• Published 3rd Jul 2014
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No More Magic - Darksonickiller



A not-so-simple spell went horribly wrong and destroyed the most important thing in Twilight's life. Now, she's sworn to never use her magic again.

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Giving up

No More Magic
Chapter 1

I had just been woken up by a knock on my door after I had that same recurring nightmare again that I’ve been having for the past week. I found myself sitting at my kitchen table when I awoke. I must have only had two or three hours of sleep, considering how tired I was compared to when I usually wake up. As I looked up, I noticed that stupid tomato plant that I have yet to get rid of. It was nice and ripe, it was the perfect tomato and I hated it. Just like I hated myself for what I did to her.

I got myself up and went to the bathroom to get a shower before the funeral. Not that I wanted to go, but I had no choice. It was only right to pay my respects to her. After all, I was the reason she was being buried. After getting out of the shower, I heard another knock at the door, but as I didn’t want to see anypony, I just left it.

“Twilight darling, are you home?” A voice called from behind my front door. “Please answer, we are all worried about you.” it.

“I’M FINE! GO AWAY!” I shouted. “I need to get ready.” I lowered my voice some.

“We haven’t seen you since the accident.” Rarity said

“Well, you will see me at the funeral. NOW JUST GO AWAY!” And with that, I heard Rarity’s hoofsteps retreat from my doorsteps.

I heard footsteps coming from behind me, so I turned around to meet a disappointed Spike. “She was only trying to see if you are ok. You didn’t need to shout at her like that!” Spike exclaimed.

“Not now, Spike” I said, rather frustrated. “I don’t need this right now.”

“You have been like this since Rainbow’s-”

“I told you not to bring that up Spike” I interrupted before he could continue. “And get rid of that damn tomato, too.”

“Twilight, if you won’t talk to your friends about what happened, can you atleast talk to me?”

“I don’t need to talk to you, or to anypony. Now just leave me alone!”

A few moments later, I left the library with Spike, and we made our way to where the funeral was being held. Neither of us spoke the entire journey there. We just walked in silence.

As we entered Town Hall, we heard the saddening funeral piano tune that caused Pinkie to shudder. We walked toward the front of the room and sat on the bench to the right of the dark slate casket.

Pinkie cast me a smile from the other side of the room, but I just looked away as the minister walked up beside the casket. He asked for us to bow our heads in silence to remember the times we had with Rainbow ‘Jennifer’ Dash, and to think back on how we worked together to fix problems and saved Equestria on more than one occasion. What pains me the most is that out of all of the deadly villains we faced and defeated, I, her best friend was the one that did her in, the one that took her life.

I can’t think, because when I do, all I see is her lying there wrinkled and lifeless on my floor. I see that image every time I close my eyes, and I hate myself a little more each time.

Tears formed in my eyes and were running down my cheeks. I was so angry yet so sad at the same time. I wished it had been me who died that day and not Rainbow Dash. I loved her so much, if I hadn’t tried aging that stupid tomato plant, she would still be here! I miss her more than anything.

I saw Pinkie starting to cry over at the other side of the room, and I felt so guilty that I’d taken the life of her best friend. She had known Rainbow almost as long as Fluttershy had. I could see Fluttershy crying into Rarity’s mane and soaking it with salty tears.

As I looked at the ponies around me, and the pain and sadness on their faces, I knew that it was all my fault they were mourning, because I took away their friend; a hero, the pony I loved, and for that I will never forgive myself. I know my friends have already forgiven me, but I wish that they hadn’t because I don’t deserve them anymore. I wish they would just go away before I hurt them, too.

I just sat there in silence; staring at Dash’s casket and listening as each one of my friends trotted up to the podium and gave a brief speech about the deceased pegasus. I had no speech; the pony who was always prepared for any situation with note cards or a book had nothing at all, and that just made me feel worse as I sat there in my pit of guilt and self-hatred.

What only took an hour felt like days as the funeral finally came to a close and her casket was slowly lowered into the ground and buried. All of her closest friends walked up to the gravestone and said their goodbyes. We all went up and sat in front of the marble stone engraved with a lightning bolt. I could not help but read it over and over again as I continued to remain silent. I could not bring myself speak or even look my friends in the eye.

R.I.P

Rainbow ‘Jennifer’ Dash

Beloved friend, teammate and

artist

975-1001

Pinkie sat in silence trying to find her words, until she finally she thought of something: “Dashie, you were the best friend anypony could ever hope to have, I’ll miss you, always and forever.”

Rarity put a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder for support. I couldn’t help but just stare at them in sorrow. Applejack scooted over beside me and gave me a sad smile, as if to say ‘it’s not your fault’, but I knew it was. I just looked down at the ground, another tear running down my cheek, and then another, and another. Before I knew it, I was sobbing and heaving again.

“It’s ok sugar cube. Let it all out.” she said while rubbing my back. I shuddered at the contact. “Ah know how you feel.”

After that I must have flipped inside or something, because the last thing I remember is shouting at her.

“NO, APPLEJACK, YOU DON’T! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL! UNTIL YOU KILL ONE OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS, YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND MY PAIN!”

I got up and started running. I heard them call after me. They wanted me to stop, but I just ignored them and ran. I ran to the only place I could think of: my library. I swung the door open and it made a loud thud as it hit the wall and closed itself with its own momentum from the impact. My library was a mess but like most things now, I didn’t care anymore. Books and papers were strewn across my floor, but I knew that Spike would clean it when he got back; he always does.

I went straight upstairs to my bedroom, jumped into bed, buried my head between the pillows and started sobbing again. For a long while my sobs echoed through my home, but eventually I cried myself out, and there was only silence in the library until I heard the front door to the library open.

I heard multiple hoofsteps come up the stairs, “Twilight, darling you in there?” A voice I knew to be Rarity’s called from the other side of the door. But I didn’t want to see or talk to them, so I ignored her, rolling over and adjusting my now damp pillow.

“Sugarcube, Ah’m sorry.” Applejack apologized. “Ah shouldn’t have said what I said. Please let us in,” She sighed.

Again I remained silent, hoping they would go away. There was no way I would say anything to her, even if I did overreact a little, she still had no right saying that.

“Twilight ah know you’re in there,” Applejack said again, this time more frustrated that I was ignoring her.

“I have nothing to say to you.” I said.

I got out of bed and walked over to my window. I stared out as Celestia’s sun was shining. I was tempted to go for a flight like I did with Rainbow a lot, but I just sat there, looking out my window up at the bright blue sky. The more I stared, the more it reminded me of Rainbow. ‘Why did she have to die? Why did I have to kill her?’ I thought to myself. More tears dropped from my face as I remained still. Before I knew it, I found myself crying again. I just could not forget what happened, no matter how hard I tried or wanted to.

“Umm, Twilight, can we please come in, if that's ok with you?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“Please don’t” I pleaded failing to hide the depression and sadness in my voice.

I knew I should have locked my door, because like any concerned friend would do, they came in anyway. And as I turned to them, I could clearly see the look of worry on in their faces, and they could see the pain in mine.

“I told you not to come in,” I said a little angry that they came into my bedroom without my permission. “Please leave, all of you.” I pleaded again to no avail.

"No Twi we ain't goin’ nowhere. Now, Ah’m sorry for what ah said, and you can be mad at me all you want, but you gotta stop blaming yourself, girl." AJ said to me in an authoritative voice as they all got closer to me.

“Please Twilight, we know you are hurting. We all are. But you don’t have to hurt alone, we can get past this together.” Fluttershy said sadly, trying her best to assert herself.

“Fluttershy, I have already said to you and the girls that I have nothing to talk about.” I said through gritted teeth.

“Twi!” AJ raised her voice to get my attention. I turned my head to look at her, and the second we made eye contact, her hoof made contact with my cheek, and I heard the rest of the girls gasp.

Applejack had slapped me.

“Get a hold of yourself girl,” she said sternly as I rubbed my now sore cheek. “Quit tryin’ to block us out, we are only tryin’ to be there for you. Gosh, and here I thought I was the stubborn one.”

Applejack was caught off guard when I embraced her in a tight hug, buried my muzzle in her shoulder and wailed, but she quickly hugged me back.

“I’m so sorry girls, for the way I’ve been treating you lately. You too, Spike.” I did my best to sound apologetic through my tears. “Every time I close my eyes, all I see is the accident. Every time I manage to fall asleep, I have nightmares about that day. They are so vivid and they just won’t go away.” I cried even harder.

“I loved her and I never got to tell her. I killed the pony I loved,” I wailed again, soaking AJ’s shoulder with my salty tears. “I miss her so much!”
“You didn’t kill her sugarcube,” Applejack said, hugging me even tighter. It took a few seconds for me to realize it, but she was crying too, along with the rest of my friends. “We all miss her more than anything, but it was an accident. You have to believe that and stop blaming yourself.”

I felt another pair of hooves wrap around me, then another, and another, until all of my friends were hugging me. We all sat there in a big hug and cried together, mourning the death of our friend that I killed. I made the mistake of closing my eyes to enjoy my friends’ embrace, and when I did, those horrible memories flashed in my mind as vivid as the day they happened.

“Twi this should be easy for you,” Dash told me as I placed the tomato seedling on a small round table in my living room.

“It’s actually much more complicated than it sounds, Rainbow.” I explained to her. “If I age it too much, then it could die. And if I don’t age it enough, it won't be edible.”

“Details, Twi. Nopony cares, it’s gonna be awesome. You’re the best when it comes to magic” Dash said.

I felt a slight blush coming up from the compliment that Rainbow had just given me. I focused my magic on the plant. For a while, nothing happened as I continued to feed magic into the little dirt filled pot on my table, but after a few minutes a tiny vine started to sprout from the pot.

“Hey Twi It’s working!” Dash exclaimed, putting her hooves on the table which made me excited in return. “Put some more power in that sucker!”

I did as Rainbow instructed. I closed my eyes and focused even more of my magic into the spell, and the glow around the pot became more intense and the little vine started to grow quicker.

“It’s working Twi! Keep it up.” Dash continued to encourage me. But she went silent after several minutes, and then I heard her shriek in pain.

My eyes shot open and my spell ceased. I looked around to see what was wrong, and at first I saw the tiny pot which now had a perfectly ripe tomato in it. After that, I noticed the table that the pot was sitting on was now rotted and falling to pieces. The realization of what had happened dawned on me. I got up and leaped over the table and was horrified at what I saw next. I panicked and let out a shriek of my own.

“DASH!” I yelled as I quickly knelt down next to the fallen pegasus. “Please say something, anything!”

Just like the tomato and the table, I had aged Rainbow as well. The colors from her coat, mane and tail were almost completely faded to gray, she was incredibly skinny to the point where her bones were easily visible through her skin. I had to have aged her at least one hundred years.

“Rainbow I’m going to fix this, I swear.” I told her frantically as I tried to reverse the spell.

As I made contact with Dash’s pained eyes four things all happened at once.

My whole world came crashing down around me.

I realized I didn’t have enough magic left to reverse the spell in time.

Spike came running into to the room to investigate the noise.

Rainbow Dash took her last breath.

“Oh My Celestia!” Spike gasped when he saw Rainbow Dash. “What happened, Twilight?”

I turned to him with a look of pure sadness that he had never seen before with tears flooding down my face.

“I killed her.”

That’s what I’m forced to watch replay in my mind every time I sleep, or even close my eyes, but with all my friends holding me close, It hurt a little less this time and I didn’t want the warm embrace to end. We sat like that for quite some time. It felt good to just let out all my bottled up frustration.

I sobbed, screamed, and shouted to the heavens while my friends just held me tighter each time. By the time the sun had started to dip, my throat was hoarse and my tear ducts were empty; I had completely cried myself out. Even though it was only early evening, I was exhausted and I wanted to just crawl up in bed and sleep, and one by one my friends slowly let go of me and dispersed the hug, but I keep a tight grip on Applejack.

“Will you all stay with me tonight?” I asked a little shakily. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“Sure thing, sugar.” Applejack didn’t hesitate to answer.“Anything for a friend in need.”

I finally raised my head from Applejacks shoulder to look at the rest of the girls, who all nodded in response to my question. I gave them a small smile and sat up.

“Thanks girls” I thanked them. I motioned them downstairs and asked Spike to cook us something for dinner. He scurried down the stairs and got right to work. A short time later, we all sat around the table as Spike put six plates of pancakes on the table, and then sat down and ate.

A little while after that, we all went back upstairs, and I got two air mattresses out; one for Rarity and Pinkie, and another for Applejack and Fluttershy, and we all went to sleep. And for the first time since that fateful day, I slept peacefully and soundly.

It was a week ago today that all of Ponyville attended the funeral of my best friend. The funeral that I caused, the best friend whose life I cut short. I was so stupid to think it would work. All I wanted to do was perfect a spell to age a tomato plant, that was all. I decided to keep that tomato plant by my bedside so I will always remember what I did to her. I didn’t mean to kill her, Rainbow Dash, the pony I loved more than anything, but I will never get the chance to tell her now. Every time I look back to that day, I feel the same pain and guilt. Throughout this past week, my friends have been a big help to me as I try to put my life back together. I thought long and hard this past week, and I ultimately made the hardest decision of my life. My friends thought I was crazy when I told them as we all sat around my new living room table. I asked them here just so we could be together and to tell them this.

“Are you in your right mind Twilight?” Applejack said, not believing what I had just told them. “You can’t be serious.”

“Yes Applejack, I’m perfectly sane, thank you very much,” I gave as a rebuttal. “My decision is final.”

“Twilight darling, don't you think this is a little extreme?” Rarity asked, also not believing me. “This is your special talent we’re talking about here dear. Your element of harmony.”

“I am well aware of that Rarity,” I said, getting a little frustrated by their reactions. But could I expect this. I pretty much dropped a bombshell.

“This Is your special talent, Twilight.” Applejack spoke up again. “It saved us more times than Ah can count! You can’t just give it up!”

“I respect all of your opinions, I really do, but I have made up my mind,” I told them sternly. “To make sure I never make the same mistake again or hurt another pony the way I hurt the one who meant the most to me,”

“I, Twilight Sparkle will never use my magic again.”