Chapter 6
Spike was learning that there were some nightmares that you never wake up from.
Everytime that he woke up, he hoped he’d be back in his bed in the Castle of Friendship, and with Twilight telling him to wake up and come down for breakfast. But it simply wasn’t happening.
No, he was still in the Apple Farmhouse. Applejack was already awake and downstairs, and any minute she would come up and tell him to come down to breakfast.
He just laid in bed until that happened. Under the sheets he could at least pretend, for a while, that everything would be better.
As he did, he found his thoughts drifting to Canterlot for the first time since the whole nightmare began. He remembered his early years, those few years where he had lived in Canterlot castle before Twilight had been given her tower. He had been an unexpected addition to Twilight’s life, and he remembered Twilight being fairly irritable in the early years. That was not to say that she wasn’t loving and caring. She always made sure to tuck him in, keep him happy, and make sure his basic needs were met. But she was someone young being thrust into the role of a parent. She had been given the support of servants, but love and support had been Twilight’s department.
She had steadily gotten more maternal. It had been a gradual process that neither had been aware of. He couldn’t truly pin down when he had started thinking of her as his mother. He only knew that he realized it too late to tell her.
Spike had thought he was alone in the room, and was thus shocked when he heard a familiar hoot. He turned and saw Owlowiscious sitting on the headboard, looking at him.
Spike blinked. He realized, with a feeling of guilt, that he had completely forgotten about Twilight’s pet. He was looking at him, and Spike could see there was a look of sadness in his eyes. He wasn’t perched at attention like he usually was. He seemed tired.
“Uh... hey, Owlowiscoius,” he said.
The owl responded by hopping off his perch and landing on the sheets. He nuzzled into Spike. It was pretty clear then that he was missing Twilight as much as anyone else.
Spike patted the bird on the head. Owlowiscious stepped back and gave a hoot. There was a lot of sadness in that one syllable.
“I miss her too.”
The door opened, and Applejack came in. She seemed surprised to see Spike awake.
“How’d you sleep?”
“...Alright,” he said. “I slept through the night. I didn’t wake up.” He looked at Owlowiscious. “Where did he come from?”
“Showed up last night. Poor thing, everypony’s been grieving so much they plumb near forgot ‘bout him. Soon as Prince Blueblood told him what had happened and where you were, he flew right here. One of the servants brought his things. Looks like the Apples got a new resident... at least, fer a while.”
Spike just nodded. Owlowiscious nipped at his fingers affectionately. It was odd, he usually wasn’t this affectionate. But Spike guessed he wanted the comfort, the same as him. The same as everyone who was mourning the death of Twilight.
“Are you hungry?” Applejack asked.
“I am,” he said.
“Well, come on down,” she said. “Breakfast is served.”
Spike obeyed. As he headed down, he realized that the pain was a little less prominent than it was yesterday. It seemed that time had already numbed it a bit. And he hated it. It felt disrespectful.
Breakfast was pancakes again. Spike ate without much enthusiasm.
Twilight’s death was announced in the paper that morning. It spread from Canterlot to all around Equestria.
In Canterlot, there was mourning in public. Twilight was a respected figure the citizens loved. Many were gloomy, fearing that the pony who had worked her way to princesshood would be forgotten.
Donut Joe had been shocked. He remembered the little filly, sitting in the booth with a large stack of books for a long study session, her little baby dragon next to her, reading picture books and coloring. He moved robotically through work that day. After he closed up, he began cooking a special batch of donuts. They were Spike’s favorite. He’d like them when he made a visit to Ponyville.
In the palace, there was a lot of scheming. Dukes and nobles started planning their moves, hoping they could manipulate Celestia while she was vulnerable. In the following weeks, Discord and Luna would help her run interference. By the end of it, six nobles with poorly thought out schemes would be in prison with maximum sentences. The remaining would wisely decide to return to their hoof-kissing attitudes, some scared away from their schemings forever.
Chancellor Neighsay, in a discussion with one of his political allies, said he was relieved that “the dragon lover” had met her end, citing how she had nearly gotten Spike into school when he was a hatchling. When he heard that Spike might inherit the position, he went on a rant about how idiotic “the Princess’s lapdog had been to allow such vile creatures near our precious foals.”
He had been unaware that Princess Luna had been right around the corner.
After a stern lecture in the Canterlot Royal Voice, Neighsay was sent packing to his quarters, utterly humiliated. He didn’t know it at the time, but that was the beginning of the end for his “Ponies First” policy, as making a personal enemy out of a princess was not a career-lengthening move.
Moondancer heard the news first out of the group of Twilight’s old friends, and she was heartbroken. She locked herself in her house and refused to come out. When the rest of her friends came around, it took them some time to get in. For a few hours, the group huddled together, crying and sobbing. After they collected themselves, Minuette suggested they pack up and head to Ponyville. They all agreed.
Across the land of Equestria, the news spread.
Flim and Flam heard about the death, and within three hours they had altered some of their merchandise to be Twilight-themed, claiming to be selling quills and books that the now-deceased princess had used. They claimed to have known her personally and that they were doing it all to honor her memory, all the while claiming they would donate a portion to the Equestria Education Administration. They met their undoing when Lyra and Bon Bon, on vacation in Manehattan, exposed them to the crowd. They had been chased clear out of town, managing to avoid the mob, but not the police that arrested them. It seemed there was still a warrant out for selling their phony tonic.
In Appleloosa, there had been a day of mourning. Chief Thunderhooves and Sheriff Silverstar brought their people together for a feast, thought it hadn’t been the most cheerful. Twilight had returned to the town a few times as princess, speaking to the buffalo about a continued peaceful existence with the ponies. With her gone, Thunderhooves was worried. He knew that bigotry was alive in Equestria’s government, and could only hope that whoever got Twilight’s position would continue her work.
Daring Do was in her disguise at a book signing when she got the news. She immediately cancelled her upcoming book tour and began making plans to visit Ponyville and check on Rainbow Dash.
Trixie had been angry when she had discovered that nopony had shown up to her latest performance. When she heard the news, she almost didn’t believe it at first. No, Twilight, a pony almost as great and powerful as Trixie herself, could not be taken down by anypony but her. She heard the full story, then decided to head to Ponyville.
Gilda found out a few days later. She scoffed at the stupid pony affairs and went back to work. Then she remembered that she was one of Rainbow Dash’s friends. She wondered if she should feel bad. After a few hours of debate, she decided she would head to Ponyville.
Queen Chrysalis was brought the news by one of her spies. She immediately called a celebratory period where all changelings were free to engage in whatever debauchery they cared for during the next 24-hour period. Even during this celebration, she was figuring out a way to use this to her advantage. She had a plan to replace some key figures in the Equestrian government, and with Twilight out of the way, her whole plan would go off without a hitch.
Less than a week later, her plans were foiled. Discord, spending more time in the palace helping Celestia with day-to-day things, caught a spy and exposed the plan.
Cheese Sandwich headed to Ponyville, not from the news but his own innate sense that there was somepony who needed to smile. He heard the news on the way, and redoubled his efforts. Pinkie needed him.
Silver Shill had been selling things a few towns over and headed in to meet Applejack. Soarin and Spitfire heard and tried to get time off to visit Rainbow Dash. Coco Pommel heard and, after being disgusted with Flim & Flam’s antics, headed to Ponyville to see Rarity.
Our Town had been ashamed of its founding, but this was a mark against it further. A garrison of guards had been installed after Starlight’s escape, and despite some uneasy tension at first the reconstruction had gone peacefully. They thanked Princess Twilight for keeping them out of prison, since they were informed that any of them could be prosecuted for conspiracy to commit treason after helping Starlight capture Twilight. After the news dropped, the guards informed Sugar Belle, Party Favor, Night Glider, and Double Diamond that the trial would finally be held and they’d be required to testify.
Spike didn’t accomplish much that day. He had always been a busy dragon, doing some task or another, but right now he felt dull.
Prince Blueblood had brought longboxes of his comics over from the palace to him. Even more surprising, he found nearly two hundred bits of new trades, with a note from Blueblood: “I thought you could use an escape.”
This was typical of Blueblood's attempts to be nice, and he needed the escape, at least for a while, so he decided to binge his collection. He started with the Power Ponies, but every time he saw the Masked Matter-horn, he only saw Twilight. He moved onto other comics. He sometimes managed to make it through an entire page without thinking of Twilight.
Owlowiscious stayed by his side, drifting in and out of sleep. Winnona, sensing the sadness in the air, had lost her usual energy, and stayed by Spike’s side as well. It was a rather somber little pity party.
The others stopped by to offer condolences once again. Even in these times, they had work to do, but they tried to make time. Still, he was mostly alone today while the others made funeral arrangements and do the work that needed doing. Rainbow Dash.had the weather to do, Fluttershy an entire menagerie of animals to care for, and Rarity had orders to fill, something that Spike suspected she needed to do. She loved her work, so throwing herself into it was how she coped.
And Pinkie... Spike didn't know where she was.
Spike finished up another comic, then put in back in its bag. She sighed.
Pinkie nuzzled him. “There, there.”
...
Spike jumped and turned around. Pinkie was right there, laying on the floor where his cushion had been. No... Pinkie had been his cushion.
“Pinkie... have you been there all day?”
Pinkie nodded. “The Cakes gave me the day off. I thought you could use some company.”
Before he had moved to Ponyville, he might have considered such a thing impossible. But this was Pinkie he was talking about.
“I... thanks. I needed that.”
He picked up another comic. He looked at Pinkie, who was inviting him to sit back down. So he did.
Pinkie was kind and caring. She wasn’t often one to sit still, but when she was, she could be comforting.
But she wasn’t Twilight.
He remembered sleeping on her side while she pored over her studies. He remembered drawing and coloring next to her in the booth at Donut Joe’s. He remembered Nights when he was very young and insisted on sleeping in Twilight’s bed.
The others could coddle him all they wanted, but as kind as they were, it just wasn’t going to be the same.
He closed the comic. He buried himself into Pinkie. He was out of tears, but he wished he wasn’t.
He eventually went back to reading. Two hours later, the Apples came in, all dirty from their work. They made sure that Spike was okay, then went off to shower. By the time they were finished, the others had arrived. There was no real plan on what to do, but none of them felt like being apart from each other.
For an hour, things seemed almost normal. The five mares chatted on unimportant things while Spike read his comics. Owlowiscious woke up and sat there, perched and looking miserable. Fluttershy comforted him as best she could.
There was a knock on the door. Applejack went to answer.
“What can I... oh. It’s you again.”
“Yes, Miss Applejack,” Prince Blueblood’s voice carried through the house. Rarity tensed up. “Would you mind if I entered? I have something we need to discuss.”
“Well... I suppose.”
Nopony saw Rarity leave the room. After all, the pony eye could only track movement so fast.
Prince Blueblood entered, followed by his two guards. He looked around at the group. “Ah, good, you’re all here. That means I only have to make one stop.”
“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well... I was hoping you could explain something,” he said. He motioned to one of his guards. Said guard lit up his horn. His magic opened up his saddlebag. He pulled out what looked like a book.
A glowing book. That was vibrating.
“This book is apparently receiving messages from somepony named Sunset Shimmer asking for help. Do any of you know what that’s about?”
The entire room was stunned.
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Oh boy!
Poor Sunset
Ouch. There was a lot of sadness in this chapter. And that conclusion - damn, I do dread to see when Sunset gets the news.
Good to see this back after so long.
:D
This is not going to end well when someone tells her what happened.
It looks like a sentence or two about the Breezies got cut off.nvm it's fixed nowBut other than that... damn, this hit hard. Quite a note for this story to return on.
Heck yeah, my favorite family/tragedy fic is back! And dang, lots of setup. Can't wait!
Good to see this again! And to see what's going on in so many corners of the land. Though I think that got cut off at the Breezies.
Ah yes- Starlight's shenanigans were supposed to coincide with the Friendship Games....
The only good thing with that book glowing right now is that the Friendship Games Problem was fixable without Princess Twilight and that she isn't really needed again until Forgotten Friendship which by that time one of the others can help her. Imagine if this shit happened during the Rainbow Rocks Fiasco.
Holy crap, it's back!
Nice to see this updated again. Another great thing at the start of the new year.
Seeing the reactions to Twilight’s death all over Equestria and beyond was a real tearjerker. While those that were friends with her mourn, villains celebrate and try to take advantage of it before karma sets in. But now someone needs to tell Sunset what happened. How is she going to handle this since Twilight has been like a sister to her? Or how will Sci-Twi handle hearing a counterpart of hers was killed?
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Sci-Twi brings up a good point. I think a lot of Twilight's friends and ESPECIALLY Twilight's family will be very uncomfortable around an alternate Twilight.
Insert Frankenstein reference
Forget something here?
what about the Breezies (I presume)?
Thanks very much for getting this next chapter up. It took a while, but was VERY well worth the wait. The work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-ups are pretty well done in all the right places. VERY appropriately bittersweet. On one hand, seeing Twilight's friends and the assorted ponies and other beings she and her friends have helped in mourning was a great touch, as was Cheese going to comfort Pinkie and Yearling going to comfort Rainbow. On the other hand, it was ESPECIALLY gratifying to see the villains getting hit hard by karma (ESPECIALLY Neighsay making a personal enemy out of Luna and Chrysalis's latest scheme getting exposed before she could get much done). And, yeah, explaining this to Sunset is NOT going to be easy. Who wants to bet that the Rainbooms are going to get SO over-protective of Sci-Twi that they will come JUST SHORT of treating her like a baby? Or, for that matter, Trixie and Gilda having an initial misunderstanding, but developing into Vitriolic Best Buds? Okay, sorry about that. Got carried away with my thoughts. Again.
Anyway, the point is that I will VERY certainly be looking forward to more of this.
Sweet, new chapter!
Sunset is going to be heart broken when she learns what happened to Twilight.
Don't think "nights" should be capitalized there.
Also, something just occured to me - while it is indeed Starlight who was responsible for Twilight's death (and boy am I looking forward to the consequences of that), Luna would have seen the memory and seen that it was another version of her that delivered the killing blow. That's gotta sting.
I both wonder and dread what reaction she had/will have to that. As we all know, her ways of dealing with guilt, even that which is irrational, are... interesting.
To be honest, Twilight and her friends have done far worse then anything Starlight did in this story.
They're just mad because one of them finally got what they deserved.
Whup, they're about to receive a mission! And for the first time, they must tackle it without Twilight Sparkle. Emotionally difficult, but exciting.
Man, that's gonna make the pairing of Sugar Belle and Big Mac really awkward.
That is, unless you're planning to keep Mac shipped with Luna like in the Nuptialverse.
Who?
Oh boy, reread to catch up. Glad to see this back.
... But also sad too
Poor Owly
and poor Sunset o_O
Thank you so much for up dating ❤️
I got a bad feeling as for the fate of the other world’s Twilight Sparkle in the wake of the pony version’s demise.
Plot twist, what if Sunset decided to return to Equestria for good and adopt Spike?
I can't wait to see sunset shimmer react. Update soon. Perfect bday present.
Oh hell. They have explain to Sunset what happened and try to help. This is going to hurt.
Ohh all reread and glad to see this again!
Hope starlight goes down hard and we see mroe comeuppance fro neighsay as well as spike does inherit the prince position
I'm not really that much into stories killing of the characters I know and love, I can't handle it
. But the way you've written this just has me immersed into it, Its not about Twilight, its about everyone reacting and dealing with her loss and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Not many stories explain how the rest of the world and everyone else she's helped reacts to her loss. 
Great story mate, who's the ninja that put these onions here
Oh that's right, this would be right after Sunset and the friendship games with the other Twilight. That sounds like it's going to be a very interesting chapter. The look around the country at other's reactions was really interesting this chapter.
I forgot about this but damn I'm near tears already stop making me sad but honestly don't stop you have a amazing emotional talent for this
Discord: *cougth* rookies *cougth*
At that moment Cell felt the true terror.
Me: *thinks instantly and in detail* Please, she wasn't close enough for them to worry so much.
You did the right thing Lyra.
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Don’t leave Bon Bon out of this