The shocking news
Twilight stared intently at the book in front of her, ignoring Spike's loud snoring. The moon was high in the sky and she had just discovered a wonderful book about Equestria and its history. Her wings were folded at her side while her horn gave off a light glow to allow her to see the pages. Her hooves were tucked away underneath her belly, while the golden crown that stood for the element of harmony was lying on stack of books.
The princess loved the gigantic library at night. It was so quiet and peaceful, minus the occasional clicking sound of a royal guard walking by on duty. Shelves were stacked meters high with books of all kinds, from dark magic spells to the first lessons on friendship. Then ladders leaned against the shelves to allow ponies to reach the highest levels. Curtains that were drawn back allowed the moonlight to pour in. She was laying on a purple rug that covered the floor of the great room. Usually, some random servant would insist she rest on some fancy cushion, which was just another reason why Twilight like the night better.
Her eyes flickered closed for a moment before opening. Maybe it was time for her to rest a bit. Using her levitation magic to lift Spike and her crown, she traveled through the halls and into her own quarters. Gently placing the dragon in the basket, the princess slid off the golden shoes and set them away in her closet before placing the crown on her nightstand.
Her room was about the size of her library back home. The walls were a soft purple color, while the floor was tiled with white marble squares. The four poster bed with canopy over it was in the middle of the room. A nightstand was to the right and a small desk with a mirror hanging above it to the left. The dresser was standing against the wall holding all the expensive dresses she had never bothered to wear. Twilight sighed at the lamp she flicked on with her powers before heading to the connecting bathroom.
She pulled back the white shower curtain and stepped into the bathtub to take a shower. Using her magic she turned the handle to warm water and allowed it to pour over her fur. Letting out another sigh she used her magic to squirt shampoo into her tail and mane.
The sound of hooves walking towards her snapped her out of her trance. Her horn slow lit, ready to attack or defend if necessary. When the shampoo was out of her hair she turned the water off and slowly poked her head out. Hm. Was she simply dreaming it? Twilight shrugged and walked out in a towel to find Celestia and Luna watching her.
"What?" She jumped lightly and her wings took off at once almost causing her to smash her head against the roof. "Princesses... Why are you here?" Twilight almost dropped into a bow before remembering that she was royalty as well. "Oh." Casting a sound proof bubble around Spike she smiled. "I haven't seen the both of you in awhile... Is something wrong?"
Twilight watched as Luna took a step forward before smiling, "How about we discuss this somewhere else? It will be easier to explain why Celestia and I decided this." The pair left the room leaving Twilight to follow.
Something was wrong. The tone in their voices. She bit her lip and glanced at Spike before following. What were going to do? Was it because they found her unfit to be princess? Would they banish her to Everfree forest? Or. Did they expect her to rule a kingdom? Or help out with another war? What could be so important that they couldn't wait until morning? Those thoughts raced through her head when she took the first step to follow them.
Twilight shook her head and cleared her brain. Forcing herself to not panic, she continued to follow the princesses to the throne room where Celestia stopped in front of the first glass plane window. "You remember correct? Nightmare moon." Twilights eyes focused on the window. The image was her five friends and herself blasting Nightmare Moon with the elements of harmony. She nodded lightly, ignoring the pang in her heart.
"I remember." She answer softly as Celestia led her to the next panel.
"And Discord." Celestia only stopped for a moment before continuing, "The changling queen. Sombra. Yourself gaining wings. Soon... There will be another in honor of yourself." The princess smiled softly. "My dear student. You've done things that no one else would have been able to do. You've defeated evils that even my sister and I could not. You've proven over and over that I was right to chose you." She glanced towards Luna.
"Twilight Sparkle. The newest princess. The bearer of the strongest element. The hero of Equestria." Luna spoke softly and took her place across from her sister Celestia with the purple alicorn in the middle. "I believe you are ready for the final task. For the last mission that will ever be given to you by ourselves." Her horn slowly lit.
"You. Twilight Sparkle. Will take our place as the next rule of Equestria."
"What?! I- No. No. No. No. Wait. This is a joke right? I can't do this. I'm not ready! I can't even control my wings." Twilight's expression flashed many things, shock, worry, sadness, confusion, and finally rested on a smile. "You're joking."
Luna shook her head. "We are not. This is the truth. Magic doesn't last forever. One thousand years and even the strongest alicorns would lose power. I apologize for this being a shock to you, but understand Twilight. You are the one best fit. You have saved the kingdom many times and have reached good terms with almost every pony. You will be Equestria's next ruler."
"So... Not... A joke? Then.... Then..... Then.... Why not Cadence? Or crown some other pony princess and let her rule! I can't do this! I'm not ready!" She wailed and shook with fear. This couldn't be happening. She was just crowned a princess two weeks ago! No. No. No. What if she did something wrong? What if people hated her? What if...
"Cadence cannot. She has the crystal empire. Ruling both would be too difficult."
Celestia walked towards her and placed a hoof on the now sobbing unicorn, "Don't worry. Luna and I will be your guide in spirit. Twilight Sparkle, we don't plan to leave you right away. There is a month's time to ready you for this."
"You! You didn't say anything about leaving! The both of you are... dying? This cannot be happening.... This can't! I can't rule or raise the sun or lower the moon or any of that!" She continued to shake while tears steamed down her face like a river.
"... We are. And you can. Twilight Sparkle... I believe in you, as does my sister. There is no one more fitting than you. You're friends will help you. As will Spike and any others." She smiled lightly as the unicorn stopped crying, but sniffling instead. "In fact. Today, you will raise the sun and lower the moon. I trust you have read about it in your studies."
Twilight stopped and took a deep breath, "Y-you... really believe in me? You don't think... I'll... fail?" She asked quietly. The sniffing and tears had stopped. She pushed herself to stand straight. Maybe... Maybe... She could do it. With the help of her friends and the princesses, Twilight felt hope spark inside of her.
"Yes. I do. Now... We are minutes way from lowering the moon and raising the sun. Twilight... Try. Don't worry about failure. If you do anything wrong, Luna and I are both here." She nudged Twilight towards the throne. "You should get use to sitting there."
"P-Princess! I can't!" She didn't want to. Replacing the two sisters? How.... How was that even possible? But as a good student and because Luna shoved her, Twilight sat on the throne and began to bring day.
Her horn lit with effort as she grunted and shook under the pressure. Pink sparks flew off the tip as she gasped as gritted her teeth together. Instead of sitting, she was standing with her hooves digging into the expensive carpet. A determined look appear on her face as she threw her all into the spell. It was going to happen. She was going to lower the moon for the sun. Pushing herself harder than she ever thought she would need to, Twilight very slowly brought the moon down, an inch every second. It was ten minutes later that the sun was in the correct position. Letting out a sigh of relief and happiness, Twilight Sparkle fainted on the spot.