, “Why so glum?” she continued cheerily, “You said it yourself; we’re going to meet the mare who started it all. Come on; the teleporter’s all set up and rearing to go.”

Honoured overtook her colleague and made her way to a pair of round bases in the floor with a small machine between them, equipped with a slot exactly the same width as the punch card that Honoured withdrew from her coat, hovering it in the air beside her as she waited for Regret to finally catch up; strained breaths and all.

Once he was stood on a base, Honoured, stood on her own base, slid the punch card into the machine next to them and waited for the machinery and magic to do their work. It was amazing in its own right; the boss had made all of this: the memory wishers, the teleporters, the equipment that her colleague was carrying on his back. No matter what she said about professionalism, it was certainly going to be something to brag about.

Even if she didn’t understand how it all worked specifically, she, like everyone else who’d been hired for the job, had been taken through initiation which consisted of three days where she’d stared at a projector while a boring scientist in a suit had gone through each individual detail of the mechanics of their job. The sum of it was that all she needed to know was that the equipment did its job; the job in this case being to teleport the pair of ponies to their next job by aid of a punch card with specific co-ordinates.

A loud buzz cut her off from her thoughts as the plate below her started to glow eerily sea-green moments before it sent her into the whirlpool.

The whirlpool had become infamous in the workplace for its brilliant nausea-inducing qualities as the shades of turquoise and lime spun around and around, spinning them this way and that for seemingly hours before sending them down to earth with a crash.

Honoured landed smoothly, taking a step forwards to steady herself on the cool ground before turning to look at her colleague who hadn’t landed as smoothly and was staggering around dangerously. Moments before he tipped over sideways, the equipment on his back was surrounded in a cool red aura and lifted safely away from him, just before he fell into the hedge.

Regret groaned as he extracted himself from the bush, shooting a glare at Honoured who met his glare with a smirk of her own. After a moment he coughed and looked forwards, “So this is her place right? Looks quaint.”

Honoured snorted, “Please don’t say that again, it doesn’t suit you. As for the house… it looks homely I suppose... in an isolated sort of way.”

“If by homely you mean abandoned-mansion-homely, then sure; I don’t really want to go near your home though.”

Honoured sighed and shook her head, the house was indeed vast and lifeless, the grey-slatted walls towering above both of them with wide and dusty windows that shone darkly into the evening air.

“Certainly not the place I’d want to retire to,” Regret remarked into the air.

Honoured caught herself nodding along with her colleague before realising what they were doing, “Come on, we may as well make sure we’re actually tending to a nearly-deceased,” she said over her shoulder, beginning on the less-travelled path towards the aged house, her hoofsteps echoed a moment later by Regret joining her.

“Would you look at some of this flora…”

Honoured couldn’t help herself; she laughed out loud, turning her head back to Regret with a look of incredulity plastered across her face, “Since when have you been interested in flowers?”

Regret turned an alarming shade of red as the blush spread across him, already reaching the tips of his ears as he mumbled something about ‘interesting wildlife’.

Honoured chuckled to herself again, turning back and stopping a few paces short of the dark and imposing door.

“Ladies first?” was the signal that she was waiting for. She rolled her eyes and knocked on the door three times; pausing in between each knock to produce three clear noises.

“Did you have to make it sound like that?” Regret asked as Honoured stepped back again, “so… creepy and stuff?”

“Knocking? Creepy? I didn’t know you were scared of a little sound, Final,” Honoured quipped, smirking.

“Don’t call me Final…” he replied through gritted teeth, “you know I don’t like that name.”

“Whatever you say.”

Any further conversation they may have had was cut off as the door in front of them swung open with barely a creak, revealing a large pearly alicorn with an ethereal rainbow mane.

There was a moment as the two of them registered the figure in front of them. From there, Regret let out a hushed whisper of “Princess Celestia,” and knelt a moment later. Honoured’s own reaction was to kneel down and offer the same reverent gesture whilst simultaneously dropping her magic around the equipment.

She realised what she’d done a moment too late as she spun on the spot, looking for the inevitably wrecked equipment in the darkened garden, only to find it still floating five hooves above the grass; held within a lime green aura that neither of the scientists possessed.

A slight chuckle came from behind her as princess Celestia smiled at the two ponies in front of her, “Please, stand,” she offered, lowering the equipment into the waiting field of Honoured's magic. “I take it that you two are from the institute?”

Honoured and Regret both stood up, their heads still bowed slightly, when Honoured found her voice, “Yes, Princess, we’re here to see Twilight Sparkle,” she said with barely a stammer.

The princess’ benevolent smile drooped slightly as Honoured spoke, “Ah, straight to business it is then. You presumably want to see her before you begin the process?” she asked, then nodded to herself, standing back from the doorway, “you’d better come in.”

Honoured nodded, stepping forwards confidently and slipping past the princess into the dark mansion. A moment later, Regret echoed her nod and followed her inside the house, only allowing his jaw to drop when he'd cleared the doorway.

The princess sighed to herself as the two scientists gaped at the elegant home. Marble and red velvet carpets were in evidence everywhere along with a large tapestry which hung on the wall facing them. The doorways were replaced by tall arches that gleamed and a glimpse of an incredible library could just be seen beyond the nearest one.

The princess shut the door behind them with an audible click, breaking them from their ogling of the interior. “As much as I’m flattered that you like the design of this house, you have a patient to see to, do you not?”

The scientists mumbled their apologies, still not quite meeting the gaze of the princess.

“Come, follow me. I’ll take you to her.”

Honoured and Regret, both suitably rebuffed, followed after the princess silently as she led the two of them up the stairs and along the left hallway; leading them to the end before stopping and turning back to the two of them, the lone, dark door all that lay between them and the owner of the mansion.

“Alright,” Celestia spoke softly, “I warn you that this is probably not what you expected, my… close friend is old; she’s so very old. I understand that this procedure is taxing on the mind, I just ask that you treat hers well… Luna knows… she deserves it,” Celestia finished quietly, her voice only that of a whisper as she addressed the two ponies, both of whom nodded solemnly.

“Good. Well in that case, may I introduce you two to your client, Miss Twilight Sparkle.”

The door swung open, revealing a lone bed in the middle of an expansive room. A large window overlooked the front of the house in all its neglect while another part of the room was taken up by a single contraption, beeping regularly as it measured the heartbeat of the pony laid in the bed. The room was lines with bookcases, the tomes within, dusty and misaligned.

Honoured barely recognised the pony laid in the bed; her fur was almost a dusky grey while her mane had turned completely white, the only pigment being from inside her mouth as she breathed shallow breaths; a dot of colour against the greyscale mare. Her colleague apparently had the same reaction as she heard a repressed gasp from beside her.

“That’s the boss?” he murmured quietly, “Damn...”

“That is my student, yes,” Celestia spoke into the quiet room, her voice only interrupted by the single intermittent beep of their patients heart. “Twilight has always been a helping hoof for Equestria, Twilight has always been there, ready and willing to make a change for the better,” Celestia paused, then continued, her voice slightly louder, “she altered her will one last time thirteen years ago to include her final wish.”

“What if I’d said yes…” Honoured whispered.

Celestia nodded, “Yes, now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you two to do your work in peace. You might want to hurry as well, she’s held on well for a pony of her age, but I know better than anyone else that a pony has to stop holding on to life eventually. Good luck, you two,” she spoke softly before turning and shutting the door quietly behind her.

Familiar Places

The spell doesn’t mimic a pony exactly, but it will gather all the information it needs to create a clear snapshot of that pony and the reactions that said pony would perform

~Excerpt from Memory Wishers by Twilight Sparkle

The two of them stood stock-still for another moment before the spell broke. They breathed air which neither of them had been consciously holding and visibly relaxed, looking around the room.

“So…” Regret started, breaking the silence as he turned back to the sleeping mare, “we should probably get this thing set up, right?”

“Right…” Honoured echoed softly before shaking her head slightly and lowering the box to the ground between them, flicking the lid open to reveal a vast array of equipment.

Honoured carefully wove her hoof between the various bits of machinery and wiring, plucking forth a small key from within the box as Regret sighed and started focussing on the rest of the contents, drawing bits from it, one piece at a time.

Wires, wires and more wires all appeared from within the box along with three small rings and an even smaller black box, a single red light attached to the top of it. Regret looked back at Honoured, closing the steel box and placing the black box on top. “She is going to be able to survive this, right?” Regret asked, already starting to wire the boxes together.

“Vitals say probably, the princess says maybe, who knows,” Honoured answered vaguely, glancing over to the various green screens behind them.

“And done,” Regret muttered triumphantly, standing up and back from the two boxes which had been wired together in three places, setting the red light blinking steadily.

Honoured nodded her approval, placing the key on top of the two boxes before heading towards the door, “I’ll let the Princess know that we’re about to start,” she stated, “you can get her wired in, right?”

As she opened the door she thought she heard her colleague's acid reply, “Of course. Luna help us should I actually become useful.”

Honoured smirked, shutting the door before starting on her hunt to find the princess. As it happened, the hunt wasn’t that much of a hunt as she came down the stairs to see Celestia sat within one of the rooms, looking at something just out of Honoured’s view.

She tapped lightly on the wall before speaking, “We’re just about to begin Princess.”

Celestia nodded once, completely silently. Honoured turned, already starting back up the stairs when Celestia spoke, “I meant what I said. Twilight Sparkle deserves this, she deserves a happy ending. I won’t blame you if you can’t give her exactly what she wanted, but I’d like you to give her a happy ending.”

Honoured reply was soft and almost silent, “Of course. We’ll do our best princess.”

Celestia turned her head to look at her, smiling gently, “Thank you. That’s all I ask. I think that twenty-five would be a good place to start.”

Honoured nodded, starting back up the stairs before she heard Celestia speak again, “And doctor Tradition?”

The mansion seemed to hold its breath for a moment.

“Call me Celestia.”

There was another pause, then the quiet tapping as the doctor made her way up the stairs towards Celestia’s old student.

The princess sighed, turning back to the wall again and the lone photograph that was hung there. Her smile turned paper-thin as she stared at the wrinkled photograph of six mares resting against each other.

“I hope this was worth it Twilight. I really do.”

The door clicked open and shut again as Honoured slipped through to the scene beyond where Regret had already wired the prone unicorn into the machine, placing the silvered ring around her hoof and connecting a single wire to it, making the band glow a light red.

Regret looked up from his position on a solitary chair next to the bed, band already on his hoof and wired into the box, “’bout time,” he said impatiently, “everything’s wired in and waiting.”

Honoured nodded, ignoring the tone and stepping up to the side of the room, picking up her own band and snapping it around her own hoof and taking a seat next to the black box which still stood tall and proud in the centre of the room.

“Ready?”

“Yep.”

The key glowed a light-red before turning sharply to the right with a ‘Kah-klunk’ sound. Moments later, the light on the box turned its own shade of sickly green and it started buzzing loudly, the noise filling the room before cutting off into silence so sharply that the air rang for a split-second before the world exploded into light.

Unperturbed, Honoured opened her eyes, looking around the vast and empty space that she’d found herself in; well, almost empty in any case. Honoured sighed, making her way over to the shape of Regret, still laid out on the floor and groaning slightly about the light.

Honoured sighed, kicking him lightly in the side to snap him from his stupor. Sure enough, moments later he was back on his hooves and glaring at Honoured, “Did you have to do that?” he asked, irritated.

“Put it like this…” Honoured replied sweetly, “if I hadn’t, you’d still be on that floor, moaning and groaning like nobody’s business.”

Regret just grumbled incoherently.

Honoured allowed herself yet another small smirk before turning to focus on the landscape around them, “Well good news is that she’s still hanging on – that’s half the battle right there, – now we just have to fulfil the wish and we’re golden,” she spoke confidently.

“Never turns out that simple though, does it?” replied Mr Optimism.

“It’d be nice for once,” she agreed quietly before sighing explosively.

“Alright, let’s get this done,” she muttered, her horn glowing and surrounding the two of them for a few moments in a comforting bubble as the scenery changed around them; the white landscape turning into bared trees, yellowing grass, cracked cliffs and rotting benches. The white landscape gained splotches of colour which spread out across the ground and the objects, reaching a blob which was sat upon a single bench in the middle of the dying garden.

The blob’s fur was the colour of lavender mist; barely a tint of colour across the whole while its mane and tail remained untouched by the pigment slowly spreading across the scene.

Barely thirty seconds had passed, and it was done. Honoured dropped her magic around the two of them and walked forwards towards the mare in the dead garden, closely followed by Regret.

As they drew closer, Honoured coughed politely, “Miss Sparkle?” she asked, her voice echoing eerily across the garden.

The mare opened her eyes, raising her head to stare at the two of them with surprisingly colourful violet eyes before smiling softly.

“Doctors Tradition and Regret? Ah… then this is my will, correct?” she asked, her voice a quiet sigh against the silence.

Honoured opened her mouth to reply before Regret cut across her, “You know our names?”

Twilight Sparkle chuckled softly, “Of course I do; I hired you didn’t I? As part of the Memory Wishers.”

Honoured cut in without giving Regret another chance to ask any more pointless questions, “That’s right, we’re from the institute and Celestia said this was what you wanted,” she elaborated, keeping her voice solemn.

Twilight nodded to herself, “So Celestia’s looking after me?” she sighed, “when you finish here, can you pass a message on to her for me? Just tell her that ‘everything’s going to be alright’.”

Honoured nodded and Twilight smiled.

“Thank you, and when you meet my younger self… please… be careful with what you do. I’ve been known to overreact to a lot of things…”

Regret spoke sincerely, “We’ll be careful, you’ll have said ‘yes’ before you know it,” he added, smiling.

Twilight Sparkle laughed; animating her aged form and bringing her to life, “I can see I’m in safe hooves, I won’t keep you any longer. Twenty-five should be about right.”

Honoured nodded once more before she surrounded herself and Regret within a cool aura, removing them from Twilight’s presence.

The dying mare looked around the dying garden and smiled.

Author's Note

And this is where the story really starts...
But hey, around 5,000 of an intro, whoo!

EDIT: I did edits!

Opening Doors

One of the most important steps in the process is in making sure that you have performed adequate research and you know the client inside and out. It is with this knowledge that you can influence their decisions in order to fulfil their last request.

~Excerpt from Memory Wishers by Twilight Sparkle

“I really, really wish that someone had found a better way of moving between time periods,” Regret groaned emphatically as the garden seemed to dissolve around them, leaving them in the white-space yet again.

“The fact that there is a way to do something like this isn't enough for you?” Honoured quipped back.

“But it's so boring,” he whined, his wings twitching against his side restlessly as the last blade of grass from the dying garden faded away.

Honoured sighed impatiently, “Well if it's that important for you to find out, why don't you ask Sparkle; I'm sure she'd oblige at some point in her timeline.”

“Oh yeah,” Regret said, oblivious to the rolling eyes that were occurring just in front of him, “I can do that, can't I?”

“Amazing, right?” Honoured replied, “Anyway, back to business... we need a memory; somewhere to jump off. I know she said that twenty-five was about the right time... but that could be a long way off if she's as old as she looks.”

“And how old would that be?” Regret returned sourly, his voice as deadpan as hers was.

Honoured bit back her own retort before replying, “About... a hundred and thirty would be my guess if her pigment was any clue. She simply can't be as young as the report said; eighty-three my backside.”

Regret paused for a moment before he answered again, “Bet you she's younger.”

Honoured snorted disbelievingly, “Alright then, Sherhock, what's your guess. Closest one to the actual age gets a free round in after the job.”

There was thoughtful silence for another moment. “Seventy-eight,” he stated confidentiality.

“Your money, Regret, hell... I'll pull in two rounds for you if you're within five years.”

“Deal, anyway... that memory we were supposed to be looking for?”

“Right, I have absolutely-” she paused, her ear twitching oddly to a sound that Regret was deaf to. “Got it... Let's see where we end up, shall we?”

Regret nodded, letting his colleague do what she was good at as she built the memory up from scratch. It wasn't something that was a unique ability for a unicorn, it was just a lot quicker and easier for somepony that could control their magic independently of themselves.

Once again, the world seemed to fade in from white, black lines that stretched into the horizon and others that built themselves up, building the land around the memory. Marble pillars shaded themselves in and velvet tapestries burned into colour, the house of which they currently occupied being recreated in mere moments.

“Any idea how far back?” Regret asked as the magical bubble burst around them, letting him out to stretch his legs.

“Can't really tell...” Honoured replied thoughtfully, “We're still in the same house so it could be anything from a month to a decade. Only real way to tell would be to look at a calender somewhere and I have no idea whether there's one of those lying about.”

The two of them were interrupted as a knock echoed through the hall. They both turned towards the door it had come from, breaking off their discussion as Twilight Sparkle – still very much the nearly-grayscale pony from before – walked through the nearest arch, humming a quiet tune to herself as she made her way towards the door.

Regret gasped as he felt Honoured jab him in the ribs. He glanced at her questioningly and saw that she was gesturing for him to get a better angle with her. He edged further into the hallway until he was a few paces behind Twilight as she opened the door to see Celestia on the doorstep.

“Celestia.” If the mare had been happy before she opened the door, any trace of that had gone in the few moments that the knocker had been revealed. Her voice was dead; flat and merely stating the fact of her name. “How can I help you?”

The princess on the doorstep winced at Twilight's voice before she sighed. “Twilight... we need to talk.”

“Do we?” Twilight asked dismissively before she stepped back – almost stepping into Regret – and held the door open for the princess, “After you then.”

“Thank you,” Celestia said, stepping inside the house and glancing at her host who shut the door behind her.

“The library is to the left,” she said pointedly and Celestia nodded as Honoured quickly shimmied sideways so that she wasn't blocking the door. Celestia and Twilight entered the library silently, Honoured and Regret sharing a glance before stepping through after them.

The glance they'd had at the house in the present hadn't even shown them a fraction of how extensive the library truly was. It seemed to stretch back and back, further than it should have in the house that contained it.

As if reading their minds, Celestia said, “I see you've had some modifications done.”

“One thing and another, yes,” Twilight replied evasively, “A spell here, an enchantment there.”

“Forgive me for clarifying, Twilight, but this seems more like a few hundred spells,” Celestia murmured and Honoured swore she could hear the awe in her voice.

“What's a few hundred to someone with time to burn?” Twilight asked bitterly before continuing, “But I sincerely doubt that you came here to admire my spellcraft, I'm pretty sure you can do that at any time you want by simply looking out of a window. Why are you here, Celestia?”

Celestia paused, mulling something over before replying, “You changed your will...” she stated, looking Twilight in the eye.

“I'm allowed to do that,” she replied calmly, “It is, after all, my will.”

Celestia leant forwards suddenly, her eyes pleading, “Yes, but Twilight... To that? Please... you know how I feel about that; it's not good for a pony.”

“And the life I lived instead was?” came the bitter reply yet again, “Listen, Celestia... I'm sorry about how we drifted apart; I truly am... but I still stand by what I said. A pony should die happy, no matter what they've done.”

“But they aren't real memories, Twilight. You might as well feed them a lie to their faces.” Twilight bristled in her chair and opened her mouth to retort when Celestia cut across her, “Anyway, I'm not here to talk ethics with you; as much as the thought thrills me... Your wish...”

“'What if I'd said yes?'” Twilight confirmed.

“Yes... and the terms associated with it?” Celestia continued, pressing her point, “You were very specific... You want yourself to agree to that?”

Twilight's face seemed to flicker for a moment, 'Was that a grimace?' Honoured thought to herself as Twilight spoke. “Yes...”

Celestia's face turned even more pained, “Twilight... I know you, I knew you back then, I was there when you told me. I may not like what you are doing with the Memory Wishers, but I know that the spell has its limits. What somepony – these ponies – would have to do to make you say 'yes' would be-”

“Necessary,” Twilight finished with some finality. “I'm sure the two of them will do what is necessary to fulfil the wish.”

Both Honoured and Regret felt a shiver echo down their spines. “They're talking about us,” Regret whispered to Honoured.

“I don't get it...” Honoured replied, utterly dumbfounded. She held out a hoof to forestall any further conversation as the princess and Twilight continued.

“-and wrong,” Celestia pleaded, “Twilight... please, don't make them do this, it would ruin you.”

“I'll survive,” Twilight said sharply, “Now, unless you have anything else that you'd like to patronise me over, then now is the time to say it.”

Honoured and Regret held their breaths for a moment as Celestia stayed silent. “No...” she said finally, “But I do have a gift for you. Consider it a very late graduation present if you will.”

Twilight stayed silent as Celestia's horn glowed and summoned a small package in between the two of them. Honoured drew in a sharp breath as she felt the package almost tug her towards it. Regret glanced at her and she grimaced; it was clear that the package was going to be their way into the next memory.

Glancing at Celestia suspiciously, Twilight took the package in her own hooves and started unwrapping it, peeling at the layers of paper until they fell away to reveal a frame, a printed picture of six mares staring out at her from within. She stayed silent and Regret thought he could see a tear in her eye.

“They're all dead,” she murmured, I didn't want... why?” she asked, her eyes watering as she laid the picture on the table.

“We all need to be reminded of those we leave behind every now and again...” the princess answered, “it'll help... eventually,” she admitted, taking the packing in her magic and sighing. “Well, I've imposed on your time for long enough. I'm sure we'll see each other again, Twilight.”

Twilight stayed silent, her gaze still locked on the ponies in the frame; the tears dripping slowly down her face as Celestia inclined her head and made her own way out of the room. Regret heard the front door close a moment later, and with it, Twilight broke down. She leant forwards over the frame, cuddling it to her chest as she let the tears run freely, sobbing quietly to herself. Regret took a step forwards to comfort her when Honoured stuck her hoof out in front of him.

He was about to knock her hoof away completely when he saw her expression. It was hardened, but he could see the cracks; the tears of empathy as she watched the old mage weep over the picture she held in her hooves. It was enough to stop him dead and make him simply watch as the mare got to her hooves, the frame still pressed against her chest by a single hoof. She crossed the hallway and entered the living room, making her way to the mantle over the fireplace where she hung the photo – by hoof – in pride of place.

Somewhere in between the sobbing, she managed to find words. “Cathartic tears...” she mumbled, “Really, Celestia? Did you think me that far gone?” she let out a strangled chuckle and fell into a chair facing the picture. “Why did you all have to go?” she whispered to herself, yet it carried over the silent mansion. She broke down again, letting the tears drip from her muzzle as she curled into a ball on the chair; her sobs still carrying across the house.

Regret turned to Honoured, yet she raised a hoof, shaking her head sadly. “We should go,” she said, “We need to move further in. We've seen enough here...”

Regret opened his mouth to argue, when he sighed and nodded. As much as his heart went out to the sobbing mare, there was nothing he could do that wouldn't be simply feeding his own self-importance. This was an event of the past; they were simply along for the ride. “After you, then,” he said finally, trying to avert his gaze from Twilight Sparkle and to deafen his ears to her sobs.

“Audio off,” Honoured muttered and the world went deathly silent. She shook her head and moved towards the mantle with Regret, trying not to look at the heaving pony behind her.

“So that's the elements of harmony...” Regret said, his heart still gnawing at his conscience.

“I guess so...” Honoured replied morosely, “Come on... we'd better go. I don't think I can stay here for much longer.”

Regret nodded his agreement and, as one, they pressed their hooves against the frame and allowed their minds to follow its path into the white-space, leaving the soundless pony behind them.

Author's Note

It lives.
I did minor edits on the previous chapters so that everything is nice and somewhat better.

Apologies for the wait...
The very long wait...

Royal Instruction

It's a hard job to do; one of the hardest. For every life that you witness, you bear their mistakes on yourself and look into their lives as if they were your own. You must bear their burdens in order for them to finally set themselves free with their last request.

~Excerpt from the guide to Memory Wishers, by Twilight Sparkle

The two of them found themselves in the white-space again, the cloying silence around them uncomfortable and weighted. “Honoured...” Regret started, finally breaking the silence as the silence roared its disapproval, “What did she mean?”

Honoured Tradition didn't answer, still lost in her own world as the world around them formed itself, the lines racing along the canvas they stood in.

“What did she mean, 'I'm sure the two of them will do what is necessary to fulfil the wish,' Honoured?” he asked again.

“I don't know,” she finally answered edgily. “This whole job has started to give me the goosebumps...” she admitted, “She knew our names from the start. I don't care how good her memory is, no employer ever remembers everyone they've employed, especially if she retired just after we did join...”

“What are we going to do?” Regret asked, worry seeping into his voice.

Honoured looked down as a picture of six mares – of five dead mares and the last one still alive – coloured itself in and sighed. “We'll do our job,” she replied resolutely, “If it's something we can't handle, we'll back out, but so far, all she's done is pull a specific team for herself... It's hardly illegal.”

Regret nodded but still seemed troubled. There had been something about Celestia's worry which made him think it was not going to be one of the nicer experiences in his career. Whatever else he was worried about would have to wait though; the world came to life, bringing the two of them into a corridor where Twilight Sparkle was walking. In her magic, there was the picture that had brought them there.

She looked as old as she had done before only now she seemed more animated. A single saddlebag was strung across her back, seemingly empty. She took a look at the picture in her magic before grimacing. She rolled it up and sighed audibly, walking further and further down the corridor as it stowed itself away.

After staring after her for a few more moments, it occurred to them to follow her, and so they did. Twilight led them through a great number of corridors and passages, each of them lined with finery befitting a palace. The reason for this became apparent as they turned into a large doorway and found themselves in front of the two princesses of Equestria; albeit they were sat at the far end of the throne room that they occupied.

Sharing a glance again, they drew nearer to Twilight and the diarchs of Equestria. She bowed formally to them, inclining her head and bending a knee to them before she rose. Regret risked a glance at Celestia and saw her pained gaze; he could only guess at the reason before Twilight started. “Princess Celestia, princess Luna,” she greeted formally, her voice wavering slightly before she paused and continued, “I... can't do this anymore.”

The admission sounded small and weak. Regret looked at Twilight again; now sunken into herself and looking exhausted. “I assume you've heard the news?” she asked, looking from princess to princess quizzically.

Celestia inclined her head slightly, staying silent even as Luna spoke, her voice curious and oddly musical, “This would be the death of the last bearer of harmony?”

Twilight's eyes watered for a moment as Celestia pressed her head into her hooves. “Yes...” she said after a moment, “This is about Rainbow Dash's death...”

“If there was anything we could have done, Twilight, then-”

“You would have tried,” Twilight interrupted, “I know, Celestia. I don't blame you for her death... it was simply her time,” she said, her voice hollow, as if she didn't believe the words she was speaking. She paused again, gathering her wits up before she spoke again, “I'm going to retire... I can't... You understand?” she asked imploringly, leaving a trail of broken sentences in her wake.

Celestia nodded again, “I do, Twilight... I'll pass on the message to the company if you'd like. There's also the matter of your inheritance that you have, from myself and Luna... think of it as a retirement gift.”

Twilight nodded her head in time with Celestia's words. Honoured had trouble believing that she'd even heard them; simply nodding her head to whatever comfort that she imagined the two were offering her instead. “It's enough...” she whispered to herself, “I know you've always had your doubts about me – about the business I run, - Celestia, now you've got your wish. I'm done... I'm not going to see the two of you for a long time; it's been nice knowing you,” she said bitterly, her voice carrying over the quiet hall.

“Twilight...” the princess spoke softly, her eyes pleading.

“I'm done,” Twilight repeated again, “No... I was done years ago... I just didn't know it then.”

The picture she'd been carrying hovered out, unrolling in front of Twilight for one final time before she looked away and threw it across the hall. It didn't get very far, but Twilight didn't stay to look. She turned on her hooves and left the room; neck stiff and head frozen.

Luna, Celestia, Honoured and Regret all watched as she left the room, deathly silent.

“Don't... this is her choice.”

Honoured glanced behind her to see princess Luna holding her sister back. Celestia looked stricken between following her sister's advice and following after her last student. She settled on lifting the scroll – which had fallen face-down – on the floor. It flipped itself around half-way towards the two of them and she winced at the six pairs of eyes that stared back out from within.

“Don't tell me you didn't expect this, Celestia,” Luna said wearily as her sister took the photo from mid-air, holding it in front of her as if it might break. “This was always going to happen at some point. She is the survivor of her friends, that's never a nice position to be in, whatever the weather.”

“But... so soon?” Celestia asked, and Honoured thought she could hear her voice crack, “She still has so much to live for though...”

“Like what? Her brother died in the guard a whole seventeen years ago, her parents died a few years ago and who does she have left now? Me and you, perhaps, but... perhaps she's seen enough of us.”

“To hear you speak of her...” Celestia smiled to herself, “You'd almost think that she was your student, not mine.”

Luna didn't return the smile. “And how did you think I came to know all of this? You haven't been the best support to her recently. You've been fighting her at every turn with this 'Memory Wishers' business that she's been running; which, I might add, probably kept her focussed on something that wasn't so morbid.”

“Must you remind me of my own choices?” Celestia answered, sounding every bit as old as the legends said.

“Only because you don't,” Luna replied somberly.

Honoured felt a lump in her throat at the scene; to see the princesses – their immortal rulers – stripped down and mournful was an odd situation. She glanced to Regret, expecting to see the same sadness, then blinked. He wasn't there.

She turned back to the princesses, still consoling one another in their own way before she looked through the open doorway and sighed. Hovering just past the doorway was a single arrow, pointed the way they'd come previously. Honoured glanced back at the princesses for a final time before she set off after him at a gallop.

It was already apparent to Regret that it was going to be a long night. As Twilight moved between them, going towards the door and back out into the hallway, he followed her, assuming that his colleague would do likewise, only to look back at the doorway to see that she hadn't moved at all. He sighed and drafted some of the air around him into an arrow that he placed in the doorway. It seemed that he'd be on his own for the moment.

He turned the way that Twilight had gone, only to stop a moment later as he nearly walked into her. She was still stood just outside of the doors to the throne room, eyes shut and tears marking their tracks down her face as she listened to the conversation within. Regret looked around awkwardly. Eavesdropping was one thing, eavesdropping on the princesses was another. He watched her apprehensively for a moment, waiting for her to do something.

Eventually, after some signal that Regret couldn't hear, she opened her eyes and drew in a shuddering breath before pushing herself away from the wall and setting off down the passage. He started drafting up another arrow from the air as they moved. She was walking quicker than before, the corridor disappearing beneath her hooves as she continued through.

Each time they took a turn, Regret sent an arrow up into the air, leaving the breadcrumbs that Honoured would have to follow. It wasn't long until they finally broke out of the castle and into the open air. If he'd doubted it before, he didn't any more. He could recognise Canterlot any day of the week and this certainly fit the bill. The various spires from the housing districts pointed high into the air, signalling to the world their occupants within.

“Having fun?”

Regret turned around to see Honoured, out of breath slightly as she caught up with him. “Hey,” he protested, “I was just following Sparkle.”

“The Twilight Sparkle that's already halfway down the road?” she asked sweetly and he looked back, cursing quietly as he took off at a run, trying to catch up with Honoured right behind him, still chuckling quietly.

They were back behind her moments later, keeping pace as she led them into the city. “So where were you, Honoured?” Regret poked, keeping a watchful eye on Twilight to make sure they weren’t going to lose her again, “You weren’t with me when I followed Twilight.”

“Stayed with the princesses for a moment,” Honoured shrugged off, “Celestia seemed worried about her, that’s all. Luna dissuaded her from going after Twilight in any case; speaking of which…”

Regret glanced in front of him just as Twilight slipped into a doorway on their left. He looked at the sign just above them and sighed. “Just what I wanted…” he muttered, “To visit a solicitor as part of a memory.” He glanced over at Honoured to see her own reaction, yet hers was creased in thought. “Honoured?”

She glanced up at him, snapping out of whatever trance she’d been in moments before. “Hmm?” she asked, “What? Are we following her in or not?”

“I was just waiting for you to finish daydreaming,” Regret replied, grinning.

“Well I’m done now,” she countered briskly, “Now, come on. I don’t want to lose her.” Regret just stared after her as she slipped through the door after their client.

“What’s got on her backside?” he wondered aloud before following her inside. As it was, her worries were unfounded as they found Twilight stood at a polished desk inside, waiting to be served. Regret looked around the solicitors and was not at all surprised to find a number of awards, newspaper clippings and statements plastered on the neat walls.

It was the same as a lot of the lawyer’s offices he’d been to; it was their way of advertising. Clients wanted results and the best way to show that they could deliver them would be to have the proof of cases they’d managed to beat.

“I’d like to speak with Mr Graves, please,” Twilight said as Regret faced her again.

“Name, please?” the receptionist responded, placing a pair of spectacles on her nose as she looked at something behind the counter.

“Twilight Sparkle.”

The receptionist paused for a moment and looked up at Twilight, her head tilted slightly. “Of course, Miss Sparkle… I’ll let him know you’re here,” she said after another moment of silence. Twilight nodded her thanks and turned away as the receptionist all-but ran into the adjoining room.

“Good to know that you’d get fast service if you’re in cahoots with the princesses,” Honoured spoke, leaning over the desk and looking into the back room just as the door swung shut behind them.

“Nah,” Regret said, “You’re forgetting the customary wait; every single solicitor has a waiting period where they just let their client sit and think through their problems and what they’re going to-“

“Miss Sparkle?”

Honoured raised an eyebrow at Regret as the receptionist stuck her head out of the door again. Regret just stuck his tongue out.

“He’s waiting for you in his office,” she continued, “I take it you can remember the way?”

“That’s fine,” Twilight said, smiling slightly as she stood up, “Thank you.” She nodded to the receptionist and walked down the hallway, tailed silently by Regret and Honoured. Twilight paused outside the first door on her left; a mahogany affair with a golden plaque on the front, proclaiming the owner to be Doug Graves.

Twilight knocked on the door and waited for a moment when a voice echoed from inside. “Come in.”

Twilight complied, pushing open the door and entering the office beyond, closely followed by her two followers.

The room was sparse; a window or two in one wall and a potted plant in the corner of the room. The main attraction would have had to be the desk which took up the majority of the room. It was made of dark wood and looked expensive if the inkwells, quill holders and writing desk in the middle were anything to base their guesses on.

The pony behind the desk looked up as Twilight entered. His coat was the colour of slate while his eyes seemed to be made of liquid amber. “Good afternoon, Twilight,” he greeted, leaning over the desk and extending a hoof which Twilight took.

“It’s been too long, Doug,” Twilight said, shaking the hoof before she took a seat in front of him.

“Agreed,” he replied, “When was the last time we spoke? It must have been six months ago.”

“More, probably.”

“Ah, well I’m still here. What can I do for you, Twilight? I’ve taken the liberty of arranging Miss Dash’s funeral for you… and for her.”

Twilight looked at Doug curiously; in front of him, there was a letter addressed to him and an envelope addressed to her. “May I?” she asked, looking at the letter pointedly.

Doug looked up and back down again. “Of course… it’s yours after all. It was her wish to be buried in the traditional pegasus style… I’m sure you know that too. The date for the funeral is in a week; the last day of summer.”

“She’d like that,” Twilight murmured, taking the envelope addressed to herself and unfolding it. Honoured tried to edge around the table to get a better look at the letter when Twilight sucked in a breath and folded it back up. It disappeared back into the envelope and into her bags. Her solicitor stayed silent, passing over another sheet instead.

“Please sign here… you’re the last surviving member of her family and friends; I think your signature on the funeral plan would suffice,” Doug spoke softly; apologetically, “You’ll need to be present for the reading of the will… it’s the day after. And… for what it’s worth… I thought she was a good mare, I doubt she’d have died unhappily.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, equally quietly, flicking through the papers in front of her. After a moment, she took the proffered quill and signed her name at the bottom of the sheet. Doug took the sheets and the quill back after he was sure that Twilight was done. She stayed there, slumped in her chair as he filed the papers away.

“She was too young…” she spoke suddenly. Doug stayed silent, Regret suspected that this wasn’t the first time this had happened. “Just over sixty years old? Too young…” she repeated again, her horn glowing dully as the air seemed to shift above her.

Honoured watched in interest as something took shape above Twilight. It started as a simple cloud before lines of colour started tracing from beneath it. Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark was quickly left above her, the air solidifying and twisting as it compressed itself. A quick glance to Regret showed that he was as enraptured as her by the performance while Doug had turned away, focussing on placing the files in their proper places.

Another few files appeared from within the cabinet just as the air cracked and something dropped out from within onto the desk, gleaming slightly. Doug sat down at the table and spread the two files out in front of him. He took the silvered object and turned it over, revealing a perfect copy of Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark, forged seamlessly into the metal. “It’s perfect,” he said to Twilight, who had her eyes closed, “Just like the others.”

One of the folders flipped open to reveal a set of four metal objects, each as small as the one just conjured. He put the fifth in its own spot and shut the folder. “I would guess that her death isn’t the only reason you’re here though?” he asked as she straightened up in the chair, wiping away unshed tears.

Twilight shook her head slightly, “No… you’re right; of course you’re right.”

The second folder opened to reveal a few sheets of paper which Doug took from within. “The Last Will and Testament of Twilight Sparkle, still as we left it the last time… Now, what would you like amended?”

“My last wish, please,” she said, unfolding her saddlebags again and taking from them a few sheets of paper.

“Which was previously… nothing?” Regret thought he caught a glimpse of surprise before it was smothered and Doug continued on smoothly, “In which case… go ahead.”

“My last wish might be a bit of a misnomer… I’d like to employ the memory wishers for a bit of work.”

“Ah…” Doug made some notes on a piece of paper before speaking again, “Go on…”

“What if I’d said yes?”

Doug paused. “Any further information on the subject?” he prompted, “such as what you’d like to have agreed to.” At Twilight’s silence, he sighed and nodded, “Alright, is there anything else you’d like to be included?”

Twilight pushed the two pieces of paper she’d taken from her bag towards Doug. “I’d like these two to be the ones to do it.”

If Doug was surprised, he didn’t show it. “Any particular reason why you’d like these two – Miss Tradition and Mr Regret – to perform the procedure?”

“I simply prefer having the knowledge that they are going to do what they need to know to fulfil the wish,” Twilight replied cryptically.

“And if they’ve left the company in the meantime?” Doug said, scribbling frantically on the sheet of paper.

“Then… cancel the wish if that’s the case,” she said finally.

“And… done,” Doug said after a moment. He quickly recited her instructions back to her and she nodded again in confirmation. “Excellent, I’ll get the will altered as soon as I can. I hope we’ll meet again, Twilight. My mother wants to offer her deepest thanks, yet again, when you came to see to my father personally. I’m sure he died happily.”

Twilight stood up again, lifting the sheets into her bags. “He did, Doug. Tell your mother that, from me. I’ll see you some other time,” she replied, nodding one final time to her solicitor before she slipped out of the door. Regret moved to follow her when Honoured stuck her hoof out to stop him.

“The next link is in the folder with the trinkets in,” she murmured quietly, watching as Doug sat back in the chair, kneading his head with his hooves.

Regret moved forwards and opened it, revealing all five metal objects within. He quickly glanced back up at Doug, but the solicitor hadn’t noticed, still kneading his sore temple. “Alright,” Regret said, glancing back at Honoured, “So which one is it?”

He stepped aside as Honoured drew closer, looking at each of the trinkets in turn. “The diamond one,” she said after a moment. Regret peeked over her shoulder at the next link. It was based on the same metal that the others were, only this one held a blue diamond within its clasp.

“Is that a real diamond?” he wondered aloud.

“No… but… it’s odd. It’s not exactly metal either. But then… the metal isn’t really metal either,” Honoured continued, puzzled, “It’s almost like it’s… made of the right atoms but not assembled correctly.”

“You saw what she did,” Regret pointed out, “she made them from the air around us… maybe that’s it.”

“Maybe…” Regret said, unconvinced, “But there’s still something else in them that’s… odd.” She shook her head, “Anyway, let’s hope that this next jump takes us a bit further… by my guess, we’ve only gone back a week or two in that jump.”

Regret nodded and laid his hoof on the faux-trinket. “Ready?” he asked as Honoured laid her hoof over his.

She sighed, “Let’s go.”

Author's Note

So what if I manage to get two chapters within about a week?
It's not like I was just not doing anything with it over the six months previous...

Right?

A Kindness

What is special about what we do is just how it does what it does. We alter memories into what we deem fit to fulfil our contracts and this is what the client experiences; memories that change themselves based on one simple interaction.

~Excerpt from the guide to Memory Wishers, by Twilight Sparkle

“Ow, ow, ow,” Regret took his hoof away from the pendant, hissing in pain. Honoured withdrew her own hoof and quirked her head at Regret, still clutching his hoof to his chest.

“Ok… what the hell was that?” she asked once she was sure that he wasn’t faking.

“You tell me,” he replied, sucking in air through his teeth. “One moment It’s nice and cool, the next it’s trying to burn my hoof off… I mean… seriously?”

Honoured knelt down to where the pendant had fallen, picking it up in her magic and examining it closely.

“I say we vaporise it,” Regret muttered, lowering his hoof to the ground with a quiet hiss.

“How mature…” Honoured replied, standing up straight with the pendant held in front of her. “Well, I have no idea what happened to you, but it’s still our link to the next memory…”

She was well-aware of the dark glances he kept shooting the pendant, but ignored him for the time being; the pendant itself was much more interesting… It almost seemed alive if the way it twitched and span was anything to go by. “Just what are you?” she asked the pendant. It didn’t answer.

“You just said,” Regret answered instead, “It’s out link to the next memory; now come on… this is one job that I really don’t want to be here for anymore.”

Honoured kept staring at the pendant for a few more moments before relenting. “Fine,” she muttered, laying the pendant on the ground again while she took a few steps back.

“Uh… Honoured?” Regret started, perplexed, “Why are you going that far back?”

His colleague didn’t break eye-contact with the pendant, “Because, since it apparently tried to scorch your hoof off when you simply touched it… I really don’t want to know what’ll happen when I pump it full of time.”

“That’s… quite a good point,” Regret admitted, backing away too. Honoured waited until he was next to her before she loosed the spell on the pendant.

The world exploded. After a few moments where she confirmed that she had not, in fact, been blown to smithereens, Honoured opened her eyes.

The world was built up around them, as perfect as ever and there was no sign of the pendant.

“Well that worked,” Regret quipped, looking around themselves. “So, where did we end up?”

“No idea,” Honoured replied, looking around at the scene. They were in a large building; easily larger than the throne room they’d just been in at Canterlot castle and there were ponies everywhere, each of them talking quietly to one-another.

“Did we land in the middle of a party or something?” Regret murmured, watching a few ponies talking quietly in the corner.

“Seems a bit of a sombre affair if we did…” Honoured said, “Now… where did that pendant go?”

Regret shrugged, peering around for any sign of it within the crowd.

“Twilight Sparkle?”

Both Honoured and Regret jumped, spinning around to see princess Celestia stood behind them. Her voice carried effortlessly over the quiet crowd and a single pony detached herself from the masses. She walked with the air of experience, yet her age was unfathomable as her pigment was still intact; lavender coat and navy-blue mane with not a grey in sight.

“Just how far did we jump?” Regret murmured to Honoured as Twilight approached them, her face schooled.

“Absolutely no idea…” Honoured admitted.

“Princess?” Twilight questioned, looking between Honoured and Regret.

“I’d like a word,” Celestia murmured, “in private if you wouldn’t mind.”

Twilight inclined her head and the two doctors shared a glance before they followed after the retreating princess and her student. The princess led them into a smaller hall, this one completely devoid of tables, chairs and anything else. She waited until Twilight was in the room before she shut the door behind them.

“Twilight…” she started heavily, taking something from within her regalia and holding it in front of her student, “What is this?”

Regret growled as Twilight took the pendant from Celestia’s grasp, the familiar diamond facing up as Twilight replied, “My gift to her.”

“Twilight…” Celestia warned and Honoured shivered as she felt the room freeze slightly

“Alright then, fine,” Twilight snapped, “I infused a part of my soul into the air and shaped it into a memory for her. Happy?”

Celestia shook her head sadly, the room warming up again. “You expected me to be so? You’re splitting your soul, Twilight… that’s not healthy for you, especially considering the payload you’re tasking it with.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Twilight whispered softly, her hoof tracing the pattern on the front of the pendant. “This is better than the alternative; if I seal these memories away then I can deal with them when I can control myself… you know the possible alternative. Magic is an unstable entity at the best of times… what would happen if I lost myself?” Twilight shook her head, hovering the pendant back to Celestia.

“Give it to my solicitor for safekeeping, please,” she pleaded, not looking up at it.

Regret glanced at Celestia – still stood stock-still – and wondered if she’d refuse. She was regarding the unicorn in front of her curiously; silently. Eventually, she sighed and took the pendant. “And what if you can never control yourself?” she asked quietly.

“Then it will succeed me. No-one but myself and those I allow will ever be able to use them.” Twilight sighed and turned towards the door.

“You’ll never be able to re-join your soul together…” Celestia said sadly, hiding the pendant in her chestplate again. “You’ll never be truly whole again… Is this really worth the price you’re paying, Twilight?”

Twilight paused, the door open in front of her. “No…” she spoke quietly and Honoured thought she could see a tear track its way down her cheek. “But I’m willing to pay it anyway,” she finished before slipping through the door and out of sight.

Celestia looked after her student for a little longer before she turned away, pulling the pendant out from its hiding place again and studying it closely.

“Well that explains why it felt odd…” Honoured murmured, “I thought there was something living in that; turns out there was.”

Regret looked back at her incredulously, “You seriously think she sealed a piece of her soul away into a metal that she just conjured out of thin air?”

Honoured shrugged again. “It makes sense,” she expanded, “I know it exists… but until now, I thought it was just a myth, you know… like the Sonic Rainboom.”

“My great-grandad saw a rainboom once…” Regret mused aloud, “He said it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.”

“Did he?” Honoured replied disinterestedly, “Not that it matters… we’re stuck here until we find the next link… and I don’t know about you, but I don’t see anything that’s jumping out at me as a potential candidate.”

Regret rolled his eyes at his colleague, smirking slightly. “Oh ye of the pessimistic disposition,” he said, well aware of how Honoured’s teeth were grinding against one another, “allow me to show you how it is done. Come on,” he said, going through the door and back into the hallway.

He glanced around himself to make sure he was alone before he became more solid. Honoured slipped through the door and stared at Regret. “You’re really not going to…” she started.

“You wanted a link,” Regret replied, smiling, “you know what they say about desperate times, right?”

Honoured sighed, pressing a hoof to her forehead. “Fine…” she said eventually, “do what you have to-“ she opened her eyes to see that he was already halfway across the corridor. “do…” she finished lamely, shaking her head with resignation before she followed.

By the time she’d reached the courtyard at her own leisurely pace, Regret was mingling with a few ponies on the side, mournful expression in place and conversing quietly with the few ponies there were. “Never took you for an actor, Regret,” she murmured to herself, yet she swore she could see the corner of his mouth curl upwards.

Hiding his smirk behind a cough, he turned back to the family in front of him. “Well… for what it’s worth, Mr and Mrs Belle, you have my condolences… no parents should have to witness their own child’s funeral.”

The two ponies in front of him smiled in appreciation yet said nothing. Regret reached a hoof to pat the mare on the back before turning and walking deeper into the throng of ponies gathered at the funeral. A flash of familiar colour caught his eye and he swerved towards the glimpse of Twilight Sparkle.

“’Scuse me,” he muttered to a few ponies, pushing gently through the horde until he reached her. She was with four other mares, each of which he recognised from the picture he’d seen not an hour ago. “Twilight Sparkle?” he asked, and she turned towards him, surprised.

“Can I help you?” she asked, studying his face.

“I just wanted to offer my condolences,” he said sincerely, bowing his head slightly. “I know you were good friends with one another.”

“That’s all of us, right there, sugar,” someone said. He looked up at the rest of the group he’d joined. He looked at the one who’d spoken; an orange earth pony with a straw-coloured mane, cut short in mourning.

“Of course,” he muttered, smiling sadly at each of them. “I’m sorry… I’m a friend of the family… I haven’t seen her in a long time… I’m slightly out of the loop in that regard.” A nervous laugh broke from his throat without effort. “I got the news yesterday and…” he bowed his head, not bothering to finish the sentence.

He felt a pair of hooves wrap around his neck and looked up in surprise to see a butter-yellow pegasus holding him in a hug. After a hesitant moment of indecision, he thanked her before biting back another nervous laugh. “I’m sorry…” he muttered. “It’s just been a long week.”

“No,” Twilight interjected, “It’s fine…” the ghost of a smile flickered on her face. “I’m sure Rarity would forgive you… she was like that…”

Regret nodded sadly, “Of course she was… I’m sorry,” he repeated, gently breaking free of the hug he’d been caught in, “I’ll let you get back to your own mourning… I just wanted to pass on my respects…”

“No… It’s fine, we don’t mind.”

Regret glanced over at the pony who’d protested. “Pinkie Pie?” he asked, surprised.

The pony nodded. She was as he remembered, pink, pink and pink. “Have we met?” she asked kindly.

“A while ago…” Regret answered, “Final Regret, if that rings any bells.”

Pinkie sat back thoughtfully as Twilight looked at him in surprise. “Final Regret?” she confirmed and he nodded. “Rarity talked about you before…” she quirked her head at him curiously. “Maybe in another life…” she murmured quietly before shaking her head. “It’s nice to meet you anyway. She said you were a good pony.”

“She remembered me, then?” he asked.

“Yep, said you were a nice colt,” the orange mare said, “The name’s Applejack by the way, It’s good to meet you… Even considering the circumstances.”

Regret nodded, “Likewise.”

Applejack nudged the pegasus to her right; the one that had given Regret a hug. “This is Fluttershy an’ this is Rainbow Dash,” she continued, nodding her head to the left and the only pony who’d been silent throughout. The pegasus called Rainbow Dash was looking at him oddly… almost through him somehow.

Trying to ignore the ice in his gut, he nodded to both of them, smiling slightly. “Nice to meet you all… I’m sure Rarity couldn’t have asked for better friends.” There was something about the pegasus’ gaze that he couldn’t shake from his mind. He excused himself after another moment, trying to be rid of it and making his way towards the food table.

He sighed. There had to be something else that would do as a memory link… something which didn’t involve going back there and standing around. If he hadn’t known better… he’d have thought-

“When was the last time you saw Rarity?”

Regret froze and turned to his right. The pony called Rainbow Dash was perched on the table, looking at him curiously. “A while ago…” he replied guardedly, “Why?”

Instead of answering his question, Rainbow quirked her head at Regret, hopping off the table. “See…” she started, “I know a Final Regret; cute kid.”

“Oh?” Regret confirmed, trying not to let his voice betray him.

“Emphasis being on the kid part, and do you want to know something really amazing?” she asked and Regret swore he could hear a threat behind the polite conversation.

“Go on…” he murmured, returning her gaze evenly.

“He looks the spitting image of you; a younger you in any case.” To his credit, his expression hardly flickered, even if he stayed silent which was all the condemnation he needed to provide. Rainbow paused, “But something that’s probably more amazing… you’re not real.”

Regret’s jaw dropped and he looked at the pegasus beside him with pure amazement. “But… how?”

Rainbow offered him a smile; thin and brittle. “You don’t fit in,” she explained, “You’re not meant to be here; that’s not what happened.”

“But… but…” Regret struggled for words, “How can you know what is meant to happen when it’s still happening?” he asked, trying to make sense of the matter.

She shrugged. “Call it intuition,” she replied cryptically. “Let’s have a chat,” she continued, gesturing for him to follow her. He glanced around himself, looking for Honoured, before sighing. He got up from the table and followed after her.

She eventually led him towards a quiet corner of the room where they both pulled up a chair together. There was another moment of silence until Rainbow coughed pointedly. “So…” she started, “I assume you’re here for a reason?”

Regret nodded. “What year is this?” he murmured quietly. After another curious look from Rainbow Dash, he elaborated, “I need to know what year it is so I can explain it best.”

“It’s ten-thirty-nine,” she explained doubtfully, “February the seventh.”

Regret paused, getting his thoughts in order before continuing, “I assume you know that Twilight is running a last-wish-type business?” he started.

“Yeah…”

“Well this is her memories; for me anyway.”

“Twilight’s dying?” Rainbow asked, alarmed as she glanced over towards the crowd.

“Not yet,” he contradicted, “And not for a long time either, from this memory anyway.”

“And… you’re here, why?” she asked, still sending a glance or two across the crowd.

“Because we need a link,” he replied, rubbing a hoof against his head, “Something to send us back further in her past so we can fulfil her wish.”

“Which was?”

“’What if I’d said yes?’ But I have no idea what it means…”

“That doesn’t sound like Twilight,” Rainbow muttered, “Didn’t she give you anything else to go on, or even a complete checklist of what she’d like done?”

Regret shrugged again before pausing, “Actually… the only hint she gave us was to look around when she was twenty-five – which we have absolutely no idea whether we’re near or not.”

At the silence, Regret looked up to see Rainbow looking at him with a mixture of incredulity and was that… anger, or fear?

“You’re certain she said twenty-five?” she asked once Regret was looking straight at her.

“You know about this?” he asked, sitting up straight and meeting her gaze dead-on.

“Twilight… you idiot,” Rainbow muttered to herself, almost too quiet for Regret to hear before she raised her voice. “You’re a bit away; about thirty-two years to be exact.” Rainbow paused. “You said you needed a link?” she said cautiously and took a small black book from inside a saddle-bag. “I think that’ll help, now I really have to go,” she said, standing up and stepping away from Regret.

Regret opened his mouth to stop her when she bolted towards the doors, shooting through them and not looking back. The funeral reception seemed to pause for a moment before starting again; this time with more worried glances towards the front doors.

“Well that went according to plan,” Honoured said as she approached Regret, – now fading back into the background – slipping through the worried crowds.

“Mmm…” Regret murmured quietly, looking at the book in front of him.

“Damn…” Honoured whispered reverently, “Now that’s power. I mean, wow… that must have left one hell of a scar…”

She wandered around the table and made to flip it open in front of her. “Don’t,” Regret warned in a hoarse voice. Honoured looked up at him, surprised, her hoof resting loosely on the front cover. “I can feel it in my wings…” he continued quietly, “reading that… I don’t know what would happen.”

“You can feel it too?” Honoured asked; surprised yet still not removing her hoof from the book.

Regret nodded silently. “Just… trust me. That’s one link we really should just use as a link and nothing else.” He reached out a hoof and placed it firmly on the front cover of the book.

Honoured looked at her own hoof resting by his and sighed, “I’ll take your word for it… Let’s hope there aren’t many more jumps to do…”

She focussed and let the book take her to the next memory, riding through the scar and onto the other side.

Author's Note

The awkward thing is that I've managed to cram foreshadowing up the wazoo with the last few chapters...
I think it's safe to say that failing that is going to murder me... possibly with the aid of cheated readers.

Speaking of which... it's not long now...

Eh he...

He- he, he, ha... Ha- hahahaha

Oh god... this is going to be fun...

In other news... I'm going to make a hesitant bet on there being updates every three or four days from now until it is finished (or I get to a point where I want to torture readers via cliffhanger)

Of Secrets, Answers, Lies and Worse

Sometimes, an object can leave an imprint on a pony’s memories. It can be a picture that was on the wall at a certain time, a necklace worn by those around or even a diary of which holds their darkest secrets.

~ Excerpt from the guide to Memory Wishers, by Twilight Sparkle

The white-space seemed to crackle around them as they were brought out of the memory.

“Because that’s not worrying at all…” Regret muttered to himself as he felt his fur stand on end. “Remind me why I even took this job?” he asked Honoured.

“I think you mentioned something about a brilliant retirement package,” she replied, lifting her hoof from the book and standing up straight. “Never took you for an actor, by the way, congrats on that performance back there.”

He shook his head slightly; “Wasn’t a performance,” he admitted, his hoof still resting on the book absent-mindedly. “My mother and Rarity were good friends; she brought me sweets as gifts whenever she came to visit.” He could almost see his own whimsical smile before he shook his head, moving his hoof off the book.

“Then, while I was in university, I got told she’d passed away; never even made it back for the funeral…”

“Don’t you get around…” Honoured muttered, “Doesn’t matter, we’ve got the link and you’ve managed to make yourself feel better, win-win situation in my opinion.”

“And don’t you sound thrilled,” Regret bit back.

She glanced back at him before shrugging, “Whatever… we’re nearly done here so just keep it together for that long, m’kay?”

Regret stayed silent, tracing his hoof over the book again and closing his eyes. Honoured watched him curiously as she felt the power building. “Regret…” she warned, feeling her mane float listlessly in a breeze which shouldn’t have existed in the first place. He sucked in a breath before pausing.

A moment later, he breathed out and Honoured watched in amazement as colour and shapes spread beneath him and the book, filling the white-space within a matter of moments. They were on a hill, somewhere remote by the lay of the land. A lone tree stood guard on the top of the hill and Honoured could just make out the shape of a pony beneath it. The book disintegrated into the memory with a hiss and Regret stood up silently.

“Regret…”

“Oh what,” he snapped, “We’re nearly done here so what does it matter.” He started walking up the hill, “Come on,” he called back briskly, “The sooner we’re done here, the sooner I can give you a real punch in the face.”

Honoured winced and opened her mouth to apologise before sighing. It was like he said; the sooner they were done here, the sooner they could get to work fixing their friendship. She followed after him, glancing around at their surroundings as she did so. There was a town behind them; it’s odd tranquillity at odds with the party they were at moments ago.

She bit her lip before speaking, “So… where are we now?”

“Just outside Ponyville,” he replied shortly from some paces ahead of her.

“Come again?”

He sighed and Honoured could almost see his patience – tense as it was – withering a bit more. “It’s a town a few miles out of Canterlot. The bearers of harmony lived here for most of their life and it’s due to host the Summer Sun celebration in three years’ time. Happy?”

Honoured remained nonplussed, “Can’t say I’ve heard of it… how do you know about it?”

“Never been here, if that’s what you were wondering,” he answered. “Just heard storied about it; from Rarity I mean.”

Silence followed the words as Honoured squirmed. Regret was one of the many ponies she didn’t have a complete handle on yet; she didn’t know the limit. Or she hadn’t in any case. She paused and glanced back at the town curiously.

“Regret?” she called after a moment.

“Yes…”

“Can you see… banners down there?” she asked incredulously, pointing at the oddly colourful town far below them.

“Does it matter?”

“Perhaps… just come and see.”

She was aware of him coming back alongside her and looking over the hillside at the town, almost certain of his black thoughts. “Now that you mention it…” he started slowly, his voice masked, “I do… What’s written on them?”

Honoured kept quiet for a moment, focussing on her magic as she let it see all that she needed to. “Happy…” she said, reading the words as they were echoed back to her, “twenty-fifth, Twilight Sparkle.” A bitter laugh from beside her broke her concentration.

“Well that’s one question answered,” Regret said, smirking humourlessly. “We’re in the year a thousand and seven. Let’s go and see what’s responsible shall we?” he mocked, stepping back and lending a hoof towards the top of the hill.

“Alright…” Honoured said, annoyed, “I admit that I was inconsiderate of your feelings earlier, but there is absolutely no reason for you to be this way to me. You’re in the same boat as me and you know what? Once we’re done here, I’ll match your real punch by simply leaving you to walk back to the company. Happy?”

Regret snorted and made a show of bowing low, his hoof still pointing towards the top of the hill.

Honoured growled and stormed off up the hill, her tolerance for his mockery at an all-time low. “The sooner we’re done here… the better,” she grumbled to herself, setting a furious pace as they approached the tree and the figure still beneath it.

As it turned out, the figure beneath the tree was Twilight Sparkle; a much younger Twilight Sparkle. “Why am I not surprised?” Honoured muttered to herself darkly, looking around the hilltop. Aside from the view, there wasn’t much of note there. She inspected the younger pony in front of her.

She was younger; that much was immediately obvious. There was something that was lacking in her; perhaps it was the experience her older self had carried, or the lack of the weight of the world on her shoulders that made the difference. She was writing in a book in the shade of the tree; a very familiar book.

Regret was nodding even as Honoured nudged him in the side. It was fairly obvious that they’d found where the last link had originated from.

“I thought it was from that pegasus though; what’s her name… Rainbow Dash?” Honoured whispered to him as Twilight kept scribbling furiously in the book.

Regret shrugged. “You know that something wasn’t exactly right with that Rainbow Dash, maybe it wasn’t actually Rainbow Dash… just something that looked like her and was carrying the book.”

“Opening the book would have made this a lot easier.”

Regret shook his head again, “Not a good idea… and I guess we’re going to find out why at some point or another… it can’t be long until the thing happens.”

As it turned out, it was another five minutes of the two of them sending silent glares towards one another before something happened.

There was a thump as something fell out the tree, startling all present. Regret and Honoured both turned inwards as Twilight let out a startled yelp, closely followed by the cries of the thing that had fallen on her.

“Hey! Hey! Stop hitting me!” the thing shouted as Twilight continued to whack it with the book in her hooves before she paused.

“Rainbow?” she asked, confused and holding the book limply in her hooves.

Sure enough, once she’d stopped hitting the thing, it groaned and rolled off Twilight, the Rainbow mane and sky-blue fur making it instantly recognisable to the other two.

She grumbled as she got to her hooves, various bruises coming to the surface as she did so. “Jeez, Twilight… no need,” she said quietly, swaying slightly, “No. Need.”

Putting the book to the side, Twilight stood too and looked at Rainbow, aghast. “Oh, Celestia, I’m sorry, Rainbow. Are you okay?”

“Fine…” she answered, waving Twilight off. “I’m fine; it’ll all heal. It was probably my fault for startling you anyway.”

Twilight winced again before lying down again, not quite meeting Rainbow’s eyes.

Rainbow poked herself in the head, wincing slightly as she found a sore spot. “What’re ya doing all the way up here anyway?” she asked, sitting down next to Twilight, “Isn’t Pinkie’s party still in full swing?”

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed, “It is. I just needed a bit of peace and quiet. Anyway,” she said, looking over at Rainbow, “I could ask the same of you, I haven’t really seen you since the start of the party.”

Rainbow smiled slightly, “Yeah… sorry about that. I needed to go and pick up a present I’d forgotten. I got a bit side-tracked though…” she finished sheepishly.

“You were napping?” Twilight asked incredulously, “While there was a party in town?”

“Sorta…” she replied quickly, “I wasn’t napping, I just didn’t notice when you came by – when was that by the way?”

“Just a couple of minutes ago, I didn’t exactly notice you were here either if that helps,” Twilight answered with a smile. “Anyway, you mentioned something about another present?”

“I- uh, yeah, I guess I did,” Rainbow said, biting her lip. “One moment,” she said to Twilight before leaping into the tree and disappearing out of sight.

“So much for cock-sure,” Regret muttered to himself as the tree rustled and moved about with the pegasus within.

Honoured looked over at him, “Hmm?”

“My great-granddad said he’d met her before; he called her the most cock-sure pegasus he’d ever seen, oozing confidence and stuff.” Regret shrugged and gestured towards the tree. “I wouldn’t exactly call her confidence oozing material.”

Honoured shrugged in reply. “Times change,” she elaborated, “I bet this is before your great-granddad met her.”

Any further conversation they were going to have was cut off as Rainbow hopped out of the tree, landing a lot more gracefully than the first time she’d done so. There was a scroll poking out of her wing as she straightened herself up.

“Found it,” she announced triumphantly – Twilight rolling her eyes beside her – only to pause for a moment. “Sorry…” she started apologetically, “it’s not exactly a… traditional gift or anything.” She flexed her wing, taking the scroll from under it and offering it over to Twilight anxiously.

Twilight glanced at Rainbow curiously before she took the scroll in her magic, unrolling it in mid-air as Rainbow dropped her hoof and seemed to stiffen. Twilight’s eyes flickered to-and-fro as she read the paper in front of her, her expression becoming more and more incredulous with every line that she read. Soon enough, she looked up, “This is one of your pranks, isn’t it?”

“What? No!” Rainbow replied, shaking her head emphatically with each denial, “No, no, no, no, no.”

Twilight looked back at the paper in front of her before continuing, “Well you can’t be serious…” she started, ignoring Rainbow as she seemed to sink, “I mean… no, what- no. There’s illogical and then there’s- No… just no,” she said finally, her horn sparking into action with an almost alarming speed. “Now they’ll be wondering where I am,” she said hurriedly, “I’ll see you-”

She disappeared in a flash of light and magic, leaving the scroll floating in mid-air and Rainbow stood, alone on the hilltop.

There was a moment of silence as the wind took the paper from the air and set it drifting. Rainbow caught it at the last moment and slid down the tree so she was sat where Twilight had been not five minutes ago.

“Well that went well…” she muttered to herself, lifting the sheet in front of her before scrunching it into a ball and throwing it as far as she could. “A joke?” she asked the empty air bitterly, “What kind of pony does she think I am?”

Regret was vaguely aware of Honoured slipping away after the sheet of paper as Rainbow continued to mutter bitterly to herself.

A cracked laugh forced its way up her throat. “She never even told me why not…” she choked back a sob, “Wonderful.” Her hoof caught on something on the ground and she looked down. There beside her was the black book from before; Twilight’s diary.

Rainbow glanced inside the cover before slamming it shut immediately afterwards, her eyes shut tight. “No… Not my secrets…” she muttered, resting the book on her lap instead and keeping it there.

Someone tapped on Regret’s shoulder and he glanced around to see Honoured, holding the scrunched-up piece of paper in her magic and wearing a crooked smile. “Found it,” she whispered redundantly. “D’ya think there’s anything else we need to see here?”

He glanced around at the peaceful hilltop and shook his head. “I think we have our winner,” he muttered.

“Excellent,” Honoured replied, “No point staying here then…” Her horn glowed brighter and the landscape before them seemed to saturate itself as the colour washed itself out. Then the lines receded into themselves, becoming thinner and thinner until the two of them were left standing in the white-space yet again.

“What’s the damage then?” Regret asked once the last dot of colour disappeared into nothingness. Honoured opened up the paper in front of them and held it in the air while they both read it.

Twilight

Happy birthday and everything – hopefully it is still your birthday when I remember to give you this, – it’s hard to believe that you’ve been around for over seven years now; I can’t even remember what I was doing before that now.

This kinda has something to do with that – or that line of thought anyway. I’ve been thinking; the six of us have been through so much together that it’s hard to imagine us ever parting forever and… well; I never want to lose you. As cheesy as it sounds, I don’t think I’d be able to bear with losing you. That’s not saying that losing any of the others would be any better… but I’d move on… I think…

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d like to stay with you, side-by-side, forever. I’d like you to see you smile and make you smile; more than usual. I’d like you to give this a try and come on a date with me, tonight, as my birthday present to you, however late it may be.

Rainbow

There was silence for a while as the two of them registered just what the scroll had said.

“Damn…” Regret muttered quietly.

“I know,” Honoured sighed, “Just wonderful…”

“That rejection…”

Honoured paused, then she laughed. “Aren’t you worried about how in Equestria we’re going to manage this?” she coughed out between more bouts of laughter.

Regret looked at her oddly, “Well… yeah… but- are you feeling okay?”

“Never felt better.”

“Right…” he said slowly, “I don’t know… there’s still something iffy about this whole mess… I think we should go and talk to the nearest approximation of the present Twilight… there are some things that really don’t add up.”

Her laughs finally dying down, Honoured thought for a moment, “That’s… a good idea,” she agreed, “There are some things I’d like cleared up too.” Without waiting for Regret to reply, she set her mind to taking them back, letting the white-space fade away into colours.

Author's Note

... I should just stop making estimates I can't keep to.
The letter doesn't feel as significant as it really should and Twilight's reaction is... off... those are two things that I'm sure I'll be kicking myself about sooner or later; probably when I've finished the story and I can't be arsed to fix other bits.

I'm going to hesitantly say that the first 'act' of, at a guess, five, is over now. Now that we've done delving through the past and have the knowledge... ish; it's time for some answers.