Twilight Sparkle eyed the tiara in her hooves with mixed feelings. It was a gorgeous thing, made of polished gold with a six-pointed lavender gemstone embedded into it as the centrepiece. She could practically feel the power contained within the elaborate accessory, like a vibration running just under the surface to tickle at the fur of her hooves.
This was her Element of Harmony, apparently. The Element of Magic. In all the time she had been suffering from amnesia, she hadn’t set eyes upon the item once. That had all changed that morning when Princesses Celestia and Luna suddenly arrived on her doorstep. They delivered a blue box to her, in which were all six Elements, telling her that she and her friends may have need of them in the days to come.
She had heard the stories about these things from her friends, of course. Rainbow, in particular, had taken to bragging about how they had used them to stop Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis from time to time.
And now she was being asked to go with them to the city of Baltimare later that day in the hopes of finding another large rift. Together with the Elements, it was their hope that they would be able to finally bring Rainbow Dash back home. And if the Elements were as powerful as everypony made them out to be, then if all went well, there was no doubt in Twilight’s mind that the Elements could bring Rainbow home.
But there was a problem. The Elements didn’t work for just anypony. They chose their wielders with a mind of their own, it seemed, and if the stories were true, that only Celestia and Luna had used them before Twilight and her friends, then these things were legendarily picky about their wielders.
“And the Twilight Sparkle they chose isn’t here anymore,” Twilight thought with a quiet sigh, setting the tiara back into the chest and closing it up. “Not really…”
She gave off a quiet sigh. Usually, that was enough to draw confused questions about whether or not she was alright from Spike or Rainbow. They knew her ques and her ticks, and they were quick to jump on it whenever they felt like she needed them. They were good friends like that, never hesitating to lend their support…
This time, though, there was only silence. Spike had taken off after Celestia and Luna departed to spread the word to everypony else about the plan. It was an efficient use of his time, sure, but it came with the obvious downside of leaving Twilight all on her own with nothing but her own doubts to keep her company.
She was knocked from her ruminations by a gentle knocking on her front door. Twilight blinked and looked up. It was still morning, with shafts of sunlight streaming in through the windows, providing a calming atmosphere that helped her dispel her doubts. She shook her head and put on a small, friendly smile. “It’s open!” she called over.
The door opened with a gentle creak, and Fluttershy poked her head in from outside. “Uh, hello, Twilight,” she greeted with a shy smile. “May I come in?”
Twilight nodded. “Of course, make yourself at home,” she replied, forcing herself to maintain her smile.
Fluttershy stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She stood there for a moment before looking over at Twilight with an uneasy expression on her face. “I, um… Spike came by my house a little bit ago,” she said. “He told me about how the Princesses brought you the Elements, and that we’re going to be heading to Baltimare today so we can bring Rainbow home.”
Twilight’s smile became visibly strained as any hopes of dodging that subject went flying right out the proverbial window. She dropped her smile as her gaze fell on the chest housing the Elements. “...Yeah. The Elements are right there,” she said simply with a sluggish nod of her head.
Fluttershy stepped forward and opened the box. She smiled softly at its contents for a few seconds before closing it again. She turned to Twilight to say something, but the words caught in her throat when she saw the glum expression on the alicorn’s face. “Oh… uh… Twilight? Are you okay?” she asked after a pause.
Twilight gave up on trying to hide her stress. Fluttershy apparently knew her well enough to see through any such facades anyway. ‘Which is completely unfair!’
“Not really,” she admitted, slumping back into her seat on the couch.
Fluttershy gave a quiet, worried squeak. She fluttered over and got comfortable by Twilight’s side, lending her comfort and warmth. “Do you want to talk about it? I mean, if that’s alright with you…”
Twilight waited for a few seconds before speaking up. “I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed, Fluttershy. Ever since Rainbow disappeared, I’ve been floundering for some way to help us find and bring her home. But now that I have a way, I can’t help but wonder how I ever managed to handle the strain of situations like this before I lost my memory. I mean, other worlds? A hard time limit? Possibly losing my closest friend forever?”
She covered her face with a hoof and took a few deep breaths. “It’s just… I don’t know what I’m doing, really. I’m just doing what everypony else is telling me and hoping for the best…”
Fluttershy draped a comforting wing over Twilight’s back. “I know what you mean… most of the time, whenever we go on our big adventures, I’m usually hanging in the back, waiting for something I can do…”
“But that’s different,” Twilight protested, turning to face the pegasus. “For you, it’s not really your fault. Your skillsets just aren’t very suited to those kinds of situations, but you still found ways to be proactive and helpful. But for me? I know that back then I was pretty much neck and neck with Rainbow, keeping everypony on task, helping figure out what we were doing, working out plans… Now I can’t do anything unless somepony gives me a direction...”
Her eyes returned to the Elements of Harmony. “And that’s not even going into whether or not I can still use the Elements…”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight looked down, her ears drooping. “...I’ve had nothing but time to think it over since I woke up with amnesia. I know I’m not the same as I was before… I can tell. I can see the ways you all react whenever I do something that I didn’t use to do, or whenever I say something ‘out of character.’ You’re all doing your best to adapt and help me, and I appreciate that more than words can ever describe…”
She reached down and rested a hoof on the chest, her lips curling into an anxious frown. “But… at the end of the day, I’m still different. I’ve changed. I’m not even half the mare I used to be. Without my memories, I’m just short of being nothing… And I’m… I’m scared that the Elements won’t let me use them like I am now…”
“Twilight…”
“If I can’t use my Element, will the others still work?” Twilight went on, slowly losing herself to a storm of doubts and what-if scenarios. “Will they be enough? What if they don’t work at all because I couldn’t use mine? What if we can’t bring Rainbow home because I’m not the mare who was first chosen to wield the Element of Magic? What if-”
“Twilight!” Fluttershy’s voice interrupted her. Twilight gave a startled squeak when two hooves firmly pulled her head to the side until she was eye-to-eye with a very disapproving yellow pegasus. “That’s enough of that!”
“B-but-”
“No buts, miss!” Fluttershy cut her off again. She then pulled Twilight into a comforting embrace, holding the alicorn’s head to her chest. The two fell quiet for a few seconds, allowing Twilight a chance to calm down with the aid of the soothing rise and fall of her friend’s chest.
“...I’m sorry,” Twilight sheepishly apologized, finding the strength to return the hug. “I’m just really nervous… I don’t want to let anypony down, especially Rainbow.”
“You won’t,” Fluttershy assured her.
“But what if-”
“Shh,” Fluttershy shushed her. She pulled back and stared into Twilight’s eyes with an encouraging smile. “You won’t let her down. I know you won’t.”
Twilight swallowed heavily. “H-how do you know?”
“Because I know you,” Fluttershy said. “And I have known you for years. You’re, a teensy, eensy bit different now, sure, but you’re still Twilight Sparkle. And sure, maybe you’re lost, scared, and confused. But that’s okay. You’ve all told me it’s fine to be scared so many times…”
She leaned in, pressing her forehead against Twilight in an affectionate nuzzle. “But even if you’re really scared, I know you’ll find the bravery pull through. And if you stumble or fall down, we’ll all be here to catch you and help you get back on your hooves. That’s what friends are for, after all… and that’s what you, Twilight, taught us. That’s what you taught me.”
Twilight’s jaw gaped open as she tried to process the sudden rush of support and encouragement. She clamped it shut after a few moments and gave a small smile. “I… okay. You’re right,” she said, giving Fluttershy a squeeze. “Thanks. I needed to hear that, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy pulled back and gave her a warm smile. “You’re welcome. Anything for my friends.”
Twilight’s smile grew. “Right. Anything for our friends…” she echoed before looking down at the chest. With a quick flicker of her magic, she opened it up and withdrew her Element of Harmony. She took the tiara in her hooves and looked it over again, this time forcing herself to ignore her own condition and instead focus on what needed to be done.
Rainbow Dash was stranded in another world, and she was counting on everypony here, in her home to bring her back. She was counting on Twilight. And after everything Rainbow had done for her since she woke up, after all of the stories, all of the effort, and all of the heartfelt promises of helping her find herself and put her life together… what else could Twilight do but her part to bring the cyan princess back home?
The tiara in her hooves seemed to vibrate more intensely as if to encourage her train of thought. She nodded to herself and set it on her head, just behind her horn. She turned to face Fluttershy and nodded with confidence and determination. “And anything for Rainbow Dash. She welcomed me back to the world, now it’s my turn to do the same.”
Fluttershy smiled widely and gave a sharp nod of her head. “Mhmm!”
Twilight beamed at the encouragement. Then, with a quick flick of her magic, she returned the tiara to its place in the chest and closed it up. “Alright. Thanks, Fluttershy. I think I’m going to start packing a few things for the trip. We’re supposed to be leaving soon, right?”
“In a few hours, yes,” Fluttershy confirmed, backing off of the couch. “Do you need any help packing?”
Twilight paused for a moment. She was about to say no when a thought occurred to her. In all honesty, Fluttershy probably knew more about Twilight’s things than Twilight did right now, and with Spike away telling the others about the plan…
With a sheepish grin and a small blush, she nodded. “Yes, please. Thank you.”
With that, the two friends turned and made their way upstairs for Twilight’s bedroom, ready to grab whatever they would need on this trip. Then, it would just be a matter of heading to Baltimare and bringing Rainbow Dash back home.
Twilight still felt the tell-tale tickle of doubt somewhere in the back of her mind, but she forced herself to shove it down and feed the fires of her resolve instead. She could do this. She had to do this. If she couldn’t, then Rainbow would be lost forever.
And Twilight was not about to let that happen.