Once More into the Breach
I look up, horrified. I can feel a tingling feeling creep into the root of my shattered horn, a sign of misery yet to come, and a lesson not learned. I feel a teleport coming.
Why? Why would this version of me possibly teleport, having already seen the results? I choke back a sob. The cycle wasn't broken. It never would be. If my last attempt wasn't enough, there was nothing in the world that could save Twilight from her self-inflicted fate. Every time she teleported... another version of us appeared here, in this strange sphere, surrounded by nothing but the corpses of our dead friends, and no way to escape. I closed my eyes and looked at the ground in misery. Nothing mattered anymore. After all of the testing, the deaths I've witnessed... I've spent what feels like an eternity here, testing my theories on the true workings behind teleportation, improving them through trial and horrifying error, hoping that one day I would be able to send one of the teleporting Twilights home, safe and free. I finally succeeded, losing my very horn in the process... and now she's back. All my work, undone?
A gentle hoof finds my chin, and raises it to meet its owner's eyes.
"It's going to be okay now. I can take you home," Twilight says, a warm smile crossing her face.
I stare at her, disbelieving, before turning my head to look at the place where the new Twilight should have appeared. The one that gets to leave. In its place is a bubble, floating in space. It's empty, as if waiting for its cargo before it leaves. Waiting for me. Is it? Is this too much to hope for? Is this a coma dream? There's only one way to find out.
I lift myself on trembling, malnourished legs, pulling myself upright. It feels like it's been nearly a month since I freed Twilight from this cycle of pain and suffering. She came back for me. She really did it. I had my doubts... but she pulled through in the end. And to think I had thought she had just teleported again.
"How?" I rasp, my voice having gone almost entirely unused for far too long.
"I memorized what I could of the theory you had written on the wall, as well as the spells. From there, when I survived the teleport, I immediately contacted Princess Celestia, and we worked what I had into a finished product. Both a 'fixed' version of the Teleportation spell, that allows you to seamlessly pop in and out of these... pocket dimensions, instead of creating a clone, as well as a private version to be used in rescue cases like these. In addition, the old Teleportation spell has been officially banned."
I smile, and breathe deeply. "It's over, then? This nightmare?"
"Yes, it's over. It's time for you to come home."
My smile slowly fades, I shake my head slowly. I've spent a long time thinking about this moment, but only now do I realize that there is only one way this can truly end.
"Thank you, Twilight, but I can't accept your offer."
"Huh? Why not?" A befuddled look crosses over her face. She didn't anticipate this.
"No matter where I go, what I do, I will always carry the horrors of this place inside of me. I can't just... go back, like nothing ever happened. My body is ruined, and I can feel my sanity slipping more every day. Look at this place!"
I gesture around the room, at the half-eaten corpses of me, at the piles upon piles of dead versions of my friends, at the bone tools that lie in piles around the room.
"Does this look like the work of a civilized, sane mare to you? Not to mention, I might not even survive the return journey in my state. My horn exploded, I can barely stand, and I'm probably going to drop dead of malnutrition any day now."
I can see the look in her eyes, and feel the hesitation in her body before she speaks, and that's all the confirmation I need.
"We can try to help you!" she says desperately. "There are counselors, and Luna can help you if you have nightmares, we have medical staff on standby for when we return, and-"
"Twilight," I cut in. "We both know that I've already made my decision."
She stares miserably at me for a few minutes.
"I... I wanted to save you..." she whispers. "It hurts me to let somepony go like this."
I smile gently. "I know, but there's nothing you can do. Just... When you do get back... Tell them that I was already gone. Don't tell them about this, alright?"
She nods sadly.
"And also, when you see our friends again, and your family... Tell them... Make sure you tell them how much you care for them all. For me, alright?"
She smiles, but she sniffles a bit. I can tell this is going to hit her hard, but it's better this way. The things I've seen here, the things I've done here... The civilized world is no place for a mare like me.
"Goodbye," I whisper gently. I hug her, softly, and feel her tears on my coat. I watch her as she leaves, a smile on my face. It's over. The cycle is over.
I half-limp, half-crawl over to a pile of sharp, bone tools. I pick one up, breathe deeply, and...
One more corpse on the pile.
Twilight returned to the real world, tears dripping down her face. "She was... already gone. I couldn't save her," she sobbed.
"It's alright, Twilight," Princess Celestia said soothingly. "Everything will be alright now. It's over. You've saved many, many ponies, and I am proud of you."
"But I couldn't save her..." Twilight whispered. "In the end, I couldn't even save the one who saved me."