//------------------------------// // Crying Timberwolf // Story: A Glint of Light on Broken Glass // by Dr_DeDeDe //------------------------------// Crying Timberwolf Princess Twilight Sparkle blinked owlishly at mare sitting before her as she tried in vain to process what her friend had just told her. Sixteen hands of electric pink mayhem rocked back and forth on the balls of her hooves, her impossibly frizzy pink mane swirling and curling in excitement. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm and despite the boundless joy practicaly wafting off of her, Princess Twilight was not amused. “Seriously?” Princess Twilight sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Seriously.” The other mare said, taking a long draw of the chocolate strawberry milkshake on the table in front of her. “You called me in the middle of a meeting with the seapony satrap to drag me into a coffee shop…just to tell me that you’re changing your name?!” Princess Twilight groaned. "You said this was an emergency!" "I had to! You wouldn't have come if I didn't say it was urgent!" The other mare said. "You've been living in your office for weeks now! I had to rescue you before you fused into your desk and turned into a horrible mahogany woodpony monster!" Princess Twilight had to admit the small coffee shop she found herself in was a nice change from the boardrooms and embassies she had spent the morning in, even if the patrons were openly gawking at the two princesses perched on creaking barstools designed for ponies half their size. “I appreciate the sentiment, Pinkamena, but I don't really have time to-” “Ah, ah, ah! I'm not-Pinkamana anymore.” Princess Not-Pinkamena chided. “I already told you, I’m changing my name to-” “I’m not calling you that!” Princess Twilight hissed. “Why not?!” Princess Not-Pinkamena cried. “You let Rainbow Dash run around calling herself “Shogun of Thunderstorms!" Why is she the only one who gets to change her name?!” “Because your "name" is just…it’s just ridiculous!” Princess Twilight insisted. “That’s half the point!” Princess Not-Pinkamena said. “Do you really expect me to get up on stage at the commemoration ceremony tomorrow night in front of half the country and announce you as Princess Pinkie Pie with a straight face?” Princess Twilight said “When have I ever asked you to do anything with a straight face?” Princess Pinkamena Pinkie Pie said. “They’re going to laugh the balloons off of your backside!” Princess Twilight said. “I hope so!” Princess Pinkie Pie said brightly. "Rainbow Dash is never going to let you hear the end of it!" Princess Twilight said. "Please, the Princess of Hot Air has no business lecturing me or anypony else on their choice of names." Princess Pinkie Pie said, rolling her eyes.“Come on, Twilight, we're celebrating a thousand years of peace and happiness but my name is still a thousand years out of fashion! It’s time now for a new change to come! I'm all grown up and my new life has begun! I can’t go on being called Pinkamena like I’m some kind of stuffy rock farmer or something. I’m the Princess of Parties! I need something that just screams party!” A pearl of pink power popped out of Princess Pinkie Pie’s horn and burst into a shower of pink and blue glitter that rained down on the coffee shop patrons and a thoroughly displeased Princess Twilight. “Then get a new haircut!” Princess Twilight said, shaking the phony glittery stars out of her billowing starry mane. “Or buy another candy shop or throw another ball! Are you seriously going to start signing all of your official paperwork as Princess Pinkie Pie?” “Actually I was thinking of just doodling smiley faces on the signature line with a fat pink crayon.” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “Pinkamena-” “Kidding.” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “And I’m seriously not responding to The Name That Shall Not Be Mentioned. I’m one thousand and twenty three years old and if I want to call myself Pinkie Pie or Chancellor Puddinghead, or Princess Consuela Bananahammock, that’s my business!” “But-” “Party Princess’ Prerogative!” Princess Pinkie Pie pouted. “Ugh.” Princess Twilight groaned. “Fine. You win Pinka…Pinkie Pie. I’ve got enough on my plate without locking horns with you right now.” “You worry too much.” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “This is our anniversary party, you know. You should take the time and enjoy it.” “I can enjoy it once I see to the hundreds of thousands of ponies planning to pack our city by tomorrow night!” Princess Twilight said sharply. “I have security plans to sign off on, itineraries to hand out, parade routes to secure, vendor licenses to approve and delegates to entertain! And on top of all that I…” Princess Twilight broke off, shaking her head in frustration. “On top of all that what?” Princess Pinkie Pie prodded. “It’s nothing.” Princess Twilight sighed. Princess Pinkie Pie’s left ear twitched almost imperceptibly. “Liar.” Princess Pinkie Pie accused. “Spill it; what’s got you so flustered?” “It’s…Luna.” Princess Twilight admitted. “Your student?” Pinkie Pie snorted. “The Slayer of the Canterlot Mall Cerberus, Bane of Bananas Everywhere?” “The very same.” Princess Twilight said, shuddering at the memory of her student’s latest mishap. “I got a letter from Rarity just now-” “She and Spike finally sending out wedding invitations?” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “I wish.” Princess Twilight laughed bitterly. “Apparently my student disguised her sister as a bear and snuck into Fluttershy’s sanctuary this morning...uninvited.” “Breaking into a royal residence on the eve of the biggest event in a thousand years?” Princess Pinkie Pie whistled. “Your girl’s got grit.” “She certainly isn’t lacking in that...though I wish she had a bit more common sense.” Princess Twilight sighed. “Apparently, she’s going around telling everypony who will listen to her that-” Princess Twilight quickly cast a soundproof bubble around their table. “She’s telling everypony that Tirek is returning to life tomorrow night to destroy Equestria.” Princess Twilight whispered, popping the bubble. “That’s quite a story.” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “Or a very badly told joke.” “Luna doesn’t joke.” Princess Twilight said. “Do you believe her then?” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “O-of course not!” Princess Twilight insisted. "Why would I?" "Well, if she's not joking, then she must be telling the truth...or at least she believes she is." Princess Pinkie Pie said. "I don't doubt her convictions." Princess Twilight said. “But the very idea is just ridiculous! She’s jumping to conclusions without taking all the facts into consideration, just like she always does!” “You mean like you’re doing now?” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “Well…I suppose so.” Princess Twilight conceded. “But you don’t seriously think Tirek is coming back, do you?” “Well,” Princess Pinkie Pie said, downing the rest of her shake with a drawn out thprrrrt. “I think it’s certainly plausible.” “How is an undead tyrant returning to life after a thousand years plausible?” Princess Twilight said. “How is a rainbow magic beam giving us superpowers instead of killing us plausible?” Princess Pinkie Pie countered. "There's not a heck of a lot in our lives that could be considered plausible by any definition of the word." “So you’re saying you believe her?” Princess Twilight asked. “I’m not saying I disbelieve her...not yet anyway.” Princess Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Something weird is going on and I'm willing to consider any explanation no matter how farfetched it may be.” “Is that your tail talking?” Princess Twilight ribbed as Princess Pinkie Pie’s tail twitched. “It’s been acting up ever since this morning.” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “I don’t know what it means though. I can’t get a good reading no matter what I try; cards, crystals, tea leaves all come up jumbled. Like…too many things are happening at once. Like they’re confused about something.” “Something bad?” Princess Twilight asked. “Something something.” Princess Pinkie Pie shrugged. “You have to admit, we’ve had more than our fair share of bad luck lately.” “Monster sightings.” Princess Twilight said. “Weird earthquakes.” Princess Pinkie Pie added. “Freak thunderstorms and weather gone completely batty.” Princess Twilight finished. “AHHH! MY HAIR!” The two princesses looked up from their table to see that a raincloud had appeared out of nowhere as if on cue and was dumping buckets of rain on the ponies outside as they scrambled for shelter. “That’s like the sixth rogue raincloud today.” Princess Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully. “I know…Rainbow Dash has had her hooves full all morning chasing them down.” Princess Twilight said. “I haven’t seen her work this hard since-” “CHURLISH CLOUD!” As if on cue, a voice like thunder shook the small malt shop as outside the raincloud actually appeared to be shivering in fear. “Oh speak of the devil...” Princess Twilight sighed. “IMPISH AND UNWORTHY PUFF OF MIST!” The thunderous voice boomed as static bolts began discharging from the sky. “YOU PRESUME TO DEFY THE WILL OF SHE WHO COMMANDS THE SKIES? YOU DARE RAIN IN DEFIANCE OF SHE WHO TAMED THE DRAGONS OF WIND AND WATER?! SHE WHO IS THE UNDISPUTED QUEEN OF THE HEAVENS?! THE SHOGUN OF THUNDERSTORMS?! THE VICEROY OF VORTEXES?! YOU DARE DEFY THE WILL OF PRINCESS RAINBOW DASH?!” A bright blue flash of lightning fell from the sky like a spear, cleaving the raincloud in half and leaving a tall blue alicorn standing in a small circle of sunlight. Clad in immaculately polished golden armor emblazoned with thunderbolts and letting her long rainbow colored mane flap behind her in a perpetual breeze, Princess Rainbow Dash folded her multicolored wings and scanned the crowd for any further weather anomalies to destroy. “…and she shall appear.” Princess Pinkie Pie finished. Princess Rainbow Dash rumbled something dark under her breath before straightening up and flashing the crowd a shining rock star smile. “Worry not, loyal subjects! The Weather Department is merely experiencing a rash of insubordination among the stratus clouds! We shall endeavor to fix this as soon as we are able and we assure thee that tomorrow’s festivities shall proceed unclouded by…er…clouds!” “Say what you want about Rainbow Dash, the mare knows how to work an audience.” Princess Pinkie Pie said as Princess Rainbow Dash waved to the quickly growing crowd. “She does have that penchant for the theatrical that the people seem to be drawn to.” Princess Twilight mused as her friend stopped and posed for a few pictures. “Upset that she beat you in the Canterlot Sun’s Princess Popularity poll again?” Princess Pinkie Pie teased. “Tch, hardly.” Princess Twilight groused, blowing bubbles in her tea. Princess Rainbow Dash turned to leave but stopped when she caught sight of her fellow princesses sitting in the coffee shop. “I think she saw us.” Princess Pinkie Pie said, passing Princess Twilight a set of ear plugs and stuffing a pair in her own ears. Please use the door. Princess Twilight prayed silently to herself as Princess Rainbow Dash approached the café. Please use the door, please use the door please use the door please use the- SMASH “ROYAL SISTERS!” Princess Rainbow Dash cried, crashing through the streetside wall of the coffee shop and clapping Princess Twilight on the shoulder with a wing splintering thump. “Just the mares I was looking for!” “Princess Rainbow Dash.” Princess Twilight said, tenderly rubbing her wing. “What a nice surprise." “Everything okay, Rainbow ?” Princess Pinkie Pie said, pulling a chair up for her friend while Princess Twilight hastily patched the ruined wall with her magic. “I heard you had a pretty rough morning.” “A mere spot of trouble; worry not.” Princess Rainbow Dash said dismissively. “I hoped to discuss tomorrow’s festivities with you but first…SERVING WENCH!” Princess Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together as a petrified barista approached the table. “Y-yes, Your Highness?” The trembling colt said. “How can I help you today?” “Your princess is parched from her long morning of battling insubordinate weather.” Princess Rainbow Dash said, slamming a thick gold coin down on the table. “A round of your finest mead, good tavernkeeper!” “Uh…I-I’m sorry, ma’am, we don’t serve mead here.” The barista said. “Ah, a pity.” Princess Rainbow Dash said. “Never mind then, your princess shall settle for the finest ale you have on tap.” “A-actually, Your Highness, we don’t serve any alcohol at all here.” The barista said. “Not a drop?!” Princess Rainbow Dash scoffed. “And you call this a tavern?!” “No ma’am, we call this a c-coffee shop.” The barista said. “We have a nice selection of coffee and Iced tea and our baristas make a wonderful wildberry smoothie with whipped cream and-” “Enough! You are depressing us with your milquetoast beverage selection.” Princess Rainbow Dash sighed. “I-I’m sorry.” The barista squeaked “Very well.” Princess Rainbow Dash sniffed. “Bring us all of the energy drinks you have.” “R-right away ma’am!” The barista said, turning to fill the order. “Wait!” Princess Rainbow Dash boomed, freezing the barista in his tracks. “Y-yes, Your Highness?” The barista squeaked. “I worry what you just heard was “bring Princess Rainbow Dash a lot of different energy drinks.” Princess Rainbow Dash said. “What we said was “bring us all of the energy drinks you have.” The barista nodded uncertainly and within moments, he returned with a bucket full of energy drinks which Princess Rainbow Dash promptly combined into one bubbly brown brew that actually hissed when Princess Twilight looked at it too closely. “So…funny weather we're having, huh?” Princess Twilight asked as Princess Rainbow Dash downed her concoction in one gulp and smashed the bucket against the ground with a splintering crash. "Having trouble with the clouds?" “Since sunrise.” Princess Rainbow Dash said, wiping her mouth. “The loathsome bilgesnipes have been flitting across the skies wantonly spilling their rain heedless of our royal orders to behave themselves!” “Bummer.” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “Bummer, indeed.” Princess Rainbow Dash said, thumping her hoof on the table for emphasis. “Of late, my pegasi have been overworked reigning up rebellious weather. Tis a vile crime to work them so on the eve of such a glorious celebration but I see no other alternative. The festivities must go on undimmed by treasonous tempests and it falls to me to bring such rebellious rainclouds to heel!” "Well said!" Princess Pinkie Pie said. “Do you need an extra pair of wings?” Princess Twilight asked. “I seem to remember my student has a sister looking to go into weather management.” “A kind offer but we shall manage; no storm front has ever bested the Canterlot Weather Patrol Legion and our record shall go unbesmirched so long as I have anything to say about it!” Princess Rainbow Dash boasted. “That’s a relief.” Princess Twilight said, pulling a rather sizable list out of a saddlebag and checking something off. “I’ve got enough to worry about without rogue rainstorms raining on our parade.” “Do you make time for anything other than worrying?” Princess Rainbow Dash said, snatching the list away. “Hey!” Princess Twilight cried reaching across the table. “Give it-!”Princess Rainbow Dash blocked her friend with a well-placed hoof in the face as she scanned the list with increasing disgust. “Meet with seaponies…debrief Princess Rarity after the gryphon summit…authorize parade routes and finalize vendor lists…approve official parade balloon selection?!” Princess Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Zounds, woman, are you trying to kill yourself before the celebration tomorrow? You have subordinates for a reason; foist some of this drudgery off on them!” “Sheesh, you don't even have a lunch break scheduled!” Princess Pinkie Pie said, craning her neck over to look at the list. “You’re working nonstop until the ceremony at the park! Everypony in the entire world is having fun right now except you!” “I have all night tomorrow to have fun!” Princess Twilight said, snatching her list back with a huff. “And there’s still a lot of work to be done so you’ll forgive me if I’m not as enthusiastic about the festivities as you two are.” “For such a bookish mare you have nary a shred of poetry in your soul! Look around!” Princess Rainbow Dash said, gesturing to the crowds of ponies flooding the streets outside. “Is this not glorious?! Hundreds of thousands of ponies come to celebrate our triumph! A million voices crying out a jubilant hurrah as testament to the resilience of the Equestrian spirit! Where is thy patriotism? Where is thy pride?! Where is thy bloody holiday spirit?!” “There will be plenty of time for "holiday spirit" after everything is in order.” Princess Twilight said. “Somepony has to make sure that everything gets done before tomorrow and since everyone else has their hooves full with thunderstorms and monster sightings and name changes-” “Come again?” Princess Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Oh…Pinkamena wishes to be referred to as Pinkie Pie from now on.” Princess Twilight said. “Pinkie Pie?!” Princess Rainbow Dash spluttered. “Pinkie Pie.” Princess Twilight confirmed. “Pinkie Pie?!” Princess Rainbow Dash groaned, turning to the princess in question. “Pinkie Pie!” Princess Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. Princess Rainbow Dash gaped wordlessly at her beaming friend for a few moments, trying to find the right words to express how she felt about her friend's name change before finally settling on a flat, matter of fact- "No." Princess Rainbow Dash said. “No what?” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “I refuse to stand by idly and allow you to address yourself by such a…such a childish title!” Princess Rainbow Dash huffed. “Told you.” Princess Twilight sing-songed, sipping her tea smugly. “Why not?!” Princess Pinkie Pie pouted. “Because thine is a silly name, one unbefitting a Princess of Equestria!” Princess Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “Well thine is a silly haircut but you don’t see me crying about it.” Princess Pinkie Pie said, childishly sticking her tongue out. “The Eighties bid thee to return thy hairstyle to them at Your Highness’ earliest convenience as glamorous rock musicians are most distraught without it.” “Oh, rich jest from the mare who resembles a neon pink gorgon in the morning." Princess Rainbow Dash laughed, lightly flicking one of Princess Pinkie Pie's wild curls with the tip of her wing. "My mane is perky and fun!" Princess Pinkie Pie snapped. "Just like my new name!" "Of course it is, forgive me!" Princess Rainbow Dash said, chuckling. "I'm sure our subjects will be thrilled to know their princess has styled herself after a common household pastry. Very respectable; very regal." “There is nothing common about the noble fruit pie!” Princess Pinkie Pie bristled, conjuring a hot pie out of thin air and aiming it menacingly at Princess Rainbow Dash. “But maybe you need to have a proper taste of pie to realize that!” “Ah, so the Pastry Princess hungers for a duel!” Princess Rainbow Dash cackled, summoning a small thundercloud that sparked and sent patrons diving under tables and scurrying out the door. “Very well, I shall endeavor to satisfy your voracious appetite! Have at you!” “No no no no!” Princess Twilight said, stepping between her bickering friends. “Nopony is having at anypony especially in the middle of a coffee shop! Pinkamena-sorry, Pinkie Pie- put the pie down! Rainbow Dash, call off the cloud! I am not going to have two princesses brawling in public like a couple of common thugs!” “Alright, alright! Sheesh!” Princess Pinkie Pie said, devouring the entire pie in a single bite. “Don’t get your stars in a swirl, Twilight, we were just fooling around.” “Thy blanket tis wetter than October.” Princess Rainbow Dash said, banishing the stormcloud with a kick. “And thy humor tis drier than July.” “Sorry, ladies, but I’ve got a lot on my plate right now so if we could hold off on all pastry and lightning fighting until after the party is taken care of, that would be just peachy.” Princess Twilight sighed. “What’s there to take care of? I’ve been on top of the Party Planning Parliament for months now!” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “The food is at the palace ready to be cooked, the staff has signed on for time and a half, the bands have all been paid and are doing soundchecks this afternoon, the buses are being lit on fire for the Baltimare Ravens' Cheerleading Squad to jump over on their motorcycles-” “Wait, what?!” Princess Twilight said, flipping through her party plans furiously. “When did I sign off on that?!” “-and we’re almost set to go for the midnight fireworks celebration!” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “Almost?” Princess Twilight said. "You're going to have to do better than almost.What's the hold up?" "Welllllll...Rainbow Dash and I were testing out the fireworks over Trottingham and we were thinking that the fireworks we planned on using could be a lot more…zippy. They just needed more…zazz. Am I right to say that?” “The Pastry Princess speaks true; the pyrotechnics are severely lacking in anything remotely resembling zazz.” Princess Rainbow Dash said. “Hardly worthy to celebrate a filly’s cuteceañera let alone a royal occasion such as this.” “So I was wondering if you’d let us use some of your…personal stash.” Princess Pinkie Pie said. “My personal-” Princess Twilight’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh…I don’t know about that. There aren’t many of them left and I was…I was hoping to save them a little longer.” “I know they mean a lot to you but come on, Twilight! Genuine Lulamoon Fireworks! Lost pyrotechnic arts from the Golden Age of Magic returning for one night only!” Princess Pinkie Pie pleaded, eyes glittering with anticipation. “What better way to celebrate a thousand years of successful rule than with a great big flaming firework dragon soaring through the starry sky?!” “Well…I suppose it would be nice to see them again.” Princess Twilight admitted. “And they’re not really doing anypony any good collecting dust in my attic so…okay.” “That's the spirit!” Princess Pinkie Pie said. "I'll see about moving them to the staging area after I get some of this other stuff done." Princess Twilight said. "No need." Princess Rainbow Dash said. "The Princess Formerly Known As Pinkamena took the liberty of helping herself to your fireworks already." “WHAT?!” Princess Twilight cried.“You took my fireworks without asking me?!” “No, I took your fireworks without asking you first.” Princess Pinkie Pie corrected. "And when was I going to find out about that?!" Princess Twilight said. "When they started blowing up over the city?!" "I didn't see the point in telling you once you signed off on it!" Princess Pinkie Pie said. "And if somepony kept her mouth shut like I asked her to-" "Oh, was I not supposed to tell her?" Princess Rainbow Dash gasped. "A thousand apologies I completely forgot. My ludicrous eighties manecut must be growing into my brain and robbing me of my sanity." “H-how many did you take?!” Princess Twilight said. “Oh...about half.” Princess Pinkie Pie said casually. “Half?!” Princess Twilight squeaked. “Pinkamena do you-” “Pinkie Pie.” Princess Pinkie Pie corrected. “Do you even know how powerful those fireworks are?!” Princess Twilight said. “The last time just one of them went off, it knocked an Ursa Major into the air so hard it never came down again!" “This isn’t my first time handling fireworks, Twilight, I know what I'm doing.” Princess Pinkie Pie said soothingly. “I have them stored in dry packing containers far away from any kind of heat or flame and sealed with anti-flame magic. So unless somepony starts shooting spellbolts at the crate willy-nilly I don't think there's anything to worry ab-" A thundering explosion split the air followed by the unmistakable sound of fireworks screeching towards the sky. Princess Twilight looked out the window to see magnificent trails of smoke and fire spiral into the air in a hundred different directions before exploding in a stunning variety of shapes and colors that stood out even against the bright noon sun. The crowd gasped and oohed in delight as starbursts, streamers and brightly colored peonies lit up the sky. But soon enough, their cries of joy turned into cries of panic as dozens of fireworks came screaming down the street straight towards them. The three princesses sprang into action immediately, blinking out of the coffee shop and on to the street in the path of the oncoming fireworks. A bright pink bubble barrier popped up over the crowd while Princess Twilight and Princess Rainbow Dash went to work defusing the oncoming fireworks. Princess Twilight shot a flurry of purple spells at the rockets, banishing one in a puff of smoke, turning another into a small family of ducks and capturing yet another in her enchanted saddlebag where it puffed out harmlessly. Princess Rainbow Dash took a more direct approach, blowing several fireworks up into the sky with magical gusts of air and striking several more down with precision lightning bolts. Within moments, the last of the rockets had been banished or detonated harmlessly. “Well…that takes care of that.” Princess Twilight sighed No sooner had she spoken than a small pencil sized rocket came streaming out of the sky and zipped past the side of Princess Twilight’s face. It shaved a huge chunk out of Princess Twilight's starry mane, down to the scalp, before popping harmlessly against the barrier. There was a barely contained snerk of laughter behind them and Princess Twilight turned to fix the guiltily giggling princess with the most withering glare she could muster. “Okay…that wasn’t my fault!” Princess Pinkie Pie said, holding her hooves up defensively. “I was standing right here, you girls were looking at me; I didn’t do it!” Ignoring the breeze tickling the naked scalp where her mane used to be, Princess Twilight took to the sky with the other princesses hot on her heels. They climbed up and over the skyscrapers and towards a billowing multicolored column of smoke rising from a small warehouse district in the center of town. “Knows what she's doing” my hoof! Princess Twilight rolled her eyes and led the other princesses in a dive straight into the heart of the smoke. As soon as they touched down, Princess Rainbow Dash had a few rainclouds douse the remaining fires and clear away the smoke so they could see what had happened. Packing crates and parade floats lay charred and shattered into a thousand pieces. Balloon packages were melted together in grossly misshapen balls of burning rubber. Streamers, banners, and confetti floated through the air as burning little flakes of ash and soot. The giant paper mache parade princesses lay dismembered and scattered around the courtyard in a grizzly tangle of limbs, wings, and horns. “This…this was everything I needed to decorate for the party!” Princess Pinkie Pie moaned in horror as she lifted her own ruined paper mache parade float head off the floor. “Months of preparation…thousands of bits…and it’s all ruined! Who could have done this?!” There was a stirring underneath a pile of rubble and the three princesses whipped around, ready for a fight. “Why don’t you ask them yourself?” Princess Twilight said, powering up her horn. “Looks like they’re still here.” “Who goes there?!” Princess Rainbow Dash cried, aiming her horn at the stirring pile of rubble. “Stand, worm, and prepare to defend thyself! I know not the purpose thy wanton mayhem serves but if it is violence you desire I shall slake thy thirst ten times over! On guard, villain!” The rubble shifted and a pair of small forehooves shakily stuck out of the wreckage in surrender. “P-Please d-don’t slake my thirst, ma’am!” A small and disturbingly familiar voice cried. Pleasedon’tbeLunapleasedon’tbeLunapleasedon’tbeLunapleasedon’tbeLuna. Princess Twilight silently prayed as she moved the rubble aside, revealing- “L-Luna?!” Princess Twilight choked. The rubble cleared and Luna lay trembling inside, singed but otherwise unharmed, curled around saddlebag protectively. "Oh...hi Princess." Luna said airly looking up from her little shelter dreamily. “What are you…how did you…did you do all this?!” Princess Twilight spluttered. “All what?” Luna said, sitting up and looking around at devastation woozily. “Oh wooooooooow, those fireworks had some kick to them, didn’t they?” “Don’t feign ignorance with us, girl!” Princess Rainbow Dash said sternly. “Do you honestly expect us to believe that you had no hoof in this disaster when we find you cowering under rubble at the crime scene?!” “Why?” Princess Pinkie Pie asked, pitifully cradling her charred float head against her chest. “What did Princess Parade Pie ever do to you?” “I-I know this looks bad, but I swear this wasn’t my fault!” Luna said, shakily getting to her legs. “Well…not entirely anyway. See, there were these invisible shadow rats who were causing all sorts of chaos through the streets but nopony else could see them but me and they pushed this buggie down the hill and Celestia was getting me ice cream so I had to stop it with my magic but the baby was with her daddy so the rat ran away and I followed one here to try and corner it but it had all these other rats waiting in the shadows and I tried to fight them all but they were too strong and…and…hey, Princess, did you get a manecut or something?” “Luna…” Princess Twilight seethed, struggling to keep her voice calm. “Y-yes, ma’am?” Luna squeaked. “My office…ten minutes.” Princess Twilight said through clenched teeth, vanishing in a flash of purple light, leaving Luna standing under the baleful glares of the other princesses. “I…uh…suppose this is a bad time to bring this up but you ladies wouldn’t be interested in hearing my theories about Tirek, would you?" Luna chuckled nervously. “Luna…what was the one thing I asked you to do after our lesson last week?” Princess Twilight said. “N-not to get into any trouble at the party.” Luna mumbled. “And how might one charitably describe today’s...incident?” Princess Twilight said. “T-trouble.” Luna admitted. “Trouble.” Princess Twilight echoed. “To put it mildly.” In the confines of Princess Twilight’s office, Luna tried to blend into the chair as best she could which proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated under her mentor’s weary look of disappointment. The shadow creatures had, of course, completely disappeared before she could show them to anyone so Luna was left sitting in her teacher’s office trying to explain that the thousands of bits of damage she left in her wake was the result of an invisible shadow monster. “Honestly, Luna, if I wasn’t so upset with you I’d be impressed.” Princess Twilight said, rubbing her eyes as she looked at the papers before her. “Not many mares are capable of singlhoofedly wrecking an entire citywide party in less than five minutes.” “I-I know it looks bad, Princess, but you have to believe me!” Luna said. “It wasn’t my-” “Parade floats pulverized, banners butchered, fireworks enflamed and ponies panicking everywhere!” Princess Twilight rambled on. “I haven’t seen this much public damage since that incident with the banana stand and at least then I didn’t have Princess Pinkamena breathing down my neck about her ruined party plans! I haven’t seen her this unhappy since they discontinued Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs and that was almost fifty years ago! She’s been planning this party for decades, Luna! Literally…decades! Those fireworks you set off were over six hundred years old, forged by the hooves of St. Trixie herself! There were only five hundred of them left in existence and half of them just went up in smoke along with half of my mane! I heard the explosion all the way across the city! I thought we were under attack or something and I flew all the way across town only to find my student embroiled in another harebrained mess born out of-” Princess Twilight stopped herself when she saw that Luna was doing the best she could to imitate the chair she was sitting on, eyes down and face red. Princess Twilight took a deep breath through her nose and sighed softly to herself. “I’m sorry Luna…I’ve had a very stressful week and believe it or not this is nowhere near the biggest thing I’ve had to deal with.” Princess Twilight said gently. “Whatever you may have done, you don’t deserve to be berated by a cranky old pony for popping a few party balloons and I apologize for yelling at you just now.” “It’s okay; I did make more of a mess of things than I wanted to.” Luna chuckled weakly. “It occurs to me that I’m drawing conclusions before I’ve heard all the information.” Princess Twilight said. “Since I seriously doubt you intended to cause mass devastation and chaos, why don’t you tell me your side of the story?” As Luna quickly recounted the tale of the shadow creature causing havoc, the crease in Princess Twilight’s forehead only worsened and by the time Luna finished, she was all but glaring in intense thought. “I see." Princess Twilight said after a moment of thoughtful silence. "You do realize how this sounds, don’t you?” “Like I’m pinning the accident on a creature nopony else saw or heard?” Luna said. “I know it sounds crazy but you have to believe me when I say that I didn’t have a hoof in what happened today! I was trying to stop that…that thing from doing any more damage than it had already done!” “By tearing your way through the parade staging area and setting off hundreds of extremely powerful fireworks into a crowded city?” Princess Twilight said, raising an eyebrow. “That shadow thing pushed a baby cart down a hill towards an oncoming cart.” Luna said. “Does that really sound like something I’d do?" “No…your particular brand of mayhem is usually founded on good intentions, misguided though they almost always are.” Princess Twilight said. “Which brings us to the matter at hand.” “Look, if you want me to work off the damage I caused I’d be more than happy to do that after the celebration tomorrow but right now-” Luna said. “That’s not what I meant.” Princess Twilight said, taking a softly glimmering scroll out of her desk. “I have complete faith that Princess Pinkamena will take care of everything before the party tomorrow; that’s not why I wanted to speak with you.” “Before you so explosively restyled my mane, I received an Infallible Messenger charm from Princess Rarity. She said that you paid Princess Fluttershy a visit this morning and told them a very interesting story.” Princess Twilight said, tapping the scroll on the desk with a small burst of magic. In an instant, a small blue image of Princess Rarity stood on the otherwise blank page, looking up at Princess Twilight as it spoke. “Just a quick heads up, dear, your student Luna came to us this morning to tell us about how our recent difficulties are all signs that Tirek is returning from the grave.” The image chuckled in a tinny echo of Princess Rarity’s voice. “I don’t want to color your interpretation of her account with our own but let’s just say that she put the cart before the horse if you’ll pardon my expression. Just thought I’d let you know that you have a very determined young mare on the prowl for you with a very interesting story to tell.” “So,” Princess Twilight said, looking up from the scroll. “What do you have to say about-” “Oh, and P.S.” The scroll chirped. “I saw what you were planning on wearing tomorrow night and…well…I made a few alterations. It’s a very lovely gown, really it is, but I’m afraid it’s not tailored to suit our rather...generous proportions. The curse of the alicorn is to never again be able to buy off the rack so I decided to open up the back a bit to allow your flank room to breathe. We don't want it to rip on through again and expose itself like it did at the-” Princess Twilight crumpled the scroll up and tossed it in the fireplace, shooting a blast of purple fire from her horn to incinerate the message before it could finish. “As I was saying.” Princess Twilight said, hiding her embarrassment with a cough. “What’s this story you thought was important enough to warrant breaking into my friend’s home?” “It’s more than just a story!” Luna said, fumbling around in her messenger bag for her notes. “I have facts to back it up!” “Facts that apparently don’t conclusively point towards your conclusion as much as you seem to think it does.” Princess Twilight countered, producing two more scrolls. “Princess Applejack and Princess Fluttershy seem to think that you’re drawing conclusions based on connections that don’t exist. So what exactly makes you think that the misfortunes we've been suffering are in any way related to Tirek?” “Too much has been happening lately for it all to be coincidence!” Luna said, spreading her notes on the desk in front of Princess Twilight. “We’ve had misbehaving weather in the past but never like this! The earthquakes under Canterlot have been steadily increasing in magnitude for almost three months now and reports of monster sighting have gone up almost fifty percent in the last two weeks alone!” “I’ll admit we’ve had more than our share of difficulties lately.” Princess Twilight said evenly. “And while it is odd that so much is going wrong so quickly…I fail to see how this is a result of Tirek’s influence. Where are you getting this theory from?” “From…from Dusty Tome’s Intro to Equestria Lore and Legends.” Luna said sheepishly. “Oh stars and stones, Luna, you’ve got the whole city in an uproar over a fairy tale?!” Princess Twilight sighed. “You were there when Tirek fell!” Luna said. “Didn’t he promise to return and regain control of Equestria after a thousand years?” “He did.” Princess Twilight admitted. “But the words of a dying madman aren’t proof that Tirek somehow managed to cheat death and they aren't proof that he's somehow returning tomorrow night.” “Even if it isn’t, would a few guards really be missed at the party?” Luna said. “Even a few minutes’ notice and a couple dozen guards on standby could make enough of a difference for the rest of the guards to react in time to save the city!” “Luna…” Princess Twilight sighed. “I know this is hard to believe but I promise you that the evidence speaks for itself!” Luna insisted. “Princess Rarity seems to think otherwise.” Princess Twilight said. “With all due respect to Princess Rarity, she doesn’t understand magic like we do!” Luna said, fighting to keep her mounting contempt for Princess Rarity out of her voice. “You think you understand sorcery better than a mare that has had literally centuries to perfect her craft?” Princess Twilight said, raising an eyebrow. “I had no idea I was tutoring such a prodigy.” “I understand that she’s your friend and you respect her opinion but you understand the magical significance behind all this chaos better than anypony alive!” Luna insisted. “Despite what Princess Rarity and the others think, you have to know that there’s something here they’re not seeing! Something suggesting something bigger at work here!” “I’m flattered by your faith in me, Luna, but I don’t think I have any more insight into this matter than the other princesses do.” Princess Twilight said. “And the other princesses don’t think that this theory of your is anything to worry about.” “Yes, but-” “The fact of the matter is that five intelligent, worldly mares who I have shared rule with for nearly a millennium, seem to believe that our limited defense resources would be better used protecting the crowds of people at the Gala tomorrow than standing watch for an old menace we haven’t seen in over a thousand years.” “I understand your concern, Princess, but I still think-” Luna said, her frustration mounting. “You think you know more about protecting this kingdom than we do?” Princess Twilight said, a little more contentiously than she intended. “The other princesses believe that-” “The other princesses don’t know what they’re talking about!” Luna blurted out before she could stop herself. A rare flash of anger darkened her mentor’s features and Luna knew she had crossed a line. “That is enough, Luna!” Princess Twilight said sharply. Luna quailed under her teacher’s stern gaze as her teacher rose from her desk to her full height. “I understand that you’re frustrated, I really do. But the other princesses and I swore to serve and protect the ponies of Equestria nearly one thousand years ago and we are not going to forsake that promise now! We have been working round the clock to ensure the safety of everypony who attends the Gala and I will not allow you to slander their commitment to duty just because they don’t jump to action when you bid them to! Do I make myself clear?!” Luna felt a hot wave of anger wash over her and for a moment she thought of telling her mentor exactly what she thought of her friends’ ‘commitment to duty.’ But a fiery glare from her mentor effectively quelled Luna’s anger and replaced it with bitter disappointment. “I…I understand.” Luna mumbled. “I don’t doubt that you mean well, Luna.” Princess Twilight said gently. “But you let your imagination get the better of you more often than it should. Your behavior is seriously getting out of hoof and the fact that you were willing to break into my friend’s home to prove a point is troubling to say the least.” “But-” “I understand that you’re concerned.” Princess Twilight said. “But I need you to promise me that you’ll stop this wild fear mongering and trust that we will do everything in our power to keep you and everypony else safe.” “But I-” “Promise me, Luna.” Princess Twilight echoed. “I…I promise.” Luna sighed dejectedly. “Thank you.” Princess Twilight said. “Now then, unless there’s anything else you’d like to discuss, I’m afraid I need to get back to work. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you back her Monday for our usual time together.” “Alright…”Luna said, collecting her notes from Princess Twilight’s desk and slouching towards the door. “Wait.” Princess Twilight sighed, thoughtfully chewing her lip as she always did when deliberating over something important. “Leave…leave your research here. I’ll take a look at it if I have a moment.” “Really?! You mean it?!” Luna squeaked, nearly bouncing on her hooves before she caught herself in mid bound. “I mean…thank you for your consideration, Your Highness. I trust you will not be disappointed in my findings.” “I’m rarely disappointed with you, Luna.” Princess Twilight said. “Your affinity for the apocalyptic livens up my workday, if nothing else.” “Of course…thank you…again.” Luna stammered, passing her notes to her teacher. “I’ll just be outside then if you have any questions.” “Oh, there’s no need for that.” Princess Twilight said, waving her off with a casual flick of her hoof as she started paging through Luna’s notes. “You’ve had quite a day and I’m sure you’d appreciate a nap right about now.” “Oh no, it’s no trouble at all! I feel f-f-fine.” Luna said, yawning in spite of herself. “Luna.” Princess Twilight said gently. “Yes, Princess?” Luna said. “That was my polite way of saying that you’re dismissed for the afternoon.” Princess Twilight said. “I have a lot to take care of before I can make time for your report and I tend to work better without my student sticking her head in every five minutes to see if she can help me with something.” “Oh, n-no, you won’t even notice I’m out there!” Luna said. “I won’t make a peep, I promise-” “Luna.” Princess Twilight interrupted. “Y-yes, Princess?” Luna said. “Do I have to order you to get some sleep?” Princess Twilight asked sweetly. “Y-yes ma’am! I mean, no ma’am! I mean...I-I’ll be going then.” Luna chuckled nervously, slipping out the door. Princess Twilight shook her head, smiling in spite of herself as she set aside her party plans and turned her full attention to Luna’s notes. She woke on empty frosty crags with endless darkness extending in all directions. Her breath fled her chest and the cold crushing void pressed in all around her. Her cursed immortality preserving her against death but did nothing to dull the awful, crushing agony and soul numbing cold that pressed in all around her. Miles below her, the world she grew up on slowly turned its back on her. The blinding white sun rose over the empty wastelands of the moon and she screamed a silent scream that would last a thousand years. "Luna...Luna!" Luna blearily opened her eyes as somepony gently shook her shoulder. She rolled over to see the same purple eyes that had been glaring at her moments before now turned up in sisterly worry. She unconsciously flinched away from her sister’s touch and her eyes must’ve betrayed fear lingering after her nightmare because Celestia’s concerned frown only deepened. “Wha…what time is it?” Luna muttered, rubbing her eyes and casting around Celestia’s bedroom for a clock. “Just after six.” Celestia said. “I didn’t want to wake you but…Luna, is everything alright?” “Fine.” Luna said curtly, avoiding Celestia’s gaze. “I’m fine.” “You didn’t sound fine.” Celestia said. “You were tossing and turning and mumbling something about “white hot fire.” “It’s nothing.” Luna said casually. “Just…remembering the incident with the fireworks.” “I still don’t know how you managed to survive that.” Celestia sighed. “Most other ponies would have been burned to a crisp!” “Well, I guess I'm lucky to know more defensive magic than most ponies do.” Luna said. “Has there been any word from Princess Twilight yet?” “Shining Armor stopped by a few minutes ago.” Celestia reached into her sweatshirt’s pocket and pulled out a crisp purple envelope sealed with a familiar six pointed gold star. “I would have woken you sooner but-” “Did Shining Armor mention anything when he dropped this off?” Luna asked, quickly snatching the letter away. “No…he actually didn’t talk much, now that I think about it.” Celestia said. “He was unusually grumpy for some reason and he left almost immediately to “pack” for something.” “What did he mean?” Luna asked, fearfully running a hoof along the envelope. "What did he need to pack for?" “He said that the letter would explain everything and then left in a huff.” Celestia said. “Whatever it was, he definitely wasn’t happy about it.” “That can’t be a good sign.” Luna said, swallowing nervously. “Want me to open it?” Celestia said, noting her sister's discomfort. “N-no that’s fine!” Luna said hastily. “I-I can manage by myself.” “I never said you couldn’t.” Celestia said. “I just asked if you wanted some help.” Luna stared at the innocuously terrifying envelope in her lap, ashamed that a few words on a piece of paper could completely destroy her nerves. On one hoof, Princess Twilight might have taken her research to heart and convinced the other princesses to take her seriously. On the other hoof… “Okay.” Luna said, passing the envelope to her sister. “Go ahead.” Celestia opened the envelope and immediately frowned as three small slips of paper slid out. “What are those?” Luna asked as Celestia stooped to pick the slips up. “They look like three first class train tickets…to Fillydelphia?” Celestia said, passing the tickets to her sister so that she could inspect them. “I…I don’t understand.” Luna said helplessly. “What does this mean?” “Well…I guess there’s only one way of finding out.” Celestia said, turning her attention to Princess Twilight’s letter. My Dearest Luna, After carefully reviewing your findings and discussing your claims with the other Princesses, we have come to the following conclusion; You are in need of a very very long vacation. Your passion for learning and skill with magic has served you well in the past and I have truly enjoyed our time together. Ever since you started studying under me almost ten years ago, I have enjoyed enormously watching you develop as a sorceress. You are a wonderful student, a gifted learner and a truly amazing young mare so please don’t misinterpret what I am about to say as disappointment on my part. There is such a thing as being too invested in your work and I am sad to see someone so young begin to burn out so soon. These latest "theories" are, if nothing else, signs of stress that has gone untreated for years. You spend all your free time in the library, you hardly make time for yourself or your friends, and you hardly sleep unless I force you to. It's not healthy to devote yourself so completely to your studies that you lose sight of your health. I blame myself for this; I think I pushed you too hard from the very beginning with lessons and academics you were not mature enough to deal with. I answered your every question and taught you on your vacations and on weekend when you should have been out playing with your friends. I’ll admit, I saw a younger me reflected in your eager eyes and I was so happy to have a student interested in learning magic after so many years but I fear I’ve done wrong by you, Luna. A lonely life in a library was never what I wanted for you, Luna. Late nights awake with only a candle and outrageous tales to keep you warm is no way for a young mare to live her life. Therefore, I am formally suspending our teacher-student relationship, effective immediately. I am revoking your special access to the Duke’s Archives and suspending any and all access to advanced magical texts in any of the Arcane Libraries in Equestria. Furthermore, I am sending you and your sister to Fillydelphia for the foreseeable future. I have arranged for lodging for you and your sister as well as jobs working for the Fillydelphia Courier Service for which you will be properly compensated. Celestia will begin her post-graduate weather work under Dr. Hailstorm Borealis of the Fillydelphia Weather Institute but you will pursue no further magical studies other than what we have already covered together. I believe that Fillydelphia is an ideal location for you spend some time to clear your head. The ponies are very kind, the city is located in the center of the Equestrian Heartland and the local library has nary a hint of magical text for you to kill yourself over. There are plenty of historical landmarks for you to explore including Independence Hall, the First Parliament Building and the Tomb of St. Trixie among others. I urge you to commit yourself fully to this period of rest so that we may begin to undo the years of stress your studies have caused you. I will not set a return date for you and if I am still not convinced that you are in a healthy state of mind when your term resumes, you will take non-advanced classes by post. I realize that this may seem harsh to you right now and any anger or resentment you might be feeling towards me is completely understandable. But know that I only want the best for you Luna and if this time apart guarantees us a future spent in healthy pursuit of magic then it is important that we take advantage of it. The last thing I want is for you to burn out before your time. Sorcery can be a dangerous road to walk and I would not so callously risk your well-being to help you achieve greater knowledge and power. Please do not think of this as a punishment for you have never given me cause to punish you. Instead, I hope you come to view this separation as a time of rest and reflection as you prepare to enter into your next phase of magical studies. I pray that you may look on this letter in a warmer light some day and realize the depth of what I am trying to convey to you. Your (Former)Teacher, HRH Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria. P.S. I am sending Lt. Shining Armor with you to help you settle in. I don’t expect you to run into any trouble but you may rely on him should things get hairy. The Lieutenant is an extremely capable young stallion and you will find yourself in good company riding with him. P.P.S. The Fillydelphia Public Library might be worth a visit. While it doesn’t have the kinds of magical texts you’re accustomed to, it has a very extensive section on Ancient Poetry that you may find enlightening should you take this letter to heat.