Those Forty Years

by Spell Writer

Intermission - Month One

It's been a whole month since Twilight disappeared.

Equestria is fine at the moment, at least. A little dragon lying in a bed far too large for him sits up. Tirely sitting up, Spike grips a little purple pony plushy he has. Rarity made it for him and… and

"I-I please come home, Twilight. Please." He says quietly into the plushy. Hugging it tightly as he lets out a small tear. He's never been apart from Twilight this long, and just being apart for such a long period hurts his heart.

But what hurts more is that there are ponies and even a certain draconequus who know what's happening and refuse to tell them any details. At first, Spike wasn't sure that they knew. Discord played it off and said she was okay before he skulked off to his dimension and locked himself there for two weeks. That alone told us all that she was probably in trouble.

But that's expected from the self-proclaimed Lord of all Chaos. He never expected Celestia and Luna to do the same.

---

The mane five were packed up and ready to head to Canterlot. Twilight had been missing for two weeks, and Discord still hadn't returned from searching for her. Their only hint was a half-destroyed time spell and Owlowiscious' incessant hooting. It took a while for Fluttershy to translate, mainly because the bird was so stressed out by whatever happened. After a good five days of calming him down, getting him rest, and staying at Fluttershy's house for safekeeping, Owlowiscious finally told them she was working on some strange and unfinished spell again.

The five mares were quietly waiting on the train as it took them to Canterlot. Spike found the spell and sent it to Celestia with his enchanted fire breath. He was by far the most stressed out of all six creatures there. The air was tense, and the usually happy atmosphere of a trip to Canterlot was missing. Even Pinkie had her 'serious face' on, although that mostly involved her trying to cheer everypony up with small talk.

At first, they thought Twilight had simply locked herself up for a booksortcation. It used to happen all the time, after all. Twilight may be the Princess of Friendship, but even she needs time to rest and relax doing what she loves, and all her friends respect that. After all, they all deal with their stress differently. Even just last week, Fluttershy was missing for a day so she could just lay in a field with bunnies and other critters because the stress of her friend missing was starting to get to her.

Rainbow Dash finally breaks the silence. "You think the Princesses will know what to do?" She says with a nervous, almost worried tone of voice. Without Twilight, things just didn't feel the same to her. Sure, she and Twilight had their differences. After all, Twi was a total egghead. Even then, though, the two cared for one another and tried to help each other whenever needed.

And something was telling Rainbow that her friend needed her. She could feel it deep inside where the element of loyalty rested in her body.

Rarity hugs Spike close to her side. "I'm sure they will, darling. After all, we and Twilight have saved Equestria countless times. I doubt they'll leave her in her time of need." She says, all too unconvincingly. "Twilight would never have left Spikey Wikey alone like this without good reason. I'll bet the spell likely failed or malfunctioned, just like when we all swapped cutie marks."

Applejack rubs her head a bit. "Ah still barely remember that. Even after Twilight told us about it, but this isn't the first time, and ah doubt it'll be the last un. Twi does love try'n out stuff that she finds interestin after all."

After a moment of agreement, spirits get high again. The Friendship Express finally stopped in Canterlot. Unlike Ponyville, which is quiet and gloomy with the disappearance of its Princess, Canterlot seems almost. Cheery. Several public work orders are happening, and the city is being upgraded rapidly daily. The group doesn't even have to go to the castle to run into one of the princesses, as Luna, who usually is asleep at this hour, is writing away at a clipboard in the middle of town.

"No, no, no! The fountain is supposed to be over there, and the statue right here. Then once they're in place, my sister and I will extend the town with the materials and some magic. Okay?" Luna says to Handyhoof, a light blue, hard hat-wearing earth pony. Who nods a little bit.

"We can do that, but we'll need to see what we're working with first, then Princess. So if ya can extend the square before we get to work, that'd make things smoother. Until then, we can work in the park you and your sister already extended." He says as they look over the map. Luna rubbed her chin a bit.

"It's not optimal, but that will work. My sister and I will extend the area once the materials come in." Luna says before nodding to the workpony, who nods back. She then writes something down on her dark blue clipboard with white paper. Turning around and almost colliding with the curious Pinkie Pie.

"Ack!" She says as she's caught off guard by the curious Pink ball of chaos, stumbling backward a tiny amount while accidentally knocking Pinkie down, who simply just bounces off the ground like rubber and hops back up.

"Hi, Princess Luna! We were hoping to talk with you and your sister today!" Pinkie says excitedly as she bounces up and down in front of the Princess. "But uh, what with loud construction noises?" She says curiously as she looks around the rapidly evolving Canterlot. Even the very expensive Unicorn Builder's Guild is here, magically extending and moving much of the city.

Luna blinks before teleporting her clipboard and quills away, "Oh, we're simply preparing for something that should happen in the next few days or so. But we always have time for you girls. Come!" She says with a happy trot in her step. The five followed behind quietly. This was a stressful time for them, but Luna overlooked that. In fact, they haven't ever seen her THIS happy.

Rainbow Dash even mumbles, "Did a changeling replace Princess Luna or something? She's really. Excited?" She says with a curious look as they all head into the palace, which also has been heavily redecorated. The guards are all wearing much more opulent armor that looks ancient and old but still absolutely beautiful. The guards even looked more capable than usual.

But there's no time for gawking. The group wanders into the throne room, where Celestia and Discord are at the end of a very heated discussion.

---

"And you were keeping this from me till now. WHY?!" Discord yells out with an angry voice. Celestia sighed a little bit, took a deep breath, and waited for Discord's angry tirade to finish. She knew that the draconequus wouldn't do anything now. Especially after his foray into the past recently. After all, now that he knows, not only is Fluttershy holding him back, but also a tall, purple threat hanging behind Celestia at all times. The thought of it makes her giggle a little, she won't lie, and the smug look on her face absolutely shows it.

The draconequus showed up a few minutes before the last train into Canterlot, which carried Twilight's friends. Celestia had been expecting the group of six to show up at any moment, so she got herself ready with her tiara and waited quietly on her throne for the conversation to come. She didn't expect Discord to appear the moment he finished his investigation.

It was amusing to her, though. Discord turns bright red in the face as he gets increasingly frustrated. "You KNOW how much your mother and I fought. Not only that but how many TIMES we fought!"

Celestia snorts. "Fight is a strong word for an altercation that lasted about twenty minutes the last time you showed up." She says simply. Holding a smile on her face, not noticing the doors behind Discord open. She's just enjoying his tantrum far too much. Although, considering the time he came from. Agh. It's all so fuzzy when she thinks about that time period. What happened again? Luna got hurt by something. At least, that's what she thinks. It's like trying to find one rock in a stream filled with other stones and dirt. The memory just wasn't coming to her.

"Do you not think it pertinent information that not only am I friends with the second biggest enemy of my existence because of YOUR trickery, but that very same pony is your student and the Eternal Queen of Equestria!? The very one that passed the law that said you and your sister would rule together, the very same pony that disappeared after her thousands of years reigning?!" He says furiously. Celestia giggles a little in response.

"Discord, she was only back there for fortyish years, give or take a few. Besides, Mother was very clear about not telling you. Said it would be a surprise for you." Celestia says with an amused grin, remembering that day when Discord turned Twilight's mane into candy and his third launching into the far reaches of space by her horn. "Besides, it's not going to stop you from playing pranks or ruin your relationship with Fluttersh-" She finally notices the ponies behind Discord, her eyes going wide as she looks at him. "Discord, wa-"

Discord "Alicorn. Years." He says simply

Celestia sputters a bit. "What?"

Discord finishes before vanishing. "Alicorn years. Forty ALICORN years!" He glares before snapping his fingers and disappearing in a puff of little Fluttershy yays. A door slamming shut somewhere else in the universe.

There was only dead silence from both Princesses, the air getting heavy. Celestia finally breaks the silence with one phrase. One she hasn't said in quite a long time. "Oh, buck me."

Author's Note:

SURPRISE. Intermission.

And big reveal too!

As always, I'm constantly watching the comments and I love feedback sooooooooooo. Yeah!

Enjoy~!

Comments

[Blood Rarity]

[manacar]

Glad this is alive again it's a good story

[Spell Writer]

11658439
Thank you!~ I try my best.

[new55]

That was a good chapter.

[Spell Writer]

11658450
Appreciated! Glad you enjoyed!

[Thranx]

Huh! Alicorn years! That changes a lot of things... I mean, how many years would one be?

[Spell Writer]

11658548
A very long time.

My Faithful Student Spoilers below:
That's why at the end of my faithful student the room was so dusty. Spike woulda gladly kept the room clean if it was actually only two weeks of her missing.