It's an especially beautiful day in Ponyville. The sun is shining brightly, the birds are singing and a pleasant breeze drifts through the town. While the majority of ponies enjoy the afternoon frolicking together in the fair weather, Twilight Sparkle has hidden herself away in the darkest corner of her library.
In her hoof is a book. "The Origin of Chaos" is scrawled in gold serif on its leather bound cover. Ever since his defeat several days ago, Twilight has been unable to get Discord out of her mind. Not even sleep has served as an escape from the draconequis. She dreams of chaos reigning as she's trapped in stone, unable to escape; unable to move or to breathe.
"It's the thought of him escaping that's making me stressed," she tells herself.
Or at least that's what her friends tell her. In her heart she knows that the knot in her belly isn't one of fear, but of guilt. She knows what it's like to be turned to stone; the cockatrice saw to that. It is a fate Discord claimed to have never subjected anypony to.
"A thousand years," Twilight shudders.
She doesn't even want to imagine the horror of being a living statue for a THOUSAND years.
She thinks about bringing it up to Princess Celestia but quickly dismisses the idea. When Discord was free, Twilight had never seen the princess so angry. In fact she couldn't remember EVER seeing the princess angry before then.
She sighs. Whatever the reasons behind her feelings, she's going to deal with them the same way she deals with anything she feels uneasy about. She's going to read and read and READ. Though her books she will learn to tolerate the subject of her dislike; or at the very least learn to understand it.
Before she left Canterlot, she borrowed every book there was on Discord from the imperial library. Much to Twilight's disappointment, there was very little reading material pertaining to draconequis or his origins. What she found was mostly descriptions of his form and his magic. Somewhat useless information considering she observed him and the extent of his powers with her own eyes.
The book before her is different from the ones she read previously. It's formatted much like a book for little fillies. There are beautiful watercolor images on each page and it's told as a story instead of the dry descriptions she's accustomed to. The pages are brown and threaten to crumble if she isn't extremely delicate with them. It's clear that this book is very, VERY old.
"In the beginning there was order," Twilight reads aloud.
"All of Equestria was ruled in harmony by King Cosmos, creator of the world and the ponies who inhabit it. Everypony had a life's purpose, which was assigned to them from birth based on their specific caste. The unicorns worked the land with their magic and the pegasus controlled the weather from the skies. This left the alicorns; who were made in his image; free to rule over the lesser ponies."
"Lesser ponies?" Twilight makes a face but continues.
"For eons Equestria was perfect and all of the ponies lived long fulfilling lives. In time however, a dark forest began to grow within the world. Even King Cosmos, with all of his divine power could not bring order to it. Though he knew it would probably cause him great grief, he could not bring himself to destroy any part of his beloved creation."
"The King lived among the ponies for many years and despite their company, became lonely. He called upon all of the mares in Equestria in search of a bride. One by one he turned them away finding that he could never truly love any of them. When he was on the verge of abandoning his search and had come to the very last mare in the world, he knew that she was destined to be his queen. Her coat shone purist of white and nopony came close to the beauty and grace she possessed. In truth, she was almost as perfect as he."
"King Cosmos took the alicorn as his wife and she bore unto him two beautiful fillies: Celestia and Luna. For a while he was content but continued to feel the chaos stirring within his world. It seemed to be growing stronger by the day and it worried him deeply. He saw visions of his daughters being kidnapped by whatever force dwelled within the forest. He cautioned his little ponies to stay far away from the woods but that did nothing to deter young Celestia. She was a filly nearly bursting with the curiosity of all things and entered the area against her father's wishes."
"The King's worst fears were recognised when his daughter awoke the previously dormant chaos beast within the woods. Cosmos rescued Celestia and valiantly fought the monster with all of his might. But it was no use. The chaos had grown too strong and overcame him. In an act of desperation and a need to protect his daughters, the King transferred to them his divine power after hiding them away on the moon. He locked them there for one hundred years. Then they would be old enough and perhaps powerful enough to face the beast themselves."
"Enraged that the princess had escaped, the beast unleashed a mighty curse on all of alicorn kind. He took away all of their magic; cruelly removing their horns and wings. Even the King himself had succumbed to the powerful spell. The beast declared itself to be Discord, new and last King of Equestria. And thus began the reign of chaos..."
"Wow... does that mean all earth ponies were once alicorns...?" Twilight tilts her head, taken aback at the revelation.
"I wonder if it's true. I should ask the-"
"Twilight...?" Spike calls timidly.
She turns her head sharply, annoyed at the intrusion. "Spike, I thought I told you not to bother me when I'm studying."
"But Twilight, I think you better come see this."
She recognises the worry in the baby dragon's voice and decides to humour him. "Alright Spike, what is it?" she says with a sigh.
She pushes herself to her hooves with some effort. Sitting in the same position for so long has left her legs stiff and aching from disuse.
"Over here," he calls to her through the doorway.
She follows him into the main section of the library, squinting at the brightness of the candles which illuminate it.
"Look," Spike points to the window nearest him, but Twilight can't see anything outside through the darkness.
"Oh wow, it's night already? I guess I was studying longer than I thought!" she puts a hoof to her neck, embarrassed that she had lost track of so much time.
"No Twilight&... It's not even dinner time."
Twilight's eyes widen. "WHAT? When did this happen?"
"I don't know, I was organising the library and when I looked up, the sun had gone down. I came to get you as soon as I noticed."
"What could this mean? Has something happened to the princess?"
Twilight trots franticly around the library, trying to make sense of the situation. After all of the studying she's done today, she can't help but wonder if Discord has something to do with this.
She hears Spike belch and turns to see a letter fall to the ground.
He picks it up and hands it to Twilight. "I think you got your answer."
Twilight's mane ruffles in the wind as she flies high above Ponyville. Five minutes ago she was on the ground, packing her hot air balloon and preparing to travel to Canterlot. Before she could take off however, two royal pegasi were knocking at her door, insisting that they escort her. It would be faster that way, after all.
She asks the guards the meaning of the message she received, but they're literally as in the dark as she is. Their usual stoic nature is shaken by the unexpected early sunset and they claim to know their orders and nothing more. They are to fly as fast as their wings can take them and bring Twilight back to Canterlot.
And so she sits awkwardly in the back of their carriage; fear and curiosity overwhelming her as she ponders the current situation. She looks down at the scroll the Princess sent her and opens it for the sixth time since leaving the ground. A single sentence is scrawled upon the parchment.
"Your presence is requested in Canterlot immediately," she whispers.
She's quiet enough to be sure the guards can't hear her over the wind, but the words echo loudly in her mind. This message worries Twilight more than a hundred early sunsets ever would. Not due to the blunt curtness of the statement, but the fact that the message wasn't sent by Celestia herself. Though the cursive is very similar to the Princess's, it isn't quite her hoofwriting.
She's jostled from her thoughts by the carriage landing roughly on the castle balcony. Apparently as fast as their wings can take them is an impressive ten minutes flat.
"Thank you for the ride!" Twilight calls to the guards as she hops from the carriage and trots hurriedly into the castle.
She glances at her surroundings as she makes her way to the throne room. Everything looks undamaged; it's almost exactly the same as the last time she visited, in fact. But somehow it's NOT the same. The once bright and cheerful castle now feels bleak and almost frightening.
"One hoof in front of the other, Twilight," But with each passing hoofstep her uneasiness grows. She tells herself that her agitation is irrational and that she needs to be strong for the Princess. She pushes past the overwhelming urge to turn back and gallops through the door of the throne room.
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE," a familiar voice booms.
She looks up with wide eyes to see Princess Luna foot of the throne and Twilight feels so relieved she could almost cry. She gallops up to Luna and meets her with a tight embrace.
"Princess! Am I ever glad to see you! I have so many questions! I-"
"I know," Luna puts a hoof to her mouth quieting her instantly.
The Princess turns and walks down the grand hallway motioning for Twilight to follow.
"Where are we going?" Twilight asks.
"Celestia has arranged an assembly for all of Canterlot as well as a few outside guests such as yourself. There she will formally announce…"
The Princess lowers her head, unable to meet Twilight's eye. "Her situation…"
For a few moments they trot the halls in awkward silence. Twilight musters all of her self control to keep from bursting out with a million questions. They stop short of an archway leading to the assembly area in the royal garden.
Luna sighs, obviously sensing Twilight's discomfort and attempting to relieve her own. She leans in close and speaks in as hushed a tone as Twilight has ever heard from her.
"The Princess… My sister is very sick. She has been this way for quite some time now but would not admit it."
Twilight's eyes widen and her heart skips a beat "What's wrong with her?"
"I honestly do not know much more than you do. She only informed me of her health tonight when I sent a message for her."
Twilight nods knowingly "The one that came to me."
The Princess moves past Twilight and into the open air. "Yes. Now let's make haste, her announcement is soon to begin."
They both walk into the royal garden. It's packed to the brim with Canterlot ponies who step aside to make way for the lunar princess. They stop in the center of the crowd, directly in front of the staircase that Celestia will make her statement upon.
The ponies whisper amongst themselves until a chorus of horns sound silent them instantly. They announce the entrance of the solar princess. She walks slowly toward the staircase entrance and stands on weak legs at the top. Her mane no longer sparkles and hangs limp at her shoulders. Her coat is no longer a shimmering ivory but a dull white. It makes Twilight sick to her stomach.
"My faithful subjects, I have gathered you here tonight in regards to this evening's incident."
Though her body looks weak, her voice rings with the same strength and authority it always has.
"Every day for over a thousand years I've raised and lowered the sun for you. I lowered it prematurely tonight because I simply do not have the strength to give you a proper sunset."
Everypony stares up at the Princess in utter silence. They fear a future where the sun and it's Princess is not there to light their world.
She speaks in a tone sweet enough to soothe Discord himself, "Don't be afraid, my little ponies. I don't know why this change has come about so suddenly, but I understand the urgency of choosing a successor who will be able to raise the sun in my stead."
The Princess locks eyes with her faithful student. Offering her an almost sad smile as the name "Twilight Sparkle," leaves her lips.
All eyes immediately fall on Twilight causing her to take a step back under their collective gaze.
"Me?" she barely manages to squeak out.
"HER?" Luna snarls and pushes Twilight aside to lock eyes with her sister.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" She her hoof on the ground and lowers her head menacingly.
Everypony steps away from the Lunar Princess as the air practically crackles with her fury.
Celestia falls to her knee struggling to maintain her composure, "Luna, I'm sorry. It's-"
She coughs wetly before collapsing to the floor.
"Princess!"
Twilight gallops up the staircase to her beloved teacher. The entire garden is in a panic and the uncomfortable murmuring of frightened ponies is white noise in Twilight's ear. She holds onto the princess, unsure of what else to do.
Luna sneers up at her sister and her "faithful student" before leaving the garden in a huff.
The royal guards pull Twilight away from the princess and attempt to lift her up. They carry Celestia away from the worried ponies and escort her to her royal bedchambers. By the time they reach the door the princess is somewhat able to walk again.
"Don't worry, I'm fine now," The princess shifts herself away from the guards.
But there's something in her voice that tells Twilight that she's not fine. She's a mare on the edge, holding herself together for the sake of her subjects.
The princess nods the guards away leaving Twilight and herself alone. They stare into each others eyes sorrowfully. For the first time in Twilight's life, she's found herself absolutely speechless. She knows she should have question upon question but her mind can't seem to process a single coherent thought. So she does the only thing she can do, she puts her head forward and nuzzles the princess, buries her face in the rainbow mane and sobs.
"I can't live without you, Princess" she chokes out.
Celestia puts her hoof around the smaller pony and gently strokes her mane.
"Everything is going to be alright," she coos, "we can talk later, once we've both had a good night's rest."
Twilight looks away and sniffles out and "alright" as the Princess nudges her flank softly.
"I mean it. You have a big day ahead of you, Twilight."
It's odd to hear the Princess refer to her so informally but it somehow adds to the gravity of the situation. Twilight's expression becomes stronger and calmer and she uses all of her effort to keep her voice from cracking.
"I will," she says as she turns reluctantly down the hallway to her room.
Twilight goes to bed as the Princess asked her. She finds rest difficult as she can't seem to shut off her brain following the chaos of the night. After hours of restlessness, sleep eventually finally finds her.
