Deepest Fears

by VectorGameplay

Prologue - An Unexpected Guest

"What a beautiful day!!" Celestia said to herself has she walked through the many hallways of the Canterlot castle.

"No disturbances have been reported by the guards. The Griffons are being very peaceful with the territory negotiations. Discord didn't cause any trouble this morning and even Ponyville is quiet for once," She happily said. "It's very surprising how a small town can get into so much trouble."

Ponyville did tend to find itself in far more trouble than any other town throughout Equestria, Canterlot included. It is one of the many reasons why Ponyville a popular destination to many a tourist and adventurer visiting Equestria. Not only is it the home of the national heroes: ‘The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony’, it was also home to one of the four princesses of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle.

It is also one of the most random and interesting places in the country due to its proximity to the dangerous Everfree Forest and the gem caves of the Diamond dogs. The god of chaos and disharmony, Discord was living in a cottage just on the edge of the town with a Pegasus named Fluttershy and the hyperactive ball of pink energy and madness known by the locals as ‘Pinkie Pie’ are just a few of the charms that the little town had to offer.

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The only thing that probably hasn't happened yet in that town is a hairless monkey/ape thing appearing out of nowhere or by a magical portal, wearing clothes and claiming to be from another universe. But that is obviously impossible… right?
__________

While Celestia happily walked to one of the corridors, she was addressed by one of the many royal guards at her charge.

"Excuse me, your highness?" Asked the royal guard named Iron Sword.

"Yes Iron Sword, is there something wrong?

"No, Your Highness. We have already taken care of everything, I was just to inform you that breakfast is ready and the others are waiting for you to arrive."

Very well. Thank you for informing me, Iron. You are relieved. I shall call another guard later to cover for you."

"Of course, Your Highness, thank you!" He saluted and went back to the barracks.

After finishing her little chat with the guard, Celestia walked impatiently towards the only thing that would make this lovely day complete, "Vanilla cake, I'm coming for you!"

5 minutes later - Dining Room

he moment Celestia arrived at the dinning room she was welcomed by her younger sister, Princess Luna, her ‘lovely’ nephew Prince Blueblood and her student, the recently crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Good morning everypony" Celestia said with a warm smile on her face. "Did i miss anything important?"

"Yes aunty, I was just telling Aunt Luna and Twilight how my morning got ruined by one of the clumsy maids of the castle," Blueblood replied with his usual air of self-importance

"Please Princess, make him stop! He has been speaking for half an hour!" Twilight cried out in irritation while Luna looked very calm, as if this was a daily routine for her.

"How can you be so calm with him whining all the time?. Twilight asked the princess of the night.

"Years of practice Twilight Sparkle, he was like this since the moment he learned to speak," Luna replied. "But let us postpone the discussion of our nephew’s behavior for now. How are you today dear sister?

“Everything's just great Luna,” Celestia said while she took a seat in front of her cake which she was eating at 8:45 AM, “The morning is just so lovely and peaceful. The guards have certainly been doing a splendid job in protecting the castle.

"Do you have a three?" A stallion guard said.

"Go fish, Power Shield," Replied Nova Blade, one of the few mares that managed to enter the royal guard, "You know we should be protecting the castle instead of playing this stupid card game right? What if Celestia catches us?"

"Relax Nova, she is most likely too busy eating her morning cake to notice some missing guards," Power Shield replied with a grin, "I sometimes think her cutie mark is for having a flank as big as the sun itself."

"Shield, you know you shouldn't joke about Celestia's flank," Nova reprimanded with a serious look on her face, "Do you remember what happened with Manfredi and Johnson when they joked about it?”

"Yeah I remember what happened," Power Shield said with a sad look. "Their remains were put in a manila envelope. From Manila, ironically."

"We had to bury what was left of them with a teaspoon".

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Do you have a seven?"

"Buck you Nova you are cheating!!"

"I'm sure everything is just fine," Celestia said, biting another piece of her cake, "A day as beautiful as this deserves a stroll through the gardens, somepony care to join me?"

I'm sorry Princess but a carriage is waiting for me to take me to Ponyville after breakfast and Pinkie already has a party planned when I get back home," Twilight said apologetically..

"Don’t worry so much Twilight. I understand friends are one of the most important things in life. And I'm sure my sister will accompany me on my little walk, isn't that right, Lulu?

"But of course, I have plenty of time before starting with the preparations for the Night court. I would love to go with you Tia,"

"I can go too you want..." Blueblood started to say but was cut off by both Celestia and Luna.

"NO!!".

Everypony in the room was taken back by the sudden outburst of the two sisters. Celestia - watching the commotion she just caused - cleared her throat and spoke in a serene tone. "I mean... no dear nephew. It is quite fine with just my sister and I. You are free to go somewhere else."

"Well, I guess I can go to the makeup artist to apply another layer of eyeliner and fix my mane with a new style. It’s getting a tad frizzy," Blueblood said, patting his mane absent-mindedly.

"Colt Cuddler," Twilight said in an almost whisper tone but loud enough to be hear by the other two princesses who started to chuckle at the sudden joke of her friend.

"Now what are you two laughing at?" Blueblood said with an annoyed tone.

"Nothing for you to worry about nephew," Celestia giggled.

"This will work has future trolling opportunities", The solar princess and "self-proclaimed" greatest troll of Equestria thought. She kept closest to her heart, "Be afraid, Blueblood. Be very afraid!"

Fifteen minutes after - Canterlot's Garden

After everypony finished their breakfast, both princesses went to say their goodbyes to Twilight Sparkle and got back to the castle to start their walk through the gardens.

"You were right sister, this day is surely perfect for a walk!". Princess Luna said.

And it was true. At this time of the year in the middle of Spring, the Royal Garden turns into one of the most beautiful places in Equestria. The rays of the sun at the perfect angle to create an effect of holiness and peace, the marvellous sight of the blooming of the deciduous magnolias, cherries, and quince giving a feeling of warmth and serenity. The small critters like butterflies and ladybirds, as well as the animals waking up from hibernation such as squirrels, bunnies and birds added the final touch to make the garden look - in simple terms - unique.

"But of course it is Lulu, but now that we are here, I think it's time for me to ask you a very important question, if that is alright with you of course!" Celestia said changing her almost motherly tone to a one of seriousness.

"But of course sister, I have no secrets to hide from you. Feel free to ask whatever question that plagues your mind and I will do my best to answer it," Luna said, curious to know what question had her sister prepared for her.

"Have you ever thought about getting a student?"

" ... Well, that escalates quickly!"

"Luna please, I am being serious. You need to get yourself a student, somepony you can socialize with besides the ponies at the castle and he or she can be the key to get you out of the castle more often," Celestia replied with a small frown.

"I know Tia, it's just…" Luna cursed under her breath, "Even after the four years since my return to the throne, our subjects are still terrified by my presence, despite the fact that the celebration of Nightmare Night has worked in part to assuage their concerns. I still not sure if anypony would trust me enough to be my apprentice," Luna said with a sad look on her face.

Celestia couldn't find words to describe her feelings. She was worried for her sister because she knew she was right, ponies were still fearful over Luna's actions in the past. But even then, she still had hope, hope that her sister would find somepony special to call her student and possibly… her friend

"There is a stallion for each mare" as the old saying goes ... but everypony knows that couldn't be further from the truth. The true is that there is a stallion for every five or six mares but ... you get the point!.

"I'm sure you will find somepony who won't judge you for what you did Lulu. My student Twilight is a prime example of it. She wanted to befriend you the moment you arrived to Ponyville two years ago on Nightmare Night, isn't that right?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm still no sur..." She couldn't finish the sentence when suddenly she felt a magic power flowing from somewhere in the gardens. "Was this energy here all the time?". She thought while looking for the source of this magic power.

"Can you feel it too, Luna?" Celestia asked her younger sister.

"Yes sister, I surely can, but there's something about this magic that intrigues me." Luna replied, growing concerned.

"And that is?" Celestia asked, curious as to what her sister had to say.

"I have only felt this kind of magic in my Unicorn Lunar guards," Luna replied, "Whatever it is that hold this kind of power, surely knows how to use dark magic… and it's very powerful."

"Looks like this day is not going to be as peaceful as i thought" Celestia said with a little of fear in her voice.

Fifteen minutes after - Canterlot's Garden

After some time trying to find the source of the dark magic, both princesses - with some royal guards that were more than eager to help their rulers - they found it… lying unconscious on the ground.

A purple unicorn stallion with a spiky two toned violet mane and a short, matching tail. But what caught the attention of both princesses was not his coloration… it was his Cutie Mark. It consisted of an evil looking smile with a pair of eyes that created the feeling of being able to look right through your soul. It was an unsettling sight for all concerned.

Taking a closer look, they were able to gauge his magical power better. It wasn't as powerful as Twilight's magic went she was a unicorn but it was still pretty impressive. But the interesting part of the magic that the unicorn possessed was the large amount of dark magic he seemed to be emanating with each breath. It was amazing and frightening at the same time.

"GUARDS!" Yelled Celestia

"Yes Your Highness?" The royal guards said in unison

"Take the stallion to the infirmary at once!" The guards saluted to princess and lifted the stallion to the infirmary with their magic.

"Do you think he will be fine, sister?" Luna asked her older sister with a worried look.

"He appears to be rather strong of body for a unicorn. I believe he will be alright," Celestia said, hoping she was right.

But she still was concerned about the stallion’s power, ‘How did he get this far into the gardens without being detected by the guards? Why does he emanate amounts of dark magic not seen in years?’ She thought.

"Luna, why don't you go with the guards and see to the well-being of our unusual guest while I send for Twilight and the Elements of Harmony?" Celestia asked her sister.

"Are you sure we will need the Elements sister? If something happen, we could easily take care of it," Luna asked curiously.

"Better to have them and not need them than need them but not have them," Celestia replied.

"Very well sister, I shall inform you of any developing situation concerning our little… guest," And with that, Luna took flight to the nurse's office, leaving Celestia alone to her thoughts

"This day just gets better and better". She thought before summoning a some parchment and a quill with her magic.