Twilight Sparkle is falling. She doesn’t know for how long or why. From what Twilight can remember, she and her friends had come to look at a hole, a deep hole. She was about to take a picture, perhaps the side gave way, of maybe she simply tripped and fell in. All that matters now is that she’s in the hole, quickly accelerating towards the bottom with no hopes of escape.
She flips her body over and lies back on the cushion of air, feeling the wind as it gently caresses her body, whipping her mane and tail into a frenzy around her. The deafening roar of the passing wind fills her ears blocking out any cries from above. She can see a disk of pale blue light, the sky visible through the opening, quickly receding away from her as she falls ever deeper into the all consuming void. She thinks about her friends. She can still faintly see their silhouettes around the edge of the hole, or perhaps she’s just imagining it. They’re likely all still up there around the hole, somewhere, worrying over her, arguing with the tour pony, and looking for some way to help her. She imagines how they feel, the twang of heart wrenching guilt after watching helplessly as one of their close friends tumbles into a seemingly bottomless pit.
Twilight then turns to other thoughts. She remembers the adventures she’d gone on with them, the friendships they’d formed together, the achievements they’ve had and the laughs they’ve shared. Together they have achieved more than most ponies could ever wish for. They’ve defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord, a virtual god, and saved Equestria on a multiple occasion.
Yet there is still something missing, something she has yet to accomplish, what she has never had the chance or the willpower to say and do. Twilight mentally kicks herself for all the opportunities she’s missed.
Twilight rolls back over; now with the wind in her face she squints to look ahead. The hole is dark. She can barely see the rough edges as they fly past just inches from her face. Somewhere in that darkness below is an end, an end to the hole, her fall, and so much more she’d rather push to the back of her mind.
She shuts her eyes in anticipation of the end, not wanting to see it when it finally comes. She feels a slight wetness on her cheeks and flying past her body. Tears are escaping her eyes, whether she was crying or possibly just her eyes watering due to the wind she could not tell. The tears are being blown back and away from her face by the strong wind, wetting her mane and likely parts of her fur too. She ignores it and focuses on the white noise of the wind roaring past her ears, prepared and waiting for the inevitable.
When it does not come, she cracks open one eye, then the other. She looks around her. Nothing has changed. She is still falling; the wind is still howling in her ears, there is still darkness and dirt around her. She squints once again and looks into the darkness bellow, still no signs of the bottom. It is now growing cold. The deeper she falls the further she is from the warmth of the sun.
Twilight returns to her thoughts. This time it is of those who rely on her in their every day life, how she has let them down. It’s true, somepony else will step forward to ensure Pinkie takes all of her pills in the morning, the Cakes know what to do. But then there is Spike. How will he respond when he hears of her demise? He’ll be the one that is hit the hardest. To him, Twilight is like a mother, or possibly an older sister. She is the only family he’s ever known.
Far ahead and in the darkness something catches Twilight’s eye, a faint glint of light off something lying below. Twilight gups dryly as she realises what it is. The bottom is approaching her quickly. She squeezes her eyes shut once more, and just as the ground is upon her she whispers her final words.
“My only regret is that I could never got the chance to express my true feelings for you. Farewell my love, Rainbow D-”
BRRRTITINGTINGTINGGG
With a gasp, Twilight Sparkle sat bolt upright in her bed. Her heart was racing and she could feel the after effects of a cold sweat. She breathed in heavily, savouring each breath. Slowly she became aware of her surroundings. Twilight was sitting in her bed in the library, the flittering and twittering of birds heard just over the rustle of leaves outside her window. Spike was still curled up contentedly in his basket at the base of the bed, snoring loudly as always. The alarm clock on her bedside table was ringing. Silencing it with a hoof, Twilight brought the clock into view and checked the time.
8:00 AM
She placed it back on her bedside table and lay back on her bed, snuggling up inside the cover’s warm embrace and breathing a sigh of relief. It was just a dream. It’s not all over. She still has her friends and they still have her, Spike still has her. They still have time to do what she wished they would.
A banging at the door downstairs called for Twilight’s attention. With a groan, she slowly climbed out of bed and made her way downstairs, carefully sidestepping Spike’s basket with the dragon still blissfully asleep.
She unlatched and opened the door to find a very surprised Rainbow Dash hovering in front of the door, poised to knock once more. And all the rest of her friends standing behind and a bit away with their saddlebags slung over their backs ready to go.
“Come on Twi, we’re going to be late! We’ve got to be early if we want to be first in line to see the Big Hole.” exclaimed Rainbow Dash with a great deal of enthusiasm.
“Sorry Rainbow, I’ll be right out. Just give me a minute” Of course, how could she forget? They’d been planning this trip for weeks. Today was the grand reopening of the fifth wonder of Equestria, a massive hole that is believed by many to be bottomless, though she argues merely really, really deep. Ponies from all around will be coming out to see and they had all agreed that it would be a fun outing just to get away.
Twilight closed the door and hurried upstairs to the bathroom to get ready. There wasn’t enough time to wash or anything like that so she had to settle for the quick one two, giving her mane a quick comb and checking that she looked alright in the mirror. After that she scribbled out a short note and pinned it to the back of Spike who gave no notice. He yawned quietly and rolled over, obviously lost in his own dreams. Twilight motioned a quick goodbye and headed back downstairs.
She grabbed her saddlebags from where they sat beside the stairs, already packed from the night before, and headed for the front door. She headed out to greet her friends with a smile on her face, happy, contented in the fact that she still has some time left.