//------------------------------// // A Royal Disaster // Story: A Dim Twilight // by FlutterAngel //------------------------------// The previous week was filled with many late night note writing and planning sessions. After reading her schedules for the next month, she decided that today would be the day that she finally got to see her friends again. She would not have another excuse to come to Canterlot until someone actually needed her. It was now or never, even if she had to be with...her. Twilight let out a sigh on her chariot, not wanting to even be at the meeting at the first place. All she wanted to do was cast her spell and make everything ok again. In her magic, she read another book she had read on the spells she had wanted to cast. She had all of her notes in her saddle bag but wanted to make extra sure she would cast it correctly. After about two hours of traveling, they had reached the castle in sync of the royal trumpets. She stepped out, taking her time to get in the castle. She wasn't ready to see her mentor, but pushed herself to carry on. She roamed the halls of the Castle, until she was in the meeting room. Twilight had to hold in a huff as they smiled at her. The regal white alicorn rose from her seat smiling widely, opening her arm to hug her most prized pupal. "Twilight, it's so wonderful to see you!" Twilight stepped to the side, avoiding Celestia's hug and sat down next to Cadence, who looked to Luna in confusion. The other ponies all looked at her, confusion and concern present in their tones. Cadence was the first of them to speak. "Twilight, is everything ok?" She nodded, a small smile forced on her face. Cadence was the most tolerable of the three, Luna was second. But she didn't want to even think of the third pony other than her in the room. She did the breathing technique Cadence had taught her and her smile got wider. "Why wouldn't I be, I get to see you and Luna." They blinked, finding it off that she didn't include her teacher. Luna added in, getting up and putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Are you sure? You seem to be a bit off today Twilight Sparkle." Twilight gave a nod, wanting to get the meeting over with. "Yes, I'm fine. I just didn't get much rest." Celestia chimed in, officially starting their meeting. Usually, she would eagerly write down everything that had been said at any meeting or class. But now was different, this time she was actually bored out of her mind. The meeting lasted only a few hours, which to her felt like an eternity. After it was over, she cleaned up all of the papers and supplies she had scattered on the table. Before she left the room, she hugged Luna and Cadence, saying her goodbyes then pulled out her book she had used a spell to change the cover into a random adventure book she found in the library. She continued to read on her way out until she bumped into a white figure. Twilight looked up to see the sun princess, looking down at her with concern. "Twilight, are you sure you're ok? You seem very off today." She continues, a hint of sadness present in her facial expression and tone. "You didn't even say hello to me..." She raised her hoof to put on Twilight's shoulder, only for Twilight to move it off of her shoulder calmly, yet sternly. "I'm fine Celestia, I just want to go see my friends." She turned to Spike, a smile on her face as she though of a wonderful idea. "Spike, why don't you two talk, I'm sure she would love that." He nodded his head and smiled, turning to her. "Are you sure Twilight, I don't want to keep you waiting too long." She gave a quick nod as her smile grew wider. "Of course, take all the time you want!" Spike thanked her and talked to the white alicorn who hadn't taken her eyes off of her. With that, Twilight left to her friends' graves outside of the castle. Celestia looked to the other ponies in the room, sighing in defeat as a single tear fell down her cheek. "I told you both, she hates me. She doesn't even say hi to me anymore. I don't know what I did to hurt her. I've cared for her as if she were my own foal but she can't even look at me without getting angry." Luna walked up to her sister, giving her a hug followed by Cadence. "Sister, might you try talking to her in private? She might come around then, you never know. She might even love you more than ever if you reach out a bit further." Cadence and Spike nodded in agreement, looking at her with reassuring smiles. Spike gave a sigh, not knowing what to think anymore. "Luna is right Celestia, she might think that you don't care. We know it's not true but you know how sensitive Twilight is, especially after such a loss." "She's never told me she hates you, not even on her worse days. She doesn't talk about you at all, shes just always depressed because she still misses everyone. She seemed kind of excited to some here, but I don't think it was because of the meeting. I honestly don't know what's going through her mind anymore besides when she's depressed." The room grew silent as everyone held their heads down. Minutes passed before Celestia broke the silence as she rose to her hooves. "All of you are right, I just need to talk to her." Her voice went weaker as she rose from her chair holding back more tears. "I can't make the same mistake twice." With that, she ran with all of her might to the graveyard. Twilight got the preparations ready, chanting the spell as she lit her horn in both normal and dark magic. Both her and the graves started to glow, being consumed by the light. Shortly after, there was a terrified scream in the distance. "TWILIGHT!!"