Undisclosed Location Near Ponyville
Two Hours Before the Open House Ball
There were two figures that stood on the outskirts of Ponyville, both of them far off from the town’s boundaries and near the edge of the Everfree Forest. The two of them wore cloaks, though it was noticeable that one was torn and ragged while the other was new and pristine. They were both looking in the far off distance at Castle Aurora, which dominated Ponyville’s skyline. Unlike the rest of the town, which was growing dark and quiet as the day ended, the castle seemed to light up more brightly like a beacon in the fading sunlight
The figure wearing the new cloak was a white unicorn stallion with a golden mane. Underneath the cloak he wore an expensive and elegant shirt and tie that relayed his noble station. The unicorn was distinctly uncomfortable underneath the branches of the Everfree, and appeared nerveous from his constant shuffling.
The other, shorter figure had the appearance of a black pegasus stallion with a dark brown mane. He had on no garments other than the cloak, but his pale blue eyes seemed to pierce the oncoming darkness. The pale orbs glimmered with intelligence, with no small amount of cunning as well. Unlike the other cloaked figure, the black pegasus was distinctly at ease and calm. He carried himself with confidence and authority.
“Are you sure you want me to give this to Coal Dust? I really think we could gain much more by blackmailing her.” The white stallion addressed his companion. He held up in his magic a small worn piece of parchment that looked official with its curved, slanted writing.
“Stick to the plan Blueblood!” The black pegasus hissed. “I’ve told you before! This is the best way for my colleagues and me to deal with Sparkle. Once she’s properly distracted, we’ll be able to proceed. Trussssst me!”
The cloaked pegasus stared intently at Blueblood with a fierce glare. As if the pale eyes boring into Blueblood would discourage the prince from hesitating.
“But that’s the thing Bacillus, I don’t trust you. Not at all. If you had not come to me almost a week ago with this,” Blueblood waved the old fragment of paper in his magic. “I would not even be talking to you. I mean look at you! Your attire looks like it just walked out of the Badlands! And I don’t even know your so called ‘colleagues.’ How do I know they can keep your promise?”
“Do not…tesssssst me Blueblood. My plan will work. Sparkle will be taken care of, and soon, her court as well. All you have to do, is give that piece of parchment to Duke Coal Dust, and let me take care of the rest.”
Blueblood leaned away from Bacillus, cowed by the pegasus’s ferocity.
“Fine.” He stated in finality, taken aback by the pegasus sudden fierceness. Eyeing Bacillus warily, he spoke with caution. “But again, why must I give it to Coal Dust? With the information on this paper, humiliating Sparkle is a surety! I would love to do it! Why use the duke?”
Bacillus stood still in contemplation of the question, before turning back to Blueblood with a raised eyebrow.
“Tell me, how much would you enjoy being a crater?”
“A crater? Why ever would I be a crater?”
Instead of answering, Bacillus turned away from Ponyville and pointed with a wing towards the Everfree Forest.
“Look over there.”
Blueblood turned and viewed the decimated forest. Many of the trees were ash or black shadows of their former selves. Craters the size of a castle littered the barren wasteland along with deep trenches scarred in the rock.
“HHHmmm. That’s new.”
Bacillus sighed in exasperation at the prince. He glared at him disbelievingly.
“Do you not know what caused this? Where were you during Tirek’s attack?”
Blueblood shuddered.
“After that…thing…took my magic, I barricaded myself in the deepest part of my mansion in Canterlot. I stayed there until my magic was returned to me.”
“You didn’t hear the explosions, or feel the earthquakes?”
“No, I…well now that you mention it, I did feel some tremors. Are you telling me Tirek did this?”
“No, not exactly.” Bacillus answered. “All this was caused when Sparkle dueled Tirek.”
Blueblood’s jaw dropped visibly, despite the cloak.
“I—I had heard, well, stories. But I put thought that was all propaganda!” He whimpered. Blueblood paled suddenly and looked Bacillus in the eyes. “You know, I’m having second thoughts—“
“Don’t be a fool, Blueblood.” Bacillus hissed, turning back to face Castle Aurora. “Sparkle had the magic of all four alicorn’s then. Now she has only her own.”
Blueblood seemed to ponder Bacillus’s reassurances but continued to glare accusingly at the black pegasus.
“I don’t know…” Blueblood wondered. “If those stories are true, then Sparkle was still able to defeat Tirek after he had all the magic of Equestria. Tirek had all four alicorn’s, Discord’s, and every single pony from Appleloosa to the Crystal Empire and Sparkle still beat him, even after being drained of her magic. Is that true?”
Bacillus’s eyes narrowed but he did not contradict the prince.
“Yes, that is all true. She is not the Princess of Magic for nothing after all. Other than the princesses, there is nopony who has walked this earth that can equal her in magical power and skill.” Bacillus recited grudgingly. It was obvious he didn’t like it but refused to ignore the facts.
Blueblood, doing the impossible, turned paler as his blood ran cold.
“Then why by Platinum’s crown are we doing this?!” He waved the parchment away from him as if it were a bomb. “Sparkle will flatten the pony who reveals this—“
“And that is why Coal Dust will be doing the revealing, remember?” Bacillus reminded him.
Blueblood froze in realization.
“Oh.”
“Took you long enough.”
Blueblood wasn’t finished though. He seemed placated a little but his brow was still scrunched up in thought.
“Wait a moment…if I give this to Coal Dust…well then he’ll squeal and rat me out surely! Once Sparkle has finished flattening him into the ground!” He screeched at the pegasus.
Bacillus nodded impatiently, to Blueblood’s horror. But before the prince could object, Bacillus held up a hoof to forestall the stallion.
“Yes, that would be true. IF Coal Dust remembered we gave it to him.”
“Why wouldn’t he? Blueblood asked, his curiosity piqued and his panicked rant stalled.
“Because after you give him that parchment, I’ll place a spell on him that will make him think he took it himself from the public archives in Canterlot. It won’t be a mind control spell, those are too easy to break if detected. I will transplant my own memory from when I found it so that Coal Dust has the true memories of finding that dirt on Sparkle. At the same time I will erase from his memory his encounter with you so that the story is straight all around.”
Blueblood nodded along but seemed put off by a stray thought.
“This sounds good and all, but it doesn’t sound like you need me to do this. So why do you want me to give it to him?”
Bacillus sighed again and tapped his hoof on the ground impatiently as he continued to stare in the distance at the shimmering castle.
“For starters I need someone he trusts to distract him while I place the memory charm on him. A scuffle or fight will attract unwanted attention and make the memory charm harder to uphold if a fight was involved. Secondly, we need a noble, someone high up like yourself, to…help us. I figured if you knew it was I that rattled Sparkle’s world with that paper you're holding, you would be more than willing to participate and profit from my expenditure.”
Blueblood huffed but he shrugged in resignation.
“Fine, your reasoning is sound, and you were right to seek my help. Most of the other nobles, especially the Pegasi and Earth Pony nobles, are disillusioned with Sparkle. They see her as some type of glorious hero. They should be paying attention to me, not that filthy commoner. I am the Prince of Unicorns, descended from Princess Platinum herself, not some bookworm nopony from this primitive village. How a noble family such as the Armors could have dared to adopt some common pony as Sparkle, I will never comprehend.”
Bacillus smiled, it was a brilliant white against his black coat and lacked any humor, but carried a certain satisfaction.
“I understand completely, your highness.”
His eyes flickered playfully back to the parchment Blueblood tucked into his coat. Then back to the castle in the distance.
“And soon, everypony else will too.
Castle Aurora
One Hour Until Sunset
Twilight
“Alright Spike, time to do our last-minute check list, before everypony gets here.”
“I’m ready whenever you are! Fire away!” Spike said, holding up a quill and paper.
Twilight and Spike were in the princess’s quarters, preparing for the Open House Ball. The room was large and spacious, bookshelves covered the walls, carrying Twilight’s favorite tomes. Books old and new, fiction and non-fiction, science and philosophy. Along with those others the Journal of the Royal Pony Sisters sat on a gilded stand in a corner. A large, four poster bed lay against the wall next to the balcony doors, covered in fine purple linens.
An old picture of Twilight as a filly, standing next to Princess Celestia when she became her student was in a large gold frame adjacent to the bed. She had owned a small copy in her album, but it had burned in the library. That was the original. Celestia had given it to Twilight as a gift from her own private art collection. It had a special place on the wall next to her family portrait.
Said portrait contained Night Light, Twilight Velvet, Shining Armor, Cadence, Twilight, and Spike. The picture had been taken a few months after her coronation, and it had belonged to her parents but they gave it to her to replace her lost photos.
Other things of lesser importance littered the floor and walls. Royal banners, telescopes, maps, spells, and the occasional globe decorated the room. A single door revealed a walk in closet, which was woefully empty except for a few new dresses from Rarity.
Another door led to a large new bathroom with a crystal tub and golden faucets.
The princess and the dragon were both wearing the best of their new wardrobe.
Spike wore a dapper green suit with coattails with a white shirt and a glittering emerald tie that matched his scales. A green top hat was donned on top of his head and a black cane was propped up against him since he held Twilight’s list and a quill. He had a monocle over his left eye and a golden pocket watch in his coat pocket.
Twilight wore a beautiful lavender dress Rarity had specially made for the Open House Ball. It had golden threads along the hem and light purple sleeves around her forelegs. The train of the dress had numerous stars, constellations, and planets sown into the dark purple fabric. On her hooves she wore four new golden shoes, replacing the ones she had worn at her coronation which had melted in Tirek’s fire. Around her neck she wore a new golden torc like Celestia’s, but more in shape like Luna’s as it bore a six pointed purple star gem in the likeness of her cutie-mark.
Twilight was the host after all, and she needed to look her best.
“Is all the food ready? Appetizers, the main course, and plenty of desserts?” She asked Spike, beginning their checklist again.
“Check! Applejack has appetizers and dinner, and Pinkie has desserts! She brought everything from Sugercube Corner and even got Pony Joe to send some donuts from Canterlot!”
“Good! How about decorations?”
“Check! Rarity is all over that! She has done everything from flowers to banners! I can’t believe she was able to do that and complete all the dress orders she had for the ball!”
“Excellent! Now what about the entertainment?”
“Rainbow Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders have got us covered! Rainbow and Scootaloo are performing some stunts, Scootaloo with her scooter and Rainbow with some flying maneuvers. Then the CMC are going to shoot off fireworks—“
“What!!” Twilight shrieked. Her blood ran cold at the thought of those three near any kinds of explosives. “That wasn’t on the list yesterday!”
Spike tapped his chin in thought. “Oh yeah! They asked yesterday if they could help with the entertainment with Rainbow Dash, it was Scootaloo’s idea. Apparently they’re trying to get their cutie-marks in pyrotechnics.”
“…Alright, but we need to make sure Rainbow keeps an eye on them.” Twilight said, after some consideration. “Oh! We’ll also need to put Ponyville’s Volunteer Fire Department on notice when they start, just in case.”
“This wouldn’t be their first time putting out the CMC’s fires…” Spike muttered.
“Alright! What’s next?” Twilight pressed on, peering closely at the list over Spike’s shoulder. “…Music!”
“Oh it’s going to be great! Inside the ball room Rarity booked an orchestra from Canterlot! Pinkie also convinced DJ Pon-3 to play some music outside the castle on the lawn!”
“Great! Did we get someone to valet for all the carriages coming? As well as someone organizing traffic from the train station?”
“We sure did! Applejack got some of her cousins from Appleloosa to manage the carriages, and Ponyville’s sherrif and his deputies are handling all the traffic. They’re working with the train station’s crew.”
“Phheww,” Twilight sighed. “I knew that might have poised a problem, with all the carriages and pony’s coming from…well…everywhere! Now what about security? I know Shining insisted on being in charge, but I insisted on him relaxing. I’m sure Cadence appreciated that.”
“Princesses Celestia and Luna both sent fifty guards each. We’ve got them all spread out in the public parts of the castle, with a few pegasi guards high up in the towers. Since you ‘insisted’ on Shining relaxing tonight, Luna got Noctis, her captain of the Night Watch, to oversee both her own and Celestia’s Royal Guards.” Spike looked up from his list to look up at Twilight, who was grimacing. “Oh don’t worry Twilight! They’re just here for tonight!”
Twilight sighed a little and looked at the portraits on the wall, particularly the ones of Shining and Princess Celestia.
“I hope so Spike. You know how Shining is, he sees changelings under his bed. He’s been insisting for a while now that I need to get some guards. And getting this castle has only seemed to strengthen his resolve to put a garrison here. Celestia is of the same mind, not that Luna and Cadence don’t agree with her, but Celestia quietly suggested in our weekly tea get together last week that I need my own guard now.”
“They only have you’re best interests at heart Twilight.” Spike told her sagely.
Twilight reached out with a wing and put it around him in a hug.
“You’re right Spike, but let’s take things one at a time. We’ll just have to make sure the guards leave after we’ve let them in.”
“Uuuuhhh…” Spike murmured. To Twilight, his expression just screamed guilt.
“What?”
“I…uh…already let them in two hours ago.” He said shyly, content at looking at the claws on his feet.
“Oh…well…that’s that then.” Twilight said in reluctant resignation. “Nothing we can do about it now. What’s next on the list?”
“O.K! Next is…rooms for our friends and family. We’ve already taken care of that.”
Twilight nodded in remembrance of their earlier preperations. She had invited her parents and Shining and Cadence to stay here at her castle for the night. She had then extended that invitation to Celestia and Luna, who both accepted. Twilight and Spike had prepared four of the guest suites. One for her parents, one for Shining and Cadence, one for Celestia, and one for Luna. All in the private part of the castle near Twilight’s and Spike’s rooms.
“Great job Spike! Is that everything?” She asked patiently.
“That’s it!”
As soon as he finished, Twilight noticed a certain bird swoop down from the perch above her to land on a pedestal behind Spike. Her lips curved upwards in a smile as a sneaky thought came to her.
“Are you sure? Aren’t you forgetting someone?”
Spike’s brow furrowed in confusion and he looked back down at the list to double check it.
“…who?”
“Hoo!”
Twilight laughed as Spike jumped and whirled at Owlowiscous in surprise.
“Hoo!” The owl repeated, glaring accusingly at Spike.
“That’s what I’m asking! Who?”
“Hoo.”
Spike face-clawed and shook his head in dismay.
“It’s you isn’t it?”
“Hoo!”
“YOU, that’s who!”
“Hoo.”
“NNNOOOOooooooooo!!! Make it stop!” Spike howled, covering his ears with his claws in an attempt to stop the owl’s tirade.
Twilight gave up trying to hold in her laughter and crumpled into a fit of uncontrolled giggling.
“Knock it off Twilight! He wasn’t that funny!” Spike growled, though he too chuckled a little.
“Alright Spike.” Twilight said, getting over her fit of giggling. She held out a wing to Owlowiscious and the owl flapped over to settle onto her back. “Owlowiscous here is going to accompany Philomena and Luna’s pet possum Tiberius tonight.”
“Luna has a pet…possum? Named Tiberius?!”
“Luna also calls him Sir Tibbles.” She giggled.
“No.”
“Oh yes.” Twilight told Spike pointedly, she turned her head to look back at Owlowiscous. “You’re going to give them a tour of the castle right?”
“Hoo.”
“Good! I’m sure Philomena and Tibbles will love that, just don’t cause too much ruckus at the dessert table.”
“Hoo!”
Twilight eyed Owlowoscious warily and narrowed her eyes at him.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t act all innocent. I know for a fact that you and Philomena would eat everything by yourselves, and that doesn’t include Tibbles. I’m sure he’s picked up a sweet tooth from hanging around Luna.”
Owlowiscous flapped his wings in defeat and gave out a reluctant, “Hoo.”
Spike looked back and forth between the two of them, as if how Twilight could understand the owl’s singular hoots before shrugging it off.
“If that’s everything, shouldn’t we head down to the main hallway to open the doors and let them in? It’s about time for the Grand Entry!” He pulled out his pocket watch and tapped it knowingly.
“You’re right Spike! But let’s not waste time walking, it’ll be faster if we just teleport.”
Before Spike could protest, though Twilight doubted he would, she charged up her magic for the spell and quickly reappeared in the main hallway in front of the entrance doors. Two guards flanked the crystal doorway, one golden armored Royal Guard and one turquoise armored Night Watch. And then behind her, scattered throughout the large entry hallway were more guards between the windows and columns, standing stoically at attention and awaiting the crowd that was surely on the other side of the door. To Twilight’s immediate right stood Noctis, who was Luna’s Captain of the Night Watch.
“Ah, there you are princess. Is everything in order?” He asked Twilight politely. Noctis was taller than the average pegasus and had all the traits of a lunar-pegasi. The gray fur, the tufted ears, and the yellow slitted eyes all gave away his night-affinity. He was armored in similar fashion to the rest of the Night Watch, but instead of turquoise, his armor was silver. Noctis was joint-commander of the two branches of the guard tonight since Shining Armor was off duty. Despite his intimidating appearance, Twilight knew from the few occasions she met him that Noctis had a good heart, and a hearty laugh. Even now he smiled at her encouragingly. “All guards are ready your highness, just say the word and we’ll be ready to throw out any party crashers that show their ugly head.”
Twilight smiled at his surety but shook her head.
“I’m sorry captain, but I promised Pinkie that I would let her deal with any party crashers tonight.”
Noctis’s smile widened exponentially. “Oh yes, Miss Pie’s reputation in dealing with party crashers is legendary. We are more than willing to let them fall into her capable hooves.”
Behind him, the two guards at the door smiled and nodded simultaneously.
“Oh, and here is that list you wanted for young Spike.” Reaching with a wing into his armor, Noctis pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment which he then handed to Spike. “That is the order in which they will be entering after everyone else has come on in.”
What he was referring to was the list of important VIPs that would enter after everypony else, in order to stage the ‘Grand Entry.’ In short, it was a parade of important figures that would arrive ‘fashionably late.’ Twilight had narrowed down the list to a few ponies, mostly friends and family in order to not draw it out like at the Gala. Rarity had insisted on researching the protocol for the arrivals, and
Spike had volunteered to announce them as they entered.
“Oh right, I had almost forgotten about that! Rarity insisted that we follow some of the, ‘royal party protocol’ and Pinkie Pie agreed with her.” Twilight leaned over Spike as he read over the parchment. “Do you think you can handle it Spike?”
He nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. “Sure thing Twilight!” And with that he started making his way to the dais at the back of the entry hall where he and Twilight would stand for the Grand Entry.
“Are we ready princess?” Noctis asked formally, though his smile ruined the effect.
With a bright flash Twilight teleported onto the dais while Spike picked up his pace to catch up with her.
“Ready Captain!!” Twilight affirmed, her cheerful voice echoing down the entry hall.
Nocits about-faced and motioned with his wing to the two guards flanking the entryway to open the doors, he then stepped to the side as the guards lifted the latch and let the flood of ponies waltz in.
There were a great multitude of ponies, all dressed in their finest attire. Twilight could make out a few familiar faces from Ponyville, as well as recognize a few nobles and celebrities. Newspaper reporters with their cameras were also scattered amongst the crowd, taking pictures and already asking questions. There were also a great many ponies she did not recognize, but they were welcome all the same. The crowd murmured in excitement as they made their way into Castle Aurora, making room for all those behind them. They lined the walls while they waited for the Grand Entry to end. They made sure to leave room at the foot of the dais for Twilight’s VIPs, which was roped off with a ‘reserved’ sign.
Not about to have a repeat of the Gala’s disastrous entry, where she and Princess Celestia greeted each and every guest individually, Twilight had decided she would let them all in and then give a short speech before letting the festivities begin.
One all the ponies had filled up the hallway, Twilight nodded to Spike to begin, who in turn motioned for some enchanted trumpets to start playing as he made the first of the presentations.
With a tremendous blast, the instruments signaled for the first of the VIPs to start down the red carpet towards the dais.
“Presenting their royal highnesses, Princess Celestia Sol and Princess Luna Selene of Equestria!” Spike announced happily, his face twisted into a smile that lit up his scaly face.
As the crowd cheered and applauded for the two princesses, Twilight remembered idly the addition of her former mentor’s last name. Celestia and Luna were indeed full-blooded sisters, but when they had become princesses of Equestria over a thousand years ago, it was decided that each would have their own royal house so as to appear equal, instead of belonging to the same house and Luna appearing subservient to Celestia. However, they were the only members of their respective houses, so the additional title was just a formality. Being royalty of the host nation, it was expected that they would appear first in the Grand Entry.
Celestia was wearing something that looked like a formal bright yellow sun dress, but without the gaudy wide-brimmed hat. Some gold was sewn along the hem and she wore her usual vestments over the dress. Philomena was perched smartly on her back, looking prim and proper. She smiled warmly up at Twilight as she make her way to her reserved spot at the dais. Her kind magenta eyes always seemed to light up in happiness every time Twilight saw them.
Luna on the other hoof, was wearing an indigo dress with sleeves and with silver lace at the cuffs. Her dress train was silver like the surface of the moon with a sapphire trimming along the hem. She too wore her usual royal vestments and waved about the crowd enthusiastically as she trotted alongside her elder sister. Her pet possum, Tiberius, was curled up between her wings and snoring gently, as it was not yet night.
“Announcing their imperial majesties, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire!”
Twilight winced a little, she knew Cadance didn’t like it when her full name was used, but formality unfortunately was inevitable in circumstances like these. Twilight remembered from her history books that Cadance was descended from the ancient unicorn princess Amore, who had ruled the Crystal Empire around the time Celestia and Luna had ascended the Equestrian Throne. Her ancestors had escaped Sombra’s purge of the royal family to find refuge in Equestria. It was not sure who her parents were, as Cadance had been raised as an orphan pegasus by a village of Earth Ponies near the town of Tall Tale. When she had ascended and gained her cutie-mark, Princess Celestia had taken her in as an adoptive niece. The sun alicorn had confirmed later when the Crystal Empire returned that Cadance was the rightful heir to the crystal throne, a fact further validated by her name, Amore, and her cutie-mark, which was the ancient sigil of the Crystal Royal Family.
Cadance and Shining quickly made their way through the doors to where Twilight and the crowd could finally see them. Cadance wore a shimmering light blue dress that undoubtedly had some crystals embedded in the fabric, as it sparkled like a disco-ball with every movement she made. Her mane was fashioned in a pony-tail, much like when Cadance had foal-sat Twilight when they were younger, and she wore her usual crown and golden slippers.
Shining was wearing his normal guard captain’s formal uniform, with some additional medals that marked him as a prince along with the shield sigil that labaled him as the heir to House Armor, their father’s unicorn noble house.
The both of them smiled and waved casually at the cheering crowd as they cantered to the dais to take a spot next to Celestia and Luna.
“Presenting Lord Night Light and Lady Twilight Velvet of House Armor!”
Twilight watched eagerly as her mother and father made their way into her castle. Velvet wore a white and purple dress with an amethyst bracelet from House Star, her noble ancestry, on her foreleg. Night Light wore his old guard uniform, a red monstrosity that clashed horribly with his blue coat, but he smiled brightly nonetheless. A sash strapped across his chest bore the sigil of House Armor, of which he was head.
Night Light and Velvet didn’t usually appear in their noble outfits, but they did occasionally made exceptions. It wasn’t that they weren’t proud of their family heritage, it was more that they wanted to be known more for their own deeds than the deeds of their ancestors. Their family houses, the Armors and Stars respectively, were notable among Equestria’s nobility for being ‘low key’ when it came to involving themselves in the politics of Equestria’s nobles. Night Light’s family, the Armors, were among the princess’s greatest supporters and had a long tradition of their members joining the royal guard. There were a great many of Celestia’s past captains that had been a part of the House of Armor. Twilight Velvet’s family, the Stars, were great craftsman, writers, musicians, and all sorts of creative writers. The two of them waved spiritidly as they made their way to the dais, Velvet no doubt getting inspiration for one of her next books from Castle Aurora. And later, Twilight would have to show Night Light her new observatory and see if it met his standards.
“Presenting Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Applebloom of Sweet Apples Acres!” Spike boomed to the assembly.
Twilight smiled again as the Apple family made their way into the hall. Since all of her friends were a part of her court, they each received their own spot in the Grand Entry. Rarity had undoubtedly decided to have them file in in alphabetical order. Twilight remembered that Applejack had resisted being in the Grand Entry at all, but she had eventually, albeit reluctantly, agreed to participate, as long as her family went with her.
The Apple Family all wore matching clothing. Granny Smith had on an old tan dress with a matching bonnet, and Twilight thought it looked like it belonged in a museum. Big Mac was wearing a tan suit and tie, and he looked very uncomfortable with everypony staring at them. Applejack was of course, wearing her hat, but she also had on a tan dress with apples lining the hem. Applebloom wore the same dress as her sister, minus the hat. They took more time than the others before them to make their way down the aisle as Granny Smith walked slower than the rest. The old mare was seemingly unperturbed by the applauding mass flanking them, but Big Mac was visibly sweating bullets as he watched the mob.
“Presenting Fluttershy of Ponyville!”
The crowd started applauding, but the crowd’s praise soon died off as nopony entered through the doors. An uncomfortable silence settled on the crowd as Spike cleared his throat and tried again.
“…Uh, presenting Fluttershy of Ponyville?” Spike said hesitantly.
Twilight had a good idea of what was going on and discreetly cast a Eavesdropping charm in order to hear what her friends were saying on the other side of the closed doors.
…
"Fluttershy! That’s you! It’s your turn! Get on in there!” Said what could only be Rainbow Dash.
“I can’t! T-There’s so many ponies in there! They’ll all s-stare at me!” Fluttershy whimpered.
“Just pretend their naked! That’s how I got over my stage fright!” Replied Rainbow.
“How crude!” sputtered Rarity.
“Uh…isn’t everypony usually naked anyway?” Questioned Pinkie.
“Alright that’s it!” thundered Rainbow.
Twilight canceled her spell as the doors burst open to reveal Rainbow pushing Fluttershy roughly inside. The yellow pegasus was scraping her hooves across the floor as she tried to resist Rainbow’s pushing, and her eyes were wide with panic and she immediately froze up as she caught sight of everypony else in the hall. Twilight could see Angel, Fluttershy’s pet bunny, assisting Rainbow Dash in pushing the frightened mare.
As soon as Rainbow got Fluttershy in, she flew back out and closed the doors behind her, leaving poor Fluttershy on the threshold.
Fluttershy just stood stock still like she was caught in a spotlight, which she…actually was. She could only stare in fright at the crowd as they stared back at her.
An awkward silence seemed to hold everypony captive.
Thinking this had gone on long enough, and berating herself for not foreseeing this, Twilight charged up her magic again and with a loud pop, Fluttershy disappeared from in front of the doors only to reappear in the VIP section, still frozen in fear.
There was a confused murmur as the crowd tried to figure out where Fluttershy had gone.
Not wanting to cause any more distress for Fluttershy, Twilight leaned over Spike quickly and whispered in his ear.
“Spike! Next pony!”
“Oh, oh right.” He mumbled. “Now presenting Pinkie Pie of…uh…the second story bedroom at Sugercube Corner?” Spike announced confusingly, peering at the paper as if making sure what he had just said was indeed written on the list.
Twilight had to resist the sudden urge to facehoof at the announcement. It was almost guaranteed that Pinkie herself had written that when Rarity hadn’t been looking.
Twilight stopped her musings as the doors opened to reveal…a cannon?
“Spike, please tell me that Pinkie is not inside that cannon.” Twilight said, her eyes widening in alarm.
Spike looked up from his list to follow her gaze to the pony-sized cannon protruding from the entrance-way. His mouth dropped open in shock as he saw the barrel pointed at them. Ponies in the crowd were having similar reactions as they backed away slowly.
BOOM!!
“WWWWWHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” screamed Pinkie as she emerged from a blast of confetti and literally flew across the hall.
Ponies gawked and stared as she sailed over their heads, giggling the entire time. With a landing that Twilight thought only pegasi could pull off, Pinkie landed on all four legs and screeched to a halt right in front of the dais.
“Oh, that was so much fun! I have to do that again!” True to her word, Pinkie turned around and tried to gallop back towards the entrance, but Twilight quickly caught a hold of her with her magic and levitated the pouting mare towards her seat.
“Later Pinkie, we must move on.” Twilight apologized, smiling at Pinkie, who nodded in resignation and took her seat.
Spike cleared his throat and the trumpets blared again, distracting the amazed crowd from the rambunctious pink earth pony.
“Presenting Rainbow Dash, Pegasus Reserve for the Wonderbolts! And Scootaloo of Ponyville!” He bellowed.
As soon as Spike’s echo faded away, the doors burst open to unleash the two pegasi. Rainbow Dash came flying in at almost full speed, wearing her Wonderbolts Cadet uniform she had worn for the Wonderbolts Academy. Scootaloo came rolling in on her scooter, going almost just as fast as she sped past the crowd. Rainbow flew past Twilight and curved back around to salute to the crowd, while Scootaloo screeched to a halt in front of the dais. The both of them then took seats next to each other amid the crowd’s wild cheers. Twilight could clearly see the Wonderbolts Spitfire and Soarin cheering and laughing the hardest at Rainbow’s display.
Twilight chuckled herself but straightened up as Spike continued.
“Presenting Miss Rarity Belle and Sweetie Belle of Ponyville!” Spike yelled out to the crowd. Twilight could tell from his enthusiasm that he had been looking forward to that particular announcement all day.
The doors opened once more to reveal the two unicorn sisters. Rarity and Sweetie Belle waltzed in side by side, wearing matching dresses. They both wore a silver dress strewn with sapphires and blue amethyst crystals. Rarity’s had a resemblance of her cutie-mark on the side while Sweetie’s did not for obvious reasons. They both walked prim and proper, strutting down the aisle like it was a fashion show. They smiled and nodded to the applause assaulting them, until they finally found their spots in the VIP section.
Twilight straightened up again after briefly relaxing from Rarity’s entrance. Now came some more of the more serious guests that were not her family nor her close friends, but foreign royalty. Twilight noticed that Spike too was slightly nervous, as he seemed more alert than his previous announcements.
“Presenting his royal highness, the Guardian of the East, High King Horus of Griffonia!” Spike intoned regally, putting as much respect into his announcement as he could.
The entrance doors parted to reveal three griffons. The two flanking the center griffon were obviously Griffonian Knights. They wore ceremonial bronze armor that covered their chest and reached down to all four legs. Their helmets they carried in the crook of one of their clawed arms as they flanked their king.
High King Horus himself was an elderly griffon of great height. Despite his old age, the griffon carried himself without difficulty and with great confidence. He wore delicately crafted ceremonial bronze armor befitting his royal stature along with the tarnished bronze crown of Griffonia which rested above his eyes in a simple halo. His armor had ancient griffon hieroglyphics etched into the plating, depicting events of Griffonia’s past. His crown had a few small points with rubies fashioned into the bronze. He had kind eyes and a grandfatherly smile as he walked down the aisle. His feathers were golden brown with a noticeable tint of gray at the end of the plumage. When Horus and his knights reached the dais, they gave a respectful bow, which Twilight returned, before taking their seats.
“Presenting his esteemed highness, the Lord of Deer, Grand Duke Tragulidae of Cervidae!”
The doors opened once more to reveal three elegant deer. They were all equal in height, but the biggest difference were their antlers. The two flanking deer wore light blue robes that fell to their knees with dark blue sashes that crossed their chests, identifying them as deer mages along with their staffs strapped to their sides. The two mages' antlers both had eight points, and they had decorative rings over each antler.
Tragulidae himself wore a dark blue robe with two crisscrossing pale blue sashes with silver sewn into the lining of the sash. His antlers were far larger than the others and had fourteen points total, each one thick and sporting a whole assortment of rings and bracelets that almost seemingly covered his antlers. His face was young and kindly, and his eyes sparkled with mischief, much like Pinkie Pie’s. He wore no crown, as the amount of gold decorating his large antlers revealed his status in the deer society.
The three deer gracefully walked through the hall amid the thunderous applause, the only acknowledgement of the welcome being the deer’s smiles. Upon reaching the dais, Twilight repeated the ceremony with the deer, and gazed back down the hall for the last entry
as the deer took their respective seats.
“Presenting She Of Wise Council, Chief Shamaness Mali of Zebrica!” Spike announced, relaxing his posture once his duty was complete.
As the doors opened, another three foreign dignitaries reveled themselves, two of them large Zebra warriors in decorative masks and flowing red robes.
The third, which was undoubtedly Mali herself, was far smaller than the two warriors and even smaller than Zecora. To Twilight’s keen eyes, it was plain that Mali was very, very, old. Far older than the Griffon King and probably Granny Smith. Her stripes were gray and she had many wrinkles that lined her elderly face. She walked slowly and carefully but still seemed to carry a presence of wisdom and knowledge. Her eyes crinkled with deep intelligence, undimmed even by her great age.
They silently walked to the foot of the dais, and bowed respectfully to Twilight. After Twilight reciprocated the action, they took their seats among the VIPs.
Spike descended from the dais to stand near Velvet and Night Light, while Twilight took a deep breath and stepped forward to deliver her short speech. All the VIPs and the ponies filling the hallway looked at her as she opened her mouth to speak.
“Welcome to Castle Aurora and its first celebration, the Open House Ball!” She recited, smiling as the crowd cheered and relayed its excitement. “I want to thank you all for coming tonight, and especially thank all of Equestria and its friends for donating furniture to Spike and I, and for making tonight possible!” The crowd cheered once more, their hooves thundering on the crystal floor in applause. “There is food for everypony in the Great Hall, music in the Ballroom, books in the Library and a great many more things for you to enjoy tonight! All parts of the castle are open for tonight, so explore my home as much as you want! Thank you all again and have a great time everypony!” Finished, Twilight stepped back and waved amongst the crowd’s applause. Doors began opening all along the entrance hall and ponies began to flock through each one, eager to explore Castle Aurora.
Relaxing and letting out a relieved sigh, Twilight descended the dais to the VIP section where they awaited her. She walked up to her friends, family, and the foreign royals and spoke softly, pausing their inevitable greetings.
“While everypony else explores and eats in the Great Hall, I’ve set aside a private dining room for us to eat so that we don’t get mobbed.”
The gathering murmured their thanks and agreement, and Twilight led them away from the dwindling pony crowd to the feast that awaited them.
Private Dining Room, Castle Aurora
Forty Minutes Later
Twilight
“Did you enjoy your meal princess?” Questioned Twilight, looking earnestly up at Celestia.
Celestia smiled brightly as she nodded. “Yes, thank you Twilight.” Celestia looked back at the table before her to watch the self-serving utensils and floating food platters. “I’ll admit that I’ve never had the food serve itself though.” A bowl full of salad floated over but Celestia waved it off. “No thank you.” The serving fork floated before her as if making sure Celestia didn’t want more salad. “No really, I’m good.” The fork and bowl floated away mournfully, seemingly disappointed with her response.
They were all in Twilight’s private dining room, a medium sized windowless room that was moderately decorated with pictures of food and famous feasts. The table they were sitting at was a simple wooden round table. Celestia and Luna sat to Twilight’s left while Velvet and Night Light sat to her right. Different conversations were in process all around the table. High King Horus was having an engaging conversation with Shining Armor, the two soldiers swapping war stories. Cadance, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle were all discussing the latest fashions to come out of the Crystal Empire, and, to Twilight’s trepidation, probably gossiping. Chief Shamaness Mali and Granny Smith were talking about all their grandchildren. From what Twilight could pick up, Mali had ten grandchildren, twenty-two great-grandchildren, and forty-six great-great-grandchildren. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had left the table to talk with the Zebra Warriors, Deer Mages, and the Griffon Knights. Twilight smiled as Rainbow Dash recanted some of their adventures, Scootaloo and Applebloom providing some dramatic impersonations. The foreigners were very interested and seemed to genuinely enjoy hearing Rainbow’s first-hoof accounts. Pinkie Pie had disappeared long ago, Twilight assumed she had stuffed herself with pastries and had gone to the party. Grand Duke Tragulidae was talking pleasantly with Luna about the magical effects the moon and stars had on some of the plants they used for medicine. Applejack and Big Mac were talking with Velvet and Night Light about…oh.
Oh please don’t embarrass me mother…
“So Big Mac, are you seeing anypony?” Velvet asked the red stallion lazily. She leaned across her empty plate to better address him. Night Light shook his head at Velvet’s ‘innocent’ words. “Surely a big strong stallion like you has a special somepony?”
Big Mac shook his head, seemingly indifferent to the question. As soon as he finished chewing his latest bite of jalapeno, he said. “Nope.”
“Really?!” Velvet squealed, clapping her hooves together in excitement. “Oh what a coincidence, Twilight isn’t seeing anypony either!”
Twilight looked cross at Velvet and pursed her lips in an undisguised frown. This wasn’t the first time Velvet has tried to play matchmaker with her. Before Velvet had teased Shining and Cadance, but now that they were married, Twilight had become the object of Velvet’s so-called matchmaking skills.
Next to her, Twilight noticed Celestia’s ears flicker in her direction, meaning that the conversation had picked up the sun princesses’ attention.
“Mom…” Twilight warned. But Velvet either didn’t hear her or didn’t care.
Velvet spoke again to Big Mac while placing a hoof around Twilight. “I think she needs a big strong stallion, like yourself, to just sweep her off her hooves. Goodness knows she needs some romance in her life, the poor dear is just so busy all the time.”
Big Mac blushed a little from Velvet’s insinuations, and Twilight had a hard time keeping down her own embarrassment. Twilight idly noticed Celestia frown a little, just the tiniest bit of disquiet showing on the taller mare’s face from Velvet’s words as the snow white alicorn forcefully sipped from her tea. Not wanting this conversation to stray into more dangerous territory, Twilight leaned over to Velvet and whispered hotly in the older mare’s ear.
“Mother I’m warning you—“
“I mean Twilight has fallen behind Shining! I’m afraid if she doesn’t act soon, her brother will beat her.” Velvet mourned, sighing dramatically while Night Light paled and tried to make discrete shushing gestures.
Her curiosity piqued from Velvet’s words, Twilight spoke without thinking. “Beat me to what?”
Velvet smiled wickedly as she rounded on Twilight. “Why having the first grandfoal of course!”
While Twilight’s cheeks turned the color of dragonfire, Celestia started to choke and she fell into a violent coughing fit.
“Mother!!” Twilight hissed at Velvet, as Celestia coughed and hacked next to her.
As Twilight sputtered in a mixture of embarrassment and anger, Luna turned curiously to her sister and patted her gently on the back.
“Are you o.k. sister?” Luna asked, her eyes curious at Celestia’s sudden coughing fit.
“I’m—hack—alright Luna.” Celestia said quietly, recovering from her coughs and straightening back up, looking sheepishly at her lunar sister. “I—uh—swallowed too much tea.”
Twilight tried to find words for her outrage, but could find none and only gaped like a fish out of water. From what she could see, Velvet was smiling smugly while Big Mac turned a deeper shade of red but said nothing, which was probably a wise decision.
Finally, Twilight gathered her wits. “Mom, please stop. Big Mac is a good friend, and nothing more. Right Mac?”
“Eeyup.”
Twilight smiled at Big Mac and turned back to Velvet. “You see Mom? Now can we please move on to something else?”
Velvet huffed in disappointment and jabbed her fork into the cheesecake before her. “But Twilight you are a full grown mare and you have yet to bring home a coltfriend, let alone a fiancé. I’m just concerned for you is all, surely you understand? There are plenty of young eligible stallions out there, and you don’t—“
“That,” Twilight interrupted. “is because most of those stallions only see my crown, and the ‘benefits’ that come with it.” Twilight looked to Cadance for confirmation. “Isn’t that right Cadance?”
Cadance nodded as she shoved a cookie down her gullet, speaking between chews. “Completely and one-hundred percent accurate. Most stallions are jerks.”
“Hey!!” Shining protested, while Night Light and Big Mac nodded sagely.
“There are a few shining examples.” Cadance pointed out, prodding Shining roughly as she made her point. “But for the most part they get so flustered and big-headed over us being royalty that they trip over themselves and become complete losers.” As she finished, she jabbed into the pudding violently as if it had offended her.
“Ah suppose you’ve had sum bad coltfriends?” Applejack asked, eyeing Cadance’s fork like the love alicorn was wielding a pitchfork.
“A few.” Cadance spat, munching on her treat, her eyes narrowed as if recalling said stallions.
“My point is,” Velvet intervened. “Is that it wouldn’t hurt to start exploring your options.”
Before Twilight could retort, Celestia spoke up.
“I think Twilight doesn’t need to rush, surely some—“
“Excuse me, but which one of us is her mother?!” Velvet intervened, scowling across Twilight to glare at Celestia.
As the two mares scowled viciously at each other, Velvet trying to look rightfully affronted while staring up at the much taller Celestia, who scowled in equal insult.
Oh not this again…
Throughout her tenure as Celestia’s protégé and beyond, Velvet and Celestia seemed to have this ongoing, well, rivalry when it came to Twilight. Twilight didn’t think it was a conscious action on their part, and it showed rarely, as both of them would have denied any sort of tug-of-war over Twilight on the spot. It was the small things, like talking with them or going to activities with them. It had gotten worse when Twilight had moved into Canterlot Castle to be closer to Celestia during her tutelage. Velvet seemed to be scared that Celestia would steal Twilight from her, which was ludicrous. And Celestia simply seemed to crave Twilight’s attention, which the lavender alicorn thought was Celestia’s natural kindness. Over the years, the two mares constantly had this silent battle of wits and words when they met. When Twilight was alone with them, they didn’t show any animosity towards the other. But when the two mares were together, especially if Twilight were around, they had a terrible tendency to walk on pins and needles. The slightest veiled insult, real or imagined, threatened to set off a powder keg of frustration, but thankfully that fight had never happened, and Twilight was eternally grateful for that.
Twilight loved them both, and there was no possible way that one could replace the other. They both held very special places in her heart. Velvet because she was Twilight’s mother and Celestia because she was Twilight’s mentor, and if she were to be honest, a second maternal figure.
There shouldn’t have been a reason for their silent struggle over Twilight’s heart.
Right?
Celestia opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated. She then turned back to her salad and crunched noisily on the lettuce, still scowling deeply as she stared into her bowl.
Velvet huffed in victory and turned back to her own plate. Smiling smugly as if she had won a non-existent battle, her spoon clattering nosily on the plate as she delicately munched on a tomato.
Sighing in relief at the barely avoided scene, Twilight thought it best to move on before Velvet and Celestia renewed their tug-of-war.
“I think it’s time we headed for the festivities. By now everypony will have spread out and it will be easier to enjoy the ball.” Twilight announced to the whole table.
There was a collective noise of tableware clattering as everybody finished what they had been eating. Several ponies, like Shining and Spike, were loath to leave the feast and quickly stuffed a pastry into their mouths. Ponies started making for the exit while Twilight stayed behind to direct the enchanted dishware to send themselves to the kitchen to clean up.
She watched everypony, her friends, Cadance, Shining, Spike, and her parents included, file out the door before she noticed not everypony was leaving. The griffons, deer, and the zebras seemed to be waiting behind her patiently with Celestia and Luna while their respective guards lined the wall. As the door closed, Twilight quickly approached the royal gaggle and smiled widely, bowing respectfully to her foreign guests.
“I hope you all enjoyed the meal.” Twilight spoke. “Is there anything else you need before you go to rejoin the ball?”
Chieftess Mali stepped forward carefully spoke in an aged voice full of memory and wisdom.
“It is not for our needs that we wait, but our desire for your presence to sate.” Mali rhymed, her crinkled eyes shining with amusement.
“It is as the noble zebra says,” Tragulidae intoned regally. “for we all have gifts to present to you.”
“Oh.” Twilight said, taken aback. She had not expected any more gifts from anypony, let alone her foreign visitors. “But you have already given Spike and I so much in helping furnish Castle Aurora! Your generosity is appreciated, but Spike and I want for nothing. Your gifts should go to somepony who needs them more than me, I have already given my excess donations to orphanages and hospitals across Equestria.” Twilight didn’t want to seem rude, but she couldn’t possibly accept any more gifts and take advantage of their generosity.
High King Horus shook his head and gave out a mighty laugh, his chuckles echoing like a bass drum along the crystal walls. “HA! Your manners are as polished as the last time we met Little Spark!”
It was true, this wasn’t the first time Twilight had met the Griffon King. Soon after Twilight had become Celestia’s student, Horus had come visiting Canterlot on an annual diplomatic tour. During his visit, Celestia had introduced Twilight to Horus, and told him of how Twilight had come to be her student. To say Horus had been intrigued by Twilight would have belittled his reaction. Horus had in fact been absolutely astounded by Twilight’s magical prowess, as he had called it, and had taken a great interest in her. Since then, each time Horus visited Canterlot he made time to sit and talk with Twilight, a year after their initial meeting he affectionately nicknamed her ‘Little Spark’ after hearing the tales of her uncontrolled magical flare when she had gained her Cutie-Mark.
The graying griffon smiled broadly and waved a claw at Twilight. “Look at you! I have known you since you were but a wee hatchling! And since then you have blossomed into a powerful warrior alicorn princess! Do not belittle yourself Little Spark! You have accomplished feats that many of my forebears would have worshipped you for! We helped furnish your castle because you were in need after saving the world from the monstrosity Tirek! Now we come to give you gifts because we appreciate you and your efforts to protect our world. Do not deny us our gifts, for we want to give you these treasures, not out of mere respect, but because of your success in protecting not just Equestria, but our homes as well!”
“Horus is correct.” Tragulidae inserted in his lilting voice. “If you had not stopped Tirek, he would have undoubtedly stolen Cervidae’s magic as well, before moving onto Zebrica and Griffonia and other lands. We come to honor your bravery and success in defeating him. With that much power at Tirek’s command, especially having control of all of the Alicorn Magic, we would have been helpless to stop him. Tirek would have held us hostage with the sun and moon, if he could not merely conquer us through sheer power.”
“What the wise deer says is true, for without you we would surely be the centaur’s stew.” Mali spoke, motioning for her zebra warriors to bring forward a large yet plain box. “Accept our gifts now, Oh Magic. To not do so would be tragic.”
The two warriors set the box down and went back to their positions. Twilight looked down at the box uncertainly, but Celestia gave her a little nudge with her wing and said proudly. “Go on Twilight, they only mean to thank you.”
Twilight nodded and her horn lit up, she lifted the box’s lid with her magic to reveal the contents inside. Once the lid was clear of the box, Twilight felt her jaw drop in shock at what was inside.
It was a large brown book with green jade for the cover and gold etching the pages and outlining the hardback cover. From what Twilight could see, the book was written in the beautiful letters of the Zebra language. Picking up the book, Twilight flipped through it eagerly, each page seemed to be dedicated to the Zebra’s special knowledge of Herbology, Alchemy, and different magics channeled through objects. Such tomes were rare as only the Zebra’s shamans practiced Zebrican magic and very, very rarely wrote down their knowledge, as it was passed down verbally from master to apprentice.
“This book of magic I wrote myself, I long for you to put it on your shelf. For you are Magic as Celestia is the Sun, our magic I do not wish you to shun. Now take my hoof and let us be friends, for I know that your love does not end.” Mali smiled wistfully and held out her hoof. Twilight eagerly grasped the zebra’s hoof with both of her own before pulling the surprised chieftess into a hug and voicing her sincere thanks.
After letting go of Mali and letting her step back, Tragulidae stepped forward on his skinny legs with his own mages bringing forward a large cloaked object.
“I think you will like this.” He said, green eyes glinting mischievously. “Few of these were ever made, as the knowledge for how they are crafted have long since been lost.” Tragulidae smiled widely as he spoke proudly. “I and my deer cannot use it, as it is an ancient Earth Pony artifact and only responds to their magic. My grandfather found it in a dragon’s hoard after the ancient drake had passed away in the mountains bordering Cervidae. I can only imagine the dragon had stolen it from perhaps one of the Earth Pony Chancellors before they immigrated to Equestria.”
Without further ado, Tragulidae’s antlers lit up with his deer magic and he ripped off the cloak from the large object, revealing a mirror taller than Celestia and wider than a troll. Its frame was tarnished silver with ancient runes etched into the metal. The feet of the mirror depicted trunk and roots of a tree with its branches reaching out to encircle the mirror, forming the frame.
Twilight looked at it curiously as she had never seen such an object before, except perhaps the mirror inside the Crystal Empire she had used to chase after Sunset Shimmer, or the one that Celestia had used to visit the Alternate Equestria that had been destroyed six months ago. But this one’s magic felt different. The other two mirrors had led to other dimensions, or timelines Twilight wasn’t entirely sure. The mirror’s before her however did not seem that powerful nor aimed at inter-dimensional travel. Its magic was still very powerful, but it did not feel as though it had the same purpose.
“What is it?” Twilight asked. “I know it’s a mirror, but I can feel the magic and enchantments on it. What does it do?”
“It is a scrying mirror. Whoever uses it can enchant it to conjure up images of places they have already seen, it will show you what is happening in the present at said location. It is quite useful for watching out for threats or things happening. But in addition to showing you the present, it can show the past of the pony using it, and sometimes, even show a glimpse of the future. I am not sure how to view the future exactly and there are other properties it possesses that we have not been able to discern, but I am sure you will be able to figure it out.”
While Celestia and Luna looked over the mirror carefully, Twilight turned back to the Deer Duke.
“This mirror is so fascinating, Spike and I will have to research it to find out what all it does. Thank you Grand Duke Tragulidae.”
“Please, call me Tragul. Tragulidae was my father.”
Twilight nodded but was confused. “But I thought your name is Tragulidae?”
“Oh it is. But I was named after my father, Tragulidae the First, I’m Tragulidae the Second, but I’d rather go by Tragul.”
“Oh, alright then.”
“You must feel the same way sometimes, princess, being named after your mother.”
Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when she heard a loud clatter behind her. Turning back around, she saw Celestia next to what looked suspiciously like a dropped plate of cake. Looking sheepish, Celestia shooed off Twilight’s concern and turned back to Luna.
“Well, I suppose so. I’ve never really asked her about it.”
Tragul nodded in assent and walked back to talk with Mali, letting Horus take over. The old king stepped forward with a long skinny case clasped in one of his claws.
“Both of my comrades have given you great gifts befitting your status as a scholar and a wizard, but I found something in Griffonia that matches your skill as a warrier princess.”
“But I’m not a warrior princess!” Twilight protested,
“Hhmmph! Could have fooled me!” Horus stated, eyeing Twilight sternly. “Have you not defeated some of the greatest threats to have ever walked our world? Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek! By the stars Little Spark! The tales my griffons hear of your feats are legendary!”
“King Horus you flatter me, but I had help with all of those things!” She said, disturbed a little that the griffons saw her as a legendary warrior.
“Tis true that you had help, and I find your modesty humbling, but is it also not true that you were the driving force, the leader, in each and every one of your adventures?”
“Well…yes…” Twilight fumbled.
“Then it is settled!” Horus crowed. “And I brought the perfect thing!” He slid the case over to Twilight, and she opened it hesitantly. Celestia and Luna had listened in quietly to their conversation, and now peered curiously over Twilight’s shoulder at the case as she opened it.
To Twilight’s complete astonishment, the case had a sword inside.
But it was no ordinary sword. The blade was a bright silver with ancient Equestrian runes etched along the blade all the way to the hilt. The hilt itself was a bright gold decorated with different pictograms of all three pony race, each with a different colored gem in the eye. A sapphire for the unicorn, a ruby for the pegasus, and an emerald for the earth pony. The hilt’s gold faded into a black onyx along the handle, where an alicorn of four different colors, white, blue, pink, and lavender was forged at the end, and a star gem was embedded in the eye. The mulitcolered alicorn formed the pommel of the sword.
Behind her, Twilight heard both Celestia and Luna gasp in shock. Turning around, she could see that the two princesses’ eyes were wide with surprise and their jaws dropped.
“I…I haven’t seen that sword in over a thousand years…” Luna mumbled, her tone almost reverent. She turned to Celestia and spoke again. “I thought you said it was lost a decade after my banishment.”
“It was.” Celestia confirmed. Her eyes roved up and down the sword as if she couldn’t believe it was sitting right in front of her.
Twilight turned back and forth from the sun alicorn to the lunar alicorn, searching for answers. “You mean you’ve seen this sword before!!”
“Twilight.” Celestia said, looking the smaller alicorn very seriously. “This is Starswirl the Bearded’s sword.”
“Starfell.” Both alicorns murmured, naming the sword..
Celestia’s stare darted from Starfell to Horus quickly. “Starswirl’s great-great-nephew, a foolish unicorn noble by the name of Awry Venture, tried to prove himself as famous and powerful as his uncle and took Starfell from his old tower in the castle where it was kept after Starswirl passed away. Awry then with a gang of his peers traveled into the Unicorn Mountains where they disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again. I had sent search parties for them but they never found anything. Where did you find it?”
Horus straightened himself up proudly as he recounted the tale.
“My grandson, the Crown Prince, was leading a patrol of knight along our border with the wasteland when they stumbled upon a gang of Diamond Dogs leaving their underground lair to raid one of our cities in Griffonia. My grandson and his knights quickly dispatched the rabble and captured all of the hoarded treasure the Dogs had stolen. This sword was among the treasure. I knew as soon as my grandson brought it before me that it was no ordinary sword, and that it belonged back here in Equestria. I do not know how the sword came to be in the possession of the Dogs, I can only assume it has traded hands multiple times.” Horus paused and picked up the sword and presented it to Twilight, wanting her to take it. “I can think of no one better to wield Starswirl’s own sword than the Alicorn of Magic herself. The wizard spent his life studying magic, and I am sure he would want you to have it.”
As he finished, Twilight reached out with her magic hesitantly and entrapped Starfell in her magic. She held it aloft before her and looked over it carefully. She turned to Horus again.
“I…thank you. I…uh…have always been a great fan of Starswirl’s work and the tales of his adventures. Thank you High King Horus, I will take care of it."
“You are most welcome Little Spark, I know that Starfell will be in good hooves.” Horus said. He looked to his knights and fellow foreign royals. “And now I think my comrades and I will make our way to the ballroom, it is high time I showed off my dancing skills.”
“Horus, you are a terrible dancer.” Tragulidae groaned. “When you came to Cervidae last winter, and danced in my palace, half of my staff thought you were having a seizure.”
“Though Griffon King you are full of valor, you should not dance lest the crowd turn sour.” Mali inserted, sidling up the pouting Horus with a smile.
“HA! You both jest! My dancing skills are beyond compare! Come and I will show you how to really dance!” Horus protested. And without further ado, the griffon king led the others out the dining room, leaving Twilight with Celestia and Luna.
“I recognize the runes on the blade, they spell out Starfell. But what do the symbols on the hilt and handle mean?” Twilight framed the question to her mentor, who undoubtedly had known Starswirl best.
Celestia looked carefully at the blade, taking it in her own magic while she examined it. Her piercing magenta eyes traveled up and down the blade in close scrutiny. After a long pause, Celestia looked to Twilight with a hesitant smile.
“I remember when Starswirl first forged the blade for Starfell. A meteorite had fallen to Equestria a few months after our coronation over a thousand years ago. Starswirl took the metal from the crater the meteorite left when it impacted the land and used it to make Starfell. As for the symbols on the design, well he obviously put all three pony races on the hilt because as a symbol for the three tribes united in a common cause, namely the protection and prosperity of Equestria. The alicorn however…”
Celestia trailed off, her eyes seeming to grow distant and her tone seemed full of unanswered questions.
“You must know Twilight, that Starswirl was our friend, first and foremost. But there were some things the old codger never revealed to Luna and I. For with all of his talent, Starswirl also had the ability to divine glimpses of the future. You have experienced some of his spells with time travel first-hoof, if I recall.”
At this Celestia paused, seemingly deep in thought. She then turned to Twilight with a frown that spoke of a deep hurt for whatever Starswirl had kept from her.
“I have never found any proof, none whatsoever even after his death, of his time travel spells evolving into anything more complex than what you found in the Canterlot Archives. But…but he knew things that I wish he had told me, even if just to prepare me. I have suspected for some time that Starswirl was able to travel into the future, and return. When Starswirl worked with Luna and I when we ascended onto Equestria’s throne, and he first showed us the Tree of Harmony, we asked him about the three Cutie-Marks on the trunk of the tree. Luna’s moon, my sun…and your stars. After we gained our Cutie-Marks and realized ours matched the ones on the tree, we asked him about the third, yours. Starswirl never told us outright who it was, but just hinted that was somepony very special. From the way he acted, it is now obvious that he knew more about the future than just his visions, Starswirl had actually traveled into the future and met you, or at least learned of you. I have never been able to pinpoint what time he actually traveled to, as he never acknowledged to us that he had been to the future.”
Celestia turned silently to Starfell again and eyed the pommel, where the multicolored alicorn stared back at her.
“I think, when he forged Starfell and crafted the pommel, the alicorn is supposed to be a representation of all four alicorn princesses working together. The white ivory represents myself, the blue jade for Luna, the pink crystal for Cadance, and the purple star sapphire is for you, Twilight.”
Finished with her theory, Celestia held Starfell aloft until Twilight took it back in her magic.
“But what do I do with a sword?” Twilight asked the two sisters.
Luna looked askance as if Twilight had asked a stupid question.
“You fight monsters and enemies with it of course.”
“But I don’t know the first thing on how to use a sword! Besides, it’s not like I’ll ever need it.” Twilight retorted.
Luna snorted in amusement. “Don’t count yourself so lucky Twilight. There will probably come a day where you were glad you had that sword. Your magic is powerful yes, but an enchanted sword like Starfell is useful and all sorts of ways. You know first-hoof how difficult it is for monsters to be affected by our magic, and a sword can sometimes be the best way to deal with it.”
Twilight frowned at Luna’s logic. “But I don’t even know how to use a sword! The best I could do with it would be to hang it up on my wall!”
Luna gasped in horror as if a sword as a wall decoration insulted her deeply.
“Well, it seems that I will have to teach you the art of the sword then Twilight.” Luna lectured sternfully. “We can’t have a princess with a sword not knowing how to use it.”
“Wait, you know how to use a sword?” Twilight asked Luna.
“Of course I do! I take Moonbeam with me every time I go fighting monsters with my Night Guard!” Luna squealed cheerfully.
“Wait a minute, hold up.” Twilight stated, looking from one alicorn sister to the other. “If you have a sword, then that means…” Twilight gasped, staring up at Celestia. “Do you have a sword princess?!”
Celestia blushed in embarrassment and nodded in affirmation. She looked sheepish as Twilight openly gaped at her mentor.
“Well…yes I do. But I haven’t had to use Sun’s Fury in over eight centuries, not since the last of the Diamond Dog raids. It…uh…is in a case in my room. It had been in storage beneath the castle, but somepony,” Celestia gave Luna a look, which Luna returned with her tongue sticking out, “keeps putting it back in my room, insisting that I always have it close at hoof.”
“Well excuse me sister, but who was the one who didn’t have their sword when the Changeling Queen trounced them.” Luna spoke scathingly.
Celestia’s face grew a deep frown as she scowled down at her little-sister. “I don’t recall you being there to see it…Oh wait! You slept through the whole invasion!”
“My alarm clock broke! And you know how much I enjoy my sleep!” Luna protested.
“Hah! I bet you broke that alarm clock yourself!” Celestia crowed, pointing a golden hoof in Luna’s face triumphantly.
“Who could blame me? The thing was a screaming mad marauding monstrosity of modern mechanisms!”
“Say that five times fast!”
“Mad marauding mon—“
“STOP! Both of you!” Twilight intervened, holding her hooves to her ears as a headache approached. Celestia and Luna stopped as they realized they had both started bickering like they were fillies again. But Twilight then realized she had just reprimanded two alicorns that were a thousand years older than her. And one of them use to stop her when she screamed in an argument. Abashed, Twilight tried to shrink herself down as the two taller alicorns stared at her in astonishment at her intervention. “Please, we really need to get going. We have the whole party to enjoy after all.” She offered, extending an olive branch.
The both of them smiled at her, before grudgingly hoof-shaking and agreeing to a temporary ceasefire.
“It is her castle Luna, we should listen to her.” Celestia said smugly, smiling reassuringly at Twilight.
“True, I shall agree to a truce while we reside on this neutral ground. But mark my words sister! As soon as we return to Canterlot there shall be war!” Luna stated dramatically.
Celestia smiled slyly and leaned down to whisper in Twilight’s ear.
“So she says, but Luna has never won in a tickle fight against me, as you well know.”
Twilight nodded and blushed, remembering her own tickle fights with Celestia when she had been a filly. Smiling up at her mentor as she nuzzled her, Celestia nuzzled her in return before Twilight turned back towards her foreign guests, who all displayed varied levels of amusement, laughter, and good-natured smiles.
“Alright, I think that’s enough and the Ball has suffered enough without us being there. If you will all follow me, I’ll take you to the main ballroom.”
Watching the princesses and her guests follow her, Twilight led them out of the dining room and out into the party.
Ballroom, Castle Aurora
Two Hours After Sunset
Twilight
The ball was unfolding just as planned, in Twilight’s opinion. Ponies were happy dancing and eating and everypony seemed impressed with her castle. No incidents had occurred, no party crashers (Twilight suspected that was thanks to Pinkie) and everything seemed to be going just fine.
Twilight strode out into the ballroom where ponies danced and talked. The music was a hip-hop swinging tune that got her wings fluttering. Pegasi were dancing and flying above while Unicorns and Earth Ponies danced on the floor.
Twilight, despite her friends groaning, had decided to dance. After all? This was her castle and nopony would dare to tell a princess her dancing was horrible in her own castle. Therefore, she was going to enjoy the music and dance away.
Or at least until she hurt somepony with her dancing. (It had happened on a few occasions)
But right before she started twisting and turning to the tune, Twilight saw Celestia and Luna approach. Stopping before she broke out into her infamous dancing, Twilight approached the two princesses and smiled brightly.
“Are you two enjoying yourselves?”
“Oh yes.” Luna said. “I particularly love the carnival games Pinkie set up. And Sir Tibbles has been eating with Philomena and Owlowiscous at the buffet table.”
“Good, and what bout you princess?” Twilight asked Celestia.
“Everything is just splendid Twilight. The music is wonderful, much livelier than the Grand Galloping Gala, perhaps I should have Pinkie and Rarity plan the next one.”
“I’m sure they’d love to.” Twilight replied. Her ears flickered as a new song was strung up, her desire to dance stronger than ever. “I’m about to go dancing, would you both care to join me?”
Luna nodded enthusiastically while Celestia shook her head. Luna scowled and jabbed Celestia hard in the ribs.
“Oh come on Tia!” Luna said. “Dance with us!”
“No.” Celestia stated firmly, accenting her decision by putting her hoof down.
“Don’t pay attention to her Twilight.” Luna whispered, leaning close to Twilight. “She doesn’t want to dance because she’s a horrible dancer.”
Oh really? I have to see this!
Twilight got up close to Celestia and sat down in front of her, giving the taller mare the widest eyes and the most pleading pout. Celestia was a sucker to give in to the infamous Twiley Pout.
“Please come dance with me?” Twilight said cutely, staring up at Celestia with big round sparkling eyes.
Celestia’s lip trembled and she tried to avoid Twilight’s expression, but she sighed and walked forward past Twilight.
“Oh…alright.” She murmured.
Twilight was thrilled, and Luna sniggered as she and Celestia walked together out onto the dance floor.
The music played and Twilight started dancing, flaying her limbs out in a chaotic sequence that would have made Discord have a heart attack. Beside her, Celestia slowly got into the music. Tapping her hooves at first and then fluttering her wings. It wasn’t too long before she was fully involved into the music and was dancing just as horribly as Twilight was. Twilight could see Luna rolling on the floor with laughter as she beheld her sister and Twilight, but both bad dancers ignored her and continued, idly noticing the amount of space other ponies were giving them as they danced.
“BEHOLD!!!”
The sudden bellow broke through the music, and ponies everywhere stopped dancing to look for the disturbance. The music screeched to a halt and the ballroom echoed with the ponies mumbling. Celestia and Twilight looked together to the source of the disturbance.
It was Coal Dust, the Duke of Fillydelphia. The stallion was swaying unsteadily at the top of the stairs leading into the ball room. He had clutched in his magic a worn piece of parchment, and he was waving it bout like it was his salvation. Twilight thought the duke was drunk from the way he seemed unfocused and unsteady.
Much to her surprise, the stallion staggered forward into the crowd, which parted before him like he was carrying the plague. Coal Dust continued until he was in front of Twilight and Celestia. He waved the paper in her face triumphantly, he then yelled out his proclamation for the world to hear.
“BEHOLD!! Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Lies!!!.”