—
tear-stricken cheeks
—
“Twilight, Applejack is your friend. She’ll forgive you.”
—
pillow-muffled wails
—
“N-no she won’t! And she shouldn’t!”
—
desperate dragon
—
“You couldn’t have known what would happen! Everything from the Everfree Forest is crazy like that!”
—
sorrowful shame
—
“That… that’s exactly right… everything from the Everfree is crazy. I should’ve known better. I should’ve done more research! I should’ve asked Zecora! I shouldn’t have been doing any magic at all so soon after getting screwed up by that stupid book!!”
—
to atone
—
“You can’t hide here forever, Twi. Applejack’s coming over in a few minutes. You’re going to have to talk to her.”
panic
“Applejack’s coming HERE?! No, no… I can’t face her right now, please, don’t let her. Don’t let her!”
pity
“Sorry, Twi.”
withdrawal
I can’t talk to her. I can’t talk to her!
a helping hand
a book unlocked
How did it—?
a curious glance
Wait… long distance teleportation? That’s the big secret?
no
it is a special spell
you want to be far away from here
it is whatever it needs to be
But… I can’t abandon my friend. It’s my failure, I have to… I have to…
we can help you
escape is right there
But… Applejack…
a knock on the door
a familiar voice
a familiar face
panic
fear versus friendship
Sorry…
a half-attempted spell
a half-completed spell
a teleport without the body
magic and reality inverted
discovery of an existence
one outside the boundaries
you can see yourself
life is not meant to be here
falling away from reality
falling toward magic
falling
falling.
Falling.
A soul being torn apart in the ravages of unreal energy, adding to the life force of the uni—
NO!!
What?
THIS IS NOT HOW IT HAPPENS!
I rather disagree.
THAT IS MY SOUL! THAT IS MY LIFE! YOU CANNOT HAVE IT!
A soul being overwhelmed by the almighty unity of life, energy, and—
…A soul being absorbed in—
…
Um, a soul piecing itself together into a solid core and holding fast against a raging storm?
I refuse to lose. This is not how I die. This is not a failure I accept.
A soul passing the border of one existence, and escaping to her own.
Birth without conception.
…
Elsewhere, there was reality and its many siblings. Elsewhere, there was energy and its everlasting chaos. Elsewhere, there was life and all its worth and beauty.
But here?
There was nothing.