6 - Letters of Past and Present
Succession
Chapter 6 – Letters of Past and Present
”You’re doing great, Twi!” Rainbow Dash encouraged her from a few feet ahead. “Just another few steps and you’re there.”
The unicorn took her eyes off her wobbly front hooves and looked toward the pegasus. Sure enough, the rainbow-maned wonderbolt was hovering next to one of Canterlot’s pegasus-drawn flying carriages just fifteen feet ahead of her. Secured to the front of the aircraft was a team of four brawny-looking pegasi, shivering slightly in the cold wind.
Twilight glanced backwards, taking in the sight of Canterlot, and sighed.
The skyline has changed. The whole city has changed. This was the capital of Equestria, home of the sun. Some would even call it the pinnacle of our civilization. Now it’s a shell; a haven for terror and memories best left forgotten.
The unicorn shivered violently while Rainbow Dash opened the door to the chariot.
It used to be warm too. So much has happened in just three months without Celestia.
Twilight awkwardly hobbled into the wagon and found a seat next to the twenty books she had managed to not destroy during her time in the hospital. Her friend soon entered the chariot as well and closed the door after her. As the two ponies were cut off from the howling winds of Canterlot’s airfield, the cabin immediately felt much warmer. The unicorn’s heart sank as she looked out the window set in the door of the flying vehicle. The airfield of Equestria’s capital was not much more than a small plaza on the outskirts of the city, just large enough for the flying chariots favored by the nobility to take off and land safely. As Twilight watched, she saw several other of the aircraft taking off all over the area, each of them full of both ponies and huge amounts of luggage.
“They’re really all leaving, huh?” she whispered sadly.
Rainbow Dash took a glance out the window as well. “Not all of them... Not right away... But yeah... It’s weird, I know. But what can we do? It’s summer, and Canterlot is already freezing. It won’t be long before nopony can live here at all. I know I’d hate to be here during winter.”
“But abandoning the city!?” the unicorn pressed as their chariot jolted into motion. Even though she had known about the decision for a week, the very idea of deserting her birthplace still outraged her. “What about when Trottingham gets too cold!? Or Manehattan or Ponyville? Or the entire Vyatkiev province!? Canterlot is the capital of Equestria for pony’s sake!”
“Well, not anymore,” the pegasus tried reasoning. “The council rules from Manehattan now.”
“I know… All of this is happening so fast. Sometimes I feel like it was just last week that I helped Applejack get rid of fungal infections on her trees or rescued Fluttershy’s rabbits from a cockatrice.”
“Three months is a long time,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “I mean, it’s a short time to heal two shattered leg bones and regrow your skin from scratch, but things outside the hospital were pretty crazy the entire time.”
“Unlike Pinkie, I’m seeing the world for what it is. It’s kind of unsettling to see her live her life in a bubble like that.”
Twilight suddenly found herself wondering who had really been the one living in a bubble. Perhaps things had been much worse for her five friends than she originally thought.
Can I really blame anypony for trying to live in a bubble under such circumstances?
The pegasus seemed to sense her friend’s discomfort and decided to change the subject. “So what are you planning to do now?” she asked curiously. “I mean, I assume life isn’t just going to return to normal now that you’ve healed up, right?”
Twilight pondered the question for a few seconds. Outside, the chariot left the ground, and the ride became much more even, although the unicorn had to rescue her books from falling as the wagon began ascending. Finally, she answered. “The way I see it, I, or perhaps we, being the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, have two major tasks ahead of us. One is to somehow bring back the sun, the other is to defeat Nightmare Moon.”
Rainbow Dash grinned. “Well, you aren’t lacking in ambition.”
“I’m being serious, Rainbow.”
“I know, I know. But c’mon! You want us, six ponies, to do what only Princess Celestia could do? Do you know how to build a sun? ‘Cause I sure as hay don’t!”
“I’m working on that.”
“We might be able to take down Nightmare Moon if we have the Elements, but then again, she seems to be playing pretty serious this time around. And how do you plan on finding her? She kills Celestia and then disappears without a trace for three months. She could be on the moon for all we know.”
“What I’m going to do,” Twilight explained, “is to study up on solar magic the best I can with the books at my disposal. Hopefully, I’ll be able to learn the basics of building a sun or at least what a sun is composed of. I already have a fairly good idea of the latter, so I don’t think it’ll take too long.”
“Hold on,” Rainbow Dash held up a hoof to stop the unicorn. “You’re talking about making a sun. A sun! You don’t think that’ll take long? Don’t you think Celestia spent a long time making the first one?”
“The way I heard her tell it, she was born with the knowledge,” Twilight explained. “Actually, the sun rose the same moment she was born. So, no, she didn’t spend any time on learning how to make one.”
“Oh, okay then,” the pegasus replied with mock relief. “So in a matter of weeks you’re just gonna learn to do what Celestia, the all-powerful sun goddess, was naturally capable of doing from the moment she was born. Fair enough.”
“It’s not impossible,” the lavender unicorn insisted. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Celestia. She tutored me. I’m one of the most magically adept unicorns in Equestria. My special talent and Element of Harmony is Magic. If anyone can, I’d like to think I’m the one who can recreate the sun.”
“You’re pretty good at what you do, yeah,” the pegasus granted. “But c’mon! Celestia! She’s way out of our league!”
“Like any magic, like any art, all it takes is practice,” Twilight once again insisted. “I’ll start out with small suns; the size of a hoof or a grain of sand, whatever is possible. After that, I’ll just start working my way up. The larger I can make these suns, the more likely it is for Nightmare Moon to notice my progress and try to stop me.”
“So you’ll force her to find you?” The pegasus raised an eyebrow. “Is that really a good idea? I mean, she destroyed the entire palace.”
“And we haven’t seen her since,” Twilight said. “You said it yourself. Isn’t it obvious?”
“Uhm, no?”
“In one night she kills Celestia and she vaporizes several thousand tons of marble and stone and kills hundreds of ponies. Now she’s gone. She’s hiding, Rainbow. The Great Tragedy obviously took a lot out of her. She needs to rest. If all goes well, I can draw her out before she’s fully recuperated. Force her into a confrontation while her powers are drained. My magic, on the other hoof, has never been stronger.”
“That might actually work,” the pegasus mused, putting a hoof to her chin as she thought the scheme over.
“Well, I definitely didn’t spend this month sleeping all the time.”
“It’s good to have you back, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. “I bet you’ll sort this mess out in no time!”
Two hours later, the two friends landed in Ponyville’s town square. While the chariot pullers unhitched themselves and took a much needed break, the unicorn and the pegasus exited the vehicle and stepped out into their hometown.
Twilight closed her eyes and breathed in the familiar scent of home. It was cold here as well, but compared to the freezing winds that plagued Canterlot upon its mountain perch, the weather in Ponyville felt almost summer-like.
The pegasus next to her sighed happily. “It’s been too long.”
“It sure is good to be back,” Twilight agreed.
Despite the darkness around them, it seemed to be the equivalent of daytime in Ponyville, as the square and the surrounding streets were full of ponies wandering about, talking or selling their wares. Acting as a poor replacement for the lacking sun, torches, lanterns and electrical lamps provided the town with a small level of illumination, dotting an otherwise dark Ponyville with patches of yellow and white. The various landmarks in the area stood out, however. Beside the two ponies, the town hall was lit up by an odd combination of Nightmare Night and Hearth’s Warming decorations along with a few colored lanterns. Carousel Boutique had been outfitted with white, indigo, and blue lights that seemed to have been selected solely to match its owner’s colors. Beyond the small houses of the town, Sweet Apple Acres was speckled with small dots of glowing green from lanterns shining through the leaves of the many trees. It was obvious Pinkie Pie had been in charge of illuminating Sugarcube Corner; pink lanterns hung from every cusp and the walls were draped with pink string lights.
“Twilight!” Just as the unicorn was about to remove her gaze from the confectionary, a pink blur appeared from the other side of the town square, weaving expertly through the crowd and finally launching itself at her. Twilight reared up in alarm but instead ended up catching Pinkie Pie with her forelegs. The pink pony lay sprawled across the unicorn’s extended forehooves and wrapped a foreleg around her neck, giving Twilight a huge grin. “You’re back!”
“So are you!” the unicorn laughed, taken aback by the party pony’s assault. “But could you please go easy on my legs?”
“Sure can!” Pinkie Pie replied confidently and bounced out of Twilight’s grasp, landing neatly on her hooves. Next, she embraced the pegasus tightly. “Oh, Rainbow, it’s been such a long time since you’ve been in Ponyville, I mean Twi’s been gone awhile and me too, but you’ve been gone a super duper long time, I haven’t had anypony to prank ponies with for so long we have a lot of catching up to do, don’t we, oh, oh, ooh, I have so many ideas like switching the labels on Zecora’s potions or putting glue on the apple trees during the Applebuck Season, hah could you imagine Applejack’s face when she gets her hoof stuck on a tree, ooh and that’s when she’ll be totally defenseless and the real fun can-“
“Twilight, dear! Wonderful to see you back on your hooves!” Rarity called out as she approached the three friends, breaking Twilight’s wavering concentration on the pink pony’s ramblings. “Or, you know, back on your hooves with healthy legs. How are they feeling by the way? And your magic?”
“Well, legs are still a little shaky since I haven’t gotten quite used to walking yet,” the lavender unicorn replied happily, leaving Rainbow Dash to deal with mellowing Pinkie Pie. “And I finally got a hang of my magic two weeks ago.”
“I really wish I could have been there to help you with that,” the white unicorn apologized, but Twilight waved a hoof dismissively.
“No need to apologize, Rarity. You can’t just leave your shop unattended for three months straight, can you?”
“At least y’all stayed with her till she woke up!” Applejack added as she arrived by the chariot, panting heavily from a long run. “Ah’m sorry Ah had ta go, Twi, but, ya know, farms don’t run ‘emselves.”
The lavender unicorn rolled her eyes. “It’s okay, girls! Really, I don’t expect you to put your life on hold while I’m in the hospital.”
“Alright. Nice ta know ya’nderstand,” the farmer pony smiled. “How’re the legs doin’? An’ one o’ your letters mentioned sumthin’ ‘bout your magic goin’ crazy?”
“They’re both fine,” the unicorn replied, appreciating her friends’ concern but starting to feel she was answering the same questions over and over.
“Oh, Twilight! You’re back,” came the soft voice of Fluttershy from above as she landed beside Applejack. “I’ve been so worried! How’s your-“
“My legs are fine,” Twilight cut off the pegasus, her patience quickly wearing thin. “My magic’s fine. And my skin’s fine, too,” she was quick to interject when Fluttershy opened her mouth again.
“Oh, okay. Well, that’s… nice,” she replied in a slightly confused tone. “How did you..?”
The unicorn smiled and shook her head. “Never mind. Thanks for almost asking, though.”
“Hey!” the pink pony suddenly exclaimed. “We’re all together again and none of us have any broken legs or ribs or burnt skin and we’re all in Ponyville! You know what this calls for?”
“A party!” the friends answered in unison, laughing as they did so.
“Exacterrifictly!” the pink pony announced, pounding a hoof resolutely into the ground while wearing a determined expression. “Gimme... one hour, and then we can meet up at Sugar Cube Corner!”
The ponies bid their temporary farewells to each other, and Twilight headed back to the Ponyville library.
Having spent the better part of three months in her bed at the Canterlot hospital, she still couldn’t shake the oddness of seeing ponies walking about freely in the streets while the moon shone brightly above. All the noises that usually belonged to the realm of day had simply moved on to the night without much change.
Ponies were a highly adaptable species, she supposed, but she also knew that, sooner or later, the consequences of the absent sun would show themselves. In only a few months, the harvest at Sweet Apple Acres would begin, a harvest that would no doubt be greatly affected by this sunless summer.
She forced the bitter thoughts of starvation from her mind as the door to the Ponyville library glowed and swung open to let her in. The library felt empty, somehow; there was no Owloysius to greet her, no Peewee to offer her a warm welcome. The two birds must have been taken to Fluttershy’s cottage after their owner had been hospitalized. And of course, there was no Spike.
The books haven’t been reorganized for almost four months… a small part of her mind despaired as she dragged her hooves across the floor. She soon reached the steps that lead to her combined bedroom and study.
She briefly considered lying down in her bed, but thought better of it. After she had begun having her odd surrealistic dreams, she had become a heavy sleeper, and more often than not, she would sleep for whole days.
A fair enough trade-off, I suppose, the unicorn shrugged. The look on the doctor’s face as I regrew completely shattered bones in a matter of weeks was priceless.
The unicorn seated herself at her desk and gazed sadly at the single piece of parchment she had fixed to the right side of the desktop; a farewell from one of her oldest friends.
Dear Twilight,
By the time you read this, I’ll be well on my way to Dragoncrest Valley. Don’t follow me this time, alright!? This is just something I have to do, more so than when I decided to join the dragon migration.
Most of my life I’ve been living as a pony, and my life’s been great! As a pony, I’ve grown more mature than half the dragons I’ve ever met. You taught me about the importance of being kind and loyal and most importantly true to yourself, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
But as mature as I may be, I still find myself still standing little more than two feet tall while everypony else is growing up around me, finding lives of their own... I mean, two feet isn’t too bad of a size if you’re a pony, but I’m a dragon; I ought to be twice your size by now! As much as I’m a pony, I am also a dragon, and I feel like I’ve been denying that part of me all my life. I wanna grow up, you could say. That’s why I’m going to Dragoncrest Valley. Besides, there’s not really that much left for me here in Ponyville anymore.
Don’t worry about me; as I’m sure I’ve shown you on plenty of occasions, I can take care of myself.
Your #1 assistant, Spike.
PS: Watch out for her, okay? Fancy Pants seems nice enough, but... just in case.
PPS: I’m serious, though; DON’T FOLL
Twilight had walked in on him early in the morning, finding him nearly buried under a pile of scrapped letters, writing desperately on what appeared to be the last remaining piece of blank parchment in the library. Without realizing it, the dragon had spent the entire night trying to get his words out right.
Now the unicorn found herself wishing that she hadn’t decided to let the dragon go. For two friends that had been virtually inseparable since fillyhood, two years was an agonizingly long time. And now, with Celestia gone, Twilight needed Spike more than ever.
He must have noticed the missing sun by now, the unicorn reasoned with herself. It won’t be long before he comes back.
She looked longingly out one of her windows toward the southwest, where she knew the dragon valley to be situated, and sighed deeply.
Several hours later, by the time most of the inhabitants of Ponyville had gone to sleep and light bulbs and candles had given way to darkest night, Twilight stood upon the confectionary’s balcony, leaning her front hooves against the railing as she gazed out upon the Everfree Forest. Below her, the party was still going strong. She had excused herself to go to the bathroom a few minutes ago, but instead, she now found herself outside, staring at the dark and forbidding forest thoughtfully.
“Twi?” Rainbow Dash called out to her as she appeared from below the balcony, hovering next to the unicorn. “What’re you doing out here? The party’s inside, you know.”
“I’m thinking.” Twilight motioned toward the forest with her head. “That’s where we first faced her. That’s where we beat her.”
“Yeah… It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” the pegasus said, turning her head toward the forest as well. She hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “You know, as scary as she was, that night was one of the best moments of my life.”
“She brought us all together,” the unicorn agreed. “Helped us forge something that would last forever.”
The two were silent for a while. Off in the distance, Twilight could make out the faint silhouette of a familiar owl prowling the fields between Fluttershy’s cottage and the forest.
“What do you plan on doing with her?” the pegasus finally asked. “Can we turn her back into Luna? Will she stay Luna?”
“I don’t know…”
“Then what? Trap her in Tartarus? Turn her to stone? Banish her to the moon?”
“I really don’t know, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed. “I guess that when the time comes… we’ll do whatever it takes to keep Equestria safe. We might even have to…”
Whatever the unicorn had wanted to say was lost to her as an odd sight caught her attention. A bright white light shone from the Everfree Forest, shining for four or five seconds before winking out with a bright flash. Near the edge of the woods, Owloysious fled into Fluttershy’s cottage. Twilight saw the shockwave before she heard it; a wave rushed toward the town, causing the trees to rustle slightly and laid the grass flat.
“What the…” Rainbow Dash’s words were washed away as an almost deafening snap rang in the two ponies’ ears and the gust of wind swept over them, carrying a faint hint of magic that only Twilight could sense. “What the hay was that!?” the pegasus exclaimed.
“Might be her,” Twilight replied, refusing to take her eyes off the area that had lit up. “We need to go take a look.” Remembering to keep her promise, the unicorn briefly turned to her pegasus friend. “I’m about to go after Nightmare Moon. I found you. Are you coming with me?”
“I’m not letting you go alone; that’s for sure,” the pegasus muttered. “And I ain’t about to chicken out of a fight with the mare who killed Princess Celestia!”
The silence of Ponyville was soon broken by frightened whispers and nervous chatter as the town came to life again. Below the two ponies, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were calling out for the missing partygoers.
With a flash, Twilight vanished from the balcony and appeared before her four friends on the street, Rainbow Dash soon joining the group.
“Please tell me that wasn’t you, Twilight,” Rarity frowned as she drew to a halt in front of the lavender unicorn.
“What?” The unicorn shook her head. “No, of course not.” She motioned toward the Everfree Forest with a hoof. “I think Nightmare Moon’s doing something out in the forest. Rainbow and I are gonna go after her, but we’ll probably need some help…”
“Say no more,” Rarity declared, smiling reassuringly. “We’re with you.”
“She doesn’t stand a chance!” Applejack added confidently.
“Well, I guess… If everyone else is going...” Fluttershy mumbled, showing obvious discomfort with the planned foray into the forest.
“Ooh, I’ll get the party cannon!” Pinkie Pie added in a singsong voice.
The Everfree Forest was well known to be one of the most hostile areas in all of Equestria; it held a diverse palette of vicious and deadly creatures and even the flora of the forest seemed to lash out at visitors given the slightest chance. As dangerous as the Everfree normally was, however, it could be downright lethal at night.
And yet Twilight now found herself standing at the outskirts of the gloomy forest, surrounded by her friends as they prepared to pass through the otherworldly borders.
“Uhm, wh-where exactly did you see that light?” Fluttershy asked nervously, inadvertently taking a step back from the dark forest.
“About eight miles in,” Rainbow Dash replied, and the other pegasus squeaked.
“We’ll stop by Zecora’s on the way,” Twilight assured her. “She might know something.” With that, the unicorn stepped forward, and the others followed.
Everything around the six ponies darkened as they passed between the first few twisted trees of the forest and an oppressive silence settled over the colorful intruders almost immediately. The unicorn always found it odd how the Everfree seemed to be a separate world from Equestria; a place where none could control the weather and where even the sun and moon would occasionally disobey the princesses. Tonight, however, the full moon hung over the ponies just as it had done in the rest of Equestria for three whole months.
After a minute, Fluttershy spoke. “Listen. They’re all frightened. The animals are quiet.”
The pegasus’ observation was met by murmurs of agreement from the others, but otherwise the party was too affected by the atmosphere around them to make any further conversation as they made their way to Zecora’s hut.
The hollowed out tree her zebra friend called home seemed much the same to Twilight as the six ponies approached the small clearing. Unsurprisingly, the lights in the small house were all on, and the unicorn caught a brief glimpse of a shadow passing by one of the windows.
As she neared the front door to knock, Twilight noticed that several of the flasks hanging from the boughs of Zecora’s tree had shattered completely from the not so distant explosion, spilling their brightly colored contents onto the grass below.
The door opened before Twilight could knock, and the zebra smiled warmly at the guests.
“Zecora! It’s good to see you’re alright,” the lavender unicorn greeted the potion brewer, but was met by a raised a hoof.
“You shall have to speak a little louder, I fear!” the zebra almost yelled. “At the moment there is not much I can hear!”
What had been a loud snap in Ponyville must have been literally deafening for somepony so close to the explosion, Twilight realized.
“We’re glad yer okay!” Applejack yelled from behind the unicorn, causing a slight ringing in Twilight’s ears. “D’ya know what happened!?”
The zebra shook her head. “There was a noise from somewhere west by south! It left an odd taste in my mouth!”
She could taste the magic? That explosion must have been more powerful than I realized, Twilight thought to herself as the zebra pointed them in the general direction of the blast site.
“The culprit I cannot help you pursue!” she yelled, gesturing at her ears. “But the best of luck I wish to you!”
“Thanks…” Twilight began, but then remembered she had to shout to be heard by the zebra. “Thanks! We’ll see you later when we’ve finished investigating!” Twilight responded as she galloped off in the direction Zecora had indicated.
As the six ran, the quiet of the forest soon gave way to panicked screeches and guttural roars all around them. It seemed the Everfree had recovered from its initial shock, panicking and raging now rather than staying silent.
“Are ya sure this is safe, Twi?” Applejack asked nervously as the noise of the forest began growing in volume.
“We’re trying to chase down Nightmare Moon!” Twilight replied, shouting to be heard over the sound of their pounding hooves. “Of course it’s not safe!”
As the unicorn took her eyes off the orange pony to once again look forward, a broken tree caught her eye off to her right. The bright shade of the splinters protruding from the mangled trunk led her to believe that it might only recently have been felled. She veered toward the damaged vegetation and soon noticed similar looking trees and bushes in what had now become a small clearing. In the center of the clearing, a large patch of grass seemed to have burned away.
Aside from a small indentation in the ground and the few fallen trees, however, Twilight could see no signs of the blast she had seen from Sugarcube Corner. The damage she beheld now had definitely been caused by some sort of explosion of some sort, but it had seemed a lot bigger from Ponyville. Surely it would have done more damage than just knock over a few trees.
No, I can still sense the hint of magic. This is exactly where it happened.
The unicorn sighed. “She’s not here.”
“Is this it?” the rainbow maned pegasus exclaimed, more than a little frustrated. “I was totally geared up for a showdown with Nightmare!” She stopped flapping her wings and dropped to the ground with an annoyed grunt. “Told you I should have flown ahead! So what do we do now? Chase her down? Can you track her down with some sort of spell?”
The unmistakable roar of an angered ursa minor cut into the ponies’ conversation, leaving them silent for a while barring a quiet ‘eep’ from Fluttershy.
“She could be anywhere by now,” Twilight answered, hanging her head low in defeat. A few miles west, the ursa roared again. “And I get the feeling we should get back to Ponyville as soon as possible.”
A few hours later, the door to the Ponyville library swung open as Twilight entered, completely worn out. Twigs and leaves stuck to her disheveled mane and tail and streaks of dirt had given her half as many stripes as Zecora.
“Timberwolves,” she muttered to herself. “Not squirrels, not rabbits. We had to run into a pack of timberwolves!”
Her pet owl, Owloysius, and the younger phoenix, Peewee, both of whom she had picked up from Fluttershy’s cottage a few minutes ago, swooped into the library before the unicorn shut the door again.
She yawned as she climbed the stairs, her mind almost completely preoccupied with how soft her bed must be. She pushed those thoughts away, however, and instead called out to her pet owl perched atop the railing ahead of her. “Owloysius, could you please get any books we have on solar magic and anything relating to the subject? Get Peewee to help you.” With a confident hoot, the owl took to the air again, rounding up the phoenix.
I wonder what happened to Philomeena, she thought as she looked at her two pets’ antics. Phoenixes are immortal, but then again, so are alicorns.
As she once again seated herself at her desk, she couldn’t help reading through the letter at her side once more, feelings of loneliness soon overcoming her.
She was brought out of her reverie as a book detailing the mythology of the sun’s birth landed in front of Twilight with a heavy bump, soon followed by Starswirl the Bearded’s collection of notes on solar mechanics.
Taking her mind off of her missing friend, the unicorn set to work on studying up on one of the greatest tests of her life.
“Come on, you stupid wisp of heated gas, burn!” the lavender unicorn hissed at a patch of air in the middle of the room. She had been reading up on and experimenting with her solar magic for a whole month now without any useful results, and her exertions were starting to leave their mark on the unicorn’s patience. “And keep burning this time!” Her horn blazed brightly, and a fireball twice the size of her head flared into existence in the center of the library. Bright daylight bathed the room and a wave of heat washed over her, but Twilight remained focused on the task at hoof. Her horn shone even brighter as she began pouring scores of enchantments into the fire, trying desperately to sate its suicidal hunger.
But where bright light and sweltering heat failed to distract the unicorn, a sudden loud knocking on her door succeeded.
“Closed!” Twilight tried dismissing the interrupting pony, but she was already too late. A split second of wavering concentration had caused the solite, as the unicorn had taken to calling her experimental mini-suns, to destabilize and collapse, and she threw an opaque force field around the tiny supernova before any damage could be done to the library. She applied her augmented cooling spell to the astronomical temperatures within the force field before cancelling all of her magic, releasing a pleasantly warm breeze that swept through the library.
Again, somepony knocked at the door, and Twilight’s ear twitched. Hiding her frustration behind a forced smile, the unicorn used her magic to unlock and open the door, allowing a gray pegasus mare to enter.
“Hi there, Twilight!” Derpy Hooves greeted the unicorn happily, accidentally dropping the letter she had held clenched between her teeth as she did so. She managed to catch it between her front hooves, though, her wings beating quickly to prevent her from falling over. “Mail’s here!”
“Thanks, Derpy,” Twilight replied politely, using her magic to relieve the mailmare of the envelope. “But I was kinda in the middle of stabilizing a fusion reaction. I do have that combined mailbox and book deposit outside, you know.”
“It was all full,” Derpy frowned, one eye glancing back out the door at the overflowing mailbox. “But then I saw the pretty lights from in here and figured you must be awake. You’re up early, huh?”
“Early?” Twilight glanced out her window before remembering that the sky would tell her nothing of the time. “Ugh.” The unicorn massaged her forehead with her hoof. “Not again.”
“It’s really warm in here,” the grey pegasus commented, ruffling her feathers a bit. “Were you lighting a fire? Are you allowed to do that in a library?”
“I guess you could call it a fire,” the unicorn muttered sleepily, the revelation of her having once again stayed up all night making her feel suddenly tired. “But I’ve got it under control.”
“Alrighty, then!” the mailmare beamed. “Still got a lot of deliveries to make, so I guess I’ll see ya around!”
The unicorn saw the pegasus out, shaking her head slowly as Derpy took wing.
How can she be so happy-go-lucky at times like this? You’d think she didn’t know Celestia is dead. But then again… It’s been almost four months…
Before going inside again, Twilight emptied her mailbox, yielding her a dozen books and a huge pile of letters from her parents. She couldn’t believe she had neglected her mail completely since she had returned to Ponyville, and yet she now stood with four whole months’ worth of turned in books and letters.
As she made her way toward the stairs, the books separated themselves from the mass of letters and floated to their respective places on the shelves around her. The unicorn ascended the stairs to her study once again, getting a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she had been spending too much time there lately. When had she last eaten? When had she last slept?
The letters from her parents held little interest to the unicorn as she skimmed through them. Azure Glimmer and Patina’s concern for her was touching, but the letters failed to tell her anything she didn’t already know. What interested her now was her latest letter; an envelope carrying the seal of The Council of Nine, as the new rulers of Equestria had taken to calling themselves. She unsealed the envelope and pulled out a short letter. As she read, she was fairly certain she recognized Civil Tenet’s writing.
To Twilight Sparkle,
Bearer of the Element of Magic and Heroine of Equestria.
The ruling body of Equestria, The Council of Nine, hereby requests your presence in the private conclave of The Council of Nine in Cristallum in Manehattan.
As the only survivor present at the ground zero of The Great Tragedy, your testimony of the event would be of utmost importance to the investigation of this disaster. We hope that a month at home has provided you with enough time to recover from this tragedy, and that you will be able to speak freely of the terrible event without causing you pain. The hearing will be held in private, meaning that only you and The Council of Nine will be present.
In the envelope containing this letter you will find an enchanted hourglass showing you the time of the inquiry.
We look forward to your participation.
Civil Tenet of The Council of Nine.
Twilight sighed as she finished the letter. This was not at all what she needed. She had hardly ventured outside during the month she had spent in Ponyville; she had barely found time to eat or sleep. Studying and practicing the art of solar magic took up all of her time, and rightly so, but now the council wanted her to waste her time on a trip that would take several days.
I haven’t told them about Nightmare Moon... she realized, wincing at her own forgetfulness. Maybe that’ll keep them occupied for some time while I finish my research.
The unicorn promptly summoned a quill and a blank piece of paper and began writing her reply, casting a Come to Life spell on the quill before dictating the contents of the letter. Although she had long since learnt to control her empowered magic, Twilight preferred this spell to simply using her telekinesis. A life with Spike had caused her to grow accustomed to dictating letters instead of writing them. “Dear Civil Tenet and honored council,” she began, and the quill wrote down her words. “While I can understand why you may think my testimony is of importance to your investigation, I believe I have suffered from such severe trauma both physically and psychologically that I hardly remember anything relevant of what happened at the time of The Great Tragedy. I have since the funeral done some investigation into the matter, though, and can without a doubt conclude that the pony that murdered Celestia is none other than Nightmare Moon.”
“I am afraid, however, that I cannot attend this hearing of yours as I am currently in the middle of some very important arcane experimentation that can prove to be crucial for Equestria’s continued existence. Ergo, I respectfully decline your invitation to Cristallum. If you or any of the council members have further questions, it will be my pleasure to continue this correspondence. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.”
The quill retreated from the paper and laid itself down on the desk next to Spike’s old letter before the Come to Life spell faded away. Twilight read her letter through several times, making a few revisions here and there before opening a drawer, summoning an envelope, and folding away the letter. Maybe she could still catch Derpy Hooves on her rounds. One of the last places the mailmare usually visited was Applejack’s farm. There was that, and Twilight had to admit that the gray pegasus had been right when she commented about the safety issues of constructing a small sun inside a tree full of paper. It would be best if she continued her experiments somewhere outside Ponyville.
Once again forgetting all about her bed, the unicorn left her desk and exited the library.
Outside, the dark town was slowly coming to life, ponies emerging from their hovels and getting ready for a long night’s work. The unicorn found herself wondering what the others thought of the bright flashes of daylight that would occasionally emerge from inside her own house. Did they know what she was doing? How much were they expecting of her?
Contrasting the sleepy civilians, scores of Ponyvillian guards were patrolling the streets vigilantly. Since the explosion in the Everfree, the town’s level of security had risen remarkably due to worries about the panicked creatures within the dark forest.
A steel-clad guard saluted shortly to the Element of Magic as she walked by, but Twilight failed to notice, her thoughts preoccupied with the mechanics of her solites as they had so often been for the past month.
“I have the fuel constituent; I don’t think I can improve that anymore than I already have,” the unicorn muttered to herself, eliciting odd glances from the sleepy ponies around her. “But that might be the problem. It burns up much too fast. But if it burns any slower, it will never be able to create the necessary amounts of heat and light to serve as a sun. I keep adding to the fuel component and my preservation spell should slow the process down, yet the solite keeps exploding despite all my wards designed to prevent just such an outcome. Why?”
After several minutes of walking, Twilight entered into the more sparsely populated area around Ponyville. A few miles ahead, Sweet Apple Acres came into view. The orchards themselves had become a strange sight after The Great Tragedy. Lanterns hung from branches and large candles littered the grass between the apple trees, trying futilely to light up the deep darkness of the massive orchard. According to Applejack, the candles were far from a luxury the family had allowed itself. Critters and wild beasts, most of them from the Everfree, had taken to settle in the orchards where food was so abundant. The candles did little to scare them off, but it made it easier for the farmers to spot potential threats. Only a few weeks ago, Big Mac had been attacked by a lone timberwolf, and it had taken him a week to recover.
Twilight turned her attention back to her solite problem as she neared the apple farmers’ home. “There must be some incompatibility issue with my spells.” She sighed heavily as she started envisioning every single spell she usually poured into her solite. Using her spell for spell system visualization, small glittering webs and strings appeared before her, forming intricate patterns that only skilled mages would ever be able to make any sense of. “It’ll take ages to sort this out!” she despaired at the glowing mesh of strings in front of her. Even so, she began meticulously sifting through the complex structure, looking for anything that might be out of place.
By the time Twilight reached her farmer friend’s house, she had come no closer to solving the problem that hindered her solite construction. She let the spell model in front of her fade away as she gave a short knock on the door. A few seconds later, Applejack appeared in the doorway.
“Well, howdy there, Twilight! How come you’re up this early?”
“I, uh, didn’t sleep,” the unicorn answered, waving a hoof in dismissal at the farmer’s reproachful glare. “I’m fine, just been studying on creating a sun. You know? Saving Equestria?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Applejack sighed. “But that don’t mean you shouldn’t sleep, ya hear? Ah don’t much like the thought o’ you doin’ your fusion-whatcha-mah-call-it-spells when ya’re all frazzled like that.”
“I can practically do my Lockdown spell in my sleep,” Twilight assured the orange earth pony. “I came to hear if Derpy’s been by here yet? I have a letter I need to get to Manehattan.”
“Mmnope, haven’t seen her.” Applejack frowned. “You writin’ to the council?”
“They wanted some sort of testimony about The Great Tragedy,” the unicorn replied disinterestedly. “A complete waste of my time.”
“Ah see. Ya’ll told ‘em ‘bout Nightmare Moon already, right?” When the unicorn shook her head, the farmer brought a hoof to her forehead in shock. “Tarnation, girl! Ya found out almost two months ago! Why didn’t ya tell nopony else!?”
“I’ve been busy!” Twilight defended herself. “Besides, what good would it do? Remember back when we first met her? The guards were totally useless! And it’s worse this time, AJ, you know that. If anyone gets in her way, she won’t just swat them away like last time. She... incinerates them. We’re the only ones who can defeat her, and she knows that. We’re her top priority; she won’t make a move against Equestria before we’re dealt with.”
“That’s an impressin’ bunch o’ assumptions…” Applejack remarked dubiously, but was interrupted by a voice from above.
“Hi, girls!” Derpy called out above the two ponies, and a second later, the gray pegasus landed on the porch where the two other ponies stood with a thud, her hind legs smashing through a wooden board in the process. “Whoops! Sorry, Applejack,” she apologized as she extracted herself from the hole.
“Don’t fret yaself none about it, missy,” the farmer sighed. “Ah’m sure Apple Bloom’ll fix it up lickety-split.”
“Oh, Derpy!” Twilight exclaimed. “I have a letter that needs to get to Manehattan. Can you take care of it?” As the mailmare nodded, the unicorn levitated the letter into her bag. “Thanks. Are you okay, though?”
“Yeah.” came the muffled reply as the pegasus dipped her head into her saddlebag to retrieve the Apple family’s mail. “Why’d ya ask?”
“Uhm, no reason, I guess…” the unicorn answered, eyeing the hole Derpy Hooves had punched through the wood. Shaking her head slightly, she turned to face the earth pony again. “Applejack, I wanted to ask you if it’s okay I continue my solite experiments a mile east of here. Derpy helped me realize fire in a wooden library wasn’t all that smart.”
“’Slong as ya don’t go burnin’ down mah apple trees,” the farmer shrugged. “But ya sure it’s safe to wander around alone so far from Ponyville? Animals’re startin’ to get mighty hostile, y’know.”
“I’ll be blowing up a small sun every ten minutes,” Twilight reasoned. “I doubt anyone would want to get near me.”
“Alright, Ah guess,” Applejack sighed, obviously not too happy with letting the unicorn go. “Ah’ll let Rainbow know where yer at, though.”
“Fair enough.” The unicorn jumped off the porch, already summoning her spell model. “But tell her to be careful; trust me, supernovas may look amazing, but they aren’t any fun up close.”
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A Spell System Visualization spell.
You know only Twilight would come up with something like that.
She totally would.
Another interesting chapter. Hopefully Spike's actually okay.
By any chance have you read Equestria's Twilight by Sapidus3?
1800471
Yes I have in fact. Was sad to see it die or whatever happened.
It never occurred to me to actually kill Celestia before I read it.
Once again another great chapter...
ya know I've been thinking about the time travel bit....
Twilight says she cant change the events that have happened because there would be no reason to go back to investigate and thus the events wouldn't be changed.... However doesn't that let her be free to do other things in the past? She could go in the past to investigate (not change the main event) but somehow save a guard or 2 (her brother) by just warning them that something unstoppable is going to happen. ergo she hasn't stopped the crisis but has saved a pony or 2s lives.... (heck she could even tell them to lay low until after the point she cast the time spell that way she will continue to think her brother/guard is dead until she comes back from the past and they reveal themselves.)
LOL sorry for my ramblings... this just caught my interest.
I can't wait to see what happens in this thing.
1801274
Y'know, due to the nature of The Great Tragedy, any number of ponies could have survived, since there have been recovered no corpses whatsoever from anyone within the palace...
For all you know she could appear IN THE VERY NEXT CHAPTER 
Ah, the intricacies of time travel
For all you guys know, Celestia may have travelled half a year into the future and somehow gotten rid of the "rubberband" effect
But, considering how Equestria is dealing with her loss, she would be a major douche for doing so
EDIT: Somehow forgot all about Celestia's corpse... Fail. BUT IT COULD'VE BEEN A DECOY.
HAHAH OOOH
oh one other thing.... does the crystal empire exist in this universe?
1801383
Ugh, you'll see soon enough, I guess.
Not at all. Instead we have the griffon kingdom and pony-Russia (a subsidiary of Equestria Inc.).
I seriously doubt my abilities at coming up with good pony-based puns on Russia (or any provinces of Russia), though...
Well I was going to make a joke that the crystals in that kingdom provided enough light to make a fake day/night cycle for the surrounding area.
but meh... XD
Soon Twilight will make a sun. And she will ascend. Because that's what happened to Celestia.
"The sun was born when she was born" Yes, the sun was created by her and that's the moment
she became Celestia.
Also... FUSION-HA!
s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/1336170082_fusion10.jpg
Not sure if story is based off profile pic, or profile pic is based off story.
Stars don't really work like that, normally it wouldn't bother me because it's a world full of talking magical ponies but when you say that the sun is powered by fusion it's kind of annoying when you get it wrong
. Regardless it was a good chapter
.
Nobody's going to get near you when you've got gas like that, Twi.
3761190
Have a larg ball of molten rock silver and othe r metals then apply gravity and add enof Heleman and other gasses to it the could fill up the solar sestem then let the iron gather all of the. Gases and have it very far away and their you have created a sun
3998471 You obviously know nothing about the mechanics of a star, much less the English language.
i know the macanics of stars
b
4005456 well fine this is how.
get one of the gases giant planets in the Galaxy.
put another one to that one then add mass in the form of gases till the planet combustes also you want a core so that it can natrualy hold its self together and last longer
PPS: I’m serious, though; DON’T FOLL
1. Did you... forget to finish a word?
4266935 That one was intentional. Spike had gotten that far by the time Twilight walked in on him.
4015245 actually. What happens is gravity pulls in all of the hydrogen gas and as more and more is pulled in eventually the pressure causes combustion. This results in nuclear fusion which combines the hydrogen elements into heavier elements at the centre and then starts sucking more hydrogen in because the heavier elements in the middle increase the suns gravity. The problem with Twilights sun is it's too small so the heavier elements in the middle are being created too quickly so it becomes unstable to fast.
2705668 note it also not working. So Twilight might find out smaller Suns don't work and it needs to be a minimum size to burn on it own.
I smell cupcakes. I think Pinkie is begging to become more manic than normal.
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The only problem is the stars aren't massive enough. A gas giant needs to have the mass of at least 105 Jupiters to ignite.
Also at this point basing Equestra's climate off Earth's the average temperature is -0.0768 C.