Twilight’s dress hung in one corner of the abandoned Sugarcube Corner, which had been quietly gathering dust ever since Pinkie Pie had agreed to help with the rebuilding efforts. She would be returning, of course, but for now the building stood unused, a testament to the toll war had taken on the surrounding area. Several other shops, including Quills and Sofas and some of the farmer stalls, had been abandoned entirely, their occupants vanished to parts unknown to make new lives. Twilight knew of at least one couple who were emigrating to her realm.
The unicorn hummed quietly to herself as she set a scouring spell on the floorboards and lit the lights of the shop, drawing the sheets off of the tables and display cases. Her skills with cooking left something to be desired, but she had managed to procure some bread from one of the many buffet tables outside, and there was a daisy patch that was ripening out behind the bakery. Sandwiches, at least, were not beyond her. A pot of tea was whistling merrily on the nearby stove, and Twilight levitated it absentmindedly to one of the shop’s larger tables.
Cobwebs vanished from the rafters as the last of the dust was swept from the floorboards, and the glass of the display cases began to shine again as Twilight set her tray of food upon the table. Taking a step back, she surveyed the empty restaurant and found it to her satisfaction. A bit of dust had gotten on her dress, but that was to be expected. And it wasn’t like she couldn’t clean it up anyway.
Twilight realized that she was distracting herself from the task before her. It had taken a combination of her wedding and coronation to get all of her friends back in one place, and even that had been a tricky proposition. She wasn’t the only one avoiding the problem. Each of them had thrown themselves into work, or travel, or grieving after that last night of war. The only one who had actually returned to Ponyville directly after had been Applejack, and she had spent the majority of her time on the farm.
Tarantella was playing her part outside, being the blushing bride and distracting the ever-growing tide of well-wishers while Twilight quietly disappeared, casting a simple veil over herself as she slipped away from the adoring masses. Quietly, she waited for her friends to be contacted and for them to make their ways to the shop.
The front bell rang, and in came Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who was babbling about her friend’s child. “Really, you shouldn’t have to worry too much, you’re great with kids. And if you need a few tips, I can tell you a few things that seemed to work with Rosemary. And your husband’s great with children, and you’ll have all of these friends to help you if you need it, so…”
She trailed off as she took in the shop, and its sparkling interior. Twilight grinned as Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened, seeing the months of neglect and decay taken care of. “Surprised?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Pinkie Pie’s eyes narrowed. “Twilight Sparkle, did you do all this? On your own? On your wedding day? I bet you got your dress all dirty too, didn’t you?”
Twilight held up a defensive hoof. “You know me. And the dress will clean up.”
Pinkie Pie sighed. “Twilight, you’re lucky we got here first. Rarity would not be happy if she saw all of this, especially what you did to your wedding gown.”
“I cleaned this place up in about three minutes using a single spell. And the dress will be fine, watch.” Twilight said, before her horn sparked and the dust detached from the hem and sleeve of her dress, floating to the floor. Upon hiding the polished wood, the offending particles seemed to vanish, like they had never been.
Pinkie Pie giggled, bounding forward and burying Twilight in a hug just as full of life and warmth as she was. “It’s good to see you, outside of a meeting or something like that. And thank you for cleaning up my shop; it was a bit of a mess.”
Fluttershy stared at Twilight’s chest. “Is the Element going to…will that be there…?”
“Forever? Yep. And it’s not really an Element anymore. I don’t know what to call it, actually, but seeing as it keeps flickering a lot of ponies keep calling it the Flame.” Twilight said. “If you want to touch it, you can.”
She remained very still as Fluttershy approached her cautiously. The timid Pegasus rested a hoof on the six-pointed crystal that was embedded in her chest, and flinched a little. “It’s…warm! And softer than I thought it would be. I mean, it still feels like stone or crystal, but it has some give to it.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s magic for you. I’m writing a book about all of this, hopefully I can do the story justice.”
Fluttershy drew her into a surprisingly tight embrace. “I’m glad. I’m glad that you’re happy, and that we can still meet like this and that everything will keep going. It’s been a long time since I was really able to relax in my own home. So thank you for that.”
The bell above the door rang, and Rainbow Dash entered. Fluttershy gave a small squeal of surprise and drew back from Twilight as Rainbow trotted forward, offering a hoof, which Twilight took. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Rainbow Dash cut her off. “Look, I’m not going to pretend that everything’s ok between you and me, because it’s not. We both did a lot of things to each other, and fixing that’s going to take time. And it won’t take an afternoon, but…” Rainbow took a deep breath. “I appreciate that you made the effort to bring us all together, and that says a lot to me. Not enough for us to be all buddy-buddy, but enough to show me that you really do want to fix your friendship with all of us. And I think we should be taking steps to meet you on that.”
Twilight waited as Rainbow Dash shuffled her hooves nervously, averting her eyes. With another deep breath, she met Twilight’s gaze head-on. “Twilight, I treated you wrong. And I’m sorry.”
This time it was Twilight who drew Rainbow Dash into her arms. “Thank you, Rainbow,” she whispered, hugging her close. “Thank you so much.”
Twilight pulled away, indicating the seats. “Please, all of you sit. I made food if you’re hungry, tea if you’re thirsty.”
It was at that point, oddly enough, that the door opened, and admitted the two ponies in the group who may have had the most grievance with her. Applejack and Rarity were both composed, though Twilight could see some puffiness around her friend’s eyes where a few thoughtful tears had been shed during her wedding. She had always admired Rarity’s ability to cry on command. Applejack’s face was stony, and Twilight received little more than a curt nod as she proceeded to the table.
Rarity planted a friendly kiss on her cheek, and leaned in close. “Be gentle, dear. She’s more fragile than you think.”
Twilight followed her to the table, where her friends were sitting and waiting on her. Settling down, she took in the assembled ponies. Rarity sat directly across from her, with Applejack to her left. To her right was Fluttershy, who was commiserating with Rainbow Dash over sandwiches and tea, while Pinkie Pie sat at Twilight’s right hoof, her meal gone and her cup half-full. Twilight waited a moment to let her friends settle in before rising up and placing both hooves firmly on the table. She cleared her throat, and the muted conversation died down.
“Firstly, thank you all for coming. It means a lot to me that we’re able to sit down and talk like this without the threat of some massive disaster looming over our heads.” There was good natured chuckling from most of the ponies present, and even Applejack cracked a quick grin.
“The reason I’ve asked you all here should be obvious. Over the past five years or so, we’ve all done each other a lot of wrongs. Me personally, I’ve assaulted you, destroyed your livelihoods, attacked your families, manipulated you, and dragged you into situations you had no need to be in. I’ve done wrong to you all, and some of you have already forgiven me for those transgressions, which I appreciate. But some things still need to be said, and dealt with.”
Rainbow Dash’s wings flared as she stood up. “Don’t beat yourself up, Twilight. We’ve done just as much to you. In fact, if we’d been there for you from the start, none of this would have happened.”
Rarity nodded. “No one is more to blame than us, darling. If we had stood with you when you started, instead of against you, then perhaps this entire war could have been avoided.”
Applejack’s hooves slammed into the table. “Bullshit.”
Every eye turned to her, and the room became deathly quiet as Applejack began to speak in low tones. “We all got our heads turned around by Celestia, and there wasn’t a damn thing we could have done to stop it. We’re blameless in that. But Twilight broke us free, and then proved she wasn’t any better than the Princess. She used us all, and I for one ain’t gonna stand for it. Her damn war cost my family dear.”
Twilight remained calm. “I hardly think of you all as blameless, Applejack. I acknowledge that I did use you all, but I at least gave you a choice in the end. Celestia did not.”
The Earth pony snorted. “Not much of a choice. You could have just let us be, you know.”
Twilight shook her head. “Not really. If I hadn’t moved to free you all, you would still be living under Celestia. I would too, most likely.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m talkin’ about before things got rough. The fire your soldiers set, the way you had us all watched. And you kidnapped my daughter. Your soldiers killed my sister, Twilight. I’m not goin t’ forgive you that.”
Twilight’s calm voice took on a harsher edge. “Celestia’s soldiers had my ponies pinned down. If they hadn’t shown up, they would have disappeared back into the Forest without any casualties on either side. I had you watched because in case you had forgotten, you were still enthralled to Celestia, and the only way to break that bondage was to get you so angry you could shake off your Element. Honey Crisp was the only way to get you that angry. And as I have said before, Applebloom made her own choices. Or, at least the choices she could have made under Celestia.”
Applejack’s voice raised, not quite yelling, not quite talking. “Your soldiers were accountable to you. Your agents were acting under your orders. And your agents killed Bloom, too. So pardon me if I don’t bend a knee to you and beg your forgiveness, Lady Everstar, but you’ve just about destroyed my family, which is the most important thing to me in this world.”
Twilight’s nostrils flared. “Oh, I’m sorry. What was that you were saying about family? Because at least you still have one. I haven’t spoken to my parents in years or my brother in months. At least you have the luxury of growing old with the ones you love. At least you weren’t bred like a dog to birth some monstrosity that would eliminate all free will. Applejack, I know this might be hard for you, but just once, for once in five bucking years, try and assume I had good reasons for what I did. I don’t know what you want from me. Why do you hate me? Why are you so determined to prove me wrong?”
“Because you took Applebloom!” Applejack barked. “You took Applebloom from me!”
“Did I run her through with a spear?” Twilight retorted. “Did I beat her senseless while she tried to stab me? Did I plant a knife in her heart?” The air began to crackle with ill-contained Breaking magic as Twilight drew herself up. “Did I take her from her safe posting in Red Rock and send her to Canterlot, or brainwash her, or feed her hallucinogens? Did I give her armor, or put a spear in her hoof, or send her to Trottingham and tell her to burn it to the ground?”
Orange sparks began to dance along Applejack’s coat. “No, but you sure as Tartarus didn’t mind having her killed! She was young, confused, and far from home.”
“Your sister was a killer, hoof-picked by Celestia to cause as much damage as possible. When she died, she was hardly even a pony anymore. So I don’t know why you’re angry at me instead of the Princess, seeing as she basically caused all of this from start to finish. Unless you were saying I should have let myself be raped like a good little girl!” A bolt of silver leapt from Twilight’s chest as a flare of orange flame rolled off of Applejack’s coat.
There was a bang as Fluttershy stood up, her magic coming between the two. “Stop it! Stop it right now!” she shrieked. Twilight and Applejack looked at her, stunned. Fluttershy took a deep breath, and spoke calmly and quietly. “We are here to try and reconcile with each other, to get back the friendship we once had. And we’re going to do that quietly and with civility, or so help me Celestia I will make you sit down and be quiet, magic powers or no magic powers! Do I make myself clear?”
The two ponies stared at the little yellow Pegasus, quite stunned. So did Pinkie and Rarity. Even Rainbow Dash looked a bit frightened. “Now,” Fluttershy said. “There are some things we need to say. Applejack, apologize to Twilight. You know she’s owed one, so give it to her.”
Applejack ground her teeth angrily, refusing to meet Twilight’s eyes. She inhaled slowly before looking up. “Twilight, I’m…” she choked, trying to force the words out of her mouth while figuring out just what she was going to say. “I…I apologize. Guess you don’t really think of me as the most dependable of ponies after all.”
Fluttershy looked at Twilight. “You next.”
Twilight sighed. “Applejack, I’m sorry for your loss. Applebloom was a good mare who had a lot of promise, and it’s not fair that she had to die. And your farm was a casualty of war, and Honey Crisp shouldn’t have had to see what she saw or go through what she did. And I know it sounds crazy, but I did it for you.”
Applejack said nothing, so Twilight continued. “Applejack, I cried for days when I left you all, years ago. I put on a brave face for the ones I led, but whenever I was alone, I bawled my eyes out. The first time I snuck back into Ponyville to gather recon, before we had the Changelings, it took everything I had not to run up to you in the marketplace and tell you how sorry I was that I had almost hurt you. All of you. When I visited the library and found my picture with you all, it was a treasure I would keep with me for the next four years. I never wanted to hurt any of you, but in the end, it boiled down to losing everything I had worked for, or dragging you all into my fight.”
Pinkie Pie held up a hoof. “Applejack, are you really angry at Twilight for what she did to you?”
The Earth pony nodded. “O’ course I am! Because of the war, my sister is dead!”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah. Applebloom’s dead, because of the war. Because that’s what war is, it’s young mares and stallions getting killed. If you want to lay blame on Twilight, that’s fine. But is she the only one responsible?”
Rarity nodded. “It seems to me that Celestia shares some of the blame as well, so why are you putting it all on Twilight?”
Applejack’s ears flattened defensively. “Because it was her ponies what did it!”
Rarity shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense and you know it, darling. Why are you really angry?”
Applejack’s eyes shifted in between the gazes of every pony at the table. “I’m angry because my sister was killed! Why do I need to keep saying it?”
“And who’s to blame for that?” Fluttershy asked. “Who is really to blame?”
Applejack rested a hoof on her forehead. “Twilight. And…and Celestia too, I suppose.”
Rarity put an arm around her shoulders. “Anypony else?”
Applejack nodded, placing her head in both hooves. Her shoulders began to shake, and Twilight realized that she was crying. Perplexed, she leaned in. “Applejack, who?”
The farmer looked up. “Me, alright? I blame m’self for her leaving in the first place.”
Twilight’s brow furrowed. “How do you mean?”
The farmer began to speak, haltingly at first, but gaining in strength. “It was right after y’all torched the orchard. Those trees had our best crop in ‘em and they were a few days from being ready to buck. The winter before had hit us hard, and Applebloom was looking for a way to get off the farm. Even with Big Mac moved up north with Cheerilee, the house still felt too small for her. She was goin’ to help us with those trees, take some of the money, and head off for schoolin’ somewhere far away from the fighting. Fillydelphia, I think.”
“Is that why she joined the Regulars? She wanted to repay the favor?” Twilight asked.
Applejack nodded miserably. “Not for her, though. For me. When those trees burned down, I was so angry that I bucked down the entire orchard by myself. Sold what wood we could for charcoal. When we were replantin’ next spring, I said some things I shouldn’t have. I told Applebloom that I was goin’ to wring your neck for that, and that I was sorry she wouldn’t get to head for school. Somehow she got it into her head that if she went along and tried to bring you down, it would somehow undo the damage y’all caused. She told us when she joined up with th’ Regulars that she was doin’ it for the money and th’ education.”
“And I’m sure that was a part of it, but it wasn’t the whole reason. If she had wanted, she coulda’ been sent somewhere behind lines, or taken a job as a clerk or a medic or an accountant. But she chose to be a fightin’ pony, and look what it got her.” Applejack said, looking at the untouched food in front of her. “Shit, look what all that fightin’ and killin’ got us. There’s hardly a pony in this town didn’t know somepony who got themselves killed or missin’. There’re still plenty of ponies around here who feel sore about the war, and Applebloom was one of them. Y’all know how young mares and stallions get, how they don’t do much thinkin’ except from the heart.”
Applejack’s voice hitched. “When we…when we went to see her after she graduated from training, she told us…she told Big Mac and I that we shouldn’t worry, that she’d make sure we were repaid for the farm. We all thought she was talkin’ about money, but I think she might have meant somethin’ else now.”
A tear fell from Applejack’s eye, pattering on the table as she picked up her mug of tea. She didn’t sip it, just held it close, feeling the warmth in her hooves. “So when I heard she was dead, it all became pretty damn clear. Y’all would recall I didn’t stay more than a day or two after the fightin’ ended. I spent the past few months on the farm, in mournin’.”
Twilight reached across the table, laying a hoof on Applejack’s. “Applejack, I know that you must hate me for what I’ve done to your family, and I know that you may never forgive me for what I’ve done, but I want to show you something. Actually, I want to show you all something.”
Her horn lit up, and a beam of light fell onto the table. As they watched, a simple column of unmarked, smooth marble took shape, widening into a plinth at the top. Upon the platform, three ponies stood. To anypony who was not familiar with the Crusaders, they would appear to be a simple grouping of an Earth pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn. To those at the table, however, the resemblance was all too clear. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo stood rearing, expressions of joy on their faces. Their hooves met in the middle in a gesture of solidarity that was again familiar to any one of those at the table who had ever seen them together, helped them on one of their many quests, or had spent any amount of time with them.
“This statue has already been commissioned and paid for. There are going to be three made. One will be in Canterlot, one in Starfall, and one here in Ponyville. There is a placard at the bottom which reads ‘To those who gave their lives for what they believed in.’, and each is going to be dedicated on the anniversary of the last battle.” Twilight said. “In addition, I’ve spoken with Celestia. Even though I don’t agree with the CMC being used to find Cutie Marks, for…obvious reasons, we can both see what good came of these three and their ability to unite ponies. For that reason, both Celestia and I are giving our support and resources to create a new organization in their memory, one focused on promoting unity between our two nations.”
The Wielders gazed at Twilight in awe as she continued. “I don’t think that we can rightly forgive each other right now. I don’t think that any words of solidarity or kindness made right now could carry their full meaning, so I think we should each make a vow. Until such time as we can decide to truly forgive one another, we’ll meet. Regardless of what’s going on, no matter how important, we will set aside one afternoon every three months. Each Solstice and Equinox, we’ll meet back here at Sugarcube Corner. And we’ll talk. Just like we should have five years ago, when I left Ponyville. About ourselves, or each other, what we’re doing with our lives and our families. Can we all agree on this?”
Pinkie Pie nodded. “And if any of you want to stop by, for any reason any time, you’ll find the door open.”
“I think that to be an excellent idea.” Rarity said. “And I’ll give my full support for it.”
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash both nodded silently, giving their assent.
Applejack looked up at Twilight, their gazes meeting again. Unconsciously, each of their friends leaned in, waiting on her response. The farmer and the Lady looked at one another, an entire conversation passing unsaid in that single glance.
Applejack raised her hoof and spat on it, offering it to Twilight. “Twi, you’re right. I can’t forgive you for what you’ve done. Not right now. But in the future? Maybe. So I’ll meet with ya’, if you really want to lay things to rest.”
Twilight spat on her own hoof with no hesitation, offering it to Applejack. A somewhat slimy hoofshake occurred, and the two of them exchanged a nervous smile. Each of their friends beamed, relieved that they were at least patching up their feud.
“Now, who wants to head back outside and join the fun?” Twilight asked. “I know a good illusion spell that should keep us from sticking out too much, and Tara’s given me a few hours before I need to be back by her side.”
Applejack grinned. “Gotcha whipped already, huh?”
Twilight snorted, wiping her hoof off on some nearby cloth. “She’s had me whipped since day one.”
There was a gasp from Rarity, and Twilight looked up to see Pinkie and Fluttershy resting their heads in their hooves. She looked back down, and her stomach dropped as she realized just what she had wiped her hooves on.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity said, her voice deadly calm. “Did you just wipe your hooves on your wedding dress?”