Pinkie made an honest effort to sleep on Celestia's impromptu questions about Twilight's leadership. However, something about the encounter had bothered her. It wasn't until well after she'd resolved to not think about it any more that it hit her.
Why had the princess seemed so distressed?
Her eyes opened again, and as she sat up she saw Rainbow Dash sleeping soundly next to her. Lucky, Pinkie thought bitterly, wishing she could sleep so easily. She stared down at the covers musing on what was about to happen.
The eclipse was coming: The sun and moon grew closer together with every passing day. Princess Luna had - at least for now - shed her role as overseer of the night, instead running Equestria side-by-side with her sister. Pinkie supposed the sight of both princesses would galvanize the citizens of Canterlot, but with so many distractions and the gates remaining ever-closed, it was as though nothing had changed.
In fact, Princess Celestia seemed more preoccupied than ever. It was the first time Pinkie had seen Equestria's fearless leader show so much vulnerability, though she refused to call it weakness.
But what if it was weakness?
Princess Celestia was not perfect - that much had become clear. Was Malice somehow behind all of this? Pulling the strings of one of the most powerful ponies to ever live? Where was he, and why hadn't he made his move since their encounter with him in Ponyville?
It was like he was biding his time. Waiting for the opportune moment.
She held onto that thought as her eyes closed.
"Wake up," whispered a voice next to her.
Her eyes shot open. "Dashie?" she gasped. She shook the lump in the bed next to her, but it was empty space beneath the covers. Rainbow Dash was gone.
Her heart was pounding. She looked around the room, but saw nothing. She decided that it was her mind playing tricks on her.
Thump, thump.
A sound like a heartbeat reverberated through the chamber doors. It might have been a knock, but who would come visiting at this hour of the night?
Thump, thump.
The sound rattled in Pinkie's teeth. She quickly climbed down from the bed, placing it safely between her and the door.
Thump, thump.
The beat was too distant to be a doorknock. Peeking around the corner, she satisfied herself that she was still alone. "What would Twilight do?" she muttered to herself.
"She'd follow," the voice whispered between heartbeats.
Gulping, Pinkie steeled herself, approaching the doors with caution. Cracking them just wide enough to see through, she peeked out into the main hallway. Surely enough, there was no sign of activity.
Thump, thump.
The sound was coming from outside the chambers.
"Hello!?" Pinkie cried.
"Come see..." said the voice, once more. It was behind her.
There was a thud behind her as the door slammed shut on its own. Jumping in place, Pinkie twisted around to see that a curtain of shadow had fallen over it - barring her path. "Malice..." she snarled.
"But of course. Surely you could not think I had forgotten you. We worked so well together, you and I."
"Keep telling yourself that!" Pinkie yelled.
"I do not have to. It has already begun..."
The shadow disappeared.
"Yeah! You'd better run!"
Thump, thump.
Pinkie cringed. She knew that wherever that sound was coming from, the chances of it being good were displeasingly small. Nonetheless, she felt compelled to follow the sound out into the palace atrium.
The horizon beyond glowed red under the night sky.
"Oh, no..." Pinkie's heart nearly stopped. Through the columns, she could see the fire was coming from the city of Canterlot. Its ivory spires were alight, the warm air carrying screams of terror from the streets beyond.
A lone figure guarded the way, staring out over the burning city of Canterlot. The princess? No. This one was too small. A pegasus, perhaps - silhouetted against the blaze, wings spread taking in radiant heat from the violent inferno raging beyond the palace walls.
Thump, thump.
Pinkie knew now - the heartbeat belonged to it.
Thump, thump.
Its pace quickened as Pinkie approached the figure, step by step, yet she could not tell who it was, even as she tapped it on the shoulder. It was Twilight who turned her head, grinning maliciously at Pinkie, who recoiled in fear.
Thump, thump.
"Do you understand now?" Malice asked, using Twilight as her mouthpiece. "Remember well: 'It doesn't matter what you do, child. Any effort you put forth to stop me would only serve to make you desperate, and in your desperation you will lose everything you hold dear.'"
"Wh-why!?" Pinkie cried. "Why are you doing this!?"
Thump, thump.
"This will serve as your awakening. Your true purpose is to serve, and you will..."
Thump, thump.
"My friends will never do what you want!"
Thump, thump.
"Not me..." Malice intoned with a chuckle beneath his voice. "You will serve her..."
Thump, thump.
"What!?"
Thump, thump.
"Wake up." Malice grinned through Twilight's face, breaking out into mad laughter as the fire outside the palace stretched towards the sky. "Wake up to the inevitability of your own failure and submit, or you will all perish!"
Thump, thump.
Pinkie grabbed a hold of Twilight and shook her, as though it would serve free her. "Twilight! Twilight, fight it! If anypony can, it's you!"
Twilight only laughed. "You're so pathetic, Pinkie! Fighting is useless, don't you see?You honestly believe that fighting is the answer? Well, then fight. Fight, and die! Fight, and die!"
"Twilight!" Pinkie cried, tears filling her eyes. "Twilight, no! Please! We need you!"
"Wake up! Fight, and die, Pinkie! Pinkie! Wake up!"
"Pinkie! Wake up! Pinkie!"
Pinkie opened her eyes, peeling back the caked-on layer of tears that had formed beneath her eyelids. Rainbow Dash stood over her, muzzle inches from her own. "Pinkie, thank goodness. I was so worried!"
"Wha-what happened?" Pinkie asked, her own voice quivering.
"I could ask you the same question... You were crying in your sleep, and then screaming. It sounded like..." her voice trailed off. "Oh..."
Pinkie scanned the room frantically. There was no sign of anything wrong, but the nightmare from which she'd awoken felt so real. And yet sunlight streamed in through the high windows, and the distant melodies of chirping song birds heralded the new day.
"I don't understand," Pinkie admitted. "It felt like M-Mal... like, he was reaching out to me again. It's like he wanted to send me another message."
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I thought that shield Twilight's brother was casting would keep him away from Canterlot."
Pinkie shook her head. "I don't know if that was him... I just saw... things. It's hard to explain."
"What'd you see, Pinkie? Tell me."
"Canterlot... Canterlot was burning, and Twilight... Twilight was watching it happen."
Rainbow Dash sighed. "Well then it must have just been a dream. Twilight would never let that bully get that close. I believe in her, and so should you!"
Pinkie nodded reluctantly. She knew Rainbow's bravado when she saw it, but at that moment a little blind confidence was welcome. Besides, she didn't need to worry any more or she feared she might give herself a heart attack.
"I think I'm gonna go find her," Pinkie said. "Do you want to come with me?"
Rainbow Dash thought about it for a moment. "You know, I'd love to, but I've got training to get to."
"'Training'?" Pinkie asked. "What training?"
Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest. "I've been meeting with Shining Armor to practice my, uh... fighting style! You know? In case we need it..."
Pinkie thought back to their scuffle in Fluttershy's living room. "I'm not sure you need to practice that, Dashie," she offered with an uneasy grin.
Dash blushed. "That was different, then. It wasn't me, and I wasn't exactly trying to take you prisoner... What I'm learning now might actually save lives. Twilight's brother is teaching me how to take down the attacker without hurting them too bad. I'd like to say it's easy, but..." She turned sideways and pointed at a large bruse that extended the length of her back. "It's hard work!"
Pinkie blinked. "Wow, Dashie... Just make sure you don't hurt yourself. Okay?"
Rainbow Dash gallantly chuckled, before nuzzling Pinkie lightly on the forehead. "Thanks for caring, Pinks! I'll be fine. I promise!" She winked reassuringly before rounding the bed and heading for the door.
Watching her leave, Pinkie decided she would go visit Twilight alone.
***
Some combination of the high ceiling, the labyrinthine network of aisles between the shelves, and the rows upon rows of books that stacked for as far as the eye could see still made Pinkie deeply uneasy. Fortunately, she didn't have to travel far to find Twilight. She was studying at her workstation in the library's center, which had expanded considerably since the last time Pinkie had seen it.
For one thing, Twilight had somehow convinced the princess to allow a proper cot on which Twilight could sleep when she was not studying. For another, multiple tables had been stacked next to each other, with books piled as high as the shelves surrounding them.
Suspended in a warm, lavender glow of magic, two lamps hovered in the air directly overhead. They cast their light down upon the parchment on which Twilight so hastily scratched.
She didn't seem aware that Pinkie was right behind her.
"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie cheered - her voice carried much farther than she thought it would, echoing from the rafters and coming back to her ears a time or two more. Twilight jumped with a start, letting the lanterns slam down onto the table - their magical glow extinguished.
"Oh, uh... hi, Pinkie."
"H-How are y-I'm sorry I startled you..." Pinkie trailed off, suddenly feeling out of her depth.
"I've been better, but then again, I've been worse." Twilight said cautiously. "Are you okay? You sound worried!"
Pinkie thought back to her nightmare. Her gaze dropped to Twilight's wingless flank. She doesn't even have wings, silly, she thought. Suddenly faking a very large smile, she bounced in place, chirping "Oh, no! I'm right as rain, yup! Nothing wrong with me!"
Twilight's face skewed with suspicion, but she inevitably shrugged and turned back to her table. "Well, thanks for stopping by Pinkie, but I really gotta get back to these books."
Pinkie hopped over to the the side of the table and pressed her face close to Twilight's. "Oh yeah!? Whatcha readin', huh?"
Twilight backed away slowly. "I'm, uh... I'm still looking through the works of Galloping Graymane. I didn't realize how prolific he was - his writings cover over 1,200 years of Equestrian history - and I've only spotted seven mentions of Malice in the more than 50 books of his that I've read... It's a little frustrating."
"Oh, cool..." Pinkie said, suddenly overtly self-conscious about how unhelpful she was feeling. "Uuuuum, have you tried that one?" she jabbed her hoof at a random book in the pile.
Twilight sighed in mild frustration. "Only about a dozen times. If there were any useful books here, I'd have found it."
As Twilight returned to her writing, Pinkie bounced over to the desk and carefully removed it from the stack. She'd done a good job of keeping the books from toppling over - at least for a few seconds. Twilight looked at the stack just before it came tumbling down on top of them. "AIEE!" they both shrieked, suddenly buried beneath a pile of leather and parchment.
"Pinkie!" Twilight growled as she magically directed the books back to where they were. "This is important! And I know you want to help, but right now you're just getting in the way!"
The words stung. "Oh, okay, Twilight... I'm sorry." Her words were muffled around the book she was still clutching loosely in her muzzle. Slinking away, she sat down on a cushion at the other end of the junction.
She spat the book out onto the ground, and examined its cover. It was titled The Spirits of Equestria: Discord, Anarchy, and Nihilism - A History by Galloping Graymane. "'Spirits of Equestria'. Twilight? Are you sure there's nothing in here?"
"I'm sure, Pinkie. I've already read it. Malice isn't even mentioned once."
Pinkie opened to the first page and read aloud, in a voice meant to mimic that of an elder stallion. "Little study has been made into the histories of the three dark spirits: Discord, Anarchy, and Neigh... Nigh... Neeh-"
"-Nihilism," Twilight corrected.
"Oh, yeah... Ahem" shifting back into her elder voice, she continued. "Where did they come from? Why did they come here? And why does only one remain? It is thought that these-"
"-Pinkie?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"Can you read that quietly, please?"
"Oh... Okay! It was boring anyway..."
She flipped through to a random page. Previous evidence suggests that the three were brothers, but a great struggle between them left only one standing. Although no pony has witnessed the conflict directly, the place where it is widely believed that blah, blah, blah, boring stuff, boring stuff, blah, blah... She flipped the page, "Huh. Well that's weird."
"What?"
"These two pages are stuck together."
Twilight stood up and impatiently stomped over to where Pinkie sat. "What are you talking about? I read this book back to front. There was no-oh!"
Pinkie tilted her head. "What?"
Twilight snatched the book from Pinkie and pried the pages apart with her magic. "These old books get stuck sometimes. I never noticed this one because there are no words on these pages. It's a picture!"
"Oooh! I love pictures! Let me see!"
Twilight hesitated. "I wonder what this could mean..."
"I wanna see! I wanna see!"
At last, Twilight handed Pinkie the book. It was a sketch of what the caption noted was an old mural found in some temple somewhere. Pinkie recognized Discord easily enough, but he was shown with two other, similar looking creatures.
One had the face of a lion rather than a horse, and the other had a beak like a griffon, but all three had long, slender bodies like Discord's. Aside from the upper torso, it seemed as though none of the brothers shared a single part in common.
What must have drawn Twilight's attention was the way they were arranged. Each one had a hoof, or claw, or talon, or paw extending outward towards each of the other, but it was not clear if each was trying to strike down the other, or unite in solidarity.
Knowing Discord, probably not the nice one, Pinkie decided.
At the center of the loose circle was a solid circle, inked in with solid black. Protruding from it at odd angles were 13 long, spindly spokes bent at all sorts of unnatural angles. "That's got to be Malice, right?" Pinkie asked, gesturing at the shape.
Twilight squinted at the sketch. "It's hard to tell. Look at the weathering around these edges, and the center is blank. Like, whatever Greymane was sketching this from had the center ripped out... Maybe that's why he wasn't mentioned. We've seen Malice a lot more than Greymane did... It would fit, I think... But what does it mean?"
"Maybe Discord and Malice didn't get along..." Pinkie wondered. Twilight puzzled this over while Pinkie turned her attention back to the sketch. "Who are these other, uh, 'spirits'?"
"Discord had two brothers apparently," Twilight explained. "I'm not sure what happened to them, but they aren't mentioned in any of the other texts. It's like they just vanished."
"Why?"
"I don't know..." she groaned, turning her attention sharply to the page in question. "But I know someone who might."
Pinkie grimmaced. "You mean-"
"-I'm afraid so..." Twilight sighed heavily.
"Oh," Pinkie sighed. "The princess is not going to like this..."
***
Pinkie had expected the princess to be waiting in the Sun Room, but somewhere along the way they had been challenged by one of the guards.
"Where are you going?" asked a gruff earth pony in a gravelly voice.
Twilight was still clutching onto the Greymane book with her magic. She'd barely broken stride. "We need to see Princess Celestia, now." Without pause, she continued on her way.
"Wait!" commanded the guard. "Twilight Sparkle, you are heading the wrong way. The princess is waiting for you in the throne room."
"W-waiting for me?" Twilight stammered. "She never sent for me. How did she know I was coming?"
The guard nodded. "That is because I was on my way to the archives to retrieve you. Go to the throne room." He turned his attention to Pinkie "You must be Ms. Pie. Your presence has also been requested."
"M-Me!? But I-"
"I would go. It sounded important. Now, if you don't mind, I have to continue on my rounds." The guard trotted off briskly, leaving the two of them alone in the hallway.
"I wonder what she could want," Twilight mused.
"I don't know," Pinkie replied. "I wonder if it has anything to do with those questions the princess ask-"
"-The princess asked about me!?" Twilight yelped. "And you didn't think to lead with that!?"
"I, uh... didn't think it was impo-"
Twilight stopped in her tracks, shaking her head. "-Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no!"
"It's okay! I don't think you're in-"
"-I think I'm in trouble! Oh no... What if she doesn't think I was doing enough research? What if something happened, and it's my fault because I didn't stop it? What if-"
"-Twilight! Snap out of it!" Pinkie smacked her as hard as she dared. "Oh, no! Whoops. I'm sorry, Twilight! I don't know what got into me. Here, let me-"
Twilight blinked. "-No, you're right. No sense in getting ahead of myself." She sighed in resignation before continuing calmly. "Let's go get this over with..."
They spent the rest of their short walk to the throne room in complete silence. Twilight didn't ask for any more information about the questions Princess Celestia had posed to Pinkie, and Pinkie was content to just let the situation evolve on its own.
Before they entered through the grand double-door entrance to the throne room, Twilight realized she was still carrying the Greymane tome, bookmarked to the mural they had found. "Here, Pinkie. Hold on to this."
Pinkie had left her saddlebags in her room, and she didn't want that dusty, old, leather binding in her mouth again, so she decided to balance it atop her head. Twilight chuckled for the briefest moment, before suddenly steeling herself in her composure, and turning her magic onto the doors themselves.
Princess Celestia's regal voice was the first thing Pinkie heard. She was already speaking to some other pony in the room. "-very difficult, but you have helped make my decision that much easier. Thank you for assembling here, today."
Pinkie saw the princess at the end of the cavernous chamber, bathed in sunlight from the stained glass windows above. She was surrounded by her friends - all of them except for Applejack.
"Twilight Sparkle," the princess continued. "I am glad you have joined us! I wasn't expecting you so soon. Did you decide to visit me ahead of my summons?"
Twilight nodded. "Pinkie helped me see something I missed - a lead that might give us the information we need!"
"This is good, Twilight. We shall discuss it later. For now, there is a more pressing matter I must discuss with you. Gather 'round."
Twilight took her place next to the princess, with Pinkie staying by her side. She gently set the book down on the ground at her feet, and waved her hoof at Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity who were already forming a loose circle around the princess.
"It's nice to see everypony again!" Pinkie mused at her friends.
"Indeed it is," agreed Rarity. "I have been so dreadfully busy in town, raising bits to help restore Ponyville when all of this is over. Fluttershy's been a great help, too!"
Fluttershy nodded silently, but the smile on her face said all that needed to be said.
"Wait, don't start without me!" called a voice from the end of the throne room. It was swiftly accompanied by the patter of hooves on stone. It was Shining Armor, who skidded to a halt just at the edge of their formation, completing the circle.
"Hey, Twily."
"H-Hi!" she stammered. "This is... Well, I don't exactly know. Princess? What's going on?"
"Twilight, for many moons you have been my most faithful student. You have always been diligent in your studies, open minded in your pursuits, and - most of all - a true friend to everypony you meet. Under different circumstances, I would have been honored to retain you as my student for many moons more.
"Unfortunately, as you know, the situation outside of Canterlot is dire. I have sent out envoys to assess the details of the situation, but it appears that what happened to Ponyville is already beginning to manifest itself elsewhere. I'm afraid that, in light of all this, you have been forced to grow all too quickly.
"However, as your friends have informed me, you adapted to the challenge with the utmost strength and humility, and in doing so you have become an exemplar of all that which I have sought to instill since the beginning. I must conclude that there is nothing left for me to teach you, though I would stress that I will always be there if you need me."
Twilight looked thoroughly puzzled. "A-Are you saying that... That I'm not to be your student any more?" It was nearly imperceptible, but her voice was quivering underneath all of its confidence.
The princess patted Twilight gently with the underside of her wing. "I am saying that today is the day you graduate."
Celestia's horn flashed a brilliant white, just before the throne room fell away. Their group stood suspended in a field of stars, as though they had been far removed from their world and placed high in the night sky.
Pinkie craned her neck about every which way to take in the beauty, though she made no effort to understand where she was or what was happening. For Princess Celestia, she devoted all of her trust.
"Whoa..." Rainbow Dash whispered. "This is... awesome..."
"You ready, Twily?" Shining Armor beamed.
Twilight appeared to be as transfixed in her surroundings as Pinkie. Her brother jarred her back to. "R-Ready? Ready for what?"
It was the princess who answered. "Your destiny, Twilight. Look up."
All at once, every pony in the circle tilted their heads back. Pinkie watched as the stars themselves seemed to move through space, reforming in a new constellation: One of Twilight.
She was not alone, however. Other star-forms graced the night sky. First Pinkie, on the day they'd met. And then Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, and Fluttershy. It was as though the heavens were serving a reminder of their connection to one another.
When the stars showed Applejack, Pinkie felt as though it were a gut punch.
"You've come such a long, long way, Twilight," the princess reminded. "Despite your initial resistance to the idea of friendship, you set all of that aside and let others help you, and guide you. Together, you've rediscovered the Elements of Harmony, reunited me with my sister, and protected all of Equestria from the rule of chaos.
"Through all of that time, you've demonstrated charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and of course, the leadership of a true princess."
Twilight gasped, along with everypony else. "A true... what?"
As though in response to her question, the stars flew down from the heavens - hundreds of twinkling lights, cocooning Twilight in a radiant gown for but a moment before bursting outward, casting Pinkie and her friends in their warmth.
And then Pinkie saw it.
Twilight had wings.
"Oh..." she gasped. "Twilight... Look!" Pinkie stroked one of the wings with her hoof, before it shot outward, startling her and knocking her to the ground. It was then that she realized they were back in the throne room.
Everyone else seemed just as shocked.
"Wow!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"How magnificent!" was Rarity's contribution.
Rainbow Dash just stood wide-eyed - her jaw agape.
Shining Armor cheered. "Congratulations, little sis! You're a princess now."
Twilight studied her new limbs. "I'm still not sure I understand... How is this even possible?"
"You've always had the potential in you, Twilight. It is something I saw in you on the day we met. But to be a princess is to know incredible responsibility! With so much happening so quickly, you aptly demonstrated that responsibility more quickly than I could have imagined. It was then my decision to try you before the stars, and you were deemed worthy of the title.
"But understand that you are becoming a princess at a difficult time. You will need to remain strong against the tide of darkness that is coming. We will host a grand coronation, to formally announce you to the people of Canterlot. I believe this will uplift their spirits in time for the eclipse.
"With these measures, Malice will be at his weakest. Then, and only then, will we try to bring Applejack back into our fold. We shall recover the Elements of Harmony, and use them to end him once and for all!
"I will need you at the forefront in this fight. You are Equestria's greatest hope."
Twilight was speechless.
Shining Armor spoke instead. "We have some of the brightest magic wielders in the Canterlot Guard studying the Elements of Harmony now. I believe we may be able to reverse Malice's hold using a modified version of that aether spell the princess taught you."
Twilight was still speechless.
"Um, Twilight? Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"Y-yeah... This was all just so fast. That's all. I mean, last night I was worried about which section of the archives I was going to find the most useful books in. Princess, are you sure I can handle this?"
Celestia nodded. "I would not have entrusted you with this responsibility if you couldn't."
All eyes were on Twilight. After a minute's pause, she cleared her throat. "Well then... I promise I won't let you down!"