It was a normal day for Twilight Sparkle,motes of dust glowed in the light streaming from her window as she sat in her library, studying as usual, when Spike called to her from downstairs.
“Hey Twi, you have a letter.”
“Ugh,” Twilight groaned, hating to be interrupted during her studying, “Who’s it from?” she shouted downstairs.
“Umm…” there was a pause, “Princess Celestia! ”
“The Princess?” she said in a slightly confused tone “Ok, I’ll be right down.”
She marked the page in her book and returned it to the shelf. As she was going downstairs, she began to wonder what the letter was for, as she had not recently sent any letters, and as far as she was aware, there had been no significant events recently.
She got downstairs, and Spike handed her the letter. She then opened it with her magic, and began to read.
Dear, Twilight Sparkle,
Due to recent events, it is essential that you come to Canterlot immediately. I cannot explain much at the time, but soon you shall know of why this is so urgent. By the time you get this letter, a chariot will be on it’s way to retrieve you.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
“Oh my…” muttered Twilight as she re-read the letter, “I wonder what’s going on.” she was slightly worried, as the unusual lack of information was rather off-putting.
“ So Twi, what’s the letter say, huh?” Spike asked as he noticed the worried look on her face.
“Well, the princess needs me to come to Canterlot…”
“Did she say what for?”
“No, she just said that I was needed in Canterlot, but nothing else.”
“Oh… ok” said Spike in a hesitant tone, “So, when are you going?”
“Well, there should be a chariot on the way here now, so I should be packing.”
“Packing? How long are you going to be gone?”
“I don’t know, but better safe than sorry.”
“Whatever you say” Spike replied sarcastically, “Should I pack some books for you?”
Twilight glared at Spike, “Do you really need to ask?”
“Just kiddin’” Spike said, “How many should I pack?”
“Surprise me.” She replied as she headed back upstairs to gather the books she had been studying before the letter arrived.
As she was gathering her books, she began to wonder as to why she was suddenly needed in Canterlot.
Perhaps the princess just wants me for a special assignment. Well… no, she could have just told me in the letter. Maybe it’s a meeting of the princesses… Well, why would I be invited then… it’ll have to wait till we get to Canterlot I guess. I’m sure it’s not going to be anything too serious… right?
She was interrupted from her thoughts when Spike called from downstairs, “Twi, the chariot’s here. Why didn’t you tell me that Rarity and the others were going with you?”
“What?” Twilight said, completely confused, “Rarity and the others?” she walked over to her window and sure enough, out in the chariot, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie were all waiting. Rainbow saw Twilight at the window and called out to her.
“Twi, will ya hurry up? it’s soooo boring waiting for you out here.”
“Indeed,” agreed Rarity, “Might you hurry Twilight darling. We are going to Canterlot after all.”
“Umm..” Twilight stammered, “Alright, I’m coming.” Twilight levitated her books into her saddlebag and proceeded downstairs. Wow, not only was I summoned to Canterlot, but my best friends were too. Maybe they know something about this.
When Twilight got to the chariot, Rainbow groaned.
“Finally Twi. We’ve been waiting out here forever.”
“Uhh, actually sugarcube, it’s only been a few minutes.”Applejack deadpanned
“Whatever,” Rainbow replied, “C'mon Twi, we don’t want to be late getting to Canterlot.”
“Yes, about that,” said Twilight as she climbed into the chariot, “ Do any of you happen to know why we’re going to Canterlot all of a sudden?”
“Nope, all my letter said was that ah’ was goin’ to Canterlot.” replied Applejack.
“Same here.” agreed Rainbow.
“Me too…” said Fluttershy in her usual timid voice.
“I got that very same letter” agreed Rarity
“Me too!!” exclaimed Pinkie, “ I wonder what we’re going for. Maybe it’s the princess’s birthday or…”
“Pinkie,” Twilight tried to stop Pinkie’s tirade, but to no avail
“...but what if it is the princess’s birthday. We need to get balloons and streamers and…”
“Pinkie!”
“... a HUUUUGE cake with tons of icing and sprinkles and…”
“PINKIE!!!!”
“Yes Twilight?”
“Could you… just hold on a sec?”
“Okie-dokie-lokie!”
“Thank you,” Twilight replied, “Now, nopony here got anything in their letter saying why we’re going to Canterlot?”
“No” they all replied.
“Okay…” Twilight said in a distant tone.
None of them know why we’re going to Canterlot either. This is really weird. Maybe… there is something happening. I mean, the princess did summon me and my friends, all of whom are element bearers. No…maybe Pinkie’s right and it is a party. Or maybe...
“Twi? You there?” She was cut off from her thinking to see an orange hoof waving in front of her face.
“Huh…” Twilight muttered in a startled tone.
“Ah’ said why are ya’ askin’ if we know why we’re goin’ to Canterlot? Is somethin’ happening?”
“What?” Twilight looked behind Applejack to see all her friends watching her expectantly. “No of course not.” at least I hope not…
“Well then, what the hay is goin’ on?”
“Well…” Twilight began, but then paused, “Fine… I’m not sure myself. My letter said just as much as all of yours,” she sighed.
“Oh…” AJ muttered. Behind her, everyone looked slightly worried(except Pinkie who was muttering to herself about plans for a massive birthday party for the princess). If Princess Celestia were to tell anyone about why they were going to Canterlot, it would have certainly been her faithful student. However, even she was completely devoid of any reason as to why they were going.
“Well…” Twilight began, “ I guess we’ll find out when we get there I guess…”
They all sat down in the chariot, and suddenly, the pegasi pulling the chariot flared out their wings and took flight, heading towards Canterlot.
The trip to Canterlot was rather uninteresting, with nopony really talking much. They were all watching the clouds drift past as the wind rippled their manes, thinking about the possible reasons why Celestia had summoned them. When the chariot finally landed outside the castle, Twilight looked out and saw that waiting for them was her brother. Twilight’s face broke out into a wide smile at the sight of him.
“Shiny? Why were you waiting to greet us here” Twilight said to him as she walked out of the chariot.
“Orders of the Princess. She needs me to escort all of you directly to her” he answered in a short, serious tone. Twilight noticed that he seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her. He then said “Follow me, we don’t have any time to waste.” With that, he turned and entered the castle. Twilight glanced at her friends and gestured them to follow him. They then followed Shining armor in close pursuit.
As they were going through the long expanse of corridors leading to the throne room, Twilight noticed that there was a large number of guards present. While it was a castle occupied by the princesses, there was still far more guards than Twilight remembered from her last trip here. Twilight then increased her pace until she was trotting alongside her brother.
“Shiny, why are there so many guards now? Does it have something to do with why Princess Celestia summoned me and my friends here?” she asked in a hushed tone.
Shining hesitated for a moment before answering, “I’m afraid I can’t tell you the answer to that little sis.”
After many minutes of walking, they finally reached the entrance to the throne room. Shining reached out a hoof and knocked on the large doors. The resounding echo lasted almost half a minute before it grew quiet once more. Finally, Princess Celestia called from inside, “You may enter.”
The door was then pushed open by two of the guards who were posted inside the throne room. As the doors were opening, Twilight braced herself to see a large number of guards inside, considering the large number of guards in the corridors. However, when the doors were open enough to see inside, Twilight was surprised to see that there weren’t any guards in the room, other than the usual two by the doors.
As Shining, his sister, and her friends all entered the throne room, Twilight glanced at Celestia and saw that she wore a stern and serious expression.However, when she noticed twilight looking, her face shifted back to her usual calm, regal expression. Twilight glanced back at her friends quickly. She wasn’t sure if any of her friends saw the look on the princess’s face, but she was sure that their reason for coming to canterlot had nothing to do with a party.
When the group finally stopped in front of Celestia, she nodded her head in a greeting, “Hello, Twilight and friends. I’m glad to see you all here.” She then gestured to the guards and Shining and said to them, “You are dismissed.”
The guards by the doors looked at her in surprise, “Are you sure princess?” said the one on the right, “What if…”
“I assure you, it will be fine.” she said sternly, cutting off the guard who had spoken, “If anything is to happen, I’m quite sure I will be able to handle it.”
The guards quickly turned and exited, not bothering to close the doors behind them. Shining saluted towards the princess, then turned and followed the guards that had just left, though in a less panicked pursuit. As he left, his telltale pink magical aura covered the doors and they began to close. Just before they were completely closed, Twilight saw him glancing back at her with a look of...was that worry? Before she could say anything, the doors silently closed, leaving her and her friends alone with the princess.
“Well,” began Celestia, “I suppose you are all wondering why you were brought to Canterlot so suddenly. You see…”
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” Pinkie exclaimed as she ran up to Celestia with a trio of balloons, which she held out to her. All Celestia could do was glance back at Twilight, who looked just as confused as she was.
“Pinkie…” Celestia began.
“Don’t worry princess,” Pinkie interrupted, “I didn’t forget the cake. I’m going to make it HUUUGE!!!! In fact, for every year old you are, that’s how many feet tall the cake is going to be. So, how old are you, huh?” The princess was silent for a few moments following this outburst.
“Umm… Pinkie, I think…” Twilight began to say before Celestia began to laugh.
“It’s quite alright Twilight” she chuckled before looking at Pinkie, “And I doubt there’s enough cake batter and icing in Equestria to create a cake that large.” She laughed for a few more seconds before once again regaining her composure.
“As much as I wish this gathering was for a celebration, sadly,it is not.”
“Oh,” Pinkie said sadly, her mane drooping slightly. It quickly perked up, however, and she said, “ Well, there’s always other days for parties!” She walked back to the rest of her friends and turned back to Celestia.
“Now, as I was saying, I summoned you here is because of, shockingly enough, Discord.”
“Discord?!” shouted the group of ponies assembled in front of Celestia simultaneously.
“Yes, but I assure you he is not attempting to take control of Equestria.” she told them quickly, before a barrage of questions could begin. “However, something powerful of his has been stolen and it needs to be retrieved at all costs. He has yet to tell me what has been stolen or it’s use. All I know is that he is getting somepony who he believes can help. In fact, he should be arriving momentarily.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, there was a flash behind the group below the throne, and a singsong voice called, “I’m baaaaaack!!”
Everypony in the room looked towards Discord, but rather than focusing on him, they all looked directly at the behemoth he had brought with him. Kuma’s size, compared to the others in the room was startling. He even towered over Celestia and Discord easily. Discord looked at the ponies gathered in the room and, noticing that they weren't saying anything, decided to break the silence, “Well, I believe some introductions are in order," he began, "Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie, and Celestia, I'd like you all to meet Bartholomew Kuma.”