It's funny how a seemingly insignificant change can alter the outcome of events.
Life shifts constantly everyday. Decisions are made on the spot that influence the flow of one's life and the lives of those around them. How one chooses to live after a decision is made is entirely up to the individual. There are those who will do anything to change things back to the way they were. Equally, there are also those who will do everything in their power to keep life just the way it is.
Added Sex Tag for innuendos and situations. Nothing explicit.
That was what life in the Crystal Empire had become for the alicorn of love. Predictable, yet there seemed nothing the young ruler could do to change it. Sure she could leave her Northern kingdom on excursions every now and then, but those seem to come too far apart.
Boring on occasion, tedious every fortnight, and down right repetitive once in a blue moon. That seemed to sum up life in the Crystal Empire quite nicely.
There was no denying that Princess Cadance wasn’t happy however, how could she not be? She was the niece of the beloved ruler of Equestria, married to arguably the most handsome and caring stallion she had ever laid her eyes on, sister in law to an amazingly gifted pony, and respected ruler of her own little frozen retreat.
So yes, she was happy, as happy as she could be. That had become a personal mantra of her’s ‘As happy as you can be’. Sure life wasn’t perfect but perfection was out of reach for every creature that walked and breathed in this life. It had dawned on the loving mare early in her life that perfection wasn’t needed to be happy.
Yet that didn’t mean there hadn’t been a night, or two, or even three when she was maturing into the pony that she was now that she hadn’t wished for somethings to be different.
To wish that, even for as little as a day, something in her life was different.
***
It was once again that time of day in Equestria, when Celestia lowered her brilliance into the horizon and Luna raised her beauty into the sky above. The warmth of the day faded and the coolness of night began to set in. All across the land ponies and other creatures shifted into their night time routines. With yawns some entered their homes, others strided out to begin their night lives. It was no different in Equestria’s North.
“All stand at attention for her highness, Princess Cadance.”
Spanning the entire length of the palace’s main corridor stood crystal ponies clad in silver armor, their backs to the wall and eyes glued to the guards standing across the hall opposite of them. Standing in the middle of the corridor was a pegasus, clad head to hoof in golden armor. His gazed fixed on the pony that had just come through the palace’s crystal gate.
“At ease everypony, as you were,” A loud yawn escaped Cadance as she finished her sentence, apparently too loud of a yawn. The alicorn noticed the confused looks the guards were giving her. With a smile and a wave of her hoof they were sent off. They knew the drill by now and each wore content looks on their faces as they made their way out of the palace. Only the princess and pegasus guard remained.
“Your highness.”
“Lt. Flash Sentry.”
“I hate to be a bother, but what would Prince Shining Armor say if he saw his crystal guard waved off like that? He would certainly-”
“He would certainly give you a slap on the back and tell you to loosen up a little. How many times do we have to tell you Flash? When it’s just us you can, as Shining would say, chill out a little. There’s honestly no need for so much formality when it isn’t needed. Now come on, walk with me, talk with me, I’m pretty beat after my little ordeal today.”
The young lieutenant gave a thought to protesting by decided against doing so. It was clearly obvious that his charge was exhausted from her visit to PonyVille. He found this strange, usually when he visited his siblings on leave he came back refreshed and renewed for work. Apparently, if the bags under her eyes were any indication, it had the opposite effect on the princess.
Before he could give it another thought the princess called out to him, “You coming or do plan on standing there like you’re having a staring contest with a cockatrice?”
“A thousand apologies princess, please forgive me, I promise-”
“Flash.”
“I’m sorry again Princess-”
“Flash.”
“Coming!” With a quick gallop the lieutenant caught up with Cadance just as she was turning the corner and making her way up the stairs to the upper levels.
No sooner had he slowed his stride to match hers had she asked him a question, “So same rules as always I’m guessing?”
“If you’re up for it, though you seem kinda out of it today.”
“Yeah, fighting a giant subterranean worm as it’s slimy mouth tentacles wrap around your body will do that to you.”
“I know what you mean, one time me and this other recruit were in the EverFree forest on this training mission when...wait...WHAT!?”
The pegasus stood at the top of the stairway with his jaw hanging open. Cadance simply giggled at his confusion. “Oh, me and Twilight went to the ends of Equestria in order to find this giant flower. Once we plucked it from the ground this giant tentacle mouth worm shot up from the hole and attacked us. It got me first with its moist, warm, throbbing tentacles pulling me towards it mouth.”
Flash’s right eye was twitching now, his mouth still wide open. Half of his mind wanted to tell the princess that there was no need to go into any further detail. The other half wanted her to continue with as many details as possible, even ask if she had any pictures of it.
He never got the chance to decide as Cadance continued her story. “Luckily Twilight was there to save me but just when we thought we were safe the worm decided to attack her. It wrapped its tentacle around one of her hind legs-”
The rest of Cadance’s explanation became inaudible to Flash, his mind danced with the image of the tentacle wrapping itself around Princess Twilight's leg. He imagined it slowly curling up the length of the leg, working its way towards her inner thigh, before finally-
“Uh, Flash?”
“Huh, what, what? I swear I was listening! No wait, I mean I swear that I wasn’t listening! No, hang on, I mean-”
“Flash, you got a little something dripping down your nose.”
Quickly bringing a hoof up, he rubbed his muzzle, looking in shock and embarrassment at the crimson liquid smeared against his hoof. He felt his face heat up and quickly turned to look away in an effort to save some of his dignity. It could have been worse, at least it was just his nose.
“Also you might wanna get your wings checked out. Pretty sure they shouldn’t be that stiff.”
Okay, now it was officially worse.
Out of instinct he began doing what all pegasi had learned to do in their teenage years. He quickly flooded his mind with images of puppy dogs and kitty cats playing in the sunlight and continued to do so until he felt his wings pressed comfortably against his sides again.
Cadance’s laughter was what brought him back into the world. “Honestly Flash, I don’t see why you’re so embarrassed! It’s perfectly natural to-”
“Princess Cadance, with all due respect, you’re honestly not helping.”
The alicorn puffed her cheeks out that. “Fine,” she replied coolly, “Have it your way. I guess it’s my turn now.”
It was a little game that Cadance and Shining Armor had come up with some time ago. The rules were simple, you ask any question and then you had to answer any question, truthfully. So far the only other two ponies they played their little game with was Twilight and Flash Sentry.
“So tell me Flash, any news from my husband?”
Happy for the change in topic, Flash gladly answered with a quick response. “Actually, yes. Prince Shining Armor sends word from Baltimare that the delegations are going well and should be wrapped up in the next day or two.”
That brought a smile to the princess’s face. She felt her heart rate increase at the thought of seeing her Shiny sooner rather than later. “Alright, it’s your turn again Flash.”
Cadance smiled inwardly as she saw a small blush appear on the stallion’s face. She knew exactly what he was going to ask, even if he was having trouble building up the courage to ask his question.
“So…”
“Soooooooooooooooooo?” Cadance replied in a sweet tone.
“So, did Twilight...I mean...Princess Twilight say anything about me?”
Just like that she felt her innards explode from adorableness. Celestia strike her down if she was wrong, but she felt that Flash and her little Twilight were a match made in the heavens. It was almost as if some higher power had dropped the pegasus known as Flash Sentry out of no where into their lives and demanded that he and Twilight be a couple.
Cadance was so lost in her musings that she had completely forgotten about the pegasus guard walking next to her, she also forgot that her bedroom had a solid fire red ruby door as she walked right into it.
With an ‘ooofff!’ that was quickly followed by an ‘ouch’ she fell flat on her rump. An orange hoof extended itself to help her up. “Princess, are you alright?”
“Huh? Oh, yes I’m quite alright.” She took his hoof and raised herself off the ground. Dusting herself off she noticed the stallion seemed to be staring at her expectantly. A few seconds passed before she came to a realization, she hadn’t answered his question.
Unfortunately for him the mare in question really hadn’t said anything about him, openly at least. Being the alicorn of love came with a few perks, one of them was being able to sense the romantic flame that burned inside of ponies. She could sense that Twilight’s flame burned for Flash just as his did for her. With the two being, well, timid when it came to this sort of thing, Cadance only assumed that at some point in the future she would have to play matchmaker. A day she had already begun drawing up plans for.
Seeing that Flash was still waiting for an answer, she rummaged through her mind looking for said answer. She smiled when she found one that worked.
“I don’t know, maybe?” Without saying another word she quickly opened the door to her bedroom, gave her loyal guard a quick wink, and then closed the door behind her with a slight giggle.
Flash Sentry stood in front of the bed chambers for a few moments before he finally comprehended what had happened. He shook his head and smiled, those two things really being the only things he could do. If his princess needed him then she would call for him, with that in mind he made his way towards his own room in the palace, a perk of being a lieutenant for Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor. The night was still young and there was a book as well as a bottle of cider waiting for him in his own chambers.
***
Princess Cadance loved her Shining Armor, she had literally been through Tartarus and back for him. She never had truly recovered from almost losing her beloved once, so it stood to reason that whenever he was away from the Crystal Empire, away from her, that she worried deeply for him. The princess was no fool though, she understood that Shining Armor was a grown stallion and was more than capable of taking care of himself.
Still though, the site of their empty bedroom always formed a knot in her stomach.
With the day over and done with she began to go about her own nightly ritual. Carefully she kicked off her royal golden trappings into one of the room's corners, made her way over to the body mirror that adorned the wall opposite of her bed, removed her modest sized crown, and finally used her magic to tie her mane and tail into ponytails. A quick preening of her wings and one trip to the restroom later and she was ready for bed.
Or, at least she would be, had there not been someone else in the room with her.
“You know,” she calmly called out to the seemingly empty room, “I am not like Princess Celestia and am even further away in similarities from Princess Luna. An audience with me is easier to attain than with them in Canterlot. So tell me, why hide yourself?”
Her gaze shifted around the room looking for any sign of her intruder. Cautiously she made her way over to her bed, taking a seat at the edge, and never taking her eyes of her surroundings.
Exhaustion was quickly building up in her, she really didn’t need this at the moment. “Okay, if you will not reveal yourself willingly then a simple stasis spell on this room should hold you as I go fetch my lieutenant and palace guard to find and take you away.” As soon as she finished her sentence she lit up her horn.
“Strongly recommend against that, fair princess.”
“So, you can speak then? What a relief, her I was thinking you were some foreign assassin or something along those lines. Still though, hearing you is not enough.” Her magic shot out from her horn in a blue wave and washed over the entire room.
Standing in the very same corner she had kicked her trappings off stood a cloaked unicorn figure, their body still glowing with residue from the princess’s magic. “Impressive,” the figure remarked in a feminine voice.
“That’s another relief, here I thought you were a stallion looking for a peep show.” A slight giggle escaped her, the intruder remained silent. “You know you’ll live longer if you laugh?”
“This coming from an alicorn?”
“Fair enough, how about we move on to more serious matters then? Flash Sentry is a lot of things, but a slouch isn’t one of them. He shares my husbands dedication to work and slipping by him is no easy feat. So tell me Ms…”
“Siren.”
“Ms. Siren, what would drive a mare to break into this palace, sneak past my guards, and hide in my room?”
“A business proposition.”
“This business proposition, it couldn’t wait until tomorrow’s day court?”
Siren shook her head, “What I have to offer you is for your ears only. No other is allowed to know.”
Before Cadance could respond her ‘guest’ began making her way towards the princess’s bed. “Before I say anymore, tell me, how did you know I was here? The relics on me should have disguised my magical presence completely.”
The alicorn of love shifted a little on her bed as Siren continued to close the distance between the two. Still though, she remained composed and ready to spring into action if need be. “Your magical presence was completely hidden. It was your flame that gave you away.”
That caused Siren to stop moving, “Flame?” She asked quizzically.
“Almost all creatures born have a flame that burns inside of them, love. If their love is pure and true then it burns warmly, basking those around them in warmth. The opposite is true also, from the moment I entered this room I felt a coldness radiate out from it, a cold flame. This is why it is nearly impossible to sneak up on me since only a loveless creature would be capable of doing so.”
“Fascinating.”
“I like to think so.”
Once again Siren began making her way towards the princess, “Still though, it really changes nothing.” She stopped at the foot of the bed. “Are your ready to listen to my proposition?”
“Perhaps, but first tell me something about yourself. I refuse to enter into a business agreement with a stranger I know nothing about.”
That had bought Cadance some time,precious time that she needed to decide on what to do with this mare. “Seems fair enough, I am an artifact/relic huntress. I travel far and wide looking for powerful magic items that would benefit me.”
It seemed like that was all Cadance was going to get out of her. “Sounds like an adventurous lifestyle. Dangerous too.”
“Extremely dangerous, fair princess. The payoff is more than worth it however, which brings me back to my business proposition. A relic has recently come into my possession that I’m willing to trade in exchange for your help.”
Cadance cocked an eyebrow, her curiosity had been peaked. “You want my help?” She stifled a laugh, “I’m all for helping but unless it's stopping a threat to the state then I’m afraid I must refuse. I’m sure you can find another that would be more than willing to help.”
Siren made her way from the foot of the bed towards Cadance’s side, stopping just at muzzles length away from her. “There is no other pony, griffon, minotaur, or any other creature for that matter that can help me. Not even the other Equestrian princesses. Besides, once you hear what I have to offer I’m sure you’ll be more than willing to help.”
“I live a content life,” Cadance retorted, “What could you possible have that I want?”
“A change.” With that said, Siren leaned in close and whispered something into the princess’s ear. The alicorns eyes went wide from what she was told.
“How could you possibly know that!?” Cadance hastily demanded. “There is no way that you could promise me something like that!”
“I can, and I shall. So what do you say, Princess Cadance? Will you help me?”
Time seemed to have come to a complete standstill. The Princess of Love’s mind raced with what she had just been told. It wasn’t possible, it couldn’t be possible, yet here stood a mare in front of her, full of confidence, who promised the impossible. Could it be true? Was it worth it to trust this mare? With what could she possibly need help with?
“What is it that you want me to do?”
Without wasting anytime Siren quickly pulled out from underneath her cloak what looked like a necklace with a large crystal pendant engulfed in her yellow magic aura. "All you need to do is put this on, that’s all. I promise it won’t hurt.”
“If I do this, you’ll keep up your end of the deal?”
“I’d be a liar and a fool if I didn’t. So, what do you say, fair princess? Do we have a deal?”
It was too good to pass up. It didn’t matter if it was a ruse, she had to try. If she didn’t then she pondered how many countless nights she would remain awake wondering ‘What if’? She felt a lump build in her throat. No, there was no turning away from this. She closed her eyes and nodded in agreement.
“You have a deal.”
“Excellent. Now here, put this on.”
Cadance did as she was told. She found it strange how the pedant felt heavier than it actually looked. It also seemed like her imagination was playing tricks on her, she could swear that she could feel the warmth of a tiny flame coming from inside the pendant.
“What do I do now?”
“Think of what it is that you want to change.”
“Okay, then what?”
“Nothing really, I’ll take over from here.” Siren lowered her head so that the tip of her horn touched the pendant hanging from the necklace.
“Change,” She said quietly before the two ponies were engulfed in a pink and yellow flash that quickly spread to engulf the entire palace, Crystal Empire, and the lands in all directions.
It was going to be one of those mornings again, Twilight Sparkle could feel it, or as the situation dictated, not feel it. Everyone had those little things they did unknowingly that annoyed them to no end. For some it was spilling coffee over their table, others found themselves peeved from the fact that they had overslept and were late, and still some really disliked it when they had an itch they just couldn’t scratch for whatever reason.
There were many things that the newly crowned princess did that bugged her to Tartarus. Above all else there was one thing that annoyed Twilight more than anything, sleeping on your limbs and having to wake up to the aftermath.
It was honestly bad enough when it was just her legs but ever since she had gotten her wings she found that more and more mornings started to the amazing sensation of pins and needles.
Twilight let out an annoyed sigh before poking her head out from under the covers of her bed. “Oh boy, I can already tell this is going to be rough day.” The studious pony had evidence to back up her claim.
She had started to keep track of how days went, good or bad, after starting mornings in a similar manner. She had conducted her research across months and, after she had gathered more than enough data, had drawn up her conclusion. Science had proved that waking up after sleeping on your limbs resulted in, more often than not, bad days. Data didn’t lie.
“Spike, Spike...are you awake yet?” She called out drowsily. Twilight waited for a few moments for his reply to come. “Spike it’s time to get out of bed, come on. I need your help again.”
Finally after a few more moments his reply came in a groggy voice, “Can’t get up by yourself again?”
“Uh’huh.”
“Slept on you limbs again?”
“Uh’huh”
“Need me to help you wake them up?”
“Three for three.”
“I swear, I worry about how your life would be without me.”
“That’s why you’re my number one assistant.”
They shared a groggy laugh before Twilight heard him get up from his basket. His claws scratched against the oak wood floor as he stretched himself out first and then came the sounds of a few joints in his neck popping before he finally made his way over to her bed.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before turning his attention to her. “Usual place?”
“Same spot as...uh, Spike, what are doing?”
The young drake ceased massaging her back hind leg and looked at her. “What, you were going to say same spot as always, right?”
“Yeah, but I meant my wings fell asleep.”
“Pfffft, come on Twilight, I’m here massaging your leg so maybe the least you could do is stop pulling mine?”
To be brutally honest, Spike usually sucked at pranks and jokes, even more than Twilight which was apparently possible. It wasn’t like her assistant to attempt a prank on his caretaker, at least not this early in the morning.
“What are you talking about, Spike?”
“I dunno, what are you talking about? Why would you have wings?”
“Because I’m a princess? We had a whole ceremony for it and everything, don’t you remember? All our friends were there and so were the other princesses.” Twilight was practically flailing her legs around in front of her. She didn’t need a morning to start off this way.
Her assistant responded with a roll of his eyes. “You might want to get your eyesight checked out, princess.”
Twilight had had enough of her assistants attitude for one morning. She was going to turn around, she was going to see her wings, and then she was going to-
They weren’t there.
“No offense, but Princess Twilight Sparkle sounds pretty lame if you think about it. Just doesn’t have that ring to it like Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. Besides, do you know how Equestria would react if a new princess just popped out of nowhere just like that,” He snapped his claws for emphasis, “I mean sure, most ponies would probably be cool with it, but then you got those others that would freak out, get angry, or...hey, you alright Twilight?”
She was not alright, that much was physically visible. Twilight was sweating profusely, her eyes were darting around the room like crazy, her breaths came out short and ragged, and, to clear away any remaining doubt, her left eye was twitching.
Spike very well knew what was coming. At this point it was already too late to stop it. The best the young dragon could do was damage control. “You having an episode?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Would you like a glass of water?”
“That would be nice.”
“Should I get my hazard suit on?”
“That would probably be for the best.”
Without a moment to spare, Spike ran downstairs from their loft and prepared for what he could only assume was going to be one of those mornings again.
***
The rest of the morning carried on as one would have probably imagined, books flying all around the library as Twilight researched into the disappearance of her wings. The librarian had even skipped breakfast which only fueled her assistant’s skepticism regarding the matter.
“Spike, has the princess written back to me yet!?”
“Since the last time you asked about fifteen seconds ago, no. Nothing yet.”
Twilight was well aware that her mentor wasn’t a morning pony. Once the sun had been raised the princess would usually return to her slumber for an hour or two more before starting the day court. Still though, this was just ridiculous. How hard was it to write ten simple words, “My faithful student Twilight, yes, you are an Equestrian princess,” and send the letter?
The studious pony felt she was on the receiving end of some elaborate prank. The first place she had gone to look for proof of her wings had been the various photo albums that adorned the top shelf in her bedroom. To her surprise there were no photos of her coronation and, to make matters even more confusing, there were photos of her she didn’t recognize or remember taking.
Anyone of her friends could have easily taken out the photos, that much could be explained. For the photos of her that she didn’t recognize, that was a different story. Besides, there was no way her friends could have taken away her wings. Only one prankster came to her mind who was powerful enough to accomplish this, Discord.
Her assistant really didn’t know what else to say other than, “Yeah, sure.” He still believed that his caretaker had gone off the deep end once again but, at this point in the game, he had learned to just go with it. Everything always seemed to work itself out in the end anyway.
There was only one thing that still concerned the young drake. “Would you at least have some lunch before you go out? You’ve already skipped breakfast Twilight, which to quote a certain book worm, is the most important meal of the day. You’re running yourself ragged right now, don’t think it’ll be too long before you pass out from exhaustion.”
“I know my own body’s limits Spike and I promise I’ll eat something when I get back okay? Even better, I'll eat something while I’m at Fluttershy’s cottage. That sound good to you?”
Spike knew there was no convincing her otherwise, he simply shrugged his shoulders, “I guess.”
It was settled then, with nothing else deterring her, Twilight levitated her saddle bags onto her, quickly brushed her mane so that she was at least presentable, and made her way to the front door of the library.
She would have been out the door in the next moment if it weren’t for the intense throbbing pain coursing it’s way down her horn, or the fact that she was now laying on her back with a cyan blue pegasus standing in the now open door way.
“Oops, sorry about that, Twilight.”
“Rainbow Dash, how many times have I told you to knock first before slamming the door open? Actually, what have I told you about slamming my front door open like that?” The librarian said as she gingerly rubbed her horn.
“Slipped my mind I guess, you know me.” With a small chuckle she helped her friend off the ground and offered her a wing to help dust her off. “Besides, where are you going in such a hurry?”
“Fluttershy’s cottage, I'm going to see her about this prank that-”
“Prank?” Rainbow Dash interjected, “Fluttershy, our Fluttershy, pulled a prank on you? No way, how’d she pull that off?” A wicked grin spread across the athletic pegasus’s face, “A pony’s got to be pretty gullible for Fluttershy to pull a fast one over them. So much for being Princess Celestia’s prized student huh?”
This was a bad time, a bad morning, a bad day, and was quickly shaping up to be a bad week. The last thing Twilight needed right now was her friend's teasing. “First off, no, Fluttershy wasn’t the one who pranked me, Rainbow. I’m pretty sure only Discord could have done something like this.”
Rainbow Dash’s grin faded and her eyes shot open at that. “But Discord is-”
“Not finished yet,” Twilight interjected, “Secondly, what are you doing here? I’m hoping you didn’t just wake up this morning wanting to kick my door down, again.”
“It was just that one time! Now hold up, you said something about Discord?”
Twilight ignored the question, “Thirdly, what are you doing wearing a necklace around your neck? I thought you weren’t into-” Twilight didn’t need to wait for Rainbow Dash to respond, her eyes went wide as she glanced over at her friends adorned neck.
Without thinking she quickly levitated Rainbow Dash closer to her to examine the necklace better, her face only an inch away from the necklace and pendant that adorned it. “Personal space much?” The pegasus protested.
“Rainbow Dash, this isn’t what I think it is, is it?”
“Um, yeah it is. Why, is it dirty or something?”
The silver necklace could of been just that, a silver necklace for show. It was the golden pendant attached to it however that almost sent Twilight into another round of hysterics. There was no denying it, the intricate patterns, the stallion and mare imprinted on it, and the engraving of two flowers intertwined together. The pendant could only mean one thing.
“Rainbow Dash, when did you get married!?”
“A little over a year ago, remember? You were there, Spike was there, all our friends were there, and even Princess Celestia and Luna were there. We took pictures, like, a lot of pictures.”
Twilight pulled away from her friend and placed a hoof on her head. Nothing that day seemed to be making sense. There was no way Rainbow Dash could have gotten married. Sure the athletic pegasus lived her life in the fastlane, she had been known to be reckless on more than one occasion, and it was well documented that she loved to have fun. This, however, was different.
The pegasus in question continued to stare at her studious friend who seemed to be lost in what she only assumed was deep thought.
“Pssssst!”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash looked back at Twilight believing she was the one trying to get her attention. The unicorn was still deep in thought and had even started mumbling to herself. Rainbow Dash put two and two together and figured that it couldn’t have been Twilight. As far as Rainbow Dash knew, the library was empty save for it’s caretakers. If it wasn’t Twilight then that only left-
“PSSSST!”
Looking over towards the library’s stairway, Rainbow Dash saw Spike peeking his head down from upstairs. Curiously enough, her scaly friend was waving for her to come upstairs quickly. Another thing that Rainbow Dash took note of was that Spike seemed to be wearing a helmet.
Making her way up the stairs to Twilight’s loft, Rainbow noticed Spike leaning against one of the walls, what stood out however was what he was wearing. Perched firmly on his head was a green combat helmet. Complementing the headware was what seemed to be body armor made up of different colored pillows.
“What’s with the weird getup, Spike?”
“Hazard suit, for when Twilight gets like this. Pretty neat huh?”
“Cool, just don’t let a certain fashionista see you wearing that.” The library went silent for a moment save for the librarian downstair’s ramblings. “Hey Spike, have you noticed anything off lately about-”
“Twilight?” Spike finished. “I dunno, she woke up weird this morning. At first I thought it was just going to be one of those mornings but then things got weirder.”
“Weirder how?”
“Well,” Spike began, “When Twilight woke up she thought that she had wings, she also thought she was a princess.”
Rainbow’s eyes began to water, she was losing a battle to hold in her fits of laughter. Despite the opposition she faced only a few snickers escaped her. “Twilight, with wings? Oh I’d pay to see that! She probably be all like ‘swoosh’ and ‘woosh’ before going ‘splat!’ face first into a tree!”
The young assistant wanted to stay serious, he had to admit though, imagining his caretaker try to fly was enough to break his composure with a small smile.
Wiping away the few tears that had streamed down her face, Rainbow Dash continued, “She also thought she was a princess?”
“Yeah, she said we were there for her coronation and everything. She went looking through the photo albums and even went as far as to send a letter to Princess Celestia.”
“You think our egg head down there finally snapped from studying too much?”
“Naw, if anything, Twilight would probably get like this from a lack of studying. That pony thinks writing a research paper is fun.” Both friends let out a sigh, there truly was no other like their friend.
“She can’t even remember the wedding of one her best friends,” Rainbow Dash smiled as she shook her head, “What are we going to do with her, Spike?”
The young drake simply shrugged his shoulders, “Beats me, if I had things my way I would of sent her off to see a therapist a long time ago. That pony’s got some serious issues but, knowing her, she’d probably drive the therapist insane not even half way into their first session.”
Any attempt to keep a serious atmosphere was gone as both friends broke out in laughter. Rainbow Dash fell to the floor laughing and Spike would of done the same but, due to the shape of his hazard suit, was literally rolling on the floor laughing.
Once they had gotten all their laughs out, and Spike had been assisted in getting up off the floor, they returned to their semi-serious conversation. “Hey,” Spike managed to say, “Anything new from the big guy?”
“Just that he’s working hard. I swear that if I wasn’t with him then his life would probably be all dull, predictable, and stuff. I thinks its neat and all that he’s so dedicated but come on, dude needs to be more chill when it comes to some stuff. It’s not like the world is going to end if he doesn’t show up to work for just one day.” An awkward silence found the two friends as they simply stared at each other. Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck nervously, “I mean it might if you think about all the crud that’s happening right now.”
“Don’t worry about it too much Rainbow. I’m sure this’ll all be over soon and things will go back to how they used to be.” With that said, Spike put a comforting claw on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder.
“Yeah you’re probably right, Spike.” Keen for a change in topic, Rainbow Dash asked her own question. “So what about you, anything new?”
“You mean besides,” He tilted his heads downstairs, “No, nothing really. Just same old, same… could you give me a sec?” Not bothering to wait for an answer he turned away from Rainbow Dash. As soon as he was facing away from his friend he let out a belch.
A tuft of green smoke quickly materialized into a scroll and fell to the floor at Spike’s feet. Seeing that the scroll was sealed with the royal insignia, Spike quickly grabbed it in his claws and ran downstairs.
The dedicated assistant presented himself in front of his caretaker and presented her the scroll as professionally as he had been taught, “Hey Twi, Princess Celestia sent you that letter you’ve been-”
That had snapped the librarian from the deep thought she was in. Without a moment to waste she grabbed the scroll in her magic, unfolded it in front of her, and began to read. It didn’t take long, just as she had predicted, it was only ten words.
[My faithful student Twilight Sparkle, come to Canterlot at once.]
Twilight eyed the scroll over and over again, as if hoping that the words would change into the ones that she wanted. The intensity of her stare could of burned a hole right through the parchment. The answers she wanted, the proof that she wanted, simply weren't there.
No, what she wanted wasn’t there at. Yet all hope wasn’t gone just yet. The answers and proof that she needed were simply just one train ride away.
“Spike, the princess has asked me to go see her in Canterlot immediately.”
Her assistant gave her a nod and she went off to pick her saddlebags off of the floor. By this time Rainbow Dash had made her way back downstairs and noticed her friend preparing to head out again. “Wait, Twilight! Where you going?”
“Princess Celestia wants me to go see her in Canterlot. The letter made it seem urgent so I gotta hurry to the train station and-”
In the blink of an eye the fastest flyer in Equestria was standing in the library’s doorway. “You’re heading Canterlot?” The librarian nodded her head, “Awesome! I was going to Canterlot today too! You can tag along with me!”
“Not to sound rude Rainbow Dash but, why are you going to Canterlot?”
Twilight wanted to stay and inquire as to why her friend's intentions but, with Princess Celestia’s letter still fresh in her mind, she put off asking for the time being. Accepting her friends companionship, she headed out her home and began making her way to the town’s train station.
So many questions raced through the studious pony’s mind, questions that she realized she didn’t have the answers to. That brought some distraught to her. She could feel her legs tremble beneath her as she galloped towards her goal with Rainbow Dash flying above her. No, she didn’t have the answers she wanted.
Her mentor would though, the most intelligent pony she knew, yes, she would have the answers. She had to have the answers.
The train ride had been different from what Twilight had become accustomed to. Usually her train rides to Canterlot were spent chatting with her friends at her side. The studious pony still had a friend who had sat next to her but conversation never found them. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash had spent the entire ride in silence with the occasional glance and uneasy smile tossed at the other.
Another thing that had thrown Twilight off had been the presence of royal guards on the train. It was a common sight to see guards on trains as they were usually being reassigned across Equestria. However, one could make a safe bet that this had not been the case. Twilight had counted at least a dozen of Equestria’s finest stationed on the train, spears in hoof, and their eyes constantly scanning the other passengers. It had been off putting to say the least.
The two friends parted ways once they had arrived at Canterlot Station. The cyan pegasus stated something about going to the military district, Twilight didn’t catch that rest of what she was told except that her friend would meet her outside the palace after she was done.
Her trot to the palace had been strange as well. At first glance everything seemed normal, Canterlot’s residents were out and about in the streets. Ponies were talking and mucking about in their dull normality. It was when Twilight noticed a pair of earth pony guards standing at a street corner did she realize the sheer amount of royal guards in the streets. On almost every corner stood at least one earth pony guard, one rooftop on every street had a unicorn guard watching over, and flights of pegasi guards flew over the city.
More questions had filled the studious unicorn’s mind as she hastily made her way through the streets towards the palace. Save for her meeting with the princess, she had put everything else aside for the time being. Since, after all, she would surely get answers from her mentor.
***
“Princess Celestia!”
“My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Thank you for hurrying over as soon as you received my reply.”
Usually by this point in the greeting the teacher and student would have given each other a quick nuzzle and exchanged pleasantries. Just from the expression her beloved mentor was giving her, Twilight could tell something was bothering the princess as well.
She wanted to tell Princess Celestia about everything that was bothering her but she had gone there with a goal in mind. Everything else could wait until after.
“Princess Celestia, today when I woke up I noticed that my wings were gone. When I asked Spike about it he said that I never had wings! He also said that I was never coronated! I looked all over my library for pictures of the coronation but I didn’t find any. In fact, I noticed that some pictures had gone missing or had been replaced with new ones that I didn’t recognize. To top it all off, this afternoon I just found out that Rainbow Dash had gotten married! I suspect that Discord is the one behind this. Honestly, I’d thought that he had gotten enough laughs yesterday when he made fools out of me and-”
The princess raised a hoof and out of instinct Twilight fell silent. “I can guarantee you that Discord had nothing to do with this, Twilight.” Her prized student wanted to retort but remained silent out of respect for her mentor. “Discord has not escaped his stone prison since you and the other Elements of Harmony defeated him,” Celestia pointed to the stain glass window that depicted her student and friend’s triumph over Discord, “He couldn’t be behind this because I do not recall you ever having wings, Twilight. Nor do I remember ever giving you the title of princess.”
“But you were there!” Twilight quickly put a hoof over her mouth to silence her sudden outburst. She expected her mentor to frown at the mini tantrum, but she did not. She still wore that same neutral expression. “Forgive me princess, but I know you were there! Your sister, Princess Luna, was there as well. So were all my friends, my family, the city of Canterlot, everyone pretty much!”
“My memory has never once betrayed me. Wouldn’t I remember something as important to me as the coronation of my prized pupil?”
“But...but...I passed your test, you found me in that magical plane of existence, you told me that I was ready to fulfill my destiny!”
The princess’s expression changed from one of neutrality to one of curiosity after hearing that. “You said that you completed a test I had given you?” Her student nodded hastily in reply. “Tell me, what test did I give you?”
“You sent me StarSwirl the Bearded’s spell book. You wanted me to complete his masterpiece spell.”
Celestia simply closed her eyes and let out a long breath. “Can you tell me, word for word, what his spell’s incantation was?”
Twilight racked her brain as she desperately struggled to remember the words that had almost ruined her friend’s lives. Once she had run the incantation through her mind she began reciting it, “From one to another, another to one. A mark of one’s destiny singled out alone, fulfilled.”
She waited for her mentor to respond in some way, when no response came she continued speaking, “If you want I can also tell you my completed version of the incantation.”
“That will not be necessary,” The princess replied curtly. “Please, come with me.” She turned around and motioned for her pupil to follow her.
The teacher and student walked down the palace’s corridors towards the throne room in silence. Twilight occasionally turned her head to glance at Princess Celestia. Her mentor never averted her gaze from in front of them. If Twilight had been told to put things in perspective using only one word, she would have said uncomfortable.
The two entered the throne room and were received by the royal guards stationed there. They bowed in the presence of their princess and were quickly sent off, closing the doors behind them. Princess Celestia made her way up the small steps to her throne and sat upon it, Twilight remained standing at the bottom.
Moments passed as Twilight allowed herself to be looked over by her mentor’s seemingly all seeing gaze. A few more seconds passed before the princess broke the silence. “Twilight Sparkle, I am very disappointed in you.”
Twilight’s irises shrank and her mouth fell open. Her entire body shuddered at her teacher’s words as if a knife had been stabbed into her heart. “Wha-wha-wha-I-I don’t understand,” She could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes, “What did I do?”
“I do not know how you got access to StarSwirl’s spell book but know that-”
“You sent me the spell book!” Tears streamed down the lavender unicorn’s face now. “You-you sent me his spell book. It was a test to see...to see-”
“I am only going to say this once, do not interrupt me again. Are we clear, Twilight?”
Wiping her eyes with her hoof, Twilight simply nodded in agreement. “Good, now please understand. I am well aware that you are a bright and gifted unicorn. I have always seen the vast potential in you. That is why I sent you to Ponyville in the first place, so that potential in you would finally be able to show itself.”
Princess Celestia looked down at her pupil, her expression now stern for what she was about to say. “It would seem that your curiosity had gotten the better of you. StarSwirl’s spell book is closely guarded by Luna and myself. I do not for the life of me know how you managed to read it without me knowing but the fact that you would resort to lying to cover yourself is what concerns me now.”
Her student stared at her, eyes red and nose running. It broke the princess’s heart to see her like this, bringing more distraught when she realized it was because of her words. She had to continue however, it was for the best.
The princess’s gaze softened as she let out a long sigh. “I will not lie to you, Twilight. There have been other students that I brought under my wing in an effort to guide them. They, however, never got as far as you did in your studies. I once had a dream, my most faithful student, that you would one day join me in ruling over Equestria. I had plans, plans that would help get you to that level. Unfortunately, as you are well aware, I like the rest of our nation had to change everything two years ago. My plans for you were put on hold as my attention was needed elsewhere. Do you understand now?”
Twilight shook her head vigorously. “No,” She replied, “I don’t understand any of this at all! I know that I ascended to an alicorn, I know you crowned me a princess of Equestria, and I know that things shouldn’t be like this!”
“Then I’m afraid that there is nothing more that I can tell you, my most faithful student. No, there is one thing I can do for you. Some advice to help you regain your senses. Go home, Twilight, go home and relax with your friends. Take your mind off of your studies for sometime.” She waited until Twilight slowly nodded her head to continue. “Now, is there anything else you wanted to say to me?”
Defeated, that was how the prized pupil felt. Here she had come hoping to receive answers from her mentor, yet, all she had achieved was being branded as dishonest by the pony she held in such high regard. She wished she never gone there in the first place, she would of been spared the pain in her heart. Still though, there remained a way for this trip to not have been a complete waste.
“Princess Celestia?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
“What changed-”
At that moment the doors to the throne room burst open and a unicorn mare ran in. “Princess Celestia!” The mare shouted as she ran towards the throne, a stack of papers levitating behind her, and stopped next to Twilight.
Giving a quick bow, she glanced up to look at the princess. “Princess Celestia, I’m afraid I come bearing terrible news. The city of Baltimare has fallen!”
“What!?” The princess practically yelled out, a far cry from her usually calm demeanor. “When did this happen?”
“We just received word of this a few minutes ago. I’m afraid that the EFS LAS PEGASUS and EFS TROTTINGHAM who were tasked with defending the port were destroyed. Our forces are in full retreat and reports of casualties are coming in.”
Princess Celestia looked off to the side, as if she was staring past the stain glass windows that adorned her throne room towards the mentioned city. “It would appear that our worst fears have come to fruition then, The Castallion Island Confederation has finally landed on the mainland.”
“Your orders, princess?”
“Send word to my sister in Fillydelphia, tell her to muster as many of her troops and air ships that she can and head South to Baltimare. I want all Equestrian cities, towns, and villages North of the CIC landing evacuated immediately. It won’t be long until they begin pushing inland and we must be ready for-”
“Princess?” Twilight asked cautiously, her voice trembling a little. “What’s going on?”
The princess had almost completely forgotten that her student was still in her presence. She turned to look at Twilight and saw that the unicorn seemed terrified from what she had just heard. Princess Celestia immediately began scolding herself mentally for allowing her beloved student to listen in.
“Ah, prized student Twilight Sparkle, it’s good to see you again. It is regrettable that it is not under better conditions but still, it’s always nice to see a friendly face. Especially in these trying times.” The mare gave Twilight a pleasant smile.
“Sorry, but do I know you?” Twilight stared at the unicorn, positive that she had never seen her in her life. “Wait,” The studious pony squinted her eyes, “I’m having a really hard time remembering you.”
The strange unicorn gave Twilight a look as if she had been hurt. “Prized student Twilight Sparkle, I know we may not have spent much time together but still, I am hurt that you would not recognize me. Maybe it is because of my new mane style?” A soft golden aura formed around the unicorn’s horn as she fiddled with her mane.
It was at this time that Twilight noticed the other’s appearance. Her auburn mane was done up in a neat bun, her tail flowed freely without restraint just inches above the floor, her coat was a murky green, and she had golden eyes. There was no denying it, Twilight had never seen this pony before in her life.
Blinking her eyes and shaking her head, Twilight turned her attention back to the unicorn. “I’m sorry, I’m just having a really bad day right now Ms...I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”
The response came not from the mare in question but from the sun princess. “Siren, her name is Siren. Strange that you don’t remember, Twilight. She has been my trusted advisor for many years. Countless crises in Equestria have been resolved thanks to her input. Perhaps you don’t remember her because you are tired. You should return home and get some rest, we’ll continue our conversation in private later.”
“But-” Twilight’s protest was silenced by glare from her mentor, a very uncommon sight.
“We will talk about this later. Right now myself and Siren must deal with the situation at hoof.”
“Forgive me, Princess Celestia, but may I ask what you two were discussing? Surely I can be trusted to know, be it a new spell or prized student Twilight Sparkle’s personal problems. I hope I don’t come off as intruding, I simply wish to help as I’ve done in the past.”
Celestia offered her advisor a smile, “Thank you, Siren, but I don’t think that will be-”
“Wait!” Twilight interjected. “Maybe you can help me!”
Siren adjusted herself and beamed at Twilight. “Glad to help, I’m all ears as they say.”
Twilight took in a deep breath before asking her question, “You’ve been Princess Celestia’s advisor for many years, right?”
“Correct, I take great pride in offering my services to her.”
“Which means you’ve probably seen me around Canterlot and the Castle at least a few times, right?”
“Well, I would say more than a few times. I like to keep myself up to date with what occurs within our great nation.”
Twilight could feel a smile steadily grow on her face. This was it, the proof she wanted. “Which means you’ve seen me with wings! You know I’m an Equestrian princess, right?”
At some point during the previous sentence Twilight had made her way over to Siren and place her front hooves on the unicorn, eerie smile and all.
“Forgive me, prized student Twilight Sparkle, but I don’t recollect you ever having wings or being an Equestrian princess. I know that Princess Celestia thinks highly of you but I think that perhaps you’re a tad over expectant?”
Twilight’s smile quickly faded back into a frown. She released Siren, letting out a an agitated groan before slumping to the ground with her head held in between her hooves. Siren turned to Princess Celestia looking for a clue as to what to make of it. The princess of the sun made her way towards Twilight, helping her off of the floor with a hoof. “Twilight, return to Ponyville for now. I’ll come visit you at a later time and we can discuss this further. For now, please, try and get some rest.”
Defeated, Twilight nodded her head, her eyes closed as she turned to leave the throne room. She stopped when Siren called out to her. “One moment, before you leave, please tell us, is there anyone else who could back your claims? Maybe they could help solve this problem.”
Twilight thought for a moment, “Well,” She began, “I guess Spike, my friends back in Ponyville, my family, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and-”
“Princess Cadance?” Celestia interrupted, “I do not know of any princess by that name. Is she from another nation?”
Twilight deadpanned. “Princess Cadance, your niece?”
Celestia raised an eyebrow at that. “Niece? Twilight, I have no niece. Unless you’re referring to Prince BlueBlood, which in that case, I would have thought you were above throwing around petty insults.”
“No, I mean Princess Cadance! You know, the pony who used to foal sit me, she used to live here in the castle, is the alicorn of love, sometimes goes by the name Mi Amore Cadenza, married to my…um... Princess Celestia, are you okay?”
It would have seemed that all the color drained from the sun princess’s face. “Could you repeat that other name, Twilight?”
“Mi Amore Cadenza?”
“Twilight, Mi Amore Cadenza is the black hearted alicorn empress of the Castallian Island Confederation. She has made it obvious now with her recent invasion of Baltimare that she is no friend of Equestria.”
“What!?” Twilight spat out. “That can’t be true! Cadance is one of the nicest most loving ponies I know! She would never do anything so awful or unacceptable to earn her the title of black hearted!”
“Go home to Ponyville and rest, Twilight,” the princess repeated, almost sounding like a broken record by this point. Celestia looked at her student who stared right back at her. “I will be in contact with you shortly, for now I have matters to discuss with Siren.”
Twilight wanted to say something more but the glance her mentor was giving her silenced her again. She looked at the princess and then at Siren again before turning around and making her way out of the throne room. Princess Celestia wasn’t the only pony who would could vouch for her claims of having wings and being a princess. One way or another, she would get her proof.
***
Princess Celestia watched with a frown as her beloved student walked out of her throne room. Something was not right, that was for certain. Twilight knew more than she should have which bothered the sun princess greatly. She remembered the last time a student of her’s had gone seeking knowledge by herself, she feared the past could repeat again.
Letting out a long sigh, she made her way back to her throne. She felt extremely exhausted from all that had transpired in a matter of minutes. She turned her attention to Siren who was now sitting next to the throne.
“Well?”
“Pardon?”
“I assume you have suggestions on how to deal with Baltimare?”
“That’s why you keep me around. Before we move on to that however, can I make a suggestion regarding prized student Twilight Sparkle?”
Closing her eyes, the princess of the sun rubbed the side of her head in a circle with her hoof. She really didn’t want to dwell on that at the moment seeing as how there were more pressing matters but she figured it couldn’t be helped. “I’m listening.”
“I would recommend forbidding your student from leaving the city of Canterlot for some time. This would allow us to keep an eye on her and take note of any suspicious activity.”
Princess Celestia’s eyes shot open at, she turned to face her advisor, a stern scowl on her face. “Surely you do not think that Twilight would betray us? She is one of the few ponies left that I can trust! Her intentions have only been nothing but the best for Equestria.”
“As mine have been and are, Princess Celestia. I would never have doubted her myself but, in light of recent events, we must be careful. Remember, we never thought the Castallion Islands would ever turn hostile towards us after so many years of peace. If I may be allowed to speak freely, you yourself never expected your own sister to betray you those thousand years ago. We can not allow the past to repeat itself is all I’m saying, we need to practice caution in these trying times. You’re student claims to be a great friend and a supporter of Empress Cadenza, does that not trouble you?”
The sun princess hated to admit it, it pained her to admit it, but Siren was right. Caution was needed now. Twilight would surely understand, she was a reasonable pony. “Very well, send out the order immediately prohibiting Twilight Sparkle from leaving Canterlot.”
Siren turned away from her princess, her smirk hidden. “Gladly, fair princess.”
***
No sooner had Twilight exited the castle and stepped out onto the streets had she come face to face with Rainbow Dash. “Hey, Twi! So what did Princess Celestia want to talk to you about? Is she sending us on some secret mission overseas or something like that?”
“What?No!” Twilight quickly responded. “I just needed to get some answers from her.”
“Oh, that’s cool I guess. So, did you get them?”
“No.”
“Huh!? What do you mean no!? You’re Twilight Sparkle, her favorite student and teacher’s pet! How could she not give you the answers you wanted? Wait, they weren’t for some sort of test that you have coming up, were they? If that’s the case, good luck in getting them. All teachers are the same I guess.”
Twilight shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Come on, let’s just go back to Ponyville.”
“Hey!” A familiar voice called out from behind Twilight. “You weren’t planning on leaving without saying hello to your big bro, were you?” The studious unicorn turned around only to be brought into an embrace.
“Shining Armor!” Twilight exclaimed before happily returning the embrace. “Oh you don’t know how glad I am to see you! You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve been having!”
“I’m all ears, Twily. We can talk about it back at my place, but first,” Shining Armor let go of Twilight and made his way over Rainbow Dash. “Hey, hot stuff!”
“S’up, babe! Been looking all over for you!”
“Really, what for?”
“Cause I felt like doing this.”
Time seemed to slow down for Twilight as she watched what unfolded. Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor’s faces leaned towards each other, eyes locked on the other. The distance between them closed until finally their lips met in a passionate kiss. Twilight watched, and continued to watch, her mind on the verge of imploding.
When the two finally pulled away they both wore goofy grins on their faces. “So,” Shining Armor began, “Was that worth looking all over the city for me?”
“Not really, but don’t worry. I’m sure I can think of something that’ll be worth it.”
“I’m sure you will if I don’t think of something first, but before that,” He turned back to look at his little sister who stood seemingly petrified in place. “You wanna grab something to eat before we head back to my place, Twily?” No answer. “Uh, Twily, are you alright?”
Without warning, Twilight’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted in the middle of street.
