Twilight lay beneath the bowers of a tree that reminded her of a home long ago. Instead of contemplating taxes and reforms, polite company and politicians, she, for once, wonders about herself.

What ponies tell her is that she is the Princess. A pony that ruled over the kingdom of Equestria. There are none above her, but she likes to think that there are none below her. With the rise of day and the fall of night, everything had its precise order and place, with an inexorable passage that was as constant as time itself, though she is not as enduring.

She has been around for a long time, though.

Sometimes, in these quiet moments, she takes the time out of her busy schedule to contemplate a question that had been plaguing her for almost as long as she could remember. It stemmed from happier times, she thinks, but for some reason the raw, gnawing worry keeps her awake longer than her nightly duties require.

She, in her present state, realises that they think of her as a heroine. A stalwart defender of good and a symbol to aspire to in this oft-troubled lands. In the long, long time she had been around, she had seen the rise and fall of empires, the changing of technology and magic, the advancement and decline of art and literature.

She herself knew that she was changing and that nothing was constant in this world.

Yet.

Yet there were things she never wanted to change. She never wanted to be ‘evil’, she never wanted to lose control, she never wanted to deviate from the garden path paved for her by her peers… her mentor… her friends. There is a darkness in her heart, for sure, and there is an urge of sweet temptation that leads to wild seductive abandonment only one hoof step away. Twilight, however, endured and she found that the burden of rule was easier to weather the longer she was alive.

Only that she was beginning to get tired.

The malevolent question clung to her mind with tenacious claws, it sprung up in this brooding moment in time. Once again, she contemplated inevitability with furrowed brows. If she could only view herself through her eyes, then it made sense that someone else would better know her than she did herself. The only problem was that she was now alone and though there were ponies around her, none connected with her in the same way as before. None could understand this burden. The ones who probably could have long-since passed away.

And this crippling question had been left unanswered.

So what was she to do, in these present times?

A faint rasping caught her attention as a gentle breeze blew.

Her gaze was drawn to the book she had been reading.

Science: Now

Twilight smiled.

Indeed. An experiment was always enlightening. Maybe she could answer her question and be free from this hideous burden? She would begin immediately.

Laughter drifted to her ears from a lively group in the distance.

Good. She would start with them.

Author's Notes:

Ambiguity is a hard thought to ascribe to, especially in a story meant to provoke a response in the form of a discussion. I think it should be recognised that not all questions have answers and that sometimes they are never fulfilled. But in our quest to grasp meaning, there is always merit to ask others, even if there is some form of personal cost in doing so.

Should Twilight seek an answer or should she, like Cadance, leave it be? It was detrimental to find the truth, but at the same time, it left a void in her, as in many readers, who wanted it to be answered. The inevitability of corruption is a fascinating concept that has been argued passionately for and against in many other stories. As such, I wanted to be unique in that addressing that question and I thought that introspecting the self for a change would be a poignant concept that would no doubt be interesting to explore rather than press as factually one side or another.

Time is a big theme in this story, and the way change happens in us that pushes us along. The clock, in my thoughts, was a way to signify the inexorable passage of time. That everything changes, whether we like it or not and that recognising that introduces the concept of things that we do not like to discuss. When Twilight hears the clock stop, it is a recognition that inevitability is a part of life, and that dwelling on it would only lead to a spiralling existential madness.

There is a little side interaction describing the way change has affected Twilight's perception of Celestia and this is meant to reinforce the fact that this change is confronting. Twilight doesn't want change. She want everything to be 'normal'. The question she deliberates over is almost immaterial, she is struggling against change itself and that, I think, is an impossibility that would eventually tear her apart.

I hope this little addendum helps, and I apologise if this story was not to your liking. I always strive to improve and your comments and suggestions have all been thoughtful and enlightening. Thank you all for your feedback and support.