Trial

She stood in front of them all, looking out on the crowd, and they chanted her name. Her name, which meant so much.

Twilight Sparkle

In the morning, it spoke of a time of peace, when the morning light was just beginning to shine, and the day was full of promises. In the evening, it spoke of comfort, the light dimming and promising a night of dreaming respite from the day's troubles. It also promised a visit with Luna, and her beautiful tapestry of stars, if one chose to stay up.

But her name meant more than that in this world. It meant 'Element of Harmony'. It meant 'Friend of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash'. It meant 'Adoptive Sister of Spike the Baby Dragon'. It meant 'Librarian of Ponyville'. It meant 'Sister of Shining Armor'. Her name used to mean all of these things.

Used to. Now none of those, not even the last, was valid anymore.

But the meaning that had been the most dear to her, the one that it hurt the most to lose, was the one that she now wished had never come about. 'Loyal and Faithful Student of Princess Celestia'. Perhaps, if those words were untrue, what was to come would not seem nearly so painful.

When telling their foals stories at night, parents would be sure to warn them of the dangers of her. When studying Equestrian history, young students would be made to recite a paragraph not of her accomplishments, but of her failures, her shortcomings, her actions. When Celestia took a... different student, she would be sure to watch for some of Twilight's emergent qualities, and systematically eliminate them.

Because the crowd had given her name new meaning. Gone were the titles of care, love, and consideration, given to her over the years of her life. Now, her name meant 'Murderer, Traitor, Monster, Madmare'. Now her name would be spat upon by the lowest of criminals.

Now they were no longer chanting her praise.

Now they were chanting, "Death to Twilight Sparkle."

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Justice Avenue, Canterlot

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Twilight Sparkle walked as best she could with the shackles on her hooves. They ground against her skin, damaging nothing but certainly interfering with her movement such that it was a chore just to walk. Compounding this discomfort was her horn, which was now no longer a horn so much as a large bludgeoning tool, given the magic-canceling talisman affixed to it. The caster that had given her this particular one had attuned it just a little too finely, resulting in a sapping of not only her magic but also some of her stamina. These, combined with harsh jostling from the guards at every opportunity and a lower intake of food in the last few days, resulted in a weary prisoner whose every movement was a little harder than the last.

But she would endure. She had to, if for no other reason than keeping her mind occupied with how she held herself would prevent her from dwelling on why they all hated her. She looked over the faces of the booing crowds as she walked towards the district courthouse, where her trial awaited.

She saw a young unicorn filly, holding her own horn and staring upwards at it, as if afraid that what she held would turn around and bite her. She saw the foal's parents arguing a few meters away. She saw the mother, a pegasus, point angrily at the unicorn father's horn, and then at their child, and finally at Twilight. Hatred was in her eyes, and with a few unheard words over her shoulder she stomped away, clearly planning to leave the spectacle.

She saw a couple arguing, although this time the mare was a unicorn and the stallion was an earth pony. The two were clearly in a heated fight, and the mare lifted her head up high, as if to strike the stallion. Terrified, he looked up at her, his eyes following her horn and filled with the fear of death itself. Others in the crowd saw this as well, and within seconds the mare was on the ground, groaning from where several hooves had impacted with her side.

And lastly, she saw another old unicorn, his face wizened with age and scarred from working with magic. He stared at her, without hatred, fear or contempt. Instead, all she found was pity. She looked into his eyes, and found a soul that simply could not understand what she had done, so much so that it could not even begin to hate her. She found a soul that looked - green?

Without any time to even flinch, Twilight was sent reeling from a blow to her jaw, delivered from a pegasus wing that had moved swiftly across the barrier on her left side. Instantly, the guards on either side of her stopped their marching and brought their spears down, leveling them not at first to the green pegasus that had delivered the blow, but at her. They swiftly adjusted their weapons, bringing them back upright, but not before giving the pegasus in question a harsh glare and an even harsher one to her, as if she alone had been responsible. Pushing her back into position, they continued their march towards the building in front of them.

Newsponies waited at the entrance, cameras held at the ready. They all wanted a piece of this story, a chance to report on Twilight, the murderer. Pegasi scrambled above, dodging others who were trying to enforce the no-fly zone above her, and snapped aerial shots that would surely give them an advantage over the other earth-bound reporters. Earth ponies and even one or two brave unicorns jostled each other in a competition to see who could get the closest shot of this tyrant. But the most noticeable thing was the questions shouted at her. "Twilight, why did you do it?", "Twilight, do you regret what you did?", "Twilight, how many have you actually killed?". They all wanted what she had already given them, an explanation.

"Twilight Sparkle, what does Princess Celestia think?"

That caused her head to snap to the right. Her guards, having heard the questions and seeing her reaction, stopped as well. There, a light blue earth pony with a grey mane. She smiled eagerly, knowing that she had hit her mark. She raised her pad and pencil before her, eager to take down any answers given. Her eyes begged for something, anything.

Twilight considered answering her. Considered telling her that Celestia alone was capable of understanding her actions. But then, she thought not of what her mentor was capable of understanding, but what she stood for. What she had taught Twilight every day, the values she had tried to instill. Twilight thought of what her mentor would truly think.

And so, with tears beginning to form and flow down her cheeks, Twilight turned her head and resumed her motion, walking slowly into the courthouse where her sentence awaited.

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Canterlot District Courtroom Three, Judge Oak Tenure presiding

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She stared at the desk in front of her, not daring to look up at the faces around her. She wanted nothing more than for the day to already be over, even though it had barely just begun. Ponies were beginning to crowd into the room, although aside from the ones outside, the newsponies who usually covered these events were noticeably lacking. She tried to believe that Celestia had ordered it as a courtesy to her, that she had wanted to give her former student some modicum of comfort, a chance for a respite from further torture with more questions. But she knew it wasn’t true. The order had been given only to prevent the reporters from being able to access the nobility of Equestria.

She snorted. It would make sense, as the nobility were eager to grovel and please and would only serve to escalate the situation by attacking her further, leaving no room in the public mind for her possible innocence. As if there was any. Some of them might have even called for her early death, advocating skipping the trial and going straight to the executioner’s platform. And despite all that had happened, she knew that Celestia would still stand by some of her virtues, namely that a pony accused of such a crime as hers was innocent until given a fair trial by their peers in a court of law.

Although fair was a relative term at this point.

She watched the crowd. There were a few nobles and government officials she had known in this crowd, nobles she had grown to like. Fancypants, who had given her the first present she ever received inside of the palace grounds. Gilded Sheen, who had taught her all about the history of Equestria symbolized in the ornate architecture and craftsmanship that was spread around the palace. Silver Quill, who had taught her the beautiful art of calligraphy, resulting in a brief and humorous episode of graffiti around the palace grounds. These three, and others, looked back at her not with blatant hatred as the other nobles did, feigned or otherwise. They looked at her with a deep sadness, perhaps asking how she could possibly do it, like everypony else these days. Or maybe they were remembering a small purple filly, bouncing along the corridors, making them all laugh and play even when more pressing matters took precedent.

She also noticed that there was a markedly empty section amongst all of the seats. A rather large section. She wondered at first if more than a few nobles were not in attendance, but then decided that no, everypony was making a point to steer clear of that area. She wondered who it could be for. Most of the important ponies were here; in fact, there was no significant absence of any branch of government or noble house. But it wouldn’t make sense to leave empty seats when more groups could be represented. Why were those seats just left… vacant?

Her thoughts were cut off as the voice of the law clerk rose above the light din in the courtroom. “Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, the Equestrian District Court for the Central District of Equestria, Canterlot Division, is now in session. The honorable Oak Tenure presiding. Long live the Equestrian kingdom and this honorable court. May we forever remember our fallen Princess.” At this last line, the clerk clearly choked, struggling to hold back tears. A murmur of agreement and sympathy spread throughout the crowd.

Oak Tenure sat down at the bench, and began the only case on trial today. “Calling case number 21CR78382, Twilight Sparkle versus The Citizens of Equestria.”

And so the trial of the pony who had betrayed those that loved her as a friend, a sister, and a student, began.

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Canterlot District Courtroom Three, Judge Oak Tenure presiding, four days after the beginning of Twilight Sparkle v. The Citizens of Equestria

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The trial had gone just about as she had expected it to go. Due to the sheer destructiveness of the spell she had used, and the magical nature of her… target, there were few witnesses who could actually claim to have been there when the disaster happened. A few pegasi could claim to have seen the magical blast light up the ground from far away, pulsing with the same hue as her horn. And unicorn investigators could give a positive ID on the magical signature as being directly from her. But no direct witnesses of the attack had shown up in the first three days of the trial.

Twilight was almost beginning to count her blessings; if they had not found any witnesses then she would not be further reminded of what she had done. She didn’t care about winning the case, there was absolutely no chance of that. She just didn’t want to see the direct result of her handiwork.

Then, when her defense was to begin, some of the survivors were brought in not as witnesses, but as members of the crowd.

They had limped in, at least those that could. One or two, such as Bon Bon, had suffered such terrible trauma that they needed a wheelchair to be moved in, legs completely shattered or spines rendered unusable. The others suffered similar, if less impairing, wounds. One unicorn, Green Tapestry if Twilight remembered her name correctly, had all of her fur singed off and several burn marks along her body, shivering in a coat provided to her by the court. Another had a charred and blackened surface where the right side of his face should have been, and clearly had trouble working his jaw open and closed. One pegasi had stumps where her wings used to be. And one earth pony walked in, nothing about him harmed except for the fact that his left hind leg was missing, replaced by a partial harness with a wheel.

These citizens, these ponies, these victims had come into the room, instantly silencing everypony and even giving the judge pause in moving along the proceedings. Everpony watched, mesmerized, as they made their way to the space that had obviously been reserved for them. A few nobles paled at some of the more horrific injuries, visibly wanting to leave. But none dared to break the hold of the grim spectacle before them.

Action finally occurred when Mrs. Cake, at the back of the line, moved into the courtroom. She had obviously been crying heavily, tear stain tracks matted her cheeks and her coat had not been groomed in days. Her entire body seemed to be moving low to the ground, as if her spirit was unwilling to lift itself up.

Her eyes, however, changed when they saw Twilight. First, a flash of recognition, their eyes finding each other at the exact same time. Then, as fast as lightning, that recognition turned to hatred. But this was not the hatred of one who had simply seen buildings and friends obliterated, it was more than that. This was a hatred born of seeing one’s life companion vanish in the blink of an eye. The hatred of seeing one’s livelihood turned to ashes, with only a husk remaining and not a prayer of salvation.

The hatred of a mother, who had lost her foals.

With a fury in her eyes burning hotter than Celestia’s sun, Mrs. Cake attempted to launch herself at Twilight, uncaring of the rail or the guards in between them. The guards moved to stop her, establishing a loose screen in between the crowd and Twilight as Mrs. Cake finished moving past the rail. With an anguished cry she threw herself against the guard’s armor, trying to duck underneath their bodies or find purchase in their group so she could climb over. They refused to budge, however, and she was soon left sobbing against their forms, hooves pounding at their armor slowly. With a low voice, the judge asked the guards to please remove her from the court, and they began to ease her back towards the exit.

She cried out, voice strong at first but then falling in intensity as she approached the door and ran out of energy.

“H-Her! That is her! Kill the mare who took my husband! She deserves to d-die, she needs to pay for what she did! I have n-nothing, my husband is dead and my life’s work is gone! And my foals…” At this, her voice dropped especially low, only the deathly silence of the courtroom allowed her to be heard. “My foals… Oh Pound Cake, oh Pumpkin Cake, my babies… You killed them!” She shouted directly at Twilight. “They were the world to me! I loved them so much, and now they’re gone! I never even got to hear them say their first words, oh…”

With a final, gentle push, the guards moved her outside of the courtroom, and shut the door. They returned to their stations, eyes staring straight ahead, although Twilight saw at least one set beginning to form tears. With a slow pace, the court resumed the trial, and her defense began.

It was laughable at best. The magical signature i.d. test was usually more than enough to get a pony convicted, so unequivocal was its conclusion. They could not fight that. There were only a few unicorns in Ponyville who had a characteristic purple hue, and none had either the motive or the sheer magical power necessary to accomplish what had happened. It did not help that her extensive training could not be denied or mitigated, so thorough was it. And on top of it all, her attorney, assigned by the court, clearly had no interest in seeing her exonerated. His amount of research done was exactly zero, his cross-examination during the prosecution phase had been a joke, and his planning of their defense phase was a few scribbled notes made more to look busy than anything. Within two hours, her defense was almost at a close. Only one element remained.

With a breath, Twilight got to her hooves after having them unshackled and moved to stand in front of the jury, which up to this point in the trial had been exceedingly passive. No stares of hate met her gaze, only stony resolution to remain impassive to what was to come. At least something in the trial was fair. She prepared her thoughts, and began.

“Ladies and gentlecolts of the jury, I stand before you accused of a grave crime. I stand before you accused of regicide. I have no defense. You have seen the evidence before you; I can find no fault in its integrity, or its indication of my own guilt. I do not deny that I committed the acts I am accused of. I only ask that you understand. What I did, I did for Equestria. The victim in question violated her own principles, and those of our society. She went against everything this noble court sta – “

At this, a voice in the crowd behind her let out an angry cry. “Blasphemy! Execute her at once! She is slandering the name of our Princess! Kill her, kill her!”

Oak Tenure immediately swung down his gavel, silencing the lone voice. “QUIET! I will have order!” He glared down at the crowd, daring another to speak up. “The next pony who cries out will be immediately removed from this courtroom!” He then looked to Twilight. "That being said, Ms. Sparkle, I demand that you refrain from unduly slandering the name of the victim, one whom you have already admitted to killing, might I add. Keep your speech restricted to your own actions.”

Twilight nodded before continuing. “I stand before you a guilty mare. My actions are clear for all to see, and I do not wish to delay punishment. However, I want to set the record straight. I speak to you not as a criminal, unrepentant of her actions,” she began to look every single juror in the eyes as she spoke, “but as a mare who feels every bit of emotion that you all do. I stand before you and I say that I have lost not one, but two dear friends. And I want to tell you something you may not believe. Something nopony may ever believe. I want you to know…”

With this she turned back to the crowd, watching all of their faces stare back at her, unblinking, waiting for her final admission. She raised her voice, hoping that Mrs. Cake was waiting outside of the door, listening.

“…that I’m sorry.” At this last word she cast a longing look at the gem that lay simply on the judge’s bench.

With that, she walked back to her assigned spot in the courtroom and allowed herself to be re-shackled, watching as everypony murmured upon what she had said before Oak Tenure used his gavel once more.

“Enough! Defense, do you rest your case?”

Her attorney gave her a hard sideways glance, as if he felt that her speech had been too forward, and then stood up. “Yes your honor, we do.”

“Very well. Jury, you have heard both sides of the case, and I would remind you that you are under oath to not discuss any of the case proceedings outside of this courtroom. I advise you to consider carefully all that you have heard throughout this trial, and I now dismiss you to the deliberation room, where you are to go over these proceedings until you reach a verdict on all counts.”

With a large shuffling of hooves, all the ponies of the jury stood up and made their way towards the designated chamber, looking at nothing but the wall as they made their way to the entrance. Twilight watched them go, knowing in her heart what the decision would be. With such strong evidence, what other choice did they have? She could only hope that her speech, taken on record, would show her to be something more than the heartless monster everypony thought her to be. Perhaps, someday, somepony would look back at the case and wonder if she was not, in fact, happy that she had done the whole thing. If maybe she had indeed harbored some regret, small as they might imagine it. Some day.

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Canterlot District Courtroom Three, Judge Oak Tenure presiding, four hours later

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With a click, the doors leading to the deliberation chamber opened, and everypony within the courtroom sat upright, staring at the jurors as they began to file in and take their seats. Twilight noticed that some of them cast angry glances at each other, and a few seemed very reluctant to sit next to each other, as if they had been in an intense argument. She wondered at that. One would think that the vote for her death would be unanimous. Perhaps, against all odds, there had been elements there during the deliberation that were unwilling to go that far?

After they had completed the appropriate procedures for welcoming the jury back into the courtroom, Oak Tenure cleared his throat and spoke to a member of the jury, a maroon pegasus. “Mister forecolt, has the jury reached a verdict?”

The forecolt stood up and looked straight at the judge, speaking steadily. “Yes your honor. As for count one, on the charge of mass slaughter of three thousand, five hundred and forty-eight citizens of Ponyville, Equestria, we the jury find Twilight Sparkle guilty . On count two, the fracturing of the Elements…”

Twilight let his voice drown out. It did not matter anymore. She looked further at the jury, wondering what each of them had said. Obviously, some had acted in her defense. But who? There was the businessman, but he looked to be at ease with his neighbors. The mare, perhaps, since she probably had foals of her own and would not want to make a mother go through the grief of losing a child like this, even after Mrs. Cake’s outburst. It wasn’t likely, but possible. Or maybe the well-aged stallion there at the end, probably content with his life and not wanting to deny anypony a chance at theirs. If that was the case, he was sorely mistaken. Even if she were not sentenced to death, her life would be one of misery, lived out in the most wretched of Equestria’s prisons.

The forecolt’s voice came back “…we the jury find Twilight Sparkle guilty.”

The judge nodded. “And what is your decided punishment?”

The forecolt looked once at his fellow jurors, before moving his gaze and fixing it on the wooden rail in front of him. “We the jury decide upon the death penalty for these crimes, your honor.”

The crowd murmured their agreement, although it was not as unanimous as it might have been days before.

Oak Tenure swallowed. “Your decision on the death penalty is noted. What manner of death is elected?” Under the Equestrian legal system, there were several ways in which a pony could be sentenced to death. They ranged from the lightest, tearing down any magical barriers that the subject had and literally stopping their brain activity, to the harshest, death by hanging, an archaic holdover from the very ancient times. Nopony had bothered to abolish any of the harsher options, however, since hanging and similar practices had not been used for over a millennium. The death sentence itself had not been given in over three hundred years. Everypony waited for the pronunciation.

With a deep breath, the jury forecolt spoke. “Your honor, we elect death by hanging, to occur no less than twenty-four hours from now.” Gasps rang out inside of the courtroom. They had all demanded death, and none would dare to violate the choosing of this particular option, but the use of such a draconian measure was unimaginable, even to those in the crowd who had studied history and knew how common hanging was back in the old times before harmony and even Discord. A few ponies found themselves, reluctantly, wondering whether this had been the right course of action after all.

Twilight, for her part, now knew exactly what had caused the jury to conflict with itself earlier.

Oak Tenure nodded slowly, shaken but unwilling to let it hamper him. “Very well. I will now remind the court that in a situation like this the Fifth Order of the Equestrian Princesses takes effect. All ponies who have been sentenced to execution must have their death sentence approved by a Royal Princess of Equestria, after the Princess has been duly notified and made aware of all proceedings. The Princess may, in light of the evidence, reject the death sentence and call a new trial for the pony being prosecuted. Princess Celestia?” He looked at the gem resting in front of him. “If you would, please?”

With a flash and a small crack, Princess Celestia appeared in front of the judge’s bench, eyes laying only on Twilight. Anypony who had been paying casual attention would have thought nothing remiss. Her mane flowed as always, her coat was its pristine alabaster color, and her pose held its usual elegant form. However, Twilight, and others who paid close enough attention, saw differently. They saw her eyes, bloodshot with clear bags underneath, pools of misery for any who stared into them. Her wings, usually clean and free of any imperfections in the feathers, had obviously not been preened in some time, feathers bent out of position and slightly dirty. And her crown, always straight, leaned to the side, and seemed slightly chipped, as if she had thrown it at something. Hard.

Celestia looked towards the judge. “Yes, your honor?”

Oak Tenure gestured to Twilight. “She stands before us accused and convicted of multiple crimes. The sentence elected via the jury is death by hanging. Have you had time to adequately review the evidence?”

Celestia looked at Twilight’s attorney, causing him to wilt a little in his seat. “Yes your honor.” She pointed to the gem that lay in front of Oak Tenure. “For the record of the court, I have used this viewing gem to observe the trial. I believe I have enough information to make a sound verdict.”

The judge nodded. “And what is your verdict, Princess Celestia?”

Celestia looked out over the crowd. Everypony waited to hear her decision. This was Twilight’s only chance at salvation. If Celestia refuted the death penalty now, an entirely new trial would have to be held again, with an entirely new jury and – hopefully – an entirely new attorney. If she rejected the death penalty, Twilight might still be able to get out of this alive. She might yet go on, although she wasn’t sure how good of an option that was.

Celestia then looked at Twilight. In an instant, countless emotions were communicated, as can only be done through the bond of a mother and daughter, a student and a mentor. Twilight understood everything that Celestia had undergone throughout the centuries, the actions she regretted, the feelings she harbored for all of her subjects. She felt Celestia’s deep remorse for all that had come to pass. And she felt her sorrow, deep and nigh everlasting, at what she had lost, and was about to lose.

Keeping her eyes locked with Twilight’s, and with a voice so controlled and emotionless that it seemed to be made of stone, Princess Celestia spoke. “I, Princess Celestia, former Diarch and now Monarch of Equestria, Alicorn of the Sun, approve the sentencing of Twilight Sparkle, daughter of Twilight Velvet and Night Light, to death by hanging. I approve this sentencing for the mass execution of three thousand, five hundred and forty-eight of my subjects. I approve this sentencing for the fracturing of the Elements of Harmony, one of the most powerful magical tools in this land. And I approve this sentencing for the murder of the other former Diarch of Equestria, Alicorn of the Night, my beloved sister, Princess Luna.”

Prison

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Twilight sat, alone and dejected, in her cell. They had done it. They had convicted her. In less than a day, she would be strangled by her own body weight acting against her, gasping in front of the thousands who would be cheering on her death. Half a day after, and her slow choking would be plastered in gruesome detail on the front page of every newspaper in Equestria. And in no more than a week, her body would be returned to her parents for burial. Assuming that it was not desecrated in any way, or that the court casters did not purposefully ignore her body and allow it to decompose to the extent that it would have to be burned on the spot. She wasn’t even sure she wanted her body to be returned to her parents, for how could they bear to look upon a daughter who had done such wonderful and terrible things?

She looked at her surroundings and found them as bleak as her emotions. The cell was about three times the size of a broom closet, meaning she had a little room to move around if she so chose. In one corner sat a small stool, ordinary in every way except that it was bolted to the floor and severely rounded so nopony could get the idea of forcefully bludgeoning themselves to death and denying the court whatever it was due. In another corner sat a bucket, obviously to be used in the event that the prisoner needed to ‘dispose’ of waste, although it was thankfully empty. And in the third corner, she saw… no.

In the third corner shone a single beam of moonlight, dust motes swirling through its path, lending it an ethereal quality. To any other pony, this small beam would have seemed insignificant, serving only as a small source of light and perhaps an unusual decoration for the bleak cell. But to her, this column of light was a mocking presence, reminding her of what had taken place to bring her here, what she had lost, whom it was that she had killed. She stared at the spot where the beam ended for an eternity, before she finally managed to bring herself to raise her neck and look outside. Up her gaze went, traveling over the high walls and past the grate that served as the ceiling, until she had looked beyond it to the top of her cell. Her gaze went further still, searching the cloud cover that hung above Canterlot until she found it, a break in the barrier between her and the heavens, and she looked upon Luna’s creation.

There resided the moon, peeking halfway out of the clouds before giving way to a night sky full of stars. With a sob, Twilight beheld Luna’s last token to her subjects, her last memorial, her last message to a world that mourned her and the unicorn that killed her.

Not many ponies knew, but almost all of the night sky around Equestria, and indeed the entire planet, was only an illusion, detailed and beautiful but still an illusion. Eons before the two sisters had even come to be, ponies had been fearful of the nighttime, as it was both sinister and absolute, with only a few stars feebly glimmering and offering no guidance whatsoever. Besides the glow from a few small villages, no light was alive at night to find one’s way home, and a pony that was lost in this time was most assuredly lost until daybreak. Initially, the Sisters had sought only to keep their ponies safely indoors during this time. However, their subjects were a strong species, and being reduced to shivering and cowering before the cycle of days and nights was not to the satisfaction of many.

Finally, at the end of one day, Luna had struck upon a solution. Looking to the sky, she had seen the small glimmers of stars far away, and had decided to build upon the faint beauty she saw there. And thus, the night sky was born. Gone were the days when ponies would cower in fear from the darkness that would overtake their settlements. From the end of that day onward, the night was a time of wonder, as ponies would look out in awe at Luna slowly completing her night sky piece by piece, drawing out intricate constellations and planning majestic events to take place in the coming years. As a final masterpiece, she had created the moon, a beacon that she knew paled in comparison to her sister’s sun but that she hoped would bring her subjects some final comfort, so that they would know that the night was full of opportunity and wonder instead of just fear. She had finished off her greatest creation by establishing the lunar cycles, modeled after her cutie mark, so that her subjects would also be reminded that they and their dreams were under her protection.

This mighty tapestry that encircled the planet had become most hated by Luna during the time before her transformation into Nightmare Moon, as it was a stark reminder of all that she had done for her subjects, and only fed her sense of betrayal at having her beautiful creations so casually shunned. She had maintained some control of her work even after her banishment, allowing her to escape captivity inside of her own creation. Yet despite Celestia’s knowledge of Nightmare Moon’s capabilities and eventual escape, she still chose to maintain the night sky just as it had always been. She had told Twilight, in a moment of secrecy and trust long ago, that there were two main reasons why she had not sent the moon away to a far corner of space, to be forgotten forever. She had initially wanted to maintain some sense of normalcy for her ponies, since they had just experienced a severe disruption in their system of government, and the moon was just one more facet of the life that they had previously known. But more importantly, she had maintained the sky because she had believed, even all those years ago, that her sister would return. Keeping Luna’s night sky just as it was had been her way of comforting herself, and assuring that when her dear baby sister returned everything would return to normal and be exactly as it was. Luna’s moon and stars had served as reminders of love and beacons of hope.

Now they served as reminders of Twilight’s failure. Gazing upon Luna’s immense gift, Twilight felt the weight of her prison cell come crashing down on her. She felt as if the entire city of Canterlot was being pulled into her tiny cell, as if everypony out there was being dragged in here specifically to torture her with their hateful stares. With a gasp, her emotions crashed in on her helpless mind; she felt tears come unbidden as she relived every detail of the trial, the countless ponies who had been willing to offer their small but effective testimony against her, the pitiful defense not so much erected to protect her as thrown against her, the stony look of sorrow on Princess Celestia’s face as Twilight’s sentence was pronounced fit and just. She felt grief, kept locked away during the trial, stab at her mind, bringing down the countless walls she had erected to prevent herself from breaking during her sentencing. She felt loneliness, as she was forced to confront – again – the terrible truth that after what she had done, most if not all of her friends would outright despise her. She even felt a tiny spark of hatred, at all of the ponies who had spit upon her these past few days, justified as they may have been. Alone and condemned, her mind did the only thing it could do to pull itself away from the burning fire of her own emotions. It retreated into her memory.

With a growing horror, Twilight felt her surroundings fade away as her mind reconstructed, in detail, the horrible night that had brought her here. The night that had changed her entire life. The night that Luna died. Memories flashed by at the speed of light, allowing her only a brief glimpse at one moment before she was forced to look at yet another. She remembered the fading of the day, as the sun had breathed its last rays of light upon Ponyville. She remembered Luna stepping off of her chariot, smiling and asking Twilight how she was. She remembered her own emotions, tinted with fear, guilt and apprehension, as she considered what must be done. And she remembered Luna’s eyes, filled with shock and pain, as the beam from Twilight’s horn pierced her side and burned its way to her innermost organs.

Twilight’s memory seemed to slow down, almost maliciously, as if it wanted to torture her. She remembered it all. Luna’s dying scream as she breathed her last, causing those who had been asleep to wake up, unaware of their impending destruction. The new scream that had shattered windows and deafened ponies all across town, created not of Luna’s own will but rather that of her body, as the massive magical potential she had previously contained sought to release itself through any medium possible. The dull roar that had grown in intensity until it seemed as if the very air itself was seething with hatred, as if a hundred dragons had attacked the town at once. The brief glowing of Luna’s body as her cells prepared to release their magical energy in the most expedient way possible: explosively.

The actual decimation had been as brief as it was devastating. Within the blink of an eye, the entire town seemed to shift from a state of normalcy to a hellish parody of reality. Almost every recognizable structure had vanished. Buildings on the outskirts of the blast burned steadily and created a ring of fire that circled most of the town. Closer to the center of the explosion, there were no buildings to speak of; only foundations remained, some staying solid and some losing their shape as their liquefied forms oozed and moved through any channel available. And in the epicenter there was nothing except a large crater, simmering and glowing, leaving no evidence of the alicorn that had been at the center of all of this destruction. Luna’s innate magic, previously used to maintain herself and kept under strict control at all times, was now gone. Twilight’s fatal wound had unbound this powerful reservoir, leaving behind destruction on a scale unimaginable.

Twilight fought to bring herself back from the brink. The terrible memories continued to circle her, however, snapping at her mind like timberwolves ready to seize upon helpless prey. They came closer and closer to her consciousness, and with each passing second Twilight felt as if her head might explode from the agony of remembering. She could feel herself slipping down deeper and deeper, further along the slope of her own self-loathing and despair. With a final gasp of thought, she wondered if this was how it would end. If she would spend her last hours not as a pony, aware and regretful of her actions, but as a madmare who would rant and rave at anything and nothing, too caught up in her own world of personal torment to care about what was around her.

With a quick thought, she decided to face this loss of herself with a small bit of dignity; she would cower before her own actions and their consequences, but she would not cower before herself. She calmed and allowed herself to fall deeper and deeper into the abyss, the shadows in her mind growing darker and darker by the second. She began to hear a deep laughing, terrible and unearthly…

With a start, Twilight was partially yanked back into reality as she felt and heard the door to her cell slam open. Was it really already morning? Her thoughts, however, returned to the hole that was even now pulling her back. The laughter was now very much alive and animated, seeming to bounce from one side of her head to the other, almost as if it was playing inside of her skull. She sighed; they would have to execute an empty husk, a mare only a shell of her former self. She would have laughed bitterly, if she had but the strength; it appeared that life would not even allow her that one, final solace, of facing her death as herself, after all she had been through. Perhaps she just didn’t deserve it.

She almost let herself go yet again, almost let herself be drowned in the currents of her own mind, before she realized that the mental abyss was no longer wide and open, ready to swallow her whole. Instead, she felt almost at peace. She also realized that the laughing, powerful as it was beforehand, had vanished. That brought her back fully very quickly, and she looked around, wondering what had stopped her from being claimed by the monster that was now gone. She found nothing, until she turned around.

There stood Princess Celestia, still looking disheveled and sad as before, but now with a hard look of determination on her face. Her horn glowed, and with a start Twilight realized that she could feel a warmth flowing around like liquid in her chest. She looked down and affirmed that her coat did indeed seem to be glowing. Slowly, she reached up a hoof and poked her chest, and almost immediately felt something stir within. With a growing horror, she watched as Celestia’s magic pulled something black and flowing out of her chest. It seemed to writhe and wither as it touched her magic, and she even thought she heard a small screech escape from the black mass that was now leaving her body. With a final pull, Celestia succeeded in removing the substance from Twilight’s body, and for a moment the two stood there, not as murderer and final judge, but rather teacher and student.

Twilight, even after all that had happened, could not fight her old instincts, and gave in to the urge to ask a question. “What is it, Princess Celestia?”

Celestia seemed unwilling to take her eyes off of the twisting evil before her. “Nightmare forces, called into existence during times of great fury, or grief. The same ones that created Nightmare Moon.” With a final, hard look, Celestia proceeded to incinerate the black form before her, causing it to squeal as it slowly burned away. When nothing remained but ash, she let her magic fade, and they both watched as the ashes fell to the ground.

Twilight tried to hold herself back. She desperately wanted to push all hope out of her mind; it was inconceivable that her atrocious actions could really be passed off so easily. Yet, she had to know. “Is … that what caused me to —”

With a voice that seemed equal parts despair and anger, Celestia cut her off. “No, you have just barely played host to these demons. I could sense them from the entrance to the dungeon; in a body such as yours, they can do nothing but rage and scream at the world, and are not very good at hiding their presence. I was unable to save Luna…” at this Celestia’s voice broke, “but I refuse to leave another pony in their hooves. Such a fate is worse than death.” She spoke the last sentence with a conviction as hard as iron, as if using it, depending on it, for a reason to stay sane, a reason to continue to talk to her former student.

With a sigh, Celestia turned to Twilight, her eyes reflecting light in a way that indicated she was close to tears. She spoke only one word, posed as a question, demanding an answer. “Twilight?”

Twilight. That one simple word devastated the purple mare more than a thousand curses, accusations and glares would have. In her times of need and sorrow, Celestia had always referred to Twilight as ‘my faithful student’. A few times, Celestia had used her real name, as if to encourage her to find a solution herself. Always, however, when Twilight was so troubled that not even she knew what could possibly be done, Celestia had referred to her with what most ponies would consider a diminutive, given her position and power. Yet somehow it always gave Twilight hope. It would always remind her that no matter what, she was under Celestia’s protection, and that the Princess would keep watch over her and stand with her when she needed it.

Looking into her eyes now, however, Twilight saw that though it pained the alicorn to do so, she would not attempt to stand by her former student this time.

Twilight was unable to stop herself from asking what came next; she was hardly aware that she had spoken it herself. She had to know if, somehow, someday, she would find some form of redemption. “Princess, can you ever… forgive me?”

Celestia looked at the mare with something akin to longing, hatred, and desperation mixed into one. They held each other’s gaze for several seconds before Celestia spoke. When she did, Twilight wished she had never spoken at all.

“No, Twilight Sparkle. She was my sister, my dearest companion, my most trusted friend, my longest company. For many millennia we have grown close together, Twilight; nothing can describe what it feels like to have that taken away. When you killed her, I… I felt her scream, I felt the magic burning her from the inside out, I felt her agony in her last moments, I felt her sense of betrayal.” Celestia’s voice rode on the slender line between power and pure hatred, and seemed to be unsure of itself, ready to teeter either way. “Never before in my life have I been so devastated, Twilight. We were supposed to continue together, Twilight; we were supposed to keep each other company…” Celestia’s voice now faded to nothingness, her last word but a soft sigh escaping from quivering lips.

For a minute, neither ponies dared speak. Then, something unexpected happened. Celestia stepped in front of her, and Twilight heard two horrible, tragic, terrifying words come from her mentor's mouth.

“Kill me.”

Twilight fell back, aghast at what she had just heard. “Wh… what, Princess?”

Celestia stood resolute, seemingly unwilling to yield any sort of response to her student save a cold stare. “I said kill me. You did it with Luna, and you can do it with me; to my knowledge, you are the only pony alive who both knows the complete spell and wields the power necessary to use it. Why not just end my misery?”

Twilight almost retched right at Celestia’s hooves upon hearing such an idea. “Princess, why would I do that? You… you’re Celestia! I can’t… I can’t kill you!” Twilight was now moving from shock to grief, grief that her own mentor would want her to do this, and it was showing.

“And why not, Twilight Sparkle?” Celestia spoke her name with a biting edge to her voice. “You have removed from this world the only companion I ever have had for certain; not even Discord is guaranteed to stay forever. Tell me, what is there left for me in this world, that I may go on?”

“I…” Words failed Twilight. She couldn’t bring herself to imagine a world without Celestia, without the sun shining down, the respect and affection the alicorn’s presence seemed to summon for everypony around her. She couldn’t fathom killing her mentor. Knowing she needed to provide an answer, Twilight looked the elder pony in the eyes and gave the only one she knew in her heart for certain.

“You’re… Celestia. You’re… my teacher. And I am… was… your faithful student…”

Instantly, Celestia’s expression seemed to melt. Something that existed in Twilight’s face, voice, and words had moved as one and struck a chord deep in Celestia’s heart, so deep that all of her rage, pain, and agony was instantly silenced. With a small flicker, those emotions were replaced with something warm, something that wanted to reach out to her student. She remembered back to the trial, Twilight’s testimony, barely an hour before. She remembered exactly what Twilight had said.

'I’m sorry.'

Celestia knew what had to be done.

Bringing her expression back to a mien that she hoped was not as enraged, Celestia continued to gaze at her student as she spoke. “Do you have anything else you wish to say?”

With eyes that were becoming blurry through tears beginning to form, Twilight stooped her head down low to the ground and sobbed once. “No, please Princess, leave me alone. I’ve betrayed everyone in my life; I’ve killed Luna and one of my best friends, Ponyville’s a crater, and now the most powerful protectors of harmony are gone because of me. And you… you want me to kill you. So just… just let me die for what I’ve done.” With that, she turned her back to the alicorn, and prepared herself to feel the door slam shut and to hear hoofsteps walk away.

Instead, what she felt was a large wing extend and wrap around her form, and what she heard was Celestia speak. “Oh Twilight, though I may never be able to forgive you, that does not mean I cannot love you still.” With a voice that sounded close to breaking, she continued. “You have defeated Discord, and then you helped reform him. You gave up your own glory to save the Crystal Empire and defeat Sombra. You repulsed an army of changelings, even when we were all against you. You and your friends made the Grand Galloping Gala very interesting. And… you brought my dear…” At this, Celestia’s voice, gradually growing more and more delicate, finally broke, and Twilight saw a few tears fall to the ground beside her. It took the alicorn a moment to continue. “And, you brought my dear sister, my precious Luna, back to me, if only for a few years. Twilight, if I were to ignore your actions on behalf of Equestria, I would be remiss as a pony, and unfit to rule as a leader.” Celestia gave the smaller mare a gentle squeeze, before drawing her wing back and folding it to her side.

Twilight sniffled, and continued to stare at the ground. “Thank you, Princess, but… you don’t need to make me feel better just because I’ll be dying tomorrow, or because you feel like you owe me something. You were right; I robbed you and a lot of other ponies in this world of something valuable. What I did is terrible, Princess; I don’t deserve kindness.”

Celestia sighed, before reaching over with a foreleg and shifting Twilight’s face so that the two could look directly into each other’s eyes.

“Twilight, I do not think you understand. What you did was indeed terrible; nopony can deny that. Your reasons were unjustified, and I only wish I had taught you better, so that maybe we could have avoided all of this. You will receive your just punishment tomorrow for your actions. But know this, my little pony. Though you may have committed an atrocious crime, deep in my heart, I will always love you. And no matter what, I will always wish for another student just like you.”

Twilight’s heart was uncertain whether it wanted to leap into her throat or sink down to her stomach. “Do you really mean that, Princess Celestia?”

Celestia nodded once, before looking away. “I can never forgive you for the death of my sister. What she meant to me cannot be described in words; to have had her back again, only to be taken away, has torn my heart apart in ways that I never thought possible.” She turned back to Twilight. “But I cannot bring myself to hate a pony who has also done so much for us. Such a pony may still have light in their heart, even after acts such as yours have been committed.”

Twilight sunk down onto her stomach and stared at Celestia, mouth wide. “Thank you, Princess Celestia. Th…thank you.”

Celestia simply lifted her up with a hoof. “You are welcome. Now, would you like to get anything else off of your chest?’

For the next two hours they talked about anything and everything with a freedom that had not been present even in their close relationship previously. Twilight confessed to all of the emotions she had been feeling in the time that she had killed Luna; and though it obviously pained Celestia greatly to do so, the Princess listened and talked with Twilight about them. They talked about all of the adventures Twilight had undergone with her friends in Ponyville, including the one where Rainbow Dash had competed with Mare Do Well; Celestia laughed, and Twilight cried. They talked of Luna’s humorous problems while adjusting to life after a thousand years, including the time she had almost sent a guard out the window with her Royal Canterlot Voice; Twilight laughed, and Celestia cried. Through it all, the two took comfort in each other’s presence, and allowed the fact that Twilight was set to die soon pass from their minds.

Eventually, though, they ran out of events and various ponies to talk about. They spent a few moments in silence, neither willing to move. With a deep breath, Celestia rose to her hoove and walked slowly towards the door.

“Twilight, though it pains me greatly to say so, I have enjoyed these moments. They may not make up for Luna’s death, but they soften the blow, if just a little. Now I must go, however; you have others waiting to meet you as well.”

Twilight looked at Celestia with a mixture of hope and fear. “Others? You mean…”

“Yes, Twilight. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, even Pinkie Pie are all here to meet you.” Her eyes looked to a point far in the distance. “Although I do not guarantee that what they will have to say will warm your heart, I believe it is your duty to hear what they feel. Do you agree?”

“Yes Princess, I’ll stay and take whatever they want to give me. I deserve it…”

Celestia nodded. “I will let them know they can come in, then.” She moved to the door, opened, it, and slowly closed it behind her.

But before it shut, Twilight could have sworn she heard something. She didn’t believe she had heard it; not even Celestia would be so capable, after what she had done. She refused to believe what her heart was desperately hoping to be true.

She refused to believe that, just before closing the door, Celestia had whispered something.

“Goodbye, my faithful student.”

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Fluttershy was the first to come in.

Slowly, with movements so delicate it seemed as if the wind pushed her limbs, the young mare walked in, and looked first not at Twilight, but at the walls around her. Aside from a very noticeable shaking, she looked just as she always had. On the outside, at least.

Twilight wondered what the yellow pegasus would have to say to her, what this first conversation would bring. She wondered what the mare in front of her would think of her former friend, what Fluttershy would feel about all of the events that had transpired in just the last week. She had always been the kindest of them; always willing to see the good side of creatures, always willing to forgive, she had, in many cases, acted far better than Twilight and her friends.

Yet, Twilight knew that the mare also had her limits. She could only be pushed so far before her temper rose, before her will failed, before her heart broke. What would she remember of Twilight, what would she choose to forgive, if she ever did so?

For a second, Twilight considered asking the pegasus to simply leave her cell. It was selfish, brutally selfish, but all she wanted at that instant was to die with Celestia as her last memory, her final companion before departing the world forever. She thought of simply ignoring the mare, of shuffling into a corner and refusing to look up until they came for her. She even thought of threatening Fluttershy, if only for an instant, just to get her to leave. At that moment, Twilight just wanted to be alone.

But, like the spark that starts a fire, Celestia’s words rose from her memory and burned themselves into her mind. It was her duty to listen to what her friends had to say. She owed it to them, she owed it to everypony. No matter what came, she would listen, and perhaps atone, in some small way, for what she had done. Drawing in a breath, Twilight looked up, and spoke.

“Hello, Fluttershy.”

Slowly, the pegasus turned around, and looked her straight in the eye. Just as it had first appeared, she looked as if the events of the past week had not affected her at all. Her coat was the exact same color, unmarred by grime or dust. Her hair was still in its natural, slightly-curled form. Even her wings appeared well-maintained, unsullied by lack of attention. But while on the surface all appeared in order, Twilight noticed that something about her friend was missing. Her small smile, given whenever she had the opportunity to greet a friend, was gone. It its place was only a line, hard and unmoving, as if she was unwilling to deign to the world even a small amount of happiness. She simply stared at the purple mare, and for a moment, Twilight was stricken to her core. Some accursed part of her had believed that Fluttershy, kind and sweet Fluttershy, would forgive her. Some part of her had grown up around what Celestia had said, had dared to hope against hope. For a moment, she again considered forcing the pegasus out. It had been foolish to believe that any of her friends would look at her with any bit of pity. She had utterly betrayed them all, and she had really expected somepony to forgive her.

If she had managed to turn even Fluttershy against her, what could she expect from the rest of her friends?

Then, Fluttershy blinked, and sat down heavily. “Hello, Twilight.” She said, looking down at her hooves.

At least she had not refused to answer. Already, Twilight was getting more than she deserved. For a moment, neither seemed willing to speak, and break the silence between them. Fluttershy took the next step.

‘How… how are you feeling?”

Twilight almost cried at that. Of course, Fluttershy would be the one to ask that. Of course, she would place even the considerations of Twilight, the murderer, above her own. Even after all that had occurred, even after all she had killed, Fluttershy would stay true to her nature until the very end. She would always care for all creatures, no matter what they had done.

Celestia had asked her to listen to her friends, but there was so much Twilight wanted to say, so much she wanted to apologize for…

Twilight sighed. “Absolutely terrible, Fluttershy. I’ve killed Luna, everypony hates me, I’ve destroyed the very city I loved, and the Elements are shattered.” Tears began to spill unbidden from Twilight’s eyes as she continued to look at her friend, unwilling to break their link. “I’ve undone all the years of training and work that Princess Celestia put into me; I’ve put my parents to shame, I’ve destroyed our friendship, and I’ve even created mass unicorn hate.” Her voice slowly escalated in volume, seeming to grow more and more enraged with each word spoken. “And the worst part is that I’m not happy! I’m not glad that I did what I did! I didn’t celebrate when I killed Luna! I – “

Twilight’s throat choked, and she slowly breathed in and out for a moment, before continuing, her voice lowering. “I… I’m sad, because I wish that everypony would understand that I never wanted this to happen. I’m angry, because I did something terrible, and deserve every bit of punishment that’s given. And I’m frightened, because in the morning, I’ll be gone forever. And Fluttershy, I’m…” With this, she broke her friend’s gaze and looked towards the ground. “I’m sorry. Sorry for having you as a friend. Sorry for making you go through all of this. Sorry for forcing you to forgive me, when I do not deserve forgiveness!” At this last word, Twilight’s hoof rose up and struck hard against the floor, echoing out a single crack that seemed to bounce around the room for a second.

Twilight struggled to make another sound, but she couldn’t find the will. Her lips trembled, unwilling to move any further, unable to give her thoughts freedom. Shaking, Twilight looked up at her friend yet again, eyes still tearing, waiting for her judgment. She had meant what she had said. She didn’t deserve forgiveness, not from anypony. Not even from Fluttershy.

Slowly, the mare in front of her stood up. She walked over to Twilight, her gaze never faltering as she moved to within a hair’s breadth from her friend, their muzzles just barely touching. Twilight could feel her soft breathing, she could practically taste the sting on her cheek as she was struck with a backhoof, could feel her friend leave, dissatisfied and uncaring for how selfish her former friend had been…

Instead, she saw Fluttershy pick up a hoof and stroke her shoulder. She felt her friend’s breath quicken as tears began to form in the pegasus’ eyes. And she heard the mare in front of her say, with all of the care and tenderness of the Fluttershy of old, “There, there…”

Twilight simply leaned into her friend's shoulder, and cried, for how long she didn’t know. She drenched her friend in tears, and clung to her, unwilling to let the mare go. Her time with Princess Celestia had relieved her heart of a small burden, had removed from her soul a dark spot. But seeing her friend, Fluttershy, had reminded her of times gone by, and how she had destroyed those times forever. She was reminded of the time before that night, a time when Fluttershy wouldn’t have hesitated to smile at her…

After Twilight had released her tears, and her chest stopped heaving, Fluttershy lifted her friend’s head up with a hoof. “Twilight, let’s not talk about the past. It… hurts, to think about it. And nopony should hurt, not like this.”

Slowly, they began to talk not of what had happened in the past, before the explosion, or what awaited in the future. They talked only of the here and now.

Discord was nowhere to be found. At first ecstatic upon feeling the sheer power about to be released on the world, his glee had turned to despair when he looked upon the remains of Ponyville from outside of Fluttershy’s house. Slowly, the two of them, previously enjoying a nice cup of tea inside of the house, had walked outside and looked upon the hellfire that Twilight had created. Fluttershy herself had been spellbound, horrified and unable to pull herself away from what lay before her, but just on the edge of her hearing, she could hear Discord. His tone had been one of utter disbelief, as he slowly shook and whispered, “No. Not her. Not one of them. They’re not supposed to die. They can’t die. It didn’t happen… It couldn’t happen…” And then, in a flash, he had vanished, and nopony had yet to see him.

A veil of silence had fallen across the Crystal Empire. The great kingdom still commenced its day-to-day operations, and indeed, on the surface it appeared as if nothing was amiss. Deeper, however, there had been rumblings that reached even Fluttershy's ears. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, always joyful and in the public eye even in their day-to-day duties, had retreated into the Crystal Palace as soon as Twilight was first implicated in the explosion, and had not been seen since. Countless rumors flowed back and forth: Cadance and Shining had killed themselves, the duo were considering a rebellion, Celestia had ordered the two arrested for fear of reprisal, the two had turned their backs on Twilight, the two were even now marching on Canterlot with an army, prepared to rescue Twilight. Perhaps the grandest lie was that Cadance had used the Crystal Heart in some sort of spell, to try and rescue her beloved sister-in-law. Laughable as that scenario was, however, it had been made terrifying by the one fact that had stayed consistent in all of the stories, the one piece of information that seemed never to change: The Crystal Empire's legendary glow was slowly, but surely, fading.

What was most disturbing of all was the news of the creature that had been found inside of the blast zone, next to Twilight's library. The first few days of the cleanup, various ponies had claimed that they felt something... sinister lurking in the site. Many had been unwilling to even set hoof in that general area, so unsure were they of what exactly it was that gave them such fright. The general apprehension had continued until finally, one night, Fluttershy had decided to go out and see for herself. Her fear was overridden by a desire to help any creature that might be out there; perhaps some poor animal was only hurt, and simply wanted to be taken care of?

She had seen a lot, in the days after Luna's death. Ponies had died before her very eyes, even as she was giving care to them. Foals had come crying to her, asking her where their parents were, and she'd had to make them understand chance and the gamble of life, at an age where such things should not be understood. And she'd had to deal with the loss of so many of the ponies she had seen every day. She had grown seasoned, if only in experience and not in feelings, and she had expected to find a sight that would shock her but not shake her to the bone.

Walking through the partially-cleared debris, she had expected to find a hurt animal, or a savage one. She had expected to find a creature to care for.

She had never expected to find him, though.

Out of the ashes of Twilight's house had risen a ghoulish creature. Standing a little taller than a normal pony, and just as thick, the beast had appeared to be a demon of the night. Its scales grew out of a normal pattern, seeming to fall over each other as they overlapped, and a few even looked to be ingrown, cutting into the flesh underneath. Its claws were horribly curled into wicked, distorted shapes, and almost looked to be drawing blood from the way they grew. Serrated spines on its back promised death to any creature unlucky enough to fall on them, although they seemed to weight badly on its frame, causing it to sway a little as it moved. Its face, however, had been the most disturbing. On the left side, a scar ran from its mouth all the way past its eye, giving it a gruesome smile. On the right, most of the scales seemed to have been torn off, leaving the impression of a fractured mirror. Its eyes had been a dark, reptilian green, and seemed to bore into hers as it rose up.

Slowly, it had started to move towards Fluttershy, and she had found herself frozen in place. She couldn't even make a squeak, so terrified was she. As the creature had stopped in front of her, and towered over her, she could not help but continue to stare into those eyes. As it sniffed the air, seemingly testing whether she was alone, she could not help but flash back to her times in the town whose wreckage they both now stood in. As it stared at her, as if waiting for her to make the first move, she couldn't help but think back to the first time that she had met another scaled creature, a creature whose color resembled that of the beast that stood before her, mottled as it was. A creature who had lived with her dear friend Twilight. A creature whose name had been...

“Sp – Spike?”

It was then, that she noticed the fog of pain that seemed to exist in the creature's eyes. It was then, that she had noticed the way its body seemed to be proportionally distorted, almost as if all of the gruesome changes it exhibited had been forced upon it by a wild and uncontrollable force.

It was then, that the creature had spoken.

“Fluttershy...” Deep, rumbling, the monster had seemed to grow hoarse just speaking her name. The beast that used to be known as Spike had doubled over in pain, clutching at his throat as tears rose to his eyes. Fluttershy had moved forward entirely on instinct, attempting to cradle the baby dragon who now stood taller than she ever would.

“Oh, Spike... What happened to you? How?”

Slowly, he had opened his mouth and formed ragged words, seemingly in pain with every syllable. “Twilight... Luna... explosion... magic...” At this last word, Spike had groaned, letting out a sound so anguished Fluttershy had felt like weeping. She remembered this baby dragon as he had once been, happy and quirky, playful and helpful. She remembered all of the times she had seen him defy his nature, all of the times he had shown that he was more than just a nasty, scaled brute. But, clearer than any other memory, she recalled the day she had first met him, how happy and excited he had been to find a pony who wanted to know so much about him, who was willing to listen...

Eventually, she had found the strength to speak.

“Spike, let's get you somewhere with doctors, you shouldn't be out here...” She had begun. Perhaps, if they were able to get to Celestia, some of the damage could be reversed. Perhaps, there still was hope for him. Perhaps... “Maybe you can see Twilight again.”

It was then that Spike had surprised her. In one swift movement, scales cracking against each other as he moved, he had risen from his position and planted himself a small distance in front of her, keeping eye contact the whole time. At first, she had been shocked at this blatant refusal, but then had been stopped when she saw the tears in Spike's eyes, the shaking of his hands, the fear in his posture. Slowly, he had told her why he did not want to see Twilight. Slowly, she had understood.

Twilight cried softly, barely managing to form words through tears as she looked at the pegasus. “Oh, Spike... Spike, my number one assistant, my baby dragon, my brother.” Twilight began to openly sob, her words growing more incoherent with every sentence. “Fluttershy, I betrayed him, I hurt him. I've been a terrible friend, a terrible student, and now I'm torturing the dragon that was always there for me. I've failed, Fluttershy. You... you must hate me.”

Fluttershy simply shook her head and gently shushed Twilight. She waited for the unicorn to compose herself before speaking. “Nopony should be unhappy right before they... leave. You haven't been a terrible friend, Twilight. You haven't failed. I don't hate you. I... I forgive you.”

Twilight stared at the mare that had just spoken words she thought she would never hear. She simply couldn't believe what had happened in the last three hours. First Celestia, and now Fluttershy... “Why? Why... would you forgive me? Even Princess Celestia couldn't do that...”

In response, Fluttershy gently brushed Twilight off of her and stood up, slowly walking towards the door. She knocked, and a few seconds later, it swung open, waiting for her to step through. She looked over her shoulder, and for the first time, she saw pain in Fluttershy's eyes. She saw what her friend had experienced, how the decimation had affected her, how Twilight's betrayal had destroyed her. She even thought she saw where Fluttershy herself had been crying, although she could have sworn the mare had never given any indication of it when she was talking to her. Her voice had maintained its gentle tone the whole time.

Fluttershy only spoke three words.

“Because Spike did.”

Pinkie's entrance was as brief as it was powerful.

She came in with a scroll rolled up in her mouth, looking as if the world itself had fallen on her shoulders. Her eyes were absent of the life they had always held. Her mane and tail hung straight, and seemed to give her almost a mourning veil. Her gait was not the happy prance that Twilight had always seen, full of life and always willing to have fun. It was that of a pony who had given up, who had been broken. It was the walk of a pony who had been betrayed. Twilight remembered the only other time she had seen Pinkie this way, the day they had decided to throw her a party. Then, they had had hope, to bring her back from the brink. Now, Twilight doubted that the Pinkie she knew was anything but a dead memory.

Perhaps, though, there was still a chance. She had not expected Princess Celestia, or even Fluttershy for that matter, to be as gentle and forgiving as they had been... Perhaps there was still a chance that she could make things right between them. She had expected to depart from this world hated by all; although she couldn't ask them to agree with her, perhaps she could ask them to relieve themselves of the burden of emotions locked away. It was the least she could do, after everything that had happened.

Pinkie sat down, and for the longest time, the two mares simply stared at each other. Twilight wondered if the former party pony would ever say anything, if she truly had any hope of getting through to her friend. Already, Pinkie had been quiet for far longer than Twilight had ever seen before. Had she really destroyed her friend that much, that her personality, the very core of her being, had been altered? Had she really robbed Pinkie... of her happiness?

As if in answer, Pinkie simply dropped the scroll from her mouth and unfurled it with a hoof. Twilight was tempted to look, to see what exactly it was that Pinkie had brought in with her, but was unable to drop her gaze from that of the mare.

Their eyes stayed locked, until slowly, Pinkie looked down at the paper at her hooves, as if she was seeing it for the first time. For a few seconds, she simply stared at it blankly, her eyes unblinking, appearing for all the world like a forlorn statue.

Then, softly, solemnly, she began to sing.

Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile,

yes I do.

It fills my heart with sunshine all the while,

yes it does.

Cause all I really need's a smile, smile, smile,

from these h-happy f-friends of... mine...

Pinkie's voice broke and faded at the end, as if she was unwilling to continue, as if her very words were causing her to fall into despair. Her tears began to fall and wet the paper, smudging it in places. Twilight noticed that she was stroking the scroll, almost as if it was a loved one, long lost and unable to return. She didn't want to intrude, she didn't dare break in upon whatever her friend was experiencing... but she had to know what could cause such pain. She had to know what was written, that her joyous friend would shed tears over.

Slowly, Twilight moved forward, until she could see fully what was written on the scroll.

She gasped, and fell back, hooves shaking. Grief stabbed at her heart, and her mind was filled with memories of all the time she had spent in Ponyville. Her stomach churned, and despite her promise to Celestia, she only wished for this night to be over.

On the paper, all of the crimes she had committed were written.

On the paper, was a reminder of all that she had betrayed.

On the paper, written in careful detail and precise hoofwriting, so that not a single word was mistaken and not a single bit of space was missed, were written three thousand, five hundred and fifty names.

Applejack and Rarity came in together, and together, they gave Twilight what she had always expected.

Applejack looked, for the most part, unchanged. Her coat was the same orange, solid and unmarred by any blemishes. Her tail and mane looked washed and at least normal, maintaining their normal, casual positioning. The only thing noticeably changed about her was the absence of her hat, which now was nowhere to be found. Twilight supposed it had been put away in mourning.

Rarity, on the other hoof, looked for all the world as if she had completely disavowed the dedication to elegance that she had once had. Every inch of her coat looked dull and tarnished, showing that she had not washed for perhaps days. Her mane was disheveled at best, haphazard at worst, with tangles and strands freely sticking out, resulting in a near-total distortion of what her mane had once looked like. Her face was severely marred by stains running down from her eyes, clear trails indicating tears that had been shed. Twilight felt a pang of guilt surge through her chest; she had taken the livelihood of her dear friend, but what else had she taken, that would cause Rarity to spiral like this?

They came in, supporting one another, and looked at Twilight. For a moment, she wondered what the last two of her former friends would have to say. As brief or as long as they had been, each visit from the previous ponies had changed her, had lifted her up and brought her down. Each visit had torn her apart, or helped to put her back together. She was unsure how much that counted, in the hours before her death, but perhaps she could take some small comfort in this series of happenings. More than anything, she wanted to follow Celestia's last assignment: listen to her friends. She was determined to see this last mission through to the end, determined to understand and deal with whatever the two ponies in front of her had to say.

But no amount of determination, no amount of sorry will, no amount of understanding could prepare her for what happened next.

Applejack slowly removed herself from Rarity's grasp and moved forward, her eyes never leaving Twilight's. She approached the unicorn, never blinking, never once wavering. She stopped scant inches in front of Twilight, her face unreadable.

She raised her hoof, and in one quick motion, brought it down upon Twilight's cheek.

The unicorn's mind and senses went numb as she stumbled to the side, reeling from the blow. Celestia had said that some of the things her friends might have to say would hurt; was this what she had meant?

In response, she felt another hoof impact her side, sending her onto the ground this time. The blow came from Rarity, who now stood alongside Applejack, their eyes full of hatred. Twilight could almost feel their emotions burning into her, their anger, their sorrow, their fear all manifesting in unspeakable wells that somehow reached through their eyes. For a moment, the two simply stood over her, unmoving yet again. Then, Applejack spoke.

“Why, Twilight?” The words that everypony else had seemed to be asking this night, the words that even Twilight herself was unsure how to answer, now took on a whole different life in the mare's voice. Gone was the logic of the question, asking for an explanation, or demanding an answer. Gone was any potential pity, to be reserved for the answer alone. Gone was the friendly tone of the Applejack she had known, and in its place was the voice of somepony who had lost what was most important to them: family.

Raising her hoof again, Applejack dealt another blow to Twilight's stomach, and this time, held her posture, limb outstretched. She leaned down, and brought her face close to Twilight's while still staring directly at her. “Why, Twilight? Why, why, why mah sister? She never did nothin' to you, she never hurt you, all she ever wanted was ta' get her cutie mark! And you took that away from her... you took mah sister away from me.”

Twilight gasped as she opened her eyes, focusing on the earth pony that she used to consider her friend. Tears were beginning to lens the hatred and despair she found there. “ Applejack, I'm... I'm sorry....”

“Sorry?” Applejack seemed almost amazed by Twilight's words. “Y'all ain't sorry, not after what you've done. Sorry is lettin' the chickens out and needing to go round 'em up. Sorry is causin' an accident and hurtin' somepony. Sorry is accidentally insultin' one of your friends.”

She brought one of her forelegs forward and began to ram it into Twilight's chest with every word.

“Sorry”

punch

“is”

punch

“not”

punch

“killin'”

punch

“mah'”

punch

“sister.”

With each impact, a little more of Twilight's hope died. With each word, a bit more of the despair she'd had coming into this cell came back.

Applejack's face had now lost all traces of composure. Tears ran freely down her cheeks, and her lower lip trembled as she spoke. “Ah' loved her, Twilight... she was more than a filly, more than a helping hand... she was mah' sister. Ah was supposed to watch out for her, after our parents passed away... Ah was supposed to see her get her cutie mark, see her finish school, see her have her first date, see her get married... and now, ah can't do any of that...”

Applejacks face melted into a cold, hard fury. “You've stolen the one filly that was like a daughter tah' me, Twilight. Ah can't kill ya, that wouldn't be right... but Ah'll never forgive ya.”

With that, the orange mare removed herself from the unicorn, and shuffled to the edge of the cell. She nodded to Rarity.

The white unicorn slowly approached Twilight. Her face remained set in a rictus of sorrow, the grief clearly etched into her every feature. Her eyes seemed to stare past Twilight, into a space beyond the cell. They remained fixed forward, as she began to speak, with a tone that could have frozen a dragon.

“My dear Sweetie Belle...” Her words were concise and full, keeping in perfect measure and perfect monotone. “I'll never see her live her life, I'll never get to see her off, I'll never get to hear her sing...” Rarity's eyes focused on Twilight. “She always sang around the house, you know. I... I never could convince her to show it to anypony else, she was always so scared, so shy... and she was always convinced that her special talent was something else, no matter how many times I told her to just try and show her voice. Oh, my dear Sweetie...”

Rarity's eyes spoke volumes as she continued. “I... I should have been there for her, at the end. I shouldn't have left the Boutique. I shouldn't have let her spend the day Crusading. I should have...”

Her voice seemed to waver, for a second. It seemed as if the air itself would split, so sharp and clear her speech was, so close to the knife's edge.

“I should have died before her.”

It was then, that Rarity was lost to Twilight forever. Her eyes lost any indication of kindness, any indication of warmth, any indication of a pony named Rarity. Her muscles visibly relaxed, as if she no longer cared, as if she had prepared for just this moment. Her voice became a sharp blade, cutting through any possible defenses.

She looked down upon Twilight, and the purple unicorn did not recognize the pony that stood in front of her. Gone was the Element of Generosity, ever-graceful and concerned with other ponies. Gone was the fashionista who adored making dresses but adored making her friends happy even more. Gone was that Rarity she had known in all of her years in Ponyville.

In her place was simply a unicorn who wanted one thing:

Vengeance.

“I may have outlived her... but I will make this right.”

Slowly, she raised her hoof up, and it was obvious what was going to happen. A pony's body could only take so much force, before it broke. Down her hoof would come, crashing into Twilight's skull and ending her life once and for all. Down would come all of the hatred and bitterness of a mare who had lost her life, and her family. Down would come Twilight's judgment.

The world seemed to slow down for Twilight. Her breath caught in her throat, and she watched as her friend prepared to end her life. In a way, she welcomed it. After all she had done, she'd gotten more than she ever deserved from Celestia and Fluttershy. And now, she would get exactly what she deserved from the mare she had known as Rarity.

At least she had listened to her friends...

Suddenly, the door to her cell swung open, and two guards came in. Rarity's eyes went wide, as she was seized in magic and lifted from the room, limbs frozen in place. One of the guards glared at the unicorn as she was moved out, before motioning to Applejack. Slowly, the mare also walked out, giving Twilight a final kick before leaving. The guard stared down at Twilight for a moment, his expression seeming to indicate a thought process wavering between spitting on her and helping her, before he too turned around and walked out, closing and locking the door behind him.

Twilight slowly got to her hooves, and stared at the door, uncaring of how her body hurt from the last kick, or that the last of her friends had now gone away forever.

Applejack had turned her back on her.

Rarity had... had been willing to kill her.

Twilight collapsed onto her stomach, uncaring of the pain, and cried herself to sleep.

Twilight awoke some time later, her body sore and her mind aching from the crying she had gone to sleep with. She looked around, and wondered what time it was. The sky was a featureless gray, so it had to be early in the morning. That meant that her execution would be happening soon. She sighed, and raised herself up, before turning around to try and stretch. When she turned, however, what she saw nearly caused her to drop back to the ground.

There, hovering in front of her, wings flapping easily, was Rainbow Dash. The pegasus looked as if nothing at all had happened in the last few days; her coat was a solid color, her mane was its usual, casual self, and even her eyes held no trace of despair, pity, or hatred. All they held was the inner mirth Rainbow had always been known for, the only pony they spoke for was the prankster that loved a good joke as much as anything else.

Twilight could only stare, mouth agape.

Rainbow chuckled. “Hey, egghead, watch out, you're gonna catch flies in there, ya' know.” She said, as she fluttered closer to Twilight. “I mean, come on, you're a dork, but you're not that much of a dork.”

With a light thump, the mare landed on the ground and trotted over to Twilight. She wrapped a hoof around the unicorn, and practically shouted in a jovial tone, “How you doin', Twi?”

For a moment, there seemed something off about the mare. For a moment, Twilight felt as if something was not right. But then, her mind seemed to be overwhelmed, and she finally decided that what she was seeing in front of her was real, as real as anything, or anypony, ever had been. Springing to her hooves, she threw herself around Rainbow Dash, heart practically bursting from the joy she felt at seeing her friend. “Rainbow Dash! Oh, I'm so happy you're here! I can't believe you came! How did you get past all of the guards?”

Rainbow Dash just gave her a brash grin. “Hey, Twi, I thought you were supposed to be the egghead for all this stuff, remember? Pony of Loyalty, Wonderbolt-in-training, performer of multiple Sonic Rainbooms, any of that ring a bell? You really gotta keep up with this.”

Twilight could only shake her head in disbelief. Even after all she'd done, Rainbow had somehow managed to stay her friend. Even after all she'd experienced, nothing had prepared her for this. Could Rainbow have really forgiven her that easily? Just as with her previous friends, she had to know... “You mean, even after all that I've done, you don't hate me?”

Now, Rainbow's expression seemed to melt a little bit. “Twi...” She said slowly, their eyes locking. “I can't hate you. You've gone through enough, and you're still my friend, no matter what happens. Loyal to a fault, remember?” She chuckled, while she brushed Twilight's cheek with a hoof. The intimate action, normally something that would have been very uncomfortable for Twilight, became her lifeline, her assurance that what she was hearing was real, as she continued to let the pegasus speak.

“I... I know what you did, Twilight. Yeah, you hurt a lot of ponies, but we both know what you did it for. Who you did it for. I can't blame you for that, Twilight. I can't hate you because you tried to defend somepony. Ah heck, I can't even stop liking you. Twilight, I don't care what happens today; you'll always be a friend in my book.”

Tears had begun to form in Twilight's eyes, and now, they spilled over. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, her mind simply couldn't understand it. First, Celestia and Fluttershy had come in, giving her more comfort and kindess than she had ever expected or deserved. Then, Pinkie Pie had come in, and reminded her of all the things she'd done, all of the ponies she'd taken away from this world. Finally, Rarity and Applejack had come in, to take vengeance for the family that she had taken from both of them. The former had been willing to commit murder, the latter had been willing to watch. It had shown her how truly deep she had cut, how much devastation she had caused.

And then Rainbow had come in, and offered her forgiveness, and friendship.

Slowly, Twilight reached out and hugged her friend. She blubbered helplessly for a few seconds, her mind unable to provide words for the happiness she felt. Finally, she managed to push out a few, weak words. “Oh, Rainbow Dash... thank you, thank you for forgiving me... thank you for being my friend, Rainbow. Thank you for staying loyal.”

She could feel Rainbow Dash laugh and pat her on the back. “Hey, Twi, I'm here for you, got it? I mean, come on; Rarity tried to kill you for Celestia's sake. I don't think anypony else should abandon you.”

Twilight felt her heart grow cold. A moment earlier, she'd had hope. She had been thinking of what she could possibly say to Rainbow Dash; after all, forgiving and loyal as her friend could be, she still owed the mare some sort of an apology. She had been thinking of how she could make it up to Rainbow. She had been thinking of a multitude of ways in which she could show her friend how much she truly cared about her, so that when she left, there was no possibility of Rainbow Dash, seemingly immune to the harm Twilight had brought to this world, feeling bitter afterward. But now, she wondered only one thing.

How had Rainbow Dash known what the others had done?

She asked as much, and Rainbow Dash merely shrugged. “I got a way of knowing these things?”

Her answer didn't make any sense. Twilight felt her suspicion grow. Something was off about Rainbow, and the more Twilight thought about it, the more disturbing it got. She looked at her friend closer, as she pulled away and sat down. The mare's response had been enough to dispel any potential trust for the time being, as she studied her friend closely. She couldn't help but feel as if there was a veil around her mind, obscuring some things that should be perfectly obvious. Could it be one of Discord's tricks, Chrysalis' changelings?

Twilight studied Rainbow closely. Her mane was the exact same coloring as ever, just as her tail and coat were. Her cutie mark was perfectly positioned and colored, not even a little out of place. Even her eyes seemed to be the same size and hue. So what was it that so disturbed Twilight about her?

Then, she noticed it, as her eyes were roaming across the mare's chest. A gleam of light, barely there but noticeable nonetheless.

She tried to focus on it, and that was when Rainbow started to deviate.

“Hey, Twi... What are you looking at me like that for?”

Ignoring her friend, Twilight stared more intently. Whatever that had been, it was no trick of the light. Slowly, more shimmering and gleaming bits became noticeable. Slowly, they started to gain structure.

On the edge of her consciousness, Twilight heard Rainbow Dash's voice growing more urgent. “Hey Twilight, you uh... you wanna stop staring at me? Please? It's making me kinda nervous, and...”

Twilight leaned forwards. There was most definitely an object there, right on Rainbow Dash's chest, gaining substance with each and every second.

She didn't notice the color begin to fade from the room.

“Twilight, stop? Please? I'm your friend, remember? Can't you trust me?”

It looked like a necklace, the more and more it revealed itself. It seemed to wrap around Rainbow's form, and slowly, it began to take on color.

“Okay, Twilight, please, stop, right now. This is totally not cool."

It began to gain color, and it was immediately apparent that what was visible was not solid gold, as it might first appear. There were tarnishes, and splotches, patches where the object looked to be charred. Like it had been burned.

“Twi... please, you're... hurting me...”

Twilight didn't notice the blackness begin to overtake Rainbow's hooves.

The main body of the object was now coming into focus, but it was so dark and blurred that it was a complete mystery what it actually was. Twilight focused more and more, her eyes narrowing a little bit each second.

“Twilight, no... aghh... it hurts, Twilight.... why are you doing this to me?”

Twilight couldn't hear anything anymore, so concentrated was she on the object that was appearing around Rainbow Dash's neck and down her chest. She focused a little more... just a bit more concentration, she could almost see it fully...

As if a light switch had been flipped, the object snapped into focus, gaining full definition in the blink of an eye.

Twilight jumped back, as she felt the veil torn from her mind in an instant. The veil that had addled her thoughts. The veil that had blemished her memories.

There, in front of her, resting on Rainbow Dash's heaving chest, was the Element of Harmony. Fractured.

It was almost terrible in its destroyed beauty. The cloud-like golden clasps on either side were charred and damaged, and even partly torn off in some places. The holder for the lightning-shaped gem had been grossly warped and distorted, resulting in a twisted and malformed thread that seemed to choke the lightning bolt. And in the center, glowing with a dim red light, was the Element. Its light seemed to writhe in and out of the air around Twilight, and was made even more disturbing by its lower edge, which had been completely shattered and seemed to almost drip light, as if the magic contained inside was trying to take a form it could no longer follow.

Twilight had seen the Element like this before. The night that Luna had died.

“Twilight... help... ”

Broken out of her reverie, Twilight looked up at her friend, unsure of what to expect. She was terrified at what she saw.

Rainbow Dash was dead. Her flesh was burned and black, the fur blasted away, leaving charred flesh underneath. Her right eye was completely burned out of its socket, allowing Twilight to stare into the depths of the pegasus' skull. Some of the flesh had sloughed off of her face, resulting in a grim spectacle of muscle and bone hideously looking back at her.

And yet, Rainbow Dash was alive. Her left eye, blackened and destroyed as it was, still stared straight at Twilight, as if it knew she was right there. Her body stood tall, even as it broke down before Twilight's eyes. Her jaw and neck muscles worked, providing a terrible demonstration of the mechanics of speech as the pegasus tried to make words.

Slowly, Rainbow Dash took one step towards her.

It took another.

Twilight was unable to move, her mind was frozen in fear even as her body tensed and screamed that she had to get out of here. Was this some sort of trick? Had Discord infiltrated her dreams? Had the Nightmare Forces returned to her body for good?

Rainbow took a third step, and reached out for her.

“Twilight...” Was all that she had time to say before she vanished.

With a thunderous roar, just like the one that had come from Luna's body the night that she had died, Rainbow Dash was blown away. Her hoof never reached Twilight as her body disintegrated before the unicorn, flaking off and being sucked away like so much ash in a strong breeze. Twilight watched, stricken, as her friend vanished before her very eyes.

Then, she looked around, and realized where she was.

The town of Ponyville lay around her, and burned. Wood was aflame as stone from the houses simmered with heat, all of the pieces unidentifiable after having been blasted away by Luna's violent death. Cracks of molten earth appeared like wicked runes carved into the ground, glowing and pulsing as they flowed and seeped into any dip in the land. Here and there, a few structures that had somehow managed to remain standing slowly sagged to the side, guaranteeing their eventual collapse as they were subjected to the intense heat. The sky itself appeared to be on fire, as it was slowly tinged with a deep red smoke. As if in counterpoint to the destruction, everything was absolutely, deathly silent.

Twilight looked at the devastation all around her. This was what Ponyville had looked like after the blast. This was what her actions had wrought... it was almost too much to bear. This must surely be a nightmare, for what other purpose would her mind have to take her back here?

Then, she noticed the glowing.

The area around her was tinged with a deep, pulsing red, rising and fading as steadily as the slow beat of a heart. It was coming from the direction she had been facing. Where Rainbow Dash had blown away.

Slowly, Twilight turned around. There, hovering exactly where it had been when it rested on her chest, was Rainbow Dash's Element, damaged just as before. It had blown away with Rainbow Dash previously, and Twilight had assumed it to be just part of the illusion. Now, however, she felt as if the Element in front of her was more powerful that a mere nightmare, or a trickster's illusion. It felt as if it wanted something... or to show her something.

As if on cue, the Element rotated in place and began to drift forward, away from Twilight. It moved into a street intersection, and turned to the right, beginning to float forward a bit before stopping in place and staying there. For a minute, Twilight did nothing, and considered simply trotting away. After all, this could be nothing more than some sort of morbid prank pulled by Discord, or a trap set by her own inner demons. But still, if this was some sort of twisted trick, designed to bring her down to the pits of sorrow, why wasn't she being flashed with images of death and despair? Rainbow Dash had been devastating enough to see, destroyed as she was. It made no sense for a anypony to go through all the trouble of creating this illusion for her, only to have it remain comparatively calm. Twilight sighed, a little voice in the back of her head saying she was going to regret this. She took a step forward.

The Element moved forward, as well.

That was it, then. It wanted her to follow it, and follow it she would. She trotted forward at an easy pace, taking care to always keep her eyes on where the broken gem in front of her was heading. Perfectly in sync, they began to progress through Ponyville, bit by bit, passing burning piles of wood and stone as they moved deeper into the small town. As they passed by the wreckage, Twilight's mind was filled with horribly sweet memories of the time before that night. Somehow, despite having never seen Ponyville in such a state, she was able to recognize streets, foundations and small side walls that had not been completely knocked down. She could almost hear the voices of various ponies as she walked, could almost see them as they talked, laughed and danced. She could almost see them, going about their daily lives before the night that had turned them all to ash.

And then, she realized that she couldn't almost hear them. She couldn't almost see them.

They were there.

As she trotted, continuing to follow the Element, she watched dumbfounded as spectral silhouettes of ponies appeared in the red glow of the gem. They chatted and smiled, laughing and moving from invisible carts or stands to other places, and faded away as they left the light that was revealing them. They were almost completely translucent, appearing only as faint red outlines with small darkened splotches indicating differently-toned sections of their coats or manes. Twilight watched in amazement as the ponies she had obliterated were momentarily brought back to life before her eyes, ponies that she had thought lost forever.

What kind of power was capable of this? Was she dreaming, was this a trick, or was it something... more?

She continued to move on, watching Ponyville come alive in front of and around her even as it died behind her. She followed the Element down small pathways that had formerly been side streets and across largely destroyed roads. All the while, no matter how convoluted their path became to avoid wreckage, she felt as if she was getting close to something important, something waiting for her.

She was right. After a bit more travel, the Element seemed to slow a little, allowing her to gain some ground upon the floating object. Then, without any warning or indication, it stopped, still pulsing and still maintaining its same orientation.

Twilight looked around at the area they were in. It appeared to be one of the main streets branching off of Ponyville's center, allowing a clear view all the way to where Luna had died. As they had gotten closer and closer to this point, the ponies around her had slowly begun to appear less and less frequently, until they had vanished altogether right before reaching this part of town. Now, Twilight partly wished that they had stayed around. At least it would have given some sign of life to the scenery around her.

Suddenly, the Element whipped around to face her, its pulse becoming more rapid as the glow that emanated from it grew brighter and brighter. Before long, Twilight had to shield her eyes, as its light became blinding and began to bathe the entire area. She began to hear something, as well... a small voice, unnoticeable at first until it seemed to grow louder, a voice that seemed to be strangely crackling and buzzing. As if it was coming from the Element itself.

Slowly, without knowing why she was doing it, Twilight forced herself to look at the raging inferno in front of her. As she looked upon it, the voice became clearer and clearer by the second, taking on a quality that seemed very familiar. To her surprise, the light of the beacon in front of her collected itself and began to shrink and lower, becoming almost fluid-like as it bent, flowed and compressed. For a moment, it looked for all the world like a massive, floating sphere of glowing red water. Then, its bottom part began to twist and flow downwards even more than the rest of the light, as if it was reaching towards some central point. As the light began to dim, Twilight was able to see a small shape lying on the ground, the 'point' to which the light was flowing. As it twisted and turned, flying above her head in an incomprehensible spiral, she could see the object more clearly. Almost without knowing she was doing it, she began to move closer.

The voice was becoming almost crystalline now, ringing with sharp melodies and tones in an incomprehensible sequence. It was murky at first, but by the second she could feel it becoming clearer and clearer...

The light was almost gone now, only a small pool left as it flowed at an increasing rate. Twilight moved as close as she could to what she could now see was a pony, a pegasus. As she looked up briefly, she noticed that there was no longer any trace of the Element, as if it had been immolated in the very light it was generating. The glow itself, she could now see, was moving closer and closer to the chest of the pony in front of her, before twisting and vanishing into the black body. The body seemed to be gaining more and more definition, and she could now see that there was most definitely something familiar about its cutie mark...

The voice now was clearly speaking in clear language, but it was still difficult to make out. Twilight strained her ears just as she strained her eyes, watching as the last of the light made its way into the pony's chest. And then, just as the last flicker vanished, she was able to understand what was being spoken. What seemed to be coming from the light itself.

Twilight

It was Rainbow Dash's voice, clear and controlled, sad and powerful at the same time. Twilight gasped, as she saw the pony in front of her come fully into view. Its mane and tail were completely burned off, and every bit of its flesh was blackened. The feathers of its wings were completely gone, leaving behind what looked like burned, fleshy extensions protruding from its back.

It was Rainbow Dash, just as Twilight had seen her before. Something was off, though. Something was wrong with her body.

Slowly, Twilight took tentative steps forward, moving closer and closer. She could see the same red glow from earlier, pulsing from the front of the damaged Element. It almost caused her to stop and cry, seeing that precious crystal, one of the six that had originally united her and her friends, broken. As powerful as each Element was, alone they could still be destroyed. Alone, they could still be overwhelmed and tossed aside. Alone, they could still die.

She was getting closer. Something about the pegasus' body was most definitely off. She was hunched around a small package, what remained of her wings folded out and over whatever it was she held in her hooves. A word struck Twilight, as she looked upon the scene, moving closer and closer. The position almost seemed... motherly, as if Rainbow had been protecting something to the very end.

She moved even closer. She could see now, what it was that her friend held in her hooves. The body that had been charred and burned just as much as the elder mare's, that had been cooked such that their skin melted together and formed a grim parody of bonding. The little body she cradled.

Tears began to roll down Twilight's face, as she looked upon the Element of Loyalty in her final moments.

Slowly, the world around Twilight began to vibrate, at first only slightly, but then building. The sky grew brighter and brighter, as the ground began to shake violently, almost throwing her off of her hooves. Cracks appeared in the earth and spread, growing into rifts and splinters of ground that fell down into a black, growing abyss. A roaring came, as Ponyville to the left and right of her fell away starting from the horizon. Wreckage was swallowed up by the inky blackness that claimed anything falling into its depths, and overhead the sky itself was turned a blinding, monotone white.

Twilight stayed, unmoving and uncaring, as the world collapsed around her. She stayed, resolute, as everything around her simply vanished. Even when she stood upon a lone tower of rock, the only other object being the bodies in front of her, she stayed staring straight at the two ponies who would forever be locked in each other's embrace. Even as she fell, she continued to stare at the spot from whence she fell, tears continuing their path down her face. Even as she was swallowed into the blackness below, she saw, in her mind's eye, what Rainbow Dash had stayed to do, even at the very end. She saw Rainbow Dash protecting the little filly who had looked up to her all her life, who relied on her for guidance, who had been like a sister to her.

She saw Scootaloo, safe in Rainbow Dash's hooves until the very end. She saw Rainbow Dash, her head turned down to look at the little filly, her mouth open in a final word of comfort, a final promise that everything would be all right.

Then, she saw nothing, as oblivion took her.

Twilight awoke gasping and sputtering, her entire body sweating as she vividly relived all that she had just seen. She felt sick to the pit of her stomach as she recalled Scootaloo, curled in Rainbow Dash's hooves, looking up at the mare she considered a sister.

Had it been a dream? It seemed so, filled as it had been with terrible, nightmarish images and disruptions of reality. But at the same time, during the entire ordeal she had felt something... powerful, lurking behind the scenes. No mere dream, no matter how detailed, could replicate that feeling of innate magic, that feeling of absolute power. Even now, she felt traces of it lingering in her mind, as if she had just had a particularly powerful spell cast upon her and was still trying to deduce its effects.

Compounding her confusion was a sense that everything was alright, that she was at peace. Or, more appropriately, that somepony else was at peace. She couldn't help but remember Rainbow Dash's words to her, earlier:

I can't hate you. You've gone through enough...

Could Rainbow Dash really have reached out to her from the grave? Could the power of her Element have been that potent, that in-tune with her, that it had transcended death itself in a final moment of... loyalty?

Twilight's thoughts were cut off abruptly as she heard her cell door being unlocked. She watched as two guards came in and motioned for her to move out of her cell. She heard them speak, as they informed her of what was to come.

It was time for her execution.

Hanging

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The morning was a strange time to die.

As she emerged from the Palace security wing and into the early light of the day, the chains on her hooves clinking together, Twilight couldn’t help but notice how the Palace had changed from its resplendent atmosphere to one of mourning. From every window and every doorway, small and large banners flew, embroidered with Luna’s cutie mark and solid black otherwise. The guards posted at every corner had armor recolored from its former golden glow to a black void, deeper than even Luna’s night, empty of any decoration save for a bright white star held in the center of every chestplate. Even the carpet had been changed to a much darker tone, seeming to suck in what little light was in the room. Compounding these details was an atmosphere of depression, a stillness in the air that made a pony realize how empty the Palace felt without laughter, without merriment. How vastly inadequate it was to contain a loss so great. As her guards formed around her, and they began the long walk towards her execution, Twilight felt her heart grow heavy with each and every step.

As they made their way through the grand archways, she saw, from various doorways and passages, ponies she had grown up knowing, ponies who had taught her and whom she had sometimes taught. From every face, there was a strange, contorted mixture, from souls who did not know what to think. She could imagine their conflict; they had all practically raised her alongside Celestia, had helped take care of her in her foolish moments and congratulate her in the wise ones. She’d spent more than a few days, at Celestia’s urging of course, talking to them about their duties, and what it was that they all knew and did. Back then, she’d thought it a waste of her time, a frivolous drain on energy that could be spent studying and learning. Now, however, she suspected that Celestia had even then been trying to pull out of her the isolationist streak that had manifested. It had worked, after a fashion. Though she had still kept very much to herself, she had grown so much from simply listening to these ponies, as they talked about their daily lives and what they had observed. Celestia had succeeded.

Which only made this parting all the more painful.

As they walked, little by little, Twilight mulled over the irony of the situation, bitter as it was. Celestia had wanted her to learn the magic of friendship, had wanted her to grow with it, become powerful through the help of her friends. And it had worked. Every day spent with those precious ponies, she’d grown better and better, learning not just about one of the most mysterious magical sources known to ponykind, but also about herself, and what it was that drove her. She’d explored, and thought, and worked with her friends to create some of the most powerful bonds ever, bonds that everypony, including Celestia herself, were sure would help save Equestria. And they had. But, ironically, the same bonds that had been the salvation of this great kingdom had also been its downfall. She had grown so close to her friends… when they had almost been taken away, she had grown desperate, grown panicked, she had reacted blindly with only her love for them to guide her. She had used the power of Friendship…

She stopped her musings when they reached a massive set of wooden doors, inlaid with gold and ivory, one of the numerous portals to the outside world. Two of her escorts moved to either side, readying their horns while looking to their leader. This was it, in a few moments, she’d be outside, facing the crowds. Her heart pounded in her chest despite all of her attempts to stay calm. This was it. Up ahead was where she was going to die. Her stomach coiled on itself, lashing out in a desperate attempt to eject food she had not eaten. Her head felt light, she was ready to faint…

The pegasus leader gave a small nod to her troops on either side, and the doors were opened.

The bright morning light shone down upon the grand lawn normally utilized for events such as concerts and celebrations. To the right, every spot within a hundred feet of the Palace walls was occupied by ponies of various genders and races. Earth ponies stamped their hooves on the ground impatiently while pegasi brought in additional clouds to seat themselves or their friends on, whilst a few unicorns who had dared to brave the outside world huddled in groups, fearful of the recent backlash against them. Also forming small sectors within the crowd, though not as far back as some of the ‘common’ ponies, were the nobles, their noses held high as their aides fought back the various others who were trying to either talk to them or pickpocket them. Portable security towers had been erected in select spots across the field so as to better allow local forces to keep the peace should trouble arise. And in the center of it all, seemingly the focus of the entire crowd, was the royal seating, to hold Princess Celestia alone. Twilight craned her neck to see if she could spot any sign of the Princess, but she discovered nothing save an empty seat and a pair of stoic guards.

Twilight swept her head to the left as she moved out of the shadow of the doors and heard them close behind her. There, in front of her, was the platform where she was to be hung. It was a simple thing, not more than a raised platform with a mechanism underneath for releasing a trap door and scaffolding overhead for holding the rope. They’d had to build it new, she noticed; the wood did not look aged a day, and there were still shavings on the steps from where it had obviously been recently sanded down.

The crowd finally quieted, as the ponies who had noticed the doors open shushed those who hadn’t. They all looked towards the mare they despised, the mare they had called to death. Twilight heard another door open behind her, and looked to see three lines of Royal Guards moving out of a side passage. Two of those lines formed a corridor to the steps of the platform, while the third moved out in front of the crowd, forming a barrier between them and the action. The same pegasus who had escorted her earlier came out again, this time in the lead of two unicorn guards. She said a few words to them, and with nods of affirmation they made their way to either side of the virtual wall between the crowd and Twilight. Their horns lit up, and in a second a semi-translucent field formed an elongated dome across the entire line, arching up and over to make a bubble against the Palace wall. Twilight wondered whether the force field was to protect her from the crowd, or prevent her from escaping.

With a sigh, she began to move forward. Hooves clinking, she started the short yet long trek towards the steps of the platform. As she moved closer to them, a few ponies took the opportunity to jeer at her, to verbally attack her. She watched as these few ponies sparked a few more, and those a few more, until soon the whole front of the crowd was roiling and angry, crying for the chance to reach her. A few made aggressive moves towards her path, but were immediately stopped by a length of spear across their chests, courtesy of one or more of the guards in what was now obviously a crowd-control line. It was only a short distance to the platform, but Twilight died a hundred times over in that brief span. She watched the crowd as she moved; some of these ponies were no more than young fillies or colts, and yet they were spewing such hatred. Even the unicorns, initially afraid of the action around them, had resurged into their roles as angry and hurt ponies, once they realized that the virtue of her being so close pulled attention off of them.

Finally, she reached the steps of the platform, and moved the short distance up. She made her way to stand on top of the trapdoor and waited, as the double line of guards that had established her path fell in with their brothers at the front of the crowd and helped them to control a mass that was now at the height of its anger. She watched with a cold knot in her stomach as a guard came onto the platform and threw a piece of rope, already tied with a noose at one end, over the scaffolding and secured the back end onto a nearby post. Her lip trembled as the guard tugged experimentally on the noose, and was rewarded with a crackle of glowing blue magic arcing from one section of the loop to another, briefly revealing the runes that were burned onto the surface of the rope.

There was a reason that hanging was considered the worst possible punishment in Equestria. Alone, gravity and mass took their toll much too quickly, and would have been unsuitable for a serious crime. However, with a simple, measured force spell applied to the rope, a hanging that would have otherwise been quick could easily be turned into a drawn-out affair wherein the victim choked, with even the fundamental physical laws unable to grant them mercy. It was true hour-long affairs were never desired, and it was now illegal to extend a pony’s suffering past a certain time, but even so, her death would not be quick.

Twilight swallowed hard as she felt the noose slip over her neck and lightly tighten. The action against her throat exploded the icy ball that was resting in her stomach, causing it to strike out in cold, terrified shards that spread and enveloped her body completely. She felt herself begin to hyperventilate. This was it; in seconds, it would begin. Her mind went numb with terror, screaming for her to do something, anything, while it fought against itself to try to understand what exactly it could do. Her trial was over, she was completely surrounded, even the noose around her neck was magically augmented to not only extend her suffering but also prevent her tampering. Another fraction wanted to buy time, to simply speak, to demand to know the exact reasons why this was happening, even if only to prolong her fate. And a small part wanted to simply cry, to ball up and weep, to huddle in Celestia’s hooves one last time…

Twilight’s heart went still, and the crowd went silent, as the alabaster monarch approached from above. She flew in without a sound, and yet almost immediately everypony’s eyes went to her, as if they could sense her presence. Sneers and jeers were forgotten as every single pony in the crowd bowed before her, all save Twilight, her neck beholden to the rope around it. All the unicorn could do was reach out with her heart, terrified as it was.

The alicorn landed and, without a word, swept her gaze across the crowd. Her face was a mask of neutrality, but her voice held all the power and might of the sun she controlled, carrying across the crowd. “This mare has suffered already. She shall die soon; is that not enough for all of you? If anypony so much as raises their voice against her, I swear by the power of the sun and the body of my sister that they shall be put to death alongside her.”

Celestia’s tone dared any and all to challenge her, as she met Twilight’s eyes. “Now, let your retribution begin.”

The guard that stood with Twilight on the platform nodded and turned towards her, his eyes unreadable as he approached and asked the question that had been made standard for all executions in Equestria centuries ago. It was another holdover from the olden times, when decisions of conviction had been made in much more informal settings. “Twilight Sparkle, have you any final testament?”

Twilight’s mind flashed to any number of things she could say. ’I’m sorry, Forgive me, Luna was going to take away my friends, I couldn’t bear to leave them behind' all flashed through her head, begging release. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to make these ponies understand why she had done what she had done, why she had accepted her fate so readily. She wanted to pull aside the reporter from days earlier and tell her exactly why she had done it, why she had been willing to sacrifice Luna, how much her friends had meant to her. And yet, no sound escaped her lips, not a word of explanation managed to make itself known to the world. She couldn’t imagine anypony, save Celestia, would understand. The words were too many, the emotions too powerful. Given hours, or perhaps days, she still would be unable to explain how deep her feelings ran, how close her friends were and had been to her heart.

There was only one thing to say, one simple word aimed at whom, even she did not know. Perhaps it was meant for Celestia, as a final parting to the pony who had given her everything. Perhaps it was meant for the crowd, a farewell, calm and collected, to those who hated her so. Perhaps it was a last kiss to her parents, as she knew that her final words would reach them regardless of circumstance. And perhaps it was a final wave to her friends, standing as they were at the edge of the crowd, watching on while the unicorn who had brought them together and torn them apart was taken away forever.

The air was still, the crowd holding its breath perversely for the pony it wanted silenced, as she said only one word.

“Goodbye.”

The guard seemed taken aback, but continued on with his duty. “Is that all?” His voice indicated that he thought she was misusing a very valuable opportunity. She only nodded.

He cleared his throat. “Very well then. Twilight Sparkle,” his voice rang out across the entire field, seeming to echo across the walls and across the hearts of everypony, “in the name Equestria, and by the permission of Princess Celestia, depart this world in peace.” With a single jerk, he pulled the lever that stood upright next to him, and Twilight felt the ground give out from under her.

She felt the rope tighten fully around her neck in the split-second before her descent stopped. Her body reacted even faster than her mind did. Even as she processed how quickly she had fallen, and when she had stopped, her hooves were already moving, flailing, fighting against an invisible and unknown enemy. Her jaw clenched and unclenched, trying desperately to move or dislodge the rope, or at least make room. Her horn sputtered and shot small sparks, as the talisman on her horn blocked her inadvertent use of magic. All of her reflexive actions had no effect on the rope that was glowing as it cut off her air supply and slowly strangled her.

When her mind finally registered what was happening, it grew no better. She had thought she was ready for this, but she knew now she wasn’t, it was terrifying, it was horrible, yet another part of her mind huddled in on itself as it tried to deny what was happening. She so desperately wanted to apologize, to beg, to do anything possible to stop this thing that was cutting off her air, but the only sounds she could make were gags and gasps. The world seemed to grow deafeningly silent as she continued to fight, as her consciousness continued to go on in the hopes that something would happen. She began to have desperate dreams, desperate plans. Somepony would come and rescue her; surely Celestia wouldn’t leave her most precious student hanging and gasping. Surely Fluttershy would convince everypony to forgive her, surely she would tell one of her animal friends to cut Twilight down, surely she would do something to help her friend out. It couldn’t end this way, she kept telling herself.

And yet, as the seconds ticked onwards, and she continued to choke, she realized the finality of what was happening. She would die, on this platform, and on this rope.

Memories flashed before her as she jerked back and forth, as her chained hooves tried and failed to reach the rope again and again, as her tail, hips and every part of her being tried to pull itself up against gravity, her attempts more feeble every time. She remembered her first opera as a filly, of all the things to remember. It had been such a lovely show, and she had been so excited to see it, and yet, all she could recall was one part, the song of a choir, chanting and humming in haunting tones and unknown words. Why she remembered it now, she could only guess. She imagined, in her delusion, that she could hear it, playing softly in her ears as the world grew dark around her…

Celestia watched as her student fought against the rope that was slowly killing her, watched as the unicorn’s lips fought to bring air to a throat that could not accept it, and lungs that desperately needed it. The crowd watched on in silence as Twilight’s body jerked, weaker and weaker, and she could tell that they were no longer held under silence by her order alone. Everypony in this crowd had wanted her dead, absolutely everypony. And yet, she saw more than a few ponies look away, more than a few glance in her direction with a small part of fear and a large part of confusion. She almost laughed at the irony of it all; after all that they’d gone through, all they’d cried out for, some of them were doubting their decision.

As she watched her student breath her last breaths on this mortal plane, a memory came to Celestia, unbidden, a memory from a day not long in the past…

Celestia walked along the hallway, making barely any noise as she slowly moved one hoof in front of the other, ears perked, listening for any audible clue. It was late in the evening, Day Court was over; she had taken this opportunity to meet a very small filly, and to console her. She turned a corner; there, a small sniffling, almost unnoticeable if it weren’t for the absolute stillness in the Palace otherwise. She turned, looked into a doorway, and found her.

A young Twilight sat there in a puddle of ink, her mane splotched and runny. All around her, the room was in disarray. Black liquid dripped from the ceiling, while down the walls seeped a watery mixture that looked to be flowing from multiple bricks at once. Mops and brooms lay scattered, their bristles black with ink and many thrown haphazardly in corners or stuck in the rafters above. Various paintings in the room had been rendered virtually indistinguishable, their colors blotted out entirely. And all of this was to speak nothing of the smell.

Celestia stood there, and took it all in, an eyebrow raised.

Twilight looked up at her teacher, tears in her eyes. “Princess Celestia, I’m... I’m sorry,” she said, eyes obviously on the verge of tears.

Celestia only arched her eyebrow further, a quizzical frown on her face. She already knew what had happened, but she wanted her student to tell her face-to-face. “What happened here, Twilight?”

The small filly let out tears as she spoke. “I was trying to paint a picture, like the ones on the wall. But, I couldn’t paint it too well, so I thought that I could use magic to help. But, when I tried to use magic, the ink ended up spilling all over the floor! So, then I…” sniffle “I tried to use magic to help me clean up the mess, but when I did, I couldn’t keep control, and it started spreading the ink, and then everything got soaked, and you came in, and…” Twilight sobbed for a second. “And I’m sorry, Princess Celestia!”

Celestia chuckled internally. Most fillies would have given up once the ink had started to stain; heck, most fillies wouldn’t have even thought of using spells like that. It was a sign of just how much determination her apprentice had, how much she was willing to push forward.

Celestia kept a passive outward mien and, with a simple spell so as to prevent her coat from getting dirty, trotted over to Twilight, laying down next to her in the ink while wrapping a wing around her. “Twilight, spells like that are very complicated for a filly your age. What made you want to use them?”

Twilight continued to sniffle. “I thought, that if I could use them, I could show you how far I’ve gotten with magic! I wanted you to be proud of me…”

At this, Celestia did allow herself a small chuckle. “Proud of you? Twilight, I already am proud of you. Most unicorns don’t learn those spells until they’re already adults, and almost none of them learn to control fluids like you tried to do. Although I am curious as to how your cleaning spell went wrong…” She looked around the room at the various cleaning tools chaotically strewn about.

Twilight only blushed. “I… tried to get them to do the job themselves.”

Celestia’s feeling of surprise made it onto her face. Fluid-control spells were hard enough for a filly to master; it was a question of controlling a substance that could take nearly any shape and form, never an easy task to master. But semi-intelligence spells were another breed of magic entirely; they were almost never used because of their intricacy, and the skill required to set them up properly. What was most surprising was that the spell had worked at all; when they failed, they almost always failed without the tool in question giving so much as a hint of movement, as the setup required a very fine dictation of when the object should and should not be active, and under what motivation, lest it accidentally destroy itself. The fact that the cleaning tools had even moved at all meant that she had surpassed those limitations, and had simply made a mistake in the routine of the spell. This was indeed a very special unicorn before her.

Twilight’s blush went away as she frowned again. “And I… I made the paintings very dirty, Princess Celestia.” She said, eyes downcast. She sighed for a second, and looked up at her mentor again. “You… you can execute me now.”

Celestia couldn’t contain her confusion. “Execute you, Twilight? Why would I do that?”

The filly frowned. “I read it in a book, ‘Early Examples of Severe Criminal Law in Equestria, Sixth Edition’. Everypony was always being executed for crimes! And these paintings… they’re really expensive!”

Celestia looked around at the artwork on the wall, and couldn’t help but shake her head. Twilight really did surprise her quite often, and not just with what she read. She would often explore texts even if she didn't know whom they were for, just because they were there to read. Celestia had learned that Twilight had a habit of using diction from all manner of books she’d read, even if she had no idea what it meant. She wondered who had given Twilight that particular text; she’d have to speak to them about what sorts of things a young pony, even one as powerful as Twilight, should be learning. She turned her head and looked the unicorn in the eyes.

“Twilight, do you even know what the word ‘execute’ means?”

She frowned. “Not really… The book kept on saying stuff about hanging, and violence, and reform. I… didn’t get very far, it was really boring.”

The alicorn smiled. “Exactly, Twilight. The book was boring because it’s not meant for a filly like you. I don’t think you would want me to execute you if you actually knew what it meant.”

Twilight frowned. “But, what does it mean, Princess Celestia?”

She simply shook her head. “I don’t think you need to know that right now, Twilight. You’ll have to learn about that much later in life.”

The unicorn frowned, and tossed her mane out of her eyes a little. She would just ask one of her teachers later; she was sure somepony would answer her question. “So, does that mean I’m not going to be executed?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, my faithful student, it means that you’re safe. Although...” she looked around at the room again. “That doesn’t mean you’re safe from cleaning up this room; you did make the mess, after all.” She raised a hoof at the first sign of her student’s protest. “Everypony should always take responsibility for their actions, Twilight. Even if they are good or bad, a pony should always make sure that they are held accountable.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed for a second before she gave up and resigned herself. “Okay, Princess Celestia, I’ll clean up the room. Without magic this time.”

Celestia nodded. “Thank you, Twilight. And don’t worry about execution, my faithful student. I promise it’s something you’ll never have to worry about. I promise I will always love you.”

Twilight looked up at her. “Always, Princess Celestia? Even if I fail? Even if I do something horrible?”

Celestia nodded reassuringly, a smile on her face. “Always.”

And with a final breath, Twilight’s hooves stopped struggling, her body ceased its movement as her brain shut down and granted her respite from the torture of gravity. With a final breath, Celestia watched as her student, the filly she’d raised all these years, the unicorn whom she’d hoped would eventually take a place by her side, died, and was lost to the world. With a final breath, all of the ponies in the crowd watched the object of their hatred expire, their hearts variously glad, angry, and troubled.

With a final breath, as the morning sun continued to rise, Twilight faded from Equestria forever.

Author's Notes:

A good number of people have posted songs that they believe accompany this story; I feel that you should now hear the composition that created it, from start to finish. Think of it as the theme, if you will, for the entire text:

[youtube=JSAd3NpDi6Q]

Okay, 'author expounding on his/her work' time. If you're not interested, skip the section below.

A lot of people have been begging, demanding, or asking politely for a revelation as to why Twilight killed Luna. I tried to write this in as best I could, while still keeping true to my original intention with this story: let the reader decide for themselves. Some would say that I am 'trying to please everybody', to which I reply, no, I am trying to please myself. The way we view characters can change from day to day, with everything we think and see, and our opinions can change even more variously than that. Heck, I can't even make up my mind who Best Pony is: Some days it's Twilight, some days Pinkie Pie, some Luna, and some days it's even Vinyl Scratch! (Those of you who have me added on Skype know which one of those really is Best Pony.) The point is, if I tell myself 'This is why she did it', then I am shortchanging both myself and you, because there may be an infinitely more powerful reason that I just don't see. So while I will be happy to go into detail with any of the components of the story, just ask in the comments, I am afraid that the full-blown reason as to why she did it will remain a mystery, for only you to decide and understand.

Okay, well, now that that bit of explaining is out of the way, there is something I have for those people who want a happier ending. I really wanted to finish this story off, since I have other ideas, however I did find myself exploring other avenues and other approaches for the story. So, with that, I will probably be adding in at least one bonus chapter with an alternate ending. For now, though, the story will be labeled complete; it's done, in m mind, and I can't promise that the bonus chapters will be my main focus. But, they'll be there.

The Hanging of Twilight Sparkle

by The Pink Mugsy

Trial

Prison

Friends

Hanging

[Alternate Ending] Witch