Twilight ruffled her wings as she looked into the mirror, scrutinizing every single hair in her mane. She extended her wing and scrutinized every single feather. Everything had to be perfect, not a single feather could be more than one degree out of place. She lowered her wing, then extended her other wing and scrutinized it.
"Twilight, I think you're going to look as good as you possibly can. Besides, she's Rainbow Dash. I don't think she'll care what you look like..." Spike, Twilight's faithful assistant attempted to get Twilight to hurry up. She had been standing in front of the mirror for the past two hours, if she waited too much longer, she wouldn't be able to ask Rainbow to go to lunch with her.
"Spike!' Twilight shouted as she turned her attention to the small purple dragon in the mirror. "It has to be perfect! If it's not, then it could all go wrong!" she concluded. "I need to look my best, I don't-"
Spike looked blankly at her. "Twilight, it's Rainbow Dash. Not... Sweet, beautiful Rarity..." Spike's eyes glazed off as he thought about his crush.
"Spike..!" Twilight was about to chide him but thought better about it. She glanced at the clock and realized why he had been trying to convince her she looked perfect. "Oh... Oh... Spike! Um... Watch the castle for me!" she shouted as she turned around, and galloped out of her room, almost knocking Spike over in the process.
"Will do Twilight!" Spike shouted as he fell over. "Ugh..."
As Twilight galloped out of her bedroom, she nearly ran into Starlight Glimmer, her student. "Oh, sorry Starlight, I didn't see you there!" She was slightly surprised to see her, as the castle was large enough that anypony, especially her, could easily get lost in it.
Starlight looked quizzically at her. "Aren't you supposed to be..."
"Y-yes!" Twilight exclaimed. "I just uh... Got caught up in making sure I looked my best!" She ruffled her wings nervously, then winced, hoping she didn't force any feathers out of place.
Starlight tilted her head to the side, scrutinizing Twilight for anything out of place. She smiled. "Twilight, you look perfect."
Twilight smiled back. "Thanks, Starlight..."
Starlight raised a hoof to her chin and tapped it, and squinted her eyes. "Though..."
Twilight winced, and eagerly awaited Starlight to finish her sentence. After a few seconds of Starlight's musings, she couldn't take it any longer. "What!?"
Starlight lowered her hoof to the floor. "Well... I was just thinking, maybe you should wear your tiara and regalia..."
"M-maybe I should... But... I don't even know if she'll have lunch with me yet or not, she could be busy..." Twilight trailed off.
Starlight eyed her wryly. "You don't know if she'll accept... And you're still fretting over it anyway?" She shook her head. "Maybe you should have asked her last week..?"
Twilight looked flustered at that. "Well... I... I um... Gah!" She shifted her weight, lit her horn, and summoned her tiara and regalia. "There!"
Starlight nodded and smiled softly. "Good luck, Princess."
Twilight smiled back and started walking passed her. "Thank you, I- Hey!" She turned around and glared at Starlight, who was smirking.
"Good luck, Twilight." Starlight corrected. Twilight eyed her for a few seconds. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" Starlight commented.
Twilight's wings shot out. "Right, sorry, gotta go!" she exclaimed and took off at a gallop. After a few minutes of running through the crystal castle, she reached the door and burst out of it flying. With her arms outstretched, and hind legs outstretched, and her wings fully extended, she glided out of the door, then beat her wings and flew into the sky.
She flew around Ponyville for a little while, taking in all the sights the small town had to offer. Sugarcube Corner, the town's premier sugary restaurant, Carousel Boutique, the home and place of business of her friend Rarity, the new Ponyville Reactor, built near the west side of town, near the river, meant to replace the Ponyville dam, which had been having trouble for a few years now, and Town Hall, which was mostly rendered obsolete when she got her castle. She smiled slightly, then shook her head. She looked to the sun, she still had an hour before it was actually lunch time, but she wanted and had planned to have lunch before twelve today. Sugarcube Corner was renowned for its sugary treats, but it was also a pretty good place to eat some actual food.
She leaned right, then flew away from Ponyville, heading for her friend's house. Rainbow's cloudhouse was hard to miss. It was big, fluffy, beautiful, and cozy. From what she had read about pegasi architecture, their cloudhouses could be easily redesigned, shaped, and modified. It was a perk of building with clouds. After a few minutes, she caught sight of the rainbow falls that her friend's house had. The rivers of liquid rainbow flowed from a pool, then fell off the cloud and dissipated in the air. She had studied it for a while, and even after binge studying it for a whole day, she still had no idea how it managed to never run out of the liquid rainbow.
She pushed the thought aside as she landed on the cloud runway. She glanced around nervously, and she hoped she didn't look ridiculous wearing her tiara and regalia. She tentatively walked up to the door and knocked. She ruffled her wings while she waited for an answer. Being Saturday, Rainbow should be home, even if it was practically the middle of the day. After a few seconds, and hearing nothing the whole time, she knocked again, more forcefully this time. How the cloud was able to produce sound eluded her, but she could always pull off another binge study session in an attempt to understand it.
After a few more seconds, the door opened and Rainbow stood in the doorway. She looked like she had just woken up, and her mane was messier than normal. She suppressed a yawn and squinted at Twilight. "Twilight?" she asked. "What are you doing here so early?"
Twilight ignored the inaccuracy of Rainbow's statement and ruffled her wings again. It helped her to deal with the nervous tension she felt, but only just. "H-hi, Rainbow. I was um..." She tilted her head away from her and looked at her hooves. "Wondering if you would like to g-go grab some lunch with me?" She looked at Rainbow, yet kept her head away from her.
Rainbow eyed her carefully, for several seconds, then stepped back inside and out of the doorway. "Sure... You're paying right?"
Twilight looked up and smiled. "Yes, Rainbow..."
"Alright then... But uh, give me a few minutes... I just woke up." Rainbow said sheepishly and rubbed her mane.
Twilight winced. "Sorry." she apologized.
"You want to wait here or...?" Rainbow asked as she motioned Twilight inside.
"I can do that..." Twilight said as she stepped inside Rainbow's house. She looked around as Rainbow shut the door behind her. The house was as spacious as ever, and while she had only been in it twice before, she could tell Rainbow had rearranged things.
"I'll be back in a few minutes... Um... Just... Make yourself at home." Rainbow called from the hallway.
"Okay..." Twilight nervously answered. She looked around for a few seconds, then made her way into the living room, and sat down on the couch. She was sure Rarity would have a lot more than just something to say about her being in Rainbow's house... But she pushed the thought aside, it served no purpose to dwell on how her friend... And Rainbow... Would react.
As the seconds ticked on, Twilight kept shifting her weight on the couch, feeling uncomfortable. Like she was invading Rainbow's privacy. She took a deep breath, then exhaled, extending her arm as she did so. It was a breathing technique her sister in law had taught her, and it truly did wonders for her. Though she still found herself unable to stop worrying. It was very, very important that today go right for her. If she did something wrong, if she made things between herself and Rainbow awkward, if she-
"You ready?" Rainbow asked. Twilight's head jerked towards her, she was standing in the hallway, and her mane still looked a little wet. Twilight tried not to stare, and she was sure if Rarity saw it she would go ballistic.
"Y-yeah..." Twilight stuttered as she stood up, 'Get a hold of yourself, you can do this!' she told herself.
Rainbow walked towards the door, and Twilight followed her like a sheep following a shepherd. "So um, where are we going?" Rainbow asked.
"Sugarcube Corner..." Twilight answered. "Unless you want to go someplace else, that is..."
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."
Rainbow opened the door then walked out, followed by Twilight. They both spread their wings and jumped into the air. Rainbow flew higher into the sky, and Twilight followed her. After a few minutes, they had a steady pace and leisurely flew through the air. Every once in a while, Rainbow would look back at Twilight, and look like she wanted to ask her a question, and Twilight would immediately look away.
After a few more minutes, the pair landed outside of Sugarcube Corner and proceeded to make their way inside. The bell rang as they opened the door, and Pinkie was there to greet them immediately. Twilight had her suspicions Pinkie was actually there before the door opened, but said nothing.
"Hi, Rainbow! Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed, happy to see two of her best friends.
"Hey, Pinkie." Rainbow greeted.
"Hello," Twilight said, happy to have a slight distraction from her nervousness.
"So what brings you two here?" Pinkie asked energetically, then tilted her head to look at Twilight. "And why are you wearing your crown and necklace?"
Twilight resisted the urge to face hoof. "Pinkie... It's a tiara, and this-" She pointed at her regalia, "-is not a necklace, it's a regalia."
"Well it's around your neck isn't it?" Pinkie asked quizzically.
"Pinkie, I... Gah..." Twilight sighed.
Rainbow chuckled at Twilight's distress. "We're here for lunch," Rainbow answered her earlier question. "Twilight's buying," she stated.
"Oooooohhhhhh..." Pinkie looked to Twilight. "So what can Pinkie get ya?" she asked happily. "Cupcake? Muffin?" A gray pegasus looked through the window and squeed, before flying off. "Cake? You can't go wrong with cake!"
"Pinkie... I'll have a daisy sandwich, thank you..." Twilight answered, Pinkie looked sad briefly, but recovered quickly.
"I'll have an order of pancakes," Rainbow said.
Both Twilight and Pinkie looked at her wryly. Rainbow looked between them and blinked. "I just woke up, okay?"
"Allllll right! Order coming right up! Please seat yourselves!" Pinkie zoomed out of sight and disappeared behind the counter.
Twilight glanced around and noted just how empty Sugarcube Corner was. She glanced at a table near the window and headed towards it. Rainbow followed slightly behind her. They sat down across from each other, then sat in silence for a few minutes. Twilight's gaze was drawn to the window and the world outside.
"So, you never did answer her question," Rainbow stated.
"Hmm?" Twilight mumbled as she turned away from the window.
"About why you're wearing your crown and regalia." Rainbow continued.
"Oh!" Twilight smiled and sat up a little straighter. "Well, I was um..." Twilight looked to the side and down at the table, blushing lightly. "They look nice on me..."
"You don't wear them very often, I was just curious if there's a reason behind that, or-"
"Well, I um... I wanted to look my best." Twilight admitted. She looked up at Rainbow. "There is... Something I wanted to ask you, Rainbow. I-"
Pinkie hopped over to the table, carrying the two orders, the plate of pancakes on her nose, and the plate with the daisy sandwich on it on her back. "Orrrrrrder up!" Pinkie called. She jerked her head upwards and bounced the platter of pancakes down in front of Rainbow, who smiled at the sight and licked her lips. Pinkie jerked her back up and bounced the plate with the daisy sandwich over to Twilight.
"Thanks, Pinkie!" Rainbow said as she picked up a fork with her wing.
"Thank you..." Twilight mumbled to her as she levitated the sandwich in her magic.
"Your welcome!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced away, oblivious.
Rainbow took a bite of her pancake, chewed it vigorously, then swallowed. "So what were you saying?" she asked as she took another bite.
Twilight shifted in her seat. "Well... I um... I was wondering if... Um..." she stuttered. She looked at the table again. 'Get a hold of yourself, you planned to tell her last week, and the week before that!' she told herself.
Rainbow swallowed and looked at Twilight questioningly. She could tell something was bothering her, but she didn't know what. "Twilight? You okay?" she asked.
Twilight looked up from the table and at Rainbow. "I um... Yes... I..." She closed her eyes, inhaled, then exhaled. 'Now or never.' she told herself. Her heart pounded as she opened her mouth to speak, "Would you... Would you go on a... A date with me? Tonight?"
Rainbow opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. She repeated the action several times, reminding Twilight of a fish she had seen when she was with Fluttershy once. The whole time, she looked at Twilight in disbelief. She groaned and put her hooves on the table then her head fell into them. "Twilight..."
Twilight's ears fell to the sides of her head, and she looked away. "I... I see... I understand..."
"I'm... Flattered, really... But..." Rainbow trailed off and sighed.
"It's... It's fine, I mean... I knew this would probably be how you reacted..." Despite her assurances that it was fine, Rainbow could hear the despondency in Twilight's voice.
Rainbow didn't know how to react or comfort her. And she felt a little awkward now. "Um..."
"You... You don't hate me, though, right?" Twilight asked.
Rainbow shifted in her seat. "No... I don't hate you, Twilight."
Twilight looked down at her hooves. "Well, that's a relief at least... I'm... Sorry."
"Hey, don't be sorry... Okay?" Rainbow felt bad for Twilight, she wanted to make it up to her, but...
"Things will probably be awkward between us now..." Twilight mused. She sighed. "I'll just... Go..." She trailed off as she slid out of the bench.
"Wait... I said I'd have lunch with you... And um... I'll still have lunch with you... But I'm not going on a date with you." Twilight looked at her sadly, but shook her head, walked over to the counter, dropped a couple bits, then left, leaving Rainbow alone.
Rainbow sighed, and her head fell into her hooves again. She spent several minutes in silence thinking about what had just happened until Lyra and Bonbon walked inside. After that, she finished her meal quickly, then left to go flying so she could think.
Four hours later...
Twilight lay in bed. It had been four hours since lunch, which she had not eaten anything, and she had been sulking the entire time. "I ruined our friendship..." she said aloud with despondency. Spike rubbed her side in an attempt to cheer her up, to no avail. "I'm supposed to be the Princess of Friendship, and I ruined my friendship with Rainbow..."
"You did a pretty good job with me, Twilight..." Starlight spoke. She smiled at Twilight, not pitying, but optimistically. "Just give it time..."
"She probably hates me now... All of them probably do..." Twilight repeated for what must have been the hundredth time.
"Twilight, they could never hate you! They're your friends! So what if things are a little awkward between you and Rainbow, it'll blow over eventually!" Spike's assurances fell on deaf ears.
"I shouldn't have done that..." Twilight repeated.
"Twilight! Listen to me, she doesn't hate you, none of your friends hate you! They could never! Think about all you've been through with them!" Spike reasoned. Twilight tilted her head towards him, and Spike could tell she had been crying. He felt bad for her, but she was acting like a foal. He knew it was hard from experience, and he knew it would blow over for her. "Just give it time..."
"Twilight..." Starlight started as she stood up and walked over to the Princess Celestia sized bed. "It's better to have asked and found out than to have never asked, and been left wondering for years."
"Am I a bad princess?" Twilight asked with despair. She turned to Starlight and looked pleadingly at her.
"No, Twilight," Starlight answered with a smile. "You're the best princess in the world, and the best friend a pony could ask for."
Twilight smiled, if lightly. After a few seconds, she sat up in bed, if it was somewhat sluggishly. "I... Never did eat that sandwich," she admitted.
Spike smiled. "I'll go bring you one."
Twilight shook her head. "I'll go to the dining room... But I would appreciate you fixing me one."
Spike nodded. "Alright, Twilight... You know Rainbow is still your friend. Did she say she hated you?"
Twilight bobbed her head. "...No," she admitted. Spike hopped off the bed and made his way out of the room, heading towards the kitchen. Twilight waited a few minutes, then slid out of bed and made her way towards the door. She was stopped by Starlight putting a hoof on her shoulder, then pulling her into a hug. She returned the hug, and they stood there for a few seconds, then Twilight pulled away. "Thank you..." Starlight smiled at her.
Twilight and Starlight made their way to the Dining Room. Once there, Twilight sat down, and Starlight sat down beside her. It didn't take Spike but a minute to come out of the kitchen carrying a plate with a sandwich on it. He carried it over to Twilight and sat it down, then took a seat beside her. Twilight glanced at Spike and then Starlight, and it made her happy to know she still had at least two friends who cared about her. She took the sandwich in her magic, then levitated it to her mouth and took a bite. She chewed it and savored the flavor for half a minute, then swallowed.
Two hours later...
Twilight had finally cheered up. Not really, but she was doing a better job hiding it after she ate. Spike and Starlight left her alone, and she decided to go flying to clear her mind. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, but there were still several hours of light left. It had been a bad day for her. She wasted several hours in the morning making sure she looked her best, ruined a friendship, missed lunch, and then sulked for four hours.
She hadn't seen any of her friends, with the exception of Spike and Starlight, since she left the castle. She felt lonely, so very alone. She briefly wondered if Princess Luna felt like this during her thousand year banishment, but pushed it aside. Luna had been consumed by rage during that time, she didn't feel so alone... But maybe before the birth of Nightmare Moon, she felt alone? Maybe she would ask her sometime.
She slowed in her flight, then landed on a nearby cloud, and looked over Ponyville, the town she loved. Canterlot would always be the town she grew up in, but Ponyville was her true hometown. The ponies in Canterlot were never as friendly as the ponies in Ponyville, with the occasional exception. She was friends with almost everypony in Ponyville, and they were friends to her. She still didn't know as many ponies or have as many friends as Pinkie, but she was close.
An ear-piercing siren started to ring in the distance, and Twilight jerked her head towards the source. Her heart stuttered when she realized it was coming from the Ponyville Reactor. She had the feeling the day was about to get much, much worse. She lit her horn and teleported to an area just outside the fence. Her head whipped around as she searched for anypony. She caught sight of three ponies, each a unicorn, all wearing white lab coats running out of the building. A shiver went down her spine. All three of them were running full speed, then slowed as they left the fenced area and caught sight of her.
"You need to..!" the pony in front trailed off as he realized who he was talking to. Twilight realized she was still wearing her tiara and regalia as the ponies bowed to her. "Princess!"
"What's going on? Why did you trigger the siren?" she asked quickly, dreading the answer.
The lead scientist shifted his weight and glanced back to the building. "We need to evacuate the town, there was a failure in the number two pump!"
Another shiver ran down Twilight's spine. "You mean..."
The scientist nodded gravely. "We need to evacuate now. We're on the clock, Princess."
Twilight clenched her jaw. "You couldn't fix it?"
"N-no, Princess... We tried, and the controls didn't respond." the scientist grimaced. "The core was operating at one hundred percent reactivity..."
"Did you try lowering the control rods?" Twilight said in a hurry as she looked passed the scientist.
"They didn't respond." The scientist looked at her wryly. "Princess, we need to evacuate Ponyville now."
Twilight glanced behind her to see what the scientist was looking at. Half of Ponyville was standing behind her staring at the four of them and the building. "You need to evacuate immediately, there's an issue," she said loudly, hoping everypony could hear her over the siren. She didn't explain in more details, as it would do no good to panic everypony. The crowd hesitated then started to disperse. She turned back to the scientists. "Did you get everypony out of there?"
"Y-yes, Princess." the scientist answered. "Princess, you need to get out of here, it's dangerous!"
Twilight shook her head. "I need to make sure everypony gets out of here alright..." She glanced back, and the crowd was still dispersing, but it was mostly gone. "What's your name?" she asked the lead scientist.
"I'm Atom Splitter." he looked to his left, "This is Over Load, and he's Molecular Bond."
"How bad is it?" Twilight asked.
"Twilight!" a voice shouted. Rainbow's voice. Twilight winced.
"The core was approaching three hundred degrees Celsius when we tried triggering SCRAM." Atom Splitter answered.
"It didn't work." Over Load added.
Twilight shook her head. "How did this-"
"Twilight, what's going on?" Applejack asked from behind her.
Twilight turned around and looked at each of her friends. None of them knew anything about what was happening. She glanced at Rainbow very briefly, then returned her gaze to Applejack. "The reactor is having a problem..."
"That's not good, is it..." Applejack mused.
"No, it's not..." Twilight answered then turned around. "How much time do we have?"
"Not long... The reaction was supercritical, and it was heating up fairly fast..." Atom Splitter said.
"Alright..." She turned around to face her friends. "You need to get out of here..."
"Twilight..." Rainbow said.
Twilight looked to her. "If this thing melts down, Ponyville will become barren for decades, if not centuries..." She bobbled her head and turned around to face the scientists. "Get everypony out of here..." she ordered. The three scientists bowed, then ran off. Twilight took a deep breath, then exhaled. Her heart pounded in her chest, knowing what she needed to do. She turned around to face her friends. "You need to go..."
"Twilight... Please tell me your not going to do what I think you are..." Rarity said suspiciously.
Twilight ignored her and looked at Spike. "Spike, please take a letter..." She waited for him to pull out a scroll and quill, then cleared her throat. "Dear Princess Celestia. The Ponyville Reactor is experiencing issues, and the workers have fled after the control rods failed to lower into place. SCRAM did nothing. I fear if the reactor is not attended to immediately, it will melt down." She paused for Spike to catch up. "Please reply to this immediately." She nodded, and Spike rolled it up, then blew his fire breath over it, and the scroll disappeared.
"Do you think she can do something about this..?" Applejack asked.
Twilight shook her head. "No. She's too far away. Besides, leaving negotiations now would be very bad..." she trailed off, not wanting to think about it.
After a few seconds, Spike burped up a letter, and Twilight grasped it in her magic, then read it.
"What's it say?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight blinked, then swallowed. 'I figured that...' "She can't help... Ponyville's being evacuated, but if the reactor melts down, a lot of ponies could suffer radiation poisoning..." She turned around to face the reactor. "I have to stop it..." she said softly.
"Twilight, you can't go in there! The science ponies even left, it has to be dangerous!" Rainbow countered.
Twilight turned around. "If I don't Ponyville isn't going to recover." She eyed each of her friends seriously. "Besides, I'll be fine. It's not like I'll around the core. The Control Room is nowhere near it..."
"They wouldn't have evacuated if the Control Room was safe, Twilight..." Rarity said slowly.
Twilight ruffled her wings. "What a day..." She shook her head. "Even if there is a radiation leak affecting the Control Room... I'm immune to radiation," she said quickly. None of her friends knew anything about nuclear science. "I'm the only one who can fix it. And If I can't fix it, I'll leave as soon as possible. But you need to go, now."
"I'm not leaving, Twilight," Rainbow said firmly.
"Rainbow..." Twilight sighed. Spike was right, Rainbow didn't hate her. Despite... What happened, she still cared. "Then I guess I have to fix this..."
"We can't convince you otherwise, can we," Applejack stated.
Twilight smiled sadly and shook her head. "Wish me luck, girls."
"Be careful... Twilight..." Rainbow said. "I need to talk to you... But... It can wait." Twilight looked at her but said nothing.
Twilight hesitated a moment, then looked over each of her friends, worried something would happen to them, or the town she loved. She nodded, then turned around, and broke out into a gallop towards the building. Her friends watched her run off, and all hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid. They all knew who she was, however, and their worries were silenced.
Twilight made her way to the Control Room, doing her best to ignore the bad lighting. The building was operating on emergency power for some reason, and the emergency lights cast a red glow on everything. It was eerie, to say the least. Twilight pushed the worry away, she needed to focus. She glanced at a sign on the wall, and nodded to herself, then opened the door to the Control Room. She left the door open and ran inside, and glanced around all the controls.
"I guess it was a good thing I paid attention in school..." she mused. She shook her head then made her way over to the nearest monitor. it displayed several lines of text. Statuses, she realized. She glanced around the room and noted all of the red lights. A few of the lights were green, but they were vastly outnumbered. Her legs felt weak, they wobbled as she walked over to another monitor and read it's display. "They weren't kidding when they said the core was heating up fast..." The temperature display said that the pressurized water surrounding the core was approximately six hundred degrees Celsius. The pressure on the containment vessel had to be approaching dangerous levels.
She moved to another monitor. This monitor had an interface. She quickly powered up her horn and ran a systems diagnostic. After a few seconds, she read the data. She scowled. "The only system functioning properly is the intercom..." She shook her head and moved to another monitor. Her face paled. She quickly walked away from that monitor, and then paced back and forth in the room. "Okay think..." She looked around, then her eyes settled on a single button labeled "SCRAM." She ran over to it and examined it. She stuck her tongue out, then pressed it with a hoof. The button lit up. She smiled, then turned away, and walked over to one of the monitors.
"WHAT!?" she exclaimed. She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Okay... Okay... The system is malfunctioning... And I can't fix that... But there are backup systems... Although SCRAM is a last resort..." She shifted her weight and ran over to another monitor. "Okay... Okay don't panic, the core's only..." she read a label beside the display. "Oh... The core's only fifteen hundred degrees Celsius, maximum... Worst case scenario... Worst case scenario..." she repeated as she thought.
She ran over to another monitor and confirmed that the number two pump wasn't working. She glanced over the screen, then an idea came to her. She ran over to the interface and pulled up information about pump number one. It was in working order, but not online. She smiled and turned it online. At the very least, it would buy time. She ran over to another monitor and looked at the temperature of the water surrounding the core. It was still rising, but it had slowed.
A rapid beeping sound came from one of the buttons that had been green. She ran over it too and winced. One of the pipes pump one used ruptured under the pressure. She ran over to the interface, deactivated the pump, and closed off the damaged section, then ran back to the middle of the room and resumed pacing. Even her wings were shaking now.
She took several deep breaths, exhaling after each one and extending her arm, then returned to one of the monitors. Nothing useful was displayed on it, and she ran over to the interface. She raked her mind for anything useful in the situation she was in, but nothing was forthcoming. After a few more seconds, she pulled up a diagnostic of the control rods. Her face paled even further.
Someone had intentionally sabotaged the reactor...
She stepped back from the interface. "Wh... Why would..." she trailed off, she could figure that out later...
She turned her attention back to the monitor displaying temperature and grimaced. "Core temperature approaching one thousand seven hundred degrees Celsius." the voice of a mare called over the intercom. An emergency warning system, Twilight deduced.
She heard a ding and looked around. Another green light turned red. The label indicated that the core had cracked in such a way the room was being flooded with radiation. Twilight grimaced but wasted no time before searching for the monitor displaying information about the radiation level in the room. It took her a few seconds, but she found it. She gulped.
She walked back to the interface and brought up a schematic, then spent several minutes going over every single detail on it. After she finished she stepped back, and swallowed, despite her mouth being dry.
"Core temperature approaching one thousand eight hundred degrees Celsius." the voice over the intercom advised. Twilight shifted her weight, paused for a second and then ran over to the display showing the temperature of the water surrounding the core.
She looked to her hooves, grimacing, then shook her head sadly. She trotted over to the door, then paused and looked around the room once more. A small rectangular, orange colored device caught her eye. She walked over to it, picked it up in her magic, and looked it over for a second. She immediately recognized what it was, and turned it on. The device produced a clicking sound, and she thought back to what happened earlier in the day.
She hadn't ruined her friendship with Rainbow, but she had succeeded in making things awkward between them. But, if she had the chance to do the day over again, she wouldn't change anything. Spike had been right, she felt better for finding out, even if it hadn't been what she wanted to hear...
She shook her head, then walked out of the Control Room. The core was in another building, and it was contained under the ground, it would take her a little while to get to it. She swallowed, then took off trotting towards the core. Every few seconds, the device produced a clicking sound, providing a constant reminder of the danger not only she, but her friends, all of Ponyville, and... Rainbow Dash... Were in.
After several minutes of walking, she approached the door to the core. It had been sealed shut, and the dense door provided good radiation shielding. She couldn't begin to imagine how much radiation was in the room beyond it, though she had a fairly good idea just how intense it was based on the previous reading she had observed.
And she needed to open it if she had any chance of saving anypony. She eyed the door wryly, then channeled more magic into her horn, and fired a beam of magic at the door. After a few seconds, she could tell her magic was starting to cut through the door, but it was going to take a while...
The device clicked more often as she cut through the door more and more. She paused before she finished cutting away the last part holding the door in place, and glanced to the device, which was now clicking almost constantly as radiation ionized the gas inside it. She was very glad the core was housed underground, it did a good job of blocking radiation, so nopony outside of the complex was in danger.
She took a deep breath, then exhaled, and cut away at the last part. The door fell an inch, and she picked it up in her magic, and pulled it out, then set it aside. She eyed the room bathed in red light wryly. Already she could feel the heat coming off of the core, and she hadn't even stepped hoof inside the room.
She stepped closer to the entrance, and a wave of heat washed over her body. There were spells to produce barriers specifically designed to block or reflect radiation, and there were spells to repair some of the damage, though the healing spells could only do so much. While she had studied nuclear science, she never actually studied any of those spells, figuring they would never come in handy. She regretted that decision.
She lied about alicorns being immune to radiation. She hadn't lied about not intending to visit the core room. She had heard that radiation poisoning wasn't a fun way to go, and she had studied some of the effects... She never intended to find out first hoof, and she didn't want to find out... But, she had no choice. Her friends would miss her... Her family and the princesses would mourn her... They would probably dedicate a statue to her... She smirked at that thought, then the smile rolled away from her face... There was a lot she never got around to doing... A lot she never got around to saying... A lot she was going to miss out on... But, some many other ponies wouldn't...
She smiled weakly, knowing that at least she said one thing that she needed to say...
Resigned to her fate, she stepped into the room, and the device went crazy. She looked around the room for the switch for the manual control rod override. Sweat rolled down her head as she stood there, getting bathed in radiation and the heat from the core, searching for the switch or lever that would save all of Ponyville...
She spotted the lever across the room opposite of the door. She was going to give somepony a stern talking to for the poor design of the reactor. She darted across the room as fast as she could, despite her legs feeling weak. She briefly glanced at the core itself, and she could see something shining dripping off of its exterior. The core also seemed to glow from how hot it was, but it was hard to tell from the red lighting. She turned her attention back to the lever and grasped it in her magic. She felt a throb of pain in her head signaling the start of a headache but ignored it. She pulled the lever down and heard several mechanical clicks. She glanced at the core, but she couldn't tell anything.
She ran across the room to the door, our the door, the paused to put the door back where it should be. It wasn't sealed, but it would help block some of the radiation. After doing that, she ran back to the Control Room as fast as she could. She stumbled on her way there and fell to the floor. After resting for a second, she stood up and found herself bleeding from a scrape on her arm. She brushed her concern off and ran the rest of the way to the Control Room.
She stumbled at the door, then looked around the room. There were still countless red lights, but there were a few more green lights. She ran over to each of the displays and looked over the data. She stared blankly at the screen which displayed just how radioactive the room was. Her mouth became dry at the sight. After a few seconds, she pulled away and made a note in the interface computer. She turned her attention to the temperature monitor and remembered she hadn't heard any warnings about temperature on her way back. She glanced over the data, then exhaled, and smiled.
The core was cooling down, albeit slowly. Radioactive decay was still generating heat, but barring any more problems, the core wouldn't melt down...
She fell to her haunches and grasped her head with her hooves. The headache was getting worse. She closed her eyes and sat there in silence for several minutes. Eventually, her thoughts drifted back to Rainbow and the rest of her friends. She opened her eyes and stood up slowly in a futile attempt to avoid a head rush.
She slowly stumbled out the door, then made her way out of the building. She paused as she reached the door to exit the building, and cast a barrier around herself. She couldn't let her friends touch her, not after that... She hesitated a few seconds, then pulled open the door with her magic, and exited the building. She briefly glanced around, then caught sight of her friends. She smiled, briefly and sadly, then started making her way over to them. They at least needed to know, and... She could use the help...
They must have seen her because all seven of them started running towards her a few seconds later. She grunted as she created a barrier where the gate was, barring them from entering the fenced in area. Her gaze turned to Rainbow Dash as she flew above the barrier and Twilight sighed. In a few seconds, Rainbow crossed the distance, then landed in front of her. She looked... So worried, it shocked her to her core. "Rainbow... You need to stay back..." she warned.
"Twilight..." Rainbow trailed off unsure what to say. She had so many questions, and yet...
Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated, then closed it and started walking towards her friends. As she neared them, Starlight Glimmer teleported to the other side of the barrier and then ran towards her. "Stay back, Starlight..." Twilight warned as the unicorn approached her.
Starlight clenched her jaw and slowed. "What happened?" she asked.
"The reactor was sabotaged..." Twilight said.
"What?" Rainbow asked as Starlight held back a gasp. "You stopped it though, right? It's not going to explode or anything?"
Twilight eyed Rainbow wryly. "...Yes. I stopped the meltdown..."
The trio continued walking until they reached the barrier Twilight formed. They paused, and Twilight popped the barrier with her magic, then her friends beyond it ran to her, but they kept their distance. She looked over each one of them, then her gaze settled on Spike. "Anything more from Princess Celestia or Princess Luna?" she asked.
Spike shifted as he pulled out a letter, then handed it to Twilight. Twilight took it in her magic, then unfurled it and read it. After a few seconds, she read over it again, then looked back to Spike. "When did you get this?"
"Ten minutes ago." he answered.
Twilight nodded. "Good... She should be here soon..." She lifted a hoof to cover her mouth and coughed violently. Her whole body shook with the coughs, and she paused when she withdrew her hoof. She eyed the blood wryly.
"Twilight..." Rainbow said as she caught sight of the blood. Twilight looked at her sadly. "What did you do..." The others all looked at Rainbow questioningly, upon seeing the worry on her face, they turned to Twilight.
Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but a throb of pain shot through her head, and she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Her barrier flickered, then failed, and she found the ground coming up to her head.
"Twilight!" Rainbow shouted. Her other friends shouted in alarm too, but she couldn't make any of their shouts out.
Twilight winced in pain as she hit the ground, and fell into unconsciousness.
Twilight awoke a few hours later to the constant beeping of a heart rate monitor. After listening to the constant beeping for several minutes, and hearing nothing else, she opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a hospital bed, in a dark room, and she was alone from what she could tell, and she was still wearing her tiara and regalia. She smiled sadly at that sight which served as a reminder to how the day started, and how she failed... She tried to push her head up, but a wave of nausea and pain told her not to.
She glanced around again, looking over the room once more. After a few seconds, she started to regain feeling in her body, and she wished she hadn't. She glanced towards the door, and saw an all too familiar warning sign, then turned her gaze to the ceiling. The loneliness she felt earlier crept back into her mind, and after a few minutes, she found herself silently crying.
It wasn't long before she heard the door open, and she turned towards it. "Twilight..." Princess Celestia's face was heavy, and Twilight could never remember seeing her look so sad before in her life. It made the pain she felt even worse.
"Prin-Princess..." Twilight said weakly. Princess Celestia walked over to her, then sat down on the bed beside her. "Don't, I'm-"
Princess Celestia looked scoldingly at her. "I will be fine, Twilight..." She wasn't sure what to say next. "What happened, Twilight? None of your friends were able to tell me anything that made sense..."
Twilight sighed, and that sigh turned into a violent cough. Princess Celestia winced through the ordeal, unable to do anything. "Somepony sabotaged the reactor... I... Had to enter the reactor core room to stop the meltdown..."
Princess Celestia's heart sank at that. "Twilight, you-"
"I received a fatal dose of radiation. I know..." she trailed off absently, remembering the information one of the monitors displayed.
"We're doing all that we can to keep you alive, but..." 'It's not enough.' went unsaid. After that, silence reigned for several minutes. "They're worried sick about you... They want to see you."
"It's too dangerous," Twilight said firmly. "As much as I want to see them again... It's too dangerous."
Princess Celestia looked away. "They know and they don't care... I told them I would ask you. It's up to you."
Twilight looked away from Celestia. "I... Would like to see them... But, I have something to ask you first..." Twilight looked back to Celestia, who looked at Twilight expectantly. "I'd appreciate it if you took on being Starlight's teacher for me..."
Celestia smiled weakly. "Of course, I can, Twilight..."
"How's... How's Luna?" Twilight asked.
"She... Wishes she had been here, so she could have fixed it, instead of you..." Celestia looked away and sighed. "One of us should have stayed in Canterlot... I'm going to regret that decision for the rest of my life..."
"You-" Twilight was cut off by a violent cough, causing her whole body to shake. "You couldn't have known..."
"No..." Celestia admitted. "But we could have stopped it at much less risk than you... You're so young, Twilight... You shouldn't be here! You had your whole life ahead of you..." Celestia sighed, then slowly stood up. She stepped away from the bed, then turned back to Twilight. "Is there... Anything I can do for you?"
"Is there... Anything you can do about the pain? It doesn't hurt as much as I expected but..." Twilight trailed off.
Celestia grimaced, walked back over to her, lit her horn, and cast a spell on her. The pain was dulled, but only just. "I'm... Sorry, but I cannot do any more for you, Twilight..."
"That's... Fine... Thank you." Twilight said. "You'll come by again tomorrow, though, right?" Celestia nodded sadly, as much as she couldn't bear to watch this happen to Twilight... She would be there for her.
The door to Twilight's room opened, and Princess Celestia walked out. The six mares and young dragon eyed her sadly. Somehow, Princess Celestia just didn't look as regal or as powerful as she normally did. And for the first time any of them could remember, she looked old. Princess Celestia looked at them sadly, and they looked at her expectantly. She reluctantly bowed her head, nodding.
Everypony stood up, and the general sentiment was somber. They slowly made their way to the door, then entered the room. Each pony looked at Twilight, and they were unsure what to say. Spike ran over to her and jumped on the bed, then hugged her. Twilight smiled at him thankfully. "Hello, girls," she said weakly.
Her weak greeting made everypony wince and feel as if even breathing on her would be too much. "Twilight... Why?" Applejack asked.
Twilight sighed. "It was the only way to stop it," she answered. She looked to Rainbow, "And save all of you." Rainbow shifted her weight. She felt somehow responsible for it all, even if she knew she wasn't.
Applejack sighed and shook her head. "Why did you lie to us?" she asked.
"You wouldn't have let me go if I told you the truth," Twilight answered. "Though I... Did not intend to visit the core... But..." She coughed, ending her sentence. "I wasn't completely lying. I am more resistant to radiation than all of you, but I'm not immune to it."
"I would throw you a party... But I don't think that would help at all..." Pinkie said sadly.
"Is there anything we can do for you?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight looked at her. She was on the verge of tears, and she might have been crying before she entered the room. Twilight couldn't tell for sure.
"N-no..." Twilight said. Twilight unfolded a wing and draped it over Spike. "Take care of Spike for me, please. All of you..."
Spike hugged her tighter. "I don't want you to go..." he said on the verge of tears. Twilight kissed him on the forehead and rubbed his back with a hoof.
Twilight glanced to the table beside her bed, powered up her horn, then levitated the bottle of water over to her and drank. "Well, at least I still have my magic..." she mused. She turned her attention to Starlight. "Take care of the castle for me... And I talked with Celestia, she's willing to take you as her student for me and continue where I left off."
Starlight swallowed but nodded her head.
"What time is it?" Twilight asked.
"About one in the morning..." Applejack answered.
Twilight felt a wave of guilt wash over her. "Girls... I'll be alright here tonight. You should go sleep... I'll be here tomorrow... And... I..." she frowned, "...Might be feeling better after I get some more sleep." she paused. "Besides, it will give my body time to... Attempt... To heal itself."
"Twilight... The dose of radiation you took is at least three times the lethal amount..." Rarity said cautiously. She didn't want to kill Twilight's hope, but... She needed to know the reality of the situation. Twilight didn't seem to react, and she shifted her weight on her hooves.
"Please come back tomorrow," Twilight said with a bit more strength this time. She didn't want to send them away, but she wanted to talk to somepony specific. Ever so slowly, everypony moved to leave, and even Spike got up and walked over to Rarity. Twilight eyed Rainbow, who hesitated briefly. "Please stay for a moment..."
Rainbow looked out the door, watching as the others left, but she turned back to Twilight.
"It's..." Twilight trailed off, killing that train of thought. "You know, today I woke up, intending to have gone on a date with you later."
Rainbow walked over to the bed, then laid down on it. She looked at Twilight through eyes on the verge of tears. "I'm... So, so sorry... Twilight..."
"Ponyville is safe... My friends are safe... You're safe..." Twilight said.
Rainbow looked away from her. "I shouldn't have said no... I should have thought it through..."
"It wouldn't have changed anything..." Twilight said, though even she was unsure of it.
Rainbow looked back to her. "You can't know that!"
"Don't-" Twilight's body shook violently as she fell into a coughing fit that lasted half a minute. She could taste blood in her mouth, and she levitated the bottle of water back over to her and she took a drink. "Don't beat yourself up over this. I knew what I was getting into when I went into..." she trailed off.
"I don't want you to die, Twilight... I... I wish we had..." Rainbow looked away in an attempt to hide her tears from Twilight.
Twilight lifted her hoof and pulled Rainbow's head back so it faced her. She smiled sadly, and looked over her face, then used her wing to remove the teardrops falling from her eyes. At the start of the day, Twilight never would have imagined being in the position she was now. "Shh... It'll be okay..." She draped a wing over Rainbow's back, pulled her regalia off, and put it around Rainbow's neck, then pulled her tiara off and set it on the table beside her, then attempted to pull Rainbow closer. Rainbow scooted herself closer when she realized Twilight was having trouble pulling her closer. They laid there like that, in silence, for almost an hour before the heat from their bodies lulled them to sleep.