//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The String of the Stars // by computerneek //------------------------------// “I’m gonna have to say no, then,” she states.  Her words echo around in my brain. I can already hear myself making some unfair demand, feel Cadence charging the Elements of Harmony to banish me to the moon. …  Not that we know where they are, anymore. Which means there’d be a battle between us.  I’d probably win, with experience on my side- then… No.  I cannot allow that to happen; I’ll step down myself if I have to.  If she so much as asks. Might as well step down now.  I… I need to stay strong.  … Get strong again, before I officially step down from the throne. I teleport to my quarters, collapse onto my pillows.  At this rate, I won’t even be able to welcome my sister back. “I’m gonna have to say no, then.” I drop my jaw, along with all three examiners and my husband.  How could Lyra refuse such an honor? And… Celestia’s jaw drops.  Not for the first time, either- she dropped it several times while Lyra was working on the egg. Her wings also droop.  Her expression looks hurt, somehow, as if Lyra had just…  oh, I don’t know. Taken the country from her. She had looked surprised, but not like this, when she seemed to realize Lyra had gained wings.  I was surprised by that- and it looks like Lyra wasn’t expecting it either, though she seems too nonchalant about it to have not considered it as a possibility. Celestia starts to turn away from Lyra, and suddenly vanishes in a flash of light. “I…”  Lyra blinks, sighs, and looks at the examiners.  “That never happened, right?” They nod.  “Agreed,” they state.  “She just, uh…” “Was needed elsewhere,” Lyra states. They nod.  “Yes. And we were not privy to the details.” “Alright.  So, what’s next- and, possibly more importantly, is Twilight still here?” As it turns out, leaving the room with her newly-hatched dragon is next.  She passed the exam. Also, Twilight is still here.  Apparently, she had wanted to stick around, find out how Lyra had done. …  And show off her wings.  Apparently, she ascended to.  Lyra quickly put an end to that, though, by flaring her own wings. “Me too,” she states.  “And apparently, the wings make the Princess.” “No!” Twilight insists.  “I’m not a Princess!  I’m not old enough!” So Lyra nods.  “Alright.” Then her horn glows like Celestia’s Sun again- and when it goes back down, both fillies are unicorns again.  “There. We don’t have to be Princesses if we don’t want to be.” Twilight spends a second checking her side for wings, before hugging Lyra.  “Thankyouthankyouthankyou! … Um, whatever you did is reversible, right?” A Pegasus Guard in the corner blinks a couple times.  “Wait. Did she just reverse an ascension?” I nod slowly.  “Two of them, I think.” Lyra smiles, glancing at the Guard.  “Yes.” Then she looks back down at Twilight.  “And yes, it’s completely reversible. Or, unreverse-able, since it is in itself a reversal.”  She glances up at Twilight’s parents, then back down at Twilight.  “I’m guessing everypony else is going to ascend as well, and want the reversal too.  Plus, I kinda want to get everypony together- here- after the exams. That work?” Back up at Twilight’s parents, who nod. So we wait. While we wait, she looks up at the Guard again.  “Any chance stories of our ascensions could be suppressed, and princess-hood voided?  None of us are ready for that level of power, responsibility, or… Well, noble-fighting.  And re-ascending, since we’ve already done it once, should be pretty easy.” “Uh…” The Guard utters.  “I’d have to consult with my Sergeant…  and possibly Celestia too… on that one,” he eventually states.  “I don’t think Equestrian law considers un-ascensions.” Shrug.  “Then could you do that, please?”  She glances down at Twilight. “And even if the un-ascension doesn’t void Princess status, I’d still like to suppress knowledge of such status until such time as we’re ready to handle it.” He snaps a hoof to his forehead.  “Right away, Princess!” As he leaves the room, Twilight lets out a little gasp.  “What-! Still a princess!?” Lyra sighs.  “He said he didn’t know,” she says, “so he’s playing it safe.  I imagine we’ll hear back on the matter shortly- and even if we are still Princesses, if we’re able to suppress such knowledge, we won’t effectively be Princesses, and therefore won’t have anypony gunning for us…  or asking us anything better answered by Celestia.” Silence holds for a few seconds. “Hey, mom?” Lyra asks, looking up at me. I raise my eyebrows, returning her look.  “Yes?” “Do you think you could teach us to fly?” I blink.  “Uhh…” “Of course, we can do it in secret.  I can think of a few spells that would keep anypony from noticing.  And of course, whenever we do do a full Princess reveal, I’d like to drive ponies crazy by being a good flier already.”  Smile. “And I’d rather not go disguised to a flight school up in Cloudsdale.” “Sure,” I eventually state.  “I can try. But only if you take care of your wings regularly, too!” “Even though we won’t have them very much?” I shrug.  “So make ‘em appear for proper care.” She smiles wide.  “Thank you!” I walk out of the examination room in somewhat of a trance.  I don’t have a clue how I did much of what I did- or even what half of it was. But that doesn’t really matter- what matters is that I knew what I was doing at the time.  A couple of them, if I recall correctly, I was unsure of. But I passed, so I’m okay. The last one was the hardest.  It was also a shot in the dark- and, to be honest, the first time I’ve ever successfully used Lyra’s strange booster spell.  And… It may have been successful, in that the egg popped right open when I blew power at it in what I hoped was a hatch-inducing manner, but I must have gotten it wrong.  I’ve seen her use it a few times- she doesn’t often need it- but it never grafted wings onto her back. It did mine.  According to the examiners, that means I’m now a princess.  An official princess, like Celestia. But Twilight isn’t one.  I shake my head slightly, adjusting my wings to keep the sleeping newborn dragon balanced on my back.  She’ll always be our Princess. …  until she grows old and dies, while I don’t.  Unless we can find a way to duplicate whatever I did, which I don’t doubt she and Lyra will be able to do, eventually. The Guards are guiding me into a side room.  My parents didn’t come with me; they’re both working all the time, and neither of them could make it.  Neither will be able to come pick me up until long after dark, so they currently expect me to walk home alone, or perhaps request an escort from the staff or perhaps the Royal Guard. That would have been a very, very difficult escort to get- but now that I’m a princess, they’ll probably do it as a matter of course. I push the door open with my magic, stepping into the side room, and scan it quickly.  All four of the other Crusaders are here, with their parents. And, if I’m not mistaken… Lyra looks over from what looks like a card game of some kind they’re playing on the round table in the middle of the room.  “Awesome,” she states. “We’re all here, and we’re all princesses.” I blink.  All… No. All four of the others are unicorns.  “What?” I ask. Lyra shrugs.  “Turns out un-ascension doesn’t void the Princess status, but we can pretend we’re not Princesses until we’re ready for the responsibilities of the same.  You want to join us in that not-princess-yet effort?” I blink.  “Uh, yes? You know I don’t take publicity well.” “Alright,” Lyra states, then her horn glows…  like Celestia’s sun. Or is it like mine did, when I cracked open the egg? In any case, a moment later, my wings have disappeared again, and I let out a breath.  “So, with all the ponies here…” Lyra shakes her head.  “The Guards won’t be telling anypony, nor acting like anything’s different, for anypony to see, at least.  And the examiners have been notified of the situation too- right, Lieutenant?” She glances up, at the same time, to a Guard entering behind me. He nods.  “Yes ma’am.  We’ve been able to identify every pony that saw any of you as Alicorns, including the examiners; all are sworn to secrecy.  None are nobles, either.” “Awesome, thank you.” “But what about Celestia?” “Celestia?” Lyra asks, then smiles, and chuckles.  “Last she saw, me and Twilight were Alicorns, but she left before anypony else had the chance to ascend.  I was actually planning on heading to the Castle next, to inform her of the situation- and possibly to accept her offer, as a group.” “Her offer?” I ask. “Yes,” Lyra smiles.  “Celestia offered to let us be her personal students, before she had to go; Twilight panicked at the Princess status and fled; I refused, and was about to finish the sentence by adding a condition- not without the rest of you- when she left.” “That’s…  not quite how I remember that going,” Lyra’s mom states. Lyra snorts, and rolls her eyes.  “Alright, alright, it was actually two separate sentences.  But the fact is, she didn’t stick around long enough for me to explain my answer.  In any case, given that we’re all princesses now, I figure studying under her is probably a very good idea- I don’t expect we’ll be able to keep a lid on things for forever.  Besides, Celestia has been ruling alone for a thousand years.” She smiles. “I daresay she’s long overdue for some company.” “And friends,” Twilight states. Glamour nods with me.  “And friends,” we agree. “What would it mean?” I ask.  “For us, that is.” Twilight shrugs. Lyra must have asked.  “For starters, we’d get extra, personalized magic lessons from Princess Celestia herself- in theory.  She’s only ever had one personal student at a time before, so with five, it might be harder for her to customize everything so much…  but that’s what we would be there for.  Then, we’d probably have lessons in how to behave as a Princess, which we’re definitely going to want before the grand revelation. “And last- that I know- but not least, we’d be living in the castle.  Free access to the Castle Library, Laboratories, Ballrooms, you name it.”  She glances at the parents spaced around the room; their attention has been drawn.  “I don’t know if she’ll invite our parents along, but I’m sure we can work something out.  So,” she glances at all of us, “is that something we want to do?” All four of us nod.  After they- mostly Lyra- showed me exactly what I could do with the bony spire sticking out of my forehead, and how amazingly easy it is, I’ve enjoyed studying magic with her and Twilight.  So, to my understanding, have the other two. “Awesome,” Lyra states.  “Next,” she turns to the parents, “is that something our parents are okay with?” All eight parents present speak in perfect unison.  “Absolutely!” Unless I miss my guess, more than one of them also start giggling or chuckling. I shrug.  “Probably?” Lyra frowns.  “How confident are you?” “Pretty confident,” I state. She smiles.  “Confident enough to ask Celestia first?” I take a second, then nod. “Then let’s go do that.”  She glances at the parents.  “That okay?” “Absolutely!” She nods.  “Who wants to come with?” They blink. “Uh, wouldn’t it be better for you to ask her without us present?” Vinyl’s mom asks. Lyra nods.  “And the Guards might not want to let you that far in on a moment’s notice…  But you can still come as far as they’re willing to let you.” She smiles at the rest of us.  “Besides, it’s a long walk, and I’d rather not do that alone.” Several of the parents nod- no, all of them, just not synchronized.  “Sure, we’ll come.” Twilight’s dad raises a hoof.  “Wouldn’t it be easier to ask for a Royal Guard escort?” “Well of course,” Lyra states.  “But to ask for one of those, we’d have to reveal ourselves to the general public.  Besides, we’ve technically already got that- they’ll just be under cover.” The lieutenant by the door bows his head. “True.” I take three long, deep breaths.  It’s been at least a couple hours since I fled the exam room. All I’ve been able to do is think up possible evil-version names, like Luna’s Nightmare Moon. I’ve got everything from Dayscare Bright to the Solar Destroyer.  And everything in between, and there’s probably even a few that aren’t in that range.  I’ve even got the Mundane Lamp. All scribbled down three pages of parchment.  With tick marks, for how often I thought of each one. Daybreaker seems to be popular. I…  I can’t go on.  I’ve been in meltdown for the last few hours.  If I can’t get over it soon, I’m going to have to inform Cadence in private…  and just disappear. I won’t even be able to repeat my question to Twilight after she’s had time to adjust. I let out a small yelp, jumping somewhat, when somepony knocks on the door.  I steel up my voice as much as I can. “Who is it?” I call. It’s one of the Guards that answers, through the door.  “The Cutie Mark Crusaders wish to meet with you, Princess.”  He sounds amazed. “The-?” I begin, before stopping myself.  The Cutie Mark Crusaders, of course. That’s what Twilight and Lyra’s team is called.  Maybe Lyra talked to Twilight, and the latter decided to say yes. Maybe both of them talked to the rest of the Crusaders, and the two decided to seek my counsel, as new Princesses- and brought their friends along, for some reason.  In any case, they’re giving me a chance to save face and recover- and there’s no way I’m going to blow it without a fight. “Just a second!” I cry out, lighting my magic to snatch my brush off my dresser. “Uh, they’re in the waiting room,” he states.  “We didn’t know where you were. Shall I go get them?” I blink.  So, they’re in the waiting room, where ponies come before they come in to meet me?  Wouldn’t that be full of nobles and the like at this hour? And incredibly dangerous for the newly-minted Princesses to be in?  I… I hope they’re being smart about it. Maybe they chased everypony else out?  That’d make waves among the nobles- but being princesses, they have the authority to do that, however damaging such an act will be.  Unfortunately, there’s no going back now. “Uh, no,” I state. “I’ll see them in the Throne Room in, oh…”  I look at myself in the mirror, gauge my appearance. “Fifteen minutes.” “Roger.  We’ll be ready.”  I can almost hear his salute through the closed door, before he returns back down the hall. I take a deep breath, and mutter to myself.  “Come on, Celestia. You’re a Princess, you can do  this.” That doesn’t help. “They’re asking to talk to you,” I tell the mirror.  “They have to have a reason for that- my Guards won’t interrupt me even for Cadence, unless she specifically requests it.  What reason could they have, but…” I sigh.  That’s more like it.  My muscles are still knotted up real bad, and my mane’s still a mess, but I’m getting myself under control.  The muscles I can hide, until I get my royal masseuse to give me a backrub later tonight. If it’s good news, that is.  Everything else I can clean up. “But to form a long-term relationship,” I tell the mirror.  “Not as my personal student, but close enough they can learn the details of being a princess.  And that will be enough to keep me stable until I can find a new student.” I take a deep breath, and throttle my manebrush through my mane once again.  I will greet them as the reigning monarch, nothing less. I will live through this.  I will make it work. I will welcome my sister back to rule beside me, when the time comes. …  if I am able to heal the hurt.  Revert the Nightmare. I’ll find a way.  Even if I have to beat her in combat. She is more experienced than me…  but I have preparation on my side.  She is alone, in her Moon; I am not.  Cadence is already ready for her return; now I have two more young princesses.  By the time she escapes her prison, they will be able to perform support roles. I don’t think I have time to give them any real combat training. …  Though with Lyra’s magical ingenuity, she might be able to fight alongside us anyways. I check the clock before I teleport to the throne room.  My preparations took about ten minutes; I once again look as immaculate as I always have.  The Guards are present, lined up neatly; it looks like they’ve chosen to treat the two fillies to the decorum of a state visit…  Wait. A detail catches my attention; not one Guard in the entire room is below the rank of Sergeant. Something isn’t right.  Much of the rows, on state visits, are often Privates, freeing the Officers and senior Enlisted to other, more active duties.  Maybe they requested a level of secrecy Privates aren’t trusted with? As much as the composition doesn’t make sense, the lineup does.  The one thing we don’t want from a newly-ascended filly-princess is non-alignment with the Crown.  Especially when there’s enough of them to reduce the entire political process to a standstill; any Alicorn’s vote counts the same, regardless of how old- or young- they are.  Even if Cadence teams up with me, we won’t be able to outvote them. I can only hope to win them to our side.  To get close enough they trust me, so I can teach them how to avoid being conned into something by the nobles. I can only hope they haven’t already been conned into something by the nobles. Oh, how I wish I could just wipe the lot of them from the face of Equestria.  Unfortunately, I keep them around to help me balance the country. I use them to help me decide which laws are good, and which ones are not. I almost facehoof, but manage not to twitch.  If I’m going to teach them how to Princess… By my understanding, they’re loners.  That means that how to Princess is going to involve having a student, which means… Well, they’re not old enough to have students yet.  That’ll have to wait- but I’m going to want to introduce them to the idea as quickly as possible.  Have them mentor other students at my school, maybe. They’re still young, the world won’t look down on them for doing that. The door cracks open, and Captain Storm Tide steps in.  He glances up at the throne, where I am, before saluting.  “We’re all ready, Princess. We’re currently on Confidential level security.” I nod; that explains the composition of the ranks, but not why.  “That should be enough,” I state. “Send them in.” I pray they will explain the security themselves, rather than waiting for me to ask the Guards later.  Or pry it out of them. “Yes Princess.”  He glances back out the open door, nods briefly, and takes up his position in line.  A guard outside the throne room closes it. About a minute passes, then a knock resounds across the throne room.  A moment later, the doors swing open, revealing… No, something’s not adding up.  Only Twilight and Lyra ascended and hatched their dragons, yet I’m counting one, two, three, four, five little bits of green and purple on their backs.  And I’m having difficulty telling which ones are the Princesses as they start the walk down the carpet towards me.  The frontal silhouette of a pegasus- or an alicorn- is wider than that of a unicorn; I should be able to tell, even from this distance, which ones have wings. This confuses me, briefly.  Perhaps the other three Crusaders are wearing false wings? Or is it possible that the ascensions weren’t restricted to the two known prodigies?  On second thought, Lyra used a dedicated spell to access Alicorn-level powers… It’s entirely possible the others could have studied hard enough to learn that same spell, and all accidentally ascended as well. Such would also explain the purple and green on each of their backs.  If they all accessed that level of powers, it’s entirely possible- even probable- that they all also managed to hatch their eggs. Which is supposed to be an impossible test. …  I wonder how many carts were destroyed, and how many were able to be reused. I am tempted to light up a visual zoom spell, like the one I used during Lyra’s exam, but that would be unbecoming of a Princess- and, especially if they notice it, possibly offensive.  I discreetly take a deep breath, preparing myself to use all of my skill to gain as much as possible from this meeting. This is my last chance.  My… Ugh.  Yes, this is my last chance.  I must have had three others in that testing room, all botched; they’re now close enough I can see their wings clearly enough to be certain.  Five princesses. This is going to be a pain. And yes, I’m right.  Each of the purple and green objects are, in fact, baby dragons. I…  I don’t know what to do.  I spend the rest of their walk racking my brain, trying to come up with something, but by the time they bow down before me, I don’t have anything. I suppose I’ll just have to wing it. …  It does look like they still respect me as their ruler.  So, I still have that, at least. “Rise,” I state. They rise.  I spot more than one false-straight face; four of them are clearly nervous.  That last one? Lyra. It’s almost like she knows what’s coming- or doesn’t care.  I really hope it’s the second, because she does look happy, like…  Oh, like everything is going to plan. I wonder what that plan is. Waiting for me to speak doesn’t seem to be on it. Leaving me sane, however…  also doesn’t seem to be on it.  Lyra’s horn glows briefly, and their wings all disappear. “Princess Celestia,” Lyra begins, bowing again- though only briefly.  “During the time after you were summoned away, Vinyl Scratch, Glamour Strings, and Blue Chime all successfully passed the exam, hatched the egg, and ascended.”  She pauses for a second, during which my gaze switches quickly over the three named fillies- the last of which is visibly shuddering. The dragon seems not to mind, sleeping soundly on her back. Lyra continues.  “It is my understanding that this makes each and every one of us, irrevocably, a Princess; however, it is not our belief that we are ready to handle the responsibilities and dangers of such.  As such, we have reversed our ascensions, and requested all news of such be contained, until such time as we are ready. The Royal Guard has helped immensely in this respect, including staging this meeting as an audience with us that you requested when an urgent matter called you away from the Examination Hall prior to our availability for any such conversation.  To my understanding, all present are cleared to know, and keep secret, the truth. “In light of all this, and the offers you made to myself and Twilight Sparkle before the summons, we saw fit to make a similar offer in return, as thus:  Would you be willing to take all five of us on as personal students simultaneously, either indirectly, as through each other, or directly?” There is only one reason my jaw isn’t hanging, and that’s because I spent a minute to craft a targeted, stealthy spell to that end before teleporting to the throne room. One:  Am I really being offered what I have been looking for, on a silver platter? Two:  Why do the others look so nervous- are they afraid of refusal or something? Three:  Did they really come up with a cover story for me, and enact it fast enough to be convincing? Four:  Where did Lyra learn to talk like that? Five:  Did they really figure out how to un-ascend and re-ascend a pony that fast? Six:  Did they really come up with a cover story for themselves, and enact it fast enough to be convincing? Seven:  … I feel like there should be a seventh question, but I’m having difficulty coming up with one. They’re all waiting patiently for me to decide.  Lyra’s eyebrow goes up slightly- am I showing my surprise?  My jaw is not hanging… Shoot, it’s the motionlessness! Oh- I just realized the seventh question to be asked:  Can I handle multiple students at once? … No. I tried two at a time, once; that decade was a roller coaster ride for Equestria.  I had no time to rule. I take one last breath, open my mouth, and, with one, last word… The throne room seems to skew sideways before I get it out, and everything goes dark.