Twilight shrieked as her crown fell toward the floor, and caught her breath after Spike lunged forward to catch it as if a slow-motion movie scene was being shot. "No need to thank me, it's what I do," he said, as she magically placed the crown atop her head.
"No, I think I do." Twilight giggled, as the hall's luminescent diamond-like coat reflected off her styled mane, blue gown and shoes. She gave her body the command to spread her wings as she continued walking through the hallway, but only her left wing spread, and only halfway. "You'd think after watching Princess Celestia wear a crown for who knows how long, it'd be easy."
Spike grabbed the crown to put it atop his head as he walked beside her. "Umm, beginner's luck?"
Twilight grabbed it back as he nervously smiled. "Center of balance, Spike, you don't gain a few inches all at once and expect to feel in the same body."
"True... It probably took Princess Celestia over a month, too, to get the hang of it."
"I doubt that," Twilight said, walking past the dozens of royal guards who took down the many pictures of King Sombra magically attached to the walls. The frames sparkled as if newly bought, while the dust of one thousand years blackened the surface behind them. "The princess is a natural, that's actually why I'm... maaaybe a little more than just nervous about her not understanding."
"What are you saying? Princess Celestia is one of the nicest ponies there is. I mean, it's kind of weird that she had a random dragon egg lying around, not that I think about that or anything, but she took you in as her own. Who knows where you'd be without her, let alone whose assistant I'd be."
"And that's why I'm scared." Twilight continued looking away as they entered a portion of the hall made devoid of green and purple portraits. "Don't get me wrong, I'd never say the Princess isn't understanding, but... it's like giving back a gift. You can be mad about that and still be understanding, right?"
"Twilight..." Spike said with the tone of an upset teacher.
"You're right, it's all in my head, like always... I'm just going to discuss doubts, nothing more," Twilight said, catching her breath until her smile returned. A door of white light glimmered a minute's gallop ahead. "You know, I'm surprised... I never expected you to be this mature about all this."
"But then again, she could completely take it the wrong way and think of you as a major disappointment."
"Spike!" Twilight yelled as he laughed.
"Kidding, kidding, obviously... AJ did always tell me to be honest over polite... You got nothing to worry about."
"Only doubts," Twilight said, extending one of her front hooves three times as she walked into the door of white. She titled her crown to make it level as she exited onto a crystalline stage set in the middle of a stadium packed with tens of thousands of ponies, griffons and other creatures. Sunlight sparkled on the crystalline coat over every surface and the pillar-like crystals that flanked the stage and shook from the crowd's never-ending cheers.
Twilight walked through the hundred, armed royal guards on the stage, and galloped toward the three Princesses, who sat on thrones adorned with the sun, moon, or a heart. Celestia smiled as her student made it to a yard from the empty throne beside her.
"It's about time!" Rainbow Dash yelled, knocking Twilight backward from the volume. "The Equestria Games are a minute away, which means that Equestria is a minute away from winning, and you come now?"
"Princess Celestia did have her groomers spend a little too much time on me, but then again it is my first royal appearance since the coronation." Twilight laughed as she got up to the sight of her five friends, while Spike glared at Rarity instead of giving his usual starstruck eyes.
"And I do have to say, it was definitely worth the wait, darling," Rarity said, inspecting her friend's mane down to the nanometer and fixing it for any last second touch-ups.
"I'd say yer usual mane has more to like 'bout it; it makes ya look more like a princess o' the common pony. But that's just me," Applejack said, before Rainbow hovered to an inch in front of Twilight's face again.
"Forget about the mane. You'll be able to see me fly the whole race from here, right? Right?"
Twilight nodded for a full ten seconds, before Dash continued.
"Good, 'cuz anything else is minutia."
Every pony stood silently as they stared at one another.
"Hey, I like some using of the words I learn reading," Dash said, before the six erupted into laughter. Spike gave one chuckle.
"Don't forget to also cheer just as hard for my animals." Fluttershy spoke softly, before using a normal volume once everypony gave her their attention. "And can you all please remind me to thank Princess Cadence for letting there be an animal division this time. I don't want to think I'm not grateful."
"I'm curious... why isn't party throwing an event...? What?" Pinkie Pie yelled when nopony responded.
"I'll explain later, Pinkie," Dash said, as royal guards in black suits and sunglasses escorted a stallion in a Sombra mask out of a packed exit gate. Twilight flinched as the stallion shot a magical beam at the guards before being magically restrained, and glanced backward to find Celestia still smiling and staring. "It stinks we can't sit together, though."
"Yeah... though, now that I think about it... now we'll never get to cheer together," Twilight said, her eyes locked with her teacher's. "Well, I'll see you between events then," she said, tiptoeing away from her friends.
"Hold on there... Ya ain't done here yet," Applejack said, handing her a book.
"It's a scrapbook!" Pinkie yelled as her friend magically grabbed it.
"The design was my idea, of course," Rarity said, as Twilight teared up after opening it to a page full of pictures of when she first went to Ponyville. "But it was all our idea."
"We've all come a long way. Me with the Wonderbolts, Rarity with her business, Fluttershy with her fears," Dash said. "I'd usually be against something sappy like this, but I knew you'd like it, so I was like, why not."
"Thank you," Twilight said, holding the memories against her chest. "I... I don't even know what to say. What do I say?"
"Ya got plenty o' time to think o' a response," AJ said, as the five walked away. "Now get on over to yer throne. Seems like the Princess is waitin' on ya."
Twilight nodded before walking toward her seat.
"Twilight... Excuse me..." Fluttershy said, galloping to her friend before taking out from her bag a crown similar to Celestia's. "I didn't want to forget... Somepony gave this to me to give to you."
"Umm, okay... Do I know this pony?"
"I didn't know him... I thought maybe you would since you're royalty now. I've actually never seen a crown this pale and red."
"Fluttershy, just because... Wait, red?" Twilight paused to stare at her gift. "This... is clearly yellow. And the white isn't pale at all."
"No, it's not; the edges, they're all red... I mean, I'm not being too rude by disagreeing, right?"
Twilight glanced backward to hear her teacher's muffled laughter, "Let's... discuss this later," and put the crown in her gown before running to her seat. "Sorry about the delay, princess."
"No need to worry, I recall when Luna and I would give each other such gifts in our youth." The Princess continued giggling as her student silently sat.
"The talk... remember the talk," Spike mouthed, following his five friends to the stadium seats.
Twilight wasted no time before turning to the Princess. "Sorry, Princess, but do you have a minute. I really--"
Fireworks banged above the roaring crowds. "After the ceremony. We do not want to be rude, now do we?" Celestia whispered, as a crystal mare ran into the stadium while carrying a diamond-colored flame. The pony lit the torch beside the stage, after which applause shook every surface. Twilight looked away from the hundreds of audiance members waving at her, as her brother walked to a podium to give the opening speech.
"So then, you had something to say," Celestia said as Shining Armor stepped down. Ponies, griffons and minotaurs gathered for the wingless 10 km marathon. One magical shot onto a cymbal later, the racers began their gallop across the track.
"Oh, yeah..." Twilight sat, sitting up and folding her hooves. "Actually, I mean..."
"I'd hope that after all these years, I've done a well enough job of ensuring that you are comfortable around me."
"No, no, of course I am." Twilight looked down, while her teacher continued laughing. "I just... have concerns..."
"If you are concerned about the safety of this event, then you have nothing to worry about."
"No, about... me... Like, about me... being a princess. I'm still so unsure of how this is going to effect my life. Like... My apologies for saying like so much... Like, am I supposed to treat other ponies differently now? Are they supposed to treat me differently? How differently do I have to act now? I just have so many questions; I feel like my head is about to explode sometimes." Pain shot through Twilight's wings as the sides of her thin throne compressed them as she leaned back, so she spread them. "I feel like this body doesn't belong to me, like somepony else deserves it more. If I can get wings, then why can't a pegasus who has wing deformities? If--"
"Twilight, my child," Celestia said, caressing her student no matter how many ponies in the crowd stared. "Princess Cadence is free to do as she pleases, as is your brother; don't forget, he is a prince, after all."
"But you're not... What if in the future I'm like you and not Cadence." Seconds passed before Twilight spoke again. "I'm so sorry. I'm... I didn't mean--"
Celestia laughed as she took her hoof off her student's shoulder. "No offense taken from a question asked without malice. Twilight, do you remember the feeling you had when you first entered Ponyville?"
"Of course... Frankly, I thought everypony was crazy, and I couldn't wait 'till I was back with you."
"Think of how quickly your feelings changed," Celestia said as her student kept her head lowered. The crowds roared as the racers began the final lap. "It is natural to feel this way; in time, all your worries will be answered... In fact, meet me in my palace tonight; I will answer any and all questions you may have."
Twilight nodded as a smile grew cut through the powder over her cheeks. A royal guard stopped his patrol once in front of her to block her view of the race. "I know safety is always the number one priority, but is all this security really necessary?"
"I believe it is, and so does your brother," Celestia said, as the racers sped toward the finish line. Their sweat blew backward as arrows as they lowered their head to cut through the wind during their sprint. "Sombra may have been defeated, but do not think that there are not ponies that miss his rule."
"But... he was a monster--"
"The same way we see harmony, the same some see evil. Never forget this, or one day, I fear this lesson will be forced upon you."
Twilight flinched as the crowd's cheering reached a deafening volume. Las Pegasus's racer finished first, while Ponyville's racers finished toward the end, but ponies and creatures from every corner of the globe continued their applause as if their family had won.
"Not even surprised." Twilight giggled as Fluttershy cheered the hardest among her friends.
"You may go to them, you know. The next event doesn't begin in some time."
Twilight gave the princess a cheesy smile before leaping so fast out of her throne that her crown fell, and charged toward the stadium seats. Rainbow Dash picked herself off the ground after falling from the shock of Fluttershy's bomb-like cheers, while the rest laughed with smiles that made Twilight freeze and take out her scrapbook. The happiness that had overtaken her friends looked no different than the one that convinced her to stay in Ponyville after Nightmare Moon's defeat. Nor was it different from the hundreds of other moments they all shared, all captured in the pictures where she laughed beside her family. Her yellow and white crown fell from her gown. Her horn lit up as she picked it up, and that was when the first bomb exploded.
A white flash spread throughout the stadium as rapidly as sunlight, after which silence and a blinding brightness replaced every one of Twilight's senses. Her whole body went comatose, and her hair stood still through the windless air. The sound of her breathing grew, from faint noises within her mind to until it overtook the silence. An electrical green fire engulfed her body and the inside of her windpipe, until a hurricane-like wind of lightning pierced her eyes.
An orange bubble of fire from the sun surrounded Twilight as time sped up to its normal pace. The green flames blew past her field of view, and Celestia grunted as she kept her horn lit. A green flash shot out from beneath the Princess's belly, after which Twilight's bubble vanished and dropped her to the ash and blackened grass. Electrical fire engulfed the stage, and explosions rocked every part of the stadium to swallow up thousands of ponies at once before they had the chance to scream.
Twilight dropped her scrapbook as the ground shook, and surrounded herself in a bubble before an explosion on the track beside her could slap away the book. She charged her horn to begin a teleportation spell as she screamed at her friends, who hung onto Dash as she flew upward. The explosions caught them within a second.
Twilight's throat scratched from her growls as she teleported to the glass-like ruins of an exit gate. She magically slammed the hoofcuffed, Sombra-masked stallion against the wall after picking him up from the ground, and slammed him again as he laughed. "Do you want to be slaves? Is that it? My friends and I were ready to die to free you ponies--"
"We planned so long to attack the games." Ashy winds blew from the green glow that hovered overhead, and blew off the stallion's mask to reveal his crystal face. "And somepony else does a better job than we ever could."
The glow over Twilight's horn dulled, and she dropped him as he continued his cackles. "W... What--"
The two froze as her yellow crown fell onto the electrified ash. "Where did you get this?" the stallion said, before yelling. "Where did you steal this from?"
"I... My friend--"
"I know Celestia would never give anypony her father's crown, especially you. That belongs to the Crystal Empire, Equestrian... so tell me, where did you steal it?"
Twilight continued stuttering, but could form no words for a response.
"How fitting, a crown so ghostly for a pony so poisoned by harmony."
Twilight stared at the sun-like yellow tips of her crown, and had to squint to shield her eyes from its heavenly white. "But it's... beautiful."
"I order you to let me through!" Twilight yelled, one inch from the faces of the tens of royal guards who surrounded her. The orange rays of the dimming sunset shined through the ice-like windows of the entrance hall of the Crystal Palace as she magically intensified her vocal cords to yell louder.
One of the guards stepped toward her. "My apologizes, princess, but our orders--"
"And I'm ordering you to ignore all your other orders." The contents in Twilight's blackened and ripped gown jiggled as she stepped toward the guard. "First, you remove me from the stadium before I can get to the bottom of this, and now, you keep me away from finding whatever may be left of my friends."
"Twily..." Shining Armor said, his body and head covered in armor as he caressed his sister's goosebump-infected shoulder. "Just like when you were young and would write to me about how sure you were Princess Celestia was going to fail you... It's only doubts, always was."
Twilight's breathing rate decreased the longer her brother's warmth lay over her. "You're right..." She slapped his hoof away a second later. "But don't forget, she did fail me more than once."
"Then learn to deal with this like royalty should!" he yelled all of a sudden, causing his sister to cower beneath his red eyes and heavy breathing.
"Sir..."
"Don't touch me," he said as a guard approached him. "I just lost Cadence for all I know, so don't act like you're the only one with family to lose... Some... somepony take my helmet off before I suffocate."
Shining Armor's burned mane and scratched face revealed itself as a guard did just that, and his calm smile and restrained voice returned.
"Sorry... Twilight..." he said, as his sister regrew her determined face and stood tall.
"No... I am." Twilight teleported past the wall of guards around her on the crystalline floor, and charged toward the two twenty-foot tall slabs of crystal called the front door. She teleported again to the entrance and magically opened it, and fell backward as an orange flame bigger the door materialized an inch ahead of her.
Princess Celestia landed on the ground when the flames vanished, and magically held an orange bubble behind her, which housed the remaining Element bearers, Spike, Luna, and Cadence. She said nothing as she walked inside the palace, and looked straight ahead as her subjects bowed to her cut and bruised body. "Medical attention, for all of them," she said with an uncharacteristic sternness, and laid each of her bloodied bodies on stretchers brought in by guards.
"Princess... are they...?" Twilight asked, as guards escorted the bodies out.
"They will live. Their will is strong; they are among the few lucky ones... Everypony other than Princess Twilight Sparkle and Captain Shining Armor, return to your usual positions, at once!"
"But... your highness..." one of the guards said as every other pony stared at once another. "Your safety... And you have to see a doctor--"
"I will live."
The guard bowed a moment later, and every grunt in uniform galloped away, into the heart of the palace.
"But, Princess--"
"Every word beyond this moment is deemed confidential," Celestia said, cutting her fellow princess off as a silent stillness overtook the air. "Otherwise we may be dealing with an even bigger panic."
Her two subjects bowed, their eyes fixed on hers.
"Thank you... Now then, I am sure I am not the only pony pondering about the most urgent question of them all."
"Princess," Shining Armor said, bowing before being raised to his hooves by his princess. "Every investigation gives the same result; these sorry excuses for ponies, who can't get rid of their make-believe nostalgia for Sombra, have been planning attacks on Equestria ever since their monster of a king was defeated."
Twilight placed her hoof over the holes in her gowns to keep the objects within the folds from dropping out, and prepared to yell.
"I do not doubt that, but it is not them," Celestia said, freezing everypony with her words.
"You... know about it too?" Twilight said, softly.
Celestia nodded. "The green flames and lightning you saw in the explosions... it was Changeling magic... It felt no different than the energy I had failed to combat during my duel with Queen Chrysalis."
Twilight's ears dropped as she took a few seconds to think. "Revenge...? How--"
"Guess that's one thing I'm not surprised about, today," Shining Armor growled out, stomping his hoofs harder against the floor with every step as he circled around the room.
"Princess, before you continue..." Twilight reached into her gown.
"It just wasn't enough for those bugs to hurt my wife once." Shining Armor clenched his hooves and teeth, and stopped pacing as a twitch took over his right eye. "Princess, give me the green light and I'll have the army ready by--"
"Calm yourself," Celestia said, her sternness returning. Shining Armor glared at her, but turned around and relaxed his breathing before the minute's end. "It is a fool's errand to make any decision with a mind unclear... Our first goal is to calm the kingdom. You are not to prepare any force unless we are directly invaded or given a proclamation of war. Your mission is to bring calm. When asked who the culprit is, respond with Sombra's followers. Understood?"
Shining Armor kept his back to her as he spent the next seconds in silence. "Understood." He stomped away, and Celestia shook her head as he disappeared into the shadows of the hall ahead.
Twilight followed as her teacher silently walked into the hall to the left. "I don't want to sound like I'm overstepping any boundaries or anything..." She ran to keep up with Celestia's increased pace. "But Chrysalis doesn't seem like the type of person who could go this low, and her race relies less on technology than even we do... I know she's a Changeling--"
"And you are correct. I am proud of your analytical skills, Twilight," Celestia said, making her student blush. "However, the truth that Changeling magic attacked the stadium would have come out eventually, and so it was in everypony's best interests that your brother knows. Telling any other pony, however, would result in mass panic and persecution against Equestria's resident Changelings."
"And they haven't been caught because...?"
"Twilight, just when you gave me a reason to smile through all this... They are runaways from Chrysalis's kingdom, and are as much Equestrian as you or I. The fact that they have to hide as ponies is as great a stain on my legacy as any. I was planning to discuss them later during your training, but I feel it is best that you at least know of their existence now," Celestia said, leading her student through a maze of halls adorned with their reflections. "I know you spoke with the Sombra supporter, during the attack. I thought I'd let you know that he has been arrested."
"Wh... What is he saying?" Twilight's voice cracked, as she grabbed her gown as if hiding a concealed weapon.
"He is still being treated for his injuries... Any questioning will start once his basic health has returned."
Twilight took a deep breath as silence returned between them. "I'm sorry, Princess, but I have to show you something." Her teacher's mouth dropped and eyes widened, as she brought out a unscratched and reflective as ever yellow and white crown. "When I talked to the stallion... he said... that this was your father's crown. I didn't know what to make of it at the time, especially since you've never quite told me about your childhood... but--"
Celestia magically grabbed the crown while glaring, and stared at it as her cheeks grew wet. "Twilight... who gave you this?"
"I... I don't know. Fluttershy said somepony gave it to her and told her to give it to me... Princess, did this belong to your father?"
"I never had a father," Celestia said, increasing her magical hold over the crown.
"Princess... I'm sure... there was somepony who helped give birth--"
"Luna and I grew up alone... My father died before I could form my first memory, and our mother died not too long after... And that is all that is needed to be said of my childhood."
Twilight stared as her teacher continued twisting the crown around in the air and staring at it. "If you don't mind me asking... What color would you best describe it as?"
Celestia walked deeper into the hall. "It has no color. Your friends are to the right. Seeing them will put your mind at ease. I will return soon."
Twilight stayed silent as her teacher disappeared behind a corner. Why did you just lie to me? She wiped a tear before walking to the hospital room to the right, and froze once inside from the sight of her unconscious friends lying on hospital beds. Applejack, Pinkie, Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike didn't move a muscle as nurses magically contracted and relaxed their lungs for them, and lay with their hooves contracted, as if trying to still hold on. "Excuse me, it's okay if I stay here, right?"
"Why, of course."
Twilight slowly walked to Spike to caress his forehead as his eyes opened. "I'll show you... what this dragon can do," Spike mumbled, still moving his scratched fists around as one of his eyes closed again.
"Take it easy there, my little warrior." Twilight giggled as she set his arms down, and ran to Pinkie to hug her as she awoke.
"Hey... no crying," Pinkie softly said as she wiped her friend's eyes. "Smile, to show them that they can't get to ya."
"I'm crying out of happiness, silly. From how you can still smile through all this."
"It's like Granny Pie said... laugh at your fears, that's the only way they'll... they'll--"
"You take it easy too." Twilight closed her friend's bloodstained eyelids, before turning around from the sound of sobbing. She ran to Fluttershy to caress her blackened body as the tears continued. "You're stronger than I ever could be, Fluttershy; you made it. Not everypony could."
"Why... do you think I care about myself...? My animals... they were all lined for their event, right next to one of the explosions."
Twilight turned around to find Applejack awake and glaring with her hooves crossed, as she continued consoling Fluttershy. "I... didn't hear you."
"Well, not like talkin' is gonna do anythin' to fix this anyway." Applejack licked the wounds on her hooves and paid no attention to the cuts on her face as she scowled.
"Can't say I have anything to say against that," Dash said, awake and with a hate-filled glare. Silence filled the room for half a minute, until fresh sobbing echoed from a new bed.
Rarity's hooves grew purple from mascara as she wiped her dirt-filled red eyes, and she continued her tears as her friends silently watched.
"Rarity, please." Fluttershy wiped her own eyes dry. "You're stronger than me."
"Don't talk like that," Twilight told her, before wiping Rarity's eyes. "No need to worry, my hooves are already purple, remember."
"Thank... you, darling... But I'm afraid it's best to let me continue alone. My mascara is still a different hue, after all."
Applejack and Dash continued glaring, as Twilight forced a laugh and spoke. "Then guess I'm whatever hue--"
She paused as Rarity grabbed her hoof. "Twilight, you're my friend, and I expect you to tell me the truth... Did my sister make it? Did any of our sisters?"
Everypony looked away from one another as a silent minute passed.
Rarity continued her sobbing, this time harder. Spike fully awoke on an adjacent bed, but shot his friend a restrained dirty look.
"I can't help her alone," Twilight whispered to him with an angry tone.
Seconds passed before Spike whispered back. "We had a fight."
"What? You're not even a couple."
"Don't need to be one, or ever. It's not important now, though."
"We're getting back at them, ya know, Dash said, after Twilight growled. "At whoever pony or whatever did this. I'm not wasting any time on pointless 'redeeming' this time."
"I think it's best if you fall back asleep," Twilight said, laughing nervously while walking to her. "Let's talk about stuff like that after you're healed."
"Who cares if I'm healed or not?! Who knows how many ponies are dead and I'm supposed to care about my health? Princess Luna and Cadence could be dead in the next room for all we know." She flinched as her left wing went limp after spreading from her yelling.
"Don't worry," Twilight said, as the room's nurses ran to Dash to lie her back down. "If there's anything wrong with your wings, you can have mine."
"Stop acting like that matters," Dash said, glaring at the nurses as they walked away.
"Agreed as much as one pony can agree," Applejack said to Twilight. "All of Equestria is in danger from who knows what now, and you're all calm and only worried 'bout us. Look, we appreciate it, but we all signed up to be a part of somethin' bigger when we learned 'bout the Elements."
"Can everypony please stop fighting," Fluttershy said softly as she hid behind her pillow.
"Or I'll sing," Pinkie said, eyes closed but hooves flailing around. "You're all smiling... By any means... necessary."
"Fluttershy, Pinkie, you're two of my oldest friends," Dash said, as Pinkie's hooves continued moving on their own. "But shut up. It isn't time for hugs and jokes anymore... Twilight, I know Princess Celestia must've filled you in. Who did this? Is it those Sombra followers?"
"We're... still kinda confused too," Twilight said, before Applejack cut her off.
"Say it... We don't care how unsure ya'll are 'bout the guess. As long as we start with some ideas."
Twilight remained silent for a moment, as Rarity continued crying. "Those bombs... they were powered by Changeling magic..."
"Oh, here we go again," Dash said, rolling her eyes.
"But... that's not all... There's something... bigger... Fluttershy, who gave you the crown? Describe them to me as best you can, down to the last mane color."
"It was actually a bunny... All I remember was that it looked very... happy. Besides that, it looked just any other."
"You uhhh... wanna fill us in?" Applejack said.
Twilight nodded with a serious look, and told her friends everything she knew about the crown. "That's all I know, though, and since Princess Celestia took the crown, I'm kinda limited on how much I can research it."
"I didn't expect Princess Celestia of all ponies to act that suspicious. That kind of disloyalty bites," Dash said.
Twilight kept her head down, before raising it while sporting an angry look. "No, there's definitely a good reason why she had to take it, and how dare you even think that."
"What is all this talk of disloyalty I hear?" The room went silent as Celestia walked in, still looking serious. The silence hung, until she grew back her smile. "I apologize for interrupting, but a part of me has always enjoyed this. Don't tell Princess Luna, but I made sure to do this during her dates when we were teens. The years have not changed her reaction one bit."
Everypony joined Celestia's giggles before she spoke again. "I trust Princess Twilight has brought everypony up to speed, correct? Since that is the case, it is best to get on with it, as ponies would say. Though, of course, vernacular was quite different during my younger years, as my sister can attest to... So then, even though at this time, our number one suspects are the Changelings, and make no mistake, they do have some part in this, even if not directly... The ponies who continue to follow Sombra are our greatest lead."
"But I thought we agreed that they didn't do this?" Twilight said.
"And you are correct, but they were made to look like they did, and they definitely know more than it seems. I believe investigating them will open more questions, the right type of specific questions necessary for an investigation of this magnitude... And that is why you all will meet them tomorrow. Our most gifted healers are on route now, and shall fix even the most severe injury within hours."
"Even this?" Dash said, holding up her limp wing.
"Of course."
"Princess, I don't mean to interrupt, but can we bring the crown too? They may know--"
"Absolutely not," Celestia said, her angry look returning for a split-second. "The crown is to be kept in my safety at all times unless I specify otherwise." Twilight crouched a few inches from her teacher's visibly-restrained yell. "In addition, the follower of Sombra arrested during the attack will be your guide. There is no need to worry, however, as the spell we used on him allows us to hear all that he speaks, and see all that he sees. Until then, goodnight." Celestia walked into the hall. "And, Twilight, may I have a word with you?"
"Shouldn't have asked that question," Dash said, laughing.
Twilight shot her a dirty look, and ran to her teacher to follow her trek through the halls. "Yes, P-Princess?"
Celestia took several seconds before responding, and smiled the longer the silence hung. "I... know the timing is not the best... but I was hoping that I could help you understand this next step in princesshood."
"I'm taking a next step?"
"I believe I did not make myself clear enough before... The followers of Sombra think of themselves as another kingdom. Yes, you will have the Elements by your side tomorrow, in case of the worst, but you are to think of it as a diplomatic mission, not an offensive mission."
"Shouldn't you come, in that case? You are the one with the experience, after all?"
Celestia stopped once in Cadence's study room. "Indeed, but that means you are the one has the most to learn then, does it not?"
"Yeah... I guess," Twilight said, frowning at the framed pictures of Cadence and her on the walls. Stuffed animals and toys littered the shelves, many familiar.
"How else are you going to prepare for the future?"
Twilight wasted no time before turning to Celestia and grew a nervous smile. "Even so, I believe you would be best suited for the job."
"I always did appreciate your humility, but this is not a request. This is the next test for you, no different than when you first came to Ponyville, or had to free this kingdom."
"But... Yes, I'm a gifted magician, but that doesn't mean I'm good at negotiation. Also, given everything that has happened, we can't risk me making any mistakes just for a test."
"No more risky than having to figure out how to defeat Discord, or trekking into a newly reappeared kingdom with limited information."
Twilight hung her head as her mind raced with thoughts. A minute later, a full word had yet to escape her.
"I'm also sure that you have noticed a change within your friends... They seem more hostile, and lack a certain... innocence that they once had... that we all once had before the attack."
"Yes!" Twilight jumped up to yell. "The entire time, it felt like they were... it's hard to describe exactly how, but, yes, different. Shining Armor too, he would never yell at... me."
"It has been a long time since an attack such as this has occurred, anywhere... You will learn as you continue your studies, but there is a reason why every previous villain and terror involved friendship and harmony, and not murder and evil. I worry that the longer this situation plays out, the more innocence Equestria will lose, until death and insults are as commonplace as songs and community are now... And it makes sense that the princess of the future be the one the fix this, not a relic of the past."
Celestia smiled harder, while Twilight silently thought. "I'm sorry... but before anything else... You said that the healers could fix Rainbow Dash's wing, but if they can't--"
"No, and that is the last of it."
"She needs them much more than I ever will!" Twilight yelled, before covering her mouth with her wings. "I'm so sorry... Please... it won't ever happen--"
Celestia wrapped a wing around her student. "And I trust you enough to know it won't... Oh, and before I forget." She magically materialized her student's spotless Element-encrusted crown. "I cleaned it myself while you were with your friends. I am a big believer in the power of the personal touch."
Twilight reached into her gown as her teacher magically placed the crown atop her head, and took out the burned and illegible remains of her scrapbook.
Don't lie, Princess, that's not what you were doing.
