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A True, True Ex-Friend

by jkbrony

Chapter 4: Together

Previous Chapter

No one had spoken for a long time. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the sound of weeping, and even that had begun to gradually die down. Twilight Velvet and Night Light now appeared more agitated than sad and they stared down at Twilight's face with scorn, clearly still upset that Celestia allowed this to happen. Shining Armor leaned his head against his wife's, their eyes both mournfully closed.

Most of the remaining weeping came from Pinkie, who was cradled in the hooves of Rarity. She would have been almost just as distraught if Twilight had simply left town for a month, but thought that she was dead was a territory completely uncharted to her. Fluttershy also contributed to the weeping, and she lay curled up on the floor, declining Applejack's attempts to pick her back up. Having laid a few of her animal friends to rest over the years, death was not an unfamiliar concept to her, but she still thought it to be the absolute worst thing in the world. Rainbow Dash's tail swished slowly as she fought herself to avoid looking upon Twilight's body. Her mind was thoroughly fixated on the last words she said to her, and how much she wished she had said just about anything else. She knew that she had not truly meant those horrible words when she said them, but she had just been so angry, so intent on hurting her....

The silence between them was complimented by a rancid smell that reached each of their noses, the source of which could have only been the corpse they were all huddled around, now seventeen hours dead.

"I'm sorry all of you, but I think it's time that we....take her to the mortuary," said a nurse who suddenly approached them. "These beds are for....well....she just can't stay here any longer."

No one had any trouble guessing that she intended to say that the beds were for living patients. Twilight Velvet looked at her husband and they both nodded reluctantly.

Fluttershy picked herself up off the floor and they all cleared away from the bed as a pair of unicorn orderlies stepped in to magically lift Twilight's body onto a stretcher. They covered her entire body with a white sheet and carefully moved her out of the room, where Luna no longer stood outside the doorway. They continued to move her down the corridor from the end opposite the one they had taken to get there, with Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, and Cadence following closely behind them. As the five friends started to follow down the hall as well, Velvet soon stopped and turned to face them.

"If you all don't mind, I would like to be alone with my family," she said, suppressing hostility in her voice. "Besides, don't you have some decision-making to do?"

Without waiting for a response, she rejoined her family. The mane five did not take another step in their direction and instead only watched as they all eventually reached the end of the corridor, turned a corner, and disappeared from sight. Applejack rolled her eyes with annoyance, hoping that Twilight Velvet's contemptuous attitude was purely a result of her grief, rather than an indication of who she really was.

C'mon, ya'll, let's go," she said with a sigh.

"Where's Spike?" asked Fluttershy, prompting everyone to look around for the dragon.

"Uhh...did anypony see him come in the room?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Rarity shook her head. "I can't say I did..."

They went back inside the infirmary, but Spike was nowhere to be found. When they asked the nurse, they were told that she had seen him sitting outside of the room, but never saw him walk inside.

"Let's just head back. We'll find him," said Applejack as they made their way out of the infirmary.

However, they did not encounter Spike on their walk back to the main wing of the castle. Unsure of where else he would be, they decided to walk back to the throne room. As they entered, they saw that neither Spike nor Celestia was there, but Luna was curiously sitting upon the throne, a look of discomfort adorned on her face. When she caught sight of the five ponies, she immediately removed herself from the seat and swiftly glided over to them.

"What is it? Have you come to a decision already?" she asked at once.

"Uhhh...no," said Rainbow Dash. "We're actually looking for Spike. Have you seen him?"

"Oh," said Luna, looking somewhat relieved. "Yes, he walked off some time ago. He did not say where he was going, but I assumed he was just taking a walk to clear his head."

"How long ago?" asked Fluttershy.

Luna raised a hoof to her chin in thought. "At least a half hour or so."

The five friends exchanged vaguely worrisome looks with each other.

"Maybe he's just at Donut Joe's or something?" suggested Rainbow.

"Yes, I'm sure he's fine," Rarity replied.

"Thanks, princess," said Applejack. "Couldya let us know if you see him?"

Luna slightly bowed her head in a nod, and the mane five made their way to the exit to continue their search.

"Wait."

Luna's voice stopped them in their tracks. As they each turned back to face her, they were surprised to see that she now appeared to be uncharacteristically sad, perhaps even on the brink of tears. Her serious and stern composure was broken.

"I know it is not my place to say this—my sister would not even want me to. And I know that this decision falls on you alone, and that you all now have mixed feelings towards her after what has happened. But nevertheless, I must selfishly beg something of all of you."

Luna lowered herself into a bowing position, a tear loosing itself from each eye as she closed them.

"Please....show her mercy. Please..."

The mane five stood silently in place, looking to each other as though hoping that someone would have an idea for how to respond, but none of them did. The sight of Luna, a princess of Equestria, bowing before them with such humility and sorrow was almost as unnerving as the thought of deciding Celestia's sentence. After nearly a minute of silence passed, Luna opened her eyes again as though to make sure that they were still there.

"Uhhh...we'll...," Applejack responded instinctively to Luna's stare, hoping that someone else would finish her sentence.

"We'll....show her all the mercy we think she deserves," finished Rarity, and a relieved Applejack nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Thank you," Luna said as she raised back up, looking less than content with their answer.

She turned and walked back to the throne without saying another word. The five friends resumed their walk out of the throne room, not feeling any more comfortable about their task ahead.

****

As their train slowly pulled back into Ponyville Station, the mane five readied themselves to plow through the doors the moment they opened. Spike had not been at Donut Joe's, he had not been in the castle, and he had not been anywhere else they searched. They had scoured Canterlot thoroughly for nearly an hour and eventually heard from a ticket taker at the train station that he boarded a train back to Ponyville by himself. A subtle, yet prominent worry hung over the five friends during their ride back home. It was abundantly clear to all of them that Twilight's death meant the biggest loss for Spike, and they were not entirely sure about how he was thinking and feeling now that he was abruptly thrust into this unfamiliar situation. The one constant in his life was now gone, and that was a pain that none of them could understand...

The train came to a stop and the friends quickly exited, setting a course for the place where they most expected Spike to be. The tree-like castle still remained standing, apparently unaware that its primary owner was no longer living—not that it had a mind of its own....or so they hoped. Yet it was still not something that they could positively rule out, considering that it was somehow able to accurately construct itself with six thrones, each bearing their cutie marks with a miniature throne for Spike right beside Twilight's. It had to have at least "known" who they were, "known" what their cutie marks were, and "known" that Spike was important enough to have his own. Unfortunately, the castle was a mystery that Twilight had yet to crack, and somehow, the mane five would have thought it preferable for it to have shriveled into the ground, reverting itself back into the unopened box. It did not seem appropriate that the castle would still be there with no princess to occupy it. And it was now such an unpleasant eyesore sitting on the edge of town, or so Rarity opined...

A cool, yet uncomfortable breeze fell over them as they entered the castle, and they only began to feel colder as they continued on inside. It was an unusual sensation to be walking inside Twilight's home while she was no longer there. It had not been her home for very long, yet they already shared a number of fun moments within its walls, most notably, in Rainbow Dash's words, "the most epic game of hide-and-seek EVER!"

"Spike?!" Rainbow Dash called out, her voice echoing across the castle walls. There was no reply, and the emptiness now felt almost intolerable.

They each hurried up the steps to Twilight's bedroom, where they finally found the young dragon trying to fit Smarty Pants into a massively stuffed backpack. Shattered pieces of a mirror were spread all over the floor.

"Well, there you are!" Rarity exclaimed with aggravation. "We've been looking all over for you!"

Spike ignored her, continuing on with what he was doing.

"What're you doin', Spike?" asked Applejack.

After a ton of effort, Spike finally managed to squeeze the raggedy doll inside his backpack. He then snapped it shut, placed it on his back, and began to walk towards the door.

"Uhhh...where are you going?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I'm leaving," Spike said flatly, looking sternly at his friends as though he were asking for them to move away from the doorway and allow him to go.

"Leaving?" questioned Rarity.

"For now, I'm just going to find somewhere else in Ponyville to stay," explained Spike. "I'm not sleeping in this castle ever again. And after Twilight's funeral, I'm going to go move somewhere else."

"Where?" asked Fluttershy.

"I don't know," Spike answered, shaking his head. "But I'm not staying here anymore. I just...can't. I'm really grateful that I got to know you guys, and I'll write to you once I've found a new place to live."

The mane five looked at each other incredulously. Every facet of Spike's demeanor told them that he was being completely serious about this. Tears welled up in Pinkie's eyes at once at the notion of losing yet another friend.

"But...we don't want you to leave, Spike..."

"Why are you doin' this?" demanded Applejack. "I just told you that I was glad that we didn't lose you."

"If it were up to me, you would have," Spike muttered.

"Bite your tongue!" scolded Rarity.

"I mean that," he said. "I wish Twilight hadn't saved me. I wish we had just died together."

Everyone stared at him in stunned silence, now immensely thankful that they had found him when they did.

"But....why, Spike?" asked Fluttershy with desperation.

Spike sighed, looking anxious and overwhelmed.

"I heard what Twilight's mom said about me. And I think she's right—my life wasn't worth more than hers. I still don't know what I'm going to do with my life now, and I'm afraid that I'll never figure it out. After what happened before, I know that I don't want to go back to be with my own kind again, so I'm just going to start walking until I find somewhere I belong."

"You belong here," said Applejack. "You can stay with any one of us if you want to, Spike. None of us would mind havin' you for a guest."

Spike shook his head. "I'm not going to be anypony's problem."

"You wouldn't be anypony's problem, darling," said Rarity. "We love you."

Spike dropped his head so as to avoid letting anyone see the tears in his eyes.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because I still don't know what I'm going to be doing with my life, and I don't think I'm going to find the answer here."

"You don't have to do this, Spike," said Rainbow Dash. "Who cares about what that dumb bit—"

"Yes, I do!" Spike cried with frustration, shaking his head in such a way that his tears shot out in all directions. "I have nothing now! Nothing! Before Twilight died, she made me promise that I would find a way to keep living without her. So I'm going to keep that promise and find a way, because right now, I don't have a way. I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to let me go. I already feel guilty enough that I'm still alive while she's not, and I'm not going to feel even guiltier by not keeping my promise to her. I'm sorry, and I'm really going to miss you guys, but this is something that I have to do."

Again, the mane five looked at each other, expressing sorrow for their dear dragon friend.

"Ya can't leave just yet," Applejack said with a sigh. "There's somethin' we all need to do first."

"What?" Spike asked, shrugging.

"Princess Celestia has left it to us to decide what sentence she'll receive for this," informed Rainbow Dash. "That includes you as well. So we need to come to a decision."

Spike squinted with confusion, wondering why she would do such a thing.

"Will you stay?" asked Applejack.

"Okay...," Spike said, dropping his backpack to the floor.

"I say we use the thrones to do this," suggested Rainbow Dash. "I've been dying to put those things to actual use, and...well...this may be our only chance."

As they made their way back down the stairs, Pinkie Pie let out a sigh of both boredom and anxiety.

"Could anypony else really use a cupcake right about now?"

****

High upon the Canterlot Castle balcony, Celestia sat gazing off into the distance where she could see almost halfway to the Crystal Empire. Sunlight and wind brushed past her in equal measure as they always tended to do while she was up there. She had always thought it to be the best view Canterlot had to offer, and there was little reason to believe otherwise. Her eyes fixed upon a gliding hawk several yards away and she watched as it circled around the sky, perhaps either hunting....or simply enjoying its own freedom. As she wondered what its intentions were, Luna silently walked onto the balcony from behind her.

"I will miss this view," said Celestia, responding to her sister's presence without turning to look at her. "Of all the countless hours I've spent mulling things over in any other room in this castle, I could even begin to express how grateful I am to this balcony for being the one place I can truly go to just clear my head. To not think. I hope that it serves you as well as it has me."

Luna took a few more steps forward until she was standing level beside her sister, and her eyes instantly widened in shock as she noticed that Celestia was not wearing her crown, nor her golden collar around her torso. After a fair bit of skepticism before, only now was Luna fully convinced of the sincerity of Celestia's desire to give up the throne, for these were two items that she never took off—not even as she laid herself down to sleep each night. However, her elegant horseshoes still remained on her hooves, and Luna instantly remembered that Celestia once told her that she no longer liked the feel of her bare hooves touching the ground.

"Were it to turn out that the sentence you receive is not too severe, would you come back to the throne once it has run its course?" Luna asked after reeling in from the shock of Celestia's appearance.

"No," Celestia said, her eyes remaining fixed on the hawk.

Luna sighed with frustration, yet was not surprised by her answer.

"Why not?"

"As I said before, I am no longer able to defend my subjects. I am unfit to rule."

Luna shook her head irritably. "You made a mistake. A grave mistake, yes, but still just one mistake. After more than a millennium of ruling Equestria on your own, I do not believe that this alone makes you unfit to rule."

"It does to me," said Celestia. "And as I told you before, this was simply the final straw. What happens if next being who threatens Equestria achieves that goal simply due to my failing ability to make sound decisions?"

"So you would rather pass that burden on to me than to deal with it yourself?" Luna snapped.

"I believe that you at least deserve a chance, particularly since you have been on that end yourself," said Celestia. "Furthermore, you posses a number of abilities that I do not—abilities that could prove useful during such situations."

Luna said nothing and sat herself down, staring out at the view for a long while until her eyes eventually stuck themselves upon the same hawk. They watched it together as it continued to circle meticulously around the sky within certain invisible boundaries.

"I do not believe I can do this. Not on my own."

"I am confused," said Celestia, shaking her head. "Have you not always wanted this? Have you not felt that you've simply been living in my shadow all these years? Have you not always wanted to be the one to bring ponies joy from raising the sun? Your chance to shine is finally upon you, and yet you say that you do not believe you can do it? I do not understand."

"I did not want it like this..."

"I know you can do this," said Celestia. "I now believe in you more than I believe in myself."

Luna shook her head as though attempting to prevent herself from being flattered. "In any case, you still may not be receiving that harsh a sentence."

"Why do you think so?" asked Celestia.

Feeling a deep sense of shame, Luna lowered her head, knowing that her sister would not like what she was about to say.

"Because I begged for them to show you mercy."

Celestia instantly shot her sister an intense glare. "You should not have done that. I do not wish to be shown mercy."

"Do you not hear yourself?" Luna asked, scoffing incredulously. "What is it you want, exactly? Do you wish to die over this?!"

Celestia returned her gaze to the view, shifting her eyes rapidly in search of the hawk.

"Perhaps..."

Luna stared at her with both astonishment and fear, feeling that she did not even know the pony with whom she was speaking.

"You do not understand," said Celestia, responding to her sister's stare. "Twilight was my protégé for over ten years. She was not only one of the most competent students I've ever had, she was also one of the most exceptional magic users I've ever seen. There is simply no telling what she could have accomplished in her lifetime. I loved her as my own, and now she is gone because of my failure to once again detect malicious intent under my nose. Perhaps if you had a protégé whom you nurtured for a decade, only for her to be indirectly killed by your own actions, you'd feel as I do now. This is it for me, sister, and that is just the way it is."

Shaking her head with both sorrow and pity, Luna left her alone, and Celestia's eyes once again found the hawk just before it swooped down in a deadly lunge to claim its meal.

****

"Okay, the discussion for the disciplinary measures to be taken against Princess Celestia will now commence!" Rainbow Dash called out.

On the base level of the castle, each of the mane five were seated in the circle of thrones specifically designated by their cutie marks. Twilight's throne, the largest in the circle, was occupied by Spike, who had refused to sit in the miniature throne beside it.

"Okay, then. So...how do we even begin discussing this?" Rarity asked.

"Well, let's just start with the charges," said Rainbow. "Seems like we're looking at....one count of involuntary ponyslaughter, with six counts of attempted involuntary ponyslaughter."

Applejack squinted her eyes. "How in tarnation can somethin' be 'involuntary' if it's 'attempted?'"

Rainbow Dash grunted and glared at her with annoyance. "Well, I'm not really sure how else to say it. What difference does it make, anyway? You know exactly what I meant."

"Surely, there's no question that whatever sentence we come up with, this shall be the end of her rule for quite some time," said Rarity. "I suppose this means that Princess Luna will be taking up the mantle?"

"I guess so...," muttered Spike.

"Okay, so let's throw some ideas around," said Rainbow. "What do you guys think Celestia deserves?"

The circle fell into silence, and the only responses Rainbow Dash received were those of "uhhs", "hmms", and other such sounds of uncertainty.

"I think it would help if we knew what kinda options are open for us," said Applejack. "I mean, Princess Celestia isn't some ordinary pony who can just be thrown in a prison cell...."

"Sure, she can," Rainbow said, shifting her head towards Rarity. "There are ways of suppressing magic, aren't there?"

"A unicorn's magic, yes," Rarity said, nodding. "As for an alicorn's magic, I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure. I've never heard of it happening before."

"Well, I'm sure we could come up with something if it does come to that," said Rainbow, shrugging.

"Well what, then?" asked Applejack. "I don't wager we could just make her give up her power. To whom would it go? I suppose it would go to Princess Luna, but then again, Twilight was the Element of Magic, and she could only barely get a grasp on havin' extra magic. Luna never bore the Element of Magic, so we don't know how well she'd handle it."

"Look, it doesn't matter right now," Rainbow said irritably. "Besides, Celestia did say that she would not protest in any way with the sentence we chose. Maybe we wouldn't even need to rid her of her magic."

"So she's just going to live in a prison cell with all her magic, knowing that she could free herself if she ever wanted to?" questioned Spike. "I don't see how that's going to work."

Rainbow Dash groaned, slapping her hoof against her forehead.

"I...I don't want to send her to prison...," muttered Pinkie. "Prisons are for criminals, and Princess Celestia isn't a criminal, is she?"

Rarity bit her lip. "Well...no, darling, but..."

"Pinkie's right," said Applejack. "I don't believe sendin' her to prison is the answer we're lookin' for."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "So what is the answer, then, Applejack?"

"I dunno," Applejack replied, shaking her head. "That's why I asked what kind of options we have."

"I guess that would also rule out Tartarus, then, wouldn't it?" mumbled Spike.

"Indeed," replied Rarity. "If Celestia does not belong in prison, she belongs in Tartarus even less."

Rainbow Dash looked upwards in thought, rubbing her chin.

"Unless....we were to sentence her to guard duty or something," she said. "That could work, right? After all, Tirek would never have escaped if somepony else had been there in case Cerberus left his post."

Applejack also rubbed her chin. "Hmm....I dunno. How long would this sentence last?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe ten years or so? We could debate on it."

"Most unfortunately, this brings up the issue of her magic once again," said Rarity. "She would not be much of a guard if she were forced to give it up, but we know the problem that the alternative option presents."

Spike nodded. "What's to stop her from abandoning her sentence whenever she wants to?"

The group fell into another brief silence. The tremendous weight of what they were doing and the pressure that accompanied it was beginning to get to all of them, and at that point, no one looked like they wanted to be there.

"Umm, shouldn't we be asking ourselves what Twilight would want?" questioned Fluttershy, breaking the silence. "That's something we should take into consideration, isn't it?"

"You're absolutely right, Fluttershy," said Rarity. "Twilight's voice should be heard as well, even though she's not here to give it."

"I see what you mean, but I'm not sure if that's possible," said Rainbow Dash. "I don't really know how she'd be feeling about Celestia right about now."

"Me neither...," Spike said, hanging his head sorrowfully.

"Well, how about when we reach a decision, we ask ourselves if Twilight would agree with it?" suggested Fluttershy.

"I'm afraid it's possible that we might not all agree on a sentence," said Rarity. "And if that happens, we may need to put it to a vote."

"If it does come to that, I think it's only just that Spike be granted Twilight's proxy," said Applejack. "That should help if we're evenly split."

"Agreed," nodded Rarity.

Spike looked up at them with discomfort. He did not know what the word "proxy" meant and would have felt too embarrassed to ask.

"So...anypony else got any ideas?" asked Rainbow Dash.

As expected, there was not a single coherent response to be heard from the circle. Rainbow shifted her eyes at each of her friends, silently expressing annoyance at their indecision.

"I suppose...there's always exile?" suggested Rarity with an insincere tone which indicated that it was not something she was actually in support of.

"Exile to where?" asked Applejack.

Rarity shrugged. "Somewhere in Equestria, I suppose? Remember that remote place where we found Daring Do? Perhaps somewhere around that area."

"Okay," Rainbow nodded. "We can work with exile, can't we?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head. "That's too cruel..."

"I agree," said Fluttershy.

"Oh, come on!" Rainbow huffed irritably. "This is actually one of the kindest sentences she could receive. She wouldn't be in prison, nor in Tartarus. She would be free to live on her own terms, and that's definitely better than—"

Rainbow stopped herself, snapping her mouth tightly shut and looking down casually as if hoping no one had noticed that she had not finished her sentence. Unfortunately, every eye in the room remained fixed on her, impatiently awaiting her closing words.

"Better than what?" questioned Applejack.

Rainbow looked up again to see everyone staring at her. She sighed, knowing that she would have to finish after all.

"Better than...having her executed."

"Havin' her executed?!" cried Applejack at once. "You're not honestly leavin' that open as a sentence, are you?"

"Well, I initially wasn't," muttered Rainbow Dash, nervously. "I was just kinda leaving it as a 'last resort' type of sentence, just in case we couldn't really think of anything else."

Applejack blinked with disbelief. "So what yer sayin' is that we should have her killed if we can't figure out anythin' else to do with her?!"

"Well...uhh...no," Rainbow stammered. "But then again, why should we be ruling this option out? After all, this was the way justice worked in the ancient times, wasn't it? Eye for an eye. If you killed somepony, you were put to death yourself."

"Celestia did not kill Twilight, Rainbow Dash," corrected Rarity.

"She did as far as I'm concerned," mumbled Spike.

"It's not like she hasn't lived a really long life," said Rainbow. "She's lived like, what, more than fifty of our lifetimes? And honestly, who's to say that she wouldn't end up ending her own life anyway? You all saw how she was in there. It kinda seemed to me like she had already given up on herself."

"Well, I would never agree to that decision," Fluttershy snapped.

Applejack shook her head incredulously. "Yer really considerin' this?! After Luna knelt down and begged us to show Celestia mercy, you would honestly even suggest that we decide to have her executed?!"

"Calm down, Applejack," said Rarity. "There's simply no need for us to be—"

"No! You wanna talk about puttin' somethin' to a vote, let's put this to a vote," Applejack demanded. "Everypony who believes that Celestia deserves to die for this, raise your hoof....or claws."

The circle fell into a transient, yet uncomfortable silence, during which not one hoof rose to the air—not even Rainbow Dash's. Spike shifted in his seat with confliction, knowing that everyone would expect his hand to be raised because of his earlier remark, but much to Applejack's satisfaction and Rainbow Dash's subtle disappointment, it was not.

"That's what I thought," Applejack said indignantly after a few moments. "So since nopony thinks she deserves to die, I guess that means that we're ruling that option out, right?"

"Fine, it's ruled out," sighed Rainbow Dash. "So what's next, then? Huh? If we're not going with exile, then what else have we got left?"

The discussion paused yet again, this time for much longer than all of their previous pauses. Determining a sentence for Celestia was turning out to be just as difficult as each of them had anticipated—perhaps even more difficult. Spike scratched at the seat of Twilight's throne, both out of boredom and uncertainty.

"It seems like our options are drying up quick as can be...," Applejack said, breaking the silence.

"Would there be anything particularly wrong with simply stripping Celestia of her title as princess?" asked Rarity. "She'd still remain in Canterlot, but no longer as the ruler of Equestria. Perhaps this could last for.... twenty years? That length of time is nothing to her."

"I think that could work," said Applejack, nodding. "What do you think, Fluttershy?"

"That would be fair enough," Fluttershy responded.

Rainbow Dash shook her head with a deep sense of revulsion.

"Uhhh...that's a joke, right? It must be a joke."

"Why, no, it's not a joke," replied Rarity, looking as though she had just been insulted. "I thought it was a reasonable enough sentence that we would all be able to agree on."

"Well, no, I don't agree with it at all," Rainbow snapped. "This is all you think Celestia deserves after getting Twilight killed and putting us on the path of certain death? She should just be allowed to continue to live comfortably in her castle without the pressure of having to rule over a country? No, that does not sound anything like a punishment to me. It sounds like a long vacation."

Spike nodded in agreement. "It's not enough."

"Well, we could always have her move out of the castle and live someplace else," said Applejack.

"Perhaps we could even line her up with a job to do as well," said Rarity. "It would not be anything like a vacation."

"No. It's still not enough," Rainbow said at once.

Applejack sighed with frustration. "What else can we do, Rainbow Dash? This feels like we'd be showin' Celestia the mercy that she deserves. She's not a criminal, and she doesn't deserve to be treated like one. She made a mistake and she actually did make an attempt to fix it. She wasn't just sittin' on her flank, she was hard at work on a counterspell. So this sentence seems fair enough to me."

"Indeed," replied Rarity.

Fluttershy and Pinkie nodded, and even Spike appeared to be much more comfortable with the decision, as he no longer scratched at the seat. As she looked about the circle, Rainbow gritted her teeth, seething with anger.

"You ponies are unbelievable! Am I the ONLY one who hasn't forgotten that Twilight is DEAD because of Celestia?! Am I the ONLY one who still wants to see her punished for it?! AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO'S STILL LOYAL TO HER?!!!"

Rainbow's friends' mouths lay agape, stunned silent by her sudden hostility.

"We all want to see her punished, Rainbow!" cried Applejack. "But you'll have to forgive us if we want to be a bit more rational about it than choosing to have her executed just because we don't know what else to do with her! Because believe it or not, we ain't that senseless!"

"OH, WELL EXCUSE ME!!" Rainbow Dash roared. "No, you're absolutely right, Applejack. We should instead just let her off with a simple slap on the hoof since we can't figure out what else to do with her. Because that's just how much our friend's life is worth to you, isn't it?!"

Applejack jumped out of her seat in fury.

"Oh, her life wasn't worth anythin' to me?! I'm sorry, but was I the one who told Twilight to go die in a fire right to her face?! Nope, THAT WAS YOU!!!"

"STOP IT!!! JUST STOP IT ALREADY!!!" Pinkie screamed, bringing the room to instant silence. She removed herself from her seat and began to walk off. "I'm not doing this anymore..."

"Pinkie...," Rarity called after her, but the pink pony continued to walk until she was out of sight, and everyone heard the castle's front doors open and then almost instantly slam shut.

When Applejack looked back at Rainbow Dash again, she was surprised to see that she did not appear angry anymore; instead, only an empty expression was adorned upon her face while her eyes appeared to become increasingly downcast. Without saying a word, she zipped quickly out of the room, and the front doors were heard slamming shut again.

****

Pinkie and Rainbow's departure seemed to suck away any and all sense of motivation from the circle. Everyone remained sitting uncomfortably in their thrones without saying much more, or without knowing what to do next. Spike resumed scratching at his seat as tears slowly returned to his eyes—in the silence, his thoughts had returned to nightfall, which now seemed to be drawing ever closer.

"We're not supposed to be doing this...," Fluttershy said in a low voice.

"Doing what, Fluttershy?" asked Rarity.

"Doing what we're doing: trying to come up with a sentence for Princess Celestia. It doesn't feel right. We're not supposed to be against her like this..."

Rarity nodded. "I see what you mean. I do so wish that this had never happened..."

"She ruined my life...," said Spike, as a few tears fell from his eyes. "It's because of her that I have to leave now. I just can't forgive her..."

Rarity frowned. "Oh, Spikey-boo..."

"But you don't want her to have her executed, right?" asked Applejack. "You didn't raise your hand earlier..."

"I know Twilight would be mad at me if she knew I wanted that," Spike said, shaking his head slowly. "But I still won't ever forgive her..."

He lowered his head and now allowed his tears to fall upon the seat.

"Maybe Rainbow Dash is right," said Rarity, watching him sorrowfully. "Maybe that sentence really isn't enough. I mean...you saw her body. I do not even want to think about what Twilight must have gone through to end up like that. I do not even want to think about...how much she suffered..."

Rarity cupped a hoof over her mouth just as her eyes began to well up with tears. Applejack nodded with sorrow, fighting back tears herself. Spike shivered intensely, remembering how Twilight threw herself at that massive fireball...

"I know," Applejack said. "But I still don't think it's fair to just pin the blame all on her, or to punish her like she's the only one responsible, or like she actually wanted this ta happen."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," said Rarity, attempting to compose herself again.

"So...what do we do now?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well...I suppose there's nothing for us to do but find Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, right?" questioned Rarity.

Applejack glared and shook her head. "We can go fetch Pinkie, but just Pinkie. I don't know about anypony else, but the last thing I need right now is for Rainbow to be tellin' us that we don't care about Twilight."

Fluttershy frowned and tightened her lips. She could not help but feel a possible misplaced sense of sorrow for her close friend...

In a sudden wave of motion, they each removed themselves from their thrones and headed back to the castle's front doors. Shortly after stepping outside, they came to an instant stop once they saw Rainbow Dash lying upon her side with her back towards them just mere steps away from the castle. Her body trembled only slightly, yet still enough for them to notice it from where they stood.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy called, quickly brushing past her friends to rush to her side.

Her eyes widened upon looking at Rainbow's face. Applejack, Rarity, and Spike walked closer and were able to hear silent, yet passionate sobs. Rainbow Dash was crying.

"Are you okay?" questioned Fluttershy, instantly feeling silly for asking that question.

Taking a steady, yet hesitant breath, Applejack cautiously walked to Rainbow's front and lent out a hoof.

"C'mon, let's get you up."

Rainbow reluctantly took Applejack's hoof and pulled herself upwards into a seated position. She immediately moved her forelegs to her face to wipe her tears, doing so in a manner that appeared as though she were attempting to hide her face out of shame or humiliation.

"It's all my fault...all my fault..."

"It's not your fault, Rainbow Dash," said Fluttershy. "Why would you think that?"

No one could clearly see Rainbow's face, but they could tell she was still sobbing with how broken her next words sounded as she uttered them.

"I....I...told her to...die in a fire. And she did. Maybe if I...if I hadn't said that....she'd still be here..."

"That's not true, Rainbow," Fluttershy comforted, tenderly placing a hoof on her back.

"Why did I say something like that to her?!" Rainbow Dash cried, finally lowering her forelegs from her face so that her friends could now clearly see her tears. "I regret it so much! And now I'll never be able to take it back. I....I wish I could take it back so much!"

Applejack let out a sigh. "Rainbow, I don't—"

"I wanted to just pin the blame all on Celestia," Rainbow said, cutting her off. "It was....it was easier than pinning blame on myself. I wanted to believe that if I acted like she was the only one responsible, it would let me off the hook. I wanted her to be the one to suffer for what I said. But I understand now that I don't deserve to be let off the hook, because it's not Celestia's fault that I said what I said. It's only mine..."

Applejack shook her head. "I shouldn't have thrown that back at you. I'm really sorry, Rainbow."

Rainbow shook her head as well. "Don't be. You were right. It was me."

A shade a pink suddenly appeared in the corner of Applejack's eye, and she looked up to see that Pinkie Pie had approached them, her eyes also moist with tears and her mane partially deflated.

"We're all still friends....aren't we?" she asked.

"Of course we are, dear," said Rarity with a smile.

Pinkie shook her head solemnly as tiny droplets soaked her cheeks.

"It doesn't feel like we are..."

"We are, Pinkie," Applejack assured her. "It's just...sometimes friends don't always see eye to eye. But that doesn't mean they're not still friends."

Pinkie wiped at her cheeks, appearing to be reassured by her words, yet still full of doubt.

"Are we ever going to be the same again? Are we ever going to be able to laugh and have fun? Are we ever going to have parties and play together again?"

Applejack cast her eyes to the ground. "It's...it's gonna be some time, Pinkie..."

"Oh...," Pinkie replied, an obvious helplessness in her voice.

"Indeed, it will be some time," said Rarity. "Because as unfortunate as it is, friendship cannot always be about having good times together. We must all face hard times at one point or another, and now we've come to one of those points. But the great thing about friendship is that we do not have to face them alone." She threw a hoof around Rainbow Dash's neck. "We get to face them together. We get to lean on each other for comfort and support, because that's what friends do."

She threw another hoof around Fluttershy's neck, and this action was repeated by all of them until they formed into a group hug.

"We may not know what lies ahead, but I could even begin to express how much better I feel knowing that I have all of you here with me."

The mane five squeezed each other tightly with affection and love, all disagreements resolved, all exchanged hurtful words forgiven. Wedged uncomfortably between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Spike lowered his eyes, deep in thought...

****

As the hour drew late, Luna began her regular moon-rising duties, feeling fearful of what was soon to come. Ten minutes earlier, Celestia had received a letter through Spike reading:



We've reached a decision and are returning to Canterlot now. Meet in the throne room.




Since reading the letter, Celestia's eyes remained closed. Several millenniums' worth of memories swirled around her mind—defeating Sombra alongside her sister, hosting the Grand Galloping Gala year after year, overseeing the construction of Canterlot Castle, opening her school largely for the purpose of finding potential bearers for the Element of Magic, and severing her connection with the Elements following Luna's banishment...

Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, and Cadence were also in the throne room, having reluctantly left Twilight's body after being informed by Luna that Celestia's retribution was forthcoming. They were seated in a vertical line along the right side of the throne room's narrow red carpet. Once finished with her moon-raising duties, Luna teleported into the throne room, taking her position just to the left of her sister. No words were exchanged between any of them; they all just stood watching the doors, waiting for them open...

Celestia and Luna and not spoken since their conversation on the balcony. With every passing minute, fear continued to grow within Luna's joints as she wondered what kind of sentence her sister would receive, as the mane five's response to her request earlier had not particularly filled her with much assurance. But on the other hoof, she also feared that they may have shown her so much mercy that Celestia would not accept their sentence and instead opt for something....worse. Letting out a silent sigh, Luna pitifully stared up at her sister, whose eyes remained close as she continued to reflect upon her own life.

After a long while that felt like hours, the throne room doors finally opened, and in walked the mane five along with Spike, who rode upon Applejack's back. After making a relatively slow pace towards the throne, they stopped only a few feet away from the two sisters, each silently expressing astonishment at seeing Celestia without her crown and collar. Applejack was not particularly thrilled to see Twilight Velvet again, and the feeling appeared to be mutual, as Velvet stared at them with less-than-subtle contempt.

"We've come to a decision, and as per your word, we expect it to be put into motion," said Rarity.

"It shall be," said Celestia, finally opening her eyes again.

Rarity nodded and looked to Rainbow Dash, who spoke next. Spike climbed off of Applejack's back.

"You made enormous blunder, and I'm not sure if any of us will ever be able to forgive you for it. Because of that blunder, we're stripping you of your right to rule Equestria in favor of Princess Luna. As for how long that will last still remains in question."

"In question?" Celestia said curiously. Rainbow looked to Applejack, who spoke next.

"You made a mistake, but we're not keen to place all the blame on you, because you don't deserve all the blame. But what we do feel you deserve is a chance at redemption."

Twilight Velvet squinted her eyes with both confusion and agitation. Luna focused her mind intensely on every word spoken.

"I do not understand...," replied Celestia, shaking her head. Applejack looked to Fluttershy.

"From this point on, you will reclaim your place as the Element of Magic. Whenever a threat comes to Equestria, you will be facing it along with us."

"And that's in addition to a number of other tasks you will be responsible for while you're living alone in Twilight's castle, which will be your new home." said Rainbow Dash.

"It won't be much fun. Actually, it won't be any fun," Pinkie said sorrowfully, shuddering at the thought of living life without having fun.

"You would offer me a chance to redeem myself? Why?" asked Celestia.

"It's no question that your rule has fallen on hard times since we started protectin' Equestria," said Applejack. "Now we know that it's become too much for you to handle."

We're letting you help us defend Equestria against any future threats that arise," said Rarity. "Your actions during these moments will put you on the path to redemption, or drag you away from it, depending on how you handle them. It will most likely take quite some effort to redeem yourself in our eyes, but we remain confident that you can do it."

Celestia bowed her head with dignity. Though she was still unsure whether or not she would actually be willing to reclaim the throne again, this would surely go a long way to make her feel better about her ability to protect the citizens of Equestria. Unexpectedly, she now felt grateful that she had been shown mercy after all.

"This is what you have decided, then?" she asked.

"Your wings are broken," said Rainbow Dash. "We're giving you a chance to mend them—to fly again."

"We feel that this is what Twilight would want," added Spike.

Celestia bowed her head at them again. "I am honored."

Twilight Velvet scoffed and shook her head with irritation, though her husband appeared to be far less upset.

"I knew it," she snapped at Celestia. "You deliberately let them decide your sentence so that you could get off easy, didn't you?"

"Honey, I—," Night Light began, but Shining Armor cut him off.

"Honestly, mom, that sounds good enough to me."

"It seems a reasonable sentence to me as well," Cadence said, nodding. "But in my opinion, it should have happened after Celestia failed to detect Queen Chrysalis impersonating me right underneath her nose. It feels like this has come too late, but nevertheless, I support it."

Luna turned her head towards Velvet. "You need not forgive my sister, but at least know that if she could have done anything to save the life of Twilight Sparkle, she would have."

Velvet looked to her husband, who gave her an apologetic smile to indicate that he was in agreement with what they said. Sighing, she shifted her eyes towards Celestia.

"Do not be a disappointment. You had better live up to every expectation placed on you, because that's exactly what our daughter always did for you."

Celestia nodded slowly. "Understood."

Velvet then looked at Twilight's friends. "And I'll be expecting all of you to hold her to that, particularly since you are the ones who decided to give her this chance."

Each of the mane five also nodded in agreement.

"We'll do our best," assured Rarity.

"And you," she said, looking directly at Spike, who tensed up at once. "Please make our daughter's sacrifice meaningful. Do not let it go to waste."

Spike stared at her blankly without responding in any way, not even with a head movement. With that, Twilight's parents briskly walked out of the room followed closely by Shining Armor and Cadence, not a single word of farewell uttered by any of them. Applejack stared at them as they left, unusually thankful that Twilight Velvet had left satisfied—or at least satisfied enough.

"That's that, I suppose," said Rarity.

Rainbow Dash nodded and looked at Celestia. "This will go into affect starting tomorrow, so spend the night packing up."

"You may also wanna make some kinda statement to the citizens of Equestria as well," said Applejack. "They need to know what's happenin'."

"I will take care of that," replied Luna.

Fluttershy hung her head. "We're sorry it's come to this..."

"I am, too," said Celestia. "Spike, may I speak with you?"

Lacking enthusiasm and feeling the eyes of his friends upon him, Spike sighed and stepped forward.

"I am so sorry," Celestia said with deep sincerity. "Ever since I laid eyes on Twilight's body, I wondered what I was going to say to you."

"I'm not going to forgive you," Spike snapped, narrowing his eyes at her.

Celestia paused for a moment without any reaction to his words. Luna frequently shifted her gaze between her sister and the infant dragon.

"I wanted to tell you that I believed Twilight could do it. I believed that she could temporarily break away from you. I did not only wish to believe it, I needed to believe it, because I would not accept any of you dying on my watch. You should know that it was only when I told her that she would need to sever her relationship with you that she truly doubted her ability to forgive me. And if you had died, I know that she would not have wanted anything to do with me ever again. But I am certain you do not need to be told how much she loved you, for her love is the reason why you stand before me right now."

"I still wish she hadn't saved me," Spike said with bitterness. "And I still don't know what I'm going to be doing with my life now, but...." He looked back at the five ponies behind him. "....I know that I won't be leaving my friends. Because they're all I have for support now."

The mane five bestowed a warm smile upon him, which he returned to the best of his ability, but his mournful feelings prevented it from being quite as warm as theirs. As he faced forward again, Luna took a few steps in his direction until she was standing directly above him.

"Spike, I would be honored if you lent your services to me."

The dragon blinked inquisitively. "Huh?"

"The truth is, I do not wish to be ruling this country alone. I think that if I had a good assistant—an adviser of sorts—I would be feeling much more confident about what lies in store for me. You would live here, but you'd be able to see your friends anytime you want, so long as I'm not in need of your assistance at that moment. If you truly need a new purpose in life, this is what I offer you. What do you say?"

Spike stood frozen in place, taken aback by the opportunity that was being dropped directly into his lap. He looked at his friends, who each displayed their own gestures of encouragement.

"I accept," he said with a positive and hesitant breath.

Luna smiled at him out of genuine gratitude, now feeling instilled with confidence as she said she would be.

"Thank you."

"Very well, then," Celestia said with a nod. "During these last several hours, I've come to realize that my expectations of Twilight were often far too high—so high that I was perhaps under the belief that failure was almost impossible for her. Because of that, I now feel that I will not be truly redeemed unless I am held to the same standards. You six are not the only ones who will need to be convinced that I am ready to rule again. I will need to be convinced, too."

"Tomorrow, I shall give a statement to all of Equestria explaining what has transpired," said Luna. "And we will also begin the planning of Twilight's funeral."

With all business finally taken care of, the mane five along with Spike (who decided to go back to retrieve his backpack) turned to leave. Nothing would ever feel the same again—Spike would still miss Twilight every single day of his life, Rainbow Dash would never stop regretting her final words to her, Celestia would never stop blaming herself for Twilight's death, and the mane five would never be able to enjoy each other's company quite as much as they did when they were six. Yet as they walked out of the throne room and ultimately boarded another train back home, they were confident that the worst was now behind them.

The new dawn was coming.

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