Twilight gets a surprise visit from Celestia. The princess is not herself, gray and weak. After the visit Twilight and her friends are given the task to save Equestria once again.
On the journey Twilight will learn more about herself and her friends than she ever thought. They uncover secrets that will set everything in turmoil. Twilight and her friends also learns of the origin of the proud alicorns of Equestria.
Twilight Sparkle was surprised by her teacher, Princess Celestia.
Normally, she would not come to visit, and neither would she keep it silent.
Something was not right about the whole situation; Celestia seemed tired. Her mane, usually so bright and colorful, had started to fade, small shades of gray breaking the vivid flow of her mane. Her white, majestic fur was becoming ghostly.
Twilight was perplexed by the sight of her teacher.
Twilight led the princess up to the library. Spike was out for a trip with Rarity, so the library was completely empty.
Somehow an empty library seemed fitting, considering the visual Celestia emitted. The library was still messy after the last study session Twilight had. Books lay in every corner and a single lit candle sat on the table. The library itself seemed pale, with small sources of light hitting the floor through the gaps of the closed drapes. It was becoming late. The crickets had started to gather for their nightly round of chirping.
They sat down around the table in the middle of the room. Twilight looked at the Princess in an attempt to achieve eye contact, but the Princess just stared at the candle on the other table.
After a while Twilight managed to ask. “Is there something wrong, Princess Celestia? You don’t normally visit out of the blue, like this.”
As the Princess turned towards her, Twilight saw how hollow her look was. Almost as if the princess stared right past her. It sent shivers down the small unicorn’s spine. Neither did the princess smile. Celestia said the next sentence without emotion.
“My dear Twilight, you have always been my most faithful and loving student... I have enjoyed being your teacher since you were just a filly. The time we have shared have been truly fantastic.”
The Princess took a pause after those words, staring out the window, staying completely silent.
The little unicorn had no idea what those words meant; her mind raced over all possible reasons, but could not find any. Her stomach tied up in a knot, but she had to ask.
“Princess, why are you telling me this? Did I do something wrong?”
The alicorn just shook her head. As she turned towards her, Twilight saw that her Princess was crying. “Twilight Sparkle...” Celestia halted her sentence, sighing to make sure her voice did not break. “Our time together is over.”
Those words stopped time; the little unicorn had no idea how she should respond. Before she got her head together to ask one of the thousands questions she had for her Princess, Celestia broke the silence.
“I’m afraid our time is over, Twilight. You have always been faithful, but it is time to cut our bonds. I want one more report from you: in exactly six months you will come to my castle, alone, and deliver your final report on what you have learned under my study, and what the magic of friendship has taught you.”
Before Twilight could react, Celestia was on her way downstairs. As the stairs let go of a creak, twilight snapped out of the shock and ran after Celestia.
Twilight reached the first floor just in time to see Celestia leaving.
Her guards were standing outside waiting as usual, but something was different about them. They were motionless, as normal, but they wore black armor with white capes. As Celestia was stepping onto her wagon, Twilight noticed that it was black and white, as well, unlike the normal golden wagon she always had on her trips outside Canterlot. As the fog started to emerge from the Everfree forest, it became clear to Twilight that Celestia was serious.
The twilight hour brought with it a ghostly chill. Twilight could also hear the nocturnal predator slinking between the trees around them, and a few branches gave off eerie creaks. Celestia turned towards her former student, she stared past her with a cold hollow gaze.
“Twilight... if you ever go to Canterlot, do not attempt to contact me. I do not wish to see you until the six months have passed.”
With those words, the Princess flew away.
Twilight could not do anything other than to sit down and look at the carriage taking her Princess away.
She was not sure how long she had been sitting there, but when she came to, the fog from Everfree forest had completely engulfed the village. She just now noticed that the fog was so thick that she could barely see the village; all she could see was a few dim lights of the few ponies the apparently still were up.
When she went back into the library, she noticed that the light had gone out, leaving bitter wisps to coil in the air. Twilight sat down for a bit and thought over what the visit meant. After a short time, she decided to follow Celestia’s instructions and ask her after the six months had passed.
After all, there was a reason she was... had been her most faithful student.
Twilight's heart raced, not least because of the look on Applejack's face when she had had to say no to helping her build a new cart. The guilt weighed horribly in her chest, but she would have to bear it: today it was exactly six months since she had last seen her beloved mentor.
Twilight still felt ill at ease about returning to Canterlot; the Princess had been so weak the last time they had seen each other. That day, the princess had been a mere shadow of her majestic former self. And today, Twilight was going to see her again.
Twilight was not sure what to feel. On one side, she was happy that she finally was going to see Celestia again. Twilight missed their chatter around the tea table. Maybe they once again could sit together for a cup of tea. On the other side, she felt abandoned and hurt. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. First off all, why her princess had said goodbye? And why could Celestia not tell her faithful student about what was happening?
She didn’t want to believe it at the start, but when she visited Canterlot three months after Celestia’s visit, she was denied entrance to the castle. The guards had even banned her from the city until today. It was then Twilight understood that Celestia meant what she said, and she was not to be met until today. Even so, Twilight felt that being banned from the city itself was a bit extreme. To be forcibly barred from a city that she had called home for so long just felt so...odd
She had been told to come to Canterlot alone, so she had told Spike and her friends that she was going on a research trip. Naturally, they had no reason to question her, but Twilight did not like to lie to her friends. If it was one thing Twilight had learned from friendship, it was that lying was bad.
When Twilight finally arrived in Canterlot, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The streets where thriving with life. Merchants haggling with customers, carriages going to different destinations. Street musicians on every other corner, smiling to passers-by while playing their joyful tunes. The smell of food being made filled the streets, the same chefs as had always been there competing for customers, making whatever food they thought smelled tempting enough for people to give up their hard earned bits for something delicious. A bit further up, the bakers were busily making their stand ready, putting out their most tempting cakes and desserts for ponies to see.
Twilight felt a ripple of hunger from all the smells and the delicious cakes that were standing out for her to see and smell. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to sit and take a bite.
She was starting to get short on time. Twilight started to trot in a faster pace to the castle. She didn’t know what she was expecting; her emotions were still in turmoil. She wasn’t even sure how she was going to address Celestia: as her teacher, or as a normal pony relating to her Princess.
After a while Twilight arrived at the Canterlot castle, towering over the city. The castle’s spires reached for the sky, draped in banners bearing the mark of Celestia. Truly a majestic sight. If you weren’t used to it, one would be awestruck. Upon reaching the gate, Twilight’s heart skipped a beat, there were no guards. Not a soul in sight, the front of the castle normally teemed with life. Now the walls just seemed naked, not even a banner to make the walls seem inviting, just naked and empty.
The moment Twilight opened the gate and stepped in, she felt a strong magical presence engulfing her whole being completely. Something she hadn’t felt before: strong, but kind. As Twilight walked down the halls of the castle, the sound of her steps echoed through the halls; they were the only thing to be heard.
Upon arriving to the hallway before the royal quarter, she noticed the guards. They were bowing to her. The armour that used to glow the gentle gold of a sunset had been replaced by one as black and pale as a moonless night. The further in she got, the more the guards showed emotions. More than half of them cried. Even while bowing to Twilight, they cried. As Twilight reached the royal quarter she noticed that the magical presence had gotten stronger, but it was something else there as well. Twilight’s heart started to beat faster, as she could not feel Celestia’s aura; only of Luna and the same aura that she could not place before.
Upon entering the royal chamber she saw Luna and Celestia. The light from the sun shone through the colored glasses, making the giant room look like a distorted sonic rain boom. Much like the outside, the room was completely naked. There was not a guard in sight, nor a banner. As Twilight got closer, she saw what Luna and Celestia where doing.
Luna was standing on top of Celestia, chanting some kind of incantation. Celestia did not move; she did not even try to fight back. Luna’s star-sparkled mane grew as she chanted. Before long, it would grow to cover the room, engulfing it in shadow. Next to Luna there was the source of the strange aura, another alicorn. It just stood there, not moving a muscle, just watching what Luna was doing to her sister.
All Twilight could think of was to find a way to save Celestia. “LUNA!”
The little unicorn charged up her horn and started to rush towards Luna. Twilight had been practicing an attack spell in case she had to defend Ponyville again, but she had no idea if she was up to the task of taking on Luna alone. And what if the other alicorn decided to join in? Twilight had no choice: she had to try to help Celestia. Even if she was mad at Celestia for leaving her six months ago, Twilight still felt that it was her duty to protect her mentor.
“How could you, Luna?! I thought you were free Nightmare Moon’s grasp! I thought you were the old, loving, ruler again!”
Luna’s mane shriveled as she heard what Twilight said. The chanting stopped. When Luna next spoke, her voice was back to normal but only for a moment.
“Is that truly what you think of us? Does not Canterlot have more faith in their princess? Have we not proven that we are no longer Nightmare moon?”
“Luna, continue the spell. It must not be interrupted. I will take care of this little unicorn.”
Twilight froze. The aura that had been kind and warming suddenly turned into something sinister, an omnius force burning with anger. Terror filled Twilight’s eyes as she looked to where the unknown alicorn was standing. The alicorn had opened its wings. They were black as night, with a dark fog billowing from under them which engulfed more and more of the floor.
With eyes glowing bright white, he walked towards her.
“You should not have come here! This is not for you to understand! Leave or be removed from existence!”
Twilight could not move; the aura was too strong. No matter how much Twilight willed them, her legs would not listen, as if they were rooted in place. Twilight felt like her life was being drained from her. The magic surrounding her horn started to fade into the black fog.
How could such a strong being exist? And how come her brother and the guards didn’t try to help Celestia?
“You have made your choice. Prepare to be removed from this realm!”
The alicorn itself began to glow. The aura brushed towards Twilight’s coat, pressing her into submission. It felt like an ice cold leg wrapped around Twilight’s neck, making it hard to breathe. She almost felt like she was slowly being dragged down a pit to drown. She eventually gave up struggling against it. She looked towards Celestia with a tear running down her cheek.
“I’m sorry, Princess Celestia.”
“Wait!” Celestia was sitting up, looking at the alicorn and Twilight. “Terra, you have to give Twilight a chance to understand. I chose her as my student for a reason. Tell her the truth; the secret of the alicorns will be safe with her.”
Those words sapped the last of Celestias strength; she collapsed right after she finished. Luna chanted even louder, and her mane grew once again to engulf the whole room in shadow.
Terra folded his wings and looked at Celestia. Again, he gave off a feeling of safety and warmth. “Fine, Celestia, you shall have your wish. Your student shall be the first outsider to know the truth of the alicorns.”
Terra turned towards Twilight. His eyes were not glowing anymore, and the frightful aura had diminished. Twilight could once again breathe.
Terra looked out the window towards the sun as he was expecting it to diminish any second. With his deep voice, he attempted to explain to Twilight what was happening. “Have you not wondered were the alicorns come from? Each alicorn is tied to one of the objects within the universe: Celestia belongs to the sun, Luna the moon, and I belong to the Earth itself. My name is Terra. What you see now, young unicorn, is something that needs to be done. It is true that alicorns live forever. But like the phoenix, they need to be reborn.”
Twilight thought for a minute until she realised. someone was missing in there. “What of my foal sitter? Cadence?”
Terra set his sight down on Twilight, glaring at her in disgust. His voice became darker and more brutal. “Cadence is not an alicorn! She is something of creation that should not be. Celestia gave birth to her by mixing the cosmic energy from the horse-head nebula with a passing comet, just because she was too weak for her own task. Weak! And useless! Cadence is a filth that should be eradicated!”
Twilight stared into Terra’s eyes. They were dark and hollow, without a sign of emotion except hatred towards Cadence. Terra let out dark colored steam from his mouth and walked towards Luna and Celestia, hinting that Twilight should follow. Somewhat hesitant, Twilight followed him with some distance.
Twilight looked on the process with awe. She had never heard of anything like this. But she still found it hard to believe that the Princess would keep such a thing secret to her. Terra stomped the ground to snap Twilight out of her trance.
“This is what happened to Luna, you see… when an alicorn is reborn, they will come back with their memories erased. They will also try to overthrow any other alicorn. That’s why we created the elements of harmony. What they actually do is to store the memories of the alicorn who is to be reborn. The only drawback with the elements is that they need a catalyst. Somepony who has pure intentions: Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, and Magic. One of each trait.”
Terra walked over to Luna and Celestia. Twilight quickly saw why. The ritual had apparently put a lot of pressure on Luna. Luna’s body was shaking; it looked like she was on the brink of collapsing.
Terra gave out an aura that engulfed both him and Luna. Whatever it was, it helped, as Luna stopped shaking and started to focus again.
Terra turned towards Twilight again. “As you can see, the ritual puts the caster in terrible pain. What Luna is doing now is absorbing all the memories of Celestia. Every pony she has gotten close to, all the pain Celestia has felt over losing her friends, subjects and those she has considered family. All those memories that she gathered over a thousand years. Luna needs to experience all those memories to be able to transfer them to the elements of harmony.”
Terra started glowing. Bowing down to the fallen princess he shouted the finishing words. “Fulgeo!”
Celestia’s body dissolved into a beam of light, shooting up towards the sun. Luna immediately collapsed with her eyes closed, shivering. “You must leave, Twilight. Luna needs time alone to finish the ritual. The memories need to be placed into the elements.”
Twilight quickly nodded and started to walk away. As she reached the door, Terra shouted at her. “Consider this that last favor your loving tutor will do for you; you are alive because of her last wish. Do not tell anypony about what I told you!”
Twilight left the room as she heard Luna’s screams. It was truly horrifying to listen to. It sent shivers through her whole body; she was glad she wasn’t in Luna’s place.
While Twilight was walking out of the castle, she tried to understand everything. Even after this, all that could be heard through the castle were Twilight’s footsteps and Luna’s cry for the process to end. It seemed like the castle had been abandoned so the ritual could be completed in peace.
After a while she got out of the castle. She looked up on the sun, and her eyes welled up. “I don’t know if you can hear me, Princess, but thank you for being by my side. Thank you for teaching me that there is more to life than books; without you I would never have met my friends.”
The words built up in Twilight's chest, pressing against the dam that she had forced into being during the meeting, until finally it could stand no more, and her tears trickled freely. Her princess and loving teacher was gone. Not knowing if she would ever see Celestia ever again, she completed her thoughts. “I am truly thankful and proud that I got to be your student. I hope I brought some smiles to you during our time together. I only wish that I had managed to deliver my report to you.”
As the sun went down for the day, it was possible to see a faint lonely figure coming home to her tree house, shutting the door with a faint thud that could barely be heard.
It had been one month since the incident in Canterlot castle, and Twilight was still trying to wrap her brain around the whole concept. But it was troublesome as there were no books about the subject, or anyone else knowing about it for that matter. It made it very hard for Twilight to figure out anything at all.
She had been woken up today by ‘Ponyvilles’ loving mail-mare Derpy. She, for some reason, had decided to use Twilight’s bedroom window instead of her door. Not that she complained; she did get her mail. But she would rather not be woken up by the sound of Derpy crashing through her window and making a mess out of her library. Twilight took a quick glance around the main reading room. All she could see was a cloud of dust and a big pile of books with a grey leg sticking out of it. After a while, Twilight managed to get Derpy out of the mountain of books she had gotten herself buried under.
Twilight sighed as she looked around them, every book she had, was shaken out of place. Even her small figurines had been shattered from the crash. And in the middle of all the chaos, Derpy sat with a forlorn and teary face. She looked at Twilight. “I’m sorry Twilight, I just don’t know what went wrong.”
Twilight could not help but to do anything than to smile at the little grey pegasus. It was true that she made a mess, but, as always, her intentions were good. “It’s okay Derpy, I needed to re-shelve my books anyway.”
Derpy quickly sprung up on her hooves and reached into her post bags. “You have mail!” Derpy passed her the letter and quickly flew out the window again.
It wasn’t until Twilight watched Derpy fly away she noticed what a great day it was. The pegasi had outdone themselves today: not a single cloud in the sky. As the sun rose up over the horizon, the sunlight shone through the countless dewdrops, making it a truly majestic sight full of vivid light and color. Twilight got a feeling that it was going to be a great day as she heard the birds chirp to welcome the sun.
Twilight took a quick glance at the letter Derpy had brought to her. Only then did she realize that it bore the royal seal. Twilight quickly sat down and started to read the letter.
“Dear Twilight Sparkle. We apologize for what happened on your last visit to Canterlot. It was not Celestia’s plan for you to see that. We also hope you can gather your friends and take a trip to the castle. And if you can, fill them in on what happened one month ago. We will give a proper explanation once you and your friends arrive in Canterlot.
Love Luna.”
As Twilight finished reading the letter, she quickly muttered to herself. “By Celestias mane… she even writes in the royal voice.”
*~*~*~*
Twilight trotted out around the train station both eagerly and a little bit nervous. She was looking forward for a trip with her friends, and it had been too long since their last adventure. But at the same time, Twilight was anxious about what Luna wanted, and why did she want her to tell everyone what had happened. She had been under the impression that it was not to be known by any other pony than her. So why would she need to tell everypony about it now?
Twilight took a quick glance around, there was no pony in sight. But at least the day was still warm and free from clouds. The flowers had started to open up, as well, leaving a good scent of spring in the air. Twilight took a look up to the sky. “A great day for adventure.”
Twilight heard a faint noise of someone playing a tuba. Looking around the area she quickly discovered the origin of it. It was some kind of contraption coming closer; the closer it, got the more of it Twilight could see. As the... thing stopped in front of her, Twilight could pick up more details. The whole contraption was like an explosion of colour, though mainly in green with pink doodles. A huge, golden-brass instrument stuck out from its side mounting, and Twilight could pick up the sweet, sugary smell of baking goodness from the back of it. It seemed as though whoever designed this intended to bake while on the move, and there was only one pony she could think of who would want to do that.
“Pinkie, what on Earth have you made now?”
As the door opened up the tuba stopped playing, a pink fluffy head poked out of it, looking around. Pinkie Pie gave off a huge smile when she saw Twilight. “HI! How did you know it was me in there? Huh? Huh? Huh?”
Twilight had to hold back her smile. “How many ponies would make such a thing?”
Pinkie looked at it for a little while, circling around it. “Why wouldn’t they? It’s a super-duper awesome party wagon!”
“What the hay have you made now Pinkie? Is that some sort’a fancy contraption of some kind?”
The orange pony was standing in the doorway to the train station, with the natural farmer-like posture. She lifted up her brown Stetson as she took a closer look towards Pinkie Pie’s contraption. Within seconds, she looked more than perplexed by Pinkie Pie’s ride. Pinkie was quick to run over to her friend. “Applejack! You like it? It’s my super-duper awesome party wagon!”
“I guess…”
“Oh shush, Applejack. Why do you have to be so crude? Let her have her fun.”
From behind Applejack, a white unicorn emerged, wearing a gown woven from the finest material in Canterlot. She was resplendent in her yellow gown, which had just the deftest highlights of green, and a hat that contrasted it elegantly with the opposite pattern of colours. A red feather stood up at the very top of her headpiece, which she had angled so her eyes only just peeked out from the bottom. The white unicorn looked around the train station, clearly not pleased with what she saw. Or rather who she didn’t see. “Where is my little Spikey-Wikey?”
“I told him to stay home, Rarity. The library needed some cleaning.”
Rarity seemed almost insulted; she put up a big frown, thrusting her lower lip forward. As bad as it looked, Twilight was sure of her decision. Spike was too young to understand any of this.
“Seems like we’re only missing Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and they should be here any second now.”
Suddenly, a multicolored beam raced between them, stopping in a great cloud of dust. As the dust settled, a blue pegasus formed from the gloom, with what appeared to be another pony strapped to her back. Or one that was refusing to let go. “Fluttershy… you can let go now. We’re at the station.”
Rainbow Dash stood in the middle of the cloud, her posture as proud as always. Her rainbow colored mane lay down to rest as they stopped, making the colors align perfectly once more. Twilight always wondered how it did that; normally, the colors would become mixed in-between each other. Twilight thought that maybe the proud blue pegasi put more into her looks that what she liked to admit.
Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Gentle as always, she let go of Rainbow Dash. She didn’t make a sound as she jumped down from the blue pegasi’s back, and she looked around the train station with great concern. Her pink mane folded over her face as usual, making it impossible to see more than half her expression. She bowed towards Rainbow Dash and the others. “Um… thanks, Rainbow Dash. Hi everyone.”
Twilight looked around at her friends, thinking how great it was to be able to go on a trip together again. It had been too long since last time. They rarely got together like this anymore.
In her dreamy state she realized that she hadn’t explained why she had asked them here on such a short notice. “Well, everyone, let’s get on the train and head to Canterlot. I will explain everything on our way there.” ------------
All that could be heard inside the wagon was the faint sound of the train wheels hitting the rails. A dimmed light shone through the windows of the cart. The cafeteria in the next cart left a smell of newly baked gods, and you could hear faint chatter from the tables there. But in the carriage of Twilight and her friends there was nothing to hear.
Everyone was completely silent as Twilight had just told them what happened one month ago. Twilight started to get a little uncomfortable; they all stared at her, their muzzles wide open.
She folded her ears backwards and looked to the floor of the cart. “Um… Say something,” she said in an attempt to break the silence.
Rarity quickly stood up, in an unusually unladylike way. “Did Luna give any explanation on why she has revealed this to us now? At this time? Why not a month ago, when it all happened?” The white unicorn was trotting back and forth in their cart, clearly very frustrated. As her trotting became more and more intense, she started to huff and puff.
Applejack quickly interrupted her trotting. “I’m sure the Princess has her reasons, There’s clearly a reason behind it. Or else we wouldn’t be on our way to see her, right?” Even though she said it with great confidence, Twilight could still see the fear pooling in Applejack’s eyes.
“Look… I don’t know what’s going on; all I know is that Luna told me to gather you guys and tell you what happened. I’m sure she will give a proper explanation once we get to the castle.”
The rest of the trip towards Canterlot was quiet, and barely a word was uttered. Twilight sat in her seat and looked out over the passing fields. She got a tear in her eye as she thought back on her years as Celestia’s pupil. Even though she knew the Princess wasn’t dead, it still felt like she was. Like there was a big, raw hole in the middle of her chest, like there would be in the Princess' memories...
She still carried the last letter with her, as a memento of her teacher. She took a quick glance at it and whispered to herself, “I will always be your faithful student…” With that, a tear ran down her chin as she dozed off.
“Sugarcube, wake up. We’re here.”
Twilight quickly opened her eyes, just as the train stopped at the station. Canterlot was busy as always, and everything seemed normal. As if no one knew that the princess was gone. The sun glared through the spires of Canterlot castle, leaving a huge shadow over the city, and almost leaving the whole merchant quarter in darkness. The ponies didn’t seem to mind. They continued with their business as per usual.
As they passed through the merchant quarter and got closer to the gates, they could see that everything was the same. No signs of Celestia’s departure were to be seen. The banners with Celestia’s mark hung proudly on the walls. The spire reached for the skies with Celestia’s flag, almost as though it was pointing to where its rightful princess was. As they reached the gate, they were met by a gray unicorn. He was dressed in pure white and had a mane blue as a velvet sky. His eyes were almost completely black, with only a little white in there to hint towards where he was looking. “Princess Luna is awaiting your arrival. Please follow me.” His voice was truly hollow, deep and melancholy; it gave the feeling of loneliness.
As they walked behind him through the halls of the castle, some chattering wafted out of the chambers to their sides, but only a few times did it drown out the sounds of their own hooves. The castle was as impressive as always, with huge pillars supporting the whole structure. No banners, though; they had been taken down. The red carpet that usually was in the middle of the pathway had been replaced by a deep purple one. As they walked behind the grey unicorn, they noticed that his velvet blue mane gave out a dark and cold fog behind him, dampening the sound of hooves hitting the stone floor.
All six friends looked at each other and shivered.
As they reached the throne room, they saw Luna sitting on the throne in a black gown. She also wore Celestia’s jewels: a golden tiara encrusted with opals of every colour. The throne room had Luna’s banners hanging up, which raised the question as to why it wasn’t changed throughout the rest of the castle. As they got into the middle of the room the gray unicorn addressed Luna with the same hollow melancholy voice. “The ponies of harmony have arrived, my Princess.”
Luna stood up and greeted them with a look of concern. She tried to smile at them, but Twilight thought that it didn’t seem sincere. She seemed almost as hollow as Celestia had seemed six months ago. She looked over each and every one of them. “We hope Twilight Sparkle took the proper precautions and briefed you all on your way here?”
All of them quickly nodded to the princess.
“Then you will have to excuse us, for we must sit down. We are still tired from the ordeal one month ago. Please… have a seat with me.” Luna gestured them to follow her towards a neatly set up table. No food, just a table with what seemed to be a red colored drink.
The grey unicorn that lead them through the castle stood motionless near the door of the royal chamber. Twilight found it difficult to tear her eyes away from the grey unicorn, as though he would mysteriously vanish to some bizarre duty her mind could only begin to imagine if she did.
“Princess… if you don’t mind me asking… who is that?”
Luna stared at Twilight with a confused look as if she had no idea who Twilight was asking about. Twilight glanced over towards were the grey unicorn had been standing, only to see that he was gone.
“Ah… you must mean Greymantle. He is not with us anymore; what you met was but a sprite of him. He was my old servant 1000 years ago. We merely made a mirage of him…” Luna looked down towards the floor as she struggled to finish the sentence. “We made a mirage of him to soothe our loneliness, we miss our sister… and we miss our old friend.” Luna started to sparkle in her eyes as a lonely tear took the path down her chin. She quickly wiped it away and hinted for Twilight and her friends to sit down.
Not even before they had sat down Rainbow Dash was about to open her mouth to ask a hastily question. Luna raised her hoof before anything could be said.
“We are sure you all have a lot of questions, but let us fill you in first.” Luna’s horn started glowing as she poured the red liquid into everypony’s cup. She looked around the table to see if everpony was paying attention, eventually stopping at Twilight, and piercing her with a cold stare, making her rather uncomfortable.
“Twilight Sparkle, what you heard from Terra is not the whole truth. There are some things he left out. We asked you all here to fill in those gaps and give you an assignment.” Luna took a sip out of her cup before she continued. Twilight looked around, and was astounded to see Dash and Applejack looking on, completely silent and enraptured.
“Twilight, it is true what Celestia told you about Nightmare moon. It is but an old pony tale. We were not banished to the moon; we were sent up there to be reborn. Just like we did with Celestia one month ago. Terra felt that it would be safer to tell everypony that we had turned against our sister, and thus became banished to the moon because of it. He also believed that the embodiments of harmony could not be found unless they did not know of it. The fear of having somepony without pure intentions stepping forward to take on the job guided this decision.” Twilight glanced over towards Fluttershy and Rarity, both of the looked at Luna with a terrified stare. Fluttershy was at the brink of tears.
Luna took a small break as she stood up. She trotted around the table. All that could be heard in the whole castle were her hooves hitting the floor, echoing through the halls. Twilight could feel her heart rate rising, and she started to become warm.
She could not completely grasp the whole concept. She turned towards Luna as she waited for her to continue the explanation. Luna stood by the tinted window of the royal room, just so one could barely see her looming shadow engulfing the room.
“Terra never explained why the alicorns need to be reborn. It is not because we lose power; it is because we become corrupted by power if we are alive for too long. Celestia battled this corruption for a long time. As her grasp of who she was slowly disappeared, she needed to cut her ties to you.” Luna turned around and looked at Twilight and smiled with sincerity.
“Celestia thought she could hold on until she received your last report, but she could not. You became witness to the death of an alicorn.”
Twilight could feel the tension rising in the room. She knew that, any moment now, one of her friends would blabber out the question they all wondered about. To her surprise, it was Fluttershy who spoke up. “But...Um…What does this have to do with us? If you don’t mind me asking.” Even posing the question seemed a massive struggle for Fluttershy. She could barely look at the Princess, instead shying behind her mane, while her voice wobbled and her hoof scuffed along the floor, nearly muffling herself completely.
As if Luna got a little miffed that it was Fluttershy who asked the question and not Rainbow Dash, she took a while to respond. “We have two sets of elements, but only one is known. The pair used to return an alicorn back to its previous state is called elements of Memory. They are what you have been told are the Elements of Harmony, the other set are the true elements of Harmony. Terra does not know of these elements, as they are only used to bring an alicorn into slumber.” Luna walked over to a chest lying next to her throne. “We would normally do this ourselves, but we are weak after the ordeal of putting our sister to rest.”
In anticipation of what Luna was about to say, all of the ponies around the table froze. No one uttered a word, and Twilight could hear the faint chatter from the merchant quarter under the royal chamber. A faint smell of night wafted into the castle, signalling the end of another day.
Luna walked towards the window again, looking out over her beloved Canterlot. Twilight heard the Princess sighing as she turned towards her guests. Her face showed signs of pity, it was obvious her words were acid; she neither wanted them to pass her lips nor burn her throat. “Terra has been awake for too long, and thus… he is now corrupted. For the sake of us, Celestia and our kingdom… you must put Terra to sleep so he can be reborn.”
Celestia ran through the halls of Canterlot castle. She didn’t expect it to happen so early; she thought she had more time, time to prepare. But the arrival of Terra signified that it was time for Luna to say her goodbyes to the world of Equestria.
The halls of the castle were covered in banners with marks from both sisters, moon and sun working together as they were meant to. The guards stood in their rows, vigilant as ever, not knowing of what was about to happen.
Celestia needed to get hold of the guard captain so he could clear the guards of the castle for the ritual to take place. Celestia could not be interrupted while absorbing the memories of her sister, and the consequences could become dire. She got hold of the guard captain outside the throne room.
She looked at him a moment while she caught her breath. He was standing proud in his golden armor with dark blue details, the armor combining bits and pieces from those of her and her sister's personal detail.
She gathered her thoughts. “Captain! I need you to take all the guards off duty for today.”
The captain looked at his princess with more than confusion in his eyes. Worry mixed alongside it. He quickly pulled himself together and bowed for his princess. “Is there a special reason for this order? Or am I not to know?”
Celestia clearly became uncomfortable by this question.
“It is not for you to know, but you and the guards do not need to worry. Take a trip to the park on this fine day. You and the guards deserve a day off.”
The captain walked over to the closest window. “Now that you mention it, it is a nice day today.”
Celestia looked over his withers, and could see the sun gleaming over the rooftops, giving life to the busy merchant quarter in Canterlot. Merchants and customers haggling over prices, bakers giving a lovely scent of freshly baked goods to the streets. The sun hit small puddles of water that had been left over from the rain the day before. It gave an illusion of little pockets of light being created around the market. The captain turned towards Celestia.
“Very well, as you wish Your Highness. I will call the guards of the castle.” With that, the captain left.
“Finally… now the ritual can begin.” She sighed. “Not that I’m looking forward to it.”
“Talking to yourself again, are we, Celestia?”
A hollow, melancholy voice called behind Celestia, she jumped around in a state of shock. In front of her she saw Luna’s servant Greymantle. For some reason the gray pony gave Celestia the chills, not that he had done something to her to deserve that reaction. It was just that he never made a noise until he talked, It was almost as if he floated above the floor, and his breath melted into the air leaving no sound of breath. Greymantle looked at her with he’s black crude eyes, he gently bowed he’s head.
“Celestia, Luna is prepared for the ritual, she wanted me to make sure you were ready to begin.”
She looked back at he’s cold black eyes, she quickly nodded towards him. As they walked towards the throne room, Celestia felt a growing unease. The ritual was something she thankfully didn’t have to do more than once every few thousand years. The stress and pain it inflicted on her was tremendous, but it had to be done. The last thing she wanted were to see her sister grow in to a corrupt monster she could become. As they entered the throne room, Celestia could see Luna talking to Terra, Luna glaring at Terra with a furious blaze in her eyes. As they got closer Celestia could hear what they were arguing about.
“What dost thou mean, that we must be marked a villain? Is the truth not good enough for Equestria?”
Luna furiously trotted back and forth in the room. Terra, being the target for her anger, tried to calm her down. Terra stood there proud like a manticore, his black robe falling elegantly down on his sides. While his wise eyes kept track of Luna's pacing, he emitted an aura of love and warmth, although he had no reason to. Celestia trusted this alicorn with her life. Luna was still trotting furiously over the throne room, when she turned towards Terra.
“For all that we have done for Equestria, for thee to even suggest that is a royal offense!”
Terra shook he’s head smiling at Luna, who was half his size.
“Clearly, you know I have only the best interests of Equestria in mind. The commotion that will be made requires an explanation. This is a plausible explanation if we do it right. In a thousand years, some ponies will emerge to save the kingdom from the nightmare you will become, but only if their intentions are pure.”
Luna hissed against Terra and looked at him with anger, almost as she was ready to lunge at him in any second.
“Luna... my dear Princess… as much as it hurts me to say this, he is right. The kingdom will require an explanation, and from what I heard this is a plausible one.”
Greymantle’s hollow voice rang through the throne room, halting Luna’s anger. Instead of the melancholy voice he normally emitted, his voice was filled with warmth and love when addressing Luna. The little alicorn folded her ears back as soon as she heard Greymantle, soothed by his presence. Luna’s fury faded to a gentle simmer. She slumped a little.
“Very well... If Greymantle thinks it is a good idea… We will follow through with it.”
She turned towards Celestia and Greymantle, seeming proud but nervous. No wonder, thought Celestia. Who wouldn’t be at the brink of their own death?
“Very well… shall we proceed?”
Terra seemed eager to get the ritual over with, even though he did no more than to mark when it was time. Celestia was the one needing to do all the work, not him. Luna was lying down on top of a blanket, her breaths becoming ever more rapid and shallow. Celestia walked towards her and placed herself on top of Luna.
“It pains me to do this my dear sister. I will miss you while you’re gone.” Celestia tried to ignore the growing desperation in her sisters eye’s.
With that, Celestia started to chant the spell. Her horn started glowing, lighting up the whole room, giving off huge shadow off every object in the room; it was almost like a miniature sun inside the throne room. Her colorful mane grew, too, slowly engulfing the whole room, making a cocoon around them.
Luna looked frightened towards Greymantle, as if she pleaded for something. Greymantle walked over towards them, bowing down to be level with Luna. “Please, Princess, for you it is not the end. Your sister will succeed in your revival, waiting for the day she again will be with you. But I will not be here when you come back. I only hope the memories of our time together will be there when you return.”
With that he walked towards Terra, stopping next to him. From there, he shot an icy glare at Celestia. Luna seemed calmer after what Greymantle had just said.
Terra started to walk forward towards them; the ritual was nearing its end. Celestia could feel the strain on her mind and body. All of Luna’s memories and feelings connected to each one of them came surging into her wave after wave. The strain on her body suddenly felt enormous, like she was trying to carry a mountain, and she felt her legs almost give way beneath her. Celestia was on the brink of collapse. When suddenly Terra’s warm, soothing aura took a hold of her. Terra’s voice echoed in her head.
“You’re doing great, Celestia. It will be soon over.”
Terra bowed over Luna, preparing to finish the ritual. “Fulgeo!”
Luna’s body started to glow. She looked towards her sister with a faint smile.
“We will see you soon.”
An aura of purple light engulfed Luna and shot her out towards the moon.
“Quickly, Celestia. Seal the memories inside the elements!”
Terra was quick to gather the 6 stones and put them in front of Celestia. Once they were placed, Celestia started to chant again. As the elements started to levitate around Celestia, all the memories were dragged out in a violent vortex. The vortex painted the walls of the throne room with colors of all kinds. Celestia could tell at once that these were Luna's memories: most of them involved Celestia and Greymantle, little of anything else. A tear trickled down Celestia’s chin as she saw Lunas memory of her first moon rising. Celestia standing behind her cheering her on. Celestia gave her little sister a little push to manage the moon rising. As the moon rose up to complete the sky, Luna turned around towards Celestia with a proud smile. Celestia remembered how happy her little sister was, jumping around her yelling out.
“I did it! I did it!”
The sound could barely be heard through the room, but it was there. As the ritual stretched on, more memories could be seen. Luna and Celestia arguing over small, unimportant things, like sisters do. The vortex started to fade, and the images got weaker and more transparent. The last image marking the wall was of Greymantle and Luna standing side by side, giving a warm smile to each other. Greymantle leaned down and nuzzled on Luna’s neck. The image started to fade. Luna smiled towards Celestia, tilting her head and closing her eyes.
As the light faded of the ritual was over, the elements rested on the floor, faintly glowing in different colors. Terra smiled at Celestia, much like a father would smile to his daughter.
“You did great, Celestia. I am proud of you. But now I must take my leave, and you need your rest after this ordeal. The elements will be stored safe in the vault until the time that they are needed again.”
Terra and Greymantle headed out of the throne room, Celestia’s blood started to rush; she did not want to be left alone.
“Greymantle! Could you stay for a bit?”
The pony stopped in the doorway. He looked towards her, and gave her a comforting smile.
“Of course. It will be my pleasure.”
He lay down next to Celestia and for some reason, unlike before, she felt safe around him. She could not shake this feeling. Why was she so unnerved by him before? Celestia turned towards the servant and, for the first time, he smiled at her.
“Greymantle... what you meant for Luna is indescribable... But thank you for helping me taking care of my sister... Thank you so much.”
Celestia fell asleep as the fatigue from the ritual started to seep in over her. Greymantle looked towards the moon. It shone bright this night. He looked down at Celestia and muttered to himself.
“It was a pleasure.”
Like a gust of wind came into the room, the mirage Luna had created vanished into tiny specs of dust. Everpony sat around the table in awe, not being able to utter a word after what they had seen.
“O… oh… my...” Fluttershy looked around the table to see if anyone else was going to say something. Twilight, on the other hoof, had one important question.
“But what does that have to do with Terra being corrupted?”
Luna stood up and started to walk towards her throne, stopping at the spot where the ritual was performed.
“Twilight, do you remember the aura he gave off when you interrupted the ritual?”
Twilight shuddered. Of course she remembered, how could she forget it? Actually feeling death on her shoulders for a mere second was enough.
“Terra would never even think about killing somepony before, not even if they threatened everything he loved. But now he has changed a lot. It took him just a second before he thought about killing you. He is also the one who released Discord into our realm. He wanted to test your strength. We believe he is preparing to overthrow our rule and build his own kingdom from the ashes of ours.”
A gasp went through the room; no pony could believe what they heard. Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, hovering over them. With a confident smile she flailed her forelegs towards the window.
“What are we waiting for?! We need to deal with this now, we have the elements on our side!”
“I don’t know, Rainbow Dash, I dun think it’d be that easy to deal with him.” Applejack frowned as she turned towards Luna. “Is there no other way?”
Luna shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Applejack. The elements need your powers to work.”
Twilight slammed her hooves down on the table, looking around the room. “All right, girls! Our Princess just gave us an assignment, and it is our duty to save Equestria. Let’s get home and start packing. We need to be prepared for a long trip.”
Everpony looked at her with great confusion, almost as if they had no idea what she was talking about. Twilight pondered for a moment until she until a certain issue popped into her head, and a sheepish smile spread she turned towards Luna.
“Luna… where does Terra live?”
Twilight had a faint blush in her face.
Luna could not help but smile at the little unicorn.
“He lives in the depths of Everfree forest. It is almost three day’s march into the woods until you will get to his cave.”
Luna started to walk towards her room, but could barely go more than three steps before wobbling and stumbling over her hooves. She shook her head, and let out a sigh before turning to her guests.
“Please leave us. We will join you in your quest as soon as we can, but for now we need to rest and regain our strength.”
Luna left the six ponies to themselves. The doors slammed shut echoing through the empty halls of the castle. Twilight stood up and started to walk out of the castle, not sure of what she were going to do. As the six ponies walked through the halls, not a word was uttered. All of them were no doubt thinking of the task at hand.
The six ponies stood outside the castle, taking in what they had been asked to do. The day was nearing its end, and the sun was starting to go down over the horizon. It was nearing the time of twilight, the hour between day and night were all the nocturnal animals started to wake. Twilight halted her thoughts for a moment, she realized that there was no way to get more information on what they were going to do. It made Twilight a little uneasy; she had to go into a situation without any special knowledge about it. Twilight turned towards her friends.
”Right girls, our princess gave us a task, and we shall perform it to the best of our abilities. Let’s go out and get supplies, and meet at the Everfree forest in three days.”
They all nodded in agreement and headed out to each direction. All except Pinkie Pie. Twilight looked at the pink earth pony
“What is it, Pinkie?”
Pinkie looked at Twilight with big, wet eyes. “I’m sad, Twilight.”
The sentence hit Twilight like a jolt of electricity. Was it even possible for Pinkie to be sad? This was the first time she had said something like that.
“Why?”
Pinkie turned slightly away from Twilight with a tear running down her cheek.
"I just realised how... how... horrible it'd be for somepony to live forever! Think about it! When we got rid of Miss Meanie Pants and brought the good old Luna back, everypony she'd known and loved had been dead for a thousand years! She wouldn't have even got a chance to throw one last party with them or laugh one last time or even tell them how happy she was to just have met them..."
Pinkie trailed off, her lips trembling and her neck totally slumped. Twilight watched as a tear dropped. She tried to reach out a hoof to hug her friend, but a big sniff made her pull it back, and Pinkie carried on.
"But it wouldn't have been any better when she was still here. She would have been able to see and talk to and have fun with everypony, but almost everypony she knew wouldn't live as long as she would. So she'd have to watch and know she couldn't do anything as all her closest friends grow older and weaker until... until..." Pinkie wiped her eyes, and took another deep sniffle. "Until they're gone... like Granny Pie... and there's nothing but memories left..."
"Pinkie..." Twilight tried to reach over with a hoof, but everything in her body just locked. "I had no idea..."
Pinkie suddenly pulled her head up, and turned those big, wide eyes back on Twilight, as floods of tears poured out.
"But the Princesses have gone through all this for so long... and they have to carry all that heartache, and that's like an extra-extra-strong baked-bad tummyache! And nopony thinks about it..."
Her face fell again, and this time Twilight didn't hold back.
"Pinkie..." she said, wrapping her hooves around her friend, who sniffed again.
"I'm sorry, Twilight," she mumbled, and looked at Twilight. As if by magic, her tears had vanished. "I don't like to think about stuff like that. It makes me feel all empty and cold inside, and it really shouldn't, because I bet all those memories the Princesses have are happy ones, like I have of my Granny Pie, but..."
Her returning smile faltered for a second as she glanced back at the castle. "I just can't help but feel bad for Princess Luna..."
Twilight nuzzled her friend before she spoke. "I know, Pinkie. Immortality isn't a particularly good thing once you think about it. But come on. I’m sure that helping Luna with this task is a great way to thank her for what she does for us.”
Pinkie nodded in agreement as they headed down towards the merchant quarter together.
