Luster Dawn Friendship Successor

by SamSwordsman123

Chapter 4: Speaking To Spirits

Twilight couldn’t believe it. Her brother and sister in law… dead!

“No! No! It can’t be!” Twilight wailed, crying tears for the first time since Celestia and Luna’s funeral.

Starlight and Sunburst both put their hooves to their mouths at the news. Gallus’s eagerness at the prospect of becoming a royal guard was replaced with sadness as he watched his former headmare burst into tears. Little Luster like was saddened to hear that someone had died, and it struck her in the heart to see the beautiful princess cry with the other ponies.

“Twilight,” Starlight said in concern, walking up to her former mentor as the ruler of Equestria let out sobs like a filly Luster’s age. She put her hooves around Twilight who sank, bringing Starlight down under her weight.

Twilight’s family gathered around her, Flurry Heart had already cried most of her tears out but they came anew at seeing her aunt sad as well. She hugged Twilight’s neck while Velvet and Night Light also came in and joined. Sunburst, with a heavy heart, used his magic to pull Starlight out of the pile of sad ponies. They had come to Canterlot with high hopes that were fulfilled. Luster had gotten her cutie mark and was also being accepted into the school of magic. She would become Twilight’s personal student. This day would have been just perfect… if not for such tragic news.

“I’m sorry Twilight,” Starlight said.

Twilight sang a sad song that she had sung once before, only this time it was true. “He was my Big Brother Best Friend… Forever. And now we’ll never do anything… together.”

Starlight and Sunburst eventually left with Luster to take the train back to Ponyville. Gallus remained in Canterlot, waiting to let Twilight mourn before she gave an answer about his question. He checked into a hotel near the castle where she could find him.

Twilight sat in her room with Spike as well as Flurry Heart as they wallowed in sadness. Flurry Heart lay nuzzled against Twilight’s side. She’d finally managed to get to sleep, her face still wet from the tears. Twilight looked at her orphaned niece sadly as the light of the moon which had once belonged to Luna shined through the window. With Shining Armor and Cadence gone, it would be up to her as well as her parents and Spike to raise Flurry Heart.

Sleep did not come for Twilight that night. Her mind was going through all the memories she’d had with her brother as well as Cadence. Those sibling supreme competitions where they would have a rivalry to find out who could do things better than the other, him teaching her to fly a kite, giving her ponyback rides, encouraging her to do her best as she first tried using her magic. Cadence pushing her on the swing, telling her she was special.

Twilight waited until her clocked hit seven am before raising the sun. Light shined into the room, but it brought no joy to Twilight. She looked down at her niece.

“Flurry, wake up sweetie,” she said in a soft but strained voice.

The preteen Alicorn opened her blue eyes.

“Aunty Twilie!” she exclaimed, holding her hooves out.

Twilight picked up her niece and softly patted her back.

“I want mommy and daddy back!” Flurry wailed.

Twilight cringed. “They aren’t coming back Flurry!” she choked out. “Nothing can-

Twilight broke off. There might be a way!

“Spike!” she prodded her adoptive brother who had fallen asleep on the sofa next to her bed. The dragon woke up.

“Twilight? Everything okay? Please tell me that Shining Armor and Cadence are alive and that it was just a bad dream,” he said.

Twilight shook her head. “Its real, but I’ve just thought of something. Send a letter to Discord.”

After a minute of writing the hardest letter he could remember, Spike blew it. They waited, expecting Discord to pop up out of thin air like he usually did. It took a while, but he did appear… and he wasn’t alone. From a loud pop that occurred emerged not only the Spirit of Chaos but all of Twilight’s Ponyville friends as well.

“Twilight! Darling! Discord told us about you sent a letter saying Shining Armor and Cadence are-

They all noticed Flurry Heart still sitting on the bed silently with a glum expression. That answered Rarity’s question.

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy said. “Are you all okay?”

Twilight shook her head. “It hurts so much. I thought I’d lost my brother once… you know, back at the wedding?”

They all looked down as they recalled that awful moment where Shining Armor had kicked Twilight out of the wedding when she accused Queen Chrysalis who had been posing as Cadence of being evil. That was one of the guiltiest moments of their lives when they had been so self-centered and focused on their task for an important event rather than Twilights feelings. Much like they’d done at the time of Twilight’s coronation as the new rulers. They couldn’t afford to let Twilight down now.

“We’re here for you Sugarcube. Whatever you need, we’ll do it.”

“Yeah, lets go and find the creature that did this and make it pay!” Rainbow Dash suggested.

Discord put a hand over the pegusas’s mouth. “You want me to hunt down this creature I presume, Twilight? I still owe you an endless series of favors for that genious plan of mine in uniting three villains against you. That’s why you called me I presume?”

Twilight shook her head. “No Discord, but I do have a favor to ask that will make me completely forget about that whole incident I think.”

“Name it!” Discord said.

Twilight sighed. “I would like you to… resurrect Shining Armor and Cadence.”

Everyone gasped. Discord looked stunned.

“You want me to… bring your beloved brother… or as I recall you refer to him… your BBBFF… and his wife… from the dead?” Discord asked. In any other instance he would have used a teasing tone on her, but instead he looked sad.

“You brought back Sombra? Can’t you do the same with them?” Twilight asked.

"I can try," Discord said.

He conjured up a stick and drew a symbol in the floor just as he had done to resurrect Sombra while posing as Grogar. But instead of growing something like a dark crystal, the symbol merely vanished. Discord tried again, but the same result happened. He shook his head.

“I’m sorry, I can’t bring them back.” He said, bowing his head.

“What?” Twilight exclaimed. “Why not?”

Discord sighed. “Even I can’t do whatever I want all the time. I'm a spirit of chaos, my ability to control life and death is limited. I was able to bring back Sombra because he wanted to come back. He was not at peace, he wanted to rule over his empire still and acquire more power. But Shining Armor and Cadence are both at peace already. They don’t want to come back.”

“But- how can they be at peace already?” Rarity exclaimed. “They have so much left to live for! They have a daughter to raise still!”

“Yeah, they can still live through a lot of fun!” Pinkie said.

“Well, let us ask them. I can at least get their spirits here for a short time,” Discord snapped his fingers.

Two white figures appeared in the room with everypony else. Shining Armor and Cadence looked at them with smiles.

“Hey, everypony.” Shining Armor said.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Flurry squealed and flew off the bed, only to pass through her parents when she tried to hug them.

Twilight approached them. “Why don’t you two want to come back?”

Cadence gave a smile. “We’re not gone Twilight, not fully. You may not be able to see us except for instances like this… but that doesn’t mean we aren’t with you. We’re still able to watch you and all the others. And we can rest peacefully, because we know that Flurry Heart is in good hooves. Just promise me that you will take good care of her.”

Twilight looked at her niece and picked her up with her magic, bringing her closer so that she could hold Flurry in her hooves.

“I promise. I’ll look after her,” Twilight said. “You can trust me.”

They both began to fade.

Shining Armor said one last thing to his sister. “Death is a part of life Twily. We all have to accept that it happens someday. Some might live longer than others, but no one does forever. A soldiers life is filled with danger, it has been for all of us in these times of danger. We were lucky to have all lasted this long and not lose anypony else until now. I love you sis. I’ll always be your BBBFF, and I’ll always be in your heart until your time comes. We will meet again.”

They both vanished.

“Yes… we will,” Twilight sniffled. “Someday, but not until I do what I need to for the good of Equestria,” Twilight said. “We will be together again in the next life, Shining… Cadence. I love you both and I swear I’ll take care of Flurry!”

She took her niece in her hooves as they both cried in the direction where the spirits of their family had been. Her friends gathered around her and formed a comforting group hug.

“We’re here for you, Sugarcube.”

“I wish I could make you smile, Twilight. But even I can’t smile knowing somepony is gone,” Pinkie said. “Death is never a happy thing.”

“But it happens to all of us,” Twilight said.

“Except for me!” Discord said, being the only one of them smiling. “Celestia and Luna lasted a long time, but I can never age!”

“Lucky you!” Rarity pouted. “To never grow old, gray and wrinkly like I will someday!”

“Yes, I am quite the handsome Draconeques. Aren’t I Fluttershy?” he asked his wife.

The element of kindness spoke without a smile. “Yes you are my dear lord of chaos.”

“So… what are we going to do now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, still looking at the spot where the spirits had been.

“We gotta save Equestria again! There’s something out there that just KILLED two ponies and we need to stop it before somepony else gets hurt. Don’t you wanna make that thing pay Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight was very tempted to say "Yes"… to hunt down whatever had claimed the lives of her loved ones. But… she looked down at her niece.

“I can’t…” Twilight said. “As much as I want revenge… I have to put my kingdom… and my families needs… before my own desires.”

Just like my immortality. She thought silently. If not for the necessity of having the power to control the sun and moon to maintain balance in Equestria she would have rid herself of this accursed thing long ago. But she had to hang onto it… until there was somepony worthy to wield it in her stead.

“If something happens to me, Equestria will be without leadership. I need to be here for my subjects as well as Flurry Heart… to teach her to be a good ruler for the Crystal Empire when she comes of age,” Twilight said, stroking Flurry’s mane as the filly sobbed against her foreleg.

“So… what are we going to do about the murdering some creature out there?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You want me to hunt it down?” Discord asked again.

Twilight shook her head. “I’ve got somepony else in mind. Or perhaps I should say some Griffon?”