The lavender unicorn sat alone at the edge of the cliff, her faint silhouette unmoving under the starry night. It was an abnormally beautiful night with a soft cool breeze blowing her amethyst bangs back above her horn before travelling past her to rustle the grass where the crickets held a steady drawl of chirping. The waves below crashed against the worn, jagged rocks that threatened any pony who dared to scale the treacherous cliffs that overhung an unknown cove. But even still, there was a sense of peace and tranquility where Twilight sat. There was no danger being here. She looked up to the full moon that idled near the pristine white castle that Twilight had once called home. It had been nearly two years since she had left Canterlot and it had just now struck her that she had left her home, the place where she had grown up at as a filly. She remembered looking out of the castle windows to the exact place she sat now, wondering if any pony would ever be there. It was an odd sense of time that passed through her. Nothing seemed to be the same since she had met her new friends; she had even made some enemies despite everything she tried.
Lost in thought, Twilight gazed back up at the radiant moon only to realize that it had changed since she had first come to Ponyville. The familiar pattern of dark craters that had covered the left half of the moon had completely disappeared and now seemed foreign to her. This was not the moon she had grown up with all her life. Every night that she had gazed up at it and now it was different. The face of the mare that had been imprisoned in it had now safely returned to Canterlot and all was fine in Equestria. But something was still missing, Twilight felt empty inside despite being surrounded by her loyal friends and achieving so much. The gentle swaying of the grass behind her began to subside as the wind slowly died away and the crickets' chatter stopped for an instant, momentarily drawing Twilight away from her thoughts to survey her surroundings. It had become an eerie ghostly silence, but the tranquil atmosphere stayed the same. There was no danger in Equestria and everypony knew it.
As if on cue the breeze began to pick up again and the crickets continued to deafen the background with their high pitched calls that all seemed to blur together into the night. Nightmare Moon had been the only lethal threat there had ever been in pony history according to all the books Twilight had read. Now Nightmare Moon had reverted back to the beautiful and elegant Princess Luna who once again lived happily with her older sister in the royal castle where everyone trusted her again. 'Was that such a good idea?' thought Twilight, not expecting to dive any deeper into the subject with herself. A nagging in the back of her head reminded her that she had to get back to her home before Spike woke up. He never knew about her nightly outings since she kept him so busy throughout the day that he would fall asleep instantly when he got to his bed. It was becoming more and more difficult for her to be alone with her thoughts since Owlicious became her night assistant. Thankfully there were plenty of errands she could send him on to make sure she got the precious time she cherished so much.
As Twilight slowly padded back to her library home she recalled all the friends and enemies she had met, and how their personalities had changed her. The extravagant cotton candy coated earth pony that always seemed to be on a sugar rush had taught her to not be afraid of what she didn't understand. At this point there wasn't much that Twilight didn't understand, but even so it was a nice gesture. The pale yellow pony she knew as Fluttershy had taught her that it was always right to care for the innocent, no matter the cost. Her mind skipped as she plodded past a shadowed rock, a familiar indicator that she was close to home, unseen in the now faint moonlight as the dawn began to echo its image across the land.
The physical senses of life began to creep through Twilight's thoughts and interrupt them as she looked ahead to see her quaint little home. It wasn't the home she had grown up in, but it was home all the same. The library that was nestled on the inside of a large oak tree had been the perfect place for her to stay. She craned her neck to admire the many branches that sprouted from the top and how they spread and tapered to create the canopy structure overhead. Her love of books and knowledge had convinced her that there was no better place in Ponyville that she would rather be. A smile crept across her face as she remembered the distaste she had held for the broken down library when she first moved in. The shutters had been creaking in the wind and every floorboard seemed to cry out underneath the mare, but now it was finally her home. The home where she knew Spike would be curled up in the basket that she had conjured for him using all the magic she knew at the time. She remembered the moment of triumph and accomplishment when she finally completed the spell and Spike had looked up at her with near endless amounts of joy and pride.
She neared the door when she suddenly felt a pang of guilt. 'Why?' she thought to herself as the tip of her horn glowed a transparent purple that extended out to envelope the door, easing it open with marginal effort. Maybe it had been all the ponies she hadn't gotten a chance to consider affected her life. All those faces: Rainbow Dash and Applejack and Rarity and Celestia and Trixie. Trixie. Twilight let out an annoyed guffah as she thought of the egotistical cyan unicorn that had once challenged her and made fools of all her friends. What had made her think of Trixie after all this time?
Stifling a yawn, Twilight slowly made her way to her bed, making sure not to disturb Spike in the process as his bed lay directly at the feet of hers. She gazed down at the purple and green dragon with affection, a small grin escaping as she admired how adorable he was as he slept. His tail wrapped around him as he snuggled deep into the pegasus down pillow that Rarity had found for him since he was apparently allergic to gryphon down. Rarity had seemed legitimately concerned when Spike had broken out in hives after Twilight had first gotten him a pillow. It seemed odd that a fashionista pony such as Rarity would be concerned with the troubles of a baby dragon she hardly knew. Any further thoughts of Spike and Rarity were promptly pushed out of her mind as she finally collapsed onto her bed and drifted into a steady, comfortable sleep.
The next day was like any other, Twilight sat scanning through her books for nothing in particular while Spike silently watched from across the room. He slowly reached for A History of Felines in Equestria as he noticed Twilight was just finishing up her book on the origin of the constellations. 'I wonder if anypony will come visit us for once,' Spike mused. It seemed like it had been ages since Pinkie had thrown a party for something. Maybe the pink pony had finally slowed down. Ponyville seemed a lot less interesting nowadays. There were no more terrifying creatures or explosions or anything since Twilight and her friends had defeated Discord. Since then the six fillies hadn't seemed as close as they once were.
A sense of drawl and boredom hung in the air of Ponyville the next couple of weeks. There were no adventures or anything of particular note. Spike woke with a start one morning. It didn't matter which morning, they all seemed to blur together at this point. The brisk morning sun was just beginning to rise in the distance as the last shadows of the night were fading away. The tiny dragon stretched out his arms, slowly cracking each individual joint before clumsily crawling out of his basket. Twilight was still peacefully asleep in her bed, the slow methodical rise and fall of the blanket gave Spike a sense of urgency to be completely silent as he paced around the house. "Is it odd that nothing has happened lately?" Spike spoke softly to himself. "I've been so bored." A pang of guilt hit him as he realized Twilight must be even worse off than he was. "At least she has her books, but still…" Spike pondered, "I should do something nice for her!"
Something nice always meant food in some way to Spike, so he began to quietly collect the pots and pans that were strewn across the kitchen, every clink causing him to pause for a second to make sure he hadn't disturbed Twilight sleeping. He started to stack the pots and pans delicately in his left hand, swaying slightly to keep them in balance as he reached out with his right hand to flick the stove on. "Maybe I'll make her my famous pancakes with the syrup that we got from Fluttershy a while ago." Just as he began to light the stove a series of knocks at the front door startled him into a sudden fit that sent all the pots and pans he had been holding into the air. He let out a terrified yelp as he fumbled with the pots and pans and watched on in horror as each individual one seemed to crash to the marble floor in slow motion, deafening the room with every clink and clam. It had been so long since he had heard the familiar clop of a hoof on the front door. His outburst must have woken Twilight as he heard the soft plodding of hooves coming down the spiraled stairs from her room.
"What's with all the commotion Spike?" she asked him sleepily through half closed lids. Already inferring the answer, she turned her sleepy gaze towards the door. Before Spike could say anything, another series of knocks erupted from the door, this time in quick succession. Whoever it was, it must be urgent. Spike rushed over to the door, dodging the fallen pots and pans, while Twilight started to channel her magic around it from the top of the stairs. Before either of them could complete their tasks, the door exploded open with a crackle of splinters and shrapnel, sending shards of loose wood and iron across the room. The largest intact portion of the door came to rest at the base of the bookshelf directly across the room from the door with a crash. The surprise from the door being kicked in dumbfounded the baby dragon as he continued to rush forward, not sure what to do. The momentum that he had been carrying sent him hurtling into the tan pony standing just outside rather than the door he had been expecting to be there. The impact was about the same. With an almost satisfying thud, the purple dragon crashed into the immovable pony before promptly tumbling to the ground back where he had been running. Twilight almost had to stifle a giggle as she watched the scene unfold in front of her, but she knew that there were more important matters to attend to as the invading pony looked up at her with a serious expression.
"What's wrong Applejack?" Twilight ventured, recognizing her apple-loving friend. Maybe something exciting had finally happened in Ponyville.
"Oh nothing's wrong sugarcube, Ah just need to borrow a spare shovel if in you have one." Applejack replied simply as if the whole ordeal had not just taken place. The tanned earth pony stood firm on the ground, a golden mane slightly concealed by an old cowboy hat fell delicately against her neck as it came to a braid at the end. Her muscles bristled beneath her autumn tanned hide as she struck a powerful pose at the door. She was truly a marvelous site to anyone who hadn't met her.
"A shovel? That's it?" Twilight replied, slightly irritated that it was nothing life threatening as she took another step down the stairs.
"What do ya mean that's it?" the tan pony replied forcefully, her body taking on an almost hostile stance. She did not like being insulted, no matter how minor it seemed. Anything that was important to her was worth fighting for.
"Oh no, that's not what I meant." Twilight hastily doubled back on her words. "I was just expecting an emergency, you know." She looked back at the shards that still remained of her front door lying across the room and the disentangled pile of Spike that lay unconscious at the foot of the stairs below her.
"Why would ya think that?" Applejack cocked her head as she looked up at the purple mare standing warily at the top of the stairs.
Twilight gave the country mare a curious look. "Well you did just kick my door in." responded Twilight hesitantly.
"Ah sorry bout that, Ah just kinda need that shovel soon so I can get back to work on ma farm, so if ya'll could just point me in the right direction..." It was true that the Apple family had supplied the only apples to Ponyville for generations and that they took their work very seriously. Applejack was no exception.
"I don't own a shovel" replied Twilight smartly, "why would a librarian need a shovel?"
"Ah guess Ah didn't really think about that, aw well, thanks anyway." the tanned pony replied hastily as she made her way back out the door.
"Wait!" Twilight exclaimed prancing down the rest of the stairs and hopping over Spike's lifeless body to catch up with her friend. "Do you want to do something later today? Maybe go for a picnic or shopping? We could invite everyone and make a day of it, just like old times." A brightening smile spanned across the purple mare's face as she lifted her beautifully amethyst tail high and looked excitedly to her friend with big pleading eyes.
"Aw shoot hun, Ah'm sorry but Ah've got so much work ta do. Maybe after apple bucking season is over," answered Applejack shortly with a disappointed look, seeing the purple mare's heart break with every word.
"Oh. Ok then." Replied Twilight, a visible slump coming over her as her tail drooped and her head bowed so deep that her nose nearly scraped against the cold morning ground. Her enthusiasm completely destroyed, the purple mare slowly dragged herself back to her library, her tail swaying lightly against the rocky path with each step bringing her further away from her friend. Applejack felt bad for the lonely librarian but there was nothing she could do as long as she had work to do on her farm. Ponyville relied on the Apple family for food and she couldn't let them down. She watched her friend return to her library home with an abnormally heavy feeling of sympathy as she contemplated who else in Ponyville would have a shovel.
As Twilight trudged back through the doorway she gave Spike a gentle nudge with her front hoof as she stepped over him, making sure he was still alive. The shattered remains of the door still lay across the room and it took careful footwork to avoid the many splinters and scrap metal that had been strewn across the room, but Twilight paid it all no mind. What was she supposed to do without her friends? What had happened to the close friendships that they had all once shared? She didn't feel much like contemplating the ordeal any longer and just wanted to lie down; find a nice comfy corner of her bed and just lay in the dark. There wasn't anything else to do.
Spike let out an anguished groan as he sat up, rubbing his throbbing head and stiff back at the same time. What had hit him? It felt like a train had run him over and then backed up to run him over again. The purple dragon slowly got to his feet to survey his surroundings. 'Maybe that is what happened' he thought as he looked around at the calamity of the rest of the room. He heard a shuffling behind him and turned to watch as Twilight shifted away up to her room, looking visibly depressed as the wooden splinters from the shattered door started to pile up under her drooping tail like a broom. "Hey Twilight, you ok?" he called after her, but there was no response, not even a recognition of him as she slunk away to seclude herself in her room. "I wonder what happened," Spike asked himself as he took another long look around the room at the destruction that had taken place.
The events that had taken place with the arrival of Applejack and the door being hurled across the room slowly came back to him as he strolled into the kitchen to find similar destruction. The pots and pans he had been holding before Applejack arrived were scattered across the marble floor of the kitchen, many of them dented with their handles bent at odd angles. "How did this even happen?" he exclaimed, picking up one of the pans to examine the handle that had been completely bent around to resemble a U shape. He paused to look around for a moment after his words broke the unruly silence there had been since he had woken up and Twilight had shuffled away. A feeling of remorse hit him suddenly; he hadn't thought about it, but Twilight hadn't seen her friends in a while and that must have been why she looked so depressed. "Well I guess breakfast is out of the question now."
Spike started to feel light headed as he reached down to pick up the rest of the pots and pans, having to at one point crumple to the cold marble floor to keep from passing out. 'This can't be good,' he thought to himself, maybe he had a concussion. He didn't feel much like disturbing Twilight in her dreary state to give him an exam; maybe Zecora would be able to mix up some remedy or potion that would make his head stop throbbing. The mysterious zebra living in the Everfree Forest always seemed to know exactly what to do for every condition and illness.
The thought of leaving Twilight alone in her present state made Spike hesitate as he thought of travelling to Zecora's. How could he just abandon the first and closest friend he had ever known to pout alone in her cold, dark room? He flinched as a sudden pounding wracked his skull again, answering the question for him. Another groan escaped as he held his head in his tiny hands and swayed to keep his balance. Twilight would just have to cope without him.
Slowly regaining his strength, the baby dragon made his way to the shattered doorframe, shards of wood still hanging from the hinges as he ducked to avoid them. He took one last longing look back up at the stairs where Twilight had receded away a few moments ago before hesitantly hobbling away towards the Everfree Forest.
Twilight curled up in a tight ball at the edge of her bed, holding her frayed tail up to her nose before realizing that it was still coated in splinters and dust from earlier. She took the time to pick each individual splinter and speck out of her once beautifully groomed tail, trying to keep her mind blank while she performed the simple task. She let out an unexpected sob as she thought of the dying friendships that encompassed her. It hurt to think. Maybe she would just stop thinking from now on.
The room grew colder and colder as the day went on and the sun rotated behind the closed curtains of her room. Twilight wasn't sure how much time had passed since she had secluded herself, but it finally felt like it had been long enough. Her bones had started to ache and her head had become numb from the attempts of trying to stop her mind from racing. The lonely unicorn yawned quietly as she stretched her arms and legs out and proceeded to sit up on her bed, tucking her front hooves close into her body and giving a sleepy glance around her star decorated room. A shuffling outside quickly brought her attention to her door as she heard a silent "oh" just outside, so quiet it could have been mistaken for the wind.
"Who's there?" Twilight asked cautiously, cocking her head slightly at the continued shuffling outside, not sure if anyone would respond.
"Oh um, I'm sorry to disturb you, is that you Twilight?" the voice was almost undecipherable as the shuffling continued uneasily behind the door.
"Yeah it's me, is that you Fluttershy? Is everything alright?"
"Um yes, I was just walking by and noticed your door was gone and I was worried that you might need help," the voice came slowly from behind the door again as the shuffling stopped for an instant, waiting for a reply.
Twilight raised herself up higher as a sense of unconditional comfort washed over her and she started to blush at the idea of having such a good friend that cared for her. Leave it to Fluttershy to make everything better.
"Yes I'm fine. Thank you." Twilight replied sincerely, gazing back at the door with a look of affection.
"Oh um, okay. Do you mind if I come in?" the voice came again.
"Not at all," answered Twilight as if she didn't need to ask.
The door opened slowly to reveal a petite, butter-colored snout that poked around the corner timidly, shortly followed by a slender face with wide glistening eyes that looked around the room worriedly. Twilight had the urge to tell the pony that everything was alright before she realized that Fluttershy was there to comfort her. The light pink haired mare hesitantly entered the room and set her eyes on the lone unicorn that sat elegantly on the bed in the middle of the room.
Fluttershy sat abruptly at the edge of the room to admire her friend for a few moments with a small, wry smile growing across her face. The image of the bright eyed unicorn yawning sleepily on her constellation adorned bed, her amethyst mane completely mottled with bed-head, made the sensitive peach colored pegasus grin as she took in the exquisiteness of her friend. Twilight continued to sit sleepily on her bed watching while Fluttershy nonchalantly scanned the foreign room, captivated by the many pictures of Twilight and Celestia together gazing up at the stars and the diverse books that were neatly scattered about the room in assorted piles. The arched ceiling was covered with a glowing paint that seemed to convey an accurate representation of the stars and their general directions as they would move across the night sky.
"Oh that's pretty," Fluttershy finally murmured softly, looking up at Twilight meekly as she awkwardly tried to break the silence.
"Isn't it?" replied Twilight lolling her head back to gaze up at the ceiling and letting out a satisfied sigh. Fluttershy broke out in a tentative smile again as she found a connection with the scholar.
"Oh and is that Draco?" the peach pony asked, directing her hoof to a cluster of stars almost directly in the middle of the rounded ceiling.
"Yep! I didn't even know about that one until Luna came over to help me put all of this together." The purple mare scanned the ceiling of her room again.
"Oh you've seen Luna since…" Fluttershy's words trailed off as she thought of the horrifying Nightmare Moon who had tried to bring eternal night to Equestria.
"Ah yeah, she's pretty nice once you get to know her. She showed me all the patterns and shapes she made in the sky and how she hoped they would guide lost ponies safely back home in the dark."
Fluttershy hadn't seen Luna since they had defeated Nightmare Moon and had watched her apologize to her sister before hastily travelling back to the royal castle to live in almost complete isolation. She hadn't known of anypony who had seen her since. The thought of Twilight hanging out with someone outside of their circle of friends made Fluttershy slightly jealous, but she pushed the feeling aside as Twilight finally stood up to gently hop off her bed, landing with feline grace on the hard wooden floor. She strolled over to Fluttershy with half closed eyes and a small grin, but she wasn't acting like she was sleepy anymore. Had she been shaking her hips more than usual just now?
"Thank you so much for coming over to check on me Fluttershy."
"Oh no problem at all, I was just a little worried after seeing your front door…" It was obvious that the sensitive pony was blushing as she turned her attention to the floor, her light pink hair falling over her hot face.
"No I mean it. No one has visited me in weeks." The purple unicorn sat down uncomfortably close to Fluttershy, wrapping her tail around herself as she looked down at the nervous pony. Fluttershy leaned away as she looked up gradually to meet Twilight's gaze.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Fluttershy said nervously, scooting away slowly.
Twilight gave the pegasus a curious look before letting out a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable, I've just been so lonely lately and I don't want to lose all of my wonderful friends." Twilight tried to explain her spontaneous actions, if not for Fluttershy then for herself.
"It's okay, I understand Twilight. I think not being able to see each other has affected all of us in some way. I've been so busy taking care of Angel since he got sick that I haven't had any time for myself or my friends."
"That makes sense," Twilight paused, deep in thought. "But maybe we could put something together so that everypony could see each other again."
"That's a great idea, but I'm not sure if there's going to be a time that works for everypony."
"Yeah I'm afraid you may be right," a depressed look came over the unicorn as she looked down at the floor in front of her.
"But I'm sure we'll figure something out," Fluttershy quickly tried to comfort her friend after seeing how depressed she had suddenly gotten.
Twilight forced a small smile but continued staring at the ground in front of her. Fluttershy seemed to visibly wilt as her heart broke for her friend, but she had to be getting back to Angel soon. The gentle pegasus finally leaned up against Twilight, tucking her friend's head under her chin, and rocked back and forth slowly, letting her know that everything was going to be alright. They spent several minutes in the snuggling embrace before Twilight started to stir and Fluttershy lifted her head to look down at her friend. Twilight looked up at Fluttershy with a more convincing smile this time, letting her know that it was fine for her to leave now if she needed to. Without a word, Fluttershy brushed up against her friend and smiled sympathetically back at her one last time before shifting out of the room.