//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: Those Distant Sisters // by Rettro //------------------------------// A crowd had formed in Ponyville, awaiting the return of the six mares they believed had run off into the Everfree. Not much was known, other than that sometime in the night the earth had shook and the animals of the Everfree ran scared from the tree line… and that Twilight and her friends were missing. Under normal circumstances, life would have gone on unimpeded. These six mares had saved Equestria on at least two occasions, and were undoubtedly off doing something heroic to preserve the everyday life of a pony in a small town. This event, however, was different. In among the crowd waiting by the edge of the Everfree was a stark white mare who stood tall, wings folded and horn humming with a quiet spell searching for something. Where are you, Twilight? I’ve never lost you like this before. It’s like your magic isn’t even there anymore. She can’t… No, she’s not dead. This feels different, like when Luna was… “Princess, there!” One of the guards flanking Celestia yelled, pointing towards the tree line. A cream colored colt lead two oppositely colored mares out of the forest, almost immediately yelling at the assembled crowds to return to their jobs instead of wasting time loitering. As the trio reached the princess, the Ponyville mares emerged from the forest. Celestia took a step forward from the crowd, eager to see why she had such a feeling of dread about her student when she was interrupted. “Wow you’re tall!” Looking quickly down, Celestia saw a young steel gray mare with a slick azure mane looking back up at her. Taking just a moment to think, Celestia considered how to best respond to the pony she believed to be one of Twilight’s foreign visitors. “We all grow larger as we grow older, my little pony. I have been in this land for many years.” Satisfied that she had answered the half-question, Celestia again turned her attention towards her student and her friends. Twilight was walking towards her with a blank stare, seemingly focused on her home deep in the town behind Celestia. As her varied friends walked around her, occasionally offering unheard words to her, Celestia gleamed details of her appearance. Spike, her constant companion, clung silently to her back, hiding himself in her mane. Her coat was horribly ruffled, occasionally revealing small cuts along her belly. Her hooves were stained dark – almost black against her deep purple coat. A deeper note of horror struck Celestia as she remembered wars seemingly so long ago, realizing what had stained her student’s hooves. As she watched them grow closer, she became aware that the gray mare next to her had continued speaking. “I guess you can grow a bit more if you’re both a unicorn and a pegasus, right? I kinda thought only earth ponies could be born with wings, but I’m still new to it so maybe unicorns can too.” Evanescence was interrupted when one of the royal guards moved to stand just a bit too close to her. Celestia was certain she had not let her annoyance show, but the guards had been at her side so long they knew when she was low on patience. “My name is Princess Celestia, goddess of the sun and co-ruler of the land of Equestria, and I am several thousand years old. As interested as I am to speak with you about your lands and your leaders, I feel I have more pressing issues to attend to.” With that, Celestia turned and began to trot towards her student, leaving Evanescence and one of the guards behind. As she approached the group of returning mares, Celestia knelt down to better speak with her student. Twilight walked up to her, stopping a few paces back without breaking her stare. The other five mares bowed briefly, then formed a silent circle around the two. “Twilight?” Celestia asked, nervous. After a moment, Twilight turned toward her. “Twilight, what has happened to you?” Again, no response. “Come with me, Twilight. Let’s get you cleaned up a bit.” Celestia rose and began to walk towards town, Twilight and friends in tow. After a few moments, Spike lifted his head. “Princess?” he spoke softly, prompting Celestia to fall to Twilight’s side and lower her head to hear. “We went to find Resonance’s husband. We found him, in a tree… then he… he lead us farther into the forest. We found a hydra… it said such terrible things about you, about the past, and… and…” Spike again hid his head in Twilight’s mane, trying to maintain some dignity as he hid his tears. “He killed it. Sonority killed the hydra. I was trapped, Twilight saved me. She hid it from me, but I know what happened. She saw it, princess. She saw it all…” The group passed through the crowd of still present Ponyville residents. Celestia stepped aside, just for a moment before continuing with her student, to speak with her guards. “Guards, escort these three…” Celestia made a broad gesture towards Resonance, Evanescence, and Sonority “…to the grand hall of Canterlot castle. I should like to begin more civil diplomatic talks when I have finished here in Ponyville. Both of you can go, I don’t need guards for this.” Celestia received a curt nod from the two guards before they began to hurriedly push the trio towards a waiting chariot. Celestia pushed her way through the confused crowd, choosing to steer her student towards her home. If she was right, the traumatized mare needed a familiar safe environment more than she needed a hospital.