A long time ago, when she was very young, Twilight learned about her star marking her path of destiny in the sky. For nearly all her life, she has looked to the heavens for hope and purpose.
And now that star is gone.
It's up to Rarity and the rest of Twilight's friends to try to help her as her world crumbles around her.
When I was a filly, I hated magic. Hated it with every fiber of my being. I hated that my father was the Grand Magus of the Canterlot courts. I hated that my mother was one of the greatest thaumotologists in Equestria, hard at work discovering new spells and the inner mechanisms of magic. I hated that my brother, the Captain of the Royal Guard, had received such a swift promotion in part because he was a master of shield magic. But most of all, I hated that I was such a failure in comparison. My magic was nothing short of pitiful; where most of my classmates had started learning telekinesis and prestidigitation, I still struggled to so much as recognize that I had magic at all. It was pathetic. I was a unicorn of the line of Vespers, the most powerful magic users of all, and I was a disgrace. My parents said nothing to me, but I knew as a certainty that they were disappointed in me.
On one quiet summer evening, I finally decided it was hopeless. Whatever power connected ponies to magic, it had seen fit to pass over me. I would never be able to do magic. As I walked home, head as low as my spirits, I caught a glimpse of a strange pony among the crowd. She was tall and radiant, to the point where I wondered how the other ponies had overlooked her and not bowed down before her. But strangest of all, save for the fact that she was an alicorn princess, she looked just like me!
I had to know who she was. I tugged at the edge of her dress and asked, "Hello! I didn't know there was a princess that looked like me."
She gave me a smile that looked somewhat sad. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle. My name is Vespers. I'm your ancient ancestor."
"You are?!" I had heard so many stories about her, but I didn't know she was a princess. "But what are you doing here?" I asked.
She replied, "I'm here to help you, Twilight. I've heard you've been having trouble with your magic."
"I wish you didn't know that," I told her. "I know you must think I'm a failure, to carry your bloodline and not be able to perform great works of magic like you could."
"I don't think that at all!" Vespers replied. "You are a wonderful little mare, Twilight, and you can be whatever you want to be."
I shook my head. "Not if I never get my magic. There's no way I can, not after so long without any progress."
"Twilight, these things take time," she told me. "You'll get your magic when it's the proper moment."
"How can that be?!" I said. "I can't even use my magic; watch!" I squinted and squeezed and waved my hooves, but nothing happened.
"Maybe your magic is coming at its own speed. Have you been reading your books, doing your meditations?"
"Of course I have! But none of it works. I'll never get my magic, not in a million years!"
"Sounds like your problem isn't the magic, then, is it." She shook her head, then touched my forehead with her hoof. "Your problem's up here."
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
She said, "You've been doing everything you're expected to; all well and good. But you've given up hope. Maybe that's what's keeping your magic from manifesting like it's supposed to."
I was confused. "So what am I supposed to do, then? How can I get hope back? If I believe my magic isn't coming, what can change my mind?"
Vespers paused for a moment. Not as if she were unsure, but as if she were waiting for the precise second to respond. "Follow me," she said, finally.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Somewhere special," she replied. She lifted up her left hoof, then tapped it against the ground. She did this again with her right hoof, then she clapped her hooves together and said, "Open sesame!"
A little black door appeared in front of her. I marveled at what she'd created. "How did you do that?" I asked. "You didn't cast a spell."
"It's... special magic," Vespers replied. "Maybe you'll learn it when you're older." She opened the door, then gestured for me to go through it.
Behind the door was a vast room filled with what looked like a model of the solar system. There were hundreds of thousands of grooves in the floor beneath us, and small white spheres on metal poles traced their way along their own path. It reminded me of the little figures that trotted around the big clock in the center of Canterlot, each with their own little part to play. Vespers guided me to the center of the arrangement, where a single figure stood. He was an earth pony stallion, tall and white, with a formal-looking half-smile upon his face. Vespers greeted him warmly, saying, "Good evening, Regulus."
"Good evening," he said. "You'd like access to her Orbit, I suppose?"
"Indeed," Vespers replied.
"My orbit?" I asked.
"Ah, yes, I'd forgotten. Twilight, this is Lux Sidis, the Regent Governor of the Sidereal Orbits. Everybody calls him Regulus, though. He's in charge of the movement of all of the stars in the night sky."
"We watch over them and keep them in their proper paths," Regulus said. "Each and every pony's destiny is tied to one of these stars up here, so they must be perfectly organized."
"My destiny?! Does that mean I have a star up here?"
"That's right!" said Vespers, beaming. "We're going to go see it right now. Regulus?"
"Right away, miss," he replied. He performed the same little ritual Vespers had done to make the door, and the section of floor the three of us were standing on began to rocket away. I clung to Vespers' hoof, and she stood tall despite how fast we were going. Thankfully, it soon stopped, and she and I stepped off, leaving Regulus by himself. He waved goodbye to both of us, and the panel wooshed off once more, leaving us alone among a ring of stars.
"Please, feel free to explore," said Vespers. "You'll know your star when you see it."
So I did. I wandered about, looking at each star in turn. They were so small and simple. I tried to look at each one and divine whose it must be, but nothing seemed to stick. I imagined that this one was Shining Armor's, and this one was Dad's...
As soon as I saw it, I knew it was mine. It looked exactly like all of the other ones, but it resonated deep inside me, down to my core. It was my magic I was feeling, the magic I had sworn I didn't have, pointing me towards my star, my destiny. I knelt down and read the inscription out loud. "HD 120084."
"That's the one." Like a ghost, Vespers had snuck up behind me while I was looking at it. "It's around Ursa Minor, just barely bright enough to see with the naked eye."
"And it's all mine?" I asked.
"Mm-hmm. I want you to touch it, feel it for yourself." I remembered Regulus' warning, so I hesitated. "Don't worry," she said, apparently noticing my fear, "it won't break or anything like that."
When I placed my hoof on the little white sphere on top, it pulsed with a faint purple glow. Shocked, I stumbled back. Vespers laughed. "It's supposed to do that."
"So... what now?" I asked. It was incredible to see my star, no doubt, but I had no idea why Vespers had brought me here just for that.
She knelt down next to me and gestured out along the line my star followed. "I want you to look out and follow this path to the end."
I looked as far as I could, but the line just seemed to continue out past the horizon. "I can't see it," I told her.
"So you don't know where it's going?" she asked.
"No, I don't."
"I'll tell you." She leaned in close, then whispered into my ear, "Anywhere you want it to."
"What?" I asked her.
"Anywhere you want. If you want to be a great magician" -- she took a few steps on the line, then walked to the left a bit -- "it'll go this way. If you want to be an artist" -- she walked the line again, then turned to the right -- "it'll go that way instead. No matter what you want to do, you can do it. And if you have a really big dream, as big as this entire room..." She smiled and extended her wings. "Why, maybe you'll be a princess like me someday."
I could feel tears coming to my eyes. "Thank you, Vespers. I was so afraid..."
"I know, Twilight." She reached a wing around me and held me close. "But you don't have to be afraid of the future. This star... this star can mean something great for you. But to do so, you have to stand up against all of the odds. And if you do, this star will show for you. So whenever you look up at the night sky and you see your star, you'll know that there are wonderful things in store for you."
***
"And that's what happened," Twilight said. "Vespers took me back home, and I spent the night with my family telling them all about what had happened. Do you know when that night was?"
"No, tell me," Rarity replied.
"It was the night of the Summer Sun Celebration. You know, the one where I saw Princess Celestia raise the sun for the first time? And as I was watching her do that, I thought to myself, 'I want to be a great mage like Princess Celestia.' And because I recalled what Vespers had told me, I knew I could do it."
"You know, dear," Rarity said, "I don't think that alicorn you met in Canterlot that evening was your ancestor, Vespers. I think it was you. Or... will be you."
Twilight stopped in her tracks. "You know, that sounds so obvious now that you mention it, but I hadn't put two and two together yet."
Rarity laughed. "I bet you had never thought you'd become a princess before."
"No, I really hadn't," Twilight said. "I thought being Princess Celestia's student would be the height of my career. I never imagined I would get to meet you all and learn just how magical friendship could be."
"Well then, I for my part am glad we could be here for you. Now you just have to figure out when and how you're going to go back and do all of that."
"I'm not worried," Twilight replied. "Starswirl's Causality Exception says that all time travel causes itself. It's a fundamental force of the universe. I will go back sooner or later, and it'll all play out just like I remember it. And it'll happen when I least expect it."
"Which, I imagine, will help keep you from flubbing your lines."
"Right, exactly."
"Twilight! Come quick! It's going to start soon!" called Spike from the second floor.
"Sounds like the main event," said Rarity.
"Mm-hmm. It's the Ursids. Princess Luna's running a meteor shower right by my star. It'll be so cool! Come on, I've got a spot for you right next to mine."
Rarity smiled and followed along. That girl and her stars; she could never get enough of them. She followed Twilight up to the balcony, unaware of how everything was about to vanish in an instant.
It was quiet up on the balcony. Under the moonlight, the castle glittered in a way that reminded Rarity of the gemstones she had discovered in a geode so many years ago. Although the castle was, in a sense, just as much for all of them as it was for Twilight, Rarity was still jealous that Twilight lived in such a resplendent sort of building. It was nothing less than incredible what Twilight had achieved in such a short time. The Princess of Friendship, Rarity thought to herself. It was an incredible stroke of luck to even be in the same town as her, let alone be one of her closest friends. Not everypony got to sit on a little balcony with a princess and watch for a meteor shower.
Twilight, for her part, was almost greedily excited for the time to come. “Rarity, look!” she said. “Cassiopeia's lovely this time of year. See? Right there!”
“Yes, darling,” Rarity replied. She couldn't keep any of the constellations apart (save for Virgo, her starsign), but it made Twilight feel better if she smiled and nodded along with whatever she said.
Spike, meanwhile, brought out pillows and blankets for the two of them as the night grew colder. He had said he would stop running back and forth once the meteor shower started, but Rarity had a feeling he was trying to “show off” in his own little way. Each time he returned, he would say, “Anything else I can get for you two?” No matter what they said, he would always regress to the inner bowels of the castle to find some new way to be of service.”
It was during one such run that the meteor shower began. Rarity expected a, “Spike, come quick! It's starting” to come from her companion, but instead she saw Twilight entranced to the point of muteness at the sight of the falling stars. It fell to her, then, to call Spike back. “Spike, dear, the--”
“There!” Twilight pointed up towards a faint little star nestled among the unforgettable Ursa Minor constellation (okay, so here were two constellations Rarity could remember).
...Well, it had been faint. To Rarity's surprise, the star was growing brighter. “Twilight, dear...” she hazarded, “do most stars do that?”
“...No, not that I'm aware of,” said Twilight. “Did Spike bring up Starswirl's Star Scroll?” She turned away for the briefest moment.
In that moment, Twilight's star flashed three times, then vanished into nothingness.
Rarity immediately began pursuing methods of damage control. The meteor shower dropped several levels in priority. “Let's go see what Spike is up to!” she said, attempting to push Twilight towards the door.
“Well, I'm sure the scroll is some--” --she caught sight of the sky-- “where.”
“Now, Twilight, this was nobody's fault--”
“Rarity? Where's my star?” she asked.
“It's gone, Twilight,” Rarity replied. “And before you ask, I don't know how or why.”
“No, you don't understand,” Twilight said. “I'm not mad. My only question is this: why am I not dead yet?”
“Dead? Well, why on earth would you be dead?”
“My star is gone! My destiny! If my star is dead, then shouldn't I be too?”
“That's utterly ridiculous,” Rarity answered.
“No, no, I think I understand it. Maybe 'death-by-lack-of-destiny' doesn't travel at the speed of light. Maybe it will take a while for death to come and find me.”
“Twilight, I do not want to hear another word of this!” Rarity shouted. “Now, we are here to watch a meteor shower, and by Celestia, we will watch it and enjoy it!”
Twilight seemed a bit surprised at how brusque Rarity had been, but it was a necessary evil. The last thing anypony needed at the moment was for Twilight to go off on one of her paranoid rampages. A bit too heavily, she pushed Twilight onto her cushion then plopped herself onto her own seat. They sat for a few quiet seconds; no matter how much Rarity tried to watch the dancing lights sparkling across the sky, her gaze kept drifting to that empty spot where Twilight's star had been. What could have caused something so swift and so catastrophic as that? Like Twilight had said, stars didn't just disappear on a whim.
The door behind them creaked open, and Spike came through carrying a tray of snickerdoodles. However, as soon as he looked up at the sky, he dropped the tray with a clatter and cried out, "Holy moly, Twilight! Your star's gone!"
"I know right Spike I mean it doesn't make any sense I'm pretty sure I'm going to die now but if you calculate the speed of 'death-by-lack-of-destiny' at one one-hundredth the speed of light then it could take over three years to get here Spike I don't wanna die what are we gonna doooooo?!"
Rarity sat by and facehoofed. It was going to be a long night.
***
Once Twilight had been sufficiently put at ease about how her star disappearing was certainly not worth worrying about, she convinced Twilight to head to bed for the night, in part so that she too could get her beauty sleep. But it was an uneasy, spotty sleep: she couldn't help but worry about Twilight's missing star. These things didn't just happen, she reasoned. Everything happened for a purpose. And yet, both she and Twilight were completely lost.
The next day, she vowed to think about something, anything else. Whenever she was stressed, the spa worked better than anything she could think of. So she invited Twilight to come along and make a day of it. Unfortunately, despite the reigning stillness of the place, Twilight still seemed distressed. During the mud bath, the sauna, and even the hooficure, Twilight kept whispering subvocally, and she glanced back and forth like a criminal hiding away. There was no doubt in Rarity's mind what Twilight was thinking about; she was thinking about it, too. During the massage, she decided to take Twilight's mind off of her belief of her own doom.
“So, are you working on a magic project at the moment?” she asked.
“Mm-hmm...” Twilight replied.
“...What, exactly, are you working on?”
“It's… I mean, very complicated… I don't quite...” Twilight struggled with every word, almost like she couldn't actually remember what she was, in fact, working on.
“Spike probably has a record of it, right?”
“Yes!” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed on her table. Rarity only looked at her more askance. Twilight had a mind like a steel trap; even at her most panicky, she could remember all of her various projects she busied herself with.
“I'm sure it must be very difficult.” Rarity twitched and readjusted her spine so that Aloe could reach a particularly troublesome spot.
“Sometimes, but...” Twilight stopped talking and began to glance idly about, her attention caught up in the swinging of a chandelier to Rarity's left. “I can't...” She struggled to bring herself back to the conversation she'd been having. In a single moment, her attitude transformed from drifting to terrified. “Rarity, we have to leave right now.”
“What? Why?”
“I don't know. But my brain, my thoughts, they're… not right, I don't… I need to be outside. The walls, this space...” She began to twist and struggle underneath her towel, only succeeding in getting it more tangled around herself.
Rarity signalled to Aloe and dismounted from her bed in order to get to her. “Hold on, let me--” Twilight vanished from her spot in a burst of magic, leaving Rarity stunned and perplexed. She shook it off and ran outside to find Twilight staggering from the impromptu teleportation work.
“It has to be the star, Rarity,” Twilight said. She stared unblinkingly into Rarity's eyes, her eyes filling with fear. “I don't know how or why, but… my mind, it's… going…” Twilight placed a hoof to her head, a clearer sign for a sudden migraine Rarity had never seen.
“Twilight? Twilight, stay with me.” Rarity propped her friend up as she wobbled on her hooves. “Let's get you home, maybe up in your bed, hmm?”
“Rarity, please...” Twilight pushed Rarity away and took a few lurching steps. But before long, she staggered once more and fell to her knees. When Rarity caught up, all Twilight could say was, “...Get Luna. Now.” Then she gasped one heavy breath and passed out into darkness.
Though Luna was surely coming as fast as she was able, it felt like an endless eternity Rarity spent there with Twilight's unconscious body. While she waited for her best hope to cure Twilight, she called the rest of their friends to the crystal castle and caught them up on Twilight's predicament. Fluttershy, the dear, immediately set her mind to treating Twilight for shock. The others did their level best to keep calm and scour the library for any hints as to a cure.
When Luna eventually alighted, they had finally accepted that no book would hold their remedy. Seeing their downcast looks, she asked, “What seems to be the matter?”
“Princess, Twilight is very sick, and getting worse,” said Rarity. “I believe it goes back to the Ursid shower yesterday, when her star disappeared.”
“That was Twilight's star?” Luna asked. At Rarity's nod, she frowned. “I'm surprised it's come to this. Regulus assured me there would be no problems.”
“Regulus?” Rainbow asked. “That’s the guy up in space, right?”
Luna didn't seem to react. “Hmm… It may be nothing, but...”
“But what, princess?” asked Applejack.
“...Yes, I suppose you will have to.” Luna nodded, then returned to the others. “I believe there may be an imbalance in the stars. If you wish to heal Twilight, you will have to go up there and find it yourselves.”
“Whoa, what?!” Rainbow replied. “Why can't you go do it?”
“Because I am their commander. They'll hide it from me,” Luna said.
“Right...” said Rarity. “But just how are we supposed to go up there?”
Luna waved that fear off. “Oh, that is no matter,” she said. “I will teach you. It is a simple Magick, hardly of concern to ponies of your caliber.” She tapped the ground with one hoof, then another, then said, “Open Sesame!” At her words, a small door appeared in front of her. She threw a hoof at it, and it disappeared. “See? Simply desire to go up there, and it will respond.”
“Beggin' your pardon, princess but most'f us here an't unicorns,” said Applejack. “We can't perform magic.”
“Then perhaps you should be the first to try, hmm?”
Applejack, skeptical as ever, stepped up to the plate. She imitated Luna's motions, crying, “Open Ses'me!” just as Luna had. To her shock, it worked like a charm. She opened the odor and marveled at whatever was inside. “Ah thought Rarity said Twilight saw…?”
“The stars' domain looks different for whoever enters it,” Luna said. “Twilight sees a clockwork model because that is what she imagines destiny to be like. You see it differently.”
“Huh.” Applejack closed the door behind her, saying to the rest of them, “Well, wish me luck!”
“Luck,” said Luna, and the door vanished.
Next to Rarity, Twilight moaned and shifted her weight. Fluttershy cooed and reapplied the cold pack to her feverish head. Twilight continued to react, and with each sick struggle, Rainbow grimaced and recoiled. Finally, she cried out, “Okay, this is taking too long! I'm going up there to help Applejack!” A tap, tap, and an “Open Sesame!”, and she was gone as well.
“Ooh, ooh, wait for me!” said Pinkie. She created her own door and went to play her own part.
That left Fluttershy and Rarity. The two of them doted on Twilight until she finally stopped struggling and began to breathe more easily. Luna stood by, a little uncertain, feeling rather out of place.
“Fluttershy, darling, perhaps you might like to head in after them?” Rarity asked her.
“Oh! Do I... have to?” Fluttershy asked. “What if Twilight--”
“I'll take care of Twilight,” Rarity said. “You go.” She made a rather unsubtle head nod towards Luna to accentuate her request. Meekly, Fluttershy did as she asked.
Once they were alone, Luna sighed. “Was I really that obvious?”
“A little, dear,” Rarity said. She hoped the familiarity wouldn't seem too impertinent. “I'm well-trained in seeing when ponies don't want to admit they're uncomfortable. What's troubling you, Princess?”
“It's just... I can't help but feel like this is partially my fault. I was the one who authorized the nova. But it was a routine thing! I didn't know! I was sure--”
“No, no. Nopony blames you in the slightest,” said Rarity. “Like you said, you couldn't have known.”
“But a reaction this extreme... If I had asked Regulus whose star it was, or why he needed it destroyed--”
“Please, Princess, you mustn't worry about such things. I'm sure the others will be back soon, and they'll know just how to help Twilight.”
As if on cue, a door opened up, and Applejack stumbled out. “So?” asked Rarity. “Did you find anything? And where are the others?”
“It was the strangest thing,” said Applejack. “The stars, they... they had big, long roots that plunged inta the ground. 'N I could see through the ground like glass, 'n all the roots were all tangled up into each other. Each star wuz a tree, in a huge orchard bigger'n a hunnerd Sweet Apple Acres put together.”
“Did you see something off-balance?” asked Luna. “One of the roots was dead, perhaps?”
“No, nothing like that. Maybe if I'da looked, Ah could find Twi's family all knotted together, but Ah got mighty lost wanderin' about.”
The room filled with a spatial roar as another door opened, and Fluttershy came out. She was shivering, like she'd been trapped in a blizzard or around a herd of windigoes. “Fluttershy, dear...?” Rarity asked.
“It was awful,” she said slowly, as though any words would increase the pain. “Thousands upon thousands of gravestones, all in rows and rows... They had the pony's lives written on them, everything they ever did, cradle t-t-to grave...”
“It's all right, Fluttershy. It's over now. I'm sorry I made you go through that.” If she had seen anything out of place, she would have hardly even noticed it, so traumatized was she.
Right then, Rainbow Dash appeared through her own door. Much unlike the other two, she was energetic and excited. “Woo-hoo! What an upset!”
“Rainbow! I take it you had some success?” Luna asked.
“Oh! I mean, yeah, kinda.” She shrugged and brushed her mane back with a hoof. “My world was a bookie.”
“A... bookie? What, pray tell, is a bookie?” Luna asked.
“It's a gambling establishment for races. Quite illegal, might I add,” said Rarity, throwing a glare in Rainbow's direction.
“Don't look at me! I didn't make the rules for this thing; blame Luna.” Rainbow shook her head. “But that's not the point! So I saw all the stars, and they were racing around the track, and a bunch of weird shadows were betting on who'd win or lose. So I thought I'd make a bet or two, and woo! 38 Boötis got first place on 32:1 odds, beating out Pi-3 Orionis at 2:1 and Eta Pegasi at 6:1!”
“What about Twilight's star?” Applejack asked, a bit impatient.
“Oh, right. Well, I couldn't remember its name--”
“HD 120084,” Rarity said, deadpan.
“Right, that, so I just asked for 'Twilight Sparkle's star,' and the bookie said, 'No more bets on that one. It's closed.' Don't know what that means, but it didn't seem like anything was wrong.”
Rarity sighed. She hated to admit it, but... “It seems we have no choice but to wait for Pinkie Pie to come tell us what she saw.”
And just like that, Pinkie's door opened, and she bounced out to greet the others. “Hey, girls! Guess I was last! Oh well, maybe next time.” She giggled.
“What did you see in the stars?” Luna asked.
“Stars? I didn't see any stars. Mine was just a big ol' fog. I could put my hoof in the fog, and when it came out, I'd be holding information. I just wasn't sure for who.”
“So just... random information? What even is that?” Rainbow asked.
“A probability distribution cloud.”
All six of them turned to see Twilight standing up. Rarity felt hopeful for the first time today. “Twilight! So you're feeling better, the--”
“Electrons do not exist as discrete particles, but as some wave distribution within the probability of their orbital. Within this range, their position is effectively random.”
“Ah.” Whatever had gotten Twilight up, it wasn't enough to set her back to normal. “So whatever Pinkie sees destiny as, it turned that 'cloud' into an actual cloud.”
“Precisely.” This said, she sighed and fell to her knees, with Rarity propping her up.
“She's regressing,” Luna said. “If anything, she's getting worse.”
“How can you know for certain?” Rarity asked. Luna only pointed to Twilight's side; there, Rarity discovered that Twilight's cutie mark had vanished!
“Is that even possible?” Fluttershy asked.
“Cutie marks just can't disappear!” Applejack said. “Stolen, flip-flopped, maybe, but not just gone!”
“Possible or no, it currently is, so we must make do,” said Luna. “Truly, we have but one option left.” She turned and stared at Rarity, who had already figured this very same thing herself.
“I suppose it's my turn, then, hmm?” Rarity asked.
“Indeed. And this time, you shall bring Twilight along with you.”
“What? No! Twilight can't go running off on adventures in her condition! She needs to stay here and try to recover!”
“But she isn't recovering,” Luna replied. Her tone cut through Rarity like a scalpel. “If there is any hope for her, it is up there, not here. Now go, and find your answers!”
“Understood,” said a cowed Rarity. She gathered her friends, then performed Luna's ritual. The door appeared, and the six of them stepped in to search the stars one last time.
It was like stepping into a hyperactive fairytale. Everywhere Rarity looked, there were pale white figures in long ballgowns whirling and spinning in their dances. No two dresses were alike, as far as she could tell, and they each had their partner, another white figure like themselves, only in a handsome black tuxedo. The figures took no notice of Rarity and her friends intruding on their gala; instead, the pulse-pounding music rose in volume to drown out their speech. Before Rarity knew it, her own thoughts matched the elaborate three-quarter time rhythm of the dance itself. She saw the others marvelling, just as she was, and endeavored to bring them back on track.
"We must look for a missing dancer!" she called out to them, but they clearly hadn't heard. She grit her teeth and decided to forge her own path into the bustling whirlwind. Almost immediately, one of her hooves got caught in the crook of one of the dancer's arms, and she began to twirl and spin with the unnoticing pair. At this speed, the other dancers were sheer smudges of color, mere background against the unity the dancers made. Rarity, however, only wanted to get off the wild ride. She struggled to regain her footing and pull off the pair, but no sooner had she done so than another group would snag her and trawl her across the dance floor.
It was a troublesome few moments for certain, each catch and release. But after a few iterations of this cycle, Rarity realized the secret of the waltz: rather than fight it, she needed to accept it, dance along with it. Refusing to dance, she was an unwanted distraction, but as a fellow dancer...
Rarity was one of the best dancers in Ponyville, owing to her deepest desire to appear like a Canterlot maiden. A beat or two to reorient herself, and she was merrily following along. From then, it was a simple matter to grasp one dancer, then another, orbit around and around and in so doing scan the floor with a level eye. All of the dancers appeared almost identical, but all she needed was to find a hole, not a particular being...
There! A pretty one in a green-blue evening gown. Her partner was missing, though you would hardly know it if you weren't looking specifically. Her pirouettes and sinuous steps fit her right in with the motion of the others. Rarity flowed through the crowd, first one and then another (one of which she touched and thought perhaps might be her own star but not now, Rarity, Twilight needs you), each bringing her closer to the lonely dancer. She reached out with a single hoof to join her, complete her motion, when--
Whumph!
As one, the dancers stopped, and Rarity fell to the floor. She scrabbled to catch the hem of Twilight's star's partner, but the mysterious figure began sliding away from a local center. Together, they created an open alley, where the others stood likewise spread out and goggling about. At one end of the alley, four tall figures walked slowly down to where the six were standing. Once they were near, Rarity got a better look at them. The one who stood in front of his companions was tall, smart-looking, and eminently regal. To his left was a red-orange young mare bearing a kind, innocent look. To the central figure's right was another mare, but a more serious one, more efficient than kind, who wore a tricorn hat on her head and a compass around her neck. And the fourth figure... the fourth figure was a dog, apparently. They were heading towards the others, so Rarity hurried to reunite with them, the dancer she had been searching for out of her mind for the moment.
The stallion was trying to shake Twilight's hoof. Unsuccessfully, it seemed: she didn't react to anything around her. He sighed and greeted the others instead. "Hello, all of you. So good of you to come here!"
Rarity pushed her way to the front, looking the stallion directly in the eye. "Who are you, exactly, and what are you doing here?"
The kind mare only smiled. "Ah, Rarity. This is your starscape, right? A huge dance; how romantic!"
Rarity recoiled. "How... How do you know my name?"
"It's simple," said the other mare. "We aren't normal ponies. We are actually stars like those figures out there" --she gestured out to the attendant dancers-- "just particularly special."
The stallion bowed and offered his hoof again. "I am the Regent Governor Lux Sidis, Luna's representative while she works upon the Earth. You may call me Regulus. This is the Pole Star, Polaris," he said, pointing to the serious mare, "this is the Dog Star, Sirius," he said; the dog barked cheerfully to punctuate it, "and this is the Morning Star, Venus."
"Venus?" said Rarity. "Wait, aren't you actually a planet, not a star?"
Venus winked at her. "I won't tell if you won't."
"In any case," said Polaris, "we're here because Regulus said Twilight was back, and he wanted us to meet her. Not particularly interesting, I have to say."
"She's very sick at the moment, actually," said Fluttershy. "We were hoping you might be able to help her."
Regulus blinked for a moment. "We... aren't physicians, Miss Fluttershy," he replied. "I suppose we could go find Ophiuchus, but..."
"She's sick because you blew up her star, you jerks!" Rainbow Dash said. She flew right up to Regulus and pushed him back.
"What?" Venus gasped and covered her mouth with a hoof. "That shouldn't be. We work really hard to make sure nothing bad happens when we perform a nova."
"Besides, it was supposed to be a favor to her." Regulus stood back up and dusted himself off. "She was supposed to be happy about it!"
"That's a pretty awful gift, Reggie!" said Pinkie. "Twilight was really upset to see it go away!"
"And she was right to be so," Rarity added. "She's only half-lucid, her cutie mark is gone... explain that!"
"Hmm..." Regulus took a careful look over Twilight, examining her horn, her wings, and the spot where her cutie mark should have been. At last, he smiled and put a hoof in the air. "Ah, of course! It's a nocebo! Completely in her head!"
The ponies were shocked. "How kin that be?" Applejack asked. "Are you sayin' she made herself sick?"
"Somewhat," Regulus said. "More accurately, she believed that her star disappearing would harm her, and because she believed it would, it did."
"It... makes sense, though," said Rarity. "If her star represents her future, then it dying must mean she would die, too!"
"It's not her future; it's her destiny. Two completely different things," said Polaris.
"Right. Without a destiny, she would be free to do whatever she wished, no longer bound to the passage of the stars. That's why I thought it would be good for her," Regulus said. He shifted from one leg to another, clearly a bit disappointed in himself.
There was a moment of silence. Then Fluttershy asked, "So how can we help Twilight?"
"I'm afraid there's not much we can do," said Venus. "Just support her now, assure her that her symptoms are real, and give her the space to overcome herself."
Rarity struggled to accept this. "There has to be something we can do. Something better than simply sitting back and hoping!"
Polaris shrugged. "There is not."
"Hmmph." She went over to Twilight and felt her head with the back of a hoof. Still hot, but... cooling? It was hard to tell. "I just wish we could fix this whole mess, make it so that it was like it never happened."
"Like it never happened, you say?" asked Regulus. "We could certainly try that."
"What do you mean?" Applejack asked.
"I'll just send you back in time. Remind the Twilight of the past that destiny is just a binding!"
A white wind began to wrap itself around her and Twilight. Panicking, she waved at Regulus to make him stop. "You don't understand," said Rarity, "it's not going to work!"
Twilight started to recite, "Starswirl's Fundamental Law states that time travel cannot change the past, for it has already--"
Rarity and Twilight landed with a thump in a darkened building. Just outside, a large crowd was bustling about, making the noise of everyday commerce. Nopony seemed to have noticed their magical entrance. Rarity dusted herself off and looked at Twilight. She appeared no better or worse than before: still that glassy-eyed stare, still no cutie mark, but she was on her hooves at least, and able to walk around. “Come now,” she said, “let's head out and see where that Regulus has warped us.” She held onto one of Twilight's hooves and led her out into the open.
It was Canterlot. The fool star had sent them back to Canterlot. Judging by the awestruck expressions on some of the passersby, the time they'd landed in was before Twilight had reached her ascension. She wasn't entirely sure why he'd sent them here, but nevertheless, she needed to find somewhere Twilight could rest until they returned back.
“Rarity...”
She jumped. Twilight had spoken, and not in response to some obscure magi-science fact. Rarity could, perhaps, do without the obnoxious, snivelling tone Twilight had affected, but an improvement was an improvement. “Yes, I'm here, Twilight,” Rarity said. “I'm looking for a hospital or a hotel, somewhere with a nice, cozy bed you can rest on for a few minutes.”
“I don't think I can...”
“Nonsense! We'll have you good as new in no time!” With that, she tugged on Twilight's hoof again and dragged her onward through the streets.
They made it almost all the way to the ice cream parlor across the street before Twilight began to complain again. “Rarity… Please, just slow down...”
“I want you to get better as quickly as possible, darling, so please, try to keep up!”
“But Rarity--”
“No buts! Follow me, now!” She tried to remember the last time she'd been here. Was the hospital down this way, or the other way? She chose one way and hoped for the best. As she followed along the sidewalk, she bumped and pushed her way through the crowd. In a particularly busy moment, a bright-colored mare knocked her from Twilight's grasp. The two of them were immediately separated in the bustling swell of ponies. Despite Twilight's taller height, she blended in with the other nobleponies about. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. A moving haystack that kept complaining and calling her rude names as she pushed through them, begging their pardon with each new step.
It was a tense few moments, but eventually she found Twilight collapsed by the side of a building clutching her head. She looked up to Rarity, and Rarity saw the tears streaming down Twilight's face. “I'm sorry, Rarity...”
“I know, Twilight,” she said. “I know you're suffering, so I don't hold it against you at all. Now come on, dear. Your best hope is if we get you somewhere comfortable where you can relax and recover.”
But Twilight wouldn't move, no matter how much Rarity pulled her. She only sat still, her hoof on her head, and continued to mutter her apologies. Finally, Rarity gave up. “All right, dear. I suppose this will have to be as comfortable as you want it.” She slid down next to Twilight and wrapped one hoof around her shoulders.
They sat there for a little while. Rarity would pipe up, “So Twilight, do you think maybe...” or “Twilight, let's get up and move over to...” But Twilight never responded. Eventually, Rarity stopped trying to get Twilight to talk; she'd start when she was good and ready.
“Rarity… my head hurts.”
A dozen excuses came to mind. “Oh, I'm sure that will go away soon.” “Nevermind that; let's just keep moving.” “It's all in your head, Twilight. Keep a stiff upper lip!” But she was starting to realize that those weren't helping in the slightest; all lies or rationalizations or second-guessing the poor pony's suffering. So instead, she only said, “I know, Twilight. I know.”
“And my wings, they don't feel real anymore.”
“I know, Twilight. I know.”
“And without my cutie mark, without my star, I just feel so lost, like I don't have a purpose anymore.”
“I know, Twilight. It's all okay.”
Twilight sniffled, then began outright blubbering. “I'm just so scared, Rarity. I'm sorry...”
That struck a chord deep in her. “...Me too, darling.”
Twilight lurched at that. “You're scared? But… you always know what to do.”
“I don't, Twilight. I really don't. All this time, I've been trying to put forth a good face. I thought, if I could just find the answer, then maybe this would all be over faster and we could just pretend it never happened. I just… I was only trying to help.”
Now it was Twilight's turn to smile. “I know, Rarity. And I don't hold it against you. Come on.” Twilight stood up and beckoned out a hoof to help Rarity up. It shook in Rarity's grasp, but neither of them were particularly strong-nerved at this point. Twilight took a few faltering steps, with Rarity holding one wing. An outside observer wouldn't have been able to tell who was supporting whom.
Rarity wasn't entirely sure where they were going, but Twilight seemed to know what she was doing. Maybe they were going to Twilight's old home? Or to the castle to speak with the Princesses? Or maybe--
Twilight stopped in front of her, and they both stumbled against the flowing crowd. There, all the way on the other side of the road, her little form silhouetted against the setting sun, was filly Twilight. She was kicking a little stone in front of herself, and she seemed to be mouthing some sort of angry tirade to herself. They'd come full circle.
Twilight took a step forward, but Rarity pulled her back. “Twilight! This is the whole reason why this thing happened! You could just--” She stopped. “This is… it's something you have to do, right?”
Twilight nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
It pained her to do it, but she let go of Twilight and stepped back again. “Just so long as you're sure it'll help.”
“I'm sure.”
“All right, then.” She waved to Twilight goodbye, then, on a whim, she made a sharp whistling noise. Not too loud, just loud enough to subconsciously catch filly Twilight's attention. She looked over, and her eyes widened as she saw older Twilight's (Rarity supposed it should be “Vespers,” now) majestic, albeit cutie mark-less, form. As Twilight came over to talk to Vespers, Rarity allowed herself to blend in with the crowd. I suppose she could only do this herself, she thought, here at the end. Her own cure.
In time, Twilight returned to where Rarity was patiently waiting. Rarity smiled. "So, how'd it go? Did you flub any of your lines?"
Twilight laughed. "No, not a one. It's... funny, but I'm starting to feel better. Like... like showing my younger self her star is like I'm... handing it off to her."
"I'm glad." It didn't matter that such reasoning made no sense to her. What mattered was that it made sense to Twilight.
There was a flash of light, and Twilight's cutie mark re-appeared on her side. Before either of them could comment on this new turn of events, they felt the wash of magical energy appear over both of them, and they returned to the present back in Ponyville, where the other four were waiting for them.
"Rarity! Twilight!" Pinkie Pie cried out. "You're back!"
"And Twilight, your cutie mark is back, too." Fluttershy gestured to Twilight's side. "How did you do it?"
"Yeah, Rarity? What was the super-duper-secret cure?"
"Nothing."
The other four looked at her askance. "Nothin'?" Applejack asked. "Are you sure?"
"Well, it was like Lady Venus said. All we had to do was rest, make Twilight feel comfortable, and let her know everything was okay."
"...Oh." Rainbow Dash huffed to herself. "No offense, but I thought you two were, like, running through a temple to find an ancient potion or something. 'Nothing' is a whole lot boring-er."
"I believe the correct form is 'more boring,' Rainbow," Twilight replied.
"...Glad to have ya back, Twi," said Applejack. One by one, they all descended into a group hug, with Rarity joining in last to hold them all together.
"Welp," said Applejack, once they'd had their fill of that, "Ah think Ah've had enough craziness for one day. Come 'n get me if'n Twilight's sanity tears to shreds again."
"You'll be the first to know," Twilight said with a chuckle. The other three made their excuses and left too, leaving just Rarity and Twilight in the castle.
Rarity began her apology, but Twilight cut her off with a fierce hug. "Thank you," she said. "For everything."
"No, you can't possibly--I only made everything worse!" Rarity protested.
"I know you were just trying to help. Besides," she added with another laugh, "I'm sure I would've done the exact same thing in your place."
"Celestia forbid," Rarity replied. "Well, I think I'll have to get to my beauty sleep, too."
"Goodnight, Rarity," said Twilight. "Sleep well."
"You too." She waved goodbye, then headed off down the path back to Carousel Boutique.
As she walked, she looked up to the sky. There, twinkling up above her, were the multitude of stars. She waved in the general direction of where she thought Polaris, Venus, Sirius, and Regulus were to give them her thanks. She also tried to look for her own star, but they weren't like they were up in the Sidereal Ballroom. Here, they all seemed identical. If she wanted to, she could probably go up there again and try to find her star; she still knew the Magick Luna had taught them. But after a moment's thought, she decided she didn't need to try. It was up there, and it was dancing with its pair. That was all she needed to know, and she was plenty fine with that.