Twilight Sparkle used her magic to adjust an ancient and faded photograph on her desk study. In the picture was herself and her five dearest friends- Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Tears welled up in her eyes as they always did when she looked at the picture and remembered the good old days. Pinkie's parties, Rarity's dresses, Rainbow Dash's stunts.. They had been dead and gone for hundreds of years now, but she held on to their memories dearly.
The aged unicorn pushed her chair back and stood on wrinkled legs. Her body had held up remarkably well over the years, using both her magic and some of Celestia's to keep it together. Ah, Celestia. Just thinking about the former regent made Twilight's heart sink further. The hadn't seen her dear mentor in about two decades since the alicorn stepped down from the throne due to her unstable mental condition.
Twilight looked over her shoulder to the far end of the room. Even in the dim gloom she could see two small green flickers of light that flared out of Spike's nostrils. The dragon was sleeping peacefully in his nest, bright gems studding the cool obsidian. Spike had grown to about ten feet long, always making sure to keep his greed in check so that he didn't explode in size.
A locket hung around his neck with Rarity's picture inside. The dragon had never moved on after his wife died, locked into an indefinite state of grief. That was hundreds of years ago but still weighed heavily on him.
Twilight walked over to the sleeping dragon and nudged him gently with her hoof.
"Spike," she said softly, "It's time to get up. Luna's court will be in session in an hour."
The dragon mumbled some dark curse in protest, but his eyes slid open and looked up at her. Spike's eyes were glassy and sharp, reflecting everything like mirrors. It was a rare side effect of ingesting so many diamonds, they had literally crystallized the outer layers of his eyes. His vision had actually improved with the built-in lenses.
Spike pushed himself up, and some gold coins that were stuck to his chest fell back into the bed, making clinking noises. The muscular dragon flexed his wings and yawned, teeth glistening with a ruby sheen. As his yawn reached its peak, he shuddered. The purple scales covering his body seemed to ruffle like feathers on a bird. The sharp green spines on his back stood straight up, threatening to stab Twilight in the eye. As his body relaxed, the spines fell back into place like armor down his back and tail.
Twilight turned and headed for the door, using her magic to tidy up the scattered books and papers on her desk. The picture of her friends was placed into a secure, airtight box. Satisfied with her work, Twilight exited the room with Spike close behind. She emerged on to a paved street. Her home was a large, square wooden building crammed into Canterlot's Magic District. Unicorns made up most of the residents. While the homes looked drab on the outside, inside was a myriad of enchantments. Twilight's house was the gloomiest, always dark and depressing. It mirrored the mood of its two inhabitants.
Canterlot had changed considerably over the years. In order to keep up with the latest in magi-technological developments, Canterlot had grown from a castle-oriented city to a sprawling fortress that spanned several miles. The mountainside had been expanded upon, reaching deep into the rock itself and through to the other side. Not to mention the cloud district. Clouds from all over Equestria had been gathered and assembled into a wide platform where the royal court had relocated to. Pegasi and Unicorns were able to freely come and go, though Earth Ponies often traversed the clouds with the help of magi-machines.
Even in the early morning, busy ponies rushed about their duties. Mostly Earth ponies, who made up a majority of the upper class. For several generations after the Magitechnology Revolution, Earth ponies had been shunned and discriminated against as lower class citizens; however, after considerable protest and legal wrestling, they were recognized as fully capable workers and soon were able to augment their lack of wings or magic with Magitechnology.
Magitechnology brought a whole new dimension to Equestrian life. Before, certain activities like writing and using delicate tools had been reserved primarily to unicorns, who used magic to manage small movements better than clumsy hooves. Magitechnology was a classification of equipment that Earth Ponies or Pegasi could wear that granted them magical properties: for example, Earth Ponies could wear Cloud Boots that allowed them to walk on clouds. A more common application was the 'Levitatus' which fit over the back like a saddle and gave the wearer limited telekinesis. Farm ponies used them to quadruple their efficiency as they could now drag several farming tools around at once.
The White Stairway reached up into the pearly ceiling of the cloud district. Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth ponies using Cloud Boots were plodding their way up. The aged Twilight simply didn't have the energy to climb that massive stair anymore. She turned to Spike, who lowered his head politely. Twilight clambered on to his back and clenched his sides with her knees, ducking under his wide and powerful wings. The dragon leaped into the air, and after a brief period of rapid wingbeats to find a suitable slipsteam found an easy rhythm as he flew up in a lazy spiral around the White Stairway. Twilight noticed the usual commuters looking at her with a mixture of envy and amusement.
Spike sailed through the cloud cover, emerging a short distance away from the Silver Palace. The palace that contained the royal courtyard was built out of massive, solid-looking gray clouds that dominated the sky. Spike glided between pillars and through the open ceiling, landing nearby the Cloud-Tree, a regal plant whose leaves were cloud and whose roots dangled miles below to the ground beneath. Spike had his own duties around the castle, managing the dragons across Equestria that chose not to follow the Monarchy's laws. After dropping Twilight off nearby the courtroom, the dragon flew off to organize a hunting party to bring down one of his rampaging cousins.
The Royal court was assembled. Luna had brought in her own color scheme, while still retaining elements of Celestia's regalia. The floor was a glossy black cloud that felt as firm as stone. Dark blue carpets barely stood out from the floor they covered. The courtroom was a long rectangular affair, with seats for ponies along all edges. The building was dark, lit by hovering globes of magic. It smelled of the incense that burned in the center of the room.
Luna sat on her throne at the head of the rectangle, her aides on both sides sitting on cushions. Twilight sat nearby in a tall-backed wooden chair, just two seats away from the Princess. Luna was obviously distraught, her eyes downcast as she waited for the entire court to assemble.
Twilight had watched the alicorn Princess grow considerably since she was released from the moon. She now rivaled her sister in size. Her mane flowed with countless shades of blue and black, studded with tiny glimmers of starlight. It looked like she was a walking embodiment of night. Princess Luna was beautiful in every sense of the word, especially when she let her head rest gently in the air as if supported by invisible clouds.
Today, her face was drawn with sadness, her eyes downcast and slim shoulders dragged towards the earth. The assembled court could tell that something tragic had happened. The fanfare was brief and harsh to signal court's beginning. Twilight and the rest of the court stood briefly until Luna nodded her head to signal them to sit.
"This morning at four A.M," Luna said, her voice low, "Princess Celestia passed away."
It took a moment for this news to sink in. Every pony sitting in the court felt the world grow cold as their beloved Sun ceased its burning.
"As you all know, my sister stepped down as your regent because of her failing mental condition some twenty three years ago. She remained in the Canterlot Royal Palace to live out her life in peace. Today it concluded when she simply stopped breathing. My sister's funeral procession will be held in one week's time."
The court was swallowed up in a grief-stricken abyss. Princess Celestia was more than two and a half millenia old. They had all known that the time would come when eventually the Princess's mind failed, but nopony wanted it to be during their lifetime. A tear dropped from Twilight's eye and made a soft 'pip' on the carpeted floor. Luna raised her gaze to the door on the other side of the court room. She nodded and said,
"Let the citizens in. We cannot allow this to impede our duties. There will be time for grief later."
The doors to the court opened, and Luna's subjects were admitted in one at a time. Peasants with a variety of complaints or requests shuffled in one at a time. The usual requests for extra rain, sun, food and medicines flowed in. As usual, the nobles agreed to take their concerns into consideration and as usual those requests were fulfilled. Nopony was hungry long under Luna's rule. Sick ponies were cured, bankrupted ponies were bailed. It was a clean system that made its people happy. Twilight used to enjoy seeing distressed ponies come in and see them leave content. But not today. Today was hollow and empty.
The day stretched on forever, each menial task less satisfying than the last. She couldn't stop thinking about Celestia. She had watched her dear friend slip into the realm of insanity slowly, each second more agonizing than the last. At first it was simple things- the Princess would forget appointments, but remember them when she was reminded. The episodes of amnesia became more intense, and would strike without warning as she would stop mid-sentence and forget where she was and what she was doing. She got lost just walking to the market. Recognizing the danger of her worsening condition, Celestia stepped down as regent of Equestria, ceding the title to her sister. One of the benefits to being sealed in the moon for a thousand years was that her mind had been preserved for that time. By the time she inherited the title of Regent of Equestria, she was a fully capable adult.
Twilight often visited Celestia in her home, watching as her friend and former mentor forgot her own name. Eventually it hurt too much to go in and see Celestia weeping in confusion because she couldn't remember how to speak. Her dementia often became violent, and she had gored several of her aides with her wicked sharp horn before they were able to seal the rampaging Princess in her room. Inside, Celestia turned her violence in on herself. The window facing out at Equestia became splashed with blood as the frenzied Princess bit, cut and magically abused herself.
Her last few days of life were spent in a near catatonic state. She lay on the ground steeped in her own blood, blankly staring through the wall. Sh didn't react when she was moved to her bed and lay passively as she was cleaned. And finally she simply stopped taking in any breath. Her eyes lost what little life they had left in them. That day the sun stopped shining as brightly as it used to.
Evening swallowed the Cloud District as Twilight moved outside. Spike was waiting to ferry her home. As she climbed on to his back, the dragon spoke in his deep and wise voice,
"I heard about Celestia. Twilight, I'm so sorry. I know it must have been painful to have her disappear like that." Twilight didn't speak, she only buried her face into his scales and wept. She had been saving her tears all day for this moment. Spike made sure to fly slowly. She didn't think Twilight would bother to catch herself if she started to slip off his back.
The dragon arrived back at their home without any problems. He had to carry the weeping Twilight inside and lay her in her bed. She clung to him when he tried to pull back, so he carried her back to his obsidian nest and lay back in it, letting her curl up on his warm stomach to cry. Spike felt Twilight's sobs subside to deep, shuddering breaths after about an hour. He drifted off to sleep when he felt her breathing become slow and calm.
Twilight waited until Spike was asleep before sliding off his belly and landing lightly on the floor. She crept across the hard wood, her hooves betraying each step with a slight click. Her puffy red eyes had adjusted to the dark and she was able to reach her desk without an issue. She lifted the picture of her friends out of the box using her magic, and left the building. The night was clear and warm, but she couldn't see any stars through the glare of the street lights. She looked at the photo of her friends and felt a wave of loneliness and self-pity overwhelm her. Those days had been great. Simple. Tragedy was foreign to them.
She wanted to go back to those days. She held the picture up in front of her and closed her eyes. Reaching out with her magic, Twilight surrounded herself with a intense purple glare. She poured all of her energy, all of her power, into this spell. The force of it lifted her off the ground, making her hover in the air as purple and blue light swirled about her. Her eyes shot open, gleaming white. Her mane burned with a fierce blue fire. She let out a single scream as she unleashed the spell, and with a violent crack disappeared into the night. Spike rushed outside too late to stop her from leaving. He looked at the puff of smoke where she had been a second before, a clawed arm outstretched. Scowling, he returned inside. Now he was alone.
Twilight was assailed by vivid sounds, lights and smells. She was dizzy, confused and unable to keep her footing. Ponies stood around her, their words and shapes blurry. Firm hooves grasped her shoulders and a face manifested itself out of the gloom in front of her. It was a familiar face, but she couldn't remember where she had seen it before. The face was a light tan, freckled and laced with strong muscles. It was speaking, but she couldn't understand any of its words. Blackness swam across her vision as she passed out, feeling those strong hooves keep her from crashing to the ground.
Reality slowly swam into focus. She cracked her eyes open and groaned as the low light lanced its way deep into her brain. She flopped her head to her left and saw a red wood wall. She flopped right and saw the pony from before. She was sitting on the ground next to Twilight's bed, concern etched on her face. Behind her were five other ponies, all equally concerned. The tan pony spoke, and this time she could hear what was being said.
"Twah-laht?" said the pony in a drawl, "You awake, sugah-cube?" Twilight blearily blinked and nodded. How did this pony know her name? And why did she look familiar?
"What in tarnation happened?" demanded the tan pony. "Fluttershah an' ah were jus' shoppin' in town and suddenly you appear on tawp'a us'n crash down on poor Fluttershy's head!"
Twilight's words came out thick and sluggish. "Where'm I.. Who're you?"
The other ponies in the room exchanged worried glances. "It's us, sugah-cube." said the tan pony. "Yer friends? Ah'm Applejack, and everybody else is here. Fluttershah, Rariteh, Rainbow Day-sh, an' Pinkie Pah. This is the Apple family farm."
That brought Twilight into focus. Her eyes opened all of the way, and she scrambled to her feet. A wide grin was plastered on to her face.
"It worked!" she shrieked, tackling Applejack in an enormous hug, "It worked! I'm home! You're all here!" She dragged Applejack to her other startled friends and caught them all up in the hug. They returned it, not quite knowing what was going on. Twilight's eyes watered and seeped out tears as she held the friends who had died hundreds of years ago. The spell worked. It had worked. She was home.
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Celestia's head was racked with pain. Some magical catastrophe had just occurred. She had to find out what had happened and reverse it. Because whatever it was, she could feel tragedy following close behind.