Friendship is Forever

by fabrosi

Freedom is Magic

Chapter 23: Freedom is Magic

As the echoes of Twilight's scream faded away, and as both ponies scrambled backwards to put some distance between themselves and the skeletons, Twilight asked, "What is this? Why are they all together like this?"

"I think I know why," said Rainbow Dash. She pulled the photo out from its hiding place in the folds of her wing and showed it to Twilight.

"No," she said in a quavering whisper. "No, no, no… how is this possible?"

"I'm sorry you had to find out," said Rainbow Dash softly, putting a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "We were going to tell you earlier, but we were worried about how it might affect you."

"What does 'we' mean? Who exactly knew about this?"

"It's a long story… but basically, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and I found out when we were in Ponyville. The photo came from a secret resistance group that Cheerilee was a part of."

Twilight was silent, so Rainbow went on: "This is how she does it, Twilight. This is how Celestia keeps those enchantments running. It's the only way for her to get enough magical power, according to Luna."

Twilight sat down, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "I thought she'd solved it," she managed in a voice about an octave higher than her own. "I thought she looked around at her world, full of senseless death and violence, and fixed it so things would be alright… but this… oh, Rainbow, it's so horrible, so unnatural—why is it like this? Why is there no way out?"

"You're right, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash fiercely. "It is unnatural, which is why we've got to put a stop to it!"

"It's not that simple," choked Twilight, sobbing freely now. "Without the enchantments, ponies all over Equestria will die, and no matter how hard I try to save them with magic, I can only be in one place at once… but if I let them stay, then"—she tried to wave towards the skeletons to indicate them but even this simple task felt like an immense effort to her. "…Then this will keep happening, on and on, forever." She fell down on the stone floor sobbing and covering her head with her hooves in such a way that the room was barely lit by the faint glow from her horn.

"Twilight," urged Rainbow Dash, "you know Celestia's way isn't the right one. If this keeps going on, she'll only need more and more of them. She's just digging herself into a deeper hole that she's afraid to climb out of. That's why you have to drag her out so that the two of you can face the reality of the situation together, no matter how painful it is. You have to."

"H—how do you do it, Rainbow?"

She blinked several times as light flickered towards her between Twilight's hooves. "Do what?"

"I mean, how are you always so positive?" Twilight was sobbing less now, though she didn't look quite ready to stand back up. "No matter how horrible things get, you always have that same brave, confident attitude… it's like you're never really afraid, at least not the way I am."

"What way is that?"

"I'm afraid to die, Rainbow."

The words echoed away into the brief silence that followed, spreading outwards into the cold stone walls, into the emptiness of the universe. "Celestia's not going to beat you," Dash replied in a reassuring tone. "You won last time, rememb"—

"That's not what I mean," said Twilight, cutting her off. "I was afraid before, but it was a fear I could handle, but this is different. I know I can win against her, yes, and after that we could rebuild Equestria and find new ways to deal with problems, besides the enchantments, and after that I'm sure we'll all have lots of wonderful adventures like we used to have, but eventually we're all going to grow old and die." She forced out the word "die" laboriously, painfully, as though she were pulling out a large splinter. She shivered as tears continued to run silently down her face.

"It started when I was little. At some point, I realized that I was going to die someday, to stop thinking, feeling, being. I would just keep thinking about it, no matter how much I tried not to—I would imagine myself dying, my family, everypony I cared about. I was young and forgetful, so sometimes the thoughts would go away, and I could be happy for a while… but they kept coming back. I would cry alone in my room, beg the feeling to go away."

"By the time I'd moved to Ponyville, I'd gone a year or two without remembering the fear. It was so wonderful making friends with you and the others… but after that night at the Gala, the fear came back, worse than ever. I realized you were all going to die, too. We're all going to die, and there's nothing we can do about it. What's the point of it all if that"—she tried again to wave towards the skeletons—"is going to be us. I can't—stop—thinking about it."

A brief silence passed. "You said I wasn't afraid the way you are," said Rainbow Dash slowly, "but I am. I know exactly what you're talking about. Hay, I've been afraid—terrified, even—ever since I was little filly and I first learned what death was. The reason I always stay positive is because the way I see it, that's all we can do. If we're always moving closer and closer to death, and it's no use trying to find a way around it, then we still need to find a way to get through life—and not just get through it, but savor it and make it last, and treasure every minute of it."

Twilight had lifted her head up and was staring at her friend with wide, glistening, unblinking eyes. "You know why I like flying so much? It's because the breeze through my wings, the adrenaline rush as I swerve away right before I hit the ground, and my racing heartbeat all make me feel alive. If we live every good day to its fullest, and fight as hard as we can for the right to live and be free on bad days, like this one, then we can always take pride and comfort in knowing that we earn the next breath of air we take, and the next second that we're able to continue this amazing existence. As long as our blood flows and our hearts beat and we can experience things like hope, love and wonder, we have all the reason we need to feel those things. Life is real, the world is real, and you are real. As long as that's the case, you've got something to believe in."

Twilight rose to her hooves now, slowly, unsteadily, silently. Rainbow Dash went on:

"You want to know what the point of it all is? There doesn't have to be a point for life to be worth living. The meaning of life is to live." Twilight swallowed down the pain, staring unblinking into Rainbow Dash's eyes. "Do you feel any better now?" she asked.

" Of course I do," she said, back in her own voice. "You're so completely, absolutely right… oh, how could I have been so blind?" She started walking up the stairs, towards the sacrifice room, and then turned around. "You've saved my life, you know that?"

Rainbow Dash clapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, what are friends for?"

Twilight nodded. "Come on. There's still work to do."

As they were approaching the long stairway, there was a sudden flash of light, and Twilight skidded backwards, pushed by some invisible force. She felt herself stumble as her hooves slipped over some kind of edge on the floor, but she managed to keep her balance.

As the light faded, Twilight cautiously opened her eyes and saw Princess Celestia taking slow, steady steps towards her. Rainbow Dash was thrashing furiously in the air, but Celestia was holding her in place with magic.

Twilight instinctively called upon her own magic, but felt an overpowering sense of numbness, followed by dread, when it failed to come to her. As she moved her hooves, hoping to dodge Celestia's attacks physically, she realized that she was standing on the metal plate next to the center of the circle. Celestia must have seen her make the connection, because she quickly pinned Twilight's hooves down with magic, trapping her in place.

"What is this?" she cried, struggling as hard as she could. "Why can't I cast spells?"

"It's the magnetic plate you're standing on," explained Celestia. "As long as you're touching it, you won't be able to use magic."

Twilight kept trying to disengage her hooves from the plate, but it was no use. "Princess, please…" she begged. "It doesn't have to be this way." Rainbow Dash tried to shout, but Celestia sealed mouth shut so that only furious, muffled yells escaped. It was all too clear now—the work Twilight had done on the enchantments was to prepare them for a massive influx of magical energy, and it was going to come from her. She had unknowingly assisted the princess with the preparations for her own sacrifice.

Her body went limp and she stared wide-eyed in terror as Princess Celestia drew nearer, holding out a large knife. Her impassive face betrayed no hint of mercy or hesitation. Twilight's mouth moved wordlessly: she might have been begging for her life, or praying, or something else entirely—she wasn't sure. Her heart sank lower than she thought was possible as the princess came to a stop in front of her.

"Goodbye, Twilight."

She watched in sheer, wild, unbounded terror as Princess Celestia slowly swiveled the blade to the side. Then, in one swift, decisive motion, she swung it…