//------------------------------// // Together Again // Story: Dominant Species // by DarkPhoenix //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Together Again Twilight sat bolt upright in bed, a thin sheen of sweat matting her coat. The covers were tangled and twisted around her, a testament to a night spent restless. Her breathing came in short gasps and though she couldn’t see them, she was sure her eyes were bloodshot. Swallowing, she looked around, seeing that she was still in the guest room of the Crystal Palace. Dim sunlight streamed in through a crack in the curtains, signalling that it was early in the morning. For once, she was glad to be awake so early, as it meant an escape from that nightmarish dreamscape. Already the exact details of her dream were fading, giving way to the waking mind, but she clearly remembered parts of it. Parts that made her shudder. If she hadn’t already cried enough in the last few days, she would be doing so now. As he breathing slowed, she untangled herself from the covers, slowly getting out of bed. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep. Despite the early hour, her choice was either to get up, or simply lie in bed until she got up anyway. A quick investigation of the room showed that it had a small bathroom attached to it. Standing, gleaming in that bathroom, was a shower. It had been several days since she’d last had the chance to bathe, and now that she noticed it, she could smell herself. It didn’t smell all that pleasant. Several days of collected dirt and sweat made her coat feel clammy. It was time to rectify that situation. Turning on the water, she waited until the room was filling up with steam before stepping in. Sitting on her haunches, she let the warm water flow over her, washing away everything it could. Her mane flattened and covered her eyes, but she had them closed anyway. The feeling of the water was a bliss she’d been missing, a bliss she needed. As she sat there, enjoying the water, she imagined she could feel more than just the dirt and collected sweat leaving her body. She opened her eyes, searching around for shampoo or something to truly scrub herself clean. Her eyes landed on several bottles resting on the side of the shower. Floating then over to her, she read off the labels before choosing one of them. Using her magic, she scraped herself clean, taking away the dirt and grime. But not only that, she could feel the shower revitalizing her mentally. It was as if her collected cares and worries that had been piling up were circling around her hooves and vanishing down the drain, carried off by the water. When she finally turned off the shower, she felt better. Better than she had since this whole thing started. With a final burst of magic, she dried herself off. Leaving the bathroom, she felt it was time to track down some food. Glancing over to the bedside table, she debated on whether to take Rarity’s element necklace with her. If it was with her, she could make sure it was safe, but it would also be annoying, most likely. Deciding to leave it there until she could speak with Cadance about a safe place to store the elements, she took Celestia’s jewel instead. Rarity probably wasn’t awake yet to redo the weave she’d done to carry the gem, but for now she could just carry it in her magic until she could locate a saddlebag or something. Exiting her room, she made her way back through the palace towards the kitchens, as that was the most likely place to find food. Along the way, she stopped a guard. “Excuse me,” she said. The guard looked at her. “Yes, ma’am? What can I do for you?” “I was wondering if you could direct me to the dining room?” The guard pointed a hoof down the hallway. “It’s just down there, take a left at the end, and it’ll be the third door on your right.” “Thanks,” she said. She headed down the hallway, arriving at the dining room. Opening the door, she expected to see an empty hall. Instead, a familiar farmer was sitting at the large table, a bowl of oats in front of her. Hearing the door open, Applejack looked up. “Morning, Twi.” “Morning, AJ.” Twilight sat in the chair across from her friend, setting the gem down on the table. She looked around, trying to figure out how to get something to eat. “Oh, somepony will be out here soon. Just tell her what you want to eat,” Applejack said. She spooned another bite of oats into her mouth. “You’re up early.” “I couldn’t sleep,” Twilight admitted. Applejack regarded her over the rim of her bowl. “You too, huh? Was it bad dreams?” Twilight nodded. “Yeah. Hopefully the others are able to get some sleep. Though I don’t know if anypony can.” A pony wearing a servant’s outfit came into the room, spotted Twilight, and hurried over. “Can I get you something to eat?” she asked. “Umm, can I just have a bowl of oats?” She wasn’t really sure what she wanted, so she just decided to follow Applejack’s example. The servant nodded, escaping through a side door. Twilight turned her attention back to her friend. “So,” she said, letting the word hang in the air. “What are we going to do today?” Today was the first time since the attack that they didn’t have anything to do. There was no cold to escape, nowhere to travel, they were free to decide what to do. And Twilight had no idea what to do. Right now, they were in a waiting game. Until they knew what was going on back in Equestria, which meant waiting on Cadance’s scouts to return, they lacked the information needed to plan ahead. Knowledge was critical, they needed it. Twilight resolved to meet with Cadance when she got up. “Well, I was thinking I might wander around the city. If there are Ponyville citizens here, then it’d be good to find them. Maybe they can tell me about Ap-” Her voice hitched and she swallowed, unable to continue. Wishing the table was just a little less wide, Twilight tried to comfort Applejack. “I’m sure they got out. You and I both know that Discord would keep them safe.” Applejack smiled, though it seemed bitter to Twilight. “I know. I just want to see them, to hold them in my arms, and know that they’re okay. I can’t stand not knowing.” “Careful AJ, you’re starting to sound like me.” Twilight cracked a smile. The smile on the farmer’s face went from bitter to genuine. “I guess I am.” She looked around for a moment. “Oh no! There are no books in here, whatever shall I do?” She then put a hoof to her head and fainted in dramatic fashion, falling over the table. “Do I really sound like that?” Applejack chuckled. “Sometimes.” The servant returned, carrying a bowl of oats. Placing the bowl in front of Twilight, she once more retreated from the room. Breakfast was spent, for the most part, in silence. Neither of them had too much to say. Twilight simply ate her bowl of oats, thinking about what she wanted to do that day. In all honesty, she didn’t want to stay around the palace. Wandering around the city seemed like the best thing to do. After breakfast, she and Applejack made plans to meet up in the market for lunch. Twilight asked the breakfast servant to inform her friends, if they showed up, on when and where to meet them. She also asked for a saddlebag, which the servant delivered to her. She tucked Celestia’s jewel into the bag, making sure it was secure and safe. They left the palace together, but split up right after. Neither of them particularly wanted company right now. Applejack headed off towards the train station, seeing that as the best place to start looking for her siblings. Twilight decided the starting with the city’s hotels was a good idea and asked a guard where they were located.. Even so early in the morning, the Crystal City was bustling. Ponies were walking the streets, going to work, doing early morning shopping, or just enjoying the clear morning air. Twilight looked around her, glancing at each pony that she passed. Some ponies bore determined looks, their path clearly set. Others, while they took a slower approach, seemed to know where they were going. These were usually the crystal ponies, those who lived here in the city. Then there were the ponies who were simply doing what she was doing: wandering. Their eyes would linger on one thing longer than another, or they’d be sitting up against a wall somewhere, out of the way, just looking around them. She recognized them as being in shock. These were the refugee ponies, the ones who, like her, had their lives turned upside down. Some of them seemed in a daze, not quite knowing where they were. While they were looking at something, they weren’t seeing it. Their mind was elsewhere. She tried talking to some of the ponies, to figure out where they were from. The answers ranged from Manehatten, Vanhoover, Las Pegasus, and even Fillydelphia. She didn’t recognize any of them, so they weren’t from Ponyville. But maybe she could at least see if there were any places the refugees were gathering. Most of what she got in reply was confusion. A few ponies were helpful, though. She did find out that the area around the train station was being converted into a refugee camp. They were setting up tents and handing out food and water. Perhaps Applejack had been right and the train station was the place to go. Twilight thanked each pony she spoke to, continuing to make her way towards her destination. The city had a pervading air of confusion. A sense that nopony knew what was going on, but was just sticking to their basic routine as something to cling to. Everypony seemed nervous about something, even the crystal ponies. As she walked, she heard mutters and whispers, hushed conversations taking place on street corners. It was at times like this that a strong leadership was needed. Twilight’s own experiences with Winter Wrap Up, while small in comparison, meant she knew a little about leading. She knew that Cadance was a good leader, liked and respected by ponies, but it was hard to lead, to reassure her people that everything was okay, when she herself didn’t know the answers to their questions and worries. She would have her hooves full just keeping everypony calm, until she could deliver more definitive answers. By now, news of the incoming refugees had reached everypony in the city. Tall tales, half-truths, mis-truths, and rumors would be spreading. Everypony would know a slightly different version of what was going on. Keeping them calm was key, stemming the growing tide of panic before it could engulf and overwhelm the city. With all of her stopping and talking and thinking, it took her a couple hours to arrive at the hotels. Rising up before her was a collection of buildings of similar height and shape. This was the hub of hotels in the city. Prior to the Empire’s disappearance, tourism wasn’t a big thing. After it came back, the times had changed and ponies wanted to visit. So, under the guidance of Princess Cadance, a series of hotels had sprung up, all in the same area. It made things easier on the city and on traveling ponies, as well. There were a total of five hotels, so Twilight decided to start with the one closest to her. Pushing open the doors with her magic, she entered the lobby. An air of frantic, yet controlled activity pervaded the lobby. There were ponies sitting in the chairs scattered about the room, while several,,wearing the uniform of the hotel, wandered about on tasks. Dodging several meandering individuals, Twilight approached the front desk, where a stallion was standing. “Excuse me,” she said. The stallion looked up at her. “Yes, ma’am. How can I help you? I’m afraid if you’re looking for a room, we have very few left.” She shook her head. “No, I’m not looking for a room.” He seemed relieved at that. “I could use some information, though.” “Well if you’d like information on the city, such as the best places to eat, I’d suggest you try our concierge desk just over there.” He pointed with a hoof to another desk set off to the side of the lobby. “Ah, you misunderstand. I’d like some information about any ponies you may have staying here.” He frowned. “I’m sorry, I can’t release the names of anypony staying here. That’s confidential.” Twilight smiled at him. “I’m just trying to find somepony. All I need to know is if you have any ponies from Ponyville staying here.” “I’m sorry,” he said again. “We don’t collect that information upon check in. I can say that we’ve had a large number of ponies check in recently. Anymore than that, and I can’t be of much help.” This line of questioning was getting her nowhere. She supposed it was foolish of her to think that the hotel would know where everypony they had staying there was from. It was time to change up her line of questioning. “Okay... Then maybe you can answer this for me. Have you seen anypony that looks like the following: A large red pony, blond mane and tail, green apple cutie mark. A small purple and green dragon.” She went on, describing each of her friends in just that way. The stallion listened to her as she rattled off descriptions. Watching him, she tried to see if any sort of recognition passed across his face as she spoke. When she finished, she looked at the stallion expectantly. He thought for a moment more. “I’m sorry, but nopony I’ve seen here matches any of those descriptions, and some of them would certainly stand out.” Her ears drooping a bit, she thanked the stallion for his time and left the hotel. One down, four prospects left. One of the hotels had a large clock on the side of it. She glanced up, checking the time. There was plenty of time left to hit those four hotels before she had to go meet Applejack... And whoever else would show up at the market. Heaving a sigh, and wondering about the futility of her quest, she headed towards the next hotel. The lobby was much the same as the first one, with ponies milling about or heading somewhere. Again, she approached the front desk, this time with a mare working it. Trying her luck, she opened with the same line of questioning as at the first hotel. And just like at the first hotel, she struck out. They didn’t keep records of where their guests were from, nor did the mare show familiarity with any of the descriptions she rattled off. It would be hard to miss something as unique as Discord, so Twilight knew she was telling the truth. Leaving the stressed mare and the hotel behind, she headed towards the third hotel. Another quick glance at the clock showed her that she had an hour to comb three more hotels. An hour later, Twilight trudged out of the fifth and final hotel. Marking through that hotel in her mental checklist, she sighed, sitting briefly on a bench just outside the building. Five different hotels, all the same answer. If her friends from Ponyville were in the city, they weren’t here. Nor were they at the palace, as she has just come from there. She put her head in her hooves, feeling the weight of her missing friends settling itself firmly on her shoulders. It was hard to believe that only a few days ago, she was leading her normal life, studying in the library, going on adventures with her friends. With all her being, she longed to be able to return to that time. But if her experience with time travel had taught her anything, it was that no matter how hard you tried, you can’t change the past. Imagining herself at the library, laying on the couch, a book in front of her and a steaming mug of tea on the table, she felt the world around her fade out. The hustle and bustle of the city vanished, replaced by the sounds of birds chirping in the branches outside her window, and the occasional rustle of a turning page. That crisp sound as the paper moved in her magic, she loved that sound. The weighty feeling of a tome as she held it, it gave her such joy. Her books were her first friends, and she knew that no matter what, she could always retreat to them, to find solace nestled within the pages. She was currently reading one of her all time favorite books, The Mare with the Dragon Cutie Mark. She’d never admit it to anypony, but she actually enjoyed the occasional piece of fiction writing. Not even she could read only history books, treatise, philosophical musings, or textbooks all the time. Sometimes a good story was needed, something to lose herself in. As the pages turned and she got lost in the politics and intrigue of the noble family, something struck her as off. Invading even her closed mind, a feeling of dread came over her. She felt like she was missing something, something important. Tearing her eyes from the page, she looked around. Everything was as it should be, all the books were shelved properly, a gentle breeze came in through the open window, rustling the mostly closed curtains. But still, something was different, something was wrong. Focusing her ears, she tried to pick it out. After several moments, it came to her. Where were the other ponies? Even a town like Ponyville had a background noise to it. And right now, that noise was missing. Curious, and feeling unnerved, she got up to see what was going on. Hopefully nothing was going wrong. Knowing her luck, everypony was off doing something else and nopony had bothered to tell her about it. Setting the book aside, she got to her hooves, heading towards the window that overlooked the town square. Throwing back the curtain, she gasped at what she saw. Outside, there was devastation. The ground was black, coated in a layer of what looked like snow, blowing along in the gentle breeze. The buildings, at least the ones that remained, were broken down husks of their former selves. Fallen frames and burnt timbers were all that was left of some. Others were gone entirely, nothing but ash remaining. She could see the town hall was still, somehow, standing. Leaning to one side and covered in scorch marks and burned spots, it stood. The green grass was gone, covered in the ashes of whatever had happened. Trees were missing their leaves, being naught but bare branches, creaking as they moved. Others were simply stumps, or trunks. All the beautiful gardens and flowers were missing. Nothing grew here. The sky above was filled with dark clouds, swirling about. With nopony to guide them their movement was erratic and intimidating. Low rumbles could be heard emanating from them while the occasional flash illuminated everything she could see in stark contrast. The wind stirred up her mane, blowing it around her face. Littering the ground were hundreds of these odd white things, scattered haphazardly all over. Some were laying flat, others sticking up at odd angles. Her brain racked itself, trying to identify what they were. The answer came to her with a jolt of realization, her stomach immediately wanted to empty itself of her breakfast. Bones. Hundreds of individual bones were tossed around Ponyville. They were bleached white, stripped of all flesh. No one bone was still connected to another, whatever had happened had blasted these ponies apart. Her analytic mind, now that she knew what they were, could identify each specific bone. It made her nauseous to see them scattered about. Something terrible had happened here. She stumbled backwards, retreating into the safe confines of her library. She was safe here. She’d always been safe here. She could just close the curtains and everything would be fine. Her heart slammed into her ribcage as her breathing increased, coming out in short gasps. Her magic reached out, trying to grasp onto the hanging cloth to shut out the world outside. Yet when she gave them a tug, only scraps came together. Her once pristine curtains were now a dark grey in color, full of holes and barely hanging on. The wall of the library was no longer the deep brown she expected, but a slightly lighter shade of grey than her curtains. The glass in her window, the shutters that covered it, both were gone. Looking around, her stomach dropped. What had once been a homely, inviting library, was now a hellish viewscape. Shelves were missing or tilted, dropping their precious loads. Piles of books were stacked around the room. The books were burned or scorched, what few remained. Maybe one or two could be salvaged, but the vast majority were ruined beyond repair. Her entire home was covered in ash. A large section of wall and her entire kitchen was gone, exposing everything to the elements outside. Her door hung limply on a single hinge, groaning as it swung in the wind. The top of the tree was gone. She could look straight up and into the sky. What furniture remained was broken, scattered, destroyed. She could see the remains of her table, split down the middle, each half laying opposite the other up against one of the few walls still standing. Her couch was reduced to just the wooden frame, which was laying in splinters. “What’s going on here?” Twilight said aloud. Her only answer was the rising wind and a loud peal of thunder. “What happened? Where is everypony?” The wind grew in force, catching her words and throwing them away. The thunder rumbled constantly, drowning out what she said. The lightning flashed, blinding her. A bolt of lightning struck the ground just outside the library. The force of the expanding pressure wave made her stumble backwards. Her flank hit the wall where her window was. Struggling against the wind, she moved back into the center of her home. A tingling feeling came over her, and all the hairs on her coat stood up. Before she could process what that meant, another bolt of lightning came down from the clouds, striking her directly. The heat was intense, burning her very soul. She could feel her coat burning off, her skin crisping and peeling away. Looking down, her hooves were gone. In their place were shiny, white bones. As soon as she noticed it, she fell over, her body catching up with her mind. Laying on the floor, she was struck with another bolt, then another, and another. Each time, the heat grew until even her bones were nothing but ash. Somehow, her mind was still active, still able to comprehend what was going on. Despite her body being nothing more than particles floating away in the wind, she could see, she could hear, and she could feel. She could feel the pain as it moved through a body that wasn’t there. A final bolt of lightning hit her, and she screamed with a mouth that no longer existed. Still screaming, she fell off the bench and onto the hard street. Awareness returned to her and she looked around. Ponies had stopped what they were doing and were staring at her. She was laying in the street outside the hotel, having fallen off the bench. She must’ve fallen asleep. Rubbing her head while giving a sheepish laugh, she glanced past the still staring ponies at the clock. “Oh no,” she said. “I’m late!” She was supposed to be at the market ten minutes ago. She’d been asleep for too long. Quickly, she fired up her horn to teleport, trying to focus around the leftover mental residue from the dream. She couldn’t teleport to the market itself, as she wasn’t familiar enough with the area to do so. Blind teleporting was dangerous, she could end up appearing inside a market stall, or worse, another pony. Instead, she knew of one place she could go. With a flash and the familiar, oppressive squeeze of teleportation, she vanished from the hotel area, leaving behind a multitude of confused ponies. Her return to reality was signalled with another flash and a pop. Looking around, she found herself at the palace. She’d teleported to a small alcove just outside the doors. A guard had heard her arrival and was peeking in. He leapt back with a startled yelp as she burst out of the alcove. “Sorry,” she yelled over her shoulder, galloping towards the market. It was a short distance to the market from the palace, why she’d chosen to teleport there. She arrived several minutes later, gasping and out of breath. The market was a bustling place, more so than anywhere else in the city. Ponies were shopping and haggling, merchants were hawking their goods. It was a cacophony of controlled chaos. Eyes scanning the crowd, she searched for any sign of her friends. Surely they were still waiting on her and hadn’t gone somewhere already. A flash of rainbow colors caught her eye. Focusing her gaze, she could see Rainbow Dash hovering slightly over the crowd. Making her way towards the pegasus, knowing her other friends would be there, she brushed past numerous other ponies. Keeping the rainbow mane in her sights, she broke through the crowd, arriving on the other side of the market. Her friends were gathered around another bench. At least, most of her friends. She could see Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, and a rapidly bouncing Pinkie. As if summoned, Pinkie turned her head and spotted Twilight. “Hey girls! There’s Twilight!” she paused in her bouncing, somehow staying in midair as she pointed. “Hi girls,” Twilight said, approaching the group. “Sorry I’m late.” “Eh, it’s no biggie,” Rainbow said. “We’re still waiting on AJ anyway.” “Twilight, darling, you look like a mess. Whatever have you been doing?” Rarity asked. Twilight told them of what she’d been doing all morning. How she had gone to the hotels and questioned the staff about their friends. How she’d met with five dead ends, and nopony at the hotels knew anything. Wherever their friends were, they weren’t at the hotels at least. She left out the part about falling asleep. And the nightmare. “I just... I want to find them, so badly,” she said. She had sat down on the sidewalk, her head hanging low, regarding her own hooves. A hoof was thrown over her shoulders. Looking up, she saw it was attached to Pinkie. “Don’t worry, silly. I’m sure they’re out there and waiting for us.” “But how can you know? Right here is the best place for them to be If they got out at all.” Her voice dropped, becoming quiet. Pinkie tried to say something, but for some reason she didn’t. Her hoof remained though, providing support and comfort. Twilight leaned into her friend, taking solace in her presence. Even with everything they’d been through, she knew she could always count on them. Suddenly, Pinkie started vibrating. Twilight looked up at her, finding her tail twitching, her ears flopping, her nose swinging, and she was bouncing up and down. “Twitchy tail, floppy ears, swinging nose...” She trailed off for a moment. Then her face brightened considerably. “Ooooh! This means it’s doozy. But a good doozy. Like a super-riffic doozy of a doozy!” She went on, somehow finding more and more ways to describe a doozy. Twilight wasn’t sure of half the vocabulary Pinkie was using existed, but for some reason, it seemed to fit. “Okay Pinkie, calm down,” Rainbow said. “What are you talking about?” Before she could answer, a voice broke above the din of the crowd. “Twilight!” Twilight perked up, recognizing that voice. “No...” she turned around, looking in the same direction as Pinkie. There, running as fast as his little legs would take him, was Spike. The dragon was dodging around ponies, attempting to get to Twilight. “Spike!” she shouted, getting to her hooves and rushing towards him. They met in a flurry of hooves and arms, each trying their best to hug the other as tight as possible. Twilight picked up her assistant and friend in her hooves, holding him close to her. “Oh thank Celestia! You’re okay,” she said. “I’m so happy you’re alive!” he replied. Before they could go any further, more voices came forth, calling out the names of her friends. Looking over Spike’s shoulder she saw the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen. Running through the crowd, parting them like waves, were more ponies, ponies she recognized. She could see Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. Behind them were Big Mac and Granny Smith, and the Cakes. “How...?” she asked. While she watched, the rest of her friends surged forward, grabbing their own loved ones in embraces. Even Rainbow dropped her usual tough girl attitude and scooped up Scootaloo, doing a somersault in the air before sitting on the ground, hugging the filly. The air filled with the chatter of excited ponies. Even the busy crowd had stopped to see what was going on. Onlooking ponies shared glances at the reunion. Some were looking confused, while others were smiling happily. “To answer your question, Twilight Sparkle,” came a familiar voice, “The ‘how’ would be me.” Following the sound of the voice, Twilight saw Discord standing slightly apart from the group. The mismatched draconequus stood out from the crowd, standing taller than them all. Next to him was Applejack, smiling as she watched her friends reunite with their loved ones. Before Discord could speak again, he was bowled over by a flash of yellow and pink. “Oh! I’m so glad you made it out safely,” Fluttershy said, wrapping him in a tight hug. Discord struggled for a moment before giving in to the inevitability and returning the hug. “Yes, yes, Fluttershy. I’m safe.” He looked around for a moment. “And, I’m not the only one who wishes to see you?” The pegasus looked confused. “What do you mean?” Smirking, he held out his lion’s paw, showing that it was empty. Closing it, he snapped his fingers, and with a flash of light, a tiny white figure appeared in his once again open paw. “Angel Bunny!” Fluttershy swooped down, picking up the disoriented rabbit and crushing him against her chest. Angel didn’t even try to fight against the show of affection, instead he submitted to the hug, patting Fluttershy’s hooves with his paws. Twilight didn’t want to let Spike go, afraid she’d find out this was all a dream. She could see Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Rainbow and Scootaloo, Pinkie and the Cakes, all having their own reunions. Hugs were being shared, tears were being shed. “Spike...” she said. Her vision was shimmering through a veil of moisture. “I’m so happy that you’re okay.” “What about you? You were right there when it happened,” he said. The little dragon was the one to break the hug, looking her over. “Are you okay?” She smiled at him. “I am now,” she replied. And she was. Despite everything that had changed, some normalcy had been restored for her. Her assistant and friend was safe, and she knew it without a sliver of a doubt. She could reach out and feel him, knowing this wasn’t a dream because it felt all too real for that. They sat on the sidewalk, simply holding each other. No words were shared because none were needed. Whatever explanations, whatever stories were to be told, those could wait. For now, they were content to have each other again after neither knew if the other was even alive. All around them, similar acts were taking place. Applejack had moved to be with her family, holding them while exchanging a few words with Granny Smith. The ponies who had stopped to watch had moved on. Now Twilight and her friends were an archipelago amongst the sea of ponies going about their lives. Eventually, the decision was silently made that they should find somewhere a bit more private. It was time for both sides to hear the other’s story. The sun was high in the sky and stomachs were growling, so lunch seemed to be a logical choice. Finding a little cafe that was empty, they invaded it. Within moments, all the tables had been moved together and every seat was filled with a smiling, happy pony. Discord chose to float above the table, with not even Fluttershy being able to convince him to come down and sit normally. At first, they skirted the main topics, instead focusing on happier things. Nopony wanted to kill the good mood they had after finding each other, and everypony knew that each side telling their story about what had happened would be a somber thing. Yet the happiness was destined to not last. It became quickly apparent that the range of topics was very low without hitting on something that they didn’t want to talk about. Somepony had to broach the topic, and that somepony was Twilight. With a salad in front of her, she set her fork down. “Okay. I have to know. How did you all get out of Ponyville? And what happened there?” Everypony looked around, looking for the pony who’d answer. A voice spoke up from above. “I’ll tell you,” Discord said. He floated down, settling himself into a chair that appeared out of nowhere. Even his penchant for theatrics was dulled by what he had to say. With a clearing of his throat, he started. “As you know, we, except for the Cakes, were at Sweet Apple Acres. From there, we had a pretty good view of everything as it went down. We could see the thing as it hovered there. And we could see as it started to crack and break apart.” Twilight nodded, her own memory replaying the scene in her head. “So what then?” “When it... Well, exploded. Several of those pieces came flying towards the farm, and one of them right for us.” It was here that Apple Bloom broke in. “Discord saved us. He caught that thing.” Discord nodded. “I’m a manner of speaking. I managed to halt it, setting it down on the ground.” Twilight’s eyes went wide. She’d seen the speed and force behind each of those pieces. It would’ve taken a lot of power to stop even one of those. “But I could only stop the one. The others hit around us.” He turned to Applejack. “Your farm is...” he trailed off. “It’s okay, sugarcube. I sorta figured, you just confirmed it is all,” Applejack replied to his unspoken statement. “Anyway, we needed to get out of there. Fires were all over and they were spreading. We could also see the creature, attacking you.” Discord described their journey as they ran towards town. How the entire landscape was on fire, and how the very air was becoming hard to breathe. He had to use his magic to make sure they got there safely. They had managed to make it to town, only to find that it had suffered as well. Several pieces had fallen on the town, wiping out sections of it, with even more of it being on fire. Ponies were either running around, or stumbling about in shock. Some were trying to put out the fires, while others were helping the injured. It was chaos, and not the type of chaos he liked or caused. Something had to be done before they were all consumed by flames, or fell to the choking air. “I had an idea,” Discord said. “It was a dumb idea, even for me. I teleported to Ponyville Lake, grabbed the water, and teleported above the town. There I simply let go.” “Wait a moment,” Twilight broke in. “You dumped the lake on the town?” He nodded. “It seemed like the best way to put out all the fires.” She thought for a moment. “Hmm, and introducing that much moisture would certainly work towards clearing the air as well. But how did you prevent anypony from getting washed away with the water?” Looking sheepish, he ducked down. It was Mrs. Cake, who had Pumpkin in her lap, who answered. “He didn’t. It shocked us all to see a flood of water hurtling down the street at us.” “Discord!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “That wasn’t very nice of you. What if somepony got hurt?” “Actually,” Scootaloo said. “It was kinda fun. Riding that wave reminded me of my scooter.” Rainbow rubbed the filly’s head. “That sounds like something I would say,” she remarked. Scootaloo beamed at the thought of being like her idol. Mr. Cake continued the story. “Regardless of his choice of method, what Discord did worked. Most of the fires were put out and the air became easier to breathe. It should also be noted that nopony was hurt anymore than they already were.” Fluttershy still glared at Discord, who made a point to scoot his chair slightly further away from her. “Anyway. Once the fires were out, we could take stock of what had happened. The Mayor gathered everypony at the town hall. “But no sooner had we arrived, than something else happened. The sky glowed as the creature was encased in some sort of cage, with strange glyphs around it.” “That’s when we used the Elements against it,” Twilight said. “They... Didn’t work.” The group was silent for a moment as that sank in. Before, the elements had always succeeded. Never had they failed, to anypony’s knowledge. “Yes,” Discord said. “When it broke free and spawned that fireball, the one that got bigger, it was coming right at us.” Scootaloo took over here. “Discord was awesome! He stood in front of it, arms held out.” She stood up in her chair on her hind legs, imitating his pose. “In truth, I’d already used much of my power in stopping that piece and putting out the fires. I had no idea if I’d be able to even slow down that wall of fire.” “But still you stepped in,” Fluttershy said. She grabbed Discord in another hug. “Thank you.” He returned the hug with one arm. If anything could be said about Discord, it’s that Fluttershy was starting to rub off on him. He’d certainly become more friendly, and slightly less inclined to pull a prank on a pony. Slightly. “But just as the wall hit Ponyville, it stopped on its own. Then it shrank back towards the creature.” Discord continued his tale. Mr Cake picked up from there. “We didn’t know what happened, but we weren’t gonna let this opportunity pass us by. The Mayor ordered an evacuation. Everypony who was...” he trailed off. “Able to boarded the train.” He glanced over the the three fillies sitting at the table. Twilight knew what had just gone unspoken. It was silly and foolish to believe that everypony had made it out of Ponyville alive. And Mr. Cake had just confirmed that at least some had died. The question, then, was who? Part of her wanted to know, so that she could mourn them. Part of her didn’t want to know, to remain in blissful ignorance, refusing to put a name to the dead. But not knowing who, to not even want to hear their names, wouldn’t be honoring their memory. While she may not have personally known those ponies, they were still her neighbors, townspeople. They deserved to be remembered. She would have to find the time to question Discord or the Cakes about it without the fillies or Spike around. Discord and Mr. Cake took turns telling the rest of the story. How once everypony was on the train, the wounded included, they had simply left. Nopony had anything more than what they were carrying with them. They had traveled away from Canterlot and the creature. Twilight questioned them about the creature, what it was doing while they were leaving. Discord said that it was simply on the ground in the field outside Canterlot, not moving or really doing anything as far as they could tell. It was still like that when they lost sight of it over the hills and distance. They’d traveled north, away from everything. At a stop in Manehatten for fuel and supplies, some ponies had gotten off, choosing to stay. All the way there, they’d been wondering just where they should go. The destruction of Canterlot was known by now. Some ponies argued that they should stay in Equestria, wait for the Princesses to tell them what to do. Others that they should leave Equestria, make for somewhere friendly. The decision was made that those who wanted to stay should get off in Manehatten, or their final in-Equestria stop in Fillydelphia. The rest of them would keep heading north, to the Crystal Empire. They were sure they could find help there. Those who were too wounded to travel safely were unloaded in Manehatten. Anypony who was wounded but didn’t need immediate medical care could make their own choice. Rarity asked the question that was on Twilight’s mind. “So why did you choose to come here?” “Because this seemed like the best choice,” Mrs. Cake said. “I wanted to put as much distance between us and the creature as possible, which meant going as far north as we could.” She bounced Pumpkin as she spoke, earning little squeals of happiness from the foal. Discord shrugged. “It seemed as good an idea as any. And we wanted to stick together.” “Eeyup.” Big Mac threw in his two bits as well. “So when did you get here?” Twilight asked. “Yesterday,” Discord said. ”We weren’t the first ones here either. A camp had already been set up by the train station. Some guards directed us there.” “I don’t like the camp,” Sweetie Belle said. “It’s crowded.” “Don’t worry, Sweetie,” Rarity said. “I’m sure we can talk Cadance into letting you all stay at the palace.” The little filly’s eyes brightened at the news. “Really?” Rarity nodded, and Sweetie grinned in happiness. “So you’ve been at the camp all this time?” Fluttershy asked Discord. The draconequus nodded. “We have. It seemed like the best place to stay, since none of us really had enough bits for hotel rooms. We got food and a place to sleep there, at least.” He leaned over to Twilight, who had just opened her mouth to speak. “And no, I could not just ‘create bits out of nowhere, or a house.’” She closed her mouth, her unasked question just answered. “Believe it or not, even my power has limits. I used much of my power just to keep everypony safe and get out of Ponyville.” Holding out his hand, he snapped his fingers, making a bouquet of flowers appear. The flowers looked off though, wilting and odd colors on them. Twilight assumed they were supposed to be like that. “I just tried to create a normal bunch of flowers,” Discord said. He tossed the bouquet over his shoulder, where they hit the wall and stuck there. “I’m slowly regaining my powers, but it’s a slow process.” Sweetie Belle broke into the conversation. “Discord was really helpful, even if he slept all day yesterday after we got here.” The draconequus shrugged. “I was tired. Using so much power took a lot out of me.” “I found them sitting near some tents,” Applejack said. She hooked a foreleg around each of her siblings. “I only had to ask three ponies if they knew where they were. Seems Discord here sticks out a bit.” “Have you been behaving yourself?” Fluttershy asked him. He chuckled. “I have. It’s not my fault someponies don’t like their food being spiced up.” Mrs. Cake fixed him with a stare. “Not everypony enjoys eating cotton candy all the time. Or drinking nothing but chocolate milk.” He rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything to the matronly mare in response. Fluttershy seemed willing to overlook this in favor of actually having him around again. It took some haggling with the waiter, but they were able to combine their bits and pay for the meal. Twilight added asking Cadance to send that cafe some extra bits for putting up with them to her list of things to talk with her sister about. Their story had taken up much of the afternoon, the sun creeping towards the horizon. They headed towards the palace, having nothing to do in the city itself. As one large group, they walked mostly in silence, once more happy to have each other again. Arriving back at the palace, the guards at the door eyed the group, but upon seeing Twilight and her friends, let them in. Twilight asked him if he knew where Cadance was. He said that she was currently in the little sitting room off the throne room. She’d been in there all day. Worried, Twilight led her friends into the throne room, having them stay back near the throne itself while she went and knocked on the door. “Cadance, it’s Twilight.” There was a brief moment of silence before the door opened. Cadance looked like her normal self, with her mane done in its usual curls. “Oh, Twilight. What brings you here?” “Several things, actually. But first, I have some good news.” Cadance looked confused. “What news?” Twilight just stepped back and gestured with her hoof towards the large group of ponies. She saw a surprised look pass over Cadance’s face, but it was quickly gone. The alicorn mare stepped out of the room. “This is good news indeed. I’m glad that you found your friends and loved ones.” Her voice seemed flat, like she was having trouble summoning happiness. A smile graced her muzzle, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m glad to see you all well,” she said. “Thank you, your highness,” Mr. Cake said, giving a little bow along with his wife. “Cadance,” Twilight said. “Is there a chance they can stay here, at the palace?” She thought a moment. “There are plenty of guest rooms open, so I don’t see why not. I’ll have the servants prepare a few more rooms.” Sweetie Belle hopped up and down. “Oh thank you!” “You’re quite welcome,” Cadance replied. “Also, I need to ask you a few things,” Twilight said. With a nod, the two of them stepped into the sitting room. Twilight promised that she’d be back soon. Inside the room, they sat down on the pillows once more. Twilight could feel an air of oppressiveness hanging about. “Cadance, are you okay?” she asked, worried over her sister. Cadance nodded. “I’m fine.” “The guard I talked to said that you’ve been in here all day.” She scooted closer to her sister. “Cadance, you can talk to me, you know that.” The alicorn looked like she was trying to contain something, but it broke free. Her eyes brimmed with tears and her head hung low. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I thought I could be stronger than this.” Twilight grabbed her sister in a hug, letting the mare’s head fall onto her shoulder. She didn’t say anything, just held on. Cadance cried into Twilight’s shoulder for a few minutes, before she sat up, wiping her eyes with a hoof. “I’m sorry,” she said again. Twilight smiled at her. “It’s okay.” She shook her head. “No, it’s not. I’m not supposed to be like this. I should be strong. I should be out there, leading my people. Instead I’m in here, crying.” Twilight faltered. She wasn’t sure what to say. She’d read books on what to do in situations like this, but still she was unsure of what to say. “Cadance, you are strong. Look at you, you got out of bed today, you made sure that you would look the same as always.” “I didn’t want to frighten the guards and servants. They’re already on edge from what’s going on. Seeing me break down would only make things worse.” “See?” Twilight pointed out. “Even now you’re thinking about your ponies first.” “But I need to do more. I need to be out there.” She gestured with a hoof towards the door leading into the throne room. Distantly, the sound of giggling fillies could be heard creeping under the door. “You just lost your husband. I think that your staff knows that you’d need some time after that. They’d probably be more surprised if you had been yourself today.” Cadance faltered this time, searching for some retort or answer. “I... I guess you’re right.” Twilight adopted a haughty look, putting a hoof to her chest. “Why Cadance, you know that I’m always right.” Raising a single eyebrow, Cadance regarded her former charge. “Always?” “Of course.” “Then what about all those times you spouted out wrong things when you were a filly and I had to correct you?” “Umm, well those were... Flukes. They were flukes.” Twilight grinned at Cadance, seeing a smile, one the did reach her eyes, coming to her face. “Cadance, you are strong.” Silence descended as they regarded each other. It was Cadance who broke it. “You had some things to ask me?” Twilight nodded. “Only a few. The first being when are you expecting the scouts to come back?” “Possibly tomorrow. They rode back to Equestria on one of the returning trains, the driver being paid to take them as close as he could to Canterlot. From there they’d scout the area then fly to Manehatten, hopefully being able to take a train back here.” This was good news. If the scouts really were coming back tomorrow, then they wouldn’t have to wait around long. They could get the information from the scouts, analyze it, and use it to plan their next move. “Okay. Second. We kinda maybe had lunch at a little cafe by the market today, after we all found each other, but we realized that we didn’t have enough bits to cover the tab.” Twilight turned her head away, embarrassed to be admitting this. Being the student of the Princess, she’d always had enough bits to do something simple like pay for lunch. “I’ll make sure they are compensated,” Cadance said. “Thank you.  Now the final thing. The Elements of Harmony. Right now they’re just sitting in our rooms. Is there somewhere safer we can put them?” “Well,” Cadance put a hoof to her chin. “There is the vault. It’s not as secure as the one in Canterlot is... Was. But it’s still a vault.” “That’ll work perfectly. And it’ll be much better than simply leaving them lying around somewhere.” Cadance nodded. “Agreed.” Twilight stood up. “Come on, you’ve been hiding in here long enough.” She grabbed Cadance’s hoof in hers, leading her out of the room. In the throne room, the CMC had taken over foalsitting duties for the Cakes, playing with Pound and Pumpkin off to one side. Spike was keeping an eye on them. The rest were gathered at the base of the dais, chatting. “I apologize for my earlier rudeness,” Cadance said. “Aw, don’t worry about it sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “I really am glad that you all are safe. You’ll have to tell me of what happened in Ponyville.” She glanced over towards one of the windows. “But that can wait until later. Dinner is in an hour. Until then, you all are free to use the palace. I’m sure you’d like to perhaps take a shower or simply sit down somewhere.” She turned to Twilight. “Would you mind showing them to the guest rooms. Until theirs are ready, just let them use yours.” Twilight nodded. “Of course.” Cadance climbed the dais, sitting herself on her throne. “Guard Steel,” she said. One of the guards along the wall came forward, stopping in front of the throne and saluting. “Yes, ma’am?” “Find Tidy Scroll. Tell him that there are things I need to discuss with him.” The stoic guard slipped, a small smile coming to his face. “Yes, ma’am,” he said again. With another salute, he was heading out the door. Twilight herself smiled up at Cadance, glad to see her sister taking control. “Come on everypony, it’s this way.” Leading her friends through the palace, Twilight stopped when they got to the hallway with the six doors. “Each door has a bedroom and bathroom in it. Like Cadance said, feel free to do whatever you want. Just down the hall behind us, the first door on the left, is a sitting room. It has games and stuff in it.” Rarity was the first to act. She grabbed onto Sweetie Belle. “Come along now Sweetie. You need a bath.” “But Rarity,” the filly whined. “I wanna go play the games.” “And you can, after you bathe. I am certain the camp doesn’t have proper washing facilities and you mane is just-” Whatever else Rarity was going to say was cut off as the door to her bedroom closed behind them. “Well,” Mrs. Cake said. “She’s right about one thing. I haven’t had a shower in a few days, and our poor darlings could use one as well.” She turned to her husband. “Shall we?” He nodded. “Of course, honey bun.” Together they opened the door into Twilight’s room, closing it behind them. Fluttershy decided to give Angel a bath, much to the rabbit’s consternation, and with a shrug, Discord followed them. Applejack took Apple Bloom into one room, which Big Mac led Granny Smith into another. The last open room was for Rainbow and Scootaloo, even if it was only on Rainbow’s suggestion that the filly even agreed to take a shower. That left Pinkie, Spike, and Twilight still standing in the hallway. “So, got any ideas?” Twilight asked. “Well, there’s always time for a party. We could throw a party in the game room. Or we could surprise everypony in the shower with a party. Or we could use my party cannon to install parties in each room. Oh no! I don’t have my party cannon and I haven’t had a chance to hide any party cannons in the Crystal Empire yet for party cannon emergencies like this. Okay, think Pinkie. There must be a way to salvage this.” She gasped, the first breath Twilight had seen her take since she started talking. “I know what we can do. But I need to make some preparations first. Oh, and I need an assistant.” Without another word, the mare grabbed Spike and scrambled off down the hallway, around the corner before Twilight could even comprehend what had just happened. A floating cry for help from Spike was all that remained of their presence. “Okay then,” she said to herself. Being alone, she headed into the game room, not wanting to disturb anypony. Despite being in here last night, she stopped and looked around. Besides the desk, there were several shelves. One shelf held various boxes containing board games, the rest were filled with books. Idly searching the titles of the books, she selected one at random, settling herself down on the couch to read. The book she had picked was a stirring tale about a forbidden romance between a pony and a gryphon. It lead the reader through the struggles the couple had in keeping their relationship a secret, lest their feuding families find out. Despite some grammatical flaws in it, she found the book enjoyable. Just having an actual book in her magic, feeling its weight, hearing the sound of the paper as the pages turned, that was relaxing for her. With the knowledge that her friends were safe just down the hall, she was finally able to lose herself in the words. The door to the room opened and in strode Rarity, along with the CMC. The three fillies spotted the shelf of games first and made a beeline for it. Soon a fight had erupted over which game they should play. While Rarity dealt with the fillies, Twilight continued to read her book. Soon, the others began to trickle into the room, each of the new arrivals looking clean and refreshed. Suppressing a smile, Twilight could only remember her own experience with the shower this morning, so she knew how they felt. The three fillies decided on a game, and soon the arguments changed to accusations of cheating, until Applejack threatened to take the game away. After that there was quiet in the room as they played. A few conversations popped up here and there, but Twilight didn’t pay them much attention, lost in her book. It was only when she felt somepony tap her shoulder that she looked up. “Come on, sugarcube. They’re saying it’s dinner time.” She looked over to see a servant standing in the doorway. “Right. Thanks AJ.” Making a note of her page, she set the book down on the table, getting up and stretching her legs. Seeing everypony else heading out the door, she followed them. The servant led them through the palace until they got to the dining room. Surprisingly, the doors were closed and Cadance was sitting outside. “Princess? What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked. She shrugged. “I don’t know. Pinkie Pie came into the dining room and kicked out everypony. That was half an hour ago and she hasn’t allowed anypony in since.” To prove her point, she twisted the doorknob with her magic. The door opened less than an inch, not enough to see into the room. Pinkie’s voice  came floating out. “No one allowed inside.” The door slammed closed. “See?” Everypony nodded. By now, all the residents of Ponyville were used to Pinkie’s antics, so this was nothing new to them. For Cadance, who had really only heard stories, this was a new and unique experience for her. A chance to gain firsthoof knowledge of just what Pinkie does. The alicorn sent Twilight a pleading look, to which her only response was to shrug. They spent several minutes wondering just what was going on. One of the servants from the kitchen, who came around the corner from a back door, said that the pink mare had kicked them out as well. Finally the doors to the dining room finally opened. With caution, everypony stepped inside. What greeted them was not quite what any of them were expecting. The dining room was covered in streamers and balloons. They were hanging off of every surface imaginable. A few surfaces Twilight had no idea how Pinkie hung anything from them. A large banner was strung over the center of the table. It read “Happy We-Found-Each-Other-Again Party!” Laying across the table was a selection of pastries. And topping it all off was a huge, three layer cake, sitting in the middle of the table. There were just enough place settings for everypony around the table. They all stood and stared. Standing by the table, was a hopping Pinkie Pie. Slumped over the table in one of the chairs, was an exhausted Spike. “Pinkie,” Cadance said. The mare zipped over, hopping up and down in front of the princess. “Do you like it? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Do you? Huh?” She was cut off when Applejack inserted her hoof into the hyperactive mare’s mouth. “It’s wonderful,” Cadance said. Her eyes were looking around, taking in everything. Within moments, everypony was sitting down and awaiting just what would happen next. Pinkie rushed off through a door. While waiting for her to come back, little conversations popped up around the table. Twilight was sitting next to Cadance, and the two of them spoke quietly about what would happen after dinner. At least, after Cadance got done remarking on how everything got done so quickly in here. The door opened again, and Pinkie returned, leading several servants who had trays on their backs, carrying plates of food. “Dinner is served,” she proclaimed. The servants set the trays down, one in front of each pony. Twilight found, to her delight, that sitting in front of her was a daisy and daffodil sandwich, and a small bowl of cucumber soup, her favorite meal. Looking around, each plate had something different on it. “Pinkie, how did you know everyone’s favorite foods?” Twilight asked. Even Cadance was staring at her plate, which held a salad of some kind. “Oh, I keep a list of everypony’s favorite foods. You know, for party emergencies.” Without any further ado, she dug into her own plate, which was piled high with cupcakes. With a shrug, Twilight followed Pinkie’s lead, though with a bit more manners. Picking up her sandwich, she took a bite, finding that is was prepared in the exact way that she enjoyed it most. Dinner was a pleasant affair, with most ponies exclaiming over the wonderful food. Light conversation was had by all, mostly the new arrivals talking about what life was like in the refugee camp. Cadance was interested in that, wanting to know if there was any way she could improve the quality of life for the ponies staying there. Twilight did bring up something to her sister that she had thought of during the meal. She suggested that Cadance take some time tomorrow to head out into the city, be amongst her ponies. Her reasoning for suggesting that, which she didn’t share with the alicorn, was that being out there, seeing her ponies and interacting with them, should help her. Feeling their love and their admiration for her should help with her own sadness. Dessert was spent munching down the pastries, and eating slices of the delicious cake. Each layer was a different flavor, from chocolate on the bottom, to vanilla on the middle, and strawberry on the top. With a bloated belly, Twilight sat back in her chair, enjoying the meal. “Oh, that was delicious, Pinkie,” she said. Everypony around the table echoed her sentiments. The party pony beamed. “Glad you liked it.” The three fillies each let out adorable little yawns, though each of them tried to hide it. Sensing an opportunity, Twilight took it. “Spike, would you mind taking those three up to the rooms?” She gestured towards the fillies. “Huh? But I’m not tired,” he said. Though the rather large yawn he gave contradicted that. “I’ll go too,” Mrs. Cake said. “Gotta put these little darlings to rest as well.” She indicated the twins, who were already curled up in her lap, sleeping. “Come along,” she said, getting up and placing her foals on her back. “But I’m not sleepy,” Scootaloo said, even as she rubbed her rapidly blinking eyes. “Nonsense,” Mrs. Cake replied. With a small amount of shooing, and some complaints from the filles, Mrs. Cake had quickly ushered the foals and dragon out of the room. Now that they were gone, the rest of them could discuss the things that they’d been meaning to all day. Rather than her telling the story, Twilight let her friends fill in the rest of them on their side of the last few days. Mostly it was Rainbow who spoke. The pegasus was certainly able to weave an interesting tale, far better at storytelling than Twilight was. The rest of them spoke up at certain places, if only to fill in the gaps. The others listened, asking few questions, mainly for clarification. But mostly they were quiet and simply let the story unfold. There were tears shed at some parts, more towards the beginning, when ponies were dying. Hugs were had by loved ones, Applejack clinging onto her brother. When Rainbow finished, Discord took over, retelling what had happened in Ponyville. Cadance was the only one who hadn’t heard this, though there was some new information in this version. Discord had left out certain parts for the benefit of the younger listeners. He told of finding not only wounded ponies, but a disturbing number of dead as well. In the confusion, it was impossible to figure out who the deceased were, and it may be that they’ll never know, with the population of Ponyville now scattered. Twilight had already known that ponies had died in Ponyville, but hearing Discord describe the only recognizable features of a pony being a torn cutie mark brought it all home. They had tried their hardest to shield the young ones from the full effect of the devastation, going so far as to blind the fillies at points. And though those three wouldn’t say anything, they most likely knew the truth. As Discord finished, Cadance looked thoughtful. “I’ve heard a lot of different stories from a lot of different sources about what happened that night. So far, this is the most complete version. While it doesn’t tell all of it, it certainly fills in some gaps.” She turned to Twilight. “Though, there is one thing that has been nagging at me since you said it last night. You mentioned that Celestia gave you a jewel.” Twilight nodded. “She did. I still don’t know why, though.” “May I see it?” As she had never taken off her saddlebags, Twilight promptly reached into them with her magic and pulled out the gem. Floating it over to Cadance, the alicorn plucked it out of the air with her own magic, holding it close and inspecting it. Long moments passed as she did so. Occasionally she’d make a noise or something, but she never said anything. Just as Twilight was about to question her, she set the jewel down on the table. “Well?” Twilight asked. “I can see why Auntie would give this to you.” Twilight gasped. “So you know what it is?” Smiling, Cadance responded. “I do.”