The mid-morning sun shone down upon Canterlot. The hustle and bustle of the city never seemed to change, and never took a day off. Only on one fateful day did it falter, but that day was three months ago, when the incident at Canterlot Castle took place. An attempt at keeping the Princesses’ subjects mostly out of the loop had partially failed. The knowledge of a missing Princess was quick to escape from the castle staff, but the reasoning behind Celestia’s disappearance was kept under wraps.
Though the months seemingly passed quickly for the ponies of Canterlot, the few inside who knew the whole truth didn’t have that luxury. Each day they were reminded of the altercation that occurred beneath the castle in the Crystal Caverns. Each day, the new impromptu rulers of Equestria had to move the celestial bodies as they once had before. Each day, the search continued for their lost ruler, sister, and friend.
Twilight laid peacefully on her medical bed. Though it wasn’t the most comfortable surface to be on twenty-four seven, she couldn’t really complain. Her eyes remained closed as her chest rose and fell softly, the injured mare doing her best to get some much needed rest. She was about to fall back asleep when a gentle knock came from the door. Her eyes tiredly opened and lazily focused upon a nurse standing in the doorway.
“You have visitors, your majesty,” the nurse said.
Twilight nodded her head slowly, and the nurse left while a familiar alabaster unicorn rushed into the room. Twilight immediately tried to sit up upon sight of her friend, only to wince in pain from her injury and quickly fall back down with a ragged gasp.
“Oh my stars!” Rarity rushed to Twilight’s side and gave her a look that reminded Twilight of her mother whenever she got herself injured as a filly. “Are you all right, dear?”
“I’m fine,” Twilight answered, letting out a soft, tired chuckle. “Just gotta remember to keep still.”
“And how are you feeling?” Rarity asked while inspecting the bandage on Twilight’s chest.
“A little tired and weak, but I’m feeling fine otherwise,” Twilight replied, looking up to her friend with bags forming under her eyes.
Before Rarity could say anything else, the rest of her friends caught up and entered the room.
Fluttershy was the first to enter. She immediately gasped and hid behind her mane, while mumbling something too quiet for Twilight to hear. Everypony else followed the timid pegasus, each one quiet and looking more downtrodden as they moved closer. They all shuffled awkwardly as they looked over their injured friend. Spike moved passed the elements and continued on to Twilight’s bed where he immediately hugged her.
Twilight smiled tiredly, before breaking the silence with, “Hey everyone.”
Her friends all smiled in return, their looks showing acknowledgement of Twilight’s injuries, as well as pity and sadness towards their best friend. They all took turns returning her greeting, each one giving Twilight a soft hug. Spike remained attached to her side all the while, silently enjoying the presence of his caretaker, to which Twilight’s smile never faltered.
Once everyone had given their greeting, they all backed away to give Twilight her space. Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but a low grumble from her half bandaged stomach interrupted her. Her mouth shut immediately and a soft pink blush washed over her cheeks.
Her friends smiled and giggled as Twilight opened her mouth again to say, “I haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“It’s almost noon, silly,” Pinkie said with a smile. “You must be super-duper hungry!”
“It does look like ya could use somethin’ to eat, Sugarcube,” Applejack chimed in, looking over Twilight’s unusually thin body.
“Would you like anything, darling?’ Rarity asked, looking over her friend as well. “I can go get the nurse if need be.”
There was some apprehension before Twilight replied. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt. I’ve just been taking it easy on what I consume due to my injuries.”
Noticing Twilight’s behavior, Rarity was careful with her tone of voice as she asked, “What’ve you been eating recently?”
“Mostly liquids, shakes, that sort of thing,” Twilight replied nonchalantly.
Applejack immediately scoffed and chuckled. “No wonder you’re lookin’ thin and weak,” she said. “Ya ain’t been eatin’ right!”
Twilight blushed once again as a few more of her friends nodded.
“What would you like?” Fluttershy asked, repeating Rarity’s earlier question.
Twilight took a moment to mull over her options before answering. “Some soup and a sandwich, I guess?”
“I’ll get it!” Rainbow stated, puffing out her chest and getting ready to do mach speeds down the hallway.
“Like, go and get it?” Fluttershy asked quietly in a confused tone, which stopped Rainbow in her tracks.
“Well, I thought it’d be faster if I went and threw something together and brought it back,” Dash answered.
Applejack looked at her rainbow maned friend with a deadpan gaze, and spoke with a tone to match. “Sugarcube, ya nearly burned down my house tryin’ t’make breakfast…”
“But it was only pancakes!” Rainbow quickly retorted.
“Yeah, an’ what makes you think you can handle soup and a sandwich?!” Applejack continued.
“At least the sandwich will be cold!” Rainbow responded as she closed the distance between them, eventually getting right in Applejack’s face.
Rarity scoffed as the two continued to bicker. “Ruffians.” She turned back to Twilight. “Worry not, darling; Fluttershy and I will find something.”
Fluttershy nodded with a small smile.
Rarity looked over to Spike and asked, “Would you like to come along and help me, Spikey?”
Spike froze for a moment before looking between Rarity and Twilight, torn between staying in Twilight’s comforting embrace or riding upon Rarity’s back on a quest for sustenance.
With a sigh, Spike finally replied. “Sure, Rarity.” He climbed onto Rarity’s back and gave Twilight a wave and said, “We’ll be back soon, alright?”
Twilight nodded and watched as the three of them left the room. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Applejack continued their argument, and Twilight found herself enjoying the comforting presence her friends left in the room. Pinkie had remained mostly silent throughout the whole ordeal, but once their friends had left she strode over to Twilight and spoke up.
“Twilight, can I ask you a super serious question?”
The question, and the fact that it was Pinkie asking it, caught Twilight off guard for a moment before she turned to her friend and answered with, “Sure, what is it?”
“...If they ever find Celestia, do you think you could ever forgive her?”
Pinkie’s question hit Twilight like a ton of bricks, as well as Applejack and Rainbow Dash who immediately stopped brawling on the floor and looked up at the party pony in shock.
Twilight began sputtering, trying to form a coherent thought, let alone a response. An empty void began forming in her chest. Thoughts about Celestia, what she’d done, and what Twilight thought about her twisted her heart strings. Her emotions ran high and a heavy pressure began to settle in her chest.
It wasn’t until after she managed to work her way out of her heavily emotional stupor that Twilight managed to form a half-hearted response.
“I-I don’t know Pinkie...I-I just don’t know…”
~~~~~~~~
Her musings kept her so distracted that she didn’t hear somepony enter the small office she was in. Only when she heard them clear their throat did she turn away from the window. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the room, her gaze fell upon a lone guard.
“Your majesty,” Iron Shield greeted, bowing slightly.
“Captain,” she greeted in turn. “Any word on the whereabouts of my sister?”
Iron Shield sighed. “Nothing your highness, I’m sorry.”
A frown fell upon Luna’s lips as her brow furrowed, “Tell everypony to double their diligence.”
Without waiting for a reply, Luna turned and gazed out the window again, lost in her thoughts. The guard captain awkwardly mumbled something incoherent before bowing and hurrying out of the office.
Luna took a deep breath and sighed. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to gaze out the window. She spoke to herself in a voice full of determination with a hint of hope.
“I know you’re out there…we’ll find you, sister.”