ENTRY 11
February 9, 2032
Wednesday, February 9th. Equestria is now without its ruler. Since the funeral, I’ve vowed to close myself off from everything and everyone I know and love in order to avoid getting hurt again. Believe me when I say that this is for the best.
The only time I ever come out of hiding is during the Festival of the Two Sisters once a year and it’s safe to say that my very existence is now considered a bigger “old pony’s tale” than Nightmare Moon ever was.
Luster Dawn no longer writes to me. I think our last conversation where I banned her from ever visiting me again shook her deeply. The only source of comfort I have is Spike. I tried to fire him as well, but he wouldn’t have it, saying that even though I gave up on friendship entirely, he would still be by my side.
I appreciated that, all things considered. I don’t think I would ever be able to truly get rid of the dragon that I’ve always seen as my own son. So he stays with me as I check in with my other advisors. The only things I hear about the outside world are through them after all. I’m told that trade relations are deteriorating as without my guidance, the griffons are trying to hoard all resources from the other kingdoms in a desperate attempt to build back their own.
I don’t intervene, of course. I let the trade regulators do all the work. I will say that I miss talking with ponies outside of the castle staff, who I see everyday, but I can never bring myself to show my face to the world again, knowing that I’ve failed to save my friends.
As a result, I don’t open up with anyone anymore, not even Spike. He tries to talk to me, of course, but I never capitulate. I just feel too scared to do anything that would involve any sort of non-professional interaction. I’m sure you understand. We’ve all lost ponies at some point in our lives and that loss cuts deep. It penetrates your soul until you’re unable to do anything, your brain constantly reminding you of your failure.
I think Spike understood this as he and I began to talk less and the only interactions we have now are simple greetings. He indulges himself in what I think is his work. He is usually down by the School For Gifted Unicorns. I don’t know what he does as I don’t go there anymore, but it’s nice to see he’s paying the teachers and students simple, friendly visits.
Or at least…that’s what I thought it was.
The doors to the Canterlot throne room burst open with a loud bang. Twilight looked up from the bill she was signing, startled, as Spike strutted in confidently, humming to himself as he approached her. She set down her glass of water and faced him.
Twilight groaned. “Ugh! Spike, can you not?! I’m trying to sign this bill here. It’ll hopefully crack down on those greedy griffons without me having to do anything personally.”
“That’s the thing, Twilight!” Spike exclaimed happily. “You are doing something personally now. Because I’ve just informed Professor Ink Cartridge that you’ve decided to choose a new apprentice!!”
Twilight spit out her drink in horror. “WHAT?! Spike, no!! I didn’t agree to that!! What exactly did you tell her?!!”
“Simple,” Spike exclaimed. “You don’t attend any events outside the castle except for one. And that’s the Festival of the Two Sisters. Tomorrow is the fourteenth Festival and it’s going to be here in Canterlot according to the annual Rotation Calendar. I just told Cartridge to arrange a field trip for all of her students and that you will be selecting one based on who can perform a transfiguration spell. That is how we selected Luster Dawn, right?”
Twilight nodded. “It was. But don’t tell her things that aren’t true!! I’m not leaving this castle for anything other than the Festival! And I’m certainly not going to choose another apprentice so soon. I waited years after Starlight to choose Luster.”
“I know,” Spike prodded. “But this is good for you. You want to know why I was down at the School For Gifted Unicorns, right? I was arranging the event. It had to go through her, Principal Arcane, etc. But it’s finalized! Plus it’ll give Arcane some publicity and let’s be real, that’s all he cares about.”
Twilight facehoofed. “Spike, why are you doing this?! Now I have to un-finalize everything!! And that means…”
Spike grinned. “You’ll have to step outside. The only pony who can undo a serious formal selection like this is the Princess herself.”
“Celestia dammit…”
“Seriously, Twilight. Don’t cancel this. An apprentice will be good for you.”
“No it will not!!” Twilight yelled. “I don’t want to get attached to anypony again! I can’t!!! Not after…” Tears came to her eyes. “Not after they left…”
Spike sighed deeply. “Listen, Twilight. I know it’s hard. You didn’t even get to say goodbye to them. We all loved our friends, right? Well, they would’ve wanted you to continue on without them. They wouldn’t want you to close yourself off just because of their deaths.”
“BUT I CAN’T DO THIS!!!” Twilight screamed. “Spike, you don’t understand!! My friends meant everything to me and I didn’t even get to say goodbye before they died in that fire!! I can’t bear to go through that loss again!!”
“You won’t.”
“But what if-“
“You won’t,” Spike promised her. “Trust me. It’ll help get your mind off your friends and that’s the best thing for you right now. Just train this one for a year and see what it does for you. If he or she’s insufferable, we’ll call it off immediately and you can tell me ‘I told you so’ all you want.”
Twilight glared at him. “You sound just like Celestia. Well, what if I don’t want to?! What if I say no?! As Princess, my word outweighs yours.”
Spike looked at her back with an even angrier stare. “Then you are not the pony who hatched me from an egg and raised me to become Equestria’s Official Friendship Ambassador.”
Twilight had to admit that she was intimidated by that look. She had never seen Spike give such a hard stare like that before, even at his angriest. Finally, she let out a sigh of resignation. There was no talking Spike out of the idea. The damage had already been done. “Fine. Who do you have your money on?”
Spike smiled. “Well, there’s this one unicorn mare in the class that Professor Cartridge says is the most powerful unicorn in the whole school. They don’t know where she came from or her family, just that she possesses incredible magic at such a young age. I believe the name of this unicorn is…Opaline Arcada?”
Twilight’s ears perked up. “Interesting name, I’ll admit. Very unorthodox. Well, we’ll see who I pick at the Festival. If she’s as powerful as you say, then transfiguration should be quite easy for her.”
Spike had made a deal behind my back. It was at that moment that my fate was sealed. It didn’t matter if I had ripped him a new one instead of just taking it. He knew what was best for me at the end of the day.
He knew it better than anyone else.
The School For Gifted Unicorns
Professor Ink Cartridge’s Class
“Alright, class!” Professor Ink Cartridge spoke cheerfully as she faced her students. “Tomorrow is a very important day for all of us! Do you want to know why?”
The unicorns in the class were wide-eyed and attentive this time when they would normally be asleep at their desks as word was spreading around that Princess Twilight Sparkle herself was set to make an appearance at the Festival of the Two Sisters in order to make a very important selection that involved them.
One student raised her hoof. “Um…Princess Twilight Sparkle is going to make an appearance?”
“Very good, Ruby!” Professor Cartridge complimented her. “Not only that, but she is also set to choose a new apprentice! FROM THIS VERY CLASS!!!!” She squealed with pure excitement and joy. “There I said it!!”
The classroom immediately erupted into very heated and excited chatter as the students were all attempting to tell each other why they were going to be the inevitable pick. This was something that had been unheard of for so many years and with Twilight’s appearances being very few, there were those wondering what forced her hoof to select a new student.
“Well, I just know it’s gonna be me!!”
“Nuh uh!! I’m the most powerful pony who has ever lived!! I just know that I’m going to be chosen!!”
“No! I think she’ll pick me!”
“No! Me!!”
“No me!!”
“Me!!”
“ME!!!”
The only unicorn who wasn’t talking was a young purple unicorn with white and blue hair named Opaline Arcada. She was stroking the braids on her mane as she tuned out all of the discussion. She already knew that she wasn’t going to be chosen.
In her mind, she didn’t think she had what it took to be apprenticed to the Princess herself, even if many others who had witnessed her magical abilities disagreed with her assessment. She would be happy for whoever got chosen. It didn’t have to be her.
Yet, a part of her longed to be noticed by somepony. On one hand, she just wanted to live life as a normal pony and she felt that if she were to be chosen, she would buckle underneath all that pressure. On the other hand, however, being chosen would finally mean that ponies would want to be her friend.
She didn’t have any friends as she was too shy to make any. Whenever she tried to approach any pony, she would always chicken out and say the wrong thing, resulting in other ponies thinking her weird and awkward. She longed to just have one friend.
If only…
“Hey, Opaline!!” an unidentified voice said mockingly.
Opaline looked up and saw the familiar face of her regular bully Chill Raspberry. He stood over her menacingly with an evil grin on his face.
“Oh…” Opaline said softly. “Hey there, Chill.”
“What’cha doin’, loser?” Chill mocked her. “Plotting how you’re going to steal the position from me? Well let me tell you something. You’ll never be chosen.”
“I don’t want-“
“And do you know why?” pressed Chill. “Because I know how to talk to ponies unlike you. The Princess’s whole thing is about friendship. And you can’t even talk to docile Ruby without running away. Don’t even think about trying, you freak.”
Opaline stood up from her seat and began walking away. “I don’t want to talk right now, Chill…Just leave me alone…”
“Alone? Oh that’s right! Alone. Because you have no family and no life. What a sad existence you must live.”
“Leave me alone, please…”
“Are you really that afraid to fight me?! Come on, have at me, twerp!! Let’s see what kind of magic you possess! Huh huh? Oh no, she can’t perform magic! I guess I’ll just have to pass her up!”
That was when something inside Opaline snapped and the normally timid unicorn’s horn lit up a bright pink. Before anyone could say a word, Chill was sprawled on the floor with half of his teeth right next to him.
The moment Opaline registered her actions, she gasped in horror. What had she done?!! She didn’t mean to do this!
Chill groaned in pain. “You bitch. What did you do to me? I feel…ugh…I-“ He didn’t finish the thought as he slipped into unconsciousness.
“No!!” Opaline cried, tears coming to her eyes. “Please, please wake up!!”
The other students were now crowding around the fallen Chill and looking at him with expressions of worry and confusion.
Professor Cartridge approached her. “Opaline-“
“I’m sorry!!” Opaline apologized. “Please don’t hurt-“
“I’m not,” Professor Cartridge said gently. “I would never. What you did was a magical outburst. It’s outside of your control. I think it might be a result of that wild, untamed magic you have. None of us have seen anything like it.”
“What does this mean, Professor…?” inquired Opaline timidly.
“This school may be too dangerous for you,” Professor Cartridge told her regretfully. “I think it’s best if we get you transferred somewhere else should you not get chosen tomorrow.”
Opaline’s eyes stung with tears. This was the worst news she had ever heard in her life. Silently, she cursed herself as she could hear her classmates snickering behind her back.
Why couldn’t she just be normal?
That evening, Opaline ran out of the School as fast as her hooves could take her. She couldn’t stay there. Everypony hated her now.
She knew that the only way to keep everyone she knew safe was to leave and never return. She figured that she would run to the EverFree Forest and maybe get eaten by a Timberwolf or a manticore.
Anything was better than constantly getting ponies hurt due to magic that she couldn’t control.
As she ran and ran, she suddenly skidded to a halt as her eyes locked on to the setting Sun. For some reason, it mesmerized her and she couldn’t take her eyes off it.
It was like the Sun was trying to send her a hidden message just by its presence.
Tears came to her eyes and she wiped them away. The wind blew through her mane as she stared at the massive celestial being that was slowly setting behind the horizon. In that moment, she knew that she had to stay.
If she got chosen, then perhaps Twilight could help her control her powers and be normal. She couldn’t give up.
Not now.
With a newfound resolve, she walked back to the School For Gifted Unicorns, ready to accept whatever punishment they were going to give her.
At least she knew that all her suffering was going to end tomorrow if she was lucky.
ENTRY 12
February 11, 2032
THE FESTIVAL OF THE TWO SISTERS
Last night was the Festival of the Two Sisters. It was the only ceremony which I still attended out of respect for Celestia and Luna’s legacy. They would’ve wanted me to still host it, so I did as without me to raise the Sun, all life would cease to exist.
It was declared mandatory that I keep the cycle going regardless of how I was feeling. Normally, I wouldn’t mind as it was quite simple. By this point, I knew the routine like the back of my hoof as I had been doing this for years.
On this day, however, it was a different story. Everypony knew by now that today was the day that I was going to choose a new apprentice. It was a monumental occasion as my last apprentice selection, that being Luster Dawn, hadn’t happened in so many moons.
The creatures and ponies all gathered near the castle where the massive platform was. I had elected to keep it as a remnant of the old Summer Sun Celebration. It was historic and I didn’t want to get rid of it.
So we ended up using it every time the Festival would be held. To say that I myself was nervous would be an understatement. I barely interacted with the crowds save for this one event. Most of the time they didn’t mind my absence, but with things getting so bad now, I didn’t know what they would think of me.
Off to the left, I spotted a herd of young ponies trailing behind a grey earth pony mare with glasses in single file. It was Professor Ink Cartridge and her class. Cartridge had a big smile on her face, as did her students. I had given them priority seating so my new apprentice would be easier to select out of the thousands of creatures in attendance.
So they sat near the front, underneath the bright glow of the Moon. Everyone was waiting in both eager anticipation and intense trepidation for me to deliver my address and raise the Sun.
I glanced at Spike momentarily and he gave me an encouraging nod. I then stepped onto the platform and delivered my obligatory speech. It was there, however, that things began to go horribly wrong.
“…And so,” Twilight finished solemnly. “It is my deepest honor to commemorate the legacy of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna by raising the Sun. Let a new day begin!” She glanced at Spike again. “May I have the amulet, please?”
Spike rummaged through his bag, but couldn’t find the sun and moon amulet. He checked through hurriedly, increasing amounts of panic visible on his face until he finally looked back at Twilight. “Twilight…I think we might’ve forgotten the amulet back at the castle.”
“WHAT?!” Twilight stared at him with wide eyes. The crowd gasped in horror and started chattering amongst themselves that this was the time of Nightmare Moon all over again.
This couldn’t be! There had to be some sort of mistake. Perhaps this was some sort of mistake the Princess was trying to pull?! There had to be a solution!
“You can always raise the Sun yourself.” suggested Spike desperately.
“I can’t raise the Sun!!” Twilight cried. “Remember Tirek?! I had the combined powers of the princesses and it was still a mess!!”
“Just try it, Twilight!” Spike encouraged her fearfully. “You can do it!! Right?”
“I-“
Spike and I had forgotten the Sun and Moon amulet at home. This was the worst slip up ever in my eyes. Nothing could compare to the embarrassment I felt. I looked like a fool up there in front of all those ponies. I couldn’t even say a damn thing to calm the citizens.
What kind of Princess did that make me?
Just as I was about to give up hope, however, a small purple unicorn emerged from the crowd, staring up at me.
I was in no mood to talk to fans at the moment, but I had no choice. I was so desperate that I was willing to accept help from a student.
“Um, Princess…?” the unicorn asked. “Maybe…I could help…?”
The crowd laughed hysterically. Here was a unicorn mare not fully trained in her abilities trying to ask the Princess if she could aid her.
Twilight stared at her in total shock. “Young one, I do not believe you can. This is outside of your capabilities.”
“I want to try, Princess!” The mare insisted. “Please…let me help!”
“Ha!!” A white unicorn stallion with a pink mane and tail came up next to her. “Look at stupid Opaline trying to help the Princess!! She thinks she’s soooooo better than her!”
Opaline’s cheeks flustered in embarrassment. “No I don’t! I just-“
I could not stand to see Opaline be bullied like that in front of thousands, so I agreed to let her attempt to raise the Sun, much to the shock of the crowd.
I was not expecting much and I was already planning to say something in consolation once the attempt inevitably failed. But what I saw astounded me.
The Sun was beginning to move. Opaline was doing it. She was raising the Sun all by herself! Sure, it was awkward as the Sun kept bouncing all over the place in an erratic manner and moving extremely slowly, but she was doing it! She was really doing it! I had never seen such powerful magic from such a young pony before in my life. The sheer amount of raw power she displayed in that moment was truly unprecedented. Not even Luster could claim that she had the power to raise the Sun.
The crowd watched in pure awe as a mere filly, barely into her teen years, slowly raised the Sun higher into the sky inch by inch. This hadn’t been seen in thousands of years and the ponies chattered amongst themselves as to whether this was a sign from the gods or divine omen.
It was a miracle.
Needless to say, I was inspired to help, so I offered up some of my own magic once I saw she was beginning to struggle a bit with the spell. The Sun began to drop lower into the sky and I could tell that she was getting extremely exhausted. I did not blame her in the slightest. Raising the Sun was no easy feat and the fact that Opaline knew how to do it at such a young age was incredible. Right when she was about to collapse from the sheer exhaustion, I offered up some of my own magic to help keep the Sun in a steady orbit.
Together, she and I were able to raise the Sun high into the sky in front of the astounded thousands. Once it reached a tentative resting place, we let it go and took a few deep breaths to calm ourselves.
The crowd then recovered from its silence and then proceeded to give her a standing ovation. The day had been saved!
Twilight went down to Opaline’s level. “You’re Opaline, correct?”
Opaline nodded. “Yes, Princess…I…I didn’t think I could do that. I never tried raising the Sun before, I just-“
“You wanted to help,” Twilight finished for her. “Well, you certainly did. I will admit that I would’ve been lost without your help.”
Opaline nodded again shyly, looking away. It was clear that she wasn’t used to all this attention directed at her.
Twilight stepped forward and placed a hoof on the younger pony’s shoulder. “Let it be known that this young mare saved you tonight. She rescued you, rescued us. We would’ve been cast in eternal darkness had it not been for her bravery. I cannot commend her enough for what she’s done.” She scanned the watchful eyes of the crowd. “I said that today I was going to choose my apprentice. I said that I was going to choose my student who will learn under my guidance. Well, I believe that I have chosen her.”
Opaline looked up in surprise.
“This pony has proven in just five minutes that she is more resilient, capable, dependable, and powerful than anyone else here!” Twilight declared. “She’s proven that more than some could in an entire lifetime! She didn’t have to risk everything to try and help me! Whether she succeeded or not, her bravery is something to be praised, admired, and feared!! Her magic is beyond anything I have ever seen! Fillies and gentlecolts, give it up for my new personal protégé: Opaline Arcada!!”
Opaline gasped. She glanced at Twilight, who was now bowing down to her. She then glanced towards the crowd and all of them were doing the same thing. One by one, each creature present bowed in respect and reverence towards her. She couldn’t believe what was happening.
She had been chosen.
She stood there, frozen in both fear and shock as the crowd then began chanting her name. It started off quiet and then grew in intensity as more creatures chimed in.
“Opaline!”
“Opaline!”
“Opaline!!”
“Opaline!!!!”
“OPALINE!!!”
“OPALINE!!!”
“OPALINE!!!”
It was a magical moment that could not be replicated. I could not imagine how Opaline must’ve been feeling in that moment; being the center of attention must’ve felt so wrong, but also so right at the same time. The chanting continued as more ponies from across the city chimed in.
As the Sun rose higher and higher into the sky, it cast its rays upon her, giving her a divine look. It was the dawn of a new day.
And the dawn of a new life.