Simulacrum

by Rated Ponystar

The Question

“Twilight!”

There was no response, just mischievous giggling.

Behind the waves of ethereal hair that flowed and bobbed as if moved by water, the princess smiled.

“I can see someone’s been practicing their spells.” After another childish giggle, Celestia lit her horn with a thought and a small wave of golden light flowed through the castle garden. It touched birds in their bird baths, the statues in their various positions, tall or small, the shrubs and bushes, and finally...her.

“Buuuut”, her voice sang as she spread her wings and lifted into the air, “you should learn to pick hiding spots that are better suited to avoiding detection spells.” She landed lightly, and when Twilight turned - with a gasp - Celestia’s hoof lightly booped the filly’s nose.

Twilight lost her focus, and the field that enveloped her horn fizzled out of existence, cancelling out the spell and bringing her back into visible view. When she did, the princess merely laughed lightly at the slightly cross-eyed state her student had taken at the nose booping.

“How have you been?” The princess asked with that warm motherly smile. A smile that always seemed to brighten up the room even if the sun was already out on a clear sunny sky.

Twilight blinked, snapping out of her stupor then smiled sheepishly at the princess. “Oh, I’m doing fine Princess! I finally found time today to practice that spell after Spike went to bed! Look!”

The unicorn filly closed her eyes, tongue sticking out from the corner of her lip as sparks flew. Twilight concentrated hard on where she wanted to be, and focused hard on the image of the place she wanted to appear at.

“Control your breathing”, the motherly voice advised from above, “you’re doing excellent after all this time. I know you can do it.” Celestia encouraged gently.

The filly’s ear twitched, and Twilight nodded. She exhaled lightly, felt her focus slip and decided to try again.

“Deep breath in”, Twilight complied, “slow exhale out”, her nostrils flared with the outtake. “Now, try again.”

Twilight nodded, eyes still closed, this time not scrunched in focus, but relaxed, calm and steady.

She pictured it. Moving two steps forward but without moving at all. She’d been practicing this for six months now. First with bits, followed by fruit, then with books, and now with herself. She could do this. The princess was watching, and she couldn’t mess this up.

“Relax dear”, Celestia noted the tension and with her voice it seemed to melt away. “Good, now.” She tried again. “Focus on my voice, and then, picture it. Picture where you want to go, and will yourself to be there.”

Twilight did as such, seconds went by and her horn glowed lightly. A field of light purple, almost orchid in color, began to form as sparks of aura flew off. She saw it. The place she wanted to be. Right by Celestia’s side.

“Ready?”

She nodded. Celestia merely offered a smile.

“On my mark then, 3...2...1..”

The filly flickered out of existence. Less than a second later she appeared right by Celestia’s side, and the princess could only smile.

“Excellent.” Celestia beamed as Twilight opened her eyes in surprise as if she’d expected her focus to slip.

“I did it?” She looked up to those magnificent magenta eyes.

Celestia’s smile grew. “You did it.”

Twilight felt pride swell in her barrel. She knew you weren’t supposed to act out in front of royalty. Her parents had lectured her to be on her best behavior despite it almost being a year now, but she couldn’t help it. She leaped for joy.

“Yesyesyesyesyes!!! I did it! I did it! I did iiiiiit!!!!”

Before she even realized it, she’d hugged the princess. Such a move caught them both off guard.

Twilight froze as she felt her blood run cold. Celestia remained still, wings folding back in place as she noticed the sudden rigidness of her little pupil.

Before the little filly could pull away, her lips moving to offer a hearty apology, a warm and feathery touched graced her back.

Twilight felt like a statue as Celestia’s embrace grew just a little. There was a low, almost reemy chuckle that sounded...happy. Relieved even.

It confused her, but her eyes moving up to Celestia’s face two feet above her didn’t.

“You did wonderful.” Celestia said with a warm, thankful smile. More thankful for the final breach of barrier than entirely for her student’s joy at success even if her smile was partly sharing in her joy.

“P-Princess I--”

“Ssssshhhhh”, a feather tip hushed gently. She shook her head, still smiling. “Don’t apologize.” She said, sounding grateful. “Thank you Twilight. I know you’ll do wonderful things in the future, so don’t you fret about this. Understand?”

Anxiety fading slightly, Twilight nodded.

They didn’t break the hug.

She still felt somewhat sorry, more at the brief look she saw in Celestia’s eyes, and also feeling that perhaps she’d still crossed a line.

-------

“I’m sorry.”

She blinked out of her stupor.

Princess Twilight blinked again, and realized where she was. Canterlot, the castle, the funeral. It all came back. The letter she’d got almost a week ago, the feeling of dread that built in the pit of her stomach, the tears Luna had shed, the tears she and Spike had shed. The moans and groans of thousands of citizens, of many cities all across Equestria.

She remembered it all. All of it flooding back in seconds as she stood there, groomed, made presentable at the end of the royal ceremony. All while receiving condolences from other royals and rulers across the world.

Twilight stared into the eyes of the hulking Minotaur King and his family before merely offering King Crete a warm, yet sad smile, “Thank you, Your Highness”. Princess Luna answered for her, and they both returned his, his wife, his son’s and their wives bow with a bow of their own. “We thank you for coming during this trying time.”

The old king shook his head and as he did his horns that glistened when the light hit them. “Not at all, Princess Luna. Celestia was an old friend. It would be an insult not to emerge during this...” lips pursed together and he restrained the frown, “this event....”

“If I may”, a voice said and together the royals turned. “What um...what happened to Dear Princess Celestia? If it was an enemy nation my soldiers and I could--”

“Argus!” The walls echoed with the King’s voice. His son silenced himself immediately and bowed his head in pardon.

“Apologies, Princess.” Crete said to both. The eye not cloaked by cloth, uninjured, eyed the boy carefully before turning to both princess of night and magic. “He is young, forgive him.”

Luna composed herself, and offered a tight smile in response. “All is forgiven, good King.”

King Crete bowed humbly, and despite the fact he towered over both Luna and Twilight by a head or two heads respectively, his empathetic smile was warm and sympathetic. “We shall talk again after the ceremony.” Luna informed, and with another bow together, the royals moved to return to their seats as another group, deer this time, stepped forward.

“Princess”, the voice of the prince was light but carried a presence. The antlers were polished, his light brown coat almost glistened with the gold, green, and white robes draped across his back, over his shoulders, just barely touched the tiles of the floor. He smiled warmly to both princesses when he addressed them and with a step back, the buck graciously bowed his head and hovered his massive branching antlers over the floor.

“When the kingdom of Silvae heard what happened”, the buck began as he rose to meet Luna, eye-to-eye, “we were shocked. Princess Luna”, the prince and representative of his home looked Luna eye-to-eye at the same height, “Princess Twilight”, Xeglun turned to look at her and after one long second of staring into Twilight’s eyes, he spoke silently, only for them to hear: “Truly, we all mourn for this loss.”

Twilight felt stinging in her eyes. Luna, by sheer will, seemed to be better composed but the tension in her neck, while brief, was noticeable. “Thank you Prince Xeglun”, Princess Luna spoke clear enough to be heard, low enough to avoid the break that might make her voice crack, “...Thank you.”

He leaned forward per custom and kissed the lunar alicorn’s cheek with a kiss returned to his. Twilight blinked the tears away, and felt a peck on her cheek as well before a peck she returned in kind.

The royal family of Silvae bowed, just to watch them turn and take their seats.

As Twilight watched the final group of royals step forward, she let out a steady calming breath, and put on a calm expression.

She wished this was just a dream.
----------------

The sad truth was, it wasn’t.

Both Luna and Twilight stood side by side, their eyes focused on only the casket before them. Not too long ago, this whole place had been filled. Everyone from everywhere had visited to come and say their goodbyes, wish their condolences and, for those that had lived long lives and known her for many many years, shed their tears.

For a long while the two did nothing but stare. Stared right at Celestia’s slumbering form, both unwilling to believe their cherished friend, mentor, and sister was gone.

It hurt more than words could describe. Far more than they wanted to admit.

“...Have you--” Luna took a brief moment to clear her throat, as low as it was, she’d been louder before. But that was when other ponies and royals had been around. Then, she’d had to have been strong. Now...well, the ceremony had taken a large drain on her stoic mask.

“Have you said your last goodbyes?”

Last goodbyes, Twilight thought as she just stared into the glass and just blankly looked at the princess of the sun, not just her light but all of Equestria’s also.

“I...” she swallowed the lump, “I’m not sure what to say.”

Luna looked back and for a while she didn’t say anything. When she did, she only said: “Neither do I.”

Here, in this moment, silence was their best friend. A long, strained tension filled silence that mixed with all the feelings at the end of this long day, and settled in the bottom of the basin like stones settled into the bottom of a lake.

When that silence was broken, it was Luna who spoke again.

“It should have been me.”

The words sent a chill up her spine just as much as they startled Twilight, herself. Her eyes widened and her ears splayed. With a step back the young alicorn stared at her senior in horror.

Luna didn’t return the gaze. She was very aware of the look Twilight Sparkle was giving her. The look of disbelief, the shock at even the suggestion, but as her ears pinned back, all she could do was stare sadly at her fallen sister.

“Luna...” Twilight frowned as a horrible ache filled her heart.

“You know it to be true, Princess Twilight. The nobles and other foreign leaders wouldn’t say it at a time like this...but we know it to be true.”

“Luna, no! How could you say that! If you had died then Princess Celestia would be just as sad! We all would be hurt! She believed in you when she....when she was alive and she still does even now! How could you even think--”

“Of something that would impact our world much less?” She replied calmly.

And to that Twilight was left dazed and could do nothing but stare in bafflement.

Luna’s eyes closed and her nostrils flared with her long exhale. It was painful. Both this moment and the loss of her sister, but the truth was obvious. Had it been her to have died and not Celestia, the world wouldn’t be as heavily burdened.

“She was this world’s light in a way I could never hope to be.” The former princess of night said softly. “Do not be mistaken Twilight”, Luna’s slightly teary eyes turned to meet Twilight’s gaze. “I know my sister’s feelings to be of good faith....but if we are all to be honest with ourselves”, she looked back at the empty seats where hundreds of thousands of individuals; griffon, dragon, deer, goat, yak, horse, and so many more had been present.

“If we are to be honest with ourselves....our sister was a far better leader than I could ever hope to be. For a thousand years during my absence, she raised both sun and moon and maintained the peace. For a thousand years, she kept all of you safe while in the span of weeks, I tried to destroy everything we had inherited. Now...she’s gone. And that realization today, just makes the future more unclear.”

“Luna”, Twilight whispered. “I--”

“I know.” The princess offered a apologetic smile. “I’ll miss her deeply. And I know I’ll never match her, not in a hundred years, nor in a thousand. I....” she looked back to Celestia and felt her throat feel tickly and her eyes feel warm. “I just wish that had I known this time would come so soon...we had spent more time together.”

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in, Luna exhaled lightly. Then taking a step towards Twilight, and draping a wing over to her younger in a tight embrace, the alicorn offered her junior a small hopeful smile.

“Don’t fret. I will do what must be done. And you too I hope, will do what you can too.” Stepping away with a light bow of her head, Luna moved to the massive oak doors of the church.

Her steps strong, but her eyes full of sadness.

While Twilight watched the former princess of the night, the new bringer of the day go, she could’ve sworn for one brief second...if she had said one more word, Luna may have broken down completely.

Because anyone with common sense could see that even if she wasn’t shedding tears openly. The princess was hurting horribly on the inside.

Just like them all...

-------

Pacing. Four days had passed. Four days with only very little sleep.

Twilight paced and hooves clipped. Up and down, down and up, she circled the room that was her chambers and with every hoof step, the crystal floor chirped a sound of steps made of frustration, exhaustion, and concern.

Books had been strewn everywhere. Organization that Spike on good days, would spend hours doing, had gone down the drain since she came back from the castle in Canterlot. If Twilight were being honest somewhere in the back of her mind a hint of regret filled her at the mess she’d made, and the thought of asking her assistant and brother to help her when he was also suffering just as much as she.

“RRGH!” She stomped a hoof angrily on the ground and snatched up three different medical books. One focused on diseases that weakened the body’s immune system. Another was on poisons that could be concocted and effect the body with difficulty of being traced or tracked through magical means or enhanced medical efforts. The last focused on magical curses and hexes, spells that stemmed from outside equinity’s understandings of magic and dove into other cultures. Foxes, zebra, deer, minotaur, etc etc. She had taken multiple books from Canterlot, and brought them home to research upon while ordering several more to be delivered to her home from the libraries of Canterlot, Manehattan, Trottingham, Caroll Bay, and even taken a few herbology books from Zecora on her way back to Ponyville.

All of it was for nothing.

She found nothing from the books she’d read. She’d been reading for nearly 96 hours since she got back from Canterlot, non-stop. Half an hour of sleep could be summed up as her total rest. She hadn’t eaten much, had only drank what Spike offered her, and had only ate when he practically had to smack the book out of her magical grasp to get her attention.

But still nothing.

It was driving her into a corner, poking her with a stick just to be annoying, and infuriating her with every ticking second. She had to sometimes take a step back and calm herself before she accidentally, and quite literally, burst into flames..

Something, that Twilight took pride in, she hadn’t done in a long while.

“I’m missing something.” She whispered to herself. Her magic forcing pages to be flipped forward and back without stop. Reading the pages in seconds as they flashed before her vision. Skimming things she already knew as she’d read these books twice or thrice already.

“I’ve got to be missing something” Twilight whispered to herself, her voice frantic. Desperate.

Pleading.

The Royals were right. It didn’t make sense. She’d talked to every doctor that had examined Princess Celestia, many of the magic scholars, most of the members within the Solar Court, to see if there were any hints or signs, but there’d been nothing nor any lies she could find or detect. She’d discussed this with her friends on the trip back. The possibilities, the chances, but there were doubts.

Impossibilities.

It was believed to be impossible. You couldn’t kill an alicorn. They were immortal, considered beings of an entirely different realm, of a whole new world. To even transcend like she and Cadence had was a trying feat. Even the greatest wizard in the world. Starswirl, had tried but he couldn’t force it.

But,Twilight had reasoned. Just ‘but’ if it were true...then this changed everything.

Other rumors had been thrown also, Twilight thought when she tossed a book to the side and lifted up two more to take its place, “That doesn’t make sense...” she bit her lip and continued skimming.

It really didn’t.

Alicorns didn’t just get sick and die. She’d seen, watched, Celestia take fatal hits from Nightmare Moon. Hits that would obliterate the average pony, minotaur or whatever being you wanted to use in substitution to the hypothetical example. “It just doesn’t make sense”, she repeated, barely even a whisper.

And it really didn’t.

Paper rustled in the air as hundreds of pages were flipped, stopped at a certain chapter, a certain section for a second or two before the rustling began all over again. It happened repeatedly, not just to one book but to several. In just a few seconds, Twilight would open one book encased in her magic, find the exact section she wanted, skim it, close the book and turn her head to another book that was being held in her magic while she got other books that had been piled in the depleting section she hadn’t yet skimmed through.

Seconds stretched to minutes, minutes became an hour, and the more she looked the more irritated she became. By the time she’d reached the last stack of books, she hadn’t even noticed the new presence in her room. She was lost, desperately trying to find an answer. Something she could analyze, understand. Something that could make the ache in her dull with the touch of knowledge.

“...Twilight?” The voice was quiet. Filled with worry. Whoever it was, the crack they’d made in the door got larger and they took a step over the threshold but didn’t completely enter the room.

He just stood there, watching. Wary. Concerned.

She didn’t turn to look at him. Her ear flicked when she heard the door handle slightly tink against the crystal walls, but she didn’t turn to look at the little dragon. In fact hearing his presence in the back of her mind just solidified her reason.

She needed to find an answer, not just for her, but for Spike also. For Luna in case something like this happened again so they could work towards a cure and prevent this. For Cadence in case something happened, and what struck her mentor down didn’t take away her sister-in-law.

Twilight bit her bottom lip as her brows creased into a focused frown as page after page flipped by and she focused on the task at hand.

And just in case, something she never hoped would happen, ...if Flurry Heart falls ill also.

Hoofsteps echoed and Spike remained still, watching Twilight, noticing how frazzled her mane had become in comparison to how it was the day before. How unkempt her coat seemed, tinted with sweat, feathers seemed to poke out in odd angles from her wings, and her tail...well that was no better than her mane.

“Is she...?” Starlight asked and Spike’s eyes glanced her way as she peeked into the room he too was staring at. She didn’t say anything more, merely let those words hang.

Spike didn’t answer. Wasn’t sure how he could. It made him feel bad. Because seeing this- seeing Twilight frantically looking for an answer when he was acutely aware of her neurosis. It didn’t feel good. Not at all

And neither did the fact that he may have played a small role in this make the feeling of guilt go away either.

For the past few days now he’d been...avoiding Twilight since Princess Celestia’s funeral. He couldn’t look at her without thinking of the possibilities something may affect her. Just the sight of Twilight made him remember his second mother. All the times they’d shared with her, remembering the laughs they’d all had as well as the stern eyes when they got in trouble

It hurt. Back then during the funeral, he’d been almost numb. Before it he’d cried ‘till there was nothing left in him to cry about. It was one thing to face monsters of worldly destructive proportions, he was used to that by now and the possible consequences with it. But...they’d always come through things with everything turning okay in the end.

Always.

Whether it was Discord, some undead pony monster out for vengeance, Tirek, or something else they’d always come through.

These past few days? This was like a dream. A nightmare; one he couldn’t wake up from. One he’d only recently, just a day ago in fact, had come to accept as reality.

A book closed shut and three more took its place as Twilight’s search continued. Starlight looked at Spike and saw the mixture of emotions; guilt, concern, fear, and worry. Celestia’s death had affected the world, but there were two who it’d hit the most and for the worst. One was in Canterlot, and the other was right in front of them.

Taking a deep breath, Starlight moved to step in, till Spike’s claw touched her most forward hoof. He looked at her with his decision already shown on his face.

“...Are you sure?”

Spike looked at Twilight, watched her for only a second then looked at Starlight and nodded. “I’m sure.”

The unicorn offered him a small warm smile, then a brief comforting nuzzle. “I’ll be here if you two need me.” The door closed with a gentle click and Spike was left alone with Twilight, but she didn’t seem to realize he was there.

Twiddling his thumbs nervously, he thought of something to say. He knew she was aware he was there, from the way her ear flicked, she knew he was there. She was too busy shuffling notes or trying to find something to just stop or say something to him to make it veritable.

“....Um...” he cleared his throat and took a hesitant step forward, “Twilight?”

The alicorn’s left ear flicked but she didn’t answer. It made Spike wonder if she was partially mad at him, given he hadn’t talked to her in three days since...well...everything happened.

Four books fell lightly on the towering pile of books on Twilight’s right while four more took up their places from her left. Pages flipped aimlessly, stopped, turned a few more then after she looked, muttered a word or two, the book was deposited and a feathered pin began scribbling on paper. Hundreds of notes shuffled and shifted when she put the paper back down and continued reading.

The cycle continued.

“Um...Twilight...a-are you uh..” he trailed off. Not sure what to say. Opening this conversation was harder than opening up the subject that needed to be address.

He knew she’d be researching. He didn’t think it was this bad.

His eyes stared at the reflection of himself in the ground, wings folded to his side, unsure of what to say Spike remained silent. Just as lost as her.

“Just a little more time...” He perked when he heard her speak.

“If I keep looking for just a little longer”, he felt an ache at the emotion she was trying to suppress in her voice, “I know I can find something they all missed.”

Silence. Outside, ear pressed to the door, Starlight frowned, she didn’t dare make a sound.

“...Twilight, I um...” had to clear the growing lump in his throat, blinked a few times to stop the stinging warmth in his eyes, “I don’t think you uh you’ll find anything.” Spike said quietly, almost as if he hoped it wasn’t true.

Truth was, he didn’t want it to be true.

The princess of magic and friendship shook her head. “No.” It was more to herself than to him. “I know I can, Spike. I just need a little more time. A few more hours without sleep, I’ll take a break later....thanks for visiting though.”

It was a dismissal and he knew it but he didn’t leave.

“Twilight”, he tried again. No answer.

“Twilight.” He called, moved a bit closer, said it a bit louder. Still no reply.

“TWILIGHT!” Wisps of bright green flame soared into the air and disappeared into nothing before they ever touched the ceiling.

The pages stopped turning. All was still as no notes were written, no pen moved, no pages turned, everything sort of just froze. The air was thick with the tension and neither one of them said a word.

“...I’m sorry.” Spike sulked, looking back at the ground, claws clutched. “I um...didn’t mean to shout it’s just--”

“No...no it's--” she sniffled. A tissue floated over and while her back faced him he saw it dampen a smidge before it was tossed to the trash bin not too far away. “It’s fine.”

The books floated down and it was a long minute or two before Twilight let out a long sigh.

“...I just want to be careful. Y’know? I don’t want what happened to Celestia to happen to....to Luna or Cadence...or Flurry Heart--”

“Or you...” Spike added, quietly.

“Or me...” Another pause, this one shorter.

“I know.” Spike said, and he took some steps towards her, close enough to where he could rest his palm against her back and just left it there, comforting.

“I know, Twi...I get it. But...but you have to accept that what happened to the princess wasn’t something we could stop. You heard the doctors. They weren’t sure what it was that...they weren’t sure what the cause was. There’s nothing we can do. We just....have to accept that and try to move on. It’s not like we could go back and figure it out now.”

Twilight slumped, then sighed. “Yeah...” She turned, spread her wings and drew Spike into a rather warm and damp hug. “Yeah you’re right...” she said quietly.

They hugged. And from the other side of the door, Starlight felt tears blur her eyes. Till she heard a thoughtful “Wait...”

“Wait?” Spike parroted

“Say that again!” Spike felt hooves push his cheeks together and turn his gaze into Twilight’s eyes.

“Say wuht again?”

“Say what you said just now again!”

“Umm--”

“Spike! Hurry!” She said frantically.

“C-Can you let go of my face first?”

“Oh...” she smiled apologetically then let her hooves leave his face and her magic gently put him down.

From behind the door Starlight sighed and shook her head from where she stood.

“Thank you.” Spike said while rubbing his sore cheeks. “So uh what did you want me to say again?”

“What you said just now, about the princess.”

Spike frowned. “Twilight, I--”

“Please!” Pure instinct took over and she pulled the retreating dragon closer. “Please, Spike, please. Just...just say it again.”

The dragon’s surprised returned to a frown only for his eyes to look into his sister’s. A few seconds of silent staring, and Spike sighed. “Okay.” He was appreciative of the mood switch, not so much the direction this was headed.

“Which part?” He asked when she’d brightened a little at his concede.

“The part about accepting, hurry, quick.” Paper and a dripping feathered pen flew to her side.

Spike, now wary with growing concern decided to take his time repeating what he said. “...accept that and move on--”

“Go on” Twilight goaded, eyes widening as she stared.

“Uhh, okay? Um, it’s not like we could go back and figure it out now--” he paused, “Oh no.”

“HAHA! That’s where you’re wrong!” Twilight bounced, completely ignoring the stricken realization. Books came to life and floated in a circle around them. “Where is it, it’s here somewhere.”

“Twilight, what are you thinking?” His voice was wary, the door flying open and banging against the wall wasn’t even given a second glance by Twilight where Spike only gave a cursory look to see Starlight standing at the door, mirroring his expression of concern.

“I’ve got it! Starswirl’s theoretical spell on time travel!”

Spike sighed a breath of relief. “We can’t use that spell anymore though. Remember last time?”

Starlight winced. Only Spike said ‘sorry’.

“Oh...” she deflated, almost like a Pinkie. Then a second later, she perked back up, exactly like a Pinkie. “Wait! Zecora!”

“Zecora?” both Twilight and Spike said together.

“Zecora! Or, more accurately, her potion!” A book emerged out of the pile. “Found it! Hex’s potion: Rewind.”

In the distance as Twilight’s eyes read the details, Spike groaned a “Oh no.”

“YES! I have all the materials in the lab. I can make the potion now.” She got up. “Spike get the--”

A magic bubble appeared barring any process. “Uhhh, Starlight?” She looked at the unicorn a little ways behind her. “What are you doing?”

“Welll” she stressed with a nervous titter. “There’s um a good chance all this sleep deprivation coupled with uh the nation wide grief you might... just might be y’know, being a little delusional.” Although to be honest the statement sounded more like a question.

Blinking away stress, exhaustion, and sleep, Twilight snorted “Starlight”, she almost sounded offended.

She was.

“Please, I’m pretty sure I know what I’m doing. I’ve gone longer days without sleep before--”

“She has”, Spike confirmed.

“--so I think I’ll be fine using an hour or two to get this potion prepared.”

The shield didn’t go down.

Twilight frowned.

“Starlight--”

“I’m um, gonna side with Starlight here Twi. I know how you feel but, I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

Twilight’s frown flipped and switched to a hint of anger. “But it is. I used this potion before and I saw what we needed to do in order to save Equestria from the vine attack! If I use this I can go back and see for myself what it was that...killed Princess Celestia.” The room got quiet after she said that. “But”, her confidence fueled her words, “I can prevent anything like this happening again. To Luna, to Flurry, we could stop a unknown disease, guys!”

She watched. Waited for a reaction, saw Spike and Starlight look at each other their expressions worrisome, saw their frowns deepen and saw the look in their eyes say they didn’t believe her.

It hurt. But it made what she was about to do seem a little less painful.

Twilight sighed, the book she’d been holding in her grasp went under a outstretched wing which folded it tightly to her side. “Okay...maybe you’re right...guess I am just tired.”

The tense dragon and unicorn seemed to get a little less rigid hearing those words. Spike sighed first, Starlight however didn’t let up the shield. “Sorry Twi, but--”

“I’m sorry.” There was a flash of blinding light, like a camera going off and he was left dazed for several seconds blinking the spots away as both he and Starlight stumbled.

When either were able to see shapes clearly, Twilight was gone.

“She’s headed for the lab!” Spike called to Starlight. And in a pop the unicorn was gone.

-------

Stepping into the lab, gathering the ingredients off the shelfs, Twilight got to work. Normally, this potion would normally take an hour to do. If she sped things up, it’d take her twenty minutes if she used the shortcuts she could visualize while reading through the process of making the potion.

The door shut with a kick from her left hind leg and when it clicked the entire room gained a faint glow of turquoise that emanated from the floor. At least I don’t have to worry about Starlight getting in.

A pop, and Starlight was in.

“Aha!” The unicorn declared.

A pop and she was back outside.

Starlight blinked, slightly dazed from the sudden ban from the laboratory. A few seconds of standing there, in the royal hall where the map was located, she looked at her surroundings more stunned at what just had happened than anything. Holding back a scowl, she tried again.

The next time she was in, Starlight could see Twilight over a cauldron, black as coal it was, tossing ingredients in. The frazzled alicorn gave Starlight a single cursory glance before her horn glowed just in time for Starlight to see her take one more ingredient, possibly the last, before she was kicked out of the room yet again and deposited into the map’s hall.

“....”

She gave it one more go, and was kicked out again.

“Ohhhhhh, she didn’t.” She had. Twilight had fortified the lab with anti-teleportation spells. The type of spells that worked against magic and turned one’s spell against the caster or cancelled one’s spell entirely.

It took weeks to work that kind of craft into a place like this and, given how this castle was born from a magical seed gifted by the Elements, Starlight wondered how much of this was just a counter spell working against her.

The pitter patter of feet got her attention as Spike came rushing in. “Where” he huffed a long breath in, then exhaled a exhausted one out, “did you, whew, did you stop her?”

Grimacing, Starlight shook her head. “She came prepared.” Spike didn’t know what that meant but he didn’t like the sound of it.

“C’mon we’ll find a different way inside.” She turned on a dime and headed towards the library. With any luck she could find a way inside before Twilight was done.

---------------

It ended up taking an hour after all.

Potion done, bowl in hooves, spell cast, and the amount of time needed. Twilight prepared to drink the white liquid. That is, until a heavy thump reverberated through her lab’s door and into her room.

“One more time Starlight, c’mon you can do it!” Spike’s voice cheered.

Another slam, harder this time and the crystalline door’s structure fractured just a little.

The shaking almost made Twilight spill the potion.

The next hit shattered the door completely in a spray of fragments that littered the floor and send a cacophony of crashing glass through the lab, up the stairs of its entrance and through the halls.

Starlight cleared a path with her magic, Spike on her back just as Twilight chugged the bowl’s contents, no hesitation whatsoever.

“NO!” Spike jumped down but it was too late.

She’d already drank the potion. Now it was only a matter of time till it’s effects kicked in.

“Twilight what are you doing?!” Angered, Starlight moved towards her but then stopped when the alicorn took a step back and fumbled. Eyes fluttered closed and for one brief second, Twilight looked almost weak.

Spike rushed to her side. “Take it easy, here” he took her hoof and guided her to lay prostrate on the ground.

Uttering a sigh that sounded aggravated, Starlight composed herself and with a flick of her horn, magicked few pillows into the vicinity then hovered them to Twilight’s side.

“Thank you”, the alicorn said weakly. She only received a tight nod in response.

“Why do this Twilight?” She had to fight the brief flicker of dots and focus on the voices to avoid seeing the shifting shadows that loomed the background of her friends.

“I...” her half open wing floundered to her side, muscles tense but slowly relaxing either due to the spell or the exhaustion, she wasn’t sure, Twilight huffed a sigh as her head rested on her pillow and her friends sat beside her. “I just...I don’t know I felt like I could do something. That I should do something, to prevent this” her ear flicked, “or at least something close to this from happening again.”

Starlight’s narrowed gaze lightened, she exhaled heavily from her nostrils. “Twilight--”

“I know. I know.” There was a silence. “She’s not coming back. There’s nothing I can do to change that but...I just feel if I go through this”, her vision swam it her body was starting to feel lighter, “we can prevent this from happening again. I mean, the whole kingdom may not realize it but, everyone’s scared.”

Neither one said a word and the longer things stretched the lighter Twilight started to feel. Every now and then she could see it. She’d set the coordinates specifically the way everything had been instructed to the desired time she wished to revisit, and the more she laid here the more she saw flickers of it. Time and space contorting just like when they’d used Starlight’s altered spell.

“When someone like Princess Celestia just...I still can’t believe it, when someone like her just dies. It’s shocking. Without a reason? That’s terrifying. Can you imagine if what happened to her suddenly happened to Luna tomorrow? Or Cadence? Or me or any of the other leaders of their kingdoms and countries? Can you imagine how terrifying that’d be? The chaos?” Her voice shook as she spook and she felt Spike’s grip tighten.

She hadn’t even realized she was shaking.

“I can’t just sit here and act like we’ll all get over this eventually. Maybe we will, but whatever took Princess Celestia away, needs to be looked into. I...I don’t want this to happen again.” She could barely hear her own voice now. There felt like a disconnection between herself, like she wasn’t even in her own body anymore. “I just...need to see this through.”

From between the waves of her vision she noticed the fading and flickering images of multiple Spikes and multiple Starlights look at each other. Their expression was the same. Across every platform, like a cracked glass where multiple versions of the two showed, some different, some the same in appearance, they turned and offered her a smile.

“Okay.” Starlight nodded and half a second later hundreds of her, just like her, nodded also.

“We’ll stay here till you get back.” Spike said, warm and comforting.

Before Twilight passed out and felt the world drop away from her, she smiled. And the tears that had been building up in her eyes, slowly slid down her cheek, and left stains on both sides.

Author's Note:

Co-Written with Black Hailstorm

Read and review, thanks

Comments

[badninja]

Twilight needed that sleep I bet. So Twilight how are you going to have a hoof in Celestia's ultimate demise I wonder?

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

Jeez Twilight is running herself ragged more than usual. Thank Faust that Starlight and Spike were there to stop her.

[Yutah123]

Because anyone with common sense could see that even if she wasn’t shedding tears openly. The princess was hurting horribly on the inside.

Shouldn't that period in the middle be a comma?

---

That being said, I eagerly anticipate where this story goes! Can't wait for the next chapter!

Edit: Just found out that you're the one who wroteThe Assassination of Twilight Sparkle. *looks through your other stories* You sure do like to write them dark stories, don't you? And I can't say anything against that, seeing as they're great.

[Yutah123]

9058326
Well, to try to stop her.

9057984
An interesting thought, an interesting thought.

Time travel makes everything complicated, doesn't it? But the potion itself shouldn't affect the past, unless... unless Twilight brewed it wrong, but I can't see that happening this early in the story (assuming this isn't short).

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

9059524
Yeah that too.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Holy throne...