“Twilight! Where are you?”
Twilight swatted at the sunlight pouring in through the window. With her eyes still closed, she turned her face away from this annoyance.
“Twilight!”
Her eyes opened in surprise, and she was blinded. The noise of Spike calling her in the morning was something completely foreign to her. Trying to gauge her surroundings, she noticed that she was not in bed, but rather at her desk. After a moment of confusion, her eyes focused enough to see the book still open sitting peacefully on the wooden table.
“I’m here!” Twilight tried to shout, but only a weak voice came out.
Spike came into her bedroom with a puzzled look on his face. “You were still sleeping? What’s gotten into you? You always wake up at the crack of dawn!”
Twilight just blearily got out of bed and simply said, “I guess I fell asleep reading last night. What’s the matter?”
“The matter… Oh! You mean this!” He unraveled the scroll that he was conducting in the air with. Spike cleared his throat. “An urgent letter from the Princess…”
Twilight’s eyes widened. She was definitely awake now. “What does it say?”
“Nothing much. It just says ‘Come to Canterlot as soon as you receive this-’”
Before Spike even finished his sentence, Twilight swung him onto her back and was already trotting down the stairs.
Twilight silently stared out the window of the train, watching the verdant Equestrian landscape flowing by. On her face was a slightly troubled look. Canterlot was not yet in sight, and Ponyville had just disappeared over the horizon. Between the two cities lay mostly uninhabited grass meadows. The air was unnaturally still today, as the blades of yellow and green barely shook.
Spike was aware of this silence, and wanted to tread carefully around its fragility. “Don’t worry Twi, I’m sure it’s nothing too bad if the Princess didn’t send her guards to take us to the castle.”
Twilight sighed, partially in anxiety, partially in exasperation. “I know that Spike. I don’t worry as much as I used to because I’ve learned from the couple of… accidents we’ve had.”
Spike took this as a good sign, and inwardly congratulated Twilight from learning from past experiences.
But Twilight had been worrying. Every possible scenario ran through her mind. What if the Princess was in a situation where she could only send such a short note. What if she’s being held hostage? That’s stupid Twilight, the Princess has guards. But it’s happened before hasn’t it? Oh, why couldn’t the Princess have just sent an explanation with the letter? Unless…
Twilight tried to push these thoughts into a well-hidden compartment of her brain, but she always seemed to find them again. Trying to sound as natural and as composed as possible, she asked Spike, “So… why do you think we’re being called on such a short notice?”
Spike could hear the obvious strain in her voice, and he rolled his eyes. “Like I would know. I’m only the messenger. But it seems like we’ll find out soon enough.”
The train rounded a bend and the majestic capital of Equestria came into view. Twilight Sparkle noted that it was still in one piece.
Trying again to set a good example of being calm in the face of the unknown, and failing, Twilight said, just above a whisper, “I guess we will.”
Twilight practically rushed into the throne room. Upon seeing her mentor, she greeted her by shouting, “Princess, all you alright?”
Hearing the voice of her most faithful student, she turned and smiled warmly with only a hint of amusement in her face. “Why of course! It’s a lovely day, isn’t it? I see you’ve received my message and arrived promptly. I apologize for not stating a reason for calling upon you, but I didn’t want you to be troubled on the way here.”
Twilight could only weakly grin and say, “No problem at all, Princess.”
Celestia took on a more solemn expression. “Spike, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to speak alone with Twilight for a while. I’m sure she will inform you of everything in good time, but for now I would like to ask you to depart for a while.”
“Sure thing, Princess!” A guard escorted Spike out of the room.
She turned to Twilight once more. “I think, for the matters we have to discuss, it would be better if we were in somewhere less grandiose, and where we would be less likely to be interrupted.”
Twilight simply nodded and followed Princess Celestia. They took a short walk down to the end of the corridor, and into an empty room. It appeared to be a conference room, large, but much cozier in comparison with the lofty throne room. A semicircular table dominated the room, with a podium resting at the center. Celestia took a seat and motioned to the seat next to her for Twilight.
After they both got situated, the room was quiet. Deep in thought, Princess Celestia broke the silence by asking Twilight, “Would you like some tea?”
Of course, Twilight replied that she would.
A teapot and two teacups appeared. As Princess Celestia poured the tea, and the sound and smell of steaming water rose into the air, they both seemed to relax a bit, and the air seemed to become lighter.
Celestia began cautiously, “Have you visited your old home recently?”
Twilight felt the sharpness of guilt poke at her insides, and she hung her head. She meant her childhood house, the one she lived in before she became student to the Princess of the Sun. “No, not since arriving at Ponyville.”
This information did not surprise her. “Understandable. You have been busy. Surely you’ve seen your parents since leaving though?”
Not liking where this was headed, Twilight bit her lip. “Oh, yes. Many times. They were at the wedding, of course, and they would occasionally visit me in Ponyville.” As an afterthought, she added, “Are the okay?”
The Princess was quick to reply. “Pardon my memory. Yes, your parents are most certainly fine.” She paused for a second. Twilight opened her mouth as to speak, but decided against it, instead nodding her head to encourage Princess Celestia to continue. “I do bring regrettable news though. Last night, a fire broke out in your parents’ house. They woke up from the smell of smoke, and they managed to escape safely, but the fire was already beyond control. Most of what could have burned in your house did burn. Most of the recognizable remains consists of slightly deformed pieces of your old scientific apparatus.”
Twilight stared at a dot on the wall, dazed by this information. Although there was still so much that remained unclear, she had a priority at the moment. Twilight murmured, “Then where are my parents staying?”
“They are being housed at the castle at the moment. Would you like to see them right now?”