//------------------------------//
// The Fallen Princess Pt 2 (of 3) 
// Story: My Little Magician 
// by Cogz 
//------------------------------//

	When night fell Twilight was seated at her desk and she formulated a strategy; she had some strong spells written down and memorized “If no one else will take this seriously then I have to…” she convinced herself.  Twilight sighed when she finished her last note and hugged her spell book close to her, her eyes were closed and she was still clinging to a small fraction of hope that she was worrying over nothing. Twilight was prepared for whatever may come to pass. 
Twilight let out a yawn and noticed for the first time that her room was a disaster area; a mess of crumpled up paper, open books, and trash bin filled with the food containers of a recluse.  Twilight looked around sheepishly and mumbled “I guess I did let it get out of hand…” she started to pick up the mess and hastily threw the paper into a bag and started to pick up the books. Twilight stopped when she saw the book on artifacts she had left at the table; she frowned as she grabbed the book and put it back on the shelf. The mage; exhausted now fell asleep and was thankful that she had no more nightmares. 
Twilight awoke to the sounds of knocking at her door; it was Spike calling out for her and he seemed impatient, she knew the reason of his impatience today. Twilight didn’t take too long getting ready and met with Spike who was already running down the stairs in excitement.  Twilight met him outside and was stunned by the sight; the booths were all done and everything was being finalized; it almost seemed like the locals finished everything overnight because everything was in order; the smell of pies filled the air and Rainbow was hovering above the houses with wings made of blue light; the wings caught Twilight by surprise and as a student, she wouldn’t let an opportunity like this pass by to observe and learn
“Rainbow!” the young mage called out and waved at her; the flying multicolored haired women heard Twilight and grinned as she flew at a great speed over to her, stopping mere centimeters from her face. Rainbow let her wings disappear and gave a small wave in front of her face with a grin; loving the reaction she got from Twilight “Yo bookworm, sup?” she watched the mage get a flustered look on her face; Rainbow let out a chuckle. Twilight cleared her throat to real Rainbow in “So, the wings, I see you’re an arian?” she observed Rainbow with curiosity; Rainbow nodded quickly, ignoring being looked at like some zoo specimen. 
“Yep, I’m an arian, and I also work for the arian weather control team too.…” the multicolored women gave a wink and brought emphases to her bomber jacket that she was always wearing by flicking the color; the jacket bore the symbol of the professional aerial team based out of Canterlot; they were well known for being the best flying team and ace pilots and all the members were also arian of course. Twilight noticed the symbol adorning the back of the jacket and smiled lightly “I take it you’re a fan of the Wonderbolts?”she watched Rainbow eyes light up at the mention of her childhood heroes “Of course I am, one day I’m going to be one because I’m totally awesome; it’s why I wear the jacket!” she grinned with pride, showing the logo off.  
“Well…” Twilight started, thinking on her past at Canterlot; a small bit of red showed on her cheeks as she spoke, deciding to try to do something nice “You know, I kind of know one of the members…it’s not the leader but perhaps if you want I can maybe try to set up a mee-“she didn’t even finish; she was immediately trapped in a bear hug being lifted a few feet off the ground by a squealing Rainbow.
“You would be like, the coolest person EVER if you can do that!” Rainbow realized what she was doing and immediately floated back to the ground chuckling nervously, letting Twilight back on the ground. Twilight nodded and gave a nervous smile “Of course, I’ll see what I can do..” she watched as Rainbow flew in a circle with excitement; her wings emitting a blue glow and then she quickly flew off, calling out for Fluttershy. Twilight watched her fly off and then frowned, her smile falling “Assuming we live that long…” she eyed the shadow of a nearby tree; still worried about the looming threat of Nightmare Moon. 
Twilight spent a majority of the remainder of the day keeping Spike at bay and also making a checklist of everything that was complete. As the sun started to set; Twilight checked the last thing off the list put the notebook away “Well Spike, I believe we’re done here.” She looked at her assistant who seemed sad they were leaving. Twilight assured Spike that they would come back tomorrow and that she would get him some rock candy; this cheered Spike up and they both made their way through town; back to home for the night. 
Twilight sent one last letter to Celestia and contemplated the dreams in her head; it was tomorrow. The mayor disregarded her warnings and pleas to postpone the event; she felt uneasy. 
“Why would Celestia want me to come here? she has to have known this…”  she mumbled to herself as she leaned back in  her chair at her desk. Twilight’s mind wondered to gems from the magic quartz that was discussed; the book had never mentioned where the broken pieces of stone were or where the stone itself was.  The mage found herself doodling in the notebook the stones that she still remembered vividly; she sighed when she noticed and walked over to the window opening the door and looking at the moon. Tonight, it gave an ominous glow, as if it was stronger than normal. Twilight felt uneasy at the thought and hoped everything would be alright in the end. 
Twilight was the first to wake up the next morning; she woke Spike up who was treating it like it was Hearths Warming Eve or something; the festival was well underway when the pair made it to the square and Spike immediately disappeared off into the crowd. The festival brought people from all over to celebrate the start of summer and the warm summer sun; the crowds made it hard for Twilight and Spike to maneuver through them. Octavia and some others were performing to a crowd of people on the stage; Pinkie was selling cakes faster than the Cakes could supply them; Rarity was selling outfits from outside the Boutique; Fluttershy happily let the kids pet the animals at the petting zoo and tried to set up some adoptions while she was it; Rainbow, who disregarded what Applejack said had her, put on a flying show with some other arians, letting their wings glow in the sun. Twilight could hear Applejack silently cursing under her breath from her rather large booth close by as she handed cider to people; in this moment, she had forgotten her worries and made a small chuckle; she walked over to Applejack who was still grimacing. 
“That giant human macaw never listens to me…” the yellowed haired cider server grabbed a barrel and placed it at the booth table.  Twilight waved a little too timidly at Applejack who grinned in return. “Well hello there sugar cube; enjoying the festivities?” she handed Twilight a cup of cider; she turned down Twilight’s offer to pay “Think nothing of it, that one is on the house” she watched Twilight fidget at the idea of getting it for free but accepted it. Twilight nodded and sipped at the drink “I see everything is going well, so far everything looks to be in order…” she eyed the happy people who passed their booth. Applejack laughed, yelled out to people to come and try cider, then turned her attention back to Twilight “I suppose so…the families booth is doing fantastic…” she frowned, thinking of something “Even if I AM the only one working the booth right now…” she kept an eye out for her family who was nowhere in sight “Those traitors, I bet their out having a good time..”  She glared out at the audience. 
Twilight just gave a small smile “I’m sure they’ll be back…” it was then she noticed what Applejack was wearing. The outfit was a very short pair of shorts and what seemed to be pants showing off the inner thigh and she wore a long sleeve plaid shirt but it was rolled up and tied to show her stomach. Twilight couldn’t help but notice how strong Applejack looked; she could see Applejack’s well-toned stomach. 
Applejack took notice to Twilight’s staring and grinned “Hah, like the outfit? it’s one of my favorites; it’s the one I normally work in...” she didn’t seem to notice and care how the outfit presented. Twilight adjusted her glasses, trying to hide the small amount of envy on her face; but she smiled and nodded in agreement “Well, it suits you” she placed the empty cider cup on the table. Applejack got a look on her face as if she remembered something “Oh yea, ummm, sugar cube, I think the princess might be waiting for you in the center of town…” she pointed in that direction.  
Twilight froze and immediately ran off in the direction given to her yelling how she was going to be suspended as Celestia’s student; she waved back at Applejack and made her way to the center of town. In the center of town was a large platform with a regal looking seat and sitting there was Celestia, looking of course regal in a simple white sleeveless dress and a golden sun pendant. 
“Princess Celestia, I’m so sorry to be late; I’m here and ready to report some important…” she was interrupted by Celestia’s hand going up and  she flashed a smile “Hello Twilight,  you can save the report for a little later and until then, enjoy the festival for it seems like you did an excellent job making sure everything was put together…” she leaned back in her throne and enjoyed Octavia’s cello piece; the stage was near the platform. Twilight wanted to give her report, with the dreams now fresh on her mind she tried to press again with urgency “But, I need to talk to you about…” she was interrupted again but this time by a giant blast of confetti; she heard Pinkie’s loud laughter following shortly after.  Celestia tiled her head, not moving from her spot on her throne “Twilight, surely this can wait….” she looked as if this was a rhetorical question or more of a command. Twilight shook her head “But princess Celestia, I fear that your sister will return this very day; I wanted to do something about it…” she was met with yet another gesture of silence from Celestia, a look of understanding on her face “Worry not Twilight, I prepared for this and the seal I placed should last many more moons…” she gave a reassuring tight lipped smile.  
Twilight’s shoulder’s relaxed and she took a breath, wanting to put her faith in Celestia “Are you certain?” she watched as Celestia raised an eyebrow and she couldn’t help but feel a little foolish at asking the question “Of course…only you know the magic of you…” she bowed her head respectfully and chuckled nervously; finally letting herself relax “Thank you your highness, I can actually enjoy the festival in peace now!”  She received a nod of approval from Celestia and she made her way out into the crowd. 
The remainder of the festival for the mage went off well; she found Spike who was staring at a booth selling rock candy. Twilight watched a few locals perform a lovely summer dance that was supposed to represent the sun and then Rainbow’s aerial act which Celestia seemed to enjoy much to Applejack’s chagrin.  The day went by very quickly with many more performers trying to get the princess’s attention and approval and soon everything started to wind down for the grand finale of the festival. 
Twilight made her way to the front of the stage area and noticed Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy who was hugging her long eared vermin tightly, Applejack, and Rainbow all sitting up front. Twilight went over to where they were and was greeted warmly; she took a seat with them with Spike sitting in  front of them. Pinkie rocked back and forth, with a look of excitement on her face, biting her lip. 
“Ooooh… “the pink haired  girl said impatiently “When is Celestia’s show going to start? I wanna see the sun flaaaame” she bounced up and down slightly from her Indian style position on the ground. Rarity rolled her eyes and nudged Pinkie gently, trying to calm her down “It should start soon, hang in there darling…” she looked up at the sky and noticed the sun starting to set “The performance should start until soon so wait a moment..” she watched Pinkie let out a disproving grown and sprawl herself out on the ground. Rainbow crossed her arms and puffed her chest out slightly. 
“Celestia’s performance is the only one that’s going to be cooler than mine.”  She had a confident look on her face.  Applejack rolled her eyes at Rainbow’s remark and let out a tsk.  Rainbow heard Applejack and glared at her, challenging her to respond “Got something to say hillbilly?” she glared daggers at AJ who returned the look “Not at all you dang macaw…” but before anything got out of hand, Rarity intervened “That’s enough you two!” her icy look made them both shudder and shrink and decide on a silent truce for the time.  
It wasn’t long after until the lights of the stage came on; grabbing the audience’s attention and Celestia walked along the stage; her steps were graceful and the lights hit her skin, it made it look like she was glowing; she nodded her head and the lights were dimmed. Celestia’s booming voice demanded attention from the crowds. 
“Everyone; the summer festival is a tradition that has been passed down for centuries that celebrates the end of the dark era of Discord and welcomes the new age of hope and peace. I thank you all for time and effort into making this festival a special one, for this is the anniversary of Discord’s imprisonment and my begin as the princess and I hold that tile in great regard; for all the blessings you bestow on me it is time I give it back…” she bowed her head and this was met with thunderous applause from the audience. 
Some locals who were dressed in white traditional robes started playing on some taikos that were stationed behind Celestia. The princess took that as her starting point and  started to do dance; flowing with the beat of the music that played behind her like she was a leaf in the wind; with every movement her dress and long sun kissed hair flowed with her and every movement made her look like she was as light as air.  Celestia lost herself in the movements and let the moves come naturally and soon she felt an all too familiar warmth.  As Celestia danced to the music; she let fire slowly form and dance on her fingertips until it was enough to release and control into a blazing fire that danced around her. The flame was beautiful in its own right; it wrapped around Celestia’s body in a hue of red, yellow, and blue. 
The crowed watched in amazement as the flame almost too k on a life of its own; the flame took  on the form  a dragon and moved its way around Celestia; almost as if it was dancing with her. The performance ended with Celestia pushing down on the air in front of her and the flame immediately burst outward harmlessly through the audience; who only felt gentle warmth. Celestia took a bow and the people roared with applause and phrase.  Rainbow Dash jumped up from her spot with a wide smile “That-was-awesome” she cheered out and the others had to agree; for the remainder of the festival, her performance was in everyone’s conversation.  Night had fallen and the moon was on full display and everyone was starting to leave; Twilight had to help clean up the park and soon everyone who worked at the festival was on duty picking up the grounds. Twilight was the first to complete her work and went to say her goodbyes to the princess; Twilight noticed a clock as she passed  and it was a minute till midnight and there was nothing warrant of concern. 
“Princes Celestia!” she cried out and bowed her head when she got to her “I hope everything was to your satisfaction!” she stood upright and was met with a smile from the princess “Everything went perfectly Twilight, don’t worry so much…” she placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder to reassure her. Twilight was satisfied with his and nodded “Thank you princess” she took a breath and relaxed “So then, I can come back to Canterlot right?” she looked at Celestia hopefully. As Celestia was nodding; the princess felt a sharp pain in her chest and she clutched at it with her hand as the bong of the giant clock rung right at midnight “What is this?..” the princess was brought to a knee. Twilight was trying to process what was going on “P-Princess?..” she quickly went to assist Celestia and they both could of sworn they heard a heartbeat; seemingly coming from the moon. “So, it would seem my magic became strong but so did she..” she said through gasped breaths. Twilight’s look was that of horror. 
“No..this can’t be happening now…”  she thought of all her plans but was frozen in place; she watched as Celestia summoned her staff and used it to help herself up from her position on the ground; Twilight shook her head and took a place next to Celestia. The people that were still there at the festival all looked up the sky and everyone’s attention was focused on the moon; Pinkie was the first to point out the moon out loud though as people murmured. 
“Hey look, it’s a funny image on the moon, it looks like one of those shadow puppets I use to make…” Pinkie laughed at the sight, it looked like the silhouette of a person. Twilight look on in fear and hurt that she allowed herself to believe she was wrong; this is what she was dreading,  she could only let out a whimper as she watched the silhouette fade away and an eerie ray of moonlight come crashing down to the ground; a crater was left behind in its wake. What was inside the crater made Twilight’s heart fall to her stomach. 
A hauntingly beautiful women clad in the same form fitting black breastplate from Twilight;s dream stood in the center of the crater; a twisted jagged sword was clutched tightly in her hand and her moonlight light eyes had only one person in their vision, Princess Celestia. The locals looked on  in fear at the woman and all started to run away; calling her a demon. The women walked slowly towards the princess, not paying much attention to anything else at the moment and gave a cold look; her eyes narrowed; she lifted the large sword effortlessly and pointed it at Celestia. Celestia looked at the women with little emotion showing on her face; she closed her eyes and let out a breath ‘Hello Luna…” she spoke in monotone voice and  watched as Luna gave a small but sinister grin.

“Hello sister…it’s been far too long…”