Twilight sat in front of the Table. The weathered stone hadn't called out to her her in... Well, she had no idea how many years. She was still the Bearer of Magic, sure, but without the others the table had little use for her. New Bearer's hadn't emerged, of course- there were hopefuls among her students, but that was scarcely anything new. Hardly a season went by when Twilight didn’t see some eager young filly or foal she could attribute an element too. But every year, the result was the same. The elemental tree stood, stony and uncaring, the great table quiet and dark.
She stared wistfully at the smooth table top, her eyes briefly flickering up to the old thrones of her friends, each dusty and lifeless and stubbornly uncovered. It had been some time since anypony had sat in those. She tried, once. Just to see if they would… she didn’t know. Liven up? As if a chair could come to life with just the brush of some ponies flank.
But she just couldn’t bring herself to sit. Those seats weren’t hers to claim. She had her own, and lately the Princess hardly left it. A couple more years, she thought, and she’d get ready to move to Canterlot. Or the Crystal Empire. She didn’t have a domain, still, though she supposed Equestria was technically still hers. It doesn’t matter where she goes. She just can’t- won’t- stay here.
But she for now, she can’t pull away from Ponyville. Not yet. A few of her friends were still around, if struggling. She’d have to wait until they… She gulped. She’d just have to wait.
Twilight stewed in silence, an unending dripping resonating from the walls. Now that she thought about it, nopony had been in the castle in a long while. If the school needed something, they had a direct firemail line. She usually travelled to Canterlot, not the other way around. Sure, she could have declared Ponyville the new Capital, but why would she? It just wouldn’t make sense.
How long had it been since she had actually seen anypony? One… two weeks? Yes, two weeks. Fluttershy had taken her little spill down her front steps and Discord was too nervous about using his own chaotic magic on her, fragile as she is.
The dripping continued. She had been listening to it for the better part of a week. This stupid trickle of water has defied every one of her most advanced tracking and investiagtion spells.
She smiled, thinking of her friends. Once, this may have been quite an adventure for her little group. Rarity would grow frazzled; Pinkie would probably dress up like an old Equish detective. Applejack would berate her for not keeping up with the maintenance. Spike surely would have it fixed before she even noticed there was a problem.
Twilight stretched, emerging in chilly, clouded air just beyond the flying hooves of a familiar stallion statue. The time warp would be her salvation. She was around ‘oldness’ too much. Seeing her friends from across the portal would be a breath of fresh air- just a little shard of the old times.
She knew she couldn’t stay long- ever since this world’s Twilight had appeared, she tried to keep away. They needed to bond with their own friend, who would be there with them in their own world. Not to mention the potential magical conflicts, the danger they posed. Sunset herself had asked Twilight to close the portal. Twilight didn’t really fancy the idea of one of them accidently vaporizing the other or managing to fry the portal or somehow cancelling all magic in Equestria.
But a short visit? No problem. Maybe hang out, solve some kind of magical or friendship problem. Just like old times.
Her smile brightened, and she brushed the dirt from the hem of her skirt. She climbed to her feet, clenched her fists, and wobbled towards the door. Faust above, it had been quite a while since she had to ambulate around like this.
She swung the great doors wide, and pushed herself into the old schoolhouse.
And was immediately met by a very firm-looking, no-nonsense woman. She grasped Twilight’s arm firmly, making the girl squeak in surprise.
“ID.”
“What?”
“ID.”
“What do you mean.”
The woman groaned in exasperation.
“I need to see your school ID. You’re almost an hour late and I’ve never seen you before.”
“Oh… um…
The woman blew out an exasperated sigh. “Listen, I don’t know why you’re here, but you clearly shouldn’t be. “
“But-”
“I’m not done. You’re not going anywhere until the Principal has seen you.”
Twilight’s concern dissipated, her shoulders falling as the tension drained from her body. A small smile of relief crossed her face.
“Oh, perfect! Princes- I mean, Principal Celestia will be able to sort this out!”
The woman released her death grip on the purple girls arm, feeling rushing back into Twilight’s hand and pale pink finger marks appeared on her purple flesh.. Her tingling digits subconsciously twisted and bent, relieved at the receipt of the sudden rush of blood. Her eyes narrowed and lips pursed, one eyebrow slowly crawling further up her forehead.
“Principal Celestia? She retired years ago. Are you- feeling alright?”
“Retired? B-b-b-but… Oh, uh, Vice Principal Luna then. I guess she’d be the Principal now…”
Confusion grew to concern. “Vice Principal Luna left right after Celestia. She took a job as a Dean of Student Affairs up in Maressachusetts. Are you sure you’re feeling alright? Maybe… should I bring the nurse around?”
“Oh, no! I, uh… Wait, is this isn’t Crystal Prep! I must’ve gone to the wrong school, by accident, heh-heh. I’m a- I’m just gonna go.”
Before the woman could process what she had said, Twilight whirled around and power walked through the doors. She glanced back towards the glass as she crossed the courtyard, greeted by the sight of the heavy door slamming shut behind a worried and angry school employee who straddled the top step, barking quickly into a cell phone pressed firmly against her ear.
As her boots hit the sidewalk she turned towards the city and began to jog.
Twilight walked slowly, her arms wrapped around each other in the brisk air.
Turns out, the city was a lot further away than she remembered. Those ‘cars’ her friends had really cut down the travel time, and these gangly bodies gave out way before even the weakest of unicorns. Of course, if she was home she could just teleport. But given this world’s troubles with magic, it was best she avoided pulling any mana.
The last thing she needed, with the portal at least temporarily barred from use, was to accidently cause some sort of interdimensional rift when she tried to pick up a book without crossing a room.
Especially given that Principal Celestia and her friends were Faust-knows-where, she had no place to stay, and hadn’t even thought to bring some bits in the hopes that they’d convert to match this world’s currency.
And now she couldn’t even try to hide near the school. And it must have been a different season than the other times she had come to visit. The sky was darker, and the wind carried a biting chill. There wasn’t any snow on the ground, but Twilight certainly wouldn’t be surprised to feel icy flecks brushing against her fur-less face.
Oh, why couldn’t the portal have adjusted her clothes for the season! These human bodies could not possibly be meant for this.
She shivered, subconsciously rubbing her hands against her bare arms. Her breath caught, caught again, and she sneezed. Sticky slime ran down and across her lips, and she recoiled at the unexpected salty taste. The empty street whistled, the steady breeze suddenly incorporating slashing gusts of wind as the sky grew even darker.
Well, this was going to suck. ____________________________________________________________________________
And suck it had. She walked for another half hour as the city lights somehow seemed to move even further away.
Suddenly, her pupils narrowed and she clasped her eyes snapped shut, the frozen girl raising her arms to shield her face as an intense light seared through her eyelids. An awful squealing filled the way between the trees. A gentle rumbling settled a few dozen feet from where Twilight stood paralyzed and blinded. She lowered her arms and blinked, vision slowly returning. Her whole body began to shake as the cold fully pierced her bones. She barely processed the gentle ‘honk honk’ that rose above the gentle grumbling, barely processed the long blare that followed.
A door fell open, tall boots crinkling through the brittle grass and kicking gravel down the shoulder of the road as someone approached. Twilight felt a caring, firm grip on her shoulders, and allowed herself to be led to the groaning truck.
She slumped low in the soft seat, revelling in the steaming warmth spilling from the cab’s vents, as her rescuer walked around to the driver’s side. The door pulled open, the warmth rushing out, as the portly figure of a well-lived woman quickly slammed the metal seal shut behind her. The woman tore off her hat, eyes wide with surprise, as blonde hair spilled down her back.
“Princess Twilight?!” A thick, southern drawl. “So, uh, how are ya’ll doin?”
Twilight blinked, the cold forgotten. Without thinking, she flashed across the transmission and squeezed. “Oh, thank Celestia! It’s so good to see you, Applejack!”
“Now, what’re ya’ doin way out here? First blizzard o’ the season s’posed to blow in tonight.”
“Well, I- I went looking for you guys, but I couldn’t find you, and they say Celestia went somewhere, and Luna’s gone too…”
Applejack threw her head back, nearly bumping the roof of the old truck, and howled with laughter.
“You-you went looking at our high school?! Oh, oh lord, that is… that is a hoot! Heh heh. Twilight, it’s been near 20 years since we graduated!” Her demeanor calmed, and her voice took on a distinct edge. “That’s ‘bout when you stopped comin’ round, too.”
Twilight stared at the steadily sharpening incline of the snow beyond the idling vehicle.
“Applejack… I’m sorry I had to leave. I just got really busy back home, Princess stuff started piling up… I’m trying a whole new thing with the government. And after I found out that your Twilight had appeared…”
Applejacked sighed. “Twilight, I can’t blame ya’. And it aint like ya jus’ dropped us cold turkey. Ya’ visited a few times, always responded when someone wrote. We jus’... stopped writin’, an ya’ stopped comin’. Friends drift apart.” She stared a thousand feet into the darkening evening, focusing on nothing. “It happens.”
“Applejack, I’d just really… really like to catch up.” She sneezed, and her cheeks glowed with embarrassment. Sounding more like Fluttershy than her usual royal self, she mumbled “so I was wondering if I could maybe stay with you for a little while?”
A bit of life filled Applejack’s face as the woman chuckled. “Coarse ya’ can, sugarcube. I’d never turn away an ol’ friend.”
Applejack stretched her left foot forward below the dash, pressed hard against a hidden pedal, and quickly spun the shifter across its track. With a thunk and a jolt, the old truck locked into gear. “But if ya don’t wanna get stuck out here, we’d best be gettin’ along.”
Gravel crunched and spit as the truck merged slowly back onto the empty road, travelling well-below the posted speed limit in the gathering flurry as it ambled back away from the city. As they passed Canterlot High, Twilight scrunched down in her seat, eager to avoid the prying eyes of anyone who may still be looking for her.
The truck crawled to a halt at the end of a long dirt driveway. Applejack twisted the key before ripping it from the ignition, the engine sputtering into silence, metal slowly ticking in the swirling snow. Applejack briefly lit the front of her house with her high beams, before flicking them off. She then leaned against the horn in rapt succession. An arc of golden light spilled across the white on the lawn as the entryway crept open.
Applejack turned apologetically to Twilight. "Sorry, Twi, this is gon' be a might bit cold." Twilight gulped, nodded. She took a deep breath, and they flung the truck doors open. Twilight yelped at the sudden change in temperature, her burning skin liquefying the pelting flecks of crystalline ice, only serving to chill her further.
She crossed her arms and shivered, walking around the back of the truck, making a beeline for the welcoming light of the still open door. "Tw-Twilight!" Applejack grunted. Twilight snapped from her warmth-starved trance, and rushed over to her struggling friend. Applejack dumped an armload of beige paper bags into Twilight's arms, grabbing another bundle in one hand and a stack of steaming pizza boxes in the other. "We'd best get inside! I'll get this-" she thrust her jaw towards the open tailgate and topper window "-later."
Their cargo secured, Twilight eagerly followed in her friends bootprints as they stepped through the drift. The door banged shut as Twilight stepped through, the girl wobbling uncomfortably on one foot having just kicked it.
Applejack smiled as she entered her home. She marched over into the rustic dining room, sliding the pile of cardboard onto the center of the ancient oak table. She nodded toward the kitchen counter. "Thank ya kindly, Twilight. Jus' drop those over there, if ya could."
Twilight let the weight spill from her arms and rest on the counter before glancing around the room. Worn wooden furniture, stains and chips telling of their generations of use. An old TV hung loosely above the rough stone fireplace, tongues of heat already flickering as it slowly consumed a softly glowing pine log. The pleasant smell of smoke permeated the room, hazy fingers twisting up through the chimney. The lazily bundled rats nest of cables nailed in place just above the television exemplified the house’s age, a purposely-designed electrical outlet nowhere in sight.
"Wow, Applejack. Your place looks just like I remember!"
Applejack shrugged off her heavy winter coat, catching it before the garment spilled onto the floor and resting it on a cluttered coat rack above a small pile of soggy winter boots. "Thanks, Twilight. I try an’ keep it pretty traditional. Granny likes to visit, and if the place 'as changed too much she gets... confused."
Finally free of her heavy coat and dripping boots, Applejack wanders over to the old leather couch across from the crackling flame. She flopped down and gasped, her face the picture of comfort. Then she shot a pointed look to Twilight, who joined her. Applejack raised her hand to her mouth, bringing the pad of her thumb and middle finger together against her teeth.
An ear-splitting whistle tore through the house, replaced as Applejack's lungs deflated by the steady thundering of feet against wood. Twilight stared in wonderment as a clump of children rolled into the open area from the hallway at the end of the stairs. From among the whirling mass of youth, a little girl emerged, giggling joyfully as she rushed towards the dinner table, the two still-fighting boys slowly following. An older boy stared in bemusement, only trying to creep through the fray after the younger kids had cleared.
"Soup's on, ya'll. Daddy won't be home 'til after the storm."
The fight began again as the boys approached the table. The little girl had already stolen away back to her room, paper plate in hand, piled high with cheese and pepperoni. The older boy flinched, clearly intending to pounce into the fray. His gaze flickered quickly to the teenage girl sitting on his couch, and he froze and bashfully stepped aside to let his brothers have their turn.
"Applejack, why does Applebloom look so... small?"
"Twilight, we really do need to catch up! An that ain't Bloom- she's called Appleseed. My youngest," she proudly proclaimed.
"So then those two-"
"Twins."
Twilight contemplated this. Applejack, with kids? Her Applejack never had kids. Was this Applejack happy? Was her Equestrian friend happy, before the end?
"Mac Jr, grab Momma and Miss Twilight here a pair of cold ones."
The older boy sighed, set down his recently piled plate, and moved towards the refrigerator. Glass clattered as he awkwardly stepped over into the living room. Twilight noticed his stiff gate, his fixed gaze, the nervous sheen of sweat on his brow. He tried desperately to look anywhere but at the strange girl as he turned the two beer bottles over to his mother.
She tore off the caps of each with the flick of her thumb, stretching over to pass Twilight the brew. Twilight seized the drink, and as she went to tug Applejack didn't let go. She laughed self-consciously, finally letting the visitor take the proffered drink. "Sorry, Twi. Ah'm jus' used to tryin' to keep mah drank from the youngin's that I feel real strange passing one to ya."
Twilight took a drink. "Blegh. Bitter." She took another drink. "Well... not too bad."
"Do ya'll really not have beer over in Equestria?"
"Is that what this is called? No, we've mostly just got cider and wine, in some of the cities. I was introduced to this really spicy liquor by some parrots I met during a coupe. I've... uh... really liked that."
Applejack swallowed, gingerly clasping her bottle in both hands. "So what brings ya back, Twilight?"
Twilight shifted, uncomfortable. She hadn't really throughout about this part of the visit. She didn’t really conceive the possibility that time had progressed so far on this side of the portal. She knew there was a time dilation- but Sunset had been away from Equestria for decades before Twilight came to find her, only experiencing eight or nine years in the human realm. How exactly the time ebbed, flowed, she had no idea.
She knew that some time would have passed. But here was Applejack, with kids! She didn't know what the human reproductive timeline was, but she knew that they mirrored ponies in children- to have as many as she did, Applejack had to be fairly old. Not senile, like her friends, but... mature.
"I... I just wanted to see you guys. Back home, my friends-" she choked up a bit, swallowing a slight whimper that welled from her chest "The Equestrian versions of you are all... they are old. I've already lost Pinkie, and... you. The rest aren't doing too well. And I took over from Celestia, and I didn't spend enough time with them, and now they’re gone and I'm alone and even when I see them they don't recognize me every time and- and I just needed a break."
Applejack placed her drink onto the small table at her feet and pulled Twilight into a hug. "I'm sorry, Twi. I've lost people too." Her gaze flickered up from beside Twilight's head and focused on her son. "Mac got in a car wreck right after I married Carrot. He never had any kids, an' so ah named mah first after 'im."
They held each other, each thinking of what they had lost in front of the snapping fire as the wind whistled over the chimney top. ____________________________________________________________________________
Twilight rose to a quiet home. The whistling was gone, and a weak sunlight peered in through the drawn curtains. The lingering buttery aroma of fried eggs permeated the house, its source evident as Twilight stood from her cramped spot on the couch and stretched her arms up, yawning. She wandered over to the plate piled high with eggs and bacon at the dinner table in the other room, and sat down to read the note scratched in Applejack's patent barely legible scrawl.
Morning, Twilight. Roads are alright here and the kids want to go to a friend’s house. Be back soon.
-AJ
p.s. I couldn't remember if you eat meat over here. If not don't worry- just set the bacon on a napkin and Winona III will come find it.
Twilight smiled, carefully picking the glistening strips up with her fork and setting them down onto the letter, which she placed on the floor. As she slowly sat eating her eggs an older dog came bounding from one of the kids' rooms and pounced, eagerly lapping up the treat.
As Twilight's fork scraped against her plate, the front door swung open and Applejack stepped through. "Morning Twilight." She said, resting her coat on its’ hook and kicking off her boots. She picked up the two cups she had rested on the small table near the entrance, and stepped over to Twilight. "Coffee or tea?"
"Tea, please."
Applejack slid one cup across to her nubile friend, and brought the other to her lips as she sank into a chair. "So Twilight, ya' wanna talk with... everyone?"
Twilight sipped the tea, setting the cup against the old oak. "If I can. I've only got a little while, though. If I stay, I might... well... I don't want to be away from the Equestrian versions of you all for too long."
"Ah'd like to help, Twilight. A' really would. But I don't rightly know how to git in touch with the rest o' 'em."
Twilight's eyes went wide and latched on to Applejack's amber face. "You don't talk anymore?"
"I'm sorry to say it, but nah."
"But you guys were best friends! Forever! What happened?"
Applejack was stumped. She hadn't really given the matter much thought. It just... happened.
"Nothin' really. We jus’ graduated and everybody… drifted. It ain't like we had a honkin' fight or nothin'."
Twilight was silent, transfixed. Disbelieving. They were best friends. They were elements of harmony. They couldn't ‘just drift’. Even her friends- only now had they separated, and only then because age would claim the rest while Twilight lived on. If it was up to her, she would have gone with them. Reincarnated together, gone on together. Left as one.
Applejack’s sigh cut through the pensive silence. Clearly Twilight wouldn't accept such an explanation.
"That first summer was near exactly like every other. We got together ta’ hang out whenever they could get out of work and 'a could get off the farm. Sunset kept real good track o' all our schedules. But then that summer ended. Pinkie went full time at the bakery, spent most of her time in the city. She used ma’ truck when she decided to move to an apartment nearby. 'Cut the drive and be closer to the parties!' she said."
Twilight chuckled. "Well, that does sound like Pinkie. The city isn't too far, is it? I could probably go see her!"
Applejack forced a smile. "Yeah, she always did say stuff like that. But no, Twilight, I don' think ya could."
"What? Why not?"
"Bein' so close to the party wasn't... shoot, it wasn't healthy for her. She got a little too into the fun. We hear from her once in a while, between rehab and jail. She'll send a letter, say she's clean and we should all have some fun, only to disappear for a couple of months. And then ah get another letter."
Twilight was quiet for a moment, registering the mood. "They're all far, aren't they?"
"Yeah."
A moment pause as Twilight mulled over this information. "Thanks for helping, and thanks for talking to me, Applejack. If- if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to know how everyone else turned out, and then I'll get out of your hair."
"It's no trouble, sugarcube. Let's see... Rarity is, like, all kinds of famous. She bought some fru-fru clothes shop in the city, and sure enough everyone loved it. The girl's got stores all over now, and she's in all sorts of magazines and even on TV."
Twilight fought to hold back a laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"It's just so perfect. My Rarity did essentially the same thing!"
"Really? And ya'll kept together? Ah can't imagine Rarity has any time for friends. Uh, oh! Fluttershy! She's some kind of 'zoo-ologist'. She sends postcards some times, and ah send pictures of mah dog. She seems to get a kick out of that. She's studying somethin' or other about rhinos in Africa."
"Africa! Where is that?! If it's not to far I could stay a couple day's longer-"
"Ha! Sorry Twi. Africa's all the way across the world."
Twilight deflated, both sad and embarrassed. Basic geography. She had forgotten the basic geography of the mirror world. And it was a mirror world. 'Africa' was in the same place as 'Zebrica'. They even sounded similar!
"Rainbow is God knows where. Sunset helped her study real hard and she wound up at the Academy, got herself a seat in a F-15. She was on the news a few years back- won a purple heart and some kinda fancy medal for bravery for shooting down three chicom's to save a friend, ‘fore she went down herself. No clue whereabouts she is now- could be anywhere in Asia."
Twilight wasn't exactly sure what to make of all that, but she understood the gist. Rainbow clearly had clearly got herself into something fast and dangerous- exactly what she would have wanted. And wherever she was, she was still loyal to her friends to a fault.
"What about me- er, I mean, Twilight? Me? Whatever."
"I don't rightly know how our Twilight stacks up to you, Princess, but she's a downright genius. Hung out with us that last summer, before movin’ all the way up to Maresachusetts. The old girl got a full scholarship to MIT! By time she was slipping into a bridesmaid dress for mah weddin', I'se already callin' her 'Dr. Sparkle'. Pretty quick after that she was sucked up by DARPA and stopped writin' us none. Figured she was just really busy, or she's workin' on somethin' so big them spooks don't want her talkin' to nobody."
Of all her friends, she felt most strongly for the other Twilight, despite having so little contact with the girl. Twilight knew how hard she had had it when she had to be away from her friends- even studying her favorite magics, breaking new ground, being seen by future generations as the new Clover the Clever or Starswirl... If she had to cut all of her friends out like that, none of it would be worth it. She hoped that the other her was different- that the other her could be happy in her work, could move on from her friends, could make new ones wherever she was.
If Twilight could move on, everything would be so much easier. Her friends could pass, and she'd make more. She wouldn't sit, alone, in her silent castle. The pony she talked to the most wouldn't be Berry's son. Faust... Berry's son. She didn't even know the stallions name. Got her rum shipments from him every week, and couldn't even learn that much.
"What about Sunset?"
Applejack set down her tea and opened her mouth to speak. The words caught at her lips, and her mouth hung open. Her brow knit in a mess of lines and she subconsciously brushed a few strands of her blonde hair from her face. Finally she broke her glare and relaxed. "Ah honestly don't know. Which is a mite strange. She worked her darndest to keep us all together, ‘specially during that summer."
"When did she drop away?"
"Again, Twi, it wasn't a 'drop'. It was... gradual. But... when did she go?" A muffled scrape resounded as Applejack rose from the table and wandered over to a bookcase. She stretched, standing on her toes, to grasp an old bound book that rested against the top shelf. She shuffled back towards the table, the tome releasing a thunderous clap as its mass was deposited onto the table. Applejack settled back into place, and a curious Twilight slid to sit beside her, craning over the woman’s broad shoulder at the musty volume.
Applejack lifted the cover, and began rifling through the pages. She quickly found what she was looking for, leaving the book opened wide and leaning aside for Twilight to take a look. It was a well-loved photograph, very similar to the one that Princess still kept clipped to the mirror in her quarters. The beaming faces of her human friends rose from the page, each huddled, arms intertwined, around an eager Rainbow Dash. Dash was dressed in a crisp cadet’s uniform, and had a bundle of luggage abandoned at her feet.
“The last time I recall seein’ her was when Dash moved away.” Her orange finger gently caressed the faces of her friends as she talked. “Twi was already gone. Couldn’t make it. But everyone else was here. She-” Applejack tapped twice against the face of her bacoon-haired friend “made sure of that. Even grabbed Rarity somehow.”
“After Dash moved, Twi was already gone. Rarity was gettin’ famous, Flutters was in college. I honestly can’t tell ya if she’s talked to anyone else, Twi, cause I haven’t talked to any of ‘em much. But after this” she again gestured to the book “She jes’ disappeared.”
Applejack leaned across the center console of her truck, and dropped a bundle into Twilight’s lap. Even with the heater cranked up to full blast, the Princess’ knees knocked against each other beyond the meager warmth of her skirt.
“Keep it, Twi. Somethin’ to ‘member us by.” Twilight unfurled the bundle, exposing an old, weathered winter jacket; a well loved, well used collection of leather and wool. Applejack’s name was embroidered into the left breast, clearly the ancient work of a teenage Rarity, the excellent craftsmanship notable even beyond the well-crafted coat.
Twilight threw the coat over her shoulder, quickly zipping the jacket to her chin and slipping her hands immediately into the thick pockets. They brushed against something hard, and Twilight set a small framed photograph on her lap. She smiled slightly, shooting a glance over to the driver’s seat. It was the picture they took last time she came across. Pinkie, Rarity, AJ, Dash, Fluttershy, Sunset… the other Twilight, looking very confused. All together, all happy.
The truck’s brakes squealed and the carriage settled in front of the rearing statue. Twilight deposited the photo into her bag, and unbuckled. She stretched across the cab, holding Applejack in a long, tight hug. “Thanks for everything, Applejack. It was great to see you again.”
“I’ll miss ya, Twi. Look after yourself, will ya?” Twilight nodded, swung open the door, and leapt from the cab. The engine roared and the vehicle lurched away. Twilight raised one hand against the biting chill, the shrinking truck letting out a few honks in a cheerful tune. Then, all was quiet.
Twilight sighed, and shoved her hand back into its warm pocket. She hadn’t lied- it had been nice to see Applejack.
But she should have known that coming here would be a bad idea. She should have known that time would have passed, that everything could have changed. Even in this world, her friends were gone, and lost to each other.
Her boots crunched against the little mounds of salt scattered all around the sidewalk as she turned and marched towards the statue. She let her hand fall back into her bag, teasing over the photograph. The other rested briefly against the mirror, the stony surface disrupted by gentle swirls and ripples. She sighed, quickly glanced around, and pressed forward.
Before the strange, comfortable warmth wrapped further than her elbow, Twilight stopped and quickly wrenched her arm out. After the gentle kiss of heat, the cold air only felt colder.
She had nothing to do, after all. What was that old line: There is nothing for me, out there, in the whole world? She had the slight worm of an idea in her mind. It was a long shot, but… she had this coat, and she knew it wasn’t far. Maybe she’d find a clue, or a relic, or just feel the rush of some old memories.
Fully convicted to her new task, Twilight stepped away from the statue, fell through the foot of snow beside the road, and fought to get her feet on the slush at the asphalt’s shoulder. Ignoring the filthy liquid, she nuzzled her nose into the wool collar, and began the brief trek to a certain abandoned foundry. ____________________________________________________________________________
Candidly, Twilight was surprised. She knew it was a long shot that after two decades this place would even still be here, let alone still be standing nearly as complete as she remembered it. Clearly, ‘condemned’ meant next to nothing in this world. In Canterlot, a building hit with that sticker would be a desolate plane, prime for new development within the week.
Twilight wandered around the back of the building, shivered as the deep snow rode against her exposed legs and dripped down into her boots. She crossed back to the same shipping door that Sunset had pointed out to her, all those years ago. To her delight, the trick still worked and the door slipped up just enough for her to scurry under.
Rising to her feet and brushing the filth from her skirt, Twilight stood in the dingy light of the dusty interior. It was cold inside as well- though the towering grey walls made excellent windbreaks.
Small piles of snow clumped against the corners of the room and the mounts of old machinery. The musty foundry floor was dark, full of shadows cast by a bizarre yellow light as the sun’s faint beams just barely managed to punch through the old, light-crazed plexiglass.
Twilight’s boots loudly stomped against the cracked, blackened concrete as their owner crept through the empty space, carefully stepping around rickety equipment that dangled from rusted chains. She had only been here once, and it had been sixty years ago, but she remembered the path well. How could she forget?
She probed the wall, scanning over sealed doorways.Carefully stepping around the rusted-out and graffiti-coated husk of a long-forgotten forklift, Twilight ducked low, grimacing as her ‘new’ jacket rubbed against the bottom of a corroded shop crane that had long since fallen and smashed against the small truck. Everything in this place seemed lost- even to the youth, whoever they were.
Her eyes lit up. A faded sign swung, bent and twisted, barely suspended from the single screw in the upper corner. “OFFICES & TRAINING CENTER” it read, the once-blue letters just barely standing out from the tattered white background.
The door sat slightly ajar in it’s frame, a miniscule drift of snow built up around the crack. Twilight pulled her skirt behind her knees, and squatted down, running her hand around the crack of the door. Small, fresh scrapes in the dust and debris. Slight indentations in the powder.
Twilight gulped, her heart suddenly racing. She sprang to her feet, pressing her full weight against the door, forced it to squeal open on bent hinges. Someone had been through the door recently. Someone had stepped in the snow drift. Someone had been here, might still be here.
It might be Sunset...
Why that would be, what happened to her, how she wound up living in solitude in the same condemn nightmare she had occupied prior to her reformation; all thoughts that Twilight shoved from her mind. She was here!
Twilight wrenched the door shut behind her, cautiously staring up through the flight of stairs and she rested a single foot against the first step, grasping the metal handrail and violently shaking the structure. Satisfied that the three-story climb wouldn’t end in a couple hundred years of imprisonment beneath oxidized ruins, Twilight ignored the sharp bite of the chilled metal against her palm and carefully wound her way up.
At the top of the staircase, she was met by another set of swinging doors. Twilight gave them an experimental shove, quickly scooting her foot out of the way as an old chain, long since broken by the brutal maw of a bolt cutter, clattered from the handles and spilled around her feet. She kicked them aside, and stepped through the doorway.
Darkness.
Near total darkness.
With electricity shut off decades ago and no windows on the interior office block, the hallway was like a tomb. Twilight squinted, waiting for her eyes to adjust, trying to make out anything as she slowly crept along the corridor. She wheezed and scrambled to stay on her feet, her gut quite suddenly pummelling against a drinking fountain which protruded from the brick. Twilight gasped, then groaned. Bringing her palm to her face, she berated herself.
It had been a while since she had gone on an adventure, after all. Even if she didn’t have interdimensional, literally god-like mana reserves, she could solve this. Twilight’s mind cranked through the basic steps to initiate a spell, stopping short of actually casting anything, merely allowing a small amount of mana to collect and simmer. The space between her fingers hummed, a small ethereal orb of violet light radiating into the darkness.
A faint purple hue lit the hall, lighting the area just enough for Twilight to avoid stumbling into a nearby wall. Twilight continued her trek, her sense of misdirection swelling with every step. ______________________________________________________________________________
Twilight blinked, a brighter light suddenly invading her retinas. A microscopic blade of orange sliced through the murky darkness.
For a moment, she couldn’t believe her luck. She allowed her spell to dissipate, a few cockroaches that had been fighting over a few crumbs suddenly deciding to help each other get half to their nests as the small globe of friendship energy permeated the dank air.
Even as her faint light drained, her spirits soared. The orange beam hadn’t been a figment of her imagination, a reflection of her magic in some peculiar, light bending manner. It had been light; artificial, generated light.
“TRAINING CENTER”
She built the faintest hint of mana around her finger, raising it in front of her eye and approaching the wall besides the pinprick of light. She saw the distorted, dirty, faint reflection of her human body. What she thought had been a solid wall was in fact a huge bank of glass that spanned the whole hallway, blocked from the inside by some dark fabric.
In the center of the hall was a glass door, curiously well-preserved even after half a century. The fabric concealing the room was slightly askew, allowing the beam to creep through. Twilight tried to hold her composure, briefly tracing her thumb over the picture frame before extending her glowing finger against the door handle.
She made to push through, but suddenly pulled herself to a halt. Around her finger, she felt a faint biting pinch surrounding her nail.
Magic.
That sealed it. Twilight let out a slight squeal of delight. The only person who could hope to set up anything magic in this world, especially since the portal had been closed, was Sunset.
The light on Twilight’s finger swelled in intensity, condensing into a small bright point, snaking its way tightly around her outstretched finger and spreading across the center of her palm. She let out a deep breath, tried to calm the swelling pounding in her chest, and pressed her hand against the door. The Princess exhaled as her hand made contact, closing her eyes as the warm aura of her magic flooded through the metal.
Twilight’s mind raced, her eyelids pulsing as the spheres flitted in every direction. She followed the swirling paths of the interwoven spells and mana pathways, trying to ascertain the nature of the construct.
It was intricate- not beautiful and certainly not the result of someone with Twilight’s training- it was old school, as though the caster hadn’t been kept abreast of magical research. It was intricate like a mess of clockwork, spun together by a half-mad smith. But it betrayed skill nonetheless- nothing an amateur could do, nothing a monster could make, nothing a magic-empowered human could even begin to imagine.
This had to be Sunset.
An alarm, a few tactically directed light shield spells, a second alarm, a triggered cloaking spell. Twilight found and disabled them in turn, deftly weaving through the triggers and piercing the woven layers of misdirection. Twilight chuckled lightly. Clearly, the sorcerer was operating on muscle memory- after all, what would someone in this world need to safeguard against magic for?
The design would have been effective, if inefficient. An alarm, to alert the caster of a breach. Shields, carefully spread around the door, reinforcing the mechanical structure. A second alarm, set to trigger the cloaking spell if and when the shields were compromised.
As Twilight broke down the protections, a small tear wormed its way down her cheek. Confidence, buried doubt, friendship, magic, redemption… she could practically taste Sunset, boiled down to her essence.
She opened her eyes, and the door briefly sparkled as the shields broke down and the magic faded away. Twilight ran a slim finger against her cheek, whisking away that single tear, and pushed her way through the door. ______________________________________________________________________________
A slight roar filled her ears as Twilight stepped into the room, literally sighing in relief at the sudden wave of warmth. The source of the light was immediately visible, not as a lantern or rigged-up bulbs, but as a side effect of the shop heater blasting full-force from atop a battered tank of propane.
The floor of the room glittered like the night sky as the orange glow of the heating element reflected from the sea of glass bottles that filled the floor. Twilight grimaced slightly as her foot propelled a ragged thing that might once have been a pair of pants across the room.
She looked back towards the heater, following it path of its heat towards a far corner of the old room. Sitting atop a ragged mattress, wrapped in a massive pile of blankets, slumped a very empty looking figure. Her pale skin shown barely a hint of its original color. Her crimson and gold hair hung limp and clumpy, far longer than normal hygiene would allow, random strands poking out in every direction.
She barely raised her head at the intrusion, her sunken eyes briefly widening against the dark rings that surrounded them. She blinked a few times, before letting a small glass bottle full of amber liquid roll from her hand that just barely poked out from the top of the bundle of blankets.
Sunset blinked slowly, eventually painting Twilight with a half-lidded, dead-eyed stare.
“Princess Twilight?” the name drifted, a disbelieving whisper barely breaking through her cracked lips.
Twilight shuffled nervously, suddenly uncomfortably warm in the comparatively sweltering room. She inspected the room, trying to ignore the lifeless eyes of her friend, trying to suppress the urge to grimace as she took in the once fiery woman’s bleak surroundings.
Dark drapes of ratty fabric clung from bent nails driven through the wooden trim of the windowed walls. Empty liquor bottles covered the floor, several layers deep at the worst points. What remained of the moth-ridden carpet was damp and sticky with the remnants of the drinks worming their way into the rug. The filthy tatters of old clothes lay clumped around the room, cast aside by their owner as they finally tore apart.
A rancid odor singed Twilight’s nostrils; small goey mounds of takeout festered among the vessels. A few tattered books lay in an sad pile against the wall, their topics as esoteric as they were unrelated. A fine layer of dust coated each cover, obscuring every title.
Twilight turned at the distinct sound tinkling of glass. A pale bare leg stretched out from beneath the blankets, slowly sweeping aside a pile of bottles from the stained and torn mattress.
Sunset pulled her leg back within its cocoon. “Have a seat, Twi.”
Twilight obliged, trying to tastefully conceal her displeasure as the soft skin on the back of her legs brushed against the vile fabric. “So, uh… how’ve you been, Sunset?”
Sunset deadpanned around her room, sultrily responding “It’s gone great.”
She sighed and closed her eyes, worming her leather-clad arms out from her shell and burying her face between her dirty hands.
“I’m sorry, Twilight. I don’t… I don’t know why I said that. It’s just… it’s been a while since I’ve talked to anyone.”
Sunset sat, pensive. Twilight sighed, leaned forward, and pulled the girl into a tight hug. Only when they broke away did the Princess notice something most interesting.
Sunset hadn’t changed.
Sure, she was thin and pale. She looked sickly, her hair was a mess, and her eyes were sunken and shadowed. But she hadn’t changed. To Twilight’s eye, the girl looked the same as she had last seen her- when she was seventeen.
“I was, um, talking to Applejack, and… you ah… you haven’t changed much.”
Sunset sat a bit straighter, a faint spark of life filling her eye. “You-you talked to AJ? How is she? How is everyone?”
“Good. She’s married. And, ah, old. But you... “
Sunset looked at Twilight, letting out a small chuckle. “I’m still a kid.”
“Yes.”
“Sunset, what-”
“What happened? It’s hard to say, exactly. I don’t really know. After I helped defeat the human Twilight, I just… felt this swell of magic. Which is, you know, fine. We all felt some whenever we ‘ponied up’. But when the glowing stopped and my clothes went back to normal, the feeling stayed.”
“But the portal-”
“Even after I asked you to close the portal, Twilight. I know our geodes had enough residual energy to continue forming mana for a little while, but even after I smashed mine the feeling stuck around. But everyone else? They could just… be normal.”
Sunset stared at nothing.
“That’s when I stopped returning their calls. I didn’t want to lose them, Twilight. I wanted us all to stay friends. But I was so scared of hurting them- it just didn’t feel right, that I should have my powers while everyone else lost theirs. If I went, you know, back to the old me, they wouldn’t be able to protect themselves. Or anyone else. And they had lives, Twilight. They were going places, doing the things they were meant to do. You know what I saw, last time I went out?”
Twilight waited.
“I caught a glimpse of a fashion magazine- Rarity was on the cover. And you know what I saw in the newspaper, two bins over? Rainbow Dash, a big shiny medal around her neck, posing for a photo in a cockpit out on some island. But you know what really did it, Twi?”
Sunset was speaking animatedly, her voice slowly raising, emotions she had buried long ago finally breaching her shell and spilling out.
“I saw myself. Walking around near my old apartment. She was going to this college downtown. She was laughing, walking with a group of girls, grasping the arm of some boy.”
She sniffled, gesturing around the dark room with her head as her eyes glistened. “That’s why I’m here, Twilight. It’s the same reason you left. I don’t belong here. Someone else already has my place- I have no right to take that from them. They have a life, they have a future. If I take that, if I ruin it, if I pretend to be her, I’m just… just the same as I used to be.”
Twilight leaned over, wrangling to clasp Sunset’s hand. The Princess pulled it towards her and wrapped her other hand around, surrounding the digits in a friendly warmth.
“Sunset, why didn’t you write? You know I would have responded. Just because the portal was closed doesn't mean that messages-”
“I tried, Twilight! But I just didn’t know what to say. I mean, what would I have asked you to do. I started writing so many times- clicked open my pen, you know, set the tip against the paper of the notebook. But I could never get the right words out, and eventually I just stopped trying. What was the point?”
As Sunset nodded to the doorway- and the maze of wards- Twilight had pushed through, the Princess noticed a faint shape slumped against the wall beside the doorway- the journal, clearly thrown aside at some velocity, now splayed open and long since abandoned.
Sunset’s jacket had ridden up on her arms, settling near the elbow. As Twilight turned back to look at her friend, the princess noticed a small web of scars crossing the soft flesh. Her grip tightened and she shot up glaring intensely at the yellow girl.
Sunset pulled her hand free, quickly pulling her sleeves down to cover the offending marks. She sighed again, hanging her head, suddenly ashamed. “I’m sorry, Twilight. After everything you did for me… When I couldn’t write to you, that’s when this started. I don’t do it anymore, I swear.”
Twilight exhaled, still concerned, and sank back to her rear. She considered that explanation totally inadequate.
A slight whistle escaped from Sunset’s nose as she hung her head. “I feel- er, felt- pointless, you know? I didn’t want to hurt my friends, didn’t belong in this world. I am not aging, so I couldn’t stick around people unless I want to become state property. I just… I hit this low, you know? Maybe you don’t.”
“Sunset, don’t take this the wrong way, but… why did you stop?”
Sunset forced herself to meet the Princess’ eye. “I couldn’t do it, Twilight.”
“But your arms…”
“No, not that. I literally can’t do it. I couldn’t die. Can’t- whatever. I did this-” A slight shrug of her right arm “‘and they just kept bleeding until they clotted. I jumped ten stories, Twilight. Walked away from that one with only a broken nose and even that fixed itself by the next morning. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Twilight.” She nudged another bottle from the bed. “I’ve consumed nothing but whiskey for almost three months, and I just feel tired. All the time. Not even drunk anymore. Just tired.”
Twilight’s mind was spinning. She was glad that her friend was live, but this… none of it should be possible. Latent magic, mana utilization without a geode, alcohol resistance, developmental freezing, immunity to magicless damage…
Twilight sat bolt upright as the gears clicked into place. With a speed that would impress even a young Pinkie, she wrenched Sunset forward and pulled her own sleeve up, forcing the amber girl’s fingers against her exposed wrist.
“Wha!-”
“Sunset, quick. Show me.”
Sunset held her head sideways, confused. “Show you…”
“Your memory! Of you defeating me! Er- this world’s me! The Friendship Games!”
Sunset thought about protesting, but nearly instantly relented. She may have some cursed inability to die, but that didn’t mean that things don’t hurt, and Twilight was quite literally crushing her wrist.
Sunset closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and let magic she had held for decades radiate into the other girl’s wrist. A bright white light wrapped around Twilight’s arm, spiralling up towards her chest, before leaping out and plunging into her forehead. Sunset went limp and Twilight’s eyelids burst open, a blinding white light pouring from the spheres as the scene danced to life within her head. ______________________________________________________________________
Unleash the magic, free the magic… NOW!
Twilight Sparkle opened her necklace, and a purple light erupted and began to expand. The crowd fell silent and a torrid wind began to whip, forcing the students down into the sod. The girl was pulled from the earth, hovering dozens of feet above the ground, the bright violet globe expanding to consume her hands, her face a picture of panic as she tried desperately to drop the clamshell device.
Two dimensional rips in three dimensional spaces erupted as the world began to crumble, the stolen magic from the mirror tearing holes in the fabric of the Warp. Far below, the streets of Ponyville stood, a stallion frozen in fear looking up at the hole in his evening clouds. To see it, Sunset had to stretch her neck skywards. Gravity- as the portals did not align with each other- broke and the world began to pull itself apart.
Princess Twilight knew all of this already. She wasn’t watching the carnage, the other-her’s transformation. She focused solely on Sunset, what the girl had seen, had felt. Sunset’s magic activated and the girl transformed. Her mind churned as she locked on to the smallest details in Sunset’s field of view. A great horn of magical light protruded from her skull, her hand outstretched, reaching for Twilight…
As her fingers splayed, Princess Twilight shuddered. There it was. She stared as Sunset’s fingers spread out, as she tried to reason with Midnight Sparkle, to get her to stop. The shadow on the back of the girl’s hand… Some light source cast bright, beyond the field of Sunset’s view, a brilliant sheet of ethereal energy.
The memory ended.
Twilight blinked rapidly, her vision clearing and purging of the magic. Sunset shifted, her body surging back to life as her mind began to spin.
She got her wits about her, extricated herself from the tangle of blankets, and pulled herself from the floor. She stared at Twilight. The Princess sat on her feet, her knees splayed wide. Her back arched inwards, chest thrust towards the ceiling. Her hair brushed against the floor, head bobbing to the side.
“Twilight?” No response. “Twilight, what’s wrong?”
Sunset’s heart raced for the first time in years. Her breathing grew frantic as she scrambled towards her friend. She seized the Princess’ shoulders and began to shake, practically sobbing. She knew she was dangerous. She knew she shouldn’t use her powers. She knew she would just ruin everything, that she was poison, that the only way for her to take care of those that she loved was to stay far away.
“Nonononononononono! No!” Twilight’s pupils rolled around, her gaze unfocused.
“how did-”
Sunset stopped her shaking, pulled in her sobs. She leaned forward, listening intently.
“Shouldn’t be possible. Not with such limited Equestrian... No…Even with Equestrian magic, without the Elements…”
Sunset sank back. As Twilight snapped out of her stupor and rejoined reality, Sunset scooted back to give her room to breath.
Twilight struggled to shake off her daze, eventually pulling together enough to turn towards Sunset. “Sunset… I think you ascended…”
“W-what? No, I couldn’t have. You had to have the Elements of Harmony, AND the blessing of an alicorn, AND you were the Element of Magic.”
Twilight crawled to her feet, practically squealing as her mind began to spin. “Remember the Battle of the Bands? When our Magic melded to defeat the Sirens? That was essentially what Celestia did to me to initiate my Ascension! And your geodes- the fact that you all were the representation of an Element of Harmony, and your traits were so strong and mixed frequently with Equestrian magic… I think your geodes might literally have been this world’s Elements of Harmony!”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Twilight! The elements were-”
“I know! The elements were destroyed! I just- I don’t- this is so exciting!”
Twilight began hopping around, acting as though she was once again a filly, jubilant in a way she hadn’t been for decades.
As quickly as her excitement swelled, it was deflated. “Oh…”
“Yeah, Twilight. My geode is gone…”
“...and none of you are friends anymore.”
Sunset looked down, suddenly very interested in her grimy feet. “Yeah.”
She sighed, turning to look at Twilight. “So… what now?”
Silence.
“I mean… I don’t know what to do,” Sunset continued, “If I’m an alicorn, I’m even more dangerous, Twilight- I can’t get back to my friends, I can’t do anything while this world’s version of me is alive. I’m going to go mad if I spend another decade alone in here…”
Sunset sank back down to her rear, bringing her knees against her chest and wrapping her arms around the knobby joints. She buried her face in the crooks of her elbows. “I can’t do this anymore, Twi.”
Twilight shot her a look of sympathy, scooping the old blankets from the floor and plopping down besides her friend. She slipping an arm over Sunset’s shoulder, pulling the blankets around the pair tight. “Sunset, we’re- we’re not that different, now.”
Sunset let out a weak laugh, lifting her head just enough for her gaze to pan across the crumbling room. “Twilight, please.”
“Seriously, Sunset. You know that there is a significant time dilation across the portal, right?
“Sure.”
“You were here for four years, Sunset. I was practically an infant when you crossed over. It’s been two decades for you… but nearly 80 years back home.”
Sunset looked to Twilight, disbelieve written across her brow. “Ei-eighy years? Then… my parents... “
Twilight nodded, tightening her embrace. “My friends... Pinkie, Dash, AJ, Starlight. All gone. Rarity isn’t far behind, and Fluttershy… she doesn’t recognize me, doesn’t remember any of our adventures. I’m just another muzzle in the rotation of nurses that keeps her comfortable. Even with Discord’s help- did I tell you about him? He’s good now- she just… can’t remember.
Worst of all? I have no one to replace them. I was the Princess of Friendship, but I didn’t actually make any other friends. I just clung to my group, the only ponies who had ever broken me out of my shell. And now that they’re gone…”
“You don’t know what to do.” Sunset whispered.
“I holed myself up in my castle, reading and writing and doing everything I could to ignore the fact that everyone I’ve ever loved is gone.”
They sat, basking in the gentle glow and quiet roar of the shop heater.
“Sunset, come back with me.”
The immortal teen sighed, leaning her head against Twilight’s shoulder and staring off into some distant space beyond the ceiling. “I don’t think I can, Twilight. After what I did… I can’t face her.”
“Sunset, she wants to mend things with you! Every time I crossed the mirror, I came back to her, nervously asking question after question, mostly about you. Sunset, she blames herself.”
“But what if she-”
“It doesn’t matter what she thinks! I want her to be happy, but… Our friends are gone. And I’m sorry Sunset, but this-” she frantically gestured around the room “and what I do, this isn’t any way to spend eternity. And it will be eternity, Sunset. You’re not going to find the kind of magic it takes to kill an alicorn in this world.”
“It’ll just end up the same, Twilight. What am I supposed to DO, over there, forever?”
“Sunset, until I came over to find everyone, I hadn’t slept for months. I’m doing a job meant for two, after all.”
“A job meant for two?”
“My title isn’t Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. It hasn’t been for some time. It’s just Princess Twilight.”
“Like…”
“Like the Crown. The Canterlot Gazette calls me Princess Twilight, The Lone Crown… But I can’t stand it. I don’t even do much work, anymore- I’ve rebuilt the way Equestria works, made it more efficient. The Crown isn’t needed for much. Just ceremony and keeping time.”
Twilight shrugged off the blanket and pulled Sunset to her feet, the emaciated girl too shocked to resist. ____________________________________________________________________________
The two stood shivering outside the statue in front of Sunset’s old high school. She stared wistfully at the building, happier times running before her eyes. Twilight motioned to her, but Sunset hesitated, her hand kissing the rippling stone, as she turned to look over her shoulder.
Twilight snuck her hand into her bag, and pulled out the picture frame. She considered it for a moment, nuzzling the wool of her jacket, before pressing it into Sunset’s hand. Sunset turned it over, a tight smile rippling across her face as she traced over the beaming visage of her old friends.
“Thanks, Twilight.”
She unzipped her jacket and slid the frame into an interior pocket, biting down against the bitter cold that effortlessly cut into her breast through the tattered shirt.
“Twilight, I’m still scared.”
“Don’t be. Friends drift apart, Sunset. It’s just what they do. People lead their own lives. They” she pointed to the picture “haven’t forgotten you. They haven’t forgotten the good times. They haven't stopped loving you, Sunset. But they’ve still gone. Your friendship lasts through the ages- even as you lose contact, even as those friends fade away.”
Once again, Twilight grasped her friend’s hand.
“We’ll always have our memories, Sunset. We won’t forget the lessons we learned, or the fun that we had. Through that, our friendships remain. And sometimes-”
She pulled the pair towards the portal, each laying their hand against the stone.
“Those friends can reconnect, can keep making new memories, learning new lessons. Those friends can help each other, can fix each other. Now come on, Sunset.”
The tired girl nodded, gulped, and took her first step across the portal.
