-7-
“I truly hope you’ve reconsidered, Luna.” Celestia was sitting on the floor of the library. Her fore-hooves were crossed, paired with an exasperated look on her face.
Luna had gotten away without giving her a straight answer yesterday. On top of that, she added a condition that Twilight be allowed to meet her fillies, before she made a decision on sending Twilight to the dragons.
Celestia thought it was reckless - what would be the point in sending Twilight away for their safety, if Luna was going to put her fillies in possible danger now. Even with certain precautions, like inhibiting Twilight’s magic, she had no guarantee that somepony controlling her wouldn’t remove it from afar.
“Celly, how can you seriously ask me to hide her from them? There is only a small risk. Plus, I’ll be there to protect them if something goes wrong.” Luna continued her pacing around the room.
“Luna, that’s just asking for trouble!” Celestia frowned, “Are you willing to have that small risk happen. They could be hurt! Or worse...”
Luna stopped her pacing. An uneasy silence passed between them. Luna walked over to her sister, curling up beside her.
Celestia stared at the ground, “We’ve been mourning her for so long... it’s hard to even consider any of this.”
Luna looked up at her sister. She sounded hurt, vulnerable. It was very rare that she let down her emotional guard. Luna nuzzled against her shoulder, resting her neck over her sister’s.
“But...” Tears fell from her eyes, “It’s harder still to think of life without you, or Dusk, or Dawn. If I lost you... I... I don’t know...”
“Celly...” Luna whispered.
Luna’s fillies deserved to meet Twilight. Hiding her from them was painful and felt... wrong. All their life they had never known her and until now, they never would have. How long would that opportunity last? Luna feared above all else that she would lose her mate once more.
But she was torn. Here was her sister - her stead-found support when she was lost or sad - struggling not to bawl her eyes out. It nearly broke her heart to know that it was her selfish desire to have some sense of family with Twilight that sent her sister over the edge. Celestia was always there for her, through good times and bad. But here she was, pushing Celestia to the background just to see her fillies meet Twilight, endangering her and them.
Pushing her sister away was just as bad.
“Alright,” Luna whispered. “I’ll do it for you, Celly. Just... promise me that she’ll come back.”
Celestia nuzzled her sister, “I swear that no one will keep her from you. Any who so much as dare to harm or use her will rue the day they came into this world.”
Luna lifter her head from her sister’s staring deep into her eyes. If the fire behind her sister’s eyes was real, her tears would turn to steam.
“And I won’t stop until whoever is using her and any pony who assists him, suffers a far greater fate that what I have ever done.”
Luna’s hooves started to shake from the force of her sister’s words. She was a mare of her word above all else. Her conviction had no end. Once she started, it would take the entire world to stop her. It made her smile, that Celestia would go so far to make her happy.
“Thank you Celly,” Luna whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Celestia spoke. She kissed her sister’s forehead, “I would give anything to keep you safe.”
The two alicorns leaned against one another for a while. Celestia’s mind was focused now - no one would stand in the way of making sure Twilight came home safe and sound. Nopony would harm her family or friends. She would find whoever did this and remove them from the face of the earth.
Indeed. The voice echoed from the recesses of her mind, Nothing will be too far for her. Not even bringing the world to its knees.
--*--
Light flooded in from the window, covering the two sleeping figures in the room. The steady beep of the heart monitors filled the room with a lingering hum. The seats were still empty, but the room was decorated with flowers and balloons. Get well cards and sugary treats sat on each of the side tables, wrapped neatly in the same color of their intended pony.
One of the figures stirred and flipped onto her back. She sat up straight, groaning in pain.
Rainbow Dash felt as if she had failed one of her high altitude tricks. Her muscles were sore, but not entirely out of commission. She stretched her wings, met with even more sore muscles. They were far more painful than any of the others, causing her to fold them tightly against her sides. She winced, waiting for the pain to subside.
Fighting the storm was a terrible idea in retrospect. It would have been a lot easier - and faster - if she had simply stayed on the ground, instead of flinging herself headlong into the winds. She did know better, especially after all of her experience with dangerous storms. But she had a reason. She glanced over at the other hospital bed.
Twilight lay fast asleep in her bed facing away from her. Braving the storm on a hunch turned out to be one of the best things she had ever done. Of course, she'd still get an earful from Applejack. It didn't matter.
Rainbow smiled. She didn't really know what she'd say to Twilight when she woke up, but just being there was fine.
The door quietly slid open, followed shortly by Nurse Redheart carrying a tray of food on her back. There was a look of surprise on the nurse's face when she saw Rainbow sitting up in her bed. The white mare closed the door and walked over to the pegasus, setting the tray down at the end of the bed.
"Good morning, Rainbow Dash. I'm glad you're finally awake."
Rainbow looked at her confused, "Finally?"
"Yes. You've been unconcious for two whole days. Well, today would be the second day," she said, walking around the bed to the bedside table. She moved the gifts to the end of the bed and placed the tray on the table. "Your friends have been in to see you two every minute of visiting hours. They'll be back in a few hours."
Rainbow nodded. Nurse Redheart helped Rainbow adjust to a more comfortable position, adding a few pillows to prop her up. The nurse poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her. Rainbow smiled in thanks, taking a sip of the hot liquid. She hadn't realized how thirsty and hungry she was until now. Her stomach growled.
Nurse Redheart smiled, "There's soup over here on the tray if you're hungry. I do believe Pinkie Pie left some cakes and sweets for you as well."
"Thanks," Rainbow said.
The nurse smiled and walked to the door, "Just pull on the cord if you need anything." She opened the door and walked out of the room.
Rainbow took a moment to lift the bowl with her fore-hooves, before devouring the whole thing in a few big gulps. It was better than she had expected for hospital food. Then she stretched her hoof over to the treats Pinkie brought, dragging it closer to her. In a moment she had the packages wide open with their contents in her stomach.
Finally satisfied, she looked over the card. In typical Pinkie Pie fashion, it was vibrant with colors and glitter all over. When she managed to get it open confetti shot out all over her face.
"Ugh..." Twilight muttered, turning over to face Rainbow.
Rainbow smiled from ear to ear, "Twilight! You're awake?"
"Now I am. What was that noise?" Twilight sat up in her bed, rubbing her head.
Twilight still looked awful. She wasn't as pale as when Rainbow and Applejack found her, but her coat was still dulled. Dash however snorted, covering her mouth with a hoof to stifle a laugh. After all these years without Twilight, her bed mane still made the pegasus laugh.
Rainbow gained some composure, lifting the get well card.
"Pinkie Pie?" Twilight lifted an eyebrow.
"Yup."
Twilight looked over at her own bedside table, being careful not to remove the wires from her front legs. A similar package sat neatly wrapped in a pile of various gifts and flowers. Though a little slower than Rainbow, she followed the same motions in tearing apart her package, eating the treats inside. She looked around for something to wash it down with, but came up short.
"Here," Rainbow said. She offered Twilight the cup of tea Nurse Redheart had poured for her. "You must be a lot thirstier than I am."
Twilight smiled in thanks. She put her will into her horn trying to levitate the cup over. Nothing happened. She put as much effort as she could to bring it over to her, but ended up with the same results. Her heart sank.
"Can you bring it a little closer? I... think I need more rest before I can use magic again." Twilight blushed in a mix of embarrassment and worry. Why couldn't she use her magic?
Rainbow nodded, shifting her body so she was sitting facing Twilight. She passed the tea over to Twilight, who swallowed the whole thing in one gulp. Seemingly satisfied, Rainbow shifted herself back against the pillows set up for her.
"Thank you," Twilight said softly. "For everything."
Rainbow turned her head so her gaze met Twilight's. She smiled, finding a response difficult to formulate in her mind. Fortunately, she was saved having to come up with an answer.
The door to the room opened. But it wasn't Nurse Redheart that entered.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight managed to raise her voice to a soft shout. Her body responded with a few stray coughs.
The Princess walked up to Twilight, cautiously nuzzling into her. She was tense, ready for anything out of the ordinary. Twilight didn't seem to notice.
The Princess' voice was soft and sincere, "My faithful student. I've missed you so much."
Tears fell from Twilight's eyes. It felt like it had been a few days since she'd seen Celestia last. But from what Rainbow said about her 'dreams', it had actually been years.
Applejack spit the rope out of her mouth, leaning her head over the hole. The rain battered the top of her head.
“I’m gonna see if I can find a better way to hoist ya both up!” she yelled down.
Rainbow Dash still had Twilight in her arms. The unicorn was still taking in shallow breaths. She wasn’t sure how long Twilight would last down here, let alone in the storm above.
“Don’t take too long!” Rainbow called back up. Her voice echoed in the chamber as she spoke.
Applejack nodded and disappeared back over the ledge, leaving Rainbow and Twilight alone.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow looked down at the unicorn, who shifted position to carry more of her weight. She had a concerned look on her face.
“How long have I been asleep?” Twilight coughed a couple of times. She was shaking from the cold water pooling on the floor.
Rainbow looked at the floor, still a little shocked from her reappearance. The question made her a little queasy. There was usually no way to tell another pony they were dead for a while, “Five years.”
Twilight was shocked, nearly falling over, “Five years? I’ve been asleep for five years?”
“No, Twi’. You were... dead for five years.” Rainbow winced at her own words. Painfull memories started to resurface again, but she shoved them back into the recesses of her thoughts.
Twilight stood dumbfounded. Her mouth hung open, stuttering and coughing to try and make a coherent train of thought. “But...” she managed. “I... Luna and I... Starfall...”
“Starfall is gone, Twilight.” Rainbow looked at her, “You saved Luna’s life when he tried to kill her. You also saved the lives of your fillies.”
Her cheeks burned red, “So we really do have... twins?”
Rainbow nodded. “Everything you probably dreamed, was you as a ghost or something. I admit, I thought I was going crazy. But... I guess you proved me wrong this time.”
Even under normal circumstances Twilight would have trouble figuring out how it was possible that she was returned to the world of the living, but right now, she didn't want to think about it. She was just glad to be alive.
"Princess. Rainbow told me I've been gone for five years. Is that...?"
"True?" Celestia finished. She pulled her neck away from her student, backing up into a more comfortable distance. "Yes. You... died, saving Luna. Do you... remember that?”
How could she forget? The memory was still vibrant in her mind.
Time slowed down. At least all her friends would be able to live... and Luna... She would never get to see her foals grow up - take their first step, say their first words, or start learning magic.
Twilight heard the whistling get closer.
She kept her smile as she stared at Rainbow Dash, realization now twisting her sky blue face in a mix of horror and... something else. The purple unicorn turned her head away.
Please, she thought. Don’t hate me...
Twilight doubled over in pain, writhing under the covers. Her stomach felt filled with cold steel and pain hammered into her chest. She couldn’t breathe or make a sound. The beat of her heart filled her ears, pounding on her skull.
Rainbow tried to rush to her, instead falling out of the hospital bed. The IV ripped out of her fore leg, its stand clattering to the floor. Rainbow’s heart monitor flat-lined once the readers disconnected, while Twilight’s sped up, hammering at the calm silence beforehand.
Celestia backed into the far corner, only the slightest hint of magic starting to cover her horn.
The door slammed open. Nurse Redheart and two others stormed into the room in a panic. Nurse Redheart helped Rainbow Dash up off of the floor, while the other two swarmed around Twilight, trying to get her to talk.
“Where does it hurt, Miss Sparkle?”
“Can you breathe?”
“Get me a dose of-”
Twilight’s hearing tapered off into a a muffled hum. She felt sick to her stomach as the memory played over and over again in her mind. Her vision blurred, becoming a series of lights flashing on and off, shadows flowing like water before her. Figures became blended in the vision, fading into black.
“Twilight?” Celestia asked.
Twilight’s senses slowly faded back into place. The pain in her head was gone, but the room looked like it was from a nightmare.
The closest wall was nearly blasted clean outwards. Chairs had been flung through the door and one stuck through the far wall. The bed she was laying in lay in a mangled heap behind her, along with her monitoring machines. Celestia had a shield in front of her and Rainbow, consequently saving that part of the room from any substantial damage.
Twilight shakily rose to her hooves, looking up at her mentor. She saw the three hospital ponies poke their heads up from behind Rainbow’s bed. Celestia had a concerned look on her face. Twilight looked confusedly at her.
“What... what just happened?” Twilight asked, wobbling as she walked.
“Your magic just went crazy!” Rainbow said, still in shock.
“Crazy?” Twilight asked, a little panicked.
Celestia feigned a smile, “Not unlike a certain entrance exam, if I recall correctly.”
Twilight flushed red in embarrassment, turning her gaze to the floor.
Celestia put the shield down against her better judgement. While the two incidents were similar, this had proved slightly more dangerous. She hadn’t been expecting the sudden burst of magic. The fact that it hit the opposite wall first was quite lucky for everyone in the room. By the second burst of magic, Celestia had everyone well protected.
“What the hay was... that...”
Twilight looked towards the source of the noise. Applejack had stuck her head through the hospital door, but was now gawking at the damage to the room. Behind her followed Rarity and Pinkie Pie who were also left speechless by the state of the room.
“It appears we have something to discuss,” Celestia began. Her magic began repairing the damage as she crossed the room towards the orange earth pony, “Perhaps we should take that discussion somewhere more private.”
--*--
The sun was slowly falling towards the mountains that held Canterlot’s castle. Ponies who had been hard at work all day, slowly trickled back into their homes, or into Ponyville’s market to shop for ingredients to make a late dinner. Sweet Apple Acres was relatively quiet, the apple bucking quite finished for the day.
Things were far from quiet in the library, however.
“What do ya mean, ‘she needs to leave?’ Beggin’ your pardon yer majesty, but isn’t there something you can do?” Applejack was pacing frantically in the main floor.
“Yeah! You’re the princess! You can use your super duper powerful magic to fix anything!” Pinkie Pie added, her face in a pout.
Celestia dropped her smile into a frown. If she had been truly able to fix anything she would’ve prevented the entire civil war by magicking away the need for her eversleep. Instead, she left all of her work for Twilight and Luna to complete and forced them to wake her up. She would pay for that later, she was sure of it.
“I cannot fix everything, Pinkie Pie.” Celestia walked over to one of the pillows on the floor and sat down, “There are things in this world in which I have no control over. While a great amount of magic is one of those things I can fix, this is a different situation.
“We don’t know anything about resurrection. I don’t know anything about it for sure. It was forbidden in olden times and that taboo has continued today. It’s dangerous. Any cruel pony could bring back somepony's loved ones just to hurt them.”
“But Twilight wouldn’t hurt any of us,” Applejack said, raising her voice.
“True. But somepony controlling her would.”
“She would’ve done it already!” Rainbow cried. She stood closest to Twilight and the Princess.
Twilight had long since gone quiet, deep in thought. Rainbow couldn’t accept that Celestia thought someone was controlling Twilight. Sure, she had no knowledge or experience in magic, but she had a good feeling about her being safe. The fiasco in the hospital was probably a side effect from being woken up. Twilight had control over her magic again, although it was still pretty weak.
“Plus, she just got back and now you want to sent her away?” Dash was freely venting her anger now, “Don’t you care about how we feel?”
Rainbow’s comment was just another slap in the face for the princess. Of course she didn’t want to send Twilight away. But the frightening display of magic paired with the strange occurrences was more than compelling enough.
“Did you not see what happened in the hospital?” Celestia said calmly.
Dash went to continue her verbal barrage, but couldn't form the words. Twilight put a hoof in front of Rainbow’s chest. Her anger simmered down. She lowered herself onto her haunches, wincing at the pain as it returned full force.
“Girls,” Twilight turned her back to the princess. “I actually agree with the princess.”
The other five mares’ jaws dropped. Their eyes were fixed on the lavender unicorn, silence filling the room. Twilight cleared her throat.
“Considering what happened in the hospital without me noticing, or even remembering any of it, I think that the princess has a point. I have no idea if I’m being controlled, or watched, or whatever could be going on. The last thing I’d want to do after five years is to get anyone hurt...”
“Well... that’s might noble of ya’...” Applejack started, “But... I dunno Twilight. What if we lose you again? It was never the same without you here.”
The group of ponies lowered their gazes to the floor.
“I’m going with you.”
Twilight looked up. Rainbow Dash walked over to Twilight, staring at the princess. She raised an eyebrow at Dash.
“What? I’m not letting her go alone. I don’t care what the risk is, I’ll stick it out.”
Twilight smiled.
Applejack stepped forward as well, “I’m comin’ too.”
The others each stepped forward in kind, surrounding their long lost friend. Twilight grinned even wider than before, tears welling in her eyes.
“I... can’t have you all come along. You all have lives now. I mean, Fluttershy, you have Big Mac and Early Blaze to take care of.” She looked at Rarity, “Rarity, you have a business to run in Canterlot. Pinkie Pie, you have Sugar Cube Corn-”
Applejack shoved a hoof in her mouth, “Even so, they can help what they can. Now that you know what we’re up to, you’ve forgotten about what we’ll do for our friendship with you.”
“You can discuss in what degree you will assist Twilight in a moment,” Celestia butted in. They all turned their attention to her, “But the fact of the matter is that Twilight has agreed to leave. You will have an hour to decide. After that, pack your things for Canterlot.”
She walked to the door, opening it with her magic. Two guards walked into the room, before she shut the door behind her.