//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Rebirth // by twilightpiesparkle //------------------------------// “Princess Luna, we have searched the castle premises. The Council has vanished. We have failed you.” The Night Guard lowered his head in shame. “Without the Council and with your sister gone…we answer to you alone. What should we do?” “The Council is an essential part of Canterlot’s political system. We need to find them, and quickly. Continue to search for them. I will…There is something that I can do to find them. However, it is a last resort. If the Council is not found by the time my sister raises the sun, I will perform the spell.” Luna grimaced. “I hope it does not come to that.” “Princess? What spell?” “Trade secret.” Luna said, half-smiling. “Yes, Princess. We will do our best.” The Guard walked stoically out of the room. The room was lit by nothing but the moonlight, shining through the skylight. Luna tilted her face up and gazed up at the moon. “Sister” she whispered, “Come home soon.” MLP MLP MLP Rarity was trapped. She was trapped in a cage in the middle of King Sombra’s mindscape. She supposed it was all metaphorical, but the cage certainly seemed real. The metaphorical cage bottom was hard. And cold. At least there isn’t any dirt, Rarity thought. But really, that lunatic Sombra could have at least given me a bed. Or a futon. Oh, the indignities! At first, Rarity had tried everything she could to get out. She had shouted (in a ladylike fashion, of course). She had cried. She had even gone so far as to pound at the bars of the cage. But it was no use. Rarity was trapped. She could still see everything, even though at the same time she was in the cage. It was like being in two places at once. Rarity had witnessed the horrors that Sombra (she refused to call him a king) had committed. But she could do nothing. “Sombra!” Rarity screamed (in a delicate, ladylike way) “Let me out! You vile, dirty, uncouth monster! LET ME OUT!” But there was no answer. There was never any answer. Rarity sank to cold floor of her metaphorical cage. She considered swooning (again) but decided against it. It really wasn’t worth the effort, without anyone to see. Instead, one lone silver tear dropped onto the cage. “Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie” Rarity sniffed, stifling a sob (how unladylike would that be) “I’m so sorry.” MLP MLP MLP Meanwhile, in the loft area of the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight Sparkle was laying on the couch in front of the roaring fire place. Sitting next to her was none other than Princess Celestia. She was quietly sipping her mint tea and had her soft down like wing draped over Twilight like a blanket. The only sounds that could be heard was the crackling of the fire and Spikes soft snoring while he slept soundly in his basket. Twilight decided that now was the perfect time to ask the Princess the question that had been polluting her mind all day. “Princess,” Twilight spoke softly in a voice barely audible above the sounds that filled the library. “Yes Twilight?” the Princess inquired. “Earlier today… you were acting, well….. very odd. In the hospital, you seemed very distressed and here, at the library, you seem very, shaken up. Why is that, you have never acted like that before, why now?” as Twilight asked this question, the Princess’s tea had was long forgotten as she turned her head to face her faithful student. For a few moments, the Sun Princess remained silent, trying to find a way to respond. Under her wing, she could feel Twilight tense up, “I- I am so sorry Princess. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just” Twilight was swiftly cut off by her mentor. “No Twilight, you did not make me uncomfortable in any way. I was just… trying to find the appropriate words. Twilight, do you not realize just how much you mean to me, how much I care for you. Before you became my student, I had no one. My sister was in exile and I was alone in a world filled with creatures who all desire companionship. My happy attitude was just a façade for my subjects.” Twilight shifted next to the Princess, utterly speechless. “But then you came along Twilight, you brought brightness into my world for the first time in a thousand years. You brought me hope. You were always so eager to learn and you always wanted to help me in any way possible no matter how big the situation. Seeing you always brings a smile to my face. Twilight, I consider you more than just a student or a friend. You are a daughter to me Twilight. And the thought of losing you… I just do not know what I would do.” Celestia could feel Twilight shaking beneath her. Afraid that Twilight was appalled by all that she had just said, the Princess looked away, refusing to look her student in the eye. But she was shocked when she felt two soft arms wrap around her neck, squeezing her tightly. She looked down at her student… no her daughter, crying tears of joy into Celestia’s coat. The princess soon joined Twilight as tears of happiness ran down her muzzle. She then heard Twilight’s soft voice whisper “Thank you Princess, thank you.”