Twilight’s old room… how long had it been since Rainbow last stepped inside of it? Several years, at the very least. It was practically untouched, too, save for the fact that maids still came through and cleaned things up every so often, despite the resident having left it behind for different homes a long time ago.
Twilight Sparkle was resting in her old bed in Canterlot Castle, her eyes closed and her wounds treated to the best of the local doctor’s abilities. She’d be sore for a while, and she may end up having a few subtle scars under her fur, but she was otherwise in fine physical health. Once she had been given the all-clear, Rainbow ordered that Twilight be brought to her old room in the castle so that the two could have some privacy.
That had been over twelve hours ago. The sun had set outside, plunging the world into darkness yet again. The Summer Sun Celebration had been delayed a few days so that repairs and relief efforts could be made, a fact for which Rainbow was considerably grateful. She didn’t think she could handle her role in the festivities right now anyway, with how much was on her mind.
The door to the room quietly clicked open, admitting a certain baby dragon. “She’s still out, huh?” Spike asked in a hushed voice as he took up a position next to Rainbow, who was sitting on her haunches by the bedside.
Rainbow sighed and looked down. “Yeah… Doctor wasn’t sure exactly how long she’d be out, but she should be up any time now, I think,” she replied before glancing sideways at him. “How are things looking out there?”
Spike shrugged his shoulders. “They’re getting better. Ponyville’s gonna be fine. Fluttershy’s cottage had the worst of it, and that’s gonna take some time to repair, but they’ll manage. Thorax got some praise from Celestia and Luna for his efforts to help keep Canterlot from panicking while you were out there, so there’s some good news for him,” he counted off on his claws. He then looked at Twilight, his expression turning solemn. “...Have you figured out what you’re gonna say, yet?”
Rainbow winced. In truth, she had no idea where to even begin figuring that out. She took a deep breath and shook her head. “...Not yet. I think I might just let her ask me whatever she wants, though,” she eventually decided.
Spike leaned over and wrapped a claw around her back to give her a reassuring side-hug. “That’s probably a good idea. Knowing her, she’ll have a few thousand questions ready to go the second she opens her eyes.”
Despite the dread she felt in her heart, Rainbow couldn’t help the tiny smile that played across her lips at that remark. “Heh. And probably a notepad and a quill to take notes…”
“Some flashcards so we can quiz her later.”
Rainbow managed a weak chuckle at that before draping her good wing over Spike’s shoulders to return the hug. “Heh. Nah. I don’t think she’s quite that egg-heady,” she said before her smile fell away. “...Not like this, anyway.”
Spike fell silent, giving her a gentle squeeze.
The two remained like that for some time before, finally, Twilight began to stir. Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the alicorn’s brow furrow, and a quiet groan of discomfort came from deep in Twilight’s voice.
“No turning back,” Rainbow told herself, setting her jaw and steeling herself. “She’s gotta know.”
Twilight opened her eyes. She looked up at the ceiling for several seconds, confused, before looking over at Rainbow and Spike. “Wha… what happened?” she mumbled drowsily before going to sit up.
Rainbow hesitated before she spoke, her voice low and timid. “You, uh… y-you got the Elements back to the tree. After that, all of the vines dissolved, and we brought you back here to get some medical attention and rest,” she explained before looking down at the floor. “You saved our lives. Again…”
“How are you feeling?” Spike asked with a smile, reaching out and placing a claw on the edge of the bed.
Twilight glanced at him for a moment before focusing on Rainbow Dash. A tense silence fell over them, and Spike’s optimistic expression quickly withered. He backed away, clasping his claws behind his back and giving the two mares a little space.
Twilight frowned and carefully sat on the edge of the bed, making sure not to agitate her injuries any further. Rainbow waited for Twilight to speak for several moments, feelings of anxiety and trepidation growing stronger with every passing moment.
“...I died,” Twilight finally said, her eyes hidden from view behind her mane as she lowered her head.
Rainbow’s ears folded back. “...Yes, you did.”
“How? Walk me through what happened. Tell me everything.”
Rainbow was quiet for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. “Alright… see, we were in the Crystal Empire. We’d just beaten King Sombra with the Crystal Heart, blasting him to smithereens. Chrysalis was in her tree, too. We… we’d won. It was over. You and I were on the top of the palace with my mom and aunt, celebrating our victory. It was… I hadn’t felt that happy in so, so long.
”The army of Changelings that Chrysalis had brought with her left, running back to their home to try and find a new leader or something. That’s Thorax’s best guess as to where they went, at least. But…” Rainbow closed her eyes, shuddering with grief and revulsion at the memory. “...One drone stayed behind. Stinger. One of Chrysalis’ personal lackeys. She was a drone so loyal to her that it was practically all she could think about. So when we turned the queen into a tree, Stinger wanted revenge.”
Rainbow opened her eyes and looked at Twilight to find that she was still staring down. Rainbow took another deep breath and kept going. “W-well, she went for me. I guess she thought she could kill two birds with one stone if you will. Kill a princess and throw Equestria into grief, kill an Element bearer and break the spell on her queen…” Rainbow looked down to one side, shuddering uncontrollably.
“She was quick, quiet, and efficient. None of us saw her coming… except you.”
“Me?”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah… you saw her coming over my shoulder. I dunno what was going through your head at the time, but… you… y-you moved me. You spun us around so that the spell would hit you instead… and… and i-it did,” she went on, her voice starting to tremble.
Twilight shifted on her haunches, her ears lowering.
Rainbow sucked in a heavy breath and pressed on. “It killed you instantly. According to Thorax, the spell she used was designed to be completely irreversible. It attacks the brain and shuts it down in one quick moment. No chance of resuscitation… just… dead. I… I f-felt you going limp in my hooves. I heard you cry out and s-stop breathing… I saw your eyes close, and n-nothing I did could m-make them open up again.”
“And then Celestia turned me into an alicorn,” Twilight finished for her, slowly lifting her head and meeting Rainbow’s gaze with an unreadable look. “Restoring my life and undoing Stinger’s spell, but I lost my memories in the process.”
Rainbow nodded, scuffing a hoof on the floor. “Y-yes…”
Twilight was quiet for several seconds before she spoke again, venom dripping faintly from her words. “What happened to Stinger?”
“Aunt Luna subdued her,” Rainbow explained, her own skull burning at the base at what she had to say next. “She was imprisoned in the Empire, but… somehow, she got away. We dunno where she is or what she’s up to now.”
“I see…” Twilight said, sounding disappointed. A few seconds passed before she sighed and met Rainbow’s gaze again. “Rainbow… why? Why didn’t you tell me any of this? Don’t you think this is something I should have known?”
Rainbow flinched back, her ears drooping. “I… I’m sorry, Twilight. I am…”
“I don’t want your apology,” Twilight said impatiently, her brow furrowing. “I want answers! Why didn’t you ever tell me what happened to me? Why didn’t anypony?!”
Rainbow cowered under Twilight’s voice. She hesitated for several seconds before finally speaking up, making sure to keep her voice low. “...I was always going to tell you what happened to you that day. But… for the first few weeks, I was… i-it was just too painful for me to talk about, at first. I mean… I had to watch my best friend, the mare I had fallen in love with, be murdered in my hooves, taking a shot meant for me. And when you woke up… you didn’t even remember me. There is no way I can really describe just how much that hurt.”
Twilight’s expression softened, though whether it was out of understanding or simple pity was unknown.
“But… then I realized something when we went to visit your parents here in Canterlot,” Rainbow carried on. “It was when you tried to climb into bed with me. I could see it in your eyes, your body language, I could hear it in your voice. You were not comfortable doing that, but you forced yourself to do it anyway… Because that’s what Twilight Sparkle The Unicorn would have done.”
Twilight blinked, her eyes slowly widening.
Rainbow continued, her voice steadily gaining volume as it all came spilling out. “You were trying so hard to be somepony that you’re not. You were trying to force yourself into being the pony you used to be when you should have been trying to figure out what pony you wanted to become! Even after that night, I could see the signs! How you made yourself pick up all of the little quirks and traits that you used to have after hearing the stories from our friends. From the very start, you were trying so, so hard to be somepony you weren’t, emulating what she would do no matter what you felt!”
Twilight leaned back, her jaw falling open from Rainbow’s words.
“And knowing that… Twi, how could I ever tell you that you gave up your own life to save mine?” Rainbow finally began to quiet down. She sniffled and ran a hoof over her eyes, only now becoming aware of the tears that were building up there. “That you willingly died just so I could live? How could I tell you that, knowing that you might do it again someday? All because it’s what she would have done?”
The room fell quiet after that, and Rainbow eventually began to calm down. She lowered her hoof and let out a heavy sigh, her eyes locked onto the floor. “...I already watched you die once, Twilight. I couldn’t bear the thought of letting you die like that again… so until I thought you had finally moved on and let go of the mare you used to be, I decided that there were some things you just… weren’t ready to know, yet. Your death was at the top of the list…”
Twilight was quiet for several moments. Her face was torn between anger, shock, guilt, and sympathy, each one struggling for dominance. She looked down with a visible grimace, her ears splaying back and her teeth showing in a frustrated grimace. After a few seconds, Twilight sighed and closed her eyes. “...I appreciate the intention, Rainbow Dash,” she began after a second.
Rainbow looked back up to her, hoping against all odds that maybe, just maybe, Twilight would start to forgive her.
Twilight opened her eyes, and the guilt, sympathy, and shock were all gone. “But no matter how noble you were trying to be, the fact remains that it was my life you were hiding from me. My life! Not yours! You had no right to hide it from me!” she explained, her voice becoming angrier and angrier with every word she spoke.
Rainbow shifted back, recoiling from Twilight’s anger. “T-twi, I-”
“I trusted you!” Twilight went on, hopping down from the bed and beginning to advance and Rainbow. “I was counting on you to help me! To be my guide! I was relying on you to help me know who I am! And now I learn that you’ve been keeping things from me! Important things!”
Her voice was starting to tremble. Her lip began to quiver, and her eyes were beginning to glisten with fresh tears. “H-how can I trust you now?! H-how can I really be sure that anything you’ve told me so far hasn’t been doctored or altered in some way?! How can I know for sure that you haven’t been lying to me about other parts of my life?!”
“What?!” Rainbow squawked, genuinely shocked and hurt at the mere idea. “Twilight, I would never do that!”
“How can I be sure?!” Twilight pressed, jabbing a hoof into Rainbow’s chest. “How can you prove it to me?! All I have to go on, all I have ever had to go on is your word, and I can’t trust that anymore!”
“Hey, Twilight,” Spike called out, lifting his claws in a placating manner. “Just calm down, okay? We’ll work this out…”
Twilight snarled in the back of her throat at the interruption, but after a few moments, she took a deep breath to calm herself. When she spoke again, her voice was cold and distant. “Tell me, Rainbow Dash, right now… what else have you been keeping from me?” she asked.
Rainbow swallowed heavily, a chill running down her spine. “I… uh…”
“If you want me to ever trust you again, then you need to start coming clean,” Twilight stated through grit teeth. “So tell me. What. Else. Have you been hiding?”
Rainbow shivered, a cold feeling tugging at her heart. After a moment, she found her voice and spoke. “W-well… back when mom brought Discord’s statue down to Ponyville, uh… I f-found out that he could t-talk to me in my head if I got close enough,” she began, every word driving a nail of ice deeper into her heart.
Twilight remained silent.
Rainbow took that as her cue to continue. “He… He tried to lure me into releasing him with the promise of giving you back your memories.”
“...And you refused,” Twilight deduced quietly.
Rainbow nodded. “Y-yeah… Discord did a lot of horrible things to us, Twilight, and he only needed to put one small thing in my head to do it. I couldn’t take the risk that he’d do the same thing to you. And besides, he’d be gone after that, somewhere else in the world and torturing whoever lives there… I c-couldn’t doom an entire other nation just to satisfy my own personal wants…”
“...He was telling the truth,” Twilight whispered after a moment, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
Rainbow blinked. “Huh?”
Twilight recovered quickly, lifting her eyes and glaring into Rainbow’s again. “You should have told me about the offer when he made it.”
“Twilight,” Rainbow tried to reason with her, although the shaking in her voice made it all but impossible. “I didn’t want you to jump to any decisions too fast. I know how much you’ve wanted your memories back, but-”
“Do you think I’m stupid?!” Twilight suddenly shouted, her wings flaring up and her horn sparking into life. “I’m not an idiot, Rainbow Dash! I would have understood! If you had just taken the time to tell me everything, I would have probably agreed to leave him in stone!”
Rainbow curled up into a ball and cowered under Twilight’s rage, her eyes locked onto those of the angered alicorn. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a few sparks of pale magic dancing around in those purple orbs.
Everything fell silent after Twilight’s outburst. Gradually, her angered gasps began to calm down, and her wings folded up at her sides. She took a deep breath and turned for the doorway. Without a word, she began to walk.
“Twi…?” Rainbow choked out, bravely moving to stand. “Twilight, where are-”
“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Twilight snapped, her shoulders hunching up and shaking violently. “JUST… Just sh-shut up, and leave me a-alone…”
Without giving Rainbow or Spike a chance to call her back, Twilight burst through the door and left. The door slammed shut behind her, though the heavy thuds of her stomping steps reached them even through the wall.
Rainbow slowly lifted a hoof for the door, her mouth hanging open uselessly as she struggled desperately to find something she could say that might turn back the clock so she could undo all of this. In the back of her mind, a memory resurfaced of Twilight leaving her all alone in a hospital room in Hollow Shades.
That was the last straw. Rainbow let out a withering wail before crumpling to the floor in a shaking heap. She buried her face in her hooves, wishing that this was all just some terrible dream, that Luna would come and wake her up any moment, now, that Twilight was still her friend…
But no matter how hard she tried, she could not unmake the situation she had foolishly created.
“...What have I done?” she choked out, her body shaking as a series of violent, uncontrollable sobs began to ravage her system. She felt Spike’s claw on her shoulder at some point, but she was far too lost in her grief and guilt to notice.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, Twilight, I’m so sorry…”