They had believed her to be perished in a battle long ago. But there she stood, in all the glory that was left of her. Princess Storm, the only pony in all of Equestria that could control the weather from any where with a thought.
No one could bow from the illusion they thought they were beholding in their presence. But surely if both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna could see her, then the haze wasn't a delusion after all. Unless of course, Discord had decided to play another trick on them, one he undoubtedly believed to be harmless.
"You return. . ." Luna's eyes questioned her sister standing before her. With no tail, nor main to distinguish her royalty presence, no one could say she wasn't an impostor. Yes she had the height and dialect of her sister Princesses, but that could easily be cast with a spell. The hair, for a reason not understood, when passed a thousand years, would flow with such grace and strength that no one could replicate nor question it. All she had to go on, was the storm raging outside, the one that had not been there only moments ago before the explosion sounded off her presence.
"I return after your troops did not succeed in finding me." The words were stone cold coming from someone only past had dictated as warm and kindhearted. "Tell me, Sisters, what was it like to stop searching for one of your own?" Storm began to pace the grand hall, the belts tied around her hoofs clinking together to make a sound much scratchier than bells. "Was it easy? Or did you cry yourself to sleep endless nights wishing me home? Or were you glad to be rid of me, the middle sister who merely only disobeyed the laws to win a fight."
Celestia held herself together, at least, only on the outside - no one could see what reeled inside her mind. They hoped it to be thoughts of pleasant kindness toward their sister, whom had to of only been acting this way because of her disconnection from society. No one really knew how long she was gone, but the age was clear on her face.
"We thought you burned in the fire," Celestia's words were like brittle chains against weak wrists. "Luna and I ourselves looked for you, what even may have remained of you. . ." Not even one pony within the grand hall could speak. "You were never found. We could only assume you were dead."
Storms eyes blazed with hatred. "ASSUME!" Her voice shook the hall, two of the many stained glass windows shattering in. "And I, after your futile attempts at a rescue, could only assume that you took pleasure in my assumed demise. I was alive, buried under rubble, burning under the crimson cinder that I had begun to call my fate."
"How did you survive?" Luna sliced off her words and turned her head away, realizing how cold the question had sounded against the chill in the air.
"I survived by the grace of my storms calling and the rain that pelted away the fire. Only then did I trudge up strength under the debris and nurse my own self back to health."
"Why did you not come find us?" Celestia had dropped any anger, her voice now a soft lullaby.
Storm's eyes furrowed. "Do you not see the burns that flake my pelt? I could not fly nor walk back even if I wanted to. I was weak, tired, on the verge of meeting my final fate." Her head hung low for a moment before she raised it, her eyes darker than the night. "Even if you had come back to find me, I would have hidden myself away in the curves of the mountains that surrounded me and used them as my shelter. The day you left me to burn in that fight, was the day I turned my back from being a Sister to the both of your ungrateful lives."
"Storm, please. . ." Celestia stood, begging her sister. Everyone could see where the conversation was leading, but no one wanted to speak of it for sake of sanity. "Don't berate us for a mistake that happened long ago. Let us revel in the truth that you are home, and that you have all that you need to become whole again."
Storm slammed a hoof to the ground, another window shattering at the force. "I AM WHOLE!" Tears stained her skin and her burns. "I have never been more whole in my life. The day I burned in that fire, was the day I realized I needed only myself to survive."
*~________________________________~*
Half an Hour Earlier:
Twilight dug her nose into the scroll, her eyes scanning over every detail as if it were to fade away within moments.
"Is everything ready yet?" Spike leaned against her neck, his nostrils blowing away some stray hairs she hadn't pulled back from the morning rush. "I'm starving and Rarity said she wanted to eat Lunch with us."
Twilight stopped, her eyes beading down the scroll one last time before she quickly rolled it up and stuffed it in her saddle bag. "I'm sorry, Spike, but this event is just far too big for me to dilly-dally on." She sighed, trotting toward the restaurant Rarity had spoken of. "I mean, one small mistake and we may mess it all up. It's nothing like-"
"The G.G.G, ya I know. . ." Spike interrupted, holding his stomach as it growled at him for the fourth time.
"The what?" Twilight halted for a moment, her eyes darting toward Spike.
"The Grand Galloping Gala." Spike moaned, rolling his eyes.
"Oh yes," She started the journey again. "The G.G.G, why didn't I think of that." They arrived in time to see Rarity talking to one of the hosts, her eyes glimmered with passion at the decor that settled itself around her. Lamps covered in fine Persian Silk, carpets made of only the finest, smoothest fur, seats drenched in bold and passionate colors that made the place sparkle like a golden gem. It was nothing short of perfection for Rarity and her tastes.
"Oh, Twilight, Darling," Rarity stood from her seat, trotting their way when the host left. "You wouldn't believe this place to be real if someone told you about it, would you?" Her voice drenched with sultry love for the interior. "They opened only days ago and it's packed gloriously. I hadn't even expected it to be so full today, but reservations were hard to get and I'm not backing down because of a few Ponies who want to enjoy the simple things in life."
"Simple," Twilight nodded. "Very."
"I think it's simple," Spike leaped off of Twilight's back and walked toward their table that had one booth wrapped around it. "Simply beautiful."
"Oh, Spike, I'm so glad you adore it as much as I do." Rarity waited until everyone was seated before raising her hoof. "Host, we're ready whenever you are."
The one she'd been speaking with earlier trotted up to her, a pen and pad floating next to him. Smiling, he fixed his tie and bowed his head. "And how may I treat you lovely ladies today? May I interest you in our finest delectable's we have out for today? Or our main dish that is simply to die for, and already has heaping reviews from almost all of our most famous and most fashionable patrons who have visited?"
Rarity opened her mouth, but her words were met with a loud explosion that shook the restaurant. Everyone fell into a panic, their words barely but a whimper behind the noise that began to grow outside. Loud thunderstorms rolled over Canterlot, sheets of rain pelted away at the roof, demanding inside, lighting crashed outside, meeting with metal and creating a hysteria of ponies scattering into anywhere they could.
"What was that?" Rarity screeched, grabbing hold of Spike for comfort.
"I don't know," Twilight looked out the glass doors that showed the rain turning the streets into a flood way. "But it sounded like it had come from the castle, and right now Celestia and Luna were supposed to be having a meeting with the council ponies from all over Equestria."
"That doesn't sound good," Spike gulped.
"No, it isn't," Twilight stood. "And I intend to get to the bottom of it." She transported herself to the castle to find that the doors had been flung off their hinges, the solid oak no where in sight. Galloping inside, she searched for the Grand Hall where the meeting would be held. Celestia would have invited her, but she had enlisted her help other places, commenting that her wisdom was wise and deep, but unneeded for the meeting that would be taking place.
Finding the doorway into the Hall was blown off as well, she stopped at the sight of everyone watching a pony who stood on the ground floor, her voice loud and deafening. Wind shoved her back, whipping her mane to the point that she felt someone had grabbed it and was forcing her back. Pushing against the force, she worked her way into the Grand Hall where eyes fell upon her. The pony before her turned, her eyes dark and cold against the hidden sun.
Turning fulling, the pony with no cutie mark, main, or tail, faced her. Something sparked inside of her and Twilight could not hold her words back. "Princess Storm. . ."
"And you must be Princess Twilight Sparkle," Princess Storm's voice sung like a lullaby against the winds and storm. "I was wondering who my sisters had chosen to replace me. It took them longer than I had expected, but my, my, you are a poor sight to behold." She walked through through the winds as they bent to her command, and she encircled Twilight. "So small and puny, and quite a ridiculous sight. Small, main with no flare or flow - just a little pony who got lucky because of what? Friendship? . ." She laughed, her voice quaking what was left of the glass windows. She leaned in close and spoke, her voice a sharp knife slowly cutting through Twilight's ears. "Soon you will learn how easy it is for them to leave you to die and forget that you ever existed. If you are to be my replacement, you are to suffer my fate." Her laughter caught the winds and it was carried out through Canterlot.
Twilight screamed as Princess Storm used her magic to shove her out of the hall and set the doors back in place. She was carried out back to the streets and dropped into the rushing river that had once been solid brick. Holding her neck up high, she fought the current, but the rapids grabbed and plunged her deeper under the water. Reaching the top, she spattered out the water and breathed as deeply as she could before being sucked down under once more. Lighting cracked beside her, barely touching the water as it carried her farther and farther away from the castle.
Lifting herself up once more, she saw the restaurant pass her and with one sheer thought she forced what was left of her strength to transport her there. Her eyes clenched shut, she only knew that she had arrived from the tearful cries of Rarity and Spike who quickly ran to hug her. Towels were wrapped around her body to warm her and slowly she opened her eyes to the atmosphere of at least twenty other ponies glancing at her awkwardly, with a fear she'd seen and felt before.
"What happened, is everything alright?" Rarity pulled her to their booth and sat her down. "Speak to me Darling."
"No, everything's not alright. . ." Twilight looked up. "There's a Princess that has been held back in history, long dead in the battle we were celebrating today. She was of royal blood and strength and was most known for her kindness. But I'm afraid that she's back for vengeance against her Sisters and those who wiped her from history." She lowered her head, her mind sunk in thoughts. "And I'm afraid, she's far too powerful for any one of us to handle. . . I don't even believe that the Elements of Harmony will work against her."