Chapter 14-Dreamweaver:Take 3

Dreamweaver: Take 3:

“AAAAAA!” Twilight awakes with a flash her body rocketing upwards as she gasps for breath. She quickly looks at the room around her the room around her completely normal in every way. From the comfort of her sleeping bag the mare can see her five friends unharmed and still sleeping soundly in their beds. The mare tries to recollect what just happened, and this time the memories flow readily back into her mind causing her to let out a deep sigh of relief. “Oh good we’re back in the real world. What a relief.”

“Actually no.” Twilight’s sleeping bag suddenly materializes back into a long slender worm with Princess Luna’s exact voice. “This is very much a dream.”

………..

“AAAAAA!” Twilight awakes with a flash her body rocketing upwards as she gasps for breath. Surveying the room around her, the mare pinches herself on the shoulder pleased when a sharp jab of pain courses through her body. “Well at least it’s not a dream.”

Slipping out of her sleeping bag the lavender mare looks around her, taking in the still beauty of the night, as well as her friend’s safe sleeping forms. Trotting over to the nearest sleeping bag the one she identifies as Applejack’s, she shakes the mare out of her slumber. “Alright Applejack you’ve been sleeping for too long, Rise and shine!”

However despite her vigorous shaking the orange farm mare does not move. “Applejack this isn’t funny anymore. Applejack what’s wrong?” With a small degree of caution the mare turns over the sleeping bag to get a better look of her friend, only to cry out in terror the next moment.

Looking her straight in the eye is the evilly smiling princess of the night, Princess Luna. With barely restrained glee the princess pops out of the sleeping bag her body outfitted in a false goatee beard, a dark green baseball cap and tacky shirt. “Nope!” The princess of the night smiles maniacally “Chuck Testa.”

………..

“AAAAAA!” Twilight awakes in a flash her body rocketing upwards as she gasps for breath. This time she is much less pleased. “That wasn’t funny! Try that again and I’m telling everypony that you cried like a baby while you were in my mind scape.”

“You are no fun.” The princess of the night materializes out of thin air a scowl upon her face. “You should be thankful that I decided to put you back in your sleeping bag. I could just as easily left you on the cold stone floor.”

Twilight looks around seeing that she is indeed tucked softly into her sleeping bag the moonlight from the sky outside showering down on her. “Thanks Princess. And that was pretty funny, but do you mind waking up my friends?”

“It shall be done Twilight.” Closing her eyes the princess of the night lights her horn as gentle flakes of magic fall on the slumbering prone forms of her friends. The flakes dissolve into their skin with a layered glow of light as their bodies begin to wake and move. As if awaking from a long nap or having to stretch out after sitting still for an immeasurable amount of time the forms of Twilight’s friends groggily stretch against their covers as they slowly open their eyes. Sleepily the five mares stretch out of their sleeping bags their arms reaching for the sky as they wearily blink to clear the sandmare’s dust out of their eyes. Brushing off the last remnants of sleep the five mares begins to return to their normal selves their minds slowly remembering the events of the dream world as they notice the presence of the mare of the night in front of them. In recalling the events of their dreams some mares react more strongly than others.

“Twilight! Watch out It’s Luna!” Rarity yelps. Leaping out of her bag the ivory mare points her hoof threateningly at the goddess without a trace of fear. “Get back you ruffian! Or I’ll…..”

Twilight places her hoof on Rarity’s outstretched arm “Down Rarity. Luna’s not a threat anymore.”

With her normal level of enthusiasm Pinkie pie bounces jumps up on Princess Luna who is obviously scared half to death by the pink mare’s behavior. “Best, Dream. EVER! Can we do it again? Can we? Can we? Cause that was the best dream fight sequence ever! But maybe this time we can do without the whole ‘trapped in your dreams without the ability to wake up’ cause other than that that was a super cool dream! Oh do you control all dreams? I mean, I know that you are the night or something like that, and that reminds me of a funny story about when I met bat mare at comic con…..”

“In the name of the glorious moon! Make it stop!” the Princess recoils from the pink party pony like a vampire from garlic.

Ignoring the display of silliness the rest of the group trots up to Twilight each one with a confused look on their faces. “Twi?” Applejack slaps her Stetson on her head trotting up to Twilight “what just happened? Are we still dreamin? Cause this don’t feel like a dream.”

Moving the pink pony a safe distance away from her the Princess of the night trots over to Twilight and the rest of the group. “It…..” Princess Luna breathes out as she falls to the floor “it is over…..There is no more reason for us to fight.”

Every mare’s eyes blink once as if unable to believe that the mare that just wanted them to be trapped forever just gave up. It would be as expected as a boot to the head or chocolate rain. Yet the demeanor of the princess as well as Twilight’s willingness to stand so close to the monarch of the night without fear is enough to at least dissuade the others from a fight. That is everypony except for Rainbow Dash.

“It’s over when I say it’s over! I’m not letting you catch your breath for a moment!” With a quick burst of speed the Speedster prepares to hit the goddess yet again with her Valkyrie. Yet Dash’s sudden advance is once again stopped by the powerful jaws on a Lavender mare grasping her tail. “OH come on! Is this going to be happening all time time is it? This had better not become a running gag!”

Twilight spits out a few stray hairs from her mouth as she turns to the Cerulean mare who is still in mid-flight. “Dash, there’s no reason to fight Luna isn’t a bad guy!”

“Of course she’s a bad guy!” Dash yells as she flies right up into Luna’s face “You tried to crush Twilight and Pinkie like a pancake. And to top it off you nearly took our heads off in that fight just now! You nearly killed us, and that’s what bag guy does! They try to kill the good guys.”

All eyes on the room focus on the dark blue mare as she begins to chuckle lightly. This laughter is quickly cut off by the scowl of the rainbow speedster as Princess Luna clears her throat and resumes her conversation. “Forgive me, Dashie, was it? I found your accusations…….. humorous? Is that what ponies these days say? I meant no disrespect on your part.”

“Well excuse me for not laughing, but I don’t’ think trying to kill us is very ‘humorous’” Dash says while making air quotes, hovering in mid-air all the while.

Luna continues to chuckle a bit “Forgive me Dashie, but believe me when I say that you were perfectly safe. After all it is impossible to die in a dream. Would I have ‘taken your head off’ you would have merely woken up, or since you were being held in your dreams by my stand, you would have been knocked senseless for a time.”

“I knew it!” Pinkie shouts “See Twilight! We had nothing to worry about. We were in no danger whatsoever.”

“The Pink one is correct,” Luna points to Pinkie Pie as she resumes “only dark and evil magic can kill one in a dream and I used none of it on you. My only intent was to determine what you were after and what your loyalty to my sister was, that is why I trapped you in the dreamscape. It was not an act of malice, but an act of caution.”

The Princess of the night straightens her posture as she looks upon the ponies before her. “And as I said before I only intended to hold you as long as I deemed that you were a threat to me.” Princess Luna, monarch of the night turns to face the Lavender mare an unreadable expression on her muzzle. “And from what I learned from Twilight, such caution was unfounded. I must say I am very impressed with you Twilight sparkle, you are resourceful, cool under fire, and possess a very potent stand ability. We had thought that the art of mind linking was lost, so rare it had become.”

The lavender mare’s face flushes with embarrassment from the praise. “Thank you Princess, but it really wasn’t me alone.” Twilight gestures to her friends with a broad sweeping gesture. “If it wasn’t for my friends I could have never gotten this far, they’re really the only reason I'm standing here today!”

The princess of the night looks among the gathered mares, each one of them possessing the loyalty to follow a friend into the darkness of the Everfree, the ability to laugh when faced with the power of a god and the kindness to give her, the creature once known as Nightmare moon, a second chance. With a glad smile the princess clops her hoof as she applauds their courage. “Indeed these are some very good friends Sparkle, you are lucky to have them by your side in such an hour of need. Were it not for your combined teamwork you would doubtless still be trapped in my realm of dreams. More importantly you have shown me that my sister does indeed still care about me, and for that I thank you Stardust Crusaders.” With a curt bow the princess bends her knees bringing her head down to the level of the common ponies, an act of reverence as old as time itself.

“Does that mean you’ll make up with Princess Celestia?” Twilight’s eyes sparkling with the glow of hope.

The princess’ mood does a one eighty as Twilight mentions the name of her sister, going from confident and in control to shocked and uncertain. “We……. I am not sure Sparkle. That depends upon my sister’s intentions, and what she plans to do with the sacred power of the Holy Corpse.”

Rarity leans over whispering In Applejack’s ear “What a Drama Queen.”  However the ivory mare receives no response from her compatriot.

The room grows silent as if the mere weight of the words ‘Holy Corpse’ is enough to awe the ponies present into dumbfounded submission. The mere words alone seeming to carry enough weight to buckle the world and everything in it as the dark blue goddess looks out the window watching the moon as it reaches its zenith. “For one thousand years, nay for longer than I have been imprisoned I have suffered thanks to its influence. You were able to glean a few of said details from my diary were you not Sparkle? About how me and my sister harnessed the power of the Red Stone of Aja, about how we attempted to harness the stone’s power and unlock its’ secrets.”

The moonbeams seem to fall through the window like sunlight illuminating the supple form of the goddess, as well as her inner sorrows. “I have seen into your mind Twilight, and you are a very intelligent mare, and I owe you more than worked can say for saving me from the Nightmare that consumed my sanity. But you know nothing of the corpse, or its power. And you know nothing of the shadow that hangs over mine sister’s Throne.”

Trotting gracefully over to the window the cobalt mare turns her back on the group as she continues to stare back up at the moon. “Tell me Twilight do you know what the Red stones are? Or better yet the identity behind these strange stones that you are collecting?”

Twilight puts her amazing mind to work as she begins to piece together what little she knows about the mysterious Red stones. “Well it’s an artifact of amazing power that can amplify magic and do almost impossible things? And you and Celestia found it and used it to defeat Discord. But I have no idea what the strange stones are……Are they a rarer version of the Red Stone? Or a byproduct ”

The lunar princess lets loose a small grin as she looks out at the stars. “Wrong on all counts. For starters, what you call the strange stones and the holy corpse are one and the same.” Twilight gasps as the Lunar monarch continues. “It is the corpse that possesses the power to bend time and space not the Red Stone of Aja. When the circle overloaded the corpse itself was scattered into pieces along with its outer shell the Red Stones. These ‘strange stones’ are what everypony ,including my sister, are truly after not the red stones.”

“What? But why?” Twilight asks.

“You could think of the red stone as the blood of the corpse. It is a byproduct of its existence that is continually produced. Think clearly of it Twilight, much of the red stone is harvested, lost and used, so how is there always more of it?” Luna turns away from the window to face the group in front of her. “The answer is simple, the Red Stone is a mere container for the power of the Holy Corpse it is merely a battery that is produced by the corpse and absorbs its power.”

“So, since the holy corpse can produce red stones….” Twilight mulls over the problem in her head “…..Ponies want it because with it you could create an army of stand users, who can heal from the most mortal wounds?”

Luna shakes her head in disappointment “Twilight you answer too quickly, the stone itself is of little consequence, beyond its ability to restore wounds and utilize stand it’s power is completely inconsequential compared to the value of the Holy Corpse.”

“Um don’t mind the super cool athlete here.” Dash says while flexing her muscles. “But I think an army of invincible super cool stand users is pretty hard to beat. I mean why have some rotting old corpse when you can have super powers!?”

At this Luna instantly narrows her eyes, malice radiating off of her very coat as Dash gulps back her fear. “Even the power of an entire army of one thousand stand users is no match for the corpse’s power. Do not be so proud of your stand power that you have manifested, the ability to destroy mater with a single touch is insignificant next to the power of the corpse.”

As if stopping to remember a painful and far off forgotten memory the lunar princess signs deeply. “During Discord’s reign my sister and I discovered the power of the Red Stones and attempted to use it to do exactly what you said, create an army of stand users. Over two hundred strong and fiercely loyal to our cause we all attacked Discord at once. We determined that not even he could defend against us all.”

“And what happened?” Dash asks genuinely curious.

“Discord turned them all into chocolate and ate each and every one of them one by one as they screamed for mercy in their minds. My sister and I were the only ones who were spared.” Lune growls as her teeth clench in rage. “The sick monster told us to bring more next time.”

Luna rises on her hooves towering over the rest of the ponies in attendance “That is the power the Holy Corpse crushed in an instant. That is the monumental power that it can muster, it is beyond even an Alicorn’s understanding.”

Luna bows her head in shame “Indeed much of our experiments were successful to a degree. by drilling to the center of the stone we discovered a living core crystallized by magic and that this core was the real power that was able to tap into a force known as harmony.” Luna raises her head, gesturing with her hooves as she struggles to convey the advanced magical theory behind an abnormality in sample time

“To put it in simple terms…” Luna continues “…..the power of harmony is the power of order, probability and fate, I hypothesized once that it accomplishes its’ power by rewriting the rules of our world making what one wishes a reality and turning fiction to truth.”

“Yet despite how little we knew about its workings, the results were clear.” Luna looks out the window with a pained expression. “By such by welding the corpse a pony could achieve the impossible. They could alter probability, change the laws of the world, to suit their needs. And though both my sister and I were terrified by such a power, we saw great potential in it as well.”

“A power that can change reality itself…..” Rarity mouths “so one could, hypothetically bring back the dead? I understand your caution in using such a power but what happened that changed your mind?”

“The everfree disaster happened.” Luna points her hoof out of the window at the twisted landscape beyond. “Discord was cruel to many a pony; however oceans of chocolate and houses made of gingerbread insured that no pony starved. indeed most ponies were beneath his notice. When he was defeated his magic went with him and our subjects began to starve. Therefore we resolved to test the power of harmony by using it to accelerate the growth of plants.”

The Princess of the night gestures out the window at the dark twisted landscape beyond the castle grounds. “As you can see it did not go as planned. Harmony was once again turned on itself in a cataclysm that nearly destroyed our small kingdom. It was from then on that I feared the power that we had no true control over. And it was that lack of control that lead to the discovery of a certain method of harnessing its power.”

“The Arcanum.” Twilight finishes, anticipating Luna’s words.

“That is correct Sparkle. “ Luna confirms with a curt nod of her head. “That is the reason we use advanced Arcanum to control the corpse’s power, because uncontrolled the power could run out of control or worse yet twist the possessor’s desires into something monstrous. I do not know……..”

The princess stops, as if thinking of the right way to phrase her next few words. “…….that is I did not know how Celestia managed to use the Corpse’s power against Discord without it destroying her, but like any magic, the more powerful it is the more control is necessary.”

“My sister always the knowledgeable one thought that there were still secrets about the corpse and so we left together to sift through the ruins of the castle of dreams where the eight great saints protected the corpse.”

“It was on this second trip to the ancient temple that my sister and I discovered that the corpse’s power was far too great to control normally. To protect the corpse’s power from growing out of control, the eight sages of old invented a special magic circle that would prevent its power from escaping which they called a greater Arcanum. “

“Thus with this discovery my sister and I came to an arrangement.” Luna states while gripping the stone windowsill with such intensity that one would think she was supporting herself on it. “We agreed together that the corpse’s power should not be invoked until we had a working understanding of how we could use its power without it harming us or others without any chance of its powers harming others.  By using a model of the Arcanum from the temple in which we found the corpse we were able to seal its power away”

The princess glances across the room looking at one of the ruined white tapestries depicting the rising sun. “Or so I thought” the princess growls as the stone windowsill breaks down under her grip.

“That……” The lunar princess hesitates, struggling with a single word. “That was when I learned that I learned the horrible truth, I had been betrayed from the start.”

“Woah Woah, back up Betrayed?” Dash asks “By who?”

“You remember that diary entry do you not Sparkle?” The lavender Unicorn nods while Luna continues “Then you know of my….. moodiness. The reason that Celestia was able to use the corpse in the first case against Discord was because the Corpse chose HER to wield it’s incredible power.”

“Wait a second!” Pinkie jumps in “How could a dead body choose a pony. I mean it’s not like this corpse thingy is a zombie! Please Please tell me we’re not gathering pieces of a zombie Princess Luna.”

Twilight Sparkle rolls her eyes at such an inane question “No Pinkie the corpse is not a Zombie. I think what Luna is getting at is even though the corpse itself is dead it still possesses a semblance of life, that was what my tests confirmed at least.”

“Then your tests were accurate Twilight.” Luna says with a great deal of surprise in her voice “Yes the creature that once was the Holy corpse is long dead, however the spirit of the creature still guides the one who possesses it. No doubt you have heard it talking to you at one time or another.”

“That’s right!” Rarity speaks up “it gave me my stand power, because I asked for it!”

“Ah think it gave us all a stand power of some kind.” Applejack says “an more importantly it brought mah sister out of a coma when everythin else failed.”

“It brought you sister out of a coma?!” Luna exclaims as look of grief crosses her muzzle. “then that is grave news.”

“What!? But it cured mah sister, How in Sam hill is that a bad thing?” Applejack asks scratching her head.

Luna takes a deep breath calming her growing frustration at the group’s interruptions as she begins to speak again. “When my sister was chosen by the Corpse she gained in addition to the ability to use the corpse without requiring an Arcanum, the ability to manipulate probability by drawing on the Corpse’s power. And by using this power she was able to manipulate probability so that she could never fail at anything. My sister literally became perfect, she would succeed at any magic spell, she would always make the perfect impression on any pony that she met, and she would always succeed in the best possible way at anything she set her mind to.”

Luna’s hoof clenches, gripping the floor beneath her to the point that it splinters and cracks, her teeth grinding against each other. “Despite my protests she used the power was used without my knowledge under my very nose for years.”

“But that’s a good thing right?” Fluttershy cuts in. The entire group looks over to the previously silent yellow Pegasus. “I mean, it was nice that she was making peace with other nations and being such an important pony shouldn’t she use a power if it helps her make good decisions for her nation?”

“All magic has a cost, no matter what it is Fluttershy.” The princess responds sadly “All good things come at a cost, and that is the primary reason that I feared the power of the corpse. It seemed to create so much good but it didn’t appear to have a noticeable drawback.”

“I was……. Jealous of my sister’s success and popularity.” Luna admits with a twinge of sorrow. “She succeeded where I failed at every turn thanks to her power and everypony loved her for it. In order to cover my own troubles getting the common pony to accept me I delved deeper into my own studies of the corpse. One day I hit a snag with my own studies so I borrowed my sister’s notes on the corpse and what I found shocked me, she was using its power under my very nose all this time.”

Luna paces tirelessly back and forth as she makes her argument. “I knew that something was wrong with Celestia’s power. All magic has a cost so it was almost blasphemous that a power could only bring fortune to a pony with no drawbacks. After weeks of research I was able to deduce how her magic worked, through balance.”

“Balance?” Twilight asks.

The princess of the night flares her wings with purpose dramatically making a point.  “Yes Twilight, balance. Her magic could give a pony infinitely good luck by depriving a pony of their own fortunes. In other words by using this power she was stealing the ‘good luck’ from a pony, while giving them her ‘bad luck’. She would succeed at everything and be loved by everypony unconditionally, but in exchange another pony would fail at everything and be hated by everypony she met.”  The princess of the night brushes away her teary eyes. “And thoust can surely guess who was given all of Celly’s bad luck?”

Twilight puts her hoof to her mouth in shock. “You don’t mean….”

“Yes Twilight, the more Celestia used her power, the more that I suffered as a result.” Luna claims with equal parts sadness and anger. “Every time she succeeded in her diplomacy and earned the praise of other ponies. I would make a mistake and be hated. After years of this I began to be despised by the common pony, until the point that I simply stopped trying to earn their affections, delving more and more into my own research.”

“And worse yet, from her notes I discovered that in secret, my sister had reverse engineered her own power to create an Arcanum of her own. It is a power that would encompass an entire nation, our nation, creating a practical paradise. It was a power that would prevent any kind of calamity from befalling our nation. Wars, famine, disasters, anything that could be avoided through accident and fate could be avoided.” Luna states with grim certainty “but at the cost of others outside the spell’s radius suffering such misfortunes.”

“Wait a second!” Twilight interrupts “now look I may get this whole manipulation of time space caused by the power of a mythic artifact……”

“Well that’s good because I Sure don’t!” Pinkie exclaims.

“…….But how can any degree of magic do that!?” Twilight yells infuriated by the idea of something beyond her comprehension. “I mean first you’d have to judge the outcome you would want from every situation happening in an entire nation. Then you would have to change that outcome with magic. And then you would have to do that for every living thing in Equestria simultaneously! Just how does that even work?”

“It was difficult to deduce to tell you the truth. If you are having trouble thinking of it…..” The princess rubs her head, racking her brain in an effort to describe alternate timelines and time space manipulation in a way that farmers and fashion designers can understand. “…...Well think of it like that dice game, dragons and dungeons.”

“Dungeons and Dragons.” Twilight corrects

“Whatever, let us say that every pony in the land of Equestria has a saving throw against attacks, disease, accident and corruption. Just like how in dungeon and dragons players have score for an armor class, Fortitude, Reflex and will.”

“Okaaaayyyyyyyyy.” Twilight says “But how do you know about Dungeons and Dragons if you were trapped on the….”

“Anyways!” The princess smiles confident that her explanation is going smoothly. “Celestia’s power allowed her to manipulate probability so that she would roll a twenty sided die and every time it would come up twenty allowing her to succeed at everything, but at the cost of somepony else rolling a one.”

Everypony ‘ohs’ and nods as they begin to understand the Princess’s point. Glad that her explanation is so well received the Princess of the Night continues. “However the circle she designed would use this power over a larger area which means it was much weaker. Therefore instead of every pony getting an automatic success, everypony gets a modifier making it more likely that a pony won’t get sick, get hurt, or make a bad choice. So think of it as giving every pony in Equestria a +12 modifier to every saving throw and armor class, making it much more unlikely that bad things would happen.”

“Well.” Applejack brushes the dust off her hat. “Now ah suppose that makes sense”

 “But at the same time…..” The princess breathes out a long exhale in preparation for breaking the bad news “…this magic would give every pony and living thing not in Equestria a -12 modifier making it far more likely that bad things would happen to them. And Celestia was using this magic on a national scale without my consent or knowledge, to crush our enemies while bolstering our own nation’s ponies.”

“When I discovered this knowledge, I was….. angry.” The princess admits with no small amount of shame “Nay I was enraged, furious, I confronted her on her backstabbing betrayal, I accused her of Treason, of being a fiend, of hating me.”

“Needless to say Celestia was stunned, she thought I was overreacting, at least until is showed her my findings and what I had stolen from her own private journal.”

Luna breaks her monologue to look into the eyes of the stunned Lavender Unicorn “Now I know from your memories Twilight, that my sister was telling the truth oh so long ago.” Luna looks at her hooves so sadly. “Celestia really had no idea that her use of her power was causing me to suffer like it did. But at that time I thought that it was an excuse to torment me, that she was trying to get rid of me so she alone could rule our nation. I was twisted up by my own jealousy and my hatred of the common pony.

“A-And so.” Luna says with rueful continence. “I foolishly tapped into my own hatred for my sister, into the darkness of my own psyche. I prayed a dark prayer that I might receive the power to destroy my sister, to destroy everything, and that darkness consumed me.”

The princess of the moon looks to the moon outside as if remembering that day so long ago as it happened yesterday. “And you all know the rest. Celestia drew upon the power of the corpse to seal me away where nopony else could reach me. And for a thousand years I languished in my hatred until my return.”

The group stands completely silent unable to even think up a response for the immense tale of tragedy and regret that seems too surreal to be true. Yet everything that Luna has told them beyond being crazy and absurd makes far too much sense for any of them to refute with certainty. Yet if what the Princess of the night says is true it changes everything, the nature of their quest, who they can trust and the nature of the monarch who has ruled over their very nation for one thousand years.

“So….” Fluttershy asks tensely knowing her words have the potential to spark a flame war between her friends. “So this magic circle, that Celestia made….. did she ever use it?”

“Yes, yes she did Fluttershy, in face she had just finished applying its power across the whole of our nation when I had given into the nightmare.” Luna states. “and I suspect it has been active ever since.”

“But….” Twilight protests “But you don’t know that for sure! There’s no proof, besides Celestia would never….”

“If it meant that her little ponies would live lives full of joy and happiness, do you not think that my sister would use such a power?” Luna asks, as doubt begins to fill Twilight’s mind. “True there is no solid proof currently in our possession that she has been using it, but look as the world in the past one thousand years since I have been gone. Equestria’s size has quadrupled stretching from sea to shining sea. Major birth defects and illnesses are at an unnatural low, and there has not been a war or other natural disaster of any scope since I have been banished.”

Rarity mulls over this new knowledge. “All the while the nations around Equestria have been growing weaker and more divided while we grow stronger. I’m sorry to say Twilight but things certainly point to the use of this magic circle.”

“But the princess is super nice!” Pinkie pipes up “She wouldn’t use some kind of scary magic if it made other ponies unhappy.”

“I’m with Pinkie one hundred percent on this.” Twilight states with certainty, her confidence masking her doubt. “I know the Princess better than any pony in this room, save Princess Luna of course. And I don’t believe that she would ever resort to…….. whatever it is that you’re accusing her of!”

Twilight states unwilling to allow any possibility that her mentor guilty of any crime. “The long peace is probably due to her shrewd governance and less illness is probably due to advancements in medical Technology. At the least she probably only used its power to prevent major wars or disasters which would destroy the nation, and only when there were no other options available.”

“So ya admit that you believe that she could use it.” Applejack points out.

“Yes! I mean No! I mean, URGH!” Twilight yells out her rising frustrations “The point is I trust the princess, and I believe that she would never use a power that would doom other living, sentient creatures to suffering.” The lavender unicorn admits with certainty. “Even if it would save the lives of countless ponies…… even if it would stop all wars and illnesses…….. even if it would save the lives of those that she loved……..”

All arguments in the room stop, as a deep silence pervades the entire foyer. The sound of a pin dropping could cut the tension in the room as all begin to accept the possibility with an open mind that the Ruler of their nation, a figured universally revered by every pony in the land, could be in fact the greatest purveyor of genocide the world has ever known.

“Enough of this second guessing.” Luna breaks the silence with her royal voice. “There is one way that we might know for sure. One thing that could tell us beyond the shadow of a doubt whether or not my sister is innocent or not.” Luna turns as she begins to walk out of the room “The Holy Corpse itself might be able to tell us the truth of mine sister’s innocence or guilt.”

“Wait!” The sound of a rough voice stops the cobalt Goddess in her tracks. “So what you’re telling me.” Dash says with suppressed anger under every word “Is that the Princess, our princess, has been using some cursed magic circle to make pony NOT living in Equestria suffer for over one thousand years?!”

Dash yells unable to hold back her anger at the injustice of it all. “And now you want us to ask some dead corpse if she’s some murder? That the ruler who raises the sun and moon is some kind of super villain who kills innocent ponies so that she can rule her nation with an iron fist or something?”

“OF course she wouldn’t do that!” Twilight exclaims in protest “The princess would never hurt others if she knew what the magic of the corpse was doing! That’s what Luna just finished telling us!” Twilight walks right up to the cerulean Pegasus’s face “How could you even suspect the princess of such a thing? What is wrong with you Dash? Did you forget what happened the last time that you let your baseless paranoia get a hold of you?”

“Well just cause some of us have been kissing the princess’s flank all their lives it doesn’t mean that we all believe every word that come out of her mouth!” Dash pushes back on the lavender Unicorn’s advancing horn. “Or are you just so in love with the princess’ fat flank that you don’t mind if she’s the one messing up the world!?”

“HOW, DARE, YOU.” Twilight growls as she pushed back on the cerulean mare. The two ponies look ready to come to blows, Twilight’s horn sparkling and dash’s feathers rustling ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

“ENOUGH!” a voice of thunder booms cutting off the divisions cutting through the group. All eyes turn to the princes of the night as her Royal Canterlot voice dies down. “We do not know which path my sister has taken, or her intentions, that is what we are investigating with level heads. Do not let petty infighting divide us from our purpose or our bonds of friendship.” With grace and self-restraint the princess of the night turns on her hooves once more walking out the door “Now if you are done fighting like fowls, we suggest that thou follow us.”

Twilight and Dash break their standoff, their eyes looking at everything except the mare next to them, their postures and gazes reflecting their own shame for turning on each other. Rarity places her hoof on Twilight's snapping her out of her daze as she walks wordlessly behind the monarch of the night. Wiping the errant tears from her eyes the lavender mare quickly rushes out of the room eager to put some distance away from her problems even while she is running on a crash course towards them. Dash follows suit, followed by Pinkie, Applejack, and Fluttershy who all move their hooves as slowly as possible. And without further a word the rest of the group slowly begins to follow the princess through the dark passages of the castle as they are dragged towards their unavoidable destiny.

…………..

All seven mares trot through the dark of the night in complete silence, the seriousness of the occasion robbing them all of the desire to talk on the fear that it will lead them back to the previous conversation. Even Pinkie holds her tongue as they walk wordlessly down the dusty hallways of the castle, following the light of the Princess’ horn like a star. Avoiding conversation the mares distract themselves by taking in the beauty of the broken windows, the intricate carvings and the many suits of armor and ruined tapestries as they pour their focus towards avoiding the issue at hoof. Gliding through the dark as silently as shadows their short trip seems to stretch for hours without a single pony able to tell how long they had been walking for. Like the children in the back of a carriage on a long trip the mane six are left following and waiting for them to reach their unknown destination, not knowing how much farther it is or whether or not they will arrive in the next few minutes or next few hours.

Thus begins a war between the encroaching madness of silence, and the enormous discomfort of the allegations placed upon the most respected and benevolent pony on the land. Needless to say due to her close relationship to the princess, Twilight sparkle is the first to crack, her tumultuous mind no longer able to take a thought of her mentor a second longer. Trotting up speedily up to Princess Luna the lavender mare clears her throat gaining the Goddess’ attention.

“Um, Princess Luna?” Twilight says meekly breaking the silence.

“Yes Twilight? Is something the matter?” the cobalt mare asks turning her head to the lavender mare behind her  knowing fully well that things could not possibly be right with the purple librarian.

“Well I feel like everything’s the matter right now.” Twilight smiles sheepishly “But my question is an important one. You said that the power of the Corpse is too great to be controlled.”

The princess nods affirmatively “Yes that is correct. Originally we needed the power of the Corpse to defeat Discord. However after a time I came to sympathize a bit with the saints who protected the corpse and kept it from the hooves of the common pony. A power this great is far too easy to abuse.”

“Right….” Twilight says with a hint of depression. “Well my question is this. If you don’t think it’s power should be used then what are you hoping to do by gathering pieces of the corpse? I mean you’re behind the force that is pulling all the strange stones and red stones here right?”

Luna chuckles at the unicorn’s suggestion. “No Twilight I am not responsible for that, it is the corpse’s attempts to reform itself that is pulling the stones into the forest, it is not my doing.” The princess of the night stops and turns to face the lavender mare. “However your question is an important one Twilight so I will answer it with complete truth.”

Luna looks from Twilight to the rest of the group. “The corpse did save pony kind once upon a time, but its purpose has since then been fulfilled. It is thanks to its’ abuse of power that much sorrow has entered the world, I myself am only one such example. Therefore I wish that the corpse to be destroyed so that a new better world might blossom from the ashes of its’ destruction.” Her piece said the princess of the night trots back down the hall a smile on her face. “However enough talk, we are almost there.”

“Destroy the corpse?” Twilight asks trotting after the Goddess “How?”

“In my time here I was able to ‘ask’ the corpse how I might achieve this feat. And in doing so the corpse itself answered that once all the pieces were gathered together, one would be able to destroy it ‘to pave the way for the right world’.” The princess gestures with her wing leading them down a last hallway as the light from outside glows faintly in the distance. “Perhaps it is a lie, or perhaps it is the truth. But we think it to be the truth. Even were it not, were a single piece of the corpse to remain in the world it would still be capable of creating disaster. And that is my primary motivation in gathering the corpse, unimpressive though it is.”

“But Princess.” The lavender unicorn rushes to catch up with the Goddess. “I understand why you want to destroy the corpse. If you aren’t pulling the stones towards the everfree….” Twilight asks with no small amount of confusion “What is? You said the Corpse was pulling itself together but that would mean…….”

“There is no more need for talk.” The princess comes to a stop a slight smile on her face. “We are here.”

The six mares, come to a stop on the ruins of an old stone patio, leaving behind the darkness and stuffiness of the castle for the wide open space of the castle gardens. Though left untended for over a thousand years the plants still seem to grow in an orderly fashion though every pot and stone barrier has been overgrown with greenery and flora of all kinds and shapes. Wild flowers and plants of all kinds bloom and flower sporadically as if the plants themselves could not decide what season it is. The gardens though are still lush and green, the many trees that dot the paths having endured time itself, from the time of their great, great grandsires, the trees that inhabited the gardens in happier times when the two princesses were together and all was right with the world.

The stone patio they rest on, despite its age and the fact it is covered in honeysuckles maintains its ancient majesty, instilling a calming aura into the party. Statues of various ponies and creatures stand steadfast against the force of time a few still in pristine condition with only patches of mold attesting to the fact that they have been enduring the wild elements of the Everfree. Others not so fortunate lay scattered on the ground their white-washed marble fragments attesting to the monumental force of the Everfree and of nature.

Yet for all the majesty of the garden and the stonework around them the eyes of the entire group are drawn to the center of the garden and the white glow that encompasses the  stone fountain. Resting in the middle of the engraved stone fountain, glowing with the intensity of the moon above sits a large barrel shaped fragment of the Holy corpse. The Corpse’s chest appears to be large and flat with two half formed vestigial limbs that appear to be arms of some kind. What one could call the neck points upwards as the main body slouches against the fountain proper it’s glowing radiance spreading across the entire garden.

“Fabulous…..” Rarity mouths her eyes barely able to contain the wild beauty of the garden and the majesty of the corpse at the same time.

“….Just….. Wow.” Fluttershy says

“It’s so pretty!” Pinkie’s eyes glow at the pretty sight before her “Too bad it wants to eat our brains.”

“…..Yeah, real awesome. is that it?” Dash’s wings extending in excitement as she gazes upon the beauty of the corpse.

“Ah reckon it is Dash.” Applejack takes off her hat in reverence “I reckon it is.”

“Princess?” Twilight asks tugging her gaze away from the glowing light before her “Is….is that…….”

“Indeed Twilight.” Princess Luna says finishing the flabbergasted mare’s thoughts for her “That is the Holy Corpse, or most of it anyways. What you see before you is the heart of the corpse, it’s literal still beating heart that has drawn all the other pieces to it here in the forest, and despite my greatest magics and intentions I am still unable to move it.”

Twilight gazes upon the majestic and gentle glow of the object in front of her, it’s radiance both calming and beautiful to behold. Yet there is no doubt in her mind that the object in front of her is capable of tying time in a knot at the slightest whim, it’s unearthly power radiating outwards from its center like the pulse of a star. The mare begins to break out in a cold sweat as she can practically hear the corpse’s heart beating across the garden, or perhaps the loud thud that she hears is her own heart racing. “So…..” Twilight gulps “…..I guess that this is the part where you ask it what Princess Celestia was planning with the corpse?”

 “Actually Sparkle…..” Princess Luna turns to face the lavender unicorn “…..I was hoping that you might be able to converse with the corpse. Indeed the reason that I have brought you here….” The princess Gestures to the garden around her “…Is because I believe that you might be worthy to wield the corpse in my sister’s place as the next Chosen.”

The entire crowd grows silent in the wake of Princess Luna’s announcement, everypony waiting for the lavender unicorn’s mind to process the Goddesses’ request.  Twilight blinks once, twice as she points to herself as if expecting that another pony named Twilight Sparkle would spontaneously pop into existence behind her. Yet much to her dismay the princess nods, one affinitive nod that insures that she is talking about her, the Twilight Sparkle in front of the Goddess of the night. Taking the news that she has been chosen by exiled royalty to wield the power of a God about as well as any pony could expect, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Representative and Private protégé to the Princess begins to freak out.

“ME?!” Twilight yells as she backs up from the princess, her body on the edge of hyperventilating “But-But-But-But-But I don’t want to control that kind of power! Can’t you ask it whatever you need to ask it?”

“Nay Twilight it can only be you.” Luna says taking a assuring step towards the Twilit mare lowering her head to eye level. “I have tried to move this corpse from its spot yet it does not listen to me, nor does it heed my words any more. I nearly destroyed the world in a jealous fit of anger and thus the Corpse has declared that I am…… Unworthy.”

The princess takes another step forwards “Yet you Twilight Sparkle, might be worthy enough to ask it what you desire, to gain it’s power so that others might not.” The princess takes another step towards Twilight as Twilight takes another step back. “You have proven that this location is no longer safe. If you could have found this location, then it will not be long until our enemies come here in pursuit of the corpse’s power, ponies that have much darker intentions.”

The princess extends her wings making it clear that she is forcing a grave responsibility on the librarian from ponyville. “I have tried but I cannot move it even with all my magic, it is part of the reason I have stayed here to protect it from prying eyes. That is why I have brought you here Twilight; I think that you might be capable of becoming the Corpse’s Chosen, the one capable of wielding its power safely and responsibly.”

“But I don’t want this power!” Twilight exclaims “I don’t want to wield a power that causes others to suffer. That’s why………”

“I know Twilight, you do not crave power, only the safety of your friends and those close to you.” Princess Luna places her hoof on the frightened unicorn. “But it is irrefutable that if the corpse remains here than it will most certainly be taken by some pony with less pure intentions. That is why you must try to claim it, if only to keep it safe from others.”

Luna smiles “And who knows? The corpse responds to the desires of the one who wields it. Therefore should you wish for a world where no pony should suffer thanks to its power, then perhaps it will come to pass.”

Twilight stops at this, as the idea of hope enters her mind that maybe, maybe this could all turn out alright. If she could use the corpse’s power, if she could use it responsibly, then she might be able to set thing right, to put things back to normal. But could it really be that easy? The lavender mare looks behind her; she looks to her friends in her moment of doubt for a sign, and she is not disappointed. Looking back at her without a trace of fear in their eyes the five mares that have already come through so much with her each give her an assurance in their own way.

“Well I’m not so sure about this, time space bending, that this corpse can do.” Rarity remarks “But if any pony could use it responsibly, then I believe it would be you darling.”

“That’s tha truth!” Applejack nods adjusting her Stetson “If in there’s any pony in Equestria that ah trust with that much power it’d be you Twi.”

“Twilight you are the most considerate, smartest and bravest pony that I have ever met.” Fluttershy says as all doubt leaves her voice. “We have faith in you Twilight, and if this is what you have to do we believe that you can do it too. All you have to do is have faith in yourself.”

“Yes siree!” Pinkie grins “You’re you Twilight! We wouldn’t have come this far if we didn’t trust that you were who you are! So go on and level up to Super Twilight so you can save the day like you always do!”

“Just get on with it already Egghead!” Dash hovers in the air her confident grin spreading across her face. “We all know that you’re the only pony for the job. And even though you come in second in terms of who’s the most awesome in this group, I wouldn’t have any other pony take the lead!”

Twilight eyes begin to tear up as a familiar cobalt alicorn places her hoof gently on her shoulder. “It appears as though all your friends have already spoken Twilight and they all have faith in you. The only question is, do you?”

Wiping the traces of tears from her eyes Twilight grins back her earlier fears, though still prevalent now tamed by the powerful feelings of joy welling up inside of her. “Thanks guys. I suppose that I’m just nervous about wielding supposedly Godlike powers that could destroy all reality. But I’ll give it my all anyways!”

“Don’t be Twilly!” Pinkie jumps over to her friend embracing her in a hug. “We’ll be with you all the while so it’ll be fine.”

“No Pinkie.” Luna pulls the pink party pony back with her hoof. “Twilight must approach the corpse alone. She alone has the questions that need to be answered and she alone is worthy enough to approach it.”

The Pink pony begins to tear up “But-But Twilight needs us!”

“Don’t worry Pinkie.” Twilight assures her friends “I’ll be fine, I just need to approach an entity of phenomenal cosmic power. How hard could it be?” With concentration and a little magic the lavender mare focuses her magic causing a medium sized lock box to materialize out of thin air. “Besides I think I already have a pretty good idea of how to get the corpse to listen to me.”

Breathing in and out one last time, the mare levitates the box onto her back as she stares at the steps before her leading into the garden proper. Her friends at her back wait on the patio and watch as their friend steps ever closer to the mythic artifact pulsing with unknown life in front of their friend. In their hearts and minds despite their faith in Twilight Sparkle and her ability to succeed, every one of them prays silently for her success. Each of them sends their confidence for their friend Twilight subliminally as they watch the mare step ever closer to the Holy Corpse.

Stopping not four yards from the corpse Twilight sparkle breathes in and out once again calming herself for the confrontation at hoof. Clearing her mind of all miscellaneous distractions the mare lights her horn as the box on her back opens revealing similarly glowing and pulsing pieces of the corpse. The pieces pulse in time with the Corpse’s own sympathetic magic, the air becoming charged with an unknown force as the mare kneels to the ground before the Corpse. Her magic pulsing in time with the corpse Twilight begins to spin the fragments of the corpse around her body forming an arcane circle in the air. The circle glows brighter and brighter as the corpse’s pulsing light pulses faster and faster along with the mare’s horn. Faster and faster the pieces spin around the mare as her eyes clench shut as tight as a floodgate. Suddenly the mare’s eyes open glowing white as the circle around her spins off her body towards the corpse. The fragments touch the corpse as the circle surrounds the artifact, the pieces of the Corpse flowing into the main body like water as the circle dies away. The corpse pulses stronger now than before as the column of spine grows out of the torso, the arms lengthening and the neck of the creature extending out of the top. The pieces once again reunited with the corpse the mare lets out a loud shout.

 “HOLY CORPSE.” Twilight shouts in the authoritative tone of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “I, Twilight Radiance Sparkle, Protégé to Celestia invictus Solaris, Goddess of the Sun, Friend to Nocturnes De Luna, Goddess of the moon, do so humbly make a request of thee!”

The mare bows her head once to the earth “I have returned to you that which was lost to you that you might answer a query and set doubts to rest!”

Twilight bows once again “I Twilight Radiance Sparkle, ask this of you as a lowly mortal doomed to die that you would clear doubt and set me on the path to truth!”

The mare lowers her head to the earth yet this time it does not rise “I beseech thee in the name of thine! I implore you in the name of the Sun, the Moon, and the Holy Earth!”

The garden is silence itself. No sound passes through the gentle glow of the corpse, as the mare continues to bow her head down to the earth. Only her own ragged breaths fill her ears as Twilight waits patiently for a sign of any kind. Seconds pass, then a minute, then two, as the mare slowly gives up hope of hearing anything of value aside from her own heartbeat.  Yet just as she raises her head to leave, her hope extinguished a soft loving voice fills her mind, the voice itself reminding Twilight of the gentle ringing of bells or the sound of the surf on a windy day. The voice is both kind and all knowing, reminding Twilight of the teacher that she left behind in Canterlot, a voice full of love and kindness.

The long introduction, though proper, is not necessary child of twilight. I know who you are, and who you were, and who you shall be. I know what it is that you seek. Yet let me hear it from thine own lips.

Jumping to her hooves the mare stares at the broken corpse before her own eyes widening with wonder.

What is your desire oh child of twilight? What has brought you so far that you would request something of me, without your friends to guide your actions?

With uncharacteristic humor Twilight chuckles letting out some of her pent up tension. “Well to tell you the truth, until just now I didn’t really know, or rather I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted. I was pent up, confused, and twisted up inside. I was torn between hoofing the corpse over to Celestia, trying to destroy it like Luna wanted, or worse yet keeping it for myself so I could use it to get what I wanted.”

And? What is it that you decided upon? What is it that you desire?

“My desire….. “ Twilight states, her conviction ringing true “….my only real desire right now, is to have a clear direction; to know the path I must take to set everything right. That….. That is my desire.”

The corpse and its query remain silent for a few moments as if the inanimate dead body is somehow mulling over Twilight’s request. Its alien mind processes her request until it finally responds.

…..The desire to set things right. It is a powerful desire young Twilight, and one that I can sympathize with. The desire for justice and goodness is very strong in you. It was not small wonder that you were able to hear my voice before.

To answer the first question that you have asked in your heart of hearts, the one that you seek the answer to most of all. The answer for that question is ‘YES’. Celestia has indeed used this vessel’s ability to insure prosperity for her nation and pony kind. Yet she has done this even after learning it would come at the cost of the nations and peoples of others.

Twilight’s heart sinks in her chest, only her last vestiges of hope and courage keeping her from falling to the ground as a sobbing wreck.

Though it is not active now that I am separate from the circle that she has formed deep in the mountain of canterlot, should you give my body to Celestia is would once again work in the way that it is always has. Time shall continue onwards in its cycle as it does and the nation of Equestria, though safe, will not change.

“But……” Twilight shakes as she finds the strength to utter a single word “…But you can make it right, can’t you? You can…. “ Twilight mulls over the situation, the betrayal of her teacher still fresh in her mind as she struggles to think up a way out of the mess that she and her friends have landed in. “Can’t you do something to….. I don’t know, bring everypony back to life? Can’t you undo all the wrongs that you have done, or something like that?! Your power is infinite, you can do anything if your user desires it….. Right?!”

………No that is not possible.

All hope shatters in Twilight’s breast. “What? Why not? You can do anything, you can bend time and space? Why can’t you make things right?!”

..……Because that was MY wish.

Twilight stops her rant, as a calmer mind returns in the place of her frantic and confused one. “Your desire? You wanted this?”

 In a word, YES and in a word NO. True, you view Celestia’s actions as wrong. Yet it is thanks to her that all ponykind is safe and gathered under one banner. As they are once more, they are a herd with a shepherd that lies in greener pastures. And as is it not the way of the world, that one must suffer so that another might partake of joy?

“But….” Twilight stops her mind working overtime to walk herself through her own thoughts. Is the corpse right? If living things have to suffer for others to live in happiness, shouldn’t the ones who live in happiness be them, the ones who possess the blessing of a god? Twilight shakes her head. “But… does it really have to be this way?”

The lavender mare bravely taking a step forward as she asks her question again. “Can’t you make everyone happy: Ponies and Minotaurs, and Dragons and those that don’t live in Equestria? Even if it’s just a little, even if it doesn’t amount for much, can you save us from this mess?”

………I am as I have always been, an instrument of balance, of harmony. For one to have, another must have not. This is the one of the many laws that governs this world. By the rules of harmony such a thing cannot be done with my power. Balance must prevail.

The mare falls to her hooves, never before had she felt this powerless before in her entire life, as she realizes that her hopes were misplaced. There is no easy way out of this mess.

But I see that you and others like you do not desire such a world. Neither you nor your friends, want a world of martyrs and sacrifices. Therefore you will all fight for a new one.

You will travel far and wide, across the breadth of the world. You will go South, North and back to the center in search of the right path. And you will be cast out persecuted and spit on for this one’s sake. You will face a true evil and some of you will not return, passing onto shadow and fear. The entire world and all the ponies in it may turn against you, but rejoice for such things must happen and come to pass.

Twilight flinches at the corpses’ words her mind recoiling at the thought of her friends dying, at the world turning against her. “But I don’t want any of that!”

Twilight yells at the top of her lungs unable to accept it anymore “I don’t’ want my friends to die! I don’t want to suffer! Tell me a better way! Tell me a way I can save my friends!”  The lavender unicorn runs up to the fountain pressing her hooves against the fountain as if she could force an inanimate object to comply with her demands “TELL ME!” She yells at the top of her lungs her tears running down her face.

Unless Pony kind itself withes me to leave, I am unable to do so. Yes should you gather all the pieces of my form as one then a new world of friendship and magic will come to pass.

A small clicking noise fills the garden as the corpse’s light begins to die down. Then suddenly the corpse falls off its precarious post on the fountain tumbling down to the ground. Almost reflexively the mare reaches out with her stand grabbing the stone body and dragging its heavy frame into her arms.

Twilight Sparkle, you are not worthy of wielding this power as you are now. Yet you are brave and true, a hero in dark times rising, therefore so that all should come to pass you might carry me so that I might come to new shores.

Twilight begins to cry “W-Wait! I still need more answers. What’s going to happen? How do I stop it? How do I talk to Celestia, after what she’s done?  How do I save my friends?” the mare begins to bawl her eyes out over the stone figure as the light of the corpse begins to fade away.

Those that are and those that were shall be again. When the corpse is gathered and wielded with justice all shall be again and I shall return to harmony once more…. That is the prophecy you must adhere to for your desires to be manifest.

“Wait!” Twilight yells “You can’t just leave us like this! You can’t just leave us alone to face this bucked up world! You can’t expect us to save ourselves!?!”

The corpse though ignores the unicorns’ protests as the glowing aura dies down around the dead body, causing it to revert back to its inherent stone form.

Remember this single word Sparkle for it will guide you to your salvation, as well as the salvation of all ponykind……..

All its light fades out, leaving the lavender mare holding a fossilized stone body in her shaking arms Twilights’ ears perk up as she prepares to hear perhaps the most important words in her lifetime.

FRIENDS……

And the light dies out

“Twilight! Twilight!” Pinkie shouts as she jumps up to the lavender mare “What did it say? I couldn’t hear anything. Was it good? Is the Princess Innocent? Are those tears of joy or sadness? Pleeease tell me. I’m dying of suspense here!”

“Twilight dear? Are you alright?” Rarity asks “we couldn’t hear anything. What did the Corpse say? Is Celestia innocent? Did it tell you how to use the corpse’s power?”

“Yeah Egghead! Did you get some awesome new power or something?” Dash asks hopefully.

“Dashie’s concerns are well founded.” States the princess “Has the corpse chosen you as its bearer?”

“Twilight? Are you okay?” Fluttershy asks “Was it good news or bad news?”

Yet for all these questions lobed at her, the mare doesn’t respond to any of them. And as if with ironic timing the sun rises on the horizon greeting a new day with its normal warmth and benevolence. Yet the day that greets Twilight, the day on which she has discovered such a horrible truth is anything but a good day. And as the warm benevolent sunshine rains down on her head they only serve to reflect of the tears of sorrow that stream down Twilight Sparkle’s muzzle.

……………………….

“And you are sure that this information is reliable? It was not planted, or falsified?”

“You know I believe in her innocence, Princess. I believe it beyond a shadow of a doubt. But if this is a frame job, it’s a really, really good one Mam. It would have to be done by some pony who knows our reports and procedures inside and out….Then again given who we are after, this might very well be an attempt to lead us off the trail. To distract us while this Traitor in our ranks strikes.”

“Or it could be a chance to find out how some pony was able to falsify these files. If we could find any kind of hint among these incredulous reports by bringing in this pony……”

“Your highness! Surely you must be joking?”

“I wish I were Shining armor, but given this information and the sensitivity of the Holy Corpse’s existence, it is far better to be safe than sorry. Should any pony be, unintentionally or otherwise be revealing information about its existence we must investigate.”

“But you don’t believe any of this…..”

“I believe she is innocent Shining. However if she has learned of its existence I need to speak with her immediately. If she has taken the corpse’s importance to this nation the wrong way, then it is possible that the enemy could be using her to get to us. That is why you must go, you alone can bring her in and make her understand the importance of our mission.”

“……Very well, Princess, if you think it is what is best.”

The monarch of the Sun Princess Celestia stands up on her throne in the empty chambers of the royal court. Her grim face a testament to her utter seriousness. “Believe me Shining Armor this is something I do not do lightly. Now call in Zecora, she will be going with you.”

“Zecora?” Shining Armor, captain or the royal guard asks. “Why her? It’s not that I don’t trust her or anything but I’m more than capable of handling this myself, and I’d rather not draw attention to this.”

“Zecora may not have a stand, but her skill with investigation and paperwork is almost as good as yours is Shining Armor.” Celestia says as she walks off her throne towards the window facing ponyville. “That and she is and old friend of Twilight’s who has fowl sit for her more times than I could count. If there is a pony in Equestria that I could trust it would be her.”

The door to the throne room opens with dramatic effect as a familiar Zebra enters the room bowing low to the floor as the door closes behind her. “Yes Celestia? What is it you need? I came with all speed for your commands are true. Whatever it should be, know that I exist for you.”

Celestia smiles as she watches the zebra in the reflection of the window. “I have a very important mission for the two of you to undertake, you are to go to Ponyville with a contingent of guards and investigate the reports that we have received from there about some……… Questionable activity.”

The princess turns to the two ponies, “There you will meet up with Sergeant Lightning Dust and our Stand agent Trixie Lulamoon to apprehend, Investigate, and Clear, Emphasis on the word CLEAR, the pony who reports have alluded to being the traitor.”

Zecora’s face turns to one of surprise “The traitor has been found? Should that not make us proud?”

“No Zecora it should not.” Celestia states sadly. “Let me be clear, there will be no use of lethal force and you will treat her with the utmost respect, until you can discover the true source of the leak. I trust you to handle this matter seriously and professionally.”

“But who would have you, in lieu of the truth, so worried your majesty?” Zecora asks with worry setting in to her otherwise calm demeanor.

The monarch of the sun extends her wings in a majestic display of her authority and power as she makes her decree. “On Royal decree I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, authorize you to bring in Twilight Sparkle, Princess reprehensive of Equestria, on the charge of high treason!”