"Sister, I worry about her."
"I do too, but what can we do?"
"I could always break down the barrier-"
"No, I trust my student has reasons for blocking off insight to whatever she it's doing."
"But there is someone else. One that, from what I've managed to glean, may be trying to convince her into... A transcendence."
"..."
Twilight backed away from the crack in the doors to the throne room, puzzling over what she had just heard, Transcendence? She had yet many more questions, questions that a certain someone was going to have to answer. But those were going to have to wait, as Twilight was told she was going to have to go to Ponyville for a routine check up. After saying goodbye to Celestia, she spread her winds and took off.
She thought it strange as she pumped her wings, that despite all this time she had these wings, along with all that training from a loyal friend, she was still very clumsy with her flight. She was repeatedly told that she would get the hang of it, but she was not much better than when she first got them.
Perhaps they don't belong to you.
Twilight landed on the balcony to the library just as the sun was setting. The plan was to spend the night there, take care of business the next day, and return to Canterlot the same day. Before she went into the house though, she looked out to the horizon and watched the last rays of sunlight go out, the appearance of which connected with her somehow, but she wasn't sure why.
Twilight entered the Carousel, where Rarity was busy stitching together a dress she had torn the other day. "Oh, Twilight!" Beamed Rarity, "you just HAVE to come and see my latest creation!"
Twilight giggled, "no thanks Rarity, I'm in sort of a rush here. Did you fix my dress yet?"
Rarity lit up, "Oh, why yes! I even took the liberty of adding a stylish green trim, it will look absolutely MARVELOUS on you, don't you agree?" Twilight studied the fix carefully, the stitch so seamless you would need to look for a few seconds before you had any idea there was anything wrong with it. And of course, Rarity's color choice for the trim was spot on as always.
"It's wonderful, Rarity." Said Twilight.
"I had hoped so, nothing less for my be- best..." Twilight looked over to where Rarity was now collapsed on the floor, her wrinkled legs shaking with effort.
"Rarity!" Cried Twilight, as she ran over to the now still figure. She tried to pick up her friend, but Rarity simply turned to dust in her hooves. Twilight screamed at this as the dress set on fire and turned to ash and the Carousel crumbled around her-
Twilight sat there among the ruins, a tear-less whimper emanating from her bowed head. She felt a presence enter, but either didn't notice or care.
"Poor Twilight" said a mocking tone.
"Why are you doing this? You didn't need to..." Came a weak response.
"Oh, but I did. Do you know what would've happened had I not?"
Twilight heard a groaning noise. She looked up and saw that two of Rarity's mirrors had not been destroyed. Not only that, but they were now parallel to each other. The groaning noise came from the mirrors that were growing and stretching, they extended left, right, and up into infinity. She looked up, and looked to the side, and could see nothing but reflections of herself extending endlessly into the "mirror tunnel" until the light became too weak, ending in equally infinite darkness.
A voice emanated from nowhere, "So, let's review. You say you have nothing to regret, yet you repeatedly dream about your late friends, you can barely keep a straight face when you see something remotely reminiscent of your past life."
"Poor Twilight!" He repeated as he appeared in the reflection but not beside her. He pulled his hood back, revealing... Fluttershy's face. In whose voice he/she said, "I mean really Twilight, do you expect us to believe-" he switched to Apple Jack "-that though you live-" Rarity: "-in a drafty, and quite frankly empty castle-" Rainbow Dash: "-along a near equal who still calls you her student without missing a beat,-" Pinkie Pie: "-surrounded by thousands of adoring subjects, but none that you can call-"
"-friend?"
This last word had Twilight looking back at herself again, but this reflection was a little shorter, without a crown, without gold slippers, without wings. And glaring at her. Twilight stared back, willing it with all her power to go away, yet there it, she remained. Said the voices of all her friends, "you don't regret anything?"
"This act, this ruse that you have been playing at, is nothing more than a defense against the great agony that you have been feeling. Am I not right?" Twilight didn't respond. "That's quite alright, you are not ready to admit that I am correct."
"Please" cried Twilight, "just stop talking!"
"But talk I must! And talk I shall!" He was speaking loudly now. "For you to know the truth!" He was defiant, oblivious to Twilight's silent pleas. "Did you know" he started, "that at the graveyard, that monument was supposed to be your gravestone, that it took them 20 months after Pinkie's passing to realize you would not die?" He spoke faster, louder, "did you know, that your dear princess Candace spent 30 months up at a mountain resort to recover from the DEATH of your brother, General Shining Armor, the better part of her stay spent literally wallowing in her tears?" He motioned to a magic screen, were a view of the princess of love could be seen sitting in her throne room, a hollow shell of her former self. "Do you know why you were so long the center of Celestia's attention, why she tried so very hard to get you to where you are now?" He suddenly calmed down to almost a whisper, and leaned close to Twilight, putting a comforting leg over her. "It is because she failed another, one that you know very well, and plays a big role in your transformation." He got up and paced a little. "Alas, he is no longer with us, but that's the point you see."