"Yeesh, can you believe that Kilnan King, Shining Armor?" Sergeant Night Light asked his eighteen-year-old son as they made their rounds around the parameters of the fields.
"I know, Dad!” Shining Armor replied. “I knew that Halon was a pain in the butt, but to tank years of negotiations in about three minutes? Then to suddenly declare war on Equestria?”
“I don’t think it was legitimate; For all his egotism and sociopathy, he knows better than to attack us, especially since we’re from a huge nation and under Celestia’s power. He only has about ten square miles of land for his people.”
“Let’s just be thankful we got off his territory before anything bad happened,” Shining finished as they finished up their job and entered the camp of the small party of twenty soldiers and eighteen diplomats, where the last of the tents were just finished being set up.
“Yes, let’s be thankful, son.” Night Light said, quickly ruffling his son’s blue-and-creulean-striped hair.
“Dad!!” Shining complained, but his face showed that he was grateful for the sign of affection.
They approached one of the bigger tents, where inside, Twilight Velvet, Night Light’s wife, was trying to clean her daughter’s purple chocolate-covered face.
“Hold still, Twilight Sparkle, if you want your face clean!” Velvet scolded her young daughter.
“But why can’t I lick it off?” Twilight whined.
“Because your tounge’s not long enough.”
“Why isn’t it long enough?”
“Because human tongues aren’t made that way.” The question made Twilight stop squirming underneath the washcloth.
“Is there a spell to make tongues lounger?” She asked. “Do you think they teach that in Celestia’s School for Gifted Magi?”
Velvet chuckled. Even at a young age, Twilight inspired to be great at magic, ever since she saw Celestia raise the sun at the Summer Sun Celebration when she was five years old.
“Probably. I’m willing to bet so.”
“Do you think I can really make it in?”
“Of course I do, sweetie!” Velvet finished cleaning off the last of the chocolate pudding off her face. “You passed the application and the written portion of the entrance exam, and you skipped three grades in school already!"
“But I still need to do physical exam to get in, and that’s exactly two weeks away! What if I can’t get in, Mom?” Twilight worriedly asked as her mother unbuttoned her shirt, also covered in chocolate.
“Then we’ll apply for it the next year.” Velvet assured as she began soaking the shirt in cold water. Twilight pulled on her striped pajamas when another question entered her mind.
“But what if I never get in? What if I apply over and over again and I never pass the test?”
“Twilight,” Velvet turned to her girl, pulled her into her lap, and gave her a big hug. “I want you to listen closely, okay? You will make it in. You’re one of the smartest and most determined people I know. But no matter what happens, know that your daddy and your brother and I will always be proud of you.”
Twilight looked up at her mother. “Promise?”
“Are you doubting me?” Velvet asked mischievously, beginning to tickle her daughter.
Twilight shrieked and squirmed under her mother's attack, but no relief came until two familiar people entered the tent.
“Daddy! Shiny! You’re back!” Twilight cheered. Velvet released her daughter so she could run towards them and throw her tiny arms around their legs.
Shining Armor bent down and scooped up Twilight. "Hey Twily, guess what?"
"What?"
“I want to show you something.” Shining Armor sat down on his cot, his little sister snuggled up in his lap. "Close your eyes!"
Twilight obeyed. She felt something settle into her hands, then she was given the command to open them. The young mage gasped at her present.
A metal pendant, two inches in diameter, rested in her palms. The charm rested on a violet cord with two slip knots so the length of the necklace could be adjusted. In the center a sparkling six-pointed magenta star, the same color as Twilight's magical aura, overlaid a white one. Five smaller stars orbited around them. On the other side, a famous and well-known quote was engraved;
Without passion, curiosity, and love, life is meaningless.
Star-Swirl the Bearded.
Underneath that, a small message from Shining Armor was written;
From your B.B.B.F.F.
"It's a good luck charm for your test in two weeks. I hope you like it."
Twilight answered that with a squeal and a hug to her B.B.B.F.F. He returned the hug, which he held before an idea popped in his head.
"Here, let's see how it looks on you."
As Shining Armor took out a mirror and Twilight pulled the necklace on and adjusted it, Night Light and Velvet slid outside the small tent to give their much-loved children to their bonding time while they had their own conversation.
Nobody saw the armed mercenaries moving in towards the camp until it was too late.
One Day Later
The doors of the Canterlot Hospital burst open as Princess Celestia entered, stressed and worked-up. Her niece, Cadence, followed closely behind, shock and tears highlighting her face.
"Where's the survivor of Halon's attack?" the Princess asked the receptionist breathlessly. The nurse gave the room number and led the two princesses to it. Captain Golden Shield of the Royal Guard and an Earthborn Guard stood at attention outside the room.
"Princess Celestia, Princess Cadence," Captain Golden Shield quickly bowed before continuing. "The kid's stable and able to take visitors, but I should warn you, she's unconscious and.... well.... her injuries..." He sighed. "It's not a pretty sight."
"Let me see her," The Princess of the Sun commanded. Celestia was known for her kindness, her skill at diplomacy, and her tendency for lighthearted pranks, but she was scary when furious, especially if an enemy hurt any of her subjects.
"Of course."
Princess Celestia and Cadence entered the hospital room and stared in horror at the sight before them.
A purple-skinned girl (a Mage, judging by the black symbol on her forehead) laid unconscious on the bed, her breathing ragged, her right arm taped to a heart monitor, blood bag, and IV, and was so wrapped up in bandages, she might've been mistaken for a sleeping mummy in a horror movie had she been somewhere else. The only things not covered by bandages was her mouth and her shut eyes. Her left leg was bound in a plaster cast, propped up and badly broken. A pendant, somehow not stolen in the attack, laid on her nightstand.
“How could they do this?” Cadence whispered.
Celestia swallowed back her rage, sadness, and anger as she gave her niece a sideways hug. “I don’t know, Cadence. I don’t know.”
Both princesses stood there, watching over the still form over the now-orphaned girl, each wondering what they were going tell her when she woke up. She had no kin left in the world to take care of her.
“Hey Spike, any luck?” Twilight asked her dragon assistant while peering underneath one of the bookcases in the astronomy tower.
"No," The young dragon said.
Twilight peered over her shoulder at him and saw him with his stout in a comic book. She couldn't resist rolling her eyes. "You forgot what we're looking for, didn't you?"
"Sorta."
"We're looking for a book--"
"Oh really?" Spike snarked. "Because you have a lot."
He wasn't kidding. Two entire walls of the upper part of the astronomy tower were completely lined with bookcases, reaching from the ceiling to the floor (which also had books scattered around it). Another wall provided one section where the telescope and other instruments rested, and the fourth was nothing but windows and a door leading to a balcony.
"That one on moving heavenly bodies; the ones that aren't controlled by Princess Celestia."
"Why'd you want to read about that?"
"Honestly Spike, don't you listen to anything I say?" Twilight muttered underneath her breath.
"I heard that!"
Twilight stood up and straightened the kink in her arm as she began to speak. "Remember there's been reports from the Stars And Universe Association about those strange four stars that have been moving towards the moon since the Spring Equinox?"
"You mentioned it only a million times," Spike said, "But didn't you give up trying to find the cause of that three weeks ago?"
"I did, but I have a couple more theories of what might be causing it now, and I need that book for reference!"
"In that case, I think it might be downstairs in our bedr--" Suddenly, Spike cheeks bulged.
Most, seeing that for the first time, would think that he was going to barf (and sometimes he did), but then he burped, shooting a plume of green flames out, which then materialized into a scroll with Celestia's seal on it.
Twilight caught it in her hands, tore open the seal, and scanned it.
"Princess Celestia wants to see you?" The baby dragon asked.
"Yep. I'll be right back," The fourteen-year-old Mage said and began walking down the stairs to the entrance to the tower as she picked a few pieces of lint off her shirt and checked into a mirror to see if her hair was presentable. "Oh, and keep trying to find the book." She called back.
Spike looked around the room, sighed, and began picking up books and shelving them.
Twilight followed the familiar path to Princess Celestia's study and knocked on the door. She was surprised to find the Captain of the Royal Guard open it for her.
"Oh, uh, Captain Golden Shield! I... uh--"
"At ease, Twilight. It's alright. I was just picking up some things here," The Aviator held up an envelope. "She's waiting for you inside. I wish I could talk more, but I need to do some debriefing of a couple troupe in the Courtyard."
"It's alright. See you around," Twilight said. Golden Shield's heels lit up, then sprouted wings as he took to the air.
Twilight entered the study to find that it was messier than usual. It still retained its warm, cozy feeling, but the desk and floor was covered in papers, and Princess Celestia was intensely studying a map. When she looked up, Twilight was shocked to see bags underneath her eyes.
"Uh, Princess? Are you--"
"I'm alright, Twilight. I've just been focused on this border dispute between a couple cities in the east. I've been trying to keep it as quiet as possible."
"Is that why the Captain was in here a few minutes before?"
"Yes, I'm afraid I might have to use military force if we can't find a solution soon. Why don't you have a seat?"
As Twilight sat down, Celestia took care to clean up her desk and hide most of the papers before Twilight could attempt to glance at them.
"Forgive me, Twilight, but the dispute's events can only remain within military ranks."
"I understand. So why did you want to see me?"
"I have an assignment for you."
"You do?" It's been about a year since Twilight had gotten an assignment from the Princess, ever since she graduated from Celestia's School of Magi.
"Yes. You understand that the Summer Sun Celebration is the day after next, correct?"
"Of course."
"And the lucky town where I am raising the sun this year is Ponyville, the town that resides next to the Everfree Forest?"
Twilight nodded hesitantly, not sure where this was going.
"Well, I want you to go to Ponyville tomorrow and oversee the preperations."
The apprentice was shocked. "Me?! But I'm a fourteen-year-old kid! I'm sure there's a lot of other people you can call on, right?"
"Please listen, my faithful student. I realize you are underaged, but this year's original Supervisor has contrated a really bad case of food poisoning last night, and she will be hospitalized for quite a while. I can't find anyone else in the castle to fill in this position, since they're all busy with their own duties, either with the border dispute or with the party in Canterlot. So I thought, since you don't have anything important to do right now, you would accept this job. And you are one of the few people I can trust and depend on."
"But what about my research? That's important!"
Celestia cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, yes. What projects are you working on right now?"
"Well, right now, I'm trying to discover what the cause of those four moving stars are."
The Princess went pale. "Four... M-moving stars?"
Twilight didn't notice her surrogate mother's change in demeanor. "Yes, the ones that are heading towards the moon, all in four directions? I know you're not the one controlling them, but I can't figure what else is moving them, unless there's another pony that can move heavenly bodies. But of course, you're the only one that can move the sun an--"
"Twilight."
She stopped at the stern command.
"I want you to listen to me. I don't think you should be working on that project anymore. Besides you need to draw your nose out of those dusty old books and experience life and friendship sometime."
"But I'm so close to a breakthoug--"
Celestia suddenly stood up and towered over her student, "Twilight Sparkle. I will hear no more of this."
The mage couldn't help but gulp. Instinctively, her hand moved to her chest and wrapped around the pendant that laid on it, an old habit that happened when she got stressed, scared, or upset. It was rare that Princess Celestia got even the slightest bit of anger in her voice, but Twilight knew better not to push it.
After a few seconds, Celestia's features softened and she slumped down in her chair and covered her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, Twilight. This whole dispute's been putting me on edge lately."
Twilight instinctively got up, crossed to the other side of the desk, and hugged her mentor. A few seconds later, she graciously returned it.
Celestia broke apart from the hug a few moments later and handed Twilight a brown envelope. "This paperwork will guarantee your position as supervisor for this year's Summer Sun Celebration, as well as your lodgings for your stay in the Golden Oaks Library."
Celestia nodded. "Just fill out the necessary information by tonight; I'll send by somebody to pick it up by eleven if you have not sent it by Spike's dragon fire."
"Alright, bye." Twilight began heading out the door before he heard the inevitable saying.
"Oh, and try to make some friends while you're in Ponyville, will you?"
"Hey, Spike!" Twilight called, throwing open the door of the astronomy tower. "I don't need that book anymore!"
No reply.
"SPIKE? Where'd he go now?!"
As Twilight began trudging up the stairs she couldn't help but think about what Celestia said about her making friends.
Why does Celestia think I need friends so much? The entire world sees me as a freak already, and it's not like anyone in my grade ever appreciated me being younger and smarter than them. Besides, I got Spike, my books, and my comfortable place in the castle's astronomy tower. What more could I need?
"Spike!" Twilight called as she reached the top of the stairs. "Where are you? We got books to put away, and this place is a total mess!"
Suddenly, she heard snoring, and she peeked underneath a pile of books to find the baby dragon curled in a ball, sleeping peacefully.
Instantly, Twilight's heart melted and her frustrations disappeared. "Poor guy. He must've tired himself out." She carefully picked him up and silently carried him downstairs to their sleeping quarters, then laid him in his basket and tucked him in.
She sat there for a few minutes, watching him sleep. There was something about Spike that always made Twilight calm down and not worry about anything. Ever since she hatched the little dragon, they've watched out for each other as they were the only family both of them had.
See, seven years ago, Celestia's School for Magi decided to use the dragon egg for that year's practical entrance exam. No aspiring mage could pull it off. Then it was Twilight's turn, and she couldn't do it. She was about to give up and apologize to the examiners for wasting their time when there was a sudden, loud explosion from a skyscraper demolition nearby and the shock made Twilight's magic go out of control, turing people into plants, overpowering most of the teaching staff, and nearly tearing the auditorium apart. Fortunately, Celestia had managed to get there in time and stabilize the situation before anybody had gotten hurt, and managed to get an exhausted Twilight away before curious people flocked around.
As soon as Twilight had woken up and was checked over the nurses in the infirmary, she was taken to Celestia's study. There, Twilight was told the truth about the test. Hatching the egg never supposed to happen; instead, it was to show how potential students reacted to failure. If they had angrily given up and stormed out, they would have failed, but calmly accepting that they couldn't manage it would move them on to the actual exam.
"Students here will fail several times before succeeding with performing a spell correctly," Celestia explained. "Handling that with dignity is something that is encouraged among the magi here, both for the students and for the teachers."
"Am I in trouble?" Twilight meekly asked. She wasn't able to run; even if she still didn't have the bulky cast bound to her healing leg, she was too scared to move.
"No, Twilight. The opposite. Nobody had gotten hurt when your magic went out of control. However, we need to be sure nothing like this ever happens again. You can learn how control your powers, but it will require focused study, and a mentor powerful enough to help you in the event of another lapse."
"I don't want it to happen again!"
"Don't worry, Twilight Sparkle. I can make sure it won't."
"Huh?"
There was a sudden knock on the door. "Captain Golden Shield, requesting an audience with Princess Celestia," The older man spoke. "I got something for you!"
"The door's open."
As the Captain walked in and set a tiny basket on the desk, Twilight couldn't help but gasp. In the bundle, there laid a purple-and-green baby dragon!
"I hatched the egg?"
"Yes, kid," Golden Shield said in amazement. "You did the impossible today."
"Huh?"
"What Captain Golden Shield means is that to artificially incubate a dragon egg, it takes a hundred trained and experienced Magi to warm up the egg over a period of three days" Celestia said. "And in your power burst, you were able to hatch it in less than a second. I sensed a lot of potential in you, Twilight Sparkle, the day we met, but I last thing I ever expected was for a seven year old child to have a gold mine of raw energy sealed inside of her."
"Hey, get back here!" Golden Shield suddenly said at the sudden movement of the dragon. The little guy made a dash for Twilight and leaped into her lap. As soon as he was there, he curled up into a ball, began sucking on Twilight's shirt tail, and looked up at her lovingly with his huge green eyes.
"Eep!" Twilight squealed. "He's so cute!" Her own purple eyes began to shine as they stared at one another in awe. It was the first time Celestia had seen Twilight smile genuinely since that fateful day when her family died.
"Uh, kid..." Captain Shield hesitantly said.
"It's alright, Captain," Celestia said. "I think we'll make this work out."
"What do you mean, Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked.
"You see, Twilight, that little dragon of yours needs someone to care for him; three years ago, two Earthborn guards discovered his egg in an abandoned dragon's nest in the desert. They sent word to Canterlot, where I ordered a search for the parents. When it came up empty, I decided to take the egg in and watch over it until I could find a surrogate dragon family would take it in as it's own. However, dragons are hard to find in Equestria, and the ones I have discovered are solidary and have no interest in raising a hatchling."
"What's that have to do with me?"
"Dragons hatch their young by imprinting their magic onto them. When you hatched that dragon in your lap, Twilight, you imprinted your magic onto him and now he thinks you are his mother."
"But I don't know how to take care of a baby!"
"That leads to the final part of my offer."
"Huh?"
Celestia turned to Golden Shield. "Captain, will you go out to the staff and ask them to prepare a guest room?"
The captain seemed confused, but he saluted and went off to complete his task. As soon as the door was closed, Celestia rested her eyes onto the seven year old.
"Twilight," she began hesitantly. "I understand that for the past month, your future has been...uncertain...with your family's fate."
Instantly, tears formed into Twilight's eyes, and she wrapped a hand around her necklace, the last gift from her beloved brother. It's been two weeks since her family was buried, and she still was being held up in the hospital. The doctors decided to keep her there until she completely recovered, partially because of her grievous physical injuries, and partially because the foster care system in Canterlot was currently full. "I don't want to go into an orphanage!"
"You don't have to, Twilight. What if, if given the chance, you could live here in the castle?"
Twilight looked up at awe at the Princess. "You mean it? You're going to adopt me?"
"Well, it's not necessarily an adoption, more of an apprenticeship. I'd say you more than passed the entrance exam, Twilight. I have never seen a mage with your raw abilities, and I have a feeling you will go on to be one of the most important people of your generation. However, you need guidance, both parental and magical, to tame your energy. Should you choose to accept my offer as my personal student, you will be taking private lessons from me, as well as classes from your peers. You will be responsible for raising the dragon you have hatched, and treat him like family. You will be raised in the castle, and the servants will help with your upbringing."
Twilight hobbled over to Celestia and hugged her, crying tears of joy. Celestia pulled her into her arms and rested the tiny dragon on the mage's shoulder. That was all the answer the Princess needed.
"So, what do you want to name your dragon, my faithful student?"
"How abut Spike? I think that's the perfect name, don't you?"
Twilight smiled bittersweetly at the memory as she set down a note for Spike at the foot of the basket in case she woke up before she got back. That month had been one of the happiest and saddest in her life.
She gathered enough bits for the flowers she would get for her family's graves, shoved them into her jeans pocket, then left the astronomy tower, silently closing the door so as to not disturb the sleeping Spike.
"Hey Twilight!" Spike called. He was inside the Caterlot Martyr Gravesite, and he was really hoping he could find Twilight soon; the sun was going down, and the place got really creepy at night. Usually, Golden Shield or Cadence would come get Twilight if she stayed here for too long (which was pretty much every single time), but both were busy with preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot, so Golden Shield asked him to do it after the aviator came into the tower to check up on the mage.
Also, he couldn't remember where the Sparkle Family graves were, since he only visited them three times, and the place was stinking huge.
He was about to give up and head back to the castle when he suddenly spotted Twilight sitting a few feet feet away from three graves decorated with fresh roses. As he got closer, he recognized the writing on the gravestones. One was for two graves, with the couple's names and dates:
Twilight Velvet Night Light
March 15th 957- August 8th 950-
July 13th 993
Beloved mother and father
The other one laid to the left of it and was smaller by comparison, but carried even more emotional weight:
Shining Armor
September 12th 976-
July 13th 993
Beloved brother, son, and friend
As Spike approached, he saw that Twilight was hugging her knees and gripping the necklace she wore around her neck. She didn't notice her friend approaching because her mind was replaying the funeral over and over again.
In most stories, whenever funerals have happened, it was during the middle of a rainstorm. But not today. It was completely sunny, the right temperature to play in the park and have a picnic with your family. It was a complete insult to the wheelchair-bound and sleep-deprived Twilight.
A comforting hand laid on her shoulder, but she didn't look up. "Come on, Twilight," Princess Cadence whispered. "It's time to say your last goodbyes."
Twilight just nodded and let Cadence roll her up to the coffins. Her energy and her mood had been run through the mill in the past week. She had been unconscious for three days, had awoken achey and discombobulated, then when the doctors had told her that her entire family had died..... Well, she had completely lost it. All the nightmares of screaming and blood didn't help. The worst part was that she didn't even remember what had happened. The doctors had told her that she suffered amnesia induced by trauma from the attack, so the only thing that she remembered before waking up attached to a life support machine was Shining Armor reading her a fairy tale.
The body of her brother was the first one that she saw. He was dressed up in a black tuxedo, looking as if he was only sleeping in his mahogany casket, not dead. His hands were folded and across his chest, his blue-striped hair was combed out smoothly, and his face was covered in makeup matching his white skin tone, trying it's hardest to keep the cuts and burns in his face hidden. Her parents had similar setups in their own coffins, but her mother wore a blue ball gown and her father wore a decorative sergeant's uniform.
Twilight burst into tears of agony and grief. Up until now, she could barely believe what the doctors had told her; The Kilin Clan King Halon had ordered his henchmen attacked the Equestrian Diplomats and Officers to steal any and all valuables and to kill everyone out of spite. An Aviator Squad flying overhead saw what was going on and managed to subdue the murderers, but it was too late. The only person they managed to save was Twilight, who through sheer luck survived whatever the heck they did to her. The surviving goons were to be put on trial for what they did and were closely watched so that they wouldn't kill themselves during the questioning process. Halon, meanwhile, had the rest of his followers commit mass suicide and slid away into the darkness. The search was still on for him, but it was heavily implied that he, too, had killed himself.
Twilight had kept thinking that her parents weren't really gone for good, just hiding, or somewhere recovering in another part of the hospital. But seeing her family’s remains….
This confirms it, Twilight thought glumly. My parents are gone, my BBBFF's gone, I'm all alone... I'm an orphan now, An orphan....
That word repeated itself as if it was a broken record playing in her head. Orphan. That word was only supposed to exist in books and plays and movies, not here in real life. Her bandaged hands clasped the necklace charm, trying to feel the brotherly touch that wasn't there anymore. It wasn't stolen because the murderers didn't see it as costing much, but now it was priceless.
Orphan.
Everybody said it was a miracle that she had survived, but she did not feel lucky at all. She should have died along with them. Everyone kept trying to say they were sorry for her loss... but they never would understand...
Finally, Twilight couldn't take it anymore. She forced herself out of the wheelchair and crawled towards the caskets. "Twilight, no!" Captain Golden Shield yelled.
The mage tried to climb into the casket of her BBBFF, but two rough arms wrapped around her waist and picked her up.
"No! Let me go!" Twilight screamed, beginning to kick. The Aviator Captain winced, not from the hits, which didn't deal any damage thanks to his ceremonial armor, but from knowing that the broken leg was going to get more injured if she kept thrashing. The rest of the spectators, for both the Sparkle Family's funeral and for the burials of the other Halon Massacre victims, just stood there and watched in shock and sadness.
"Kid, calm down--"
"Let me go! My brother needs me!"
"Twilight, he's dea--"
"DON'T SAY THAT!!" Twilight's mage symbol on her head lit up, and her magic threw Golden Shield about twenty feet back onto his rump.
Twilight was almost inside her brother's casket when she was lifted up by a golden telekinesis bubble. Celestia levitated the kicking young mage over to her, then rested a white hand onto the purple forehead.
Suddenly, Twilight felt her mood change. She wasn't angry, she wasn't screaming, she wasn't even saying a word. Instead, Twilight just felt totally exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in weeks (which was semi-true). The only thing she could do was bawl her eyes out.
Princess Celestia silently gave Twilight a hug, then handed her over to Cadence, who cradled her while the Crown Princess began with the funeral service.
"Twilight?"
She opened her eyes. "Spike! Oh, I was--" she suddenly noticed the darkening sky, then looked at her watch. "Is it really that late already?"
He just climbed into her lap and settled down there. "You know, Twilight, I wish I could have known your family. Too bad I hatched a month after... you know?"
Twilight nodded, wrapping her arms around the only creature in Equestria that she considered to be her friend.
"And at least you got to know them and that they loved you," the drake added bitterly.
The fourteen-year-old swallowed back a lump of guilt. That was true; Spike was aware of the circumstances that led him to be living among humans, something that he wasn't too happy about. Twilight had no idea what to say. Neither of them talked about their birth families much, due to the heartache it gave both of them. When they did, it was hopelessly awkward, because either Twilight cried or Spike would get sulky.
She finally came up with something. "You know what, Spike? We know each other, and we care about each other. I'll bet a million bits my family would have loved you. I don't know why you would've been abandoned, but then I wouldn't have gotten to know you."
"Yeah, and I wouldn't have gotten to know you, either." Spike reached up and returned the embrace. Twilight thought of a great idea.
"So you want to stop at Pony Joe's Donut Shop and get something to eat?"
In an instant, Spike had climbed up onto the mage's shoulders. "Lead the way, my noble steed!"
Despite everything going on, Twilight couldn't help but laugh. It was days like these when she needed that pick-me-up.
"Yes!" Twilight exclaimed. After about three hours of filling out the paperwork, then double and triple-checking it over and over again to make sure nothing was missing, she was finally finished.
"Hey Spike, can you send these to Princess Celestia?" No response. "Spike?" Nothing. "SPIKE!"
As usual, he was sound asleep and snoring next to the desk chair.
"Spike, come on, wake up! I don't want to walk to Princess Celestia's study in my pajamas!"
He simply turned over in his sleep. That's when Twilight noticed the time. Nine-thirty. Of course. He was impossible to wake up at this hour.
Twilight groaned in frustration and used her magic to grab a hoodie and her shoes and to put Spike in his basket. Looks like she was going to deliver them herself after all.
That's weird, Twilight thought. Where are all the guards?
The private part of the Royal Castle didn't have as many guards as the private part, but there were at least three guard posts between the astronomy tower and the study, and they were supposed to be filled at all times unless there was an emergency in another part of the castle or something. Granted, there were detection runes and security cameras loitered around, but it felt so unnatural to be alone in the corridor.
Twilight saw that the study door was closed and was about to knock on it when she suddenly heard Cadence’s worried voice waif through it.
"... and you're sure we shouldn't let Twilight know about this? I mean, if she really is connected to the Elements of Harmony, she could help us with what's going to happen."
Twilight froze. She wasn't usually an eavesdropper, but she doubted that anyone else would have resisted listening into a conversation about themselves.
"I'm not going to get her involved in this, Cadence. She's fourteen years old, and has been through enough already. Besides, Nightmare Moon's a dangerous opponent. If she did anything to hurt Twilight, I never would forgive myself."
By now, Twilight was laying on the floor, listening in through the bottom crack on the floor. Nightmare moon? she thought. As in that old fairy tale? Celestia continued.
"Also, she became extremely close to figuring it all out. If she had continued her research any longer, I fear she would have been horrified."
"Still, nothing good can come from keeping her in the dark like this."
"You know how she can be, my niece. She has a tendency to focus on something that worries or interests her when it captures her attention, becomes one-track minded once she does so, and often neglects her health and social needs in the process."
"You're right about that socializing part."
Celestia sighed. "I did my best to help Twilight during her school years, but I couldn't do enough. Hopefully, Twilight going to a new setting will help with all that. If nothing else comes out of this, at least Twilight will be around those of her age and enjoys their company."
Twilight felt her mind groan. No way any other teenager would want to spend some time with her.
"And the public will be kept from this, too?"
"I'm letting the ceremony continue as planned. That'll keep the citizens from getting suspicious, and I have taken several precautions. We have twenty troops deployed in Ponyville right now, and that includes most of the guards from this part of the castle. I put the Ponyville Hospital on standby, and we have all the purification spells set up for where she'll appear. I had also notified the Mayor of Ponyville about this. With any luck, we can deal with this quickly and we'll be able to save her, especially since she'll reenter this world five miles north of the city boundaries."
"What about her soul reaper jar?"
"The original was destroyed after her banishment a thousand years ago, and I'm betting that she probably created a weaker version during her imprisonment. We have a few counter weapons against it, ones that I have personally crafted. It will be easy to defeat her once we take care of that."
"What if we fail?" That quiet question hung in the air, like a cold draft in winter.
"This has a 99% chance of success, Cadence. However, it case it doesn't work, I've rigged the back-up plan to send itself to Twilight..."
Twilight let out a sharp gasp. The study suddenly went silent, then she heard steps going towards the door. She got up, ran as quickly and quietly as possible down the hall around the corner.
Light poured into the now-empty hall as she heard somebody step out of the room. Twilight didn't dare to breathe for the next thirty seconds of silence as the corridor lit up with Celestia's golden magic. Then there was another ten seconds of silence that seemed to last for ten years.
"I scanned the hallway. Nothing sinister is or was out here in the past five minutes." Princess Celestia said. " It was probably just the wind, but I'm going to soundproof this room just in case."
After the door finally closed, Twilight exhaled and decided that the paperwork, still tucked underneath her arm, could wait. She had more important stuff to do.
Twilight read through the fairy tale in Predictions and Prophecies again and again while she laid in bed. The first part didn't really tell her much except for what she and everybody else in Equestria knew; there were two immortal demigoddess sisters who ruled, the older sister raised the sun, the younger raised the moon. As time went on, the younger sister got jealous of her older sister getting all the attention for her day and everyone shunning the night. Eventually, the younger sister decided to refuse to let the night pass and she became consumed by her wickedness and became an entity known as Nightmare Moon. She decided to steal 1000 souls from innocent people and sacrifice them in order to make her spell permanent.
The older sister tried to reason with her, but ultimately she had no choice but to reluctantly summon the Elements of Harmony and seal Nightmare Moon into the moon. All of the souls were retrieved and returned to their rightful owners.
The last passage was what really stuck out to her:
It is said on the longest day of the thousandth year, four stars will aid in her escape, and she will once again attempt to shroud the land in eternal night.
Of course! Those mysterious stars were what Nightmare Moon was using to free herself from her prison! Why didn't she see it before?
Princess Celestia said that these Elements of Harmony were the only things that were able to stop Nightmare Moon. Twilight thought. What could they be? What are they able to do, and where are they right now? I wish the local library had nighttime hours, I could look up what the Elements of Harmony are. I could break into there again, but after what happened last time, I was lucky not to get banned from there forever. But Spike and I are leaving early tomorrow morning, so there's no time to look them up before then. Maybe I could--
Her train of thought was broken be a soft knock on her door. "Twilight?" Cadence whispered. "Can I come in?"
"Sure."
The pink-skinned demigoddess opened the door. "I'm surprised you're still up."
"What are you talking about?" The last time Twilight checked, it was ten o'clock.
"Uh, it's half past eleven right now."
Twilight looked back at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that Cadence was right.
The 14-year-old grinned sheepishly. "Well, you know me, always getting lost into books." It was ironic; Twilight was usually obsessed with schedules and being punctual, but an entire night could pass by her in a good book and she wouldn't have even noticed she skipped out on sleep until Spike or someone else took it away. It's happened more than a few times. "So what brings you here?"
"Princess Celestia sent me to get the paperwork, and I have the list of your duties for tomorrow."
Twilight suddenly remembered. "Oh, right! It's right here, all filled out. I triple-checked it to make sure."
Cadence sat down onto the bed and peered at the book Twilight had in her lap. "You're reading up on Nightmare Moon?" She asked, kind of surprised.
Twilight tried to keep a straight face. "Just wanted to read up on the myth, since it's the basis of the Summer Sun Celebration. Besides, it's only a fairy tale, right?"
If her old babysitter/surrogate sister suspected anything, she didn't let it show, but she did take it away, bookmarked it, and put it on the bedside table. "Actually, I'm glad you're still awake; I've been meaning to talk to you about tomorrow."
Twilight tensed up. "Okay, about what?"
"I want you to try to make a few friends while you're in Ponyville."
Twilight couldn't help but groan. "Seriously? You too?”
“Hey, I know it’s always been tough for you to socialize with others—“
Twilight scoffed. “Who’d want to hang out with an egghead who graduated Celestia’s School for Gifted Magi when she was thirteen?”
“You realize you graduated five years earlier than most people and that you were and still are Celestia’s Apprentice, right?”
“Yep, and I got a history of being shoved into lockers, getting beat up, and ostracized to prove it!"
“I know your school years were tough for you—"
“A lot of students treated me like I was a bomb about to blow because what happened at my physical exam! They were jealous that I was able to hatch Spike, or did you forget the death threats that many of them sent to both of us?!"
“Twilight, I know the problems you experienced in school! I think another one of them is that you don’t give the people who don’t bully you a chance! Most of the death threats came from the nobility!"
“So? I tried to give them one, and they either joined the bullies or treated me like dirt! Forgive me if I gave up trying after a while!”
“Twilight, there are a lot of people who aren’t like that!"
“You don’t get it, Cady! I like books because they don’t judge me and are actually interesting! I don’t have your or Celestia's grace or talent in public! Heck, I don’t even know if I want to live among people!”
“You don’t mean that!"
“There’s been several hermits throughout history! What’s one more added to the list?”
The young Princess sighed out of frustration and sadness. Cadence inwardly admitted that Twilight had a point; she was bullied a lot during her school years. However, after a while she refused to reach out to others, possibly because she was scared of how others perceived her or because of the tragedy of losing her family. Then again, being in classes with people who were at least three years older than her didn't really make many opportunities for her to know people who were part of her age group, so it's not like she knew what she was missing out on. Cadence couldn't even recall the last time Twilight had an actual conversation with anybody her age. She decided to try a different approach.
“Look, Auntie’s been really worried about you, being buried in those books for hours on end, and it’s been happening even more lately. I’m not saying education isn’t important, but having a social life is just as meaningful as knowing how to read or add up numbers!"
Twilight cocked her head. “How so? It's not like the fate of Equestria depends on it.”
“Just do the assignment! At least try to make some friends tomorrow! If it's not for you, at least do it for Celestia!"
Twilight tore off the seal, and studied the scroll. As she read through the list, realization began to dawn on her. Celestia probably needed more help if she as going against Nightmare Moon, and there wasn't much stuff to complete supervising the preparations. Maybe she could play along with this friend thing, then sneak away and try to help out indiscreetly somehow!
“Alright.”
Cadence looked surprised for a few seconds, then smiled and gave Twilight a hug, something that Twilight had returned. “I’m proud of you, Twilight. You should get some sleep now. You have to leave home early.”
“Okay, works with me.”
Cadence began tucking her younger accomplice in.
"Cadence, I'm not a baby!"
The Princess of Love kissed her smack dab in the middle of the forehead. "I know. I just can't believe how much you're growing up. Good night."
Cadence started heading outside the door when Twilight suddenly remembered something.
“Uh, Cadence?” She looked back. Twilight was holding out the brown envelope. “The paperwork?”
"Oh, right! Thanks!" Cadence summoned it with her magic turned out the light.
As soon as Princess Cadence closed the door, Twilight curled herself into a ball and began to shudder, out of fear about what was going to (possibly) happen the next day.