Chapter 1: Congratulations Twilight Sparkle
“Step one, accept she was a damn boss. Step two, hide all the knives, guns, and maybe the pillows, too.”
― J.J. McAvoy, Ruthless People
The sound of Twilight's bedroom door opening was surprising to Spike.
The young boy had been sure that the night Twilight had returned from her meeting with Celestia, that two things were going to happen.
One, Twilight, in a fit of frustration and anxiety, was going to stay up for days writing letters to Celestia's many correspondents.
Or two, Twilight, in a fit of frustration and anxiety, was going to stay for days reading about the history of Equestria and its underworld.
Either way the young boy hadn’t expected to see her anytime soon.
Twilight drifted downstairs, dressed in her light blue pajamas. Her purple eyes outlined with dark bags. She yawned and stretched as she walked into the kitchen where Spike was finishing breakfast.
“Morning Twi.” he greeted as he turned off the stove and grabbed some plates. Twilight grunted as she sat at the table. She reached for the newspaper in front of her and opened it, her eyes glazed over names, significant or not. She would occasionally look up and glance at Spike whose green hair was still messy, but he was wearing a dark purple t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. He was busy eating his eggs and bacon when the toaster dinged. Spike stood up and put the two slices on the plate near the toaster and grabbed a jar of fresh honey.
He sat it in front of her as she lowered the paper. Twilight gave a small smile as she reached out and picked up a piece, she smoothed some honey onto the toast and took a bite as Spike finished off the last of his bacon.
Twilight’s cell phone rang as she swallowed her first bite. She reached over and answered it.
“Hello?” Twilight’s voice sounded rough with disuse as she spoke. She winced and tried to clear her throat as a familiar voice chimed through.
“Good morning Twilight.” Celestia said as Twilight stood up from the table.
“Is there something you need Ms.Celestia?” she asked as she began moving back to her room, closing the door behind her.
“I was just calling to check in on you. Especially after last night, you left so abruptly Luna and I hardly got to tell you the announcement.”
Twilight’s face flushed and she quickly apologized. She started going on a tangent which was cut short by Celestia’s voice.
“It’s fine.” she said, “As long as you’re alright. Anyway Luna and I are requesting your presence so we can deliver the news to you as well.”
Twilight stood up straighter as if she was in their presence already and stammered out, “O-of course, I’ll be there as soon as possible!”
“Honestly, Twilight, take your time. I did call you rather early and, with the late night you had, I don’t expect you to be dressed already.”
Twilight looked down at her pajamas and felt more embarrassment rush over her as she agreed and promised to head over as soon as she got dressed. After that, Celestia hung up and Twilight calmly placed her phone down on the dresser before taking a deep breathe.
There was a beat of silence.
Twilight screamed and bolted from her room to the bathroom. Downstairs, Spike sighed and shook his head as he washed the dishes, grabbed Twilight’s messenger bag, and her jacket, since it was going to cool today. He placed her bag and jacket by the door. Spike went to grab his jacket when Twilight came into the living room, breathless. The green haired youth looked at his caretaker and shook his head.
Twilight tugged at her light purple blouse and smoothed her black slacks as she looked at Spike, who was already wearing the oversized bomber jacket he choose when he was younger. She ran a hand through his hair and muttered, “Jesus Spike.”
His hair refused to lay down without the use of product and she refused to waste anymore time and abandoned the process altogether. Twilight quickly walked out the door, yelling over her shoulder, “Come on Spike, we can't leave Celestia and Luna waiting!”
Spike rolled his green eyes and grabbed her bag and jacket, wondering how she managed without him.
Twilight shivered as Spike locked the door to the apartment behind him. He watched her and knew that rather than go back inside to get her jacket, she would attempt (and fail) to tough it out. He handed her the jacket which she gratefully took.
“Thanks.” She said as she slipped on the jacket and took her bag as well.
They caught the bus around 8:30 and continued their journey to the estate of Twilight's teacher.
When they arrived at the estate, Twilight's once calm nerves suddenly spiked. She began twisting the strap of her bag and bouncing her leg. Spike looked worried as the bus stopped. All that was left was the three block walk to the house itself.
The bus stopped and Spike hopped off the seat. He was halfway towards the front when he realized that a certain someone wasn't behind him.
“Um, Twi?” He questioned. At the sound of his voice, Twilight robotically stood up and walked over to him. Her shoulder-length hair seemed as stiff as the rest of her as she made her way over.
Spike shook his head and they both disembarked. The three block walk felt like it was a mile due to Twilight's tenseness. Twice Spike had to grab her hand in order to get her to move. She seemed to be holding her breathe, judging by the purplish tint to her face.
“Hey Twilight?” Spike said as they approached the last block. She nodded, showing that she was at least aware of her surroundings.
“Breathe please.” he said.
Twilight released her held breath as they stopped in front of a impressive manor. Twilight takes a few more deep breathes before pressing the doorbell. The intercom came to life and a gruff voice called out, “Who is it?”
Twilight, gaining some of her confidence back, answered, “Twilight Sparkle, I have a meeting with Celestia and Luna today.”
The gates slowly opened and both Twilight and Spike entered, headed straight for the front door.
Spike, once again, had to remain Twilight to breathe.
The halls of the manor were larger than necessary….but then again Celestia liked to overdo things while Luna often didn't care too much, being the more nonchalant of the two. Spike and Twilight were on their way to the “War Room” formerly known as the atrium. Which, despite its name, was not used to plan actual wars, it was more of a non-official meeting room only used to meet close and trusted allies or friends. Luna originally thought of the name because she liked the irony and thought it would be a good way to throw off the occasional infiltrator (they stowed all of their most valuable secrets in a hidden safe which happened to be near the real war room).
Twilight had been in the “War Room” many times, it was normally to observe Celestia’s dealings with her allies. She took another deep breathe as she neared the door, she looked down at Spike who looked up at her. It wasn’t as if it should have been shocking, they probably wanted to discuss something with her.
Or kill her.
Just because the room was used for allies and close friends didn’t mean that the carpet didn’t see its fair share of blood stains. Spike sensing her concern immediately took to trying to calm her down, “Twi, you know that Celestia considers you to be a daughter, you have nothing to worry about she would never ever hurt you!”
Spike’s words managed to calm her down slightly when they reached the door her nerves were as steady as they were going to be. ‘Another breathe in’ Twilight thought to herself as she opened the door. ‘Exhale and step into the room. That's it Twilight nothing to worry about I've got this,’ Twilight coached herself.
She felt her throat tighten when she sees Luna and Celestia, seated at the head of the table. Her body tensed, and whatever confidence she managed to muster up instantly dissipated.
“Twilight we have a very important mission for you.” Celestia said as soon as she noticed Twilight.
