The Phoenix Princess

by Sonic Rainboom Dash

The fiery conclusion: part 2

"Twilight," a voice said, cutting through the darkness. Twilight grumbled, trying to evade the hoof prodding her side. "Come on, Twi, wake up. I don't have much time," the urgent voice continued.

Twilight mumbled as she woke up and looked at the pony poking her. The pony had a yellow coat with a red and yellow mane and tail. Her cutie mark resembled a sun split between red and yellow in a yin-yang fashion. Looking around, Twilight started to panic when all she saw was a white expanse. "W-where am I? W-who are you?" Twilight asked, struggling to understand what had happened.

The pony's expression shifted to one of sadness and longing as she gazed at Twilight with teary, sorrowful eyes. "You don't remember me, do you? I had hoped that after all this time, you might remember. I'm your sister—Sunset Shimmer. Although I guess you don't remember that anymore. As for where we are, well, we are in your head at the moment. It took quite a lot of effort to contact you this way," Sunset explained.

"S-sister?!" Twilight exclaimed, her voice unintentionally high-pitched. "I have a sister!" she shouted again, prancing about in excitement at the revelation of her mysterious past. "I can't believe I have a sister," Twilight said before her excitement faded, and sadness overcame her. "I never knew. I can't even remember my life before living—or rather surviving—in the Everfree Forest," she expressed.

Sunset winced, her ears folding back in response to Twilight's voice. She shook her head, trying to clear the ringing in her ears, and then regarded Twilight with a somber expression. "I know. But it was actually in the Everfree Forest that you met me. You don't remember due to an accident you had. I was hoping your memories would come back in time, but I guess they haven't. That part of your life seems to be sealed. However, while this discovery is significant, I contacted you for a reason. I need your help. I'm trapped inside my own body, which is controlled by my inner beast. I can't stop it, and I don't have the strength to fight it off. Please help me! I don't want to hurt anyone again. I already cost us our mom," she pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please help me! I have no one else to turn to." She looked at Twilight, sobbing.

Before Twilight could respond, a beastly roar reverberated through the void surrounding her and her sister. "N-no! I-it's too soon. Please, Twi! You're my last hope of returning home. I miss mo—" Before Sunset could finish, a flaming orange-clawed hoof erupted from the void and dragged Sunset away.

"Sunset!" Twilight yelled as the void shattered around her.
-----------------------------------------------
Twilight awoke with a gasp, followed by a massive fit of coughing. As she looked around, she found herself on a couch, but the reason behind it eluded her memory. In her attempt to roll over, she accidentally pinched one of her new wings, causing her to yelp in pain. Overwhelmed with confusion, Twilight began to believe that she had died, and the wings were a symbol of her complete demise. The realization filled her with sorrow, knowing she would never again celebrate Spike's birthday or witness Shining Armor's potential wedding.

For twenty minutes, she cried uncontrollably until a small filly approached her. "Hey, miss, why are you crying?" the filly asked.

"I-I died, and now I won't get to see my family again," Twilight replied in a low, almost despondent voice, lower than the yellow pegasus she had met before.

Confused, the filly looked up at Twilight. "What are you talking about, miss? You look alive to me. You resemble one of the princesses, although your wings are quite different. So, who are you?"

Twilight gradually ceased crying, but her response still clung to the notion of her demise. "Of course, I look alive, but it's not the truth. How else can you explain the wings if I was born a unicorn?" She began to curl in on herself, mumbling about missing Spike and not being able to try the new triple chocolate mocha frappuccino that Princess Celestia said she would have to wait until she was older.

The filly scratched her head, briefly glancing behind her at someone invisible to Twilight. Making a few faces and shrugging, the filly turned back to Twilight. Finally, she spoke, "Miss, if you were dead, then would I be able to feel this?" With that, she walked up and pinched one of Twilight's forelegs, causing a sharp pain to shoot through Twilight's limb. The filly let go and stepped back.

"Yeouch!" Twilight exclaimed, wide-eyed. "That hurt!" The realization that she was not dead suddenly struck her. "Wait, that hurt! You're not supposed to feel pain when you die, s-so that means..." Twilight trailed off, her realization sinking in. "I'm alive!" she shouted before bouncing around the room in joy.

The filly giggled as Twilight bounced about. She returned to the yellow pegasus in the room, looking up at her and speaking softly. "I think she's come to her senses now, Miss Fluttershy. I'm glad I could help. But I should be going back to my parents now." With her words spoken, the little filly headed home, leaving Fluttershy with a haunting memory from her past.

'How is she still alive? From what I remember seeing as a filly, those wounds would have killed anyone,' Fluttershy pondered, recalling Applejack's recent explanations.

---

[Flashback]

Applejack emerged from the surgery doors, her orange coat pale, carrying both the weight of an old bitter memory and the sickness induced by witnessing so much blood. She walked unsteadily over to Fluttershy and Night Light, who had been sitting silently in a chair in the waiting room, and took a seat next to her. Applejack remained silent for a while before finally speaking, her gaze haunted. "Fluttershy, it's just like it was all those years ago. This mare looks just like that filly from when we were little, and her wounds are just as severe, if not worse. The doctor and his team are doing their best to ensure she makes it through, but they aren't sure if it will be enough. Apparently, she also has some kind of disease that's been draining her strength all this time. What do we do, Shy?"

Fluttershy stayed silent, finding solace in the pony who had allowed her to stay with her when she first arrived in Ponyville. "I don't know," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "Everything about her reminds me of what that filly must have endured in her final moments. I hope we don't experience a repeat of the past. I don't think I could handle it again." Fluttershy continued crying into Applejack's shoulder.

Applejack pulled Fluttershy closer, tears streaming down her own face as she comforted her friend. The two ponies held each other tightly before Applejack leaned back slightly and whispered, "We can only hope and pray to Princess Celestia that the mare will pull through. I don't know if I could bear it if she dies just like the filly did. My heart already feels like it's about to burst; one more blow and it might shatter completely."

At that moment, one of the doctors emerged from the room, accompanied by a few nurses, all wearing expressions of defeat.

Doctor Head Trauma sighed, knowing this was the hardest part of his job—informing friends and family of a pony's passing. However, just as he was about to speak, one of the nurses burst out of the surgery room, speaking rapidly and barely comprehensible. Applejack managed to catch some of the words. "Doctor, something's happening. The wounds... they're closing up on their own!"

Applejack's head shot up in shock as she gently shook Fluttershy to bring her out of her daze. "I don't know about you, sugarcube, but I'm going to check on the mare to see if she's healing, just like the nurse said. If it's true, then she'll survive, and we won't have another death on our hooves. Do you want to come with me?"

With a determined nod, Fluttershy and Applejack rushed to the surgery door, only to have their jaws drop at the sight that greeted them inside.

The mare's right foreleg, which Applejack hadn't noticed was a prosthetic before, was regenerating with a fiery aura surrounding it. Her chest was closing up wounds and removing stitches, while her head was the true spectacle. Her eyes were open, radiating a bright white light as she floated off the surgery table, her mane, tail, and wings engulfed in flames. The regeneration took less than a minute, and the light show faded, leaving the mare still unconscious but with a completely rejuvenated appearance as if she had just fallen asleep.

[End of flashback]

Fluttershy observed as Twilight settled down from her ecstatic state of realizing she was alive. She cautiously approached the mare, still feeling anxious and scared. Gradually, she got close enough to tap Twilight on the shoulder and spoke in a calm, gentle voice, although a bit louder, "Um... excuse me, miss... excuse me... Are you alright?" Fluttershy's nervousness was evident as she spoke.

Twilight slowly focused her attention on Fluttershy and, without warning, pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, unaware of her newfound strength. Fortunately, Fluttershy had developed a resistance to such hugs thanks to her experiences with Harry and Pinkie.

After Twilight released her, Fluttershy spoke again, her voice slightly less nervous. "Um... well, it seems you're fine... that's good. Are you hungry or thirsty? I have a little food and water with me." She kept a few steps distance from Twilight, looking up at her through her mane. Fluttershy couldn't help but be captivated by Twilight's eyes, which seemed to hold a depth of experience beyond what would be expected of a pony so young.

"I'm alive," Twilight whispered again, reaffirming her realization that she hadn't died. She then turned to Fluttershy with a crucial question. "Um, I know this may sound strange to you, miss, but how am I still alive?"

Fluttershy squeaked nervously, her eyes widening in response to the question. She remained silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts before responding, "Y-y-you were healed by magic... Some kind of fiery aura that healed your wounds. Even that prosthetic leg of yours was transformed back into a regular leg. Your eyes glowed white, and then your wings appeared in a blaze of fire."

Twilight stared at Fluttershy for a while, processing the information, before simply saying, "Oh." She then promptly fainted once again.

Just outside the cottage, a dark alicorn observed through a window, watching as Twilight passed out while Fluttershy frantically tried to revive her. The name on her tongue escaped her lips, and with it, a glimmer of hope that had almost faded completely rekindled. "Twilight." The dark alicorn felt a surge of renewed optimism.

Author's Note:

sorry for the wait. between work, and lack of editors or proofreaders, i haven't had much time to write this chapter. don't expect an update for a while, also sorry if i tend to make it confusing to read. im still learning how to write.

Comments

[Greenhorn]

Wait a minute... how comes none of the Sparkle family was by her side in this chapter? I got it that she was transported to the hospital at the end of the previous chapter. But how come only Applejack and, surprisingly, Fluttershy were outside the surgery room? Nightlight? Velvet? Shining? Spike? Where the heck have they gone? It was so unbecoming of the close-knit family whose member was in the surgery room.

[Cipher800]

8918911
Maybe they weren't mentioned, but were still there.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Love Twilight's reaction.

[Cipher800]

Well, glad to see that she still remembers her family and her life as Twilight, just as I expected.

[LostArchivist]

This is confusing. The flashback -- I think that was for her rebirth after having been found in the Everfree after falling off the bridge, but it's worded there as if she or someone like her had also died before that, and it's later said in the present time that her missing limb was healed too, as it had been in the FB, but I am pretty sure she wasn't physically injured this time, so how would she still have the prosthetic if it was fixed the first time?

Fluttershy it’s just like it was all those years ago. This mare looks just like that filly from when we were little, and her wounds are just as bad if not more so.

I'm sorry if I'm interpreting this wrong, but the timing is hard to figure out since it keeps jumping.

I don't know who the filly is supposed to be in this chapter, and what were the blurs that restored her in the prior?

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

8919228
this flashback is set just a few hours after twilight's rebirth, after she got tackled.

[LostArchivist]

8919260
I'm trying to locate that. I can't find it now. I assume it wasn't shown, but the story seems to say that the bridge simply collapsed, not that she was tackled...?

Also, in the earlier chapters, it says that she was found at the bottom of the bridge with who I believe are supposed to be Applejack's parents, and it mentions that she was somehow still alive. The story then says that her adopted parents found her in the Everfree with a Timberwolf baby, with the injuries still present. What happened in between those? Was she taken to the hospital between these, or after?

I'd have to think that the ponies to find her would have some record of what happened. Or was it the case that she "died", got buried, and dug herself out in time to be found by her new parents? The previous chapters state that she had died in the ER, so I suppose that could be it, but the flashback shows that she got healed (probably via her phoenix magic), so why was this not generally known? And then they somehow recall that she did make it?

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

8919371
this is after the previous chapter, the flashback is only a few hours ago

[Viper Pit]

inresting please do go on

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

8919371
And being New to writing that I am, i am going to have a lot inconsistencies until I get better.

[LostArchivist]

8919674
That's acceptable, I suppose. :D
It is kinda tough to tell if it's supposed to be a mystery or cryptic, or if it's just confusing, though.
I am getting a taste of the same thing myself; it is rather difficult to keep continuity in mind even with an outline!

[Cipher800]

Where's the next chapter?

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

8972662
taking a while to be epic.

in all seriousness though, i've been wanting to make this a good episode without any, or at the very least, little problems with it.

[Cipher800]

8972722
Fair enough.

[Oreonixx Jinn]

Mama Luna?