Chapter 12
Not much happened after that.
Which is to say, of course, that quite a lot happened after that. There was hugging and sweet words, awkward silences and sullen glares, shouting and fights that nearly came to blows. There were professions of love and friendship, bitterness and futility, and reconciliations both genuine and forced. But somehow, none of it ever seemed to come to much. The drama was simply a part of life, which otherwise went on.
Thus, time traveled without landmarks. There was no day when the ponies left Canterlot. Instead, Applejack and Rarity started making trips back to tend to their businesses. Then Fluttershy for her animals. Then, the trips became longer, as the demands of their lives pressed and Twilight and Sparkle’s need for their help seemed less urgent. Eventually, Applejack was spending more time in Ponyville than in Canterlot. Then Rarity was. Pinkie Pie was next. Then Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash stayed the longest, on account of her community service, and the two troubled mares welcomed her company. She never pulled away from them, vowing to stay in Canterlot as long as they did, but they did not let her keep that oath. As the angry letters from the rest of the weather team piled up alongside reports of freak storms in Ponyville, Twilight and Sparkle each insisted that Rainbow Dash return home. Rainbow was stubborn, and refused to be persuaded. She had less luck resisting being teleported. Even that wasn’t a clean break though, as Rainbow simply flew back, and it took several days and as many trips before she reluctantly gave in.
Then, there were only two ponies who had yet to return to Ponyville, and their return was equally unceremonious. There was no great lesson learned, just many letters written, many little talks had, and eventually Celestia decided they’d been living together long enough without incident that they could safely return home. So they did.
Ponyville had missed them, and had many adventures in store. The return of Trixie and the Alicorn Amulet gave the mirrored mares a chance to work together against a common foe, and many ponies were pleased that the battle only destroyed Ponyville a little bit. Discord’s surprising assistance to Sparkle prompted Celestia to try to reform him, and though Sparkle did find his presence oddly comforting, in the end it was Fluttershy who tamed the beast. There was even an incident where Pinkie Pie discovered a “mirror pool” and briefly sent Twilight and Sparkle alike into fits of panic. Luckily, the real Pinkie was able to explain that the duplicates were not true copies, and so it would not be in the least morally ambiguous to simply vaporize them.
Still, adventures were hardly uncommon in Ponyville, and so many of the ponies involved would have insisted that nothing really happened. Things changed, yes, but not all at once. Not quickly. Not significantly. Until suddenly, they did.
“You are cordially invited,” Spike read aloud, giving what some would have considered an unearned degree of class to the pink and glitter-encrusted card in front of him. “To Twilight’s first-or-maybe-eighteenth-depending-on-how-you-look-at-it-life-is-complicated birthday party, celebrating one full year of the best new pony in Ponyville. There will be punch and games and music and dancing and pin the tail on the pony, and even an extra special visit from Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, but don’t tell anypony because it’s supposed to be a secret since they don’t want it to be a big deal or anything.”
Spike briefly checked out the window where he could see that, yes, Pinkie was out making deliveries to every single pony in Ponyville. Sparkle used that time to look at Twilight, who merely looked away. She seemed embarrassed about something, a heat in her cheeks and a stiffness in her pose as Spike resumed his reading.
“The mare of honor has asked that nopony bring gifts, because the best gift of all is an evening with all her friends in Ponyville. And uh... then it just has the date and place. Which is here. Tonight,” Spike finished, looking between the two ponies in front of him. After a moment, his gaze settled on Twilight, “Is that why you had me make sure everything was tidy last night?”
“It is,” Twilight said, her tail flicking back and forth. She looked stiff, even uncomfortable, but when she lifted her head to look at Spike, she found a smile that seemed to travel all the way up her face. “Pinkie Pie is handling all the arrangements and all the cleaning after. I also finished up the correspondence last night and burned through all of this week’s to-do list. I thought you should take the next few days off.”
“Wow. The next few days?” Spike blinked. “I thought the party ended at eleven.”
Sparkle laughed—an airy little giggle—but Twilight didn’t. She just kept smiling that odd smile. “It does. I wanted the three of us to have some time together that evening after. But I also wanted you to have some time for yourself. Consider it an early birthday gift.” She reached out to playfully push back Spike’s spike, like she were ruffling his imaginary mane. “You know. One that won't trigger a certain dragon’s hoarding reflex.”
“Heh. Yeah,” Spike smiled, turning to look at Sparkle. “Can I?”
“Sure,” Sparkle agreed. “In fact, why don’t you run along now? I think Apple Bloom and her friends just got out of school. You could go play.”
Spike looked dubious, but Twilight and Sparkle both gave him a firm look, and he turned towards the library door. “Fine!” he said, throwing up his arms. “I’ll give them another chance.”
“Remember to be back by five,” Twilight said, adding, “Oh, and Spike?” As she spoke, a purple glow surrounded him, and he floated back into her grasp. “You know I love you, right?” she asked as she gently hugged him with her forelegs. “We both do.”
“Uh, yeah,” Spike said, enduring the hug with an exasperated look. “I haven’t forgotten in the ten minutes since you last told me.” Instead of acknowledging Spike’s objection, Twilight kissed the top of his head, and gave him one last squeeze before she let him go. “Eesh. I love you too, Twilight,” Spike said as he stepped away, rubbing the top of his head. “What’s with you today?”
“It’s my birthday,” Twilight said. “I’m allowed to be sentimental. Now run along and have fun.”
Spike checked with Sparkle before he ran out—just in case he had to give another hug to even the scales—but she just nodded and then nudged him towards the door with her muzzle. “You heard the mare. Go make friends.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in time for the party,” Spike said, running down the little steps into the main room of the library, and then out the door into Ponyville. Both mares watched him go, and then listened until they heard the sound of the door shutting behind him.
“You could have told me,” Sparkle said, turning an accusative gaze to Twilight and flicking her tail sharply. “I assume that’s what that mysterious trip back to Canterlot last month was about?”
“Mmm,” Twilight said, looking out the window after Spike instead of watching Sparkle. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you know. I...” She bit her lip, and her ears folded back. “It’s a big day for me. That’s all. I wanted it to be special for everypony. A nice surprise and some good memories.” She paused again. “I didn’t want it to be a big production.”
“I understand,” Sparkle said, frowning slightly. “But invitations the day of the party is kind of last-moment. What if not everypony can make it?”
“I discreetly checked with them in advance,” Twilight said. “All the girls will be able to make it. Most of Ponyville too, probably. I couldn't check with everypony obviously, but... well. I’m sorry.”
When Twilight trailed off for the second time and turned her gaze to the floor, Sparkle rose from where she sat, stepping up alongside her counterpart. “It’s fine,” she assured Twilight. “Really, you don’t need to apologize. Are you okay though? Do you want to... talk about anything?”
“No thanks. I was just going to go see the girls,” Twilight said. Finally, she turned away from the window to look at Sparkle.
They didn’t really look like each other anymore. Sparkle’s mane was shorter and swept back, and she kept her tail in a brush, held together by a hair-tie at the base. Twilight had let her mane and tail grow long, and brushed them straight with a little twist at the ends. Sparkle polished her hooves. Twilight didn’t. A steady diet of alfalfa smoothies had given Twilight’s coat a slight sheen, while Sparkle—never having been introduced to the beverage by Time Turner—had a more plain coloration. None of the changes were extreme, but the two didn’t get mistaken for each other. Ponies passing through town didn’t ask questions. They were just two sisters.
“Okay,” Sparkle said, pausing under the odd scrutiny. She wondered what Twilight was thinking, but her mirror-image’s expression revealed nothing. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about anything though? I did notice what day it was, but I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it.” Sparkle paused. “You can still celebrate our old birthday as well if you want.”
That made Twilight smile. “No, thank you. I’ll want to talk more this evening, once Spike is here, but for now I should get going.” She glanced at the door, but didn’t yet move, returning her gaze to Sparkle. “But before I go, there was one thing actually.”
“Yeah?” Sparkle asked.
“Could I have a hug?” Twilight replied.
For a moment, neither of them said anything. A silence hung in the library, lasting just a moment too long to go unnoticed. “Uh... sure,” Sparkle blurted out. “Sure. Of course.” She immediately leaned over and put her hooves around Twilight. It was a stiff embrace, too tight about the back and too loose about the shoulders. Sparkle tried to correct with a quick squeeze, but all she did was make Twilight quietly laugh. Twilight’s legs settled around Sparkle’s shoulders a moment later, her posture not much looser.
After a bit, they stepped apart.
“You know you don’t have to say it’s okay when it’s not,” Sparkle said quickly, trying to push the conversation along. “With everything we’ve been through you’re allowed to be upset today of—”
“I know,” Twilight said. “But it really is okay, Sparkle. It is.” She looked to the door. “You have a good day too, okay? I’ll see you at the party.”
“Okay,” Sparkle said, watching as Twilight headed out on her own. After a moment, she trotted downstairs to get back to her book.
“Hey, Applejack,” Twilight called out, as she trotted up the road to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was hard at work on the cider press, filling a few barrels with what would eventually be finely-aged apple cider. From the yard in front of the barn, Applejack saw her friend approaching, and gave her a friendly wave.
“Hey, Twilight,” she greeted, once Twilight was closer. Her eyes remained on her work, though she kept a cheerful tone, and found a moment to smile at Twilight once she was near at hoof. “Happy birthday. Pinkie Pie came by a little while ago with the invitations.”
“Yeah, I saw her on the way here,” Twilight said. “You can make it, right?”
“Wouldn' miss it for the world, sugarcube,” Applejack said, her cheer joined by a certain fondness. “Hard to believe it’s been a year already.”
“Yeah,” Twilight said. She paused and swallowed. “Time flies.”
Applejack noticed the uncharacteristic hesitance in her friend, pausing in her work to face Twilight. “Somethin’ you wanted to talk about, Twilight?” she asked. Twilight nodded, but didn’t answer right away, and the pause made Applejack all the more curious. “You okay?”
“Fine,” Twilight said. “But... there’s something I wanted to talk to you about first. Before the party.” Twilight took a breath. Swallowed again. “I want you to apologize to Sparkle for giving me her name.” Quickly, Twilight pressed on. “I know your heart was in the right place. Everypony was panicking, she and I were at each other’s throats, nopony knew what might happen next. You thought you had to take charge and put things in order—straighten us out.” Twilight let a breath out, stiffly drawing it back in as she took a moment to collect herself.
“And—and I appreciate that.” She forced her ears to perk up, if only for a moment. “I appreciate that your first thought then was that I was a person and you didn’t want me to get hurt. But... you had no right, Applejack.” Twilight’s ears dropped, but she made herself press on. “You took something from her, and hurt her very badly. Something that wasn’t yours to take.”
Applejack’s expression had gotten steadily tighter as the conversation went on, her own ears folding back. She watched as Twilight continued, shying away from her friend’s monologue. “And...” Twilight trailed off for a moment. “She doesn’t resent you, AJ. She knows why you did it too. But I think hearing it would mean a lot to her.”
“Ah uh...” Applejack reached up and removed her hat, holding it against her chest. Her gaze went down to the ground, her tail low and tucked between her legs. “Ah don’t rightly know what to say, Twilight. Ah never...”
“You don’t have to say anything now, Applejack,” Twilight said, stepping forward until the two were face to face. “You’re a good friend. You’ve always been a good friend. Ever since I arrived in Ponyville. And... for the last year, I couldn't have asked for anypony better.” Applejack tilted her head up a bit, and when she did, she saw a soft smile on Twilight’s face. “You shouldn’t feel bad. But it would mean a lot to her if you could say it.”
“Of course,” Applejack said. She restored her hat to her head, shaking herself out to clear her thoughts. “Ah am sorry though, sugarcube. Ah know it’s been a rough year for you two and... well. We ain’t always helped.”
“Applejack, I said you shouldn't feel bad and I meant it,” Twilight insisted, a bit more firmly. “I didn’t come here to make you feel guilty. It’s my birthday, remember? I want everypony to have fun. I want it to be something everypony remembers. I want it to be...” She swallowed. “I want it to be when everypony remembers all the fun we had this year.”
“Well, that sounds good to me, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “You want to come inside for a bit? I’ve got some extra cider. Could let you skip to the front of the line, this year.”
“I’d love to,” Twilight said, “But I’ve got a lot of things I need to do today. We’ll talk more at the party, okay?”
“Alright,” Applejack said. “I’ll see you there then, I—woah!” Applejack jumped as Twilight suddenly pulled forward, wrapping her friend up in hug. “I uh...” Applejack laughed, a bit nervously. Twilight laughed too, genuinely, and her body was relaxed as she gave her friend a tight hug. “You sure you don’t want to come inside?”
“I’m sure,” Twilight said, pulling away. “But thank you, AJ. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Alright,” Applejack said, as Twilight turned to head back into Ponyville. “See you soon.”
“Oh no!” Rainbow Dash shouted. In the distance, the two ponies could see the light from the corrupted Elements of Harmony—a sickly glow that suffused the horizon like a false dawn. “Now what do we do?” she cried, turning to face the pony beside her. There Twilight stood, and though she was sweaty, dirty, and scratched, she stood firm.
“We save the day, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, sweeping her eyes over her friend. The two had been through so much in these hectic days, and gotten to know each other better than they ever thought they would. When she looked at her friend, Twilight saw the strength that had saved her so many times—in her upraised wings, her toned flanks, and the determination in her eyes. But she also saw the vulnerability there, the need in the pony beneath. “We save the day like we always do.”
“But how?” Rainbow asked. “Prince Ironhoof and your evil twin have the power of the Elements of Harmony! Nothing can stand against that.”
“That’s not true,” Twilight said, stepping forward to take her friend by the shoulders. “There is one thing we’ve seen in our travels that’s as powerful as friendship. Another powerful force that binds ponies together.”
“You don’t mean...” Rainbow Dash’s breath stuck in her throat, her mind whirling at an impossible speed.
“That’s right,” Twilight proclaimed. “Love!” Her horn shone as she grabbed the other mare by the mane, pulling her down into a kiss. Twilight’s body was h—
“Hey Rarity,” Twilight said. Rarity shrieked, tossing her notebook into the air as she whirled in place. Twilight was standing right behind her, and as Rarity stared in shock at her friend, her notebook hit the cafe table. Quickly, Rarity slammed it shut, pinning it tight against her chest with a leg.
“Work on what? I don’t know what you’re talking about! Don’t judge me for writing what everypony’s thinking!” Rarity said, her breath coming quickly. Twilight stared at her for a long while, tilting her head to the side as Rarity recovered herself. After a moment, Rarity sat up again, her horn glowing as she quietly fixed her hair. “I mean—” she cleared her throat. “Hello, Twilight. You gave me quite the start. I didn’t hear you there.” Rarity quickly added, “Oh, and happy birthday, Twilight. Pinkie Pie came by just a little while ago.”
Twilight stared back at Rarity for a moment, and then she giggled, a broad smile spreading over her face. “Well, I’m sorry for startling you in the middle of whatever it was you were doing,” she said, trying and failing to keep the mirth out of her tone. “And thank you. I hope you can make it?”
“Of course, darling! Of course,” Rarity said, discreetly putting her book aside. “How have you been?”
“Busy,” Twilight answered after a moment. “Like there’s never enough time. But good, I think.”
“Well, it sounds like a party is just the thing you need to unwind then,” Rarity said cheerfully. “Would you like to join me for lunch? I only ordered a moment ago.”
“I’d love to, Rarity, but there’s a bunch of things I need to do today,” Twilight said. “I just wanted to talk to you before the party. There’s some things I wanted to say that I didn’t want to say there.” She took a breath. “I wanted to say thank you, Rarity.”
“Why, whatever for, Twilight?” Rarity asked, leaning in closer to her friend.
“Well, for... this.” Twilight reached out to tap Rarity’s journal. She blushed, not sure how to continue.
Rarity paused for a moment, her face freezing somewhere between a smile and a frown. Delicately she continued, “I didn’t realize you were a fan of ah... literature. I didn’t think you—”
“No no,” Twilight says, laughing again. “Not like that. I meant... thank you for not losing your sense of humor.” She had to take a moment to collect herself, then pressed on. “This past year has been difficult for us all, but you never let it get to you. You were decisive and strong, but you never let it turn grim. Even when things were really bad, you could crack a joke about it. And I think that did a lot to keep us all together.”
“It’s what any friend would do,” Rarity said, but Twilight cut her off.
“No, Rarity, it isn’t. You were generous with your time and with your feelings, when it looked like Sparkle and I would never pay you back for it. You gave without worrying if you’d ever get anything back. And...” Twilight swallowed. “And I wanted to thank you.”
After a moment of tension, Twilight pulled forward, wrapping her friend up in a hug. Rarity was taken aback for a moment, but only for a moment, and she soon returned Twilight’s affections. “Oh... Twilight,” she smiled, “You know you don’t have to do that. Seeing you recovered, happy and well again, that’s all the reward I need.”
“I know,” Twilight said. “But I wanted you to know how I felt. You’re a good friend, Rarity.”
“As are you, Twilight,” Rarity said. The arrival of the waiter with Rarity’s pie interrupted their moment, and the two pulled apart with bashful smiles. “Yes, thank you,” Rarity said, pulling the plate over with her magic and shooing the waiter away. “Are you sure you won’t join me?”
“I want to, Rarity. But I can’t,” Twilight said, rising to go. “I just didn’t want to say that tonight. I want the party to be... fun, you know? I want it to be happy. Really happy. There will be time for serious talk later.”
“I quite understand,” Rarity said, giving a little nod. “Are you off to see the girls then? Get all that serious talk out of the way?”
Twilight nodded. “I am. I wanted to talk to you all before. I should get going—I’ve got a long walk to Fluttershy’s cottage.” She glanced at Rarity’s book, and a strange expression suddenly overtook her face. She seemed conflicted, one ear pulled back as her mouth drew into a line. Rarity paused, wondering what was wrong, but the expression lasted only a moment. Then Twilight smiled again, and laughed. “But before I go, I was curious. It seems like you’ve paired up almost everypony in town.”
“Now Twilight, there’s nothing wrong with a little harmless—”
“So, what’s the scene with you and Applejack like?” Twilight finished, with a smirk. The grin on her face has grown quickly and was now ear to ear, bringing with it a lightness in Twilight’s stance.
“Twilight Twilight Twilight,” Rarity tittered. “That doesn’t even make sense. I am trying to write interesting romantic literature. Not just throw together any random absurdity that springs to mind. I’m sure if you think about it you’ll see that that scene just doesn’t work.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, “Because I could think of a few good setups. Say that you’re stuck in this closet—”
“Twilight.”
“—but you’re so embarrassed to ask for help that you keep insisting you’re—”
“Twilight, if you say one more word about the subject,” Rarity said, levitating her slice of pie off the plate. “I will, in only the most ladylike fashion, hit you in the face with this pie.”
For a moment, the two stared at each other, holding each other’s gaze like two high-noon fighters in the mild west. Twilight took a breath.
“Rarity and Applejack, sittin’ in a tree—”
“So how did you get pie in your coat again?” Fluttershy asked as she and Twilight walked inside. Already, one of Fluttershy’s squirrels was eagerly licking Twilight’s cheek, its little whiskers tickling her and making her giggle.
“With the power of friendship,” Twilight said, shooing the little squirrel away once they were inside Fluttershy’s cottage. There, Fluttershy found a washcloth, and quickly pumped the well above her little sink basin. “Thank you, Fluttershy.”
“Of course,” Fluttershy said, as Twilight took a moment to scrub her face clean. “Oh, I um. I meant to ask, Twilight. Are you sure you don’t want me to bring a gift? I actually just finished knitting you a sweater.”
“A sweater?” Twilight asked, lifting her face from the basin and drying her face off with the nearby cloth. “Like the one you got me right after I was made?”
“Yeah,” Fluttershy said, nodding quickly. “I thought, um, that one was really meant to be Twilight Sparkle’s sweater. Not that you aren’t her! Because you are. But I thought it would be nice if this time, I made you and Sparkle separate sweaters with a different pattern. You know, to show that I think you’re both special. But hers isn’t done yet, so I just thought I could um...” Fluttershy nodded again. “Yes.”
Twilight paused by the sink, turning to look at Fluttershy head on. After a moment, she resumed rubbed the cloth behind her ears, and then dropped it down onto the countertop. “You know,” Fluttershy said, “On second thought, that was silly of me. I’m sure that’s not a time either of you want to be reminded of. I can just put together something else and—”
“No, Fluttershy,” Twilight said firmly. She stepped up to her friend. “No, it wasn’t silly of you. It was sweet.”
“Oh, that’s nice of you to say—”
“I’m not just saying it!” Twilight blurted out the words with a sudden energy that surprised both of them. Fluttershy actually leapt back a half step, hiding her face behind her mane. The moment shocked them both into silence, and Fluttershy used that silence to take another half step back. She started to mumble something apologetic, but Twilight shook her head.
“No, Fluttershy. Please don’t apologize,” Twilight said. She began to step forward, but when Fluttershy pulled away, Twilight returned her hoof to the floor right where it had started. “I’m sorry I snapped. There’s just something I need to tell you. And... there is a gift you can bring. May I?”
“Um...” Fluttershy managed. Then she nodded.
“I...” Twilight took a breath, and then pressed on. “I know this last year has been hard for you, Fluttershy. Maybe harder for you than anypony. You were there for Sparkle and I when we needed you, like when you stood guard over her after I...” Twilight swallowed. “And you knitted me a sweater. You were a good friend to me. To us both. And you were strong when you needed to be strong.”
“But...” Twilight continued. “I know that was hard for you. You’re not a pony who deals well with conflict and... and we put you through a lot.” Fluttershy said nothing, and Twilight bit her lip. “Is that right?”
Eventually, Fluttershy nodded. “It wasn’t your fault...”
“No, Fluttershy!” Twilight said, the urgency in her tone that had spooked Fluttershy a moment ago returning. “I don’t want it to be about whose fault it was. I don’t want you to feel bad that you feel bad that I feel bad. I want... I want to say I’m sorry. For what I put you through.” She swallowed. “And then, if you really want to get me a birthday gift, I want you to have fun tonight. Really... have fun. I want to see my friends having a really good time together.” Twilight forced a smile onto her face, though it was strained at the edges. “Can you do that for me?”
Fluttershy said nothing for a moment, and then slowly, her muzzle poked out from under her mane. “Did you come all the way out here just to tell me that?”
“I also wanted to make sure you got your invitation from Pinkie Pie...” Twilight muttered, folding her ears back as she suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious. “And that you could make it.”
“Twilight, is everything okay?” Fluttershy asked, taking a step towards her friend.
“Everything is fine, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “This is just important to me.” Her voice wavered for a moment. “I only get to do this once. I want it to be perfect. No saying we’re sorry, no worrying about what was whose fault something was.” For a moment, her voice actually cracked, but she forced her emotions to calm. “I want everypony to have happy memories. Can you help me do that, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy bit her lip, unsure of what to say. Then she looked at her friend, and saw the pleading in Twilight’s eyes, and some instinct inside her rushed forward, stronger than her worry or anxiety. “Of course, Twilight,” she said, and then she stepped forward, and the two embraced. “Of course I’ll have fun at your birthday party.”
After a moment, as they stood holding each other, she continued, “But I’m still making you wear my sweater.”
Twilight smiled, and they both laughed.
“—and so then Spitfire said that I hang out with you a lot, and that if we weren’t close, she’d love to get to know me better. And I said that we were close as two ponies can be, but that wouldn't mind getting close to her too. And she looked surprised and said she assumed we were exclusive which was odd because, like, who has exclusive friends? I have a lot of friends and my fan club and stuff. So I told her that I know all sorts of ponies, because hey, I’m the hottest thing happening in this town. And then she looked really surprised and mumbled something and ran off, which is super weird because Spitfire is usually so confident, so I guess I spooked her.” Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky for a moment, pursing her lips in thought. “Do you think Spitfire might be a little socially anxious?”
“Yes, Rainbow. That is exactly what happened and you didn’t misinterpret the situation at all,” Twilight said.
“Wow. Just when you think you know a pony,” Rainbow Dash settled back down on the grass, spreading her wings under her. Twilight had found her at the watering hole outside of Ponyville, catching up on her napping. Though she had welcomed Twilight, she’d been slow to rouse, and so Twilight had waited as Rainbow gradually awoke. At first, she made only stray comments, but soon she started telling Twilight about her dreams. Then about her day. Then about anything else that entered her head. And still Twilight waited, and listened, and smiled.
“So, what’s going on with you today, Twilight?” Rainbow asked, cracking an eye open to look at the pony beside her.
“It’s my birthday,” Twilight said, giving a strange little smile that Rainbow Dash didn’t see.
“Yeah, I know that. The party’s gonna be awesome. But I mean besides that,” Rainbow insisted. “You usually interrupt me by now.”
Twilight thought about that for a second, and then nodded—another gesture that Rainbow Dash did not see. “You’ve always been a good friend, Rainbow, if a bit infuriating at times. But... do you think we’ve gotten closer in the last year?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Rainbow shrugged.
“Rainbow, I mean it,” Twilight said, but even the seriousness in her tone only elicited another shrug.
“Yeah, I mean it too,” Rainbow said. “I think we’re closer, yeah, but it’s not like I’m gonna put a number on that. We saved the world together, we’ve been through tough times, we hang out all the time. I’d push you out of the way of a moving train. Does it really matter if there’s a ‘more’ or ‘less’ on that? We’re friends.” She ruffled her wings. “Don’t overthink it.”
“But I have to think about it,” Twilight said quietly, lowering her head to the grass. She was quiet for a time, but then she heard a grunting next to her. Rainbow Dash was scooting over, one squirm and grunt at a time, working her shoulders and wings to edge her along the ground. Soon, she was next to Twilight, all without ever removing her sunglasses or the hooves she was resting behind her head.
“So yeah what’s up?”
Twilight laughed, lowering her head to the grass next to Rainbow Dash. “I feel like we’ve gotten closer this year. I help you train for the Wonderbolts. We hang out a lot more. And I don’t know if I’d have survived Canterlot without you.”
“Well, I am pretty awesome,” Rainbow Dash agreed.
“Yeah,” Twilight quietly laughed. “And I like that. I like how things have gone this last year. But I worry that... if things had been different. Maybe we wouldn't have ended up this close.”
“If things had been different,” Rainbow Dash repeated, with a skeptical twist.
“Yeah...” Twilight said. She didn’t continue.
Rainbow Dash sighed, and after a moment, she lifted a wing up to her face, using a feather to push her sunglasses up so she could look at Twilight unobstructed. “You know that if I like you more than Sparkle that doesn’t make you a bad pony, right?”
“I know, but she’s still...” Twilight struggled for the words. “She’s still missing out. Friendship is a wonderful thing, and I want to share it with ponies. I want her to... I want her to be your friend as much as I am.” Twilight leaned her head over to rest against Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “You know she’s still the pony who fought Nightmare Moon with you, right? Who saw your sonic rainboom and earned her cutie mark?”
“Yeah, I know,” Rainbow insisted. “Sparkle and I are friends, Twilight. Don’t get your tail in a twist.”
“Yeah,” Twilight said. After a moment, she shook herself off, rising from where she lay. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. It’s none of my—”
“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said, sitting up as Twilight rose. “Wait. Twilight. This really bothers you that much?” Twilight nodded, her expression tense. “Because it’s your birthday?”
“Because I want the world to be a better place because I existed,” Twilight said. “And I just keep thinking that if I wasn’t around, Sparkle would be Twilight Sparkle and you and she would be hanging out today and I can’t take that away from her. I...” Twilight’s voice cracked, but when she tried to press the emotion away, it wouldn't go. Soon, she started to choke up, squeezing her eyes shut as she forced herself to go on. “I can’t do that, Rainbow. I...”
“Woah, woah!” Rainbow rose to her hooves, taking a half-step to stand alongside Twilight and pull her close. “It’s okay, you’re not taking anything from anypony. You’re not. Twilight. Hey...” Rainbow gradually coaxed Twilight’s chin up, catching her eyes. “Hey,” she said, touching Twilight’s shoulder with a wing.
Gradually, Twilight’s breaths slowed, and the tightness in her throat started to fade.
“Twilight,” Rainbow started. “I know you’re the smart one, but there are times you can be really stupid and this is one of them, okay? You and I bonded this last year because we went through stuff together. Stuff that might never have happened if you weren't around. It’s not like there’s only so much friendship in the world and you’re taking it away from Sparkle by having it yourself.”
“What if I am? What if I have?” Twilight asked, leaning into her friend for reassurance. “I want tonight to be happy, Rainbow Dash. I want it to be perfect. No anger, no resentment, no little jealous looks. Nopony worrying what they did wrong or what they have to say sorry for. I want it to be happy and I want it to be what everypony remembers.” She sniffled quietly. “Even if it’s not my fault, even if you’re right and I didn’t take anything from Sparkle, I want her to feel better off that I’m here. I want everypony to feel that way.”
Rainbow’s eyes turned down and she bit her lip, but that uncertainty faded when Twilight pulled her head back to look Rainbow in the eye. “Can you help me make that happen, Rainbow? Please?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow said, and after a pause she added, “Yeah, of course, Twilight. Anything for a friend, right? It’s gonna be the best birthday ever.”
“Thank you, Rainbow,” Twilight said quietly. A moment later, she pulled Rainbow Dash back into a hug. “You’ve been such a good friend to me this past year. You were always a good friend.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to say, and so she returned the hug in silence. Something about that made Twilight laugh, and she only squeezed her friend tighter. “I couldn't have asked for better, Rainbow.”
“Heh,” Rainbow smiled uncertainly as Twilight nuzzled into her shoulder. “You’re not so bad yourself,” she said. The two stood there like that for a long time, holding each other in a warm silence.
“Oh, wait, Spitfire thought I was gay.”
“Yeah, okay,” Twilight said, “moment’s over.”
“Hey, Twilight!” Pinkie called as the little bell over the door of Sugarcube Corner rang. The interior of the pastry shop was full of party supplies and confectionaries, stacked high on the tables in preparation for being carried to the library. “I’ve got a riddle for you! What looks like cake, sounds like cake, and smells like cake?”
“How does something sound like ca—”
“It’s cake!” Pinkie shouted, hopping across the room and presenting Twilight with a slice of oddly purple cake, its interior filled with glittering specks. After Twilight failed to immediately consume it, Pinkie Pie pushed it forward towards her face, making loud “Eh, eh?” sounds.
After a moment, Twilight leaned forward and took a bite. The cake was moist and soft, but when she chewed, the sparkly bits crunched between her teeth, and a sudden look of surprise overtook Twilight’s features. “Oh wow,” she mumbled around a mouthful of cake, quickly swallowing. “That’s really good. What are the crunchy—”
“Sprinkles!” Pinkie Pie said, letting out a little squeal of glee. “I made them myself so they sparkle and look kind of like your cutie mark! Do you like them?”
“They’re perfect, Pinkie,” Twilight smiled, taking a moment to look around the room. “Everything is ready for the party then?”
“Yup! One order of all-smiles-no-frowns-happy-birthday-party-supplies all ready to go! I even made a checklist so you can double check if you want!” Pinkie Pie said, darting across the room and rushing back with a clipboard in her teeth. “Feef?”
“Thank you, Pinkie,” Twilight says, gently floating the clipboard out of Pinkie’s mouth. “I’m sure it’s just the way it should be. Is it all ready? I came over to help you move everything to the library.”
“Juuuust about! Just let me grab one more box of streamers and then we’re good to go!” Pinkie said, with a particularly sharp burst of enthusiasm, bounding across the room. Twilight followed her with a warm expression, pausing briefly to examine the checklist.
“This is very thorough,” Twilight said, surprised. “You put a lot of effort into this, Pinkie.”
“Um, duh! It’s only a friend’s birthday party!” she said, as she gathered up her supplies and slid into her saddlebags.
Twilight laughed quietly. “Thank you, Pinkie. It means a lot to me.” Twilight started to levitate the piles of party supplies, moving to help her friend carry them. Another thought struck her before they could finish though, and she paused her work. “Pinkie Pie, what do you think of all this?”
“Mmm?” Pinkie asked, midway through stuffing three extremely large crates of party favors into her extremely small saddlebag. Volume constraints made this impossible, but Pinkie didn’t know that, and also earth pony magic probably. “Think about what?”
“All this. This past year. You’ve been a good friend to Sparkle and I, and you’ve always had a joke and a smile when one of us is feeling down, but... I don’t think I’ve heard you express an opinion about us,” Twilight said, her smile fading a bit as she wracked her brain. “Ever, actually. You haven’t even commented on the situation. It’s not a criticism,” she added quickly, “but... I’m curious now.”
“Oh, silly Twilight, you don’t wanna hear that,” Pinkie said, quickly moving to the next pile. “Now, I’ve got a cart out back for the rest, we can—”
“No, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “I really do want to hear it.” Pinkie didn’t answer right away, or turn around, and after a moment Twilight added, “Please?”
“I just don't know what there is to say, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, “Your friend copied herself and now the copies are fighting. That doesn’t... I don’t know.” She bit her lip. “You certainly had an opinion on the mirror-pool clones.”
“That’s because they weren’t the real Pinkie Pie,” she said, still not turning back to look at Twilight. “They were something different, and destructive, that hurt my friends. Something worth fighting with.” She poked a box in front of her. “I don’t really know what to say about a friend who fights with their own reflection.”
“...is that all I am to you?” Twilight asked, her tail drooping as her ears folded back. “The reflection?”
“All you are to me? No,” Pinkie Pie says, turning her head to glance at Twilight, though she didn’t turn around. “You’re a friend. And a pony I care about. And Spike’s sort-of-mom-sort-of-sister. And a pretty good librarian. You could never be just a reflection to me, anymore than Applejack is just an earth pony or Rarity is just a dressmaker. But that’s what they are. And a reflection is what you are.”
Pinkie Pie looked back at the table of party supplies, shoving more balloons into her saddlebags. “I don’t understand why everypony has so much trouble with that.”
“Because a reflection isn’t a pony, Pinkie,” Twilight said, “It’s just an image in glass.”
“You only see it as an image in glass,” Pinkie replied. “But that’s like saying that when a pony writes you a letter, they’re just ink on a page because that’s all you see. The pony doesn’t go away if you lose the letter or smear the ink.”
Pinkie paused for a few long moments, and then finally stepped away from the table to approach Twilight, looking her in the eye. “And I don’t think the reflection goes away when you step away from the glass. You just can’t see it anymore. But it’s there.”
“Pinkie, I...” Twilight said, her voice suddenly strained. “How... are you just saying that?” She had to pause to take a stiff breath. “Or did you figure—”
“I figured that you wanted the best birthday party there ever was where everypony would hug and have fun and everyone you knew would be there including your friends and family and the Princesses and everypony!” Pinkie said with a forceful energy. “And I figured I could totally make that happen! And it will happen, Twilight. It’ll be perfect. In fact, it’ll be so perfect, I think I need to stretch out my hugging muscles right now so I don’t get a cramp.”
Pinkie suddenly leapt forward, and Twilight found herself wrapped up tight, squeezed until the wind was knocked out of her. “You’re going to have a wonderful birthday party, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said, whispering the words to her friend. “It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.”
“Thank you, Pinkie,” Twilight said, her voice choked. She struggled to form words, stammering out the line, “You... you know you’ve been the best friend a pony could—”
“Of course I know, silly,” Pinkie Pie said, with an airy laugh that mirrored none of Twilight’s tension. “Right back at’cha.”
Twilight didn’t say anything to that, but Pinkie Pie didn’t mind.
The party wasn’t perfect, but it was extremely close.
Half of Ponyville made an appearance, and the party soon spilled out of the overcrowded library and into the warm evening air. Pinkie Pie had outdone herself, and no matter how many ponies arrived, there seemed to be games, food, and drink for all. It was a new moon, but the stars were absolutely brilliant and so nopony minded the darkness much. It was—in every sense of the word—a twilight celebration, with ponies laughing and skipping back and forth in the shadows, little more than outlines in the gloom.
Twilight made a point of dragging Sparkle into the center of the festivities whenever she could, but both of them ended up spending most of the evening with their friends. After Pinkie Pie, Rarity was the first to arrive, then Rainbow Dash, then Applejack, then Fluttershy. The six friends had barely an hour to themselves before Shining Armor arrived with Twilight’s parents, promising that Cadence would be along soon. She was, along with Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, and for an evening, Ponyville was host of all of Equestria’s royalty. It did interrupt things for a time, as ponies scraped and bowed, but fortunately, Princess Luna had a solution to prevent their presence from disrupting the festivities.
And that solution was finely aged Apple Family hard cider.
Depending on one’s perspective, that is either where things started to go downhill, or where Twilight’s wish came true. Certainly after that, nopony was worrying about the future or about who wronged who. Instead, the party took on a life of its own, as ponies blundered about in the dark, laughing and doing things they somehow never found it in them to do in the light.
Fluttershy downed an entire mug of cider in one go, squared her shoulders, summoned her courage, and kissed Big Mac on the cheek. She then promptly let out a squeak of terror and flew up into the rafters, and it took Applejack and Sparkle half an hour to talk her down.
Though Rarity hardly touched the cider, the admirers and flattery which found their way around her had a similar intoxicating effect, and it wasn’t even nine before she’d given Ponyville’s little publisher a copy of her work in progress. He assured her that it would sell—after all, stories about the Elements of Harmony always did well.
Pinkie Pie inhaled an entire jar of candy. This wasn’t related to the cider, but Princess Luna found it so impressive she proclaimed it a miracle, and beatified Pinkie Pie on the spot as the patron saint of nasal sweets. This probably was cider related, though there was no way to be sure.
Applejack spent the entire evening working up the courage to apologize to Sparkle for taking her name. She finally did so late into the night, in a soft, heartfelt apology that ended with a warm embrace. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash took that as her cue to begin her own moment, and in a perfect storm of inebriation, bad phrasing, and ill-advised attempts to sound clever, she managed to unwittingly proclaim her undying romantic love of Applejack. Sparkle was more than a little annoyed, but revenge came a moment later when an eager-faced and round-hooved Princess Cadence burst in from the next room and offered to perform the wedding ceremony on the spot.
Twilight and Sparkle each also found time for their family and the Princess's, but eventually, the party started to wind down. One at a time, ponies drifted away. First, Princess Celestia had to return to Canterlot. Then Twilight’s parents got tired and made their exit. Then Shining Armor had to drag away his wife after she recklessly discharged her love spells through the crowd, tragically shipping six ponies. Eventually, the crowd grew thin, and by eleven, only Twilight’s close friends were left. They stayed long enough to help clean up, had one last round of hugs, and went along their way.
Sparkle was just trudging upstairs after putting away the last of the balloons, when she realized there was talking coming from her room. A quick glance confirmed that Twilight’s room was dark, while her own was brightly lit, and evidently occupied. Pushing open the door, she found Twilight sitting on the bed with Spike beside her, the two of them laughing over a tale of the evening’s amusements.
“Oh, hey!” Twilight called, as soon as Sparkle opened the door. “There you are. Spike and I were just talking—how would you feel about a sleepover tonight? All three of us.”
“Oh...” Sparkle paused, tilting her head slightly. “Sure, I guess,” she finally said, “That would be nice.” She trudged up to the opposite side of the bed, and slid onto it alongside Sparkle. The three of them spoke for a little while longer, about the party and about their friends, but they were all quite tired. Spike was the first to nod off, and Twilight and Sparkle didn’t wait long after to rest their heads, a glow from their horns dimming the lights.
As they lay there in the darkness, Twilight pulled up alongside Sparkle, and put a leg over her shoulders. “I left you something,” she said, “on my desk.” Her voice was steady enough, but there was something strange in it that Sparkle couldn’t identify. An emotional tenor that rang unfamiliar. “It’s a letter. How I felt about today. The last year. I probably should have told you in person but... you know we compose our thoughts better on paper.”
Sparkle nodded, but she was not quite sure what to think of the situation, so she said nothing. Eventually, Twilight went on. “But, there was one thing I wanted to add. About this morning. I know it felt weird, hugging. I still don’t like you the way I like the others, and I know you don’t like me that way. And I know that bothers you. But...” Twilight swallowed. “That’s okay. Nopony is perfect. We both wish we could have handled everything better, but...”
Twilight leaned down to nuzzle Sparkle behind the ear. “If we’re going to be crazy and stupid about not recognizing ourselves in the other, at least I can recognize that you’re a good mare. You always tried to make it better, you always tried to do the right thing. And even if it didn’t work out... I’ll always remember that.” Twilight gave Sparkle a little squeeze.
“Twilight, I...” Sparkle stammered, uncertainly.
“No, it’s okay,” Twilight said. “You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know that.”
And so, Sparkle didn’t say anything. She just scooted closer to Twilight, and leaned against her gently. The two lowered their heads to the mattress, and soon, fell asleep.
Sparkle awoke in the morning with a wide yawn. She’d forgotten to close the window last night, and the rays from the rising sun had just reached her eyes, slowly pulling her out of her rest. She considered shutting the blinds, but after a time, decided that she might as well get up now. Her head tucked down to be out of the light, and her eyes fluttered open.
The sheets were a twisted mess, with Spike sprawled out on a pillow at one end, and Sparkle somehow reversed from the direction she’d been lying last night. She saw that the sun had reached Twilight’s half of the bed first, and that Twilight was already gone. Delicately, Sparkle picked herself from the bed, careful not to rouse Spike as she moved. On the tips of her hooves, she snuck off to the bathroom, mentally settling what she’d have to do for the day.
Speaking with Twilight would be her first priority, it was clear. If there were no unresolved questions from the previous night, she was sure there would be after reading Twilight’s letter. She wasn’t sure how she felt about things, but it had been a good celebration last night. It had been warm and enjoyable, and despite Sparkle’s reservations, she’d had a lot of fun.
Levitating her toothbrush out of its holder, Twilight stepped up to the sink. And in the mirror, her reflection looked back at her.
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Oh, man. When I finished that I was like, "Please tell me that's not the end. That can't be how it ends."
I don't think I've ever been more relieved to see a story still marked as Incomplete.
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One last update to go!
Wh-What ;~;?
So I take it Sparkle struck out with Big Mac... Or Fluttershy is very brazen when drunk.
While part of me complains that the time skip and the various events summed up herein was a cheat, the idea of an actual resolution either way outweighs any lingering resentment. About the only thing I really miss seeing was Applejack's apology to Sparkle... I understand that thematically you wanted to stick with Twilight putting her affairs in order and the subject didn't need to be covered twice in depth, but I would have much preferred to read the actually apology scene fleshed out.
I am curious about how things went with Princess Celestia though... It was a rather large unresolved strained relationship when last we saw.
Even until the end here, I just couldn't ever quite get over my own mental hurdle of Sparkle being the one I sympathize with and relate to. I'm curious to see whether she is merged with Twilight and recalls things from her perspective at all, or if she remained completely separate. And, of course, I'm curious to know the reason that Twilight is apparently back in the mirrors and how she knew her time was up. The big question is... Will Sparkle cast the spell again? If everyone else truly loved and cared for Twilight as a separate individual, how could she not? It would be like having the power to resurrect someone else's dearly departed, but choosing not to because that's better for yourself.
In any event, bring on the big conclusion! I'm very glad you came back to finish this one.
I suspected that would come from the very first moments in the chapter O_O And the entire time I was reading, I could feel my stomach sinking in expectation. Reflection-Twilight was totally doing the "I've decided to kill myself and I want to put things in order with everyone around me before I carry out the deed" bit.
If this actually is the end... Well, this is not how I expected the story to end. And it is not going to be a happy ending for anyone. Sorry, Reflection-Twilight, but this is not a solution, this is only another strain on everyone's relationships.
I kind of figured that reflecto-twilight was "going away" somehow after that night. All her actions the day before smacked of the imminently deceased putting their affairs in order.
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Aye, I completely agree - I am certainly curious to see how this gets wrapped up, but overall this has left a slightly bitter aftertaste, a slight nagging irritation at how things went down and an itch to do something about it. That being how Sparkle felt like the real victim here and ultimately ends up getting the short stick all the time, and her (now semi-former?) friends coming off as jerks most of the time who cared more for her copy's well-being than her, to the point where it felt like she herself was mostly an afterthought, so long as Twilight could be made comfortable.
Not a criticism of the writing itself by any means, that's certainly a valid way for them all to act and how they would lose sight of Sparkle herself in their pursuit to make Twilight comfortable first and foremost, but in the end it certainly felt like Sparkle ended up essentially abandoned and as a secondary consideration for the lot of them, and I almost have to wonder ... did they even notice? Or are they, up to this day, as oblivious as Applejack about how badly they hurt her? Are they and Sparkle even true friends any more, aside from inertia?
Now that Twilight has evidently gone away (and assuming she isn't coming back) would their friendship ever return to the way it was before? Can Twilight even see them all in the same light after all that has transpire and her friends essentially passing her over for her copy? It certainly sounded like they were all much closer to Twilight than to Sparkle at this point (with Rainbow apparently being pretty explicit that she likes Twilight better)
So ... yeah, I'm feeling slightly indignant on Sparkle's part I guess, who felt like the prime victim in all of this with the others apparently being semi-blind and sort-of oblivious to it, not quite caring as much as they should have if they consider themselves friends. A part of me wonders how things would have gone had she actually left Ponyville when she considered it at one point, because it truly feels like something drastic needs to happen for everyone to open their eyes as to how badly they handled the situation with her. (On a less related note, it even seems like things didn't work out between Sparkle and Mac, while Twilight got with Time Turner as an added insult to injury:P)
And indeed, expanding on the situation with Celestia (and what her relationship is with Sparkle at this point) would be quite needed - she acted pretty crap towards Sparkle back then, which makes me wonder if she ever got off her flank and apologized and they patched their relationship up, or whether she still thinks she was right to tell Twilight what she did, and how that would have changed their relationship as result (did Sparkle even look towards having her over?).
That, and AJ's apology scene felt like the two things that could have used actual scenes indeed, as both are probably among the things done to Sparkle that bit the deepest and, I feel, deserved proper exploration. Oh well, there is still some of the story left, so I hope some of it still gets addressed.
Choices, choices. Either reread the entire story to look for clues or deliberately stub my little toe. Should be about equivalent on trauma scale.
Still a long time favourite, having similarly mixed feelings about the conclusion drawing into view. Goddamn you, GaPJ.
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I was wondering myself about the tone of the story. It was very much a mirror of what you'd expect a dieing or suicidal person would do. Was it one of those? Magic naturally ran out? Cosmic fluke? Author fake out? I can't decide is this is supposed to be bittersweet or tragic. It certainly sours the mood quite a bit.
Only way I could see this ending on a hopeful note is if the mirror-Twilight started talking as a reflection.
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Yes, thank you! There are so many things here that should have been explored in more detail, involving Original-Twilight (I will not call them "Twilight" and "Sparkle"), that seem to be passed over because we're focusing entirely on Reflection-Twilight for what is apparently the climactic chapter of the story.
Now that Reflection-Twilight is gone, what's going to happen? Well, all of Original-Twilight's friends are going to blame her for driving her clone to suicide, causing her further mental strain. Rainbow in particular might just physically assault Twilight, and will quite possibly accuse Twilight of having outright killed her clone. They are going to try to push her to cast the spell again to bring Reflection-Twilight back, and things will be as they have been so far, only worse. And if the story is now ending, I'm not sure I see any way there's going to be any sort of satisfying resolution
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Not to mention it feels rather lack luster when it comes to it's resolutions, suddenly a year skipped and suddenly all this is talked about now? Original Twilight has been treated worse then second rate for most of the story, the resolution with Celestia wasn't fixed, all of Original Twilight's hindrances haven't been discussed in detail, and the only things we've gotten clearer are clone twilight's issues and barely even that.
It's like it's trying to wrap up as suddenly as possible in a very unsatisfactory way.
Well then.
I'll reserve judgement until the last chapter is published, and not go into my strongest feelings about this one yet because I don't want to put pressure on the author to "fix things" at the last second. This is very much their story, not mine.
Rainbow Dash killing the moment was hilarious.
Pinkie Pie's attitude about clones and mirrors seems disturbing at first glance, but I came away with the impression that the difference, to her, between her clones and Twilight's is that none of the mirror-pinkies were "actually Pinkie Pie", as opposed to the other being "actually Twilight Sparkle". The implications thereof probably have disturbing corollaries, but it seems acceptable if I don't think too hard.
The other thing is, at the very end there, last sentence, we switch to talking about Twilight. Reservations about naming conventions and grumbles about authorial technique aside, it almost makes me wonder if we, the camera/readers, didn't jump *through* the mirror with the change in paragraph...
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I'm sure that Twilight left an explanation behind which will keep anyone from seriously blaming Sparkle... And I'm thinking that Celestia and Luna likely knew as well, judging from the "mysterious trip to Canterlot" Twilight had taken. But yes, without a concrete excuse for the spell not working any longer, it will be hard for Twilight Sparkle to regain her entire life without the nagging belief that her friends don't think it is rightfully hers any longer and feel she should resurrect her reflection.
I admit, the emotional climax of the story for me was when Sparkle admitted that she would rather give up everything, all aspects of her life, than continue to have the pain of being forced to watch someone else live it and be further marginalized... I never felt that things got anywhere near that bad for Twilight. While the story required the truce and understanding that came between her and her reflection, what I was really left craving was a climatic reconnection with her friends, who I felt never really understood how close they came to losing her. (I especially felt that the falling out between Sparkle and Dash was never adequately repaired, and as mentioned, I really wanted to see that apology from AJ, who I think did try her best for Sparkle but had no idea how much there was to fix.)
However, it may be that the only way these relationships can really recover and heal is in the absence of Twilight... So I'm eager to see the resolution.
You're going to bring back Twilight right. Because killing her off permanently would suck. Like a lot.
Huh. While that certainly resolved things from Reflection Twilight's side of things, Original Twilight just keeps getting screwed over, even in the story climax.
Here's hoping the final update comes soon, because wow was that unsatisfying, more and more so the longer I think about it.
I don't know how you intend this to end, but it's at the perfect note right now to piss off all of your readers. Everyone's "reserving judgement" but I'll be honest here and say that I completely hate this chapter. So, if that was the reaction you were hoping for, congrats.
Might need to capitalize that.
As for the way the chapter ends... well, that's a bit of a downer. You can really feel it coming with all that emotional lead-up of "Twilight" putting her affairs in order. The ending bugs me a little, but I can't say that it was out of the blue or anything. I feel sorry that I can't praise this more, but I have trouble accepting self-destructive endings (which is what I'm reading from all of this). Then again, as it's been mentioned many times, this isn't quite the ending yet...
*edit*
And man... I just realized that the reason she didn't want gifts was because she couldn't keep them... Ouch...
Yeah; the entire chapter had the feeling of someone who is putting their affairs in order ahead of comitting suicide.
When you are at the top, the only way remaining is down.
This was a good story. I'm glad you completed it, even if this ending feels somewhat abrupt. Looking forward to the epilogue.
Unfortunately twilight hints that she was coming to an end were very strong, I really didn't want it to happen and yet it needed to happen.
Still marked as incomplete, I know, but I'd just like to say that I agree with those that say this still feels very unresolved. I mean, how do you make the story have a satisfying conclusion after this? Twilight Sparkle goes on with her life, sans clone, and nothing changes except everyone's burdened by a bunch of dark memories. What was the point? A story isn't just a sequence of events. Stories have significance. What did all of this mean? What did this story say, other than 'having a clone can really suck for everyone involved'? If things end at the clone dying, life goes on and maybe everyone kinda recovers, then I shall feel that this story has truly been wasted. Maybe the last chapter will surprise me, but as it stands, my faith is shaken.
...Ponies are probably going to think that somepony has not done something important.
Spell. Since they are still one pony who is divided, the two options are: undo the division (which, as shown here, would cause The Majorly Dramatic Tragedy anyway), or complete both parts (which would leave one pony without her Element and out of business, and Majorly Dramatic Tragedy too). Not magic therefore. Nothing the Element of Magic can do.
That doesn't seem to have ended. When TS realizes that her being bound to her position as Element of Magic was the effective reason for the inability to resolve the situation (and similar situations), she's probably going into Dark Twilight mode of some kind.
EDIT: most of ongoing stories nowadays are getting creepy endings...
Am I the only one who thought this chapter made for a pretty good ending? The buildup was pretty obvious from the moment the trip to Canterlot was mentioned, it ended on a predictable yet emotionally significant line, and there doesn't really need to be an aftermath where we see everyone's reactions and how Sparkle deals with the sudden void in her life (and whether to reclaim her original full name).
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Aye, the relationship between Twilight and Sparkle felt mostly ... well, if not exactly resolved, then pretty close to it. There are obvious issues and the two are still plainly uncomfortable around each other, but it feels like the two at least understand where the other one is coming from, even if it takes continuous effort to do so.
Twilight Sparkle's friends on the other hand ... don't. They never quite understood Sparkle's feelings and, it feels, never quite bothered to put forth the same sort of effort that Twilight did to understand her. They were too busy making sure Twilight is comfortable to bother, and essentially left her laying on the wayside.
This, I feel, still requires a proper confrontation and resolution as it is one of the core changes that has happened from the start of the story - they essentially betrayed their friendship with Sparkle and have been either painstakingly ignoring the fact or have been truly oblivious to it (which doesn't necessarily make Sparkle feel any better, because that all but says that her clone and her needs is more important to them than her). Heck, even Fluttershy had completed Twilight's sweater, but not Sparkle's. And this elephant in the room still needs pointing out and being addressed, because things between them all are far from being fine. I have to wonder, if they had to use the elements at this point, could they?
And ... yeah, I agree, it almost feels like Twilight Sparkle leaving at this point, at least for a while, is the best and most productive way to resolve things. I very much doubt this is something a simple talk and hug can fix, because we are talking about a year's worth of neglect and hurt feelings here. And considering how oblivious her friends have been, I don't believe that without something more drastic it will ever sink in just how badly they have treated and hurt their (semi-former?) friend.
Trying to linger amidst all this hurt and unresolved tension while trying to pick up the pieces of her clone's departure and trying to step out of Twilight's shadow (ironically), with the fact that she even has to do so pressing down on her all along the way ... I can't see that as being healthy, and the result being more than a fake reconnection with her friends with uncomfortable smiles and semi-fake interactions, with everyone simply going through surface motions of how things were before, never fixing nor addressing the true issues lurking beneath the fragile surface.
Indeed, I imagine that Sparkle taking a step away from all of this, from the place it happened and from trying to forcibly live the life she no longer quite has, would do a world of good for her. Take some time off, travel across Equestria, go visit some historical sites, abroad if need be (I'm sure there are plenty of places she would like to visit) - simply take some time off from trying to keep together her mess of relationships and cool off, and then figure out what she ultimately wants to do, without that pressure looming over her each day from dawn to dusk.
And perhaps her actually leaving (temporarily or no) would drive the message home to the other five (or six, if Celestia counts, and if she can ever bring herself to admit to being less than right) that she has been treated poorly enough to make leaving an attractive solution and that they had a very direct hand at making it so (I have a feeling that Spike especially would have something to say about that to all of them, assuming he stayed instead of going along). And that no, they haven't been even close to being good friends, despite what Twilight said - well, not good friends to Sparkle anyway.
Or some other way really, but the point still stands that there needs to be a reasolution between Twilight and her friends, because this has been a dozen chapters about them screwing the pooch and making Sparkle miserable all the while doing so, and things are most certainly nowhere near being fine.
So much more to be explored after chapter 11, I would love for this story to continue on a little longer, and I am sad to know it will end next week.
Nitpick!
You were there for Sparkle and I
You’ve been a good friend to Sparkle and I
This should be "and me", and while characters can, of course, misspeak, I do not think that Twilight would be likely to make that error.
Predictable, but amazing writing, nonetheless. It was clear that Twilight was trying to finish a bucket list, as if she had a strict time frame in which she had to do it, but that doesn't change the fact that it was still heartbreaking, in its own weird way. Twilight's adventures in self-discovery will not go unremembered.
When it started to become clear to me that Twilight was going to go back to being Twilight Sparkle's reflection, I just kept on reading, hoping that wasn't what would happen. OH GOD THE EPILOGUE IS GONNA HAVE ME IN TEARS 
Also, I'm still curious about the relationship between Twilight Sparkle
and Celestia. 
I hope that gets acknowledged or something in the epilogue, because it was definitely not resolved here. Thanks for an awesome read, bro-p0ne. 
I put off reading the updates for this story until I had a chance to sit down and reread the whole thing, but most importantly I had to be in the right emotional frame of mind to really let the feelings sink in ya know? Had to be vibrating at the right level of emotional harmonics for it to hit Just the right cord, if that makes any kind of sense, I'm not sure... It's late, sue me
Anyway, I just want to say that just like you did in your Vision stories, you really managed to nail it here. You have the gift of making people (that is to say me) feel genuinely heartfelt emotions about characters that are so... That feel so... Real? If I said I felt their pain, that in chapter ten when Twilight overheard Sparkle talking to herself.
I was so caught up and emotionally involved that I can admit it I was tearing up with a lump in my throat trying not to cry. With all honesty, I love you for that feeling. I hope that you get as much from writing as I get from reading, and that you can always hold onto this way of capturing emotions, and letting us experience them with the characters.
4683518
"Decided to kill myself or found out I was dying." Could be either way.
Sorry, It might be because it's late and I'm out of sorts, or that I read the story from beginning to end in one long sitting. Or even that I've felt particularly emotionally involved in this story, but I have to disagree with almost everything that all of you are saying
And for all the people that I'm going to most likely piss off... After reading the whole story again, It's late. After reading All the angry little comments, I'm pissed. So... Suck-it-up.
4683518
This is untrue I think. In the light of a true and strong relationship built of love and friendships born in good times, and tempered in hard ones. This will only bring them closer together in the end. What Twilight did was her own choice, and she didn't do it out fear or guilt. I think she did it out of love. I guess we'll see what she has to say about all of it in her letter to the newly remade Twilight Sparkle.
4683645
I don't believe for a second that anything can ever go back to the way it was before. I also don't think that that's in anyway a bad thing. Sad perhaps, in the way that knowing that one can't return to the carefree days of ones childhood is sad. It's like she said in the story "I want to feel like I’m moving forward. Like we’re not stuck in this awful rut.” Just because things change forever doesn't mean that it's bad, just scary.
Anything I could say would only be repeating this.
4683716
I think that that's a little childish of you to think that the Only way for it to be a happy and hope filled ending is for Twilight's self sacrifice to mean nothing, and not truly give Sparkle back her life by always being there. Always a reminder that she was the better one for doing... What? turning herself into a reflection? No, just let her be a hero in her own way. Let her have the choice about what she wants to do with her life, without cheapening it.
4683722
Twilight is a good person, Sparkle is a good person. Their friends are good and loving people... All the predictions in the paragraph I've Quoted from you are petty, trite, unkind and stupid worries that will only come to pass if the whole cast of this story suddenly reverts to being selfish, snot nosed, facetious, and completely egocentric thirteen-year-old brats.
4684395
... It's getting harder not to be rude the father I go into the comments, and the more of them I see that are akin to yours.
Just because a story ends in a abrupt and suddenly tragic way, rather then a trite and cliché one dose not make it wrong in any way. gain a little emotional maturity. Read some books Not found in the young adult section, then try that one again.
4685310
I don't know about you, but the message was vary clear to me. The story was about Twilight Sparkle learning to love and except herself for who she really is, and to move on with her life. I think this is best explored in the existential dream chapter. But who knows, perhaps I'm compleetly off the mark. I just think that's a better guess then "having a clone can really suck for everyone involved"
4686851
Thing is, a lot of the time in this story their friends are completely oblivious to the pain Original-Twilight has been enduring, and have been adding to that pain by their best-but-not-well-thought-out efforts to help. That's part of the main theme, as the author has described it: that you don't need to be intentionally malicious to cause someone pain.
I wouldn't use those particular words you use to describe them, but it's honestly kind of hard to argue that they aren't. None of those things mean that they are malicious, only short-sighted. Which they are.
Reflection-Twilight also only meant to make everyone happy with the party and her suicide. She also had no malicious motives. But she will still cause everyone pain as a result. Everyone will blame themselves for not seeing it coming and stopping it, and very probably Rainbow and possibly others will blame Original-Twilight, as she has done earlier in the story, for not letting Reflection-Twilight have her space. And since Twilight Sparkle still has the spell, they will believe she can come back, Twilight will feel pressured to do so even if it causes her great pain, and all their relationships will be strained as a result of all these things.
I also will wait to see what happens in the epilogue, and if perhaps it ends with the promise of a sequel to explore the aftermath in more detail. But as it stands right now I'm afraid it kind of feels like the author has gotten tired of the story and just wants to wrap it up quickly. When I first read this story just a few weeks ago, I would never have guessed that it was so close to finishing, because it felt like there was still so much left to work out
4686851
The copy essentially killed herself as the original and her friends were just starting to accept her. Because things were hard. This is not heroic. This is cowardly and sad.
I thought this story was heading down a path to adaptation and friendship. Instead, I find out that tens of thousands of words of emotional turmoil and soul searching were for nothing. The copy's life never mattered enough to stay alive. The original is left with real anguish and the realization her copy took the easy way out instead of staying in a relationship that looked to be healing and growing.
If it's childish to want an ending that doesn't end in inexplicable suicide, then I'm guilty. At least throw a tragedy tag on the story at the sucker-punch ending.
There's one thing that would drive me nuts if I didn't point it out:
I can't tell if that was a typo or intentional, but in any case I'd say the impact would be that much bigger and the situation much more clear if it was, "Twilight Sparkle stepped up to the sink."
Apart from that, I'm sorry to say that my enjoyment of this fanfic has suffered a lot from the long break between chapters, more so because of where that break was: just before the final resolution, followed by an (almost) one year break within the story. It's hardly fair to blame anybody for this, but because of it the story leaves kind of a sour taste in my mouth. I can't figure out if this was really the story you wanted to tell or one that was compressed and compromised to just get to the end of it already. But I guess that's just the bane of fanfiction: it's published in parts.
Still, I'm glad this story wasn't abandoned and finally got an ending, regardless of the way it got there.
4686851
I certainly agree that change in itself is in no way bad, but at the same time it isn't by default a good thing either. As always, things depend on the context. And within the context presented, I believe one would be hard pressed to conclude that things have changed for the better.
After all, Sparkle's relationships with her friends are still strained, they have still been treating her pretty poorly over the last year all the while remaining oblivious to it (and they are still oblivious if AJ is any indication, so it's not like they have actually learned anything from this ordeal yet) and Sparkle is still stuck in a rut.
However this ultimately turns out, their friendship will not be as close as it was before (which may or may not affect their ability to wield the Elements) and Twilight will have learned that she, in fact, can not count on her friends to be there for her, that she shouldn't trust them to understand her feelings and that they will, if the right circumstances present themselves, leave her high and dry in favor of another.
So, essentially, she learned that her friends are neither as understanding nor as trustworthy as she thought them to be. This isn't some sort of a valuable lesson to learn that enables comparison to carefree childhood days nor is it somehow inherently mature. To simplify, she learned that her friends can and will be jerks to her, even if they don't' necessarily intend to be. There is nothing inherently mature or positive about this, just an unfortunate truth that has made a formerly close bond in to a hallow reflection of its former self.
That's a nice philosophy indeed, and a valuable one if it can be applied. That's not what actually happened though, and while Rainbow might like to think that a nice way to put things, she herself didn't adhere to said philosophy. Her relationship with Sparkle still isn't all that good. She explicitly likes Twilight better. Her own words actually don't apply to her own situation, or in other words, she doesn't practice what she preaches.
I would certainly like to agree that there is enough friendship in the world to go around for everyone. But apparently there wasn't enough for Rainbow specifically, and someone got the lion's share of it while someone did not. It's a nice thought, but goes counter to her own situation with Sparkle and Twilight.
4687690
I guess all I can say is that I think you're wrong. That Rainbow Dash being upset and angry at a friend on behalf of another friend somehow makes her a back-stabbing bitch, and that she can only love Twilight Or Sparkle? Or that she has to treat them... What? exactly the same, regardless of what she thinks of them.
Simple as that, she is closer to her because they spend time together, know more about each other, are just... closer. If it was say, Applejack that RD was a better friend to then Twilight or Rarity. One wouldn't think any less of her. But because it's Twilight, who is nothing but a reflection. It makes it bad to like her more?
In my opinion, Sparkle was the one who was distancing herself from her friends, not the other way around. She just didn't want to see them love Twilight more then her. Not in a bad, selfish was. At least not completely, just in a sad and desperate kind of way. She really didn't want to be held up to Her mirror's image, and found wanting. I think because she herself found her wanting... If that makes any kind of logic idk.
I also don't think that their friends are callus, or unfeeling towards Sparkle's plight, it's just hard for Anyone to understand just how bad they are making her feel. Trying to understand how what one dose will effect other people is hard. Sparkle and Twilight only have such a level of insight because they started out as the same being, and even then they missed the mark not a few times. Which is kind of the premise of the entire story I think.
To think that you always know exactly what people are or should feel, or how they should act based those feelings is the height of arrogance and presumption. Can't you just admit that some people might not feel and act just the way you think they should, and still not be evil back stabbing untrustworthy monsters?
Just because someones been hurt and wronged, doesn't make them right. Sparkle is just as much at fault here as anyone else. If not more so in some ways, she is the one who made Twilight, and then refused to take responsibility for her own hubris. Or to except that the flaws she sees in Twilight, are hers to share.
4687863
*Raises an eyebrow* You know, twisting what I said through generous application of hyperbole does your points no favor, nor does it help them to look more credible.
No, I never labeled her friends as callous, backstabbing monsters. That's patently ridiculous. I did, however, say that they displayed the capacity to hurt and neglect Twilight because of their obliviousness, which actually happened. Of course they didn't set out with the intentions to hurt and abandon her, but that's what ended happening anyway. Intentions are well and good, but in the end it's consequences of our actions that we must face.
And yes, they should have know better after all this time (Didn't we already go through a "friendship lesson" about paying closer attention to your friend's worries?), and in fact did display the capacity to know better - just that this capacity was trained on Twilight so tightly it evolved in to effective tunnel-vision, where everyone was so concerned about catering to Twilight's needs that they almost lost sight of the other individual in need of just as much help and reassurance.
Trying to wave it off as insignificant because one can't be expected to understand how others feel "all the time" (All the time meaning a period of one year in this case, so plenty of time to clue in) is just cowardly and irresponsible.
And no, I don't think it's wrong for any one of them to like Twilight potentially more than Sparkle, but I do believe it's disingenuous to claim they are just as close to Sparkle as they were before, which was the implication when you responded to that specific part of my post with Rainbow's quote about there being enough friendship for everyone, when in fact Rainbow (and from what we have seen, most everyone else) have been so overly-focused on making sure that Twilight gets the right share that they neglected to make the same amount of effort towards Sparkle.
Yes, there is indeed enough love and friendship to go around in the world for everyone, but it's up to specific people to spread it. And that's quite clearly not what happened over the course of this fic, as Sparkle played the second fiddle in terms of everyone's concerns all along, all the while making concessions in order to allow more room for Twilight - while getting very little in turn, especially from those whom she should have reason to believe would support her the most.
Did her friends make some sort of a monstrous, spite fueled effort to backstab and replace her? Of course not, and I would appreciate you not pretending like that's what I said. But they hurt and neglected her all the same, and let's not insult their intelligence by reducing it to "But they couldn't have possibly known any better", as Sparkle wasn't exactly being overly subtle.
But their focus was distributed quite unevenly between the two, which did lead to, yes, them effectively acting insensitive towards Sparkle, even if that wasn't their intent and they remained oblivious of it and remain such even now, as we can see by AJ apparently not having given a lick of a thought that it might have hurt Sparkle that her name was simply taken away from her and given to Twilight, without Twilight coming forth and spelling it out for her, and no one else apparently caught on to this either, which again points to being so tunnelvisioned towards Twilight and her comfort that they lost sight of Sparkle along the way.
Callous and monstrous? Of course not. But unintentionally hurtful, neglectful and oblivious, more so than one would expect from one's closest friends? Most definitely.
And now I'm sad
Am I the only person who really liked this story for the great bit of writing that it was? Do we always have to analyze everything to death instead of just liking it for what it is, or push our own emotional agenda off on to it? Can't it just be a great albeit bittersweet story, without everyone and there dog getting all buthurt!
4683422
Yes.
4683426
Yeah, I know what you mean. I wanted to include a lot more, but I had to limit some of it for the sake of pacing. While not all questions will be answered, we will get a bit more closure in the epilogue, as the story finally comes to it's close.
4683434
"Because I'm not gay."
"Let go of me, Rainbow."
4683518
There's one more update left to go! A certain letter from Twilight still has to be read, after all.
4683557
Sadly, you are correct.
4683686
*takes a bow*
4688011
Just nevermind
Hmmm, i guess this story will be coming a close soon. shame, but all things and what not.
For a while now, this fic has struck me as one where it would be impossible to craft an ending that pleases everyone. Some people sympathize with Twilight, some with Sparkle... Some want them back to one pony, some want the two to remain permanently... Some want a happy ending, some prefer things tragic.
I'm surprised so many people leaped to assume Twilight committed suicide. While it's obvious that she knew her time was up, I can't come up with any reason she would have taken her own life. It doesn't fit who she is (Twilight Sparkle doesn't give up... Deciding not to figure out Pinkie Sense was a doozy... something that would never regularly happen, and the only other time she quit on things was when she was Discorded.) Moreover, it doesn't fit the circumstances, where things seemed to be better.
At most, I suppose I could see her finding out her time was up and not wanting to pursue attempts to extend it, but even that has some dark overtones of dying because Sparkle would be happier if she wasn't around.
4687690
4687863
There has been an inequity in the course of this story between Twilight and Sparkle. Sparkle lost her name, was severely beaten by her double, attacked verbally and physically by Rainbow Dash for trying to seek comfort from her own brother, rejected by Celestia and ridiculed by Discord. (Even though it says that she took some comfort from him being around after being reformed, their last "session" together was rather nasty towards her. Let's not forget that he was the one that urged her to avoid her parents, as well.)
Twilight was almost dispelled by Sparkle and had to hear how she wished she had never been made, but otherwise had it pretty good. She got the name, she was accepted by her family, she was given one-on-one attention from Princess Luna, her friendships in general all strengthened over the course of the story and she and Dash became closer than ever before. This last chapter was 100% positive about her and her relationships (Even throwing in the nod to Time Turner.)
What's more, the two big apologies that Sparkle receives from her friends for hurting her (Dash and AJ) both come because Twilight asked them to apologize to Sparkle... Not because they themselves thought to do so first. It does support the idea that Sparkle was being marginalized for her own reflection.
I think that acknowledging this disparity isn't an attack on the story... It's simply discussion. We can't really know what to make of it until we reach the end. Admittedly, as I suggested, it's unlikely that there will be an ending that pleases everyone... But that the story has evoked such strong reactions is to its credit I think.
4688033
I know that with all of the other projects that you've had going and the massive delay in the course of this story it might not be an attractive idea to you, but I certainly wouldn't mind a resolution that closes out the "mirror" story and then seeing a sequel where Twilight Sparkle (or whomever she/they end up being) deals with the aftermath, if necessary... Even if it's just to resolve some lingering issues with individual relationships that can't quite be fully dealt with in the final chapter.
4688753
Agreed on all points, I do tend to get caught up in playing devil's advocate to the point where I'm arguing over something that I don't even agree with strongly or care about deeply.
Can't wait to see how the story ends
This story is a complete car wreck. I find that it's horrifying and yet I can't look away. I can't wait to see the last update.