As they looked at the two, dark blobs etched in the stone, Twilight and Trixie perspired. Twilight could only look at the ground as Trixie collapsed from tiredness.
The curse has lifted, and we have triumphed! Twilight had a secret desire to dance and engage in other celebrations, but as she took in her surroundings, she realized that now wasn't the appropriate moment.
She poked Trixie's body instead. "Aren't you a little theatrical?" she jokingly questioned.
Trixie looked irately at the mare. "Well, pardon me for being tired after that battle. You nearly killed us!"
A neutral frown replaced Twilight's bright grin. "I know. But like I promised, I dealt with the curse on my own."
"I suppose. But if only you hadn't thrown Trixie into the mix!" She let out a short rant before cocking her head to gaze at Starlight. She inquired, looking apprehensive, "Is she okay?"
She turned to find Starlight's unconscious body lying on the ground after realizing who she was referring to. There was little bleeding on her cheek and breast, but not much. Twilight observed that one of Starlight's ears now had a fresh notch.
"Starlight!" Twilight exclaimed as she saw how badly her friend was hurt. She took a closer look at the bleeding scars that had been left on her body. She guessed Spike was the one who had carried out this action.
He was once again under the curse's influence. She pondered furiously.
Trixie observed Twilight was obviously shivering from anger and remorse. She placed a hoof firmly on her shoulder. "Relax, Princess. She is still alive." Despite having the same emotions within, she made an effort to comfort the alicorn.
"Yeah, but she could've been dead! Take a look at both of you! Because of me, you two are hurt. Not to mention that Discord has turned to stone as a result of my actions!" Twilight shot back. She shook her head and spoke with a fresh sense of guilt.
As tears began to well up in Twilight's eyes, she continued to shake her head. "I'll never be forgiven by Starlight. In reality, nobody will ever forgive me for what I did. I'm astonished that you are consoling me at this time." She spoke to Trixie.
Trixie's eyes became a little wider. "Are you even hearing yourself? Starlight will certainly forgive you!"
Twilight gave her a somewhat hostile glance. "Avoid being naive. Starlight was the one that suffered the most out of the three of you! She was forced to wear a manestyle reminiscent of her bad past, she was forced to battle me and Spike several times, and now she's terribly hurt! All thanks to me!" Twilight spoke as she turned to Trixie. "If you were Starlight, would you ever be able to forgive me? Hm?"
Trixie appeared shocked by the inquiry. She exhaled deeply before sighing. "She also enslaved a town and generated several destructive timelines." She stated it seriously. She then locked her gaze on Twilight.
"She did things that, in my opinion, were worse than what you did. Nevertheless, you and your pals forgave her. If you had forgiven her for her heinous actions, I have no doubt that she will forgive you for yours as well." Trixie finished.
With Trixie in view, Twilight turned her head aside. She gently sobbed while wiping one of her eyes. Trixie's remarks had crossed her mind, and perhaps she was correct. Starlight will very likely forgive her, just as Twilight has forgiven her. She can never be too certain, though. As a result of the heart-wrenching experience she had these last few days, Twilight figured that she would be more forgiving in the future.
If Starlight even desires to speak to me.
Twilight wiped away her tears and scanned the scene. She observed Spike, the Princesses, and their battered and unconscious state. She reasoned that the three of them needed to rest, as they should.
"Can you can take Starlight and Spike to my castle? I'll teleport the Princesses to their rooms." Twilight gave Trixie the command. She then hesitated a bit. "Except if you wish to go your own way." She mumbled nervously.
But in response to her order, Trixie nodded. "I'll try. Even still, compared to you and Starlight, Trixie not that skilled at teleportation."
Twilight gave a little smile. "Then let me handle it for you." Twilight remarked this as she used her power to transport Trixie, Spike, and Starlight to the castle.
When she was finished, she let out a loud sigh as she turned to face the Princesses who were hurt. She was still plagued with guilt. I'm not sure if the Princesses will forgive me. Twilight thought as remorse began to appear in her eyes.
She left with the Princesses by using a teleportation spell.
Trixie, as well as an unconscious Spike and Starlight, popped up in front of the castle's doors. One of the doors were slightly open.
Trixie stood up and once again glanced down at Starlight. She needs her wounds treated before I put her to bed. Trixie pondered. She then turned to face Spike. They both do.
After raising Spike into the air and laying him on her back, Trixie lifted Starlight as well. Despite some difficulty, Trixie was able to use her powers to carry her body.
Trixie stepped inside the gloomy castle after opening the door with her hoof. Due of their conflict with a mind-controlled Celestia and Luna, the castle appeared messy. Trixie couldn't take her eyes off the statue of Discord, who was pleading for his life. She saw the horror in his stone eyes, and Trixie felt a cold go down her spine. He didn't deserve that outcome, even though he may be a little annoying at times.
Trixie visited one of the libraries in Twilight's castle after passing the statue of a horrified Discord. Spike and Starlight were placed on the room's couch by Trixie. She started to gaze at the shelves and couldn't help but feel overpowered by the sheer number of books in them.
"How do you navigate these enormous shelves to find anything?" Trixie murmured to herself as she stared at the millions of books in the shelves. "There is no label indicating the category of these books." She could not help but be irritated. Somewhere in this enormous castle had to be a book of healing.
Trixie grumbled. Spike and Starlight are in urgent need of healing, so she didn't have time to go through thousands of books. "Fine, since Twilight sucks at labeling, I might as well do it manually."
After leaving the room, she went into the closest restroom. She opened the bathroom cupboard and grinned with delight when she saw a first-aid kit inside. She took hold of the handle with her jaws and brought it to the room where Starlight and Spike were laying.
She used the supplies in the first aid box to treat Starlight and Spike's injuries. She exhaled with satisfaction after spending several minutes treating her friends' bruises and cuts with bandages and other necessities.
Now I will just have to wait for one of them to wake up.
Trixie kept an eye on Starlight and Spike while she was lying on the ground. However, after a short while, her drowsiness took control, and she soon fell asleep.
Twilight teleported Princess Celestia and Luna to the palace. Deciding to take turns, she brought Luna to her bedroom, and placed her on the bed. Twilight focused intensely as she worked her magic to treat the alicorn's scrapes and wounds. The alicorn was treated, and then the princess was tucked in. Before leaving the room, she gave Luna a sweet smile that was mixed with guilt.
Celestia came next, and this time Twilight felt even deeper remorse than she did with Starlight. Due to Twilight's foolish interest in old spells, she had her instructor, who served as her mentor, watch while she was subjected to the spell's mind control. Twilight fought valiantly against the want to cry, but all she could manage was a heavy, sad sigh.
Then, just like she had done with Luna, she levitated the powerful princess to her bedroom and performed the same healing techniques. Twilight chose to stay longer after tucking the Princess in.
Incomparable regret filled Twilight's eyes as she gazed at the comatose alicorn. She didn't even dare to cry as tears slowly began to trickle from her eyes. She didn't need Celestia to hear her ugly sob. All she could manage was to sniff and wipe her cheeks clean of the tears.
"Princess, I know you are very, very disappointed with me." Twilight finally spoke while still sobbing. Her voice had begun to tremble. "And I don't blame you at all."
Her hoof began to clutch the covers hard as she felt self-hatred build inside her. How on earth could she be able to forgive herself? She was the one who mind-controlled her friends, the Princesses, and the entire town! What kind of self-forgiveness could she even have for her own behavior? She was fully aware that Celestia would pardon her because of her sense of justice. But she wouldn't have it. She never will.
I've experienced the curse's control at least twice, and both times it was awful! Everyone in the town, including Starlight, had gone through the same thing. It was awful and terrible, but I was the one who made it happen. The curse was acting maliciously on its own, but I was the one who let it go!
Her hoof eventually ceased gripping the blanket, and she was forced to suppress her rage. She had learnt from her own experiences that self-hatred was unhealthy. She could not escape the feeling in her bones, though. She shook her head slowly and was angry with herself.
Now Starlight's perspectives begin to make sense. Starlight had confided in Twilight about feeling guilty and a little self-hatred during the early stages of her reformation, and Twilight remembered this with a mocking grin. She offered some guidance to the distressed mare on how to handle these troubling ideas. Oh, how oblivious she was to the reality of self-hatred.
She believed that she deserved to be imprisoned in chains in Canterlot's dungeons, just as Starlight, Trixie, and Discord were. It appeared to be a suitable punishment for her. And she didn't deserve to be forgiven. Not by Starlight, the Princesses, or anybody else. They were perfectly entitled to despise her.
Long periods of deadly quiet silence were broken by her shaking her head in shame. Why am I having these ideas in my head? This isn't how things should proceed at all.
She slowly stood up and made her way over to a desk. I need to quit hating myself and deal with the fallout from this tumultuous incident. I brought this issue to Ponyville and Canterlot, and I want to address it. She said while grabbing some paper and a quill.
She put aside the self-hatred she was feeling for the time being as she wrote on the paper. This was crucial.
She swiftly prepared copies of an announcement and flew out of the castle to post it all throughout Ponyville after finishing what she had to write. She put it up anywhere people might see it, including doors and street lighting.
Then she took off for her own palace. She was hesitant to get together with Trixie, Starlight, and Spike just yet. Trixie was fast asleep as she lay in front of Starlight and Spike, who were either sleeping or unconscious, according to Twilight. She smiled as she observed the bandages wrapped over Spike and Starlight's bodies. She laid the piece of paper carefully and slowly close to Trixie's sleeping body.
She quickly flew out of the room and the castle before anybody could feel her presence.