On the train from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s castle to their new hometown, Ponyville, Morning Shade and her friend Lucidity Wishes were discussing random things. Morning Shade laughed. The purple-maned mare looked at her friend with her bright lilac eyes. She smiled, her mane sliding down to cover half her face. A blush slightly darker than Lucidity’s pink coat crossed said mare’s face; she turned away quickly, hiding her face behind her long pink-and-black hair. Shade leaned against her, resting her head on her shoulder. Sighing, Lucidity closed her eyes, beginning to admit to allow herself to love Shade being close to her.
“You know, Luci,” Shade murmured, startling Lucidity out of her thoughts. “I know that we’re meant to co-rule in place of Princess Twilight over in Ponyville, and that a lot of stress is being put on us now… but there’s no need to be so upset already. Who knows; it could turn out to be easier than we thought.”
Lucidity gazed down at Shade, her eyes warm. “I know, Shade,” she rested her chin on the other pony’s forehead. “I do not wish to stress so much about this. I am very pleased with the fact that I will not be going this alone. To rule Ponyville beside you is to be endlessly happy.”
Morning Shade’s face reddened. In the seats across from them sat Princess Cadance, who watched them with pride sparkling in her eyes. She was going to Ponyville with the two young alicorns for a few days to see how they settle in as the new co-rulers of the town. As Princess Twilight had become terminally ill after the recent war with Queen Chrysalis and her daughter Princess Imago, the rulers of Canterlot and the Crystal Empire came together and decided on a way to choose who a worthy ruler and protector of Ponyville would be.
Princess Luna was the one to immediately suggest that they choose from the Academy for Gifted Alicorns. Princess Celestia had her doubts. She worried that whoever they chose might turn out to be like Sunset Shimmer had previously been: treacherous. Princess Cadance, however, was onboard with the idea, and thus Shining Armor automatically was. The sun princess, respecting the majority’s vote, agreed to help pick out trustworthy, strong candidates for ruler of Ponyville. It had come down to seven young prodigies that they had hoof-picked.
Rainbow Prism, the youngest of the seven, was a happy little thing. She was white in color, but shared her mother Rainbow Dash’s multicolored mane; hers was long, all the way down to her hooves, however. Her father, Comet Tail -a well-respected unicorn, was the one to cast the genetic fusion spell on her, making her an artificial alicorn, believing the Academy would be more inclined to accept her then. She was already well adapted to flying, due to practicing with her mom, but she exceeded expectations for her magical abilities by the time Princess Twilight had.
Graceful Dance, a unicorn from birth, was a delicate one. She was disregarded at times due to her fragility. Her father, Fancypants, looked down on her, saying she’d never make it in the magic world. Her mother, however, believed in her. She trained with Fleur dis Lee, who was an exceptional magic user herself, and eventually learned things that were very difficult for young fillies and colts to learn. She isn’t a good flier, though.
Blooming Orchid, old but small in size, was very kind. She wanted very much to be special to her parents, Jet Set and Upper Crust, and so she educated herself in secret to surprise them with her knowledge. Sadly, parents were very… well… jet set and upper crust. To her dismay, nothing she ever did was enough for them. Because of that, she pushed herself until she became worthy of attending the Academy, and of her parents’ attention.
Soprano Bell and Bass Solo, the adoptive children of Octavia and Vinyl Scratch, were very different in personality, but very similar in magical ability. Soprano took after Octavia, her love for classical music leading to her becoming an alicorn who used divine music-based magic. Her brother Bass Solo, took after Vinyl Scratch. He was into all kinds of dynamic, loud, thundering music. He learned to use wub-based magic. Their specific magic types caught the attention of Princess Luna, and thus they landed a position in the Academy for Gifted Alicorns.
Burning Charge, a flame-headed stallion, the son of Written Script and Sugarberry, and Scootaloo’s boyfriend, was a top contender. Lots of ponies looked up to him. He obtained his knowledge from Princess Twilight’s cousin Midnight Star, who visited the princess frequently enough to learn a lot from her. He later hooked up with Scootaloo, whom he loves deeply. The Wonderbolt taught him how to fly, and before he knew it, he was great at both flying and magic.
Although these ponies are indeed excellent choices, Princess Luna had already narrowed it down to two in her mind: Morning Shade and Lucidity Wishes. Morning Shade was indeed attractive; nopony could deny her beauty. Lucidity Wishes wasn’t considered as attractive, but she wasn’t ugly. Shade was shy and stayed to herself at times. Lucidity was outspoken and liked to socialize with the right ponies. Shade wasn’t one for violence, but Lucidity had sadistic tendencies. The two mares were pretty much polar opposites, but they could not be closer friends (actually…)
Princess Luna could see those two ruling side by side anywhere. She knew Lucidity would’ve turned down the offer to rule Ponyville, but if she could do it with Morning Shade, she would accept without hesitation. It was rather obvious that Luci loved Shade a lot, and that only made them even stronger alicorns. Friendship is magic, after all. Love is like… magic x50.
The other royal ponies, upon hearing about the night princess’s preferences, made their decisions. Lucidity Wishes and Morning Shade were to be the new princesses of Ponyville. The two were immensely strong –Luna even saw them as being as strong as Celestia herself. A smile appeared on the dark blue alicorn’s face, her cyan-eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Dear sister, Tia,” she faced the older white alicorn. “Let us gather together the ponies of Ponyville now. I would like very much to have them ruling sooner rather than later. Time is of the essence.”
Nodding thoughtfully, Princess Celestia turned and disappeared into her room. She crouched down on a pillow and levitated a piece of paper. With her unicorn magic, she wrote neatly and slowly.
Dear Princess Twilight, my wonderful alumna,
Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, and I have all decided on who we would like to rule Ponyville in your place. While I regret you becoming unable to continue on ruling your town, I can assure you Ponyville will be safe in the hooves of these two mares. Yes, we have chosen two successors: Lucidity Wishes and Morning Shade. Princess Luna has an ample amount of faith in her two students, and I am certain she has made a decision good for us all. I hope with all my heart that you get better, my dear. Do write me if anything important comes up.
Sincerely Yours,
Princess Celestia ♡
Meanwhile, in the Hooves Medical Hospital, Princess Twilight remained still in bed. Horn burnt, body bandaged, muzzle scarred, and hair mangled, the mulberry-colored alicorn lay completely motionlessly, staring up at the ceiling with clouded violet eyes. All she could hear was the sound of a clock ticking neaby. She chuckled bitterly, thinking remorseful thoughts. With each tick, my life begins to fade… that clock is counting down the seconds ‘til I die. She had begun to lose hope long ago. Now she was holding onto both her positivity and her life by a thread. She laughed quietly yet psychotically. She almost didn’t recover from her insanity, but snapped back to reality thanks to Spike entering the eerily dark room. The purple-and-green dragon hesitantly approached Twilight, sweating with anxiety. He crept closer and close, but stopped dead in his tracks once he heard her raspy, edgy voice.
“Oh, Spike,” she murmured, a crazed expression on her disfigured face. “It’s been quite a while since I received a message from Your Highness. What news has my old mentor brought?”
Gulping, Spike unfurled the scroll behind his back and examined. He read it aloud, his voice unstable at first, but growing clearer and clearer with each word spoken. He finished the message moments later, sighing in relief. Twilight had successors now. Ponyville would be okay. Their old princess would be missed, but it was undeniable that Twilight wouldn’t make it. Queen Chrysalis and her Changeling Army had done an excellent job at throwing Ponyville into darkness. They had nearly killed Princess Twilight; everypony was lucky Nurse Redheart was able to salvage her life for as long as she did. Without their beloved monarch there to guide them through that tough, depressing time, all the residents of Ponyville became lost. But now, the darkness was said to already been dissipating, as Shade and Luci were believed to be the light to breakthrough and rescue Ponyville.
