Evenfall

by Yinglung

Chapter 23 – Settling Dusts

“You haven’t even brought me to Daring Do yet!” Spike cried out in desperation. “You lying mare, you horrible lying mare!”

Spike furiously clawed at the pillow. The feathers inside leaked out and spread all over the room. Then he buried his head in the remaining feathers and sobbed.

“Spike…” Rarity frowned as she tried her best to comfort the dragon, who had been crying constantly ever since he heard about the terrible news.

The white mare herself deeply sighed. She again wondered if this was all just a horrible nightmare. But the gross laceration of the land in front of the main castle served as a chilling reminder that it had happened just a few days ago.

The changeling invasion had been thwarted. But at what price? This shouldn’t have happened. This didn’t need to happen. How could they, somepony that were gifted with foreknowledge, somehow make the matter infinitely worse than what could have been? Was interfering with fate a mistake after all?

Everything should have gone according to the plan. They should have acted their parts, and Chrysalis should have been expelled along with her minions with a simple blast from the loving couple’s love spell. Shining Armor and Cadance should have been happily married.

No pony should have died.

But now, Twilight perished with the changeling queen in a gigantic magical blast that destroyed half of the Castle Courtyard. Discord’s betrayal was largely responsible for Twilight’s desperate decision to take Chrysalis out along with herself, but Rarity was in no mood to accuse.

While the chaos spirit might be finicky and overly suspicious, it was true that they had refused to tell Discord about the tome. It was a grave and sensitive matter for Twilight and all of them.

With a creaking sound, the door to the room opened. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy came in.

Fluttershy gulped, and whispered to Rarity. “… How’s Spike?”

Rarity looked to the emotional dragon, and shook her head. It would be hard for the dragon to adapt to, or even recognize the fact that his beloved mother and mentor was no more.

Rarity glanced out of the window. The sky was overcast, as ordered by the princesses to the weather team to mourn the tragedy. Because there was not a trace of both Twilight and Chrysalis among the smoking wreckage, there might be a chance that they have escaped, however slim.

The princesses themselves were doubtful, but also hopeful, so they had mobilized a search on a scale never seen in Equestrian history. Signal fires were lit on all Equestrian borders, and the princesses sent out three platoons of royal guards, plus city and town patrols to look for them.

Rarity gritted her teeth. “How’s the search then?”

“Nothin’.” Applejack shook her head. “They’ve turned Equestria upside down. But best they could find were some stray changelings. They must o’ fled quickly when they sensed the defeat of their queen.”

Rarity frowned. “But perhaps they can trace the movement of the escaping changelings and see if they’re going to their queen, and thereby maybe Twilight?”

“The royal guards said they’ve ‘tried’.” Rainbow Dash said in frustration. “But those incompetent fools couldn’t even find where those changelings we’ve kicked out of the city went. The few they found in the woods were like headless flies lost in a maze. I mean, how the buck do you miss several thousand flying locusts?!”

The cyan mare struck the wall in anger, but only managed to hurt her hoof. “Grrgh!”

The mares looked to one another. They still couldn’t quite believe Twilight had truly perished. It was just like the minute before when they last saw the face of the purple mare and heard her speak. They had faith in Twilight, they had to. But the reality had been increasingly stacking against their hope.

Rarity bit her lips. For them, the initial moment of shock and tears had passed, but they’re still in deep sadness. Twilight should have a bright long life ahead of her, and they knew it because they saw it. Armed with new knowledge and old memories, they should be able to just stroll through their lives and paint the world as they please.

“… Let’s leave Spike alone for the moment.” Fluttershy sighed. “He needs time, and so do we. Besides…” She spluttered.

Regardless, the mares quietly nodded, and together they went to another room nearby.

Pinkie Pie was sitting on the bed alone. Her tears were long dry, but her mane was still deflated. Her face was expressionless and empty, as she stared out of the wreckage in the garden.

“Pinkie.” Rarity called to the pink pony.

Pinkie slowly turned, and put up an uneasy smile for her friends. “Um, hi girls.”

“No news so far, if that’s what you want to ask.” Rainbow Dash sighed.

Pinkie Pie lowered her head and sighed.

She was too tired to yell, shout or loudly cry. She and her friends had their angry moments in the days before. They still couldn’t accept that the mare who burned a lasting mark on their hearts, minds and lives have suddenly left. They would have resented Twilight for this irresponsible action, if it had been a choice rather than a desperate last resort.

If they had become a stitched-up Frankenstein monster because of Twilight’s magic, then now they’re a headless Frankenstein monster, lying on the floor half-dead and half-alive.

‘If you left a piece of you inside of each of us, then why did you leave us so abruptly?’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Your Highness.” The mares greeted the princesses stiffly. The throne room was too badly damaged. Most of the rubbles were cleared off, but the windows and stain glasses were still broken. Some walls and columns had even collapsed, rendering the room unsafe, so they had to meet at the private chamber of Celestia instead.

Celestia exhaled slowly. “My little ponies, the past few days have been grueling for all of us involved.”

Luna sighed, “Indeed. Celestia lost her beloved pupil. I lost my redeemer. You lost your dear friends. Spike lost his adoptive mother. Not to mention Shining Armor and her family…”

The mares winced. It was a horrid ordeal to inform Twilight’s parents of Twilight’s… disappearance. Her mother, Twilight Velvet, fainted immediately. Her father Night Light was first shocked into a catatonic state, and after he recovered a bit, he angrily demanded to see the princesses for an explanation. It was not a pretty sight, and he had to be forcibly subdued by Royal Guards lest he did something rash.

Rarity bit her lips. “What about… Shining Armor and Cadance?”

Luna looked aside in dejection.

“They still need time.” Celestia said. “Shining Armor had applied for an indefinite leave for his position as the captain of the Royal Guard and I’ve approved.”

“He… is still feelin’ bad ‘bout…” Applejack trailed off.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Celestia sighed. “It was not his fault at all. We as the royal protectors of Equestria had utterly failed in our duties and got captured, and there was nothing that he could do. If not for…”

Celestia inhaled sharply and continued. “… my beloved student and all of you, Equestria would have already fallen to Chrysalis’s evil clutch.”

“Sadly.” Luna added. “Despite our constant reassurance and pleading, he’s still convinced that he’s responsible for this tragedy by empowering the changeling queen’s evil magic. We must give him time to clear his mind.”

“As for Cadance.” Celestia hesitated. “I fear that she’s also blaming herself for the losses. We have relieved her of any official duties, and hopefully time would dilute her pain.”

“… And ours.” Luna slowly added.

The mares went quiet. After a moment of mournful silence, Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Any news regarding the search mission?”

Celestia looked grim, but she dutifully reported. “We’ve received a constant stream of reports from all over Equestria, but none of them are particularly illuminating. Individual changelings were spotted flying away from Canterlot in all directions as a result of the battle, but they quickly disappeared from sight, presumably hiding or disguising as ponies again. Regardless, they should not pose any major threat without their leader.”

Luna added. “Numerous pegasus weather teams, even those in secluded Hollow Shades, reported a pillar of light reaching high in the sky, carrying matter high onto the stratosphere. We receive several reports that some changelings fell from the high sky and plunged into several cloud homes in Cloudsdale with only minor injuries.”

Rainbow’s eyes lit up, “What? Doesn’t that mean Twilight might be alive?!”

“The news did have our hope up.” Celestia said. “So we have instructed the weather teams everywhere to pay attention to any unusual occurrence in the sky, but ever since the initial few cases, no further reports had come in for at least two days.”

The mares sighed in disappointment. Rarity then said with a barely hidden frown. “Your Highness, if there’s no new development so far, we must retire to our chambers and prepare for our return to Ponyville.”

“Right.” Applejack sighed. “Our personal matters aside, we must tend to Twilight’s matters, duties and… belongin’ back in Ponyville.”

“Twilight isn’t dead, she’s just missing!” Rainbow Dash bitterly insisted.

The mares looked to Rainbow in an awkward, uncomfortable silence. They had hoped that she was right, but the sheer destruction of the blast and the subsequent lack of any positive signs were heavily discouraging.

“Actually, my little ponies.” Celestia interjected. “There is a reason why we summon you to my chamber.”

Luna gritted her teeth. “It’s Discord.”

“Discord…” Fluttershy muttered.

“His wanton disregard and involvement had caused this tragedy, however indirectly.” Celestia said with a hint of soreness and anger. “We’re aware of his subsequent guilt, but he had shown himself to be… untrustworthy.”

“Princess, Discord could have started running amok in Equestria, but he chose to simply go back to Ponyville and mourn.” Rarity said. “He’ll be troubled by his conscience for a long time to come.”

“It would be pointless for us to try to seek his punishment,” Fluttershy said. “Besides, even if we want to, we cannot activate the Elements with only five of us.”

“I know it might be difficult for you…” Celestia hesitated a bit. “But we want to ask you to give us back the Elements, so that Luna and I might try to reconnect with them.”

“And will you then use it on Discord?” Pinkie Pie asked with a frown. “We promised him to never do that. Even…”

“He betrayed all of you, he’s why we have to go through all this!” Luna angrily said.

“We’re not going to answer betrayal with another betrayal.” Fluttershy closed her eyes and replied.

“Stop being so foolish, you lot!” Luna snapped.

“We’re literally unable to return the Elements!” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“Why?” Celestia gasped in shock, “Did you lose them?”

“No.” Rarity said, “Twilight had promised Discord as a proof of her dedication towards their friendship, that she would not only refrain from using the Elements, she would even give up the Elements to the Tree of Harmony. And she did.”

The princesses were stunned by the many implications of the news. So Twilight knew that the Elements were originally part of the Tree of Harmony. But why didn’t she tell them about her decision? Was it because she feared about their disapproval?

The princesses sighed. No wonder Twilight and her friends did not use the Elements on Chrysalis and her changeling swarms. They felt even more pained by Discord’s brutal treachery against Twilight’s naïve but wholehearted trust. Discord’s betrayal looked more abhorrent in light of the new information.

“Fine!” Luna snapped, “We will subdue him by force without the Elements. He will need to answer to his crime. His own guilt was not adequate nor relevant.”

“Princess Luna!” Rarity exclaimed, “Discord is no easy opponent! The nation is already wounded by the loss of one of its finest, we don’t need to add to its woes by inciting another potentially disastrous conflict!”

Fluttershy immediately added. “Let us talk to him first, please?”

“Talk?” Luna snapped, “If mere talk can work, we would have done it a thousand years ago and you all could have done it during the confrontation!”

The mares gasped in shock. Some of them lowered their heads and began to sniffle.

Celestia frowned deeply. “Luna… We’re all deeply hurt by the loss of Twilight. It’s not the time to point blame at one another.”

Luna also realized the severity of her hurtful outburst. “… I—I am sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Pinkie smiled sadly. “We’re all going through Tartarus now.”

“Please, princesses.” Fluttershy once again pled. “Let us talk to Discord. He clearly remembered our time together, or else I couldn’t have persuaded him to join the search. We’ll try our best to make sure that he would remain… subdued.”

Celestia and Luna looked to each other. “Very well. But I expect you to report to us at once if Discord goes anywhere out of line again.” Celestia said.

“If so, I will personally tear him a new one. And don’t any of you dare to stop me.” Luna hissed.

The mares gulped, and slowly nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After one more day of stay, the mares finally packed up and left Canterlot. Celestia offered to take Spike in as his custodian, but Spike made it clear that he didn’t want to leave the library to somepony other than Twilight, as well as separate from his friends. And somepony that were more than friends, but he didn’t say that out loud.

The trip back to Ponyville was the most taxing train ride the mares and dragon had ever been on. The one empty seat in their train car was a brutal reminder of the one they lost. Spike watched the empty seat, and broke down into tears again.

After a sleepless night for all of them, the train stopped at the Ponyville station. To the surprise of the mares and Spike, the platform was full of ponies dressed in plain colors.

Mayor Mare was standing in front of the crowd. As they stepped off the train, she came up to them and said, “We’re sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you, Mayor Mare, everypony.” Applejack said.

“Twilight’s not just our loss, it’s everyone’s.” Rarity said.

Rainbow Dash sharply inhaled and slowly said, “I understand and appreciate everypony’s sentiments, but why’re we acting like Twilight is a goner? The official search mission is still going on, and they might be able to find her eventually.”

“Rainbow Dash.” Mayor Mare said. “We’ve seen the news on the Mirror. We could even see it here in Ponyville. It was a really big explosion…”

“So what?!” Rainbow Dash scoffed, “Twilight isn’t just some unicorn. She’s the most powerful unicorn in Equestria! She must have escaped!”

The cyan mare gritted her teeth. “I ain’t gonna accept it. The princesses haven’t even called off the search yet!”

The other ponies looked at Rainbow with sadness. They weren’t willing to argue with a mare so desperately hopeful for her dear friend’s survival, however slim the chance was.

“No matter Twilight’s status.” Fluttershy said. “We need to sort out things of our own, and also to manage Twilight’s matters in her absence.”

“Thank you everypony for your kindness and support.” Pinkie Pie said and took a slight bow. “But as Fluttershy said, we do need some time of our own.”

Rarity looked to the cyan mare, and sighed. “Plus Rainbow is right, we should wait for further news from the capital before… deciding on our next course of action.”

The ponies in the crowd looked to one another.

Mayor Mare nodded. “If any of you need assistance, please just ask away. I, as well as the town ponies, will give it our all to help.”

“… Thank you.” The mares acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The main street of Ponyville was eerily quiet at an hour usually bustling with activities. Many ponies were still in a glum mood over the loss of one of the town’s most prominent resident.

“… What else did Discord say to you before he left, Fluttershy?” Rarity asked.

“He wasn’t all that coherent, to be honest.” Fluttershy grimaced. “Sometimes, he was like a big foal at heart. And he only began to comprehend his mistakes after he saw the terrible consequences.”

“But where do we find him?” Rainbow Dash asked. “We didn’t see him when we dropped Spike off in the library, and he’s not in your cottage either.”

“Ponyville isn’t too big a town even with the recent expansion.” Rarity frowned, “There’s no reason we still can’t find him by now.”

“Maybe he’s in his pocket dimension?” Rainbow Dash supplied.

“Well-”

The mares suddenly heard some hurried steps closing in and turned.

“Hello girls.” Pinkie Pie galloped near and greeted her friends.

“How’s it goin’, Pinkie?” Applejack asked.

“I’ve asked all the ponies in town that I could find.” Pinkie Pie shook her head. “But none of them saw Discord.”

“It’s not like if he did appear, others wouldn’t immediately notice.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “He’s a frickin’ draconequus.”

“I don’t think he’s now in the mood of being with other ponies, so Rainbow might be right.” Rarity sighed. “Although it hadn’t been reported on the papers, there were already rumors about his involvement in the incident. I noticed that some ponies already began to talk foul of him.”

“Oh for goodness’ sake.” Applejack massaged her temple. “Don’t tell me he’s on the loose.”

Fluttershy suddenly remembered something. “Wait, I seemed to have recalled some clues as to his whereabouts.”

“Hmm?” The mares all looked to the yellow pegasus.

“I think I heard him saying that he would ‘stoop so low as to beg from the spirits of harmony’...”

“Huh.” Rarity said. “Could this mean…”

“No harm checkin’ it out.” Applejack said. “Better than waitin’ here for him to show up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mares again trotted on the path to the Tree of Harmony. The road was just as before as the last time, with perhaps a few more cart trails on the ground. However, their legs felt much, much heavier. They couldn’t help but think that the whole thing could have been easily prevented.

Applejack in particular was silently cursing herself for not standing ground when she objected to the proposal to return the Elements. But self-blame was moot, she thought. With a few more swift kicks, they again entered the crystalline cave.

The white tree was still glimmering like before. But to their sorrow, the emblem of the Element of Magic in the middle of the tree was dim and lackluster.

The mares walked near and glanced at the root of the tree. The slabs of crystals were still there, and they still didn’t know what they mean. Perhaps they held the keys to their redemption, but they were too sad and unsure to ponder the possibilities.

“… Who’s there?”

The mares widened their eyes in shock. They walked to the other side of the tree, and saw a kneeling figure on one of the slabs.

“Discord, we’re lookin—.” Rarity gasped as she got a clearer sight of the draconequus. “What the hay are you doing?!”

The draconequus was whimpering in front of the tree of harmony. The mares weren’t sure what Discord did to himself, but he was clearly in great discomfort. His usually grey coat seemed to be more lifeless and dull.

Discord mumbled gruffly. He moved his body and turned, but he was stumbled. He reflexively reached out an arm and used the trump of the tree as support, but to the shock of the mares, his claw sizzled upon touch, and he recoiled in pain.

The mares looked to each other. The Tree of Harmony seemed to be reacting to Discord’s guilt, what’s more, Discord was willingly taking it as his self-punishment.

“We know you feel guilty, and rightfully so.” Applejack frowned. “But why would you inflict yourself with… these?”

“I’ve made a mistake. I just want to sit here and think.”

‘Or you’re secretly masochistic.’ Rainbow Dash thought uncharitably.

“How long have you been here?” Fluttershy stepped forward and asked.

“Ever since I left Canterlot.”

“Have you got any closer to come to terms with your action and your guilt?”

Discord kept silent.

“… Then what use is there for you to do this?” Fluttershy asked forcefully.

“I…”

“Does punishing your body help you find the peace of mind?” Fluttershy pressed on.

The yellow mare then laid her hooves on the draconequus, who recoiled slightly. “We’re all confined by our own nature and limit. I’m physically weaker than most pegasus. You’re tied to the very concept of flux and chaos. All of us sometimes want to break through the confines of the self. But suppression and denial would simply lead to failure, because it distorts our true selves.”

Fluttershy whispered to the draconequus. “Twilight told you about how she viewed the matter of your nature, didn’t she?”

Discord closed his eyes and slowly recalled.

“… I just hope that you can adjust the degree of chaos you bring to the world.”

“Chaos is not inherently bad. They’re like salt. Adding some of it makes our food taste good and makes us healthy, but adding tons of it makes our food inedible.”

“The road to your release lies in knowing how to work with your own nature.” Fluttershy said. “Like me, I want to help other ponies, but I’m physically weak. So I chose a desk job rather than a menial job.”

Fluttershy then stared right into the eyes of the chaos spirit. “As for you, there is a middling path between complete self-denial and complete self-indulgence. Going to extremes will always cause our ruins. If you still respect Twilight’s legacy, then you should better yourself by trying to find a balance.”

Discord looked up to the resolute face of Fluttershy. He and the yellow mare looked at each other for a long time. Eventually, the shoulders of the chaos spirit slinked.

“You’re right, I… should try.”

Discord gazed at the shining tree in front of him. “… If only for Twilight.”

The mares helped Discord up and escorted him out of the cave. Unbeknownst to them, the emblem of magic on the tree briefly flashed brightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the talk, the mares had retired to their own homes for the moment. Fluttershy took Discord back to her cottage and saw to the rest of the chaos spirit in his room.

Fluttershy spent some time to consult Angel regarding the animals’ behaviors in the past few days, and he proudly reported that he managed his herd well. He even built a new shelter for his fellow bunnies next to the woods when there was a torrential rain a few days ago. Fluttershy was so glad and thankful, she went to cook and bake a sprinkled carrot cake for the white bunny.

After doing some more belated housework, Fluttershy took leave of her cottage and entered a two-story building right next to the Ponyville Clock Tower.

She passed through giant rolls of paper and a few printing machines on the first floor and went upstairs. The second floor was a large but crowded room stuffed with desks, papers and photographs.

“Good afternoon, everypony.” Fluttershy greeted. “Everything running fine?”

Fair Balance was busily typing up an article from his desk, but he heard Fluttershy’s voice and turned. “Oh hello Fluttershy. Well, the past days were hellishly busy, but we managed to catch up on the, um…”

“It’s fine.” Fluttershy sighed.

“Yea.” Steady Creed added. “We were originally waiting for you to come back and give us some first-hoof accounts of the wedding. But we all saw the explosion in Canterlot, and Honest Heart immediately set out with Photo Instant to check what’s up. They’re still in the capital, I think.”

“Did you meet them in Canterlot?” Fair Balance asked.

“No.” Fluttershy said. “We mostly stayed in the part of castle undamaged by the blast during the few days. I think the princesses forbade the press to come into the castle and do any interviews, except for the short press releases.”

“No wonder not even the Canterlot Times seemed to know what’s up.” Steady Creed said. “Rumors were already flying everywhere!”

“But did they also ban us from asking any of you who was involved?” Fair Balance asked.

“… Technically no.” Fluttershy quietly replied.

“Then…”

“Ask away.” Fluttershy sighed. “I’ll try to answer to the best of my abilities.”

“First question, who are the changelings and where do they come from?”

“Um, they are a race of insectoid equines. Their homeland was not in Equestria, but to our west, where the zebras and lions live. They’re capable of turning the emotion of love into magical power for their sustenance. They’re led by a queen called Chrysalis, who wanted to exploit the love of the bridegroom Shining Armor towards his bride Princess Cadance and use it to conquer Equestria for her own brood.”

“So… are they defeated?”

“I suppose so. Their queen was consumed by the blast, and her changeling underlings were either beaten off by us in street fights, or fled once the queen was no more. A few of them got blasted by the giant explosion way up into the sky.”

“Hmm, so far these match with what we currently know.” Fair Balance stroked his chin. “Um, what happened to… Twilight Sparkle?”

Fluttershy winced, but she slowly said. “We… don’t know. We were on the brink of defeat against Chrysalis. She then elected to duel with Chrysalis alone, but was nearly overwhelmed as well. She then plunged herself along with Chrysalis into the caves below Canterlot, and, well… We think she somehow detonated the magical reserve below the castle in order to take down Chrysalis.”

The reporter ponies inhaled sharply.

“So… that’s how the explosion came about…” Fair Balance muttered.

“How goes the search?” Steady Creed asked.

“Nothing so far.” Fluttershy shook her head. “The weather teams across Equestria had not noticed anything unusual for more than three days.”

“… One last question.” Fair Balance gazed at Fluttershy, who was visibly uncomfortable with having to recall painful memories. “Street rumors have the newly liberated Discord named as one of the culprits. Is it true?”

Fluttershy widened her eyes. She had been expecting this question. She knew that she was trying to act as the moral compass of her friends, and she was supposed to promote transparency. But at this stage, she was really reluctant to subject Discord to public denunciation.

She lowered her head and quietly replied. “I’d rather have him answer this on his own.”

“But Fluttershy, if you know anything, you should speak up! This is our job as journalists!”

“I know!” Fluttershy said. “But please, neither he nor I am ready for this. The only thing that I can tell you, is that he was as sad as any of us about what happened to Twilight.”

Fair Balance and Steady Creed looked at the hurt face of Fluttershy. They gazed at her with a long and thoughtful look, but they did not press on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hello Trixie, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity greeted the blue mare in her boutique.

Trixie looked at the white mare who just entered, and said with a soft voice. “Trixie has maintained the boutique and looked after Sweetie Belle in your absence.”

“Yes!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “Miss Trixie’s magic tricks are amazing!”

Rarity smiled, “Thank you Trixie.”

“Rarity, I…” Trixie looked to Sweetie Belle.

Rarity nodded. She turned to Sweetie Belle and cooed. “Have you done the homework today, Sweetie?”

“I did!” Sweetie Belle nodded.

“Oh…” Rarity said while massaging her head. “If so, be a dear and go play in your bedroom or with the other Crusaders, I’ve got something to discuss with Trixie.”

Sweetie Belle looked up and said, “Okay, sis.”

After Sweetie Belle exited the house, Trixie immediately turned to Rarity. “I want to resign.”

Rarity gasped. “Why?”

Trixie sighed. “I loved to work here. You helped me out when I was downtrodden, and I’ll never forget. But, I think I should help Twilight maintain the library now that...”

Rarity gazed at Trixie long and hard. The white mare eventually let out a heavy breath. “I see. Your heart’s in the right place.”

Rarity extended a hoof and brushed through the fabric in her boutique. “I trust you, so do my friends. Twilight always spoke highly of you. We’ve been also thinking who’s going to manage Twilight’s things, now that she’s gone.”

“But how do you…”

“I… will find a way to slow things down a bit.”

Rarity turned, and was stunned to see the blue mare sobbing sadly.

“Rarity… How could she do this?” Trixie sniffled. “She showed me that there’s a way to happiness other than putting up an untenable disguise.”

Trixie sat on a stool next to the sewing machine. “She not only taught me magic that I never thought I could wield, but also gave me hope that I could one day be great as my illustrious ancestors. But now, she’s simply gone, no more. My newfound hope was cruelly crushed.”

“Trixie…” Rarity quietly muttered. She had spent so much time in the past days comforting Spike, her friends and herself. She felt that both her mouth and her mind was drying up. Somehow, she couldn’t think of any way to soothe the whimpering mare in front of her.

To each of everypony who knew Twilight, this was a uniquely arduous experience.

The two mares simply sat together in the boutique, and waited in silence as time passed by.