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// Chapter 14 - Dark History 
// Story: Dawn 
// by Anachronon 
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When Spike was finally asleep after what was for a baby dragon a very trying morning, it was time for a royal meeting. Now that all four princesses and one daughter were available, at Celestia’s request the topic was of course the human world, what Equestria had done, and what they would do now.

It was time to act.

First the matter concerning the Windigos. Even without their king they remained dangerous and now those cursed spirits haunted the other Canterlot. It became a consensus quickly that the fallout after Anon-a-Miss couldn't be used as an excuse to avoid responsibility. The princesses agreed that Equestria should take care of them before too many innocents came to harm, because the wraiths were their problem to begin with and their continued existence put too much at risk.

For that preparations would have to be made.

Next was the necromancer Sunset had discovered. Cadence and Twilight were greatly horrified to hear that a master of the forbidden arts once roamed Equestrian ground.

Luna’s opinion was more vocal, not caring that the sisters weren’t alone right now, “Tia, hast thou lost thy mind?! Thou should have disposed of this vile creature in the moment thee were aware of thine enemy’s nature!”

It made her sick to think about all the innocents who most likely lost their life because of the necromancer’s thirst for life energy. A wielder of such corrupting darkness could amplify his power by draining a soul of its birth given magic. An addicting obsession nopony could ever escape.

Celestia flinched internally at the harshness of the lunar monarch’s tone, but she would have reacted the same if she had not known the truth. “I know it sounds terrible, but… she never used her abilities to devour a soul, as far as I know. Her intentions were noble and her actions more the results of a hideous crime than a hunger for eternal youth.” To anypony else, her voice was epitome of neutrality, “What do you know about the Noble Revolutions?”

They all wondered about who exactly she was talking about. Meanwhile the Princess of Friendship clopped her hooves together excitedly, "I read about it!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. Switching to what Spike referred to as 'Twilight lecture mode', she began, "The Noble Revolutions, also known as the Shadow Wars, because everything happened without the knowledge of the public until much later, started around 613 years ago and continued until about 504 years ago. During it, the most influential noble families and their vassals fought each other for dominance and power. Horrible sins were committed, like poisoning, ponynapping, sometimes even assassinations. The problem was that most crimes were performed by mercenaries, typically expensive non-Equestrian mercenaries worth every bit. Those who were occasionally caught never gave away their clients’ identities. But after over a century the ponies responsible were finally identified and arrested. Laws were changed after this to reduce the nobles' influence, specifically the dissolution of all baronies, duchies and other dominions within Equestria. Also the shadow government known as the Solar Council was dissolved and laws passed to dissuade the formation of such groups in the future. Luckily the nobles never tried to dethrone Princess Celestia, but were still eager to dispose of political enemies with different views on how the country should be led."

Cadence sweat dropped, "Twily, only you could talk about the darker parts of our history with a smile."

The lavender alicorn blushed, slumping a little as she scuffed a hoof on the ground, mumbling sorry.

Sunset hummed to herself. "Hm, if I remember correctly then the unicorn nobility was led by House Blueblood to that time, whereas the pegasi had House Lightning at the top. The heads of the representing houses were Blueblood VI and Lightning Strike when everything started. The Bluebloods were furthermore the descendants of Princess Platinum and the Lightnings came from Commander Hurricane, two of Equestria's founders," she added thoughtfully.

Princess Celestia smiled benevolently, "As expected by two of my most prized pupils, you are both correct. But, there are things you have to know in order to understand what happened… things I didn’t want to become public knowledge. Much like I did to protect Luna, there were things that I’ve kept out of public knowledge, some out of respect for an old friend’s desire to keep his family safe, some to keep Equestria from falling apart. Perhaps the time for such secrets has passed, perhaps not, but there is no reason to keep them from family or fellow royalty.”



Equestria wasn't always the bright and peaceful nation it was today. As my sister knows, there was much strife with our neighbors before her fall. The darkest time though was perhaps after her fall. With a broken heart I ruled, doing the best to maintain the image of a kind and noble ruler. It would be nearly two centuries before I got over it, nearly a quarter of that before I found myself gifted with this castle. A shining tribute to my greatness, one I thanked them for profusely before hiding away. If they could hang such a monument high upon the side of Mount Canterhorn for me, surely they were far more capable of ruling than myself. I believed my little ponies were capable of ruling themselves, but I had failed to recognize the greed festering in the offsprings of those who had done so much for Equestria in its early days. I neglected to recognize how much they needed me.



“Sister, how could you have done this?! We fought so hard to create peace between the three tribes!” Luna shouted. “How could you have neglected it?”

Celestia looked at the floor in shame, “I lashed out in hate at you... in fear, and I abused the Elements. I didn’t want to go on, and I didn’t think I deserved to rule any more.”

Luna hugged her sister, “You were always the better, more approachable one of us, you shouldn’t have forgotten that.”

Nuzzling her sibling the alabaster alicorn said, “I know… now, but at the time... The Royal Guard was shattered, the Night Guard dissolved, and many of the Solar Guard were as disillusioned as myself. So much needed rebuilding that I thought I could trust others to do it.”



During my absence, the nobles used their authority to found the Solar Council, a society of the most powerful unicorns devoted to the betterment of Equestria. Through it they planned how to consolidate their power, how they would divide Equestria for themselves. The laws we passed to encourage ponies to spread far and wide were used to carve Equestria up between the noble houses. As those same nobles controlled the official government, it gained much more influence. It was here that they cleaved our proud nation apart. Through the land claim process we created, they divided much of the land up into duchies, one in which earth ponies toiled the land with no true claim on it.

It was shortly after my return that a new problem manifested itself, fireblight. A disease that withered apples and other fruits on the vine, it had the potential to cause mass starvation. Had I been of a clearer mind, perhaps I would have realized that it was only affecting certain duchies, a pattern I missed at that time, but I was distracted by other matters that the Night Guard was assisting me with.



Luna’s eyes went wide, “Didest thou not say our Night Guard was dissolved for our treachery?”

An enigmatic smile crossed Celestia’s face, “Officially yes, but I turned to your scattered children, asking for their help. Churches and others brought misery to all those they saw as heretics, especially the thestrali. They were quite happy to help me cleanse the land of that blight in return for the reward I offered them.”

Luna sighed in relief and smiled gratefully, “It is good to hear that my children helped, I was worried that they might be punished for my mistakes.”

“I would never punish them for our mistakes. As you saw, they were ready for duty shortly after your return.”

The Princess of the Night chuckled amusedly, “Yes, I understand I have one of your agents to thank for that. You had him visiting Hollow Shades for years before my return, and then he oversaw their re-training here in Canterlot. But why Hollow Shades?”

“Where better than an abandoned city to hide them? Besides, should those things my little ponies fear there prove to be real, who better to fight them? But, as I was saying, the fireblight was endangering Equestria’s food supply, and the best minds of the land… What I thought were the best minds, were powerless to stop it. I foolishly trusted the ‘experts’ that the nobles trotted out, not knowing they were the ones behind it. It was one Wyken Pippin Apple who offered his aid. His family's Earth Magic was strong, and without him the problem might have led to a famine. As thanks for his help in saving Equestria’s food supply, I awarded him land, along with the title of ‘baron’. The Barony of Everfree was from this point on their domain.”

“WHAT?!” Twilight’s mind was blown. “Applejack’s family is of noble blood?! B-but the history books! There was never anything written about them!” Her friend never told anything about it either!

Cadence could only nod in shocked agreement.

“Huh, I didn’t see that one coming,” Sunset commented dryly.

Though Luna didn’t seem to be astonished at all, “Why should this surprise you? Dame Applejack and her family have shown nothing but modesty despite their deeds since my return. This is a quality of many earth ponies, all of whom eschewed titles even before my fall.”

Now it was Sunset's turn to be surprised, "'Dame'? Wasn’t that a ceremonial title to reward great deeds for the realm?” And here she thought that such old titles wouldn’t be bestowed any longer these days."

The lavender alicorn chuckled at that, “Yes, I remember her reluctance at being knighted. In fact I think only Rarity was enthusiastic about her title. I suppose this is how Sweet Apple Acres was truly founded and to think that the Apples owned the land already centuries ago is amazing!”

Though rather surprising for them was Rainbow Dash’s point of view, who had the opinion that their knighthood was nice, but couldn’t compete with being a Wonderbolt, or so she explained. Twilight barely knew the girls at all after defeating Nightmare Moon, but now it was another matter entirely.

She nearly snorted out loud at the memory. Now it made sense why Fluttershy was overly concerned at that time and wanted to know if her foalhood friend was sick or ate something bad.

"You really want to tell me that you and your friends are all official knights of Equestria?" the only unicorn in the room inquired dryly, still baffled by this reveal on the inside. She barely prevented her jaw from hanging.

Twilight nodded bashfully.

“Indeed, it happened after the defeat of Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said with a smile, “but actually the land I gave them was far more than the orchard they have. The received title to the lands surrounding our old castle, the city of Everfree City, and the land around, much of which had come to be known as the Everfree Forest. They shared it with other families over the years, happy to give my gift back, despite my assurances that it was theirs to keep.” Seeing Twilight’s curiosity, she gave her former student a coy look, “I suppose while some might dispute it, it would be fair to consider the Apples the true founders of Ponyville.”



But, the Noble Revolution came when the delicate balance of the three tribes crumbled. My reward for solving the fireblight threat had finally given the earth ponies power to disrupt the plans of the largest noble houses.

When House Lightning and House Blueblood tried to change Equestria by implementing laws that would have benefited them the most, the three most influential earth pony families, the Apples, Oranges and Cherries, blocked every attempt, because their own tribe would have gotten the shortest end of the bargain.



Luna grumbled under her breath, "I still don't understand you sister, but now that this topic is breached once more I want an honest answer this time." She was visibly displeased, "Why didn't you disband the houses as well? Their treacherous behaviour should have been punished accordingly. They clearly had only their own well-being in mind, not that of our subjects, their crimes alone would have justified such a step."

The sun raising princess sighed deeply, "Lulu, you have to understand that I couldn't bring myself to disband the houses, because they served loyally for the greatest part of their history, even if rarely without ulterior motives, something you well know. They were high nobility of the realm and the leaders’ foals, Blueblood VII  and Lightning Star, did their utmost best to make amends for the crimes of their parents when everything was over. Blueblood convinced most of the unicorns to surrender their ill gotten land, dispersing it to the ‘peasantry’ who had give it its value. Lighting convinced the pegasi to create the weather system that we use to this day. Of course there were those that resisted, and we had to root them out first. Has somepony else a question?”

Cadence raised her hoof shyly, "Well, I have one. I asked my history teacher, but he couldn't answer me at that time. Why exactly did the war last for over a century? Mercenaries aside, it surprised me that they could do such things for that long even if they were largely ruling the country."

The Alicorn of the Sun frowned at nothing in particular, already having unpleasant events of the past in her mind while looking at the Princess of Love, "Not that the nobles of the present aren't intelligent, but their ancestors were much more cunning, colder in their calculations and more merciless in the execution of their plans. The main problem was that they always seemed to have an alibi, witnesses. Other ponies, nobles or not, would declare themselves as such and swore that the suspects attended some sort of social event, ate at their favorite establishment or were seen on the other side of the country whenever something happened. These are only three of many examples I could name you. What was lacking was undeniable evidence."

Her niece put her wing on the now sitting mare's back, "There is more, isn't it?"

"I guess bribery wasn't the only problem you had to face?" Sunset added emphatically.

Twilight felt very bad for her former mentor, too and would never admit to herself, but a small part of her celebrated on the inside, because she could finally hear the perspective of somepony who witnessed this era. Untold, and even worse, unwritten knowledge!

Celestia shook her head in resignation, "Sadly, no. Sometimes nothing major happened for longer periods of time, only silence as if whoever was responsible simply stopped or disappeared. Two attacks could happen with a buffer of one week or years between each other, it didn't matter. They were... patient, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. And I couldn’t punish the nobility as a whole, not without risking an economical and political uproar..."



But of course the earth ponies weren’t free of the desire to expand their businesses either. Many of the lesser houses made promising deals with the Bluebloods and Lightnings, for a price, typically very favorable land leases.

All this happened subtly under my muzzle, leaving me to find out when it was much too late, until the Noble Revolutions truly started. A blindness I regretted to this very day, for it had cost me a very promising student. Moonlight River.



“Your student? W-what happened to her?” Twilight inquired in bafflement, fearing the answer.

A nostalgic smile crossed Celestia’s lips for a few seconds before a deep sadness dominated her features, “Were there another personal student who had the potential to ascend, aside from Sunset and you, then it was Moonlight. One of the brightest unicorns of her time. I like to tell myself that I couldn’t have known, but in the end it is the responsibility of the mentor to make sure that his apprentice doesn’t go astray on a dangerous path from which there is no coming back.”

Sunset frowned, this mare reminded her a lot of herself. But what did it have to do with their current topic concerning the banished necromancer? Or the events of Noble Revolutions for that matter? Her eyes widened in dark realisation, she had an idea and it didn’t sit well with her at all. Luna had a similar reaction.



The longer the conflicts lasted the more extreme the nobles’ efforts became to achieve victory over their peers.

And the noble houses’ biggest thorn remained, the Apple Family.

In time Blueblood VI and Lightning Strike became older and their dreams never came true, no matter what they tried in the past. Their plans were threatened and they were running out of time, literally. The possibility of dying of old age before they would be able to witness the Equestria they desired was an unavoidable end when nothing changed.

A dangerous combination, for those drunk on power would never be able to admit defeat.

In a last desperate act to end the earth ponies interference, the Solar Council decided that eliminating the head of the Apples, Roxburry Russet, was the best plan.

To put the Apples at ease, an earth pony family, the Pears, new to the barony and unhappy with the small amount of land they were given, was asked to host a dinner. Should negotiations go poorly, they were promised a large piece of land in northwestern Equestria to expand further.

The traitors wanted to let it seem like they were framed in case somepony would connect the dots. To this end they sent a pegasus who was promised a promotion to weather manager for the barony. Roxbury Russet and his son Ribston Pippin were invited. Food and drink were served, with the pegasus bringing a bottle of quince cider he was given for the event. A rare and special drink, that was more special for being laced with concentrated manticore venom.

The meeting went well, but ended early as the two Apples felt a bit ill. Nothing was thought of it by Harrow Crisp Pear, and so he wished them well. Their departure was followed by the pegasus, with plans to continue the meeting soon. It was not until Roxburry was found dead in his bed the next morning, while his son was unresponsive.

The death of a baron required an investigation, one that would be done by the Royal Guard this time. Harrow Crisp was brought back to Canterlot for questioning. Protesting his innocence, he did answer their questions about the meeting and the food served, the bottle of cider of particular interest to the guard. A drink far too rare for a simple weather pony, the guards were quick to collect the empty bottle from the trash.

Nopony had known it, but Ribston had a marefriend, one who would not accept the Apples' decision. I arranged for him to be brought to the best healers in Canterlot, but all the doctors said there was nothing that could be done. While he could be sustained with magic, as he had been for the last month, he would never wake up. It was with a heavy heart that Wyken made the decision to lay his grandson to rest. During that month however, his marefriend toiled in the library feeling that she was quite capable of bringing him back, for she was-



“It was your student, Moonlight River, wasn’t it?” Cadence interrupted seriously.

Celestia gave a firm nod, “Indeed. Racism was, much to my shame, common under most of Equestria’s nobility during this era. Old flames of arrogance and self-aggrandizement kindled anew during the Noble Revolutions, something I hoped was extinguished a long time ago for the most part. Relationships between different tribes were very frowned upon, because it would soil-” She spoke the word in disgust. “-their bloodline.”

Luna snorted in fury. “I can see how much of an headache their behavior must have been for you, dear sister. We would have punished those fools for their insolence most fiercely!” The Princess of the Night switched to her archaic dialect when saying the last sentence.

Twilight wanted to make notes at first, but her former mentor requested of her to simply listen, because the Apples wouldn’t like it when their family secret became public knowledge once more. She respected it.

Her ears folded down in sadness, “I-I couldn’t even imagine how it feels like to stay hidden and to hope that the pony you fell in love with survived the night, never knowing what happens next.”

“Must have been really tough for most ponies. I mean a hidden world full of secrets and where it is important to always be two steps ahead of your opponents sounds like a political nightmare,” Sunset mused, trying to imagine who it must have been to that time.

Her mother nearly groaned very unroyally, but instead went with a light sigh, “You have no idea.”

"How did you find out who was responsible in the end?" Cadence asked with held breath.



When everypony was gone Moonlight River snuck into the Pears' barn, not trusting their sudden hospitality after years of jealousy and distrust on the Apples' legacy. There she heard them talking about the meeting and why it took place, the promised land. She was fearful that something might still happen to Ribston and Roxbury and tried to warn them, but she didn't know about the poison at this time, how it already fulfilled its hideous purpose.

Nevertheless Moonlight informed her mentor about the meeting and what she found out thanks to her wide skill set. She was always a very talented unicorn, but her magic was at its best when it came to healing and analyzing.

And for the first time they had a real hint on the manipulators behind everything.



“Buck yeah!” Sunset celebrated and held her forelegs in a victory position from her bed, but blushed strongly when all eyes landed upon her, was it from shock or amusement at her blunt choice of words. “S-sorry.” The only unicorn cursed the corrupting human street culture in her mind.

“I wouldn’t say it like that, but I share my niece’s sentiment. Your student gave you quite the chance with her actions to finally end this farce,” Luna said to her sibling and grinned slyly at the amber mare.

The grim expression on the ancient ruler’s face ruined the joyful atmosphere.



For years they were cautious, but in the end they failed, because time was against them. After many interrogations and testimonies the Noble Revolutions were finally at their end and Blueblood VI and Lightning Strike landed in prison.

Blueblood died in there on old age, a fitting punishment for somepony as him and Lightning took his own life, his pride wouldn’t allow it to suffer in prison.

But there wasn’t a happy ending for everypony.

Many years went by, and still, Moonlight’s love of her life never woke up from his coma. Medicine, herbs or magic, nothing could bring him out of his state. It broke my student on the inside, because they wanted to create a family at one point.

She tried everything in her power to help Ribston Pippin, taking journeys to beyond Equestria in order to find a cure, but her research and endeavours remained fruitlessly.

Her desperation pushed my student finally over the edge when Wyken decided for a date and that it would be for the best if they put his beloved grandon to rest, stopping the spells that kept him alive.

Nopony would have expected the outcome of their decision, not even myself. A necromancer was born.



“...Moonlight could never accept the Apples’ decision. In her sorrow and determination to save him she turned her focus to books about Dark Magic in the Royal Archives. In hope to find anything that could help her she studied the forbidden arts and I didn’t find out about it until she was already too far gone. I regret to admit that I granted her access with my blessing, because she pleaded for a last chance to rescue Ribston and I couldn’t bring myself to say no.” The alabaster alicorn’s eyes were wet by now.

Cadence looked down in understanding, her tone soft, “Love is a… fickle thing. It can make us overcome the greatest obstacles in life and grant us a strength we never thought was possible. But at the same time it can be responsible for the destruction of entire kingdoms and bring suffering over everypony if we let it guide our every decision without thinking about the consequences.”

Luna’s voice didn’t give any clues on her emotional state, “Necromancy is a curse in disguise. At first it may appear like a blessing, because it grants you power, immortality, immunity against physical harm and no illness nor poison can bring you down. But in the end Dark Magic always demands a great price from its wielder. One's own sanity or soul in most cases, not rarely both.”

Sunset Shimmer didn’t know what else to do and tried to give her mother a hug, if not for being much smaller and still a little unfamiliar to her old body. It was a wobbly attempt. She normally wasn’t a pony for showing emotions all the time and tried to uphold a certain reputation, but a big speech about a better future didn’t come to her mind either.

Celestia smiled and appreciated the kind gesture, putting a wing around her Little Sun.

Twilight tried to look everywhere else except at the two mares in each other’s hooves. She felt slight discomfort. “P-princess? How did you find out about Moonlight River?”

Celestia stood up silently and sat down in front of the room’s window, facing away from the rest, “At the day the life support spells for the poor stallion were to be stopped. The nurse wanted to make a last check in the morning, but his body was gone, bed included. I came immediately after I was informed and felt the unmistakable touch of Dark Magic in the air. I tracked the residual darkness back to its source and found Moonlight at her home, bent over Ribston’s body where she was trying to cleanse the poison with her new magic. But in her eagerness she underestimated what damage necromancy can cause to the psyche of a mortal, or his soul. She was indeed able to cure him, but when he woke up this… thing… wasn’t Ribston Pippin Apple anymore. Of the honest earth pony I came to know was nothing left, only an obedient husk. A mindless thrall.”

Twilight, Sunset and Cadence gasped in shock. The trio looked visibly sick to the stomach.

The Princess of Love had to stop herself from crying at such tragedy, “S-she only wanted to save the stallion she loved and in the end it was her who truly took his life.”

They could literally hear the regret in the solar monarch’s voice, “I should have seen the signs, but I thought that Moonlight knew when to stop on her own. When she saw what she did, my once faithful student was convinced that I sabotaged her somehow. In a blind rage fueled by hatred at the world for the loss of her beloved, she attacked me.”

Luna grimaced, “This naive mare destroyed his soul and what made him what he was. May the stars grant him mercy.”

“And how did you banish her to the human world? Did you know that the mirror was open to that time?” Sunset asked carefully, still feeling ill.

Celestia turned around and took her former position besides her daughter before answering, “I did, so I lulled her into a false sense of security, pushed her through the portal and disrupted the magic linking it to the other world. Despite the sins Moonlight River committed, I couldn’t bring myself to execute her, because she was in the end only one of many victims in a greater scheme of self-centered nobles. No, I saw it as a last act of mercy to give her a chance to live the rest of her life in peace in a world where she was no longer a danger for others and most importantly, herself. To give her closure.”

Sunset wasn’t convinced, “How were you so sure that she wouldn't be dangerous anymore? From what I understood your student was no longer herself.”

“A fair point, but I was blinded by... hope. Star Swirl hypothesized that Dark Magic loses its power over the wielder if it can’t magically interact anymore with the victim’s mind and soul.” Her mother sighed fatefully. “A dimension bare of magic sounded like a good idea to me. But after everything that happened? The sirens survived for all these years, so did the Windigos. Now I fear what I may have unleashed upon the human world all these centuries ago.”

The newest ruler gave her former teacher an encouraging smile, but her voice sounded nervous, “Well, as the Princess of Friendship I have to admit that I have absolutely NO idea what to do if your friend in need becomes a soul destroying necromancer.” She chuckled awkwardly and calmed down after taking a big breath, “But for what it’s worth? I think you made the right decision, Princess Celestia. You wanted to give her a clean slate where nopony would know her, in the belief that she may recover in time.”

Sunset nodded in agreement, “Twilight is right. We don’t know if Moonlight River is still alive or not, but we can keep our eyes and ears open. You know, just in case.”

“Nopony would have accepted her anymore in Equestria or anywhere else for that matter. Especially the Apple Family after what she did. We can only hope that your former student didn’t cause too much damage,” Luna gave to consider thoughtfully.

Cadence simply commented with a well-meant, “We will support you auntie.”

Celestia listened to what the other mares had to say before coming to a final verdict, “I think we can agree that Moonlight’s whereabouts have to be investigated, although the Windigos need to be our top priority.” She looked between the two youngest of the group, “But to switch to a much brighter topic. Sunset, you should take a time out after everything you went through. Many things changed during your long absence and I can’t think of a better pony to show you around than a good friend. After breakfast though.” The eldest alicorn gave the duo a playful smile.

Twilight voiced her opinion about this task before the amber unicorn could say anything, “Of course!” She stared gleefully at Sunset. “I guess we should start here in Canterlot. You missed quite a bit when you were… well, you know. And I know exactly where we need to go first. The most important place of all!”

The fiery mare chuckled in good humor at the excited face of her friend. “Let me guess. The library?”

Her future guide gasped in not even remotely hidden delight at the chance of visiting the Canterlot Library again, “How did you know that? But yes, first we eat something and then I’ll make a checklist to be sure that we don’t miss anything!” Twilight hugged the other mare, smiling kindly. “And this time we are together in this. I shouldn’t have given you the impression that you were put under the girls’ watch to learn about friendship like some royal punishment. That is not how it works, true friendship can’t be forced… and I’m sorry for that.”

Sunset blushed with a vengeance, “I-I shouldn’t have overreacted either. How about this, we agree that we both messed up and have a great day instead?”

Princess Celestia radiated with pride, seeing the two of them like this warmed her heart.

Cadence wanted to say something when suddenly a snowflake magically appeared in front of her, a special form of communication and creation of the crystal ponies. It slowly unfolded itself to make the message visible. “Oh! It’s from Shining Armor!”

“Shining Armor? He is your… husband, right?” Sunset inquired unsurely.

“He is my BBBFF!” Twilight answered instead. “What did he say?”

The Alicorn of Love giggled, “Only that he misses me and when I plan to return to the Crystal Empire. And I think he is right, I stayed to make sure that you wouldn’t do anything crazy as long as Sunset was indisposed.”

A round of amused laughter was the reaction at the lavender mare’s pouting face at being patted on the head from her former foalsitter like a good little filly.

The crystal princess and Sunset Shimmer looked awkwardly at each other, “You are of course welcome to visit us at any time if you want as well. I know our past interactions were less than…nice. But I hope we can get to know each other on better terms now and maybe become friends.” An amused smile adorned Cadance’s lips, “And this time you are formally invited. We don’t need to make the guards nervous again with another wild goose chase in the middle of the night.”

Sunset rolled playfully with her eyes at being reminded of the last time she ‘visited’ and returned the favor. “I make no such promises, it’s good exercise after all.”

Before she left the room the pretty pink pony princess glanced back innocently, “Twily? I think we should introduce Sunset to our holy ritual. It is just fair, after all you were both taught by Celestia when you were young.”

“What are you talk-” the former bully nearly yelped from the sudden invasion of her personal space.

Mentioned alicorn appeared in the confused mare's face, quite literally thanks to a teleportation spell. The glee in Twilight’s voice caught her off-guard, “You will love it! My friends think it’s a little silly, but they don’t understand the importance of our traditional greeting as much as we do. But first things first!” She looked into Sunset’s uncertain orbs like her life depended on it. “Did you ever hear of an old foal’s book with the title ‘The Ladybug and the Breezie?’”

Sunset was completely lost, “Y-yes?”

The interrogation wasn’t over, “Did you read it entirely?”

“Err, yes?” Did she miss something?

Her supposed-to-be family didn’t help at all, they were looking at her in well-played pity. Luna even bowed her head and closed her eyes as if paying one’s last respect to her niece.

“Traitors! All of them!” Sunset exclaimed in her mind.

Twilight meanwhile squeaked in joy, completely obvious to the scene behind her back. Finally somepony with good a taste in literature! “Take that you neighsayers!”

She was always certain, all those self-proclaimed ‘educators’ obviously didn’t have a clue about what they were talking about in the past. Whoever said that a good foal’s book needed colorful pictures, big letters and much less than 752 pages? All these poor fillies and colts didn’t know what they were missing!