//------------------------------// // Farewell // Story: The Price of a Smile // by Trick Question //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle agreed to show up last, even though she was the one who called the emergency meeting. She wanted everypony else to be present before she arrived: the entire Paranormal Society, plus Spike, Zecora, and all of Twilight's closest friends. She'd been very careful to watch the streets on her way to the schoolhouse this time. Three knocks and the door opened. Twilight entered the schoolroom, and noticed the circle was much larger this time. Good, she thought. "Has everypony been debriefed?" Twilight asked Cheerilee. She tossed her cloak casually on the floor and took the last empty seat. "Yes. Zecora did most of it in advance," said Cheerilee. "If I see one of those 'Visitors' I'll shove my hoof so far up its butt—" said Rainbow Dash. "You'll do nothing of the kind!" said Rarity, bonking her friend right on the poll. "Hay!" said Rainbow. Applejack shook her head. "Quiet, Dash. Ain't nothin' happenin' until Twilight says so." "I know, I know. I'm just angry. The idea that we can't even trust our senses, and we're surrounded by these invaders, it's awful." "It's worse," said Twilight, and the room fell quiet. Fluttershy shivered in place, and Rarity reached over to hold her hoof. Pinkie Pie watched with a bright smile. Spike just looked confused, but since he was seated next to Twilight, she gave him a hug with the crook of her leg before continuing. "Here's the thousand-hoof overview of how messed up everything is. The Visitors have rewritten most of our old memories to make them nicer, to remove a lot of the pain and hardship each pony has experienced. A lot of terrible things have happened in the past, including war, injury, death, sadness, and pain. Really bad stuff. Worse than you can imagine, to be honest. Luna recovered a single memory for me, and I'm still traumatized by what I saw," said Twilight. "Oh no. Maybe they're just being nice to us?" said Fluttershy. "I don't know if I want horrible memories back." "I'm sure they're doing it so we'll be complacent when push comes to shove, Fluttershy. These things are not our friends," said Rainbow Dash. Several other ponies nodded. "What was the memory, if I can ask?" asked Applejack. Twilight took a deep breath. "A lot of ponies in Appleloosa died in a horrible way," she said. "That's all I'm comfortable saying at the moment." "Sweet Celestia," said Applejack, with a look of deep frustration on her face. "It's my life and those are my memories, and I don't care what it takes or how awful they are. I want 'em back, pronto." "That's my goal. But I'm sure it will hurt," warned Twilight. "Maybe more than even I know." "Don't care. I can take it," said Applejack, without hesitation. "I believe you can, Applejack. But I don't know if many of us here can, at least not yet. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It's not just the badness of the memories, though. The Visitors use some kind of illusion magic over all of Equestria to keep our senses dulled. The real world is much, much more vibrant and real than what you see around you. It's impossible to describe until you experience it. There's more detail, richer scents, more texture—" "Better flavors?!" gasped Pinkie Pie, her eyes wide. "Well, maybe there's a silver lining. Yes, Pinkie, I'm pretty sure there are. But it means that bad experiences are more detailed, too. It was overwhelming for me to process my reliving of that memory, because we've all been in this mental fog for months. And we don't notice these things because the Visitors are also modifying our current memories. It's clear they can read minds..." "Knew it," whispered foil-hat, who did not have his hat with him. "See, I should have brought the hat." "Nnope," said Big Macintosh. "And, there's a more disturbing problem, so I'll just up and say it. Everypony in Equestria has stopped producing foals. Two months with no births by any citizen in Equestria, animals notwithstanding." There was a collective gasp. Cheerilee held a hoof to her mouth, unable to stop a tear from trickling down one cheek. Fluttershy's face froze. It looked like she had broken. "And Princess Luna still doesn't know who the Visitors are?" asked a mare. "She knows, but she can't tell me any details yet," said Twilight. "Princess Luna knows everything, apparently. She thinks the lack of births is a temporary problem, but she isn't sure." "What? Why in Equestria won't she tell you? What about Princess Celestia?" asked Cheerilee. "Princess Celestia doesn't even know what we know," said Twilight. "Princess Luna thinks she's protecting everypony by keeping what she knows about the Visitors a secret. I really don't trust her anymore, but she's promised to reveal everything to me in a few days. She's warned me repeatedly that it will ruin my life, but she knows the truth, and she seems just fine. It doesn't make any sense." "You're certain she isn't being possessed by Nightmare again?" asked Rarity. "Yes. She's Princess Luna, there's no doubt. She's just horrified by the truth, and I think she's given up hope entirely," said Twilight. "If anypony can convince a cowardly princess to stand up for Equestria, it's you, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash. Murmurs of agreement followed. "Thanks. But to tell you the truth, I don't think she's a coward. Quite the opposite, actually," said Twilight. "I just don't know why she's given up hope, or what to expect she'll show me." "I can't believe Luna wouldn't tell her sister," said Applejack. "It just ain't right. She's aidin' the enemy, Twi. Whether she thinks she's helpin' ain't relevant. She's just not on our side, simple as that. Not yet." "I know, AJ. Look guys. This thing could be really bad. The Visitors have rewritten our old memories, so I'm stepping into an open minefield. Anything might have happened in the past, literally anything. There's just no way to guess. I suspect King Sombra could be involved, since things started getting weird shortly after his defeat. Maybe he's immortal and found a way to put himself back together. These Visitors could be anything, too: weird ponies, dimensional invaders, changelings with enhanced powers, magical energy beings, or something stranger still," said Twilight. "Maybe they're even us, somehow doing this to ourselves unconsciously. I've thought up a hundred crazy hypotheses, but none of them fit all of the data." And, to top it off, thought Twilight, I'm scared. But I can't show it. I won't show it. Not here. Being a princess is about inspiring confidence. I don't want any of these ponies to live in a state of perpetual fear. By holding together, I can give them strength. "Do you know how Princess Luna found out?" asked a stallion. "I would guess that Luna's mastery over dreams clued her into the sensory degradation," said Twilight. "It's useless to speculate about her motives, though, just as it's useless to guess what the Visitors really are. All we can do is wait, and hope she knows what she's doing." "We should meet as soon as possible after your return," said Cheerilee. "Agreed. But Princess Luna says I'm going to disappear in my sleep in a few days, and I might be gone a while. She suggested I fake an illness so nopony knows I'm away," said Twilight. "Oh, Twilight, no," said Fluttershy, both hooves over her muzzle. "Don't do this Twilight. It's a trap," said Pinkie Pie. "I can feel it, deep down in my bones! What if we never see you again?" she yelped, only to be shooshed by several members. Rainbow Dash gave a watery-eyed pink pony a hug. "I'll have to make sure that doesn't come to pass," said Twilight, trying her best to smile. "What worries me more is Luna's insistence that doing this will ruin my friendships, as well as my kingdom. Kingdom's a distant second, though." "That's why you came back to Ponyville, ain't it," said Applejack. "You wanted to tell us, because you wanted to know if we'd let you go. If it's our decision, it's no. We all want answers, but you gotta demand them on your terms." "I'm not in a position to make demands, AJ. I'm sorry," said Twilight. "I've already made the decision, and it can't be taken back. Whether I like it or not, in a few days, I'll be gone." Spike spoke up for the first time. "Twilight, don't do this. You have to find a way to take the decision back. Your friendships are worth more than anything, you know that." "Spike, do you really think that will happen?" Twilight asked, then looked at the crowd. "Seriously. Do any of you think learning about some kind of invasion will change who I am? That it could possibly impact my friendships with any of you?" She sniffled, holding back tears. "No," said Spike. "I'm just scared, because, well, you're leaving, and we love you, and we don't even know where you're going." "Eh, I'm sure she'll be fine," said Rainbow Dash, making her best show of bravado. "Twilight, I bet you could even take Princess Luna in a fight if you had to, not to mention a whole army of Visitors. You could have cleaned Tirek's clock if you'd kept blasting him! You're Princess Twilight Bucking Sparkle, and nopony messes with you." "Thanks, Rainbow," said Twilight. Twilight was too modest to admit it, but Rainbow Dash was right. Twilight knew she was a princess, a dutiful student of magic, and a practiced fighter. I have powerful alicorn magic, and with it I can take on anything. Her magic was nearly as much reassurance to her as the strength she drew from her closest friends. "Are you sure you're going to be safe?" asked Fluttershy. "Will you get enough to eat?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Or something to wear, darling? I mean, can you take anything with you?" asked Rarity. "No. Just my body," said Twilight. "Nothing else goes with, apparently." "Sweet Celestia, Twilight. It sounds like you're dyin' on us," said Applejack, as she removed her hat and set it on the floor. "This ain't right. We really need to hear this from Luna ourselves." "Twilight, I don't want to add to the drama, but I have a bad feeling about this too," said Cheerilee. "Are you sure this is the right choice?" "It's the only choice," said Twilight. "Let me be perfectly clear, none of you can change my mind. I can't give you the opportunity to choose this for me, because then I might blame you for what happens. Even worse, you might blame yourselves. Luna was very clear about me accepting full responsibility for what will happen before she would even agree to show me a single memory. Besides, I have to know the truth. Not just for me, but for everypony here." "How long will you be gone?" asked Spike. "Princess Luna implied I could be gone a while, maybe months. If you don't hear from me for a long time, then I guess you should contact her and ask about me," said Twilight. Zecora stood up from her seat with a deep frown. "We'll give the Princess just one moon, and then demand we see you soon," she said. "Twilight's decision may not be ours to make, but what we do is still our decision," said Cheerilee. "We'll discuss the matter, and take a vote." Twilight remained silent, and the discussion took only a few minutes. The unanimous decision was to contact Princess Luna exactly one lunar cycle after Twilight's disappearance, as Zecora had proposed. "That sounds fair," agreed Twilight. "Since I'll be seeing her shortly, I can pass that expectation along. It didn't sound like she planned on leaving Canterlot or anything, so you can probably mail her or even go visit her. But I really have no idea what to expect. I wish I could tell you more." Twilight Sparkle felt something hugging her leg and looked down to see the little filly looking up to her with big eyes. "Be real careful Miss Princess Twilight," she whispered. Twilight smiled and scooped the filly up into her legs and gave her a big hug. "Just for you, okay?" she promised. Everypony put on their bravest face as they wished Twilight Sparkle good luck on her journey. Their masks were poor. They were all petrified, and Twilight could see it. She could even tell that Rainbow Dash was worried. I have to prove Luna wrong, she thought. I'll do it for my friends. I'll do it for friendship. On Twilight Sparkle's last night in Ponyville, her five closest pony friends and her faithful assistant Spike stayed up with her, reminiscing about the past until she finally fell asleep under influence of one of Zecora's sleep remedies. Then her body simply vanished, suddenly and silently, without so much as a teleport flash. And that was that.