Twilight opened the oak doors and went into a sunlit, circular room high up in her castle. All around her she had stained-glass windows depicting important moments in Equestria's history. The vaulted windows stretched high and were only interrupted by slim support beams of stone. This was the Royal Council room. The walls showed The Petrification of Discord, the Unification of the Tribes… and one recently installed piece that Twilight had quietly removed and replaced with a normal window. It had been a gift from Equestria's allies, depicting the defeat of Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy. She appreciated the sentiment, but… she didn't want to see that window anymore.
Straight ahead from the door, at the most prestigious place, an especially large and elaborate window showed Twilight herself, rising up into the air with her majestic wings stretched wide, crowds of ponies bowing in awe. She didn't like the idea that her ascension was given such a honoured place in the room, but she couldn't do much about it now.
In the middle of the room there was a large, round table fashioned from white marble and with a massive image of her own cutie mark inlaid in the middle. It was made from a massive block of amethyst. This was the meeting room of her Royal Council, who ran the day-to-day affairs of her kingdom. Barring her friends, there were ponies she had come to trust more than any others. Fancypants led the council, but there were plenty of ponies who answered to it and were brought in as necessary. Currently, she had Fancypants, Jet Set, Filthy Rich and Raven Inkwell present.
"Ohh… pretty!" Flurry said next to her, looking around with wide eyes at the many colourful panes.
"Good golly, flaunting yourself much?" Cozy said with a cheeky grin upon seeing the massive ascension window. Twilight blushed.
Fancypants stood up from the marble table, adjusting his monocle as he did so. "Princess, I see you have seen fit to invite a pair of guests?"
"Yes. My students should see how decisions in the kingdom are taken," Twilight said and went up to a throne-like chair by the table. She sat down and wrapped her tail around her hooves. Both Flurry and Cozy followed and sat down on stools next to her.
"Very well, Princess," Fancypants said. "Then let us begin this meeting."
"I will make a note of your students' attendance, you highness," Raven Inkwell said. She had been Celestia's secretary and bookkeeper, and Twilight had never seen a pony who could write as quickly as she could, despite being an earth pony. She jotted something down on a paper.
"Now then… why have you called us here, princess?" Fancypants asked.
"I recently visited Princ-" She caught herself. "I mean… I visited Celestia." Twilight swallowed. It didn't really sit right with her to say this… but she had made up her mind. Cozy's solution to call it all a celebration was definitely going to prevent anypony from worrying. It would even make it an enjoyable event!
Surely Princess Celestia would approve of that?
But even if she didn't… this was about more than that. This was also a time to show Cozy that Twilight trusted her judgement, completely. If Cozy heard her go through with her idea, it was going to reinforce their relationship.
She pushed away the last few doubts. This was a rational, clever solution to a difficult problem, and she was going to go through with it. She had nothing better, and could not see any issues with this idea. "And… she gave me the advice that I should institutionalise a new holiday… to celebrate… well…"
"To celebrate her," Cozy piped up next to her. "Like the Summer Sun Celebration, but for the new princess."
"Oh?" The other ponies around the table all leaned forward. They looked at her with clear approval.
"A positively delightful initiative," Fancypants said. "I have been waiting for you to suggest something like that. Naturally you shall have a grand celebration; tis only sensible."
That was… easier than she had expected. "You have… waited for this? Why?" Twilight would have preferred not to have to ask, but she had resigned herself to the fact that she was not yet a politician. She needed to learn, and asking was the best way to do that.
"Ponies are waiting," Jet Set said patiently. He and his wife represented the unicorn tribe in her council. "With the resignation of Celestia, some ponies are hoping for reforms. Not that they were unhappy with Celestia… but this is a new deal. Her system was old and cumbersome, adapted to when there was only Equestria and her ponies. That's not how things are anymore. Times change, and Equestria must change with them."
Filthy Rich nodded eagerly. "With the resurgence of Griffonstone and our alliance with the changelings, there are more international markets available than ever before. Ponies hunger for new, exotic wares and our friends and allies hunger for what Equestria can offer…. I can think of a royal currency exchange, shipping companies, wholesale businesses… all of them will help Equestria reap the monetary benefits of our new friendships. None of that was needed in Celestia's Equestria, but you have every opportunity to forge ever stronger ties with your allies… and make Equestria and its ponies rich in the process!"
"Oh… well, I shall think about it," Twilight said sheepishly. She, honestly, hadn't thought about any of that. She had just wanted to make friends. "Draft some plans and send them to me. Think you can have the sparknotes ready in… a week or two?"
"Absolutely!" Filthy Rich positively beamed.
Twilight cleared her throat. "That's well and good… but I called you here to present my thoughts for my celebration."
"It shall have to be something grand; something that will be spoken about for years if not decades!" Jet Set pointed out. "You need to make an impression. When ponies hear the word 'Princess', you must be the first thing they think of. Not Celestia."
Twilight swallowed. Here goes nothing. "I was thinking of making Twilight Day a literal thing. By turning day into twilight. I can move the moon in front of the sun, for instance. That'll be… grand." She tried her best to sound certain, like this was something she had just made up on the fly, rather than the whole reason for this silly event.
Raven Inkwell dropped her pencil. Even Fancypants expression turned grim for a moment, before he hid it.
"Why, that sounds… just perfect," he said measuredly. His eyes momentarily wandered over to where Cozy and Flurry were both watching the meeting. "Are you certain you can do it? I cannot remember ever seeing something like that."
"It will not be a problem, I promise," Twilight said dryly.
"And it's just a good thing that Celestia never did this," Cozy piped up again. "Then this will prove to everypony who their real Princess is!"
"Cozy…" Twilight began quietly, but she was cut off.
"Very true," Fancypants said. "Well, you have my full support for this plan. Do you have a date in mind?"
"I was thinking… thirteen days from now," Twilight said. "It's a personally important date." It wasn't, but she couldn't move the eclipse. It had to be that day, and this should be the best way to make sure nopony thought to move the event.
"Then we shall have to be hasty," Fancypants said. "But then again, nothing promotes haste like the desires of an alicorn." Twilight blushed even harder.
”I will prepare an official statement, and forward a decree to the ten biggest Equestrian newspapers. We should have the information out in a week at the latest." Raven Inkwell said.
"Can I say something!" Flurry asked shyly. She even raised a hoof. Twilight smiled at the precious little pony.
"Yes, Flurry?"
"When you put the moon in front of the sun you said things will become dark, right?"
"Yes, it will. But it's just for a little while," Twilight explained patiently.
"Then I think everypony should light a candle!" Flurry said. "It'll be like Hearth's Warming, but earlier… and it would look really pretty if everypony lit a candle at the same time!"
"Delightful," Fancypants beamed. "A celebration of this magnitude demands a ritual. Just like Celestia raised the sun, at Twilight day everypony lights a candle…"
"… to signify that even in the darkest times, ponies will look out for each other," Jet set suggested. "Like your students showed us during the final battle against…" he silenced with a glance at Cozy. "Well, you know."
"Do… you really think that's fitting?" Twilight asked, fidgeting on her throne.
"Yay!" Flurry chirruped, clapping her hooves together, and shutting down any and all complaints from Twilight far more efficiently than Fancypants ever could.
"Then it's decided, I dare say," Fancypants said with a pleased expression. "In light of this development and the urgency of the matter, I think it's prudent to discuss the details for the celebration immediately."
"Can't we start soon?" Flurry asked for probably the hundredth time. Ever since she woke up in the morning she had seen the sun and the moon slowly inching closer together in the sky, and she didn't want to wait any longer! Even if she couldn't make fire with her magic, she was going to light up the tip of her horn instead to make her own light! Now she wanted to see if everypony else was going to that too. If they did, then she was going to cheer, because then they had liked her idea!
Twilight looked flustered. Wings twitching on her back and she continued to look over her gala dress all the time. Flurry knew it was a special dress, commissioned from Rarity. "I suppose… it's almost time now." Twilight's horn lit up momentarily, and Flurry thought she could see the same sheen appear around the moon for a second or two, almost like Twilight was testing it.
"Alright, let's… get this over with," Twilight muttered . She didn't sound as excited as Flurry thought was warranted. "Have you seen Cozy?"
"No, she said she had to do something, but she was going to join as soon as she could."
"And now I can't track her down…" Twilight mumbled, clearly stressed about something. "Well, then I guess it's just you and me, Flurry. But... you aren't going to abandon your teacher, are you?"
"No, Sir!" Flurry puffed out her chest. Twilight chuckled and patted her on the head.
"Well then… here goes." The two alicorns pushed aside the curtains blocking the podium that had been built outside the castle drawbridge and ascended onto the stage overlooking the streets surrounding the castle. The weather was fair over Canterlot, thanks to the diligence of the weather team. In fact, the weather was fair all over Equestria. Twilight had been talking all week with some place in Cloudsdale and requested cloud-free skies all over Equestria, so that everypony could witness the eclipse.
They clearly were. Normally a public appearance like this would be met with deafening cheers, but now plenty of ponies were distracted by the moon and the sun together in the sky. Some ponies had even rigged up cameras to snap pictures of it. Flurry decided that eclipses were good things. If they made ponies not bend over backwards to please her, they were definitely good things.
"Everypony!" Twilight called, immediately causing every eye in the audience to snap towards the two of them. Flurry found herself taking an involuntary step backwards. "It is time to start celebrating the first ever Twilight day! And I see no reason to make you wait any longer than this! Behold!"
Twilight opened her wings and ignited her horn, the very archetype of power on display. A murmur of excitement welled through the crowd.
"Look at the moon! She is moving the moon!" Somepony called in the crowd. Almost as one, they all looked to the sky. Flurry did too.
The lilac sheen was faint, but with some good will it could definitely be seen. Slowly the moon began to move towards the sun. One could feel the excitement building in the crowd… in all of Equestria. Every pony, in every tribe in every city were watching this, and they were all wondering if such a thing was really possible.
Was Twilight really going to do it?
Flurry glanced at her and found the answer. She had a smile on her lips and didn't look any more tired than when she levitated the saltshaker at breakfast. She was definitely going to do this.
And just as she thought that… a shadow rushed over the world. It was faster and bigger… and darker than any cloud could be. Flurry looked up, just as the moon slotted into place. It looked black. Blacker than anything she had seen! She had figured it was just going to be like a normal night, with the sun gone and nice moonlight instead, but this was dark! She barely saw the hoof in front of her.
"Do not be afraid!" Twilight said mildly. It was that same spell that let her project her voice to everypony without having to raise it. "Remember, even in the darkest times, your friends will still be there."
That was Flurry's cue! She had the great honor of beginning this tradition. Smiling with pride, she willed a little bit of magic into her horn, lighting up a tiny mote of light in this endless darkness.
Twilight followed suit next to her.
The frontmost ponies in the crowd did the same, using their horns or candles they had brought.
A wave of light spread from their podium… further and further out into the city.
And behind them, off the cliff face of Mt. Canterhorn, Flurry could see the distant Ponyville light up their own candles and horns in response to their princess.
"Pretty," Flurry mumbled to herself. "Everypony is pretty."
The Royal meeting room was not as beautiful in the darkness as it was in the light of day. All the stained glass windows now looked drab and dark, and the white table in the middle of the room appeared ghostly pale.
"Hello?" Cozy called out when she went in.
"Oh, jolly good. I wasn't sure you'd come." Just as he had that morning two weeks ago, Fancypants stood up from his seat by the table. In the darkness of the eclipse his navy-blue mane appeared almost black, and his jovial smile from back then was replaced by a razor-sharp, measuring stare. "Young Cozy Glow…"
"Sir Fancypants," Cozy said and went up to the table. She glanced at Twilight's throne. She'd like to sit there right about now. It was easier to talk with somepony if she didn't have to stretch her neck just to reach over the table edge.
"Do not even think about it, my fine filly," Fancypants said with a voice so cold it could liquify helium. "You may be her student, but you are not a princess and you will not pretend you are."
Cozy bit back her answer. Most ponies may not know what he did, but Cozy recognized that most of what happened and didn't in Equestria were because of this pony's work. He was one pony she could not afford to have as an enemy. In fact… it was not impossible that when Twilight did raise the question of Cozy's ascension, Fancypants may have a voice in that decision. So she sat down directly on the table and looked expectantly at him.
"This… was your idea, was it not?" Fancypants said at length. It was not a question as much as it was a statement. Cozy swallowed. How did he know that? Was he cross with her somehow? "Please, tell me what you think," Fancypants asked with an even, yet cold voice.
"Think?" Cozy asked. "About what?"
"Your little celebration, of course." Fancypants said. "Why did you want this to happen? And what does Twilight and Equestria gain from it?"
After a moment of dead silence, Cozy mustered a sweet smile and chirped. "Golly… I just wanted to help my teacher, like a good student should, and-"
"Oh, please, do not waste my time or yours," Fancypants said dismissively, but Cozy felt her fur standing on her neck. "I have been dealing with ponies, politics and lies since the cradle. So let's dispense with the platitudes, shall we?"
Cozy swallowed. He had barely raised his voice, yet he had effortlessly and brutally shut down her misdirect. Now what did she say?
"Please, young Miss Glow, tell me why you wanted Twilight to hold this celebration," he said again, just a little bit louder and harsher. Still, the difference in his tone felt like night and day.
Cozy opted to go on the offensive instead. She didn't know what Fancypants knew or what he hoped to gain from having this conversation, but she did know one thing: he had asked her here. That meant he wanted to learn something about her. Until she could figure out what, it was better to say too little than too much.
"Please, Sir Fancypants, tell me why you think a cute and loveable filly would want Twilight to do something like this?" Cozy smiled endearingly.
Fancypants was quiet for a few moments. "I suppose that's fair. Simply put, the Twilight I know does not like the idea of placing herself on a pedestal for ponies to worship and adore. She would not come up with something like this herself. But you… you clearly have a lust for power, don't you? This spectacle fits you better than Twilight. And yet… your behaviour is inconsistent."
He smirked. Somehow, Cozy felt like he enjoyed this type of guesswork. "This will strengthen Twilight's position. I don't think even you fully understand just how much this will mean to her future, but you must know it strengthens her. Tis a rum thing… for an adversary, or former adversary, perhaps, to strengthen her enemy. I want to know what you are playing at."
For a moment, Cozy bristled at the suggestion that Twilight was still her enemy. She had been, of course, but not anymore. It seemed like Cozy was not the only pony who refused to forgive and forget like most.
She weighed her options. She was not going to tell him she hoped to ascend one day… but there was something else she could say. She met his stare with her own. "Oh, it's really simple! The more popular Twilight becomes, the less power Celestia has. And in case you haven't noticed, she put me in a statue."
Fancypants remained completely still for a few long seconds, then he nodded slowly. "Ah, so it's from fear. I suppose that makes some sense."
Cozy nodded. If he considered he a silly, afraid little filly, then he underestimated her, and that was never a bad thing. "Uh-huh. And now everypony understands what Twilight can do when she wants! Even if she lets you guys do most things for her, everypony still knows she's a powerful princess."
Fancypants furrowed his brow and levitated up a small case from his pocket. He removed his monocle and took out a new one. "You say 'everypony' a lot…" he remarked while inspecting the new monocle. "I'd say that's an immense oversight on your part. Fortunately for you and the good Princess, it will work to your advantage this time, but you had better be more thorough in your planning in the future, young Miss Glow... Miscalculations like that can cost you dearly if you are not careful."
"What do you mean?" Cozy asked, with a searing tone.
Fancypants finally put the new monocle in place and looked at her. "Are us ponies the only people who see the sun?"
...Oh.
"N-no…" Cozy gulped. Just like he said, she hadn't thought about that.
"No… and how do you think Equestria's friends and neighbors will react to this? That our great Princess decided to block out the sun because she wanted a celebration of her own greatness? Her own ego?"
Cozy suddenly felt slightly sick. That didn't sound very good. But Fancypants had said that this would work to Twilight's advantage…. so then the answer to his rhetorical question was not what he insinuated?
Actually… thinking a bit more about it, she could almost see a bit of a silver lining.
She decided to take a chance, at the risk of sounding completely daft. "Well… they'll be mad. But they will also be a little bit afraid."
Fancypants smirked minimally. "Quite so. I'd imagine that by the end of the week, our dear Twilight will find herself 'twilighting' pretty badly from the upset letters she has received. And she will go out and publicly apologize. Everycreature will see her sincerity, and forgive her, for they are her friends."
Cozy nodded and continued. "And then they will go back home and think… that even if she apologized and said she'd never do it again, she still could! Even if it was a mistake this time, everycreature will know she can do things no other creature can! And they will respect her, and Equestria, a lot more after!"
Fancypants chuckled, but his laugh didn't hold an ounce of warmth. "Very good, young Miss Glow. You figured it out on your own…albeit after some pushing. Twilight is at a risk of becoming too anonymous, too much a figurehead. As Princess, I fear she needs to be seen and adored a bit more than she is. Not only for her own sake, but for Equestria's as well. She is Equestria personified, and she needs to accept that role. The sooner she does, the better for us all. And thanks to you, she is a little bit closer to doing it.
"But what about you?" Cozy asked. "You knew all this. Why didn't you just tell Twilight she had to do… something?"
Fancypants sighed almost melancholically. "Sadly, she still has a hard time listening to us. While she trusts us to run Equestria, she does not trust us to run her life. But eventually, she will realize her life and her country… are one and the same." He glanced at Cozy again. "I must say I'm glad there is a filly who can exert some good influence on her, if necessary. I will be watching your progress with great interest."
Cozy shifted nervously on her hooves. On the one hoof she did miss this feeling. The feeling of control, the feeling of secretive power… not feeling weak, not feeling lost and vulnerable. Clearly Fancypants did not see her as a silly filly, but as another important player in the great game of Equestrian politics. She liked that, the respect.
But she didn't want to manipulate Twilight. She wasn't like that anymore! She was reformed; Twilight was her… friend, now. And neither she nor the old Cozy would submit to be a tool for anypony.
Cozy glanced back at the white unicorn. The way he looked at her betrayed a certain interest, yes, but also a cold distance. Somehow, Cozy came to think of a chess player looking over his board. Like he was deciding which pieces to preserve and which ones to sacrifice.
At the same time, Fancypants didn't seem like his motive was to harm Twilight's political position. He didn't strike her as an enemy… in a way, he was not unlike Cozy herself. He saw something he wanted done, and he was not afraid to work in a morally gray area to make sure it happened. But what limits did he have? How far would he go to get what he wanted? And the things he wanted done, were they for his sake, or Equestria's?
Cozy had no idea.
Her thoughts were interrupted with a tap of Fancypant's hoof against the marble floor. "It's been positively delightful to have this chat with you, young Miss Glow," he said with a tightlipped smile. "Though I'm sure you agree that it's for the best if this little discussion stayed between the two of us, no?"
His cobalt-blue eyes looked nearly black in the darkness as he passed her, and his face told her with all due clarity that he did not expect an answer to his question. He left the room quietly, just as sunlight washed over the world again. The eclipse began to recede.
Cozy shook her head as if she had just woken up. It almost felt like this talk had been some sort of dream! The room once again bathed in colorful spots of light, and when she looked down on the castle courtyard, she saw how the unicorns extinguished their horns and the mass of ponies started to disperse. Twilight and a little whiteish spot next to her retreated from the podium. There would be a feast in the castle now.
Before today, she would have laughed if anypony asked her who really ruled Equestria. Twilight was the clear answer; it was so obvious that the question itself was silly. Now though... the laughter felt like it was stuck in her throat. Clearly, there were more forces at work in the high echelons of Equestrian politics than she had anticipated.
And the more she thought of it, the more uncertain she became that Twilight really was the most powerful political force in Equestria. Twilight may be a friend of many ponies and others, but Cozy knew she preferred her books and her students to leading her own kingdom. Fancypants however, did not. Clearly, he was a politician, through and through.
This was going to take a lot of thought to approach correctly. But Cozy did promise herself to keep an eye and ear open. For Twilight's sake, and her own, of course. Fancypants could be a useful ally one day.