//------------------------------//
// 02: The Story 
// Story: Darkened Shores 
// by Silver Flare 
//------------------------------//

	Rarity was the first pony to reach the library as dusk settled into night, and she began bringing down pillows and cushions from Twilight’s bedroom so ponies could make themselves comfortable. Fluttershy arrived, followed by Pinkie Pie and Spike, both still wearing party hats. Twilight and Rainbow Dash came in together, followed by Applejack, who was a bit winded having run from her farm.

“Ok then,” Applejack began. “Anypony care to explain what all this is about? It’s not another one of Pinkie’s parties, is it?” She eyed the party hats suspiciously.

“I wish!” Pinkie Pie piped in. “We should be at June Bug’s birthday party, but Twilight said this was more important.” She took of her party hat and started swinging it about by the elastic. “We didn’t even get to bob for apples.” Pinkie stretched the elastic over one hoof and flung it into the air, and the festive hat drifted down to rest by Applejack’s hooves.

Reclining across two soft pillows, Rarity chimed in. “Well, Rainbow Dash didn’t fill me in on any details. She merely said it was urgent.”

Fluttershy glanced from Rarity to Twilight, but said nothing. Twilight spoke. “Thanks for coming over on such short notice, everypony. I’d like to explain, but I think we should wait for one more to show up.” She glanced at Rainbow Dash, who shared the same look of anticipation and anxiety.

Spike broke the silence. “One more?” He looked around. “Who are we waiting for?”

The front door opened as if in answer, and Princess Celestia walked in, filling the library with radiant light and the sweet scent of honeysuckle. Applejack gasped “Sweet sassafrass!” Rarity and Fluttershy jumped to their feet, and everypony bowed their heads. Spike lifted a claw into the air. “Oh.” He said. “Right.”

Celestia looked at everyone in turn. She didn’t glance. She looked. As if trying to gauge the depth and breadth of their souls. Or as if she was etching them all into memory exactly as they stood before her. Even Spike. Finally she seemed to reach a decision. For a brief moment, her horn gave off a soft yellow glow, and the smell of honeysuckle intensified. There was a very tiny pop, and everyone suddenly felt a strange pressure on their ears. Applejack shook her head a bit. Pinkie Pie looked confused and rubbed at her ears.

Celestia explained. “I’ve placed a bubble shield around this library, to prevent anypony from listening in.”

Spike glanced out a window. “Oh, Twilight knows that same spell. She used it just last month to keep Applebloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo out.”

Celestia smiled down proudly at Twilight. “I know she can. I taught her that spell myself.” Twilight blushed.

“Now hold on just a buckle-buckin’ minute.” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “What is it that’s sooooooo terrible secret you can’t just tell everypony? Just what have you been hiding?” When Celestia narrowed her eyes, Applejack’s eyes widened and she retreated a step. “Um. . . that is, if’n you please. . . your Majesty.”

Princess Celestia closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she didn’t look angry. She looked worn and sad. “I’ve placed this protection around us for the safety of your town, Applejack. I fear the secrets I mean to tell you will place you all in danger.”

“Danger?” Rainbow Dash sounded more curious than afraid. “What kind of danger?”

“I risk your lives, Rainbow Dash, so I would call that mortal danger.” A heavy silence fell. Celestia continued, “I suggest we all make ourselves comfortable. There’s no need to stand for the story I must tell.” As ponies and a baby dragon pulled cushions closer and gathered around the Princess, Celestia settled down on the floor. She was still a head taller than any pony there. “If you have questions, you may ask them now. I will answer as I can.”

Rainbow Dash was fast on the draw. “Just how old are you anyway?”

Twilight cringed a bit, and Celestia noticed. Her brow creased with worry. “By my count young Rainbow Dash, I am 11,470 years old. Give or take a few. Time can be hard to track across so many centuries.”

“Goodness!” Rarity murmured.

“Sweet apple sammich!” Applejack shouted.

“Oh my.” Fluttershy whispered.

“That’s a lot of birthday parties. . .” Pinkie Pie breathed in awe.

Twilight asked, “Is your sister just as old as you are?”

“Oh, no.” Celestia shook her head, her mane swaying slightly. “I’m still two years older than she.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. Spike was impressed. “So, why don’t you look 11,000 years old?” He asked.

“That, my dear Spike, is a very good question.” Celestia’s gaze unfocused, as if she was looking somewhere far away. “My sister and I were given a gift, and this brings me to the story I mean to tell.”

Applejack held up a hoof. “Uh, Princess Celestia, before you begin your story, what exactly is a pony with wings and a horn anyway? Rainbow here says you’re called an ‘alicorn,’ or somethin’. Is that right?”

Celestia smiled. “Yes, Applejack. That’s what we were called.”

Applejack smiled back, relieved. “I think it sure is a pretty word, alicorn. But I guess my question is, why don’t we see more of ‘em around Equestria?”

“First,” Celestia answered, “My sister and I were born a long way from here. Our homeland lies across thousands of miles of vast ocean.”

“That sounds amazing!” Rainbow Dash looked excited. “I’d love to see a vast ocean!”

“That may not be as exciting as you think, Dashie.” Pinkie added. “I’d imagine it just looks like water that goes on forever, right? Boooring!”

“You and your sister traveled here, didn’t you?” Twilight spoke softly. “You mentioned that the two of you arrived in Equestria to find chaos. That Discord was loose, causing havoc and misery.”

“That’s right.” Celestia said. “Luna and I eventually made our way across the ocean just over 9,000 years ago.” Celestia nodded, but then her gaze grew distant again. “However, the city we grew up in so long ago was filled with alicorns. My people lived and worked, traded with the other tribes and nations of ponies in a relative state of peace. And yes, we were born, grew old and died, just like any other race of creature living on this world.”

“But, there are no other major land masses.” Twilight protested. “Aside from a few tiny islands, I mean. Everything’s been explored. Hasn’t it?”

The princess actually looked a little embarrassed. “Well, Luna and I have worked very hard to erase all evidence to the contrary, so I would certainly hope you learned that in school.” She said. “But the truth is quite different.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up with excitement. “So, there are ponies that live on the other side of the world?”

Princess Celestia shook her head and said slowly, “Not anymore, Twilight Sparkle. I can’t imagine any of them survived.”

Dismay choked Twilight into stillness. A heavy silence settled over the seven companions as they glanced at one another in alarm. A wide-eyed Fluttershy looked as though she might cry. Celestia continued. “My story begins a long time ago. About 11,450 years ago if I’m not mistaken. In the alicorn country called Galur, near the lush jungles in the south, there was a large city named Pejas, where I was born. I lived there with my father, my sister Luna, and my brother Teryn.”

Rarity gasped. “You had a brother?”

Celestia nodded. “Luna and Teryn were twins, born together, and I was their big sister. Father always charged me with looking out for them, told me I had to be the responsible one.” Celestia smiled wistfully. “I took that quite to heart. It wasn’t always easy, as my siblings seemed skilled at causing mischief.”

“Tell me about it, sister.” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “Responsibility can be—OOOF!” Rainbow Dash elbowed her side and put a hoof to her lips.

Celestia continued. “Our father, Silfur, worked as a weather warden. His being a dangerous and prestigious job, we lived in comfort, never wanting much. We had food, toys and books, knickknacks, puzzles, jewelry. . . most of what we wanted was provided. We simply didn’t see our father very much.” Celestia paused to look at the ponies settled around her. “I’d guess it’s a common enough tale, parents who work hard and don’t spend much time with their children, but we did miss him.” The Princess’s gaze unfocused again as she continued. “Father’s work was dangerous during the spring and summer. Violent storms used to assault our city and our lands from the south, and the flights of wardens from Pejas would be sent out to break the storms when they could, or move ponies to safety when they couldn’t.”

The friends glanced at each other in confusion. Twilight spoke up. “Who would make a storm that large?”

“This. . . may be difficult to understand for some of you, but the world used to work in a very different way in the beginning. The wind used to blow entirely on its own. The wind used to scoop water off of lakes and oceans to make clouds all on its own. The clouds would gather on their own without anypony lifting a hoof.” The Princess smiled at the wide eyes staring at her in disbelief. “Our vast world even turned on its own, bringing night and day each by turn. The world itself seemed to have its own life, its own purpose. We were all but specks by comparison, doing our best to live in harmony with the cycles of the planet.” Celestia giggled a bit at Rainbow Dash’s puzzled expression. “I understand this must sound very strange, but every word is the truth.”

Rainbow Dash looked like a filly lost in the woods. “So, clouds would just happen for no reason? Is that it?” Celestia nodded. Dash continued. “And then they’d move around. For no reason.” Celestia nodded again. Rainbow Dash groaned and buried her face in her hooves. “Honestly, that sounds completely made-up.”

Twilight looked skeptical. “This does sound far-fetched, your Highness. . .”

Applejack tapped a hoof on the floor in thought. “So these here clouds, they used to make rain and such all on their own?”

“Rain, snow, hail, lightning. . .” The Princess confirmed. “All of it. As I said, it helps to picture the world itself as being alive, having its own energy and will.”

Fluttershy looked concerned. “But, but if that’s true, what would happen to the critters if they didn’t know when a storm was coming? Weren’t their dens and homes flooded? Or, or blown away?”

Celestia considered that carefully for a moment. “It always seemed to me that our world was impartial, bringing rain or sunlight to all creatures great and small. When nature was in a good mood, one could frolic in the sunlight, sometimes for weeks. And when the world turned grim, all creatures were wise to seek shelter. That was simply the way of things back then.” Fluttershy did not look reassured. Celestia added, “Many of us did try to help, though. That was a weather warden’s job in those days. Flights of alicorns would fly to meet a storm and try to summon wind to divert it, or disperse it. When the storm was too great, they would simply try to warn anyone in its path.”

Celestia continued. “We lost Mother when we were very young, and with Father gone much of the time, my siblings and I used to study together, invent games, play with our toys, read, make up stories, practice what magic we knew. . . none of us were terribly good with magic back then. Yet when we grew bored with these things, we would explore our great city. It’s difficult to describe the size of it, but Pejas was enormous. You could easily fit a hundred Ponyvilles within its walls, with room to spare. Most of the buildings were made of sturdy stone, yet they were carved to look as elegant as spun glass. The largest and most elegant being the Celestial Temple, the center of our sprawling city. Trees and creeper vines were grown all through our streets and around our homes to make us look as though our homes were part of the jungle. Our city was also very old, old long before I was born.”

Celestia sighed again. “One night, an alert sounded through the city. One of the largest and most dangerous kinds of storms was headed inland. Something we called a ‘hurricane’.” Celestia glanced at Fluttershy. “Colts and fillies were rounded up, windows were shut and locked. Shops were closed, and of course the Pejas wardens took to the skies to try to divert it. We secured our home, bolting storm shutters and closing every door to try to keep the winds out. When we were done, however, the three of us gathered on our porch to watch the incoming storm.”

“I remember it well, my little ponies. I remember the black storm clouds stretching across the horizon to the south and west. I remember the sound of the alarms ringing through the ominous quiet, and I remember the strange rumbling noise we’d never heard or felt before. It began so low at first that I thought I was imagining it. It was just a deep thrumming I couldn’t hear as much as feel in my chest. As the rumbling grew to something I noticed, however, I glanced at my siblings. Luna looked anxious. Teryn was clearly frightened and equally clearly trying not to show it. If I’m honest, I’d say I was pretty well frightened myself.”

“Then there was a flash of light from the south-east so bright it hurt my eyes and left me seeing spots. As we all flinched away, the ground began to shake beneath our hooves. We nearly fell to the stone, and we clung to one another for balance. I’d never felt an earthquake before, and we couldn’t do anything but watch the whole city below us quiver and shake as we blinked our eyes clear. A couple of buildings fell. Our house stood, but I could hear things being knocked off of shelves behind us.”

“When the ground stopped trying to fling us about, we began to see strange things from the direction of the flash. Things none of us could have understood at the time. Looking back, however, I believe we were watching a great battle, something beyond anything we’d ever seen or heard about. There was another burst of light, not blinding this time, but directed in a cone away from us. A vast swath of darkness coalesced in the air and flattened a section of the jungle. Lightning struck repeatedly in the exact same place. Long, thin red beams cut through the stillness that followed. Then a firestorm burst into life, dying into embers moments later. We were stunned by the display of power and violence, as though armies of unicorns had for some reason gone mad and decided to lay waste to one another. Or, more likely, as though a pair of deities had brought some eternal conflict to our very doorstep.”

Rarity coughed politely. “Not to be rude, your Highness, but I’m unfamiliar with that word. What do you mean by ‘deities’?”

Twilight offered an answer. “She means gods. I think.”

Celestia nodded, and then clarified, “Or, to be more precise, beings who surpass our knowledge and our comprehension, and therefore we have no proper words to describe them.”

“Oh.” Rainbow Dash jumped in. “So you mean something like, I don’t know, you?” She gestured vaguely towards Celestia.

Celestia recoiled in shock before pausing in thought, and then smiling a bit. “Hmpf. I can see what you mean, at least so far as ‘surpasses knowledge and comprehension.’” She shook her head in wonder. “But I’m not really comfortable with that label. I feel silly thinking of myself as a deity.”

Pinkie Pie waved a hoof in the air. “Well, can we still use your name in sticky situations? Like, can I still say ‘By Celestia’s beard, those are some burnt cupcakes?’ I’ve grown rather fond of it. . .”

Everyone laughed pretty hard, even the Princess. Celestia nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. “If you must, Pinkamena. I promise I won’t mind.”

As the laughter died away, everyone looked at one another a bit uncertainly. It was nervous laughter, and the friends all knew it. The story the princess had yet to tell cast a shadow over the evening. Twilight was the first to regain her courage and speak. “What happened next, Princess?”

Celestia continued, “At the time, all we knew for certain was that something terrible was happening. As the strange battle continued far in the distance, and the hurricane drew closer, I failed to notice my sister was no longer standing with us until she darted past Teryn and I and took to the sky, her travel bags already cinched around her waist.”

“Of course she was worried about Father. I should have seen it coming, maybe I could have stopped her. As it was Teryn and I followed as fast as we could manage. Luna had always been faster than I on the wing, and even without carrying a pack I could barely keep her from leaving me behind. Teryn was faster than both of us, so I sent him ahead to reason with her, to convince her to turn back. I knew it wouldn’t work, but I had to try.”

“We flew for quite awhile through still air, the calm before the storm, eventually leaving the city walls behind us and soaring out over dense jungle. I remember the sun dipping towards the horizon, beneath the looming clouds. The magical detonations had stopped, but the wind was finally picking up speed, making flight harder and harder. I’d hoped then that Luna might turn back, but she and Teryn kept flying until the winds grounded them both.”

“I followed them down through the thick jungle canopy and found my siblings working their way through the vines and roots of the underbrush. When I caught up to them, it was clear that I’d be dragging Luna back to Pejas kicking and fighting me tooth and hoof before she knew father was safe. Whatever those explosions were, they’d shaken my sister up pretty badly. So, against my better judgment, we travelled together. The coming storm may have worked in our favor, because we didn’t stumble across any venomous snakes or wildcats during our trek. In fact, we didn’t see a single living thing until the sunlight disappeared completely.”

“We must have been getting close, but with the sun gone the jungle became entirely black. Teryn called up light from his horn, and there in the deep golden glow a pale wolf stood before us. It was massive, nearly as tall as I am, and it gave an immediate impression of lean strength and agility. Yet I didn’t feel frightened of it. I don’t think any of us did. Partly because it was injured. (Fluttershy gasped) And the strange wolf was covered in burns and scorch marks, lacerations and worse.  (Fluttershy squeaked in dismay) Partly because it was caked in mud and dirt. But mostly I wasn’t afraid of the wolf because I looked into its eyes. Even though it was so badly hurt I couldn’t believe it was still standing, its eyes gave me a strong impression that it liked us straight away, even felt sorry for us.”

Celestia seemed baffled by the memory. “The winds were getting more frenzied by the minute, and the first few heavy drops of the storm hit the canopy above us. Lightning flashed almost continuously and the thunder was deafening. I remember shouting at Teryn, telling him to find us some shelter. He nodded and leapt away, taking the light with him. I called up my own, as Luna tore off her pack and began pulling out salve and bandages. I still couldn’t say why, exactly, but we both agreed without exchanging a word that we would try to help this creature. By the time Teryn came crashing back through the jungle, we had swathed the wolf’s face and three of its legs in bandages, fashioning a splint for a hind leg that seemed broken. The wolf had been still through most of it, shuddering and panting heavily through the worst of the pain. But as Teryn motioned us to follow him, the rain began in earnest, with the branches above us creaking and thrashing dangerously. I knew that if the storm didn’t kill us directly, exposure might.”

“Luna and I helped the injured wolf through the storm, lifting paws over roots and tearing vines out of the way with our horns. By then we were all soaked and muddy, covered in foliage and sap. Then Teryn stopped and used his horn to illuminate what he’d found. There was a large tree in front of us, taller and larger even than the tree that makes up this library. Its roots arched out of the ground, and I saw room underneath where we could all squeeze in. So we crawled into the space underneath the tree, dragging ourselves through the mud and trying not to catch our horns on the tree bark above us. Then the four of us huddled together for warmth. Gusts from the storm drove rain, bits of dirt and leaves against us even under the tree’s protection, and we occasionally heard massive, shuddering crashes whenever a nearby tree was overcome by the might of the hurricane. I tried keeping a protective bubble up around us, but I lacked the strength to keep it up for long.”

Celestia laughed a bit then. “That should have been a long, miserable and sleepless night. Instead, I found myself dreaming in no time. I dreamt of relaxation and contentment. I dreamt of cold drinks on a hot day, of rare moments when our family was together. And then I dreamt of endless rolling fields of flowers under the glow of a loving sun. I remember, as I turned my face into the sunshine, I felt an unspoken question, just a vague sense of curiosity about me. About whom I was and what I cherished. As if in answer, I felt a deep and unwavering love for the world, and the sun that shined upon it. I felt something shift, as though the world had dropped out from under me, and I startled awake.”

“The first thing I noticed was that the storm had ended. The sun shone down strongly through holes in the jungle canopy above our hiding place. Everything around us looked windswept and wet, except for our little makeshift den; it was warm and dry for some strange reason. The second thing I noticed was just how absolutely alive I felt. The green around us looked so very green, and the brown of the dirt looked really brown, as though I could see the richness of the soil. I could sense the deep vitality of the tree sheltering us, and its slow satisfaction at having weathered the storm. It was like another sense, a new dimension layered on top of the world I’d been living in. It was like I’d been deaf and blind my entire life.”

“The third thing I noticed, when my siblings stirred awake next to me, was that we were all curled up next to a statue. The wolf had turned to stone during the night. Teryn pulled a couple of our bandages off of the figure before us, and we could see the injuries from the night before etched into the stone. To this day, I have never learned who or what that wolf was, nor have I unraveled the mystery of the power it bestowed upon the three of us that night. Yet when we returned to Pejas and our home, we were all transformed. Magic became as simple as breathing, and whenever I closed my eyes, I found I could feel the world around me. We all could. We stayed up all that night, trading stories of what we dreamt under that tree and trying out our new powers. When Luna found she could lift our entire house, I urged us all to stop. I thought our power should stay a secret until we understood it better.”

“Within days of the storm’s passing, rumors began to spread about a darkness that had taken root in our jungle. Rumors of dark and twisted plant life, rumors of faceless and violent creatures stalking the underbrush. Ponies going missing, ponies going mad, all sorts of evil. Everypony called it a curse, but the three of us had another theory. Luna, Teryn and I had figured that the wolf we’d found wasn’t from our world. We’d decided that, before it passed its power on to us, it must have had all that power at its disposal. Not only that, but it had fought something dark and terrible, and it had lost. And we were worried for another reason. Father never came home. None of the wardens sent out that day returned. The official report classified them as missing, but we weren’t convinced. We somehow knew we had lost our father in that same struggle we’d witnessed when we should have been indoors.”

Celestia hesitated, shifting uncomfortably. Everyone met each other’s eyes nervously. Spike had half of a doughnut dangling from his claws, apparently forgotten. Rarity glanced anxiously out of a window, as though the dark of night concealed something dangerous. Even Pinkie Pie kept quiet. The Princess continued. “You must understand, as the darkness slowly spread towards our city we tried everything we could think to try. The shields we constructed were eaten away. The light we summoned was absorbed or dispelled. The creatures corrupted by the curse fought anything that approached them. We failed to learn much of anything about this being ponies had taken to calling Varkur. In our language back then, it just meant The Darkness. We failed to understand it, and we failed entirely to stop it. You see, eventually we discovered that it was moving toward our city. Incredibly slowly, as slowly as grass grows. We spent years trying to fight it, slow it down, divert it. We constructed barricades in the jungle using all sorts of materials, all of which it eventually ate through. I remember at one point Teryn, Luna and I joined our new powers together and opened a deep chasm, a rift we’d hoped this Darkness might fall into. It seemed to work. It took almost an entire season for the thing to work its way back to the surface. But it just kept coming.”

“We knew where it was headed. The Celestial Temple in Pejas was built around a mote of light embedded in a strange rock formation. Some said it was a star fallen to the planet, or a shard from a fallen star. Others believed it to be a place where the life of the planet touched the surface. We didn’t know what would happen if Varkur slithered its way into the temple, but we knew it would be bad.”

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Couldn’t you just move the shard? Or whatever it was?”

Celestia shook her head gravely. “By the time the darkness reached the city walls, Pejas had been long deserted. With only the three of us left in our home, we were free to try whatever we wished. We wound up breaking apart the entire temple and about a dozen homes trying to move the shard, but it was beyond what we could touch. At the last, Teryn told us of a desperate plan he’d come up with. He wanted to teleport into the heart of the Darkness, try to find Varkur or whatever being lay at the center, and teleport them both as far from Pejas as he could. With his new power, he hoped he could at least survive the attempt. Luna was livid, and screamed his foolishness in his face. I was torn, unable to think of a better plan. I hesitated, and taking that as my support, Teryn vanished. Luna followed him. All I can say was that it seemed to work. The darkness dissipated. The monsters wandered away. And Luna was left alone near the city walls.”

“She was never quite the same. I don’t know that she ever forgave me for letting Teryn go. Especially since we never saw him again. He was gone, just like Father. Luna and I split up. She insisted. And we travelled Galur and all the lands beyond, one ocean to the other. We tried warning ponies and any other creatures we met of the danger we’d faced, but it was difficult to sound credible. We also scoured the land for any artifacts of magic or power we might use. Over three hundred years passed before Varkur returned to Pejas, but it finally reached the ruins of our Celestial Temple. We never managed to stop it. It took another hundred years, but eventually the wind stopped blowing. Rain stopped falling. Days and nights grew longer and longer. Eventually, the world stopped turning at all, and the sun sat on one horizon while the moon peeked above the other, neither rising nor setting. I don’t remember how long the world stayed that way. It was weeks, maybe months before Luna and I discovered that together, with the right kind of nudge, we could keep the world spinning. I’ve had 11,000 years to get used to the idea, but when I recall that day I still remember the fear I felt. The fear that we were witnessing the end of all things. It still troubles me to think that our world is no longer alive, if it ever was.”

“Every year we lost ground. We kept everypony we could away from the encroaching Darkness, but more and more ponies felt they had to see it for themselves. I think it must have called to them, usually in the night. Most never returned. We fought to keep our communities, and we ran when we couldn’t. Finally, there was no place left to run, and too few of us to make a difference. So we travelled across the great ocean hoping to find a refuge, someplace safe. Instead, we found Discord.” Celestia sighed heavily. “It was clear right away that Discord had something to do with the Darkness in our homeland. Their powers feel so similar. Maybe Discord inherited his power from Varkur the same way we were empowered by that strange wolf. As terrible as Discord was, however, he was only a shadow of the true Darkness we had faced. He was a dangerous prankster, seeking mischief rather than slaughter, but at times his results were the same. Together, Luna and I were a match for that corrupted draconequus. And the rest I believe you all know well enough.”

“Since then, my sister and I agreed that nopony should be allowed to venture across the ocean. We tried to eliminate all knowledge and record of the world as a whole, and we worked hard to acquire or disable any transportation that stood a chance of traversing the ocean. All the while, we worked to make of our lands a safe haven, a place where sunlight and joy could be defended to the last. A place where friendship and life and love were the most important things. We needed to find a way to grow strong enough to resist the Darkness when it appeared on our borders. Yet strangely enough, it never did. We waited thousands of years, and all we saw were the occasional threats, like the changelings. However, I think the brief moments Luna spent in the Darkness changed her, infected her mind somehow, because she eventually seemed to lose herself. When I banished her to the moon, I thought I had lost her forever. Yet she is restored to me, and I have all of you to thank for bringing my sister back.”

“That brings me to tonight. I need to find out what is going on. I need to return to our homeland. Perhaps this evil is gone, or perhaps it cannot cross the oceans for some reason. But I have a bad feeling that things are not quite so simple. I’m afraid things may be worse than I fear, and I need to know for sure. However, with this recent attack on Canterlot I cannot leave my subjects undefended. Therefore, Luna will stay to protect Equestria, so I am asking you all to accompany me on my trip. I intend to cross the ocean, discover what has become of my homeland, and return. I hope you all will come with me and assist me should I need the help. That’s all I can ask of you.”

The hour had grown very late during the Princess’s story, and a few of the lit candles had already gone out. The friends stirred as they glanced at one another. Twilight’s joints creaked a bit as she adjusted herself on her cushion. “But your Highness, why me? Why us?” She asked.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia spoke warmly. “In 9,000 years of students I believe you are the most gifted unicorn I have ever met, and the bond you share with your friends is more impressive yet. Together, you ponies have faced more disaster and evil than most have seen in a couple of lifetimes. I dislike risking your lives, and I dislike even more admitting that I may need help on my trip, but the truth cannot be avoided. Should you all agree, I will arrange transportation through Manetreal and on to Nova Coltia, where I will have a ship ready. I will meet you all there with the Elements of Harmony. And from there I will show you how I plan to cross the ocean.” Celestia looked around the room, waiting for the friend’s responses.

Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate. “I’ll go. That is, if Twilight’s going.”

Twilight nodded. “If you need me, Princess, of course I’ll go.”

Rarity agreed. “I’d be happy to help in any way I can.”

Applejack nodded. “Count me in. Although I’ll need to find somepony to help Big Mac look after the farm.”

“Then we’ll all go together, right Spike?” Pinkie Pie pulled Spike in with a hoof and hugged him until his eyes bulged. Whatever he was going to say squeaked into nothing as Pinkie Pie squeezed the air out of his lungs.

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t want Spike to go. He should stay here.”

Spike gasped in a breath as Pinkie Pie dropped him. “Wait, why?” He sounded hurt.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash jumped in. “Why not Spike?”

“He’s too young for this sort of thing.” Twilight insisted. “This could get dangerous! Weren’t you listening to the story?”

Spike looked both hurt and angry. He looked to Celestia for support. Celestia said. “I believe Spike is mature enough to decide for himself. Besides Twilight, you and I both know why you will need him with you.”

Twilight looked like she might charge the Princess right there. Her eyes were narrowed, head down and she leaned forward. Then Celestia’s words seemed to sink in, and Twilight closed her eyes. She swallowed and nodded. Then, with the exception of Twilight and Spike, everyone looked towards Fluttershy.

“Of course I’ll go.” She whispered. “You’re all my very best friends.” Rarity smiled and put a hoof on her shoulder.

Princess Celestia stood, stretching her legs and her wings. She dispelled her shield with another soft pop, and she spoke again. “Thank you all. I promise I will do everything in my power to keep us safe. I must go and make preparations, and I suggest you all do the same. In three days time I’d like you to be at the Ponyville train station at dawn. There you will take the train east through Baltimare and towards Manetreal. I will gather the Elements and meet you all in Nova Coltia.”