Twilight walked into the throne room of Canterlot Castle. She trotted along the velvet carpet which lead to the throne. Upon reaching the end of the purple trail she bowed her head before her superior. Princess Celestia looked down at her student, who was faithful to a fault. She saw the grim expression she carried on her face. Princess Celestia let out a small sigh and spoke to her.
"
What news do you bring, Twilight?" she asked, already knowing the answer could not be one of positivity. Twilight gave a small sob as she spoke.
"I just received a letter from the head representative of the Equestrian Council. They have taken the Crystal Empire and have imprisoned Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. They are on their way here to bring them before the Council's Peace Senate," she said. As she finished her sentence, tears started to roll down her cheeks. Celestia rushed forward and hugged Twilight. She wrapped her wings around the smaller alicorn to provide her with a soft warmth. She held her there tightly for a few moments before leaning back and looking the purple-coated mare in the eyes. Her tears glistened in the sunlight that broke through the window.
"I am so sorry, Twilight, but there is nothing we can do for them now. You know if I could stop all of this, I would," she said. She pulled her student back into her wings as the pair cried in silence for the inevitable loss of their friends. Twilight was the first to stop crying as she pulled away from her mentor.
"Maybe there is a way we could save them," Twilight said. "We could gather a small rescue team and save them before it's too late." Princess Celestia looked at Twilight. She could see the denial in her eyes, the refusal to accept the loss of her family. Princess Celestia firmly stomped her hoof to get Twilight's attention.
"No, Twilight. There is nothing we can do if we want to survive." The words were like daggers in Twilight's ears. "If we risk any sort of rescue mission we will be captured and face the same fate that they do. Do you really want that?" she asked Twilight. Twilight looked at Celestia, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, not a single drop of hope in her eyes. She spoke the words that Celestia never hoped she would say.
"Yes. If it means I get to see them again, then yes. I would risk it." Celestia stood firm and gazed upon her student.
"Very well," she said, "If that is what you desire, then I shall not hold you from it. Assemble a team. Anypony who is willing to risk their lives for you and your brother and sister. I will mourn the loss of you all just as I did for my sister" she said with no emotion. Twilight started to walk toward the door as she now knew what fate awaited her. As she reached the large golden doors she stopped. She turned to face the alicorn who she admired so much. The one who taught her everything she knew. She spoke her final words to the Princess.
"When you see it is time to give up, we will be waiting to welcome you," she said and walked through the doors. Celestia wept for her student.
The carriage rolled along the road quickly. Since the invention of magic-powered carriages, transport around Equestria had improved a lot. Long distances took less time to travel, which meant more ponies were moving around. Surrounding the carriage were twenty armed guards with orders to protect this carriage until they reached Canterlot. All the guards knew who they were transporting. Most of them would spit at the sound of their names. Yet if you went back ten years ago, they would have given up their lives for these ponies. Inside the carriage, the former Prince and Princess of the Crystal Empire sat in silence. They were both shackled and had magic-restricting rings placed around their horns. Even though they were now considered traitors to Equestria, they were still treated fairly as the Equestrian Council believed everypony had rights, even if they were criminals. Shining Armor looked at his wife with a sad look. He could see the tiredness in her eyes and and the guilt on her face. He placed a hoof on hers.
"Hey, cheer up. You made the right call. You saved the lives of many ponies," he said, smiling. Cadance squeezed his hoof and gave a soft smile, which he knew was just for show. He pulled her in closer and kissed her softly. "You need to stop worrying. Twilight is alright. She was with Princess Celestia when the Council ordered our surrender. She will keep her safe." He kissed her on the forehead. Cadance went to speak but froze as she thought about her sister. She felt she had let her down. She thought about the crystal ponies and how she had let them down. Then she thought about her daughter and erupted into tears. She hugged Shining Armor tightly as she cried over her lost daughter. Shining held his wife in his forelegs the way he did his lost daughter. "Crying isn't going to bring her back," he said dryly. "We need to stay positive and hope Twilight is alright." Cadance sat up and nodded. She wiped the tears from her eyes.
"You're right," she said, "We need to be strong. For Twilight." The two then returned to an awkward silence. Cadance then spoke again. "Where do you think they are taking us?" she said.
"To the city where it all started," Shining Armor responded. "And if we're lucky, we might make it out of this alive."
"How could you possibly say that?" Cadance said to her husband.
"I know it sounds horrible, but they may try and bargain us for Celestia," he said. Cadance's face lost all colour.
"But Twilight would never do that," she said. "Celestia is her mentor, she taught her everything!"
"Yes, I know. But we are her family. The only ones left that is. We are her only hope right now. And I'm certain she knows we've been captured. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if she's on her way here now with a bunch of suicidal ponies to rescue us," he said, looking his wife in the eyes. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sound of guards yelling filled the carriage.
"In the sky!" one of them shouted.
"Shoot them down!" another ordered. Cadance and Shining Armor looked out the window of the carriage. Up in the sky, a group of pegasi were heading in the direction of the convoy. At the front was a purple alicorn. A blast came from her horn which caused a dust cloud to surround the carriage blocking the two prisoners' view. Fighting could be heard from within the dust but nothing was visible. After what seemed like an eternity, the dust cloud settled. All Cadance and Shining Armor could see were corpses, thankfully none of which were Twilight's. After a few minutes of silence the door to the carriage opened. Twilight was thrown at the two. Shining ran forward to catch her but was stopped by his shackles. Twilight hit the floor of the carriage with a thud. Shining Armor glared at the guard.
"She'll sleep 'til we get to Canterlot," he said as he slammed the door shut. The two ponies stared at the unconscious alicorn that lay near them. Shining Armor looked from his sister to his wife.
"I guess our luck just ran out," he said.
The rest of the journey to Canterlot went uninterrupted. Twilight had woken up quite a while ago and was in Cadance's hooves, while Shining Armor was staring out the window, watching to see how closer they were getting to Canterlot. Eventually the giant towers came into view from the carriage and Shining Armor turned to look at his wife holding his sister. Cadance could see that her husband's face still held hope, but only a fool's hope. The carriage traveled through the streets of Canterlot. They were all empty except for the occasional Equestrian Council soldier. Eventually the carriage came to a stop outside a large marble building. It was still under construction. When completed, it is to be the headquarters for the Equestrian Council in Canterlot. Shining Armor looked at the building. One of these was to be built in each of the major cities throughout Equestria.
"They couldn't have picked a better colour," he thought to himself, smiling. Cadance saw her husband smiling and frowned at him.
"What could possibly be so amusing?" she questioned him. Twilight looked up from Cadance's hooves to confirm that her brother was grinning.
"It's just that they couldn't have picked a better colour. Grey is such a dull colour for the headquarters of a ruling organisation," he said. Cadance frowned at him.
"You're thinking about the Celestia-damned colour of their buildings?!" she shouted at him. Twilight sat up.
"It just caught my attention," he said quietly. Cadance looked at her husband as he gave his meek response.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just very tired." The three ponies huddled together.
"Well at least we gave it our best," Shining armor said.
"Yeah," Cadance responded. "What do you think, Twilight?"
"I'm just glad we got to be together one last time," she whimpered. The door to the carriage opened and two armed soldiers stood there.
"Out of the carriage, nice and slow. And no funny business, or we will cut you down where you stand," one of them ordered. The three ponies stepped down from the carriage. Their shackles where then linked together so they could only walk in single file. Accompanied by a dozen guards, they made their way through the half-constructed building until they came to some large wooden doors. "Wait here," the guard ordered. He entered through the doors, leaving the the two alicorns and the prince only able to guess what awaited them through the wooden doors. He reappeared and beckoned them inside. They passed through the doors to enter a large circular room. At the opposite end of the doors was a semi-circular table with several ponies sitting at it. They were all dressed in suits and seemed quite young. The one at the centre stood up.
"Come forward!" he shouted at them. The ponies staggered forward and stood where they were instructed to. "Now, I assume you know why you are here." They stared at him. "You are here to answer for your crimes against the Equestrian Council," he shouted, reading of a piece of parchment. "These crimes include prevention of Equestrian Council justice and opposing the Equestrian Peace Senate." He lifted up another piece of parchment. "You have all been deemed guilty by a jury of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. You will all be sentenced to death by hanging." He lowered the piece of parchment and looked at the three ponies. "Do you have anything to say?" he asked, daring them to say something. Shining Armor stepped forward.
"What right do you have to sentence two princesses and a prince of Equestria to death?" he said, staring the stallion right in the eyes.
"The right given to me by the Equestrian Council when the ponies of Equestria elected us as Equestria's new ruling body," he answered. "There is no more room for princes and princesses. Equestria is dawning on a new age. An age that you are not meant to be a part of. Now, take them to their cells until the hanging is to commence." The guards dragged them out of the room. They were each placed in separate cells.
"Come dawn, you three will be part of Equestria's history," he laughed as he trotted off.
Celestia looked out the window of her chamber. From there she could see the building that the Equestrian Council planned to use as their headquarters. She assumed when Twilight did not return that her mission had been unsuccessful. Now her faithful student and her family would be in the prison cells they had built and would be executed at dawn. Celestia had to do something. She had already stood by and watched idly as her sister had been cut down like an animal by these ponies. She would not let this happen again.
She knew she would not be able to free Twilight, Cadance, or Shining Armor but there was one thing she could do. It was a risky plan, but if Equestria was to have any hope of stopping this new threat, it was her only option. Celestia would have to transport her alicornhood. This would be different from giving Twilight her magic. This was to make a full transformation from a normal pony. If she did this, she could pass her alicornhood on to somepony else. As soon as she gave up her power, somepony in Equestria would be born an alicorn. Celestia hoped this might change ponies' views so they could see that Equestria still needs an alicorn to protect it. Celestia stepped out onto her balcony which overlooked the whole city. She looked upon her great empire. "I do this for my people, so that they may still have hope," she whispered as she cast the spell.
A flash of light struck the palace from the sky like a lightning bolt. Everypony in the city left their homes to see what happened. They all looked up at the palace, but saw nothing. They all went back to their business. Celestia rose up from the ground. She staggered back into her chamber from the balcony. She felt very weak. She slowly made her way through the castle to the front gate. The few remaining guards that had stayed out of loyalty to the princess were shocked when they saw her. They took off their helmets and followed her through the castle. Even though she was no longer an alicorn, she was still their princess. They knew she was going to surrender and they would stand by her every step of the way.
Two guards opened the gates and they entered the courtyard. Immediately they were surrounded by Peace Senate soldiers. Celestia was shackled and placed in a carriage while all the guards were rounded up and executed for their acts of treason. As she traveled through the streets, she saw ponies coming out of their homes to see who was being brought to the Council Building. She saw their reactions as they realised it was their beloved ruler. Some gave disapproving looks, many cried, and many simply bowed with respect. Celestia held her head high. Even if she was no longer an alicorn, she was still a strong pony and she would show everypony that. The carriage reached the Council Building and Celestia was brought inside. She was brought before the council and they passed their verdict. All seven members of the council stood while her verdict was passed.
"Princess Celestia of Equestria. As an enemy of the Equestrian Council, you have been sentence to death by hanging along with the other princesses and princes of Equestria," the centre pony stated. Celestia stared at him.
"My death will not bring you victory," she said.
"No, but it will be a start," he responded, "Take her away."
The next morning, a large crowd had gathered in the courtyard of the castle. Almost everypony from Canterlot had come to view the execution. Many others also traveled from far off cities to pay their respects to their princess. Everypony watched as the four prisoners were lead out to the courtyard. Again, ponies' reactions were mixed. Some jeered, some cheered, some cried, and some simply bowed. Even though most ponies still adored the princesses they knew, Equestria could not move forward unless they were removed. The four ponies took their positions on the stand. The ropes were placed around their necks and tightened so they wouldn't slip off. Everypony joined in silence as the executioner stepped up to the stand. The pony who had given them their verdict stood up on the stand.
"Everypony gathered here today, you are all here to bear witness to the removal of your princesses. Today marks the end of an era. The end of the age of alicorns. The Fall of Friendship. Now we welcome a new age where we will grow bigger and stronger together as we push for the future. As your elected representative of Canterlot and head of the Council, I will bid farewell to our monarchs on behalf of us all. Farewell, great rulers. May your wisdom lead us into the future." As soon as he finished speaking his words, the executioner pulled the lever and their bodies dropped. The crowd stopped breathing. They stared. For a whole minute there was complete silence throughout the city. Then the head of the council spoke up.
"I thank everypony for coming. You are free to pay your respects. But let this be a warning to anypony thinking they can oppose us." With that, he trotted of the stage, leaving the bodies of Equestria's heroes swaying in the wind.
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest a stallion was out gathering wood. He was trying his best not to go too deep into the forest in case he got lost, but couldn't seem to find any wood. As he traveled farther into the forest, he stepped in something. A liquid, red in colour. He looked at it curiously and then stepped back when he realised what it was. His hoof was covered in another pony's blood. He looked around to see where it was coming from. He followed a trail of it until he came to a body. It had been ripped to pieces. The stallion took off his hat and said a prayer for the pony. As he was about to leave, he heard a small cry coming from a nearby tree. He trotted over to investigate. He found the tree where the crying was coming from and noticed the tree was hollow. Inside was a foal wrapped in bloodstained cloth. He took the foal and tried to calm it. He looked back over at the dead pony and realised it was a mare. "She must have been his mother," he thought. "I'd better take him back to the shack. Autumn will know what to do." He then trotted off in the direction he came from and soon found his way out of the forest. He arrived at his shack and stepped inside.
"Autumn, dear, I found something!" he called. A mare trotted out of the kitchen.
"I hope it's good firewood, unlike the last batch you got," she said. She stopped when she saw him holding the foal. "Where did you get that?!" she asked.
"I found him in the forest. His mother is dead. Must have been killed by timber wolves. There wasn't enough of her to tell," he said. The foal started crying again.
"Give him here, you big oaf!" she said, grabbing the foal trying to soothe him. "What are we going to do with him?" she asked.
"We could keep him," he responded. His wife stared at him. "You always said you wanted a foal." She stared back down at the foal in her hooves.
"We will have to tell the mayor," she said.
"Of course. I'll sort it out in the morning when I head into Ponyville," he said. He sat down beside his wife and looked at the foal.
"He needs a name," Autumn said.
"Of course, what should we call him…" His wife paused for a moment.
"I've got it. We'll call him Eclipse."
"That's a wonderful name," her husband said, nuzzling her gently. "Little Eclipse. May you bring the Rise of Friendship in these dark times," he said, looking at the foal.
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