//------------------------------//
// The Princesses Announcement 
// Story: The Spark Between the Tempest and the Sun 
// by AnimationLover36 
//------------------------------//

The Summer Sun Celebration had finally arrived. It was one of the most well-known holidays in Equestria. Curiously, it is the only one that has changed its reason for celebration. It initially started as a tribute to Princess Celestia for saving Equestria from Nightmare Moon; but a few years ago, this event represents the return of Princess Luna, something that was appreciated by the two sisters. In fact, The Mane 6 and Spike also preferred it that way, since it was more important for them to be seen as a group that saved a princess, and not as warriors who destroyed a monster.

Speaking of them, The Mane 6 and Spike were getting off the train at the Canterlot station. It was not something unusual, since that night was one of the few in which the train service was operational 24 hours; and because, since they met and found the elements of harmony, they always went to this festivity all together. That, and because it was one of the few days of the year that they could spend with Celestia and Luna without affecting their royal duties. However, this year there was something that worried everyone.

"I'm just saying it's so weird that the Princesses haven't asked for our help", Rainbow Dash said.

"I agree with you, Dashie. We always we always do something in this celebration, even if it was a little", said Pinkie.

“Oh my, I hope it's not because of something we did to them that upset them", Fluttershy said, worried.

“Now darling, if the princesses were upset with us, they wouldn't invite us. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna explained everything to us in her letter,” Rarity reassured her.

“It would have been nice if they had made that clear to Twilight at the beginning of the letter,” Rainbow said between giggles.

"Sorry, but the beginning of the letter was easy to misunderstand," Twilight justified.

“Relax Twilight, she didn't say it with that intention. I'm sure we were all confused by the princesses' message", said Rarity.

"Now that you mention it, Spike, do you still have her with you?" Applejack asked the dragon.

Spike pulled the letter out of his saddlebag.

"Here it is, I read it to you." He cleared his throat before continuing. “Twilight, I'm writing this to you on the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. I know that you and your friends usually help us with the preparations, but this year we ask that you stay out of it. In fact, I'd appreciate it if none of you came to Canterlot until the night of the celebration.

Before you start to freak out…”

"What I said, that had to be written at the beginning, and not in the middle." Interrupted Rainbow Dash

That earned her an annoyed look from Spike, Twilight, and Applejack.

"Oh, sorry".

As I was saying, “Before you start freaking out, don't worry, Twilight, I'm not mad at you. What's more, I've thought for a long time about how much you and your friends have done for me and for Equestria. Therefore, this year I have prepared a surprise for all of you, especially for you Twilight; With this I hope to show you how much you mean to me.

It's a very sensitive subject, and my sister and I want no one to know about it until the time comes, not even you. Therefore, we ask you to come on the 3:00 A.M. for the surprise to work.

Your faithful teacher and friend, Princess Celestia.”

"Uhh, the princess has a surprise for us. What do you think she will be? A new attraction inspired by us? Maybe a big cake!?” Pinkie yelled, but she quickly calmed down. “Wait, that would be something special for me. If you have been inspired by Twilight, surely the surprise will be related to the books."

"Maybe they'll do a book that chronicles our adventures," Rainbow said.

All the ponies looked at him with concern upon hearing that option. The cyan pegasus immediately realized what he had just said, and covered his mouth with his hooves.

“Honestly, Ah hope that's not the case. We already did that ourselves, and it didn't go as well as we hoped," Applejack confessed.

"Yes, it took me a while to get all my clients back, and my stress sewing didn't help the situation", said the unicorn fashionista, somewhat embarrassed.

“And I couldn't walk two steps without being tackled by somepony,” Fluterrshy said.

“Oh my Goddess, what if we don't like the surprise!?” Twilight started yelling. “Well, we can always pretend we do. But what if Celestia realizes that we are dissembling!? Then her self-confidence will surely crumble!

“Easy darling. There is no need to imagine everything bad that could happen before it starts. Even the letter tells you that everything is fine”, Rarity calmed her down.

"Classic twilighting," Pinkie said.

“Twilight! Have you made me a verb?” asked the princess in astonishment.

The party pony nodded with a smile.

"The point is, we're all nervous about what's going to happen, but there's no point in worrying ahead of time," Applejack explained.

“Yeah! This is a party, and parties are meant to be enjoyed,” Pinkie said.

Twilight looked at her friends, heaved a sigh and smiled before speak.

"I don't know why I keep worrying about these things, and also with all of you by my side"

"Don't worry, at this point we all know you very well," Spike said .

“So don't worry. If later on you think you will go Twilighting, just give us a sign and we will help you”, Fluttershy told her.

"We got your back Twilight, 100%," Dash told her as she placed a wing on her shoulder.

Although she didn't like having her name used in a word that meant stress or panic, Twilight was happy to have a group of ponies who understood her and helped her so much in these situations.

"Thanks. Let's go see the princesses."

<> 

Despite it being dark at night, the streets of Canterlot were full of vitality, and all the ponies were preparing for dawn. The earth ponies set up the food stalls and prepared the treats, the pegasi made sure the weather was perfect, and the unicorns used their magic to help with the decorations. There was a group of unicorns that were practicing for fireworks show.

However, even with all the illumination, the lights couldn't cover the entire city. In the dark alley closest to the castle, the peacock was on the prowl, waiting for its prey. In her hiding place she was safe from any onlookers, but from his position she had a full view of the entire main stage. But she was not alone, because five shadows were sitting near her: a toad, a bear, a snake, a lioness and a boar could be distinguished.

“I'm tired of waiting! How long until sunrise? We want action!” the lioness protested.

"Speak for yourself, I'm comfortable lying here," said the bear.

“Oh please, you would spend the day lying down if you could”, the snake mocked.

"I'm getting hungry from waiting so long," the boar complained.

The peacock, who was starting to loose patience due to the unprofessional attitude of her classmates and knowing that this discussion could go on for a long time, decided to intervene.

“Breaker, breaker, dear friends. I forgot to tell you that around here, you guys have to be QUIET!!” That shout caught everyone by surprise and made them fall backwards. "Or maybe the ponies will heard us."

The shadows rose but stopped speaking. They stayed like that for a few seconds until the toad approached its leader.

"Pride, can I ask you a question?" said the toad.

"You just did it. He he he, I love that one”, she laughed at her own joke. "Tell me".

"Why isn't Lust here?"

“She gets the icing on the cake, and that's not going to be here. But for her to be successful, we must do our part well”, she replied before returning to her lookout.

“That is if the princess of friendship sides with her. As far as we know, she has a good relationship with her teacher”, said the boar.

“Oh, that doesn't matter, even the strongest friendships can be broken. They just need a push in the right direction”, the lioness said.

“Also, your boyfriend has prepared the ground to make things easier for us”, added the snake.

The lioness scowled at her mate upon hearing that, but before she could respond, Pride called their attention with the words they expected to hear.

"They are already here".

The group stood next to the peacock and saw the Mane 6 and Spike entering the castle. They all smiled mischievously.

"Perfect," said the bird. “Now, let's relax and enjoy the show that the princesses offer us. Although if we think about it, we are going to do the show to her”.

They all laughed sinisterly. More than impatient, they were now looking forward to the sunrise. Then, the party would get dark. Veary dark.

<> 

Celestia and Luna were sitting on their respective thrones. To say they were nervous is an understatement, especially Celestia.

"It won't be long before Twilight and the others are here," Celestia said with concern in her voice.

"Sister, I assumed you were going to be nervous about this, but not to this point," Luna said. "If Twilight sees you like this, she's going to worry more than she needs to."

“Precisely Luna. Twilight may have an anxiety attack when we break the news to her. Our decision is because we…no, all of Equestria knows how smart, responsible, and trustworthy she is. I just want her to see it that way too."

A royal guard opened the door, entered, and bowed to them before speaking.

“Your Majesties hers. Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends have arrived,” he told them.

“Okay, let them in,” Celestia said.

The guard nodded and left the room. Moments later, the doors opened and Twilight and her friends (and Spike) entered the throne room. The two alicorns got up to greet their guests and friends. Twilight gave her teacher a quick hug.

“Welcome, my little ponies,” Celestia said as she broke the hug. "It's good to see you all here."

“So is it for us princesses,” Twilight spoke up.

"I hope the trip has been to your liking," Luna said.

"Of course, it's always nice to come to Canterlot," Rarity said.

“Especially when it's for a holiday!” Pinkie exclaimed.

But she barely said that, the ponies and the dragon made faces that mixed curiosity with some concern.

"Although it seems that this celebration is not going to be the same as the others," the party pony concluded.

“Yeah. Ah I think I speak for everyone when I say that the content of the letter was totally unexpected.”

“We are grateful to them for having prepared a surprise for us, don't think so; but…” Fluttershy tried to say, but she couldn't find the words. He looked to Twilight for help; something the princess understood.

“What we would like to know,” Twilight explained, “is what you have in store for us that is so important that, to keep it a secret, we had to be absent this year in preparation for The Summer Sun Celebration.”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other. The time had come.

“You see, Equestria is currently enjoying its longest period of harmony in recent years,” Luna explained.

"And it's all thanks to you six, of course," added Celestia.

"Who? Us?” Spike boasted.

"Oh pshaw," Rarity giggled.

“It's about time you noticed!” Rainbow said as she crossed her hooves proudly.

"Thank you!" Twilight said with a bow.

“Because of your efforts, we have less and less to do,” explained Luna.

“So, after much consideration, my sister and I have decided that it is time for us… to retire!” Celestia finally said.

Needless to say, everypony was stunned when they heard that news. Not that it was the last thing they expected to hear from Celestia and Luna; they hadn't even thought of that option. As you may have imagined, the most surprised of all was Twilight Sparkle.

"Are you retreating!?", she asked in a panic.

Wait, princess can retire?” Spike asked.

The two sisters nodded.

"With all due respect, majesties, but if you leave, who will rule Equestria?", asked Twilight

"Well, that's why we called you," Luna said.

Even though when she's stressed she doesn't usually think clearly, even Twilight was able to guess what her teacher meant by that, and she really hoped that she was wrong.

“Do you want our help choosing a successor?” she asked fearfully.

"Of course not, dummy," Pinkie said, suddenly appearing next to her. "It is clear that the princesses want you to take their place."

Spike and the rest of the ponies looked at Twilight. At first it was a look of surprise, but it quickly became one of concern when she saw that her friend's heart was about to explode.

“You said it Pinkie. This is the special surprise we were referring to in the letter: Twilight, we want you to take our place,” Celestia said as she lovingly rested her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "With the help of your friends, of course."

“We can think of no more worthy pony. Over the years, we have seen you grow and face numerous challenges, and you have always prevailed,” added Luna. "That's why I know that we are leaving Equestria in the best hooves."

“But princesses, that doesn't mean we can do what you do”, she tried to explain herself.

“Nope! Makes perfect sense. We're awesome!” Dash said.

“Well, if the princesses think it's time to retire, we're not a bad choice. We always have Equestria's best interests at heart,” said Applejack.

“Well, I'm in! Darlings, if we're going to run Equestria, we'll all need a complete wardrobe update!” Rarity said proudly.

“I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little scared; but as long as we all have each other, I'm sure we can do it!” Fluttershy said.

“Yay! Protectors of Equestria!” Pinkie yelled, holding out her helmet.

All the ponies and Spike put their hooves together (claws in Spike's case) with optimism and determination. Twilight was the only one who didn't, which made everyone else present. Seeing all of her friends accept the news with such joy, she thought that this change could not be as bad as she thought. She sighed and smiled at her friends.

“If you're all on board, I guess I am, too,” she said as she placed her helmet with the others.

"Protectors of Equestria…" Pinkie began.

"ALWAYS TOGETHER!" They all shouted as they raised their helmets. Celestia and Luna smiled at that scene.

“It'll be a bit of an adjustment,” Twilight said. “But I imagine the transfer of power will be a lengthy process, which will-”

“Oh no, we just need a few days to put together a little ceremony,” Celestia interrupted.

That hit Twilight like a bucket of cold water on her head.

“WHAT!?” she yelled as panic and stress flooded back into her mind.

"We planned to announce the news during the party," Luna said excitedly. "At dawn we will call you to stand by us and we will tell everypony."

“Cool! I can't wait to tell my parents!" Dash said. "Although I hope they don't get too excited, like when they found out I was a Wonderbolt."

"If we're going to rule Equestria, we'll have to add more seats to the throne room," Rarity said. “Oh, we could use that to give the room a little more color.”

"While we're here, I want my seat to be as big as yours," Spike requested.

“THIS IS GOING TO BE THE MOST EXCITING DAY OF OUR LIVES!!” Pinkie yelled, elated. "Well, so was the day we all met, or when Twilight became the Princess of Friendship, or the reopening of The School of Friendship, or Gummy's last birthday…"

Everypony rolled their eyes upon hearing that, although remembering all those good times made them smile.

"Well, my sister and I better get ready," Celestia said goodbye. "See you later".

The Mane 6 and Spike bowed and walked out of the room to the festival waiting outside. However, while most were overjoyed at the news, Twilight was very worried. This news was hard for her to process. On the one hand, she was, in a way, happy that her teacher and her sister trusted her so much to give them thrones; but on the other hand, this new responsibility had nothing to do with what she had experienced so far. Sure, she had some practice, since she helped Mayor Mare many times in Ponyville, but…

But when she thought this, she realized something that made her worry and stress increase even more: Her life in Ponyville. If she thought about it, if she was made the new ruler of Equestria, that would mean that she would have to move to Canterlot again, so she would have to leave behind her castle, the School of Friendship, her friends… Her friends! They had their life in Ponyville. If she gave the throne to them too, then they would have to move in with her? If so, what would she go through with her families? And not just Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow and Fluttershy; Twilight had many friends in Ponyville whom she was leaving behind: Starlight, Zecora, the Cutie Mark Crussaders... Why was her teacher forcing her to leave all that behind?

That was when Twilight stopped. She had remembered a conversation she had recently with an old friend. The rest of her friends also stopped walking when they saw that she had fallen behind.

"Twilight, is everything okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, it's just that I forgot that there is something I have to talk about with Princess Celestia."

"And does that have anything to do with you being the new princess of Equestria?" Spike asked with a mischievous smile.

“No!... Well, a little, but it's also for something else. Go ahead, I'll catch up with you right away."

"If you say so," Applejack said. "We are waiting for you outside."

And so the girls and Spike left. Twilight wondered to herself if she was right not to tell her friends what she was planning to do, but she had a feeling this was an issue she needed to discuss with the royal sisters on her own.

<> 

Although Canterlot was full of light and joy, Ponyville was no slouch either. The townspeople were celebrating the occasion. Many had gathered at Twilight's castle, which was under the supervision of Starlight and Trixie (although the latter had set herself that task) because, although she had complete confidence that her neighbors would not mess up her castle, she was not as carefree as she was. to leave his house for a party without someone to watch that there was no lack of control.

The town also continued to receive visitors from the station. Some came to stay, and others just stopped before heading to the capital of Equestria, as in the case of a certain unicorn with a visor and a jacket. Not being fully recovered, the train trip was a very wise decision: The comfort of her seats helped her to rest; and her seatmate, who was also going to Canterlot, had promised to wake her when they arrived. She just hoped that the trip would at least go smoothly.

But that was not going to be possible tonight.

When the train arrived at the station, one of the employees entered the car and spoke as loudly as he could, but without shouting.

"Attention everpony, please pay attention."

Tempest opened her eyes and looked carefully at the pony.

"We have just been informed that the road to Canterlot is closed and I am afraid that they will not be able to fix the problem until tomorrow."

“But The Summer Sun Celebration is today!” a filly protested.

“We know, and we're sorry, but I'm afraid if you want to see the sunrise, you'll have to stay in Ponyville tonight. Please make sure you don't leave anything behind before going down."

Although upset, all the passengers collected their luggage. Tempest stopped close to the driver before asking him something that might confirm her suspicions.

“Excuse me, but why the tracks have been closed?”

"Because of a problem with the fuselage of some tracks at the entrance to the city."

Tempest nodded and waved goodbye before getting off the train. All this gave him a bad feeling. An airframe problem would not normally require an entire night to fix; but on the other hand, tonight was a holiday, so it stands to reason that there would be trouble finding some servicepony to fix it, especially with most of them focusing on the festival. But still, what if this was all Claw's strategy?

"No", she thought. “To do that, he would have to know that I am here; and I made sure no one was following me. Besides, even if she knew, why would she want to perform precisely that night? And Claw is more of a smuggler than a terrorist. His influence didn't extend to Equestria, and he didn't have an army to invade Canterlot"

At the end, she felt somewhat calmer, but her anxiety did not go away. From what she had heard on the train (yes, Tempest is able to sleep while she listens to what's going on around her thanks to her training), Twilight was with Princesses Celestia and Luna, so she sort of way she was protected. However, she was still worried about her. Twilight didn't know she was in danger, and Tempest couldn't warn her while she was in Ponyville.

Suddenly, reality hit her. Now she was in the town where Twilight lives. Rather than go looking for her, Tempest could wait for her to come back, so they could talk. Besides, she would surely find somepony who help her to get in touch with Twilight or give her her message in case something happened to her. With that in mind, the unicorn began to walk towards the castle of friendship.

However, Tempest hadn't noticed a brown unicorn with a violet scarf cutie mark and red eyes that had been staring at her ever since she got off the train. She had a golden watch tied around her neck, which she opened to check the time.

“She has arrived sooner than I expected”, she thought. "Well, there won't be a problem as long as the others do their part at the right time".

The unicorn began to follow Tempest, keeping an eye on her, but from a safe distance and walking alongside other ponies so as not to arouse suspicion. However, she already knew where they were headed. Everything was happening just as they had planned.

<> 

"Well, I think everything went very well, don't you, Tia?" Luna asked.

"Much better than I expected," Celestia replied. "I thought that Twilight would lose control or that she would ask us for more time to prepare, but she has impressed me with how well she has taken it."

“It's also good that Spike and the others took the news so well. I hope that the rest of Canterlot react the same way.”

“Just Canterlot? Everypony in Equestria will be delighted! They will even celebrate it even at Mount Aris.”

“Wow! This morning you were a bundle of nerves, and now you can't contain the emotion".

"Trust me Lulu," she said as the two were about to leave. "I'm sure everything will go just fine."

At that moment, she heard somepony knocking on the door of the throne room. The two sisters looked up in surprise before opening the door to see Twilight looking at them with a worried face.

"Perhaps I've spoken too soon", Celestia thought.

"Princesses, I know The Summer Summer Sun Celebration is about to start, but there is something urgent I need to discuss with you two, right now", Twilight said.

The two alicorns rolled their eyes. They expected something like this to happen, although they did not expect it so soon.

"Sure, Twilight, and what is it?" Celestia asked.

Twilight took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The princesses looked at her with a smile, thinking they knew what Twilight was going to tell them.

Boy, they couldn't be more wrong.

“Ok, I'll get straight to the point. Princesses, I can't and I won't take your place."