Fables From Equestria

by Shingo

Waking Up

Twilight was enjoying herself. She and five of her closest friends were up above Sugar Cube Corner enjoying a private party. Twilight had no idea why Pinkie was throwing this party, but she learned to stop questioning the pink pony and to enjoy herself. She was having a conversation with Rarity and Fluttershy as Pinkie and Rainbow Dash looked at her. Both of them had sad smiles on their faces.

“It’s time isn’t it?” Pinkie asked. Her cerulean friend nodded.

“We have to do this,” she replied. “Otherwise, well, who knows what will happen?”

“Besides,” a new voice cut in. Both ponies turned to see Applejack approaching them. “She can’t stay here forever.” Her friends nodded in agreement. They approached their other friends. Rarity took notice of them and a sad smile appeared on her face.

“Twilight,” she began. “It’s time we said something. Something all of us should have said months ago.”

“And what would that be?” Twilight asked.

“Wake up,” Fluttershy said. Twilight tilted her head in confusion.

“I don’t understand. Fluttershy, I’m already awake. I don’t need to wake up.” Applejack took off her stetson.

“You know that voice you hear?” she asked. “That one that’s asking you to open your eyes?” Twilight’s eyes widened.

“How…how do you know about that?”

“That’s because we all hear it,” Rainbow said. “We’ve always heard it, even before you came to Ponyville.”

“We didn’t understand what it meant,” Pinkie said. “But as soon as I saw you, I understood. That’s why I did this incredible gasp when we first met.”

“Twilight, this may be hard to listen to,” Rarity began. “But none of us really exist. This version of Equestria doesn’t really exist.” Tears started flowing from Twilight’s eyes.

“No, no it can’t be,” she trembled. “This is a prank right? An overly elaborate prank? Ha ha, you girls got me good.” Her five friends had sadness enter their eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said. She wrapped the purple unicorn in a hug. “But it’s true. It’s time for you to wake up.” The room they all occupied started fading to nothingness. Twilight pushed herself away from the hug.

“No, I don’t want to,” she sobbed. “I’ve never been happier than I have been with you girls. If this is a dream, or some fantasy, I don’t want to go to reality. I won’t have any of you there.” Rainbow approached the crying pony. A cerulean hoof lifted Twilight’s chin. All six of the ponies were standing in an empty void.

“Not right now,” she said. “But you will. The rainboom all those years ago actually happened. We do exist on the other side.”

“But how?”

“Allow me to explain,” Pinkie pulled a chalkboard and some chalk into existence. She began drawing on it. “When you were trying to get into the School for Gifted Unicorns, the rainboom actually did unlock your magical potential. However, you used too much of your energy. When Celestia calmed you down, you lost something. Something that kept you grounded in reality. So, your mind had to create a scenario to keep you alive.”

“How do you all exist then?”

“Simple,” Rarity turned the chalkboard around. She took the chalk from her pink friend and drew on the board. “When your magic went out of control, you connected to something important. All magic, even the magic that the pegasi and earth ponies use, is connected. It binds us, connects us, and makes us live. You tapped into that connection, and your mind connected to the magic of five other ponies. Those five ponies who, like yourself, were affected by the rainboom. Thus, your mind created images based on their internal magic. And then, we came into existence.” Applejack walked to Twilight. She wiped a tear away from her eyes.

“You’ll see us again when you wake up,” she said. “I promise that. But we won’t be as we are now.” The purple unicorn sniffed.

“I don’t want to say good bye,” she said.

“You have to,” Pinkie said. “Saying good bye fractures the soul. It hurts for a while, but once it’s back together, it’s stronger than it once was.” All five of the ponies started to fade into the darkness. They all had tears and smiles on their faces.

“You may hurt today,” Rarity said.

“But that pain tells us we’re alive,” Rainbow added.

“You’ll heal,” Applejack put her stetson back on her head.

“And when you do,” Fluttershy sobbed.

“You’ll be stronger than you were before,” Pinkie said. “So we have to say this for now, good bye Twilight Sparkle. We’ll see you soon.” All five of them bowed before fading into darkness.

*

In a hospital in Canterlot, a purple filly slowly opened her eyes. She was in a hospital bed and was connected to various machines. Beside her was a sleeping white unicorn mare with a purple and white mane. The sound of footsteps entered the filly’s ears.

“I see you’re awake,” a voice said. The voice was coming from a white alicorn with four colours in her mane.

“Princess?” the filly said groggily. “Why am I here?”

“After your entrance exam, you fell into a coma. It’s been a year since that happened,” Celestia said. “I couldn’t do anything to help bring you back. But there’s something I can do to make up for that. You still have all that magical potential in you, and you need to learn to properly control it. Twilight Sparkle, would you like to become my personal protégé?” A small smile appeared on Twilight’s face.

“Yes.”