A Journey Unthought Of: Revival of Chaos

by Hustlin Tom

Chapter 13 - Twilight Sparkle, Celestia, Luna

The overnight express from Ponyville pulled into Canterlot station at around six in the morning. Twilight Sparkle hadn’t been able to sleep at all during the entire night. When she had received a letter from Spike via his magic flames, she knew it was going to be something important. What she had not expected was that it would be from Princess Luna. As she read the letter that she now carried in her saddle bag, she could not believe what the letter had said. Princess Celestia was ill, perhaps even terminally so? Even as her mind was still in shock and unconscious of her actions, she had packed as fast as she could, and without even saying goodbye to Spike or any of her friends, she had boarded a train to Canterlot.

As soon as the doors were open, Twilight galloped hard away from the train depot. With reckless abandon she made her way through the business and market districts of the city; she would even have almost run down a few ponies if she had not teleported around them. As she finally reached the public doors of Canterlot Castle, she was greeted by the presence of Princess Luna and her two Antrozi guards. Her brain finally caught up with her hooves, and she realized why she was here: her mentor, the mare she had looked up to since her first day of being her student, Princess Celestia, was dying. The act of seeing Princess Luna greeting her instead of her teacher was what finally drove that thought directly into the center of her mind. Twilight walked up to the Princess of the Night in a stupor, as her hours of sleeplessness began to catch up with her as well. Princess Luna gestured for her to follow, and the four ponies reentered the safety of the castle, away from prying eyes.

The surrounding environment of the many hallways of the normally beautiful castle was made fuzzy by Twilight’s drifting thoughts. She didn’t really perceive that she had been walking for a great distance, until she saw the door marked by Princess Celestia’s Cutie Mark. Now at the threshold of her teacher’s room, she didn’t want to go in. Afraid of what she would see, but nonetheless worried for her teacher, she entered after Princess Luna. The room was made bright by the rising sun. The linens of the room had been changed to a warm pink color. At the center of the room, Twilight could see the form of Princess Celestia as she lay in bed. She was awake, but she was weak. As she and Princess Luna came around to where Princess Celestia could see them, Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. Her teacher looked so completely different now, that she looked like a different mare altogether. Pain was now constantly near her, and it showed on her face. Lines were now etched into her visage that made her look much older and less vibrant. Never had anyone seen her like this; so fragile, so agonized.

Twilight finally broke the silence with an anguished whisper, “Princess Celestia?”

Her teacher’s eyes slowly opened. As she recognized who was speaking to her, her happiness eased her pain somewhat, and she became a little more like her old self. “Twilight,” she softly breathed, “It’s wonderful to see you.”

Twilight gave a broken smile as tears collected on her cheeks, “It’s nice to see you too.”

“How are you?” Princess Celestia whispered as she grunted from another spasm of pain.

Alarmed at her teacher’s discomfort, Twilight exclaimed, “Princess!”

“It’s nothing,” she replied, “I’m fine.”

“What did this to you?”

“That doesn’t matter now,” the Princess said, “I have one final lesson to teach you.”

“No, Princess please!” Twilight implored, “You have to get better! Who’s going to raise the sun? What about our lessons?”

The Princess winced through another blast of agony to her body, “The sun has been taken care of, and you have already learned so much about friendship over the past few years. You could send your letters to Luna now, if you wanted to.”

“I would be honored,” Princess Luna quietly declared as she took a step closer to her sister’s bedside.

“Princess,” Twilight began to sob as she wrapped her hooves around her teacher’s chest, “I don’t want you to die!”

“I don’t want to die either,” Princess Celestia smiled softly, “I am told that there is still hope, though. Some ponies are looking for a cure. I didn’t know how much time I had left, so I just wanted to make sure that we were both ready, should things turn for the worse. Would you like me to teach you another lesson?”

Twilight brought her head up from the Princess’ chest, and she slowly nodded through her tears.

Princess Celestia slowly pointed her hoof over to her bedside dresser. On the antique, oak crafted table stood a prominent glass container; within it was held a crystal shard. Princess Luna gently lifted the glass case from off its wooden pedestal, and placed it off to the side. She then brought the sliver of crystal over so Twilight could easily observe it.

Princess Celestia’s eyes were misty as she looked back into the past, “This crystal shard was given to me by your ancestor, Starswirl the Bearded, nearly seven hundred years ago. It, along with Philomena, were his parting gifts to me before he died. I will pass them on to you as well if the time comes.”

She paused to allow Twilight a chance to look over the crystal. It shone with so many different colors, each just as bright and beautiful as the last. Some were strange to her; some she did not know even existed, but this in no way detracted from its elegance.

“It’s wonderful,” she said as she finished her visual analysis, her breath taken away, “I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Put your ear next to it,” the Princess softly commanded her student.

Twilight obediently put the crystal to her ear, even if it seemed like a strange request. As she listened, she began to hear the sound of tinkling bells. She also began to hear the sounds of ecstatic laughter, and she almost thought that she smelt the familiar scent of ancient books and of a candle burning. Twilight gasped at the sheer sense of joy she had received from this odd crystal. She brought it back around to her face to observe it once again. “What is it?” she asked in awe.

“Starswirl once told me that it was the physical manifestation of what lies beyond death; that it is a fragment of the great beyond. To me, it is a crack in the imposing doorway of what may lie ahead, and it offers me hope.” Princess Celestia lay her hoof in front of Twilight, “If I should leave you soon, do not cry for me. I have faith that we would see each other again.”

Twilight placed the crystal gently in its container, and she wrapped her own hooves around her teacher’s, “I promise,” she said as she dried her tears with her magic, “that no matter what happens, I will always follow the ways you’ve taught me; that I will always keep searching for new ways of making and learning about friendship.”

Princess Celestia smiled as she shed new tears of happiness mixed with dulling pain, “Twilight, you have been a most excellent student. I am proud to have been your teacher.”

Both Twilight and Princess Luna slowly looked upward in awe. Princess Celestia followed their gaze, and she saw small particles of golden light floating towards the ceiling. In that instant, she realized that she no longer felt any pain at all, and that those particles were coming from her pastel mane.

“Oh,” she faintly realized as the golden lights continued to float away from her mane, “It looks like it’s time to go.”

With strength she wasn’t aware that she still had anymore, Princess Celestia got up from her bed and began to walk towards the balcony. Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle were not far behind. Even with the knowledge and hope they now had, Princess Luna began to quietly weep, and Twilight once again began to sob. Umbra and Nox, who had been quietly watching from the rafters up above, now silently joined them and gazed on the Princess of the Sun with somber wonder.

“Lulu,” she wistfully breathed.

Princess Luna looked up from her tears to meet her sister’s eyes.

“Lulu,” Princess Celestia whispered once again, “I love you so much.”

Unable to control her composure any longer, the Princess of the Night trotted forward as she whimpered, “I love you too, Tia,” and she embraced her older sister. She felt her sister give her a warm, loving, and firm hug.

The warmth of her older sister’s embrace faded, and when she no longer felt anything between her forehooves, she opened her eyes. A large trail of golden particles slowly drifted off into the sky, leaving behind a puddle of dark green sludge on the balcony.

“Tia!” Princess Luna called out loudly after the golden trail in the sky. As it drifted away, the particles flew up higher into the blue horizon. She was gone. Princess Celestia was gone.

With one great breath, Princess Luna wailed to the skies, “TIAAA!” and then she collapsed to the balcony. Twilight now came to her side, and even as she herself was crying, she tried to comfort the Princess. The two of them embraced each other as they grieved, and they spent several minutes together sitting in that same place, both unified by their loss of a great sister, teacher, and most of all, friend.

Comments

[Hustlin Tom]

This part of the story I wanted to make sure I took a lot of care in writing. The characters deserved respect for what has happened to them, and I wanted to convey that as much as possible. Next week, we will begin begin to see what Princess Celestia's fate is to be for the majority of this work.

[Alan Smithee]

> Tries to riff chapter
> Realizes he's deeply saddened by chapter
> Writes stupid greentext because he can't just admit it