They're gone... and they're never coming back.

It was a spontaneous decision, one that I regret every waking moment. At the time, when I had to choose between my friends and all the alicorn magic in Equestria, I didn't answer the question fast enough.

They're dead now, and the worst part? I won.

It took me awhile to get this review started after reading this story. I'm not even sure how long it will be in the end.

The story isn't very long in its own right, just a hair over a thousand words. Most of the plot even comes from the past. You can gather what it is from the description: Twilight's choice in the season 4 finale, battling against Tirek. Things start an undetermined length of time afterwards, when things have settled down.

The author takes a more reflective approach than the Tyrant Twilight tropes that can come out of this subject. Perhaps to the story's detriment. Reflective is good when there's something to reflect on, but to paraphrase Twilight, she's already numb to the pain when the story kicks off. She shows more emotion, more nuance, when she thinks about what she did to Tirek and Discord than when she thinks about her friends. Perhaps the most gut-wrenching line of the story, when she wonders how easier it would have been if Tirek won, is marred by the last line in the long description. We know that's how she feels before it comes up. It takes some of the impact away.

The ending makes sense. That's pretty much what the story was for, to make you understand where Twilight is at that point. I suppose there's something to be said for "Why can't I help?" when you see a character you know this far in grief, but I can't help but wonder if there's more horror or tragedy to be found during that transformation rather than when it's already over.

As is, it's a sound little sad story that doesn't overstay its welcome.