Pithos

“Did your studies tell you the name of the first pony?”

The guards were missing from the castle. Twilight Sparkle noticed that before she saw anything else. No guards were at the entrance; no guards came out to greet her; no guards appeared as she made her way down the entrance hall of the castle. Her footsteps echoed down the expansive opening hall and ricocheted into the rafters, leaving Twilight feeling alone and more than a little apprehensive. There were always guards in the royal castle, no matter what the day or the occasion.

The sheer organization of it all had always impressed Twilight. Princess Celestia, despite her airy way of speaking and casual sense of humour, had a knack for organization that rivaled Twilight herself. Secretly, Twilight believed that was a large part of what made Princess Celestia such an incredible ruler.

And that, coupled with knowing the guards would have been alerted to Twilight’s arrival, left her uneasy as she trod through the entrance of the castle.

“Where is everypony?” she said to herself. Her words, despite their softness, echoed alongside her footsteps. Twilight flinched at the cacophony of sound that slammed into her ears over and over again.

She followed the halls toward the throne room, hoping somepony would be there. If not, Twilight reasoned, she could use the crystal ball Princess Celestia kept in one of the towers to find where the princesses were. Surely, Princess Celestia wouldn’t invite Twilight and Princess Cadance to her castle for lunch and then disappear. Even Princess Luna was not fond of such anxiety provoking pranks, knowing how they affected Twilight.

Besides, Twilight reasoned, it would take far too much effort to clear every guard and every serving pony from the castle solely to play a practical joke on Twilight. There simply had to be a logical explanation for the emptiness of the castle. But even with her reasoning, Twilight could still feel the fear beneath her skin clawing at her, trying to escape.

“Hello?” called out Twilight. The wall sconces were flickering, half of them out, and the long shadows of the hallway were accented by the faint light coming through the stained glass at the end of the hall. Angry storm clouds were rolling in over Canterlot, throwing the sun out of focus and leaving the grey-washed light to filter through the windows. It left the entire castle feeling dark and bleary. Even the stained glass seemed dimmer than usual.

Twilight felt a prickle on her neck and her magic seemed to scream within her horn and under her skin. For the first time since leaving Ponyville, Twilight wished Spike were next to her. He would have had the perfect joke to calm her fraying nerves.

“Something’s not right,” said Twilight, shaking her head. Her entire body shuddered as a shrieking wind whipped down the hall. Twilight rounded a corner to find that one of the stained glass windows was shattered. She reared up and away from the glass. Her whinny echoed down the hallway, half drowned by the shrieking of the oncoming storm winds.

The fractured stained glass lay spilled across the floor, its multi-colored fragments glistening in the grey-washed light. It took Twilight a moment to recognize the picture, and when she did, she could have cried. It was the picture of the four princesses together in the Crystal Empire. It was the only picture of the four princesses in one space, Twilight knew. And now it was gone.

Twilight flapped her wings and lifted over the glass. Touching down, she started galloping. The grey storm clouds, her panicked magic, the broken window - all of it pointed toward something horribly wrong. And the closer Twilight got to the throne room the more that feeling of unease and fear grew in her stomach until she was sure it would block out all other noise and feeling in her body.

The door to the throne room was unaligned and splintered. Twilight galloped past it, magic tingling in her horn, ready to face whatever had come to Canterlot Castle alongside the other princesses.

She skid to a stop at what laid before her. Her stomach churned. Her magic vanished. Twilight’s legs buckled and she feared she would collapse on the tiles.

Lying next to her throne was Princess Celestia. Her body was sprawled across the steps. Her mane was still, but its colors flickered. Her left foreleg was bent unnaturally and her eyes were glassy and unfocused.

And she laid in a slowly growing pool of her own blood.

On weak legs, Twilight stumbled toward her mentor with wide eyes and choked off breaths.

“Princess Celestia,” said Twilight, voice trembling. “What happened?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

Great wounds slashed open Princess Celestia’s flanks and back. One of her back hooves was cracked down the front. The longer Twilight looked a Princess Celestia, the more injuries she could find, and the sicker and more terrified she grew.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Princess Celestia turned her head toward Twilight Sparkle.

“Twilight,” she said. Her voice was low, hoarse. A whisper that was barely there. Her eyes went into focus only to fade again. But they remained on Twilight regardless.

“What happened?” asked Twilight.

A soft, pained smile crossed Princess Celestia’s face. “We were attacked. Unprepared, we fought back.” A laugh – bitter and exhausted. “We lost.”

Twilight’s eyes grew wider. “Princess Luna and Princess Cadance…”

“Dead.” Princess Celestia’s voice left no room for questions.

“No,” said Twilight. She dropped to the ground, her forelegs holding her up. “No, no, no!” A cry that could have been a whimper passed her lips. Tears slid down her cheeks and splattered onto the bloody tiles. “Why? Who?” Between sobs Twilight managed those few words.

A hoof reached up, brushing the tears from Twilight’s face. Princess Celestia gave Twilight a sad smile. The edges of her eyes were pinched and wrinkled with pain, exhaustion, and fear. The last one gave Twilight pause. Princess Celestia was scared. Princess Celestia was never scared.

“We don’t know,” said Princess Celestia. “Not yet. But I won’t be around to find out, Twilight.”

“No, don’t say that.” Twilight leapt up. “We can fix this! I can save you.” Alicorn magic burned across her horn, flashing it purple, green, and black in lightning bolts and angry blots.

“It’s already too late,” murmured Princess Celestia. And she was right. Despite her magic, nothing on Princess Celestia changed. Her wounds remained, still sluggishly bleeding, and the colour continued to drain from her mane. Why wouldn’t it work? Twilight couldn’t lose Princess Celestia. She just couldn’t. Twilight forced more magic through her horn, but it backfired, sending her skidding across the room. With swimming vision, Twilight stumbled back to Princess Celestia.

“This isn’t fair!” wailed Twilight. The magic died on her horn, but a few sparks leapt toward the shattered throne, exploding in purple streaks that lit up the shredded banners hanging from the ceiling. “You’re not supposed to die. None of you are. You’re…” Her voice trailed off. “You just can’t.” Princess Celestia blurred in Twilight’s vision as tears sprung to her eyes and slipped down her cheeks in twin streaks.

“I know, my dear Twilight, I know,” said Princess Celestia. Tears welled in the princess’ eyes as well. “But life is rarely fair, and rarer still to those who deserve it to be.” She smiled at Twilight, tears slipping down her damaged cheeks. “You never needed to see this, nor be part of it.”

“I won’t leave you,” said Twilight. The firmness in her voice shocked them both.

Princess Celestia closed her eyes for a moment, resting her head on the steps. “Thank you, my friend,” she whispered, before her eyes opened again.

Twilight reached out and stroked Celestia’s mane with shaking hooves. Her lip trembled from the effort of trying not to cry. Her shoulders quivered with barely contained sobs.

“Twilight, there are things about Equestria that you need to know before I go,” said Princess Celestia. With each word, Princess Celestia’s voice quivered just a little bit more.

Twilight’s hooves shook harder, but she kept stroking.

“There are seven great pillars of light spread across our planet. Each one contains powers that Luna and I long ago relinquished to live among the ponies of Equestria.” Princess Celestia paused to breathe. Each breath grew wetter than the last, leaving her sounding like she was sucking air through a wet paper towel.

“You must find these pillars,” continued Princess Celestia. “With Luna and I gone, there is no one left to protect them. The power in these pillars could devastate the planet.” She paused again and closed her eyes. Her broken foreleg twitched involuntarily, drawing a short, sharp cry from the princess. “Or the power could save us all.”

“From what?” asked Twilight.

Princess Celestia opened her eyes. “From what did this. Twilight, you must find the pillars of light. Within each one is an amulet. Protect these amulets with your life – it will be all that remains of the powers Luna and I used to protect Equestria. So long as these amulets exist, the sun and moon will rise, the world will spin, and everything will be fine.”

“Everything is not fine,” said Twilight Sparkle, shaking her head. Her voice was somewhere between a snap and a croak, half broken and half still trying to keep going.

Princess Celestia smiled and said, “No, but it could be. You are the last princess Twilight. It’s your job to protect Equestria now. Rule and love its ponies; protect and serve all you can; and find the pillars of light.” She grimaced. “I fear the gates of Tartarus have opened once more. And I believe Tirek was the least of our worries.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What could be worse than Tirek?”

“Old gods,” replied Princess Celestia. “Luna and I locked away many corrupt gods in our early years. Each one controls a different aspect of the world, just as Luna and I controlled the sun and the moon. War, death, time, fear – all can be controlled by old gods. If one has left Tartarus, then they had help. And even one old god could devastate the planet.”

“But how do I stop them?”

“The pillars,” said Princess Celestia.

“But-” protested Twilight.

“The pillars will give you all the magic you need. Once you have found that magic, you will be able to take on many of the old gods. There are some that will need more power. But they should not have escaped.” Princess Celestia’s mane faded as she spoke until it was a dull grey. It did not glow again. For a long time, Princess Celestia did not move. As each second passed without movement or speech, Twilight grew more and more worried.

“Princess Celestia?” asked Twilight in a tight voice. She nudged the princess’ shoulder. “Princess Celestia!” More frantic then, harsher pushing. Fear ached beneath Twilight’s skin.

“Twilight,” murmured the princess.

“I’m here,” said Twilight, her voice barely above a whisper.

“My time has come to an end, my friend,” Princess Celestia murmured. “Never forget what I’ve taught you. Never forget how much you meant to me.”

Tears slipped down Twilight’s face. “I won’t,” she said in a croak.

“And promise me that you will win. That Equestria will not fall,” said Princess Celestia.

A broken sob passed Twilight’s lips. “I promise.”

“You must protect the ponies. You must find the amulets within the pillars. And you must, above all else… you must beware Pandora’s Box.” Princess Celestia’s voice trailed into a breathy tone before fading altogether.

“I will. I swear on my life and my magic that I will,” said Twilight.

Princess Celestia’s eyes opened one last time. “You’ve been an amazing student, Twilight Sparkle, and a better friend than I ever deserved.” She blinked – a drawn out thing that sent tears streaking down her face once more. “I love you, Twilight. You were always my little sister.” Her eyes closed.

“I love you too,” said Twilight, her shoulders shaking as the sobs finally shook themselves loose. Princess Celestia stopped breathing. Her mane and tail faded to pale pink.

And she was gone.

Twilight Sparkle bowed her head over Princess Celestia’s body and sobbed in earnest. Tears poured from her face and splattered the fallen princess and the bloody tilework. Her shoulders and wings shook so hard they ached. Every inch of her body and mind mourned until nothing else could enter Twilight’s consciousness.

It could have been minutes or hours before Twilight’s senses alerted her to someone else in the room. Immediately, she was alert. Her body, sluggish with crying and shaking, stood and swung around to face the intruders.

At the door were several Royal Guards. Each one looking more worried than the last.

“Princess Twilight?” asked one of them. His voice wobbled as he spoke.

Twilight forced herself to take a deep breath and let her magical aura vanish from sight. “Hello,” she said. She cringed at the scratchiness in her voice.

“What happened?” asked a guard. “We all just… woke up.”

Twilight took another deep breath before she spoke. “The princesses are dead. Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were killed. Princess Celestia was… still alive,” her voice cracked, “when I arrived here. She told me she did not know what had done this. And that I was to stop it.”

The guards nodded. Their eyes went from Twilight to the – to the body behind her. She grimaced again. Thoughts and heart and breath stuttering. Why did it have to be them? But all three continued on. Her duties as a princess were needed.

“What do we do?” asked a guard.

“Find Princess Luna and Princess Cadance’s bodies. We will hold a funeral for the three princesses this weekend.” Her legs began to shake and Twilight locked them, holding her trembling chin high and biting down to keep herself looking collected.

“And find me some parchment. I need to contact my friends…” She grimaced. “And my brother.”

“Right away Princess Twilight,” said a guard.

Another one, which Twilight recognized as Flash Sentry, stepped forward as the others filed out of the room. “If you need anything, Your Highness…” He trailed off, shook his head, and left the room.

Twilight took a long moment after the guards left to allow herself to breathe and shake. She turned back once, to look at her fallen mentor, and then left the room to retire to her own quarters. Tomorrow, the world would spin again. Tomorrow, she would command all of Equestria. But tonight, Twilight Sparkle was not a princess nor a ruler. She was just a mare, and she would mourn the loss of her princesses – an enemy turned friend, a mentor turned sister, and a foal-sitter turned family.

They had made her who she was. They had always believed in Twilight, no matter the circumstances. And now, in the wake of their deaths, much was to be done. But Twilight could mourn them for one night.

They deserved at least that much.