Eventide Falls

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Chapter 2

Chapter 1

The moon had only just risen, but the unicorn Twilight Sparkle was already in her bed, her physical and magical energies utterly exhausted. I could have done without a lesson in the realities of pneumonia, if its all the same to you, she thought tiredly to herself. She had been released from the hospital just days ago, after her fever broke. She had been recovering at home ever since, under the watchful eye of whichever of her friends had been selected for “Twilight-watch” that day. Today it had been Rarity’s turn, and she had proven herself a redoubtable caretaker despite her chronic obsession with cleanliness, always ready to help her friend with whatever task was currently an obstacle to the greatly-weakened Twilight. The purple-hued unicorn snuggled more comfortably under new blankets of the softest cotton she had ever felt, a gift from the hooves of the very same Rarity, who had spent most of the day working on it to pass time while Twilight slept. Her last thought, as sleep crept up on her, was gratitude for the concern of the friends she had made.

She did not wake until well after dawn, and as she stirred sleepily she became aware of another presence in the room with her. She cast her gaze about the room, till she found the familiar face of Applejack smiling down at her.

“Good mornin’ sugarcube,” she greeted Twilight with her usual sunny demeanor.

“Good morning to you too,” the unicorn returned. “Have you been here all night?”

“Sure have. I camped out on the couch downstairs for most of the night.”

“I wish you girls wouldn’t do that. I’ve told you that you don’t need to worry about watching me all night. I’ll be all right as soon as I go to bed.”

“No can do, Twilight,” Applejack replied with a toss of her mane. “We won’t leave you alone till you’re back to your old self.”

“I promise you all that I’ll make it up to you. I feel so guilty, with you all giving up your time to stay here and nurse me.”

“Ah, ponyfeathers. That’s what friends are for, Twilight. But, well, I have to ask yah somethin’.”

“What is it, Applejack?”

“Well, yah see, its like this: Princess Celestia sent a letter yesterday asking that we all meet her at Canterlot Castle today. We can’t ignore a royal summons, but we don’t want to leave yah alone either,” she trailed off, looking at Twilight with obvious embarrassment.

“Applejack! Don’t beat yourself up over it. I’ll be perfectly fine here. How much harm can I come to in a library? Besides, I won’t be alone. Spike is here too, you know.”

“Well, if you’re sure you’re ok with it…”

“I am perfectly fine with it! Did the Princess say what she wanted you for?”

“Nah, just that she wanted our help with something. She also said that she would have liked for you to come too, but she knows you aren’t well yet and she wants you to stay here and rest.”

“I certainly will,” Twilight replied as she adjusted her blankets. “Tell everyone I said ‘hello’ and you can tell me all about it when you get back.”

Chapter 3

The silence that fell following the pronouncement was a palpable weight, clamping shut jaws and forcing anything but astonishment from mind. Then, as one accord, five mares found their voices and began trying desperately to be heard above the others. The cacophony died as quickly as it began, halted by the sudden movement of Princess Celestia rising to her full stature. The aurora of her mane framed eyes gone hard with barely-constrained emotion, the flaring of her wings betraying her intense agitation. Amidst the empty vastness of her throne room, her voice carried barely past the bottom of the dais she now descended. Drawing upon a millennium of experience in patience and self-control, the regal winged unicorn faced the harbinger of this news, pushing the conflicting emotions of fear and heartache aside. Sparing a glance for her companions, her heart constricted at the sight of forlorn grief warring with fierce denial that painted every face as they looked to her, their monarch. Turning to regard her guardsman, she finally found her voice. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded. “Twilight Sparkle was left safely at the library in Ponyville. What harm could have befallen her?”

Still cringing, the unfortunate herald recounted the rest of her message in a hurried rush, as if desperate to get it out. “There was an explosion at the library, and a fire, your Majesty. The entire place is nothing but a pile of cinders and ash. She was inside when it happened. The whole place has been searched by the Royal Guard and there’s no sign that she survived.”
As Princess Celestia drew breath to speak, she was preempted again by outcry from Twilight’s beloved friends.

“Whadya mean, an ‘explosion’?”

“I thought the library was supposed to be protected against fire, how could this have happened?”

“‘No sign that she survived’? Didn’t you find her body?”

“No, not Twilight! It can’t be; she would have used her magic to save herself!”

With gentleness she did not really feel, she spread her wings over her young subjects in a comforting gesture, and as they fell silent at the touch, she affixed her gaze on the messenger. “Order the royal processional made ready. I am going to Ponyville at once.” she ordered; then, catching the eye of Twilight’s friends, added “And you are all coming with me, of course.”

Five heads nodded in assent, and five ponies followed Princess Celestia as she strode away from her throne, and the royal guardsman rose and retreated back down the length of the audience hall.
Through the palace, the five mares accompanied Princess Celestia closely, blind to the splendor of the vaulted ceilings, gold inlay and priceless ornamentation that would normally have awed them. Silent glances were exchanged as they instinctively drew close together for comfort.

Finally they emerged from the confines of the palace proper into the royal garden, where the Princess’ chariot and escort were waiting, golden armor glinting in the sun. With no discussion Celestia seated herself, with her companions filing in behind her. At a gesture, her processional and escort rose into the air with an ease born of long practice, before angling up to a safe cruising height and heading for Ponyville, just barely visible in the distance. Leaning her head closer to that of her young companions, Celestia again mantled them with her wings, wishing she could do more to ease the terrible, gnawing fear that had taken hold of all of them.

It was the normally carefree Pinkie Pie who first looked up at Celestia, and the winged unicorn was startled to see the marks of tears in those jovial eyes as she asked in a painfully subdued voice, “Princess, it can’t be true, can it? Twilight can’t really be . . . be . . .” , her voice breaking over the word she couldn’t bring herself to voice, as if saying aloud would make it reality.
“I truly don’t know, girls,” she said, encompassing them all in her look, “and we won’t know until we have a chance to find out first hand. However, I promise you this; no matter what happens, you will all be alright.”

After this exchange, the ponies settled down to wait as patiently as they could until they could see the truth with their own eyes. Rainbow Dash gazed into the blue sky filled with pristine clouds, wishing with all her heart that she could take wing back home and glide down for a landing on the balcony of the library. She longed for the certainty of seeing her friend again.

I just want Twilight to be alright. Please. . .

This sort of introspective reverie held all of them captive during the short yet seemingly endless journey; it was Rainbow Dash’s cry of dismay that drew the mares’ attention into the distance. They all stared in silent horror, for the familiar sight of home was marred by the stark destruction that marked the former location of the library, and Twilight’s home. As they drew nearer their vision became clear enough to discern the charred, faintly smoldering wreckage that littered the ground; the enormous tree that had housed Twilight’s residence stood no more, fallen victim to a truly enormous blaze. As Celestia’s entourage came in to land nearby, they caught sight of figures in glinting gold armor wandering the area.

Once they came securely to a halt, the Princess strode without hesitation to the scene of the inferno, the other five ponies following and her escort of guards discreetly fanning out. As she drew near, a gold armored figure detached itself from the rest and moved swiftly to present himself to the Princess, dropping to a respectful bow as he did so. Celestia came to a halt, and regarded him with a cool demeanor. “I assume that you are in charge of investigating this tragedy?” she inquired. At his affirmation, she continued. “Report what you have found.”

“Your Majesty, several minutes after noon today there was a large explosion in the library here in Ponyville. This explosion was seen by many residents. Following that there was a fire that rapidly engulfed the tree within which the library was constructed. The locals attempted to extinguish the fire, but it was too dangerous and wild. The structure itself burned to the ground. The remains have been extensively searched, sifted by hoof, and we have found no trace of your student, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle. The residents have been interviewed and none said that had seen her at any time today outside the library. We fear that she perished in the blaze, and the heat destroyed any remains.”

Her expression growing ever more troubled, Celestia knew that she had to exhaust every possibility before accepting such a conclusion. “My student was perfectly capable of teleporting herself. It is possible that she did so to save her life and is now laying somewhere, too wounded or weak to call for aid. And what of Spike? Can he tell us nothing, or is he presumed dead as well?”

“Spike is indeed living, but he is comatose in Ponyville Urgent Care. And as for her teleporting herself, we foresaw that possibility. Members of the Royal Guard and local residents have scoured every inch of the town, and pegasus ponies have scouted the surrounding areas for miles, including into the Everfree Forest. No trace of her was found.”

The stark finality of it all was the last straw Celestia could bear. She turned away to face Twilight’s friends,

No, my friends as well. They are as dear to Twilight as she herself is to me.

and the anguished sorrow she saw reflected back at her mirrored her own. Not bothering to conceal the tears that now marred the side of her face, she knelt to bring herself to the others’ level as they pressed around her. For a moment they stood thus, ruler and subjects, a study in sorrow. She wanted nothing more than to stay here and give vent to her pain in company with those who understood, but she knew she had duties elsewhere. Nonetheless, it was painful for her to stand again and look down on five heartbroken mares who she wanted very much to comfort. At their looks of puzzlement, she said “Girls, I hope you can forgive me for this, but I cannot stay here. I must return to Canterlot at once. Twilight’s parents must be informed of this and they will surely have questions. As their daughter was my personal student, I cannot leave this up to another.”

It was Rarity who responded, her voice uncharacteristically hoarse from silent sobbing. “Of course we understand, Princess. Don’t we, girls?” At the subdued nods and agreements, Celestia again spoke, cursing the cruel turn of fate that had brought them here. “Thank you so much. All of you, I know this is terribly painful. Don’t lose hope; you have each other, and without a body there is still a chance we could get her back. Don’t fall into despair. Keep each other strong. I promise I’ll return as soon as I can.”

With that, Princess Celestia returned with her escort to her chariot and, in short order, was away, leaving five stricken mares to mourn and to hope.

Chapter 4

Five mares watched the royal processional as it tracked across the sky, not looking away until it was finally lost to sight somewhere in the direction of Canterlot. Only after not so much as a gleam of the Princess was visible did Twilight Sparkle's closest friends look to each other, equal confusion, fear and sorrow written on each face. They stood like that for a long moment, no one seemingly inclined to speak. It was finally Applejack who broke the enthrallment, saying “Ah don't know about you gals, but ah’m about ready for today to be over. Ah'm all for headin' home.”
“Um, I don't really think I want to be alone tonight . . . if that's not a burden, that is,” Fluttershy's voice trailed off.
“I'm with Fluttershy on that,” replied a much-subdued Rainbow Dash. Rarity and Pinkie Pie mutely nodded their agreement.
“Why don't we all stay the night at my place?” asked Rainbow Dash. As the others merely stared at her for long enough to be awkward, she added, “What? There's plenty of room for everypony.”
“Erm, Rainbow, dear, you live on a cloud, and without . . . without,” Rarity's voice broke off.
“Without Twilight to cast her cloudwalking spell, the rest of us can't exactly spend the night at your house,” Fluttershy finished.
“Oh. Right, I kinda forgot that,” Rainbow replied, embarrassed.
“If I move the dress horses and such out of the way, there will be plenty of room at Carousel Boutique for us all. Will that suit everypony?” Rarity added. When the mares had all given their agreement, it was Rarity who lead the solemn ponies in a slow departure from the smoldering ruins of the library. The gold-armored guards had departed with their monarch and the gawking crowds had dispersed, leaving the five to their own thoughts. As they began passing through Ponyville on the way to the refuge of Rarity’s home, they became conscious of the glances and looks they were drawing from the residents of town. As it kept happening that none of those who watched when they thought they were unobserved would make eye contact with Rarity or her companions, it began to wear on all of their nerves. It was unsurprisingly Rainbow Dash who first voiced her displeasure. “What is wrong with everypony? Why are they all staring at us like that?” she exclaimed.
“I think maybe they feel sorry for us, since they know how close Twilight was to us,” Pinkie Pie ventured. Rainbow Dash whirled to face her, an uncharacteristic snarl plastered on her face, “Was? Was? Try is! We don’t know for sure that she’s gone, and I’m not giving up on her! The Princess herself said we don’t know for sure what happened here, and if you think that. . .”
“Simmer down, sugarcube,” Applejack interrupted, laying a restraining hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “She didn’t mean anything by it. None of us are giving up on Twilight. Are we, gals?”
“No, of course not. How could we ever give up on our best friend?” answered Fluttershy.
“I can’t give up on Twilight; how will I ever throw another party without all my friends?” added a mournful Pinkie Pie.
Rainbow’s belligerent gaze flicked from pony to pony before she finally snorted and turned away, muttering “Good. Because I’m not giving up. Not ever. I won’t believe she’s dead and gone till I see it with my own eyes.” Head bent low in annoyance, Rainbow headed off again towards Rarity’s shop, her friends trailing behind, subdued. Ignoring more pitying looks from Ponyville’s residents, the group of sorrowful ponies reached Carousel Boutique just as the sun sank below the horizon; the vibrantly beautiful red of dusk stood in counterpoint to the somber mood hanging over the five ponies who found their way into the front room of Rarity’s house, stumbling a little in the darkness while its owner sought out and lit a number of candles. The freshly kindled lights cast shadows from the profusion of clotheshorses and piles of fabric that littered the area. Rarity ducked her head a little, self-conscious of the mess.
“Please, everypony, forgive the clutter. It’s not usually this . . . unclean,” Rarity implored.
“Don’t worry, Rarity. I doubt anypony minds, given the circumstances. Its not like we’re throwing a party or anything,” replied a subdued Pinkie Pie.
“Messy? Hah! This is nothing; I’m used to my own mess. Twilight is the one who likes things to be organized,” said Rainbow Dash with a hint of her usual brashness, but the import of what she unintentionally said sank home a moment later, reducing her again to silence. Again laying a comforting hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, Applejack tried to express what Rainbow had tried to say, “Sugarcube, she meant that we’re plum grateful for your hospitality; letting us stay at your place an’ all.”
“Oh, girls, I know how you feel. I’m in agreement with Fluttershy; after today, I don’t particularly want to be alone. You are all my very best friends, and after today I’ve never been happier to have you all,” Rarity replied, and she looked like she may have said more but she suddenly turned away and busied herself in tidying up, her magical aura enveloping a variety of items and moving them into less inconvenient positions. The rest of the ponies looked on for a moment, torn between saying something and leaving Rarity to her own devices for the moment. The latter won out and the others fanned out through the room, settling into likely looking spots Rarity had already straightened to her preference. As time passed none of them seemed inclined to say anything in particular, and the silence only thickened as Rarity seemed to be spending overly long in one position, seemingly bent over a single garment out of countless others. The five looked at each other, doubt and the beginnings of worry on their minds. By silent consent, it was Fluttershy who spoke, startling Rarity out of her apparent reverie, “Erm, Rarity, y-you’ve been spending an awful lot of time looking at that one dress. I-is anything wrong, that is, if you don’t mind me asking?” Instead of answering directly, Rarity turned around with deliberate slowness, tears glittering in her eyes and her hooves full of flowing fabric embroidered with patterns of stars and constellations. “Is that what I think it is?” asked Rainbow Dash, as if she were reluctant to hear the answer. As Rarity nodded a pained agreement, Applejack rose from her chosen resting spot and approached the teary unicorn. With great gentleness she took the fabric of the dress Rarity had made by hoof for her beloved friend from unresisting hooves and laid it delicately on the ground before softly nudging Rarity towards a pile of blankets nearer the other ponies. As the speechless mare settled herself down onto the waiting blankets, the others moved with an unspoken accord to move themselves, and their assortment of pillows and other makeshift bedding nearer to each other, with Rarity in the midst of all of them. The five ponies sat in silence that expressed their heartache more poignantly than any words could have, clinging to each other’s simple presences as the shadows lengthened and fitful sleep pulled them away from their waking nightmare.

***

The wind sliced like blades around her, her vibrant mane and tail drawn out behind her like banners as Rainbow Dash’s nimble form raced through Cloudsdale’s Coliseum. A fierce grin stretched across her face as she exulted in the speed and daring that was her birthright and she felt herself being propelled past her own formidable limits by the cheering crowds that thronged the stadium. As she turned sharply in midair to ascend to an altitude sufficient for her to execute her signature move, the Sonic Rainboom, she glanced towards where she knew her friends were seated; even though she’d never admit it aloud, the presence and support of her friends was the most important thing to her and she allowed herself to divert her gaze briefly to the glowing faces of her friends. There they were, like always: Faithful Applejack, gentle Fluttershy, talented Rarity, mirthful Pinkie Pie. She had almost reached her starting position for the Sonic Rainboom when a sudden thought gripped her heart like a vice, Wait, what about Twilight? Why isn’t she here?! As she pivoted in midair to begin her dive she saw again that one of her friends was conspicuous by her absence. A sudden and terrible fear that she had never experienced before welled up inside her, and to her horror she found that her wings were paralyzed against her body; she plummeted helplessly, quickly falling out of sight of the spectators. Despite her desperate struggles and heartpounding panic, she just couldn’t get her wings to cooperate with flying. As the ground came hurtling towards her with terrifying speed she closed her eyes and never noticed when the darkness behind closed eyelids passed into a greater darkness.

***

The pleasant midday sun that shone warmly down on Applejack filled her nose with the familiar and pleasant scent of apples in bloom; a scent that reminded her of home and safety and happiness. As her hind legs connected solidly with one of scores of apple trees she was rewarded with the hollow sound of many more apples finding their way into the waiting bucket Twilight had sat their for her. She took a brief pause from her labor to wipe sweat from her face and send a silent wave of gratitude towards Twilight, who had volunteered again to help her with applebuck season. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind, however, than the sky suddenly darkened. As Applejack stared up at the now-cloudy sky in confusion she shivered and was shocked to see that her breath was now visible in midair. Now seriously unnerved, the orange pony looked around the clearing for any sign of Twilight, hoping the ever-intellectual pony would have an explanation or at least provide some welcome company amongst the strangeness. Try as she might, however, she could find no trace of her friend; all that was visible was acres of apple trees shrouded in unnatural darkness. Fighting down a rising tide of unease, she called aloud for Twilight; once, twice, and again, but she heard no response as her voice dwindled to nothingness amongst endless dark corridors of branches. Taking courage firmly in hoof she set off down a path at random, determined to find her missing friend and get to the bottom of this creepiness on her own apple farm, of all places. Scarcely a dozen steps had she taken away from the clearing where she had been working before she was overwhelmed by the encroaching shadows and sibilant whispers that seemed to sigh through the empty trees, bare branches waving in an intangible wind. Reluctantly she turned back, and was shocked to see no clearing and no path behind her, just a wall of darkness. Turning again she began slowly walking deeper into the darkness, until she seemed to be walking in nothing, alone in a black oblivion. Slowly even the sound of her hooves faded, then her breathing, and then there was no orange pony at all; just a perfect void.

***

Pinkie Pie crouched in Twilight’s library, darkened in its caretakers absence. That didn’t concern the happy-go-lucky Pinkie, though; she wanted to surprise her friend with a boisterous and cheerful welcome after she had been away in Canterlot for several days. Pinkie Pie had contrived to stream the whole place in banners and ornaments and she had a whole array of party implements and noisemakers ready at hand to celebrate as an unsuspecting Twilight came in, expecting only silence and solitude. Well, Pinkie was having none of that; only the very best welcome home party would do for her good friend Twilight Sparkle! So she crouched in the empty library with only shelves of books for company as the light gradually faded from the window and night finally fell. Still Pinkie kept her vigil, waiting for the perfect opportunity to surprise Twilight and make her smile. So she waited, while the light dawned again, and again, and again, and again. Pinkie had long ago ceased to be aware of her surroundings in the library. The bookshelves, the walls, the ceiling and even the floor evaporated like dew, but Pinkie’s attention was riveted on the door that Twilight would come through any second now. Any second now. Any . . . second . . . now . . .

***

Rarity woke from her uneasy sleep suddenly, sweat beading along her flank and a nameless terror choking her mind as she thrashed about for a moment to extricate herself from the tangles of bedstuff that entwined her, and that had briefly, in her mind, possessed sharp, painful claws. She heaved herself to a sitting position, and was surprised to see four other pairs of eyes staring concernedly back at her. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack all huddled close together, covered by the same blanket and haunted expressions in the backs of their understanding eyes. Without asking, Pinkie Pie maneuvered so that there was room for one more in their small island of friendship. Gratefully, Rarity moved into the spot vacated for her, drawing the blanket back across her friends. With surprising gentleness Rainbow Dash asked a shaken Rarity, “Was it bad?” At her trembling “Yes,” Rainbow Dash merely moved slightly closer to a still distraught Rarity, letting the warmth of her nearness comfort the frightened unicorn. Fluttershy did the same on her other side. Without any more words passing, the five slowly drifted back to sleep, lulled by the comforting presence of the others. And this time, they did not dream.

Chapter 5

The jet black canvas of Luna’s night sky normally brought a measure of warmth to Princess Celestia’s heart; she would often gaze at its myriad sparkling jewels and recall nights spent teaching her most recent pupil their names and meanings. Tonight, however, those happy memories were laced in bitterness, their brilliant glory seemingly mocking those very same memories. Celestia herself was sequestered in one of the small briefing chambers near the Throne Room, seething with uncharacteristic impatience as she waited for the arrival of her Captain of the Guard to report as he had been ordered nearly half a candlemark ago.

As she waited she had little respite from the thoughts that had haunted her for most of the day. Silently she observed the bitter war that had been waging in her mind and heart with no clear victor in sight. On the one hoof, she was the immortal ruler of Equestria; the number of students, friends and lovers she had lost over the millennia were too numerous even for her to remember. She knew intellectually that she should not be so badly affected by one more. That cool, aloof part of her was dismayed by the heartache caused by the probable loss of one more in a long line of the dearly departed. In fierce counterpoint, however, was the unceasing and unholy union of anger and fear that writhed inside her. This aspect of her own self knew the truth that the other side of her argument would not admit; that Twilight Sparkle had become more than a student to her, even more than a friend. Somehow, out of all those who had come and gone from her limitless lifespan, that lavender unicorn had become, for all intents and purposes, her adopted daughter.

That, right there, was the crux of her confusion. Daughter . . . even though she was born to others, I’ve come to regard her as my own daughter. I practically raised her, I taught her, I brought her together with the Elements of Harmony. I’ve watched her grow from a filly. I’ve made her part of my life in a way no one else ever has been, not even Luna.

I made her my daughter, even though I never intended to have a child. Without an alicorn stallion for me to be with, any child I could have would be as mortal as its father. I couldn’t bear the thought of a child like that. I couldn’t stand to watch my own offspring grow old and die while I remained eternal, so I swore I never would have a child.

But now, I have a daughter. I adopted Twilight in my heart and never even noticed. And now, losing her hurts just as badly as I feared it would.

Her reflections were halted by the sound of shod feet approaching. Celestia mustered a trickle of magic to open the door, surprising a gold-armored chestnut pegasus whose hoof was suspended in midair, poised to knock on an empty doorframe. “Report, Captain,” Celestia ordered softly. With the mandatory bow, the pegasus entered the room, closing the door behind him, and drawing himself to attention before speaking.

“Your Majesty, I have consulted in depth with the Equestrian Intelligence Service, analyzed the findings of the forensic examination of the Ponyville Library and consulted reports of the actions of various dissenters and criminal organizations who are known to employ such tactics. What I’m about to report is tentative but has strong evidence behind it.”

“Understood, Captain,” Celestia murmured.

“Several months ago, Intelligence became aware of a small cell of anti-monarchists who have the agenda of overthrowing the rule of yourself and your sister. They are small and poorly funded and equipped, but have excellent propaganda and have been quietly recruiting and amassing weapons. For a time we had an operative in their midst and he provided us with considerable information before he was compromised. Our understanding is that their central doctrine is that since you are unassailable, they would focus their efforts on eliminating those close to you, as an attrition-based strategy to force you to abdicate.” Seeing Celestia’s eyes narrow in sudden anger, he quickly continued. “Because we became aware of them around the time Princess Luna returned, we thought she would be their main target. Several days before the incident in Ponyville there was a brief flurry of activity from them and several known members were reported as being in the general vicinity of Ponyville within hours of the explosion. “

Celestia’s Captain of the Guard concluded his report, trying desperately to remain stoic despite the barely contained anger blazing in Celestia’s eyes as she seemed to gaze right through him. An interminable time passed before the Princess addressed him. “Do you mean to imply that these criminals have killed Twilight Sparkle because of how close she is to me?”

Swallowing a surge of fear at the naked venom and loathing underlying Celestia’s words, he found his voice to answer. “Yes, your Majesty. Recent intelligence suggests that they are lying low, celebrating a victory in their campaign against you.

“Does Intelligence know their present location?”

“Yes. They are known to inhabit a large cave network in the mountains beyond the Everfree.

“Very well, Captain. I want you to prepare a detachment of the Guard, of whatever size and composition you deem sufficient to handle this. You will position your men in preparation for an assault on my command. Do not engage immediately; for now your orders are to contain and observe the situation.”

“I understand, Majesty. Our forces will be in place by dawn,” the Captain affirmed.

“Then you may go and see to this matter personally,” Celestia said, with the clear air of a dismissal.

The Captain’s departure left her again to her thoughts, and she returned to watching almost idly the conflicting feelings inside her. They were mostly at a stalemate. She hardly noticed the smaller dark blue figure that emerged almost from the shadows around her, flowing mane indistinguishable from the stellar sky.

“Luna,” Celestia addressed the newcomer, “are there no matters for you to attend to as Princess of the Night?”

“We hast heard the petitions of our subjects. There art no other matters that shalt not bide a time. It is obvious to us that thou art most distressed, sister. Perhaps thou shalt confide in us?”

Celestia stared at her sister, hesitant to confide her feelings to her younger sibling. Younger? She is a few years younger than you in a lifespan measured in millennia. She’s not some immature filly you have to coddle and protect.

“Luna, do you remember back when we decided that neither of us would become mothers to a mortal child?” At Luna’s mute nod of agreement, Celestia continued. “I think I broke that rule.”

Luna’s face showed considerable confusion as she replied, “But sister, surely we wouldst have known if thou wert expecting.”

Taken aback, Celestia hurriedly replied, “Oh Luna, I didn’t mean like that. I’m talking about Twilight Sparkle.”

“But, she is thine student, not thine daughter. I do not understand thine meaning, sister,” Luna replied, still confused.

Sighing, Celestia continued, “I have had many students over the years. But Twilight is unique; she is the only one I took so young, still a filly. I raised her in her parent’s stead. I taught her, I provided for her, I made her a part of my daily life. She gave me her affection; I couldn’t help but give her mine. I didn’t realize until now, but I have come to love her as my own daughter. And now she’s dead or hurt or worse, all because of how close she is to me. This is my fault, Luna. I swore I wouldn’t have a child so I wouldn’t suffer from their loss. I never thought that she could be hurt because of me.”

Luna, surprised by such a rare outpouring from her sister, could do nothing but gently nuzzle the side of her elder sibling’s face, silently offering what support and comfort she could. They stood thus for a time, until Luna broke their reverie. “Sister, what wilt thou do?”

Celestia drew in a deep breath before answering, “Intelligence thinks that this was a deliberate attack on my student, and they know where the perpetrators have gone to ground. I have already dispatched the Guard and I will be joining them shortly. I will ensure that they answer for their crime, and they will tell me exactly what they did to her. If she is alive and unharmed, I may be inclined to mercy.”

Quietly Luna asked, “And if she is not?”

“Then they will regret the day they thought to use the ones I love as a weapon against me.”

Chapter 6

The first furtive rays of sunlight glinted off the dark grey iron of battle armor as more than a dozen elite members of the Royal Guard stood at rigid attention within their place of concealment. Discipline and training held their expressions and stances neutral but more than a few of them were dangerously near to showing signs of nervousness. Not that they were frightened, certainly not; these were veteran soldiers who had spent years training for situations precisely like this and who had faced danger and death countless times before. The Captain of the Guard was as outwardly stoic as any of the stallions he had selected, but the thoughts whirling in his mind were agitated:

Yes, we train all the time to mount a search-and-rescue operation for the near-as-makes-no-difference daughter of a living Goddess who just happens to be in direct command of the whole thing. And who will be the first to know if we succeeded. Or failed. Or messed up. Oh, Celestia preserve me. Wait; is it wrong to pray for her help when she’s standing right here? I don’t even know . . .

He had been surprised when the Princess had ordered him to handle this as a rescue operation but in retrospect he should have expected it. There was still no definitive answer as to the ultimate fate of Twilight Sparkle so it was wise to be prepared for the possibility she could yet be found alive. In case she was not, his orders were to apprehend as many of the criminal scum as was feasible and kill those who resisted too strongly.

He risked a glance sideways to the towering alicorn who stood motionless next to him. The rigid stance, the stonily impassive face, the stillness of her normally flowing ethereal mane conveyed volumes to one who had served her long enough to recognize her moods. She was undeniably immersed in her Royal persona, and what’s more, she was royally pissed for all that she gave no outward sign. The give away for her anger was the noticeable lack of the aura of warm caring that generally surrounded her, coupled with the tense muscles that held her enormous wings tightly against her side with no relaxation or looseness at all. As if sensing his scrutiny, Celestia turned to regard her Captain.

“Captain, if your forces are prepared you may engage the enemy,” she said in harshly clipped monotone. “Engage the enemy” is too mild a phrase. I want them crushed, destroyed and exterminated. I want them to feel, in the instant before an agonizing death, a small fraction of the nauseating fear that has hounded me since I received news of my student’s presumed death.

“You heard her Majesty; move out,” the Captain ordered the armored stallions. Saluting their commander smartly and executing a brief bow to their Monarch, they turned and made their way to the only entrance to the cave and tunnel complex, taking up positions for a forced entry under hostile conditions.

Celestia watched on without comment, her mind the only active aspect of her being. But most of all, I just want Twilight back. Vengeance will be a hollow prize if I’ve truly lost her this way.

* * *

The cacophony of battle echoed throughout the multitude of interconnected tunnels. Bolts of deadly unicorn magic provided fitful illumination while the striking sounds of metal indicated a physical blow rebuffed by an armored Royal Guard. Relentless and efficient, trained to advance and work in cohesion, the Equestrian soldiers made brief work of most of the defenders. Shortly more than a dozen resistors lay dead with five more captured and under guard, at the cost of only a few injuries on the part of the Royal Guards. The remaining few anti-monarchists had retreated deeper into the complex and sealed the passageway with a powerful magical barrier the unicorns amongst the Guards were struggling to nullify.

The sound of hoofsteps echoing down the tunnel they had just fought their way through arrested the attention of the Guards, who immediately relaxed when the forms of Celestia and the Captain became visible in the underground murkiness. Acknowledging their existence with a brief nod, Celestia turned her full attention to the prisoners, who stared back with equal measures loathing and fear. The Solar Princess narrowed her eyes, thinking, It is one thing to oppose a Goddess in theory. It is quite another to do so in person. Addressing them, her voice was a harsh growl, far removed from its normally lilting cadence. “I only want to know one thing from you. What have you done with Twilight Sparkle?” she demanded.

One of the prisoners had the audacity to spit in her general direction, contemptuously answering, “Why don’t you just buck yourself?” The others followed suit, emboldened by the courage of one of their own, and dismissively snorted in derision. Celestia’s eyes narrowed further, a noticeable glow enveloping her horn before expanding to fill the room with intolerable brightness. When the sudden display of light receded the insulting captives were nowhere to be seen, a set of faint outlines and piles of ash the only remnants of their existence.

“Very well. We do this the hard way,” she announced to no one in particular. Turning about sharply, she walked without hesitation further down the corridor to where several of her unicorn Guards were struggling to breach a brilliantly shimmering barrier that blocked off the passageway entirely. Sweeping imperiously past them she simply stepped through the magical field, an aura of sunlight surrounding her, causing the barrier to shatter with a discordant tinkle remnant of falling glass. Taken by surprise, her unicorn soldiers hastened to catch up with their monarch, the remaining earth pony Guards falling in behind. None dared look too closely at the chiseled expression of fury checked only by rigid self control that marred the normally jovial face of their monarch.

The sight of a beacon of light somewhere ahead hurried the steps of Celestia and Guards alike. Stepping through a narrow portal into a large circular cavern, Celestia came to a dead halt; her escort spilled out in a half circle around her. For several long heartbeats, all simply stared at a mind-defying sight in the central portion of the enormous room. Slowly, comprehension began to make sense of the barely recognizable scene. A mass of lavender, twisted in on itself in a most unnatural contortion. A crimson pool surrounding a ragged mass of flesh and blood, a deep purple mane with a single pink highlight obscuring the face.

With a burst of sudden speed, Celestia quickly crossed the intervening distance that separated her from her student and daughter-in-spirit, dropping to her knees beside a clearly broken young body. With utmost gentleness she nuzzled the obscuring mane away from Twilight’s face and lowered her head to listen for the slightest breath. She touched a single hoof gently to the purple unicorn’s side, trying desperately to feel a heartbeat other than her own, sharpened by desperation to a harsh staccato. The flood of relief she felt at the faint but noticeable indications of life brought tears of joy unbidden to her eyes.

However, before she could contemplate her gratitude at finding her protégé still alive a passing blast of magic flowed past her, causing Celestia to dodge aside in reflex, coming to her feet and facing the direction of this newest attack. The attack, though, was not meant for Celestia and found its mark in the Guards who had flanked Celestia previously. It spread out and enveloped her escort, flinging them one and all bodily against the unforgiving rock of the cavern walls. Stunned and mostly unconscious, they fell to the ground bonelessly.

Soundlessly a dozen invisibility spells were cast off, revealing the same number of unicorns now surrounding the lone Princess, horns alight with spells to rend and destroy. Regally Celestia regarded them all, attention fixated on one black and white colored unicorn who stepped forward.
“Well,” he began in a faux pleasant voice, “it seems we have you surrounded. I suggest you surrender yourself into our custody and begin discussions on your imminent abdication of power. In return we will allow you to live. Oh, and your little sycophant there, as well.”

Stepping sideways to protectively stand over her apprentice’s fallen form, she replied in an equally calm tone underlined with venom, “Oh? And I suppose a mere dozen of you is prepared to hold me captive? Against my sister, the entire Guard and my own power? You seem remarkably underprepared to be blackmailing a goddess.”

“Yes, well, I must admit your presence here is something of a surprise. We rather expected to deal with your minions, not yourself in the person,” the leader of the rebels replied with just a hint of unease. “Still, we aren’t the type to look a gift pony in the mouth. Since you so foolishly chose to come waltzing down here in pursuit of one of your pathetic lapdogs we decided to improvise. Really, if we’d known this was all it took to get you to show yourself away from the safety of the Palace we would have pulled this stunt long ago. We didn’t even intend for the little filly to be useful as bait! We wanted you to think she was dead; hurting her was just a way to pass the time, you see. But, since you’re such a bleeding heart I’m sure you’ll hand yourself over rather than fight back and have your precious little filly be evaporated in the process.”

Standing over the damaged body of her most faithful student, surrounded by those who mocked not only her but her love for the lavender pony she had unknowingly thought of as a daughter, Celestia’s millennia of patience and benevolence was finally outweighed by blind rage. Reaching deep inside herself for the endless ocean that was her power, she found it turbulent and awash with the storm of her emotions. Without hesitation she seized the solar essence at the very core of her being; tapping into unfathomable reserves of magical power she spun her rage into a very tangible magical construct, manifesting a writhing orb to float directly in front of her, its molten surface a perfect reflection of the greater Sun she controlled. The heat and magical power contained within the miniature sun caused the nearest of her enemies to step back several paces.

Pointing a trembling hoof, the belligerent ringleader of the attempted coup called out, “Stop! I told you what would happen if you didn’t surrender!”

Celestia voice answered him, amplified greatly in volume and seemingly coming from nowhere; her sibilant voice crackled with disgust as it echoed ominously, “I have heard enough empty threats from your vile mouth. You will regret trying to strike at me through one I love; I will scour your very memories from Equestria.”

Having cast her death sentence Celestia, Twilight and the Guards all vanished in a sudden flare of light that paled in comparison to the radiant glory of a miniature sun, leaving Twilight’s remaining captors to gaze fearfully at the rapidly growing solar orb and longingly at the only tunnel out, now blocked by a magical field of Celestia’s own creation.

Reappearing in the shadow of the mountain that had harbored such evil, Celestia took to the air with a single fluid flap of powerful wings. Hovering in place, her eyes began to glow with an incandescent light that matched the noonday sun, which even now seemed to grow brighter in response. One final exertion of power completed her warrant as an enormous shaft of blinding light, akin to a solar flare one might glimpse through a telescope, pierced the mountain at several angles, heating everything inside past the point where mere stone would be unmade by temperatures that rivaled the heart of any star.

Sagging with sudden exhaustion, Celestia was free to turn her entire attention to her beloved student. Softly nuzzling her face, the Princess smiled radiantly to see awareness return to Twilight’s eyes. Opening her eyes for the first time in days, the sheer happiness that suffused her lavender body at seeing the loving face of her mentor and adoptive parent impelled her to fling dirt-matted, bloody forelegs around Celestia’s neck and weep with the combined amalgam of pain, fear and stress. She cried herself out on a willing and comforting shoulder, and she drank up the unbridled affection and compassion Celestia so freely gave to her. They sat thus for a time, until a sudden memory presented itself to the forefront of Twilight’s mind.

Oh, Celestia, no, please let it have been a nightmare, she prayed desperately. Surreptitiously lifting a hoof to brush aside her mane, she should have felt the familiar presence of her horn. Instead, she felt nothing. Just the bloody remnants of a scar. Leaden disbelief settled into her heart and she began weeping, this time far more bitterly than before. Shocked by the sudden, wracking sobs, Celestia held on to her student and surrogate daughter tighter than ever and practically whispered to her, “Twilight? Please tell me, what’s wrong?”

Heartbroken and shattered, the purple maned pony answered, “M-my horn . . . they took my horn . . .”

Chapter 7

Twilight Sparkle’s five closest friends hadn’t asked how Celestia’s messenger had found them so quickly, mere moments after Twilight herself had been brought to the hospital. They hadn’t cared. They had come as quickly as they were able; glamorous Rarity had even neglected the arduous routines of mane care she practiced every morning. Nothing had been able to damper their elation upon hearing that their friend lived except their fear at being told she was badly wounded and in the hospital.

They had arrived at the hospital in time to see Twilight being whisked away into one of the operating rooms. They had rushed her supine form, delaying the doctors and nurses long enough to whisper assurances to their unconscious friend. They had been silently horrified at the sight of countless deep lacerations that marred nearly every inch of her body. Blood and dirt mingled to saturate her coat and her breathing was worryingly shallow. By unspoken accord no mention was made of her missing horn; no one wanted to be the first to acknowledge it.

They had sat for hours, anxiously waiting for word on their friend’s condition. They had only sporadic news from one of the nurses who would occasionally emerge from the operating theater, and that was vague at best. Finally they learned that the prolonged delay was due to the difficulties the doctors faced in repairing her excised horn. Besides that, however, they still had no notion of exactly what had befallen their friend and their impatience to know began to gnaw at them. When Princess Celestia finally arrived at the hospital several hours after Twilight was first admitted she was immediately mobbed by indignant questions.

“Princess, jus’ what the hay happened to Twi?” demanded Applejack.

“Yeah, this is totally uncool, leaving us in the dark like this!” exclaimed an indignant Rainbow Dash.

As the mares’ voices rose in accusation and force, Celestia was finally forced to powerfully flare her wings, silencing the queries.

“Please, my little ponies. I cannot tell you what happened to Twilight if I cannot get a word in edgewise.”

Faces recalcitrant and repentant, the five young mares settled themselves quietly so that Celestia could continue.

“Girls, there were a lot of factors that lead up to this tragedy. But the short version is this; she was kidnapped by a group of ponies who wanted to see my reign ended. They hoped to force me to abdicate by harming those I am closest to, and they decided to start with my student. They intended me to think her killed in the explosion. They did not anticipate that my intelligence service would be able to pinpoint them so easily. Only this morning I lead the Guard in rescuing her. Once I stabilized her condition I had her brought here for treatment.”

Celestia fell quiet, her expression inviting comment.

“Well, if ya don’t mind me askin’, Princess, why did they keep Twi alive if they wanted ya to think she was dead?” Applejack asked.

A grimace appeared on Celestia face before she answered, “As far as I can tell, they kept her alive solely so they could amuse themselves by torturing her.”

Shocked silence descended. It was not surprising that brash Rainbow Dash was the first to recover her voice. “Will she be ok?” she asked, an abnormal tremor in her voice.

“She was hurt badly and lost a lot of blood, but I was able to use my magic to heal the worst of the internal injuries. The doctors here should be able to handle the rest without too much difficulty.”

Rarity spoke up for the first time, asking the question heaviest on all their minds. “Princess, we couldn’t help but notice. What about her horn?”

Silence again. Celestia seemed to be gathering her words carefully.

“It . . . it doesn’t look promising. A unicorn’s horn won’t regrow naturally. Still, even if its broken it is usually possible for a another unicorn to regrow it with the proper spells. However, that requires that some remnant of the original horn still be intact, as the spell uses it as a template to rebuild the broken portion. The ones who did this to Twilight apparently knew this; they made certain to remove it entirely, even the portion that is fused to the skull and not just what is normally visible protruding from the head. The doctors are doing their best, but I’m afraid there is little hope of her ever regaining her magic.”

More silence, this time as the bearers of the Elements of Harmony tried to come to terms with a Twilight Sparkle who had no magic. The implications were . . . disturbing.

“But . . . but Twilight is the Element of Magic. Its what she is. She’s dedicated her life to studying magic; being your student is the most important thing ever to her. Without that what does she have left?” Fluttershy exclaimed, hysteria slowing becoming more evident in her words. “What does – “

“She has us.” All heads swiveled to face Rainbow Dash, surprised by her sudden curt outburst. Slowly her fellow Element-Bearers nodded assent.

Celestia smiled beatifically at Dash’s out-of-character sentiment, knowing it was mirrored in all their hearts.
“Fluttershy is right. Losing her magic will be very hard on Twilight. It will not be something she recovers from quickly. It will cause her pain we can scarcely comprehend. But Rainbow Dash is also right. She has us; those who love her will be there for her. We will be there for her in what will likely be the darkest hour of her life. Right, girls?” Celestia said, a hint of challenge underscoring her question.

She was heartened by the solemn nods of agreement that answered her, reassured by the fire that reflected itself in the gazes of Twilight’s young friends.

“This won’t be easy. But somehow, we’ll pull her through.” Celestia looked like she might have said more but at that moment the doors of the surgical room banged open and an exhausted-looking doctor hurried towards them with obvious purpose.

* * *

An uncomfortable silence filled a single room of Ponyville hospital, five mares keeping vigil over the unmoving form of their lavender friend. White sheets rose and fell with the rhythm of Twilight Sparkle’s slow breaths. Those sheets concealed a hellish pattern of bandages and sutures that covered most of her body, the lingering reminder of heartless cruelty. They at least would heal in time. The most gruesome by far, though, was the ugly, puckered suture line that marked the monstrous destruction of a unicorn’s identity.

The mood was somber, expectant. Celestia had returned to Canterlot to oversee the cleanup following the rescue mission and to break the news, good and bad, to Twilight’s parents. She had left Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity with orders not to leave their unfortunate friend’s side. She had received no objection as they settled down as comfortably as possible in the cramped confines of a hospital room.

Hours passed, interrupted only by the nurses making their rounds and the constant undertone of beeping machinery that monitored vital functions. As the day wore on and night fell each pony fell into light dozes of their own, taking refuge from recent horrors in their dreams. Sometime in the middle of the night, however, sleeping ears registered the faint sound of a strangled sob. Awakened immediately, five mares gathered hesitantly around the hospital bed to see that Twilight had awakened and, as predicted, was in desperate need of her friends. Without hesitation her surrounding friends jointly embraced the recently non-magical unicorn. Twilight buried her head in the mane of Fluttershy, who was closest, and cried her heartache out.

Gently stroking her mane like one does a frightened filly, Fluttershy quietly cooed words of comfort into Twilight’s ear, supported by the buoying presence of her friends.

“Don’t worry, Twilight. You have us. You’ll always have us,” Fluttershy whispered.

Looking up with haunted eyes, Twilight asked brokenly, “D-do you p-promise?”

Taken aback by such a question, Fluttershy answered without hesitation, “Of course I do.” Sensing their cue, the others followed suit.

“You know it, Twilight. I’m not Loyalty for nothing!”

“Consider it a Pinkie Promise.”

“As if ya even needed to ask, sugarcube.”

“Darling, as if there could ever be any doubt.”

Tears still in her eyes, Twilight continued, desperation clear in her voice. “Even without magic? Without it I’m useless. I can’t do anything else; I still remember my first Winter Wrap Up! And what about the Princess? Without magic I can’t be her student anymore. I’m not anything anymore; what good is an Element of Magic who can’t use magic at all? What use could anyone have for me –“

“Now you stop that right now, sugarcube! We ain’t your friends ‘cause of your magic, its because we like you for who you are. Magic or no magic, you’re still Twilight Sparkle. Our best friend and Celestia’s most faithful student. There ain’t no one gonna turn their backs on you because you can’t do magic anymore.”

“But Applejack, what about-“ Twilight weakly objected.

“No “buts”. Ain’t no one gonna love you less, ain’t no one gonna need you less. I want you to believe what I’m sayin’, cause it’s the honest truth.

Wordless, Twilight embraced the farm mare, managing only a weak “thank you.”

“Don’t worry Twilight. We’ve been there for you since the day we first met. And we always will be,” Applejack replied, trying to put all her support and love for her friend into those words. Apparently she succeeded, as Twilight soon fell back into a more restful sleep.

Freeing themselves from their mutual embrace, gently enough to not disturb the slumbering unicorn, her friends took up their vigil once more. Each of them knew this was only the beginning of a new road, paved in sorrow, that their friend must walk. But each resolved, in their own way, in the depths of their own hearts and minds,

She will not walk alone.

Chapter 8

The comfortable warmth of the sun shone down on Twilight Sparkle, lounging on the verdant grass along a clear, cold stream that ran near Fluttershy’s cottage. Her gaze focused on nothing in particular as an observer might have mistaken her lack of movement for sleep. The unicorn was anything but lazing, however; behind closed eyelids her mind focused with a nearly implacable will bearing down on the first things she had learned as a filly under Princess Celestia’s tutelage. Outer tranquility belied an inner maelstrom as she fought to hold at bay mounting frustration and despair at her inability to make even the simplest spells or magical exercises work.

Alright, I’ve found my center and grounded. I can sense the power flowing in and around me. I can reach out and take that power. Now all I need to do is shape it . . .

A lavender shimmer faintly rose from her form, hanging in the air like a haze on a sultry day. Barely perceptible at first, it gradually solidified and became an unmistakable aura.

Ok, now gently release the spell so it takes effect . . .

A sudden shimmer cascaded through the aura, ripples distorting its translucence as its form wavered. Sweat beaded Twilight’s forehead as she exerted her mind to its limit to hold the spell intact, but with a sudden sound like a distant discordant bell the aura shattered into a thousand ethereal shards that faded away into nothingness before they struck the ground.
A deep growl emanated from the still supine unicorn, a hateful scowl distorting her face as her hoof pummeled the ground beside her in a futile bid to vent her annoyance on something. Breathing heavily, Twilight forced her mind to clear itself of her emotions.

Again.

“It was mighty nice of ya to volunteer to help me out, Twi,” a basket-laden Applejack grunted to her companion, who was presently bearing her own significantly lighter load of fruit upon her back.

“Don’t mention it, Applejack. I didn’t have anything to do today and you needed help.”

How long has it been since I even opened a book on magic? What would be the point, anyway?

“Well, that may be, but I’m still grateful, sugarcube.”

Applejack’s back was turned, so she missed the momentary flicker of black anger that crossed Twilight’s face.

Yeah, I’m sure. Grateful for a useless unicorn who can’t do a tenth of your workload.

Twilight forced the thought aside, channeling the surge of anger into trying for the millionth time to levitate a single apple.

“Are you sure you want me to help you around the shop, Rarity? I’m hopeless at sewing and I’m not much of a businesspony,” an uncertain Twilight asked her glamorous friend. Rarity, as always, made a display of merely turning her head from her present occupation at the sewing table to gaze at Twilight. Her mane moved with a will of its own, defying gravity to remain in just the perfect position, and Twilight would swear that her coat reflected light with the sole intention of highlighting her beauty and elegance.

“Darling, I don’t need that much help with the dressmaking. I really need someone to deal with the customers while I finish this order. If Sweetie Belle can manage it with only one disaster per day I have utmost confidence in you to do a stellar job.”

Rarity’s attention returned to her seams, so she missed the rapidly hidden flash of sadness that briefly filled the lavender unicorn’s eyes.

So I can do a job a little filly could be trusted to perform . .
.
“But, are you sure you really want me to be the first thing your customers see? It’s only been a few weeks and my coat hasn’t properly grown back yet. There are still discolored spots and some of my scars are still visible. I’m not exactly the spitting image of elegance and grace.”

Rarity gasped, outrage clear in her voice. “Twilight Sparkle! I of all ponies know that beauty isn’t defined by simple appearance.” She huffed indignantly, and then continued, “Besides, if one of my customers was so dreadfully shallow as to be offended by one of my best friends, I wouldn’t want their business anyway.”

The seamstress turned back to her work with a finality that hinted she was done with the topic.

Sighing, Twilight made her way to the front counter to wait for a customer to make her feel useful. She cast her gaze around for something small and unimportant to practice telekinesis on. She settled on a single piece of paper. With a backward glance to make sure Rarity was preoccupied, she focused her own attention on an act of magic so insignificant a foal could have managed it but that still eluded her.

Dark had long since fallen, lulling the animal inhabitants in and around Fluttershy’s cottage into their own slumber but sleep eluded a certain unicorn. Twilight’s repose on her borrowed bed was anything but restful; her open eyes glinted slightly in the gentle moonlight. Her mind was as restless as all the rest of her. She kept guiltily returning to the fact that she hadn’t written a single letter or report to Celestia in weeks,

I haven’t even seen the Princess since just after they discharged me from the hospital. I haven’t seen her since she brought my parents to see me.

She choked back the unbidden memory of her parent’s fawning over her, making meaning platitudes about losing her magic not being the end of the world.

No, she thought bitterly. It’s not the end of the world. Just the end of my world.

Shoving that thought aside, she tried to seek refuge in memories of a thousand happy days and nights spent in study, absorbed in some book or experiment.

Wasted, all of it. What good is being an expert on magic if I can’t even do magic at all?

Exasperated by her own inability to find comfort in those recollections she tried another approach. She filled her mind with other memories, of a regal alicorn with a caring smile and a kind word ever at hoof.

She hasn’t even laid eyes on you in weeks and you know why. She’s probably already looking for another student. You’re no good to yourself or anypony else anymore so why would she keep you around?

Moaning in annoyance, Twilight rolled over on her side, squeezing shut her eyes against the thought of another pony taking her place. The thought that she could be replaced hurt more than almost anything else.

What good am I anymore?

Twilight rather enjoyed the silence that had settled into Fluttershy’s cottage. With the resident caretaker expecting to be out all day tending to her animal charges Twilight had resigned herself to another solitary day of moping; it seemed like all she could do lately was dwell on the same vicious cycle of thoughts. With her magic gone her sense of worth and purpose had plummeted like a stricken pegasi; despite the best efforts of her friends to make her feel wanted and useful she couldn’t help but feel thoroughly valueless to everypony.

Come on, you foal. Letting yourself drown in self-pity isn’t going to fix anything.

She made a valiant effort to marshal herself to a more productive state of mind, forcing a smile to stretch across her muzzle in a bid to invoke the power of positive thinking. The smile faltered almost immediately, as she recalled all too clearly that she still had nothing to do with her time. The very same time she had once been zealous in managing and organizing around the constant round of duties and chores she undertook to help anypony who asked for her aid. But now she had nothing to do. She had no magic texts to peruse, no reports to the Princess to write, no one to help with some problem or task. She had no library to supervise. With Spike still in the hospital she didn’t even have a baby dragon to take care of.

I don’t even have –

Twilight’s increasingly morose thoughts were interrupted by an inappropriately loud series of knocks at the door, followed almost immediately by a familiar boisterous voice calling out, “Hello! Anypony home?”

Instinctively trying to reach out with her magic to open the door, Twilight heaved a sigh when she realized what she was doing. Slipping off the couch she had been reclining on the unicorn made her way to the entryway, swinging it open to reveal, as expected, a polychromatic pegasus with a small hardback book partially tucked under one wing. Despite herself, Twilight felt a surge of honest amusement to see her athletic friend both still hopelessly addicted to reading and ashamed to reveal that fact lest her reputation be softened.

“Rainbow! What are you doing here? Don’t you have weather duty or the Wonderbolts to be training for?”

“Nah. I cleared the sky in twelve seconds flat today. And I’ve been training a lot so I figured I’d give it a rest.”

“Twelve seconds flat? Don’t tell me you’re starting to slow down in your old age?”

Beginning to bristle at the rebuttal, Rainbow settled down when she saw the mirth in her friend’s countenance and decided to offer one of her own.

“I was just trying to be humble. Gotta give other ponies a chance, ya know.”

Chuckling, Twilight drew back from the door to gesture Rainbow inside the cottage. Smirking, she indicated the partly concealed book with a forehoof. “Let me guess; the newest Daring Do came out today, didn’t it?”

“It sure did! And it's gonna be so awesome!” the pegasus replied with more than a hint of a fangirlish squee, before she remembered how cool she was. She self-consciously cleared her throat and pitched her voice a little deeper before replying, “Not that I’ve been waiting for it or anything. I happened to see it on sale in Ponyville and decided to pick it up.”

Still with a knowing smile on her face, Twilight settled back onto her couch. Without hesitation Rainbow Dash threw herself onto the nearest available chair, deftly twisting around so her feet and head protruded over opposite armrests.

“I was kinda hoping you’d let me hang out here today and read. I mean, I know you like reading and I figured you wouldn’t mind a little company. Especially company as cool as me,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Of course I don’t mind. I’m always grateful for a chance to spend time with my friends. And its not often I get to simultaneously indulge my passion for reading and have good company too.”

Rainbow Dash merely nodded assent, already turning pages in her new prize.

In response, Twilight reached beside the couch and pulled out her current reading material. She flushed a little guiltily at the notion of her, the studious, intellectual, reasonable pony she was, reading an old Doctor Whooves novel based on one of the laughably outdated but still fun episodes from long before she was even born. Still, she had been a fan of the Doctor since she was a filly and had been surprised and pleased to learn that Fluttershy shared her passion and had a nearly complete collection of episodes and novels. It had given her something to keep her mind occupied.

Cracking the cover gently, she buried her eyes in the novelized form of one of her favorite episodes, The Keys of Mareinus. As much as she expected to be drawn into the world of the Doctor and his companions, Twilight was increasingly annoyed to find that she couldn’t focus on her story at all. Her attention kept drifting off the reclining form of Rainbow Dash; every time the pegasus turned a page or shifted slightly in her seat her own attention was promptly diverted. After nearly the dozenth time Twilight realized her eyes had once again settled on her friend she forcefully closed her eyelids, intending to sort out this nonsense inside her own mind.

As she went through the basic magical exercises of controlling her thoughts and emptying her mind, she was at first confused then mountingly irritated to discover her subconscious seemed to have developed a fixation with a certain speedy, rainbow-hued pony. She delved deeper into her own inner thoughts, amidst a whirling maelstrom of mental images that defined her subconscious processes. As expected there were scenes related to her trauma and recovery, as well as a great number of instances of her friends, either singly or in groups. But Rainbow Dash appeared more frequently than any of them.

What the hay is wrong with me? Dash is my friend; I would expect to see her in my thoughts, but this is ridiculous!

Curiosity and indignation now fully aroused, Twilight began actively hunting through her thoughts and mental processes for any hint as to her sudden interest in her friend.

Delving deeper into the strata of her psyche, Twilight examined half-forgotten memories of recent days. It slowly dawned on her just how much Rainbow Dash had occupied her thoughts of late. Not in large increments; no, she would have noticed that much sooner. Instead the blue pegasus had crept into her thoughts slowly, in small but undeniable increments.
Every time she had felt alone, she had recalled how the Element of Loyalty always stuck by her friends through thick and thin. Every time she felt discouraged by the impossible task of learning to live without magic she remembered Rainbow’s determination and resolve, practicing for the Wonderbolts for hours each day. As recently as last night, when she had awoken in the grip of a nightmare, she had drawn the image of Dash over her like a blanket, at the same wondering idly what it would feel like to draw the real Dash over top of her . . .

Twilight’s violet eyes snapped open, a red tint rushing to her cheeks in a tangible sign of her acute embarrassment.

Why would I think something like that? I’ve known Rainbow Dash for a long time. Surely if I had . . . feelings . . . for her I would have noticed before now. I mean, you don’t just realize one day that you’ve got a crush on one of your best friends, do you?

Nothing immediately offered an answer to her silent query, so she continued to turn her own thoughts and realizations over and over in her mind. Instead of finding clarity, she only grew more confused by the minute. Having the object of her uncomfortableness so near wasn’t helping anything. Dismissing her annoyance, she returned to the most essential question at hoof.

Surely I would have noticed by now if I really felt like this for somepony? I mean, that’s not the sort of thing that you miss.

But was it really? It had taken the return of an ancient evil threat to all Equestria to draw her out of her shell enough to make some friends in the first place. And anyways, she had always been so focused either on her studies or helping somepony or dealing with some new friendship crisis. She had hardly left time in her busy schedule for more-than-friendship. She just hadn’t considered it.

But I guess my subconscious has been thinking about it. And now that I’ve got literal tons of free time on my hooves I finally noticed it. Oh Celestia, what am I going to do?

Rising levels of confusion and fear clawed at her throat, shortening her breath. It settled into her stomach with iron finality. Twilight swallowed nervously, glancing aside at the unperturbed Rainbow Dash. Making a sudden decision, she heaved to her feet. This at least broke the enthralled pegasus’ focus, leading her to glance up quizzically and ask, “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I’m just going to the kitchen for a minute,” Twilight replied with what she hoped was well-hidden terseness.

“Oh. Cool,” Dash replied as the book’s spell once again captured her.

Twilight plodded into the kitchen, where she proceeded to rest her head between her hooves as she leaned bodily against the countertop. She throttled back a moan; she didn’t dare vocalize her discomfort with Rainbow so nearby.

* * *

Something was wrong. Rainbow Dash glanced towards the silent kitchen yet another time. Twilight had been in there longer than anypony could possibly need to be, especially in the middle of the day. That, and there was a conspicuous lack of noise that would indicate the preparation of any kind of snack or beverage.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she laid her copy of Daring Do’s newest escapade aside before hoisting herself out of her reclining position. Carelessly flaring her wings to stretch stiffened muscles, Dash strode confidently towards the kitchen. That confidence left her, however, as she entered the sunlit room. It would make for a cheery tableau, if it weren’t for the lavender unicorn with her head in her hooves in an obvious position of misery.

Judging by the lack of reaction, Twilight must not have heard her. Rainbow drew near and laid a tentative hoof on her friend’s shoulder. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she hadn’t been prepared for Twilight to flinch as if she had been struck and draw violently away from her innocuous touch, turning haunted eyes up to her.

As brash and insensitive a pony as Rainbow was, even she could see that something was badly troubling the unicorn who had become one of her best friends. She put on her best expression of caring and asked, as gently as she could, “What’s wrong, Twilight? You can tell me.”

When Twilight remained oddly silent, Rainbow Dash wracked her brains for something suitable to say. Not surprisingly, she hit upon something Twilight herself had once told her.

“Twilight Sparkle, you don’t have to hide your feelings from me.”

* * *

Twilight had lost track of just how long she had been in Fluttershy’s kitchen. It didn’t really matter, seeing as how she hadn’t found any resolution to her conflicted feelings.

This is preposterous. It doesn’t make any sense. Pinke Pie is more logical than this!

. . .

What am I gonna do? I can’t just tell Dash. Who knows what that could do to our friendship? But I can’t hide my feelings either. If nothing else, Applejack will see that I’m hiding something and she won’t let it rest till she finds out what it is.

A gentle hoof touched her shoulder. Panic leapt through her veins like lightening as she twisted around, dislodging the unexpected contact. She found herself staring into Rainbow Dash’s rose-colored eyes.
The pegasus’ face softened into one more caring than Twilight would have though possible. She tried to say something innocent, but the thudding of her heart seemed to drown out any words her mind could assemble.

“What’s wrong, Twilight? You can tell me.”

Oh, if only I could be sure of that.

“Twilight Sparkle, you don’t have to hide your feelings from me.”

I . . . Rainbow Dash, I . . .

“I think I like you, Rainbow Dash.”

WHY DID I SAY THAT? Oh no, what have I done?

“Well, of course you like me. I’m too cool to not like, aren’t I?”

Twilight only buried her face in her hooves again, shielding her eyes from the chromatic pony who had been the object of her Freudian slip. She was too ashamed to meet Dash’s gaze, too afraid of what she might see there.

Twilight’s behavior and what she had actually said finally conjoined somewhere in Rainbow’s brain, sparking a thought out of her usually insensitive grey matter.

Awkwardly, Rainbow Dash tried to stop herself from taking an involuntary step back.

“H-hey, Twilight, by ‘like me’ you didn’t mean, ya know, that you, um, ‘like me’ like me, right?” she asked with a forced grin on her face, desperately trying to make light of an uncomfortable situation.

When the purple unicorn didn’t respond, Dash carefully nudged her. That got her to look up, and the threatening tears around her lavender eyes and warring hope and fear written in them told the pegasus all she needed to know.

Overwhelmed by feelings she couldn’t begin to describe, Rainbow Dash backed away from her friend. Too many warring thoughts circled in her head. All she could think of was the clean simplicity of the sky, the elegant aesthetics of the clouds under her wings. Simple things, things she understood. Things that didn’t startle her or confront her with an impossible rush of emotions she couldn’t hope to sort out.

“I . . . I gotta go.”

“No, Rainbow Dash, wait!”

Rainbow shuddered to hear the desperation in Twilight’s voice, calling her back. She didn’t stop, though. She risked a final backwards glance, to the now openly weeping unicorn, forelegs outstretched, imploring her to wait, to understand.

“Please, Rainbow, I didn’t mean it! Don’t run away!”

She didn’t heed. Flinging open the door to the little cottage, she flared her wings and was gone in a surge of color. Even as the world faded into an indistinguishable blur below her, she couldn’t get the image of a sobbing, pleading Twilight out of her mind. She kept flying, and hated herself for doing it.

Chapter 9

Even though Celestia lay at ease on the most comfortable silks ponykind could craft, her mind was anything but at rest. These last weeks many things had weighed heavily on her mind, distracting her from the daily routines of rulership. Fortunately, millennia of practice enabled her to handle most situations with barely any need to engage with them. She had hoped, and was largely proven correct, that any distraction on her part would be interpreted as regal aloofness. Only those closest to her could have detected her unease; those like Luna or Twilight Sparkle.

She grimaced at the thought of her unfortunate student. Even though the prodigious unicorn couldn’t suspect any such thing, she had given Celestia a fair number of sleepless nights and bothersome monologues of late. The alicorn sighed and closed her eyes, figuring the darkness of her eyelids would be a better backdrop for her melancholic thoughts than the gratingly cheerful décor of her personal chambers. The moon tonight waxed full, she reflected. Legends said that a full moon revealed secrets and granted clarity and wisdom. If that was the case, why did everything seem painted in varying shades of murkiness?

In the skies bordering Ponyville an unassuming cloud was playing host to a prostrate pegasus with a many-colored mane. This was itself not unusual; no resident of the little town would be surprised to see a cloud with a bit of technicolor tail trailing from it. What was unusual was the modest puddle of moisture that pooled on the surface of that cloud, softly being added to by the wavering magenta eyes that gazed downwards, locked onto the reflection of the distant stars mirrored in the liquid surface. Try as she might to goad her mind onto another topic, her memory presented only the crystal-clear image of Twilight, pleading for her to stay, desperation writ clear in every inch of her. And the memory of how she had turned her back and fled.

On the hard wooden floor of Fluttershy’s cottage, a purple unicorn lay heedless of the discomfort of her body. With her head buried between forelegs , she clenched her eyes futilely against the burning tide of tears that cascaded forth to saturate her coat.
“What else did you expect, you enormous idiot?” the sobbing mare asked herself aloud, around what might have been a strangled laugh. “The egghead and the athlete; that only happens in sappy books. I should have known better.”

“Sister mine, art thou well?” inquired a voice from the gilded doorway to Celestia quarters.

Startled, the Princess of the Sun raised her head to acknowledge her sister and fellow Princess, Luna. “Yes, Luna, I am fine. I am merely . . . worried.”

“Perhaps thou shouldst confide thine worries in me. Mayhaps I can offer insight to ease thee.”

“Oh Luna, its about Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia admitted uneasily.

“I had expected little else to weigh so gravely on thine mind. Pray tell, what is the reason for your distress? Didst thou not save her from torment and certain death? Didst thou not reunite her with her beloved comrades? Didst thou not free her from a living nightmare? Sister, I fail to understand thine actions. You call her thine daughter-in-spirit. You saved her life and visited recompense to her captors. But now you avoid her. Why?”

“I didn’t save her, Luna. Not really. She’s a broken mare because of me. I saved her life, but not what she lived for. I saved her from torture only to live a fresh hell of having the core of her being stripped from her.”

Celestia’s voice had risen in volume an venom as she continued.

“Sister –“

Luna was interrupted by Celestia’s voice, now dripping self-condemnation. “Every bit of this Is my cursed fault. Twilight was targeted because of her closeness to me. She lost her magic and was horribly mutilated because I didn’t find her fast enough. She’s lost everything because of me. How dare I call myself her teacher? How dare I think of myself as a mother to her? I have no right to –“

“SISTER!” Luna exclaimed, the effects of the Royal Canterlot Voice breaking Celestia’s self-disparaging tirade. “Listen well, sister; thou couldst not have known this tragedy would unfold. Thou hast no right to hold thyself accountable. Thou didst everything in thine power to save her. Thou hast taught and instructed her for nearly her entire life and she regards you in the highest station. That entitles thou to call thyself her teacher. More importantly, you regard her as thine beloved daughter, and I believe she returns thine affection in full. This entitles thee to think of thyself as her mother-in-sprit.”

“Rainbow Dash, y’all better come down from that there cloud!” an extremely irritated Applejack called up to Rainbow Dash, whose cyan foreleg and bit of mane was all she could see protruding from the edge of a small cloud hovering oddly low in the sky.

When she received no answer, the earth pony’s face settled into a stern mask.

“Dash! Ah jus’ came from Fluttershy’s cottage. Ah know all about what happened between you and Twilight.”

The pegasus reluctantly peered over her sanctuary and called down, “AJ, I don’t really feel like talking right now.”

“Ya ain’t getting’ off that easy, Rainbow. Ya messed up poor Twilight something fierce. The least ya owe her is an apology and an explanation.”

Rainbow Dash flinched at the disappointment she heard in her friend’s voice, but it paled compared to how disappointed she was in herself.

Some Element of Loyalty, Dash.

Applejack sighed loudly. “Look, RD, I know it was probably real awkward and all and I know you ain’t the best at dealing with emotions and stuff. But still, ya could’a found a better way to let her down than running away. A simple ‘Sorry, Twi, I ain’t interested’ would’a done the job just fine.”

The pegasus muttered something to herself, its details carried away on the night breeze.

Applejack’s ears swiveled in an attempt to hear. “Come again, sugarcube? I didn’t quite catch that.”

Sighing in exasperation, Rainbow took to her wings and glided gently to a halt directly in front of the farmer pony.

“I said, I’m not sure I’m not interested.”

“So then, ya are interested in Twilight?”

Rainbow’s mane caught the shimmering reflection of moonlight as she hesitantly nodded assent.

“Then why’d you run away from her?” the orange coated mare demanded, baffled.

“Dammit, AJ, its complicated,” Rainbow Dash replied, irritated.

Stomping a hoof in annoyance, Applejack retorted, “Then make me understand, sugarcube.”

Heaving a sigh, Rainbow reluctantly set herself to the unfamiliar chore of expressing her feelings. “I dunno, AJ. Its just that I’m tired of being alone all the time. Sure, I have you girls as the best friends anypony could ask for, but that doesn’t keep me from feeling left out sometimes. At least ponies hit on you girls sometimes; nopony ever bothers with me. I kinda thought Twilight would understand that, being as she spent so long without friends before she met us. Plus she loves reading, just like I do, even if I wouldn’t ever admit it. I kinda thought for a while that I might at least try to see if Twilight would be willing to try being marefriends.”

“Ah don’t get it. If ya felt that way, why’d ya run when Twilight came on to ya?”

Rainbow Dash facehoofed. “Ugh, AJ, have you even seen Twilight recently? How badly she’s messed up? I might be an insensitive jerk sometimes, but I’m not gonna take advantage of one of my best friends when she may not even know what she wants for herself. I ran away because I wanted to accept Twilight, then and there. But I also wanted to make sure this was really her talking, not all the crap she’s been through. I couldn’t decide what to do; I didn’t want to say yes or no. Most of all, I just didn’t want to hurt her.”

Dash lifted her eyes to meet Applejack’s, silently asking her judgment.

“Dash, that’s the most darn foalish thing I ever heard.”

“What’ya mean, ‘foalish’? I’m having a crisis of conscience over here! It’s seriously not cool and now you’re gonna insult me?”

“Ah ain’t insultin’ ya. That’d be no way to treat a friend in this situation. I told ya the honest truth and if y’all would use that rainbow head of yours for something other than looking pretty when ya fly, you’d realize it.”

Dash narrowed her gaze and glared at the mare standing before her, searching for any trace of sarcasm or deception. Finding none, she suspiciously asked, “What the hay are you talking about?”

“Dash, our Twi ain’t the sort to do things half-way or without a reason. She makes checklists of her checklists, for Celestia’s sake! Did ya ever think that maybe the reason she started this now is ‘cause she’s feeling a mite lonely or unwanted herself? Maybe, with everything that’s happened to her, she’s had a chance to think about what she really wants? Maybe she wants you, though Celestia alone knows why.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” an indignant Rainbow Dash replied.

A quiet knock at the door roused Fluttershy from her light doze on the couch. Raising her head to ascertain the source of her awakening, her ears caught the repetition of hoof on wood. Getting onto her hooves with a glance towards the upstairs bedroom where she presumed Twilight was still asleep, she walked delicately to the door, carefully stepping around a myriad of sleeping creatures. Pushing open the entryway, she was surprised to see a serious-looking Rainbow Dash.

“Is Twilight still here? I wanna see her,” the cyan pegasus whispered to her yellow-coated friend.

“Oh, I’m not sure that’s a good idea right now. Maybe you could come back, um, if you don’t mind.”

Ignoring the unassertive protests, Rainbow pushed her way into the cottage, arrowing straight for the staircase. Trotting noisily up the wooden steps, she pushed open the door to the spare bedroom. She stood in the door frame, trying to see a certain lavender unicorn through the late-night gloom cast by the closed curtains and extinguished candle on the bedside table.

“Twilight? Are you awake?” she called tentatively into the darkness. Silence greeted her.

By now her eyes had adjusted enough to perceive the unicorn’s form, huddled in a miserable pile in the middle of the bed, facing away from the door and the pegasus. Her ears caught the faint sound of breathing, ignoring the sound of Fluttershy nervously shifting from hoof to hoof behind her.

Gingerly she crossed the intervening floor space and let herself onto the bed, laying a trepid hoof on the other mare’s back. When she felt the unicorn’s pained flinch away from her, Rainbow Dash violently suppressed the urge to take her other hoof and hit herself in the face.

Swallowing a sudden surge of misgivings, Rainbow Dash launched into her prepared speech that she had spent all of ten minutes on while walking here from her cloud.

“Twilight, I’m really sorry I ran away from you like that. I didn’t want to hurt you, but what you said really confused me and I didn’t know what to think –“

“Oh Rainbow, I’m so sorry! I don’t know why I even said that to you; I know you don’t feel the same way about me,” Twilight looked up with the most heartrending expression Dash had ever seen, sending a flare of pain right to her own heart, “but please say you’re still my friend. Please, please don’t hate me.”

So much for planned speeches. Improvised Routine: Fix Broken Heart. Go.

“Of course I’m still you’re friend, Twi. I’m the Element of Loyalty, aren’t I? And maybe . . . maybe I could be more, if you wanted.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better . . .”

“No! No, I’m not. I freaked out when you let that slip before because I didn’t know if you were being serious or if it was just everything you’ve been through making you say things you didn’t really mean. Honestly, I sorta wanted to ask you out a long time ago but I didn’t think you’d go for it. Then everything happened and I didn’t think it was a good time to bring it up. Then you made your little Freudian slip and dragged everything out in the open. I didn't know how to handle it so I bolted. I didn't even think about how that would make you feel. I wasn't upset of anything, just confused.”

Twilight looked up and locked her eyes with Rainbow’s. Her gaze was earnest, no trace of falsehood to be found.
“Do you really mean all that?” she asked, hope and doubt warring in her mind.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath before replying, trying to imbue her words with as much sincerity as she could. “I’m no AJ, but I couldn’t lie to you. I’m not good at all this sappy stuff and I’ve never been with anypony before so I can’t really promise anything. But I’m willing to see if this could work. I’m willing to try. For you; for one of my best friends.”

“Rainbow, I don't know what to say . . .”

Settling her cyan form into a mirror image of Twilight’s position, she reached out with her forelegs and suddenly pulled herself nearer to the lavender unicorn, their sides touching and the short fur of Twilight’s coat a gentle tickle against her wings. A glance backwards confirmed that Fluttershy had taken her leave.

“Erm, Dash, are you sure –“ the purple mare began.

“Shush, Twi. After all this did you think I was just going to leave you alone?”

In response, Twilight rested her head on Dash’s shoulder, the unfamiliar warmth sending waves of something undefinable through the pegasus’ body. Softly nuzzling her bedmate’s cheek, she pulled the single blanket over them both, careful to make sure it covered the pair of them.

Moments passed in comfortable silence, broken only by the rhythms of breath and heartbeat.

“I said I couldn’t promise you anything, Twilight, but I was wrong. I promise that no matter what happens or how this works out, I will always be your loyal friend. I’ll always be there for you. You don’t deserve anything less.”

The only response was the gentle touch of Twilight’s exhaled breath passing over her fur, a small smile gracing her somnic countenance. Rainbow herself only smiled and lay her head down beside her new more-than-friend's.

Dawn had long since risen over the rooftops of Ponyville, sending its residents hurrying about their day. The early morning light beamed down on a yellow pegasus, already hard at work amongst the various animal habitats that surrounded her cottage home. Idly humming a soft tune to herself, her peaceful routine was interrupted by the sudden sensation of not being alone. She turned around to gaze behind her, expecting one or both of her houseguests, the pegasus and the unicorn.

Instead, she let out an audible squeak and fell back on her hindquarters, eyes widened and throat choked by the unexpected sight of the ruler of Equestria.

“P-princess Celestia! Um, its an honor to see you again. I-is there anything I can do for you?” she managed to utter, between her mounting panic.

“Eep . . .” she managed to croak before curling in on herself, trying to disappear into thin air away from the Princess' gaze.

“Now Fluttershy, there's no need to be so frightened. Its a lovely day and I had wanted to pay a visit to my faithful student, that's all. Is she still staying at your cottage?”

The stricken pegasus managed to nod her head in agreement before pointing towards her small cottage with a forehoof and adding “I'm sure she's still in her room.”

The regal alicorn inclined her head in gratitude, the sunlight playing through her ethereal mane and reflecting from her golden tokens of rank.

“Thank you very much. I'll just go and talk to her now.”

As the monarch turned to take her leave the nervous Fluttershy belatedly dropped into the best curtsey she could manage before turning her attention back to the task before her hooves. Several moments passed before her eyes widened again, this time in sudden realization; yes, Twilight was still in her room. But so was somepony else.

Princess Celestia climbed the stairs to her pupil's borrowed bedroom. She paused outside the doorway; the sight of the resting purple unicorn filled her with conflicting emotions. She was still convinced that she was at least partially guilty for her protege's suffering. She ached to think that her fondness for the little filly she had practically adopted had given rise to the young mare's downfall. On the other hoof, she didn't want to avoid her guilt by avoiding Twilight. She had spent weeks avoiding Ponyville and its resident librarian. Now that Luna had called her out on her behavior, she realized all too well that her avoidance had likely only deepened her student's unhappiness.

Well, that ended today.

“Twilight, are you awake?” she called into the room.

The lavender unicorn stirred sleepily before raising her head to look for the source of the noise. When her eyes lit upon her mentor a deep blush flared across her face as she gingerly lifted a foreleg away from a blanket-covered mound Celestia assumed to be a pillow.

“Yes, Princess, I am,” Twilight replied, oddly quiet.

“Why on earth are you whispering? Its the middle of the -” Celestia's normal-volume reply was cut off as the presumed pillow at Twilight's side stirred, a rainbow-maned head burrowing out from the confines of the voluminous covers. The blue pegasus stretched her legs and wings out, splayed to their fullest extent as all her muscles shuddered their way to wakefulness. Turning over to face the doorway, she paused with one wing beginning to envelop Twilight in an unmistakably possessive gesture. “Who are you talking to?” She finally caught sight of the bemused alicorn standing in the doorway, and a blush to match her companion's spread across her own face as she retracted her wing, grinning sheepishly. “Oh, hi Princess. Hehe.”

“Good morning, Rainbow. Twilight, I must say; this is one situation I never expected to find you of all ponies in,” Celestia replied, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Uh, I can explain, Princess . . .” the deeply embarrassed unicorn to say.

“Don't worry, Twilight. I think I understand perfectly fine. I came here today because I've been neglecting you, and its quite unforgivable. I wanted to see how you were doing.” She smirked broadly. “But it seems like I've seen who you're doing, if you'll pardon the expression.”

Twilight only moaned inarticulately, burying her face in her hooves to hide her embarrassment amidst the braying laughter of Rainbow beside her and the gentler-toned laughter of Princess Celestia.

Epilogue

Ponyville Library
6 Months after Twilight's rescue

The bright sunlight of a clear summer day poured through the windows of Twilight's library, illuminating piles of scrolls and opened texts. The lavender mare herself sat in one of the numerous chairs pulled up to the table, her eyes transfixed on the reports in front of her. To a less-educated pony they would be gibberish; to her they told a comprehensive accounting of Equestria's status as a nation. She absent-mindedly pulled a hoof through her rose-streaked mane, disturbing a single blue feather unobtrusively braided amongst the strands, causing it to graze the side of her face. Feeling its presence, she sat back from her work to gaze into the cerulean expanse of the cloudless atmosphere. A smile slowly spread across her face as her thoughts turned to a certain weather pony.
She craned her neck behind her to call to her dragon assistant. “Spike! I need you to take a a letter for me.” The young dragon hurried to her side, quill poised above parchment.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I don't think I need to tell you that this has been the most difficult time of my life. After I lost my ability to use magic, I thought I had lost my reason to live. My wonderful friends did their best to make me feel useful, but it never really worked. I thought I had lost everything; I was certain that without my magic my friends and even you, Princess, would abandon me. I was convinced that without magic I had no purpose.

Fortunately, I no longer feel this way. Time has its own power to heal, and there has been time for me to come to understand that the magic of friendship is more powerful than that which I lost. My friends were never in danger of leaving me, no matter what I thought in the midst of my confusion. I lost my magic, but I still have everything else.

Since you named me your personal advisor and placed me in charge of Canterlot's libraries and archives, I've found my purpose again. I feel like I belong, like I contribute. With that in place, and my friends and my special somepony at my side, I don't truly feel like I lost anything. I have everything that's important to me right here.
Thank you, Princess, for giving me this second chance.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle.

P.S. - Rainbow says 'thank you' for the anniversary cupcakes.

Chapter 2

Sunlight filtered through the elegant stained-glass windows of the throne room to lay in pools around the regal form of the winged unicorn, the light of day mingling with the aurora of that being’s mane. The five young ponies gathered at the base of the dais were more than a little awestruck, for it was not everyday that one came into the presence of Princess Celestia, who had ruled in this land for more than a thousand years. Celestia smiled a little to herself, knowing their nervousness was also based in the fact that they had left their friend and her student, Twilight Sparkle, to recover from her recent illness and answer her summons. She rather hoped to resolve that sentiment shortly.

“Well, my young friends, I’m sure you are all wondering why I asked you to come all the way to Canterlot at a time like this, when you would rather be watching over Twilight in her illness,” she began, forcing the five out of their respective thoughts. “I promise I have an excellent reason for this request. I need your help with something important,” she continued.

“Important! What could be more important than being with our friend?” exclaimed the vibrant-hued Rainbow Dash, before abruptly falling silent, ashamed to have contradicted her ruler in her own throne room.

How appropriate, coming from the Element of Loyalty…

“Don’t worry, my task will not take you from her. Let me explain,” she said, gazing down into five sets of upturned eyes. “I have certainly not been remiss in visiting Twilight while she has been bedridden, but I fear we have all become so focused on nursing our dear friend that we have forgotten that her birthday draws near. I had wished to have her celebration here, at the castle, but I don’t think she will be up to traveling the distance by then.”

“Twilight’s birthday party! Is that what you need our help with? You came to the right pony for a party!” bubbled the exuberant Pinkie Pie.

Celestia inclined her head graciously, and continued. “You are correct. Given the circumstances, I think a small affair with her closest friends will be more to her liking and less taxing on her energy.”

“Something refined and quiet, I should think would be in order,” input the purple-maned and elegantly groomed mare seated with the rest, while a yellow-toned pegasus nodded shy assent.

“I’m glad you agree, Rarity and Fluttershy. With all that being said, perhaps we can get down to the matter of planning for our friend’s surprise,” said Celestia. “I was thinking that perhaps,” she continued, but the words died stillborn as the enormous doors to the throne room burst open and one of her royal guards hurried down the length of the hall, his steps hastened by the gaze of his monarch. He fell, trembling, to his knees at the base of the throne, prostrating himself.

Celestia’s heart grew cold in her, while the five ponies looked on in confusion, for she knew this atypical behavior could only herald news she did not want to hear. She forced as much warmth and reassurance into her voice as she could as she ordered him to report what troubled him so badly.

Visibly steeling himself, he met the princess’s gaze. “Its about your student, you Majesty. Twilight Sparkle. She’s dead.”