Twilight gasped for air as she woke up in a cold hard sweat. Her immediate action was to wipe her forehead. She slept on a beaten down mattress with a towel as the cover. The room was rather dark with a candle stick being the only light source. The room she stayed in was that of a cold and damp apartment. It was clear enough she was on a pull out bed in the room. It wasn't too small to live in, but the size of the living room, combined with the kitchen, was slightly cramped. She was even lucky enough to have a private toilet in the place when she found it up for rent. Twilight pushed the towel off her and made her way towards the bathroom which was located next to her bed. She flicked a switch turning on the bathroom lights. There was a shower on the left with a toilet in the centre and a sink on the right just on the other side of the bathroom door. Twilight's ears dropped back as she proceeds in the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she looked in the mirror that was placed above the sink. She gazed upon her own reflection, a mixture of emotions suddenly weld up inside her. Anger was one of them, she couldn't help the urge to throw her hoof into the mirror in disgust of hiding her true self. She had to change her skin colour from purple to that of a midnight blue and her mane completely black but keeping the same mane style and tail. Her cutie mark couldn't be changed but yet it could be altered to make it look like something else. She didn't care what it looked like so long as it didn't look like her old mark in the slightest. The next was sadness, tears started fall from her, now, green eyes instead of purple. The mirror shattered into a million pieces, a couple catching her hoof that made her drip blood over the sink. She kept her hoof in place, the pain reminding her that she was still alive in the first place.
"A lot has changed in a year huh?" Twilight brought the slow bleeding hoof to her chest. On that moment she felt pain, both on body and in her heart. She had to give up on everything she ever loved. She knew if she returned to Ponyville or Canterlot she'll put everypony in danger. So she ran away from both towns to another random place in Equestria to protect everypony she ever loved and cared for.
Twilight bandaged the wound on her hoof to stop the continuous bleeding that poured down her midnight blue skin. She left the broken mirror pieces in the sink and on floor because she couldn't be bothered to pick them up. She made her way to the kitchen area of the apartment, it was dirty with unclean dishes on the counters, with left over food on them. Even pots of noodles were seen lying everywhere on the kitchen side. Twilight sighed as she noticed the two tablets with a glass of water on the cleanish side that she put out last night for the morning. They were the kind of tablets that kept your anger under control, ever since that scene a year ago she has lost almost all control of her temper. On some occasions she starts throwing up because of the painful memory that haunts her nearly every night. Twilight looked at the alarm clock to see it was, five past seven. She walked towards the door noticing a sudden shock as she placed her wounded hoof on the door making her flinch in sudden pain. She growled towards the door only to change back into a depressed state realising it was just a inanimate object. She left the apartment wearing a rather long thin black coat to cover her wings from everypony else. The first sight was a balcony with a railing in front of her. But that wasn't the sight she knew for a whole year, the sight beyond that was a large park with new buildings being structured for construction. She ran away to Manehattan in a quick attempt to get as far away as possible from Canterlot that day a year ago.
Twilight made her way down to the streets of Manehattan, the sight was unclean, filthy and filled with cracked windows and destroyed vehicles. That was another thing that suddenly changed, with nopony in line for the throne, anypony that knew what they were doing anyway, a government was selected instead of a royal family member. The new government instantly brought in new rules and laws throughout Equestria. Their first law was a instant forbidden use of any kind of magic other than for work place use only, i.e. Lifting heavy crates or simply using it to build something anything else was strictly frowned upon and reported in a ledger to wait for approval. The second, that a new special police unit be in charge of forcefully upholding the law of these new rules. And many more came into effect later on throughout the year, it was now illegal for the Pegasus to fly anywhere around Equestria. while a new branch of weaponry was given to the police, weapons called firearms. Later on these new vehicles called cars started popping up around Equestria, making a trip to a destination hasn't been achieved in a amazing amount of time. Electricity was more frequently used, it soon turned into one of Equestria's most used power source other than magic.
Twilight soon reached her destination outside a fast food chain called, Mc Grains. Her train of thought went quickly as she went through a bad part of Manehattan from her apartment. She entered the establishment to notice her co workers were lazing around since they barely have anypony going round these parts. They all wore a yellow top with a weird grain hat as their uniform. Twilight sighed as she clocked into the work place and got dressed. She felt so out of place in there, she was the Princess of friendship and now she's the Princess who got a part time job at a fast food restaurant. She used to help other ponies with their issues but now she's flipping veggie burgers and frying corn into fries. The day past by with a few ponies coming and going for a burger or two. It gave Twilight time to think about everything that has ever happened up to this point. The government also established the 5, 10 and 20 bit notes while the coin was rarely seen nowadays. It's like they could've been the ponies behind the attack a year ago, but it was too soon to start thinking that. The thought of getting prepared for anything was running through her mind, she trained for this, she went to martial arts and also learned how to master her magic perfectly in secrecy without anypony knowing. In terms of alchemy, you can't seem to find any ingredients anywhere, including the black market since making potions and elixirs were also deemed illegal because they broke the boundaries of laws and physics. It felt like Equestria is turning into a complete police state where you can't do anything without the government knowing... Kinda like when Celestia knew what Twilight was up to on certain days.
Twilight's bandaged hoof started to sting as she placed it on the ground, forgetting it was there for a moment. She sneered in pain, lifting it up to her face to check if she opened up the wound by mistake.
"Are you alright, you didn't have that yesterday?" A male cyan blue Pegasi sounded concerned. Twilight looked to see they were the manager of this establishment.
Twilight chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck "yeah I'm perfectly fine -tsk" she sneered in pain again with a droplet of blood hitting the floor.
The cyan blue Pegasi smiled as he said "Go take a break, I didn't see nothing okay, White."
For the first time in ages Twilight blushed and looked away, even though he said her current fake name, she smiled as she went into the workers changing rooms. The changing rooms had three rows of lockers in a perfect line dead centre of the room while on the left and right was sinks and showers. She went round the left side towards her locker, opening it up to see her black coat and some bit notes on the side. Twilight quickly pushed herself up on the lockers from the sound of doors suddenly opening. The sound of two ponies made her heart skip a sudden beat. Since they didn't go round Twilight's side they must've been round the other.
"Its finally lunch!" A loud females voice was heard from Twilight's ears. Twilight eased up since they shouldn't be a problem at all.
"I know right, today's been so laid back its like a day off." a different female voice was heard this time. Twilight sat down on the bench behind her quickly to listen to their conversation.
"I'm glad we got a job here. Also did you hear on the news today?" Twilight's ears popped up from their conversation, any kind of information was like reading a book now since you had to go and register for the library.
"About the one year celebration of the government, everypony knows." Their voices started to move with their hoofsteps. Twilight sat there to see them leave through the door and back into the work place, the sad thought of her friends came rushing into her head. It didn't take long for Twilight to turn on the TV in the corner and flick towards the news station. Twilight wanted to know what was going in in Equestria.
"Welcome to Canterlot news at 10am. Were here to give you all the latest news that has been buzzing around Equestria." Twilight stared deeply into the screen "I'm Julie Times, and we have reports that a murder has been confirmed in the city of Las Pegasus, while the government has stated Equestria will soon gain more laws and regulations to make living more comfortable."
"Tell them the other exciting news Julie" another news reporter was seen as the screen panned out revaluing a dark red colt.
"Okay Jeffrey, on other news the government will hold the one year anniversary memorial for the three Princess who suddenly passed away-"
Twilight didn't hesitate to smash her bandaged hoof through the screen of the tv. The sound of how everypony can just believe they passed away was unforgivable in her eyes. She pulled back her hoof from the sparking tv screen to notice her bandage was torn and flowing blood. She suddenly threw up on the ground with a sudden memory of blood stained walls within the Canterlot castle. Her vision became blurred from the pain of her hoof being so intense or the sudden flood of the memory that day a year ago.
"White, are you okay?" The familiar voice of the cyan blue pony was heard. Twilight heard turned her head towards the door. It opened slightly with the cyan pony's head poking round the room. He stood in shock of Twilight standing in a pool of sick and blood looking towards him with teary eyes next to the smashed in tv.
"I'll be taking my leave soon won't I?" Twilight looked away from the pony, speaking distressed tone.
"You felt dizzy and tripped over, then you proceeded to threw up when you smashed into the TV from over exhaustion." the cyan blue pony gently said as he made his way placing a hoof over he shoulder.
Twilight lifted her bad hoof before bursting into tears. She knew that the cyan blue pony was kind and friendly towards her, not from pity but in a caring form. He didn't ask her what's wrong or why did she break the tv, he just smiled and cared for her like a true friend. For a whole year of hiding and being afraid of what might happen, she finally felt a small sense of security within his presence. The only action he took was sending her home for the day to get some rest and come back into work feeling refreshed. Twilight had no saying in the matter for even she need time to rejuvenate, she threw up and injured herself from losing her temper on a mirror and tv screen, she needs to calm down for the tablets aren't doing their job. She picked up her belongings and made her way out of the establishment through the back door and headed to her apartment.
She soon returned back to her apartment, waiting outside the door enjoying the nice view of the park and new buildings being constructed. It felt different from earlier when she left, she could feel a sweet sensation inside her like she could go back to the restaurant again and feel good for once instead of upset all the time. The day went by fast as she stood there on the balcony watching the construction workers build and the little foals playing in the park. She almost forgot how peaceful the world can be if you can't just sit by and watch the time go by. Twilight looked to the sky with a sad expression, watching the sun go down for the moon to rise up in its place. The Princesses were gone, and yet the sun and moon move on their own now. Twilight knew what happened that day a year ago and yet she didn't want to recall it. All she wanted to do was enjoy the last minute of the lights turning on in the park and around the city. The workers stopped and the foals and their parents started to leave indicating it was time to go home. Twilight couldn't help but smile on the sight for how normal life can be for them and how complicated hers can be. She made her way inside the apartment and boiled some water on the stove. Twilight pulled out a noodle pot from the top shelf of the messy cupboard with her magic and poured in the hot water into the pot and had her dinner. Its a bit degrading for her to eat small like this but it saves her money. She's lived like this for over a year now and slowly got used to it. Twilight jumped onto the beaten in mattress which let her weight sink in. She closed her eyes with a smile on her face for the first time ever in a year.
Twilight woke up instantly as the sun shone through the tightly enclosed curtains. she didn't know why she jumped straight out of bed, maybe it was because she had somepony that actually cared for her in a long time. She hopped out of bed stretching out her wings feeling like a brand new mare. The first thing she done was clean up the mirror pieces on the floor and sink in the bathroom with her magic. Next was to sort out her mane and tail into a ponytail for a change since it was the first time she felt refreshed in such a long time. Once she was finished she headed towards the kitchen, pulling bread out of the bread-bin and straight into her mouth. Proceeding out the door she instantly froze with a piece of bread in her mouth, the black coat, she forgot her black coat. Grabbing it with her bandaged hoof, she noticed a slight stinging sensation but no bleeding indicating it was healing rather quickly. She proceeded out the door once again, this time with her head held up high. For an instant she forgot all of her troubles on her way towards Mc Grains. The same old sight of smashing in windows and destroyed vehicles didn't bother her on her way towards a good part of Manehattan. She got to her destination quickly only to see the sight of a huge crowd gathering round the Mc Grains establishment.
"Whats going on?" Twilight spoke to herself rubbing her leg with her good hoof.
Twilight managed to make her way through the crowd of ponies, pushing past to what looks like camera crews for a local new station and reporters for the newspapers. This made Twilight worry, pushing past everypony to get towards the front. She managed to get to the front of the crowd to clearly see the Special Police Task Force, S.P.T.F. for short, on the scene. They were the ones to wear a bulky armored vests with a heavy duty black visor. Many could be seen throughout the scene of whats left of the Mc Grains establishment. The sight made Twilight cringe from the broken in windows and scorch marks everywhere.
Twilights ears picked up the conversations around her, she overheard that somepony was found dead inside. What she heard over all the voices filled her with more worry, she heard that the body had a massive cut on the back of their leg trapped underneath a freezer and was singed to a crisp from the stove that had multiple veggie burgers cooking on. Twilights heart skipped a beat from the sentence "It was the managers body". Twilight looked left and right behind police tape to notice that the S.P.T.F. forces were controlling the crowd in different places. She didn't hesitate to make a run for it towards the burned out restaurant pass the police tape. The police forces around that area ran after her. She didn't care about anything else other than to find out the truth, deep inside she wanted this to a big lie. That all changed as she noticed a body bag with a black and blue cyan pegasus placed inside being zipped up by two S.P.T.F. officers wearing white suits. Twilight couldn't help but scream towards the burned cyan pony. Everypony outside the establishment turned their full attention towards the midnight blue screaming pony. They all saw Twilight struggle as two S.P.T.F. officers try to pull her away from the scene. Everypony saw Twilight being dragged away back into the crowd of ponies. It wasn't long before Twilight soon calmed down outside the huge crowd of ponies still trying to get a good look at the scene. The thought of another pony dying made the same memory flood into her mind making her nauseous of the sudden flashback a year ago. She didn't want to believe her manager is gone, one of the only pony's to ever help her in the city of Manehattan. She knew she couldn't do anything, for what is done, is done, and there is no way to bring them back. Twilight shed tears by the curb at the back of the huge crowd, trying not to make a scene she left.
"That didn't work out as planned." Twilight perked up, suddenly remembering it belongs to one of the females in the changing rooms. Twilight turned her head to notice two bright orange female earth pony's wearing the Mc Grains uniform stare towards the incident from the back of the crowd.
"We left our favorite makeup in there." the other voice spoke up getting Twilights attention.
"Why do we always get the bad jobs." Twilight grew confused about the two, their manager's gone and their worrying about their makeup.
Twilight growled with anger towards them while trying to control her tears "Our managers dead and all you worry about is your makeup!!"
The two ponies turned their attention towards Twilight. She was in a terrible state after trying to wrestle through the two officers dragging her back and crying. The two both clicked their tongues in disgust towards her making her lose a gasket, but she knew what would happen if she did. The officers around her would just detain her in a matter of seconds. She lowered her head as she ran from the scene. The thought of leaving another friend behind doesn't/didn't feel right... nor wrong. It didn't take long till she reached her apartment with a stream of tears following. She opened and slammed the door in both anger and depression. The only time in a year she found somepony that would accept her and help her through tough times is gone. She dived head first into her pillow crying. After awhile of soaking her pillow, she fell asleep.
Twilight suddenly gasped as she heard a knock on her door. The feeling of danger rose in her mind, could she have been followed or have she been found out from a year ago. Twilight slapped her self with her good hoof, knowing that could never happen, she changed her look, name and place of living there's no way she could've been found out.
"Hello?" a males voice was heard behind the door "Anypony home?"
Twilight panicked, quickly rushing out of bed towards the kitchen area. Grabbing a sharp knife and keeping it close to her as she crept towards the door listening close to the conversation that could be heard.
"You know, I think she might be out." The same voice was heard making Twilight on edge knowing there was more right outside her door.
"I think your stupid, look at the floor and tell me the wet patches aren't fresh." A different males voice was heard "And for the love of Celestia, what is it with you and donuts"
Twilight moved up and looked through the hole in the door. She noticed two ponies standing by the door, on the left stood a messy grey colt on the right of them stood a white colt. The left pony's mane and tail were both black with dark blue streaks in them. The size of them were large and fuzzy like they haven't been cut or cleaned in a couple of weeks. His skin was grey but the fur was clearly a tad bit overgrown, resting over his black hoofs. His eyes could be seen through his large fringe, they were a bright bloodshot red indicating he couldn't have gotten enough sleep in days. He had two crossed pure silver M9 Beretta's while in the middle were three silver bullets standing up towards the Beretta's for his cutie mark.
The other was a rather calm, clear white pegasus who had a sprinkled doughnut in his mouth. His mane was a lot more looked after then that of the other and a helluva' lot shorter but in the same style. The colour of his mane and tail are two toned with one side being black and the other ice blue. His eyes didn't look to bothered about the other pony in front of him, except, Twilight noticed he had ice blue eyes as well. His physical size was smaller than the earth pony standing next to him, like Twilight's size. He has a frozen quill for his cutie mark.
"Just because you want the doughnut."Twilight watched as the two bicker outside her apartment door.
"its unprofessional to eat on the job!" The other colt raised his hoof towards the doughnut in a upset manor.
The white colt shrugged his shoulders towards the grey colt, chewing slowly on the doughnut hoping to agitate him. Twilight knew it worked as the colt slapped it out of his mouth over the balcony.
"My doughnut!" The pegasus hanged over the balcony towards the falling doughnut. The white colt turned towards the grey with a vexed expression only to receive the same look back from the grey earth pony. Twilight suddenly giggled, quickly covering her mouth in realization that she should be silent. Twilight looked through the hole to notice the two ponies starring into the hole with a expressionless face.
"Err... is there anything i can help you with?" Twilight said in a distressful tone, clenching the knife handle tightly hoping they would just leave her alone in peace. Twilight doesn't want anypony else to get caught in her bad luck, lately anyway. Both of them outside looked at each other knowing shes been through a lot of life changing elements that are making her feel despair.
"Look, Miss Sparkle," The white colt spoke in a urgent tone "We cant speak out in the open, its not safe"
The grey colt raised a eyebrow towards the white colt in surprise "I never thought you could be serious."
"And I've always known you don't cut your mane and tail in a six month period." the white pegasus raised a eyebrow back in sarcasm. The earth pony opened his mouth only to shut it instantly as they heard a manual lock unlock. The door opened ever so slightly revealing the midnight blue Twilight poking her head halfway out.
"How?" Twilight said one word towards the two.
"We're afraid we cant answer that your highness" The white pegasus looked behind her, trying to hint it out as much as possible. Twilight sighed as she knew she couldn't hide it from the two ponies. It was a gamble on her part, are they good or are they bad but she had to take it. Twilight opened the door more letting them into the apartment. The grey earth pony walked in first only to stop from the messy sight in front of him.
The white pegasus walked in speaking "My name is Frozen Quill, Princess Twilight" bowing just behind her so she can close the door " And that scruffy pony over there is SilverBullet"
"Hey!" Silver reacted aggressively.
"One question, Princess?" Quill asked in a polite tone towards the confused Twilight who looked at the two with questionable eyes.
"Go ahead"
"Why are you blue and yet you named yourself White?" Quill asked tilting his head. Sliver moaned towards Quill only to get a giggle from Twilight.
"Why did I get paired with you?" Silver questioned himself rubbing his head with his hoof.
"You got me sacked from the department a year ago, your stuck with me." A cold sinister aura came from Quill, making the other two quiver from a sudden chill down their spine.
Silver shook his head trying to get back on track "lets just get down to business, me and Quill are Private Investigates and-"
"Cant you see she's shaken up from that scene at Mc Grains, i think the first thing is to have a cup of coffee first" Quill raised his hoof stopping Silver from continuing.
Silver observed the broken Twilight, studying the messy mane and blood stained bandaged hoof. He moved unto her eyes that were bloodshot, the sight brought a sad feeling unto him. Silver raised his hoof towards his chin, tapping it slowly as he observed the room closer.
"You got up out of bed this morning feeling refreshed or ready for something that was going your way judging by the way the towel is positioned on the bed, also you done something while in the bathroom because there are mane hairs everywhere." Silver kept tapping his chin as he made his way towards the messy part of the kitchen "You also pulled some bread out of the loaf pakaging in the bread-bin, and from the looks of the crumbs, you were in a hurry to eat it on the move towards Mc Grains."
Twilight's mouth gaped open from his description of her morning, it was a little scary how accurate it was "How do you...?"
Quill leaned towards Twilight with a bland expression on his face "He's a little too good at what he does, but he forgot the mirror pieces on the floor by the rubbish bin in the bathroom. I'm guessing you got angry and smashed in the mirror, am i correct?"
Twilight raised an eyebrow towards Quill now, it was like they could see the whole entire play of what happened recently. She calmed herself down quickly, trying not to get angry at the two in front of her from delving into her current living style.
"So you have incredible deductions skills... how does that help with what just happened back at the restaurant and showing up and my doorstep?" Twilight groaned towards the two, making her way past Silver to the kitchen putting a saucepan of water on boil.
The two looked at each other filed with worry while Silver rubbed his neck "We kinda found out from an old mate, who's in the S.P.T.F. That it was a murder committed by two ponies. But we're not here for that Princess." Silver sat down on the bed behind him, relaxing his tired legs from the trip there.
Twilight stared blindly into the boiling water with anguish "...I'm guessing you know of that night a year ago"
"That's why we tried to locate you ever since you went missing Miss Sparkle," Quill said gently moving towards next to the Princess and moving the boiling saucepan off the stove "We want to know why on the day you went missing, is the day the three Princesses suddenly passed away."
Twilight raised her hoofs to her head as painful memories came rushing into her her once more. The pain suddenly got intense to make her crouch on the floor from the unbearable pain she felt. Quill bent down giving her a hoof on her neck while Silver raised from the bed in order to help her. The pain soon subsided giving her time to catch her breath in relief.
"Is it that important?" Twilight asked as she squinted one eye towards the two who nodded in compliance to her question " My question first... why do you want to know?"
Silver sighed in distress, looking away from the midnight blue Princess "Because the bastards who killed the princess's fucked up our lives."
"Do I have to pay you too investigating into this?" Twilight produced a tear through her left squinted eye from the pain.
Quill and Silver both smiled towards the Princess with reinsurance "As long as the dead get justice Princess, we don't care about pay until after the case."
Twilight couldn't help but smile towards the two in happiness. Knowing there are still more good ponies out there in Equestria that are willing to help. Twilight managed to get up off her knees and was helped towards the bed to sit down. It didn't take her long to recover from the pain, she wondered why there was pain every time she tried to remember. It was because she didn't want to remember the horrific memories of the dreadful day a year ago. For everything that has happened up to this point could be a turn around. Twilight didn't know who they were exactly or why they wanted the ones who did this to her gone, but all she knew was that she could trust them.
"It happened on a peaceful night one year ago in the Canterlot Castle." Twilight sighed as she began.
Chapter 2: Remenicsing The Past
I left the Castle that night leaving Spike in charge with Owlicious, because I was called to Canterlot through a letter. I can clearly remember the letter coming through a post-delivery service because Derpy managed to crash head first through my bedroom window early in the morning. The letter was assigned to me from Princess Celestia, stating, I head to Canterlot Castle as soon as possible. It never accrued to me that I was walking into something gruesome that evening. I arrived into Canterlot by train where everypony greeted me with honor and praise as I stepped off the train. I was slightly happy with the praise-
"Could you just explain the parts when you arrived and what happened at the Castle please... If it's okay with you? " Silver sounded impatient, breaking her narrative.
Fine... The moon took place of the sun when I arrived at the Castle's gates where I was greeted by my very own brother, Shining Armour. He was extremely happy to see me that he embraced me with a hug. After the pleasantries, he explained the situation with sudden guests arriving consisting some very important ponies. He mentioned them arriving early in the morning where they had time to settle down after a long journey from their homes. I thanked him for the short brief and went inside the Castle, to whom the Royal Guards escorted me inside the gates. They bowed their heads in honor of me as I walked past entering the castle. The first thing I noticed as I arrived at the castle was the Guards activity, watching them go crazy moving around on lookout duty. Their numbers shocked me since there were so many out that night. As I entered the Castle I was generously greeted by a moderate sized, pink pony maid greeting me with a smile.
"I will take you to the Princess, your highness." she said as she bowed with her left hoof pointing down the hallway. It was a
The maid took me to the grand dining hall of the Castle. The first sight was Princess Celestia as I entered the hall. She was sitting at the end of a large narrow table, underneath a glass window with a picture of the sun and moon melding together with the two Princesses flying around it. Chandeliers were placed at both ends with a larger one in the middle. On the end of the table under the window, Celestia smiled and greeted me as I entered the room. Sitting on her right was Princess Luna, who was munching on a piece of cake on a plate, while on her left was Princess Cadence waving a hoof towards me making me smile with delight. But that wasn't the thing that surprised me. It was from the supt up ponies around the table, apart from my end which was clear from anypony. All of them were dressed up in high-end suits and dresses that made me feel a little upset for not making an effort to the sudden invitation.
"Good evening Princess Twilight, I hope we can have a decent discussion with no further interruptions now that you have arrived." One of the Ponies tilted his head as he spoke.
"Somepony left that part out on the invitation, so, what's the fuss about?" I questioned the entire room, turning my head towards Celestia. I was baffled of their subject. I didn't know what they were talking about as I arrived, so I Just smiled innocently lightly saying "May I know what your discussion is about?"
"About the idea of turning the land of Equestria into a single government." Celestia's tone and facial expressions instantly changed aggressively looking around the table.
I never thought an idiotic idea could come up or even be considered, the land of Equestria has always been ruled by a Princess or royalty, so why change that now. Everypony is happy with a single ruler, well, quad rulers now, so why would they want a government to rule Equestria instead of a single pony do so. To me this already sounds fishy or power-hungry Ponies who want money from the treasury.
"This is a crucial time to consider this Princess's." One of Dignitaries said with a serious attitude "The state Equestria is in right now can be called disorder and chaos. There are no laws in place for the ponies that have been taking advantage of everything you put in motion Celestia." he finished, pushing his now clean plate away. Yep, I guessed right, power-hungry Ponies.
"That's 'Princess Celestia' if you do not mind." Celestia changed her tone towards the speaking pony in an harsh way. I never heard Celestia speak to anypony like before, it was like she was ready to fight to keep Equestria safe and in check. The thought of Celestia's aggressive tone made everypony a little uncomfortable, but not ready to give up on their views.
"What are you talking about, if you don't mind telling the only pony who was late?" I asked around the table, getting agitated looks from everypony except Celestia, Luna and Cadence.
"We're talking about the mess she made in multiple cities over equestrian-"
"As I said at the beginning of this meeting. I kept the peace between those cities, preventing a war over Equestria!" Celestia stamped her hoof down on the table giving us all a shock.
"And what about the time you issued every non-noble a sudden rise in tax just to make up from the city mistake!"
I learned at that moment the three Princesses were keeping a couple huge secrets from me. It would've been alright if it was a personal matter but this was one of the new experiences I learned that night; everypony pony cant be trusted fully. I could understand if they were doing it to protect Equestria... but they kept it in secrecy from me, that hurt me from the inside greatly.
"Celestia?" I said her name in doubt and full of questions. It must've been full of doubt because she couldn't look me in the eye for a full second, I didn't know Celestia could feel disgraced but I saw two sides of her this night so far. And how far is she going to fall even deeper.
"Twilight." Luna said my name as she wiped her mouth with a napkin "What is repeated in this room will never leave this room, okay?" I nodded knowing it would be a grave mistake if I accidentally let my mouth slip. But their gone now so I can at least say something to you two that might be of any help.
"Somepony is trying to make Equestria burn to the ground." Celestia turned dead serious once more, looking around the table towards the other ponies to see if they were listening, and they were because all their ears picked up on Celestia's words "I don't know who or why, but they started that mess up in those cities... and while trying to steal the Crystal Empires prized crystal Heart in the process to throw me and Princess Luna off their trail."
"What?!" Cadence suddenly shouted at the top of her voice in shock on hearing this "When was this?!"
A different dignitary slammed his hoof on the table grabbing everyponys's attention "But telling the cities they can use the treasury as they see fit, just to stop them fighting will break the economy in more ways than one!"
"You technically gave them the treasury?!" I gasped out in shock towards the Princess who dropped a sweat "Do you know how much damage that is going to do on the land, they will have an unlimited source of bits?!"
"Money was the only object that would calm them down. whats more important, lives or money." Celestia stated in a disturbed but calm voice back towards me. I clicked my tongue knowing I would do the same if I was in charge. Something deep down inside my gut knew this was going to to go sour for Celestia and the other two. I had to keep it reasonable in terms of loyalty and reason, but I did notice the Dignitaries tried to change the subject on the matter of someone trying to burn Equestria into chaos and destroy it.
"So you think somepony is trying to target Equestria as a whole, why would you think that?" I asked bringing the conversation back on track "Even if there was a war about to start it wouldn't benefit either of the cities, also stealing the heart could be just common thief's looking for a big score?" I said with an uncertain voice hoping it would see reason to the angry crowd of Ponies sitting down around the table.
"It was the reports that came through my doorstep that made me thought that way too." Celestia paused, suddenly using her magic to pass around black and white photos of a cloaked pony wondering around the photos at the time of the events "Until my resources turned up that the same cloaked pony was seen at multiple places before, during and after the events that took place in these locations."
"Even if there was somepony who could." I saw the dignitary loosen his collar as he spoke covered in sweat "Why would they want to see Equestria burn?" the pony questioned in a calm tone.
"I've looked through the Castles' library for any clues but have come up short im afraid." Celestia answered, calming the sweaty pony down "This isn't the way most Ponies act to dethrone the Royal family."
"If what you say- oh dam is it getting hot in here- is true, then he couldn't be working alone?" I saw another dignitary take his entire suit off. This started to make me worry, I looked around the room to see everypony was sweating or drinking gallons of water from what looks like heat. For me it wasn't hot nor cold but it couldn't have that bad inside the Castle. But alas, their conversation still went on for hours on end about the idea of a conspiracy, with one by one mentioning it was getting extremely hot in the room. That's where I should've said something, because maybe I could have...
"Luna!!" Celestia shouted towards the now fainting Princess getting everypony's attention in the hall. The midnight blue Princess fell to the floor breathing heavily from what looks like heat. Sweat dripped off from her body which soon produced a pool of liquid underneath her. The next moment was everypony dropping to the floor in a puddle of liquid of their own liquid, I only just remembered that they mentioned it being hot in the room. Cadence stood in place looking over the table in worry towards the sweating Luna, who laid there producing more and more sweat. I watched as Celestia moved an inch towards her sister in grief. It was instant what happened next, like an event that you just couldn't believe no matter how much you close your eyes. I watched the chandelier fall from the ceiling, crushing the unsuspecting Princess. My eyes widened from the horrific sight, I watched Celestia fall to the ground with the chandelier piercing her cranium, crushing her skull in from the weight. Blood came out of her head forcefully managing to spray into Cadence's eyes, blinding her from a coat of blood in her eyes and on her skin. Before I could mutter a word and tear towards the crushed Celestia, I saw, for what looks like a blacked cloaked pony that was seen in the photos drop down behind Cadence's seat. It was like lightning, one second they were falling the next was a dagger coming across Cadence's throat. I knew what was coming next making me scream out Cadence's name in horror. Cadence dropped head first onto the table looking towards me with tears in her eyes with blood coming out of her neck like a flood. I couldn't believe my eyes to see my sister in law laying in a pool of her own blood. I wanted to throw up but i couldn't, I knew i had to escape like it was an instinct. On that moment I knew everypony was dead in this room, I didn't know if it was instinct or just fear because I tried to teleport out using my magic but it wouldn't work for sparks were only produced. That moment my heart skipped a beat as I heard a light thud behind me. If I had mistaken that noise I wouldn't be here today because I dived to the left on reflex to hear a metal object clang unto the table. I knew I couldn't look round to find out if there was an assassin so I moved as fast as my legs could take me. If i couldn't use the door i had to improvise and hope for the best towards the only other option I had, the large glass window. I quickly jumped on the table only to hear sudden running hoofsteps. I ran across towards my desired location, kicking up plates and glasses behind me along the way hoping it would slow down the attacker. I knew I was being chased by the assailant from the other running hoofsteps behind me. I started to cry from the sight of my friends' bloody and lifeless bodies. I couldn't stay all I could do was run and prepare my wings. I abruptly stretched out my wings and jumped over the chandelier crushing the Princess's skull. I braced myself, clenching up as i twist my body round to look behind me. I felt the window smash into pieces from my body, forcefully making me to take a breath from winding me. My eyes came into contact with the cloaked Ponies, they were black that engulfed you in darkness if you looked to long. While their skin could be seen to what looks like a dark green. He leaped after me showing a odd shaped curved dagger ready to get me. I closed my eyes and wished I would survive and somehow my wish came true as I felt a sudden engulf in magic. The sudden feeling of water was around my hoofs with the surrounding area was a large waterfall and beautiful forestry around it. If I had to say something at that moment I couldn't, all I could do was fall to the ground with the feeling of tears from my eyes. It was so sudden, in a blink of an eye the three Princesses were gone from this world. I managed to cry myself to sleep on the damp, grassy ground.
"You can stop now Princess." Quill said in a soft gentle voice towards the struggling Twilight "I think that's enough for one day, wouldn't you agree?"
Twilight moved her head slowly, almost looking like she wasn't moving at all from the shaking from remembering her time back at the Castle. She soon stopped shaking and looked up from the floor to see Silver and Quill whispering about something. It looked important as Silver's eyes widened from what looks like realization. Twilight picked herself up while giving her eyes a wipe. She could hear them slightly but it sounded pretty urgent for them as Silver barged out the apartment door in a hurry.
Frozen sighed with a smile towards the now open door "What are we going to with you, Silver. But anyway, you can still go to work tomorrow Princess, im sure the S.P.T.F. will have that place up and running by now."
"How would they, it was burned and smashed to the ground?!" Twilight quickly questioned back to the white pegasus who made his way towards the door.
"They work in many ways that get even me confused, just stay away from the colour orange is all I have to say." Quill said as he walked out the door stretching his wings.
"You aren't allowed to fly, its against the law? And why the colour orange?" Twilight was confused from the sudden warning, quickly making her way out the door towards the now floating pegasus.
"The horoscopes says orange isn't your colour tomorrow but blue will be a turn around, and yet silver will bring me great amusement." Quill chuckled as he flew down towards the ground where Silver was walking off into town. This made Twilight giggle once more from a little relief around her. It didn't take her long to wonder back inside her apartment. Her stomach growled at her making her laugh in happiness forgetting about everything around her. Even in her dark times a little bit of happiness brings bliss from the corrupt world in her eyes. She can see something happening in the future, something that will change Equestria forever... but for now she can only sit back and wait for the time to strike back and figure out what exactly happen that night.
Because Twilight knows that Quill and Silver are hiding something huge... but they are trustworthy enough to listen to at least.
