//------------------------------// // A Princess' Discovery // Story: Those Left Behind // by the7Saviors //------------------------------// Everything hurts. My body feels like its on fire. Am I dying? Is this what death feels like? This constant unending agony? Or wait... No. The pain is subsiding. Yes, I can feel it slowly beginning to ebb, but I still can't see anything. Wait, hang on... I can hear something. It's faint but... "..ilight!" There it is! If I just focus on that, then... "...light! Please! Please don't b..." What? What are they saying? "Auntie! I think Twilight is..." Wait... is that... Cadence? Why is she here? What hap-- Luna what is that thing?! I'm not sure, Twilight, but we need to warn my sis -- TWILIGHT MOVE! My eyes shot open and I barely managed to choke back a scream as I sat up. "Twilight!" a voice next to me cried. Before I could register who it was, I was yanked forward into a tight embrace. "Auntie! Twilight's awake!" the voice shouted, "She finally woke up!" I shook my head and turned to the pink alicorn crushing me. "C-Cadence?" I wheezed, "Cadence... please... let go... I can't..." "Oh," Cadence released me from her iron grip and smiled apologetically, "sorry, Twilight. I'm just glad you're awake." "Awake?" I asked, rubbing my neck, "what happened to me? How long was I out?" I picked myself up from the ground and swept my gaze over my surroundings. Dry cracked ground, broken and blackened tree stumps, and... not much else for what looked like miles on end. I looked up to see a black sky and... My eyes widened in horror. "Cadence?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the sky, "where are the Stars? And what happened to the Moon?" Despite the lack of starlight, I could still just make out the area around me, but the Moon... "I... don't know, Twilight," Cadence replied casting a worried glance at the same anomaly I was looking at, "it looks like some sort of... lunar eclipse." I swallowed nervously. "A-And... the Stars?" "We're not certain, Twilight," came a regal voice from above, "but that monstrosity was most likely the cause of all of this." Cadence and I looked up to see Princess Celestia descending to the ground. With a gentle flap of her wings, she landed next to me and turned her eyes to the sky with a grim scowl. "I don't like this," she muttered more to herself than us, "I have a very bad feeling about what this could mean..." "What do you mean, Princess?" I asked in confusion, "what monstrosity are you talking about?" Celestia looked at me in bemusement. "The colossal beast that appeared before you and my sister," she answered, "you were there, were you not?" I blinked and furrowed my brow in thought. "I... maybe?" I shook my head, "I'm sorry, Princess, my memory is a little hazy at the moment." Celestia nodded in understanding. "That's not surprising," she replied, "when Cadence found you, you were still unconscious." Cadence gave a nod of her own before turning to me with a frown. "I was actually on my way to see you and Auntie at the Castle when I heard a loud--" --roar that nearly deafened me. Luna and I managed to get a brief look at the giant before a bright flash of light lit up the entirety of Canterlot. She tried to protect me, but it was too late -- it was as though I was hit by a solid wall of fire, and then... ...everything was pain. "...ilight?" I shook my head and blinked a few times before looking at Cadence. She and Celestia stared back at me with matching frowns of concern. "Are you okay, Twilight?" Celestia asked, "you're as pale as a ghost." "I... I remember," I whispered, "it was... some kind of giant creature made of Stars," I looked over to Celestia and I'm sure she could see the horror on my face, "like an Ursa Major, but much, much bigger." "That is what Luna told me," Celestia said with a nod, "I never saw it myself, but I did see the light, and I'm sure we all felt what came next." Cadence and I nodded in affirmation and for a moment, we all sat in silence -- ruminating on what had occurred. I lit up my horn to better see and looked around once more before turning to Celestia with an inquisitive frown. "Where are we anyway, Princess?" I asked, "It looks like the Badlands, but far more... dead." The only thing that really stood out was the massive silhouette of a mountain in the distance and -- for some reason -- just looking at it sent shivers down my spine. Celestia looked about her before turning to me with a grimace. "I... may have an idea of where we are, Twilight," she said quietly as she looked from me to the mountain, "but I pray that I am wrong." "What I want to know," Cadence added worriedly, "is where that giant monster went. If it appeared in the city..." she stared off into the distance -- her eyes tearing up, "Shiny..." My eyes widened in horrified realization. If that blast went off in the city, then my brother... and my parents... "Stay strong, girls," Celestia said, trotting over to embrace both Cadence and I in a hug, "until we know for sure, we can't lose hope. My sister is scouting out the area as we speak and she should be back any moment with news of what's happened in the city." Cadence sniffed and I nodded, wiping my eyes and looking up at Celestia. "What about you?" I asked, trying to change the subject somewhat, "did you find anything?" I wasn't certain in this darkness, but I could've sworn I saw a shadow pass over Celestia's face before she replied. "I've found nothing so far, Twilight," she said grimly, "everywhere I've looked it's the same as what you see before you," she stepped back and flared out a wing, gesturing to her surroundings, "it's as though all life has been drained from the planet. I see no flora, no fauna, no lakes, rivers, oceans..." She looked away -- her face and voice becoming pained. "...or ponies." Cadence and I stared at Celestia in shock. After a minute, I regained my senses and looked back at the Moon. "W-What about the Sun?" I asked, turning back to Celestia, "why haven't you--" "I can't." I furrowed my brow. "...You can't?" Celestia slowly shook her head and turned her own gaze to the Moon. "The Sun is there, I can feel its power," she said with a frown, "but I can't move it. I believe it has something to do with this eclipse." "Oh..." "Well..." Cadence began tentatively, "what about Aunt Luna? Is she able to move the Moon?" "No," Celestia replied, "my sister is having the same problem as I. She still has access to the Moon's power, but she cannot control it directly. She can also feel the Stars, but they do not obey her either," she then raised an eyebrow and looked to me, "what about you, Twilight?" I blinked in confusion. "What about me?" I asked in bemusement. "You are the Princess of Friendship and, more importantly at the moment, the Element of Magic. Though Friendship is one of the strongest types of Magic, you embody all forms of it, so you should be able to feel the ambient Magic around you if you concentrate," Celestia frowned, "surely I told you of this?" I shook my head, completely stunned. "Ah, I see..." Celestia muttered to herself before turning back to me, "then it's my fault. I apologize, Twilight." "It's... it's fine, Princess," I replied with an unsure smile, "but how do I, um... feel the Magic?" "Simply close your eyes and cast your raw magic out," she explained, "it should act as a sort of beacon and the ambient Magic should responded accordingly." "A-Alright then," I answered hesitantly, "here goes..." I closed my eyes and concentrated. I felt my horn flare to life and, rather than cast any sort of spell, I just let the magic run loose. After a moment my eyes snapped open and I gasped in surprise. "Do you feel it, Twilight?" Celestia asked. I took a moment to answer -- overwhelmed as I was by the sensation. "It..." I shuddered, "it's incredible, Princess! Everything looks so dry and empty on the surface, but the Magic..." I stood there letting the roiling waves of ambient Magic wash over me. I felt like I could simply grab a hold of it and twist it to my whims. I wanted to. It would've been so easy. All I'd have to do is reach out and-- "TWILIGHT!" I yelped in surprise and my magic cut out. Blushing in embarrassment, I turned to see Princess Celestia wearing a disapproving frown. "Twilight, such power is not something to be taken lightly," she chided, "in the wrong hooves, that much raw Magic could -- and would -- completely destroy Equestria." I hung my head, abashed and ashamed. "You're right," I muttered, "I'm... I'm sorry, Princess." "As long as you understand, my former student," Celestia said with a kind smile. She frowned and turned to Cadence. "Cadence?" she asked curiously, "you've been awfully quiet, is there something else on your mind?" I raised an eyebrow and looked over to my old foalsitter and saw that she had her eyes closed. Her horn was glowing a soft baby blue and looked as though she was concentrating very hard on... something. "...Cadence?" I asked worriedly, "Is something wrong?" I took a step towards her and froze when I saw tears begin to stream down her face. She slowly opened her watery eyes and looked at Celestia. "I can't feel it, Auntie." Celestia furrowed her brow in confusion. "You can't feel..." her brows suddenly shot up and she took a startled step back, "you... are you saying you can't--" "I can't feel anything!" Cadence wailed, "it's just... not there!" She fell to the ground sobbing. "Cadence?" I cried in alarm, "what's going on? What can't you feel?" "SHINYYYY!" The bottom dropped out of my stomach. I swallowed and slowly turned to Princess Celestia. "P-Princess," I began in a quiet shaky voice, "w-what does... she mean? What can't she feel?" Celestia stared at the sobbing pink alicorn in mute horror. "Princess?" I asked again -- my own eyes beginning to shine with the onset of tears, "please don't tell me she means what I--" "She can't feel any love." I immediately snapped my gaze to the mountain in the distance -- all but sure of what it was. My suspicions were only confirmed when I saw the shadow of a pony making its way towards us from that very direction. I fell to my haunches, too numb to stand anymore. No, it has to be something else. So Cadence can't feel any love, that could mean any number of things. It doesn't necessarily mean there's no ponies left. I smiled. And that could just be any random mountain in the distance! I mean, it doesn't even look like Mount Canterhorn! I chuckled, trying to ignore the tears running down my face. I heard a gentle flap of wings followed by a heavy thud, signaling Luna's arrival. I didn't bother to look, finding the ground in front of my hooves much more interesting. Luna's here! I'm sure she was able to get my family and the rest of the citizens to safety! I finally turned to Luna with a hopeful smile -- desperately trying to ignore the inconsolable pink alicorn curled up on the ground. The dark blue alicorn turned to meet my gaze with an unreadable expression. She held eye contact for a moment. Only for a moment. Then she turned to her sister and they held each other's gaze -- a thousand words passing between them in a matter of seconds. Celestia nodded and slowly sat down, her own expression as unreadable as Luna's. "Princess Luna?" I asked, my smile wavering, "you... managed to find the ponies in Canterlot... right?" She eyed me for a moment more before looking away. Her mask of indifference faltered and I could clearly see the pain etched into her face. "Princess?" "I'm sorry, Twilight." My smile broke.