//------------------------------// // Music // Story: Clipped Wings // by Tavi n Scratch //------------------------------// I close the door behind me as I walk into the dark library. There's no need to turn on the lights; I know this place like the back of my hoof. I walk up the stairs to my room and flick on a little lamp in one of the corners. A small area with a chair and a nightstand is illuminated and I set down my saddlebag. I’m not at all tired so I decide to take a seat. On the little table sat Twilight’s note. I pick it up and read it over a few times to calm my nerves. I feel a little on edge, as if I might break down again at any moment. It was silly of me to think that a little resolution could actually make everything better. It’s almost funny how much of the day I spent crying after telling myself I was done spilling tears. Even as these thoughts went through my head my eyes were watering. I guess tonight will just be a night where I do nothing but cry. I stand up and head to the other side of the room. In the corner opposite the chair sat an old phonograph. I pick up an old piano music record, Twilight used to always put this on whenever I came home after a particularly rough day. The music would fill the air and she’d just snuggle up to me, waiting for me to say something. That’s one thing I miss about her, she understood that not everything could be talked out. She knew that the solace of just being with another is all that is needed. I brush the dust off the vinyl and place it in the record player. In moments the air is filled with a beautiful sonata. I go back to the chair and pick up the note. As the music lowers into a quiet lullaby, I lie down in the bed, reading the note over and over. Tears were flooding out now, to the point of my vision blurring. I read until I no longer can, and then I clutch the note close to my chest. It wasn’t much, but it’s all I have of her. ~~~ The bright morning sun wakes me; I don’t even remember falling asleep last night. I get up out of bed and stretch. I’ll not be making any stupid and unrealistic resolutions today, I’m just going to deal with life as it comes along. A sound comes from downstairs as somepony knocks on the door. I head down and open the door to reveal Rarity. “Good morning, Rainbow,” she pauses a second. “Oh dear, you look dreadful, are you ill?” I blink a couple times to clear the groggy blur from my eyes. “No, I just spent last night thinking about Twi.” “Oh.” She steps back, probably worried that she offended me. “It’s alright, you couldn’t have possibly known.” I put a hoof on her shoulder. “I mean it’s been six months, almost seven, I really should be over her by now. Most normal ponies would be.” I shrug and return my hoof to the ground. “I’d be worried if you were over it; you and Twilight were closer than any two ponies I’ve ever seen. These are the kinds of things we get through, not over. You said that yourself.” It was interesting, hearing that again after just being told that last night. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. Now, is there something you came here to tell me?” She facial expression shifted rapidly. “Oh, yes, Princess Celestia shall be here later today to discuss the Elements of Harmony.” I could feel my stomach drop. “Be at Sugarcube Corner at seven o’clock. Now I have other things I must attend to, so I’ll see you tonight.” She trots off to continue her errands. I never really thought about the Elements; how Twilight being gone would affect them. I close the door and return upstairs. What I wouldn’t give for her to be here right now. ~~~ I begin to head towards the bakery about five minutes before seven, my head slumped and my eyes downcast. I know it’s important that we deal with this, but for some reason I hate the idea. I mean, look at everything we’ve done together with the elements. We’ve saved Equestria on countless occasions. Each time, the six of us would muster up all we had, and we could not be defeated. And yet, that’s exactly what this feels like: defeat. Tears flow again as I continue to walk; they slide down my nose and fall to the hard-packed dirt. Then I realized why I was so reluctant to do all of this. Twilight’s Element was really all that connects her to this world. Once that’s gone then that means one thing. She’s gone. ~~~ The bell rings as I open the door to the sweet-shop. Inside sit my four friends and the alicorn princess. They are intently discussing... something. I don’t make much of an effort to listen in or join the conversation. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, you are here.” Celestia is the first to notice me. “We understood that this may be hard for you, so we tried to finish as much as we could before you arrived.” This kind of gives me mixed feelings; they all were discussing an important topic that I should be a part of without me. But then again, I don’t really want to be part of it. “We’ve decided that I shall return to being keeper of the Elements and I shall be the one to use them to combat any emergencies.” I breathe a sigh of relief, but then she begins to talk again. “There is however another topic that I wish to bring up and it may be a bit of a tender subject.” I physically and mentally brace myself for what is about to be said. “I know that Twilight left you all so very quickly, and I know that none of you were able to say goodbye. As such, I can offer you an opportunity; I can create a temporary link between Twilight and each of you, giving you the chance to talk for a short time. Would any of you like to say a proper goodbye?” I begin to nearly choke; this entire idea just stuns me. Applejack is the first to speak up, “I think we’d all like that, but I think Rainbow Dash should go first.” They all turn to me expectantly, but I just shake my head. “I need a moment, I need to figure out what I’ll say. You should go first Applejack.” She nods. “Alright, after the connection is over I’ll need you to go into the other room as to not interfere with the other connections.” The Princess touches her horn to Applejack’s head and the room is filled with light. Then, just a second later, everything returned to normal, all except one thing. A smile is stretched across Applejack’s face and tears are flowing from her eyes. She nods at us then turns to Celestia, “Thank you princess, that helped a lot.” Applejack silently proceeds to the next room. “Wow, that was short.” Pinkie breaks the tension. “The connection lasts much longer in your mind.” The princess touches her horn to Pinkie Pie’s head and the same phenomenon occurs. When the light fades Pinkie Pie has the same expression as Applejack. She wipes the tears of her face then wraps her forelegs around the deity. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” She lets go and heads off to join Applejack. Celestia repeats the process with Rarity and Fluttershy, both of them reacting similarly to the others. Fluttershy gives a thank you that was barely audible though her bawling. Rarity wipes the tears from her eyes and gives her very polite thanks. Then it’s my turn. “Are you ready Rainbow Dash?” I look down at the ground, this is what I want, but I can’t. It feels like something is latched onto me, keeping me here, not wanting me to see Twilight. At least not yet. I clench my eyes tight to keep myself from crying yet again and I try hard to speak without my voice cracking, “I’m just not ready yet, I can’t.” Despite my best efforts my resolve shatters, “I need to talk to the others first, is that okay?” The goddess looks down at me, a look of sympathy in her eyes. Then she turns away as if she knows something that she cannot share. “Go to your friends, I feel that you should certainly talk to them before leaving to see Twilight.” ~~~ I open the door to see my friends quietly conversing with each other, smiles on their faces and tears on their cheeks. They were discussing their memories of Twilight, reckoning back to the many adventures we all had together. All the fun we had together. Rarity is first to notice me, “Oh, are you alright Rainbow? How was it?” I look up at her, “I haven’t gone yet, I felt like I needed to talk to you gals first, for some reason.” They all look as confused as I feel. I don’t know why I’m inclined to talk to them, I just know that I need to. “Is there somethin’ you need to say, Sugarcube?” Applejack walks over and puts a hoof on my shoulder. I look into her eyes and feel a twinge of sadness. “I feel like I need to thank you, all of you. When Twilight... died,” I choke on the words, “I don’t know what I would’ve done without all of you. I love all of you so much, I just don’t know how to show how grateful I am for helping me get through this.” I find myself crying and I’m really unsure why. Then I feel their embrace. First Applejack pulls me into a hug, which Pinkie instantly joins. Then Fluttershy and Rarity become part of the embrace. Fluttershy speaks first, “No matter what Rainbow, we’ll be here for you.” The rest of them affirm the words and we all just stay there, frozen in time. I have all of my friends there, supporting me, I should feel happy and comforted. I don’t. I feel sad and downtrodden. The others stand back and look at me. “Are you gonna go talk to Twi now?” Pinkie questions, her huge grin contrasts the sad look of her eyes. “Yeah, I guess I am.” I stand back up and turn to walk out. “Goodbye, girls.” I am unsure why I said it like that, but the second the words leave my lips, I feel the clasp break. Whatever was keeping me from Twi has let go. “Are you prepared now Rainbow Dash; are you finished here?” This time I just give a curt nod. The princess leans down and touches her horn to my forehead and the room again fills with blinding light. ~~~ When I open my eyes I am standing in the center of the main room at the library. The door opens and my heart skips. There she is, standing right there before my eyes. She stands in the doorway, that unsure and curious smile sits on her face. She walks up to me and I unfreeze. I grab her as tightly as I possibly can, terrified that any little thing can take her away. She returns the embrace and together we collapse on the floor. I feel her body shake from sobs and I feel myself tremble from the tears. “I’ve missed you so much.” We both say the exact same words simultaneously. “I love you Dash.” “I love you too Twi, I’ve been so lonely.” “I'm so sorry Dash.” “Don’t even think about blaming yourself for any of this.” “It just hurts to be alone.” She stands up, turning away. She walks to the opposite side of the room, staring up at the wall of books, as if an answer of some kind lay hidden among pages. I stand up and walk after her. She either doesn’t notice me approach or chooses to ignore me so I put a hoof on her face and turn her towards me. Our eyes lock and I speak as gently as possible. “I know, I know how much it hurts to be all by yourself. I don’t want to have to leave you. Not again. Only I don’t really have a choice.” She bites her lip, looking as if she is debating something inside herself. Finally she sighs and speaks, sounding a bit cautious of her words. “But you do have a choice.” “What?” “If you come outside with me then you can stay here.” Normally I’d stop and look at the choices before making a decision this big, but I didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go.” I turn towards the door. “Really? You’ll give up everything you have in Equestria? Just to be with me?” I turn back to look into her eyes, her beautiful eyes.“Why do you sound so surprised?” I say as I give her a short kiss. I walk to her side and stretch out a wing, putting it around her as she gets up. Together we walk out the door.