Five ponies and one dragon sat at a circular table in silence, it had been several years since they had sat together as shortly after the Canterlot Catastrophe the Friendship Council was disbanded. Each of the friends had parted on what could be described as painful terms, Twilights funeral. Each of the friends had parted and moved on in their own ways,some taking the loss of their friend better than others.
Rarity had moved on in her career and become famous for her unique fashion style that used varying shades of purple, crimson and yellow. While it wasn't officially given a name the media had given it the unofficial name of 'The Twilight Line'.
Rainbow Dash had officially joined the Wonderbolts and had replaced Spitfire as the captain. She quickly became known as the greatest captain in their history enforcing loyalty, hard work and Honesty among her ranks however she was also known to perform stunts that were often seen as suicidal.
Fluttershy had continued as Ponyvilles resident veterinarian only disappearing further into her seclusion and never venturing out into the world unless she needed food or medicine.
Applejack had actually disappeared for several years but returned to the farm however she was now know as a bit of a drunk. She openly drank and cared little for herself, many believed that without her brother and younger sister to watch her she would have already been dead from neglecting her health.
Pinkie Pie had completely disappeared shortly after the funeral, no letter, or farewell she simply vanished and were it not for the many pictures ponies of Ponyville would have thought she was a figment of their imagination. When she had returned and entered the castle many ponies had watched in shock as it was the first anypony had seen of her in seven years. She had simply appeared as if by magic, her mane and tail were straight, she wore a fedora and duster that was covered in sand and dirt as if she had just walked out of a twister.
The last of the group was Spike, Twilights adopted son and assistant. When Twilight had been deemed dead he remained at the castle maintaining the library and continuing his other duties however several months after the funeral the Dragon Lord Torch had approached him and offered to take him to the Dragon Lands and help him. Spike had reluctantly accepted and left with the Lord, when he had returned to Ponyville six years later he had grown and matured both physically and mentally while also falling in love with the Dragon Lords daughter and eventually marrying her.
The group sat in silence as they looked at each other before Rainbow spoke up. "SO I guess you all got a letter from the princesses too?" She asked, her voice was worn and tired making her sound like she was far older than she appeared.
Hesitantly the others nodded and Rarity sighed. "Well I for one believe we should at least be happy to see one another, it's been seven years since we all were together. Far to long in my opinion." She said calmly.
"And far to soon for others." Applejack slurred before falling forward, her head hit the table and she passed out.
Pinkie sighed and shook her head. "Anyone even know what's going on?" She asked. "The princesses didn't even mention why they called us, not like it matters." She said glumly.
"Might have something to do with their travel to Canterlot a few days ago." Rainbow said calmly. "There are rumors that they found something relating to Twilight circling around the Guard."
Spike sighed. "I doubt they would call us here simply to tell us they found something small."
Rainbow shook her head. "From what I've heard they found the body or at least what's left of it." As Rainbow said this everyone froze and stared at her except Applejack who gave a belch and simply fell to the floor.
Suddenly the doors opened and Twilights parents Twilight Velvet and Night Light walked in, behind them Twilights brother and Princes Cadence entered a small filly alicorn sitting on Cadences back. As Shining Armor enters he frowned as he saw the five present particularly Applejack who he shot a sobering spell at.
Applejack shot up as the spell hit and yelped as she clutched her head in pain. "Gosh darn it!" She moaned in pain.
"So Princess Celestia called you too." He asked grumpily.
"Shining..." Cadence said a warning in her voice as she turned to the prince. Shining armor sighed and turned away.
The room was a tense silence as none of the ponies spoke. After several minutes the door once again opened and Celestia and Luna entered the room stopping as they noticed the tense air. The two princesses smiles slowly faded as they looked around the room at each of the ponies. After a moment they sighed and entered the doors closing behind them as they took a seat. "Thank you all for coming." Celestia said calmly.
"Why are we here princess?" Applejack asked grumpily.
Celestia sighed her head lowering. "several days ago I and my sister lead a team to Canterlot. The primary goal was to see if the city was salvageable or whether it should be abandoned entirely, however what we found was surprising to say the least."
"We found evidence that something was still alive in the city aside from the Reanimated and further investigations confirmed this." Luna said. Everypony in the room looked at each other in a mixture of shock and confusion as Luna continued. "Given the circumstances we felt that you five would be best suited to help this pony reintegrate into society."
The five elements looked shocked while Twilights parents looked confused. "And why are we here?" Shining Armor asked as Cadence swatted at him.
Celestia smiled as Luna rose and opened the door. "You can enter now." She said. Soon after a pony entered and everypony in the rooms eyes widened.
The pony that entered was a purple Alicorn, one of their legs had wires visible and their back and chest was covered with flexible plates of metal. The left wing was artificial and there were several places on their head and face that showed metallic implants, one of their eyes was violet while the other was an electric blue and artificial. The Alicorn shifted for a moment as she rubbed her artificial foreleg with her natural one in a self conscious manner. "Hey girls, it's... uh... good to see you again." The Alicorn said, their voice was slightly distorted and held a slight echo but it was unmistakable to the ponies in the room.
For a moment no one said anything till and audible sniffle from Twilight Velvet was heard. Once it did everyone ran forwards and tackled the Alicorn, Twilight Sparkle was home.