Chapter 2
~*~*~*~
The train ride had been different from what Twilight had become accustomed to. Usually her train rides to Canterlot were spent chatting with her friends at her side. The studious pony still had a friend who had sat next to her but conversation never found them. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash had spent the entire ride in silence with the occasional glance and uneasy smile tossed at the other.
Another thing that had thrown Twilight off had been the presence of royal guards on the train. It was a common sight to see guards on trains as they were usually being reassigned across Equestria. However, one could make a safe bet that this had not been the case. Twilight had counted at least a dozen of Equestria’s finest stationed on the train, spears in hoof, and their eyes constantly scanning the other passengers. It had been off putting to say the least.
The two friends parted ways once they had arrived at Canterlot Station. The cyan pegasus stated something about going to the military district, Twilight didn’t catch that rest of what she was told except that her friend would meet her outside the palace after she was done.
Her trot to the palace had been strange as well. At first glance everything seemed normal, Canterlot’s residents were out and about in the streets. Ponies were talking and mucking about in their dull normality. It was when Twilight noticed a pair of earth pony guards standing at a street corner did she realize the sheer amount of royal guards in the streets. On almost every corner stood at least one earth pony guard, one rooftop on every street had a unicorn guard watching over, and flights of pegasi guards flew over the city.
More questions had filled the studious unicorn’s mind as she hastily made her way through the streets towards the palace. Save for her meeting with the princess, she had put everything else aside for the time being. Since, after all, she would surely get answers from her mentor.
***
“Princess Celestia!”
“My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Thank you for hurrying over as soon as you received my reply.”
Usually by this point in the greeting the teacher and student would have given each other a quick nuzzle and exchanged pleasantries. Just from the expression her beloved mentor was giving her, Twilight could tell something was bothering the princess as well.
She wanted to tell Princess Celestia about everything that was bothering her but she had gone there with a goal in mind. Everything else could wait until after.
“Princess Celestia, today when I woke up I noticed that my wings were gone. When I asked Spike about it he said that I never had wings! He also said that I was never coronated! I looked all over my library for pictures of the coronation but I didn’t find any. In fact, I noticed that some pictures had gone missing or had been replaced with new ones that I didn’t recognize. To top it all off, this afternoon I just found out that Rainbow Dash had gotten married! I suspect that Discord is the one behind this. Honestly, I’d thought that he had gotten enough laughs yesterday when he made fools out of me and-”
The princess raised a hoof and out of instinct Twilight fell silent. “I can guarantee you that Discord had nothing to do with this, Twilight.” Her prized student wanted to retort but remained silent out of respect for her mentor. “Discord has not escaped his stone prison since you and the other Elements of Harmony defeated him,” Celestia pointed to the stain glass window that depicted her student and friend’s triumph over Discord, “He couldn’t be behind this because I do not recall you ever having wings, Twilight. Nor do I remember ever giving you the title of princess.”
“But you were there!” Twilight quickly put a hoof over her mouth to silence her sudden outburst. She expected her mentor to frown at the mini tantrum, but she did not. She still wore that same neutral expression. “Forgive me princess, but I know you were there! Your sister, Princess Luna, was there as well. So were all my friends, my family, the city of Canterlot, everyone pretty much!”
“My memory has never once betrayed me. Wouldn’t I remember something as important to me as the coronation of my prized pupil?”
“But...but...I passed your test, you found me in that magical plane of existence, you told me that I was ready to fulfill my destiny!”
The princess’s expression changed from one of neutrality to one of curiosity after hearing that. “You said that you completed a test I had given you?” Her student nodded hastily in reply. “Tell me, what test did I give you?”
“You sent me StarSwirl the Bearded’s spell book. You wanted me to complete his masterpiece spell.”
Celestia simply closed her eyes and let out a long breath. “Can you tell me, word for word, what his spell’s incantation was?”
Twilight racked her brain as she desperately struggled to remember the words that had almost ruined her friend’s lives. Once she had run the incantation through her mind she began reciting it, “From one to another, another to one. A mark of one’s destiny singled out alone, fulfilled.”
She waited for her mentor to respond in some way, when no response came she continued speaking, “If you want I can also tell you my completed version of the incantation.”
“That will not be necessary,” The princess replied curtly. “Please, come with me.” She turned around and motioned for her pupil to follow her.
The teacher and student walked down the palace’s corridors towards the throne room in silence. Twilight occasionally turned her head to glance at Princess Celestia. Her mentor never averted her gaze from in front of them. If Twilight had been told to put things in perspective using only one word, she would have said uncomfortable.
The two entered the throne room and were received by the royal guards stationed there. They bowed in the presence of their princess and were quickly sent off, closing the doors behind them. Princess Celestia made her way up the small steps to her throne and sat upon it, Twilight remained standing at the bottom.
Moments passed as Twilight allowed herself to be looked over by her mentor’s seemingly all seeing gaze. A few more seconds passed before the princess broke the silence. “Twilight Sparkle, I am very disappointed in you.”
Twilight’s irises shrank and her mouth fell open. Her entire body shuddered at her teacher’s words as if a knife had been stabbed into her heart. “Wha-wha-wha-I-I don’t understand,” She could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes, “What did I do?”
“I do not know how you got access to StarSwirl’s spell book but know that-”
“You sent me the spell book!” Tears streamed down the lavender unicorn’s face now. “You-you sent me his spell book. It was a test to see...to see-”
“I am only going to say this once, do not interrupt me again. Are we clear, Twilight?”
Wiping her eyes with her hoof, Twilight simply nodded in agreement. “Good, now please understand. I am well aware that you are a bright and gifted unicorn. I have always seen the vast potential in you. That is why I sent you to Ponyville in the first place, so that potential in you would finally be able to show itself.”
Princess Celestia looked down at her pupil, her expression now stern for what she was about to say. “It would seem that your curiosity had gotten the better of you. StarSwirl’s spell book is closely guarded by Luna and myself. I do not for the life of me know how you managed to read it without me knowing but the fact that you would resort to lying to cover yourself is what concerns me now.”
Her student stared at her, eyes red and nose running. It broke the princess’s heart to see her like this, bringing more distraught when she realized it was because of her words. She had to continue however, it was for the best.
The princess’s gaze softened as she let out a long sigh. “I will not lie to you, Twilight. There have been other students that I brought under my wing in an effort to guide them. They, however, never got as far as you did in your studies. I once had a dream, my most faithful student, that you would one day join me in ruling over Equestria. I had plans, plans that would help get you to that level. Unfortunately, as you are well aware, I like the rest of our nation had to change everything two years ago. My plans for you were put on hold as my attention was needed elsewhere. Do you understand now?”
Twilight shook her head vigorously. “No,” She replied, “I don’t understand any of this at all! I know that I ascended to an alicorn, I know you crowned me a princess of Equestria, and I know that things shouldn’t be like this!”
“Then I’m afraid that there is nothing more that I can tell you, my most faithful student. No, there is one thing I can do for you. Some advice to help you regain your senses. Go home, Twilight, go home and relax with your friends. Take your mind off of your studies for sometime.” She waited until Twilight slowly nodded her head to continue. “Now, is there anything else you wanted to say to me?”
Defeated, that was how the prized pupil felt. Here she had come hoping to receive answers from her mentor, yet, all she had achieved was being branded as dishonest by the pony she held in such high regard. She wished she never gone there in the first place, she would of been spared the pain in her heart. Still though, there remained a way for this trip to not have been a complete waste.
“Princess Celestia?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
“What changed-”
At that moment the doors to the throne room burst open and a unicorn mare ran in. “Princess Celestia!” The mare shouted as she ran towards the throne, a stack of papers levitating behind her, and stopped next to Twilight.
Giving a quick bow, she glanced up to look at the princess. “Princess Celestia, I’m afraid I come bearing terrible news. The city of Baltimare has fallen!”
“What!?” The princess practically yelled out, a far cry from her usually calm demeanor. “When did this happen?”
“We just received word of this a few minutes ago. I’m afraid that the EFS LAS PEGASUS and EFS TROTTINGHAM who were tasked with defending the port were destroyed. Our forces are in full retreat and reports of casualties are coming in.”
Princess Celestia looked off to the side, as if she was staring past the stain glass windows that adorned her throne room towards the mentioned city. “It would appear that our worst fears have come to fruition then, The Castallion Island Confederation has finally landed on the mainland.”
“Your orders, princess?”
“Send word to my sister in Fillydelphia, tell her to muster as many of her troops and air ships that she can and head South to Baltimare. I want all Equestrian cities, towns, and villages North of the CIC landing evacuated immediately. It won’t be long until they begin pushing inland and we must be ready for-”
“Princess?” Twilight asked cautiously, her voice trembling a little. “What’s going on?”
The princess had almost completely forgotten that her student was still in her presence. She turned to look at Twilight and saw that the unicorn seemed terrified from what she had just heard. Princess Celestia immediately began scolding herself mentally for allowing her beloved student to listen in.
“Ah, prized student Twilight Sparkle, it’s good to see you again. It is regrettable that it is not under better conditions but still, it’s always nice to see a friendly face. Especially in these trying times.” The mare gave Twilight a pleasant smile.
“Sorry, but do I know you?” Twilight stared at the unicorn, positive that she had never seen her in her life. “Wait,” The studious pony squinted her eyes, “I’m having a really hard time remembering you.”
The strange unicorn gave Twilight a look as if she had been hurt. “Prized student Twilight Sparkle, I know we may not have spent much time together but still, I am hurt that you would not recognize me. Maybe it is because of my new mane style?” A soft golden aura formed around the unicorn’s horn as she fiddled with her mane.
It was at this time that Twilight noticed the other’s appearance. Her auburn mane was done up in a neat bun, her tail flowed freely without restraint just inches above the floor, her coat was a murky green, and she had golden eyes. There was no denying it, Twilight had never seen this pony before in her life.
Blinking her eyes and shaking her head, Twilight turned her attention back to the unicorn. “I’m sorry, I’m just having a really bad day right now Ms...I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”
The response came not from the mare in question but from the sun princess. “Siren, her name is Siren. Strange that you don’t remember, Twilight. She has been my trusted advisor for many years. Countless crises in Equestria have been resolved thanks to her input. Perhaps you don’t remember her because you are tired. You should return home and get some rest, we’ll continue our conversation in private later.”
“But-” Twilight’s protest was silenced by glare from her mentor, a very uncommon sight.
“We will talk about this later. Right now myself and Siren must deal with the situation at hoof.”
“Forgive me, Princess Celestia, but may I ask what you two were discussing? Surely I can be trusted to know, be it a new spell or prized student Twilight Sparkle’s personal problems. I hope I don’t come off as intruding, I simply wish to help as I’ve done in the past.”
Celestia offered her advisor a smile, “Thank you, Siren, but I don’t think that will be-”
“Wait!” Twilight interjected. “Maybe you can help me!”
Siren adjusted herself and beamed at Twilight. “Glad to help, I’m all ears as they say.”
Twilight took in a deep breath before asking her question, “You’ve been Princess Celestia’s advisor for many years, right?”
“Correct, I take great pride in offering my services to her.”
“Which means you’ve probably seen me around Canterlot and the Castle at least a few times, right?”
“Well, I would say more than a few times. I like to keep myself up to date with what occurs within our great nation.”
Twilight could feel a smile steadily grow on her face. This was it, the proof she wanted. “Which means you’ve seen me with wings! You know I’m an Equestrian princess, right?”
At some point during the previous sentence Twilight had made her way over to Siren and place her front hooves on the unicorn, eerie smile and all.
“Forgive me, prized student Twilight Sparkle, but I don’t recollect you ever having wings or being an Equestrian princess. I know that Princess Celestia thinks highly of you but I think that perhaps you’re a tad over expectant?”
Twilight’s smile quickly faded back into a frown. She released Siren, letting out a an agitated groan before slumping to the ground with her head held in between her hooves. Siren turned to Princess Celestia looking for a clue as to what to make of it. The princess of the sun made her way towards Twilight, helping her off of the floor with a hoof. “Twilight, return to Ponyville for now. I’ll come visit you at a later time and we can discuss this further. For now, please, try and get some rest.”
Defeated, Twilight nodded her head, her eyes closed as she turned to leave the throne room. She stopped when Siren called out to her. “One moment, before you leave, please tell us, is there anyone else who could back your claims? Maybe they could help solve this problem.”
Twilight thought for a moment, “Well,” She began, “I guess Spike, my friends back in Ponyville, my family, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and-”
“Princess Cadance?” Celestia interrupted, “I do not know of any princess by that name. Is she from another nation?”
Twilight deadpanned. “Princess Cadance, your niece?”
Celestia raised an eyebrow at that. “Niece? Twilight, I have no niece. Unless you’re referring to Prince BlueBlood, which in that case, I would have thought you were above throwing around petty insults.”
“No, I mean Princess Cadance! You know, the pony who used to foal sit me, she used to live here in the castle, is the alicorn of love, sometimes goes by the name Mi Amore Cadenza, married to my…um... Princess Celestia, are you okay?”
It would have seemed that all the color drained from the sun princess’s face. “Could you repeat that other name, Twilight?”
“Mi Amore Cadenza?”
“Twilight, Mi Amore Cadenza is the black hearted alicorn empress of the Castallian Island Confederation. She has made it obvious now with her recent invasion of Baltimare that she is no friend of Equestria.”
“What!?” Twilight spat out. “That can’t be true! Cadance is one of the nicest most loving ponies I know! She would never do anything so awful or unacceptable to earn her the title of black hearted!”
“Go home to Ponyville and rest, Twilight,” the princess repeated, almost sounding like a broken record by this point. Celestia looked at her student who stared right back at her. “I will be in contact with you shortly, for now I have matters to discuss with Siren.”
Twilight wanted to say something more but the glance her mentor was giving her silenced her again. She looked at the princess and then at Siren again before turning around and making her way out of the throne room. Princess Celestia wasn’t the only pony who would could vouch for her claims of having wings and being a princess. One way or another, she would get her proof.
***
Princess Celestia watched with a frown as her beloved student walked out of her throne room. Something was not right, that was for certain. Twilight knew more than she should have which bothered the sun princess greatly. She remembered the last time a student of her’s had gone seeking knowledge by herself, she feared the past could repeat again.
Letting out a long sigh, she made her way back to her throne. She felt extremely exhausted from all that had transpired in a matter of minutes. She turned her attention to Siren who was now sitting next to the throne.
“Well?”
“Pardon?”
“I assume you have suggestions on how to deal with Baltimare?”
“That’s why you keep me around. Before we move on to that however, can I make a suggestion regarding prized student Twilight Sparkle?”
Closing her eyes, the princess of the sun rubbed the side of her head in a circle with her hoof. She really didn’t want to dwell on that at the moment seeing as how there were more pressing matters but she figured it couldn’t be helped. “I’m listening.”
“I would recommend forbidding your student from leaving the city of Canterlot for some time. This would allow us to keep an eye on her and take note of any suspicious activity.”
Princess Celestia’s eyes shot open at, she turned to face her advisor, a stern scowl on her face. “Surely you do not think that Twilight would betray us? She is one of the few ponies left that I can trust! Her intentions have only been nothing but the best for Equestria.”
“As mine have been and are, Princess Celestia. I would never have doubted her myself but, in light of recent events, we must be careful. Remember, we never thought the Castallion Islands would ever turn hostile towards us after so many years of peace. If I may be allowed to speak freely, you yourself never expected your own sister to betray you those thousand years ago. We can not allow the past to repeat itself is all I’m saying, we need to practice caution in these trying times. You’re student claims to be a great friend and a supporter of Empress Cadenza, does that not trouble you?”
The sun princess hated to admit it, it pained her to admit it, but Siren was right. Caution was needed now. Twilight would surely understand, she was a reasonable pony. “Very well, send out the order immediately prohibiting Twilight Sparkle from leaving Canterlot.”
Siren turned away from her princess, her smirk hidden. “Gladly, fair princess.”
***
No sooner had Twilight exited the castle and stepped out onto the streets had she come face to face with Rainbow Dash. “Hey, Twi! So what did Princess Celestia want to talk to you about? Is she sending us on some secret mission overseas or something like that?”
“What?No!” Twilight quickly responded. “I just needed to get some answers from her.”
“Oh, that’s cool I guess. So, did you get them?”
“No.”
“Huh!? What do you mean no!? You’re Twilight Sparkle, her favorite student and teacher’s pet! How could she not give you the answers you wanted? Wait, they weren’t for some sort of test that you have coming up, were they? If that’s the case, good luck in getting them. All teachers are the same I guess.”
Twilight shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Come on, let’s just go back to Ponyville.”
“Hey!” A familiar voice called out from behind Twilight. “You weren’t planning on leaving without saying hello to your big bro, were you?” The studious unicorn turned around only to be brought into an embrace.
“Shining Armor!” Twilight exclaimed before happily returning the embrace. “Oh you don’t know how glad I am to see you! You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve been having!”
“I’m all ears, Twily. We can talk about it back at my place, but first,” Shining Armor let go of Twilight and made his way over Rainbow Dash. “Hey, hot stuff!”
“S’up, babe! Been looking all over for you!”
“Really, what for?”
“Cause I felt like doing this.”
Time seemed to slow down for Twilight as she watched what unfolded. Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor’s faces leaned towards each other, eyes locked on the other. The distance between them closed until finally their lips met in a passionate kiss. Twilight watched, and continued to watch, her mind on the verge of imploding.
When the two finally pulled away they both wore goofy grins on their faces. “So,” Shining Armor began, “Was that worth looking all over the city for me?”
“Not really, but don’t worry. I’m sure I can think of something that’ll be worth it.”
“I’m sure you will if I don’t think of something first, but before that,” He turned back to look at his little sister who stood seemingly petrified in place. “You wanna grab something to eat before we head back to my place, Twily?” No answer. “Uh, Twily, are you alright?”
Without warning, Twilight’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted in the middle of street.
No, she wasn’t alright.