//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: From West to East // Story: Turmoil Rising // by JFT //------------------------------// One more night. Just one more night. Royal guard Brightmane kept telling himself that. It was a quiet night in the castle’s sculpture gardens. It always was. But that didn’t change the problem he had. After the debacle no more than a day ago, he had to help the captain of the guard fix the schedule that the princess forced him to change just for his sake, so now he had to help him rearrange the whole roster. And finally, with everything settled, he had one more round to deal with. One more night on his old nightly routine and he’ll finally be moved elsewhere. He passed familiar shapes of the statues, the shadows that were formed from the moonlight giving him no small measure of discomfort. Yet as he passed a familiar landmark, he realized that a very specific set of statues was missing. Perhaps tonight won’t be as bad as the ones before. Then he heard the rustling sound. He stopped dead in his tracks, his head slowly turning to sounds origin; it came from the bush next to him. He gulped, then slowly reached with his hoof for the foliage, preparing for the worst. The moment his hoof touched the leaves, a squealing sound came out, causing him to jump, and a squirrel rushed out of the bush, disappearing into the night. After a moment he let out a sigh of relief and trotted off. Maybe he got worried for nothing after all. As he made a considerable distance, however, a pair of teal eyes opened from the shadow. A small door opened on the side of the ground floor of the castle. Moppin, the young custodian apprentice had just finished the early part of his daily shift; cleaning out the staff rooms. It was his favorite and easiest part of the morning routine, as he knew the latter would give him nothing but headaches, especially with the regular custodian gone. But luckily for him, his fortune was about to change. He sighed as he opened the dustbin outside to dispose of the refuse. “Thank Celestia the boss is coming back from sick leave today,” he thought to himself, “because I don’t think I could face the princess again with that awkward situation.” As he made his way back inside, he heard a rustling sound. It came from one of the nearby bushes. He thought to himself that it was probably just a squirrel, but then he heard it make screeching noises. No way that was a squirrel. He lifted his broom and slowly approached the bush. He felt cold sweat running down the back of his neck. What horrors are being concealed from him? As he got in reach, he had his broom at the ready, slowly reaching out with his hoof to remove the foliage. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder! And in a moment of instinct, he swung his broom at his side. BONG! Wood came into contact with metal, letting out a resonating noise, followed by the sound of something heavy dropping to the ground. Moppin grimaced, realizing he’s just accidentally bashed a royal guard in the head. “Sweet chrimeny! Brightmane, I’m so sorry!” He reeled on the ground, the vibrations still resonating in his head. “Agh. What’s gotten into you?” “You scared me! Something’s hiding in the bush and I was going to…” he stopped as an opossum suddenly marched out of the bush, without a care in the world. Moppin turned red from embarrassment. “I hope that was worth it,” Brightmane said, as he spotted the animal walking away. “I’m so, so, so sorry, Brightmane,” the young custodian kept apologizing. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” The guard rose, still rubbing his head. “How about something for the headache you’ve just given me? That’d be a good start.” Mopping unlocked the door to the custodian's office and invited Brightmane to follow him in, hoping that he’d be able to lessen the tension caused by his own incompetence. The door shut behind. And as it did, a pair of teal eyes lit up inside the bush. The silence in the hallway of the castle was broken, as the door to the dragon’s room shut closed. He yawned. He got so used to the current routine of having an “automatic alarm call” wake him up that it ruined his sleeping schedule. This time around he had to be early for the task at hand. And if anything, at least he’d be able to spare Twilight the recurring nightmare. He knocked on the door. There was no response, so he entered the room. Princess Twilight lay in her bed, sound asleep, undisturbed. It seems that he got here just in time; she had not gotten to the bad part yet. He could see the moon from the balcony slowly beginning to reach the horizon. Time to wake her up. He climbed on to her bed and gently shook her. “Twilight, time to get up.” She continued to snore, so he tried again. “Twilight.” No reaction. Then her hooves started twitching and she began to make whiny noises. She’s entered the stage of her dream where everything turned bad. It was now or never! “TWILIGHT WAKE UP!” Spike yelled as he shook her aggressively. Her eyes snapped open. “I’M AWAKE, I'M AWAKE!” They stopped, looking at each other for a moment. “So how far did it get?” the dragon asked. “About the time when the NO sound came,” she said, still a bit groggy. She yawned as she walked down the corridor. She was spared the recurring nightmare for today, but it didn’t make sobering up any less easy. She’d have to, however. It was going to be a long day ahead and she needed to get back in time for the council meeting. “I’ll go ahead and tell the staff,” her companion said. “See you outside.” He disappeared around the corner, leaving the princess. She took a moment to recollect herself, before following. She got to the part where she would normally find a certain apprentice complaining about the door to the repository for magical artifacts being inaccessible, but seeing as how she was early, she was likely not going to encounter him… And just then, she heard grunting from around the corner and then coming down the hallway. A cleaning cart was being pushed by a unicorn cleaner, struggling, slowly approaching before finally stopping at the designated door. And just as he moved out of the way of the wagon and approached the door, he instantly froze solid, after realizing that Princess Twilight Sparkle stood right next to him. The tension was in the air for a few moments before the mare broke it. “Good morning to you too, Moppin.” Seconds passed before words finally came out of him. “G… good morning.” “You’re up earlier than usual.” The stallion was stumbling over his own words. “W… well, you see, I… I just figured that…” “Are you trying one more time to impress your superior before he returns?” she asked him. He meekly nodded. The princess sighed and focused her magic on the doorway, causing the intricate lock to turn and the gate opened. Moppin stared, visibly confused. “Just this one last time,” Twilight told him. “But in the future do try to be more organized.” “Emmm… thanks?” he said, as he went behind the cart and pushed it inside, his gaze intently focused on the princess until she disappeared through the door. She smiled and slowly trotted off to the castle yard. Twilight inhaled the fresh morning air. She wasn’t sure what it was that made her feel lighter than usual; either because she didn’t wear her daily royal regalia today and it made her feel less dragged down for a change, or because her advisor managed to wake her up before the dreaded dream fully set in. Regardless, it felt like today could only get better from here on out. Captain of the guard arrived at his usual morning site and found himself being surprised. He always arrived before the rest of the royal guard gathered. This time things went differently. The princess was already standing in the courtyard; something he had not anticipated. She explained to him the situation, and that she would prefer to have the reports from the guard from him this time around. He obliged. She got through the debriefing, not spotting anything out of the ordinary, other than that Brightmane did not report in yet, but according to the captain he’s always been late and has, as result, delivered his reports directly so far. From what Twilight gathered, it seemed the goings-on at the Everfree Forest haven’t reached Canterlot yet. All the better. The doors opened and Spike finally showed up. The princess dismissed the captain, and as he trotted off and the dragon got to her side. She noticed a distinct red glittery residue aground his mouth. “I wondered what took you so long.” “Huh? I dunno what you’re talking about,” he said just before he let out a low burp, noticing the residue falling off his lips and quickly rubbed them off. She smiled. “Of course not. So, how’s your wing feeling today?” The little dragon flapped his wings. He got off the ground, but after a while, one of his wings started to act up and fell to the side. “Nope,” he said rubbing his side, “it’s a no-go.” He found himself being lifted off the ground by a pink glow, as his older sister lifted him and nestled him on her back. “Then we’re traveling old school,” she said. “Hold on tight, Spike. It’s a long way to Vanhoover.” The dragon held tight. Twilight galloped off, opened her wings and they sailed off into the wide blue yonder. They traveled west, past Cloudsdale and over the Unicorn Range. The mountain range created a natural barrier, separating the heartlands of Equestria from its west coast. As they passed over it and went further north, a distinct change in the landscape became noticeable, as the spruce trees became increasingly numerous. Several hours had passed and Vanhoover eventually appeared in sight, but they immediately passed over it; their final destination stood further off the northern coast. Finally, it came in sight. A small settlement lay on the banks of the North Luna Ocean, houses littered all around the shore, nature shaping a natural harbor – Seaward Shoals. “Where do you think they live?” Spike asked as they circled over the village. “It’ll take hours before we finally find them.” “Or… maybe not,” she responded. On one of the shoreside islands, many houses were clustered together, but one of them stood out; it was big and half of it was painted with dark and light shades of blue, while the other half was bright, with the tones of white and yellow. And lastly, a distinct shape of sun and moon stood on the tips of the roof. “Wow, they’re… they’re really not trying to be subtle, are they?” the dragon quipped. They landed on the pier and walked over to the house that popped out. Once they reached the door, Twilight stopped herself; she was about to meet her mentor and her sister again, after not seeing or hearing from them in such a long time. She inhaled and exhaled, before knocking. A few seconds passed and there was no response. She knocked again… and still nothing. “Hello?” the mare called out. “Princess Celestia? Princess Luna?” There was still no response. She pushed the door of the house and they slowly swung open. It was completely dark inside, not a sound in range. The princess and her companion entered, but the latter had his doubts. “Maybe they’re out, Twilight? We should probably just wait for them.” “We don’t exactly have the luxury of time, Spike. We need their help.” She felt about with her hoof, trying to find if there’s a way to turn on the light source. She finally got something; it felt wriggly, thick, and… meaty? It coiled around her hoof and dangled off it. It was a mass of thick grey fur, a long snow-white muzzle, and tiny biddy eyes. It opened its giant mouth and let out a hiss. Twilight shrieked. She backed into Spike and they tumbled into the shaded part of the house, causing a lot of racket as the sound of broken wood and clanging metal objects could be heard all around them. “Get it off, Spike! Get it off!” she cried. “I can’t! I can’t see a thing!” In the dark she could still hear the creature’s hiss, desperately trying to not get bitten. She flailed about until it finally got tossed across the room… and stopped in midair. Her own and Spike’s movement stopped as well. The room suddenly got illuminated, except not in bright light, but one of a night-time shade. They suddenly saw a figure standing at the doorway, its eyes completely white as the world around turned to visible dark. And then, a loud boisterous voice followed. “INTRUDERS! YOU DARE INVADE THE LIVING QUARTERS OF THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT, AND THEN PONYHANDLE TIBERIUS? FOR THIS ACT OF TRANSGRESSION, YOU WILL BE SHOWN A VERY MODICUM AMOUNT OF MERCY-!” “Princess Luna stop, it’s me!” the princess of Equestria cried out. There was a moment of silence, as the dark shade around them dissipated and a light source finally turned on in the house. Both Twilight and Spike lay in a pile of coats and umbrellas, the brightness finally giving them reprieve to get themselves out of the mess. Now they finally saw the figure on full display: a tall, dark blue-furred alicorn stood in front of them, her mane, infused with magic, flowing as if being blown on by the wind, while wearing a blue shirt with giant letters on it, saying “Blame my sister”. “Twilight Sparkle?!” the gasp escaped her. “Hello, Princess Luna,” she meekly responded, “sorry for… crashing in like this.” “You know, if we had just waited a minute we could’ve avoided it all,” the dragon’s echoing voice came ringing from the regal horseshoe that covered his head. She glared at him, then turned back to the Mare of the Night. “I’m sorry, for wrecking your place, but when I tried to find a light I came across some kind of a monster that…” She finally realized what she actually saw, now that it was bright inside: that the monstrosity with grey and white fur was actually an opossum. Luna levitated him to her face and let it lay on top of her head before it scurried off and hid inside her mane. “Sorry, Twilight Sparkle, but Tibbles can get downright cranky when his nap is interrupted.” “Trust me, the feeling is mutual,” the dragon quipped, his sister giving him a look of confusion, whether he was talking about himself or her. “Princess Luna,” Twilight resumed, “again I apologize for coming in like this, but I would’ve let you both know in advance that I was coming to visit if the situation wasn’t dire.” The former princess walked in, picked Twilight and Spike up, levitating them into the house proper. The living room was completely illuminated by the sunlight, and in it was only a sofa and two chairs, next to it stood a kitchen with basic utilities. Other than that, there were two other doors between the area, likely the bedroom and a lavatory. The night mare plopped them onto the sofa, while she traipsed over the kitchen counter, took a mug, picked up a kettle, and poured in some tea. “Please make yourselves at home.” A few seconds of silence lingered before the former princess finally realized no words were spoken. “Well go on, tell me what it is.” “But, what about Celestia? She needs to hear this too,” Twilight said. “My sister’s not here,” she responded. “Oh… well, when is she coming back? Did she go for a walk with you and you’ve just come home early?” “No, Twilight Sparkle. What I mean is that my sister’s not in Seaward Shoals anymore. She hasn’t been for nearly a year now.” “WHAT?!” she screamed so loud it could be heard all over the village. Twilight was in a state of shock, so much so that Spike had to wave a blanket at her, as she hyperventilated. “HOW WHEN WHERE WHY?!” “Twilight, please, calm down,” the dragon urged her. “So where is Princess Celestia then?” He turned his head to face Luna, only to notice she had the whole cup spilled all over her face after the sudden shock burst. She shook her head, trying to shake off the moisture, before composing herself. “You know what my sister’s like,” she sighed. “Regal, confident and commanding?” Twilight’ responded, her breathing returning to normal. “No, I mean REALLY like, when she doesn’t have to put on a facade: restless, energetic, and indulgent. We came here soon after your coronation, Twilight Sparkle, and we got ourselves this lovely house, we even gave it a paint job to spruce up the place… although that one may have had questionable results.” “Well, you weren’t exactly difficult to find, that’s for sure,” Spike grinned. “Anyway,” she continued, “we've spent about three days here in a peaceful retirement… and that’s how long it actually lasted before she got into one of her moods again.” “Moods?” “Yeah, thirst for some action, to feel the adrenaline rush. Now that she was no longer restricted to Canterlot and we’re no longer bound to royal duties, she decided to go into overdrive with it. I wasn’t really against it, so we went on a little trip… and when I say a little, I mean we traveled across Equestria. And if you think it was tiring when we were only gone for a day, imagine what it was like when we were gone for almost a month. Sure, the slower pace helped since we were no longer in a hurry to experience what we’ve been missing after all the centuries, but that didn’t change the number of activities that piled up. So, after a month we finally got back and I was so exhausted I just dropped and told myself I wouldn’t get up for three days. You know what happened?” Twilight’s eyes shifted left and right after the silence lasted, realizing she’s awaiting a response. “It didn’t last?” “Exactly,” she confirmed. “The next morning, I got tossed out of bed, and she wanted to go on another excursion and I decided to stay out of that one; I was just too exhausted to go on again. So, she decided to go on her own. On the third day I finally got up, fresh as a daisy and I had the whole place to myself, and I figured that she’ll probably come back in a few days… And it turned into a week before she finally came back. And so, it continued, until we finally managed to balance it out, where we were going about for a week and came back for another week.” “So, what happened?” Spike curiously asked. Mare of the Night gave out a deep sigh. “I’m not sure exactly when, sometime in the second year probably, but Celestia’s started to become increasingly listless. At first, I thought it was just the feedback from all the activities we’ve been doing on the weekly basis, but then I realized that old yearnings started to creep up on her.” “Old yearnings?” Twilight was visibly confused. “Getting involved with ponies. Sure, she has this obsession with getting adrenalin fills, but she still wanted to participate in activities with everypony else, ones that involved building lasting friendships. So, one day she said she wanted to go off on her own for a week or so, but then I didn’t hear from her for nearly a month. That’s when I got a letter, saying she’ll be away for a while. And… this is where I am now… alone, with Tibbles.” “I’m… so sorry,” the princess was nearly brought to the verge of tears. “I can’t imagine how lonely you must feel.” “Twilight Sparkle, please don’t mistake,” she intervened. “We’ve not grown apart. I still hear from her on regular basis. But at the same time, I cannot interfere in her work, now that she’s been at it for months on it.” “What exactly is she doing?” Spike curiously asked. “She's directing a stage play.” A gasp of delight came from Twilight. “What?! No way! This is huge!” but then she realized something. “Wait… if that’s the case, wouldn’t there be news all over the place? How come I haven’t heard anything about it? All of Equestria knows Celestia. “ “And that’s precisely the reason why nopony’s heard about it,” Luna explained. “With my sister’s reputation, she wouldn’t be able to work in peace. She may not be a ruler anymore but ponies still revere her to the point where it becomes detrimental to concentration and productivity.” She levitated a newspaper on the table over to them. “Look at the front page.” Spike grabbed the paper and spotted an ad at the bottom, featuring an image of a regally dressed black-maned stallion unicorn, and an equally regally dressed bright-maned mare in a romantic moment: Briddleway Production presents THE KING AND I A comedic drama of a princess and her sorcerer sidekick, visiting a parallel world, where she falls in love with a unicorn king, whose own world counterpart is an evil tyrant. Was their love destined to end in tragedy from the start? Written and directed by Tia Sunbeam “Tia… Sunbeam…? Who’s that?” Spike asked, confused. Before Luna could respond, the mare sitting next to the dragon immediately pointed out. “That’s her, Spike! Tia, as in Celes-Tia, and Sunbeam… well, that one’s pretty obvious.” “You’re perceptive indeed, Twilight Sparkle,” the Mare of the Night nodded. “But… Briddleway? As in Manehatten’s Briddleway? That’s on the other side of the country!” Spike pointed out. Twilight jumped off the sofa. “Princess Luna, we need to get to Manehatten and I need you to come along. Spike, let’s go.” “But, it’ll take at least twice as long to get there, Twilight. It will take the whole rest of the day.” “Then we’ll just have to teleport there. I was trying to conserve magic, but the situation is such that I’ll have to go through with it. “Halt, Twilight Sparkle!” Luna stopped her. She walked over to the wardrobe at the entrance into the house, picking up some of the mess on the floor and tossing a hat and a coat at the active princess, while dressing herself up and putting on glasses. “If we’re planning to go out in public, we need to look inconspicuous. If we attract too much attention it could ruin my sister’s anonymity, and the two of us, aren’t exactly the subtlest in appearance.” “Hey, what about me?” Spike voice his complaint. “I don’t think you need to worry yourself about standing out,” Twilight said until he started to pull a pouty face. “Princess Luna, another set please.” Dressed in coats, hats, and glasses, the alicorns and the dragon got together. The two’s horns began to glow in their respective magical auras and disappeared with a flash. FLASH! The trio materialized in an alleyway, but the loud voices of masses going about their business on the street was incredibly loud. They didn’t stand about for long; the clock was ticking and they had to find the missing sibling, so without further ado, they exited the alleyway and the wide streets of Manehatten’s theater district opened before them, now they just had to find the right place. Twilight remembered all too well, how giddy Celestia was last time when she got involved in a theatrical play, one of the few things in her life she never had a chance to experience, and by the end, she even managed to save the play from a complete disaster. Looking back now, she didn’t know if her joke about putting down her crown to devote her life to the theater was just that or a premonition of things to come. And now… she was living it. “Is this it?” Spike stopped, looking up to a theater. A giant sign sat above the entrance, reading: The King and I. Iron bars blocked the front doors. They walked to the side alley, where a door for the actors stood, a single giant muscle-bound earth pony barred the way, looking intimidating. “Erm, excuse me, sir?” Twilight said as she approached him. “We’re here to see… Tia Sunbeam.” The massive stallion’s eyes darted to her. “No admittance.” “Look, I understand that there are rules about not allowing just anypony to just march in on the theater practice,“ the princess pushed, “but this is a matter of great emergency.” “No admittance,” the strongman repeated. Twilight started to get worried. “But you don’t understand! This is a matter of national emergency! I must speak to her right now!” And once again the guard gave the same reply. “No admittance.” Luna bristled, shoved Twilight out of the way, and came face to face with the stallion. “KNAVE!” her boisterous voice echoed. “YOU DARE BAR OUR WAY WHEN THE SITUATION IS CLEARLY OVER YOUR HEAD? WE DEMAND AN AUDIENCE WITH THE DIRECTOR!” Her voice rang out of the alley, causing some of the passers-by to stop and observe the situation. “You know, maybe that was a mistake,” the dragon said, being aware of the situation. “Listen here!” the brute spoke more than just two words this time. “I don’t care what kind of emergency this is! I wouldn’t care if you were the Princess of Equestria, nopony’s allowed to-!” “What’s with all the shouting out there?!” a muffled-up voice called from the other side of the door. Luna’s ear twitched; she recognized that pompous tone in the voice. The door swung open and an old greying mustached unicorn appeared, wearing a red butler’s tailcoat, with a visible cutie mark of a pocket watch. “Well?” the unicorn questioned the bouncer. “Are you going to explain yourself?” His gaze then wandered off to the three disguised figures before him. The Mare of Night lowered her glasses and looked him straight in the eyes. “Kibitz.” There were a few seconds of pause before he finally made a response. “Ah… that explains it. Come in.” “Wait, Madame said- “ the guard protested, only to get shot down. “Never you mind what Madame said, Pecks. These are here on official business. Now get back to work,” the unicorn instructed him. The trio walked, as the door closed behind them. “Talk about the stroke of luck,” Luna said as they were led down the theater’s hallway, removing their disguises. “We thought that thunderhead at the door wouldn’t let us through.” “Pecks is just doing his job,” the unicorn explained, “you wouldn’t believe how many attempts at breaking an entry we’ve had. Some ponies are so noisy, especially with the mystery of this play’s director. It’s the current talk of the town.” “So, how’s life treated you, Kibitz?” the Princess of Equestria asked. “I’m surprised you decided to stay in service after all that’s happened.” “Your Majesty, “ he addressed her, “with all due respect, but my family had served the Canterlot royalty for generations. I would’ve been filled with shame if I hadn’t remained at the Princess… excuse me, Madame’s side after all these years. And besides, from what I understand you’ve found yourself a reliable replacement for my vacant position.” He glanced at the dragon to his side, a smile of recognition appeared on his face from hearing those words. They arrived at the door leading to the auditorium, Kibitz slowly opened them as to not make a noise. The seating area opened before them, probably more than five hundred seats. And in the far bottom in the first row, a fiery red bird was sitting on top of the seat and next to it they saw a multi-colored mane flowing in a constant motion. They quietly approached, Twilight hoping to surprise her, but her attention then wandered off to goings-on the stage itself. The backdrop represented a beautiful garden, with small strips of paper hanging from the trees all around. Then the two actors came on the stage, and they looked… suspiciously familiar. They walked over to a podium, pretended to write something down, then they looked at each other… and their foreheads touched; and just then, Twilight heard a choking sound slipping out of the figure in the front seat. The mare parted from the stallion, jumping through what resembled a portal, only to be met by… The Princess of Friendship stopped. She recognized the clothes pattern of the unicorn that’s just entered the stage; they may have been off-color, but she remembered stitching those same clothes herself once. The unicorn was furious, yelling at the mare, before “casting a spell” on the portal to close it. In the end, the mare ran off the stage, crying. “End scene!” a familiar voice finally came from the multi-colored mane in front. “Well done, everypony! Break time!” “So… how much of that have you embellished?” Luna made a snide remark. Celestia’s attention was finally grabbed and she turned her head. “Hello, Princess Celestia,” Twilight meekly waved. “Twilight?!” the former ruler’s voice gave out a clear sign of shock. Mare of the Sun jumped out of her chair and galloped to her former student and embraced her. A warm feeling started to rise in Twilight. She finally got to see her life-long mentor after such a long time. She repaid it with the same gesture. “It’s so good to see you again, my former pupil,” she said in a motherly tone, and as she parted her brow crook. “Say, something’s different about you. Did you finally start to “grow into my horseshoes”?” Spike interjected. “Three inches so far.” “My, talk about a growth spurt,” they chuckled, making the Princess of Friendship blush from embarrassment. “Sorry, if we came at an inappropriate time, Princess Celestia-“ Twilight was stopped before she could finish. “Please, you don’t need to refer to me by the title I no longer carry. Just Celestia. Or as I’m called in these circles, Madame Tia Sunbeam.” She chuckled. “I don’t think I’m ever gonna get used to not calling you that. Luna traipsed towards the stage looking about. “So, this is what you’ve been working on? Turning your life story into a play?” “Well, sort of. Most ponies don’t know about the misadventures of my youth, so I figured I could relate to them the tales of a naïve princess and her journey to when she finally becomes wise enough to lead a kingdom. Mind you, I had to change a handful of things to make the story flow better.” “Aren’t you afraid that somepony will squeal to the public on who “Tia Sunbeam” actually is?” “I’ve gone through all the necessary precautions,” she told her younger sibling. “All these ponies are under an oath of silence. But in any case, I’m delighted to see all three of you.” “I’m glad to see you as well, sister,” Mare of the Night stated, “but I would not have come all the way here if Twilight Sparkle hadn’t said it was urgent.” Celestia's expression soon changed to a more serious one, as she looked at the active princess. “Princess Celestia, I normally wouldn’t come to you when faced with a problem, but something’s happened back home. It’d be too long to explain full details here, and I don’t want anything to get out in public that could incite panic. So, I would like to ask you and Princess Luna to accompany me back to Canterlot.” Twilight waited a moment for a response from the former ruler, who seemed to have been in thought. “You’ve put me in a difficult position, Twilight. I and the rest of the team have been working on this play for months, the premier takes place three weeks from now and we’re making sure that nothing is out of place, and I’m risking my reputation on this.” A sense of unease washed over Twilight. What was she getting at? Was she actually declining her urgent call for help? “However,” she finally made her position clear, “I trust you enough to know you wouldn’t be here unless the situation was very serious indeed.” The little mare sighed in relief. “Kibitz!” Celestia called out. The unicorn arrived at her side. “Yes, Madame?” “Go tell the team that we’re closing down early for today. Urgent business in Canterlot.” “As you say, Madame,” the old stallion nodded. “Oh, and I’ll go to Silverbeak in person to tell him our meeting will have to be rescheduled.” The unicorn nodded again and walked off. “Before we set out,“ the sun mare told the trio, “there’s a little matter I need to deal with first, so I must ask you to accompany me until then.” Disguised under the coats, hats, and glasses, the group walked down the street of Manehatten and out of the theater district. “So, who exactly are we meeting?” Twilight asked. “An old acquaintance,” the former mentor explained. “We met some time ago. He works as a historian back in the Hippogriff Kingdom, and he asked me if I could pull some strings to help open a seasonal cultural exhibition in one of the museums in Manehatten.” A gleeful smile appeared on Twilight’s face. She still didn’t have time to see any more museums, and now another wing is being opened, this time on hippogriff culture. They finally got around the corner where the museum was supposed to be, only to be met with the flashing police lights and a gathered crowd. They moved through it up to the front and saw that the front door of the museum was busted down. The police were swarming all over the place. A couple of them were interviewing a group that seemed to be the museum's staff, but among them, one figure stood out: a grey hippogriff, with a beak as shiny as silver. “Silverbeak!” Celestia called. The hippogriff’s head turned and approached the shady group, but as he got closer, he recognized the tall bright “unicorn” mare. “Madame! You really shouldn't be out in public.” “I know,” she responded, “but my friends and I are in a hurry. I’m afraid we’ll have to postpone today’s meeting.” He sighed. “We might as well, considering the situation.” “What exactly happened?” Luna asked. “A break-in!” he told them. “Somecreature forcefully entered the museum last night and wrecked the entire hippogriff exhibition! We’ve had artifacts, going back as far as the founding of our kingdom and all the way to Storm King’s defeat! It’s an indescribable mess in there!” “And what exactly was stolen?” Twilight questioned. “No idea. The whole place has been turned over, almost as if they purposely didn’t want to give away what was taken.” “And you’ve got no suspects?” Spike wondered. “That’s… the unsettling thing,” the historian shifted. “There were eyewitnesses. They actually saw five creatures running by with a crate, but…” “But what?” Celestia waited for his response. “The perpetrators according to them were a dragon, a minotaur, a diamond dog, a griffin, and… a hippogriff. Why? Why in the world would one of our own want to steal our cultural artifacts?” Twilight could clearly see the distress on the poor historian; were he not already grey, he’d likely turn from worry. “I’m sorry, Silverbeak,” the sun mare tried to console him. “I can understand it’s not easy when somebody takes something precious for petty gain.” He sighed. “There’s nothing to apologize for, Madame. We’ll find them sooner or later. But I won’t waste any more of your time. When you’re back, do let me know when you’re ready to have a meeting again.” She nodded. “Good luck on your search, Silverbeak.” The Hippogriff nodded in return and walked off to talk to police officers. The group walked off as well, sneaking into one of the side alleys, away from prying eyes. “Okay, I think we should be good to go,” Celestia told them. “Alright,” Twilight said, “now we just need to get to my old castle to pick up some additional ponies.” The three mares looked at one another, nodded, and begun to focus on their magic. And in a flash, they disappeared. FLASH! The group finally appeared in front of Twilight’s old castle, and she could hear the sound of the Ponyville’s bell ringing, signaling the afternoon. All things considered, they’ve made a good time. “Okay, just need to get Starlight and the rest, and we can all- “ she was about to walk up the castle stairs only to bash her head against a solid object. “Who in the world put this tree in front of-!” She stopped after realizing what she just said. A tree was lying in the doorway of the castle; and not just any tree, it was Zecora’s hovel. What was it doing out of the Everfree Forest? Then she looked around and realized that wasn’t the only mess. The entire town was littered with dirt, branches, and strange white and black rocks. “Twilight, is that the problem you were talking about?” Luna asked, pointing into the distance. Twilight looked at the Everfree Forest and saw the darkness still rising far away. “Yes, it’s been rising over the forest since yesterday.” “What about the one at Canterlot?” Celestia asked. Canterlot? The Princess turned to face it and noticed black smoke rising from it. What in the world happened while she was gone? She focused her magic and instantly teleported all of them. They appeared on the street of Canterlot. Parts of the city were on fire and there were some injured guards on the street, receiving medical attention. She looked about, then her sight trailed over to the castle and noticed a purpled maned mare standing on top of the balcony. She seemed to have noticed her and ran off. Twilight teleported again, and at this point, all of the other three passengers were feeling a bit woozy from not receiving a prior warning. Twilight saw all her friends; the Elements and the School of Friendship faculty members standing on the far end from the edge of the balcony, with really concerned looks. “WHAT IN EQUESTRIA IS GOING ON HERE?!” Twilight let out a shout of frustration and confusion. While they finally removed their disguises, the tension was held for nearly a minute, before a voice broke it. “Ah, finally, the mare of the hour comes to resolve everypony’s problem, and on top of that she brought reinforcements.” Twilight recognized that sly, manipulative voice. She looked up and noticed a deformed shape, slouching in the stained-glass window. “Discord, what have you done?! Why does Canterlot look like in the aftermath of a battle?! Why is Ponyville messed up?!” she inquired in an angry tone. “Oh sure,” the form in the stained-glass moved, lifting it, and the Spirit of Chaos crawled out in his pure form, “blame all the mess on the Lord of Chaos, why don’t you.” He received glares, not just from Twilight, but also from Celestia, Luna, and Spike. “Okay, okay,” he relented, “while the mess TECHNICALLY is my fault, this happened for a good reason. Right… Starlight?” he looked at her with a smile. The Princess’s gaze drifted to her former student, who was bunched together with everybody else, giving her an awkward look. “Starlight? What happened? What did you tell him to do?” she questioned her. Before the headmare could speak, Discord jumped in again. “No, wait! I got a better idea. How about I show you instead?” He snapped his fingers, teleporting the four arrivals to the rest of the group, and nestled them all in the theater seats, while a giant screen expanded on the far edge of the balcony and a movie started to play. “Oh, this is gonna be good,” the Lord of Chaos said and he pulled out a carton of popcorn and started to munch.