Friends Forever

by Snow

Friends Forever II: Hopeful Dreams

"Twi-i-i-light" Celestia's playful tone woke the once-unicorn from her slumber, the resting mare's eyes wet with fresh tears.

"Tia? What time is it?" Twilight’s voice had matured in the nigh two thousand years since her 'ascension' to the status of immortal, and she had still yet to develop a working internal clock. This worked out just as well since her province was the dawn and the dusk, which left her to pick either Celestia's Day, or Luna's night to sleep through.

"It's time for you to get out of bed lazy mare. Lulu and I have a surprise for yo-o-u!" The day princess, ever since having truly settled back into having a sister, much less two, had lost much of her somewhat aloof mannerisms, at least in the privacy of the royal wing.

'Uh oh. I know that tone of voice.' Twilight told herself, crawling out of bed and stretching her wings with a yawn. 'It means either she's either gender-swapped Equestria for the day again, or I forgot my own birthday again.'

Celestia often reminded her of Pinkie Pie; she was always quick to laugh and loved little jokes she saw as harmless. It was one of the qualities that had grown on her in their time together. As a mentor, Celestia was very kind, but a little unapproachable because of the stigma of being a princess. As equals, she was mischievous, playful, kind, and loving; a very sweet older sister.

So, with a head full of memories and a polite smile learned from Celestia herself on her face, Twilight strode from her bed after giving five heartfelt and true smiles to five photographs hanging in front of dress forms. "Good um..." a quick check of the wall clock, "Afternoon, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack. I miss you." It was how she woke herself up every day and every night, and though was a deeply ingrained ritual, the mare meant it. Her final stop before following Celestia into the common room the three Princesses shared, was a tiara that had become just the right size for a crown and inset with a purple gem. She's worn it every day since her coronation, after all.

"OK, I'm up Tia. What's all...the...como...tion?" From left to right stood Luna, five dress forms, and Celestia, spread in a curve before her. What had caused her shock were the familiar sparkling pendants that adorned each dress form's neck. Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, Honesty, each shaped like a very familiar cutiemark. The Elements of Harmony.

"Told you she'd be speechless." Luna grinned to her older sister, though as the three princesses stood now, their age was apparently identical.

"Hush, Lulu, let her have a mo-" Tia got cut off as a pair of purple forelegs found their way around her neck in a hug. "-ment?" She finished with a squeak before returning the hug gently.

Not one to be left out, Luna joined in on the hugging, the three having grown very close in the somewhat boggling amount of time they had spent together, and the shy bookish filly of a Luna had grown into an empathetic and kind ruler, like her sister, if a bit more quick to show her affection through more direct means.

"How did... Where were... What is all this?" Her voice betrayed the emotional upsurge within the purple Alicorn, both in its shakiness and the stuttering.

"Well, we had to dig a lot, the information was hard even for us to find..." Luna began.

"Nearly took a millennium actually!" This from Celestia.

"But we managed to dig up information on the Elements of Harmony as they existed back when mom and dad were around. Apparently the Elements of Harmony are only in those spherical marble shapes when they're dormant. Once they've found appropriate spirits to embody them, they take a form until there's nopony left that can adequately handle them." Luna again, looking proud of herself, and happy to be delivering the news.

"This is only half of your surprise, actually. The other half is that when the Elements of Harmony pick hosts, they sort of become them. The stronger the host embodies that element, the more of them that gets carried over..." Celestia spoke that time, apparently struggling to keep from blurting the other half of the surprise.

Twilight listened, her ears perked, and a growing sensation of... Hope? Fear? Excitement? Horror? Perhaps all of the above? "Then. Then... They're...?"

"Your friends were the closest to their elements as anypony could hope to be… Perhaps even supernaturally so. We managed to gather the current hosts, and manifested the elements themselves. They're all asleep, and we were wondering if you'd like to meet them." Luna followed the offer with a small smile, though Celestia soon cut in before Twilight could completely lose her stack.

"These aren't your friends, though perhaps with the right memories they could be. There is a chance though. You see the characteristics from the previous owners only really shine through after the elements have been used in that pony's lifetime. Surely you noticed the behavior of your friends altering slightly as time progressed, making them more in tune with their given element. If you, the Element of Magic called on them, they might recall who they once were, after all the connection was very strong." In contrast with the previous tone of her voice, Celestia had sobered, making sure to remind Twilight to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

There is no one word to describe how Twilight felt then. She was possibly being told that her friend's souls were on display right now in front of her. That there was a chance, however slim, that she'd get to talk fashion with Rarity; tell Rainbow that in the two thousand years she's been gone, not a single pony has pulled off a double rainboom since her -- and only two have pulled off one in their lives. It was mind boggling, and even more, it was terrifying.

The purple Alicorn simply sat down, tail curling around her hooves, and stared at each of the gemstones in turn. It seemed to her like they sparkled like little stars as she looked at them. "There's a possibility I'll have my friends back. With all the memories they had up until our goodbyes." Her voice was controlled and evenly measured; both princesses recognized it as a sign Twilight did not trust herself to act evenly at the moment.

"A possibility, yes. It's possible that the ponies they are now would be completely overwritten with who they were..." Luna's voice was soft, gentle, but reminding Twilight that first, it's only a possibility, and secondly, it may not be a good one.

"And it's possible that their personalities might change, but without any memories to go along with them. I… know how hard it can be to be reminded of someone you love, but can't see." Celestia's voice was somber, a sympathetic look on her face.

"So, there's a chance it'll be looking at something that might have been, and there's a chance I'll get exactly what I've wished for, for the past two millennia at the cost of five special ponies, who have lives to live ahead of them." Still there was the calm, even tone of voice despite tears falling fresh from Twilight's eyes.

"..Yes, Twilight. We don't really know what will happen but... We know how much you love them, and how much you missed them. It's your right to make the choice for yourself what you want to do. There was a time I may have tried to urge you one way or another, or make it for you but... I'm afraid my days as your mentor are long over. All I can offer is my love and friendship no matter what happens, sister." Celestia's voice was to Twilight's reserved facade as dynamite to a dam.

Sobbing, Twilight buried her face into her two sisters. They may have not been her birth sisters but it didn't matter anymore. She loved them, and was loved in return. That was all that mattered.
"Is there any way I could ask them? They deserve the right to choose for themselves. If I could just see AJ or Fluttershy one more time..." It wouldn't be enough. She knew it, the other two knew it as well. Still, if what they said was true... every generation she could have her friends back, in possibly varying degrees but...

"Actually, I might be able to help with that. Dreams are a funny thing, and many ponies think they're windows into the soul." Luna, goddess-princess of the Night offered, smiling. It was all Twilight could do to avoid trying to choke her in a hug.

"Alright Lu, let's start with Honesty. Even if it's just a dream her, I want to see her the way I remember her at least one more time. Please."

With that, the two of them vanished into a side passage, leading to a guest room, while Celestia sighed softly and returned to her court; after all family came first but work didn't rest.

Meanwhile in another room, five young fillies slept peacefully, never having met one another in their lives, but looking strikingly similar to a certain other five ponies. One with freckles, blonde hair, and a dark orange pelt snoozed in an ancient and worn hat, one that wrenched at Twilight's heart upon seeing it...

To be continued in Part III: The Truth in Friendship

Comments

[Meta Knight]

♫♥I look forward to reading what happens next in your story♥♪

[HeirApparent]

4154 Huzzah! Alright, let's get to reading.

[HeirApparent]

So, when you say dress form, I'm assuming you mean some type of mannequin?

Also, if you don't mind me saying so, this story just took a turn for the slightly creepy. We go from Twilight fondly remembering her friends and their best qualities, to considering draining the life from five ponies who happen to look like her friends.

Still, should be interesting to see where you take this. Keep it up!

[Snow]

Yes, dress forms are the mannequins Rarity has in her shop to display (and sew) dresses on.

In regards to the possibility of losing the ponies that are the current element bearers in exchange for the old, I wanted her hesitation despite the chance to have her friends back to show that while she loves her friends more than anything, she loves the ponies of Equestria as well, as a princess should.

As a status update: Part 3 is about a quarter complete but I'm not quite happy with it, so it might be awhile before it's posted.

[HeirApparent]

4229 To be clear, I'm not complaining about the tone shift, I was just mentioning it. You've set up an interesting plot device, and depending on how you use it, this story could get either really good or really disturbing. Regardless of where you take it, however, I'm certain the story is going to be an entertaining read.

Good luck on part 3.

Man you were really close to making me cry... Bittersweet Fics are the best way to connect with someone emotionally so aslong as you keep twilights emotion at the heart of the chapter you should have in in tears starting from ch 3 onward.

[RealityCheck]

I don't know why people are so skittish about simply writing that they're reincarnated, or that their souls can be reached in the afterlife.... everyone's got to skirt around the issue. The way this is written, it sounds as if she's not going to meet her friends-- just copies of their memories. I couldn't imagine a more bitter illusion.

[Chaos Knux]

4229
You made the right call on that hesitance. I honestly would have lost all respect I had for Princess Twilight if she instantly went "YES! DO IT NOW DAMMIT!"

[Alchemystudent]

I was fine...until Twi said hello to her friends. Then I broke and now for the rest of the story

[Reader Wolf]

Reincarnated?