//------------------------------// // 7 - Ghosts // Story: Reflections // by RQK //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle rolled over in her bed and groaned. There were just too many thoughts running through her head. What had really happened? Why had it happened? Where was she really? Her castle looked the same. Yes, the tree roots were missing from the throne room, but everything else was as she had left it. Almost. Twilight lit her horn and a light appeared within her bed space. The drawn curtains on her canopy bed kept the light from escaping. She looked through the cloth and magically grabbed a calendar off the dresser on the opposite side of the room. She levitated it over and looked at the date again. If I take her at her word… I’m still a couple of months behind, Twilight thought, flipping between months. Hearth’s Warming hasn’t happened yet. And… we haven’t even had the first snow yet. She sighed. I mean, we still don’t have to deal with Chrysalis anymore, but… She nodded to herself. “I guess there are just some things I’ll have to do again, right?” She started to mentally map certain tasks to whichever days she had done them. She thought about lessons she had planned out for Starlight and remembered the ones which hadn’t gone as well as she had hoped. Thoughts of improvements to those lessons swam through her mind. She thought about those get-togethers with her friends and their gossip, how Rarity would brag about landing a big client, which had come as a pleasant surprise at the time, and about how Rainbow Dash would complain at the thought of Tank hibernating for the winter. Twilight tossed the calendar onto the bedspread and buried her face in her hooves. “This is ridiculous.” It didn’t seem real, even. She had been in the Crystal Empire spending quality time with her family not even a day ago. Sure, Starlight’s lessons and the oncoming Winter Wrap Up had been at the back of her mind, but they had been things at the time. Twilight swallowed. Had it really only been twenty-four hours? Had any of that actually happened? It felt like her bed. It looked like her room. Everything was there. Most everything. Twilight lay back and sank into the pillow. She stared at the canopy above her, trying to wrap her head around it. What time was it? Did the time even matter? She sat back up and levitated the calendar back over. Obviously, she had to look over it again, just to be sure. * * * Twilight rubbed her eyes, but that, again, did nothing to ease the heaviness she felt in them. She yawned as well, but that didn’t help either. “Wow, Twilight,” Spike said. The baby dragon trotted with his arms crossed right beside her, looking up at her. “Sleep much?” “Not in the slightest,” Twilight replied, squinting in the morning sun. “I was up all night.” “We can tell,” Starlight Glimmer said, her eyebrow raised. “Were you up studying?” “No,” Twilight said. “I just had a lot on my mind.” “Like what?” Twilight frowned. “Well… it’s complicated. And honestly, I’m not all that sure.” Spike frowned. “You wanna talk about it?” “I’m sorry, Spike. I don’t think I can.” She cracked a smile. “But don’t worry about me; I’m sure breakfast will wake me up in no time.” Both Spike and Starlight smiled and nodded before turning their eyes forward. The grass, at least, felt great under Twilight’s hooves. A couple months of snow had dulled the senses, and to feel grass again felt fantastic. Twilight chuckled; winter was just around the corner, again, so this wouldn’t last long. Twilight loved Ponyville mornings when the air stuck just right and felt cool against her coat. She could see a few ponies out and about already, trotting by their lonesome with content smiles on their faces. A few fillies and colts passed by, no doubt on their way to the schoolhouse. The grass, coated in dew, sank under her hooves. Twilight looked around; she knew Ponyville well, almost like the back of her hoof. The houses and shops looked just like she remembered them, from the timber frames and thatched roofs to the freshly painted signs still missing chips in their midsections. Everything seemed in place. Everypony looked the same. And then Twilight caught a glimpse of some luscious tree branches in the distance and she perked up. Said branches, evidently, belonged to a very large tree. There had only ever been one such tree in Ponyville which fit that description. Twilight broke into a longer stride. She outpaced Starlight and Spike, who exchanged confused glances and followed behind. Twilight made it further down the street and stopped in front of what she had seen. In that moment, all her breath left her. The tree in question towered over her in nearly every aspect. The occasional window situated itself within the sides of the tree, with some boasting balconies. She saw the lantern hanging above one window and then she saw the beehive hanging off one of the branches. Twilight licked her dried lips on seeing the front door adorned with a familiar candlestick design. Spike caught up and looked at her with his eyebrow raised. Starlight flanked Twilight’s other side. “Twilight? Are you feeling okay?” “The Golden Oak Library,” Twilight croaked. “It’s…” Spike frowned. “What about it?” “It’s here?” Spike paused and then twiddled his claws together. “Well, yeah? I mean, it’s been here ever since we moved to Ponyville. Remember?” Twilight blinked and stepped forward. Her heart beat in time with her slow, careful steps. She approached the door, and rather than knock, she simply wrapped her magic around the handle and swung the unlocked door open. While still somewhat dark in the morning light, Twilight could make out everything: the bookshelves built into the wooden walls, the wooden horse head that sat on the middle table, and the grand sun painted on most of the ceiling. She looked around and spotted those places where the wood grains spiraled together in those places she expected them to, and where the heart patterns spanning every other step on the staircase, while mostly alike, differed in their orientation and size. She saw all the little details she was sure nopony else had ever noticed. It was all there. And she shivered. “Hello?” “Moondancer?” Spike called. “You in here?” Twilight frowned. Moondancer? “Coming!” a voice called from upstairs. What? A yellowish mare appeared at the top of the stairs. She wore large, square spectacles on her muzzle and wore her mane in a bun. A large, black sweater hung within her cerise-colored magic. She squinted at them in the morning light. Then she gasped. “Oh, Twilight, what brings you here this early?” she asked. Twilight swallowed. “Moondancer?” “Yes, hello,” Moondancer said, trotting down the steps. “Is there something that I can help you with?” She turned to the others. “Hello, Spike. Hello, Starlight.” Starlight blushed and meekly waved. “Hi.” “Yeah, Twilight,” Spike asked. “Why are we here anyway?” Twilight’s expression drew blank. She just stared at Moondancer and tried to think of something to say. There were any number of things. Finally, she chose her most obvious question: “How are you here right now? In Ponyville?” Moondancer raised one of her large eyebrows. “Uhm… I live here?” Twilight’s jaw twitched as she considered it. “I don’t understand.” Moondancer shrunk. “Twilight? Don’t you remember?” Twilight flinched. “Uh…” “You offered her the library, Twilight,” Starlight said. “Yeah,” Spike said before raising a claw into the air. “Way back when you two made up in Canterlot.” “And I kinda became the librarian after that,” Moondancer added. Her frown deepened. “Remember?” Twilight listened carefully and eventually scratched her head. “Oh, okay. I guess. Sorry, I’m really out of it this morning.” “I can tell.” “We’re taking her to breakfast right now,” Starlight said. “Hopefully some good food with some good friends will wake her up.” Moondancer smiled. “That sounds like a good idea. Well, don’t let me keep you waiting.” Twilight feigned a smile and waved goodbye, but even when the three of them turned back toward the door, her veins ran cold. The library is still here… and Moondancer’s living in it now. That’s why the roots are missing from my throne room. The door clicked shut behind them. But… that’s not right. Moondancer lives in Canterlot. And… the library… * * * Twilight chewed slowly through her bagel. Pinkie Pie’s baking was as soft as she remembered. The smells of freshly baked bread and the sweet scents of cakes and other confections filled her nostrils; they too were as she remembered them. The inside of Sugarcube Corner looked like it had been made entirely out of sweets, with candy canes and gumdrops lining the walls, all in the places she remembered. She set the bagel back on her plate and sighed. “Sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “What all’s got ya down?” Twilight glanced up. Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, all of whom had joined them at the table, looked back with concerned frowns. Pinkie Pie, who passed by with a tray of donuts on her back, glanced over in concern. “It’s nothing,” Twilight replied. Starlight leaned over the table. “Twilight, even I can see that it’s not nothing. Something’s got you in a funk.” Spike, who sat on a stool right beside Twilight, nodded solemnly and bit into a ruby. Twilight shook her head. “No, really, it’s nothing. Don’t you worry about me, okay?” Rarity wiped some bread crumbs off her muzzle and let her frown deepen. “Are you certain, darling?” Twilight feigned a smile. “I’m okay. Really.” “If you say so,” Fluttershy said, grabbing a donut off of her plate. “You know you can talk to us about anything.” “I know,” Twilight said. “We’re your friends, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie added as she stuck her head in. “That’s never gunna change.” The others hummed affirmatively. “Thanks, girls,” Twilight said, feeling herself lift up. Pinkie Pie smiled and then looked over at Starlight. “By the way, here’s your muffin,” she said. She bumped the tray on her back which shot a muffin into the air in an arc toward Starlight’s plate. Starlight caught it with her magic before it even hit. She held it up in a toasting gesture and said, “Thanks, Pinkie,” before she bit right into it. Pinkie Pie said nothing. Instead, she laid a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s withers. When Starlight lifted the muffin away from her mouth, Rainbow Dash snickered. Pinkie Pie giggled as well. Starlight blinked and raised an eyebrow at them. “Huh?” Applejack looked over and chuckled, Spike snickered, and Fluttershy smiled. Twilight looked up to see a large blue spot on the end of Starlight’s muzzle and sat up in her seat. Starlight herself looked down her muzzle and snorted. She levitated the muffin up and examined its insides, finding a blueberry-like filling within. She chuckled and held it up for all to see. “Very funny, Pinkie. This isn’t my muffin.” “Nope,” Pinkie Pie said, “that’s not your muffin.” She presented an identical one and said, “This is.” Starlight took the new muffin in her magic and brought it close to her face and eyed it with careful scrutiny. She raised an eyebrow at Pinkie Pie, but the smallest curl in her lips, telling of an amused smile, broke any sort of charade she wanted to put on. “How did it taste, though?” Pinkie Pie asked. Starlight hummed. “It tasted great, actually.” Pinkie Pie giggled. Rarity sighed and fanned herself. “Oh, Pinkie, you must stop yourself. You’re giving me flashbacks here.” “Aw, come on, that was a good one!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Fluttershy nodded, giggling. “It kinda was.” Rainbow Dash placed her forehooves on the table and stood over them. “Hey, don’t forget, I came up with it first.” “Oh, and here we are,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes. Twilight set her bagel down. “Well, she did. And sure, replacing all of the Filly Guide cookies with those rainbow joke cookies was pretty clever.” Rainbow Dash beamed and lifted herself up, standing tall and proud. Twilight chuckled. “Too bad you spilled all that to Pinkie Pie before you even did it; you let us turn that joke right on you. And, well,” she said with a shrug, “being a zompony sure was fun!” The rest of the table went silent and everyone turned their attention to Twilight. Twilight, in turn, looked around at them. Her smile faded with each confused frown that she passed by. Rarity sighed. “If only,” she said before lifted her coffee mug to her mouth. “Well, we did,” Twilight asserted. Her eyes darted between them, looking for confirmation. “Uh, Twilight…” Applejack said, “that didn’t happen.” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Haha, yeah. I did get the jump on all you with those cookies. You didn’t even see it coming.” Twilight felt something hot and bothersome creep up her spine. A levitation spell, which had been coursing through her horn before, fizzled out. She sat back in her seat. “I don’t—” Starlight leaned forward. “Twilight?” The others eyed Twilight closely. Twilight rubbed at her temples. Her breaths were heavy and long-winded. It was not how she remembered it. She knew what had happened. She had been there when it happened. And yet it had not happened. Twilight swallowed. It was wrong. She looked up at Starlight. “I… tell me this: Flurry Heart… she broke the Crystal Heart, right?” Starlight nodded. “And we put it back together,” she replied. “And you and I, we traveled through time together, right?” Starlight rubbed her foreleg. “Yeah… Thankfully those awful alternate timelines are just an awful memory.” She looked back up. “Right?” Twilight nodded solemnly and licked her dry lips. Her eyes fell on Rarity’s cup of coffee, and the she reached for it and downed the whole thing in one gulp. She set the mug back down on the coaster in front of Rarity with a sigh. Rarity didn’t even look at it. Instead, she leaned across the table. “Twilight?” “And Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, pointing, “you went to a Daring Do convention and got caught up going after the Seven-Sided Chest of Chicomoztoc with some stallion named Quibble Pants. Right?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah. You were there, remember?” Twilight swallowed. She looked at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy and said, “And the both of you played on Ponyville’s buckball team versus Appleloosa.” Fluttershy exchanged frowns with Pinkie Pie. “What’s buckball?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight froze. She grabbed and massaged her head to try and ease the sudden pounding within. She could feel some sweat drops on her brow and, in some ways, the world around her blurred. “Who… who won the Equestria Games?” Applejack frowned. “Cloudsdale. By one medal.” “Games went off without a hitch, though,” Spike said. No, there had been a hitch. There had been a near-miss during the archery portion involving frozen clouds. And Ponyville won by one medal. This was not how she knew it. They did not know things as she knew. More drops of sweat formed on her brow. First the library, then Moondancer, now things which she had definitely experienced with her friends. With her friends. This is another timeline, the words ran through Twilight’s mind. Things are not as I know them here. Nothing is as I know it here. She swallowed. Nopony is as I know them here. “Twilight?” Applejack asked. “You lookin’ like you done seen a ghost.” “It’s hard to feel for anypony when everypony you meet is a ghost of somepony you once knew,” Crystal Faire’s voice echoed through her head. Twilight sucked in a breath and scanned each of their faces. They looked just like her friends, and they sounded just like her friends. And they were her friends in nearly every other sense of the word, but were they her friends? Starlight slammed both hooves on the table, rattling plate and cup alike. “Enough! Twilight, there is something wrong with you. All of us can see it. Please… Twilight, talk to us.” Fluttershy nodded, holding her hooves close to her face. “Yes, Twilight. Talk to us. If something is bothering you, we’re here for you.” “That’s right,” Rarity said. “We’re your friends.” The others offered similar affirmations and nods. Twilight looked up. She saw Fluttershy’s eternally forgiving smile and the ever-present sparkle in Rarity’s eye. She saw a Rainbow Dash still as enthralled about Daring Do as Twilight knew her to be. She saw a Starlight whom she had still romped through time with. She saw Applejack wearing her stetson at the exact angle that it always was. Pinkie Pie, hovering behind the others, still carried her boundless energy, shifting every few seconds when she couldn’t keep still. She saw her Spike with every scale in place and with each and every bit of shine and occasional chipping that she knew him to have. She saw the way he folded his claws together, twiddling them as he looked up with widened and wet eyes. They were her friends in many of the ways she remembered them. And right now, these seven are my friends. Twilight smiled and let a tear fall down her face. “You’re right. You are my friends, I know that.” Starlight smiled. “Of course. We’re here for you, Twilight. And whatever it is that’s got you all bothered like this…” She motioned to the others. “We want to help you with it.” “Eeyup. You can tell us what ails ya, Twi,” Applejack said. “We’re here.” Images of Canterlot falling off the side of the mountain and black filling the sky crossed her mind. Images of Ponyville caving into a void came to her soon after. She had thoughts of friends and relatives and many others trying to flee but getting swept up regardless. She had thoughts of a place that was no longer. Twilight bit her lip and shook her head. “Well… yes. There is something wrong.” The others leaned forward. But I could never prove it. They would think I’m crazy, she thought. What do I tell them: I’m from an alternate timeline? That it… collapsed? That there is some me out in the Everfree and who knows what happened to her? Twilight sighed. “I… don’t really… It’s complicated. And I don’t know if I can talk about it right now. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to talk about it.” “Twilight…” Starlight said, frowning. “But, girls,” Twilight said, looking around at each of their faces and smiling, “I really appreciate that you’re here for me. I really do. Because all of you are the best friends anypony could ask for.” They smiled in response but said nothing. Twilight sighed. Whether it was in relief or just out of stress was lost to her. “Listen. I just… I have to sort some things out on my own. Just… bear with me for a while. Do that for me, please?” After a moment of silence, Pinkie Pie nodded. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she said, complete with motions. “Hear, hear,” Applejack said, punching the air. “Loud and clear, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, smirking so wide that her teeth glistened in the morning light. “Thanks, girls,” Twilight said. “And don’t worry too much about me. I’ll be fine. I’m sure.” * * * The castle balcony was quiet. That was how Twilight wanted it. She shifted on the cushion that she had brought with her and gazed across Equestria. Her eyes wandered over the familiar rolling hills and the lively blues and greens therein. Her eyes drew toward the faint outline of Cloudsdale in the skies far away and then toward the much clearer outlines of Canterlot on the mountain closer by. If the low solar angle and orange creeping into the sky were anything to go by, she had been up there for several hours. She imagined Princess Celestia finishing her royal duties for the day. She pictured her mom and dad sitting and eating within their homely dining room. She pictured Shining Armor and Cadance frantically trying to get Flurry Heart changed. Thoughts of her friends settling down for the evening flashed across her mind. As far as she knew, Spike was glossing over his latest comic. Pretty soon, she knew, he’d tell her all about the Power Ponies defeating the master of chaos as he ushered in an alien invasion on Maretropolis. Twilight giggled. Oh, Spike, just wait until the next few issues where they stop a robot army from dropping a city from the sky. Part of her smile faded. At least, I’m sure that’s going to happen. She shifted. What if that doesn’t happen? What if there’s a change there? And what else is already changed? How can I be sure of anything? She hummed in thought and glanced toward the sky. Crystal Faire… Wherever you’re at right now… whenever you’re at right now… Is this how you feel? Twilight sighed and nestled herself further into the cushion. Well… At any rate… I guess this will take some getting adjusted to. Knowing that there are so many different timelines out there… Knowing that I’m a refugee… I have friends here. She furrowed her brow and struck the floor. I have friends here. I can do this. I can get through this. Because I have the best friends anypony could ask for. They can help me, I’m sure. Twilight paused. Crystal… “This thing…” Crystal’s voice said in her mind, “this thing where your timeline died, your home timeline… You aren’t the only one who has gone through that.” She’s a refugee too, Twilight thought, from someplace I can only guess at. Did she… ever have friends to help her get through it? How did she deal with it? Twilight shook her head. I guess it doesn’t really matter now. I don’t think that I’ll be seeing her again. She’s traveling an infinite multiverse. I wonder… She stroked her chin. This infinite multiverse… I wonder about it. The possibilities… The physics… The sun sank lower and the shadows grew longer. Ponyville stood relatively quiet and still, and the rest of Equestria kept its peace. But Twilight ignored it as one thought kept replaying in her mind. The multiverse…