“Twilight?”
“Yes Spike?” The lavender mare turned from her work to regard her draconian assistant.
“Here’s the last box for you,” Spike said, hefting a large cardboard container in his claws as he walked through the door of the new bedroom.
“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said. Her lavender magic lifted the box from Spike’s grasp and the top was popped open. Twilight peered in, assessing its contents to determine where they would need to be placed. “Ah! Starlight’s books and papers. You know where those go, right?”
“Yep!” Spike replied, waddling over to the currently empty bookshelf where Twilight set down the box. He got to work placing the literature on the shelves, sorting them with practiced skill. After cleaning up so many crash study sessions, it was almost an instinct for him now.
Twilight smiled and turned back to her own task of sorting and putting away what few personal effects Starlight Glimmer had brought with her. There really wasn’t all that much. Starlight had lived a very minimalist life during her time as an iron-hoofed dictator, even more so during her time plotting revenge for being deposed. Were it not for the fact that the citizens of Starlight’s town had boxed up and stored their former leader’s things rather than throwing them out, the repentant time-breaker likely wouldn’t have had anything to her name at all.
The former antagonist was currently out and about Ponyville with Rarity and Fluttershy, trying to find a suitable bed and desk for her new room in Friendship Castle. While a little timid at first to the idea of having a “Lady’s Day” out shopping, Rarity had insisted that it was a prime opportunity to get to know ponies and the town better and help put Starlight at ease in her new home. That, and the fact that Starlight had not had a bed to call her own for quite some time and had even resorted to sleeping outdoors for the past few moons had appalled the fashionista so badly that she wouldn’t rest until Starlight had something comfortable to lay her head on.
It still staggered the young princess’s mind. That such a hardened and belligerently determined mare like Starlight had turned from her ways and was now her own personal student and newest friend. It was incredible to think that she, a comparatively young and new Alicorn, was so quickly assuming the same role her own mentor held. To say that Twilight’s life had been a bit of a whirlwind was an understatement, but it had all turned out well in the end.
Of course, there was still that one lingering nag in her mind. The events of the last few days had not just saved Equestria, but had also served as a diversion from her research on The Observers. In truth, Twilight was almost thankful that something new had drawn her attention. Almost every spare moment of her free time had been taken up by her studies. Her thoughts leading up to her encounter with Starlight had been troubled, even paranoid. The realization of being watched by unknown and unseen beings of untold power and intent could definitely do that to a pony. It didn’t help that, despite all the research and postulating Twilight had done, she still knew precious little of the true nature of The Observers.
However, for now, Twilight was content to sort, put away, and relax a bit. As Spike had emphatically assured her, she had done all she could with what she had. More answers would come with time.
BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!!!
Twilight jumped at the sudden rapid report at the castle’s door. Skillfully, she restrained herself from dropping the items she held in her magic and set them back in their box. She then went to answer the insistent knocking.
Spike followed after her, also drawn by the sudden commotion. “Who could that be?” he asked as Twilight neared the door. Twilight shrugged and took a telekinetic hold on the door handle.
“TWILIGHT!!!”
The lavender mare was swept from her hooves by a barrage of pink the moment the door came open. She found herself on her back, dazed from the sudden impact. She quickly gathered her wits and looked up into a face-full of pink fur and frizzy mane. Standing over her with ecstatic blue eyes was the living sugar rush that was Pinkie Pie, a stream of nonsensical gibberish tumbling from her lips.
“TwilightyouwontbelievethisbutIwasbakingsomecupcakeswhensuddenlymypinkiesensewentoffandyoullneverguesswhatit…”
“Pinkie! Stop!” Twilight plugged the verbal torrent with her hoof, looking her animated friend in the eye. Dutifully, Pinkie paused and returned Twilight’s gaze. “First of all, you’ll need to slow down if you want me to understand anything you’re saying,” Twilight said calmly. “Second of all, what in the name of all things Equestrian has you so excited?”
Twilight removed her hoof slowly, allowing Pinkie Pie a moment to calm herself (as much as that was possible). Then, with a deep breath, Pinkie pushed her nose to Twilight’s and spoke very deliberately.
“Three words, Twilight: Warm! And! Fuzzy!” she said.
“Warm and fuzzy?” Twilight asked in confusion. “Pinkie, what is that even suppose to…” The princess stopped, her eyes going wide as the realization struck. “Wait; warm and fuzzy? As in: warm-and-fuzzy tummy? As in: Pinkie Sense Warm-And-Fuzzy Tummy?”
“Mm-hmm!” Pinkie nodded vigorously.
Twilight’s heart was pounding out of her chest. “You felt it?!” she asked urgently.
“Not felt; feel!” Pinkie chirped.
Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. “You’re feeling it right now?” she breathed.
“Mm-hmm!”
“As in: Right Now, right now?”
“Right-a-rooney!”
“As in:…” Twilight was thunderstruck! “The Observers are watching us again? Right Now?!”
“Ding, Ding, Ding! Give the mare a prize!” Pinkie proclaimed.
For the briefest of moments, eternity passed. Then all Tartarus broke loose.
“SPIKE!!!”
Twilight exploded from the floor, tossing Pinkie Pie in a heap against the opposite wall.
“What! What!” Spike yelped, his eyes wild and his arms shielding his head.
“The letter to Princess Celestia sealed with yellow wax. Send it! Now!!!” The frazzled pony cried with a stamp of her hoof. “There is no time to waste!” Then, in a flash of magic, she vanished, a muffled crack upstairs announcing her appearance in the castle laboratory.
Spike immediately snapped to attention. “Right away!” he declared. He ran across the entrance hall to an alcove table as Pinkie Pie picked herself up off the floor. He opened the drawer which contained a set of pre-written letters, each sealed with a different colored wax. Similar sets had been stashed in the library, Twilight’s room, and in other convenient places around the castle in such a fashion that would make Pinkie Pie proud. He seized a roll of parchment sealed in yellow, drew a deep breath and blew out. His magical green fire consumed the role and the resulting cloud of energy shot from the castle, speeding on its way toward a mountainside city in the distance.
The city of Canterlot, the capital of Equestria and the home of the Royal Pony Sisters, stood gleaming and resplendent high upon its mountainside. The morning’s scheduled rain had washed the stone of the city clean, leaving the white and gold of the ancient buildings with a special luster and a freshness to the air.
Within the walls of Canterlot Castle, sitting upon her throne, Princess Celestia, Immortal Alicorn, Regent of the Sun, and Co-ruler of Equestria enjoyed a light tea before returning to the duties that attended the Solar Court. The morning had been busy to say the least; meetings with the royal cabinet members, regents and emissaries to treat with, new edicts to read, edit, and sign, all while making time for the young ponies who came seeking an audience with her.
Though the bothersome royal protocol often hindered such encounters, Celestia desired that no pony should feel unwelcome in her presence. And indeed, those who came to know her never did. Be they old or young she knew them all as her little ponies and loved them all as a mother loves her children. It was the source of both her greatest joy and her greatest pain: watching them succeed and fail, help and hurt, live and die. Yes, she felt herself a mother to her ponies and wished to shelter and protect them, but she also knew that they couldn’t learn and truly be happy without both the bitter and the sweet.
Thus it often was that she knew of the trials facing those she loved, yet would stand by and let them work through it, refusing to deprive them of the lessons they would never learn otherwise. She would advise, guide, and direct, but it was only in the direst need, when all else had failed, that she would intervene directly. And even then, there were sometimes forces and magics greater even than her own that came into play; forces no one pony, not even she herself, could truly wield alone.
It happened that an example of this occupied her thoughts at that moment. She was pondering the growth of her former apprentice, Twilight Sparkle, and the remarkable bond that the young Alicorn shared with her friends in Ponyville. Through that bond, they had realized the full potential of the Elements of Harmony and overcome many obstacles and opponents. They had purified Nightmare Moon, defeated and befriended Discord, conquered Tirek, and saved the very future of Equestria, just to name a few.
It was both an irony and blessing, in Celestia’s mind, that the greatest and most powerful mystic force then known in Equestria had ultimately been taken up, not by its rulers, but by its citizens. That blessing had born fruit in the six mares and one dragon who now shared thrones of friendship and leadership in Ponyville. It was a sign to her that her little ponies were that much closer to what she foresaw they would ultimately become.
Celestia’s musings were cut short by the sudden appearance of a roll of parchment. Being borne in magical dragon flame, she knew instantly who it was from. Celestia smiled. She had been expecting an update from Twilight on how well her new personal student was settling in. It was such a treat to see how quickly her newest peer was progressing. But as she made to open the scroll, she noticed the seal. The wax was very dry and was cracked in places, indicating that it had been made some time ago. Additionally, it wasn’t the usual red wax of Twilight’s letters, but was instead a distinct and urgent yellow.
Her curiosity piqued and a small stone in her gut, Celestia unfurled the letter and read this short message:
Dear Princess Celestia,
This letter is to inform you and Princess Luna that The Observers have returned and that I am currently investigating the matter. Updates will be forthcoming.
Your Fellow Princess,
Twilight Sparkle
A crash was heard as a tea cup fell to the floor of the throne room.
“Guards!” Celestia barked. The sentinels beside the throne and at the door snapped to attention. “Find Princess Luna and tell her to meet me in Canterlot Tower, at once!”
“Yes, Your Highness!” The watch at the door about-faced and raced down the adjoining corridor, followed closely by the throne’s guards.
With a flash of her horn, Princess Celestia vanished from the dais and reappeared in the stain-glass and history steeped hall of Canterlot Tower, the resting place of many of Equestria’s most valuable and magical treasures. With a regal, yet short command, she dismissed the guards. Then, finding herself alone for the moment, she closed her eyes and opened her mind.
True, the yoke of protecting Equestria may have extended to include others, but it still rested squarely upon Celestia’s withers, the regalia about her neck a symbolic testament of that fact. She didn’t know who or what these Observers were or what they intended for her kingdom. She didn’t even know what they were capable of or if she could match them. But if they proved to be a threat, she would not be caught unawares and she would do all in her power to defend her children.
Thus, she reached out with her senses and magic, searching for something, anything that could give her an idea of the presence that looked down on them.
“I know you’re out there somewhere,” the Sun Mare said quietly, her awareness brushing the very fabric of reality. “Where are you, and what do you want?”
High in Friendship Castle, among the crystalline limbs and walls that made up the magical structure, the equipment of a laboratory hummed. Within this laboratory sat two equines and one dragon, each sharing a common goal: find out who was watching them and why. One pony was sitting quite happily with a large, brightly lit contraption on her head and her forelegs strapped into a large device, both of which were connected to a scanning machine that was monitoring her vital signs and brain activity. The other pony checked over the equipment one last time before taking a seat across from her friend, pad and quill close at hoof.
“OK, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight Sparkle said, marking the date and time on her pad, “Let’s get to the bottom of this!”
"Okey-dokey-lokey!" came the exuberant reply from the wired-up pony. “I really want to meet these guys!”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Spike, keep a close eye on that monitor and take down any strange readings. Now, Pinkie,” Twilight said, “When did you start feeling the Warm-and-Fuzzy Tummy today?”
“About fifteen minutes ago,” Pinkie replied. “I was just finishing some cupcakes…. Oh no, my cupcakes!” Pinkie cried. “They must have gone all over the floor!”
“Focus, Pinkie!” Twilight chided. “We can worry about that later. Now, you were finishing your cupcakes when….”
“Oh, right! I was finishing my cupcakes when, Boom; I felt a warm-and-fuzzy tummy complete with major vibes!”
“And what kind of ‘vibes’ were you getting?” Twilight asked, her quill scratching away.
Pinkie’s brow creased in thought as she recalled the moment. “Happy and excited, like they were getting ready to do something they loved.”
This comment sparked several tangential ideas in the researcher’s mind, but she shelved them and pressed on with the questions. “And what are you feeling now?”
Pinkie didn’t answer right away. After a moment of inner searching, she finally said “I’m not getting anything right now.”
Twilight’s eye twitched and her quill spattered to a halt. She didn’t want to believe it. All this time and all this preparation and the feeling just slips away? Right now? Of all times!? “You mean the feeling’s gone?” Twilight asked, trying to keep the strain out of her voice.
“No, no, no, no, the warm-and-fuzzy is still there,” Pinkie assured, “but I’m not getting any vibes at the moment.”
Twilight’s internal stress valve let off a sigh of relief. They were still in business. She hoped. “And why aren’t you feeling any emotions from them right now?”
“Well, it’s almost like they’re watching, but not watching right here right now,” Pinkie explained. “You know, like when you’re reading a book or baking a cake, but step away for a moment to do something real quick? You’re still reading or baking, but not at the same time.”
Twilight struggled with the idea for a moment. “I’m not sure I follow, Pinkie. How could they be watching but not watching…”
“Wait, wait, wait!!!” Pinkie shouted. “Vibes! I’ve got the vibes again! They’re back!”
“We got a big jump on the graph, Twilight,” Spike reported from the monitor.
“Oh good!” Twilight chirped. “Now we’ve got something. What are you feeling, Pinkie?” the eager pony pressed, her quill hovering over the page.
Pinkie paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. As she did, a confused look came to her face. “Surprise, shock, a hint of excitement and… fear?”
Twilight paused. She wasn’t expecting that. Why would an omniscient and presumably omnipotent being be surprised, shocked, or afraid? “Why would they be scared?” she asked to no pony in particular.
“I don’t know,” Pinkie answered. She then turned her head toward the wall, a quizzical look in her eye. “Why are you scared?” she asked.
A creature sat in a chair, its wide eyes glued in disbelief to a screen sitting on a desk in front of it. On that screen sat the image of two ponies and a dragon in a laboratory. One pony had a lavender coat and held a pad and quill pen in its Alicorn magic. The second pony had a pink coat and a frizzy mane and tail. She was attached to some kind of monitoring device which chugged away as it processed. She was also looking the stunned creature straight in the eye. Her question, which had been clearly audible through the screen’s speakers, hung in the air.
“Are… are you talking… to me?!” it asked.