To be an Alicorn

by Jonuts

Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

"Knock knock" Sharon's call was accompanied by a knock on the door frame at the same time, to get Dash's attention.

Dash looked up from the armor she was polishing and managed to smile at Sharon. She was hardly a guard, but the Wonder Bolts did have to train with them at least once a year, and that meant learning how to take care of her equipment. She had a list of a hundred things she'd rather do, but all those required leaving their new temporary home. Something she wasn't willing to do just yet. Not with Twilight's current state at least. That meant cleaning and polishing their armor, or staring at a wall while waiting for the others to show up with only the birds outside the window for company.

"That didn't take you long to track us down."

"You won't believe how much the druids here gossip. They're worse than the little priestess circle back in Stormwind."

"Druids? Like Kanyssea?"

"Yup. Mikey wanted to do all the guild paper work, while Kanyssea wanted to check in with the druids. I thought seeing the Cenarion Enclave would be a much better experience than watching Mikey do paperwork, so I followed her. She'll come by later. More importantly, how'd the meeting go?"

Dash cringed. "Not good."

Sharon nervously glanced back to the Sentinel's outside the door before Dash shook her head. "Not that bad! But not good."

Sharon let out a breath she didn't quite realize she was holding, but Dash's own nervousness still kept her on edge. "What happened?"

"Do you know what an Eternal is?"

Sharon nodded. They weren't exactly common knowledge, but knowledge of them wasn't really hidden either. Most people just had better things to do than read a bunch of musty old tomes. As a priestess however, she was expected to have a passing familiarity of various pantheons. The Night Elves weren't very talkative, but amongst those in the 'know', it was generally assumed that Elune was one.

"Tyrande thinks Twilight is one." No build up, no warning. Sometime later, she would realize how obvious it was, but at the moment it was a gut punch. Sharon took a few unsteady steps to a chair as the realization sunk in.

"Tyrande. High Priestess of Elune, one of the only mortals to regularly interact with an Eternal, thinks Twilight is an Eternal?" At Rainbow Dash's nervous nod, she asked the big question. "How is that a bad thing?"

"Do you know what Twilight is most afraid of?"

Sharon shook her head. "No?"

"She fears failing to live up to the expectations put upon her and failing Princess Celestia, any pony that's known her for five minutes could tell you that, but I've seen the fear she keeps buried in her heart instead of displaying to the world like a cutie mark. She's afraid of herself." Dash glanced towards the closed bedroom door before turning back to Sharon with a sad smile. "She's made a few mistakes, and I don't know if she ever truly forgave herself for some of them." The want-it need-it spell came to mind. It was weeks before Twilight had any confidence in herself after that incident. "Deep down, I think Twilight is afraid she's one more magical accident away from pulling a Nightmare Moon."

Sharon nodded. She wasn't entirely sure she believed the Nightmare Moon story, but Twilight did speak of it before.

"The thought that those calling her a goddess, that those few ponies that actually worship her, and maintain shrines to her, might be right, that thought terrifies her. It was hard enough the first time somepony walked up to Twilight, and asked for her foals to receive a divine blessing. That's why Twilight reacted the way she did, I think."

Sharon took another look at the Sentinels who were listening in with interest, but didn't seem hostile.

Dash rolled her eyes in response. "She didn't attack her or anything, but when Tyrande told Twilight that she's an Eternal, she, uh, fainted."

"Is she alright?"

Dash shook her head. "She got back up quick enough, but no. She didn't take it well."

XXXXX

"Twilight? Twilight!" Dash nearly had a heart attack when she noticed Twilight actually fainted. That wasn't a patented Rarity 'dramatic faint', nor was she joking around with her friends.

Twilight's eyes opened almost as soon as she hit the ground, and Dash took a step back. "I'mnotagod!" Twilight frantically scrambled back, not even getting her hooves under her enough to stand. "Justanormalpony!"

XXXXX

"She actually left Tyrande at a complete loss. She hid it well, but I think she was startled and confused by Twilight's reaction. Twilight denied it over and over until finally Tyrande decide to 'prove' it. At least she didn't faint that time, but she did not take it well."

XXXXX

"Elune doesn't make mistakes. If she say's you are an Eternal, you're an Eternal." This was not going how Tyrande expected. At all. Twilight was obviously an Eternal. Elune said so, and her very power infused the air. She was certain she could use it, if she tried. With a little concentration, she managed to gather some of the power, and began casting a minor healing spell with it.

"See Twilight? Just the power in the air around you empowers divine magic." Tyrande meant to give a gentle smile, but couldn't quite manage it as Twilight gave her a look of pure horror. Tyrande wasn't quite panicking, but she was starting to get worried.

"Wha...what did you do!?"

XXXXX

"Alicorns are worshiped back home, you know. Twilight never really knew or understood that, until it happened to her. The practice isn't really considered socially acceptable anymore, and it isn't very common, but there's still a few dedicated cults and the occasional shrine. In one act, Tyrande just proved them all right. Alicorns really are…" Dash vaguely waved a hoof in search of an appropriate word. “More. More than just the sum of the three tribes.”

"So where does this leave Twilight?"

XXXXX

Tyrande thought she'd seen it all. Well, until a horde of undead began pushing through Kalimdor and Archimonde attempted to take Mount Hyjal, and use one of the world trees, Nordrassil. After that, she was fairly sure nothing would surprise her. Until she had to sit down and try to explain to a pony, that she may as well be a goddess in her own right. "Twilight, you have to accept that you are what you are. If your world is truly in danger from the burning legion, your power can help your people. You can raise your priesthood, and empower them to heal wounds. You can follow the human's example, and create your own paladin order. Holy warriors, powered by you, able to effectively fight the demons.”

So far, it seemed the best argument she could use. At the least, it was an improvement as Twilight was no longer frantically denying the obvious. Instead, she merely looked to the ground as her guardian and friend wrapped a wing around her. “No pony should have that kind of power, no pony should be that important.”

“But you are.”

XXXXX

Dash took another long look at the bedroom door. "Confused and conflicted. If she can learn how to use her power the way other Eternals do, and bring it home, she can do so much good. This goes back into what she's afraid of. Herself. With that kind of power, what could stop her? If she can raise a Priestess, or a Paladin, then their power comes from her. There is no more rule of law, only rule of Twilight. She's wondering how long she could do this before good intentions pave the path to Tartarus. She's wondering, if she has priests and paladins that follow her, and she pulls a Nightmare Moon, could the other princesses stop her? She is the Element of Magic. Without her, we couldn't use the Elements of Harmony, and she knows that."

"What do you think?"

"What can I think?” Dash chuckled like it wasn't even a question worth asking. “She's my friend. I have to believe in her, especially when she doesn't believe in herself. She never gave up on me, and believed in me even when I lost hope in myself. She never stopped believing in any of us. I can't do any less myself.”

Sharon gently ran a hand through Dash's mane. “We probably shouldn't leave her alone.”

“Somepony had to wait up for everypony else.” Rainbow Dash looked up at Sharon with a smile. “Let's let her sleep a bit longer though.”

XXXXX

“And that was when he pulled out his pair of goblin jumper cables. I'd never seen an orc turn white so fast before!” The assorted druids broke out in a chorus of laughter. The Cenarion Enclave, informally known as the 'Druid Quarter' by most, was a place for druids. They trained there, they lived there, and various druids that struck out on their own as adventurers were welcome to stop by. The younger druids in training, the less brave, and the all around more sensible druids, were always eager to hear stories of their adventuring counterparts.

Kanyssea showed up, not just because it was expected, but also because druids weren't exactly common. The Cenarion Enclave was one of the few places she could find others like her. She was quieter than the latest crop of druids in training, even if she was often far less serious than the older druids. She did however, still believe it was part of her duty to impart wisdom to the young, to instill bravery in the older, and to knock a bit of sense out of those too sensible to actually do something.

Not that she was any good at doing any of those. She was younger than most the trainees, and while she considered herself far wiser than most druids (evidenced by her continual survival in her chosen profession), she wasn't very social. She couldn't really bring herself to boisterously share stories like many of her peers. The best she could really do was sit in the corner and speak when spoken to. An event that happened far too often for her taste, as she was too well known to hide in the corner for long. The other druids would point to her and whisper at each other.

Staring into her cup, she could only wish no one knew who she was, that she wasn't trapped by her sense of duty into showing her face in these gatherings. “So come on Kanyssea. You're the most experienced druid here.” A fact that made Kanyssea distinctly uncomfortable. In human terms, it would be like a fourteen year old child being the most experienced soldier in a hall full of experienced soldiers. “What's the worst part of adventuring?”

It was a question she was often asked, though always privately. A question she had yet to ever truthfully answer. There were plenty of terrible things involved in her chosen lifestyle, but they didn't really compare to the 'worst'. No, if she could turn back time, she would have never left Teldrassil, and spare herself. Lowering her eyes so she wouldn't have to meet anyone else's, she looked to her own hands. How did you tell a bunch of trainees that most of them will be dead within the first year they head out if they follow her footsteps?

Before anyone could pester her into answer, a bird flew in through the window and transformed back into a Night Elf, and Kanyssea was grateful for the distraction. “You won't believe this! That talking horse that met with Tyrande? She's apparently an Eternal! I overheard one of the things talking to some human priestess.” As the color drained from her face, Kanyssea was suddenly far less grateful for the distraction.

“An Eternal, you say?” All eyes turned to the door as Arch Druid Fandral Staghelm walked in. Kanyssea was far more experienced than most the druids here put together, but Fandral didn't become an Arch Druid by sitting on his hands. He had fought more wars than Kanyssea had heard of. As a druid, he was only second to Malfurion Stormrage, and since Malfurion was in the Emerald Dream, that left him in charge of the druids, and constantly fighting Tyrande's every step as leader of the Night Elves.

“That Tyrande would hide that an Eternal again walks the lands of Azeroth. Truly, the woman has lost her mind. This should be cause for celebration, not something to be hidden in the shadows!”

“What of those that would attack her? Would it not be better to hide Twilight until she's ready to face Azeroth?” Kanyssea barely recognized her own voice. She was experienced, true, and if she lived, what she did now would certainly help her attain the title of Arch Druid...a few hundred years down the road, if not a thousand. She was barely even a child to the living legend she was talking back to.

“This 'Twilight' has already come to us. We will protect her from those that would see her harmed. If anything, this is just another reason for us to push the orcs out of Ashenvale, before they try to harm her they way they did Cenarius!”

“Being unknown is the best we can do to defend her!” Her argument fell on deaf ears, as the Arch Druid knew exactly what buttons to push. A mention of Cenarius, son of Elune, was enough to anger the gathered druids. None forgot that the orcs killed him just a scant few years ago, during the war.

“Foolish nonsense. If we learned of it this quickly, it is only a matter of time until the Burning Legion sets their sights on her, as well as the orcs. How much more must those beasts destroy before the Tauren see reason and stop defending them?”

Kanyssea shook her head. There was nothing she could do. She wasn't a public speaker and didn't know how to sway a crowd, she relied mostly on the force of her own reputation, which absolutely paled in comparison Staghelm's. Twilight would be common knowledge, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Fandral Staghelm just painted a huge target on her back, just to make things difficult for Tyrande.

XXXXX

“Bad news?” This wasn't the first time Mikey returned to Teldrassil with Kanyssea, and he knew it pretty much took an act of Elune to pry her away from the druids this quickly. Let alone to get her to track him down to one of the rowdier bars. This one was even rowdier than the ones he usually frequented, with a party of dwarves making a huge mess and a lot of noise. Not that the barkeeper seemed to mind, the more ale they spilled, the more ale they had to order to keep drinking. Few would consider a good atmosphere for doing paperwork, but Mikey was more than happy to turn in paperwork that smelled of drunk dwarf and had mysterious stains on it. He didn't even have to look up from the paperwork to know there was something very wrong if Kanyssea was here.

“Twilight might be in danger.”

Mikey sighed and dropped the pen. “Here? We're on top of a giant tree, miles from shore. What can possibly threaten her here? By the Light, if the Legion attacks her here, I can't be held responsible when I choke a demon to death with it's own entrails.”

Kanyssea raised a finger to her mouth. “Shh. Not here. We need to talk, privately.”

Mikey groaned and looked to the barmaid. He had plans for the night. The bar maid got off in two hours, and he was sure he could have the elf out of her dress not even an hour after that. “It better be worth it.”

Kanyssea followed his line of vision and smirked at the bar maid. “She's cute. Can't be a day over three hundred. Will you remember her name in the morning?”

Mikey scoffed. “I'm a Paladin. Of course I'll actually remember her name in the morning.” After all, he was in town for more than just tonight. Standing up, he waved the barmaid over, flipped her a coin to pay for his drink, and gave her a wink.

“You can get back to hitting on her in a few minutes. Lets talk.”

Mikey nodded. “Lead the way.”

Kanyssea led him towards the door, until a loud crash brought her to a halt. “Do you always have to pick such rowdy bars?”

The party of dwarves had began mixing in with a party of humans, with the inevitable consequences of a bunch of drunken adventurers starting a bar fight. “Oh come on, this is one of the few things I'm both good at and enjoy.”

Kanyssea rolled her eyes before shape shifting into a bear. One loud roar later, and the fight ended as quickly as it began, as the bear began walking out the bar, Mikey in tow. No one was really foolish enough to openly fight a druid in Darnassus. They had a tendency to cheat by shapeshifting into things like bears, giant cats, moonkin, and even the occasional stag with a killer head butt. Not to mention that fighting one usually meant fighting all of them, and you never knew how many druids you were dealing with until you counted the bears.

The only walked for a few minutes before finding a deserted spot they could talk in. “Alright, what's going on? It really isn't like you to drag me out of a bar.”

“Twilight is an Eternal.”

Mikey raised an eyebrow. “I'm pretty sure we had that figured out by the time she woke up.”

Kanyssea crossed her arms and huffed at him, looking every bit as young as she was. “I had guessed, but Tyrande confirmed it.”

“And that means Elune confirmed it. Not exactly earth shattering you know. Why isn't Tyrande sitting on that information though? She's not stupid.”

Kanyssea winced. “A druid overheard a conversation, I'm guessing between Rainbow Dash and Sharon.”

Mikey brought his palm to his face. “That pony has no sense of self preservation. Okay, the druids are usually nice and sensible, right? Your guys are going to sit on this information? Please tell me yes.”

Kanyssea shook her head. “Fandral Staghelm” the name was half snarled “thinks it's better that everyone is aware of her. Supposedly so we can better protect her, before she ends up like Cenarius.” Kanyssea was far less than pleased that the Arch Druid was going to use her friend as a piece in his political bickering with Tyrande.

Mikey scoffed at that. “Thrall isn't stupid enough to kill Twilight. She's done nothing to him or the horde.”

“And if Thrall was more than just a mouth piece, the alliance and horde would be holding hands, frolicking in the fields, and singing songs of harmony and brotherhood together. Thrall is far too practical and intelligent to do such a thing, but I doubt there's more than five other orcs with half as much sense as Thrall has. Lets not forget the Forsaken. Sylvanas would kill her out of hand, because she's a bitch.”

Mikey was taken back by that statement. He was pretty sure he could count the number of times Kanyssea has sworn on one hand...and have four fingers left. “Okay, I'm not exactly a fan of Sylvanas Windrunner myself, but she's underhanded, not stupid. Striking at Twilight would take far too many resources, and it has no pay off other than pissing everyone off.”

“I'm just worried about her. She's...she doesn't understand. She'd kind, and gentle. She feels like peace and harmony. Just being in a room with her is enough to lift the shadows from my heart. She doesn't belong in this world, Mikey. Her world is so kind, and gentle. She doesn't understand this sort of unending warfare that we live.”

Mikey wrapped her in a hug. “She's going to learn. She has to. Unless her other Princesses are ridiculously powerful, the Legion has a foothold on her planet. If she went home today, it would be to a fight.” The 'If she's lucky' went unsaid. “Besides, I don't think she's as much a stranger to violence as you make her sound. What she did to that Doomguard wasn't pretty at all, and that Infernal? I doubt there was a piece of it left larger than my fist. She talks like her home is some sort of utopia, but anyone can see that pony is no stranger to violence.”

Kanyssea sighed before gently pushing him off. Reaching into her pocket, she fished out a key. “Room key, at the usual place. I'm staying with Twilight, so feel free to bring the bar maid to your room.”

Grabbing the key, Mikey nodded. “Alright, where and when am I meeting you and the girls?”

“Job board, by the bank. Call it ten in the morning. At the least, one of us will be there.”

“The job board?”

“We can't protect them forever. I want to give at least one of them a taste of this world without getting them killed. According to the druids, there's been a lot of pest control problems out beyond the gates of Darnassus. Harpies seem to have made a nest here as well.”

“Alright, I'll see you there in the morning.”

XXXXX

Sharon grimaced at the smell. For something that looks a lot like a small horse, Twilight and Rainbow Dash didn't smell like horses, at all. Likely a result of regularly bathing and cleaning themselves. That's how they smell on the outside though. They smell just as bad as anyone else on the inside. Sharon pushed the barf bucket Twilight was using towards Rainbow Dash, hoping she'd do something with it.

“I really wasn't expecting her to be this bad.”

“Are you sure she isn't poisoned?” Dash avoid the bucket and nervously hovered to the other side of the groaning alicorn.

“That was the first thing I checked. She's...well, obviously not fine. It's just stress.”

Twilight looked cute when Sharon first walked into her room, with the pillow wrapped over head. A thought she felt guilty for as it quickly became apparent she was having a pretty bad nightmare. It was lucky there was a bucket at the ready when Sharon woke her up.

“Do you want to talk about it Twilight?”

“No.” The pony in question just crawled further under her sheets.

“Alright, maybe later. For now however, you stink. The sheets are stained with your sweat, the room stinks, and you're a complete mess. Come on, lets get you cleaned up.”

Twilight lifted her head from the bed, the sheet she just wrapped over her head sliding off. She opened her mouth to argue, before closing it. She just didn't have it in her to argue. “Fine.” She quietly mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like 'worse than Spike'.

“I'll just go back to sitting in front room I guess? Kanyssea and Mikey might show up, right?”

“Go for it Rainbow. I'm not entirely sure about Mikey. Kanyssea will definitely show up when she's done talking to the other druids.”

“You don't think Mikey will show up? Isn't he our friend?”

Sharon laughed at the stricken look on Rainbow's face. “He likes you two, but from what Kanyssea says, he does his own thing on his down time. If he doesn't show up in an hour or two, you probably won't see him until tomorrow.”

“What does he do?” Twilight asked as she unsteadily got out of bed.

Sharon didn't really want to explain to a Princess/demigoddess/frightened homesick pony that one of her friends has a fondness for women of negotiable virtue, as well as a fondness for barmaids that are easily wooed with stories of his adventures. “You should ask Mikey next time you see him.”

Twilight was less than impressed with that dodge, but let it go as she trudged to the attached bath chamber.

Following Twilight to the bath chamber, Sharon stopped at the sight of the tub. As a child, she had to squeeze into one a lot smaller than that, with her whole family. “Wow. You really are getting the royal treatment here.”

Twilight began to fill the tub with water while Sharon was busy gawking. To Twilight, it was just a somewhat large bath tub, but on Azeroth, running water was the exception, not the rule. “Did Rainbow Dash tell you?”

Sharon stopped admiring the tub to look at Twilight. “She did.”

The two watched each other in uncomfortable silence as the tub filled. Finally Twilight broke the silence. “How did you first meet Mikey and Kanyssea?” It was a safe topic.

“We were both war orphans from the same area, what is now called the Eastern Plaguelands. There's a lot of us, really. When the Kingdom of Lordaeron fell, Stormwind took in a lot of us. Jaina Proudmoore took quite a few across the sea to Theramore as well.” Sharon tapped a finger on her chin for a moment. “Well, across the sea from Lordaeron at least. Theramore's on this continent. Anyways, I first met him at the Cathedral of Light. He was old enough when the Scourge came to be given a sword, but young enough to be sent away to protect the people fleeing, instead of fighting a doomed last stand.”

Sharon took a moment to check the water, before turning off the tap. “Alright stinky, in you go.” Twilight didn't even put up a struggle as Sharon lifted her into the tub. “The Cathedral of Light. It's own district in Stormwind, really. The Cathedral itself is large, but it also administers the orphanage and cemetery, as well as the training of Paladin's and Priests. Often, the trainees are recruited from the orphanage.”

“They conscripted you as a child?” Twilight sounded more than a little horrified by it.

Sharon rolled her eyes at the reminder of her age, which caused her no end of problems every time she wanted to do more than heal scraped knees. “My childhood was ripped from me in blood and screams. No amount of staying home and 'enjoying my childhood' would bring my family or friends back. They didn't have to conscript us. We competed for the opportunity. If I didn't want to do this, I could have stayed in Stormwind, like the church wanted me to. I was trained to be a healer, not a soldier. I chose this life.”

Selecting one of the several bottles of shampoo provided for Twilight, Sharon began pouring some on her and rubbing it in. “Back to the question at hand. Mostly, we just crossed paths while training. I'm not going to say all us trainees were one big happy family, but we lived together and worked together, even if we didn't all always get along. Me and Mikey weren't really 'friends', just well acquainted. It was maybe a year after Mikey left, that I followed in his foot steps. It was apparent the church wasn't going to let me walk my own path, so I left. A few months ago, I ran across Mikey and Kanyssea while they were passing through Dark Shore. Mikey was kind enough to sponsor me into his guild and, uh, help my falsify a bit of paperwork. I've run across the two of them a few times since. Really not much to the story.”

“I thought you three were closer than that. You seem so close.” Twilight let out a contented sigh Sharon started scratching behind her ears.

“Well, we are close. They trust me to keep them alive, and I trust them to protect me. You don't share this kind of trust without growing close.”

Twilight smiled. It wasn't very different from how she got so close to her friends. One wild night of saving the world, and even if they still had a lot to learn about each other when the dawn came, they were the best of friends. “I guess I know what you mean.”

XXXXX

Twilight walked out the bath chamber with a towel wrapped around her mane, and found Rainbow Dash sprawled out on the bed. “Feeling better Twi?”

“A little.”

Dash rolled out the bed and onto her hooves and wrapped her hooves around the still slightly damp Twilight. “Want to talk about it?

“I don't know what to do.”

“That's easy egghead. Get us home, then we kick the Burning Legion off our world. After that, we can go back to how things were. I can continue napping my mornings and afternoons away. You can continue studying all sorts of magic. We can go back to having all our crazy adventures. Maybe even turn Fluttershy in Flutterbat again.”

Twilight let out a chuckle. “Once is enough. She's still got a pair of fangs you know.”

“And how cool is that? Maybe we can turn me into Rainbow Dash, the Batmare!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I'm trying to be serious here Dash. I really don't know what to do. You've seen the disaster's I create. The last thing Equestria needs is-”

“You worry too much about that Twi.” Dash cut her off. “So you've made mistakes. Big deal. Remember the time I tried to stop winter and how huge of a mess that turned into? What about when Rarity found that cursed book? When Applejack thought she could do everything without any rest? Buck, what about nearly everything the Crusaders ever did? We've all bucked up more times than I can count Twilight. You've always fixed your mistakes before, with or without our help. As far as I'm concerned, what Tyrande said about you changes nothing. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you trash talk yourself.”

“It's not that simple Dash.”

It was Dash's turn to roll her eyes. “It's not that complicated either.” Dash glanced back to bathroom door. “Where's Sharon?”

“Taking her own bath. Apparently, having your own bath tub and running water is considered a serious luxury here.”

Dash just tilted her head. “Huh. That's...weird.”

“Tell me about it. It didn't take Mikey even a week to create two sets of armor that, well, by our standards in Equestria, they'd be legendary artifacts at least on par with the Sacred Armament of Minos. There would be Daring Do novels about keeping such an enchanted armor from falling into the wrong hooves. Yet basic amenities like running water are scarce, and electricity? A few here have heard of it, but nopony here uses it for anything as simple as lighting and heating except the Gnomes.”

Any further conversation ended with a knocking on the door. “Finish drying yourself off Twi, I'll get it. I bet that's Kanyssea.”

Dash barely opened the door before the druid stepped in and closed it. “Dash! What were you and Sharon thinking!?”

“What? What did we do?”

“Opened your big mouth!”

Twilight stepped into the front room. “What's wrong?”

Kanyssea grimaced and turned to Twilight. “A druid overheard a conversation between Rainbow Dash and Sharon, identifying you as an Eternal. Now nearly every druid in Darnassus knows, and the Arch Druid is going to make it public knowledge, just to score political points and spite Tyrande. He's throwing you under the wagon just to make himself look good.”

“What do you mean throwing me under the wagon?”

“Twilight, there's going to be a lot of people very interested in you. They'll want to use you. Whether it's for some sort political advantage, or to take your power as their own. This world isn't very kind. I don't think anyone told you, but the reason you appeared in Dire Maul? There were a bunch of elves there who wanted to turn you into a mana battery. If an imp didn't run off with the artifact they were going to use to summon you from where you were banished, someone would have spent the next thousand or so years ripping the magic and life from you to sustain their own immortality.” Twilight shuddered at that thought.

“Not like all us ponies are all that great either Twilight. Don't suppose you remember Sombra? Enslaved like the entire Crystal Empire? I doubt he'd have hesitated even a moment. I recall that Chrysalis wanted to use every pony in Equestria much in the same way as well. That's why she invaded Canterlot after all. Tirek was trying to steal all the magic in Equestria as well.” Dash tapped a hoof to her muzzle. “Huh, we've had a lot of enemies. Was that normal?”

Twilight shook her head. “Celestia's students had often gone into her direct service and fixed problems, kind of like how we always did, but nothing of the scale we did. They didn't have the Elements of Harmony though.” Nor were they being groomed to become an Alicorn went unsaid.

“Fine. You're used to dealing with this issue. I still don't like it.” Kanyssea stomped over to a chair and took a seat.

“Are we in danger here?” Dash protectively draped a wing over Twilight as she asked the question.

Kanyssea just shrugged. “I wouldn't have thought you were in danger in Feathermoon, but someone still threw an infernal through your window.” She let out a sigh. “But no, I don't think you're in danger here. The Arch Druid wants to wield you as a political weapon, but doing so requires protecting you. If something happens to you here after word gets out that he wants to openly protect you, it would politically ruin him. You'll still be safe here, but when you leave, everyone will know who you are, and it's going to draw the exactly wrong kind of attention. The worst you have to fear from the Arch Druid directly, is that he'll try to ingratiate himself with you and involve you in politics.”

Twilight leaned a little further into Dash. “I just want to go home.”

XXXXX

Mikey yawned and checked the clock again. He was early enough for sticking around to be an annoyance, but not so early that he could go somewhere else to kill a bit of time. With nothing else to do, he settled in to watch the crowd. It didn't take him long to catch it. A few hushed whispers here and there. There was no official announcement, but word had already spread. There was an Eternal walking Azeroth, and it was offered sanctuary by Elune. It was subtle, but there was a feeling of hope in the air.

Mikey didn't quite share the unbridled optimism of the Night Elves, but he didn't begrudge them for feeling as though things were looking up. They've worked hard to recover from the Third War. As a people, they've lost much. Piece by piece, they rebuilt their civilization, and now an Eternal walks the realm and decides to swing by their new capital.

The feeling he got from the Night Elves, was akin to that of a town the day before a celebration. They weren't partying in the streets yet, but they had that extra spring in their step and a building excitement. Mikey shook his head. He was sure the last thing Twilight would want is for the Elves to hold Twilight up as a symbol, but it seemed she had little choice in the matter.

After waiting several minutes, Mikey first saw Rainbow Dash flying. Once she saw him, she waved back towards the group he couldn't see and pointed in his direction before coming down to meet him. Dash landed and took a few looks at the elves staring at her before looking back to Mikey. It didn't take too long for the rest of the group to start coming. “This is gonna get annoying quick. Everyone's staring at me, and not because I just did something cool.”

“Your own fault you know.”

“Yea, yea. Kanyssea already yelled at us about it.”

Mikey shook his head and chuckled. “Well, in time, you're going to have a lot of enemies. The sooner you prepare for that, the better.”

“And that's why she's training today while Twilight meets again with Tyrande. I'll guard Twilight for the day.” Kanyssea stood there with her hands on her hips, just waiting for someone to disagree.

Twilight nibbled her bottom lip, and looked at the group. “Just...keep her safe. Please?”

“Don't worry Twi. I'll be fine.”

Mikey placed a hand on top of her rainbow mane and scratched Dash behind the ears. “She'll be fine Twilight. Nothing too dangerous.”

“Yes! Let's go have an adventure!” Sharon pumped her fist in the air in excitement.

Twilight shook her head. “I'll be meeting with Tyrande all day pretty much. Go on, have your adventure.”

“Aww. Don't worry Twilight, you can come with us for the next one!” Sharon smiled before dragging Dash towards the job board.

Twilight let out a long suffering sigh. “Now I'm more worried for the tree...Alright Kanyssea, lets go. Maybe I'll even manage to not embarrass myself today.”

Author's Note:

Five million over budget, and six months late. Glad to know my experience as government contractor applies so well to my writing :D

Comments

[Lunarmon]

Good story looking forward to see what happens next.

[Europa]

Gah, took WAY too long to review this.

Oh boy. Now the cat's out of the bag and everyone's going to be looking to Twilight as the next Elune, even though most of them are like, 10+ times her age. Can't imagine the kind of stress that will cause her.

At the very least, when shit really hits the fan Twilight has nerves of steel.

[tinmanbrony]

next chapter please.

[tinmanbrony]

when is the next chapter

[Astorius]

The first time I heard this theme I had to to think about Rainbow Dash in your story.

[ABitterPill]

I would like to see this story update again... but given the Author's not bothered to log on since February, I'm going to guess that's unlikely, nevermind how long the story itself has gone without updating.

[Nightsclaw]

This is a very interesting well-written story that I would love to see more of. I love how you have worked Twilight into the WoW world and her reactions to everything in this story have been just perfect. Thank you for sharing this story with us.

[XzareAce]

this was a great chapter, its a shame it had not been updated in 7 years, perhaps one day ill make a story like it