Somewhen, Somewhere
Chapter 1: The Love of Twilight Sparkle
By Leftover of Saikano
A stallion crawls through the flower field, leaving most of his bandages in whatever bush they got stuck in.
“Twilight… I must find… Twilight.”
Fluttershy flew over the Everfree. She passed over the once secret house, and landed at the edge of the forest, next to the crawling Flash Sentry.
“Flash! You are finally awake. But you shouldn’t move yet.”
The stallion weakly lifted his head, and looked at her with unfocused eyes.
“Twilight…”
“Oh, my. You are still confused,” said Fluttershy, while helping Flash Sentry sit in a more upright position. “But you were unconscious for two days, so I guess it’s normal.”
Somewhat more awake, Flash Sentry recognized her. "Fluttershy? What happened? Twilight! Where's Twilight!?"
"Two days ago, in this same house, you were attacked, Flash. I have been taking care of you."
"Attacked? Who could attack me? Is Twilight OK?"
"The pony who attacked you was none other than Princess Luna. And before you ask, no, she did not fall back to her Nightmare Moon persona. It was the Princess Luna we know, and in full use of her mental faculties. She took Twilight with her to Canterlot."
"But why would the Princess attack me then? What is wrong, Fluttershy?"
"It seems, Twilight obtaining the title of princess was not only for her merits, as we believed at first. As it happens, her family actually comes directly from a deceased sibling of Celestia and Luna. The crown was always meant for her, if she demonstrated the worth, and she did so the day she got her wings."
"But what does that have to do with me? What caused the Princess to attack me?"
Fluttershy looked down, eyes fixed on Flash Sentry's wounds, most already healing.
"Twilight didn't tell you, but the reason she took you here, in the middle of the forest, was because you two cannot be together."
"What?" Flash Sentry tried to stand up, but one knee didn't respond.
"Stay still, you are not fully recovered yet. As I was saying, Twilight, as an important member of that family, must only marry into one of certain noble families. And you are not even close to being a noble. Um, no offense."
"None taken. But, Princess Luna has been disconnected from Equestria for one thousand years. That must have been a tradition abandoned centuries ago. Princess Celestia must be able to fix this misunderstanding."
Fluttershy kept looking down, and her voice sounded more grim this time.
"There is no misunderstanding. Celestia is aware of what is happening, and she is with Luna in this. In fact, the Princess will receive today three qualified noble stallions, all of families dating from at least the time of Princess Luna's banishment."
"They are already looking suitors for her? Is there some kind of hurry?"
"Well, she did try to hide away with you, and the only reason you are alive is because she asked for you to be spared in exchange of surrendering to Luna. Now they will try and marry her before she does something like that again."
"Then I must go to Canterlot," said Flash Sentry, finally able to stand on his four legs.
Fluttershy suddenly started to sound more determined, as if just remembering something important.
"This is something bigger than you imagine, Flash Sentry. Because of this, we the Elements of Harmony, have rebelled against the Princesses, and following us, so have done many others. Canterlot is now divided."
Flash Sentry had to stop for a moment to grasp the scale of the situation they were involved in.
"This must be a joke. Things cannot escalate so fast. Not for a relationship, not for me, and Twilight."
"It is serious business, Flash. Twilight Sparkle and the Elements are a big force in this era. The ponies have seen Equestria saved by us as many times in their lifetime as Celestia has done in the history books, they consider us the true force that keeps Equestria in peace, and not the Princesses. Twilight Sparkle is also a princess loved by the youth, and if she is unhappy, they are, too. And you know how young ponies have a rebellious spirit, and big zeal."
"I still cannot understand how something between just Twilight and me got so big as to involve all of Canterlot, and even the Princesses. But if any of this is true, then I must hurry to Canterlot and find Twilight."
"Yes, that is for the best. But you cannot fly yet. If you follow the path in front of you, you will reach the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Some of our allies have taken hold there. I'm sure you will find somepony who can take you fast to Canterlot. I will go investigate if those noble stallions will be a threat. From what I could gather, all of them have the rank of captain of some branch of the armed forces. You take care."
Saying this, Fluttershy took flight. Flash Sentry wanted to do the same, but after feeling his wings for some moments, he had to accept anything other than walking was out of his possibilities at the moment. A very slow walk.
Canterlot. In the pool of the royal bath house, Twilight Sparkle stood knee-deep in water. The enclosed pool took most of the ballroom sized building, and could contain comfortably over two hundred ponies, were it not a place meant only for the Princesses and their guests. The ceiling and the floors, including the bottom of the pool, were covered with a thick glass, protecting whatever kind of preternatural lamp the architects designed to illuminate the place. Twilight Sparkle was wearing a white silk dress, a gilded collar, and, around her horn, a green crystal ring meant to suppress her magic.
Twilight Sparkle walked to a stairway leading out of the water, and in front of it, she spoke.
"Luna, I have a request."
At the top of the stairs, the air condensed into a starry fog, that, illuminated by the moonlight filtering through a big window, soon revealed the form of Princess Luna. If one knew how to look past her composure, one could notice how unamused she was.
"Do you dare, Twilight Sparkle, make us requests, when we have to to come to a bath house just to have a moment of peace? When we cannot relax in our own castle, because many ponies who have served us for years cannot be trusted anymore because of your little adventure? We will not force you to admit you are sorry for what you have done, but we think our sister may have rushed, when she decided to crown you a princess of Equestria."
"I will abdicate, Luna. I won't be a princess anymore."
"How can you say that without doubting? You know that even if you forfeit the crown you will still be an alicorn, and a member of our family, with the responsibilities it comes with. Is Equestria of at least some value to you anymore, Twilight Sparkle?
"I want to ask for something in return."
"What do you want of us, Twilight Sparkle?"
"I want my friends, and all those involved in the ongoing crisis, to be forgiven. They are all doing this for me, but they will stop once we are done with the marriage you have planned for me."
Luna looked to the ceiling, her face less severe and somewhat more sad.
"Between the Kingdom and the life of these ponies, do you understand which is more important? The life of mortal ponies and that of us alicorns cannot be compared. Their life is as short as a blink." Luna closed her eyes. "We will close our eyes to let them pass. But, if the Elements of Harmony try to enter Canterlot before the wedding, and rebel against us once more, we will be unable to forgive them."
"I want them to have a normal life. They won't risk their lives again under any banner. Not in name of Princesses Celestia and Luna, nor in name of Equestria. And they will never fight in the name of princess Twilight Sparkle."