Princess Celestia was becoming noticeably more withdrawn. She still officiated over her formal duties at Court and in the wider community, but she was always alone and in unguarded moments her serene visage would drop to show her true feelings of emptiness and longing.
It was on one of these moments following having opened a carnival for some fund raising cause or another that Twilight Sparkle approached her to make some comment about the standard of the decorations, just to engage her in conversation and renew what had become an increasingly distant acquaintance. It was then she saw the sadness in her former mentor’s eyes; not a passing unhappiness but a melancholy of such magnitude that it seemed to suck the happiness out of everything around her.
Realising she had caught the Sun Princess at an unguarded moment, Twilight coughed politely to announce her presence and as a reflex action Celestia suddenly put back the mask of serenity she was so renowned for.
“Sorry Twilight, I didn’t hear you approach” she said in the more comforting tones with which she was familiar.
“Princess” began the lilac alicorn, “You don’t have to put on an act for me; we know each other better than that, surely?”
Celestia heaved a resigned sigh and hung her head, closing her eyes. Twilight watched stunned to see such a dramatic change wash over her and noticed tears oozing out from between her closed eyelids.
“Princess” soothed Twilight, looking around briefly to see that they weren’t being overlooked “It’s OK. Whatever it is, we can sort it. Trust me.”
She moved in and gave the larger mare a hug, closing her eyes and remembering when she was a filly how reassuring it had always been to bury her muzzle in this beautiful white fur and leave the worries of the world behind. Celestia had always been so steadfast and reliable in her support, but now Twilight felt gentle sobs shaking through this most regal of bodies.
“Princess …” began Twilight, opening her eyes to take in the sight of the most noble and dependable pony in all of Equestria sobbing quietly and sadly to herself. No words were needed now, just the unspoken reassurance of the presence of a trusted friend. Twilight extended her wing over Celestia’s white body, no longer the weak one being comforted but now the strength the other needed to lean on.
“It’s OK Celestia” said Twilight, using her given name for once, “I’m here now.”
When they emerged a few precious minutes later, Celestia was suddenly seized upon and whisked away to have a procession of local dignitaries presented to her, while Twilight was left with a deeper understanding of just how hard Luna’s departure had hit the Sun Princess. She also understood now the sadness with which Celestia had banished Luna all those years ago and how no night had passed without her looking up at the Mare in the Moon and feeling such terrible remorse for what she had had to do.
Yet, above all of this was the very real fear that Luna may yet either turn on Equestria once more or unwittingly provide her consort, Sombra the wherewithal to conquer and subjugate her ponies. She hadn’t asked directly, but it had become obvious that Celestia needed an ally.
Now they had become separated, it was clear that Celestia’s schedule would not be allowing them any further time together and Twilight having completed all of her duties turned to the white mare who had been her inspiration throughout her formative years and blew her a kiss, sending it on its way with a gentle flick of her forehoof before turning to leave. Just at that moment, Celestia thought she felt something and looked round to see Twilight walking away sadly with her head a little lower than usual.
Even though she was surrounded by an admiring crowd, she felt like she was the loneliest pony in Equestria right now and just wanted to break away and rush over to Twilight, but the straightjacket of regal protocol prevented her. She stared for just a little longer than was really necessary to check on the departing lilac pony who increasingly filled her thoughts, trying to find some way to reach out to her before being snapped back to reality by the incessant demands of those around her.
The next morning in the Castle of Friendship, Twilight and Starlight Glimmer were sat waiting for breakfast and making small talk as Spike took his turn to do breakfast. He had become adept at making a wide range of meals provided that one liked pancakes, but the two mares didn’t mind at all, it was just nice being waited on.
He held the frying pan deftly in his claws and flipped a pancake high into the air watching it turn somersaults as he lined up the pan to catch it once more with understated elegance. He stood ready to execute a perfect catch and had just started to declare a triumphant “ta dah!” when he felt an involuntary surge rising in his throat.
A belch of green flame chose that precise moment to burp into existence disrupting his concentration at a key point in the pancake’s flight and he watched in frustration as it fell to the floor while the newly arrived scroll fell neatly into the waiting pan.
“Oh well done Spike!” cheered Starlight, clapping her hooves together having seen the masterful, if unintended catch.
“… dah!” he completed dejectedly as he trudged over to the table and decanted the scroll unceremoniously onto Twilight’s plate.
“What’s it say?” asked Starlight suppressing a giggle as Spike trudged back to the stove, pan hung forlornly by his side. Twilight broke the seal and unfurled the message, her eyes tracking to and fro across the lines of writing.
“Oh, it’s nothing much” she replied with masterful understatement “Just a note from the Princess and an invitation to go to the Royal castle.”
“Oh ho!” winked Starlight conspiratorially catching Twilight’s eye.
“No no no!” she flustered, her cheeks turning a noticeable shade of crimson “It’s just an invitation to catch up over tea and cake!”
“Soooo …” began Starlight intentionally dragging out the suspense “Won’t be seeing you back any time early then?”
“It’s just … Princess business” she replied, but even she started to appreciate that the more she tried to explain her embarrassment away, the bigger the hole she was digging for herself and the more Starlight would push her.
“Princess business, huh?” commented Spike returning with a freshly made pancake “Haven’t heard that one in a long time.”
“Spiiiiiike!” chided Twilight as she grew even redder.
“Oh, I see …” chipped in Starlight with a roguish sparkle in her eye.
Twilight just groaned and buried her muzzle into her crossed forelegs on the table.
Promptly after breakfast, Twilight burned Celestia's letter and checked off the checklist of things for Spike to do, doublechecking it twice before taking Starlight to one side and discussing something serious with her that involved both ponies peering up periodically to look at Spike and Owlowiscious. Starlight looked solemn and shared a farewell hug with Twilight before she took to the air and headed towards Canterlot.
Under Rainbow Dash’s tutelage, she had come to master her wings almost as well as a pegasus and now chose opportunities to indulge in using them instead of having to wait for trains. Sure, Rainbow still teased her as a comparative newbie, but that was her competitive streak and would never change.
She traveled in anticipation; she alone had known what Celestia had written and was not about to betray that confidence, and precisely because of what had been written she did not want to give her mind the opportunity to wander, so chose instead to focus on performing constant updates to navigational calculations in her head, working out her groundspeed given the prevailing wind direction and velocity. The familiar landmarks passed directly underneath her at the exact times she expected and she congratulated herself on her mathematical dexterity, still keeping thoughts of Celestia out of her mind, but eventually the outskirts and the suburbs of Canterlot filled her vision, and butterflies filled her tummy.
The lilac Princess circled around the Royal Castle, peering in through the outward facing windows in the hope of seeing Celestia, but equally fearing that if she did happen to glimpse her then the butterflies she felt would probably overwhelm her, causing her at the very least to lose her poise if not all her flying skills. Following a brief but fruitless search, she lined up to land on the Royal Balcony, backwinging in the final stages of her approach, to land lightly and effortlessly with barely the sound of hooves alighting on stone.
At the patio doors, she could see a white shape approaching and backed up a fraction as she furled her wings and felt the merest nudge on her rump. Then, just as Princess Celestia appeared, the terracotta flower pot she had accidentally bumped into toppled and fell onto its side in a loud crash, splitting open and disgorging its earthy contents all over the pristine patio.
“Sorry …!” said Twilight, flushing bright red and looking highly embarrassed, “… Sorry!”
“It’s alright Twilight” soothed the white mare “They had passed their best anyway. It’s very nice to see you again.”
Twilight tried to pick her way through the untidy sprawl of earth and spilled flowers, the cracking of the terracotta shards under her hooves just adding to her discomfort as she tried unsuccessfully to tiptoe nonchalantly over the messy debris, but instead the exotic creepers that had been part of the ornamental feature simply seemed to wrap around her.
“Allow me” said Celestia, her smooth tones making Twilight go weak at the knees, and then she felt the sensuous tickle of her yellow aura gently untangle the foliage allowing Twilight to step forward freely with no small hint of relief.
“Thank you Princess” whispered Twilight sheepishly, head down submissively but looking up into Celestia’s compassionate purple eyes.
“It’s a silly mistake that anypony could have made” said Celestia “ I remember going to open the public library in Trottingham and my dress got caught exiting the Royal carriage. Suddenly I felt this tightness and then I heard a ripping sound as it split clean down the middle – can you imagine?”
“Wow!” responded Twilight “When was that?”
“Oh, I guess about two hundred years ago, so there’s nopony left who remembers now. Maybe the odd newspaper report could be dug out, but it would take a skilled librarian to find it after all this time!”
Twilight giggled, “I promise I won’t go looking for it Princess, your secret’s safe with me.”
“I’m pleased I can trust you Twilight” said Celestia, her tone changing and the sparkle in her eyes freezing over “Come, I find it easier to talk over tea and cake.”
With this, she turned to enter the castle and led her guest to a drawing room where a spread a cakes awaited, and two chairs stood beside a table where two cups of steaming tea sat waiting.
Twilight looked around. This was the first time she had arrived to be offered refreshment without any of the serving staff present. It was just the two of them. Her stomach tightened into a knot with trepidation.
“Help yourself” said Celestia, waving a forehoof dismissively over the sumptuous spread. Twilight levitated a single modest slice of fruit cake and sat in one of the two seats at table, wafting the bouquet from the fresh tea towards her with a forehoof. Celestia followed, her plate overflowing with a piece of each of the cakes on display, clearly unable to make up her mind which one she preferred best. Twilight half raised an eyebrow, not so much at Celestia’s enthusiasm for the tasty desserts which was already the stuff of legend, but that the laws of physics, specifically gravity, seemed not to apply around her overloaded plate.
“Twilight” began the Sun Princess “I am glad you have come today. You are the closest pony I know I can trust, and I believe there is no need to tell you that what I have to say should go no further. I have grave misgivings about my Sister’s recent behaviour and her choice of consort. Now she has moved back to the Castle of the Two Sisters I can’t even keep an eye on what she’s doing, or rather, what Sombra is doing through her.”
“So, you’re not convinced he’s actually changed then?”
“The opportunity to strike at Equestria from within its very heart is too great to ignore, and whether he has reformed or not, he stands as an athame to everything we enjoy and take for granted today. Some can remember what he was really like when he enslaved the Crystal Empire, but most, even now are too afraid to speak out, especially as my Sister has allied herself to him.”
“And against you?” chipped in Twilight. The comment drew a sharp look that appeared as a reflex action and softened again almost immediately, but the sentiment could not be misunderstood.
“Twilight; unpalatable as it is, history shows us that there is a latent evil within their union; Sombra the tyrant and Nightmare Moon. I’m not saying that anything will happen, but if their suppressed evil tendencies do emerge and join forces, then Equestria must be prepared. Cadence has her hooves full with the Crystal Empire and has Shining Armor by her side to share the load. Alone, I do not have the power to defeat Sombra and Nightmare Moon, but if I can count on you Twilight, Equestria may yet be safe.
“But, why me?” asked the lilac Princess uncertainly “I’m nowhere near as powerful as you.”
“You are the Bearer of the Element of Magic and the Princess of Friendship; both a diplomat and a fighter. Twilight, Equestria needs you like never before - I need you like never before.”
“You can count on me, Princess” said Twilight standing tall with a proud smile on her face “You can count on me.”
“Are you prepared to stay with me in Canterlot as I suggested in my letter?” asked the Sun Princess, her mouth becoming unexpectedly dry.
“Yes Celestia, I am.”
