The Last Student

by Tofazz

An Unknown Entity

Twilight's heart raced, not least because of the look on Applejack's face when she had had to say no to helping her build a new cart. The guilt weighed horribly in her chest, but she would have to bear it: today it was exactly six months since she had last seen her beloved mentor.

Twilight still felt ill at ease about returning to Canterlot; the Princess had been so weak the last time they had seen each other. That day, the princess had been a mere shadow of her majestic former self. And today, Twilight was going to see her again.

Twilight was not sure what to feel. On one side, she was happy that she finally was going to see Celestia again. Twilight missed their chatter around the tea table. Maybe they once again could sit together for a cup of tea. On the other side, she felt abandoned and hurt. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. First off all, why her princess had said goodbye? And why could Celestia not tell her faithful student about what was happening?

She didn’t want to believe it at the start, but when she visited Canterlot three months after Celestia’s visit, she was denied entrance to the castle. The guards had even banned her from the city until today. It was then Twilight understood that Celestia meant what she said, and she was not to be met until today. Even so, Twilight felt that being banned from the city itself was a bit extreme. To be forcibly barred from a city that she had called home for so long just felt so...odd

She had been told to come to Canterlot alone, so she had told Spike and her friends that she was going on a research trip. Naturally, they had no reason to question her, but Twilight did not like to lie to her friends. If it was one thing Twilight had learned from friendship, it was that lying was bad.

When Twilight finally arrived in Canterlot, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The streets where thriving with life. Merchants haggling with customers, carriages going to different destinations. Street musicians on every other corner, smiling to passers-by while playing their joyful tunes. The smell of food being made filled the streets, the same chefs as had always been there competing for customers, making whatever food they thought smelled tempting enough for people to give up their hard earned bits for something delicious. A bit further up, the bakers were busily making their stand ready, putting out their most tempting cakes and desserts for ponies to see.

Twilight felt a ripple of hunger from all the smells and the delicious cakes that were standing out for her to see and smell. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to sit and take a bite.

She was starting to get short on time. Twilight started to trot in a faster pace to the castle. She didn’t know what she was expecting; her emotions were still in turmoil. She wasn’t even sure how she was going to address Celestia: as her teacher, or as a normal pony relating to her Princess.

After a while Twilight arrived at the Canterlot castle, towering over the city. The castle’s spires reached for the sky, draped in banners bearing the mark of Celestia. Truly a majestic sight. If you weren’t used to it, one would be awestruck.
Upon reaching the gate, Twilight’s heart skipped a beat, there were no guards. Not a soul in sight, the front of the castle normally teemed with life. Now the walls just seemed naked, not even a banner to make the walls seem inviting, just naked and empty.

The moment Twilight opened the gate and stepped in, she felt a strong magical presence engulfing her whole being completely. Something she hadn’t felt before: strong, but kind. As Twilight walked down the halls of the castle, the sound of her steps echoed through the halls; they were the only thing to be heard.

Upon arriving to the hallway before the royal quarter, she noticed the guards. They were bowing to her. The armour that used to glow the gentle gold of a sunset had been replaced by one as black and pale as a moonless night. The further in she got, the more the guards showed emotions. More than half of them cried. Even while bowing to Twilight, they cried. As Twilight reached the royal quarter she noticed that the magical presence had gotten stronger, but it was something else there as well. Twilight’s heart started to beat faster, as she could not feel Celestia’s aura; only of Luna and the same aura that she could not place before.

Upon entering the royal chamber she saw Luna and Celestia. The light from the sun shone through the colored glasses, making the giant room look like a distorted sonic rain boom. Much like the outside, the room was completely naked. There was not a guard in sight, nor a banner. As Twilight got closer, she saw what Luna and Celestia where doing.

Luna was standing on top of Celestia, chanting some kind of incantation. Celestia did not move; she did not even try to fight back. Luna’s star-sparkled mane grew as she chanted. Before long, it would grow to cover the room, engulfing it in shadow. Next to Luna there was the source of the strange aura, another alicorn. It just stood there, not moving a muscle, just watching what Luna was doing to her sister.

All Twilight could think of was to find a way to save Celestia. “LUNA!”

The little unicorn charged up her horn and started to rush towards Luna. Twilight had been practicing an attack spell in case she had to defend Ponyville again, but she had no idea if she was up to the task of taking on Luna alone. And what if the other alicorn decided to join in? Twilight had no choice: she had to try to help Celestia. Even if she was mad at Celestia for leaving her six months ago, Twilight still felt that it was her duty to protect her mentor.

“How could you, Luna?! I thought you were free Nightmare Moon’s grasp! I thought you were the old, loving, ruler again!”

Luna’s mane shriveled as she heard what Twilight said. The chanting stopped. When Luna next spoke, her voice was back to normal but only for a moment.

“Is that truly what you think of us? Does not Canterlot have more faith in their princess? Have we not proven that we are no longer Nightmare moon?”

“Luna, continue the spell. It must not be interrupted. I will take care of this little unicorn.”

Twilight froze. The aura that had been kind and warming suddenly turned into something sinister, an omnius force burning with anger. Terror filled Twilight’s eyes as she looked to where the unknown alicorn was standing. The alicorn had opened its wings. They were black as night, with a dark fog billowing from under them which engulfed more and more of the floor.

With eyes glowing bright white, he walked towards her.

“You should not have come here! This is not for you to understand! Leave or be removed from existence!”

Twilight could not move; the aura was too strong. No matter how much Twilight willed them, her legs would not listen, as if they were rooted in place. Twilight felt like her life was being drained from her. The magic surrounding her horn started to fade into the black fog.

How could such a strong being exist? And how come her brother and the guards didn’t try to help Celestia?

“You have made your choice. Prepare to be removed from this realm!”

The alicorn itself began to glow. The aura brushed towards Twilight’s coat, pressing her into submission. It felt like an ice cold leg wrapped around Twilight’s neck, making it hard to breathe. She almost felt like she was slowly being dragged down a pit to drown. She eventually gave up struggling against it. She looked towards Celestia with a tear running down her cheek.

“I’m sorry, Princess Celestia.”

“Wait!” Celestia was sitting up, looking at the alicorn and Twilight. “Terra, you have to give Twilight a chance to understand. I chose her as my student for a reason. Tell her the truth; the secret of the alicorns will be safe with her.”

Those words sapped the last of Celestias strength; she collapsed right after she finished. Luna chanted even louder, and her mane grew once again to engulf the whole room in shadow.

Terra folded his wings and looked at Celestia. Again, he gave off a feeling of safety and warmth. “Fine, Celestia, you shall have your wish. Your student shall be the first outsider to know the truth of the alicorns.”

Terra turned towards Twilight. His eyes were not glowing anymore, and the frightful aura had diminished. Twilight could once again breathe.

Terra looked out the window towards the sun as he was expecting it to diminish any second. With his deep voice, he attempted to explain to Twilight what was happening. “Have you not wondered were the alicorns come from? Each alicorn is tied to one of the objects within the universe: Celestia belongs to the sun, Luna the moon, and I belong to the Earth itself. My name is Terra. What you see now, young unicorn, is something that needs to be done. It is true that alicorns live forever. But like the phoenix, they need to be reborn.”

Twilight thought for a minute until she realised. someone was missing in there. “What of my foal sitter? Cadence?”

Terra set his sight down on Twilight, glaring at her in disgust. His voice became darker and more brutal. “Cadence is not an alicorn! She is something of creation that should not be. Celestia gave birth to her by mixing the cosmic energy from the horse-head nebula with a passing comet, just because she was too weak for her own task. Weak! And useless! Cadence is a filth that should be eradicated!”

Twilight stared into Terra’s eyes. They were dark and hollow, without a sign of emotion except hatred towards Cadence. Terra let out dark colored steam from his mouth and walked towards Luna and Celestia, hinting that Twilight should follow. Somewhat hesitant, Twilight followed him with some distance.

Twilight looked on the process with awe. She had never heard of anything like this. But she still found it hard to believe that the Princess would keep such a thing secret to her. Terra stomped the ground to snap Twilight out of her trance.

“This is what happened to Luna, you see… when an alicorn is reborn, they will come back with their memories erased. They will also try to overthrow any other alicorn. That’s why we created the elements of harmony. What they actually do is to store the memories of the alicorn who is to be reborn. The only drawback with the elements is that they need a catalyst. Somepony who has pure intentions: Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, and Magic. One of each trait.”

Terra walked over to Luna and Celestia. Twilight quickly saw why. The ritual had apparently put a lot of pressure on Luna. Luna’s body was shaking; it looked like she was on the brink of collapsing.

Terra gave out an aura that engulfed both him and Luna. Whatever it was, it helped, as Luna stopped shaking and started to focus again.

Terra turned towards Twilight again. “As you can see, the ritual puts the caster in terrible pain. What Luna is doing now is absorbing all the memories of Celestia. Every pony she has gotten close to, all the pain Celestia has felt over losing her friends, subjects and those she has considered family. All those memories that she gathered over a thousand years. Luna needs to experience all those memories to be able to transfer them to the elements of harmony.”

Terra started glowing. Bowing down to the fallen princess he shouted the finishing words. “Fulgeo!”

Celestia’s body dissolved into a beam of light, shooting up towards the sun. Luna immediately collapsed with her eyes closed, shivering. “You must leave, Twilight. Luna needs time alone to finish the ritual. The memories need to be placed into the elements.”

Twilight quickly nodded and started to walk away. As she reached the door, Terra shouted at her. “Consider this that last favor your loving tutor will do for you; you are alive because of her last wish. Do not tell anypony about what I told you!”

Twilight left the room as she heard Luna’s screams. It was truly horrifying to listen to. It sent shivers through her whole body; she was glad she wasn’t in Luna’s place.

While Twilight was walking out of the castle, she tried to understand everything. Even after this, all that could be heard through the castle were Twilight’s footsteps and Luna’s cry for the process to end. It seemed like the castle had been abandoned so the ritual could be completed in peace.

After a while she got out of the castle. She looked up on the sun, and her eyes welled up. “I don’t know if you can hear me, Princess, but thank you for being by my side. Thank you for teaching me that there is more to life than books; without you I would never have met my friends.”

The words built up in Twilight's chest, pressing against the dam that she had forced into being during the meeting, until finally it could stand no more, and her tears trickled freely. Her princess and loving teacher was gone. Not knowing if she would ever see Celestia ever again, she completed her thoughts. “I am truly thankful and proud that I got to be your student. I hope I brought some smiles to you during our time together. I only wish that I had managed to deliver my report to you.”

As the sun went down for the day, it was possible to see a faint lonely figure coming home to her tree house, shutting the door with a faint thud that could barely be heard.