//------------------------------// // Departure // Story: Shadows of Friendship // by Codex //------------------------------// It was a short trip to the palace from Twilight’s library. The unicorn had been assigned her home by the Princess so she was not surprised by that fact, nor that it was the same distance in the opposite direction from the library to her school. It was a boon in most respects as it meant that if she was called to see her tutor or to attend extra classes, as she so often was, she could make it there in a short amount of time. Today however, she was not entirely happy that the trip was so fast. She had not entirely worked out what she was going to say to the Princess when the chariot arrived in the courtyard of the palace and the pegasus pulling it, a white coated, blue maned stallion with a silver shied as a cutie mark, whose name, if she remembered the introduction properly, was Mirrored Shield, helped her down from the chariot. “Don’t worry about unpacking, Miss Sparkle.” Mirrored Shield told her with a smile, “I’ll move your things to the bigger chariot, but Princess Celestia was insistent that you go and see her in the great hall immediately.” And if that was not enough to set the butterflies in her stomach off again, nothing was as Twilight headed into the building that was imposing enough during the day time, but was worse right now by the light of the torches and the moon which seemed to be watching them ominously from above. Its shadow laid heavy on the ground, the castle’s many spires making the form on the ground look like some kind of beast stretching its arms into the skies as if preparing to strike. “Get a grip Twilight.” The young unicorn told herself, shaking her head and taking a deep breath, before levitating Spike onto her back and cantering in through the main entrance. “You’re being ridiculous.” Spike, thankfully, did not say anything, probably assuming she was working herself into a nervous frenzy as she often did when her tutor called her before her. It was ridiculous after the many years of being Celestia’s student, but Twilight was no fool. She was fully aware that the Princess could decide that teaching her was too much effort at a moment’s notice. The Princess, who some considered a Goddess, ruled over all of Equestria alone after all. Teaching her young student took time away from that important duty and she never wanted the alicorn to decide that she was not worth the hassle. She just hoped that bringing up what could possibly be an overreaction to an Old Mare’s Tale was not the final straw for her and she was not about to be sent home for good. The guards knew her and Spike rather well and they were allowed through the corridors without much fuss. The only real issue came when she was scurrying through the hallways, heading for the main hall where the Princess heard petitions and held grand parties, when she collided with a unicorn gentlecolt who emerged from one of the side rooms and Spike went tumbling from her back. He only didn’t hit the floor because of the fast reaction time of the unicorn she had collided with, who used his magic to catch Spike in an aura of red. “S…sorry.” Twilight stammered to the gentlecolt. He an odd looking stallion whose rather gaudy red suit covered up most of his coat, including his cutie mark and whose silvery lavender mane hid one eye from sight, though she was almost certain she caught a glimpse of gold beneath the tresses. “No problem Twily-girl.” The stallion shrugged it off even as he set down Spike, “I should have been looking where I was going.” “S…Sir Art Nouveau…” Spike stammered, bowing to the unicorn who was easily twice Twilight’s age and had been knighted for ‘his service to unicorns everywhere’ after his game had drastically improved the training of young unicorns across Equestria and beyond as they learned fine control of their magic through playing Duel Monsters. “It’s nice to meet you.” Twilight winced as she recognised that Spike was going to gush about how much he loved Duel Monsters and start asking the millions of questions about how it was made and how Sir Nouveau had come up with the ideas that Spike had, at one point, been bombarding her with. They did not have time for that and she let out a sigh before speaking. “Sorry, sir.” She bowed herself briefly, before she picked up Spike and plonked him back on her rear, “But the Princess is waiting. We really have to go.” “A shame, I do so wish to talk with you at some point. I’ve heard you’re rather spectacular at Duel Monsters, even White Lightning was no match for you and he’s the best in all of Equestria. You might be just who I need to help me with a project.” The unicorn sighed, “But still the Princess can’t be denied, have a good night, Twliy-girl.” He bowed back to her, “I’ll try and catch up with you another day.” “Yes sir.” Twilight nodded, “I look forward to it.” He just smiled at her and trotted down the hallways, leaving the young unicorn filly to carry on towards her mentor. Spike sulked a little as they went, put out that he had not gotten to talk to Sir Nouveau for any length of time. It was not until Twilight reminded the baby dragoon that the genius behind the game of Duel Monsters wanted to talk to her about a project of his, which meant that they would be seeing the gentlecolt some point soon, that he cheered up any. By the time she had managed that, they were almost at the great big double doors that led to the main hall, which, on occasion doubled as Celestia’s throne room. While the attempt to cheer up the baby dragon on her back had been a good distraction, the moment Twilight saw those doors the nerves came back with a vengeance. They were slightly ajar and while she did not normally eavesdrop she could not help but hear the conversation within when she approached the entranceway. Inside her brother, who was Captain of the Palace Guard and the Princess were discussing options for the safety of the palace while Celestia herself was away at the Summer Sun Celebration’s main event, which this year was going to be held in a small rural town known as Ponyville. “My Princess, if I might speak freely…” Twilight’s brother sounded tense, not that his sister could blame him. The Summer Sun Celebration was the biggest holiday in the Equestrian calendar and for the last few years it had been his job to organise the safety and security of the Princess while she travelled to and from the various cities it had been held in. If they were taking the threat of Nightmare Moon seriously on top of that, it was a lot for her brother to worry about. “You’re practically family, Shining Armour.” Celestia on the other hand sounded calm, almost completely unconcerned, just as she almost always did, leaving Twilight with no idea of how the Princess was feeling, “Your sister’s grown up in my tutelage and your relationship with my niece…well…” The Princess chuckled slightly. “Of course you may speak your mind.” Twilight poked her head around the door in time to see her brother shuffle from hoof to hoof, looking embarrassed. She would be willing to bet that he was blushing under his coat too. “Princess Celestia…you realise that if my sister is right and Nightmare Moon is returning, you will be fighting her alone according to your current plans? I really believe that I should sent a platoon of guards with you.” “I thank you for your concern, Shining Armour.” Celestia sounded fond, “And that has occurred to me too. However I have yet to attend a single Summer Sun Celebration with an armed guard and I will not start now. Ponyville deserves better than to have their carefully planned events overrun. Besides the one pony I need will already be there, ready and waiting.” “They will?” Shining Armour sounded surprised, “If I might be so bold as to ask, who are they?” Celestia started to speak, saw Twilight was at the door and smiled instead, “Ah, my dearest Twilight Sparkle, come in. We have much to discuss.” “S…sorry, am I early?” Twilight asked nervously as she entered the room, looking between her brother who looked exasperated and the Princess who seemed oddly amused. The phrase ‘dearest Twilight Sparkle’ put her mind a little at ease. She obviously was not in any trouble which was a good start. “No, no, your brother can finish up after I’ve sent you off.” Celestia shook her head, her pale, shimmering rainbow hued mane flowing like water in the breeze coming in through the open window. “Where am I going?” Twilight could not help but ask, “And why? I could help.” “I know you could, my dear student.” The alicorn reassured her, causing Twilight to unwind a little further, “But I have a very important task for you to complete and it’s imperative that you do.” Twilight stood ramrod straight at that. If the Princess was entrusting her with an important mission then she would do everything within her power to complete it. “I’m sending you to Ponyville ahead of me to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration,” Celestia informed her, “And while you’re there, I want you to try to do something that you’ve been shying away from since White Lightning left my school.” “Princess?” Twilight asked, confused. “Make some friends.” “What?!” Twilight yelped, ignoring the poleaxed look on her brother’s face. “But Pri…” “Hear me out, Twilight.” Celestia’s tone was firm, making the unicorn filly stop to listen. “You are young and there’s more to life than your studies. It’s very important now that you find other ponies that you can trust and you enjoy spending time with.” “I don’t understand.” Twilight admitted, though she hated to do so, too caught up in her confusion to realise she was questioning the one pony in her life she had never dared to question before, “Why now?” “I want you to take this with you.” Celestia said, using her bright sun yellow magic to levitate a letter over to her. “And open it tomorrow evening, before I arrive in Ponyville. You’ll understand when you read it, but believe me when I say this is your most important test to date.” Twilight still could not believe what she was hearing as she took the letter from her mentor. It was true she had kept mostly to herself since White Lightning had been withdrawn from the school, but even he had not really been a friend. A rival yes, they had competed in everything and they had pushed each other to greater things, but a friend…not so much. There had been no one at the school who had even come close to them by the time he had left and she found herself ostracised for both her grades and for ‘her part’ in White Lightning’s accident, even if she had not been involved in what had happened. She had no clue how she was going to make friends with anyone from some backwater town where she did not know anyone. She certainly doubted that she would find anyone who held similar interests to her or could match her in learning. “You know Twily.” Shining Armour spoke up, looking between Celestia and Twilight with an odd expression, as if something had occurred to him. “You might start with Duel Monsters. That’s something most ponies are interested in.” “But I don’t play any…” “You played today.” Spike pointed out, trying to be helpful. “And you’re still really good. You could totally make friends that way.” Twilight harrumphed and shook slightly, causing Spike to yelp and dig his claws in as he nearly fell off of her back. She did not want his helpful comments, she wanted to comprehend why she was being sent to complete a test that she did not really understand and was not sure she could complete. “I’m not going to change my mind about this, Twilight.” Celestia warned, her voice stern as he beheld her student’s displeasure and confusion. “No matter how much you dislike it. Now, do you have anything you need to get from the palace before you go?” “No, Princess Celestia.” The unicorn bowed her head, trying to get her emotions under control. This was a test. She had been given an assignment and a test. It did not matter how she felt about it, or how little she understood. Celestia would not have given her this test if she did not believe that she could pass. “Then I’ll wish you good luck and look forward to seeing you during the celebrations.” The Princess smiled at her, “Shining Armour, would you walk her to the chariot? You can join me in my private study once you’ve seen her off, but I’m sure you two would like to talk.” “Yes, Princess.” Shining Armour herded his sister from the room and back down towards the courtyard. They travelled down in silence for a while before Shining Armour sighed and asked, “Did you pack your puzzle?” to break the silence. He was not expecting the reaction he got. He watched in both shock and confusion as Twilight’s head sank and her steps faltered, her shoulders drooping and she slowed to an almost stop. “Twilight?” He asked, concerned, “You didn’t forget it did you?” “Worse.” Twilight muttered, wincing, “There’s a piece missing. I can’t complete it.” “Seriously?” Shining asked with a wince, knowing how much their dam-sire’s gift meant to his sister and how hard she had worked on trying to complete it for the last few years around her studies, “You sure you haven’t just misplaced it?” “We turned the entire place upside down.” Spike answered for her, feeling almost as depressed as the unicorn he was riding. “We couldn’t find it anywhere.” “I’m sure you’ll find it while you’re not looking for it.” Shining sounded hopeful which perked Twilight up a little, though she knew it was a fool’s hope. The puzzle was thousands and thousands of years old. It was highly likely that it had been lost long before Treasure Trove had ever gotten his hooves on it. “Never mind that,” The filly was not really in the mood to discuss tests she had quite clearly failed, “Are you okay? How’s Cadence? Are you coming too?” “Cadence is fine,” Shining smiled at the thought of his girlfriend, “And sorry Twily, but the Princess wants me here to guard the palace and look after Canterlot while she’s away. I’m the only one who can cast a big enough shield spell to protect the entire city after all.” Shining nuzzled his sister and gave her an apologetic look. “And we’ve heard rumblings from the north and if you’re right, Nightmare Moon could be on her way back. Summer Sun or not, we can’t leave the capital undefended.” “You don’t believe me?” Twilight asked, hurt at the ‘if you’re right.’ It was not like she was often wrong when she managed to put the facts together. Normally she only got things wrong if she was given the wrong facts to assemble or did not know the whole image. “It’s…a bit farfetched.” Shining admitted hesitantly, knowing that his sister was not going to like his answer, “I mean Nightmare Moon was defeated a thousand years ago. Why would she come back now?” “Because she swore she would and because it would have taken her some time to break down the seal.” Twilight tried to explain, her tone one of a teacher trying to explain something to a particularly dense foal and realising her mistake when Shining frowned at her. “Sorry.” “No you’re not, you never are.” He harrumphed. “I’m not an idiot, Twily. I’m getting the guards ready in case and I’m sure you heard my conversation with the Princess, but I’m just saying that it’s highly unlikely and there are more modern matters for me to deal with that should probably hold the bulk of my attention.” Twilight just huffed. She was no used to her judgement being questioned. Most ponies just assumed she was right nowadays and accepted what she was saying even if they did not like it. Still she could her brother’s point. He was in charge of protecting Canterlot after all and if Nightmare Moon was going to strike, she would go after the Princess first and she would be in Ponyville with Twilight, not here in the capital city. “Cheer up, Twily.” Shining barged her gently, just enough to make her step sideways but not enough to dislodge Spike, “If you are right and Nightmare Moon shows up, you’ll have the chance to say ‘I told you so’ after the Princess and whoever her mysterious helper is sends her packing back to the moon.” Twilight smiled slightly at that, though she could not help but ask, “So you were being serious when you asked who the other pony the Princess is relying on was?” Shining nodded , “Though I think I’ve figured it out.” “Oh?” “Oh no, if you haven’t realised who she was talking about yet, I’m not going to tell you.” Shining looked smug at having realised something before she had, irritating Twilight no end. She did not have time to press however as they arrived in the courtyard to find that the chariot was ready and waiting for her. Two pegasi were hitched up to it and her bags were already packed. “You’ll work it out soon enough.” Shining told her as he escorted her to the chariot and she carefully packed the Princess’s letter in the box with the almost finished puzzle. “Stay safe?” Twilight asked her brother rubbing up against him and nuzzling him, worried. “I’ll do my best.” Shining promised as Spike scrambled down and checked their bags before he clambered into the chariot, “Go have fun in Ponyville and try not to worry too much about what’s happening here, you have a test to pass after all.” Twilight cringed slightly as he reminded her of the test that she still had no real idea of the way it was going to be marked or how she was going to even attempt passing. “You’ll do fine.” Shining reassured her, “You always do. Don’t think about it too hard, just go with what feels natural, they’ll love you.” “I hope so.” Twilight sighed as she followed the baby dragon and got comfortable, assuming that it was going to be a long trip. She did manage a watery smile for her concerned brother though, “Love you Shiney.” “Love you too, Twily.” Shining smiled back at her and then they were gone, taking off quickly and heading up into the skies. Spike was delighted as they shot further and further up and he watched over the sides as Canterlot soon looked like a toy town far below them. Twilight normally enjoyed flying just as much. As a unicorn pony, flight was beyond her and she only ever got a chance to see Equestria from the skies when she travelled by chariot. When she had been a lot smaller, she had occasionally had rides from her older brother’s pegasi friends, but nowadays she did not get airborne as much as she liked. Craving the skies was odd for a unicorn, she had been told, but it was a problem she had. Whenever she flew she felt like she belonged up there, like being in the skies was as natural as breathing. She did not understand why, but that was how she felt. Right now, however, she was too busy being confused and sulking about how little she understood her test criteria to really enjoy being up high. Make friends? How was she expected to make friends in less than twenty four hours? It was late into the evening now, by the time that she got to Ponyville she expected that everypony would be in bed already and the Princess was due in the town before dawn the following day. Twilight did not think she really had time to get to know anyone well enough to consider them friends, yet alone any idea of how to start making any. And why was it so important now of all times? Surely it would have been better to give her this test after the Summer Sun Celebration was over, especially if Nightmare Moon was returning. “You want to relax, Twilight.” Spike informed her with a yawn, the young dragon beginning to get sleepy as they skirted the edge of the Everfree Forest on their way into town. “Making friends isn’t so hard. You’ll see and we get to check on the preparations so we’ll meet lots of ponies that way. Maybe you’ll get lucky.” Twilight grimaced at that. Once she would have believed luck was something that happened to the prepared, but one too many games of Duel Monsters had taught her that luck was a force just as powerful as any magic spell. You could not prepare your deck for a duel so you knew what would come out every time you drew, at least not without cheating, which was something she refused point blank to do. So in the early stages of her training she had swiftly learned that if you poured your heart into the game, then most of the time the luck of the draw would come through for you. However that did not mean that she liked completely relying on luck outside the duelling field. She would rather rely on her studies and the books that held the knowledge of almost anything she could ask for while preparing for a test. It did not help that she was not entirely certain that trying to make friends was not a waste of time. Back when she had started at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, she had had a few friends but as they had seen her powers flourish at a rate beyond their capabilities and seen how hard she had driven herself into her studies they had pulled away from her. It did not help her situation either that on many an occasion she had heard the snide remarks of her classmates about her being ‘favoured’ or ‘the teachers going easy on her’ because she was Celestia’s protégé. They did not seem to realise how much work went into maintaining that position or how hard she tried to make herself useful to the Princess. She never wanted to disappoint her teacher and be cast aside. She wanted to be able to help her teacher and learn everything she could. To that end she accepted the extra classes, the many various tests and everything else that was thrown at her. She even enjoyed it for studying was something that really seemed to help her unwind when she had had a rough day. That did not mean that she had an easy ride of it at all and she had had to learn to ignore the comments being thrown her way and the ponies it came from, forming an armour of aloofness that only ever fell around Spike, Shining Armour and Princess Celestia. Maybe this was what she needed, she mused as they passed through the silent and slightly chilly night. A different start in a different place with different ponies who did not know who she was or what she could do. The idea actually appealed to her, though she felt guilty for even considering that a backwater, out of the way town could be better than Canterlot, especially when her brother was working so hard to protect the palace and the capital city that it resided in. Spike dozed off as they flew and Twilight settled herself so he would not slip out of the back, pulling a blanket out of the nearest bag to put over him and keep him warm. Twilight herself was tired but she could not sleep, not with everything that was running through her mind. It was a good thing in a way, because it meant that she was awake when the dark and quiet town of Ponyville first came into view. As she had expected, everypony had gone to bed already. The moon was high in the sky as the pegasi warned her that they were going to land just moments before she felt the chariot descending and the citizens of Ponyville had already tucked in for the night beyond one or two bright spots of light. The chariot touched down by a huge oak tree that was dark within and had a sign hanging outside the door that said ‘Golden Oaks Library.’ Twilight guessed that this was where she was going to stay and she was actually quite grateful for it. It was rather comforting to be surrounded by books rather than ponies and she was glad the Princess had not expected her to stay in the local inn or hotel or arranged for her to stay with some pony she had never met in the interest of making friends. She did not need to wake Spike. The jolt of the landing had done that for her and she aided the dragon in unpacking the chariot before retrieving the key from under the doormat and seeing the two pegasi off. “Come on Spike.” Twilight sighed as she let them in the door and looked around for the candles. There were several available by the door and once she had lit the ones around the room, her mood picked up substantially. The entire downstairs, even the space under the stairs, had ceiling to floor bookcases that were packed to bursting with books, most of which it looked like she had not read. Even if she started now it would be weeks before she finished reading them. Spike’s yawn stopped her as she reached for the first book, having decided to start from the door and work clockwise. “Twi?” Spike asked sleepily, “Where’s the bedroom?” “I think it’s this way.” Twilight says softly, levitating the baby dragon onto her back before lifting the bags up the stairs. If she was honest with herself, she was just as tired as Spike was. It was late, very much so. The moon was just past its highest point, so it was probably midnight or later and she had been up before dawn. Spike had the right idea and she got him settled in before she dumped the bags to one side of the room and slumped onto the bed by the window, not even bothering to pull the curtain before she laid down. “G’night Twi.” Spike mumbled at her before cuddling into his pillow and slipping into sleep. “Night Spike.” Twilight answered back as she stared out of the window. Tomorrow would be a big day. She would have to check on all the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, try and make friends and she kind of hoped that she could find out more about the Elements of Harmony in the library below her. She knew the Castle of the Two Sisters was supposedly nearby in the Everfree Forest which practically backed onto town. The castle was the last place that Princess Celestia had ever used the Elements and if Nightmare Moon was coming back, it was possible that she would need them again. Hopefully she would have time to do everything before the Princess arrived and she would have to report on her progress with both the festival and making friends. It was not going to be easy but then easy had never been her style. She had always worked her hardest and she would make time if she had any say in the matter. As she drifted off it was on the happy thought that at least here she had a whole new library to read and she kind of hoped that the Princess would let her stay long enough to get through most of them.