Ignorance
Twilight’s breaths were shallow, each one hitching in her throat. What little air she exhaled formed a plume of frosty air in front of her. It was painful to breathe. To move. But she was so close. The Forbidden Waste, and the den of her enemies, Equestrian enemies, stood before her.
But her legs refused to move. It didn’t take a genius to realize one’s own hooves were becoming frozen to the very earth one walked upon. Her body was too tired, too cold, too icy. Twilight’s immortality had run dry.
The Curse started the second Twilight stepped past the borders of Equestria. That was months ago. Twilight had left to find a way to save Equestria. The ice and snow was expected, when it began. The windigoes came and went so quickly, covering Equestria in a blanket of eternal snow.
Twilight’s body collapsed to the ground. The wind slurried ice and snow around her, as if the very earth was recollecting her, returning her to the very earth from whence she came. Splinters of ice and blood poked out from beneath her flesh, tearing away at what remained of Twilight. The Curse was in full force, the last part of it coming all at once, instead of in waves.
Normally, the Frozen Curse, as was its full name, took someone’s life in no more than two weeks. There is no known cure. In reality, you were already dead. Your body was just simply catching up. It started with simply feeling cold all the time, to ice, forming inside the host wherever it could. Every step the host took left an icy hoofprint in its wake. In the final stages, the ice begins to tear at the flesh, poking out and freezing the blood from the wound. The last place it takes up is your lungs and heart, causing a slow, painful death.
Twilight was too weak to react to the pain. But her immortality had run dry. What was normally a death within two weeks, had taken months. The final stages usually occurred one at a time, but they had been ebbed away. Now that Twilight’s immortality had run out, they were happening all at once. But it would still be a slow, painful 24 hours for the purple mare.
Twilight’s mind reeled. How could she let this happen? How could she see the signs and know what was coming, and then step aside when the Windigoes came knocking? And to lie to her friends about it all! Guilt consumed the princess. The Curse worked quicker, the more guilt a pony felt.
“Twilight, darling, whatever is it you’re doing, moping about in the dark?” came Rarity’s sweet voice. The sound of the throne room door opening and closing echoed through the dark. Twilight jumped, but only slightly, turning her ears towards the sound.
“Yea! We’re here for you, Twi!” came the gruff Rainbowdash’s voice.
“You can talk to us, honest,” spoke AJ’s southern drawl.
“We love you twilight,” Fluttershy said meekly.
“Come on! Turn that frown upside down,” Pinkie added jovially.
Twilight’s wings lay open at her sides, her ears still pointed towards her very best friends. She craned her neck to turn and look at them, tears staining her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry girls… You’re all going to die… and it’s because of me…” Twilight spoke softly at first, her volume rising ever so slightly. The silence that filled the room was louder than any words anypony could ever speak.
“D-darling? Whatever do you mean?” Rarity asked hesitantly, a sliver of fear causing her to stutter. Twilight let out a harrowing chuckle.
“You’re all going to die… Weren’t you listening?” Twilight answered, turning so that she faced her friends. Her expression was deadpan. She looked as though she hadn’t slept in years, her mane was a fervent mess, and she was beyond “twilighting”.
“Y-yes darling, we’re listening,” Rarity replied, still afraid.
“I found an ancient prophecy… and I ignored it. And now yours, and all of Equestria’s fate is sealed… because of me…” Twilight spoke in a fearful, sorrowful tone. She let out a chuckle as she sobbed, tears streaking her cheeks. “All the signs were there. But I ignored it. And now, we’re all doomed.” Twilight spoke, ears pinning against her head, her eyes darting between each of her friends.
She watched as their faces shifted from confusion to horror, as the room suddenly had an icy wind blow through. All around them was snow and ice, and Twilight watched deadpan as each of her friends were skewered on an ice spike, their blood freezing on the tips.
Twilight did not cry out. She simply turned away, and had palace staff handle their bodies. Twilight continued to ignore Equestria for months, observing from afar, deaf to the devotion, needs, and desperate pleas of her people.
Tears streaked the near lifeless form of Twilight, who lay in the snow. They were quick to freeze over, sealing her to the earth. Her breath was shallower now. Her time spent recollecting her friend’s final moments had brought her to the end of her time alive.
Twilight remembered some more. Something had snapped in Twilight, months after her friends died. Maybe there was something, anything she could do. She would make one final attempt to save her people.
She prepared silently, not telling anyone what it was she was doing. By the mark of the North Star, she traveled, feeling The Curse hit her the second she left the magic barrier encasing her castle. But she trudged ever on, carrying with her the wills of her friends.
Twilight wanted to shiver, to cry out, to yell, to curse the gods who brought this ice down upon her land. But she was molded to the earth now. Snow and ice covered her whole body, leaving only her vision.
It was not long before her world went dark, and an icy, vehement spirit in the form of a Windigoe, left her body.
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Well this is by no means bad, but it is... err abrupt? Not sure if that is because you're bound by 1000 words or if it was purposely written that way.
Solid writing, but I don't know if I can say I enjoy reading about the girls dying.
11649861
I was very constrained by the limits, otherwise, I'd have gone into depth about the journey, her adventure, etc, and what all else led up to this in full. which, I might still do once the comp is up. I can say i didn't enjoy writing them die but it was planned as part of the story.
11649877
A longer version sounds quite intriguing. One with the gradual deterioration of Twilight's mental state as she watches her friends die one by one. Lmk if you ever decide to do so, I'd be very interested.
11649883
def will do! I appreciate the interest and will maybe try to write something if i have the time!
My guess, Twilight was burned out from all her adventures and couldn’t take it anymore. So she went into denial about the coming disaster… until it was far too late….
that was perfect!
11649962
Hmm you're on the right track! Check the ending one more time ;)
11653725
With all due respect, I did explain to another user, and in my description, that this story was highly constrained due to the 1000 word limit. Remember that there are real people behind the stories you comment on. I would have taken your comment better if you weren't so rude about how you worded your criticism. There is a massive difference in constructive criticism and just being mean.
oh no!
oof that is quite an awful fate. poor purple mare!
and oof. it would work extra well on powerful unicorns and alicorns then, it seems
aww she does have a sweet voice!
yeah i would be silent after that too
oof! that is quite gruesome
and damn, those Windigoes sure are something! when they take their vengeance, they really take their vengeance.
thank you for writing!
Yes, how could Twilight let this happen? Why did she let this happen? Very pertinent questions that the story raises but doesn’t actually answer, especially when literally the first thing Twilight did in canon was find an ancient prophecy of doom and take steps to address it.
This is manufactured drama pure and simple. We get no rationale for why everything is awful and everyone is dead, it just is and they just are. Sorry, but this kind of thing is a major pet peeve for me, and the whole story rubbed me the wrong way as a result. All that being said, thank you for entering the contest.
11698543
While I understand what you're getting at, I feel as though your criticism is unfair. Am I the best in giving context in such a small limit? Obviously not. I'll get better the more I write stories in such a constrained limit.
But the questions are answered. As I told others, there is a major hint in the story *right at the end* as to why she didn't do anything. All she knows is she stood complacent and feels guilt, but even she doesn't know why. There are implications as to why.
I'd by lying if I said I didn't take offense to your statement about this being "manufactured" as you worded it. It's not just "as they are" and so on. I'm not a writer who only thinks of just this story slice details and nothing more. I have an entire story that leads up to this in my head, a world built, and more. Which I do plan on utilizing, if I can find the time. I just felt this part would be most interesting to enter into a competition.
Sorry for rubbing you the wrong way, I guess, but please consider that this is just a slice of an even bigger story, and was meant to lead to even more questions and theories. Did I do well to get that point across? Apparently not, that's fine, I'll do better next time.