Celestia is changing and it is only a matter of time before she is lost to the changes. Twilight Sparkle isn't about to let that happen, and neither are her friends.
When Princess Celestia Suddenly falls ill, Princess Luna tasks Twilight and her friends with finding a cure. Twilight and her friend's journey to discover a cure will take them to the very edges of the known world and then a little bit further.
(Takes place a few months after the changeling invasion of Canterlot) [cover art by johnjoseco]
And a great many thanks to Barnabi for proofreading my story!
This is my first fic so please feel free to tell me just how much I screwed up in the comments.
The setting sun was casting an orange glow on the city of Canterlot. Princess Celestia stood atop her tower using her magic to lower the sun to make way for the coming night. Celestia loved sunsets very much and was glad that she could once again enjoy them instead of straining over control of the sun and moon.
"I'm so glad you're back little sister," Celestia said to herself.
After Celestia made sure that the sun had fully set she began to walk back into her royal chambers to retire for the night. She was exhausted from a long day of work managing the day courts. She thought of Luna who would soon be beginning her own official duties for the night.
As Celestia walked to her bed she let out a deep yawn. Even though Alicorns could go weeks without sleep, Celestia had been feeling somewhat drained ever since the Changeling attack. Celestia wondered if there was some reason for her to be feeling this way.
"Perhaps I'm just getting old," she chuckled to herself.
As Celestia got into her bed she considered the possibility of seeing someone about her condition, but she shook her head dismissing the idea.
'I was given a thorough examination after the attack and was given a clean bill of health,' she thought 'I should not cause my subjects unnecessary worry over something which is most likely just the result of stress.'
With her worries resolved, Celestia closed her eyes and began to sleep.
* * *
Celestia looked around the dreamscape before her. The sky was dominated by a massive sun hanging directly in the center of the sky. The sky itself was a sea of vivid undulating colors of all different shades and intensities. The ground beneath her was a lush grassland with rolling hills and beautiful flowers spreading out in all directions as far as her eyes could see.
"Ah, sister, I did not expect you to be sleeping. How are you feeling?" said Luna
"I feel fine Lulu just a little tired is all," said Celestia "How are you feeling this evening?"
"To tell you the truth Tia we... I am still having trouble adjusting to the way things are now, it seems our subjects have grown much softer in my absence." said Luna
Celestia smiled at this "Yes I suppose they have, but my little ponies have not known hardship for many centuries now and I am grateful for that." she said.
"As am I," said Luna "but I fear this may one day lead to disaster. How would our subjects react if something were to happen to us Tia? I worry they may not be able to defend themselves from the many evils of this world."
"Oh Lulu our subjects are stronger than you give them credit for," said Celestia "I have faith in our little ponies, I believe that they can overcome any challenge as long as they have friendship in their hearts."
Luna nodded her head in agreement before looking as if she suddenly remembered something. "Speaking of friendship, how is your student, Twilight Sparkle coming along in her studies?"
Celestia smiled fondly at the mention of her faithful student, "She is coming along wonderfully with her studies, and I couldn't be more proud of her."
"That is good to hear Tia," said Luna.
"Just the other day she sent me a report about how she had.." Celestia stopped. Something was wrong.
Luna turned her head to look at Celestia, "Tia? Is something the matter?" Luna worriedly asked.
Celestia shook her head, her eyes were beginning to tear up. She took a few steps forward before collapsing onto the ground. She gave a pleading look at Luna and let loose a bloodcurdling scream. Luna covered her ears from the sheer volume of her sister's outburst and backed away quickly.
After Luna recovered from her shock she immediately rushed to her sister's side.
"Tia, what is wrong," Luna asked pleadingly "why are you in such pain!?"
Luna looked into Celestia's eyes and stifled a gasp. Celestia's eyes were glowing green with tears running down the side of her face. Her mouth was pulled back into a tight grimace and a look of utter horror as she began to spasm in pain. The ground where Celestia had fallen was beginning to turn black. The darkness began spreading at an alarming rate soon covering the entirety of the dreamscape.
Luna took to the air as the ground beneath her began to give way to a sea of molten green lava. Celestia let out another scream and the dreamscape's star exploded causing the sky to glow with an unnatural green luminescence. The dreamscape began to deteriorate into nothingness and Luna was suddenly pulled back into the conscious world.
Luna immediately sprang up from where she had been sitting, flinging the table she had been sitting at across the room in her haste to get to the door. Luna burst into the hallway not even bothering to use her magic as the doors were blown off of there hinges by the force of her impact.
"Your highness!" shouted two very startled royal guards.
"You two, gather the palace doctors and meet me in Celestia's chambers now!" Luna yelled
"R-right away your highness!" they said.
However Luna never heard there reply as she was halfway down the hall before either guard had moved.
'Hold on Tia, I'm on my way! Oh please be okay,' Luna thought to herself.
When Luna arrived at her sister's chamber she found the guards attempting to open Celestia's door.
"Open the door," Luna commanded "your Princess demands it!"
"We are trying your highness, but the door is magically sealed!" Shouted one of the guards.
"Stand back you foals!" Luna shouted as she obliterated the doors with a very powerful burst of magic, not even waiting for the guards to comply with her order.
As guards and chunks of the doorway were blasted out of her way, Luna immediately rushed into the room and looked for her sister. Celestia's chambers were a mess. Smoke filled the air, and the stench of something unpleasant entered Luna's nostrils. The princess sized bed was shredded and tossed against the wall as if it were nothing but a piece of paper, and the floors and walls were covered in burn marks. But in all the chaos Luna did not see her sister.
"Tia! Tia where are you?" Luna frantically shouted, looking all around the room.
Luna heard an anguished moan come from within Celestia's bath chamber.
"Tia!" Luna exclaimed, rushing towards the sound of the noise as the royal guards began to enter into the room behind her.
As Luna entered the bathroom she saw her sister lying on the floor next to a shattered mirror. Luna galloped up to her sister and cradled her head in her forelegs. Celestia was shaking violently and started having a coughing fit. Luna tried to hold Celestia steady as she began hacking up globules of green translucent ichor.
Celestia herself looked as if she had been through Tartarus. Her coat had burn marks all along it, her feathers were falling out in clumps, and she had deep gash marks along the side of her neck. But was most noticeable about Celestia's appearance was her face. Half of the fur on Celestia's face had turned a dark black and her right eye had turned a fiery emerald green. Fangs jutted from her mouth and her majestic horn was turning black at the base.
"Tia what has happened to you?" Luna said
"Luna," Celestia groaned out in a barley audible whisper, "help me."
Twilight Sparkle was lounging on her balcony reading a book and enjoying a cup of Camomile tea. It was another beautiful night and Twilight was using the time to relax after a rather eventful day. Today the Cake's twins had turned one year old and Pinkie Pie had thrown another massive party to celebrate the event. The party had ended just a few hours earlier and Twilight had returned home to unwind before getting to sleep.
"Hey Twilight," said Spike.
Twilight looked up from her book to see Spike standing in the doorway holding a silver tray of what appeared to be cookies in his claws.
"Oh, hey Spike what's up?" asked Twilight.
"Nothing much just thought I'd bring you some cookies from the party earlier," said Spike.
"Thanks Spike. To tell you the truth I was feeling a little hungry," said Twilight as she levitated a cookie off the tray.
"Aw it's nothing," said Spike "I'm just doing my job." Spike walked over and sat down next to Twilight placing the tray of cookies to his side.
"That's why you're my number one assistant," Twilight said as she ruffled Spike's spines with a hoof before returning to her book.
"So watcha reading Twilight?" asked Spike
"It's called The Complete Compendium of Constellations," said Twilight "It has every constellation ever made recorded in this book along with it's location in the sky and it's origin!"
Twilight pointed her hoof at a seemingly random part of the night sky "For example, this constellation is known as the Great Frog. It was first proposed by Lord English of Roam to Princess Luna during a summit meeting nearly two-thousand years ago!"
"Princess Luna was so impressed that it still resides in the sky today as one of the fourteen eternal constellations! Isn't that just fascinating?" said a very enthusiastic Twilight.
"Uhm, yeah it's really fascinating Twi," said Spike who was trying really hard not to yawn.
Twilight sighed dreamily staring up at the night sky. She could look at the stars forever. Stars had always been a great interest to Twilight and she had always been fascinated by how the stars were arranged in the sky. Princess Celestia had always done her best to maintain the stars and their corresponding constellations during Luna's absence, but not even Celestia could maintain the stars as expertly as Luna could. Twilight wondered if Princess Luna would allow her to design her own constellation if she asked. Twilight smiled at the idea.
Twilight was pulled out of her musings when Spike let out a belch of green flame causing a letter to materialize in front of her.
"Oh! A letter from Princess Celestia! I wonder what she could want at this hour?" Twilight asked.
Spike picked up the letter and unrolled it with his claws. Spike began looking over the letter before saying "Actually, Twi it's from Princess Luna."
"Huh, that's a little odd. Princess Luna hardly ever sends me any letters," said Twilight "knowing the Princess it's probably something important. Go ahead and read the letter, Spike."
Spike cleared his throat and began to read.
"Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I am afraid that I write to you with bad news. My sister and your mentor, Princess Celestia, has fallen gravely ill. It happened very suddenly and we do not yet know the cause of her sickness, though we do believe it is magical in nature. For now she is in the royal hospital being treated and looked over by Equestria's best doctors, but they can not make any sense of what is happening to her. That being said I request that you and the other Elements of Harmony come to Canterlot as soon as possible. I am sending a royal chariot to your library to take you to Canterlot so gather your friends and wait for the chariot to arrive. We will discuss this more when you all have arrived.
~Princess Luna"
Twilight Sparkle was stunned into silence. A million questions raced through her mind while her brain was trying to determine what emotion she should be feeling at that moment. Anger and confusion won out. 'How did this happen, what is happening to the Princess? Was there anything I could have done to stop this? Surely there must have been some signs, if I had paid more attention I could have possibly prevented this from happening! It's all my fault! Princess Celestia, my teacher is lying sick in a hospital suffering from who knows what and I didn't even know anything was wrong! I-I should've been there for her! I could have done something! Anything! Oh, what do I do? What do I do!?'
Twilight was pulled back from the brink of mental collapse by the sound of someone yelling her name.
"Twilight! Snap out of it!" yelled Spike "You need to get a grip, the Princesses need you!" Spike gave Twilight a smack to the face.
"Ow!" shouted a stunned Twilight.
"S-sorry Twilight I d-din't mean"
Twilight shook her head "Wow, thanks Spike I needed that," said Twilight.
"Um you're welcome I guess," said Spike "what now?"
"We need to go gather our friends and meet back here so that we can get to Canterlot as soon as possible," she said.
Twilight began walking downstairs heading to the doorway with Spike following close behind.
"Don't worry so much Twi you gotta calm down a bit, I'm sure everything will be fine," said Spike "After all it seems like stuff like this happens every week."
Twilight stopped in the doorway and turned to look at spike.
"Spike how can I possibly calm down! Celestia is sick and Luna needs us to meet her in Canterlot. Why should I calm down?"
"You said it yourself Twi, Luna asked for you and all our friends to meet her in Canterlot," said Spike "You guys are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony I'm sure that if anyone can cure Celestia of whatever it is that's wrong with her it would be you six. Now come on let's go roundup the others," said Spike as he walked past Twilight out into the night.
"I hope you're right Spike, I really do," she said as she trotted out into the night after the little dragon.
* * *
"Now how in tha hay did Princess Celestia even get sick in the first place?" said Applejack "I thought Alicorns were supposed to be immortal."
"It's a magical sickness AJ," said Rainbow Dash "you don't have to explain magic, isn't that right, Twi?"
"Rainbow that entire statement is so untrue that it's not even funny, but that's hardly the point," said Twilight "the point is that Princess Celestia is sick and that we need to be there to help her in any way that we can."
"Don't worry Twilight everything will be just fine you'll see!" said Pinkie Pie "I'll have the Princess feeling super duper better in no time! Then I can throw her a yay-the-Princess-is-feeling-better party! Oh Before I do that I could throw her a get-better-soon-Princess party! We could have two parties! There's no way anypony could still be feeling sick after two parties! Or what if she is still sick? Oh my gosh we could have THREE parties!"
Twilight sighed as Pinkie continued to increase the number of parties that would inevitably be given to the Princess. At least all her friends were there and she was glad they were there to support her through this troubling ordeal.
"Twilight how are you feeling?" said Fluttershy
"I'm worried about the princess is all," said Twilight "but don't worry about me Fluttershy, now that you all are here I'm feeling much better."
"Oh thank goodness I know if I was in your position I would be terrified," said Fluttershy "If you ever need someone to talk to I'm here for you Twilight."
"And so am I Twilight dear," said Rarity "If you ever need anything Twilight don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks girls I'm glad you're here with me to help me through this," said Twilight.
"But of course darling, what are friends for?" said Rarity "Goodness this chariot certainly is taking quite a while to get here."
Rainbow Dash snorted "Tell me about, I could have already been to Canterlot and back by now."
"Don't worry Dashie I'm sure the chariot will be here any second now," said Pinkie with a smile "After all the author has to advance the plot sometime."
"Uhm Pinkie, what are y'all talkin' about?" asked a puzzled Applejack.
"Oh don't worry about it Applejack it's not important," Pinkie said bouncing away merrily.
Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash with a look of utter confusion plastered on her face.
"Don't sweat it AJ she's just being Pinkie Pie," said Dash.
It was at that moment that the chariot appeared off in the distance slowly growing larger as it got closer and closer.
"See, I told you so." said Pinkie
Once it had gotten closer the six ponies and the dragon saw that the chariot was being pulled by two very strong looking night guards. They landed on the cobblestone street with a resounding thud and traveled several more hooves before coming to a complete stop.
"Are you all the Elements of Harmony?" asked one of the Pegasi.
Twilight spoke up "Yes, yes we are."
"Is this everyone in your party?" He asked.
"Yes this is everypony," Twilight said.
"Then please hurry and get in, the Princess is expecting you," He said
"Alright everypony," said Twilight "let's go."
* * *
Princess Luna was pacing back and forth outside of her sister's room. It had been almost three hours since she had discovered her sister writhing in pain on her bathroom floor with the changes already beginning to show. After her initial encounter with her sick sister the guards and castle doctors had rushed in and taken her sister here. During the past hour they had tried all manners of tests and procedures to try and determine what was wrong with Celestia. So far they had learned very little other that the fact that whatever was happening to Celestia was almost definitely magical in nature.
Luna's pacing was interrupted when Twilight and her six friends burst through the door.
"Princess Luna! We got here as fast as we could. Is Celestia all right, is she in pain? Is that her room? What kind of test have-" Luna stopped Twilight's flurry of questions by raising a hoof.
"Perhaps it would be better if you saw her for yourself," said Luna
Twilight Sparkle nodded and her and the rest of her friends followed Luna into Celestia's room.
The room inside looked surprisingly like a normal hospital room, except for the fact that it was about twice the size and almost every other thing in the room was coated in gold. The room was full of many medical devices that Twilight was familiar with and others that she was not. There were heart beat monitors emitting a steady beeping, magical analyzers making sure the princess' magic was stable, and several IV bags administering all sorts of different chemicals. However Twilight didn't notice any of this. Her eyes and the eyes of the others were all focused on the bed in the center of the room.
In the bed was Princess Celestia, only she was... changed. The right side of her face and neck were a dark black. Her horn was also partially black on the lower portion and was beginning to slightly curve at the base of her forehead. Fangs could be seen sticking out of her mouth and she appeared to be losing a substantial amount of feathers.
When they all saw this Rarity let out a gasp, Fluttershy eep'd and hid behind Rainbow Dash, Pinkie stopped smiling and Applejack took off her hat and held it over her heart. Twilight could only stare at her mentor.
'Dear Goddesses what has happened to her?' Twilight was pulled out of her thought when Spike tugged on her mane.
Twilight turned to face Luna and said "Princess, what happened to her?"
"I am unsure Twilight Sparkle, but I do know that this isn't your normal sickness and that it is spreading faster," said Luna
"Beggin' your pardon Princess but why is her coat turnin' yah know.. black?" asked Applejack
"We do not know the answer to that question, Applejack, but our best guess is that it has something to do with the Changeling attack on Canterlot," said Luna
They all gasped. The Changeling attack was months ago, there hadn't been any sightings of them in Equestria since then, but here was the Princess, suffering from some unknown disease that is slowly but surely changing her body.
"Princess have you found any evidence to suggest what might have been the cause of this?" asked Twilight
"No," said Luna "We are having trouble with determining the source of the sickness."
"Well that's something isn't it? It might not be Changeling related after all," said Rarity.
"Rarity have you seen her?" asked Rainbow Dash "I mean just look at her! She looks like a Changeling!"
"Calm down Dashie, I'm sure it'll be okay," said Pinkie.
"Pinkie this is anything but okay! How can you know this is going to be okay?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I dunno, all I know is that were gonna need a bigger party than what I planned!" said Pinkie Pie.
"Ahem, yes well the reason I summoned you all here is because I believe that you can help," said Luna.
"Just tell us what you need us to do Princess," said Twilight.
"Very well," said Luna "I would like you to use the Elements of Harmony on Celestia."
"Do you think that would work?" asked Twilight.
"I can not say for certain, but I sincerely hope that it will work," Luna said.
"Well if the Princess thinks it's worth a shot we'll give it a try," said Applejack as the other six nodded their heads.
"Excellent," said Luna "let's begin immediately then." Luna pulled out the ornately covered box that housed the Elements of Harmony and opened the lid. She then levitated each element over to it's respective bearer.
"Spike, go stand by Princess Luna okay?" said Twilight
"Alright, Twilight," said Spike as he walked over to were Luna was standing.
"Okay girls let's get into position," Twilight said
Twilight walked over to the hoof of Celestia's bed while the other five formed a rough semicircle around the bed.
"Okay, everypony ready? Good let's do this," said Twilight.
Twilight began to channel magic into her horn and then into the Element of Magic. As she gathered more and more mana the other Elements began to draw magic from their respective bearers, pooling all the magic into the Element of Magic. Twilight began to feel a familiar tingling sensation as she and her friends began to levitate off the ground. The Elements began to glow brighter and brighter and Twilight could feel the complex spell forming right before the magic was unleashed. Twilight's eyes started to glow white from the magical overflow as the Elements of Harmony activated. A rainbow of pure magical energy shot out of the Elements and spiraled into the air, twisting and turning as it streaked down and enveloped Princess Celestia. The magic began to swirl all around Celestia's body as it did it's work. Luna watched on in awe at the sheer power of the Elements before having to turn away from the intensity of the light being produced. The magic was slowing down and beginning to disperse. Twilight and her friends gently floated back to solid ground and shook their heads to clear it from the sheer volume of magic that was just released. When they regained their senses the all looked at Celestia in anticipation. As the brightness faded they could clearly make out that... Celestia looked exactly the same.
To her credit Twilight Sparkle did not freak out for a full five seconds. Then those five seconds were over.
"WHAT?!" screamed a livid Twilight "How in Equestria is that even POSSIBLE?! The Elements of Harmony are the single most powerful magical artifacts in the known world, and yet they did absolutely nothing!"
"Twi, maybe you should calm down down just a tiny bit," said Applejack.
"Calm down? Calm down?!" yelled Twilight "How in Equestria do you expect me to calm down when we just failed the Princess, both of the Princesses! Princess Celestia is still sick and there's nothing I could do to fix it!"
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE, THOU MUST GET THY GRIP! DOEST THOU BELIVE THAT THOU ART THE ONLY ONE WHO CARES FOR CELESTIA'S WELLBEING? WE ALL DO AND LOSING THY MIND SHALL HELP NO ONE!" Luna said.
Twilight stopped yelling and said "I'm sorry everypony, I didn't mean to yell like that."
"It's alright Twilight we all understand," said Fluttershy "you're just frustrated, we all are, I want you to know that we all love you very much."
Everypony else agreed with Fluttershy said.
"Thank you Fluttershy, thank you all for putting up with my... quirks," said Twilight.
"Aw shucks it ain't no problem at all sugar cube," said Applejack.
"Ohhh come here you guys," Pinkie said as she pulled everyone into a group hug.
"Well now that everypony has settled down I believe we should have the Doctors examine my sister to see if there were any changes," said Luna.
"But Princess, we saw what happened, the Elements did nothing!" Said Rainbow Dash.
"They did not cure her, no, but something may have happened that we just can not see," replied Princess Luna "For now why don't you all get some rest, it's quite late and there's no reason for you to be up anymore."
"But-" Twilight began.
"No buts, you all need rest and I'm going to make sure you get it. You may use the royal guest chambers, I'm sure Twilight can show you the way," said Princess Luna.
"Very well, Princess as you wish," said Twilight "Come on girls let's go. Goodnight Princess!"
"Goodnight my little ponies," said Luna "Sweet dreams."
Twilight Sparkle awoke to the sound of talking. Twilight sat up in her bed and let out a yawn while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She blinked several times before her vision was brought back into focus. It was still dark out and she saw her friends sitting around a table talking to each other. Rarity looked up from their conversation and noticed Twilight looking at them.
"Good morning Twilight, how are you feeling?" asked Rarity.
"I feel fine, thanks Rarity," said Twilight "what time is it? Why are you all here instead of asleep in your own rooms? The Sun isn't even up yet."
"That's just it Twi, accordin' to this clock the Sun should have risen about two hours ago," said Applejack.
"What? Are you sure it's not just something wrong with the clock?" asked Twilight.
"No, the clock is working just fine, I examined it earlier and it is in perfect working order. All the gears are running smoothly, the crystals are aligned, and this clock is synchronized with another clock down the hall," said Fluttershy.
Everyone stared at Fluttershy. She blushed and looked at her hooves. "Uhm my father was a clockmaker," she said.
"Yeah so we know the time is correct thanks to Fluttershy's freaky knowledge of clockmaking," said Rainbow Dash causing Fluttershy to blush harder and hide behind her mane, "so why is the Sun not up yet?"
Twilight pondered what could be causing the sunrise's delay and wondered if it had anything to do with Celestia's illness. The more she thought the more she realized that this was most likely the case. 'No matter how powerful Celestia is she can't do very much in her current state,' Twilight thought.
"I'll bet that Princess Celestia is unable to perform her duties now since she is ill," said Twilight.
"Good gracious! Who will raise the sun if not the Princess?" asked Rarity.
"Don't worry Rarity I'm sure that Princess Luna will be able to raise the Sun for the time being," said Twilight.
"Then why hasn't she done it already?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"That is a good point, perhaps we should go check on her just to make sure that everything is alright," Twilight said as she got up from her bed. As they began to walk to the door Twilight suddenly remembered something. "Oh, wait, where is Spike?"
"He's over there Twilight, still sleeping," said Fluttershy "He's been up almost as long as we have and he's worn out from all of it."
"Well I suppose we can let him sleep and fill him in later," said Twilight "Alright let's go see the Princess."
* * *
Twilight was anxious as she walked to the royal hospital with her friends in tow. She wondered if the doctors had discovered any significant changes. She wondered if there had been any changes at all, but mostly Twilight worried about Celestia. Celestia was like a second mother to Twilight, she had grown up with her and Celestia had always been there for her. Princess Celestia had always seemed so powerful, so regal, so pure that seeing her in the state she was now saddened Twilight very much. Twilight loved Celestia and it hurt her too see her lying on a bed sick and in pain.
They arrived at the hospital room to find several doctors trotting about attending to Celestia and checking various medical devices while Princess Luna talked with one of the doctors.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight shouted.
"Ah, Twilight Sparkle it is good to see you and your friends, but what are you all doing here so early?" asked Luna.
"Not to be rude Princess but it's already morning, the Sun just isn't up yet," said Rainbow Dash.
"Oh! I Completely forgot Ive been up all night that I didn't even realize it was day, I'll be right back!" Luna said as she galloped to the window, her horn already glowing with magic.
Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and focused on the horizon. Twilight's heart began to beat faster partially out of excitement of getting to personally see the sun be raised and part worry over who was doing the raising. The Sun started to peek out from behind the horizon while the Moon gently set behind the mountainside. All was normal until the Sun began rising a lot faster than normal up into the sky, seemingly out of control. Those watching visibly cringed as the Sun began to wobble slightly as if it were being gently rocked back and forth by some unseen current before coming to a smooth stop about halfway up in the sky. Twilight let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Sorry about that everypony, it has been quite some time since I have moved the Sun and Moon on my own," Luna said with a blush.
"Don't worry Princess, it just took us all a little by surprise," said Twilight "So have there been any changes to the Princess' condition?"
"There have been a few changes," Luna said causing a look of hope to blossom in Twilight's eye "but, I believe it would be better if somepony else were to explain it."
Luna raised her hoof at the doctor standing next to her. He was a middle aged unicorn stallion with a messy sand-yellow mane and a light turquoise coat. He was rather short and looked more like he should be studying medicine rather than practicing it. His cutie mark was two DNA strands forming an X shape. "Girls I would like you to meet Dr. Cell Structure. He is the head of the Biochemistry department at Canterlot University and is one of the leading experts in pony physiology."
Dr. Cell Structure trotted forward and reached out a hoof to shake the hooves of the mares assembled before him. Twilight reached out her hoof and shook the Doctor's hoof.
"Hello doctor, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Twilight Sparkle," said Twilight.
"No no no Twilight Sparkle the pleasure is all mine, I am delighted to meet the Elements of Harmony, after all it's not every day that you get to meet ponies who save the world at a regular basis," said the doctor with a smile. He then proceeded to shake the rest of the mare's hooves before returning to Luna's side.
Twilight cleared her throat and began talking "So Doctor Structure-
"Please just call me Cell," he said.
"Um okay, Cell what exactly have you discovered about the Princesses condition since yesterday?" asked Twilight.
"Well quite a lot actually, we have some good news and some bad news. Which would you prefer to here first?" he asked.
"The good news! The good news!" shouted Pinkie as she bounced up and down.
"The good news is that the metamorphic process that the Princess has been undergoing has slowed down, and we have identified the source of her symptoms," said Cell "All the changes that are happening to the Princess are being caused by a parasite. The parasite very closely resembles a Changeling in structure and biology."
"Doctor how were you able to find the Parasite? All the initial tests for a parasitic organism were negative," said Twilight.
"I am glad you asked Ms. Sparkle," said the doctor "As you are probably aware we can check for parasites by probing a patient with thaumatic radiation, this causes a portion of the body to become transparent allowing us to view the internal organs and other such things. Our initial sweep of the Princess detected nothing out of the ordinary, but after the Princess was exposed to the Elements of Harmony this appeared."
The doctor's horn lit up with a silver glow and a portion of Celestia's head and neck began to glow and become transparent. Using his magic, he then projected the image of Celestia's head onto a large tarp covering the wall. Celestia's skull could be seen, but they could not see anything out of the ordinary from this perspective. Doctor Cell focused more magic into his horn allowing them to view the brain beneath her skull, and that's when they finally saw it.
Clamped onto the back of Celestia's brain was a small black creature. It was no bigger around than a bit, but it had small tentacle like structures snaking out of it's body connecting to the surrounding parts of the brain and down along the brain stem. Small splotches of green ichor could be seen around the area surrounding the creature.
"Goddess, what a monstrous creature," said Rarity.
"How did this thing remain unnoticed during the examinations?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
"Yeah, what the hay? How did you miss something like that!" asked Rainbow.
"I have a hypothesis as to how this parasite managed to elude us for so long. I believe since this creature so closely resembles a Changeling that it could possibly have the ability to disguise itself just like a Changeling," the doctor said "So when we scanned for a parasite we simply saw another piece of the brain. This also leads me to believe that when the parasite came into contact with the Elements of Harmony the spell hiding the parasite was removed."
"Sorry to interrupt, I'm sure this is all very fascinating, but now that you can see the critter why don't ya just remove it?" asked Applejack.
"Unfortunately that brings us to our bad news," he said in a solemn voice. "The parasite is not going to be easy to remove, if it's possible to remove it at all."
Dr. Structure's magical aura expanded to cover Celestia's back allowing the assembled ponies to see her spinal cord. Twilight and the others could clearly see the black tentacles of the parasite wrapping around the bone.
"You see, the parasite has begun to grow out along the spinal column and has become entangled all through out the nerves inside the Princess' spine," he said "We cannot teleport it out without killing the Princess, all conventional drugs seem to have no effect on the parasite, and we're afraid that if we attempted to surgically remove the parasite it would send Celestia's system into shock, killing her almost instantly, that is if we could even remove it without damaging her brain or nervous system."
"So, what can you do?" asked Twilight.
"All we can do for right now is monitor her condition and try to keep her stable, fortunately the parasite does not seem to be killing her, it's only altering her," said the doctor with a weak smile.
Twilight hung her head. She felt helpless, even a little useless. Everything that the doctor just told caused the small flicker of hope that had been growing inside her to dwindle down to nothing more than a few embers. Her eyes began to tear up and a single teardrop streaked down her face and hit the floor.
"Do not give into despair just yet Twilight Sparkle," Luna said upon seeing Twilight begin to cry. "There may still be hope to save Celestia's life."
Upon hearing this, the hope inside Twilight was rekindled and began to grow, just a small bit. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the Princess with rapt attention.
"There may be another who could possibly remove this thing growing inside my sister. Though finding her and convincing her to help may prove rather difficult," said Luna.
"Who? Who is it Princess? Who in Equestria could possibly help cure Celestia?" asked Twilight in a voice tinged with slight desperation.
"She does not live within our great nation, according to rumors. She is a detestable, wicked, and cruel pony if you can even call her a pony. You've met her before Twilight Sparkle, I am talking about Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings," she said.
Twilight felt the color drain from her face at the prospect of having to once agin face that... thing those heartless Changelings called a queen. But, if there was a chance in Tartarus that Chrysalis could somehow reverse what was happening to her mentor, Twilight Sparkle would gladly face the Queen a hundred times over if it meant Celestia would be alright.
"Princess, not to question your judgment but, do you think that asking for help from somepony who is responsible for almost conquering Equestria is the safest idea?" asked Rarity skeptically.
"I agree with Rarity m-maybe this isn't such agood idea," said Fluttershy "uhm maybe I couldstayhere?"
"I don't like the idea of having to face Chrysalis again, but if it helps us save the Princess then i'll do it," said Twilight.
"Twilight's right! C'mon guys, the time for talk is over, we need to take action!" Rainbow said as she took to the air.
Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash's tail between her teeth and pulled her back to the ground. "Calm down Dash, I'm just as anxious to help as you are, but maybe we should find out where to look before we go after the Queen," said Applejack "So Princess, where exactly is Chrysalis?"
"I'm afraid we don't know exactly where she is, but we have heard rumors about her general location," said Luna "We believe she has returned to her hive which is rumored to be located somewhere in the Badlands. However it will not be easy to get there. Not only is the road to the Badlands long and deadly, but you will first have to make it through the Everfree forest."
Suddenly Pinkie Pie began to giggle. She tried to stop the giggling by placing a hoof over her mouth, but she soon gave in and began to laugh in earnest.
"Pinkie what could possibly be funny at a time like this? The Princess is sick and we have to find a dangerous shapeshifting Queen and convince her to help us, this is not a laughing matter!" Twilight said with a huff of annoyance.
"Sorry, Twilight it's not that," Pinkie said in-between giggles "It's just that I think it's hilarious that the author can't come up with anything more original than that. I mean seriously, a journey through the Everfree forest? That's only been done about a million times already," said before dissolving back into her fit of laughter.
Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, Pinkie's forelegs began to cramp up and she fell forward onto her face.
"Ow! Hey that wasn't very nice!" Pinkie yelled up at the ceiling.
"So anyway," said Twilight ignoring Pinkie's nonsense entirely "When and where should we begin searching for the Queen?"
"That depends on a few things," said Luna "You will be supplied with everything you need for the quest ahead including one hundred thousand bits, an enchanted map, and a dragon flame lantern so that you may send and receive letters. If you would like anything specific just write it down and I will have the royal guard gather it for you."
"In the meantime I suggest you all say your goodbyes and get ready to depart. Your train leaves in one hour. Farewell my little ponies, I wish you the best of luck," said Luna as the Elements of Harmony left to prepare for the journey ahead.
* * *
"Let me go with you! I can help, I promise I won't slow you down," said Spike.
"No Spike, I need you to stay here, In Canterlot, with the Princesses," Said Twilight with a sad sigh as she began to gather her things.
"Please Twilight, just let me go with you, I just want to kep you safe," said Spike
"Spike, I know you mean best, but it's just too dangerous, I would never be able to forgive myself if something were to happen to you," said Twilight
"And I would never be able to live with my self if I wasn't there to protect you!" he countered.
"Spike, don't worry about it, nothing is going to happen to me. I'll be fine!" she said.
"I just don't want to lose you," he said with tears in his eyes.
"Oh, Spike come here," she said as she embraced Spike with her forelegs in a deep hug.
"I love you Twilight," he said.
"I love you too Spike," Twilight said as she hugged him even harder trying to comfort the little dragon.
"Just promise me you'll come back, okay Twi?" Spike said with a sniffle.
"I promise Spike, I promise," Twilight said as she felt tears come to her own eyes.
After a few minutes Spike and Twilight stopped hugging and Twilight resumed her packing.
"I sure could use some help from my number one assistant if he's still up to it," Twilight said with a smile.
Spike stood up wiping the tears from his eyes and starting to grin a little too.
"You got it Twi!" Spike said happily as he helped Twilight pack.
As Twilight watched Spike help her pack she sincerely hoped that she could keep her promise.
* * *
An hour later the Elements of Harmony each stood at the train platform waiting anxiously for there train to arrive. As they waited, the mares spent there time discussing the quest they were about to embark upon. The train was late, a fact that annoyed the ever punctual Twilight Sparkle, and they all hoped it would arrive soon.
They had all packed there bags with their belongs they would need for their trip. Rarity was holding onto the group's bits, Applejack was in charge of the map, and the dragon flame lantern hung from Twilight's saddlebag.
Aside from holding onto the group's bits, Rarity had also brought enough clothing for the entire group. Some of the clothes she brought had been enchanted to protect from the elements and conventional attacks.
Applejack had brought a decent amount of food for the journey, but they would have to find more at some point, and she had brought several lengths of rope.
Twilight had brought several books on the Flora and Fauna of Equestria as well as several lengthy tomes on magic.
Fluttershy had brought some medicinal herbs and other types of healing plants in case anypony was injured or became sick.
Rainbow Dash had brought barely anything except for what the Princess had given each pony. She did however, bring her binoculars and a small notebook which she insisted was "nothing".
Pinkie had brought.. some of everything. Honestly it was a mystery how she managed to cram so much stuff into one space.
Everypony had also been given a sleeping bag, a canteen, and several rolls of enchanted parchment, quills, and ink.
The train finally arrived almost a whole ten minutes late. Twilight ignored this fact with a great deal of effort before she and her friends boarded the train. The train began to pull out of the station before chugging along down the tracks. As Twilight watched Canterlot fade from view she hoped that it would not be the last time she saw Equestria. She thought about what probably lay ahead of her and her friends. She hoped that they could find a way to convince Chrysalis to help Celestia. Twilight just hoped that she could do it before it was too late.
