//------------------------------// // Episode 16: "The Lost Royals" // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 10 // by twilightsparkle3562 //------------------------------// … "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" Season 10, Episode 16 "The Lost Royals" By Jeff Snyder (TwilightSparkle3562) Edited by SuperPinkBrony12 … It had been over a thousand years since two very special ponies had disappeared from Equestria. Not long after Equestria's greatest enemy had been defeated by them, they had simply vanished without a trace, leaving their young daugters to ascend to the throne in their place. So it had been, until one night while in a cave not far from Ghastly Gorge, Equestria's most powerful sorcerer was awakened by a strange noise. "Starswirl…Starswirl…" Waking up, Starswirl the Bearded dashed to the cauldron that he used to practice his spells and incantations, trying to hear the noise coming from within. "Could it be?" He gasped, trying to cast an amplifying spell on the pot. "King Cosmo?" The faint male voice continued to repeat Starswirl's name several. But after a few moments, Starswirl managed to hear the voice loud and clear. "Starswirl, can you hear us?" The male voice asked again. "King Cosmo, I can hear you!" Starswirl cried, talking into the cauldron. "I can hear you from inside the ether!" "We are…not…in the ether!" King Comso replied. "We have... been imprisoned…" Starswirl's eyes widened with shock on hearing this. "You are imprisoned?!" He cried in disbelief! "Where are you being held…? Say the word and I shall assemble a rescue party to free you!" "We... are being held in a prison…" The voice of King Comso weakly answered. "What prison?! I need a location!" Starswirl demanded! "Without one I cannot hope to free you!" "We don't have time to explain!" A female voice coming from the cauldron protested. "Please... tell our daughters that we are alive, and are…" Suddenly, Starswirl heard other voices joining the two he was trying to hear. "You are what?" He demanded. When he heard no reply he began to grow impatient. "Your majesties, what is happening?! Please, answer me!" But at that moment, Starswirl heard the sounds of the beginning of a struggle! As quickly as the transmission had begun, it ended. "Hello? Hello?" Starswirl called, but there was no response. Looking up from the cauldron, the old wizard could only sigh deeply in despair. "After a thousand years, the king and queen of Equestria…have been heard from again. But how?!" … … Meanwhile in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were busy overseeing the final preparations for an important new festival in Equestria. A festivalcreated by Twilight Sparkle herself to acknowledge two very important ponies in her life. "All right," Twilight commented as she gathered her friends and fellow princesses into a huddle in the center of Canterlot. "Have we managed to get everything ready for the festival?" "Sure have, Twilight," Applejack replied, hoofing Twilight a checklist. "All the food's been made and taste tested. Made sure that there was nothin' bad in it." "What are you talking about, Applejack?" Pinkie Pie laughed while leaping into the air in excitement. "The food's perfect. I should know, I taste tested it myself." Having heard this, Twilight then turned to Rainbow Dash. "What about the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash?" "They've been doing a lot of practicing for the flyover tonight, Twilight. It may be just a simple flyover, but I know how important this is to you. They're in tip top shop!" Rainbow replied with a salute. "And the ballroom is ready for the festival's gala," Rarity added while a measuring tape was coiled lovingly around her neck. "Along with all of our gowns of course. I couldn't have done it without the aid of Kerfluffle. I got to tell you that it was nice of you to let her help me prepare the dresses for the gala on such short notice. But with Coco mentoring Pistachio I was a bit shorthoofed, and Yona isn't quite ready to take the reigns on her own just yet." "It was my pleasure, Rarity. And Kerfuffle seemed to greatly appreciate the offer. She said she's available anytime you need her for any kind of fashion emergency," Twilight smiled, before turning to Fluttershy. "And how's the petting zoo coming along, Fluttershy?" "All set," Fluttershy answered. "The Ewes from the Crystal Empire are very eager to be petted, Twilight." "Great!" Twilight proudly declared as her wings flutterd outward in delight. "We should have everything ready in time for the festival tomorrow, everypony! And you all know how important this is to Celestia and Luna." "Yeah," Pinkie Pie offhoofedly remarked. "And after what happened with the last onceversary…" Twilight couldn't help but wince at her pink pony friend's reminder of the last time she had tried to do something nice for a special occassion for Celestia, especially on such short notice. To say the onceversary play with Celestia starring in it had not worked out well would be an understatement. Though only those closest to the production knew how troubled it had been. "Yeah, that," Twilight muttered, before turning her attention towards the festival's preparation's once more. "Okay, let's do final checks for the day and then rest up for the festival tomorrow, everypony. This time we're going to celebrate the onceversary the right way!" And then breaking up, the six princesses went back to their assigned duties. … Meanwhile, at the School of Friendship, Luster Dawn was in the student lounge trying to unwind after another long day of learning, when Cherry Tomato came towards her. "Hey Luster," He spoke up while not subtly sitting next to her. "Just wanted to see how you were doing after your test in loyalty class." "Oh, uh... t-thanks for the concern, Cherry," Luster Dawn briefly stammered. "I don't know why, but I seem to struggle with some of these classes. Guess I have a lot more to learn about friendship than I thought." "Well, it's only been about a month or so since you started here," Cherry Tomato remarked as Luster Dawn looked over at him. "Give it time, I'm sure you'll improve. Anyways, I hope you're looking forward to the Festival of the Two Sisters in Canterlot tomorrow." "I am. And it was nice of Princess Twilight to rename the Summer Sun Celebration in Professor Celestia and Professor Luna's honor, even if they were princesses when the renaming took place," Luster commented. "Just serves to remind us that we have two living legends for teachers." "Living legends?" Smolder called from another part of the lounge. "They're way more than that! These are the ponies who personally mentored Twilight and the others. And now they're mentoring us." "Well, not in the same way as they did for Twilight," Ocellus spoke up. "Even though we've known them for a short while as our professors, it seems like they have done more for us than we could have possibly imagined. But we seem to not know the whole truth about them or their past." This caused the small group to glance over at Ocellus. "What?" Ocellus asked, confused by the looks she was receiving. "Surely that Celestia and Luna must have had parents or guardians like us. But they've never mentioned them even briefly." "Uh, they are over a thousand years old," Smolder remarked, her arms crossed over one another. "I would assume that their parents are probably dead by now." "Actually they're not," Luster Dawn spoke up, showing everyone a book she had been reading. "According to this book, Professor Celestia and Professor Luna's just…disappeared over a thousand years ago, before Luna was banished to the moon. Heck, before Luna and Celestia were even ruling Equestria." Gathering around, all looked at the paragraph Luster had been reading. The passage confirmed what she had said, but the information was a shock to all. "Hmm," Cherry Tomato remarked while getting up and walking over towards a window, looking out on the school's courtyard. "It makes you wonder. Could they still be alive, somehow?" "Who knows?" Luster Dawn replied. "If they disappeared over a thousand years, what makes you think they could be found again? They left behind no traces of their presence or clues to their whereabouts." … At that very same moment, Luna was sitting at her desk alone in her empty classroom, deep thought. But her solitude wouldn't last for very long as she heard a knock at the door. "Luna?" Celestia called from the other side of said door. "Can I come in?" "Oh, uh, sure, sister. Do come in." Luna replied even as she let out a deep sigh at having her train of thought interrupted. Opening the door, Celestia walked into Luna's classroom, immediately taking notice of the distressed look on Luna's face. "I…uh…just wanted to see how you were doing, you know with our festival coming up and all," Celestia casually commented while approaching Luna's desk. "But I guess you're thinking about something else, aren't you?" "How did you know?!" Luna defensively asked, appearing to grow suddenly flustered! "I'm your older sister, Luna," Celestia calmly answered. "I'm allowed to guess your feelings, aren't I?" Then she asked quite bluntly. "You're thinking about Mom and Dad, aren't you?" Celestia couldn't help but notice a small tear trickling down Luna's face. She managed to catch the tear with her large wing. "Celestia…" Luna started to say, but struggled to finish her sentence. "Do you think that maybe…they're still alive... somewhere, somehow? Part of me thinks that…they aren't dead. They never found anything definitive. Maybe they were banished like I once was?" "You know that every area of Equestria was covered, Luna," Celestia sighed, pulling up a chair to sit next to Luna. "There hasn't been a trace of them, and nothing to indicate where they might have gone. But even I can't help but think that they're still alive, somehow. Maybe being held somewhere where it would impossible for us to find them. We will hopefully know the truth about what happened to Mom and Dad one day. And let me tell you, Luna, when we do it will be the biggest family reunion anyone's ever had! One way or another, we'll be together again!" The two former princesses gave each other a sad glance and embraced. Thinking about the unexpected and unexplained absence of their parents so long ago still stung. It was a wound that had dulled but not faded with time. … Little could the princess have known that at that very moment, far away, Starswirl had sent out a message for the other pillars to come to his cave as quickly as possible. "We got your message, Starswirl!" Flash Magnus declared as he landed in front of the wizard. "Are you absolutely certain that King Cosmo and Queen Galaxia are alive? I can't simply abandon my duties for what could do a wild goose chase." "Aye, lad, I'm hoping this ain't a dead end either. Finally got to settlin' down in Ponyville so all the wee ones could hear me stories whenever they wanted." Rockhoof remarked. "I am aware of your responsibilities, my friends," Starswirl replied, gathering them all in front of the cauldron. "But tonight, I know I heard their voices coming from inside the cauldron." The six pillars gathered around the cauldron, looking deep inside it. "How could that be possible?" Somnambula wondered. "If what are you saying is true, then you know there's only one creature with the power to make another's disappearance seem permanent." "Yes," Mistmane ominously added. "Not even my own magic would be enough to counter his." "Of course, none of us could stand up to you know who's power," Starswirl cautioned with a nod, turning away from the cauldron and towards a shelf containing a series of spells. "However, that doesn't mean we can't at least try to remain in contact with the king and queen. Or potentially mount a rescue if an opportunity should present itself." The rest of the pillars watched as Starswirl scowered through his shelf of spells. "You know, somepony should tell Celestia and Luna that their parents have been heard from after all these years. I know that Mother would've wanted somepony to hell her I came back from limbo if she'd lived long enough for my return." Mage Meadowbrook advised. "I'll tell them," Flash Magnus volunteered. "After all, I'm still captain of the royal guard in Canterlot. I've got Shining Armor's blessing to take over the role from him while he co-rules the Crystal Empire." "Don't forget that you work with Fizzlepop Berrytwist now, laddie," Rockhoof remarked. "She's not a pony you want to disappoint. I heard she still has that very short fuse of hers." "Don't I know it. It's boot camp all over again." Flash Magnus commented and briefly shuddered. "What we need to do right now is to prepare a line of communication between the king and queen, and ourselves," Starswirl declared while opening up a book of spells. "If we are to possibly launch a rescue mission, we must maintain communication with them at all times. In the meantime, we'll let Celestia and Luna know that their parents are alive and well." "But their festival is tomorrow," Somnambula remarked. "Don't you think that we should wait until after the Festival of the Two Sisters is done? I would hate to get their hopes up only for them to be dashed." "If we wait, then it might be too late and they will hate us for the rest of their lives for leaving them in the dark. After what happened with Stygian, I vowed to be more open and understanding to all close to me, the sisters included!" Starswirl sternly declared in an almost fatherly tone of voice. "Tomorrow, we leave for Canterlot and relay the news to them, no exceptions!" The pillars each took in what needed to be done, and soon the Festival of the Two Sisters would be overshadowed by this important news. … … The next morning, Twilight stood in her royal suite, admiring herself in the mirror and making sure she was presentable. "Everything seems to be working out well, Twilight," Spike commented as he stood next to Twilight in the mirror. "Ponies have been starting to arrive for some time now." "Where are they coming from?" Twilight questioned. "Oh, Saddle Arabia, Manehattan, Hope Hollow, the whole nine yards." Spike answered. "Good," Twilight nodded. "Is my speech over on my desk?" Flying over to Twilight's desk, Spike picked up the stack of notecards containing Twilight's speech for the festival's opening and gave them to her. "Right here, Twilight." "All right, everything looks to be in order for once. Just the way I like it," Twilight smiled. "Shall we make our way towards the city square?" She asked Spike. "Might as well. The others are going to be arriving soon too." Spike pointed out. So Twilight and Spike together left the royal suite and made their way down to the bottom of the tower where Fizzlepop was waiting. "Good morning, Princess," Fizzlepop bowed, saluting Twilight and Spike as they arrived. "At ease, Captain Tempest," Twilight instructed. "How's the security detail looking?" "Security is at full strength, your highness," Fizzlepop replied as a smirk crept across her face. "And I made sure Grubber didn't eat any of the food that's for the creatures attending." "I heard that!" Grubber growled as he tried to guide Big Macintosh as the stallion was pulling a cart containing a large cake with Celestia and Luna's colors through the streets. "You don't think that I would…eat this cake, right, Big Mac?" "Eee…yup!" Big Mac groaned while trying to keep his eyes on the cake. "Thanks for helping us out with carrying the cake, Big Mac. I know you're married now, but you're the only pony with enough strength to handle something like this. Trust me, you're being a very big help doing this." Twilight smiled, causing Big Mac to turn to Twilight and smile back at her. "No problem, Princess Twilight, happy to help," Big Mac replied before he stubbed his foot on a small rock, causing the cake to nearly fall over! Thankfully, Twilight used her magic to save the cake. "Where's the ballroom, by the way?" "To the right. And take it slow, there's plenty of time." Spike replied to his friend. Just then, the rest of Twilight's friends arrived on the scene, all of them adorned in their crowns and gowns. "You are dismissed, Captain Tempest," Twilight said to her captain as she saluted her before leaving. "But make sure that nocreature suspicious is allowed anywhere within the festival grounds. This time there will be no unexpected party crashers." "Yes, your highness. As you wish." Fizzlepop nodded and trotted away. Once her captain was gone, Twilight turned her attention towards her friends and fellow princesses. "Are the sisters coming?" She asked. "They'll be along in a bit," answered Applejack. "You know how Celestia and Luna like to make an entrance." Then at that moment, the six princesses heard a series of happy screams! They turned to see a familiar popstar coming towards them, flanked by two ponies in dark suits. "Songbird Serenade?!" Rarity gasped in surprise! "I can't believe you managed to get Songbird Serenade to come back after the whole fiasco with the Storm King, Twilight." "Well, it took some encouragement," Pinkie Pie replied, nudging Rarity in the side. "But she was willing to give Canterlot another chance. It may have helped that Applejack used her connections with Rara to get in touch with Songbird Serenade. Takes a popstar to know a popstar." "Princess Twilight?" Songbird asked, approaching the six princesses as Twilight stepped forward. "Hiya. Nice to see you again." "Thanks for coming back, Ms. Serenade. Glad you could make it." Applejack commented as Twilight embraced the popstar singer. "Hey, don't want to disappoint my fans," Songbird nodded. "By the way, Rara sends her regards." Applejack smiled at the mention of her old friend, Coloratura. If not for her it would've been impossible to contact what was still the biggest music sensation in Equestria. "We've got the stage all set for you to do your mic checks," Twilight told Songbird, before looking over towards her two guards. "And uh, we'll try and keep cake off of you this time." The two guards said nothing. "Don't worry about it, Twilight. If I get cake on me, I'll just laugh it off," Songbird replied with a faint chuckle, before she quickly composed herself. "But, uh, mind if I take in some of the festivities before I do my check? I didn't get much of a chance to see the city last time." "Of course you can. You're actually ahead of schedule. And I can't wait to see you perform again, I know you'll do great." Twilight said with a smile. … Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna were back at the Castle of Friendship and preparing to head over to Canterlot As much as they were looking forward to this day, they once again longed to know the truth about their parents. Luna was currently looking over at the picture of herself and Celestia with their parents. A picture taken when the two sisters were much younger. "It's too bad you can't be here to see this, Mother and Father." Luna thought to herself as she looked at the picture, pulling it close to her chest and closing her eyes in deep thought. However, her deep thought was interrupted with the sounds of knocking on her bedroom door. "I just wanted to see if you were ready to go to the festival, Luna," Celestia called as Luna placed the picture back on the shelf. A fact that did not go unnoticed. "Looking at Mom and Dad's picture again?" "Sister, I…" Luna tried to say, the words were hard to force out. "Part of me thinks that they're still alive…somewhere, somheow. There's…there's no doubt in my mind that something happened to them. I just don't know how or what could have made them disappear all of a sudden." Celestia understood her little sister's pain for their parents as she too looked at the picture. "It's been a mystery for me too, Luna. Not a day goes by that I don't think abou them and wish they were here," She sighed. "Maybe one of these days we'll learn the truth about their whereabouts. Even I feel like something happened to them, that there's more to their disappearance than meets the eye." Then, Celestia got herself an idea. "I'll tell you what, Luna," She suggested, draping a wing over Luna. "Once the festival is over, we can begin to find out the truth. We'll go to Starswirl and turn to him for advice on where to start. He was close to her parents, he'll know where they were likely to have gone." Luna couldn't help but feel slightly reassured by her sister's words. Suddenly, the two heard a loud series of knocks at the castle's front door! They raced down the stairs to find out what it was. Opening the door, they found Starswirl and the rest of the pillars on the other side. "Well, this is…unexpected." Luna remarked as Celestia could see the look of distress on her mentor's face. "Starswirl, what is it? What's wrong" Celestia inquired of the old stallion. "Celestia…Luna…" Starswirl, gasped, clearly trying to catch his breath from all the running he had done. "It's…it's your parents. We've…we've found them at last!" Both sisters gasped loudly at this development! … … "You found them, Starswirl?!" Luna excitedly asked, leaping up at Starswirl and causing Celestia to pull her back. "Where are they?! How did you get in touch with them?! Please, you must tell us!" "Calm down, Luna!" Starswirl ordered as Celestia allowed the pillars into the castle. "Let me catch my breath for a minute. I'm not young as you are." "But I want answers, Starswirl!" Luna protested! "Where are they and how did you find them?!" Shutting the castle door behind them, Starswirl sat down on the foot of the stairs and removed his hat, still trying to catch his breath. "First of all," He gasped. "They are safe. But, they're being held prisoner." Celestia and Luna's joy turned to worry. "Where?" Celestia asked. "They didn't say, I'm afraid" Starswirl replied, putting his hat back on. "But the message they sent was brief and to the point. Seeing as you are both my students, I felt like this information was important to tell you about as soon as possible." "Of course it's important," Luna retorted, stomping her hoof down. "Do you even realize how long we have longed knowledge of their whereabouts?! Where are they being held prisoner?" "I told you, Luna, they didn't say!" Starswirl cried out in a loud voice, giving a look to force Luna to calm herself down. "But they are still alive and…I think I know who's behind this." "Well…what are we going to do about it?" Celestia questioned her mentor. "Come on, Starswirl. You're supposed to know what to do. You always had the answers when Luna and I were younger and you were teaching us." "That's why we came here," Somnambula spoke up, flying over to the two sisters. "Because we believe..." But all of a sudden, Starswirl felt a surge of power in his horn and immediately activated his horn to get the magic out of him! "Starswirl, what is it?!" Flash Magnus cried as Starswirl struggled to control his magic flow! "What's going on!?" Letting out a loud yell, Starswirl fired his magic and collapsed, as the magic turned into a screen that showed a picture of a dark blue coated male alicorn and a white coated female alicorn both in Celestia and Luna's likeliness! They were standing in what appeared to be a dungeon cell. Both Celestia and Luna couldn't believe what they were seeing before them. "Mom?! Dad?!" Celestia gasped, her hoof placed to her face while Starswirl struggled to his hooves. "Alive?!" Luna could only stand in shock and amazement at what had just transpired! "Attention, Starswirl!" The dark blue alicorn coated spoke in a hushed voice. "We've managed to come up with a visual message spell from inside our prison." Groaning, Starswirl was helped to his hooves by Mage Meadowbrook and Rockhoof who then helped him over to the screen. "Mom?! Dad?!" Celestia cried again, her voice filled with anxiety. "It's us, Celestia and Luna! Where are you?! Please answer, we've been waiting for so long!" But, the two imprisoned alicorns didn't respond. "It's only a visual message," Mistmane told the royal sisters, much to their disappointment. "They can't see or hear you." "We have been transferred to a new prison," The male alicorn went on. "We have been moved by order of our captor. He says that as long as we remain in one prison, we remain a constant threat." Just then, a humanoid robot like figure appeared, banging on the cell. "Hey, shut up in there!" The figure called in a gruff tone of voice. "If you see our daughters again," The female alicorn whispered. "Tell them we love them and that we are all right…for now." "I said shut up!" The voice barked again. "Or I'll have to silence you both!" "We are being held by Grim…" The male alicorn began, but suddenly the message abruptly ended and went static. "What?! Who is holding them captive, Starswirl?!" Luna cried while looking intently at all of the pillars. "That's what we're trying to figure out ourselves," Flash Magnus answered. "Your mom and dad have been held prisoner even longer than we were in limbo." Both Celestia and Luna were dumbstruck by what they had just heard. Luna especially as she merely walked silently over to the stairs and sat down, lowering her head in sadness. "If they hadn't disappeared," She whispered to herself, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Then maybe I wouldn't have become Nightmare Moon to begin with." Walking over to her younger sister, Celestia sat down and draped a wing over Luna. "They probably…" Luna sobbed. "No, Luna. I don't think that they disappeared on account of that. Your corruption came on very suddenly only because I turned a blind eye to your suffering. And it wasn't anything related to that that made Mom and Dad go away." Celestia reassured her sister. "We have every reason to believe that perhaps," Starswirl went on, sighing heavily. "That when Gusty the Great helped us all defeat the first emperor of Equestria, he may not have been defeated entirely." Both Celestia and Luna gave each other a distressed look upon hearing this development. "Grogar?!" Luna gasped. "But…but, I thought that he was banished to the moon…like I was." "No," Starswirl shooked. "You were banished into the moon itself, Luna. Grogar and his minions were banished onto the moon." Celestia sighed heavily upon hearing this development. Her parents were not only being held captive, but they had made a grave error. "We've…we've got to do something," Celestia desperately said to the pillars. "We need to find Mom and Dad and bring them back! I don't care if we have to go to the moon itself and back!" "I…I agree with you, sister," Luna cried. "Mother and Father need to come home!" Feeling his students' pain, Starswirl realized that it wasn't as easy as the two sisters made it out to be, especially since they were being held captive in a different location. "We want to rescue them," Starswirl sighed. "However, this is going to take time…which we might not have very much of. For one thing, we need to find out who is now holding the king and queen captive. If for some reason they aren't being held captive by Grogar and we end up going to his castle, then there's no doubt that Grogar will have a trap set up. Plus, don't you two have somewhere you need to be?" At that moment, the sisters realized that they were already late for the festival named in their honor! "Twilight's going to be waiting for us!" Celestia realized. "She's in…" "I'm well aware of the festival, Celestia," Starswirl interrupted. "And I'm, aware that this day is important for the both of you. Go, enjoy your special day and be happy. Your parents would want that more than anything." "Starswirl," Celestia spike up while turning around to face the pillars. "Thank you for letting us know about our parents still being alive." "It was important to tell you both," Starswirl remarked. "But I have a feeling…this is going to be a very long task that we may not be able to do alone. Expect us to call on you again in the future." Hugging their mentor, Celestia and Luna left the castle and immediately headed for Canterlot while Starswirl and the rest of the pillars watched from the castle. … Back in Canterlot, the trumpets sounded as Twilight and her friends took the stage. A crowd of citizens watched from below. "Welcome, everypony and everycreature to the inagural Festival of the Two Sisters," Twilight announced into a microphone while the crowd cheered. "Today is the day that we honor two ponies who have always been there for us, and have been an inspiration to us all." From down below, Luster Dawn and Cherry Tomato could plainly see that their professors weren't on the stage. "Where are Professors Celestia and Luna?" Luster whispered. "Shouldn't they have been here by now?" "Something must be up," Cherry Tomato whispered back. "It's not like them to be late for a festival in their honor." "Now, without further ado," Twilight announced. "To open the Festival of the Two Sisters, it's now my pleasure to present to you…" Suddenly, Twilight and her subjects looked up to see a shadow covering the sun, turning out to be Celestia and Luna themselves. "You wouldn't want to start the Festival of the Two Sisters without us, wouldn't you?" Celestia cried out as the crowd cheered for the royal sisters while they landed on the stage. Grateful that they had arrived in time, Twilight hugged both of her mentors. "See, I told y'all they like to make an entrance." Applejack chuckled to the rest of her friends. "Thank you, Twilight," Celestia warmly smiled, before taking the microphone and addressing the crowd of ponies while trying to hide her emotions from before. "Before we begin, my sister and I are beyond humbled and honored at having a festival dedicated to us. We might have retired, but that doesn't mean we are to ever leave your lives for good. And now, we both hereby declare the Festival of the Two Sisters…" "Open!" Celestia and Luna both said as the crowd cheered loudly. Twilight looked to see Celestia and Luna both look up to the heavens and blow a kiss as the ceremonies ended, much to her confusion. "What is it, Twilight?" Spike asked as Celestia and Luna jumped off the stage to be with their former subjects. "Spike, did you see what Celestia and Luna just did?" Twilight asked her dragon assistant. "They just made an acknowledgement to the heavens, no big." Spike shrugged his claws. "But they've never done something like that before," Twilight pondered. "Do you think that maybe…?" "I don't think now is the right time for it," Spike commented. "But whatever it is, I'm sure it's nothing. Now, lets enjoy the festival, shall we?" Twilight followed her advisor's suggestion as she and her friends took part in the festivities. Her concerns were something that could wait for another day. … Meanwhile, up on the moon, Grogar made his way down into the dungeons of his palace and looked into an empty cell where Lieutenant Bray and a pair of donkey soldiers were standing at. "Have they been moved?" He asked his lieutenant. "The prisoners?" Lieutenant Bray remarked. "We did just as you requested us to." "Good," Grogar replied, looking into the empty cell. "The more we continue to move them between us and our ally, the more we send a message to Equestria that their beloved monarchs are believed to be dead. It will dampen their spirits and leave them weak and unprepared. Which will make it all the more fitting when we crush them and take back what is rightfully ours!" "How long should we have them stay with our ally?" Lietunenant Bray asked. "When I say it is time to move them again, until then they can stay where they are," Grogar replied. "Now…all of you get back to your post before I sacrifice you to Scarface. He's very hungry today." Acknowledging this, Bray and the two soldiers left Grogar alone at the cell. "Princess Twilight Sparkle and her meddlesome friends may habe have freed the pillars from Limbo," Grogar said to himself as he left the dungeons and returned to the throne room. "So they've more than likely learned the truth about Equestria's beloved monarchs being held captive by me! Well, I've always stayed one step ahead of them…and I will continue to do so," Looking down at his crystal ball, Grogar looked at a strange ship travelling through space and sinisterly chuckled to himself. "Thanks to the help…of my ally Grimlord and his ship…the Dark Fortress! One way or another, Equestria will be mine again!" … END OF EPISODE …