Last Day of Light
The first week of Twilight Sparkle's life as a princess was one big blur to her. It was rough already to adjust to having wings of all things, and not having to cast anything to sit on a cloud like she used to, but that wouldn't be the only change she would have to adjust to.
As per Celestia's request, she spent a week at the castle of Canterlot, soaking up all knowledge of her new duties as she could from her teacher in that time span. As she found out the hard way, the new role she would now fill was a bit overwhelming, yet exciting at the same time.
While she stayed in Celestia's home for the time being, it was so surreal to walk the halls and have the Royal Guards salute her presence while she passed them by. She was used to them knowing who she was, since her brother was the captain of the Guards and she was Celestia's protege, but it was like having an old friend treat you like a king out of the blue.
"You won't have to visit Canterlot very often, no matter what you choose to do, but it is still vital you make the occasional trip for council meetings such as these," Celestia explained, while they were in the study foyer.
Twilight pawed at the old telescope by the window, the same one she used all the time while under Celestia's wing.
"Twilight, were you listening to what I was saying?"
"What?" She swung her head back to Celestia. "Oh, yes. You were mentioning when I needed to come here. I'm listening. It's just so much to take in."
"I'm aware of that. Cadence was the same way when she was a princess for the first time. That is why she only gradually filled into her duties, not all at once. It's still important to know about these things ahead of time, even with that in mind. Now, about the topic of war..."
The entire day was like that, going over what a princess of Equestria was expected to do. Of course, Twilight was up to the task, but it was the first sign that her life was never going to be the same anymore.
At least it would stay the same in the places that mattered most.
After the week of lectures was over, the two princesses were near the gates of Canterlot, with a chariot ready to take Twilight back to Ponyville. All she had to do was go inside and give the signal, and she would be back home.
"Are you sure you want to go back to Ponyville right now? You haven't even decided on having a castle or anything similar to that," Celestia brought up.
"I know. I just want time to think about it. You're not mad at me, right?" Twilight asked.
"Not at all. No matter what you choose to do about it, I respect your decision. After all, Cadence was a foalsitter while she was also a princess."
Twilight laughed. "The best foalsitter! I'll send you a letter when I'm ready to talk about it. Thanks for everything you taught me, this could be a lot of fun."
Celestia nodded, and waved to her former student while she climbed into her chariot and the Guards flew her away to her home.
It felt like a long time since Twilight had last seen Ponyville with her own eyes. Granted, it was nice being in her first home of Canterlot and seeing her parents again for an extended time, but she was eager to return to the small town, especially since a certain scaly friend had to stay behind while she was busy with her duties.
No matter what she was expecting from her homecoming, it was blown away the moment she saw what was waiting for her down below.
As the chariot approached the town of Ponyville, she could make out that a huge collection of ponies was waiting at the spot they were expecting her to land. It had to be the entire town for pony's sake, and they clamored when they saw that she was getting close.
And surely enough, Pinkie Pie was the one in front, pointing her out.
"Look, everypony! Twilight's almost here! Now, when she's here, I want you all to give her a big welcome, because she's a princess and all, and it's cool we have a princess that lives here that's also a really good friend!"
That seemed to encourage the whole audience, and the pegasi moved ahead of time and hovered a big banner for Twilight to read. "Welcome, Princess Twilight!"
How typical of Pinkie Pie, she thought. It was nice to know Pinkie still had that personal touch to her.
"Princess, are you sure we should touch down there?" the Guard asked. "It looks too crowded to me."
"It will be fine. I know these ponies by heart, they won't do anything to us. Try to land us near the library."
The Guards brought the chariot closer to the library while they brought the wheels down to the ground. There was nothing better to Twilight than to see her familiar treehouse come into view.
She even saw Spike look out the window to see what the commotion was about. As soon as he saw her touch down, he appeared excited and raced down the stairs as fast as he could.
The ponies followed her every moment closely, and only cheered louder when the chariot landed on solid ground. Before she had even gotten out, the audience was already applauding her.
While Twilight hopped out of the chariot, Spike opened the front door of the house and ran right to her. He stopped in the middle of his tracks, adjusting to the fact that his closest friend now had wings, a crown, a neck plate, golden sandals, and two Guards following her every move.
"Wow...it's really you, Twilight," he said, awestruck from seeing her like this.
Twilight opened her mouth to talk, but the crowd was practically bursting at the seams to hear anything from her. It was so loud that she couldn't even hear herself speak.
"One moment, Spike. I want to talk to you, I really do. Give me a moment to take care of these ponies first. They've been waiting for a long time to see me."
She turned around to meet the audience face to face. They grew excited when she came forward, knowing she would finally address them for the first time. Her guards stood by her side, giving the moment a hint of formality.
"Hello there, Ponyville. Wow, it's only been a week but I feel like I've been gone for an entire month. It's good to see you all again, I've missed you so much.
"I know things are going to change soon around here, now that you have a princess living here. And I'll address that in time. But I would like to have a few moments to myself for now, if that's OK with you."
The ponies were upset to hear this, and they groaned in disappointment. But it wasn't for long, being a princess was tough work after all, and they understood that.
But one pony was complaining louder than the rest.
"Aw, and I had a whole 'Welcome To Ponyville, Princess Twilight' party planned for the day! We were going to play Pin The Tail On The Alicorn, have so many cakes in a row, and then see if you or Rainbow Dash was faster, even if she says she's the fastest in Equestria!" said Pinkie Pie.
"I heard that!" Rainbow Dash shouted back.
Twilight laughed again. "Thanks for being so thoughtful of me, maybe we can do it sometime soon. Thank you all for your consideration, and I will see you shortly."
She bowed before them, and they stomped their hooves on the ground in applause. It made her steps a little lighter as she went for the shelter of the treehouse.
"Stay at the doorpost and let me know if I have any visitors. If it's one of the Elements, go ahead and let them in," she commanded the Guards.
They saluted her while she came inside. Spike stood inside, still waiting for her to come in, and shut the door behind her.
Waves of nostalgia hit Twilight when she got to look at the familiar shelves and books that she called hers. She brought herself to one of the shelves and pulled out one book in particular, Everything You Wanted To Know About Sleepovers, But Were Afraid To Ask. What good memories she had, just from these pages alone...
Meanwhile, Spike was still soaking it in, the thought that Twilight was a princess now. He kept staring at her crown, the one that once signaled her spot as the leader of the Elements of Harmony, now meaning something else entirely.
"Twilight Sparkle...is that really you?" He blinked his eyes, wondering if he was imaging this.
"Oh Spike, I missed you so much!" She put the book away and hugged Spike tight with her front legs. It was such a welcome sight to see him again.
"I missed you too," he said, as he pulled away. "But this is amazing! I heard all about your wings and even saw them before you went away for the coronation, but I didn't think you would actually look like Celestia too! How was the coronation?"
"It was wonderful, I feel bad you had to stay behind to watch Owlowiscious."
"It's fine, who else was going to keep an eye on him?"
Almost as soon as he said those words, the owl emerged out of hiding from his cage and flew right at Twilight. He perched his claws on Twilight's back and pecked at her neck softly with his beak.
"I missed you too!" she laughed. He was tickling all around her fur, and she shuddered after being pecked so much. After a while, he grew tired of it and flew to the study desk, perching his claws on the end.
"I think he missed you too," Spike said. "He was looking at the front door for the last few days, and he was waiting for you to come in, I think."
"I can believe that. He did seem happy to see me."
After a few seconds, she realized she was exhausted from the trip. She trotted up the steps to her bed and sat on top of the blankets. She took off her crown, neck plate, and sandals and placed them neatly by her side. It felt so good for her bare hooves to touch something so cuddly. Spike followed her, and sat on the side of the bed with the princess.
"So what happens next?" he asked.
"That's why I went back to Ponyville, actually," Twilight answered. "I don't really know what to do. Every princess has her castle and all, but I don't know if I want one right now. That's something I could put away for a while, but I wanted to come back to think about it in private. Do you think that sounds terrible?"
"Why would it sound terrible? It sounds like something anypony in your position would do. But I'm still your number-one assistant, right?"
"Yes, you're still my number-one assistant."
Spike grinned, and everything in his world was right again.
"So, I'm assuming you want some time alone?"
"Yeah, that sounds nice right now."
The dragon nodded and went down to the main floor, going back to reading one of the older Daring Do novels he was in the middle of. Owlowiscious saw this as a chance to take a nap, and closed eyes to sleep.
Twilight smiled to herself and knew that she had some reigns on her new duties after all. It wouldn't be like this all the time, but at least she wasn't drowning in new customs either.
It was in the late morning hours by then, and it wouldn't be long until the Guards asked her what she would like for lunch, given that's what they did for Celestia all the time.
She stretched out her limbs and began to dwell on some of the important decisions she would have to make. The idea of a castle was appealing, no matter what she would say, but she already knew she wanted to stay in Ponyville with her friends. And a castle in the middle of a purposefully small town would stick out like a sore thumb.
So what should she do instead? Truth be told, she didn't know, and realized she didn't have a good answer for the question she was faced with.
She had to think of something to occupy her time while she figured it out, and there was only one thing that could fill the need: A good old fashioned book.
The alicorn used her magical grip to grab a book on a shelf, and drew it over to her bed. She placed it between herself and the pillow and looked over the cover.
The title was older than most of her catalog, and the style matched its age. A thin layer of dust covered its bounds, and the cover itself was thick and red. It had a design for a flame, and on it was written How to Cast Fire Magic For Beginners, by Starswirl the Bearded.
Granted, she knew the book from the front cover to the back, but it was fun to read time and time again. Something written from one of her favorite mages, rich in ideas and technique, of course she was going to love it.
She pushed the front cover open, and it sent dust everywhere. After a few breaths of air, it was clean of dust and she began to read.
Before I begin to write on my new discoveries, it is imperative to note that fire magic is not something to be trifled with. It can burn down entire homes or palaces, so I strongly recommend practicing such an act outdoors in a non-dry environment whenever possible.
In addition, first timers should know that it is very possible their horn could catch on fire, so I would recommend keeping a pail of water at all times for the first few attempts.
After thirty minutes, she got to the good parts.
Like any elemental magic field, one must constantly envision it in order to use its magical counterpart. Think about the properties of fire. It will not be all that is required to cast it, but it will be a good foundation for everything else.
Focus all of your energy to the spell, and then you should feel a spark of some sort on your horn. That is when you must release the spell; if you wait too long after this moment, the horn WILL catch fire. Hours of preparation have proved this to be the case time and time again.
The words of wisdom seemed to be exactly what she needed. She felt relaxed, clear headed, and able to think straight without the pressure thinking for her. It didn't help her figure anything out at all, but it was a step in the right direction.
Her stomach rumbled from the lack of food, and at any moment the guards would come in and ask if they should hire a chef for her. And in the end, a simple sandwich made by a dragon would do.
She climbed down the bed and was about to ask Spike what they had for sandwiches, when out of nowhere, her horn started to glow. Spike was busy sweeping the floor with his broom, and stopped in the middle of his work when he saw it too.
It glowed with a white light, and she didn't know if she should be scared or excited from it. The horn beamed a little brighter with some sort of magic. Spike had to cover his eyes from the light, it was almost as bright as the sun.
And it stopped just as soon as it started. After all of that, there was a letter in the middle of the room. It was rolled up neatly and sealed with a generic black seal.
Neither Twilight nor Spike knew what to make of it, and approached it cautiously.
"Is that from Princess Celestia?" Spike asked her. "Is she sending her letters directly through magic now?"
"I don't think that's from Celestia," Twilight answered. "Look. There's no horseshoe on the seal. She always has that seal in her letters, and it's not like they just run out of them."
"Then who's it from?"
"I don't know..."
They both looked at the letter, uncertain if they should even be opening it. It was so unusual that there was no way of knowing what would happen.
Spike scooted his feet closer to it, treating it like it could be a bomb. His arm slowly extended to grab it.
Twilight watched on while he broke the seal with a claw and unraveled the letter. He opened it very carefully, but it did nothing out of the ordinary. He scanned over the lines with patience, and the contents left him puzzled.
"That's strange. I don't think we've ever gotten a letter like this before."
"What is it? A threat? Something from Princess Luna? She's never sent me a letter before, maybe she does it differently than her sister. Or maybe it's from Shining Armor, that would be pretty cool if we were pen pals now..."
"He says he has a Starswirl book and he wants you to meet him to take it."
"What?"
She grabbed the letter with her magic immediately, and she ripped it off so abruptly that Spike left claw marks on the paper by accident.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, Twilight."
"It's fine. It's still in one piece."
Then Twilight read the letter for herself. After the first reading, she gasped in excitement, but tilted her head right after that. She read it again, and gave the same response.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
Congratulations on your ascension to Princess of Equestria. It is an honor to hold such a title, one I never thought would happen under Celestia's rule again. I understand you might be busy with your duties, but I would like to write to you for an important matter.
You see, I have recently found a book from the great mage Starswirl the Bearded, one that has been lost for centuries if I recall. It contains knowledge about a topic that has been lost with time, that of dark magic itself.
Given the value of it, I cannot afford to give this book to your doorstep myself in fear that somepony might steal it, and I apologize for the inconvenience. However, if you come to the stream by the Wispy Woods in the time I have written below, I will happily deliver it to your hooves.
I know how suspicious this sounds, but I have no other choice. Thank you for reading this letter as far as you have, and for considering my offer.
Signed,
Forest Mist
"That was the strangest letter ever, and I read some really weird letters from Celestia," Spike commented. "What was that all about?"
"I don't know, something's strange about this letter," said Twilight. "It could be a trap, this Forest Mist sure knew that I was a princess."
"But everypony knows that."
"Yes, but he knows that while he's asking me to come to the Wispy Woods. Do you know what I mean?"
"Are you thinking it could be a trap?"
"Yes, that's what I'm assuming. I don't like the looks of it..."
"So you're not going to see him tonight, like the letter said?"
"I never said that..."
She paused for a moment, and thought about everything she could do about this Forest Mist character. On one hoof, it was the kind of letter she would imagine one of her enemies would write if they had half a brain.
On the other, if it was true that it was a Starswirl book lost in time, it was an opportunity she would never pass up. And on top of that, even if it was a trap, her magic had only gotten better and she could easily face any threat that came her way. Not to mention, she did have two Royal Guards for protection...
All of a sudden, it was as if she was at peace with the meeting.
"I think I'm going to see Forest Mist tonight."
"Are you sure?" Spike questioned. "Maybe you should bring those two guards with you, just in case."
"I'm planning on it. But I don't want to intimidate Forest Mist either, in case he really means what he said in the letter. So what I'm going to do is have the Guards follow me to the Woods and stay around half a mile away from the stream. If I need help, I'll shoot out a light spell to the sky as a signal that I'm in trouble. That way, in case things go awry, I'll have a backup plan."
The dragon crossed his arms at the thought. "If you say so..." He picked the broom back up, returning back to work on sweeping. "You think we can have lunch soon? I'm starving."
"You know what, I was thinking the same thing."
The next half hour was spent enjoying a couple of sandwiches with Spike, talking about what happened with Celestia all of last week. It was a quiet and enjoyable lunch, and in the end Twilight voted on just expanding her treehouse a bit to accommodate her future needs.
But at the same time, she would spend a good chunk of the day wondering if she had made the right choice. True, the letter seemed straightforward, but it still felt off for reasons she couldn't put her hoof on....
Guess she would know if she was right or not that evening.
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I don't like the episode(let alone put the volume on) but I wonder what trick sombra has up his sleeve, I expect great things from you.
I'm pretty sure Spike was at the coronation. He handed the crown to Twilight.
Ughh... and the premace for her going is quite lame, she should at least have half a brain to bring a few guards to make sure that the trap can be taken care of. She should already know that magic can't win if you're ambushed and caught by surprise even when your on guard, the cockatrice event should be hint enough. She also should tell Celestia what she is doing if at least to let her teacher and fellow alicorn know what is going on and the new avenue of knowledge and so she understands whether she should proceed or not. if it is suspicious tell the best person you know what is going on and where you are going, don't just go their and sell yourself to the bandits that could capture you and sell you back for ransom.
friends you truse and don't talk, random strangers you do.
sorry just arguing sensibility. good chapter anyway even if the method of getting her there is a bit slued into making Twilight a semi foolish numbskull like Trixie and the alicorn amulet incident.
I have to agree, this does seem like filler...but filler does leave someone wanting more.
2390313
Yeah...honestly, I might take down the chapter soon.
OK, fixed that issue too.
I looking forward to the next chapter. Even if this was filler I enjoyed reading it.
2390413 Do you have a proofreader and/or editor? If you don't have one, They can help improve the quality of the chapter,
I like where this story is going, keep it up.
2390572
Not really. I do line edits myself and do fix the chapters, or try to do so, based on some of the feedback I get.
Honestly, I haven't tried to get an editor, because I don't know anyone personally who would offer a service like that.
2390594 Just request for one, say in the authors notes, You'd be surprised- there are editors on Fimfiction
2390594 Check out The Proofreader Group. If they can't help you, nopony can.
But...who sent the letter
It could be anybody! It could be an assassin! Trying to kill Spike by going through Twilight!
Oh you clever devil, what a plot twist
Not every chapter can be a thrilling epic.
I think this chapter was well put together. It almost felt like I was reading a script of the actual beginning of the next season. You had to give Alicorn Twilight some spotlight; to make the story feel more episode worthy and I think you pulled it off quite well! Spike, Twilight and Celestia were in character too, so it makes the reading very enjoyable.
Looking forward to the next chapter!
every good story has chapters like this, it's necessary. plus, i like these chapters because it makes the story feel more real to me.
i liked it. it explained what happened the days after her coronation why's she's alone in ponyville (and making herself an easy target). nothing is off.
it might feel like a filler chapter because it may feel like giving too much reasons why the story works instead of just going on with it.
i rather have a nice "filler chapter" than just jumping from one point to the other.
Gotta move the chess pieces sometime, might as well make it now
I personally always thought that the seals were C for Celestia and in my Other Side of the Coin fic Luna would use a silver L
I'm loving this so far. My heart jumped when I saw you had an update. Please, please, PLEASE, keep writing this! If it going in the direction that I think it's going, I might be come become a die hard fan!
Story seems legit, Twilight act in her character and so far it seems like a good season 4 episode, however I get the fellings that Sombra is a little OP in it, I mean, sure, he can not fight 3 Alicorns, but I still fell he may be a bit to strong in this story, maybe strong enough to defeat Twilight as she still learn how to control her new powers, but I hope that he will not be to OP.
I will keep my attention to next chapters.
This story... I like it
Keep up the good work.
s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/please-sir-can-i-have-some-moar.jpg#please%20sir%2C%20may%20I%20have%20some%20more%20554x346
This might be a good episode for season4 but I should judge it in that way yet not at least until the story has come full circle. So keep up the good work.
this story reminds me of this pic on deviantart look here http://omny87.deviantart.com/art/A-Somber-Meeting-359962328
This chapter was nice.
Twilight going Into the forest and meeting this person is dumb, but I can see her being giddy enough about a new Starswirl book to be a little dumb. She's still Twilight, princess or not.
Student! Twilight would send a letter to princess Celestia, to get her mentor's wisdom on the subject.
Princess! Twilight however, wants to prove she is up to the task of being princess and might want to do this alone as a sign of independence and maturity.
Meh, I dunno. She might just really want that book.
A book of lost knowledge written by her Idol? Twilight is doomed to show up at that meeting.
All in all, I wait eagerly for da next chapta.
you do know what sombra plans to do right.... Right>>2392392
2401467
1) Sombra imprison Twilight and then try to posses her, so he can not only have access to Twilight knowledge and power, but also use this new form to attack princesses of guard.
2) Sombra brainwash/convince Twilight to join his side so they can beat princesses in 2vs2 combat and take over the world.
Simple as that.
The problem is that if Twilight would get away from Sombra attack, she would inform princess that he is still alive, ad story would end with 3 princesses hunting Sombra down, there is no way that story will go that direction ( would end to fast ), so Sombra will capture Twilight for sure.
Normally I would hope that since Twilight as Unicorn faced opponents far more powerful, she would be able to outsmart Sombra and escape from his trap ( as Alicorn she can fly, her teleporation have better range, and her shield as well as levitation is more powerful ), but then this story would end up to fast, so I know that Twilight will be captured no matter what she do.
Sombra goes well with lotr jokes because believe it or not Faust designed him based on sauron plus why the hell did Faust work on him when she was gone by like the second half of season two
Oh Twilight. Didn't your mama ever tell you not to talk to strangers?
Even worse, follow them into the dark scary woods? And then King Sombra captures Twilight and the world comes to an end. 
And least I'm looking forward to the next chapter!
Just so everyone knows, there is a confirmed 4th season of MLP, and it will come out sometime this winder
2390283 Yes but then he went home to watch over the treehouse.
Spike was at the coronation
He gave Twilight her crown
And boy did it ever.
fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/131/3/9/twilight_s_castle_by_xxxanonymous-d7hy66o.jpg
4557507 look on the bright side alot of the town has to be rebuilt anyway. Maybe they can make it work?
No pls twilight don't let him corrupt you
6926022 These stories would if ponies made rational decisions.