...Is Never Easy
Something tells me everything is not going to be fine.
-Twilight Sparkle
Twilight uncharacteristically slammed the book she was reading closed in a fit of rage as she sat in the dimly lit room that contained literature banned from public use.
“She lied! She lied to me!” she shouted angrily.”She lied to me and worse yet, she freakin’ lied to Sunset!”
The rage that manifested itself inside her began causing her horn to emit bright pink sparks. It took all of her willpower to make sure they didn't accidentally discharge and cause damage to any of the books that were present. She placed the book she had been reading into her saddlebag and slowly made her way outside. Once the warm sun hit her face, she aimed her horn straight up and discharged the stored energy.
After taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down, her horn began arcing once more. She was able to maintain control for a few minutes until she looked in the direction of the castle.
“You… you killed my friends,” Twilight snarled quietly as she discharged another bolt of energy. “Why would you do that? I thought you cared about us.”
She took one more look at the castle before unfurling her wings and lifting off, heading in the direction of her castle. Her vision became slightly blurred the further from Canterlot she got.
I can't believe she would withhold that information from me, she thought as she began crying. Sunset is like family to me.
Roughly a half hour later, Ponyville came into view. She knew time was of the essence if she wanted to save her friend.
She snuck in the second story balcony of the library as she had done one week prior as Rainbow was taking her final breaths.
The Dark Magic wing would probably be the best place to hide this, thought Twilight as she removed the “borrowed” book from her saddlebag.
“Good afternoon, Princess,” the librarian called from the desk.
“Good afternoon, Book Binder.”
“How was your visit to Canterlot?”
“It was very productive, thank you. Has it been busy here?”
“The school ponies were here for a couple hours doing a research project but that's all.”
Twilight smiled at Book Binder before levitating her book onto one of the shelves in the intended section. As she turned to walk out the door, Book Binder caught her attention.
“Oh, by the way, you have a visitor waiting for you in the map room.”
Twilight nodded in acknowledgment and left the library.
I guess my counterpart is here to tell me that Sunset had passed away, Twilight thought worriedly. It wouldn't surprise me given my luck the last few days. I finally found a way to cure Sunset and the universe probably took her away from me.
The door to the map room let out a slight creak as Twilight pushed it open. She looked around the room to find her guest but there was seemingly nopony present. That is, until a crunching sound came from the chandelier above the map, causing her to look up.
“Spike!” Twilight shouted excitedly.
“Heya, Twilight,” Spike said as he floated down to the floor.
Twilight and her former assistant embraced each other tightly as Twilight said happily, “It’s great to see you, Spike. How long has it been since we last saw each other?”
Spike thought for a moment and answered, “Three years, I think. Ember has had her claws busy with Garble’s repeated attempts to overthrow her.”
“Yes, I heard about that. How is that going?”
“He’s coming close to breaking the dragon kingdom into a civil war with each attempt,” explained Spike as he finally sat down on the floor. “His biggest problem is the relationship we have with Equestria.”
“How so?”
“He believes that the ponies of Equestria have made the dragons soft and less willing to fight for their ideals. The trade agreement that you negotiated with Ember also has him outraged because of the hundreds of thousands of gems that have been lost to Equestria.”
“Wow. Ember really does have her claws full,” Twilight said before changing subjects. “So Spike, I know you're not here to fill me in on dragon politics. Not that I'm not glad to see you but there's got to be something else you're here for.”
Spike reached behind his back and brought forward a piece of parchment that he had tied to one of his wings. “I got this last night,” he said as he gave it to Twilight.
Twilight unrolled the parchment that was given to her and read it to herself.
Dear Spike,
I'm sure by now you have heard about Rainbow Dash's passing last week. With the unrest developing within the Dragon Empire, we all understood why you couldn't make it.Now onto the reason for this letter. Twilight has been scouring the restricted area of the Canterlot Library every day for the last five days. Neither Luna nor I know what she is looking for and we both fear that if some of this literature gets out to the public, it could spell disaster for Equestria. Luna, myself and the rest of your Ponyville friends have all tried asking her what she is looking for but she's become so distant from the funeral.
I understand if this is a bad time to be asking, but would you be able to return for a day or two to help guide Twilight out of… whatever she's doing. If you do return, please do not mention this letter or my concerns associated with it.
-Princess Celestia
“Umm, Twilight? What's going on with your horn?” Spike nervously asked.
For the third time today, Twilight's anger toward her former mentor had brought her magic to nearly uncontrollable levels.
“Spike… you… may… want to… move… out of… the way… and… open… the window,” Twilight struggled to say as she barely held back the upcoming blast of magic.
So with a flap of his wings, Spike not only blew the window open but also managed to dodge Twilight’s magic blast by a thread. Spike looked at Twilight as she struggled to keep her balance.
“Is that something new?” he asked as he turned his head to survey the damage caused by the blast outside.
“It… it started this afternoon in Canterlot when I learned a way to heal Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight explained as her anger continued to pulse through her veins. “And now I learned that my former friend that I raised from a hatchling has come back to SPY ON ME! Spike, how could you?!”
Spike carefully approached Twilight as her horn continued to arc pink sparks. He gently placed a claw on her back and pulled her in close in an attempt to calm her down.
“Twilight, I'm not here to spy on you. I'm worried about you. If I was here to spy on you, I never would have shown the letter to you,” Spike said softly. “I'm here because I'm worried about you. From the sound of that letter, you've because obsessed with some sort of dark magic.”
Twilight’s horn stopped sparking as she thought about her next move. She stared at the cutie map as a tear slipped out of her eye. “Spike, what I'm about to tell you has to stay between us, okay?”
“Sure, Twilight.”
Following a deep breath, Twilight confessed her plan to the nine-foot-tall dragon. “I've been doing some in-depth research on if it’s possible to cure Sunset’s cancer. I came across a book with more information on the Elements of Harmony than the book that's available to the public. In that book, I learned that the Elements also have healing properties.”
“Okay, but there's just one problem,” said Spike.
“I know. One of the Element bearers is dead. However, her human counterpart is very much alive,” Twilight said. “I have a theory that if the human Rainbow Dash can use the element in her place.”
“You're planning to bring Sunset and human Rainbow Dash to Equestria and use the Elements to heal her?” Spike asked.
“Actually… do you feel like taking a short trip?”
“To where?”
Twilight looked up at Spike with a sly grin and used her magic to open the case which held the Elements. “To the human realm,” answered Twilight as she levitated the necklaces and her old crown into her saddlebags.
“Um, Twilight, I'm not sure this is a good idea,” Spike said as Twilight got loose from his grip. “You don't know what will happen if you use the Elements in the other world.”
“True but I know what won't happen. One of my best friends is going to die and I'm going to have to live with the guilt of not attempting to help her,” Twilight said as she walked toward the mirror room. “We lost Rainbow Dash because I didn't lift a hoof to help her. It's my fault, Spike.”
“Twilight, from what I understand, Rainbow Dash collided with another pegasus and fell to her, um, demise. It was an accident,” Spike said, flying behind her.
“But I didn't look up any healing spells to help her,” Twilight insisted. “I just feel so guilty about it.”
Spike landed in front of her, blocking her path. “Twilight! You've got to think about what you're about to do!”
Twilight disappeared in a flash of pink light and called over her shoulder, “I have thought about this and this is the only way to save my friend, Spike. I'm not going to let her down again.”
Spike didn't follow her any further. He resigned himself to the fact that no matter what he said or did, Twilight was going to attempt to use the Elements Of Harmony in the human world. He looked down the hallway at the tri-colored tail disappearing into the mirror room and thought to himself, Goodbye Twilight. I hope you find what you're looking for. I'll always love you and I’ll be here whenever you need me. After wiping his eyes he made his way down the hallway to the exit to return to the dragon lands.
Twilight landed nose first on the concrete in front of Canterlot High. No matter how many times she went through the portal, she never emerged from Equestria on her feet. She felt her face to see if her nose was bleeding and lucky for her, it wasn't.
“Welcome back, Twi,” came a familiar southern voice.
“Thanks, Applejack,” Twilight replied. “Did everyone get my message I sent to Sunset?”
“Yeah… about that…”
“What? What happened?”
“Sunset wanted to talk to Y'all with the rest of us present,” Applejack said with a sliver of sadness in her voice.
“About what?”
Applejack lead Twilight to where she parked her truck. “Ah think it would be better if she told ya.”
Dozens of thoughts flooded Twilight’s mind as tried to think about what her former lover had to say. She knew the announcement couldn't have been good if everyone else was going to be there.
“Y’all okay there, Twi?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry, Applejack. I got distracted for a moment,” Twilight said as Applejack turned the key to start the aging truck. “What were you saying?”
“Ah was asking how everyone in Equestria was handling yer Rainbow Dash’s death.”
“Most everypony is taking it pretty well, with a couple of exceptions, of course,” said Twilight sadly. “Your counterpart hasn't been off the farm since the funeral. Fluttershy is in a psychiatric ward because she, um, well, she…”
“She tried committing suicide?”
“Yeah, that.”
“How are you holding up?”
“Me? I'm doing great. I never felt better. I mean, sure I miss Rainbow Dash but it's given me a new outlook on life,” Twilight said nervously.
“Uh-huh. If y’all say so,” Applejack replied.
An awkward silence filled the truck as they finished the drive to Sunset Shimmer’s house. As Applejack pulled into the driveway something caught her attention.
“Hey, Twi? Is that what Ah think it is?” Applejack asked, pointing to Twilight’s bag.
Twilight followed Applejack’s finger and noticed that part of her old crown was poking out of the top. Rather than saying anything, Twilight just nodded her head slowly.
“Yer planning on using yer old crown on Sunset, ain't ya?”
Twilight nodded once more as they exited the truck and headed for the front door.
“Oh, almost forgot,” Applejack said as she pulled out a bottle of hand sanitizer. “Ya need to rub some of this here stuff on yer hands and arms to kill the germs on them ‘fore ya can go in.”
Twilight took a whiff of the clear gel after having some squirted into her hand. “What is this made of?” she asked. “The smell is just… putrid. Yuck.”
Applejack, who was amused by her friend’s reaction, replied, “Ah don't rightly know, sugarcube. All Ah know is it’s supposed to kill all the germs and bacteria wherever ya rub it.”
Twilight cringed at the smell once more as she rubbed the sanitizer into her skin as Applejack used a handkerchief to ring the doorbell.
Moments later the door was opened by the human Twilight Sparkle, whose eyebrows were furrowed. “Princess Sparkle, glad you could join us,” human Twilight said with a bitter tone in her voice.
“SciTwi…” Twilight began.
“Only my friends can call me that,” interrupted SciTwi.
“Very well, Mrs. Shimmer. May I come in?” Twilight asked.
With a slight growl, SciTwi allowed the Princess to enter her and Sunset’s residence behind Applejack. Once SciTwi closed the door behind them, she reached out and grabbed Twilight by the shoulder.
“Listen, the only reason I'm letting you in here is that my wife wanted to tell everyone something at once,” SciTwi said. “If it wasn't for her, I would've done everything in my power to make sure that you wouldn't be able to terrorize this world anymore.”
“Twilight, I'm sorry for what happened between the three of us twenty-two years ago. If I could reverse time to change it, I would. Sunset needs all of us right now and I think it would be best for us to bury the hatchet, so to speak,” Princess Twilight told her doppelganger.
SciTwi looked off to the side for a moment and then responded, “I'll put aside my disdain for you for the sake of Sunset. But this is a temporary truce.”
Twilight felt like she had been kicked in the gut with that response. Here she is, the Princess Of Friendship but yet she can't even make amends to her counterpart from another dimension. Twilight extended her hand for SciTwi to shake, but it was simply ignored by the bitter human.
“Are you two coming?” Dash shouted from the next room. “Some of us have to be at work in a little bit!”
The two purple humans found their way into the den where everyone was squished onto two couches, except for Sunset who was in the lone recliner by the fireplace.
“I know everyone is wondering what I want to announce. I know Twilight brought the Elements Of Harmony with her but they won't do any good. You see, when I went to Equestria last week to read Thunder Dash’s memories, I made a stop in Canterlot before returning here. I went to ask Celestia one last time if there was any way to cure my cancer. She told me about the legend of the healing properties of the Elements. The problem with that legend is that the person or pony to be cured, has to want to be cured,” Sunset paused for a few minutes to catch her breath. As she did so, a sad look formed in her eyes as she looked at her fellow Equestrian. “That brings me to what I wanted to tell everyone. The chemo isn't working anymore and the cancer has begun to spread. I… I've accepted the… *sniff* ...the fact that my… *sniff* ...my life is over. I… I'm sorry… but… I'm going… *sniff* ...I'm going to live out my… my last few months… *sniff* ...here in the human realm.”
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I hate to make such a mention in a chapter with such a heavy ending, but I get the feeling that the something that happened between Sunset and the Twilights involved a lot of booze, mistaken identities, and accidental discharge.
8912379 I don't know about any booze being involved but the plot hole was intentional to set up a possible one-shot when I get a chance.
8912528
You sneaky lil'...
What happened twenty-two years ago?
Waaaaait a minute.
In Rainbow's End, you said that Sunset died before Rainbow. Now, Twilight is trying to deal with Rainbow's death while going to visit Sunset in this chapter. Which is it?
8913496 Rainbow died before Sunset. In Friendship Is Forever, the chapter The End Of The Rainbow Sunset returned to Equestria to read Thunder Dash's memories of Rainbow's accident. You gotta keep in mind that this takes place during the events of Friendship Is Forever.
I'll look into rewriting Rainbow's End so it isn't quite as confusing.
8913455 Haven't decided on making this a flashback or a one-shot side story.