’I don’t like this. I don’t like it a’tal.’ Applejack thought as she looked towards the other escapees. Having managed to escape the city despite being spotted at the its edge, their escape left a sour taste in her mouth. She frowned as she and the others had pummeled one of Tyranny’s patrols before fleeing for the borders of the Crystal Empire. Having taken shelter in a rock outcropping—out of the wind—Applejack found herself glaring at the tower in the distance.
’Why didn’t Tyranny come after us? He kept us locked up for a reason, it don’t make sense for him to let us go.’
A frustrated groan escaped her. With no sign of Twilight or Princess Luna, Applejack felt her worry grow. She was by no means a simple mare, but trying to figure out Tyranny’s machinations was beginning to give her a headache; combined with her worry for Twilight, she was about ready to scream.
A sign blew past her nose before her gaze shifted to Fluttershy as the pegasus stood watching the Crystal Tower as well.
“Do you think Twilight is all right, Applejack?” she asked as the farm-mare approached.
Rubbing at her forelegs as a cold gust blew through, she replied, “I think so, Fluttershy. Twilight ain’t one to put herself in too many situations she can’t get out of.” Applejack winced, however, as she recalled a few times where Twilight had done exactly that.
Fluttershy shivered as she sat on her haunches. “That’s true, I suppose. It’s just that Tyranny is so scary and mean. I’m afraid what he might do if he captures her again.”
Applejack wrapped a foreleg around her delicate shoulders. “Don’t ya fret. Twilight’ll come back, and we’ll all find a way to stop him fer good.”
“Yeah, cheer up, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said as she hovered above them. “It doesn’t matter what he does, Tyranny’s going down hard.”
“Indeed, darling, that ruffian won’t stand a chance when we’re together. We will win the day,” Rarity added.
“Then it’ll be party time!” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced around them.
The five of them smiled and agreed to have one big party once everything was all said and done. The royal couple smiled at them and agreed to come after they liberated the Crystal Empire. Queen Chrysalis stood aside, watching them before scoffing and averting her gaze.
The sound of flapping wings had them whirling to face the source. Applejack scowled and tugged her hat lower as she expected winged dark ponies to come swooping down at them.
“Get ready, y’all,” she warned as the sound drew closer.
“Ready for what, Applejack?” a regal voice said from the clouds.
A collective sigh of relief was had as Princess Luna descended from above.
A happy and relieved smile spread across her face as she landed near them. “I am pleased to see you all—” Her eyes darted to the changeling queen and a fierce scowl spread across her face. “What are you doing here, monster!?”
Baring her teeth, Chrysalis matched Luna’s expression with one of scorn. “I won’t tolerate others speaking to me in such a manner! Especially not you, Moon Princess!”
“What is she doing here?” Luna demanded, not taking her eyes off the dangerous changeling.
Applejack turned a glare the changeling’s way before speaking. “We found her at the Crystal Tower. Tyranny had her behind bars when we got there.”
A hissed escaped past Chrysalis’s teeth. “I’ve been imprisoned a lot longer that, hayseed. You have no idea the indignity I’ve had to suffer.”
“All of it deserved,” Applejack snapped before Luna spoke up.
“What are your intentions?”
“Revenge,” Chrysalis said, turning her glare back to Luna. “The indignity I suffered at his hooves cannot go unpunished. He will pay for what he did to my hive.”
The Lunar Princess and the Changeling Queen glared at each other for a time, and Applejack felt the hairs along her spine start to stand at the building tension. Finally, Luna’s glare softened and she nodded. “Once Princess Twilight rejoins us, we will head for Canterlot to—” she stopped and looked to the side.
Applejack followed her gaze to see Twilight quietly approaching them from the hillside, her head lowered as she walked.
“Twilight!” Applejack’s shout joined the others, but she found her smile fading as she got a better look at her friend.
“Twilight, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Fluttershy looked her over in concern.
Twilight looked at them with red, swollen eyes, and Applejack saw that she had been crying for some time.
“I… I…” she started to say, but stopped as she looked to the ground. “I need to talk to Princess Celestia.”
Rarity wrapped a sympathetic foreleg around Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight, you can talk to us. We’re your friends.”
“What did that scumbag do to you?! Did he hurt you?” Rainbow Dash turned her glare towards the tower in the distance.
Twilight looked at them and tried to say something, but whatever she meant to say, she left it unsaid. “I promise… I will tell you all after I speak with Princess Celestia.”
Applejack bit at the inside of her cheek. Part of her wanted to find out what happened to Twilight and comfort her, but also struggled with wanting to respect her privacy. She knew that Twilight wasn’t going to share what was on her mind until she was ready to share it.
“Pinkie Promise?” Pinkie asked softly.
Twilight looked at her. “I promise to tell—Pinkie Promise—after I speak with Princess Celestia.”
“What has Tyranny told you, Princess Twilight?” Luna asked.
Twilight looked at her fellow alicorn for a long moment before lowering her gaze. “I’m sorry, Princess Luna.”
Luna looked at her for a moment before a sigh escaped her. She knew that the young alicorn saw her sister as her trusted mentor, and if Twilight were to find the answers, it would be best for her to get them from Celestia.
“Very well, but we must make haste,” she said as she turned to address the others. “Tyranny will not allow us to remain unhindered for long. A train station is not far from here.” Her gaze shifted to Chrysalis a moment before she turned to leave. “Come, let us go.”
As she lead them away from the crystal city, Cadence stopped to look back at her kingdom. A frown pulled at her lips before her husband laid a sympathetic hoof on her shoulder. Giving him a sad glance, she sighed as she turned away and followed the others.
-0-
The ponies left the Crystal Empire behind with no further incident. Along the way, Twilight was quiet and withdrawn, and any attempt at conversation by her friends was met with silence. She even looked away from her brother as he attempted to get some answers from her, and he could only sigh in frustration. She could tell that he, like the others, was not happy at seeing her in such a sorry state. She glanced at Chrysalis who was smiling inwardly at the whole ordeal, but knew it was best that the changeling keep her thoughts purely to herself.
As they made it to the train station and onto the train itself, Twilight didn’t pay much attention to the stunned conductor as he found three royal princesses, a royal prince, and a changeling queen boarding his train. No doubt such passengers were not something he ever thought to see riding his train together.
They all took their seats as the train began its journey towards Canterlot. Conversation naturally turned to a discussion of what had transpired at the Crystal Empire. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor spoke of the battle in the tower. They told of the fate of their guards and others whom had fallen. When Princess Luna spoke of what really happened to them, Twilight joined her brother as they hugged Cadence—the Princess of Love struggling to hold back her tears.
When Queen Chrysalis grudgingly told the tales of her release and of their attack on the first outpost, a heated debate erupted. Harsh words and accusations were thrown around until cooler heads prevailed.
Twilight sat detached from it all, only offering a word or two as a question was sent her way. She knew her friends and family frowned when she didn’t offer her usual thoughts and opinions, but any attempt to get her to speak met with no success. With her mind still reeling, she couldn’t hope to focus on anything to give a well-thought out opinion. All she wanted was to rest… or get some answers from Princess Celestia.
Thankfully, Princess Luna finally suggested that they all should seek their rest. Though it was near morning when they boarded the train, it would be dark before they would arrive at Canterlot. Exhausted from their ordeal, they readily agreed with her suggestion.
The private cart was set aside for them, and Twilight was soon asleep in the room she shared with Fluttershy. It only felt like she had closed her eyes when the dreams came. Tossing and turning, her bed sheets soon entangled her legs and torso. In her dreams, she saw herself standing over the graves of her friends in a rain-soaked field. They were dead and gone while she remained, her friendship with them lost to the passage of time. In her dreams and in the flesh, her tears fell, and there was no denying them. Try as she might to think of other things—anything to change her dream—she was always brought back to her grief.
Suddenly, a few more tombstones appeared that bore the names of her brother and parents. A few more appeared, for Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, and they were followed by even more bearing the names of the ponies she knew from Ponyville. More and more tombstones appeared and kept coming until the rows stretched out further than she could see. She felt the loss of each one keenly, each one a fresh tear in her heart. Each one a life she had known and loved only to have them taken away from her mercilessly by time.
Time had left her behind.
When her eyes finally fluttered open, she gave a soft uttering of thanks. The dreams had been so real, so vivid, it amazed her that her dreams could be so horrible. As she shifted in bed, she thought about speaking with Princess Luna about her dreams, but saw it was in the afternoon and decided to leave her be.
With a sigh, Twilight tossed aside the covers and quietly made her way to the passenger cart. As the opened to her magic, she sighed with relief as it was empty. Climbing onto a bench, she took a seat near a window. She leaned against the window frame and her gaze went distant as the terrain swept past her.
Rationally, she tried to think out her troubles. All her years of study taught her to break down a problem to its core elements, analyze them, experiment and draw a conclusion. Yet for all of her rational, it was the unknown that kept her from finding a solution. The dreaded “X” in the equation, one she could not solve for. No matter what avenue of thought she tried, it always came up with no satisfying answer. Shaking her head in frustration, she hoped that once she spoke with Princess Celestia, she would have her answers.
As her train of thought went down that track, the first question that came to mind was if Princess Celestia actually knew. Did Princess Celestia know that Twilight would live far longer than most ponies? Did she know this when she put Twilight on her path to learn the magic of friendship? Did she even consider her feelings? What of Cadence? Did she know?
She had become an alicorn only a few months ago, but she realized she understood so little. She hadn’t even mastered flight yet! To learn the truth about alicorns in such a way—told by a cruel tyrant rather than her trusted mentor—left her feeling hollow. Had Tyranny been telling the truth all along, and Celestia had been deceiving her? Why couldn’t the princess have been more straightforward with her? Why all the crypticness?
Princess Celestia had always been so kind, so loving towards her. Celestia trusted Twilight enough to make her a princess, and that was proof that she thought highly of her. But why did she feel this way? Why did Tyranny’s words seem to have a ring of truth to them when Celestia had always been so good to her? Twilight rubbed her face vigorously as her mind tried to make sense of it all.
The burden of leadership hadn’t been set on her shoulders as it had with Cadence. Celestia had allowed her to remain in Ponyville as she always had, but with Twilight’s newfound alicornhood, how much longer would it last?
A wispy smile played across her face as she remembered the day she became a princess. Her friends and family were there to share in the joy of her coronation—most of Equestria had. It was a day she would look back on and smile. The thought that the happiest day of her life was also the start of an eternity of misery—and it being pre-planned by Celestia without her consideration—caused the bile to rise in her gut.
Engrossed in her thoughts, she paid little to the passage of time; nor did she register the sound of the door of the passenger cart opening and closing. A startled squeak escaped her as she felt somepony sit next to her. Turning, she saw Fluttershy look at her with soft, sympathetic eyes.
“Twilight, please tell me what’s wrong. You look so hurt, what did Tyranny say to you that hurt you so much?”
Her ears laid back against her head as she looked away. “I… can’t, Fluttershy. I don’t want you or any of our friends to worry about something that might not even be real. Once I speak with Princess Celestia and I have my answer, I will tell you. I promise.”
A faint frown tugged at the corners of Fluttershy’s mouth before she looked at the ceiling of the train cart. “Do you remember when I was a model for Photo Finish? I was doing something I didn’t like doing, but I did it for Rarity. Your letter to Princess Celestia said that one should not hesitate to show your true feelings with your friends.” She looked back at her. “Maybe if you shared with us, it wouldn’t seem so bad.”
Twilight thought back to that letter and found that Fluttershy was right. Not sharing their thoughts and feelings with each other had led to grief between Rarity and Fluttershy. It was only after they had shared their feelings that they were able to make amends and be friends again. Could this be the same thing though? Jealousy was one thing, but could outliving your friends and seeing their memory fade with time be considered the same?
“We promise, dear, that we would think no less of you,” she heard Rarity say as she joined them.
“There ain’t nothin’ that’s going to make us think so, sugarcube,” Applejack added.
“You’re the most superest, awesomest, most wonderful pony there is, Twilight. You’ll always be our friend,” Pinkie Pie said with her usual energy. She wore a white T-shirt with “#1” written next to a picture of Twilight’s face.
“Yeah, what she said,” Rainbow Dash added finally. “You always said that when we work together we can do anything. And all of us together, we can handle Tyranny just like we did Discord. So it doesn’t matter what he does or says, as long as you have us, we can handle anything.”
Twilight’s heart swelled, and grateful tears came to her eyes. She truly couldn’t have asked for better friends. No matter what they faced, she realized, they would believe in her and she in them.
“Thanks, girls,” she said, sharing a group hug.
None of them could see the fresh, warm tears that streamed down her face.
-0-
True to Luna’s words, the train pulled into Canterlot Station as the sun was beginning to set. Luna had decided to raise the moon from the train, so as to not make a show at the train station. She bid the rest of them to join her sister at the castle and to keep watch on Chrysalis.
As they stepped off the train, Twilight could only stare at the towering castle overhead. Princess Celestia was there, and she held the answers to the awful questions in her head. Even after being comforted by her friends, the thoughts stubbornly came back and drove into her mind even further than before. Anger and frustration had set in, and Twilight was finding it hard to keep the emotions in check.
Noticing her stare, Rainbow asked, “Hey, Twilight, are you ok?”
With a frustrated growl, Twilight took off towards the castle. Her horn glowed and she teleported. She did so again and again, getting closer with each teleportation.
“Twilight! Wait!” Rainbow called after her, ready to give chase.
“No, Rainbow, let her go,” Applejack said.
Rainbow turned a confused look her way. “Huh, why?”
“She needs ta talk ta the princess on her own. She’ll get there, just give her time ta sort it out first.”
A soft, frustrated growl escaped past Rainbow’s teeth and reluctantly nodded. She wanted to be there for her friend but knew this was something Twilight needed to figure out on her own.
-0-
Princess Celestia hummed to herself as she looked over a few letters she had received from across her kingdom. The light given off by the magical crystals in her throne room made reading them simple. Many of the correspondents were from other major cities reporting their preparations for an assault from Tyranny’s forces. Thankfully, no such assault had come yet, though. She knew it would only be a matter of time before he would strike out from the Crystal Empire. Tyranny was not one to remain idle for long, she knew, and swore that no other city would be caught unaware as the Empire had.
Her correspondence with her sister and Twilight had lessened after Spike had returned to Ponyville. The last sending she had received from her sister had said that they would be returning to Canterlot tonight along with Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and an unexpected visitor—one Luna had been vague in telling who. Either way, once she knew that they were all safe and sound, they could turn to formulate a plan to defeat Tyranny.
Her ears stood erect and she looked towards the throne room doors as she felt a surge of magic nearby. It was a familiar aura of magic, but something was wrong. A violet aura surrounded the doors of the throne room before they flew open, and in ran Twilight Sparkle. Her face was streaked with tears as she glared fiercely at Celestia.
“Princess Twilight, it is good to—” Celestia began.
“How could you?!” Twilight demanded, her scream echoing through the throne room.
Celestia’s eyes widened impossibly. Few had ever spoken to her that way. She had never, ever expected her beloved niece would speak to her so and neither had the two guards at the foot of the throne room, who stood just as shocked as she.
“Twilight, what is wrong? What has happened to you?” Celestia asked after her shock faded.
“How could you not tell me? How could you lie to me?!”
Celestia was about to say something but caught herself. She looked into her niece’s eyes and saw the pain—a silent plea for answers to some inner turmoil that only she could answer.
She turned her gaze to her guards. “Please, leave us.” They nodded silently and walked past Twilight without so much as a glance, closing the doors behind them.
“Twilight, please tell me what has happened. What has made you so upset, my little pony?” she asked again.
Twilight looked at her with gritted teeth, her expression hurt. Images of the tombstones she had seen in her dreams were still vivid in her mind. “How could you not tell me that I would outlive my friends? Did you know this when you made me a princess?”
Celestia’s eyes widened again. “Where did you hear this?”
“Tyranny told me everything about what it means to be an alicorn, and what it does to you!”
“He told you—” she breathed, but Twilight interrupted her again.
“Did you know this, Princess Celestia?”
“Twilight—”
She stamped a hoof as she continued. “Why would you make me learn the importance of the magic of friendship if it meant losing the very friends I made?”
“Twilight,” Celestia said more firmly.
“How could you hide this from me?!”
“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia said in a tone she rarely ever used, her voice booming in the rafters of the throne room.
Twilight looked to the floor, both in shame and in sadness. She knew she had overstepped her bounds, but she couldn’t help it. The feelings of loss, betrayal, and grief were overwhelming.
Celestia looked at her for a quiet moment. “Twilight, what has Tyranny told you?”
Twilight slowly looked to her, tears threatening to fall again. “He told me that becoming an alicorn, becoming a princess, would mean that I would live to see my friends and family die while I continued living.” Her voice was a soft whisper. “To live out centuries while all I knew and loved faded in front of me. I… I… don’t know if I could… Why didn’t you tell me?” She looked to her mentor with wide, vulnerable eyes.
A shuddering sigh escaped through Celestia’s nose. The emotion that flowed from Twilight was enough for her to want to wipe at her eyes. “You must understand. It is—”
“Must you continue to lie to your subjects, Celestia? It almost seems that you enjoy misleading them,” said a dark voice.
Both of them started at the intrusion, their gazes darting about.
“Oh no…” Twilight whispered as dread started to grip her as the familiar voice ghosted around them.