In a small, dark room I found myself waiting, again. Suddenly a flash of blue light lit up the space revealing the clutter pushed to corners, a wall covered in old enchanted parchment and a desk so littered with scrolls that the desk itself had to be imagined beneath the mess. After the spots had cleared from my eyes I was left looking at the only source of light in the room as a tall, dark figure moved around.
Despite the fact that I should have been expected, the newly arrived figure ignored me and immediately began to shuffle items on the desk, searching for one item in particular.
I gave a small cough, and spoke softly, “Ummm…My lady I know you can see me in this dark. I was supposed to meet with you about your sister’s request. Is now a bad time?”
At my voice the figure whirled around and spread feathered wings wide as if in shock. I gave a mental smirk, ‘clearly somepony had something on her mind’.
The wings refolded to the figures side and she gave a soft sigh of relief. I could now see Her beautiful features in the pale, blue glow that seemed to be emitted from her and her immediate surroundings. Now that she saw me and was relaxing her features fell into their natural soft state. Her eyes looked coolly at me, and then opening her mouth she said, “I DID NOT SEE YOU THERE, YOUNG SUBJECT. I APALOGIZE FOR MY TARDINESS FOR MY SISTER’S MEETING. MANY THINGS OCCUPY MY THOUGHTS… right now… I am sorry are you hurt?”
I had not been quick enough in covering my ears, and the sudden vocalized blast during such an otherwise still and quiet night had physically shaken me. Seeing me giving soft shivers of pain the figure approached me and with a soft whisper said, “I am terribly sorry, I forget my voice, when I am startled. Two year versus centuries make an old habit hard to change. Please allow me to heal the damage.”
The figure bent down, placing her head level with my own and touched her long, dark horn to where my hooves grasped my still ringing ears.
As a soft, blue surrounded her horn I felt the ringing in my ears began to fade. ‘Merciful heavenly bodies, from now on I’m waiting outside,’ I declared mentally of course. There was no reason to upset the larger figure further.
“Now,” a far gentler voice came from the lips, “what is it that thou require of the Princess of the Night young Crimson Barrel?”
I gave a gentle bow of my head, “My Lady, your sister has sent me to tell you of the news you missed this night while arranging your beautiful night.”
“Are thou referring to the strange powers I felt coming from Ponyville this night?” Her curiosity was transparent. Apparently she had felt something, but her concentration had been focused on the momentous task of arranging the heavenly bodies for the night. Although, I couldn’t have imagined she wouldn’t have noticed, everypony here in the royal castle in all the way in Canterlot had felt something of great power surging in the direction of the small town. Not to mention the large apparition of a giant, glowing star. Subtlety was not a specialty of royalty, it would seem.
“Your sister was there this night. She felt the completion of the Great Circle within a pony, and had been anticipating the ascendance of a new student.”
“SHE DID IT WITHOUT ASKING ME! SHE SENT TWILIGHT SPARKLE, HER PRIZE STUDENT THE SCROLL WITH GREAT CIRCLE ON IT! I AM RIGHT, ARE I NOT?”
Had I not been expecting the news to shock the Princess I would have been reduced to a quivering mass at her outburst. However, before I had finished my sentence I had a vibrant, red glow from my horn enclosed my ears and to give them what little safety I could.
“You are mostly correct,” I quickly amended as her deep, deep, deep blue eyes looked thinly into mine.
“Your sister told me to relay this to you, and even I’m not sure what it means. She claimed that these words could not appear on any parchment and therefore I must bear this news to you.”
“Continue,” she may not have been blowing me back with the royal Canterlot voice, but I could not help giving a small shake at the ice in her voice.
Clearing my throat I repeated the words that had been relayed to me earlier that night: “Dearest Sister,
My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, has shown magical abilities now on level with our old friend Starswirl the Bearded. Although she is not the same level as we were when we once sought to further our magic in the, then new land, of Equestria, I sense greater potential in her still. I feared that with the premonitions that you and I have been having as of late, that a unicorn wielding the Element of Magic may not have been enough. After all it took two alicorns wielding the Element of Magic to win us the Great War that nearly wiped us out so long ago. I will not pretend that I do not feel great pride in my student for completing what you and I had created from nothing so, so long ago. I know you will most likely argue that this is not the same situation as with Starswirl and that there is no need to create new users for the Elements and raising one in power will only create an imbalance like we once had. And on this, I would agree with you. Twilight will have to come to terms with what Cadence had to two centuries ago. That she is at the uppermost tier of power and now that she ranks among us, the Elements will be more willing to cooperate with her, but at some point she will experience the pain of loss. Not just the loss of her friends to time, but also a loss only you and I know of seeing the very Elements we wielded by our friends and us in the hooves of another group of friends.
I ask you for patience and understanding in this time of change, for it is not of spite our personal gain that I gave Twilight the opportunity for great power, but for the fear of the omens of great conflict that you and I have both sensed. Please, if you would meet with me at dawn before the coronation, I will be more than willing to hear your thoughts on this matter, and give you a more heartfelt explanation of why I expedited this transformation of power, and why I took it upon myself to do so. Please do not hold anger towards me, and know that any and all actions I took were for the security and progress of Equestria.
With all my love Sister,
Celestia Sunraiser
And if you could take it upon yourself, please reward Crimson Barrel for his delivery of this message. Sorry to push, one of my students upon you like this.”
I finished the message and found myself gasping a bit for air. Once I had started delivering the message, the magic with which it had been recorded took over. Suffice it to say, Princess Celestia had bigger lungs than I, and needed far fewer breaths to complete the lengthy message. I had watched the Princesses expression change from to anger, to a pained look, to a blank expression, and finally a look of pensiveness.
Her lips parted and I braced myself for a verbal onslaught, but instead received a quiet, “Thank you.”
I bowed my head and replied “My Lady.”
She turned and began looking at some of the pieces of enchanted parchment that hung to a far wall.
“So she let her discover at least some of it herself. Oh, Sister, for one so wise you can be so foolish some times.” She sighed and turning back towards me I caught a glimpse of the parchment she had been looking at. A colored image that displayed the two most powerful figures in Equestria surrounded by five other smaller ponies all kinds and colors.
“Let me ask thou young Crimson Barrel. Doth thee understand any of which hath been relayed her tonight.”
“No, My Lady.” I gave my honest reply. I was far too overwhelmed and a little too afraid to do anything else. I felt like a lone insect caught between two a great tidal wave and fiery blaze.
“Tell me, does thou enjoy serving my Sister?”
“Yes, My Lady.” I replied keeping my head bowed. I couldn’t bear looking into those deep, blue eyes; I felt within them lay an inescapable void.
“Does thine’s loyalty run to Her and Her alone?”
“My Lady?” I felt a chill inside myself at the question. Was my loyalty to the crown being questioned?
“It is simply a question, of what thou holds truer to thine’s self. Does thou’s loyalty belong to mine Sister, to mine self, or perhaps to all of Equestria?”
I knew I was visibly trembling, despite every second I had spent developing a steady and calm demeanor, before the presence in front of me, I felt like a foal caught somewhere he shouldn’t be.
“T-t-to the c-crown. T-t-to Princess Celestia.” I barely got the words past my lips, as I kept my head bowed deeply.
“I figured as much young subject. It is to be expected. Thank you for your honesty.” Her voice was even, and gentle. I felt a rush of relief flood from the center of my gut to the tips of my hooves.
“My Lady,” I bowed by bending my forelegs, my head already arced so low I saw my red mane brush the stone floor. I began to turn to exit the room, “with your leave-“
“Oh, wait, young subject.”
I froze. I had become so still that I could not tell whether it was by my own will or if the powerful presence behind me had cast a spell over me. I supposed it didn’t matter.
“Thou have forgotten, your reward as promised by mine Sister.” Her voice still carried gentle tones and was still in her normal soft voice.
“My Lady, it is quite alright I was simply-“ I began as I turned around. When suddenly I felt a large powerful hoof beneath my chin, it began to raise my head, with a force I could not stop.
“Oh, but I insist as well, young Crimson Barrel.” I found myself looking into a beautiful face outlined by the soft, blue glow of an ever-shifting, ever-shining mane. I was lost in eyes that shimmered like the very stars in the sky, but between those precious shimmers was a deep void that would drive a pony mad from staring too long.
“My La-“ I couldn’t bring myself to speak as her face approached mine until her eyes were directly across from mine. I saw her smile and she moved her face closer to my own. And then I felt her horn touch mine and suddenly there was flash of light.
I looked around the room in a daze. I blinked rapidly trying to clear the spots from my eyes. I wished that some warning of the spell, that had just illuminated the dark room I had been waiting in, had been coming. My eyes through the shimmers caught the sight of the tall figure I had been awaiting at a cluttered desk. The figure by the desk had her face covered by a hovering scroll wrapped in a blue light.
“My Lady,” I began trying to gain the figures attention “I have a message for you from your Sister.”
A beautiful face peeked at me from around the hovering scroll, and addressed me with a small smile.
“Yes, young Crimson Barrel. I know this, I am reading it now.”
“Oh,” I felt a small ache in my head and tried to shuffle through the confusion I was having. I had received orders from Princess Celestia to relay an express message to Princess Luna concerning the event that had transpired in Ponyville. I had recorded it as she spoke to me… I had written it on a special scroll, the very scroll the Princess before me was reading now. I felt a blush on my cheeks, turning my tan face a heated red. I was acting like a foolish foal and here before the Princess of the Night!
“I’m sorry, My Lady. I shall take my leave.” I turned and began to quickly shuffle from the room. I was never this jumpy, but something in my head was telling me I needed to be leaving this room and the Princess in it in peace for the remainder of the night.
“Thank you for you quick delivery of this message. Why do thou not take the rest of the night to rest. After all with a coronation tomorrow, I’m sure you will want to be rested so as to stand present.”
I bowed my head to the Princess, “Thank you my Lady. I shall be blessed by your night, as I rest.” I turned and quickly exited the room. I heard the soft click of a door closing behind me.
I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, but when I tried to recall what it was I should feel so ashamed of my mind went a little fuzzy on the details. I began to the descent from the top tower that the room was on.
Two bat-winged guards gave me cursory glances as I took the last step from the rounded staircase at the base of the tower. I gave them a quick nod as I began to move on towards my quarters at the other side of the Royal Castle. As I calmed myself and began to unwind from the encounter with the Princess, I found myself looking over one of the many balconies of the castle.
“Hey, Crimson!”
I turned at the sound of a familiar voice, and smiled as the dark coated pegasus I had known since my youngest days in Fillydelphia. “Sky Dive,” I replied,” What keeps you wondering about the castle at this hour?”
As the pegasus approached an easy smile lit up under his eyes. “Looking for you! And besides who can sleep on a night like this!” He raised a fore-hoof and I clopped my own to his.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. So you could see and feel it from Cloudsdayle?”
“Hah! I wouldn’t be surprised of the Zebras in Roam couldn’t see it! What brings you wondering the castle, restless?” He gave me slight nudge with one of his wings. Teasing me for some uncountable amount of times that in the middle of night, I was once again awake and moving around.
“You’re one to talk. The pegasus that slept through typhoon training, is up and about like he has dragon-ticks in his feathers.”
The pegasus gave an unconscious ruffle of his wings. “Well,” he responded, ”I guess that goes to show what an event like that really means huh?”
I conceded on his point there. “If your curiosity must be sated for that thing between your feathers you call a mind, I was delivering a message to Princess Luna from Princess Celestia.”
At that his wings in classic pegasus fashion shot wide and his hooves seemed to leave the balcony floor for a bit. “What was the message? Did you meet with her personally? What did she say? Is she still-“
My horn gave a red glow as I applied small forces to the wings and mouth of my excited companion. Some-things never change.
I smiled at the thought, and opening my mouth began rapidly replying to the pegasus before I received another volley of questions. “I don’t know, it wasn’t meant for me. I simply, gave her the message and left. She said nothing of note that I can recall. And, yes, she is still just beautiful as you remember seeing her, Casanova.”
Where I would have blushed my friend just simply smiled, and turned to look over the balcony.
“That you recall?” he asked with a smirk. “Never heard you say that one before.”
“I-“ my mind felt a little fuzzy as I tried to recall the events that had transpired in the tower I had left behind. ‘Well it has been an eventful night.’
“I suppose I’m just a little out of it right now.” I answered turning out to look at the sky beyond as well.
“Well it has been an eventful night.” I heard my companion echo my thoughts, as he had done so many times before. It gave me a feeling of relief that I knew could only have come from the casual reassurance he gave.
We looked out together at the bright night. Many shimmering stars and the ever-present glow of the moon lighted the dark. The mare-in-the-moon, though seemed different this evening, instead of its empty gaze seeming to sweep the entire land, it seemed focused one spot that out shone all the other stars in the sky with a bright violet and white light. The giant figure of a six-pointed star glowed brightly, hovering over a single spot, never seeming to move save to twinkle brightly. Somewhere out there under that star lie the small town of Ponyville and within it was the cause of the star. The newly anointed Princess Twilight Sparkle.
“What do you think this means, the unicorn whom you claimed was always one step ahead of you in all your magic classes becoming a Princess.” My pegasus friend asked, not turning his gaze away from the sparkling-figure dominating the night.
“Who can be sure,” I replied wondering at his question myself, “Whatever it means, though, there is one thing you can be sure of. Just like when Princess Luna returned to us, nothing will ever be the same again. After all change only brings more change.”