LOCATION OF DESERTED ISLAND “X” REDACTED BY
EQUESTRIAN INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Celestia and Luna were lying in the soft sand, bathing their fur in the sun, and relaxing to the sound of crashing waves. They focused only on the present and—for once—did not stress upon their royal duties. The only things Celestia missed were her son and student. Fortunately for her, as if obeying the will of the gods, two scrolls appeared in front of her in a green fire.
“Sister, look! We’ve received mail!”
“Only you could be happy for getting such a trivial thing.”
“But they are from Onyx and Twilight!” exclaimed the sun goddess, getting the attention of her sister, who watch her sister opened the scroll addressed from Twilight first.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today, I learned that even if your greatest dream looks like it’s out of your reach or impossible to obtain, you should never give up until you get it. The result could be more pleasant than you ever expected.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
P.S. Your son is a beast in bed.
Celestia was shocked; she read the letter again, just to make sure that she really read that right.
“...HOW DARE SHE! I THOUGHT I TAUGHT HER BETTER THAN THIS!” shouted Celestia. In her outburst, she threw the scroll on the ground and started kicking sand everywhere. Luna, intrigued, took the scroll to read it too.
“...Well, I guess thou are right; writing of such scandal is not what the royal protege should be doing.”
“This isn’t right! It’s only forty-six words! FORTY! SIX! WORDS! Why not just send me a post-it note instead! At least it wouldn’t have filled me with the hope of having something to read!” she yelled, bucking down a palm tree.
“...Wait ... thou are acting this way because of the length? What of the post scriptum!?!?”
“You’re right! Let’s talk about this. Why, in a letter so small, would she write a P.S.; she could have written it in the letter instead and added more description. Maybe then, it would look more like a proper letter!”
Luna was speechless; it was the first time she’d seen Celestia so angry over such a trivial detail, ignoring the news of her student and son’s relationship; it was unusual.
“...heh, heh ... thou should calm down and read the other letter,” said Luna before putting her sunglasses back on and lying in the sand. Following her sister’s directive, Celestia opened the second scroll.
Hi Mom,
I don’t quite know how to tell you this—well, I’ll write it anyway—so I will be straight with you. Cadance has taken my place at the night court for the past few days on account of me having important personal business in Ponyville. I don’t know what Twilight is writing on her letter, so just in case... Twilight and I are dating each other. I know that you always told me to introduce you to any mare I wanted to date before making a move, but with Twilight ... with all the time she spends with you, I’m sure you are closer to her than your nephew, Blueblood.
I hope you will accept my choice, and if not... Well, I’m sorry, but I cannot control what my heart is telling me.
But enough about me, how are you? You never told me where you and Auntie Luna were going, and it’s been more than three days. Is everything okay? Are you having fun? Just one more small question; who was your first true love? And don’t tell me you haven’t had one; you’re 2999 years old. I know you haven’t been alone all this time.
I think Twilight’s waiting for me to finish up my letter so I won’t take too much longer.
Your loving son.
This time, Celestia was quiet with sadness; though, not because of her son’s choice. She was proud of him for following his heart and, unlike last time, it was out of true love, not drunken lust. She was sad, not from realising how old she was... No, she was sad because of his question about her love life. She had been in a relationship once; everything had been wonderful between them ... until he became power-hungry... She ended up turning him to stone ... why couldn’t he have listened... The memory brought tears to the solar princess’ eyes.
“Sister ... are you okay?” asked Luna worriedly.
“Yes ... yes ... everything’s fine. Just ... an old memory,” said the sad mare, but Luna knew that look on her sister’s face all too well, and even if it had been more than one thousand years, she knew that the pain in her sister’s heart was still there.
“Don’t worry, Tia. Maybe, when he comes back, he’ll turn back to what he was like before ... like I did... How much longer until his spell breaks?”
“Since we’re no longer connected to the Elements ... two, maybe three years. I hope you’re right, Lulu. Maybe Onyx will have a father after all...”
Southern Equestrian coast
If a pony were to travel to the small coastal village of Hooflicking, they would taste the best salt produced in all of Equestria. They could visit the pier and drink more salt beer than they could ever wish for. But if they asked anypony about the woods nearby, they would be told how those trees were haunted; that nopony should wander into the woods, lest they be encounter the slim, shadowy, pony-like monster that stalked the forest.
However, things are not always what they seem. The wood were not haunted, and if you were to go in them you probably wouldn’t die. It was all an urban legend; a myth. And if a pony were so brave as to venture into the forest, they would find a slender changeling, Tarek, the legendary former-guardian of Queen Chrysalis. The guard who had buried his Queen with her daughter at his side; who watched a brave, innocent little filly die and grow into the leader that everyling knew today.
It had been nearly three hundred sixty years since he deserted the Hive; he was far older than the typical Changeling. Unlike Queens, who can easily live ten millennia before they die of natural causes, normal Changelings can only live to about one hundred twenty. Tarek’s longevity was credited to drinking an age-slowing potion made by Elixir, an enigmatic gypsy pony that lived outside the town. His health was maintained by feeding on the entire population of Hooflicking—not having to share with the Hive meant more than plenty of food.
Tarek was sitting on a small sofa reading an old tome about Equestria when it was ruled by the parents of its present leaders, Celestia and Luna. His home had only a bed with a chest at its side, a constantly lit fireplace to keep him warm, and a shelf that held several books and vials of potion. When you don’t have to eat to survive, you can save a lot of space in your house.
Still reading his book, Tarek suddenly felt something strange, as if someling else were with him; though, not as if they were at his side, but like they were inside his head, like when he was still connected to the Hivemind. It felt like Chrysalis’ signature. It was impossible; he had blocked himself from every link with the Hive so as not to be found by his queen. So, it was with the faintest amount of magic that he tried to identify who had reconnected the frequency.
It did not take long, and what he saw was more than confusing. The one who reawakened his link was not even a changeling; it was the adopted prince of the country in which he was hidden. Using a little more magic, he searched to find how he could have done such a thing until he realized, “When I separated myself from the Hivemind, I made the spell to cut me from everyling, not every creature. But then why does he have her signature... What are you planning, Chryssie...?”
Tarek rose from the sofa and walked over to the chest next to his bed. He opened it and retrieved the item he held most precious.
“If only you could forget all this desire for vengeance ... and return to the sweet filly that you were before...” he trailed off before placing Mister Snowy back in the chest.