A surge of light and sound from the throne room brought five mares barreling through the door. At their lead, Applejack.
“Twilight! What was that sound just n- whoa Nelly!”
The five skidded to a halt, speechless and open-mouthed. There before them sat a dragon of immense proportions, its neck reaching towards the decorative roots at the top of the room, its tail curled halfway around the map table’s thrones. A foreclaw was held close to his chest, cradling something against him, something suspiciously pony-sized. But the five had no time to consider this, and spared little to consider the large, purple dragon. No, it was the large, purple alicorn that held their attention.
She was tall, nearly as tall as Celestia. Her eyes glowed a brilliant white, pupils and irises lost to the shine. Faint wisps of other colors created a flickering corona around their edges while brief wisps and sparks of magic flowed from within, akin to the magic aura coating her long horn. Her wings were massive, held outstretched yet unmoving. She floated in the air, as if suspended by mutual agreement between her will and the world. Her face was set in a frown, though not an unkind one, lines of casual disappointment and long-suffering sadness instead. There was something old about her, and that sense only grew as the magic flowing from her tapered off, no longer rippling her fur and obscuring her eyes, revealing a familiar shade of violet. The familiarity was cemented when they noticed the deep blue of her mane and tail, cut in a stark line along the bangs and hem and shot through with a streak of violet and rose. Though it was borne aloft, floating and rippling, and gave the impression of nebulous sky come to earth rather than simple hair, it was more than enough to allow a connection to be made.
Applejack spoke up, surprise and a sudden sense of awe causing her voice to quiet. “Twilight? Is that you?”
The alicorn’s ears perked up, her head jerking around see who spoke. She stared at the five for several moments, eyes wide, stunned silence holding with her breath as she sank - first out of the air, and then from hooves onto haunches. After an eternity passed, she let the breath out. “Girls? M-my friends?” Her voice quavered, tears coming to her eyes, a face that spoke of sadness now brimming with a hope, a hope that bordered uncomfortably on desperation. A smile grew with her happiness, and yet it was somehow harder to look upon than the frown it replaced.
She stood, just looking as the five stepped forward. Questions form on their lips, all in flavors of “what happened to you?” None of them were spoken, cut off instead by the mad dash of a pink mare, diving through the air to impact with the chest of the seated alicorn and hugging her as tightly as she could. Twilight was stunned, but only for a moment; her hooves closed around her friend as the tears started to flow. These were not the dignified, stoic tears of one weathering a challenge, nor the elegant tears of a ruler. These tears were ugly, brought forth by chest-wracking sobs and quiet whimpers, the strength to wail having long since flown. The alicorn held her smaller friend close as a child might cling to a stuffed doll while tears stained purple cheeks and matted patches of poofy pink mane. Pinkie Pie was soon joined by the others, curiosity forgotten in favor of the need to comfort, and all five soon found themselves being enfolded with broad lavender wings as they pressed up against her barrel. Platitudes were spoken, soft reassurances, little comforts, and each drew out more tears. Twilight’s voice soon replied, though only coherent enough for a few murmured comments; “You’re here. I’ve got you. I have you back.”
It was several minutes before the tears had passed, and Twilight was coherent enough to speak. Several times already she'd tried to talk, only to lapse back into weeping. Eventually, breathing deep after letting it out, she gently withdrew her wings and looked down at her friends, who drew back to various extents, giving her concerned little smiles.
"You feelin' any better, sugarcube?" And orange hoof rested itself upon her foreleg, not quite able to comfortably reach the shoulder anymore.
Twilight nodded, settling her fidgeting wings and trying to smile reassuringly, though her eyes were still watery. "Yes, it's...everything's okay now; I'm back, I have all of you. It's okay."
The five exchanged glances, reluctant to push further until the kindest took up the task. Fluttershy, still seated quite close, put forth the question. "Do you think you're ready to talk about it?"
"I...yeah. I'm okay. I'm ready. Where should I start?"
"Maybe...at the beginning? What happened?"
A deep breath and Twilight gathered herself, dusting off long-unused lecturing skills. "What happened. Right. You all remember Starlight Glimmer?" A series of nods, and she continued. "Using the work of Starswirl the Bearded and the magic of the Map, she developed a spell to travel through time and used it to return to the day Rainbow Dash first successfully preformed a sonic rainboom. Her plan was to stop it from happening, and thereby stop us from getting our cutie mark connection. Her scroll was left behind, and I used it to follow her to the past where I tried to stop her. I failed, and I was returned to the present, only everything was different; in that timeline, we never defeated King Sombra, and the enslaved Crystal Empire was in a prolonged war with Equestria."
She was met with stunned silence, and so pressed on. "For some reason, the cutie map was still there in the present. Er...the alternate present. Future. Whatever. I used it to return again, but Starlight got brought back earlier, and she stopped the rainboom again. Again, I went back to the present, and it was again different; Nightmare Moon had conquered Equestria. So, I went back and tried again, and again. And again. And again."
Her eyes grew distant, and her voice trailed off, leaving to another round of concerned looks. Rainbow Dash spoke up. "But...you're back now, right? So, you won? What happened, did you unlock some secret alicorn magic and beat her down? Is that why you're so big and...?" She gestured with a hoof towards her mane.
Twilight huffed a dry laugh, shaking her head. "No. Well...not exactly. I mean, I have a lot of alicorn magic now, but...I gained it naturally."
"Naturally?"
"Through age."
The pieces began to come together for the five. "Exactly how long..." began Rarity, only to be interrupted by Applejack.
"Hold on, you were still aging? While you were goin' through time over and over? How old are you now?"
Twilight's ears folded back, her gaze drifting downward. "I don't know exactly; I only kept track by when I had to sleep, and without a day/night cycle that was...irregular."
Rarity took her turn to place her hoof on Twilight's foreleg, having to avoid Pinkie Pie in the process, who had continued to hug throughout the explanation. "Darling, how long do you think you were doing this?"
Twilight drew a deep breath, steeling herself before she answered. "I estimate that between now and when I first went back in time, between two-hundred eighty and three-hundred years have passed for us."
Her friends hadn't braced themselves nearly so well; jaws dropped, eyes widened, and a slightly-confused Rainbow Dash asked, "Us?"
"Us," rumbled the dragon.
"Eep!" eeped Fluttershy.
A massive, scaly head descended, smiling almost sheepishly at the group. "Um...hi everypony. It's me." He might have said more, but he was rather cut off by Pinkie Pie, who had dislodged herself from Twilight long enough to change targets. He stared cross-eyed at the mare hugging the end of his muzzle, the corners of it turning further up as she spoke.
"Of course it's you, silly. Who else would it be?"
The tension in the air broke, and most couldn't help a few laughs at the absurdity of it all. Spike laid himself down, arranged so his head rested near the six, one of his claws still cradled to his chest. The other mares took their turns acknowledging him.
"Shucks, not so little anymore, huh?"
"Heh. Nope."
"Wow! You're huge! Ohmygosh, are those wings? Those are wings! We've got to go flying some time!"
"Sure, Rainbow; sounds...nice."
"...Hi. Sorry about..."
"It's okay. Big dragon; I get it." This got him a second muzzle-hug.
"Oh, my..."
"...Hello Rarity. You're as lovely as I remember."
Twilight smiled as the group began to get reacquainted, though Applejack cleared her throat before that last comment could go anywhere, drawing the attention back to Twilight.
"So. Three-hundred years. Whew."
"Yeah. It was...long."
A few moments of awkward silence, and Pinkie Pie returned to hugging Twilight. Eventually, Rainbow Dash took up the lead.
"So...wait a second, Starlight Glimmer fought you for three hundred years?"
"Not exactly; much of the time she would stop your race to defend Fluttershy's honor by talking the foals out of it. If we fought, you - young you - would just get distracted, and the race wouldn't happen anyway. We spent some of the time in the alternate presents, and none of them were really pleasant. Oh, and we still needed to sleep every so often. So I spent much less than three hundred years actually fighting."
"Yeah, not what I meant. Starlight Glimmer. Starlight Glimmer is a unicorn; how'd she keep up with you for three hundred years? Shouldn't she be, like, long dead by now?"
"She would have been. Near the beginning, I warned her; I told her that Spike and I were immortal, and would only grow with time; she would age. I wasn't expecting her to take that as a challenge. During the time Spike and I spent in the alternate presents, she remained in the past. From what I gather, she began to spend much of her time while we were sleeping doing research. She was trying to find ways to defeat me, and as you can see she failed at that. However, she managed to steal research materials from several libraries, including the Royal Archives, and began to gather whatever magical objects she believed could help her. I don't know when she had her breakthrough, but it must have been somewhere in the first four decades; with her experience in the magic of time and fate, she held off old age."
"You mean...she became immortal!?"
"No, she never managed that. But she developed a spell or spells that would hold off the aging process, letting her stay young and fit as long as she lived. And, apparently, to prolong the process; I doubt she'd have lived to be over three-hundred otherwise."
"...She made a big speech about that, didn't she?"
"Haven't you begun to wonder, Twilight? It's been sixty years."
"What are you talking about?"
"Take a good look. See any gray hair in my mane? Any lines on my face?"
"..."
"Of course you don't, because I've done it! I've beaten age! You're not the only one who can go on forever; thanks to my new spell, no matter how old I get I'll keep my youth! I've won, princess; you can't just wait for age to wither me, for I, Starlight Glimmer, am no mortal mare!"
"...yeah, pretty much."
"Did she pose?"
"Yup; forelegs raised and everything, floating in the air. And she cackled too."
"Ugh. Wait, floating?"
"Turns out she can levitate herself."
"Huh. So, you didn't let her have her moment, did you?"
"Sooo...you'll stay young as long as you live?"
"That's right! Muahahaha!"
"How long is that?"
"...huh?"
"How long is your lifespan? Does your spell increase it?"
"Well..."
"Well...?"
"Shut up!"
Twilight grinned. "Not a chance."
"Awesome."
"So," Rarity cut in, "whatever became of that villainous mare? Is she...did she...pass?"
"No, she's alive."
"She's alive!?" Blue wings flared as Rainbow looked about the room. "Where is she? Is she here? Do I need to finish her off for you?"
Twilight smiled sadly. "No, I don't think there's much need for that. Spike?"
The dragon shifted, bringing forth his large claw and unfurling it so the mares could see. There, lying upon his palm, was Starlight Glimmer. But it was not the Starlight Glimmer that they had once fought; gone were the vivid colors of her mane and tail, dark grey having eaten up all but the faintest hint of her light blue stripe. Her pink fur was faded and thinning, patchy in places, revealing notable liver spots on the skin beneath. Her breath was shallow and slow, her ribs visible with each one she drew; gone were the fair lines of a mare in her prime, replaced by sagging skin over dwindling muscle. She seemed smaller than they remembered, made worse by the contrast to the dragon's strong hand. The fire left Rainbow's eyes, replaced by something closer to horror.
"...Oh."
"Her spell ended. It didn't cure her aging, only suppress it; when it failed, all her years came crashing down on her. She might be the oldest mortal mare alive right now."
The mare in the dragon's hand shivered, curling in against herself slightly. Her eyes blinked open for a few moments, enough to reveal that their color too had begun to fade, turning towards a milky white. She murmured, "Twilight..." and her voice cracked feebly. Spike closed his claw gently around her, letting his warmth sooth her, and soon she'd drifted back into shallow sleep.
It was hard not to be at a loss for words after that; the sight of a once-threatening villain reduced to a shivering old mare has a way distracting a pony. It was an uncomfortable thing, a reminder of thoughts and regrets often ignored, and Pinkie hugged Twilight all the harder as the others' minds turned morose.
"What are we going to do with her?" asked Fluttershy.
"We'll care for her. Keep her comfortable, until...until the end."
"Oh? That's awfully generous of you; I'd have thought that after all she'd done you'd be more eager to see her in a dungeon." Rarity gave her a questioning glance.
Twilight shook her head. "No. It's...strange, really; we hated each other for so long, but...at the same time, I think we were nearly friends."
"Friends? Twilight, she kept you stuck in a time loop for three hundred years! That ain't something friends do!"
"I know, Applejack. But at the same time, Spike and I...we were all she had. Even with everything she did, I came to understand her better. I can't...I can't keep hating her. It's not worth it."
"Twilight, that...sounds a little like Stockholme Syndrome."
"Where did you hear-?
"Daring Do and the Lunar Crystal; the scene with the train and the hostages."
"Ah. Well, anyway, I don't really think it's that, Rainbow."
"Why not?"
"...Well maybe a little, but we had some good times too."
"Like what?"
"Checkmate! Another game to me; that's fifty-eight to two, Starlight. Still, you're getting better."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm still pretty sure you're cheating. Reset the board: I want to get through the opening before you go back."
"We played chess."
"Chess."
"And backgammon."
"...Backgammon?"
"Mmhm! And a few other games too."
"While you were fighting to fix the future?"
"Present."
"Whatever! How does that make sense?"
Twilight flattened her ears, looking aside. "I couldn't beat her. She could just keep...changing the past. Whatever I tried, it didn't fix things. I wasn't strong enough. I tried, I really tried, but until the end she held up. As my power grew and Spike became bigger and stronger, she did everything in her power to keep up. She honed her talent as much as I did; I was stronger than her for at least the last century, and the gap kept growing, but she didn't need to be able to defeat me, she just needed not to get caught, to upset the timeline and then avoid me."
A sigh, and she continued. "The games were a refuge, an escape. I played more with Spike than I did with her, but they were a way to fight the boredom and the...the horror. The futures...presents that we kept returning to were awful; everything from war and conquest to monster invasions and blasted wastelands. Do you know how many times I saw Sweet Apple Acres as barren? How many times Ponyville was a crater? Too many. And what's almost worse is I started to get used to it. 'Ho hum, another apocalypse; I wonder if I'll find warped versions of my friends in this one?'"
"Warped...?"
"Some of you were there, in some of them. Only...not you. Versions of you that worked for Nightmare Moon, or that were scarred warriors."
"...Was I at least cool?"
A blink, and a chuckle. "Yes Rainbow, most versions of you were still cool."
"Yes!"
"Though some of you were just sad."
"Sad?"
"Really sad. Depressingly sad."
"L-lets not talk about them."
Twilight nodded. "Right. Anyway, yes; we played games now and then. And we talked - mostly bickering and banter at first, but its hard to keep that up for years upon years. We got to know each other, even respect each other a little bit. But I was never able to change her mind; she was obsessed with her revenge, and she wouldn't see it any other way. Not until the end."
Starlight landed on the nearby cloud as Twilight and Spike arrived, looking apprehensive. The dragon towered over her by now, and magic all but poured off the alicorn. They had just come from a fight in the present, and a fight with Starlight before, and they looked ready to turn this loop into quite the battle. However, they were given pause by Starlight's approach.
"Twilight?"
"Yes, Starlight?"
"I'm...I'm going to lose."
"That's right, you're going to lose."
"No, I mean...I'm going to lose now."
"What do you mean?"
"My spell, Twilight. My anti-aging spell is failing. I can't hold it much longer."
"Oh. Oh..." Now that she looked, she could see a few threads of gray mixed in with Starlight's mane.
"This is it then; you finally get what you want. Was it worth it?"
"For my friends? For the world? Yes, it was. Are you going to try to stop the race this time?"
"...No, I'm...I'm done."
"Was it worth it?"
"What?"
"You asked me, now I'm asking you. Was all of this worth it? Keeping us here, going through these loops for hundreds of years? Was it worth it?"
Starlight shook, the emotion she'd been holding back pouring down her cheeks. "...no." Twilight waited; she continued. "I thought it would feel good; I...I've gotten as much revenge as I could get, and yet it...I spent hundreds of years, and what do I have to show for it? This...this was my entire life, and now it's...it's all come to nothing. I couldn't beat you. I couldn't win. And now I'm going to...to..."
Twilight stood as impassively as she could, made easier as her own feelings warred within her. Anticipation and regret, sadness and hope, it was too much for her to let out, not now.
"Twilight...I'm scared." Starlight took a tentative step forward.
She considered cruelty. For a moment that seemed longer than all their fighting, Twilight considered what she could do to this mare, this mare that had cost her so many years and so much pain. This mare she'd fought with until she knew her spells as well as she did her own. This mare she'd taunted and argued with and talked with for days.
She considered cruelty. But it wasn't in her.
And it wasn't worth it.
Twilight wrapped Starlight in her wings, drawing her close as she sobbed. Spike leaned his way in, moving his bulk close so he could keep careful watch. His own feelings he kept to himself; one way or another, he would follow Twilight. He had been there for her for centuries now, after all.
As Starlight cried, her spell slipped further. Slowly at first, the signs of aging crept in; graying mane, thinning flesh, and other things began to warp the mare as the tears fell. Twilight's conflict may have been resolved, but that didn't mean the feelings were gone; she wasn't sure how to feel about the fate her enemy brought upon herself. It was hard to watch Starlight despair and wither, but she endured that as she had so much already.
"Twilight?" Starlight looked up at her rival, her nemesis, her...comforter.
"Yes, Starlight?"
"I...I don't want to die."
"After that, I promised her I'd take care of her. Until the end came. She gave me all her notes and supplies, and if she's strong enough she'll be sharing with me all the magical secrets she's figured out that she never wrote down. Including her youth spell. It won't work on her anymore; she's spent her time. But..." Twilight shared a look with her friends, and Applejack's eyes widened as she more than any other saw the potential. "...there are many it may yet help. It doesn't...make up for everything she's done, but it's...it's something."
Twilight wiped a tear away, and the girls moved back in to comfort her with their closeness. Soon, the group moved off to find somewhere more comfortable to put the aged mare; a bedroom nearby. Spike was grateful for the exorbitantly high ceilings in much of the castle, though the doors left something to be desired. Once they'd gotten Starlight tucked in (and contacted a nurse), they retreated to finish the conversation. Ultimately, none of them had the heart to do worse to Starlight than had already been done. With that matter concluded, Pinkie Pie decided it was finally time to approach another important topic.
"Twilight, we've got something important to address."
Twilight blinked at the serious look on Pinkie Pie's face. The pink mare had finally stopped hugging her a little before they relocated Starlight, but like the others she still stayed close. "What's that?"
"I missed two-hundred and ninety-eight of your birthdays."
"Huh? Oh. Pinkie, that's...that's not your fault."
"Sure, but have you had a birthday party lately?"
"Well, no."
"Did you have a birthday party any time in the last three hundred years?"
"N-no."
Pinkie leaned way up, pressing her nose to the off-guard alicorn's, eyes narrowed seriously. "Then it's about time."
She held that pose for a few moments, before Twilight broke out laughing. It started as a small thing, but it quickly grew, and soon she was sitting back in her seat with happier tears drifting down her face. Pinkie lowered herself to her hooves and stood before her, grinning about a job well done. "So?"
"Hahaha...heh...Yes, Pinkie; I think I'd like that. It's been too long."
"Great! We'll roll all your missing birthday parties together with a Welcome-Back-From-Time party! Ooh, and maybe a Twilight's-Taller-Than-Luna party!"
"Well let's not get...wait, I am?"
"You totally are."
"...Huh. I'm going to have to tease her about that, aren't I?"
"Ooooh yeah."
The arrangements were made, and soon the town was caught up in another Pinkie Party. The invitations and the party themselves were a good way to get the word out to the locals of Ponyville that Twilight Sparkle had undergone an ordeal, and looked a little different now. That did a lot to keep Twilight from being overwhelmed by the party itself; the other ponies were respectful and sympathetic (and a little awed), and gave her her space when she needed it. Regardless, the party was something she needed; it showed her that she was still accepted, still loved, and it helped her adjust to being in the true present once more; no more loops, no more warped timelines.
Spike enjoyed himself as well; after a brief (and surprisingly nostalgic) panic, the ponies warmed to him. While many remained slightly nervous, he largely won them over with stories of their adventures, the largest cake ever to be baked in Ponyville, and an abundance of patience for the foals (well, mostly foals) who took the opportunity to climb all over a big dragon. It was hard to stay scared of him with the Cutie Mark Crusaders singing a song of acceptance from atop his forehead, and he was very careful. It would be several weeks before the Crusaders managed to help him let down his stoicism, however.
It was a successful party indeed, and lasted well into the night. Ponies laughed and ate and offered both congratulations and condolences. Letters made sure Celestia, Luna, and Twilight's parents were in attendance, and plans were made to see her brother and sister-in-law as soon as they could. There were more tears, but much laughter, and much love; Twilight and Spike's ordeal was over, and now it was a matter of healing.
Pinkie Pie sat quietly and read. She sat at a desk made of wood in a room made of crystal. Numerous books sat in stacks upon the desk and many more lined the shelves that crowded the remainder of the room.
This is where Applejack found her late into the evening, much to the farm mare's surprise.
"Pinke Pie, what're you doin' way back in here? Your 'Welcome Back From Time Party' is still goin' downstairs."
"This is more important." The pink mare didn't look up.
"More important? More important than runnin' your party?"
"It's self-sustaining at this point; until the punch runs out, it'll run itself. Besides, Twilight's had her fill; she's going to try to sleep soon."
"How do-"
"Pinkie Sense."
"Right..." Applejack shook her head. "But still, readin' is more important than havin' fun at your party? What're you readin' about anyway?"
"Magic."
"Magic?" The farm mare approached, peeking over Pinkie's shoulder to get a look, before putting on a frown. "Far as I can tell, sugarcube, you don't have a horn."
"Earth ponies have magic too, silly."
"Well yeah, but...Pinkie Pie, that book looks awfully technical; it's Twilight-level stuff. And it looks like it's all about Unicorn magic."
"No, it's about the nature of magic; magic theory. It's just usually applied to Unicorn magic."
"That's not the..." Applejack sighed, deciding to try again. "Okay. Well, why are you studyin' magic all of a sudden?"
"I'm gonna make myself an alicorn."
Silence ruled for a moment, upset first by the turning of a page and again as Applejack spoke.
"Pinkie, that...ain't exactly easy."
"I don't care."
Pinkie Pie continued to read. Another moment passed.
"Sugarcube, it might be impossible."
"I. Don't. Care."
Another moment. Applejack considered leaving it at that; clearly her friend was serious about this, and insistent. Still, the question she really wanted cleared up hadn't been answered, so she pressed on.
"Alright, but...why's it so important?"
Applejack recoiled as Pinkie Pie whirled in her seat, her attention finally torn from the book so she could fix the orange mare with a glare. Her lips curled back in a snarl, forced to pause by her fury before she could shout: "I'M NOT LEAVING HER ALONE AGAIN!" As quick as it came, the anger died. Tears built in the corners of her eyes as her fluffy mane lost some of its body. Her eyes stayed on Applejack's as she seemed to shrink. Her voice came once more, quietly. "I'm not."
Applejack stared as Pinkie lowered her gaze, and returned it to the book shortly thereafter. A shaking pink hoof turned the page.
Several moments passed with nothing said between them. Then the apple farmer approached, sat down next to her, and began to read.