Zenith's sword nearly shattered from the solid impact of Twilight's blade. Zenith was forced to take a step back as Twilight stepped forwards and put more magic into her blade. Twilight's second blade slid through the air, aiming for her neck. A quick adjustment and movement later, and her own blade was reangled to deflect the blow. Or it would have, had the strain not been too much for her to handle. Her sole blade shattered from the impact, and Twilight's second blade continued unimpaired. The unicorn jumped and yelped as the second blade connected with her neck, sending an electric shock through her body.
Twilight sighed and dispersed her two blades. "Zenith..." She watched the unicorn shift her weight onto three hooves and rub her neck with her spare hoof. "You're better than this. You're more capable than this. You can do this, I know you can," Twilight said meaningfully, displaying her confidence in the young unicorn. Zenith grimaced at her, and Twilight looked back at her the way a mother would look at her own foal for doing something she shouldn't have. Zenith took a deep breath and brushed it aside, then spread her legs out in a defensive stance. Twilight smiled and reforged her twin blades.
Zenith grunted in effort and focused her magic into a single sword. With great effort, the blade flared to life in a similar manner to Twilight's own blade but blue in color. Twilight stepped forward and the dark gray unicorn stepped back. She parried Twilight's thrust, then deflected another strike from Twilight's other blade in a single swift motion. Zenith met Twilight's eyes and the pair watched each other intently. Twilight stepped to the left, causing Zenith to angle her blade to block a strike that never came. At the last second, Twilight propelled herself to the right and jumped at Zenith using her wings. Zenith took a short breath and jumped back, she felt a breeze run through her mane as the blade came within inches of her neck.
Unfortunately, she fell right into Twilight's trap. Twilight pulled her swords back to herself and charged forwards as Zenith hit the ground. She immediately fell into another combat stance and braced herself, then poured more magic into her blade in preparation to defend. Zenith met Twilight's blade time and time again, each strike took a little more out of her than the last, and each time she blocked a strike she felt her blade buckle from the power of Twilight's blade. She felt sweat rolling down her forehead and her breaths were short and quick, never having the time to fully fill her lungs because of Twilight's assault.
Twilight went high with one of her blades and low with the other, intending to bring them down on Zenith like a pair of scissors. Zenith deflected the sword rising towards her chest and stepped out of the way of the blade racing towards her head. She took a deep breath and winced as she stumbled and was rewarded with Twilight's blades hovering inches away from her neck. She groaned and fell onto her back, the soft grass didn't cushion her fall to the hard ground, and she grunted. She was barely able to fight Twilight for half a minute, and the alicorn was holding back. She could tell from how her blades behaved. If she hadn't been holding back, she would have died a hundred times over sparring with her. As it was, each time the blade came into contact with her body, she was rewarded with a painful electric shock. While it wasn't lethal, it was a strong motivation for her to do better, according to Twilight.
Twilight sighed and walked closer to her as she dispersed her twin blades. Zenith watched her, breathing heavily, laying sprawled out on the ground. "You need to work on endurance and conserving your strength..." Twilight mused as she bent down and nudged the unicorn over onto her stomach.
"Yeah, that's actually doable when I'm fighting you," Zenith responded with dry sarcasm.
"You're my student, it's my job to help you improve." She smiled warmly at the unicorn. "If I never challenged you, you'd never improve. Although I could use the method Celestia used with me, and that I used with Starlight..." She grimaced "Although, given the circumstances, I do not believe that method would work well."
Zenith pushed herself up and looked at Twilight quizzically. "And what method was that?"
Twilight took a deep breath and shook her head. "The method of letting your student learn on their own with no intervention, giving them room to grow on their own... Although, Celestia did teach me for several years before using that method..." She squinted and tilted her head to the side. "I don't think that method would work with everypony... Is that even a method?" She shook her head again. "Regardless, I said I would teach you magic, and I am. Besides, given the circumstances I need to keep both of you close at hoof..." she trailed off, looking across ths river and gazing at the treeline.
"You're going to teach me more than just battle magic, right?" Zenith asked cautiously.
Twilight nodded, "After this is over, yes... I have plans for you, Zenith..." she said with a warm smile and a gleam in her eye.
"What about me?" Rainbow asked as she slid off a nearby cloud and glided to the ground. Twilight tilted her head back towards the pegasus as she landed. "Anything particular in mind?"
Twilight bobbed her head. "There is some... Well, there are a few things I'm considering. I will keep you around, I will need ponies I can count on and trust, and both of you fall into that category. For one, I could make you the Captain of the Guard. I'm not sure that would be a good position for you, considering..." she trailed off with a grimace. She took a deep breath and smiled, "But it would give me somepony who I could trust in that position," she chirped. "Another option is as my bodyguard, I-"
"You'd need a bodyguard? You'd want me as your bodyguard?" Rainbow asked incredulously in rapid succession.
Twilight parted her mouth and held it like that for several seconds while she considered it. She slowly nodded, "As I have said, I'm not... unkillable... Or at least, I don't think I am. I do not want to put that to the test. If I die, Equestria..." She shook her head. "I'm willing to trust you with that..."
"You'd trust me with your life?" Rainbow asked still reeling from the shock of hearing Twilight say that. It was a stark contrast from four weeks ago when Twilight admitted to wanting to kill her for revenge.
Twilight looked her over and nodded. "I... would. You represented the Element of Loyalty... you may still, I'm not sure..." 'I probably should investigate that soon...' After a few seconds, she blinked and looked away, then shook her head. "And that's not even considering a few of the more... exotic options..." She shifted her weight.
Both Rainbow and Zenith raised an eyebrow at that. "What uh... do you mean by exotic options... exactly?" Rainbow tentatively asked as she shifted her weight on her hooves.
"Well..." Twilight trailed off as she ran through some of her memories, along with the memories she carried. "For one, I have Celestia's memories. It's possible that in time I would figure out how she managed to turn me into an alicorn, and I could replicate the process in you..."
Rainbow blinked twice at hearing that. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Did you jus... what?" she asked.
Twilight looked back at her with an even expression. "Celestia is more... ceremonial than I am. She said it required some great feat, I... do not know if I believe that or not. I believe it was a test with me... and Cadance? Well... she proved herself on her own..." she trailed off with a frown and looked at the grass. "Being an alicorn gives you a lot of power, strength, and influence. I think it was to see if I was ready... but, considering what the test was, that doesn't really make sense... Or maybe it does..." She frowned in thought for several seconds before shaking her head. "It's quite fascinating to ponder... Unfortunately, the memories I have of Celestia don't include that currently."
"What period of time do you remember then?" Zenith asked.
"It's... very mixed. There doesn't seem to be any reason or correlation between the memories I have or the memories I don't have. I suppose that it's possible in time I would remember everything they knew, but I get the feeling that won't be the case..." she trailed off and pursed her lips. "I remember the day... night... when Nightmare Moon was born, from four different perspectives. My own, Celestia's, Luna's, and then Nightmare Moon's own perspective if you consider her a separate entity from Princess Luna... I remember Fighting Discord and turning him to stone with my sister... I remember all the tears Celestia shed over Luna being banished to the moon and her knowing that it would be a thousand years before she saw her again."
Zenith and Rainbow shared a worried look. "Are you okay?" Rainbow asked as she flew over to Twilight.
Twilight blinked and looked at her curiously. "Yes, why?"
Rainbow bit her lip. "You just called Princess Luna your sister?"
Twilight swallowed and squinted at her. "Uh... I did?" Rainbow nodded slowly. "Oh..." she frowned. Her eyes shot back and forth as she considered the development. "It's... just... It's easy to get caught up in the memories," she said with a light chuckle, blowing off their concern, along with a speck of fear resting in the back of her mind. Rainbow still looked uneasy, despite her explanation. "I'm fine," she said more surely. She frowned and looked at her hooves, "Although, after this is over, I should probably look into separating their memories from my mind and storing them somehow. It would make it easier to access their memories, and it wouldn't be as... detrimental... to my mental health," she finished dryly.
"That... sounds like a good idea," Zenith agreed, nodding her head slowly.
Twilight grimaced and looked at the rushing stream. Rainbow walked over to her and sat down beside her, "So... Princess Rainbow Dash?" She asked with a sly smile. Twilight looked at her and rolled her eyes. "But seriously... You think you could do that? And you would consider doing that, even after I abandoned you and everything..?"
"I am more than capable of doing it, it is just a matter of figuring out how to ascend you," she explained. "As far as my considering it, well... It could prove... useful... to ascend you..." Twilight replied at length in an uneasy voice. "For several reasons," she added.
"You don't sound very sure about that," Zenith noted.
Twilight shifted her weight. "That... well... it's... a big deal..." she mumbled. "I... do not believe you truly understand what the significance of ascending her would be... I don't think either of you truly comprehend it..."
"You'd be ascending her to be an alicorn. You'd be giving her immortality, unicorn magic, earth pony magic, and alicorn magic, of course," Zenith chirped.
"It goes deeper than that..." Twilight said under her breath before shaking her head. "This... is a conversation for another time... After the Inquisitor is dead and I have had... time... to think about it." After a few seconds, she stood up and looked at Zenith. "Are you ready to continue?"
"More... sparring?" Zenith cautiously asked. Twilight nodded. "Ugh... When are you going to teach me more complicated spells, I mean-"
"Zenith," Twilight sighed. "Trust me." Twilight smiled sadly. "You're learning focus and balance, while at the same time pushing your limits and strengthening your magic. You may not see changes overnight, but surely you've noticed you're doing better than when we first started a week ago?"
Zenith wanted to disagree with her, but she had to admit, she was doing better at their sparring matches than when she first started. "I don't feel any stronger..." She sighed and ignited her horn before dropping into a defensive stance.
Twilight formed her twin blades. Rainbow watched Zenith. She was standing there, uneasy, still breathing heavily. Twilight was definitely pushing the unicorn to her limits. "Twilight, maybe you should go easier on her... She looks exhausted."
Twilight hesitated to consider it. She had to agree that Rainbow was right about Zenith looking exhausted. She was pushing her hard, perhaps too hard. It wouldn't be good if something happened to Zenith, although she was sure Zenith could handle what she was throwing at her, and a bit more. "Very well," she said. "But I still need to challenge her."
Twilight stared at the red lightning bolt-shaped crystal that was the Element of Loyalty. Her eyes trailed over its outline before settling on the sharp tip where the bolt ended. The gem, like most of the Elements, had a form similar to the cutie mark of their bearer. Rainbow Dash's cutie mark was a white cloud with a bolt of rainbow colored lightning coming out of it, the Element of Loyalty was a red lightning bolt shaped gem. The Element of Magic was a six-pointed star-shaped gem, almost identical to her own cutie mark.
Twilight's head fell to the side in thought, pondering the choice of herself and her friends as the Elements' bearers. "You know... hmm..." she trailed off and frowned. "We six were united to defeat Nightmare Moon... But... we weren't united, we were friends, standing beside each other..." She licked her lips and briefly glanced up at the starry night sky. She had long since set her sun, and the moon hovered at its apex in the sky, gazing downwards upon her and all of Equestria.
She looked back at the simple crystal she held within her lavender magic. "Friendship..." She squinted at the gem and then shook her head. "Rainbow Dash... All six of us got our cutie mark because of her. If she had not pulled off her Sonic Rainboom, well, we both know how things would have ended up... Although, you probably know that better than I do, don't you?"
She scowled. "And here I am, still talking to an inanimate object," she scoffed. She growled and refocused her magic on the gem, and began analyzing it. Everything that she learned, she filed away in the back of her mind, with the exception of what she was looking for, and anything that looked relevant to her situation. As she prodded further, her scowl deepened. "Rainbow Dash still represents you... Even..." Her scowl softened as she accepted that truth that Rainbow Dash was still linked to the Element of Loyalty. "Even after what she did?" She mulled the results over in her head, not quite sure how to take that. "I could study you for a lifetime, and I wouldn't have even scratched the surface of what you six are, would I?" She rolled the gem over and scrutinized it further.
"You're still linked to Rainbow Dash," she said. She felt her lips slowly curl into a smile. "You're still linked to her, even after all this time... How did I not think of this... before..." she cautiously trailed off and frowned, then glared sharply at the Element, "Don't answer that..."
She spun around and teleported the other five Elements to herself, then levitated the Element of Loyalty back over to the group. "And does this mean what I think it does?" She sat down on her haunches and rubbed her hooves together, then sat them back on the ground. She levitated the Element of Magic closer to herself and prepared to repeat the spell she used on the Element of Loyalty on it. She hesitated and the smile slowly left her face. She sighed and levitated it back, then levitated the Element of Kindness closer to her.
She looked over the pristine pink butterfly-shaped gem. It reminded her of Fluttershy, and the memory brought a smile to her face. She didn't hate Fluttershy. Even for those three years while she hated all of them, she would have at least spared Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie's life. They were so naive and innocent and they didn't deserve to die, even for betraying her, unlike the other three. She frowned and tilted her head. Of the three of them she had wanted to kill, Rainbow Dash was at the top of the list. 'Loyalty and betrayal...' She shook her head and cast the spell.
"Okay, I already knew Fluttershy was alive... And you're still linked to her, I suspected that..." her eyes darted back and forth as she worked on combining the spell with another, even more complicated spell. By the time she had finished the spell, her moon had fallen along its descent and was about one-fourth of the way to the horizon. She grimaced at the sight. "I'm out of shape with this..." she noted with a sigh. "I suppose I should have expected that..." She was glad neither Zenith nor Rainbow Dash had watched her craft the spell, it embarrassed her with how long it took. It should have been far simpler and taken only a fraction of the time that it had, but it took longer because of the state she was in.
She shook her head sharply and licked her lips in anticipation. She cast her spell, and immediately the result was clear. She took a deep breath and sighed contently. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. For a few seconds, she just listened to the silent forest. The dead of night was when many of the deadly predators should have been out, and many were out, but all of them kept their distance from her. The resulting silence was relaxing, and her exhaustion caught up with her.
She forced her eyes opened and lifted her head. "You know, for somepony who supposedly is the most powerful pony alive, you really don't seem that powerful."
She opened her eyes and turned towards Zenith, who somehow had managed to sit down beside her without her knowing. She frowned at that but pushed the thought aside for later. "You know I'm powerful. You've seen how powerful I am," she replied dismissingly. "I have issues, though... The fact that the Inquisitor is still alive is proof of that..."
"With as much as you hate him, why did you hold back?" Zenith asked. Twilight turned to face her. "I know you should have won that battle with him. You could have crushed him in an instant, but you didn't. I know you brushed it off as trying to get information, but I don't buy that."
Twilight chuckled. Over several seconds, the chuckle grew emptier until it stopped, then she looked at her hooves emotionlessly. "I was hoping that he would say something... reveal something that I didn't know. I guess I wanted a kind of closure. I wasn't there when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were murdered, and those final moments of their life are removed from my memories... I'm both grateful for that and..." She took a deep breath. "The same applies to my brother and sister... And my niece? I..." she shook her head and closed her eyes. "She was so... so young..." Her voice was barely a whisper.
Zenith lifted a hoof but hesitated. She couldn't quite reach Twilight's shoulder, so she settled for putting it just above her wing and rubbing gently, hoping to reassure her. "I'm twenty-three, Zenith," Twilight said evenly. "I shouldn't have to deal with... with any of this. My best friends betraying me, my mentor and her sister dead, my parents... I have no idea what happened to them. My brother, sister, and niece are all dead. I never... said goodbye. I was an aunt, Zenith... I'll probably never have foals of my own..." Twilight shook her head. "I so badly wanted him dead, and I still do... I want to kill him a thousand times over, and then..." she trailed off and looked guiltily at Zenith. "I wanted to know..." she jerked her head to the side, "but that didn't happen and won't happen, and I delayed too long, and I was an idiot!" she shouted venomously. She took a deep breath before continuing. "And I let him use that stupid weapon against me, and nearly died..." She trailed off and looked towards her moon. "I could have demolished the castle and killed him beneath the rubble of it and spared myself from... this, but... that castle is... everything that I have left of Princess Celestia. Other than her memories, but... It's not the same. I could have killed him so many different ways, and I didn't. I'm not perfect, the fact he still lives is a testimony to that. I regret sparing him, and it wasn't my intention to spare him. I wanted to know why he did it, and how he did it. I was hoping he would gloat and tell me something that I had missed, but he didn't. I was going to kill him. I could have killed him. I should have killed him." She met Zenith's gaze, "I screwed up," she said simply. "But the next time I see him, he will die, whether I find out anything of value or not."
"Twilight, you..." Zenith swallowed. "I'm... so, so sorry for what you've gone through."
Twilight tilted her head to the side and looked at Zenith sadly. She extended her wing around the young unicorn and pulled her closer to herself. "Do not feel sorry for me, my issues are my own, and I can... and have... dealt with them..."
Twilight felt another warm body press against her but on the other side of her body. She slowly pulled her gaze away from Zenith and looked at Rainbow Dash, who smiled at her reassuringly. "You seem to be forgetting that you have us now. We promised to stand by your side and help you, okay? We're your friends, that means your problems are our problems."
"My problems..." Twilight trailed off and shook her head, deciding to not to elaborate further.
After a few seconds, it became apparent Twilight wasn't going to continue. "So... um..." Rainbow turned her attention to the Elements of Harmony. "What were you doing?"
Twilight levitated the Element of Loyalty over to Rainbow Dash. "You still represent Loyalty... It's... curious. This entire time, I had thought... I believed... no, I knew that those bonds were broken, except they weren't."
Rainbow licked her lips. "So... we can use the Elements of Harmony?" she asked. Twilight nodded her head absently, looking off at the Element of Magic. "Does that mean-"
"I don't know... I..." Twilight clenched her jaw. "I can kill him without using the Elements. I just... I'm... not ready to face him again. I'm not... emotionally prepared. I'm not stable enough right now... And he would use that against me." Sher licked her lips, noticing that her mouth felt dry. "If I were to face him now, I would likely succeed in killing him, but in the process... I could..." 'And I can't let that happen...'
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Zenith asked.
"Yeah, come on, there's gotta be something we can do to help you with this!" Rainbow added, nuzzling Twilight's side.
Twilight's lips curled into a smile at the sensation of Rainbow nuzzling her. For a few seconds, she stared at her moon, pondering their assurances. She felt happy that both of them were there for her. Both of them cared about her, they were her friends. She nodded to herself and took a deep breath. "Okay," she said. "I need to take control of the situation..." She stood up. "I know that holding six separate sets of memories is taxing, and I need to do something about it. I should have done something about it years ago, but I didn't." She stepped forwards and turned around, then looked over each of them in turn. "I couldn't take care of it back then, but that's just an excuse. I could have purged the memories from my mind, but I didn't."
"What are you going to do?" Zenith asked.
Twilight took a deep breath. "I have six separate sets of memories, seven if you include Nightmare Moon as a separate entity... So I need to create five... or six... crystals to house the memories. That won't take that long, but what will take long is... separating the memories and storing them, making the crystals indestructible, and making them accessible so that I can view the memories when I need to..." She paused and paced to her right. "But I can't do that right now. I... have the capability, but I can't do that right now, and no, I can't tell you why I can't do that right now." She shook her head and teleported the Elements of Harmony, with the exception of the Element of Kindness, away.
"Twilight, you can trust us..." Rainbow said.
Twilight's expression softened. "I know, Rainbow Dash... but... I can't tell you. I'm sorry." She looked up at her moon for a few seconds and then she took a deep breath and spun around on her hooves to face Rainbow and Zenith. "I analyzed the Element of Kindness, and I know where Fluttershy is." She levitated the pink butterfly-shaped gem closer to herself. She looked over it for a few seconds before looking away from it. Rainbow stood to her hooves and looked at Twilight with surprise and expectation. "I'm going after her," she said. "I may be a few days..." she looked at the ground. "You two should be safe here, but just in case, I can give each of you some of my magic to protect you..."
"You... aren't taking us with you?" Zenith asked sadly. "But, Twilight... We're your friends, we-"
"Zenith," Twilight teleported the Element of Kindness away and powered up her horn with more magic. "I know, and thank you, but... I need to do this alone, along with a few other things..." she frowned, then shook her head.
"Twilight, you need to bring us with you. You keep saying you need to keep us close at hoof, both so that we can protect you and that you can protect us, and then you pull a one-eighty and say that you have to go and do something on your own. We can't help you or protect you if you don't take us with you," Rainbow all but pleaded.
"Rainbow, this is something I need to do on my own," Twilight said evenly. "I... can give you both enough of my magic that will keep you safe, but have no noticeable side effects for myself, even in my weakened state," she explained.
"Twilight, if you can do that, why haven't you done that before?" Rainbow asked firmly, demanding an answer. "You keep us close, and you've trained us so that we can work together better, and now you're saying you can give us some of your magic. Why didn't you do that before and save yourself some of the trouble?" Rainbow asked in an accusatory voice, taking Twilight, Zenith, and herself in surprise.
For several seconds, silence reigned as all three of them processed what Rainbow Dash had said. Twilight opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. She licked her lips and looked at her hooves. "Alicorns, in general, have... strong maternal instincts, Rainbow Dash..." Twilight lifted her head slightly. "Those instincts do not just... apply to... I..." she snorted, smiled, and shook her head, "How do I say this..?" she asked. "I... cannot help but view both of you as my own..." she said quietly, feeling awkward with each word that passed her lips. "Princess Celestia calling everypony her 'little ponies' is an example of... that. I uh... didn't... have... I... want to protect both of you... I would rather protect you than have you protect yourselves, I feel like I need to, but I... am still... teaching you... I know that if I don't, you can't help me, and something bad could happen to one of you, and I don't want that..." she trailed off. "Another... thing... related to this, is that I... wrap my wings around both of you..."
Rainbow and Zenith stared at Twilight blankly. "You..." Rainbow trailed off, not knowing what to say, or even comprehend what Twilight had said. In a way, what she said made her feel good, but at the same time, it was confusing and so beyond her. She tilted her head to the side as a thought passed through her mind, "Did you have these feelings three years ago?" she asked.
Twilight shifted her weight on her hooves and shuffled her wings. "They... weren't as strong as they are now, but yes... I still don't know if what I feel is actually natural, it feels too strong to be natural... I think it's partially Celestia's influence..." she trailed off and shook her head. "These feelings have grown stronger than before since I fought the Inquisitor, and I'm partially concerned he did something to me, but... I can't honestly say I think that's the case." She shook her head. "I want to find Fluttershy myself and bring her back, okay? Did I answer your questions?"
Rainbow swallowed and nodded quickly, then paused. "Wait, if that's the case... Then why did you want to kill me, or any of us for that matter, if you wanted to protect us before?"
Twilight grimaced. "Alicorns... in general, are also very... emotional..." she said slowly and methodically, choosing her words with great care and precision. "And... let's leave it at that..." she trailed off.
Rainbow could tell that Twilight didn't like talking about what she was talking about, and she didn't blame her. A heavy awkward silence hung in the air, or at least it felt that way to her. "So... where is Fluttershy?" she asked.
Twilight sighed and looked at Rainbow, but she didn't quite meet her gaze. "To the east, a very long ways away. She somehow managed to cross the ocean or at least part of it," she answered.
Rainbow blinked. "What? How did Fluttershy manage to do that, I mean, not that I don't think she could, but..."
"I intend to find out..." Twilight trailed off and poured more magic into her horn, then cast her portal spell. Immediately the portal flared to life to her right. She glanced at it, it came out in the middle of a clearing in what looked like a jungle, and it was light outside. She averted her gaze and looked over Zenith and Rainbow before walking over to the former and touching her horn to her head and transferring a small amount of magic to her, then she walked over to Rainbow, who looked at her solemnly. "Stay safe," she commanded as she touched her horn to her head and transferred a small amount of magic to her.
Twilight stepped back and looked over both of them. "Take care of yourself, Twilight," Rainbow said firmly.
Twilight smirked. "You're kidding, right?" she said in a perfect imitation of Nightmare Moon. Rainbow Dash hadn't been there at the time, but she still felt a shiver run down her spine at the way Twilight said it. "I am the Princess of Magic, do you think I can't protect myself?"
"You shouldn't go alone..." Zenith trailed off, still reeling from what Twilight had said.
"I can protect myself," Twilight repeated.
"And that's another thing, Twilight," Rainbow shook her head exasperatedly. "You say that you're vulnerable and that you want and need us to protect you, and now you're saying you can protect yourself. Do you actually need us or not?"
"I do!" Twilight replied. "I... As I explained before, it would be very hard to kill me, but it can be done. I'm not worried about getting killed when looking for Fluttershy. Sure, it's a situation I know next to nothing about, but I'll find out more when I get there, but there isn't going to be an organized effort to try to kill me like there is here in Equestria. Whereas here, there is an organized effort to kill me. I can take on an entire army, perhaps more than one, at once, but all it would take is for somepony to get lucky or for me to lose control. I can heal my body, not just my accelerated healing, but with my magic, and I could protect myself while healing. If I'm dead, I can't revive myself, though. So yes, I need you because I'm scared, okay!" she shouted. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to recompose herself. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, were the two most powerful alicorns alive until they were murdered. I wasn't there, I didn't see what happened. I have no idea how they were killed, and I have no idea if he would be able to use the same method on me, and I don't know what that method was!"
Rainbow winced. "Twilight... I'm sorry..."
"I..." Twilight took a deep breath and then sighed. "I know... And it's not your fault..." she replied. Rainbow didn't believe that it wasn't her fault for a second, she knew that if she, if they had listened to her three years ago, they wouldn't be in the position they were in now. "It's hard, Rainbow Dash..." Twilight shook her head, "I'm immortal, and yet I don't have time to have a breakdown... I have to find Fluttershy." She paused and ran over how she felt. "I feel better, now," she chirped. "Well... I guess I'll be off, then. The sooner I find her the sooner I can come back..."
Rainbow looked at her friend solemnly. Twilight's quick change in demeanor took her off guard, but she felt that Twilight was okay, although it did concern her. "Be careful, Twilight, and remember that we're both here for you, alright?"
"You better come back. You promised to teach me magic," Zenith said with a smile.
Twilight met their gazes in turn, "I will." She stood in silence for a few seconds before she turned around and walked into the portal. After her whole body was through to the other side, she turned around and smiled at them reassuringly, and then the portal collapsed.
Twilight watched solemnly as the portal destabilized and Zenith and Rainbow disappeared from her sight. She took a deep breath, letting the humid air fill her lungs. She mulled over the unfamiliar smells and sounds for several seconds before looking up at the sky. Her sun had already broken the horizon, and her mane once more returned to its daytime state. She frowned at that, "Interesting..." She pushed the thought aside and took in her surroundings in more detail, expanding her senses and magic outward, searching for anything of interest. "Note to self; improve the accuracy of the portal spell when dealing with distances ranging over one thousand miles..." she mumbled under her breath as she scanned the treeline. She frowned, "And don't use that spell to attempt to travel to the moon..." She sighed at that, then shook her head and turned around and scanned the treeline further.
The leaves were a lighter shade of green than the ones from the forest she had left and the grass was lighter too, but the trees themselves looked the same, other than vines running down from the branches of the trees. Some of the vines made it to the ground, while others only hung in the air, supported by only the branches they fell from. She double checked to make sure she had a lock on her original coordinates so that she could open the portal to get back, then nodded to herself.
She focused her magic into a spell and cast it. Immediately, the entire forest became silent.
Her mouth parted as she felt something familiar, "Fluttershy..." She felt a sense of dread at what she sensed next.