I'll Do Anything for You

by The Abyss

Right By Your Side

“They’re safe,” Scootaloo said. She and Spike had been sitting on a pair of hard chairs for the last several hours as they kept watch over Rainbow and Twilight. Her rump had been sore for the last few hours but she dared not leave the room, much like she had spent last night keeping watch with Phalanx and Cadence’s guard. Her stomach grumbled yet again, reminding her that it had been far too long since she’d last eaten.

“You’ve said that at least a hundred times now,” Spike said with a groan. He buried his face in his claws.

“Yeah, but… they look really bad. I’m worried.”

“The doctors and the princesses are doing everything they can,” he said with a tired, exasperated tone. “You should go get some shut-eye. I’ll stay here and keep them safe.”

“Not a bad idea, but the both of us need to get some sleep. We’ve been up all night. We did good, you know.” She held out a hoof for him to bump.

“Yeah, I guess they’re not going anywhere.” A yawn forced itself past his lips as he bumped her hoof with his closed fist. “You think the doctors would mind if we slept in here?”

“I doubt they’d say anything, but… we should let Twi and Dash rest. I’m afraid my snoring would wake them up.”

Spike laughed at that. “Probably, yeah.”

Scootaloo pushed herself off the chair and stretched. She walked up to Rainbow’s bed, stood up on her hind legs, then placed her forelegs on the edge. “We’ll be back as soon as we can,” she whispered, hoping to not wake them up. She dropped back down onto all fours and started trudging towards the doors, a yawn forcing itself past her lips.

Spike held the door open for her. The squad of guards keeping watch over the entrance to the hospital wing stood apart, allowing them through without a word. Scootaloo looked up at each of them in turn, wondering if Phalanx was still around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

---

Two Days Later…

Twilight woke up with a start. The room was mostly dark, yet filled with a comforting warmth. She lay on her right side. Through blurry vision, she saw something move in the dimly-lit room. She blinked to clear her vision and saw Celestia staring out of the window. The moon sat before them, its light just barely gracing Twilight’s bed. “Full moon tonight?” she croaked out.

Celestia’s ears perked up as she turned around with a look of relief. “Why, yes. Yes it is.” She walked over to her bed and sat down beside it. “I am so glad you are awake.”

“What happened?” Twilight pushed herself up the mountain of pillows behind her and propped herself up. Celestia used her magic to levitate a glass of water into her hooves, which she accepted with a grateful smile. After a few small sips of water, she said, “The last thing I remember was trying to keep Rainbow warm in the cave.” Her eyes went wide. “Rainbow!” Her head whipped to the left to find her sleeping in the bed beside her own. “Ugh… Almost had a heart attack…” She let her head collapse against the pillows as she took slow, deep breaths to slow her racing heart. “Is she–”

“The doctors tell me that Rainbow will recover. The two of you have a long road to recovery in front of you, though all that matters now is that you two are alive.”

She’s avoiding the question, Twilight thought. “How’d you find us? What happened?”

“Your firework. I thought it was a most excellent idea on your part. It was actually young Scootaloo who spotted it.”

“How are they?”

“They are better now. They were rather… distraught, to put it gently, when they saw how you two looked after I brought you two back. They’ll be happy to hear that you’re awake.”

Twilight’s gaze snapped towards Celestia. “After you brought us back? We didn’t… you know, did we?”

“What? No, no. I only meant that I brought you back to the castle. But you two were close. Very, very close,” she said, her voice tight. She wiped away a fresh stream of tears with a white cloth. “Cadence and I spent nearly an hour searching the mountains for you. Once I found you in that cave, I called out for you, hoping you would rise, but… you did not even so much as stir. You and Rainbow looked so pale that I… I feared the worst,” she finally choked out. Celestia took a few moments to collect herself.

“Thank you,” Twilight lamely said. She felt like she should say more given all that Celestia had done for them, but she found herself at a loss for words. “What happened to Brick? Was he–”

“Captured. It is over. From what I heard from Cadence, Shining took him prisoner moments after you and Rainbow teleported away.”

“Good,” Twilight said with a sigh of relief. “And Scootaloo? Spike? Everyone is okay?”

“Of course, little one.” A hint of worry slipped into Celestia’s tone. “I hate to ask this of you but I must know. What of your magic?” she asked. “I tried to repair the damage done to your horn, but…”

A sense of dread consumed Twilight. She closed her eyes and felt around her mind. That familiar channel of energy that always served to comfort her was gone. She clenched her eyes shut and tried again, this time wracking her mind for any familiar sense of her magic only to yield the same result. A single tear slipped down her cheek as she stared into the sheets, unable to look her former mentor in the eyes. She feared that vocalizing her failure would only cement the fact that she was bereft of her magic. She felt Celestia’s hoof come to rest upon her own.

“I am so sorry,” Celestia murmured. “I swear to you that I will not stop searching for a solution.”

Celestia’s words comforted Twilight only slightly. “Thank you, again. At the end… I proposed to her.” Her gaze settled on her fiancé. “Once we make it through this, we’re to be married.”

Celestia’s eyes brightened at that. “At least something beautiful came out of this horrible mess,” she said with an excited grin.

“I need a ring to do it properly, though. Can you…?”

Celestia nodded. “Of course. I have just the one in mind. And have you thought of who will be the wedding officiant?”

Twilight chuckled. “I was going to ask you. I can’t think of anyone better to tie the knot between the two of us.”

“It would be my honor,” Celestia said. “Now that you are feeling better, I think I shall return to my quarters and rest. I have been awake for nearly three days, after all. Will you be okay if I leave? The doctors check in every hour.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just one thing, though?” She couldn’t help but let a sheepish smile slip onto her face. She nodded towards Rainbow. “Could you…” Celestia smiled back as she understood, then used her magic to gently move her onto Rainbow’s bed. “Thanks. See you in the morning?”

“Of course. Sleep well, little one.”

“You too.” Once Celestia left them all alone, Twilight couldn’t but feel like a giddy filly again as she snuggled up against Rainbow’s side. “Dashie…” she whispered. Rainbow snored in response. She nuzzled her cheek, hoping to gently wake her, but Rainbow snored even louder than before. “Oh well… no matter what, I’ll always be here for you, right by your side.” She wiggled her way underneath Rainbow’s sheets, draped a wing across her back, and got as cozy as she could on the small bed before she allowed sleep to take her once more.

That morning, she was surprised to find that Rainbow had woken before her. “Hey, cutie,” she heard Rainbow say. Her eyes sprang open.

“H-Hey, you…” she murmured as she nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek.

“You know, your snoring woke me up like, five times last night,” Rainbow said. “I wanted to wake you up but you looked like you needed the rest, so– wait a sec. How’d you get in my bed?”

“I had a little help from Celestia,” Twilight admitted with a sheepish grin. “How’s your wing feel?”

Rainbow’s smile faltered. “Still hurts, but I’ve suffered worse.” She pushed her hair out of her face with a hoof. “Have I ever told you how soft your wings are?” She looked over her shoulder to find Twilight’s wing in disarray. “You know I’m gonna have to preen the heck out of your feathers later, right?”

“Looking forward to it.” Twilight wrapped the tips of her feathers around Rainbow’s side and tugged her right up against her side. “Oh!” Twilight giggled as she remembered what she needed to say, knowing that it would really brighten Rainbow’s mood. “There’s something important I need to tell you, Dashie,” she said with excitement.

“Yeah? What?”

Twilight felt an urge to jump around the room at the thought that stood on the edge of her tongue. “I asked if Celestia could marry us and she said yes! Isn’t that wonderful?”

“To be married to a princess by a princess… Would that make me royalty, then? Would I be Princess Dash? I like the sound of that!” Rainbow sat up a little bit and let Twilight fold her wing back to her side. “Do I get a horn and become an alicorn just like you?”

Twilight laughed. “I don’t think it works like that, but I could get used to calling you Princess Dash so long as you call me the Princess of Snuggles,” she said with a sly grin.

“The Princess of Snuggles and the Princess of Friendship? Are you trying to collect titles now?” Rainbow snickered. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Snuggles and Princess of Friendship. Heir to the Celestial throne. Lover of all things plushy and cozy. Addicted to coffee, books, and her marefriend’s bod–”

“Fiancé,” Twilight gently corrected her. “Soon to be wife,” she said with a smirk.

“Heh, yeah. Twilight Sparkle’s wife… sure has a nice ring to it.”

“It sure does.”

Rainbow scratched her bandaged wing. “Why do they make these bandages so itchy? Ugh…” She paused, then glanced back at Twilight’s horn. “How, uh… how do you feel?”

“Better… much better,” Twilight said. “Especially with you by my side. It’s just…” She glanced away as she felt the warmth of the morning sun pour in through the windows. “I’m scared that my magic may never return. Terrified, actually.” She looked back into Rainbow’s eyes for any bit of reassurance she could give.

“We still have each other. And Scootaloo. And Spike.”

“One big happy family?” Twilight hopefully asked as she held out a hoof.

Rainbow placed her hoof on Twilight’s and grasped it firmly. “Our big happy family.”

---

This is all my fault, Celestia thought as she stared down at Brick. The moment his eyes had fallen upon her, he’d bowed, begging for her to take him away from this dreadful, horrid place. He moaned and groaned about the dark creatures that skittered back and forth in the darkness, always staying out of view yet always within earshot. He told her of the nightmares he suffered throughout the nights, only to be woken up by those same creatures from his restless slumber.

Tears streamed down his face, and for once, Celestia felt a small bit of pity for the distraught pony in front of her. If only she had not grown slack in her duties to keep everypony safe and happy, surely such a situation could have been avoided. Due to her distinct failure, she nearly lost some of her closest friends, something she swore would never happen again.

“Why?” she finally asked. Her heart yearned for answers, though she was afraid of what Brick had to say.

“Why what?” Brick retorted, his tone telling just how annoyed he was. He wiped his eyes with a dirty hoof and stood up, looking up at her with unease, caution, and a bit of anger. “Why do I want to leave this terrifying place? I just told you! Do you have wax stuck in those big ears of yours?”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed. He knew exactly what she wanted to know and had chosen to be disrespectful instead. “Why would you throw your life away?”

Brick rolled his eyes. “Do you really have to ask? I know you know who put me up to this. I already talked to the pink princess; you should go find out what I said from her. Just let me out of here! I’ll do anything, I promise!”

“I need to hear it from you,” Celestia said in an emotionless tone of voice.

Brick stared at her for several moments, then finally broke. “I did it for my wife. Do I need to say more?” Celestia simply stared back, unmoving. “Fine, fine… Since I couldn’t break the love of my life free, I needed to redeem myself. Figured I could finally have my wife’s respect if I… you know.”

“Love or respect is never gained from doing such a heinous crime. Surely you knew that,” Celestia said with distaste.

“Doesn’t matter now, does it?”

“I suppose not.”

“Since I’m apparently going to be in prison for the rest of my life, can I at least be transferred out of here? I’ll do anything, I swear! Please?”

Celestia scoffed. A princess like her should never scoff at her subjects, even those who had tried to commit murder, but what Brick had just asked for was simply absurd and out of the question. To move him back to Canterlot to be near his wife was a luxury he would never get to feel. Her gaze hardened.

“So… is that a no?”

Celestia’s expression soured further at his audacity. Her pity for the one in front of her faded away, replaced by an anger that she rarely ever felt. She glanced both ways down the corridor. Knowing that she was all alone for the moment, she gave in and allowed herself to play with those dark thoughts that grew on the edge of her mind, letting them mull and twist within. A small part of her knew that she was being influenced by King Sombra’s magic from all those years ago, and yet, she still allowed it in. If he ceased to exist, nopony would ever have to worry about him ever again. No, I could not do that… What if I cast a spell to remove him from everyone’s memory? All their trauma and worries would be gone and all would be able to live a life back in harmony… She toyed with the logistics of how she would alter everyone’s minds and memories, but deep down, she knew that what she was considering was very, very wrong.

Brick’s incessant begging broke her from her thoughts, his whines and pleas for forgiveness and mercy annoying her to no end. As she regained control of herself and her mind, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If such a place could affect her so easily and manage to get past her wards, she could only imagine the toll it took on Brick.

Celestia sighed, locked eyes with Brick for what she knew was the last time, then turned and walked away. She heard some sort of large, menacing creature skitter in the darkness behind her. Its fetid scent plagued her nose and quickened her step. As she neared the exit, she cast one forlorn look over her shoulder. While she had managed to fight off the remnants of Sombra’s influence on her mind, she did allow a small piece to remain, if even just for a few moments.

She let herself smile as she thought of the many sleepless nights Brick had in front of him. It felt good to let him rot in here; he’d made her friends suffer long enough. She only hoped that she could come to forgive herself in the coming years for choosing to abandon one of her little ponies, even if it was for good reason.

Celestia stopped in front of the exit and cast one long, forlorn look over her shoulder. “Goodbye, Brick.” Before she touched the portal to return to the surface, her mind turned to that of Twilight and the long road to recovery she faced. While hopeful that she would be able to figure out a way for Twilight to use magic again, a small part of her worried that it was gone forever.

Comments

[Bronyshot2020]

.... bah she was to soft on him but yay they live

[Fluttershylover3]

sad no magic but at least they are safe also a space is missing in "andthe" plus a comma after snuggles in the same paragraph

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

[The Abyss]

11542273
Thanks.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

I hope Twilight will recover okay.
I'm glad they're safe but I'm really worried now.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Twiligjt better get her magic back

[badninja]

I think Brick got off light. Still I think Twilight will regain her magic it will just take time.

[Melody Song]

They're safe!

[Midknight Defender]

Due to her distinct failure, she nearly lost some of her closest friends, something she swore would never happen again.

Yeah, sure. It’s not like you said the same thing after banishing Nightmare Moon. Or after Sunset Shimmer ran away. Or... well, you get the picture, Helioplot.

[6-D Pegasus]

whew, glad that they are alright, but i really really hope Twilight will find a way to regain her magic

[Crimson Eclipse77]

Now that they are safe, hopefully Twilight's magic will recover. Brick is lucky Celestia doesn't execute prisoners.

[blitzlego]

11542424
I don't know about that. That cell seems like a fate worse than death

[LurkingToRead]

Celestia’s “Why?” question isn’t the one I want answered. This is: “Mr. Lump, you and your wife were imprisoned for abusing your daughter. Why are you still hellbent on doing that? You were both free! Why throw that away to hurt Scootaloo? What you two have displayed is the opposite of remorse, and you’ve only succeeded in guaranteeing yourselves a much longer sentence. I ask again: why?!”