Memories of the Magic
In the center of the majestic rural area of Ponyville rested an enormous tree. As with everything else in the town though, it was no normal tree. Instead, this tree had been carved out and furnished for living. The outside was littered with decorative patterns and windows. The flowery, organic building ingeniously lead itself to become its own ironic twist of purpose; it was a library.
Although originally planned to simply be made for book rental and storage, the library had been adjusted to house a single pony resident. Well, a single pony and dragon sidekick that is. It had been quite some time since the library had been uninhabited, and the residents of the fine village of Ponyville couldn’t remember a time when it wasn’t. In fact, the mare who lived there made quite the name for herself in Ponyville, and across Equestria. That mare was none other than the great, Twilight Sparkle. She had become so engrained in the history of the country that forgetting a mare like Twilight was impossible, nigh unthinkable.
One time, her and her friends even ---
“Excuse me, but I think I know plenty about myself and my home thank you very much.” retorted the cranky unicorn.
I see you’re awake then now.
“With your incessant ramblings going on, it’d be hard to not to be.”
The groggy mare lifted herself from her comfortable position in bed, simply to readjust and cover her face with the blankets. Head tightly tucked into her pillow, Twilight let out a sigh of relief as she returned to slumber-land.
I felt bad. I didn’t intend to wake her up, at least not yet. Telepathic communication was more fun within dreams as it was. Trying to access the sleeping mind was like sending a hungry kid into a candy store. Of course, what I walked into could be more described as sending a lonely mare into a ---
“I am not lonely! And you better not have seen anything, that was my dream!” she interrupted, her voice slightly muffled by the pillow.
Sorry, just saying what I saw.
“You didn’t see anything at all. I was simply…exploring another facet of friendship with a kind stallion.” The unicorn blushed.
Well I certainly didn’t mean to interrupt. How was I supposed to know you were asleep?
“It would’ve been simple if you just recognized my cognitive thinking patterns when mixed with…” her voice trailed off behind her before jumping awake “Who are you and what in Celestia’s name are you doing in my head!”
Jeez, it’s like you all forgot who I was the next day. Was I really that easy to forget?
The possibility that six of my best friends had up and ditched their memories of me was unnerving to say the least. Eyes low and smile degraded, I listened for Ms. Sparkle’s response.
“I’m quiet sorry mystery voice, but the possibility of any proclaimed pony even pronouncing their past adventures with me so poignantly present is preposterous.”
Purple unicorn says what now?
The magical mare rolled her eyes at me, “I haven’t met anypony new in months. At least nopony that would have the capability of communicating with me via telepathy. Although I am quiet interested in how you managed to accomplish such a feat, I must ask you to vacate my mind. I do have personal privacy after all, mystery voice.”
Without even a second thought, the light purple pony rose from her bed and began at getting ready for the day. Her first step was to, as usual, grab her checklist of her morning routine. The taking of the checklist was, in fact, the first thing on her checklist, and was promptly crossed off. Routine or not, the checklist would be there for her every morning.
Still the daunting fact of the matter remained pressed to the air that surrounded our mental link. Twilight didn’t remember me either. And if she didn’t remember me, who’s to say the others would fare any better? Applejack would think she was being possessed. Fluttershy would be scared out of her mind trying to find a way to escape herself. Rarity well…it’s not the worst possible thing ever, but I’m sure she’d still flip out. And Pinkie Pie, I didn’t even want to mess with Pinkie’s brain. Who knows what crazy stuff is in there.
Twilight, you can’t honestly say you don’t remember me, can you?
“I thought I made myself clear mystery voice, I haven’t met anypony new in months and right now I would appreciate if you…” the mare’s eyes began to release from their sleep induced locks. A huge grin could be seen working its way across her cheeks as the giddy unicorn hopped around the room.
“I’m sorry I got your name wrong mystery voice, or should I call you, Mystery Stallion.” She jibbed.
Hahaha, so you do remember!
“I’ve been known to have a very good memory. Princess Celestia told me that I had remembered more spells in one week than even her sister, Princess Luna did when she was a foal. You know, it was surprising, but as an alicorn it made a bit more sense. You see, although I had a high aptitude for remembering, I could not yet perform all of the spells. Luna was able to master spells in weeks that would take a unicorn like me months to do. Twilight. Not to say I’ve been shirking my duties, oh no. My, what would the Princess say is I didn’t keep up my studies? She would be so disappointed with me. Maybe she would Twilight send me back to school. No, no, I’ve already disproved that theory. Then again, it is simply a theory Twilight which would be disproved. That is the whole point of a theory after all. Besides ---”
TWLILIGHT! I screamed, annoyed with her ranting. My mental shriek was enough to rattle her iron concentration and she stopped.
Blankly staring into the checklist in front of her, the perplexed purple mare blinked. She stood motionless as the silent seconds ticked by. Worried and unsure what exactly was going on, I tried talking with her once more.
Uh…Twi, are you alright?
“Not exactly.” She told me flatly.
What’s wrong?
Twilight cleared her throat softly and prepared her checklist and pen with her magic. The purple aura emanated from the writing implements as she drew the over to a desk. Not even bothering to sit, she began checking things off one by one.
Twi, what the heck are you doing?
“I’m checking off everything wrong about this scenario. Right now I’ve noted about twelve different anomalies.” She explained, a light tone of intellectual arrogance peppered over her voice.
Anomalies? Like what? You don’t think it’s me?
“It can’t be you. It’s been far too long since your last contact. If we were going to receive anything from you it should’ve been days after. There was no reason the real Drumroll would abandon us. Who are you and what have you done with him?”
She demanded I tell her what I did with, well, myself. She was right, I did plan on talking to them as soon as possible, but there was one thing that bothered me: I did.
Ms. Twilight Sparkle, I do believe you are mistaken. For I am Drumroll and it hasn’t even been two days since I last talked to you.
“Impossible. The last time I spoke with my friend Drumroll was…94 days ago.”
I let out an uncontrolled gasp. 94 days ago? But, but, it was just the other day. And Rainbow Dash, her and I had just…
Nopony remembers me, do they?
“Excuse me?” asked the interested unicorn.
Rainbow Dash and I talked with each other the other day, yet when I first spoke with her, she seemed rather confused that there was a voice in her head. Do you mean to tell me that you guys could’ve forgotten me so quickly?
“Of course we didn’t forget Drumroll, who I still don’t believe you are, provided the evidence gathered. We waited, and waited, and waited until he would contact us again, but he never did. And Rainbow Dash never told me of this, or any of the others to my knowledge.”
It was kind of personal.
“Tell me, whoever you are, how long has it been in your time?”
About three days.
“I see…” she replied, scratching her mane.
The ideal light bulb moment went off in her head and she ran to her bookcase. One of her bookcases that is. She levitated multiple books out from each shelf, only to cast them aside after a quick glance at the cover. Spike was going to have a busy afternoon. Finally, after a few dozen books has been tossed aside, Twilight found the right one. A large smile stretched across her face as she slammed the book onto the desk.
With the magic from her horn, she swiftly flipped through each page, swirling the pieces of paper from one end to another to find her spot. Nearing the end of the book, she pressed her hoof against a page and let her eyes skim the words greedily.
“AHA! ” she announced “I found it!”
You found it? That’s great! Uh, what is ‘it’?
“Basic Time Laws in Relative Dimension.” She smiled.
And that is?
“This book is filled with everything that the alicorn and unicorn race has discovered on the effects of time as it is known across the known universe. Still, they did put plenty of research into the possibilities of time existing outside of our own universe, and this book tells me their conclusions. But before I go any further, tell me one thing.” the tone behind her voice shifted from being informative to secretive in a split second.
Anything.
Her hoof folded the book over, saving her spot “What were you doing in Ponyville?”
Ponyville? It took forever for me to figure that one out. I had woken up in a strange new world with no idea of how I got there or how to get back. Not even minutes after that, I fell and almost died. That same sequence repeated for a good hundred times until we all found the answer at the bottom of Canterlot Castles. And she knows that, why in the world would she ask me that again… Mid thought I understood what she was asking. It was the same question she had asked when I first showed up at her door step.
You know, I was hoping you could answer that for me.
A subtle grin appeared on Twilight’s face, but she hid it well. Instead of saying any more on the matter she reopened the book and continued explaining.
“Because of the difference in dimension, we are not bound by the same clock work that you are. Although when that gap is covered or connected, as it is when we are mentally linked, the clocks work at the same pace. That is to say, neither one of us is moving faster or slower than normal, but instead we have merely synced our two universes together. Obviously this effect does not last after the effect because you have already talked with Rainbow Dash.”
Wow, that’s a lot to take in.
There was a pause of silence between our two active minds. Both her and I were processing the information. Her mind had probably already done so, and she was using this break to think of how to effectively use this knowledge and manipulate it. I on the other hand, just wanted to understand what was going on.
My finally accepting unicorn friend broke the silence “So it really is you then?”
Of course it is. I’m sorry that it took this long to get back to you.
“Now that I understand, please don’t feel bad. I’m going to have to relay this to the others so they know. How have you been?”
It’s been, odd, to say the least. I know I wasn’t there long, but not being around you now is pretty hard to get used to.
“I see. You’ve certainly had less time to adjust than we have.”
How are you doing Twilight? I know I left on pretty split decisions and you weren’t in the best of shape when it happened either.
“I’m doing better, thank you. It took a while for my body to fully heal, but the magic helped. Fluttershy was kind enough to offer a bed, but I figured the hospital would be the best place. We both know how having a hurt pony in your house can be.” she joked, a happy gleam returning to her face.
Haha, yeah. It’s nice to see that you’re doing better. How is everything over there?
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride, you know. So many things going on, events I’ve had to attend. I’ve managed to spend time with my friends, but it’s still a huge job being Celestia’s Faithful Student. I will say, you helped me write a fair amount of friendship reports.”
Glad I was able to help somehow. I really do feel bad about leaving you guys so soon.
“Don’t, Drumroll. We understood, we still understand. You don’t belong in our world, you belong in yours. Which actually reminds me!” the excited mare exclaimed, galloping over to her chest on the floor.
Using her magic, as with everything else, she opened the chest and took out a few sheets of parchment paper. The pages unrolled in midair, making a crinkling noise that only fresh paper could. Whipping out her old ink pen she began writing some odd scribbles down.
She tapped her pen on the paper, signifying that she had finished writing. “Celestia had me working on a way to recreate Discord’s portal to your realm. I’ve had plenty of time to work on it, but I’m still not done. It’s going to be years until I can master this level of spell.”
Even after mastering those crazy chants from the fight?
“Yes, unfortunately Discord’s magic is so much stronger than we could’ve imagined. It’s just too complex to simply read and attempt.”
Best of luck then, you know I can’t wait to come back!
“Neither can we. There was one particular filly who has been looking for you all this time you know.” She said, bringing me to wonder who could still be looking for me.
Without any response from me, Twilight released a soft sigh onto the paper, brushing the pages against each other before quickly resettling. All of her notes taken, the studious and ever working mare rolled the scroll’s pages up once more and placed them neatly inside the chest. A faint purple glow followed behind Twilight as she walked towards the door to her library balcony. Held inside the magical entrapment was the original list of things to do for the morning.
Twilight pushed the intelligently designed tree door outwards, allowing it to reveal the majestic scene of Ponyville behind it. By the railing of the balcony sat a single chair. The warped tones in its wooden structure made its age evident. There long before the unicorn herself, the chair had been the Element of Magic’s resting place for many a night and morn. Again she took her seat and allowed her eyes to rest upon the scenery of the rural settlement.
“There are a lot of ponies still looking for you Drumroll.” She sighed.
But why? Nopony even knows I existed.
“I do. Rainbow Dash does. Applejack does. Big Macintosh does. Scootaloo does.”
Scoots…
“It’s not easy losing somepony important to you. And don’t think I don’t know what you’re going to tell me. ‘I wasn’t even there for that long.’ That doesn’t matter to your friends Drumroll. And they’re all placing their hopes in me to bring you back.”
But what about Celestia?
“She’s far too busy with royal duties to be able to give this the proper time it deserves. It’s just that everypony is always counting on me for such important things. I don’t want to let any of them down.”
You’ll get it one day Twilight. Besides, if they trust you that much, that has to mean something, right?
Twilight’s purple gaze drifted longingly into the background of Ponyville. It was going to be a beautiful day today. The wind existed simply as a light breeze meant for easy breathing, mindlessly wisping by. The clouds were well scheduled, not a single one confronted the sun about his job of shining over the earth. Twilight’s mane lifted and fell with the wind, brushing past her face before resting again on her neck.
“What will happen if I’m not here? What if I was out when the Roc came? Who would save Equestria?”
Her eyes never lost their placid glaze, but her words penetrated the very essence of the time and space that separated us. It was something I had never really considered before. Twilight was the saving grace of Equestria, all of the time. Without her, Equestria would be veritably screwed.
I, uh, never really thought about that.
“No, you didn’t.” she chided. “Nopony has…except me. I’m the only one who realizes that.”
Maybe it’s time you let somepony else take the wheel then?
“Excuse me?”
Let somepony else save the world for once. I know somepony will, I mean really, they won’t just let it fall to pieces.
Finally averting her eyes from the town, she placed her hoof upon her head. Sweat was dripping from her brow down her hoof. Rubbing vigorously, she erased all sweat and pushed the strands of her mane away. Teeth clenched tightly to her lower lip with concentration. A slight jolt of her body and she had hopped off the chair and began her short walk inside.
Her returning argument was adamantly stamped with her will, “I can’t do that. I wouldn’t be able to sit there and do nothing while my friends were in danger. That’s just not right.”
Would your friends say the same?
“Of course they would!” she told me, both annoyed and matter-of-factly.
Then you’ve got nothing to worry about. Chill Twilight.
Her head shot backwards in surprise, “Wait what?”
You just said it yourself. If you weren’t there, your friends would be. And since you said they’d be like you, they’ll be there to save Equestria in your absence.
The argumentative unicorn stopped, opening her mouth to retort, but begrudgingly accepted that in some sense, I was right. She looked back to the scenic view of her favorite town. Nothing had changed since her momentary lapse; it was still the same enchanting sight. Her facial expression loosened as she reentered her house.
“I guess you’re right. Mostly. They hardly have the magical ability to readily access the needed sectors of taming or imprisoning villains of the caliber we’ve faced so far. I suppose they could do a great deal of ---“
Twilight.
“I know. My friends will always be there, even if I’m not.”
Yeah. Even when you’re gone, you’re friends will always be there for you.
Twilight let out an amused giggle as she shut the door behind her. A gust of wind from the door blew a single piece of paper onto the chair. From there, the outdoor breeze picked it up and thrust it into the sky. Happily lilting from side to side, the page of words fell and rose with the tides of air that brushed it along. As with Twilight’s finely coiffed mane, it would once again settle on its place of comfort in a short time. However, it may never finish serving its true purpose, as there was nopony left in need of its final box.
[ ] Meet with friends at Sugercube Corner.