Twilight Sparkle and Applejack floated next to each other in the deep, deep darkness of night.

"Consarn it, Twilight! I told you not to come after me," said Applejack, the anger in her voice apparent despite transmission static. "Why'd you have to go and do this thing?"

It was difficult to see clearly through two helmet faceplates, even up close. Each helmet had a dim light inside it which illuminated the muzzle area, and that helped a little. It had been Rarity's idea, of course. The interior light plus the pinpricks of starlight bent by the glass created a mesmerizing effect. It looked to Twilight Sparkle like Applejack's face was covered in a spray of tiny, drifting disco lights. This made it hard to make out her expression, but Twilight could still see that her friend was sadder than she was angry.

"I had to try," Twilight said firmly, "and I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"Then you're a dang fool," said Applejack, frowning. She reached out and forcefully shoved her friend's suit in the barrel with two thickly-gloved forehooves.

"No!" Twilight shouted. She quickly reached out and grabbed one of Applejack's hooves. The suits made manual grip clumsy, but Twilight used her telekinetic magic to boost the connection. The pair twisted in place and bumped off of one another a few times before before reaching equilibrium.

Applejack sighed. "Fine. Look, I weren't gonna run away, sugarcube. I'm just upset that now we're both about to kick the proverbial bucket."

Twilight shook her head, which didn't shift her helmet. It was oversized to accommodate her horn, and was attached to her vacsuit by a rigid seal at the neck. "You don't understand, AJ," her voice crackled over the phono. "The deep sky isn't like swimming or flying. You can't go places by moving your body, no matter how hard you try."

"Well, that would explain why all the buckin' I did wasn't gettin' me anywhere," Applejack admitted, then tilted her shoulders back to look toward the little metal vessel in the distance. "Skyship's lookin' mighty tiny from here. It's just gonna keep floatin' away like that, I guess?" she asked.

"Not precisely. I think our skyship's in a stable orbit. It'll be circling us for millennia, probably," said Twilight. "But you're right, we can't make it back."

"Not even with magic or teleportation?" asked Applejack, her voice hopeful.

"Not even. The problem is that we're accelerating away from it much faster than I can counteract with magic or thrusters," Twilight explained. "Shoot. Maybe we should have brought more ponies on the mission than just the two of us."

"Nah, 'cause then we'd all be doomed. It's better bein' just us two. Actually, it'd be better still if it was just me, you stubborn horse. I'm so mad I could spit, but my helmet would get gooey," said Applejack.

"I'm sorry, Applejack," said Twilight, mournfully. It was difficult for Applejack to make out Twilight's voice, since she spoke softly with her head dipped away from the phonocrystal.

"I know, hon. I know," sighed Applejack.

"It's just... I'd almost rather die than watch you go in there alone," said Twilight.

"Er, wait—in where now?" asked Applejack.

Twilight motioned in the direction of their tails. Applejack looked down between their suits. At first, she saw nothing. But then she studied the dark sky harder, and saw even more nothing: a little circle of nothing, to be precise, surrounded by a curious halo of smeared light.

"Beggin' your pardon, Twi, but could you kindly tell me what that little inkblot is?" said Applejack, the tension rising in her voice.

"It's called a black hole," said Twilight, "and we might be the first ponies ever to see one in person. Black holes are surrounded by an accretion disc, which is a bunch of swirling matter getting sucked in, like water going down a drain in slow motion. Except this one doesn't have a disc, which should be impossible. Very odd. But it's definitely a black hole."

"Ain't all that light smeared up against the sides of the little hole-punch your disc?" asked Applejack.

"Oh, no. That's an optical illusion. Black holes have gravity—you know, the stuff that holds you down to earth—but it's so strong that nothing can ever escape, not even light. So light that gets too close to it gets bent," said Twilight, using her best lecturing voice. "Some of the light near the edge comes from behind us, even. Just not directly behind us."

Applejack and Twilight Sparkle held tightly to each other's hooves. The phonos weren't sensitive enough to pick up on breathing unless you sighed heavily or blew on them, so an awkward silence developed until Applejack finally said something.

"Um, pardon me for pointin' out the obvious, Twilight, but I think that thing might be gettin' bigger."

Twilight Sparkle sighed loudly enough for the phono to catch. "I know, AJ. That's why we can't make it back to our ship. We're getting closer, because it's pulling us in."

"And, might I ask what that means for us?" asked Applejack. "I wasn't exactly lookin' forward to suffocatin' to death with my best friend so far up in the sky I can't even see earth no more, but I'm gonna hazard from your expression that this ain't a good thing neither."

"Well, it means we'll probably die in there instead of out here," said Twilight. "I might have been able to provide us with fresh air and water using magic, so we might have starved to death instead of suffocated. That's not much fun either, but at least we'd have more time together."

"So you're tellin' me that somethin' about that there black hole is what's gonna kill us," said Applejack.

"It is," she replied. "It will probably be a quick death, but it depends on which of two competing theories is correct. In a way, this is kind of fascinating!" said Twilight Sparkle, with a bright smile. "Oh Stars below, that was insensitive, wasn't it? Applejack, I am so sorry."

Applejack laughed and smiled in return. "It's okay, hon. It's just nice to see you smile, even if it's through a couple panes of curved glass. You love ideas so much you just light up a whole room every time you find somethin' new to explore," said Applejack, with a gentle squeeze to Twilight's hoof.

Twilight Sparkle hoped those two panes of curved glass were enough to mask a blush.

"Anyway, I'd like to hear more about it," continued Applejack. "I like learnin' more than most ponies think. It'll give us somethin' to do before we go down the drain, so to speak."

"Sure. It's kind of complicated, but basically, a black hole is like... well, it's a lot like the hole-punch analogy you used. Think of it like a hole punched in spacetime itself," Twilight explained. "All of our theories break down at the event horizon, unfortunately. That's the point of the hole past which not even light can escape."

"Hmm. I take it that would be the rim of the thing," said Applejack.

Twilight smiled again. "Surprisingly, it isn't. The gravity of the black hole is playing an optical illusion on us. The real event horizon is only two-thirds the size of the one you can see," she said. "The apparent horizon that you can see is called the photon sphere. There's some illusion going on there too, because that fake horizon will seem to inflate once we get really close to it."

Applejack looked down between their bodies. The hole appeared significantly larger now. It looked like they were standing on a black circle together.

"It's pretty," noticed Applejack.

"Yeah, it really is," said Twilight. "Anyway, you'll know we hit the photon sphere when exactly half the sky has gone black. There might be a tiny flash of light, but I don't expect it will be any brighter than the halo."

"So we only got, what, a few minutes, maybe?" said Applejack.

Twilight nodded. Applejack could see that her friend was holding back tears, so she reached around Twilight with a strong hug.

"I'm sorry it had to end like this," Twilight said, sniffling. "Your family..."

"They're strong, sugarplum," said Applejack. "I'd give anything to see Apple Bloom one last time, though. That filly reminds me so much of her mother."

"We've had pretty full lives for being so young," said Twilight. "I wouldn't change a thing. Well, except the falling into a black hole part, of course."

"So what's it gonna be like? Will it hurt much?" asked Applejack. "I ain't afraid, but I want to know what to expect, I guess."

"Do you mean death in general, or this particular kind of death?" Twilight responded.

Applejack shrugged, though it didn't show through the suit. "Both, I reckon."

"I guess I'll start with the black hole, but the short answer is we don't really know for sure. Physics and relativity disagree, but the one thing they do agree on is that it's impossible to see anything enter the event horizon from outside the photon sphere," said Twilight. "Since gravity is just like acceleration, matter hitting the event horizon is like matter going lightspeed, which is impossible. We can see it smearing up against the event horizon, getting closer and closer, but it never really enters."

"Weird. Won't we see ourselves enter?" asked Applejack.

"Maybe. It depends on whether relativity or particle physics is correct. Even though there's no accretion disc, I think this is a supermassive black hole. By the laws of relativity, we should slip right through the event horizon as though nothing special had happened. If that's true, we'll die when we get ripped apart by the tidal forces, much closer to the singularity. It will probably hurt. Gravity there pulls so hard it eventually stretches you out like spaghetti."

"Well, shoot. I'm about to die, and now I'm hungry too," winked Applejack.

Twilight giggled. "On the other hoof, particle physics says that black holes decay. This doesn't happen until after all the stars in the sky are gone, untold eons in the future," she explained. "But those eons will pass as we approach the event horizon. As we enter it, we'll be a part of the decay process, so it will be like hitting a wall of disintegration. It's a much faster death, and it's what I predict will happen to us."

"You know what, Twilight Sparkle?" said Applejack. "I really wish we'd spent more time together. You're so much fun to be around, even when I can't make a lick of sense about what you're sayin'. Which is about half the time, give or take."

"I love you too," Twilight said instinctively. Her eyes lit up in surprise. "I mean, um, as a friend, of course," she corrected herself.

Applejack smiled. "Of course."

"Oh, I didn't answer the big question yet. When we die, we'll end up somewhere else. There are a lot of possible transitions, but whatever life each of us goes to, it's not likely to be anything as great as this one has been," Twilight sighed. "I feel like so many opportunities have passed me by, even as amazing as our adventures and friendships have been."

"Yeah, me too. Moon, that hole's gettin' mighty big," said Applejack. Twilight looked to the side. It looked like they were standing on a black sphere larger than a mountain, with more and more of the sky being swallowed.

"Wow, yeah. I guess it's not long now," said Twilight.

"Um, Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Any chance we might, um, end up together, wherever we go? You don't have a spell up your sleeve there to make that happen?" Applejack chuckled nervously.

"I'm sorry AJ. It's pretty much impossible. The best thing to do is try to think happy thoughts, and remember what you love. Good things. Expect only the best. Think about all the things you think you most want to see again," said Twilight. "You'll probably wake up in a dream somewhere, or maybe from somepony's daydream, or maybe as a very young foal. But you won't remember much about these events, and that memory will likely fade moments later."

"Ah, darnit. I was kind of hoping we could, y'know, wake up together like this was some kind of bad dream we had together," said Applejack.

Twilight grinned. "That would be great. Although waking up in bed together would be, well, kind of weird," she said.

"I stand by what I said," Applejack asserted, with a soft smile.

"Oh," Twilight blurted right into the phonocrystal, the confusion in her voice apparent. "Well, yes, that would be great. Actually, it could even be possible if there were some logical reason for us to be in a wacky dream together."

"Hmm. A spell, maybe?" said Applejack.

"No dice. No spell I know of, anyway. Memories like these are far too detailed..." Twilight pondered.

Applejack scrunched up her muzzle in thought. "Well, Zecora's potion gave you some pretty fancy visions, didn't it?"

"Oh, that's true! But all the mission details, it couldn't create any of those..." said Twilight. A little flash of light struck both ponies. Exactly half of the sky had been gobbled.

"Photon thingie. Looks like the hole's eating the rest of the sky now, in reverse," noted Applejack. "Twilight, as much as I don't want you to die, thank you for bein' here with me. This is scary, but beautiful. Without you, it'd just be scary and lonely."

Twilight sniffled over the phono, a tear breaking loose. "I wouldn't have it any other way," she said. "We have at least until the sky eats everything. That moment is when we hit the event horizon."

"Alright then. But, um, back on the subject, you were talkin' about the mission details. Like how we were s'posed to go..." said Applejack.

"WAIT!" shouted Twilight, wide-eyed. "Don't say anything about the mission!"

"Beggin' your pardon?"

"We might have an outside chance of getting out of her. But colt, is it ever a long shot," Twilight said.

"I'm all ears, Twi," said Applejack.

"If I remove all of our memories about the mission, then the Twilight Sparkle and Applejack that end up without those memories might never have actually had them in the first place," said Twilight Sparkle. "So, maybe this could end up being some shared hallucination. But it would only work if somepony had a reason to do this to us. Who do we know that would torture us like this? It's not Discord's style..."

Applejack groaned. "Apple Bloom."

"What?" said Twilight.

"It makes perfect sense, Twilight. She's always talkin' about me gettin' a special somepony, and this is exactly the kind of stuff she and her friends would pull," said Applejack. "Plus, she knows Zecora. Now, I don't think it's likely, but still..."

"But... we're both mares, Applejack," said Twilight Sparkle.

"I know, sugarcube. But sometimes that is a thing that can actually happen," Applejack said, gently.

"Weird. Well, I guess it's something. Just don't say anything about the mission because that would ruin it," said Twilight.

"Course not, but Twilight, how does that help us? We're still the ones who're here for a valid reason," said Applejack. "I mean, I'm not sayin', but I know that reason right now in my head. Erasing our memories of the reason ain't gonna turn us into the ponies who were havin' some kind of hallucination. I guess we won't know for sure we're gonna be doomed, at least. Except maybe for this conversation, but I'm assumin' that'd be fake too."

Twilight shook her head within her helmet. "That's not quite how it works. When our memories disappear, we'll have as much of a chance of having been those ponies as being the ponies we know we are now—please, trust me AJ," said Twilight.

Applejack grinned wider than an open barn door. "Sugar, that's the easiest thing you ever done asked me to do."

"I just need your permiss—"

"Do it," barked Applejack. Looking up, all that remained of the sky was a shrinking circle of stars surrounded by a beautiful halo of light.

Twilight cast the spell.

Twilight and Applejack shuddered, looking around in the inky blackness as they regained their bearings. The circle overhead was small and bright.

"I guess it worked. That's the best chance we've got," said Twilight. "Hold on tight. And even if this doesn't work out, we'll see each other again eventually. Just not until nearly forever passes, unfortunately."

"Wait up, now," said AJ, as she embraced her friend in a clumsy, suit-encumbered hug. "Maybe we could better our chances a tad more."

Twilight looked confused. "I don't understand," she admitted.

"Well, maybe we give my sister what she wants, Twi. Could you look into my eyes?" begged Applejack, her voice pained. Her face was so much clearer now without the star-speckled sky dancing across it. In the darkness surrounding them, nothing remained but two ponies separated by awkwardly-large deepsuits.

"Well, sure," said Twilight, staring through those panes of glass, and recognizing for perhaps the first time in her life just how beautiful the other pony was. "And AJ?"

"Yeah hon?" said Applejack, her eyes locked onto her friend's.

"Even if we don't wake up in Equestria, I'm really glad it ended like this," said Twilight.

"Me too, sugarcube. Me too," said Applejack.

---

Applejack and Twilight Sparkle groggily woke up together, lying on a couch in the middle of the library. Twilight lay smooshed beneath Applejack, the earth pony having at least three times her mass. Still, she mused, this was much less cramped than a singularity.

On an end table next to them sat two empty glasses streaked with cider suds, and behind that table stood Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

"Did it work?" gasped Sweetie Belle.

Twilight held Applejack tightly in her hooves, and she openly cried.

"Oh, shoot. We're gonna be in it deep this time," moaned Apple Bloom, shaking her head. "Maybe Scoots was right after all..."

Applejack kissed Twilight Sparkle's tears away and nuzzled at her neck. "I thought we already taught you foals a lesson about doin' this sort of thing," she said, looking over at the pair. Tears ran down AJ's cheeks as well, but her expression was stern.

"We're sorry!" whined Sweetie Belle. "This wasn't like the other time! You two are like, I mean, everypony sees it except you," she defended. "I mean, come on!  This was a public service!"

"It's okay," gasped Twilight, wiping her eyes without letting go of Applejack. "I'm okay with this. I think I'm okay. I'm okay. This, this is okay."

Applejack shifted her weight to the side so Twilight could breathe. "The moment I stop cryin' and huggin' this here friend of mine, I'm calling Cookie and you two are both grounded. You hear me?" growled Applejack.

Then Applejack looked back down at Twilight's face, a silly smile crossed her muzzle, and she kissed her surprised friend square on the lips. Twilight's wings struggled against the couch beneath her, but her legs only held Applejack closer.

"Worth it!" whooped Sweetie Belle as she bounced in place, her face shining like the noontime Sun.

"Sure was! Heh, that actually went even better than expected," grinned Apple Bloom.

As the two fillies high-hoofed, the world around the mares faded to black until only two old friends remained. Twilight Sparkle and Applejack had succumbed to a force so strong, neither magic nor science could possibly pull them apart.