Locks clicked. Keys jingled merrily before they were immediately shushed by the close confines of a pocket. A capable purple claw tried the handle to check if the building was secure. In this town, that action was unnecessary, but the librarian still performed it—an action born from spending his formative years in the capital city.
In his heart, the librarian tried not to think that this may be his last day locking up the library that had been left to him. Looking after the library was his responsibility after all, and he’d hate to learn that something bad would have happened to it during his absence. Maybe he could get one of his friends to drop by from time to time?
Sighing to himself, the dragon started to walk his daily trek through Ponyville—not too fast or too slow. He didn’t know exactly who was watching. A pace too fast or a grin too wide could tip off a spy to suspect his planning something before the dreaded day arrived. If the Princesses didn’t have so much faith in him, he’d have been formally “escorted” onto a train heading to Canterlot a week ago instead of having a ticket reserved for his leaving four days from now. To have so much time to make peace was a courtesy, he knew, but still he had to show up. As much as he hated to admit it, a group of ponies were probably assigned to make sure he did just that—and with good reason. At noon four days from now, a train headed to Canterlot will leave Ponyville’s tiny train station, but he won’t be on it.
He stuck a different key into a larger, more ornate door. The lock turned easily, and he quickly slammed the door shut behind him, finally letting himself relax.
“Goodness! Spike, is that you? I thought it was the royal guard breaking down the door—or Sweetie in one of her moods again...” The owner of the voice paused, then added in a low undertone, “I swear by Celestia I wasn’t as moody as that when I was a teenager.”
At the sound of the mare’s often-used melodramatic tone, Spike unwound a little further, but the royal guard comment made him wince. Too close to home. However, the dragon swallowed it and decided to humor her anyway. “Oh really?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Certainly not!” Rarity replied from where she sat, her spine facing the doorway, peering over a neat row of letters each enclosed in its own enamored envelope. “Could you ever picture me, Rarity, mooning over some scoundrel of a colt and then complaining to everypony when I discover what a cretin he is?”
Spike let out a cough which sounded suspiciously like “Blueblood,” and Rarity harrumphed. It was all rather odd. That exchange between them had been so familiar, so normal. To Spike, it was difficult to think that this may be the last instance they were able to have such a silly conversation for a very long time. Whether they went through this decision or not, things were about to change. Permanently.
There was a short silence between them before Rarity broke the calm.
“Have you any word from Twilight yet?”
Spike shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Then she must be still making intercession,” Rarity concluded. “After all, she does have the same rank as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”
‘Which remains as a one-third vote,’ Spike thought but didn’t say aloud. Twilight had always been Twilight, that intelligent, determined, neurotic, adorkable pony they all knew and loved, but she was more than just Twilight now. She was Princess Twilight, that intelligent, determined, neurotic, adorkable alicorn whose responsibility was Equestria first and all things second. Nopony could fault her for that. It was the role she was born and trained for her entire life.
However, it was disturbing to note her absence during Princess Celestia’s personal visit last week and no sign of her in the following letter enclosing their arrival date in Canterlot and the…procedures…thereafter. Disregarding a hastily sent letter informing him to stay put while she figured out this mess a few days ago, none of them had heard anything more from their Princess. As the one being who knew Twilight the longest, Spike knew that this was totally out of character for the newest alicorn. A dozen manticores couldn’t hold her down from helping her friends in a situation even a tenth of this magnitude. Something was off here, but the dragon knew to trust Twilight. If she said that she would help, then she would most definitely help. However, in the meantime they were going to help themselves.
“You’re awfully silent, Spikey,” Rarity interrupted. “You don’t think Twilight will convince Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to stop all of this?”
“Of course she will, Rares. She’s Twi,” Spike responded with a grin.
Suddenly, the unicorn turned around and telekinetically bashed the dragon with a sofa pillow. “I warned you about using that pet name, Spike! What in Equestria is a Rares? That isn’t even a word. And even if it were, it would be a base, common word!”
“Ow!” Spike pretended to groan, rubbing the side of his face where the feather filled projectile had struck him. “So what’s a Spikey-Wikey then?”
“A perfect reimagination of the name Spike,” Rarity huffed.
“Alright, Rarity-Warity,” Spike countered, and just as he had expected, pillows began to bash him again.
Spike noted to himself that it was amazing that in a few hours he’d be a fugitive of Equestria, but yet here he was engaged in a pillow fight.
Rarity gazed at her reflection inside her oval vanity mirror. The mare who stared back at her was a pony whom she could barely recognize. The mare in the mirror possessed a coat the same shade of white and a mane the same hues of purple, but no amount of powder and blush could hide the paleness of her cheeks, and her mascara seemed to smudge every five minutes. Her hair? Her hair was intolerable. Rarity could only thank Celestia for the invention of hats. As expected, her stomach had refused to hold her breakfast—yet another rebellion of a once trusted part of herself. Usually in instances like this, the snowy white mare would’ve spent the day indoors hiding from all sight, but today she couldn’t. Today was THE Day. Slowly, she levitated a fancy blue flowered chapeau onto her head and a bejeweled scarf around her neck. It was simple, chic, and distracting enough to keep the random passerby from focusing too closely upon her face.
Rarity forced herself to smile at her wan reflection. “Who would have guessed that after all these years I would have found the perfect outfit for exile?” Her horn glowed, lifting a nearby pair of saddlebags to rest on her back and accidentally knocking over two of the eight letters lying neatly on a nearby desk. “Oops!”
Rolling her eyes, Rarity leaned down to scoop them up when she read the words written neatly in elaborate cursive on the envelopes.
To Mother and Father.
To Sweetie.
A lump rose in Rarity’s throat. All of a sudden she knew she couldn’t go through with this, she couldn’t. In her mind’s eye she could see her little sister’s disappointment, her parents’ shocked and hurt faces; she could-
“No,” the mare steeled herself. She couldn’t stay. She couldn’t go through with it. Her mother and father, they would understand. Sweetie Belle would need a while, Rarity was sure, but eventually, hopefully, she’d come around. Carefully, Rarity picked up both letters in her mouth and placed them both back neatly upon her desk once again.
Sighing heavily to herself, the white unicorn looked back only once before closing her front door behind her. This was it. One step would confirm her decision. All that she had worked for her entire life would be lost to her—maybe forever, or at least for quite a while—but what she was gaining was worth more. She was absolutely certain.
Clutching a faux picnic basket in her mouth, the white unicorn trotted down the street. Seeing Rarity with a picnic basket wasn’t unusual. None of the townsponies felt any suspicion from the seemingly jubilant mare strutting away towards the edge of town. It was common knowledge that the five Elements of Harmony liked to get together often, especially since Princess Twilight ascended to the throne a few years ago. Some said that the five remaining felt that their bond was more precious after that. However, what the townsponies didn’t know was that their resident seamstress wasn’t heading to Fluttershy’s house at all. They did not know that she would make a left as soon as she was out of general sight, heading for the Whitetail Woods. They had no idea that she would meet a certain dragon there who just so happened to be hidden among the first ring of trees. The townsponies had no inkling that they would share a brief, happy, passionate reunion before heading away from the little town.
The townsponies would have no idea until two days later. Spike and Rarity had officially planned a three days head start as nopony would miss them until an empty train arrived in Canterlot, but what they had failed to take into account…
All life in the imperial city of Canterlot revolved around the royal palace and the residents therein. In the space of ten years, Equestria had gone from supposedly two princesses to three then back to two and lastly back to a total of three princesses. Rumors abound about how the royal personages got along with all of the changes. Half of Canterlot stood convinced that Princess Luna and Princess Cadance never got along no matter how much they smiled at each other in public, that Princess Celestia’s secret nickname was Celly, and that Princess Twilight was the source of the jellyfrog invasion two years ago despite evidence to the contrary. The subject of Discord wasn’t discussed at all—not if one were to suddenly find an umbrella full of chocolate pudding on one’s head. All that anypony knew was that the unpredictable draconequus tended to sabotage Princess Twilight’s experiments from time to time and often took the time to visit the Element of Kindness a few days a month.
Canterlot longed for a glimpse behind the regal lives of their princesses. What they would find would surprise them.
Seated comfortably at a gilded golden table the half the length of Sugarcube Corner were two of Equestria’s three rulers, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Each pony was silent as she took her meal, much more silent than usual as a certain pony’s absence was felt by both. The clatter of priceless ancient crockery and silverware was the only noise in that spacious hall.
“Why again is Princess Twilight absent from the dinner table, Sister?” Princess Luna asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Our dear friend has declined from supper today,” Celestia answered simply while taking a sip of her tea.
Something dark flashed across the darker alicorn’s face. “Then we should go to her. She must still be unhappy about all of this.”
“We will, Lulu, but Twilight is strong. She knows what she must do and what is required of her for it is the same what is required of us all as rulers of Equestria. I know that this shall be extremely difficult for her, but I have my complete faith in Twilight. She will do her best to protect Equestria.”
Luna looked away before gracefully sliding out of her chair. “Yes, dear Sister, I trust Princess Twilight Sparkle completely…and yet I know many things are found within a pony’s heart.”
Celestia grinned serenely at her retreating sister’s back. “And yet you question her capability again. I stated long ago before her coronation that she would be indeed ready for the next step.”
Princess Luna only mumbled something in response while she disappeared through one open door leaving her elder sister alone.
Princess Celestia sighed in her tea. Absentmindedly she twirled the cup around, watching the lukewarm brown liquid slosh inside its porcelain prison. How she disliked times like these when her mind was still and the weight of millennia seemed to crash down upon her. She was charged to lead, protect, and guide this nation along with her sister, and led, protected, and guided they had. However there were times- But whatever times the princess was going to remember, she never had the chance as she was thrown out of her reverie by her teacup biting her hoof.
Surprisingly, the alabaster alicorn did not scream. Her light magenta orbs only widened in shock as she threw the offending cup away, splashing tea everywhere. Her heart pounded loudly against her chest as the teacup began to chuckle.
Two mismatched red eyes and a smiling mouth with a single fang appeared on the chuckling teacups side, rolling around on the stained table in mirth. “Well, I’ll like to have you know, princess, that your lips have touched me in places that I am sure would cause your ears to wiggle.” The cup raised an eyebrow. “If you know what I mean.”
“Discord!” Celestia bellowed, her ethereal hair swirled around almost violently. “Out!”
“Owls?” Discord said innocently. All of a sudden, a hundred hooting owls appeared in the room. “Speak up, dear, you know I’m a trifle deaf in one ear.” His eagle claw dug into one ear and pulled out a gumdrop. “So that’s where that went to. Oh, well…” The draconequus shrugged and threw the offending candy over his shoulder. The resulting explosion could be felt all the way into the kitchens.
“Discord, why are you here?” Celestia asked tiredly. Another round of Discord’s antics was the last thing she wanted to deal with today.
“I’m bored, Celly! I have nothing to do,” Discord wailed as he leaped onto Celestia’s lap like a child giving Santa his Christmas list. “What’s a Discord without something to discord? It’s like a dragon without his flames! A manticore without his teeth! It’s booooring.”
“Didn’t we grant you a small section of Equestria to do whatever you wish?” Celestia stated after teleporting out from her embarrassing position underneath Discord.
“I know,” the draconequus replied, relaxing in Celestia’s abandoned chair. “And it was grand. Alligator owls, chocolate thunder, exploding lampshades…” He sighed happily. “It’s paradise on earth, let me tell you. I personally don’t see how you can stand living in this stuffy dump.”
“I certainly manage,” the alicorn deadpanned elegantly.
“I certainly manage,” repeated a white sock puppet on Discord’s lion paw that looked disturbingly like Celestia. A terrible ventriloquist, Discord’s lips moved the entire time.
“Oh I’m quite certain you do, Cellypuppet,” Discord patted the puppet on its head. “But I wonder how our dear friend Princess Celestia manages everything with her optimistic little sister doubting her every move and her former student avoiding her presence. It must be hard for our favorite cake-loving alicorn.”
Celestia smiled. “If that is all, Discord, I’m afraid that I must disagree with your sources. There is no conflict among Luna, Twilight, and me, and there never has besides what is general knowledge. If this is what you came for, then I must inform you that you’ve come for nothing.”
Far from admitting defeat, it was Discord’s turn to smile. “So you may say, my dear Celestia, but I’m afraid that you’ve forgotten to whom you are talking. I am Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Ill tempers and bickering are all a part of my realm, and I can sense the itty-bittiest argument from miles away. So imagine my surprise and delight to find the smallest plume of disharmony hovering over this very castle.” The draconequus’ red eyes brightened with glee as Celestia’s smile slipped from her face. “Well, like a firepony to a burning building, I had to come to investigate. Do you want to know what I’ve found out?”
Celestia’s glare was intense. “No. No, Discord, I do not want to know what you’ve found because you’ve found nothing. I’ll take my leave now as I have no time for your games.” It would be useless to make Discord leave. Besides the Elements of Harmony and a few good spells, mostly developed by Princess Twilight, nothing else existed to hinder the god of chaos.
Discord watched the angry princess leave. “Hmm…” his claw rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. “She’s good Cellypuppet.”
“Uh-huh!” the puppet agreed.
“But not good enough. We’ll find out the source behind the disharmony, won’t we, Cellypuppet?”
“Yep yep yep!” Cellypuppet chirped.
“Indeed,” Discord stated, tossing the puppet aside which detonated upon impact somewhere behind him.
“Oh come on!” somepony down below in the kitchens wailed.