Equestria & Beyond

"I don't get it, Luna told me they'd be staying at the Silver Shoals retirement community the last time I saw them... I'm so sorry they weren't there." the purple alicorn said as the two walked down a dirt road.

"It's quite alright, the last time I saw either of them seems like only a couple days ago. It's been so long I'm afraid to-", Gleaming Blade paused and then turned to Twilight, "... you know Tia well, don't you?"

Tia? ... Oh! Twilight was a bit surprised but mostly mused that somepony else gave her mentor that nickname, she had only ever heard Luna call her sister that. "Uh, yes! Celestia hoof-picked me as her own student when I was just a filly, so we've been pretty close for most of my life," she said proudly, "-she taught me everything I know, and all the while was preparing me to take her spot one day!"

"Oh, I meant her personality and whatnot, like character..."

That's right, he only remembers them as fillies! I guess it would be pretty jarring to see them now as several-thousand-year-old adult alicorns, Twilight thought to herself.

"Well then you've come to the right mare! Most ponies only ever see the Royal Sisters giving speeches or on holidays, but not the Princess of Friendship!", Twilight cleared her throat, "Where do I even begin? I've looked up to the both of them for as long as I can remember. Celestia is so wise and caring, she's been the greatest mentor I could ask for. She's our symbol of peace and hope, everypony just adores and respects her. When I was her student she'd have this twinkle in her eye after I reported back to her like she knew exactly what I was going to learn all along and she was always so proud of me every step of the way..."

"And Luna?"

Twilight took a breath like she was going to spout another paragraph praising the Princess of the Night, but then she realized she didn't know Luna anywhere near as well as she did Celestia. "Uh... Luna's great too, I'm just not as familiar with her since she watches everyone's dreams by night and sleeps during the day, plus she was stuck in the moon for a thousand years, but that's a totally different story... I look up to and respect her just as much as her older sister, they've both come through for us so many times and have ruled Equestria themselves for centuries. I think they've done an outstanding job of passing the torch on to me and are well-deserving of retirement."

"That's good to hear... I can't wait to meet them-"

Twilight noticed that the white unicorn didn't seem as cheerful as that kind of sentence would've normally warranted. She looked ahead during the silence, the new Tree of Harmony now visible through the treetops

"And... what about you? What's Lumeria like? I've been meaning to ask you since you mentioned it, there's only so much you can learn from dusty ol' scrolls."

Gleaming Blade's head fell slightly as his gaze turned to the ground. No response.

Aw geez... hit a sore spot, didn't I? She tried to think of a distraction but a rather large one made of stone bricks came up instead. We're here!

The purple alicorn turned to her guest, "*Ahem* May I welcome you to-"

"The Castle of the Two Sisters...", he answered for her, solemnly placing a hoof on it's cold stony walls, "I can't believe it's still standing. Well, most of it anyway." the white unicorn added after glancing around.

Somehow it only just occurred to Twilight that this colt might be more acquainted with this ancient building than she was.

"But that's not all, this is also where the new Tree of-", the giant courtyard doors opening cut her short.

A pink unicorn with a purple and cyan mane stepped out, "Oh Twilight! It's so good to see you!", Starlight Glimmer exclaimed. The two old friends hugged.

"Gleaming Blade? Starlight. Starlight? Gleaming Blade.", said the princess as she introduced the two.

"Well met," the colt said as he shook her hoof.

"Uh... same. So, what brings you two here today?"

"He's an old friend of Celestia and Luna's, I was taking him to meet them but they weren't at Silver Shoals so I thought to ask you. Ocellus told me you'd be here."

"Oh really! Heh heh-", Starlight said nervously as a large grin appeared on her face.

Twilight raised her eyebrow, "Alright what's going on here? You have a terrible poker face by the way."

The head mare sighed, "Guess you were gonna find out sooner or later, come on in...", she said defeatedly as she opened the old doors.

The trio walked inside, the sparkling new Tree of Harmony taking up most of the inner courtyard. Gleaming Blade's eyes widened at the sight of the giant crystal tree.

"By Celestia! That's new."

"Well new-er, the Tree of Harmony used to be in the caverns below the castle, but now-"

"The Seed grew," Gleaming Blade said in awe.

"Excuse me?"

"Last time I saw that it was just a tiny seed, Prince Ruby gave it to Celestia before the fighting started."

"Wait wait wait... who? And you said this thing was a seed?", said Starlight taken aback.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, he's been in limbo for the past who knows how long, the last time he saw the Royal Sisters they were fillies," Twilight whispered to the pink unicorn.

"Woah... that's like, ancient ancient."

Gleaming Blade turned to the two mares, a bit confused. "Prince Ruby? Ruler of the Crystal Empire and eldest son of the King and Queen? Did Celestia never tell you?"

Starlight's jaw dropped open, Twilight was now equally confused. "Tell me what?"

"About her family."

"The Princess never told them," a new voice spoke from behind them, a tall gray unicorn with a curly white mane and star-spangled robes. "Starswirl the Bearded, at your service," the wise old mage knelt.

The white unicorn returned the honorable greeting.

"Starswirl! Wait- what are the Pillars doing here?"

The wizard smiled and turned towards the tree, "See for yourself!"

Twilight could now see each of the Pillars gathered around the base of the tree.

Starswirl nodded to them, "I think it's time."

Rockhoof stepped forwards and placed his giant hoof on the base of the tree, a magical pulse echoed through it's trunk in response. An orange glow came from somewhere among the branches, Rockhoof followed it until he was directly below. A chunk of crystal slowly opened like a blooming flower, and the orange glow fell to the earth. Rockhoof caught it with his trusty shovel as gently as he could. When the small magical aura faded, he held a square gemstone.

"Is... is that what I think it is?", Twilight said before being shushed by Starlight.

Each of the Pillars took their turn, touching the tree and then retrieving a jewel from among the crystalline leaves, the whole scene was serene yet exciting.

Starswirl then turned to Twilight, "I'm here for the final piece of the set, but I think the honor should be yours, Princess..."

Twilight then understood what was going on, and calmly approached the tree. Something within the tree called out to her, like an old friend waiting for you at home after being away. She smiled as she placed her hoof on the hard but welcoming bark of the crystal tree. A quiet yet chilling ring bounced around the courtyard as a brilliant violet glow appeared high above her. The purple alicorn flew up to catch the falling gem, a hexagon that fit in her hoof snugly like it belonged with her.

"The Elements of Harmony," she muttered to herself.

"The Pillars of Equestria," Starswirl announced.

"The Aspects of Peace," Gleaming Blade whispered.

Several heads in the courtyard turned to the white unicorn at the unfamiliar phrase, who shrank from the multitude of sudden gazes.

"I mean, it doesn't really matter what you call them...", he said sheepishly

The respectful silence was broken by a small wheezing dragon flying over the walls, "Twilight! I searched the whole School of Friendship, not an alicorn in sight."

Exhausted, he landed on one of the roots of the Tree. A bright green glow emanated from a nearby branch.

"Huh?", Spike said.

The mood in the courtyard quickly shifted from wonder to panic and then relief as Twilight stopped Spike from crunching down on what he thought was a free snack.

Starswirl stepped forwards, "By Celestia, a seventh Pillar..."

"What could it be?", Flash Magnus thought out loud.

Twilight interrupted the Pillars gathering around Spike, "I'm sure everypony is as glad as I am to have the Elements back, but what does this all have to do with Celestia and Luna?"

Starswirl turned to the Princess of Friendship, "I suppose an explanation is in order, after somepony couldn't handle the one duty they were tasked with", he said while briefly casting a sideways glance at Starlight, who smiled shyly. "In short, the former Princesses sent us to retrieve the Pillars once they were fully re-formed from the Tree of Harmony,"

"What for? My friends and I could have done the same... no offense," Twilight added.

"Celestia and Luna...", Starlight paused to breath, "they're going to use the Elements to re-seal a monster for as long as they can, she was worried you'd try to stop her."

Twilight almost laughed, "But why? We've done the same to countless baddies over the years, why is this time any different?"

"Their foe is so great, that doing so will take everything they have." Starswirl answered.

The purple alicorn then understood why everpony else was looking so grim, the sudden realization throwing her emotions for a spin. "No... no, there's gotta be another way! I'll-I'll think of something, just-"

"Twilight, even if all four alicorns took them on all at once it wouldn't be enough." Starlight said, putting a reassuring hoof on her friend's shoulder, "This is the only way."

The Princess of Friendship fought back a tear of both frustration and sadness, "So what, they're just gonna throw their lives away prolonging the inevitable?"

"They're following in their parent's hoofsteps."

"Huh?" Twilight said as she used a hoof to rub her eye.

Starswirl's horn lit up, projecting a canvas into the air that danced with colorful artwork like a storybook as his tale unfolded,

"In the beginning, there were two. The Earth and the Sky... they fell in love and established a great kingdom for their clans to live in peace, Maretonia. But they were not alone, two became four as the Ocean and Flame sprung from their respective elements. It wasn't long before four became five, then six, then seven as the love and unity of the Earth and Sky grew..."

Twilight watched as a crystal, the sun, and the moon joined the other symbols.

"...but one was not satisfied with the domain he was given, and joined forces with their greatest enemy, the living shadows of the Nightmare Forces."

The flame symbol turned black, and slowly grew to fill the globe on which they resided.

"Unable to best the beast themselves, the Earth and Sky bravely gave their lives preserving the future, but not before the darkness selfishly took the Ocean and Crystal from them."

Everypony could only watch in shock as five of the symbols disappeared, leaving only the Sun and Moon. Something towards the top of the globe caught the purple alicorn's eye. Is that... a heart?

"The Sun and Moon were joyous to find another had survived... Love. Taking to the throne on her own after banishing the Moon when she turned against her, the Sun sought for an heir to one day take her place when the dreadful day came that she would have to do the same. After many centuries of looking, she found one... and Magic ascended."

As her familiar six-pointed star joined the symbolic display, several ponies turned to look at Twilight, who never knew until now that she was a key part of this grand plan.

"And that, brings us to today", Starswirl said as his magical display faded.

Although the bookworm inside her was eager for all the details of this ancient tale, one question still stood out in her mind,

"Why? Why did she never tell me? About her family, about what training me to take her spot was all for, about any of this?"

Starswirl eventually broke the somber silence, "She was afraid that you would reject the future she was planning for you, especially if you knew the reasons behind it all."

Twilight held back a sniffle, "And yet she told all of you?"

Several ponies nodded slowly, others simply looked elsewhere to avoid eye contact.

"Only to protect you, Twilight. Celestia gave me a scroll explaining everything to give to you after the fact, but it looks like I won't need it anymore.", Starlight said with a smile.

"So, what now?" Twilight asked.

As if to to answer her question, the doors to the castle opened, and two alicorns adorned with sets of golden and silver armor came into the courtyard.

"You're just lucky you haven't grown in the past thousand years sister, I haven't worn this in centuries.", the taller of the two said.

"Hmm, I wonder who I have to thank for that?", the smaller one said.

They both had a good chuckle before noticing the third set of horn and wings in the courtyard.

"T-Twilight! We were, umm... trying these on just for fun! I-", Luna stammered.

"It's okay, I know."

"Come again?"

"I know now, about your family, about what happened, about everything...", Twilight said as she slowly approached the two.

Former mentor and student embraced in reunion and what could be a final farewell.

Celestia sighed, "And now what are you going to do? Say this is a foolish plan and try to handle it all on your own? All my life has been building up to this day, Twilight. Your conviction alone is not enough to sway me."

Much to the surprise of everypony in attendance, the Princess of Friendship shook her head.

"No, I agree. You and Luna need to do this."

Several of the Pillars and Starlight gasped. Celestia blinked several times before smiling. She had imagined dozens of outcomes to this conversation, but she had never imagined that Twilight would actually agree with her once the time came.

The tender moment was pulled to a full stop by a small winged dragon landing in-between the two alicorns.

"Okay, just hold your horses everypony, " Spike said while waving his claws, "no pun intended, but am I really the only one that has a problem with this?"

"They've already made up their minds, Spike. This is why she took me on as her student, and after all these years I trust her judgement."

"C'mon Twilight, its Celestia and Luna, you can't just let them... y'know... can't we just use that rainbow magic stuff to turn the bad guys into stone like we always do?"

Luna shook her head, "Four alicorns wielding all six of the Elements were not enough back then, and so it isn't enough now."

"But...but what about this?" Spike said as he showed them a green gem. "You know what this is?"

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Your afternoon snack?"

"Heh-I wish... But no, its a new Element, the Tree just gave it to me when I touched it!", Spike said cheerfully.

The Royal Sisters looked at the gem in amazement,

"I didn't know there were more than..." Celestia said. A new sense of hope began to creep into the two sisters' eyes.

Luna smiled, "Maybe we can-", she stopped suddenly as her eyes went over the group of ponies, and tapped her sister on the shoulder.

"Hmm?"

Her sister only pointed with a slight nod of her head. Celestia looked out over the crowd until her gaze locked on what had captured Luna's attention.

"Oh my..." she said putting a hoof to her mouth.

The two sisters removed their helmets and walked into the middle of the group, who parted the way for their ex-rulers. They stopped just before a white unicorn who had been standing near the back. Neither of the white ponies knew what to say.

"Geebee?", Luna asked giddily.

Geebee?, Twilight wondered to herself.

The two sisters practically picked the poor colt up in a tight hug, "I can't believe it's you!" Luna said excitedly.

"I thought I'd lost you all back then...", Celestia said as a rare tear fell from her eye.

Gleaming Blade's eyes widened, "*Hrk!* It's great to see you too! But about that..."

The three old friends released their embrace as Celestia laughed to herself.

Starswirl made a motion to the others, who left the courtyard to the alicorns and their old friend.

"Twilight, this is simply wonderful! Have you two already met?", she took an excited breath, "now I can take you to see the city my brother and I built... oh! Do you know if that one cake shop still open?"

"Um... Tia?", Gleaming Blade said shyly.

"*gasp* It's been so long since anyponys called me that!", bringing out another round of gleeful chuckling from the white alicorn.

"I'm... the last one."

Celestia's laughter stopped abruptedly, "What?"

"Your mother sealed Nightmare Forces in the city's core, when the seal broke we stopped an army of monsters from reaching Maretonia, but at a tremendous loss. Then he came back for Lumeria... I was one of the last knights in the whole city. I tried Tia, but no one else survived..."