Twilight Sparkle had restored Princess Luna, turned Discord back into stone, stood her ground against a Changeling invasion, was directly responsible in retrieving the Crystal Heart for the Crystal Empire and fulfilled her destiny by ascending into a princess, but never has she gotten into a situation quite as impossible or frustrating as this one.
“Please, I insist!” The purple princess practically shouted.
“So do I,” came the singsong reply.
“It’s the principle of the thing.”
“Ohhh, what’s a principle to a princess?”
“That doesn't make nearly as much as sense as you probably think it does.”
“Oh dear, you’re right, it doesn't! I’m so sorry about that!”
“Okay, that’s it.”
“Noooo, this is ‘it!’” said Pinkie Pie as she cartwheeled into the room, somehow holding a large cake between her hooves as she continued then abruptly finished her cartwheel in front of Twilight. “Wait, what are we talking about?”
“Ugh, it’s nothing, Pinkie,” Twilight groaned. “It’s just that Mrs. Cake won’t let me pay for these cupcakes just because I’m a princess now, can you believe it?”
“Well duh, of course I believe it,” Pinkie said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You did a ton of good stuff for all of us little ponies and now you’re a honest-to-goodness princess on top of it? There’s no way you’re paying for these delicious cupcakes.”
“Oh Pinkie, not you too,” Twilight said, rubbing her head with her hoof. “What do you mean I've done? You and our other friends were there too.”
“I know, but we’re not princesses are we? Ooo, that would be fun though, I would make a mandatory party law that stated all ponies who don’t have at least one party per day will be invited to a punishment party, doesn't that sound fun?”
Deciding to ignore Pinkie’s “logic” Twilight returned to the extremely important issue at hoof: cupcakes.
“Please Mrs. Cake, I have more than enough bits to pay the cupcakes.”
“Nononono,” Mrs. Cake said, smiling as she shook her head. “It’s just as Pinkie said, deary. You've done a lot of kindness of out the goodness of your heart and you’re a princess, why shouldn't you at least have some free cupcakes as a reward? This isn't the first time we've given you treats on the house, why the sudden disdain?”
“Like I said, it’s the principle, it’s fine to give something nice to a friend, but just because somepony’s a princess—”
“Mrs. Cake, can I see those for an itty-bitty second?” asked Pinkie Pie as she took the box of cupcakes and held them in front of Twilight. “Here you go! You said it’s fine for friends to give each other nice things, so here I am, giving you a nice thing.”
Twilight still wanted to argue, but the smile on Pinkie’s face told her that it was useless at this point. She encased the box in her magical aura and smiled at Pinkie and Mrs. Cake as she trotted towards the exit.
“Oh, wait for me, Twilight!” Pinkie suddenly shouted from behind.
“Huh?” Twilight turned to find herself staring into Pinkie’s blue eyes. “Aren’t you kinda working right now? I mean you were holding a cake.”
“What cake?” Pinkie asked innocently.
Twilight opened her mouth, but thought better of it as she gestured for Pinkie to follow her.
“Why’d you order an entire box of cupcakes anyway, Twilight? Are you throwing another party celebrating your princessyness?”
“Don’t worry, Pinkie,” said Twilight. “I would never plan a party without your help. Besides, I don’t want anymore royal attention. I was just craving a cupcake and Spike wanted one too so I went ahead and got a box.”
“Ohh, for a second, I thought it was a gift for that Flash Sentry colt!”
The raspberry aura flicked for a second before becoming stable.
“W-what?! No! Why would I give him a present for any reason?! I wouldn't that’s why! I don’t even know him, he doesn't know me, we don’t know each other!” Red patches appeared on Twilight’s lavender cheeks.
Pinkie seemed completely unaffected by Twilight’s burst of emotion as she greeted everypony who stopped and gawked at Twilight as she trotted past them.
“Oh, not this again,” Twilight sighed. “I hope it won’t be like this every time I just trot down to Sugarcube Corner for a treat. I don’t get it, they all knew me before I got the crown, what’s so different about me now?”
“If you don’t like all the unblinking eyes, then why do you wear your crown at all?” Pinkie asked.
“While I was in the other world, I learned a thing or two about taking pride in being a good leader. It’s not that I really want a constant reminder of my princess status on my head, I just feel like it’s my duty to wear it. Besides, the other princesses wear theirs.”
“Whatever keeps your boat afloat!” Pinkie flashed a brilliant smile for all to see.
Twilight smiled at her friend’s constant happiness while she worried about her own happiness. After she had returned from the mirror world, she stayed another night for the actual princess summit, which basically went over everything she had learned about being a leader in the other world, so she didn't learn much about her future duties.
What if she actually did have to take care of her own kingdom someday? She wouldn't want to leave her friends behind while she’s being forced to rule some random kingdom. Would she be assigned royal guards like Celestia and Luna had? It’s not like she needed them, she was still an Element of Harmony after all. Maybe she could have her friends become her own personal guards. Rainbow Dash would certainly be up to it.
Obviously, Twilight was looking too into her future...again. There would be time to personally consult Celestia about her duties later, right now she apparently had to stop Pinkie from talking an apple salespony out of his business.
“—just saying that my friend Applejack, maybe you heard of her, she runs the main apple business here in Ponyville. She works really hard and her apples are the best apples in all of Equestria! I suggest you become a different farmer, like an orange farmer, or a grape farmer or—ooo—a cherry farmer!”
The salespony's looked ready to blow. Even his face was a deep shade of red. Twilight felt the need to step in and stop this before it began.
“I am sooo sorry for my friend, she’s usually not this...insensitive?” the angry pony continued to be mad for a total of five seconds before he saw Twilight’s crown.
“Oh, Your Majesty,” he said as his face returned to it’s normal shade. “It’s n-no trouble, not at all.”
“Well, if you’re sure it really isn't any trouble, then we’ll just be on our way,” Twilight said. This was one good thing about being princess, you had the power to instantly stop arguments.
Releasing a sigh of relief Twilight turned to her friend as she led her away from the apple stand.
“Pinkie Pie! What was that about?”
“What? He started it,” Pinkie countered.
“No, he most certainly didn't start it, at all! You just walked up to him and told him to stop selling his produce!”
“Hmm, y’know Twilight, you’re right,” Pinkie said. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Well, I’m glad you see where you went wrong.”
“Yeah, I should have just asked you to create a law banning all ponies except for Applejack from selling apples! Will you do it?”
With how many emotions were going through Twilight’s head, it was a wonder she still had a grip on the box of cupcakes. Whatever was going on with Pinkie was nothing she couldn't deal with, but it was still very strange.
“No I won’t make such a ridiculous law, in fact I’m not sure if I can make ANY laws. I mean I've seen Celestia do the the process before but I don’t know if I can.”
“Don’t be silly, why else would the princess make you a princess if you didn't have all the cool stuff that came with the title?”
What Pinkie Pie said made sense—for once—yet it didn't answer the questions Twilight continued to wonder about. She especially had to question what the point of the summit was in the first place when all she actually did was defeat Sunset Shimmer, who conveniently appeared at the exact time of the summit. Was that supposed to happen all along? Did Celestia somehow know that was going to happen? But how could she have known?
“Pinkie, do you think Princess Celestia can see the future?”
“Wowie,” said Pinkie. “If I had asked that question you would have said, ‘Don’t be silly, Pinkie.’ Does that count as my answer? It doesn't does it? Well then my official answer is...actually I’m not sure. If she could, wouldn't she have told us by now?”
That was true, Celestia usually told them everything, didn't she? Actually, now that she thought about it.... Twilight’s face scrunched up in frustration. “If she knew she would have told us? Well, I’m beginning to have a hard time believing that. After all she knew about Luna in the moon and let her name disappear with the wind. She knew about Discord, a chaotic and dangerous spirit and just sealed him up. She even knew that her own student had gone rogue, but didn't even help her, she just pretended she didn't exist for all these years, how could she? Huh, how could she?”
Twilight lowered her head in defeat. While she studied directly under Celestia, she had seen her do questionable things. She always justified it by telling herself that surely the ruler of Equestria had a reason for everything. (It didn't hurt that she greatly looked up to Celestia.) Apparently that meant holding on to information until the situation called for it, but the fact was that when she hid important things until the last minute, lives were endangered, and that just couldn't be justified.
“Umm, Twilight?” Pinkie asked carefully.
“I know,” said Twilight. “I know. I’m sorry for saying those things, I’m sure she has her reasons, I’ll talk to her about it later.”
“That’s great and all Twilight,” said Pinkie. “But I was actually going to ask you where we were going.”
Twilight looked around and realized that Pinkie had a valid question, where were they going?
“Oh, umm, let’s just head for the library,” Twilight said, gesturing ahead. “I still have to give Spike his cupcake. And maybe write a letter to my favorite teacher while I’m at it.”
“I love receiving letters!” Pinkie agreed innocently.
It was time for Twilight’s first act as a princess: requesting an audience with Celestia. If Celestia could ask Twilight to come to Canterlot on what felt like a daily basis, then surely Twilight could ask Celestia to come to Ponyville to settle this issue. The townsponies could use another princess to gawk at anyway.
After what felt like the world’s longest walk, they finally arrived at the Golden Oaks Library. The hollowed tree shone with the rays of the evening sun. Twilight would do anything to remain in her precious Library in her precious Ponyville, which was why she was so against the idea of ruling some far-off kingdom. How Shining Armor and Cadence left Canterlot so easily to rule the Crystal Empire was beyond her. She would have to remember to ask them next time they met up.
Opening the doors with her magic, Twilight trotted inside her home with Pinkie following behind her. Taking one look at the inside of her treehouse, Twilight sensed that something was off.
“Pinkie,” said Twilight. “Do you feel anything different about this place?”
“Everything’s shiny?” Came the high-pitched reply.
Taking a second look, Twilight saw that Pinkie was right: the bark look cleaned and polished, all the books were organized, the candles were freshly lit and everything smelled like a fresh morning. (If that was even an official scent.)
“Wow, Twilight!” exclaimed Pinkie. “I didn't know Alicorn magic can make things tidy while you’re away. That explains why Canterlot Castle always looks so clean after all the crazy stuff that happens there.”
“No, what? No!” said Twilight. “I didn't do this, and I don’t know anypony else who’re able to something like this, except maybe S— ”
Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a purple baby dragon stumbling down the stairs.
“Twilight!” he said as he regained balance. “You’re finally here, thank Celestia, it’s an emergency!”
“Spike, who did all this?” Twilight asked, looking around her clean home.
“I did. Pretty good huh? But that’s not the—”
“You did?!” exclaimed Twilight. “I can’t believe it, normally it takes my supervision for you to even organize the books properly.”
“C'mon Twilight, I’m not stupid, I pick up on things...most of the time. But seriously Twilight—”
“And that scent,” Twilight said, taking in the fresh smell. “It’s amazing, how’d you get everything smelling like that?”
“I went down to Sweet Aroma’s scent shop and picked it up. It’s ‘Morning Sun’. Weird. Anyway—”
“I've never been there before. What other kind of scents are there? Oh, is there a ‘New Book’ scent? Because that would be just—”
“TWILIGHT!” Spike shouted at the top of his lungs.
Twilight immediately stopped talking. It was clear that Spike had something to get off his scaly chest, something very important. Though knowing Spike it was probably just something about being out of warm water again.
“I got a letter from Princess Celestia earlier, she’s coming here to tell us something really important later!”
Or maybe he had something serious to say, like that.
“What?! Why didn't you say something earlier?!”
“I tried! More than once! But you just—hey are those cupcakes?”
Twilight had completely forgotten about the pink box levitating in mid air. She telekinetically shoved the box into Spike’s arms as she ran past him up the stairs. The letter was sprawled out on the desk settled beneath the window. Owlowiscious was also perched on the desk, but Twilight ignored her nocturnal pet as she levitated the letter up to her face.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I’m terribly sorry to request an audience with you so soon after our summit, but this is an emergency. As usual, I cannot say much through a letter, so I will just inform you that I will be visiting you in your Ponyville home later in the day to discuss the situation. It is of the utmost importance that your friends attend.
Your mentor,
Princess Celestia.
Once again, Princess Celestia displayed her cryptic nature in the form of a letter. Not only that, she stole Twilight’s princess thunder! Twilight was going to request her first audience and Celestia does it first anyway. Then again, perhaps she shouldn't be so hard on her teacher without first hearing her reasons for being the way she is, because she could bet on the fact that Twilight was finally going to get some answers.
After having read the letter, Twilight returned downstairs to find Spike and Pinkie Pie devouring the contents of the cupcake box.
“You guys!” Twilight exclaimed as she rushed to the violated box. “Those were my cupcakes too!”
Pinkie giggled and licked the frosting off her hooves. “We know silly, we left you a cupcake.”
Just as Pinkie said, there was one lone cupcake in the center of the partially destroyed and frosting-covered box.
“How thoughtful of you,” Twilight said sarcastically, levitating the lone cupcake off to the side. “Anyway, Pinkie, Princess Celestia requires all of us here when she comes to visit later. Can you go get the others and bring them here?”
“Okey dokey pony pokey!” Pinkie saluted and bolted out the door.
“Okay, Spike, I need you to—” looking around, Twilight saw that there actually wasn't much to do at all. Everything was where it should be, nothing was dirty, and there weren't any chores left for the baby dragon. “I need you to just relax and appreciate the good work you've done.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Spike said, sighing. Without another word he collapsed in the middle of the floor, snoring lightly as he did so. Twilight giggled softly and trotted upstairs.
With her home clean and her friends being gathered, there really wasn't anything left for Twilight to do but wait. Although she was curious to what crazy task Celestia would have them do this week. Hopefully it wasn't too insane, she was still settling in after the events of the other world. What a crazy adventure that was. She wondered how her parallel friends and Sunset Shimmer were doing. She hoped they were doing well. She also hoped that Celestia had a good reason for leaving Sunset Shimmer in the other world by herself.
It didn't take as long as she thought for Pinkie to gather the others. Then again, it was Pinkie Pie. Nevertheless, Twilight’s downstairs now contained six ponies and one dragon. All they needed now was Her Royal Highness and they could get started. Twilight looked out the window. The sun had finished it’s descension and the moon was now located high in the sky. With that out of the way, Celestia should be arriving soon.
“How much longer are we supposed to wait? She does this every time.” Applejack spoke what was on all their minds.
“She always has her reasons, just let her be. It can’t be easy running a country and still having to make appointments,” said Rarity.
“It’s funny how the one time she was even kinda early was when we weren't even expecting her. You know, the day Twilight went totally insane over that late report,” Rainbow Dash snickered.
“Hey!” said Twilight. “I wasn't that crazy. I was just very upset at my situation.”
“Really? Because I thought you were cuckoo crazy that day, don’t you think Fluttershy?” Pinkie chimed in.
“Um, maybe...yes,” Fluttershy muttered.
“My sanity aside,” Twilight said, frowning. “ What do you guys think Celestia wants to talk to us about this time? She said it was an emergency.”
“Maybe it’s your turn to find some ancient empire to rule. Wouldn't that be awesome?” gushed Rainbow Dash.
“What?! You know I don’t wanna rule some old kingdom. The only thing I want to be the ruler of is this library,” Twilight chuckled slightly at the thought of officially being crowded the princess of books.
“I’m just saying, if a kingdom rises outta the ground somewhere, somepony's gotta rule it.”
How dare Rainbow Dash even bring up such a terrible idea. There was no way Twilight was just going to go become the princess of some strange kingdom just because her destiny says so. It wasn't like her Cutie Mark was telling her that. All it was telling her was that she was born to do magic, it was Celestia telling her about all this princess nonsense.
Twilight’s feelings weren't the only ones to consider in such a situation. If a kingdom actually did happen to need a new leader, then Twilight would have to rule it for the good of the ponies living in the kingdom. It tore Twilight apart thinking it, but the needs of the many did outweigh the needs of the few. She just hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Twilight was so busy with her thoughts that she didn't notice Applejack trot up behind her.
“Twilight?” she said. “Can Ah talk to ya upstairs for a moment.?” After recovering from nearly jumping three feet in the air, Twilight cleared her throat.
“Sure. Lead the way,” said Twilight. Applejack nodded as she trotted up the stairs without another word. Twilight followed her slowly from behind, noticing that Applejack seemed to have lost the hop in her step that she was so well known for. It wasn't like Applejack to dwell on something, she wondered what was wrong.
“What’s on your mind?” Twilight asked as they reached the top step.
Applejack looked quickly over her shoulder. “Pinkie told me about your little Celestia outburst. Ah was just wonderin' if you were alright.”
Twilight’s eyes found the floor. “I don’t really know anymore. This was never an issue before. I think what happened in the mirror made me feel like this. Seeing what Sunset Shimmer became after Celestia left her to follow her own path...I just can’t believe she would let that happen to her own student.”
“Ah really wish we could've gone with ya, sugarcube,” Applejack said, absentmindedly pawing at the wooden floor. “Ah would've had a better idea of what y’all feeling.”
“It’s okay, Applejack,” Twilight said, smiling. “You helped me a lot on the other side, I can handle the rest. I’m just wondering if I can help you with anything? You seem a bit troubled.”
“Oh, don’t fret none,” Applejack huffed. “If you can take care of your problem, Ah can take care of mine, you just make sure your head’s on straight, okay?”
Twilight knew that it wouldn't be easy to get Applejack to tell her what was wrong and that it would be even harder to get Applejack to accept her help. It didn't matter though, because Twilight wasn't done with her, not by a long shot. She just needed Applejack to think that she would let her handle it alone. For now.
“Okay,” Twilight agreed.
Applejack smiled at her friend and trotted downstairs. Once again, Twilight followed her orange friend, only this time she was met with a faceful of featherduster.
“Pfff! Ack! Spike! What was that for?” Twilight coughed.
“Oh, s-sorry Twilight,” Spike said, struggling to hold in his laughter. “I was just making sure everything stayed clean for Princess Celestia.”
“Spike? Are you sure you didn't get part of my brain when we went through the mirror?” Twilight mockingly asked.
“Haha,” Spike said, frowning at her. “Very funny Twilight, but we’ll see who’s laughing at who when the princess compliments my awesome cleaning skills.” Swishing his tail at her, he continued to tidy up the already spotless room. Twilight playfully rolled her eyes and took another peek out the window out of habit. The moon was at it’s peak, shining Luna’s light across all of Equestria. What could Celestia possibly be—
“Too shiny! Way too shiny!” Pinkie’s high-pitched shrill filled the air. Twilight turned to see what exactly was “Too shiny” and was met with the brightest glow in the entire world. Hovering in the middle of the room was a large ball of light, pulsating with power. It filled the entire room with the heat of a summer day. Twilight could stare at it for a total of three seconds before she felt an intense burning sensation in her eyes.
“What in tarnation is that?” Applejack shouted while trying to cover her burning eyes.
“I’m guessing our fashionably late guest for the evening,” Twilight responded as she looked again.
The miniature sun expanded as a blurry shape inside begun to form. The shape became solid as a tall pony with a flowing mane and tail appeared inside the ball, which shrunk until it formed a solar shell outline around the pony. The solar being descended as the sun energy disappeared until all that stood was a white Alicorn with a troubled expression.
“Hello everypony,” Celestia said, spreading her massive wings. “I apologize for never being on time for these meetings, nobody ever said running a country was easy.” Rarity tilted her head upward a the confirmation of her earlier statement.
Apparently it wasn't enough for Princess Celestia to show up late for an “emergency’, but she also has to nearly burn all of them in the process. What could she possibly be taking care of that was more important than whatever this is about anyway? It’s not like she shares her power with her sister or anything. At this point Twilight felt like she should get Celestia a question box. No doubt it would be full in less than a day.
“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said nervously. “How nice of you to nearly incinerate us instead of just trotting through the door.” Normally there was no way Twilight would ever be a smart aleck to her beloved mentor, but she assumed that nearly causing them to go blind would give her a free pass.
“Did I?” Celestia gasped. “As soon as I finished my royal business, I attempted to teleport here as quickly as I could. It seems that I underestimated the power of the spell I used. Are any of you injured?”
“Nah, it’s alright Princess,” Applejack reassured her. “Twilight did the same thin’ to us when she grew those fancy wings.”
Twilight crossed her forelegs as she said, “I didn't do it on purpose. It’s not like I asked for the wings in the first place,” she muttered the last part to herself.
“That’s a relief,” Celestia sighed. “I don’t wish to appear rude, but we really must begin as soon as possible. Are you all ready?”
“Wait,” Spike shouted, holding up his paws. “Before you guys talk, notice anything different about this place, Princess Celestia?”
Celestia craned her neck to examine every inch of the Library. “Yes, you changed the scent. Excellent touch, it smells heavenly in here.”
Spike’s scaly face fell. “All you noticed...was the smell? Well, I guess I should've known all my hard work was for nothing. I’m going somewhere that’s not here, don’t wait up.” Without another word, Spike huffed out the door. The silence that followed was short, but painful.
“Ok,” Rainbow Dash thankfully ended the lack of sound. “So how about that emergency, Princess?”
“Yes, I believe it's time to talk about that,” Celestia somberly lowered her head. “Twilight, would you be so kind as to gather the other Elements of Harmony before we continue?”
“Of course, Princess,” Twilight said, preparing her horn. She emitted a raspberry aura as she grabbed the Elements with her mind and guided them into the room. The apple of honesty, butterfly of kindness, balloon of laughter, diamond of generosity, and bolt of loyalty were placed carefully in the center of the circle of ponies. The five artifacts, alongside the crown of magic that was located on top of Twilight’s head, made up the Elements of Harmony.
“Good, we will also need your element of magic to proceed, Twilight,” Celestia said, taking a hold of Twilight’s crown with her golden aura and levitated it in midair. The other Elements followed suit, forming an outer ring around the crown. Celestia lowered her head until her glowing horn was at level with the crown. Her horn glowed a darker shade of gold as it emitted a golden bolt of magic straight into the crown. The crown vibrated as it glowed the same shade of color. The element of magic sent bolts into the other Elements as they copied their leader. The glow of the six artifacts created a giant light that threatened to repeat the incident from earlier.
“Consarn it, not again!” Applejack cried as she pulled her Stetson over her eyes.
“Don’t fret, Applejack, this will only last a moment longer,” Celestia calmly assured her as the light grew into a large plasma ball. Just as suddenly as it grew, it stopped. The light shrunk and became more solid as the shining brightness became duller and easier to look at. The color changed from gold to a radiant rainbow of colors.
“What...is it?” Fluttershy stared in wonder.
“This,” Celestia said, trotting in front of it. “Is the Heart of Harmony.”
“And just what is that?” Twilight pouted. Whatever it was, she just saw it as another thing Celestia decided to keep to herself until now.
“Before I, before Luna, before anyone you've ever met or heard of, there was the Heart of Harmony and it’s daughter. Today she is referred to as...the Queen of Equestria.” A collective gasp filled the air as all six ponies immediately understood who Celestia was referring to.
“It sounds like you all know who that is, but a refresher course never hurt anyone,” Celestia said confidently, flashing a smile. “As you may or may not know, the reason we ponies only have princesses and never queens is because we actually do have a queen, one that’s always watching over us, tallying our greatest deeds and judging our darkest mistakes.” At this point, it seemed as though Celestia was speaking to herself more than them.
“Ahem, yes well, as you were most likely informed as young fillies, the Queen of Equestria shaped our land into the world it is today, but she never could have done it if it wasn't for her creator: the Heart of Harmony. Legend tells us that in the beginning. The Heart existed alone, it lived in a world where life didn't exist. To this day, no one knows how it got there, though some would say that it was born to coexist with the force that came to be before it: chaos.”
Celestia took another short pause to bow her head before continuing. “At a certain point in time, a being emerged from the Heart, the first pony. Curious at her surroundings and life in general, she wandered the barren world for many days and many nights before she finally realized: she was all alone. Angered and saddened by this, she rushed back to her birthplace and demanded answers from the Heart. It offered her nothing in return, so she took action. She charged into the being, intent on discovering her purpose. From within, the Heart sensed her desire to create, therefore it gave her the abilities to do so. With her radiant horn, she could create and edit as she saw fit, and with her majestic wings, she could watch her little ponies from the open sky.”
“What happened next is a tale for another time, my little ponies,” Celestia said. A loud groan entered the room as the ponies protested about story time being cut short. “Back to the matter at hoof, this is merely a projection of the Heart, the real thing is located outside of Equestria. In order to protect it from those who seek the power within it, I have a rotating set of guards ensuring the safety of it at all times...but recently there was, an incident.”
All eyes were on Celestia as she continued her tale. “It seems that it has become more dangerous near the Heart than it used to be. I received a report that told of the troubles they've had there. It seems that an entire squad has gone missing in action.”
Once more, gasps of shock pierced the air as the audience of ponies reacted to the troubling news. Celestia merely nodded as if she expected their response.
“Yes, it is troubling news. Apparently all but a few ponies left to investigate their surroundings, but only one returned, and gravely injured at that. I never expected the area to remain safe forever, but I expected this to come later rather than sooner. You see, Luna and I hold more information about the Heart than anyone else, and we knew that if it came to it, we would need to activate the fail-safe.”
“Fail-safe?” Twilight blurted out.
“I've had theories about the true purpose of the Heart for as long as I can remember. I believe that it is the key to maintaining permanent harmony across all of Equestria. If we can properly channel it, it may be able to spread harmony like the Crystal Heart spreads love, which could ensure a bright and happy future for centuries to come.”
“I’m sorry Princess, but this is all starting to become a bit overwhelming, what exactly are you asking from us?” Twilight wondered aloud.
Celestia flapped her wings. “The Elements draw power from the force of harmony just as the Heart does. It’s likely that the Elements can best harness the untapped well that lies within the Heart. I’m sorry to say only you six can take this dangerous journey. You must travel to the birthplace of reality itself, the location of the Heart of Harmony. Once there, you will use the Elements on the Heart and if successful, you will create a beautiful paradise to last until the end of days. Do you understand the magnitude of your adventure?”
The group of friends looked at each other, silently asking each other if they thought they were up to the task, until Twilight stepped forward. “You’re asking something beyond words of us, Princess. You realize that?”
Celestia stared into the shining projection of the Heart as she addressed her pupil. “I do. I only hope you understand that I asked you because of how immensely important it is.”
Twilight considered this for a moment. Of course everything Celestia had said made sense, it always does. This may be the most important task anypony has ever received...ever. If it worked, they would be responsible for creating a future without violence. A dream that’s existed for centuries, and they have the opportunity to finally make it a reality.
“I do understand, and I think I speak for all of us when I say you can count on us, Princess Celestia.” Twilight looked to her friends for assurance and was more than relieved when they smiled and nodded in response.
“Wonderful,” Celestia said, activating her magic and pulling the element of magic out of the large ring, breaking the projection of the Heart as the other Elements fell to the ground. “Of course I will provide you with a map outlining your journey, along with tickets for the train that will take you most of the way,” She made the mentioned items appear out of thin air and placed them on the nearby table.
Twilight levitated her crown back on her head. “When do we leave?”
“As soon as you are able to. The train is private so there is no set time, and the travel will be a long one, so you should take as long as you need to prepare.”
“Okay, can everypony agree on meeting back here tomorrow when you’re ready?” Twilight asked her friends.
Chaotic chatter filled the room as each of them agreed to the plan of action.
“I think that’s everything Princess.”
“Good luck everypony, the future of Equestria rests in your hooves.” Celestia's horn charged with magic as her body became encased in the same golden glow as before, then as soon as it started, it was over and Celestia was gone.
Twilight looked at her friends, trying to read each of their faces. It was obvious they were all feeling the same amount of nervousness.
“Well, looks like it’s time for another adventure,” Twilight joked sheepishly.
“Yeah, except this time the fate of everything is hanging in the balance!” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“That don’t matter none, we've done this sorta thin’ time and time again, this will be a snap.” Applejack displayed her confident nature.
“Applejack’s right, this will be easy peasy summer’s breezy.” Pinkie Pie smiled at Applejack who hastily returned the gesture.
“It’s true that this shall be more difficult than the other times, but I still think we can pull it off without a hitch.” Rarity gleamed.
“I can’t wait to tell my animal friends about the paradise we’re going to make for them.” Fluttershy positively glowed.
It was obvious that all of her friends were determined to see this thing through, which only made Twilight more determined as well. They were right, as long as they stick together, this would be over before they knew it.
“I’ll keep the Elements here as usual until tomorrow. Make you all get a goodnight’s sleep, it may be awhile before you have another one.”
“Whatever you say, Mom,” Rainbow smirked.
Twilight grimaced as she levitated the Elements away and bid her friends goodnight. Twilight trotted upstairs to prepare for bed when Applejack stopped as she was almost out the door.
“Wait, weren't you supposed to ask the princess somethin'?” Applejack pointed out.
Twilight pondered what Applejack was referring to for a moment, before she finally remembered....
“Oh, horseapples.”