“I have been thinking of how I should punish you.”
“Didn't know about Dark Magic's little weakness?"
“I think it's time to end this.”
“Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle."
I won’t die.
Twilight sat up with a cry, the words of the voice that was hers, yet not hers, echoing through her mind alongside the Changeling Queen’s taunts. It took her a moment to recognize where she was; her childhood room at her parents’ house. The same room she had slept in for a week, now. The same room she had awoken from terrifying dreams in for seven nights straight.
‘It was just a nightmare,’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘I slipped up, made a mistake, but I won’t let it happen again.’
I’m sure Princess Luna tells herself the same thing about her own Nightmare.
Twilight tensed, only to jump at the sudden sound of a hoof knocking against her bedroom door. Stirred from her thoughts, she sensed powerful Dark Magic just beyond the door. Smiling she called out, “Come in!”
Pushing the door open, Sombra stepped inside as he asked, “Are you alright, Twilight? I heard you cry out.”
“I’m fine. Just a nigh-” Twilight caught herself. “Just a bad dream.” Glancing out the window, she frowned. “It’s still dark out. I’m sorry that I woke you up so early.”
“Fret not, my dear Twilight. I can sleep when I am dead,” Sombra replied with his usual grin, “or when I am trapped in ice for another thousand years.”
The young mare gave a snort of laughter. “Well, if you get tired then I suppose all you’ll have to do is properly introduce yourself to Celestia. I’m sure she’ll be happy to oblige.”
“Yes, her solution for most problems does seem to be ‘put it off for a thousand years and get a student to deal with it’,” Sombra replied, his grin widening.
“You really shouldn’t talk about Celestia like that,” Twilight scolded him but it fell flat, as she was unable to keep an amused smile off her own face.
As they spoke, the sun began to rise. Gaining a puzzled expression, Twilight said, “Speaking of, I wonder if Celestia’s feeling sick or something. The sun doesn’t usually… wobble when it’s rising.”
“That is a bit peculiar,” the stallion agreed. Tapping a hoof against his chin in thought, he asked, “Can Alicorns get sick? I know they don’t age but I never got the opportunity to test biological warfare.”
“Now that you mention it, I never remember Celestia having so much as a cough but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible,” she said. “Perhaps we should go talk to her about it later.”
“Perhaps,” Sombra agreed, before suggesting, “but first I suggest we get some breakfast. I’ll get started, so join me in the kitchen when you’re ready.”
Twilight stretched as the former tyrant left the room. Leisurely getting up and making her way down to the ground floor, she saw Sombra already busy preparing a meal. Sitting down at the table, she commented, “You never did explain how you got so good at cooking. With an empire of slaves, I can’t imagine you were wanting for chefs, or is this one of those ‘there is no such thing as useless knowledge’ things?”
“Having a slave that hates you prepare your meal is a good way to end up poisoned or with a throat full of jagged crystal shards,” Sombra replied evenly. “Rather than wasting time, food, and potentially slaves’ lives as food testers, it was more efficient to simply prepare my own meals.” Glancing back at her with an amused expression, he added, “That said, I never expected to be using those skills to prepare meals for others.”
“Well, I for one am glad that you are. My mom’s not a bad cook, but yours are meals fit for a king," Twilight joked.
Sombra rolled his eyes as he said dryly, “I wonder why ever that could be.”
Just as they were about to eat, there was a knock on the front door. With her parents still asleep, Twilight went to the door. When she answered it, the young mare was surprised to see a pegasus in the distinctive bat-like armor of the Night Watch.
“Miss Twilight Sparkle?” The guard asked. Seeing her nod, he continued. “Princess Luna has requested an audience with you and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony tonight, after sunset.”
“What’s this about?” Twilight asked.
“I was not informed,” The guard replied. “Now, having delivered the message, I shall bid you good day.”
As the guard flew off, Twilight returned to her breakfast and told Sombra what happened. “What do you think it’s about?” She asked.
“Well, you’ve had a week to recover from the last crisis to face this kingdom so who knows how many more emergencies have cropped up in that time. It must have been at least a few dozen,” Sombra replied. “We’ll just have to see the princess tonight and find out.”
As the day began to wane, Twilight met her friends at the Canterlot train station. Spike was the first to rush up to her, giving her a hug. “I’ve missed you so much, Twilight! I cleaned the whole library while you were gone and even double checked that all the books are in their proper places!”
“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said with a smile. “I know I can always rely on you.”
“And… how are you doing, Twilight?” Rarity asked as the others approached.
Twilight grew nervous, remembering how her friends had reacted the last time she saw them. “I’m sorry I scared you girls before,” Twilight said sadly. “I promise that I’ll do everything I can to make sure something like that never happens again.”
Yet you can’t promise that it won’t happen, can you?
Twilight winced but fortunately none of her friends seemed to notice.
Fluttershy was the first to speak up. “You don’t have anything to apologize for, Twilight. You were just doing what you had to in order to save those fillies.”
“Yeah! If anypony is to blame, it’s Queen Chrysalis!” Rainbow Dash added. “It was her fault for attacking us. Those Changelings have no one to blame but themselves!”
“And not even themselves, anymore, since you ripped them apa-MMF!” Pinkie Pie started, before Applejack shoved a hoof over her mouth.
“The point is, it wasn’t your fault, Twi,” Applejack said. “We all got our own issues, but ya saved my sister and you’re our friend. Just let us know if ya need any help sortin’ stuff out, okay?”
“You girls…” Twilight said with a happy smile.
“As touching as this is, I believe we have a royal summons to respond to, my lady,” ‘Black Knight’ cut in.
“Right, we should get going,” Twilight responded. To her friends, she said, “It’s good to see you girls again. Now, let’s go see what Luna needs us for.”
“You mean Princess Luna, right?” Spike prompted.
“Oh. Right. Of course,” Twilight quickly agreed, thinking, ‘I guess I’ve been talking to Sombra too much.’
The group continued to chat as they headed to the castle. Twilight was grateful for the return to normality, glad that she had not lost any of her friends. Grinning to herself as they drew close to the castle, Twilight said, “I guess I have a new lesson to share, next time I talk to Celestia.”
“What d’ya mean, Twilight?” Applejack asked, the others looking just as curious.
“Everypony slips up from time to time. They make mistakes or try to handle more than they can,” Twilight explained. “Real friends will forgive you when you do and be there to help you afterward. Even if it takes them a bit to accept what you did.”
This drew sheepish smiles but nods of agreement from the group. However, somepony else spoke up.
“A valuable lesson, but I’m afraid it may be some time before you can share it with my sister,” Princess Luna said from where she was waiting at the castle door.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “Did something happen?”
“Follow me,” Luna said as she went inside. “This is not a discussion to be had in public.”
Exchanging nervous glances, the six young mares followed her in, Spike and ‘Black Knight’ trailing behind. Before long, she brought them to a room dominated by a long table with an ornate mirror sitting in front of one of the walls.
“Please, take a seat,” the princess said. As soon as they had done so, she went on. “I had hoped to resolve this situation myself but find myself at an impasse. I called the six of you here tonight because-”
“Seven!” Spike cut in. “Don’t forget me!”
“…Seven,” Luna allowed, glancing toward the sole stallion in the room to see if he would insist on being counted as well. Seeing him simply gesture to continue, she did so. “Because my sister tends to call upon you when she is in need. I was hoping this would not be necessary, given… recent events,” Luna glanced meaningfully at Twilight, “but I find myself with few options remaining.”
“Princess Luna, what’s going on?” Twilight asked, feeling another twinge of guilt but unable to fault the princess for her caution.
“What I am about to tell you must not leave this room,” Luna began, gesturing to the mirror with a worried expression as she continued. “A week ago, Celestia went through this mirror and she has yet to return.”
“Through the mirror?” Twilight repeated in confusion, before the rest of what the alicorn had said hit her. “Wait, a week ago!? And you’re just telling us now? How have you kept this quiet!?”
Immediately, Luna’s expression shifted to one of extreme irritation. “…’Tis been difficult.”
“I can only imagine,” Sombra piped up. “It would explain why the sunrise was unsteady this morning. You are hardy suited to the task.”
“Are you calling me weak?” Princess Luna demanded with a glare.
“Hardly,” the stallion replied smoothly. “Even if one of us was, hypothetically, as strong as or stronger than you magically, we could hardly do better. Only Celestia’s magic is attuned to the sun, just as only yours is attuned to the moon.”
“And yet my sister raised and lowered the moon for a thousand years without any difficulty,” Luna said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
Sombra waved it off. “She hardly mastered it in a week. Given a thousand years of practice, you could no doubt move the sun with equal ease.”
‘You say that like you saw her doing it,’ Luna thought suspiciously.
Before she could say anything, however, Twilight piped up, “No offense, your highness, but can we get back to the part where the ruler of Equestria has been missing for a week!?”
“Co-ruler,” Luna said shortly.
“Er, right. Of course,” Twilight quickly conceded. “But how could she go through a mirror anyway? I’ve never even heard of a spell like that.”
“Starswirl the Bearded began research regarding the magical potential of mirrors shortly before my… ‘exile’,” the princess explained. “Unfortunately, I know far less about his work regarding such than my sister, for obvious reasons. However, given that this mirror was in his personal library, I have little doubt that it related to his work.”
“Starswirl the Bearded’s personal library!?” Twilight squealed as she jumped to her hooves in excitement. Realizing that everypony was staring at her, she quickly cleared her throat and sat down. “Sorry, please continue.”
“Yes, I believe the secret to this mirror and finding my sister lies somewhere in his library,” Luna continued, “but I fear I have had little success navigating it myself. Given your own interest in his works, Twilight, I thought that you and your friends might fare better.”
“Well, if that’s what you need, you’ve got nothing to worry about, Princess,” Rainbow Dash piped up. “Digging through musty old libraries is what Twilight does best!”
This was met by various sounds of agreement from the other mares present.
“Don’t worry, Princess Luna,” Twilight said. “We’ll get Celestia back safe and sound before you know it!”