Twilight raced forward, time and distance conspiring against her. The rain stung her face and sought to pry her from the sky. Lightning danced across her path with only a slight tingle in the air to warn against the impending strike. Try as she might, there was no breaking through the cloud cover above. The monstrous storm choked off access to what could be clear, moonlit sky above the torrential squall. At least the lightning helped guide the way forward in the absence of moon and stars.
With each heaving breath, she raised her wings and scooped every bit of air she could gather in beneath her downward thrust. Her hooves galloped forward as though she were racing over land, lending a small measure of assurance that she was indeed moving toward her destination. Winning the prize in this race meant seeing the light of a new day; defeat meant letting down everypony she cared about, not to mention herself.
For all the time she had spent wearing the form of her mentor, she remained at odds with it. The longer neck, the fuller barrel, legs that made her feel like an awkward filly again; they all felt foreign, more so even than sharing the bodies of her friends. Though somewhat new in her normal state, a pair of wings the size of Celestia’s felt no more out of place than the rest of her. Still, the only thing she focused on, the part of her that she needed to connect with most of all, was her horn. This horn that wouldn’t, couldn’t perform the magic she needed, it held all the answers. Her magic, sealed away for the duration of her sojourn, begged to find the key to unlocking the mystery and the power that lay waiting atop her head. The answer should have been obvious from the start, yet it took and ancient book to show her the way. Now it was all up to her to follow through. She wished she could tap into just a little piece of that magic right away to shield her flight and secure a safe arrival, but nothing came easy, nothing this important at least.
Off in the distance, the star-capped castle on the edge of Ponyville flashed into view. Twilight adjusted her course and dropped altitude to level the approach. Dawn, her deadline, the reason for this trip, crept closer and closer not waiting for anypony who might be late to arrive. She had to be quick, in and out. She also contemplated retrieving a saddle.
Aiming straight for her bedroom balcony, she skidded across the porch with her hooves barely registering a purchase against the slick crystal. Not stopping shy of the door, her momentum carried her right through the barrier. The smash of framed glass rudely announced her arrival. Her impact broke one of the doors from its hinges, setting it to crash on the floor as she pounced atop the fallen framework in a precarious dance to stay upright. With most of the impact absorbed by her waterlogged mass of mane and flank, she came through without major injury. Surely a bruise, but little more would register. A glance to the far corner of the room caused her more worry than all that.
“Spike, I’m so sorry,” she said, scrambling over to the corner where an overturned bed lay in shambles against her cowering assistant reactively hugging the wall still half covered in his bedsheet. “I hope I didn’t scare you too badly.”
Spike dropped his hand down from guarding his face against the early morning intruder. “Prin…cess… Celestia?” With all he saw and heard, it only made sense. The candle on the bed stand had long since burned out. Flashes of light shot shadows of the Princess across the huddled dragon still blinking the remnants of broken sleep from his eyes. Bloodshot sclera told the tale of a restless night.
“No, Spike. It’s still me. Twilight.” Without waiting for so much as a nod of approval, Twilight ran to her dressing room. Hanging on the wall in the far back corner, she found a sturdy looking saddle rimmed with tiny gemstones that swiftly found its way to her barrel. The piece of formalwear often worn by the well-to-do as a sign of mock servitude was, in fact, the perfect accessory for the day. She fastened the strap in the very last notch, grateful the Princess wasn’t any larger than she already was, but perhaps a little wary that maybe she herself was getting too big for her own good. Rearing back, she turned and dropped to the floor, retracing her waterlogged steps into the bedroom.
“What’s going on?” Spike asked as soon as she caught sight of him again.
“I’ll try and explain on the way.” Twilight scrambled over and knelt down. “There’s no time to sit and talk. We have to leave now. Hop on!”
Cautiously, Spike reached up and laid a claw across the top of the saddle horn. He glanced over at the broken door and the tattered curtains, soaked and flapping in the wind. “But, there’s a storm out there. Where are we going?”
Twilight reached back and helped lift him into the saddle. “Buckle in and hold on tight. We need to fly to Canterlot, and we have to make it there before dawn. We’ll be cutting it close, and that Everfree storm isn’t going to be doing us any favors.”
Spike tightened the harness across his lap and grabbed a hold of whatever else he could grasp: mane, saddle, peytral. The full reality of the situation still hadn’t registered; instinct in following a royal order guided his actions more than conscious thought. Twilight rose to her hooves, spread out her wings still dripping wet, and bolted for the wreck of a balcony door. Instinctively, Spike ducked his head, and they shot out into the darkness marred only by the near continuous bevy of lightning strikes and hoofshaking thunderclaps.
With a yelp from her passenger unceremoniously thrust into the raging wind, booming thunder, sizzling lightning, and driving rain, they leapt into the air. Spike kept both hands tightly fixed to Twilight’s mane and saddle instead of shielding his face from the oncoming rain. Thankfully, the lee of the hair kept most of it at bay.
“You’ve always wanted to join me on one of my adventures, right?” Twilight yelled, barely turning her head to address him. “Here’s your chance! I’ll try and make it quick.”
“I don’t understand,” Spike replied, the rain pelting one half of his face, the wind working at peeling back his scales from all angles. “What’s the big rush?”
“It’s a long story!” Twilight flapped her wings with all the strength she could muster. “Right now, you have to trust me—I need you all together! Once this is over, we can sit down, and I’ll tell you the whole story from the beginning. For now, just hang on. Hopefully we can make it there in one piece.”
“Sounds great!” Spike shouted back. “Can I wake up now so that this nightmare can be over?”
“It’s not a dream, Spike,” Twilight screamed against the peel of thunder from a strike not far ahead. “Believe me, I’ll be glad when this is over too!”
“Whatever you say, Twilight.” Spike tucked in close to Twilight’s mane and did his best to hold on tight. Twilight tried her best to keep a straight line while avoiding the constant attempts to end their flight.
A deadly game of chess ensued. With a precarious pawn making its way forward while trying its best to avoid the chaos all around, the journey to the final rank was fraught with peril. A single strike would spell the end. Each flap pushed them forward; each dodge kept them safe. The closer they got to Canterlot, the heavier the storm became. Rain and lightning, a touch of hail, the chaotic magic of the Everfree kept up the assault. All those flying lessons from Rainbow Dash sure came in handy, especially the part about dodging the occasional lightning bolt prank.
The dark rise of Canterlot Peak stood in slight contrast to the deeper darkness all around. As before, Twilight gave thanks for the lightning for both lighting her path and keeping her awake to follow it.
“Only a little further,” she called back to her passenger. She couldn’t tell if he heard her or not. In answer to a silent prayer, a steady beacon of silvery blue from off in the distance gave a true target to aim for. “Hold on tight!” she yelled. Spike braced his legs against both her wing sockets and clutched the base of her mane in a stranglehold of sorts. Twilight abandoned her own sense of direction and lightning assisted guidance and drove straight for beacon.
Luna stood atop the observatory tower broadcasting a beam from her horn as soon as Rainbow Dash’s griffon-trained eyes caught sight of the pair struggling over the horizon. In the inky black of the near-to-sunrise morning overshadowed by the storm, it would have been nearly impossible to find the castle otherwise.
Fighting against her growing exhaustion, Twilight managed to steer toward the tower. Each flap came up just a tiny bit weaker than the last as she continued to struggle against the rain. Lightning struck, a little too close for comfort. The surge of heat washed over her body. The smell of singed feathers quickly followed. In a fit of ragged flaps, her right wing gave out just a few feet from the landing. As she lurched into an awkward dive, Luna reached out with her magic to stabilize her descent. Owing mostly to that assistance, Twilight and Spike tumbled forward onto the platform and were quickly surrounded by a magic shield to protect against the elements.
Fluttershy rushed forward with a towel, and Rarity soon followed. The two of them worked quickly to comfort and dry the travelers. Fluttershy winced along with Twilight as she ran a hoof down the blackened wingtip. Singed primaries weren’t a good sign; missing ones weren’t either. Spike shivered in Rarity’s warm embrace.
Twilight shouted over to Luna, “Is everything ready? Is everypony here? Uhgh…” Struggling against her bruised flank and burned wing, she painfully lifted herself off the floor.
“I have done as you asked. The Elements have all gathered.” Luna nodded over to the rest of the group keeping watch on the city below. Pinkie Pie and Applejack helped to steady Princess Cadance as she held on to the shield spell keeping the better part of the platform protected. Rainbow Dash paced along the railing muttering to herself with Twilight barely catching parts of her general cursing of the clouds and the whole of the unnatural storm.
“How much time do we have?” Twilight yelled, still keeping with her storm addled voice levels.
“Not long,” Luna replied. “A few minutes at most.”
Twilight whipped her mane to the side and drew up her wings tugging them out of Fluttershy’s care. “I need everypony to gather round. I have something I need to say and not much time to say it.”
The Elements, Spike, two princesses—they all gathered around Twilight. Shining Armor wobbled toward the circle, an unexpected late arrival. Twilight welcomed his addition to the group, one that showed the possibility of improving circumstances. There was still the matter of his magic to address once she found the key to her own. His stalwart smile belied his inner pain and concern for his wife, still hanging on to the edge of the protection spell.
Twilight glanced around the circle taking in the view of all her friends gathered in support. “I need you all to hear this; it’s important that you all understand why I’ve failed my Trial.”
The concerned stares met with a touch of surprise.
“What do you mean, Twilight?” Applejack asked, less stunned than the rest, but able to say what others couldn’t in light of the situation.
“I’ve been lying to myself, Applejack,” Twilight replied. “In one way or another, I’ve been a terrible friend by abandoning the very principles that I should have embraced as a princess. I’ve been selfish thinking I can do this alone—I can’t. At the heart of it all, friendship is magic, and I’ve been ignoring that simple truth this whole time.”
“That’s it?” Rainbow Dash said. “So, are you going to cast some kind of friendship spell that fixes everything now?”
“No,” Twilight said bowing her head. “That’s not how magic works, at least not my magic.”
“Do we get to use our Rainbow Powers?” Pinkie Pie asked. “With all this rain, we could have the biggest rainbow ever!”
“That’s not how it works either, Pinkie,” Twilight replied, smiling inwardly at the thought of a massive rainbow.
“Well, how does it work, darling?” Rarity asked, cautiously rubbing her own horn. “I hope you don’t expect me to try my horn at this sunrise business, because I’m certain that won’t work.”
“No, Rarity. It’s much simpler than that.” Twilight bent her knees and knelt down to focus on the one at the center of it all. “The heart of the matter is, I need to apologize to you all, especially Spike. I was wrong, and I need to ask your forgiveness.”
Spike tilted his head and wondered at the allegation. A quick inspection of the rest of the circle elicited similar responses. Twilight continued to address her words to one small dragon in particular.
“From the moment you hatched, you’ve been there by my side. The day I got my cutie mark was the day I made my first real friend, but it’s taken me this long to realize that. You’re not my servant, and you never were. You’re more than just my assistant; more than a trusted companion. You’re much more than all of that, and it’s time I said as much. Spike, I couldn’t have asked for a more loyal, honest, kind, generous, and all around supportive friend, and I hope you can forgive me for not saying that sooner. I’m sorry I keep leaving you at home when I go off to save the world. I’m sorry that I take you for granted. What kind of ‘Princess of Friendship’ am I if I can’t even acknowledge my own best friend?” Twilight lifted her head just a touch and stared the dragon square in the face. “Spike, my very best friend, will you forgive me?”
Nopony moved or dared say a word. A quiver tinged Spike’s lip. Twilight bit hers, not all that patiently awaiting a response.
She felt like she had to say something else; perhaps her message wasn’t clear enough. “Reading the book, I finally realized what I was missing. It was something I should have known all along. This journey wasn’t about me proving myself worthy; it was about coming to an understanding of what my destiny really is—about what being a princess really means. The bottom line is this: for all the magic and power in the universe, it means nothing if you can’t share it with friends. You all are the reason I am who I am. I wouldn’t be the same without --all-- of you.” She paused, taking another look at her rainbowfied friends, family, Luna, and last but not least, Spike, her best friend in the whole world. The lightning crashed and sent a crack snaking down the magic shield above. “There’s a lot more to it, but we don’t have time to get into the details. I just—“
Spike dove forward, falling against Twilight’s neck. His stubby arms wrapped as best they could around the sides. “You’re my best friend, Twilight, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
Twilight reached out to complete the embrace, her long foreleg easily encircling her small friend. Away from the pain in her side, held to a simmering dull ache as long as she didn’t focus on it, she felt a jolt. The warmth of the hug grew and spread across her chest. Without breaking away, her view raised up to the rest of those gathered. Her circle of friends, standing in the flashing darkness of a storm threatening to hold back the dawn at all costs, caught the rising glow of another source of light. Their faces brightened one by one.
The Elements of the group began to echo a reply. Orange, pink, yellow, white, and blue joined with the lavender glow radiating from Twilight and Spike, all focused on the gem set in the Mantle of the Sun.
The pulse beat in time with Twilight’s heart, growing with each one. Wider and taller, its influence spread. First the ponies, then the platform, the tower, the castle, the light of friendship spread over the entire city. Lightning beat against the glow, each strike rebounding on its source. Higher and higher it climbed, the clouds yielding instantly with the slightest contact.
Cadance fell to her knees, her hornglow fading with the magic of the shelter above. Shining Armor took her head with a shaky hoof and nestled it against his chest wrapping his other forehoof around her back in support.
With one last pulse, the spell erupted from the group. The wave carried as far as the eye could see, clearing a path to the heavens and the distant horizon both. Once again, the gentle glow of moonlight fell over the tightly assembled group.
Luna reacted in an instant, spreading out her wings and lighting up her horn. Faster than anypony could call her name, the moon, so recently returned to the night sky, yielded to her command and dropped beyond the distant hills. She turned and considered Twilight, a tiny smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “Now is your time, Princess. Let your magic shine forth!”
Twilight felt the heat rising in her own horn. Holding tight to Spike, she spread out her wings and let the sensation guide her where it would. Her body felt lighter than a cloud as she drifted into the air, injured wing and all. She could feel the power rising all the way to the very tip of her horn and radiating around her neck. Deep in her mind, a curiously familiar thought whispered across the distance: Hello, my old friend; rise and welcome a new day. The other ponies watched in awe as the full power of the Princess of the Sun erupted in a shower of sparks, light radiating from both horn and peytral foci.
Peeking out over the horizon, the first shafts of light fell over the city. Dawn had come. A rainbow rose from the group perched atop the tower and stretched out over the mountain peaks to shake hooves with the sun. Canterlot sparkled in the lingering damp of the storm and radiated a million rainbows in response to the morning light flooding through the streets. A cheer rang out, shared by all those gathered at once.
Twilight reached out with her magic, trying to soak it all in. She found nothing in return. The light, the sound, the laughter of her friends all faded away. She hung in the air, filled to the brim with nothing but the memory of giving everything she had left inside to dole out, a gift for those she dearly loved.
For her alone, the darkness returned.