Echoes in the Stone

***3 days after Cadence’s Death***

The mourning bells rang across the country.  The news of Cadence’s and her daughter's death spread faster than wildfire in a dry forest. Every citizen in the country was shocked.  While death was not uncommon in the world, taking life a purposely was extremely rare. But taking the life of a royal in Equestria had been unheard of up until this point, let alone two royals.

The streets of Canterlot were packed with ponies from all corners of Equestria. From the palace balcony stood a magenta pony with a silver mane with midnight blue eyes. Prime Minister Sand Swirl watched the Equestrian guard do their best to keep order amongst the grieving masses from his perch.  It was like watching water breaking out of a dam. The minister stepped closer to the edge of the balcony, resulting in a deathly silence filling the air as all eyes gazed upon him. The Prime Minister had new found respect for the celestial princesses. Every word he would speak would go down in history. Every word he would say now would dictate the future.

And it terrified him.

However, he knew that this needed to be done, there was no way to back out of this. He took an oath to serve his country, and right now, his country needed him.

“Citizens of Equestria.” Sand Swirl spoke softly, despite his tone, the spells in place made it so that the ponies in the city could hear him without difficulty. “I stand before you in the name of the princesses.” He paused for a moment.  For such an important announcement to be made by him and not the princesses gave testament that they were still distraught over Cadence’s and Skyla's death. “Three days ago, tragedy struck Equestria. I cannot begin to describe to you the horror I felt as I watched Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s and Skyla’s life be taken away from us so soon, in such an unjust manner. Our neighbors to the north, The Crystal Empire, will never be the same without them.” His voice hitched involuntarily as he tried to suppress the growing tears. ”Both of them brought much happiness and love to everypony they met, especially Cadence. I’m sure that while Candace would appreciate our mourning, she would rather us be happy at her passing.” By now, the tears were flowing freely from his eyes, while his voice wavered. “Princess Twilight Sparkle and her brother, Prince Shining Armor, were closer to Cadence and her daughter than anypony.  I ask that you pray for them in their time of grief. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and I are currently looking into assassin’s background and bring closure behind the reason for their deaths.” Sand took a moment to compose himself before continuing once more. “This is a dark time for Equestria and may the princesses guide us all.”

Sand Swirl stepped back from the edge and gave a solemn bow to the masses, tears fell to the floor below him as he lowered his head.  The funeral procession would happen in the coming days.  With the nation coming to pay its respects, it would be hard to organize a proper funeral burial where everypony would be able to attend. He would be there every step of the way to ensure everything goes according to plan.

            ~~~

On the last funeral day, the day of the burial, Celestia made an appearance. Celestia let her tears fall with no regard for her regal façade. Twilight saw Celestia cry when she was a filly, but she never saw her this distraught before. Seeing her mentor and second mother brought to tears let loose the torrent of emotional build up in Twilight. While the two were not alone in their remorse, their sobbing was heard over everyponies cries as Cadence’s and Skyla's caskets were lowered into the ground.

Prime Minister Sand Swirl stood close by the royal sisters and gave the princesses comforting words of remorse. He assured them to take as long as they needed to vent their sorrows as he would hold official duties for them. His eye eventually caught Twilight being comforted by her friends, but he could see that her pain ran much deeper. Sand dismissed himself from Celestia and Luna and interjected himself into Twilight’s circle.

“I know this will be a trying time for you Princess Twilight Sparkle. I want you to know that if you need anything, anything at all, I will be there for you. Just like your friends here.”

“Yes, darling.  You always have us.” Rarity replied.

“That’s right sugar cube.” Applejack joined in. “We’re bonded together like an apple pie.” Applejack wrapped her foreleg around Twilight in a comforting hug.

“Yeah!  And friends are always there for you!” Pinke said in her normal joyous voice.

Twilight burst into tears and rushed out of the funeral reception, leaving behind her confused friends. She bumped into other ponies as she ran, knocking over one in the process, but didn’t stop even after she got outside.

“What happened?  Was it something I said?” Pinkie said, hurt creeping into her voice as her mane flattened slightly.

“I think,” Sand Swirl said, “that you reminded her of Rainbow Dash. You girls should be with her. Tell her everything will be alright. Just be there for her in her time of need.”

            ~~~

Twilight escaped into the solitude of her castle. The construction of the library was still in progress since Tirek’s attempt at world domination. She closed and locked every entrance and window before reinforcing them with a magical repellent. She couldn’t bear to see or be seen by anypony right now.  Her overworked mind gently slipped into exhaustion as her actions became sluggish and monotonous.  How she wished her number one assistant was here to make her tea,  listen to her cry, and guide her to bed with concerned grace. Despite being so young, Spike was quite adept at making her feel better, he knew how she liked everything to be and made it so to ease her burden.

She felt tired as she reached the balcony, eventually collapsing on the floor.  She laid there and gazed into the sky as the daylight slowly faded and darkness enveloped her vision. The stars were especially bright tonight. She could swear that there was a new constellation next to the moon.  Her mind slipped further into unconsciousness until finally, she was sleeping.

***A few weeks later..***

Nopony had seen Twilight leave her castle since the funeral. Her friends started to worry, eventually coming to the conclusion that intervention was needed. Pinkie Pie jumped on the opportunity, as per the norm. She couldn’t stand anypony being sad in Ponyville, least of all one of her friends. She also felt responsible for letting her down. Fluttershy had offered to help but Applejack knew that kindness alone would not get through Twilight’s hard shell. They needed somepony with blunt honesty to break down the walls she built around herself. Plus knowing Fluttershy, she would be all too compliant to leave Twilight alone.

As the two approached the castle, Applejack couldn’t help be nervous. A stark contrast of Pinkie Pie who was bouncing up and down, without a care in the world.

“What are you all excited about, Pinkie?” She asked her eyeballs following every other bounce.

“We get see Twilight all happy again!”  She said with a big smile. “I can feel it!”

“I suppose we’ll see, Pinks.”  AJ said with a confident smile.  If her Pinkie sense was any indication, then there was nothing to worry about.  The pair reached their destination and were now standing beneath the balcony.

“Hey, Twilight, come out you mopey pants!”  Pinkie shouted, jumping up and down.

“GO AWAY!”  Twilight shouted using the Royal Canterlot Voice while Pinkie was in the middle of the air, causing her to fly back a few feet. Her voice didn’t leave Applejack unscathed, though, her hat nearly blew off her head, she readjusted it before turning and speaking to her stilly bubbly comrade.

“I swear to ya, Pinks, ever since she learned that voice thingy from Luna she’s almost as loud as you in the mornings,” Applejack stated bluntly. She looked towards the balcony and began speaking. “Come on, Twi, you been alone for far too long and you’ve been stuck in that castle close for nearly a month now,” she shouted back.

“I…Just… Please…”   Twilight tried to object.

“You need to come out and see your friends,” Pinkie added.  ”I can Pinkie Promise we can make you smile again.”

“How can you promise that?  Do you know what it’s like, Pinkie?” She shouted back, thankfully not using the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Applejack voice trembled as an old dull pain throbbed in her heart.  ”I understand how it’s like to lose somepony you knew your entire life. I know how hard it is, Twilight. Please, Twi, don’t shut us out.” She begged.

There was an awkward silence for about five minutes. Applejack glanced over to Pinkie Pie.  She looked torn between happy and hurt.  Twilight’s barb might have struck a touchy subject no one knew about.  She admired how Pinkie still smiled for the sake of her friend.  She also looked expectant,  as if she knew Twilight would be opening the door any moment now.  Applejack was about to shout back up to the balcony when she felt the magical ward dissipate and saw the large castle doors opening.  Twilight then came out the house much to the shock of her friends. Twilight looked like she was hit by a herd of cows and her eyes had bags under them like an overworked accountant during tax season. Her mane was sticking up in every which way, and her wings were in desperate need of a preening.

“I’m sorry.”  She fought the tears that were threatening to fall with a strained smile. “It’s just so hard.”

“I know sugar cube, I know. Some things just happen and there’s nothing you can do about it. But think of it this way, you now have something else to live for. Making sure that thousands of years from now, nopony will ever forget who Princess Cadence and Skyla were.”

Pinkie Pie launched herself over and gave Twilight a tight hug. “Everyone misses you.  I’m gonna have to throw tons of parties to get everyone happy again. But the first one is for you.”

Twilight hugged Pinkie back as her smile turned more genuine. “Okay.” She let go of the bubbly pony and locked eyes with both her friends. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Ah, shucks,  don’t mention it sugarcube. Now let’s get going.”

Twilight, AJ, and Pinkie went to Sugar Cube and Rarity came shortly after along with some other ponies from Ponyville also to cheer up the Princess. For once in the past few weeks, she smiled and Pinkie and her other smiled too. The party went on for hours, and though it didn’t heal Twilight Sparkle completely, it was a step in the right direction for her mental recovery. It wasn’t until the moon was high in the sky before it was over.

Twilight arrived back her castle and she sighed and told herself everything is going to be fine. She made her way to her bedroom and immediately went to her bed to sleep away her exhaustion. Tomorrow was going to be a new day, and she intended to make the most of it that she could.

***Meanwhile…****

Rainbow Dash moaned. Her body ached all over. She weakly kicked her limbs around as she slowly awoke from a nightmare. Her movements became tangled in something and she snapped awake in a panic. As she rabidly flailed her legs and wings to get whatever was restraining her off, a soft blanket unwrapped itself from her and was thrown violently off the bed she was laid in. she launched herself into the air. A sharp pain shot through her wing, however, and she fell back into the bed.

Dash rolled back into an upright position and immediately scanned the room she was in. Half her vision revealed a dimly lit, barren room except the bed and doorway. The other half was completely black. She groaned again, still feeling very sore.

“Where I am?”

Still on edge, She wearily got off the bed and shuffled quietly to the door. Testing the door handle, she expected it to be locked, but the knob easily turned and the door cracked open.  She peeked through with her good eye for a second before opening it fully.  Her eyes widened in surprise. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, a dark hallway, and mad science lab, or another torture chamber. But she knew for a fact that she was certainly not expecting to see a massive library.

Her knees shook from lack of use. How long has she been out? She didn’t even feel this way after being in the hospital for a few weeks, that thought made her even more nervous.  She burst into the library anyways hoping to quickly find a way out.  As she ran, she pivoted her head left and right, attempting to correct her lack of depth and find an escape route.

“Come on, come on, come on! Where’s the door?  A window? Anything? Where’s the exit!?”  Her mind raced as fast as her legs were sprinting. Had she been recaptured? Was she in another building now!? No, she wasn’t going to go through that ordeal again. She was going to escape, or die trying!

The library was impossibly large.  Aisle upon aisle, row upon row, bookcase upon bookcase,  Towering impossibly high like skyscrapers.  A fleeting joke escaped her throat.

“Wow, Twilight, eat your heart out.” she muttered.

She found another door and crashed through it as well.  Her desire for freedom burned like the sun. Yet the room she burst into and was shocked.  A spacious circular room with strangely textured walls. In the middle room was what looked like a control panel of sorts with buttons, switches, indicators, dials, knicks, knacks and paddy whacks. A glass pump looking the thing in the center of that. The room was orangish brown and made of some sort of metal.

"It can't be." she thought simply stunned.

A door opened on the other side where the cheer from a party could be heard.  She saw a blue pony unicorn with a dark blue mane and tail with a black coat and white t-shirt underneath, enter the door with his back turned to Dash.

“Thank you everypony.  Have a fantastic night.” he bid farewell and turned around.  The goofy grin on his face dropped when he saw Dash.

“Doctor?" she asked.

His eyes widened with a glint of happiness in them. “Hold that thought”, he cheerfully replied and ran out through another set of doors.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!” She growled angrily, stomping after the stallion. When Dash reached the door, a purple and green blur burst out of the doorway and glomped her.

“You’re alright! Thank Twilight you’re alright!” The scaled lizard blurted out between his tight squeezing hug and nuzzling of his head against her neck.

Dash’s thoughts were completely derailed by the unexpectedly friendly lizard and the mention of her best friend’s name. Her revenge seeking rage dissipated and was replaced with confusion. She couldn’t remember where she had met a tall, lanky, purple-green lizard wearing a light-brown trench coat before.

“Uh.  Have we met?” She asked. There was a hint of nostalgia when she looked into the reptile’s eyes. Before she could identify him, the light brown colt from before returned.

“Oh splendid! I love moments like these! Long lost friends reunited after ages of being separated.” He trotted merrily to Rainbow Dash, who shot him a questioning look before gazing back at the scaled dragon attached to her.

“S-Spike?” Her eyes widened when it dawned on her.  The scenarios that played in her head while she was behind locked doors did not result in the one she was in now. The tension in her body finally relaxed in her friend’s embrace.

After a minute the dragon let go of Dash but still stayed close to her, almost afraid that she’d disappear if he left her. He guided her to a chair where she sat, much to her pleasure.

The stallion waited patiently for Rainbow to be comfortable before finally introducing himself.  “To answer your question earlier, I am The Doctor, well not how you exactly remember me. You see, I regenerated into a new face. You see us timelords have this little trick that allows us to be 'immortal' and escape death. So yeah, hi Dash. How's Fluttershy?"

"She was doing pretty great." she replied.

Spike was stunned at the scene in front of him.

“First of all you two know each other and Fluttershy?", he asked

"Short version, Spike," he said looking at him, “mainly through their parents, but both fine now right?"

"Yep!" Dash said gleefully.

"Oh excellent.", The Doctor replied with a smile on his face

"I hate to interpret, but a lot has happened while you were gone Dash.”  Spike interjected solemnly.  His right hand is holding on to Dash’s shoulder.

Dash was in shock of how much he grew and how voice got deeper as well.  She looked and saw The Doctor was looking at her with frown and looked back at Spike; his smile was replaced with a frown

“How long was I gone?” she asked.

“About five years Dash.” he revealed to her with a serious look, "We all thought you were dead including Fluttershy. " Dash shook her head in disbelief.  Was that really how long she spent in that prison?

“It’s true.” The Doctor confirmed sadly.  His voice tinged with regret.  Dash stared off into space, trying to make sense of everything that had happened to her. Her gaze drifted down to her hooves. Somehow, it felt disorienting. Like the depth was wrong. She hadn’t paid attention to it before since escaping was her priority at the time.

“Hey Doc, I think she also doesn't know about… you know”, he said with nug of his voice.

“Rainbow,” the Doctor paused, as if unsure how to proceed, “by any chance, have you looked at yourself?”

She looked up from her hooves and stared at the doctor with dread. “N-no”, she managed to answer.

The Doctor turned on the mirror function on the TARDIS display. Dash.  He frowned as he turned the display towards her.  Her body had recovered from the scrapes and burns of her escape.  Even her fur was back to normal with no broken patched then she turned and looked at her right side of her body in horror.  “The healing room can heal anything…” The Doctor began to explain before Dash interrupted angrily.

“If can heal anything then why didn’t heal my wing?!” she yelled at him, tears forming her eyes.

“I used the healing room to heal up your scars, but he had to get you help. was too badly. We took you to the best hospital in the universe and they said that your wing was too badly damaged with bullets wounds and rough sever through the bone. They replaced your wing with a prosthetic one. It cost a pretty penny to make it happen, but then again, I’m an immortal Time Lord. I have billion, if not trillions stashed away and easily accessible for emergencies like this.” The Doctor humble-bragged as he turned off the mirror.

“We didn’t do anything fancy, like add weapons or anything to it. Because it’s a wing, we know how those mean to you. Despite it being prosthetic, it’s top of the line, so you shouldn't have any complication while you fly. And this wing is rated to still hold it’s own even during speeds above the sound barrier. But we still don’t if you’ll be able to perform a sonic rainboom with it.” Spike said calmly.

Dash was left speechless. She couldn’t identify the loss she was feeling.

Just, nothing.

The Doctor went to the controls. His sudden movement broke Dash out of her daze. “What are you doing?” She asked.

“Taking you back to your time” The Doctor replied while flipping switches, twisting knobs and thumping paddy whacks.

“But Doc”, Spike said, “You said yourself just finding Dashie was lucky because you couldn't get to that time because it was--”

“Time-locked?” The Doctor answered, “Yes, but it was a soft spot and I bet it’s still there.”  He flipped a switch and then alarms went throughout The TARDIS. This made Spike rolls his eyes

“How?” he asked, “They couldn’t travel into time before.”

“Apparently they can now!” he said pulling another switch while Dash hovered above them, confused

“Doctor! What’s happening?” Dash yelled, fear creeping into her voice.

The Doctor grabbed a screen with dozens of dots on it.

“We've got company” The Doctor exclaimed, a rabid smile graced his face as he dramatically pulled another switch.