//------------------------------// // Twilight (Interlude) // Story: Luna's Invitation // by CloudMagnet //------------------------------// Twilight awoke to the rapid patter of Spikes knocking. “Mmph. Not now Spike, it’s Sunday. The library doesn’t open until midday.” “Twilight, you have to get up, it’s way past midday already and the royal guard are at the door.” Twilight’s bedclothes shot toward the ceiling in a haze of lilac magic as she sat bolt upright. “WHAT? Why would they be here? I haven’t done anything bad. Have I?” Devoid of coffee, Twilight’s mental gears ground furiously as they sought a grip on her current situation. “Spike? Did you remember to send back those scrolls on loan from the Canterlot archives? They were priceless! Do they think I stole them? I don’t want to be arrested! Spike!?” Twilight could hear the sound of a tiny dragon facehooving, audible right through the wood of the door. “Twilight, they aren’t here to arrest you, they say they have a message for you.” Twilight paused whilst using her magic to lift warm clothes and wet weather gear from her closet and into her panniers. “That’s what they always say Spike, now you keep them occupied while I teleport behind the building and run for the forest. I’ll send word from a safe-house in Hoofington, use the Blue code book to reply.” “Twilight, it’s a message from the princess.” There were several muffled thumps as Twilight’s panniers, a hooded travelling cloak and a well hooved copy of ‘On the Lam for Eggheads’ hit the floor. “Oh, well, that’s different then.” The door to Twilights bedroom swung open with alacrity, “The princess must be in town on official business. Strange, she usually sends word at least three days in advance so I have time to re-shelve the library, polish the floors and clean all of the windows.” “You know, Twilight, I think the princess doesn’t really need you to do all that every time she visits. I’ve never seen her checking the books. Or the floor either.” Twilight quickly ran a brush through her wild mane, conscious of the guards waiting outside the library’s door. “This library belongs to Ponyville, Spike, and therefore it is the property of the princess herself. I think she notices a lot more than she lets on, and I want her to feel that the library is in the best possible hooves.” Spike shrugged as he made his way into the kitchen. Knowing Twilight’s morning routine by heart he could anticipate what was coming next. “Better put on two pots of coffee today spike, last night was a late one.” “Already on it. Does this mean I get to have one too?” Twilight chuckled. “No, Spike, it’s not good for young dragons, and I’m not sure it would even work on you. Besides, it tastes bitter and it’s slightly toxic even for ponies, you wouldn’t like it at all.” “Yeah, yeah. If it’s so bad, then why do you drink five pots of the stuff every day?” Twilight paused as she reached the door. “That’s the other reason I don’t want you to drink coffee, Spike. You can’t stop. Ever.” Twilight looked back into the kitchen where Spike was holding the coffee jar at arms length, regarding it with concerned disgust, as if it held an assortment of live spiders. “I’m just joking Spike. Well... mostly joking. Don’t worry about it.” “But Twilight, shouldn’t you see Zecora or something? She’s good with dangerous herbs. Don’t you want to stop?” “No, no spike. I overheard Rarity and Applejack talking about me a little during that last slumber party, the one we held to wind down after that silly Smarty-Pants incident. You know what Applejack said? ‘Twilight’s guzzlin a barrel of coffee each day is what makes her the way she is.’ How could I just quit after such a strong recommendation? It must be having lots of beneficial effects for Applejack to notice like that.” Spike scratched his head as he dubiously regarded the jar in his hand. “I dunno, I’m not sure that was meant as a positive thing.” But Twilight was no longer listening, sporting her most persuasive, confident and natural smile, the one she had practiced in the mirror, she threw open the door. “Sorry to keep you waiting good Sirs. How can I help you?” The closer of the two unicorn guards visibly flinched at the wide display of teeth set before him. “Er, Miss Twilight, we have been sent by Her Royal Majesty Princess Celestia to assure your safety and inform you of her intention to visit this afternoon at her convenience.” Even without her coffee, Twilight could pick the danger signals in the guards greeting. “Assure my safety?” She stepped forward, locking the guards gaze with her own. “What happened? Is the princess involved? Is the town safe? I need information!” “Please, Miss Sparkle, the situation is in hoof. Our presence here is a precautionary measure only.” The guards yielded as Twilight pushed past them to better take in the spectacle of Ponyville’s town square. Ponies stood around in loose groups chatting in hushed tones as they watched the sky with concerned faces. Well, mostly concerned. Rainbow Dash was visible on the other side of the square standing between two of Celestia’s pegasus guards, one of whom had a hoof placed nonchalantly on her shoulder. Neither the guards, nor Rainbow, looked very happy with the arrangement. Twilight could hear Rainbow’s argument from right across the square. “Look, I’m just sayin’ that I can do twice the area you guys can do and do it in half the time. This is my home-town, my turf, and I’m waaay faster in the air. If you guys are looking for something, why won’t you let me help?” Twilight turned to regard her own escort. “She’s right you know.” “Yes, Miss Sparkle, we’ve heard of Rainbow Dash in Canterlot, though many within the Pegasus guard are skeptical about the whole ‘rainboom’ thing, nopony doubts that she is very fast. But, we have our orders. All of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony are to be kept safe.” Twilight followed the gazes of the milling ponies in the square. Far above Ponyville the sunlight reflected from the pristine white of Celestia’s wings and glinted from her golden shoes as she conferred in midair with a flight of pegasus guards. Powerful flashes could be seen in air as ponies were teleported in, gave their reports and were teleported away again. Something was not right. This was not how Princess Celestia handled crises. Even Discord’s return had seen the solar princess composed and collected as she sent Twilight and her friends away to save the world. The figure above them now was imposing and powerful but there was something rushed and panicky in the princesses movements. “Safe? With only two of you for each one of us?” Twilight frowned in concentration. “You aren’t here to keep us safe, you are here to keep tabs on us so that we can be assembled quickly. Something big is going on, something big enough to need the Elements of Harmony.” Twilight regarded the now sweating guard from under lowered brows, her teeth set together like a vice behind the wreckage of her polite smile. Small sparks began to gather around her horn. “Equestria is in danger, my friends are in danger and you will now tell me everything you know. Everything.” There was a bright flash, a wave of concussion slapped Twilight across the face, then everything went white. Soft and white. Celestia’s voice was close to Twilight’s ear. “I must apologise Twilight, I rarely teleport my own self and I had forgotten just how much air I displace at close quarters.” Twilight realised, with a tingling shock that spread from her hooves all the way to the tip of her horn, that she was being held under Celestia’s folded wing, her face pressed into the soft downy fur near the wing’s root. Her head was filled with the scent of Celestia’s fur, sandalwood soap and suddenly very little else. “mmph gm fmmm.” Celestia lifted the front of her wing, just a little, to give her pupil room to breathe. “I am so glad to see you safe Twilight, I was just on my way to talk to with you.” Twilight was suddenly very conscious of the tense undercurrent in her mentor’s voice and the tremor in the wing that still clamped her tightly to Celestia’s side. -- c -- Celestia’s guards stood stiffly outside the library door as Twilight and Celestia sat down to tea, as they had done many times since Twilight’s move from Canterlot. Twilight felt uncomfortable. Making a date to take tea with her mentor was usually the highlight of each month, a date circled on the calendar, rigorously prepared for and recorded word for word in Twilight’s secret journal, safe in it’s box under her bed. She felt like a precious ritual was being violated. So many little details were missing. There was no pot of special tea, selected by the princess as a thoughtful gift. Twilight’s best china had been set out quickly by Spike, but Twilight’s cup was filled with pungent fresh coffee. Rather than sit across the table from Twilight in her usual position, ready for the tea to give way to several rounds of playful chess and conversation, Celestia was at her side, just a few hoofs away. Occasionally, as if subconsciously, Celestia’s wingtip would brush Twilight, as it to reassure the princess that Twilight was still there. Celestia’s nose wrinkled at the smell of coffee, but she accepted the cup from Spike and drank quickly. “Early this morning, before sunrise, I was awoken by a large release of dark energy, located somewhere in the Everfree Forest. It felt like Nightmare Moon’s magic or something of her ilk. Perhaps one of her powerful pets is still alive and just woke up, some of them have been know to hibernate like dragons.” Twilight was nonplussed. “We’ve dealt with monsters here before. Even an ursa minor. I’ve never seen you so worried Princess, surely Ponyville can deal with something like...” “Luna is missing. She didn’t come back to the castle last night. I set the Moon myself.” “Oh.” Twilight didn’t know what to say. The connections were obvious. Luna had once been Nightmare Moon and Celestia was afraid for her sister. And perhaps afraid of her sister as well, if she had taken steps to place all of the Elements of Harmony within hoof’s reach. “You don’t think that Luna...” Celestia paused to allow Spike to refill her cup. “There was no resistance to my setting of the Moon, I cannot be certain that Nightmare has returned, but I cannot be certain of anything until I have Luna safe at home. Not once since her return from banishment has she failed to set or raise the moon, a duty she takes very seriously.” “We can help Princess! Please, Ponyville is our home and I can guarantee that the girls and I are up to any challenge, we even chased away a dragon once!” Celestia’s wing rested on Twilights back, “No, Twilight. A long time ago I made some very bad decisions that cost me Luna’s company for a thousand years. For a time, I was certain that I had killed her when I wielded the Elements against Nightmare.” Celestia gathered Twilight to her, wrapping both of her wings around the startled unicorn. “I was lucky, in a way. Luna cannot die while the Moon remains above Equestria, she is simply incorporeal for a time. You, however, are mortal.” Twilight was dumbstruck, but returned her mentor’s embrace. “Twilight, I missed Luna so much while she was gone. Now that she has returned, I will not set the two mares who mean the most to me against each other. I will not willingly take the chance that I could lose you both.” Celestia stood, she hardened her gaze and composed herself with a ruffle of her wings. “Not until there is no other choice.”