No Thanks for the Memories

by auctor

1.

Twilight sat on the carpet running along the chapel’s central aisle, watching as her friends walked away. Tears welled up in her eyes, making everything she saw wavy. She looked up at the towering white figure approaching her. She couldn’t see her mentor’s expression clearly, but her mind filled in the kind and loving expression she was most often graced with. Twilight began to stammer out an explanation, “I —”

The illusion was immediately shattered by Celestia’s tone when she interrupted Twilight, “— have a lot to think about.” Celestia walked straight past her and followed her friends outside, shutting the chapel’s doors behind her without even looking back.

---

Spike ran into the bedroom as soon as he heard Twilight’s shout. She was sitting straight up in her bed, panting and wide‐eyed, wings spread, her forelegs clutching her barrel.

“Did you have a nightmare?” he asked.

Twilight shook her head, “Worse, a memory.”

---

“Hi, Fluttershy.”

“Please come in.” Fluttershy guided Twilight to her sofa, “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m fine.” She fidgeted awkwardly, then bit the bullet and pressed ahead, awkwardly. “So..., how is... it?”

Fluttershy smiled, “Oh, it’s great. Though I think it’s going to be a long time before I’m used to it.”

Twilight nodded, “I can see that.”

“Discord’s very upset with himself that he couldn’t do it ‘right’.”

Twilight frowned, “But it’s not his fault. It’s chaos magic...”

“I told him that, but it didn’t help. And it was really hard to get him to promise not to hurt her. That’s part of why I asked you over, actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want you hurting her either.”

Twilight’s frown deepened, “Shouldn’t she be punished for what she did to you?”

“She’s in a dungeon, isn’t she?”

“Serving out her sentences for past crimes. Three sequential life sentences — whatever that means. Sure, let’s go and drag Chrysalis to court again, get another 5 or 10 or 20 years added on. I’m sure she’ll see that as a punishment. She’d probably enjoy going to court just to get away from the dungeon! She’s lucky to be alive. In Old Equestria, they executed ponies that tried to usurp the throne.”

“You’d rather be like Princess Platinum than Princess Celestia?”

Twilight winced at that, “Touché.” She sighed, “Why don’t you want us hurting her, anyway?”

“Because you’re better than her.”

“Once you have a life sentence, you’re effectively immune? That policy makes us better than her?”

“Basically, yes.”

Twilight shifted positions, and glared moodily at her hooves. “She should pay.”

“That’s strangely vengeful for you. And shouldn’t that be my decision?”

Twilight threw her forelegs up, “Great, then you also get immunity because you attack someone who’s too nice!”

Fluttershy waited a few seconds, then said, “Yes.”

“Ugh.”

“What happened to reforming evil‐doers?”

“How many chances do we give her?”

“As many as it takes.”

“Ugh!”

After a long pause, Fluttershy said, “Um, Twilight, can I ask a personal question?”

“After everything we’ve been through together? Just ask!”

“Do your wings feel alien?”

Twilight looked over her shoulder, “They did at first. They felt tacked on. Even when I was flying, even when they hurt.”

“Just at first?”

“Well, it was a slow and gradual process. It took many moons. But now I’d feel incomplete without them.”