Twilight took a deep breathe, steadying herself as she wiped her sweaty palms on her legs. She gulped, and could feel the eyes of everybody suddenly upon her as she stared at the black box.
"A-an audience? With me?"
"Yes," Karellen said. "I wish to have an audience with you."
"Why?"
"It will be revealed in time."
"In time?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Ah don't trust it, Twi; Ah got a bad feelin' 'bout this."
Twilight looked at Applejack. She was about to speak when Karellen addressed the orange pony.
"I assure you, we mean no harm. We come in peace."
If they really come in peace, Twilight thought, then there shouldn't be any reason to suspect an audience as a ploy. But if they aren't here in peace, well, I can defend myself. He doesn't sound violent, though, but how would I be expected to know? I'm not even sure where he's from; none of my examinations shed light on anything, not anything at all. "Where do you come from."
"All will be revealed at the audience, Princess Twilight."
"Why will you be here?"
"All will be revealed at the audience."
"If - IF - I decided to grant you this audience, how will I get there? When will it be?"
"We will meet at the appropriate time, Princess Twilight."
"Why me?"
"We have chosen you from a pool of possible applicants eligible to speak for us."
"And you chose me?"
"It was between you and an elderly blind mare in what you call Vanhoover."
Twilight shifted position, looked back at her friends, looked at the now murmuring crowd. She looked at the ground when she heard her name called. "Twilight!" She looked as Starlight Glimmer pushed her way through the crowd, her face frightened and her eyes wide with concern. "Twilight, what's going on? I heard a voice and -- What in the world is that?!" She slid to a stop, her hooves digging trenches into the soil.
"We're - I'm not really sure," Twilight said.
"Hello, Starlight Glimmer," Karellen again said from the box. "How pleasant for you to join us. Twilight was about to make a decision on my offer, weren't you, Twilght?"
"Um, yes. Yes, I'll grant you an audience."
"So it is decided." The box began to levitate from the ground, getting higher and higher, returning, it seemed, to the ship. "We will speak again. Farewell, for now."
"So what do you propose we do, sister? All of Equestria has seen them."
"I'm not sure, nothing has ever gotten the drop on us like this, Luna. Half of Equestria still thinks we control the sun, moon and stars. They're not ready for this." Celestia sat back in her hair, closed her eyes and held her forehead with her fingers. Her hair fell about her face and her horn itched as her ears pressed flat against her head. "I'm not sure."
"Surely, we must do something."
"Yes, Luna! Yes!" Celestia sighed. "Yes, we must do something, but they've already made contact. All of Ponyville has heard their voice, and they've singled out Twilight."
"We trust Twilight Sparkle, do we not?"
"Not with this. Never with this, Luna."
"Why not?"
"Because this.... this is....... this is different, Luna, incredibly different. It's not a returning castle or a changeling horde or even a vengeful warlord. It's something we've never even knew existed."
"Perhaps," Luna said to her sister in a hushed voice, as if she were uttering some secret blasphemy. "Perhaps they do come in peace, sister."
"Perhaps," Celestia sighed. Her chest rose and fell under her light dress. "We need to speak to Twilight. If she is the chosen one, if they do wish to communicate to us through her, then we ought to have her here, with us, where we can keep an eye on her." She closed her eyes, ashamed that she would ever have to say such a thing. "Guard!" The door opened behind her, and she continued: "Guard, I need you to send word to Ponyville that we request Princess Twilight Sparkle's presence-- No, Luna, this is the way it must be done. We can take no chances, I'm afraid."
They sat around the map, which currently illuminated Equestria, but not the ships that hovered above it. Nevertheless, several areas of the map glowed intensely. They all sat around it, staring intensely, mostly in silence, except for Fluttershy, who shook and slightly giggled almost quietly but not quite. Rainbow Dash looked at her friend, afraid that the sudden appearance might have done her in. Starlight sat on a folding chair next to Twilight's throne.
"They just showed up last night?"
"Yes, Starlight; I can't know precisely when. They weren't there when I went to sleep, but they were there when I woke up. I can't.... I can't figure it out." She noticed Starlight staring at her. "Yet. I can't figure it out yet." Rarity looked at Applejack knowingly, then back at Twilight. She was about to say something when Fluttershy suddenly spoke, almost loudly.
"I saw them show up the animals started going crazy and they wouldn't calm down and nothing I could do would help they kept going crazy and crazy and crazy and I woke up when Angel Bunny kicked me in the head and pulled my hair and bit my ears and when I went down to see what was going on they were coming out of the sky in these bright clouds that looked like dirty fire and which was very frightening so I sent a couple of little birdies the fastest I had to get Dashie because I didn't really want to be alone not when them coming down like that and the animals going crazy!"
The room echoed in silence the last of Fluttershy's words. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, quiet again.
"Come again?" Applejack said.
Twilight leaned forward. "Did they make a noise, Fluttershy?" Her friend merely shook her head gently. Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, what did you see?"
"Honestly, not much. You know me, Twi, can't exactly talk to animals. The birds just pulled me out of bed, I barely had time to get dressed before I was out the door and on my way to Fluttershy's. Although, now that you mention it, the clouds did look kind of weird."
"Weird how?"
"I don't know, Twi. Just kind of.... goofy looking, I guess." Rainbow Dash avoided Twilight's gaze.
"Anybody else notice anything?" Her friends shook their head. "Well," Twilight sighed, "there's nothing more we can do here. Not now, anyway. Girls, I think we ought to be in town today, making sure everybody is alright." She stood up. "So, then, let's get to work." As her friend exited the throne room, Twilight gently grabbed Starlight's arm. "Starlight -- a moment?" She pulled Starlight aside as the last of the others closed the door, and they were alone. "Where were you?"
"I'm sorry, Twilight," Starlight began.
"Where were you? I woke up and you weren't there. Where did you go?" Twilight grabbed Starlight's other arm, leaned in closer, looking her in the eye. "I was cold."
"I'm sorry, Twilight. I am. I just..... I'm not used to this, you know?"
"I know, Starlight. That's why were working on this together. But you can't run away like that, Starlight." Twilight smiled.
"I won't. I'm.... I'm sorry." She looked down, eyes watering. Twilight raised a finger to her chin so that she had to look into her eyes.
"It's alright. I know this must be hard for you, it's even been a little hard for me."
"Because of --"
"Yes." Twilight pulled Starlight into a hug. She could smell Starlight's hair. She felt happy, well, perhaps happy wasn't the right word, the right emotion; she felt less anxious. Yes, that was it. Starlight calmed her, just like --
A blue light shimmered throughout the throne room. The bricks of the castle - one by one - began to remove themselves from the the castle and move backwards toward a blinding bluish-white light. Twilight and Starlight sprung away from each other as they looked to see the fleeing castle bricks reveal an oblong metallic object an eighth the size of the throne room. The blue light, infused with some sort of slight golden wavering, emanated from the object's front. It gently glided into the throne room, fifteen feet from the two frightened ponies.
Twilight, steeling herself against the unknown coldness of it all, stepped forward. Starlight grabbed her arm, trying to stop her. Twilight asked it, "What do you want."
"It is time for my audience, Princess Twilight." Karellen. Karellen was here. He had come.
"No harm will come to my friends?"
"No. Your friends will not be harmed. As I told you, we come in peace."
"Twilight, what's going on?" Did Starlight not here him, Twilight thought.
"She cannot hear me, Princess Twilight. I must insist you keep your promise and grant me an audience." Two doors opened on the side of the object, one up and one down. Twilight stepped forward. Well, as long as nobody gets hurt, Twilight thought as she stepped into the object.
"Twilight! Don't!" But the doors shut, and the machine backed out of the room, the bricks replacing themselves. Starlight stared, alone in the suddenly very dark room. Her lips quivered. "Applejack! Rarity!" She ran from the room.
From outside the castle, one of Celestia's royal guards, the very same entrusted to send a message to Twilight, saw a metallic object leave the castle as bricks once again built themselves into a wall.
He sighed. "This isn't going to go over well...."
He turned and, having done absolutely nothing at all, started back home.
The room was elegant, beautiful, purple and gold and warm and soft. The night outside was beautiful and dark and the stars shined even with the full moon. Through the open window, a warm late-summer breeze blew in and ruffled the starry cape which hung on the coat rack. Twilight lay naked on the bed as the shower ran and steam escaped from the bathroom in tiny billows of whiteness beneath the door. She felt her body with her hands, her body's fur catching on her fingers as she caressed herself, moving lower and lower until --
"You're starting without me?" Trixie came out of the door, water dripping from her fur and her hair, her ears perky on her head. She's adorable, Twilight thought, how lucky I am to call her mine.
Twilight chuckled softly. "You know, I just couldn't wait. I tried, but I couldn't."
Trixie dropped the towel from around her waist. It heaved onto the ground after it slid from her tail. Her hips swayed hypnotically. "I know. I have that effect on ponies." The late-summer breeze blew her hair about her face. She smiled, water dripping from her muzzle as she reached the side of the bed. "I'm not mad, you know. I think it's so sweet you think of me that way." She grabbed Twilight's hand, brought it to the cutie mark on her hip --
"Hello, Twilight."
Twilight turned around and was very surprised.