Nearly a thousand miles to the north and east of Canterlot, a great range of mountains divided the entire continent of North Equador from coast to coast.
Their average elevation was twenty-seven thousand feet; few ponies or unicorns dared to climb them, and the icy air around their peaks was so thin that no flier could stay in the air without the assistance of magic.
The deadly Tramplevanian Alps outlined the border between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdoms.
At the top of one of these mountains, a sudden CRACK of golden energy echoed for miles in every direction. Princess Celestia carefully surveyed the Alps around her.
“Where are you?” Celestia thought. Her eyes scanned the innumerable peaks, but all she could see was swirling snow and empty peaks. She teleported herself to an adjacent mountaintop, pausing again to survey her surroundings. Still, she saw nothing.
Celestia sighed. Her warm breath crystallized into ice moments after leaving her mouth, and her plated hooves sank into the snow. She shivered in discomfort; despite being resilient and powerful, her body was being chilled to the bone by the unnatural cold.
Teleporting across mountaintops for the third time, a thick snowstorm suddenly formed in front of her.
Kicked up by the wind, snow rotated rapidly in one spot, forming a small white cyclone. In center of the howling flurry, a shadowy figure began to take shape, seeming to materialize from the snow itself. The brown silhouette had a tall horn, and its tall figure was equine.
Two icy cyan eyes glowed through the snow, and they fixed themselves upon Celestia with a chilling glare that rivaled the freezing air. Celestia stared back, narrowing her eyes against the wind.
The silhouette’s mane and tail were thin and matted, and they whipped violently in the wind. Its hair was mostly an unsaturated red, but parts of it were grey, and nearly indistinguishable from the snow swirling around it.
“You have some nerve, Celestia,” a mare’s deep voice boomed angrily.
“Do you know why I am here?” Celestia responded, matching her volume.
“Do I care?”
“Irrelevant.”
The pair stared fiercely into each other’s eyes. The brown mare bared her teeth for a moment before resuming the spiteful conversation.
“So your little kingdom is going to fall,” she said spitefully. “Give me one reason why I should care.”
“If Equestria falls, nowhere on this planet will be safe for long.”
“I’m still waiting.”
“And that’s all you’ll ever be doing.”
At a stalemate of wits, the furious equines stared each other down. Celestia’s fiery magenta eyes dug deeply into her counterpart’s icy cyan eyes. For nearly a minute, they said nothing.
Closely evaluating her opponent, Celestia sought to exploit a weakness. Her foe’s anger was a mask—a powerful one—but a ruse nonetheless. She was hiding a reservoir of feelings, dammed by her rage. Celestia determined that there was only one way to break that dam—attacking its weak point.
“Do you remember a small town called Bridlemore?” Celestia broke the silence, her tone subtly shifting into a reminiscent one. “…It could happen to all of Equestria if we do nothing.”
“Don’t… you… dare…” the brown mare seethed, increasing her volume with each word.
The shroud of swirling snow suddenly burst away from her, revealing a wide pair of wings and her cutie mark. It was a blue circle, with green shapes inside of it. Deep scars ran across her flank, cutting directly through the mark.
As the alicorn stared cuttingly at Celestia, the mountaintop began to rumble beneath their hooves.
“History is not only going to repeat itself,” Celestia continued calmly. “It’s going to get worse.”
“SHUT UP!” the brown alicorn exploded. She took flight and charged at Celestia.
Celestia stood her ground firmly—the attacker struck an invisible shield between her and her target, knocking her backwards.
“COWARD!” she spat, recovering and hopping away from the princess. “HIDE BEHIND YOUR MAGIC!”
“I am not the one running and hiding,” Celestia replied firmly. Her voice had shifted to a cold, condescending tone.
“SHUT UP! I’M WARNING YOU!”
“Listen to me…”
Celestia’s demand was ignored. The raging alicorn’s eyes began to glow bright white, and she lifted her head towards the sky. She screamed at the top of her lungs, sending chills down Celestia’s spine.
At the sound of her voice, the surrounding mountaintops began to quake and crumble. Jagged slivers of stone jutted through the snow like spears, threateningly pointing into the sky. Gravity seemed to reverse in some places, sending masses of pebbles, snow, and ice floating upwards.
The mountaintop beneath Celestia crumbled into pieces, but she simply lifted her hooves and continued to float where she had been standing, suspended by a thin golden aura. All that remained of the great peak beneath them was a single column of bare stone beneath the screaming alicorn.
A massive spike of thick grey rock jutted out of the mountain towards Celestia, but it was shattered by her powerful shield. Chunks of rock, large and small, began flying from below and smashing into Celestia’s shield, but they did no damage.
Seeing the futility of her actions, the brown immortal faltered.
“Calm down, Terra,” Celestia said quietly.
Terra stopped screaming and collapsed onto the stone platform below her. Her fury had completely burned out, leaving only a bitter sadness. The ground stopped shaking, and snow began to fall heavily.
“Why?” she asked, looking up at Celestia. Her cyan eyes were glistening, and her voice cracked as she attempted to stifle the lump in her throat. Several tears began to escape from her eyes, crystallizing into ice as soon as they reached her cheek.
“…What did we do to deserve this fate?”
“Deserving has nothing to do with it,” Celestia replied, her voice still quiet. She paused, carefully considering her next action. “That was the easy part… Now to cheer her up.”
“It has everything to do with it!” Terra shuddered. Her tears were forming pointed icicles on her cheeks. “As soon as we start to care for anypony, they’re RIPPED away from us!”
“That’s not always true,” Celestia said soothingly, her horn beginning to glow with a soft golden light. She slowly floated towards Terra, assuming a sitting position in midair across from her. The icy tears on her cheek began to melt as Celestia’s horn radiated heat.
“If we save your little ponies, it just happens all over again,” said Terra, her voice quivering as she attempted to suppress the tears. “Again and again, doomed to a never-ending cycle…”
“You’re right,” Celestia replied. “But the more you think about it, the worse you make it for yourself.”
“What else is there to think about?” Terra cried, sadness having taken full hold of her composure. “Tomorrow, another thousand years will have passed, and nothing we do today will have mattered!”
“That’s not true,” Celestia reassured. “The smallest of actions can reverberate across the eons.”
“…You would know,” Terra replied, sniffing. She continued to hang her head, refusing to meet eyes with Celestia. “S-so maybe we can save them this time. So what? If they don’t die today, they die in fifty or sixty years… Which is nothing to us!”
“If they don’t die today, they live,” Celestia said, extending her hoof to lift the distraught Terra’s face. She batted it away and continued to look down. “…You have to look at things differently.”
“Differently?!” Terra asked hysterically. “Perspective doesn’t change the truth! How can you let yourself love them, knowing someday you’ll have to watch them die?”
Celestia hesitated. She had heard that question so many times, from so many different ponies throughout the years.
“Because death has no bearing on my love for them,” she explained honestly. “I’ve never told anypony about this—not even Luna—but hidden in my sanctum at Canterlot, I have a… diary, of sorts.”
“…A …diary?” Terra sniffled, unable to resist her curiosity. “…What?”
“Yes,” Celestia confirmed. “It’s more of a scrapbook. Everypony I’ve ever been close to has a page of their own, complete with a sketch and a description of what made them special to me.”
“H-how is that… no, there’s n-no way,” Terra quivered. “There’d have t-to be… thousands…”
“Seven thousand, five hundred and fifty two,” Celestia corrected her. “I’m on the thirty-second book.”
“And that’s just those who I’ve been the closest to… My greatest students, loyal guards, appreciated advisors—friends, in general. I also have the complete census records, dating back from when we first came to Equestria…”
“All of those ponies…” Terra sighed, stifling her sadness slightly. “You… you would still say you love them, even the ones that have been dead for thousands of years? Naïve…”
“I would,” Celestia told her, smiling. Her horn began to glow. “Alright… time for my secret weapon.”
Terra continued to stare at the ground, silently pondering Celestia’s words. Out of nowhere, something broke her concentration.
“Stop that,” said Terra, looking up at Celestia. “What are you doing?”
“Stop what?” the princess asked innocently.
“You know what!” Terra said, trying to be angry. She was failing; her lips were beginning to curl.
“I’m not doing anything,” Celestia declared, turning to gaze out towards the broken mountaintops. Her eye slowly traveled back towards Terra as she jittered uncomfortably.
“It’s not funny!” Terra shouted, fighting a losing battle with the grin on her face.
“What’s not funny?” Celestia asked, feigning cluelessness. Terra was now squirming uncontrollably.
Terra tried to voice another protest, but she couldn’t hold on any longer. She burst out laughing, rolling around the platform.
“You’re too easy,” Celestia said, smiling as Terra continued to giggle and squirm.
Celestia’s horn stopped glowing for a moment, and Terra sat up quickly.
“That’s not funny-“
Celestia cut her off, her horn resuming its glow as she used her magic to tickle the helpless alicorn in front of her. Laughter rung out across the mountaintops as Terra rolled around, spreading her wings and batting them helplessly towards the princess. She slowed the tickling again, granting her a moment to breathe heavily.
“You think… just because… you-AGGH-AHHHH!”
Terra fell backwards again, arching her back as she attempted to stop the torturous magical onslaught. Celestia once again slowed the tickling, giving the victim a chance to recover.
“It’s been over two hundred years, and you still haven’t forgotten my weak spots,” Terra said, taking a deep breath as she tried to reclaim control of her twitching body. Celestia shook her head triumphantly.
“Come, sister,” she told Terra, wiping the last of the brown alicorn’s tears from her face. “Come to Canterlot with me. The team is simply fantastic! And you’ll never guess who else is in it.”
“I…” Terra started, sighing in defeat and gazing at Celestia.
“Good!” Celestia answered, smiling mischievously as she prepared a teleportation spell. In a flash of golden light, the two sisters disappeared from the shattered mountaintops.
“He HAS to be in here. I’m gonna blast him to pieces!”
Twilight Sparkle desperately ignited her horn, illuminating the area around her like a flare. There was nothing in sight. She couldn’t see the walls or the ceiling, only darkness, for what seemed like an eternity.
Suddenly, something burst out of the ground, seizing her front-right hoof. It was a skeletal leg, and it held her firmly in place. Five other skeletal legs instantly burst from the ground around her, two pairs seizing her hind legs while the fifth restrained her front-left hoof.
Twilight tried to scream, opening her mouth wide, but no sound came out. Her horn was unresponsive as she mentally blazed through a list of spells. She looked around frantically, and what she saw made her heart plummet. Shapes of skeletal ponies were walking slowly into the light. Even without flesh, manes, or tails, Twilight knew who they were.
One of them was a unicorn, its calcified horn glimmering in the light. Two were pegasi, with their wing bones loosely hanging at their sides. Two were earth ponies, one of them wearing a torn brown hat.
They approached Twilight slowly, stopping roughly a foot away. Their empty eye sockets were all staring at her, sending chills down her spine. Twilight tried to close her eyes, but it seemed that even her eyelids would not respond to her.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” a chilling voice asked. A pair of yellow eyes shone through the darkness ahead of her. “You’ll join them, of course... but first, you’ll feed them. They’re quite hungry, you see.”
The skeletal ponies around her began to close in. Twilight struggled as hard as she could—their mouths opened wide, and their teeth gleamed in the dimming purple light.
“DARKSTAR!” Twilight screamed, breaking free of the skeletal shackles beneath her. She ducked and closed her eyes, hearing demonic laughter echoing through her head.
The laughter suddenly stopped, and Twilight’s eyes shot open.
Hyperventilating and almost in tears, she sat up quickly, poking herself to ensure she was no longer dreaming. The evening sun was setting, casting a warm glow onto the endless shelves of the Canterlot Archives.
Twilight had slept the entire afternoon away. Trying not to cry, she curled herself into a trembling ball.
“Hey, you,” a stallion’s voice called out from behind her. Twilight whipped her head around, staring at the blue-maned unicorn in the doorway.
“You don’t look so good,” Shining Armor said lightly, walking into the archives. Sniffling, Twilight hopped up from the floor and galloped to her brother, embracing him affectionately.
“Bad dream?” he asked, curling his left hoof around her and patting her on the back.
“I was just trying to take a nap,” Twilight shuddered, nodding into his neck as she tried to stifle her tears. “Rarity practically forced me to…”
“With good reason,” Armor told her softly. “I stopped by to see how the training was going, and Cadance told me you’d stayed up all night, and used a mass teleportation glyph...”
“Yeah, I guess so…” Twilight sniffled, starting to let go. Her brother held her tighter, preventing her from pulling away.
“You’re a hero, Twilie,” Armor reminded her, smiling. “Never forget that.”
“I… I guess so…” Twilight said, hugging him once more before he finally let go. “…Did Rarity find any of the anti-necrotic spells? Is Luna ready to train me yet?”
“Princess Luna’s been working with Rarity and the others. She didn’t mention anything, so probably not,” Armor explained, looking out the window at the setting sun. “Princess Celestia’s been out and about all day, recruiting other ponies for our team…”
“Who else is she getting?” Twilight asked, taking a deep breath and turning around. She walked back into the archives, sighing at the mess of books and scrolls she had made. “Is it anypony we know?”
“Well, I know a few,” her brother replied, leaning against the doorway as she started cleaning up. “Sergeant Ironmane, the trainer of the Royal Guard… He came to me earlier today to inform me that Celestia had recruited him.”
“Wasn’t he your drill sergeant when you first started your training?” Twilight asked, shelving a couple of books. The name sounded familiar from several letters she had received from him after he first left.
“That he was,” Armor laughed, recalling some interesting memories of boot camp. “He’s really intense, probably one of the toughest ponies I know. He’s turned down dozens of promotions… I think he just really likes being a trainer. I can see why, though.
"He taught me everything I know about hoof-to-hoof combat, even though it’s no longer mandatory for unicorn guards to learn. He’s also a weapon master—swords, spears, polearms, especially crossbows! I’ve seen him in action on the training dummies, he turns them into pincushions!”
“Wow, sounds like a pretty good pick,” Twilight replied, checking a scroll before rolling it back up. “Anypony else you know of?”
“Ashton Calhoof, five time grand champion of the Canterlot Rodeo Competition,” Armor continued. “Another good pick—I saw him lasso one of my pegasus guards in mid-flight! Took‘em down easily!”
“Why’d he do that?” Twilight asked, looking over the edge of a scroll and raising an eyebrow at her brother. “That doesn’t sound very nice…”
“It was just a bet,” Armor chuckled. “The guards that brought’em in were goofin’ off… I had to set‘em straight afterwards, but I gotta admit, seeing him in action reminded me that the princess really does know what she’s doing…” He hesitated. “Well, mostly…”
“Mostly?” Twilight questioned, picking up a book titled Defense against the Dark Arts and starting to flip through its pages.
“Well, there was one that I heard about…” Armor replied, his voice suddenly darkening. “And I really couldn’t believe what I was hearing… have you heard of a pony called Ragehoof?”
“Hmm… I don’t think so,” Twilight answered, tossing the book aside in frustration. “Should I have?”
“Probably not,” Armor told her. “Every once in a while, you’ll hear about some crazy pony that doesn’t like Celestia, and thinks we should be ruled by somepony else…”
“He’s one of them?”
“Yeah… and he did a lot more than just think Celestia shouldn’t rule. He walked into the throne room, completely unannounced and heavily armored… Of course, two of my guards blocked him....” Armor seethed..
“...What’d he do?”
“He fought them, and he… he beat them easily… I heard the full report, and I couldn’t believe it… the first two guards were knocked out instantly... The rest of the Royal Guard in the room—fourteen of them—charged at him, but he somehow fought his way through all of them…”
Armor bared his teeth angrily. “If I was there, he wouldn’t have been so lucky!”
“I’m not sure he was just lucky,” Twilight told him curiously, putting the last of the books away. “Sixteen Royal Guard? What kind of spells did he use?”
“That’s just it—he’s an earth pony… he didn’t use any magic, he physically beat them back,” Armor huffed. “The princess herself had to use a powerful spell to restrain him… she didn’t blame us for it, but we all felt really bad…”
“And after all that, she wants him to join us?”
“…Yeah… I don’t know why, but she does… I couldn’t believe it when Sarge told me.”
“Sarge?”
“Sergeant Ironmane…”
“Oh…” Twilight was hopelessly confused. “But why in the world did this… Ragehoof guy want to overthrow Celestia? She’s the kindest leader anypony could ask for!”
Armor shook his head. “Despite his crazy ideas, the princess herself asked him to fight with us, and he said yes... It goes without saying; I’ll be keeping a close eye on him…”
“I’d do the same,” replied Twilight, picking up the rest of the scrolls on the ground and rolling them up.
“Oh, there’s another,” her brother continued as she placed them on a high shelf. His voice heartened significantly. “Just arrived earlier this afternoon, and, well, you’re never gonna believe this…”
“Who could it be?” Twilight asked, scanning the floor of the archives. They were now completely clear.
“I’ll give you three guesses,” Armor smiled. “This one’s really gonna blow your mind, trust me!”
“Hmm…” Twilight raised a hoof to her mouth as she ran through a mental list of really unlikely choices. “Um… Trixie?”
“Hah!” Armor laughed. “No, but he sure is great and powerful.”
“A stallion, huh?” Twilight narrowed her list, but still had no idea. “Um… Axil the Observer?” Armor shook his head. “…Fluxhorn? Antonidas, Headmaster of Canterbury?”
“Strike four!” an ancient voice laughed from the hallway. Twilight gasped, staring at the doorway.
“Haha, I didn’t know he was here! Guess I’ll let you see for yourself,” Armor said, walking out of the doorway and into the archives. A masked wizard floated in behind him.
“No…” Twilight said, her eyes widening. She would have recognized his hat and cape anywhere. “That’s not… You’re not…”
“Am I not?” Starswirl chuckled curiously, looking down at his hooves.
“Starswirl the Bearded would have to be thousands of years old!” Twilight yelped, dumbfounded. “That’s impossible! Who are you, really?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” the wizard said, his yellow eyes rolling. “Come now, Twilight Sparkle, all that you’ve learned, and you still throw that dirty word around? Impossible?”
“Starswirl the Bearded…? It really is you?” she asked. “…and you know who I am?”
“But of course!” he replied enthusiastically, floating over to her and extending his hoof. “I’ve been following your career ever since you and your friends recovered the Elements of Harmony!”
“It’s a… pleasure…” Twilight breathed, shaking hooves with the legendary wizard. His hoof felt very fragile beneath his mesh suit. She was still coming to terms with the fact that one of the most revered spellweavers in recorded history was floating in front of her. And taking an interest in her career.
“Trust me, the pleasure is mine,” Starswirl laughed, his hat beginning to glow. “I believe Luna’s ready for you. I’m sure you have many questions—don’t worry--there’ll be plenty of time later! Off we go!”
With a powerful CRACK of blue magic, Starswirl teleported himself and Twilight out of the archives.
“Guess I get to walk,” Armor grumbled, cantering into the hallway. “Maybe after all this is over I’ll take night classes on teleportation…”
“Do you not think she’ll be bitter?” Terra asked nervously, pacing back and forth. She was standing at the windowsill in Celestia’s private chambers, watching the sun set.
“Surprised, perhaps,” Celestia responded, using her magic to pull a hairbrush from her dresser. “But not bitter. She’s never bitter!”
“I still haven’t promised anything,” her sister replied, eyeing the brush repulsively as Celestia offered it to her. “Get that away from me…”
“Would just a little care for your hair be so horrible?” the princess asked her, shoving the brush into her face. “You don’t want to meet her looking like that, do you?”
“Ugh!” Terra replied, seizing the brush with a sloppy aura of red magic. “I haven’t seen her since she was a little filly… she won’t even remember my face!”
“Of course she will,” Celestia reassured, nodding her head towards the mirror on her wall. Her sister reluctantly approached it.
“What have you told her?” Terra asked, trying to brush her mane. Her control of the brush was weak; she seemed to have little ability with regular magic.
“I have not broken my promise,” the princess replied. “Luna has returned only recently, and she has not asked her about you. She only knows you chose to travel to a distant land.”
“Does she know it had nothing to do with her?” Terra hastily questioned, jerking her head around to face Celestia. The accompanying movement of her mane forced the brush through a knot, causing her to yelp in annoyance.
“She never asked,” Celestia explained. “You would be surprised how strong she’s become, even in your absence. All of Canterlot’s finest influenced her, but I took it upon myself to personally ensure she didn’t become stuck-up. Not that it took much effort… she has such a caring heart.”
“Did she…” Terra started, fearing the answer to the question. She turned back towards the mirror and resumed brushing her mane. “…Did she get her cutie mark?”
“Not seventeen years after you left,” Celestia told her. “It’s a beautiful crystal heart. Her special talent is spreading love, and she does it effortlessly.”
Terra sighed deeply, looking down. A single tear began to form in the corner of her eyes.
“So much of… him…” Terra said quietly. “The Crystal inheritance… her eyes, the purple in her mane… she even got his mother’s pelt…”
“She hasn’t asked of him, either,” Celestia explained. “She’s become an amazing princess, and I know she would love to meet you.”
Terra sighed deeply, closing her eyes. The tears escaped, running down her brown cheek.
“I’ll give you about five minutes,” Celestia continued, grinning. “Then I’ll bring her here. You’ll have plenty of time to talk before we have to begin preparations!”
“What do I say?” the worried alicorn responded, her eyes shooting open and worriedly fixing themselves upon her older sister. “Sorry ‘bout that, just wanted to take a little vacation for the first two hundred years of your life?!”
“You could apologize,” Celestia suggested. “And explain the reason why. She’s a lot more understanding than you seem to think.”
“I…” Terra said, turning back to the mirror. She hopelessly ran the brush through her mane a few more times before dropping it. “…I’ve given her nothing to understand…”
“Do you want some help?” the princess asked her, getting an idea. “I’ll help with that, if you want.”
“Please do!” Terra begged, turning around. “I simply have no idea what to say!”
Celestia grinned mischievously and prepared a spell, her horn radiating golden energy.
With a bright flash, Terra’s mane and tail puffed out, thinning and conditioning themselves. It began to flow and sparkle brilliantly, just like Celestia’s hair. Her mane’s colors were brightened; what was formerly dark red was now crimson, and the grey layers had become an off white.
With this new look, she resembled her sister more than ever.
“Oh…” Terra said, annoyed. “Help me with… that…”
“Just say what comes to mind,” Celestia said warmly. “Maybe not so much needs to be said. Who knows, maybe she’ll do all the talking!”
“…Did you have to make it sparkle?” Terra asked, her face starting to match her crimson hair. “I’m not a princess like you…”
“Like it or not, it’s in your blood,” Celestia smiled back. “But that’s a discussion for another day. By the way, you’re down to three minutes.”
“UGH!” Terra fumed, returning to the mirror. Though she cared little about her appearance, she couldn't find anything negative to say about it. “Well…”
“See, it isn’t all that bad,” Celestia giggled. “I’m going to get her now. Three minutes!”
“You are a fast learner, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna observed, watching Twilight use the Element of Magic to prepare a paralyzing spell.
Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Cadance, and Starswirl were watching her from across the hall in Canterlot Tower. Twilight’s eyes glowed white as she looked up towards the ceiling, where Rainbow Dash was flying around in a random pattern.
“Ah’m not quite sure this’s healthy-“ Applejack started. Twilight cast the spell, freezing Dash in midair. With her wings no longer moving, the pegasus began to plummet towards the marble floor, being caught by a haze of blue magic.
“Not to worry, she’s snug as a bug,” Starswirl commented cheerfully, rotating the frozen pegasus and placing her gently onto the red carpet in the center of the hall.
“It’s not all that difficult,” Twilight said to Luna, her eyes returning to their usual shade of purple. “It feels like the Element’s just taking what I do best and making it better…”
“That is Magic’s purpose,” Luna replied, using her own magic to release Rainbow Dash from her frozen state. “We will soon move outside to the gardens to finish your training. The spells which you will be taught are not… suitable for indoors.”
“Like throwing columns at super-fast speed is,” Dash muttered, testing her wings before taking flight.
“That exercise is simple enough not to demolish the building,” Starswirl chuckled as Luna began explaining the next spell to Twilight. “But when Twilight gets going, she’ll be taking the ceiling out.”
“I don’t get it,” said Dash, changing the subject and glaring at the wizard. “How come you always wear that mask?”
“How come you always wear nothing?” Starswirl replied, looking at her curiously.
“To be more aerodynamic!” she exclaimed, doing a backwards somersault and flipping her mane. “Can’t have big hats and capes slowin’ me down!”
“Flight suits like those of the Wonderbolts would suppress your pelt, making you even more aerodynamic,” the wizard replied lazily. “Try again.”
“Well, I guess,” Dash began, putting a hoof to her chin as she thought about it. “But they don’t just sell those to anypony, y’know? And the off-brands just look terrible.”
“So what you’re saying is, you have an image you’re trying to maintain?”
“Well, yeah!” she piped up.
“So do I,” Starswirl replied, answering her initial question. “Ah, looks like Celestia’s finally back.”
“Say what?” Dash asked, looking around for the princess.
In a flash of golden light, Celestia materialized in midair at the end of the hallway, slowly hovering down to the ground.
“How did you know that?! Are you psychic?”
“Not at all,” the wizard smiled back at Dash. His yellow eyes traveled towards the group of ponies watching Twilight. “Pinkie Pie’s tail started to twitch. Nothing was falling, so it must’ve been an incoming teleport! Deductive logic, my friend. Can’t beat it!”
Dash glared at him disbelievingly as Celestia approached the group. “Cadance, would you mind coming with me for a while?” she asked her niece. “I believe you have finished with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, correct?”
“Sure!” Cadance smiled, looking proudly at her two students. “They caught on really fast. I don’t think there’s anything else I could teach them!”
“Wonderful news,” Celestia replied, shifting her gaze towards Luna. “When you’ve finished with Twilight, come to my chambers.”
Luna nodded curtly and resumed her instruction. Twilight tried to ask Celestia a question, but she was interrupted—Luna demanded her full attention. She sighed in exasperation—she had so many questions for Celestia and Starswirl that it impossible to focus.
Cadance followed Celestia towards the exit of the hall. “How’s the recruiting going?” the younger princess asked.
“The entire team has been summoned,” Celestia replied, stopping at the hall’s doors. “And one of them is anxious to meet you.”
“Anxious to meet… me?” Cadance asked, confused. “Who is it?”
“You’ll see,” Celestia smiled, readying a teleportation spell. In a flash of golden light, the two alicorns disappeared, rematerializing in Celestia’s chambers.
Cadance looked around, gasping and spreading her wings in surprise. She had locked eyes with Terra, who stood at the windowsill.
Both of the alicorns’ mouths dropped open as they stared at each other.
Nothing had to be said; somehow they both knew.
“How about I make us some tea?” Celestia said cheerfully, walking over to her fireplace. With a flash of golden light, it burst into flame, and the princess conjured a teapot.
Terra gulped, unable to form words.
“Mm…” Cadance started. She knew it was true, but she needed to hear it. “…Mother?”
Still at a complete loss, all Terra could do was nod her head. She didn’t dare blink, inwardly fearing her daughter would disappear. “I-“ she started to say, tears once again streaming from her eyes. “I’m… I’m s-sorry…”
Tears beginning to escape her eyes as well, Cadance suddenly galloped up to her mother, embracing her affectionately. “I was afraid… I’d never see you again…” she sobbed. “I missed you so much!”
“You… remember me?” Terra asked, her heart skipping a beat. “After all these years?”
“I could never forget your face,” Cadance cried, smiling as she buried her face in her mother’s neck. “I was just a little filly, but I’d always remember it!”
“Mi-Amore Cadenza…” Terra replied, lifting her foreleg to return the embrace.
“Call me Cadance,” she laughed, sniffling.
“Cadance… I… It’s beautiful… You’re beautiful... I’m so sorry…”
Celestia couldn’t help but smile as well, pouring three cups of tea as she watched them from the corner of her eye. A sudden flash of purple light shone through the window, causing the rejoicing pair to release each other and stare at its source. It had come from the royal gardens.
“Not to worry, I’m sure that’s just Twilight Sparkle practicing her offensive magic,” Celestia reassured them, trotting over towards the window. Sure enough, Luna, Starswirl, and the Elements of Harmony were standing in the garden, watching intently as Twilight fired her spell again.
The violet jet of light was cone-shaped, reaching outwards from her horn and into the sky. It singed the edges of several buildings in the process, causing their residents to fearfully approach their windows.
“There is nothing to be concerned about, citizens,” Luna’s royal voice boomed at them. “We are practicing magic in the interest of your defense.”
“Hopefully they’re careful,” Cadance smiled weakly, wiping a tear from her eyes. “Otherwise there won’t be much to defend, heh…”
Terra laughed nervously with her, both of them ending the humorous moment with a deep sigh. Seeing the awkwardness begin to build, Celestia decided to give them another nudge.
“Come, have some tea,” she said warmly, levitating two cups and offering them to her sister and niece. Cadance accepted hers and began sipping right away, while Terra simply held hers in midair with her weak magic.
“S-so how has life been, in Canterlot?” Terra asked, gulping. She finally took a sip of tea, which started to relax the lump in her throat.
“It’s been fantastic,” Cadance gushed as another flash of purple light flooded the room. “…I lived with Aunt Celestia until I was thirteen, then I was sent to the Royal Boarding School. I graduated at the top of my class!”
Terra sighed, smiling weakly. “I… I knew you were in… good hooves. I’m sorry I wasn’t here…”
“Hey, it’s okay,” the young princess said, as her mother started to look down. “Just because you weren’t here doesn’t mean I love you any less!”
Terra could feel her heart beginning to melt; Cadance loved her so unconditionally.
“I… I’ve loved you, too…” she tried to explain, taking another sip of tea. “…I left because…”
After a few moments of silence, Cadance placed her hoof on her mother’s shoulder. “You don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want to,” she said quietly. “We can talk about it some other time.”
“What happened… after you graduated?” Terra asked, lifting her head. Another flash of purple light startled them both, this time accompanied by the sound of splintering wood.
“Celestia taught me how to be a princess,” Cadance explained, trying to ignore the fireworks show. “20 years of boarding school, 20 years of governer’s school… Oh, I found my special talent before that!”
The pink alicorn rotated and spread her wings, revealing the crystal heart on her flank.
“I was always good at spreading love and making my friends happy… and then, one day, I saw a couple arguing in the royal garden—all I did was wish they’d stop, and boom! They stopped!”
“That’s amazing…” Terra smiled weakly, taking another sip of tea. She couldn’t help but feel happier—simply being around her daughter again seemed to be transforming her.
“After I finished all of my schooling, I started helping Celestia with administration,” Cadance continued happily.
“I was always good at settling disputes; they even made me a judge on the Royal Court for a few years! I got flight training from Cloudsdale University’s finest… Oh! I was MVP of the Canterlot Brightmanes for four years in a row!”
“Volleyball,” Celesta clarified, as Terra looked at her daughter in confusion.
“Yeah!” the young princess cheered. “And just earlier this year, I married a wonderful stallion, his name’s Shining Armor! He’s the Captain of the Royal Guard!”
“M-married?!” Terra sputtered in mid-sip, spraying tea in every direction.
“The wedding was most spectacular,” a voice boomed from the doorway. Princess Luna had entered the room, and was slowly approaching the other alicorns.
“…Luna?” Terra asked; her younger sister nodded.
For the first time in thousands of years, the three sisters were reunited.