Reunion Ch 5: Requiem
By Rlogic1994
Twilight Sparkle looked forward to the lone tree, closing her eyes and sighing before making her way to the tree. When she had reached a spot under the tree where 9 planted flowers were placed in a circle, 7 already decaying and the other 2 wilting, the memories hit her. This was the last spot that all of her friends had been together alive and well. It had been almost 50 years now, but the memory was still fresh in her mind. “Yes, the past really does only get brighter,” she thought to herself. It had been Twilight’s idea for them all to take a day off, Rarity from her dressmaking, leaving her apprentices in charge, Fluttershy from her animal work, leaving the job under control of her visiting relatives’ protection, Rainbow from her work with the Bolts, having retired by now she only helped train the members, Applejack from her apple bucking, her brother and sister certainly adept enough to hold the farm for one day, Pinkie pie from Sugar Cube owner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake gladly taking charge of the shop for a day, and Twilight herself, from her research and studies. Even Celestia and Luna came, leaving the administration under the control of their advisors, whom the princesses had a great amount of trust in. Spike had been doing odd jobs and body guarding off and on so he was free without problem.
It was one of Twilight’s happiest memories. It was a simple affair, just a picnic on the plateau, which had a majestic view of the lands below. They had all ate a batch of Pinkie Pie’s world famous Party Popper cupcakes. They all got a hefty serving of Applejack’s finest reserves of Cider. It was a great day, and nothing went wrong for once. No need to bolt off to save Equestria from danger or to tend to Royal business. It was just a day for friends. They talked for hours, about each other’s lives, about changing times, about pretty much everything. That small meet up was the first time Celestia and Luna could let their regal attitude slip in years. They were both so grateful for it, too. For once Celestia laughed and smiled without covering her mouth in the “proper” manner. And Luna did not have her usual cold grace about her, now free from the eyes of the judgmental critics. It was the best day Twilight ever had, but was now no more than a fond memory among a sea of bad ones. She ran her hoof across the bark of the tree feeling each of the initials that they had carved into the tree. They had each promised that they would return to that tree one day, engraving their names in the wood as a signature on a contract. But the day of their second meeting never came.
Things came up in each of their lives that drove them apart, even though they did not want to be separated. And as they drifted farther and farther, the prospect of another picnic faded and vanished, just a pipe dream in the back of their minds. The happiness and bliss they had felt that day was no longer a luxury they could afford, so they never tried to meet up again. Except of course at each of the 6 solemn funerals, some of the worst memories Twilight ever had. Never again did that happiness and joy emerge from the sea of sadness and regret that had entered her life. Never again was she truly ever as happy as that day. And now Twilight had returned. But even though she was alone on that earthen platform, she was with all her friends. They had not broken the promise. They were all still with her, so when she returned to that tree, it was like they were all there smiling and laughing again. She could see them when she closed her eyes, old mares looking back at her with smiles and laughing at the old days of their youth. But it was too late, as it always was.
Twilight remembered that they had all vowed that when they returned they would cross their names out. Twilight closed her eyes and materialized a thin sharp sheet of purple magic. The slash she made cut through her name, crossing it out into an unrecognizable scratch. She looked at the other names and hesitated to cross them out as well. “One day soon, we will all be together. Then we can cross out our names together,” she pondered hopefully. She used her magic to undo the slash she had inflicted upon her name, leaving the scribble that she had made years before.
As she looked at the 9 decaying flowers, she realized that this was the end point of her journey to see her friends again. She had set out with a goal: to let her friends know that she had not forgotten them and that they would be with her always. She had accomplished this task, so now what? She sat down at the foot of the tree, looking out over the edge of the cliff to her Equestria below.
She could see Cloudsdale, now even more massive a city, billowing clouds the size of mountains setting the foundation. There was an air-tram port visible, shuttling pegasi at several hundred miles an hour to their destinations. The industrial sector was visible too, as Cloudsdale wasn’t just a rainbow manufacturing city anymore. All kinds of products were sent out from the furnace lit grimy catwalks of the factories. To her right was Canterlot, not much change in its look. But Twilight knew that was a lie. Beneath the exterior, Canterlot had become a less friendly place than in years past. Freelance journalists and photographers ready to catch anyone’s flaws or misstep. Crime bosses bribed guards to look the other way. It made Twilight sick to think of Canterlot, her home as a filly, as full of scum. Below her was Ponyville, now the one of the biggest city in all of Equestria, seconded only by the massive Manehattan. Above the former small town was an amorphous cloud of smog fogging up her vision of the city. It was no longer Ponyville to Twilight. The Carousel Boutique, once the tallest building in Ponyville, was now shrouded in the shadows of skyscrapers. It was no longer a close knit small town, but a bustling cutthroat business city. Twilight refused to believe it was Ponyville.
But she knew, from personal experience, that things change. Even though she did not like the look of the new future, she accepted its effects; more people had jobs and less people were on the streets. Even administration had gotten better with the Grand Council of public elected officials representing different parts of society. Twilight was surprised when Celestia chose to convene the council, but now realized that she was just setting up a better government environment for when she was gone. She knew nothing of the ponies elected, but she trusted that they knew what they were doing. Twilight knew very well that she and her friends were from the old world, one vastly different from this one. And that tomorrow, a new world would form, with new ponies and new ideas and they would be left in history. And because the world of tomorrow was a new world, it deserved to be governed by new ponies and structured by new ideas. It was only natural for her generation to be replaced by the new one, as she and her friends had replaced their elder generations. But this by no means meant that they had lost any respect for the past generations. In fact, they honored them more than anything, because with each generation, a new layer is built on the beautiful tower of accomplishments of previous worlds.
She knew all this, but it was still unsettling for her. She was unsure of the future of this new world, whether it would turn into the bright society that it seemed to promise or a world bathed in misery was beyond Twilight. She only hoped that the right decisions would be made. There would be mistakes, of course, and many of them. But the true sign of a bright future is the ability of a society to blow through the roadblocks of failure and become more than just a country or a nation, more than just ponies. They had a chance to start over with this new world, a chance to restructure the world at will. But what they did was out of Twilight’s hands, for her journey was over, and this new generation’s journey had just begun. And what an adventure it will be for them.
As she contemplated the future of Equestria, she failed to notice the sun had started to fall towards the horizon. She watched the red orb sink towards the horizon, thinking about her own life doing the same thing. It was at this point that in the quiet serenity of the plateau and the breathtaking view of Equestria that Twilight started reflecting on her life. She thought about all the things she had done that she was proud of and the fact that they were outnumbered by things she was not proud of or just didn’t care about. Ponies had always proclaimed her as one of the greatest ponies of all time, but Twilight was not so sure about that. She had ruthlessly murdered the Diamond Dogs, coldly refused help from several hopeful research parties, angrily snapped at anyone who had doubt in her research, and had drifted away from her friends. She was far from great.
She closed her eyes and thought about what really mattered to her. When she opened them again, her own mind answered her. Before her were her friends at the peak of their youth, strong and brave. But among her friends was a pony who Twilight had not seen in a very long time; in the middle of the group was Twilight herself in her own youth, a look of complete joy across her face. Their smiles melted the old mare’s heart. “If only…” she thought. But their smiles were ignorant, for they had no idea of what the future would hold. The old saying really was true; ignorance is bliss. She closed her eyes again and thought about what she would do now. When her eyelids parted, she saw before her a frightful mare. She had a gray mane and a lighter gray coat, with no cutie mark. She had a carnivorous looking mouth and no eyes. Then a sudden realization hit her; it was a reflection of her. The mare had the same hair with the highlight and the tail, her body looking exactly like Twilight’s. The mare before her was a monochromatic version of herself. Twilight tried to look into the mares nonexistent eyes, to get an explanation of the vision. The mare did not say anything except five words.
“It is time, Twilight Sparkle,” the voice said, holding an uncanny resemblance to Twilight’s own voice except it had a quality of rustling leaves and wind to it.
She nodded and closed her eyes again. When she opened them for the third time she was alone again. She returned to her reflection on her life and life in general. She knew all too well that life is like a river. It flows in only one direction. Everyone in the world was just driftwood at the mercy of the current. And inevitably, one day each of them will wash up on the shore of their own dreams and expectations and be held suspended in time for a moment to look back on their lives. Only at this moment right before the end do we truly realize what defines us, who we really are. The mask that we wear for the world shattered, we see in our minds’ mirror our true form. The question is whether we will like what we see or not. And Twilight was happy with what she saw. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t beautiful. But it was her.
She accepted her life with all its flaws, finally at peace with the events that had transpired in her life. But even though the visions were only her imagination, Twilight had learned long ago that imagination isn’t unreal; it’s just your heart’s way of telling you the truth. And so, Twilight lay her head down against the tree and crossed her hooves. In her last swan song, she focused her magic and emptied the energy of her soul into the world around her, a final parting gift to the ever changing nature surrounding her. She took one final breath and let go, becoming one with the world around her in true Harmony, her last smile forever etched across her face.