Twilight limped around her old home, burned pieces of her castle still falling around her. Small pieces of the Golden Oak Library roots laid on the floor, covered in ash with the memory gems scattered across the floor, their color faded. She couldn't believe what she was staring at. She picked one of the gems up, staring at the image of her first slumber party as the image died slowly. She slowly put the gem back down, her head facing the floor.
Twilight then noticed an old photo on the ground slightly burnt. She picked it up to examine. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at an image of her with Spike. She stared at the photo with a soft smile on her face. It displayed her feeding Spike with his food in her mane. She held it close to her chest, treasuring the old photo.
A sudden thought popped into her head, remembering an old box she had left in her basement. She rushed down to where she stored it, opening it hoping nothing was damaged. She picked up the box carefully and opened it, her hooves shaking.
Inside, was her old photo album slightly burnt. She carefully pulled it out and gently opened the damaged pages. She saw images of her adventures in Ponyville with her friends, the memories flooding back into her mind. Twilight looked at what Ponyville has become now, unable to believe it was the same place as before. She looked at the box once more, noticing something underneath the other images. She gently sat the old album on the floor to examine the other items in the box.
She picked up an old picture frame that was mostly broken and slightly burnt. It was the picture she took with her friends the first day she moved to Ponyville. She put a hoof on the frame as she wept. Twilight remembered the times they had saved Equestria with their friendship, and how they knew good would have prevailed. But when she looked at what her home was now, she couldn't help but think, "Why wasn't I here?"
Twilight stared out into the horizon, horrified at what had happened to her home. Crystal Mane put a hoof on her shoulder.
"I could have stopped this..." she whispered as her tears raced down her face. "I could have saved my ponies... been there for them... I wish-"
"It's not your fault, Princess," Crystal uttered. Twilight began to weep even more into her hooves as her body quivered.
"So many ponies died feeling scared, and alone... They shouldn't have gone through this purgatory!"
"There isn't anything you can do about it now, Your Highness... I'm sorry."
"But I can still do something..." Twilight got onto her hooves, tripping slightly. Crystal helped her up.
"But you're not healed, you need time to-"
"I don't care about what happens to me!" Twilight interjected. "But I care what happens to other ponies, and I want to stop it." Twilight stared into the distance once more, but it looked different now. "I'm gonna fight with everything I have left, even if it kills me."
"But, what about Chrysalis?"
Twilight let out a sigh. "I may be scared, but somepony has to defeat her..."