The Missing Princessby BronyxyChapters1 The Start of the Trail2 The Troika3 A Secret Shared4 ConfrontationPrologue1 The Start of the TrailTwilight had taken an afternoon off from her Princess duties in Canterlot to peruse around antique shops and chanced across an old scroll held together with an aging wax seal on a faded red ribbon. She had no idea what it was, but it looked interesting, so she paid the ten bits asking price without haggling and took it away to unwrap it at her leisure, when she got back to Ponyville later that evening. She really had meant to save it until she got home, but the more the afternoon wore on, the more its siren’s call beckoned her, tempting her to open it. Finally, heaving a huff of disappointment at her own lack of willpower, she resigned herself to waiting no longer and took the scroll into a reception room where she broke the seal with her magic and unfurled the curled parchment on a long wooden table. What she found was an old map; not one like she had ever seen before, but one that reflected the lands of three separate tribes, freshly redrawn to reflect the newly unified Equestria. She had dared to think that such a map may have existed, but following extensive research in all the known libraries across the land had concluded sadly that such a feat must have been beyond the capability of ponies at that time. For once, she had been proved wrong, and was delighted with her mistake. She surveyed the map noting that every city and town of any merit was represented by the picture of a grand looking castle, and that villages were clustered within easy reach of one of these castles, which she reasoned had to have been a legacy of the warlike past of the separate tribes. Many towns and villages that she knew well today did not even feature, and even Ponyville was represented by nothing more than a scary picture of a manticore, seeing as how it was right on the periphery of the Everfree Forest. As she became more engrossed, she crossed off all the places she knew until she was left with an anomaly; Coltchester. She had never even heard of Coltchester, but immediately decided that she had to go and see it, armed with knowledge that had been lost for generations, namely that it had once clearly been an important urban centre. Twilight’s face had transformed from one of intense curiosity to unparalleled happiness; she had a mystery to unravel and was going to enjoy every minute of it – starting with a field trip to Coltchester. Because the distance to the old town was beyond her ability to fly comfortably, she chanced an optimistic glance at the clock and gasped; the next train would be leaving in less than quarter of an hour; barely enough time to gather her belongings and gallop to the station! There was certainly not enough time to leave Celestia a note, so she threw everything she had brought with her into her saddle bags and galloped out of the castle, past two surprised looking guards who belatedly saluted her disappearing flank as she rushed down the road towards the station. “Trottingham …” she gasped to the ticket clerk, “Please …” “That’ll be twenty bits, please” replied the disinterested clerk, barely acknowledging her presence. “I have a Royal warrant” she panted. The clerk lifted his head slowly and fumbled around to find his glasses which he laboriously unfolded and raised to his eyes to peer questioningly at the latest inconvenience to blight his life. From the platform, a whistle sounded as the Friendship Express signalled its imminent departure. The clerk stared at Twilight as if performing some complex mathematical function, clearly unprepared to buy in to her sense of mounting urgency. She contorted her face into a smile as false as it was desperate, an involuntary twitch in the corner of her eye adding to her expression of mounting insanity, as the clerk tried half-heartedly to get his eyes to focus. “Oh for Celestia’s sake!” she shouted in exasperation, quickly taking off her saddle bags and rummaging hurriedly through the jumbled possessions to find her purse. “Well, I can’t verify who you are if I can’t see your face” sighed the clerk irritably, “But language like that is hardly what I would expect from a Princess …” he droned self-righteously. Twilight screamed in frustration as the train’s whistle sounded again and she finally uncovered her purse that had got wrapped up in her pyjamas. Quickly she opened the purse and drew out a 50 bit note, slamming it on the counter. “I’ll buy it!” she cried, “Just please be quick!” “Oh, I thought you wanted to use a Royal warrant” he grumbled, “Make up your mind or we’ll be here all day …” “Money here - ticket now!” she stated with artificially clear enunciation, “Please!” “Alright, alright” he moaned taking the money and sliding the ticket over the counter towards her. She snapped it up quickly and bolted for the train, the clerk looking up preparing to find thirty bits to give her as change, but noticing belatedly that she had already gone. “So impatient …” he moaned, “A real Princess would never be so irritable …” The conductor seeing a lilac pony barrelling towards him with desperate wide eyes and saddle bags bouncing precariously on her back, stopped as he prepared to blow his whistle and opened the door for her, earning a hurried ”thank you” as she poured herself breathlessly into the carriage just before it jolted forward to begin its journey. Twilight moved along down the train and slid open the door into an unoccupied compartment, where she found herself a seat and removed her saddle bags. She intended to have a closer look at the map during the journey, but for now she felt she needed to relax and catch a few minutes shut-eye, the last quarter of an hour had been really stressful, after all. “Trottingham!” shouted the conductor as the train responded with a series of staccato tugs at the beginning of its approach into the station. She woke with a start, having been asleep for hours and felt cheated to have been deprived of some quality research time. Anyway, it couldn’t be helped now, and so she set about organising the chaotic jumble in her saddle bags ready for the flight ahead. As the train finally came to a halt, her heart raced and she stepped out with a handful of fellow travellers, none of whom had arrived there for the same reason as her, and she felt a thrill run through her at the prospect. She had chosen this station as the nearest stop to the deserted town and studied a map of the city to see if any roads headed towards her destination. She wasn’t at all surprised to find there were no roads going anywhere near; it was like it had been completely forgotten by the passage of time. She checked the map and took a rough bearing based on the position of the sun and took to the air, rising above the emptying platform. Trottingham sprawled beneath her in all its splendour, but this view, although picturesque, was not her focus but merely a stepping stone in her ongoing journey. Once she had reached the first clouds, she took one last check of her bearing and set off in the direction shown on the ancient map, towards a town that nopony could remember. Twilight felt a shiver of excitement run through her and she made no attempt to hide the thrill she felt; she was no longer Princess Twilight with stuffy and dull responsibilities, but Twilight Sparkle on an adventure, and she felt liberated. Mile after mile of featureless barren landscape passed beneath her with no sign of even the most solitary of nomadic creatures below to counterpoint the monotony. Twilight kept going, not because she was particularly used to her wings yet, but because of the prospect of being the first to uncover something that had been ignored and sidelined for so long, her mind racing with all the permutations of lost city adventures she could be heading into. Eventually the complaints from her aching wings finally began to push past her newly rediscovered enthusiasm and with her energy depleted, she searched for a suitable cloud and flopped down on to it, more tired than she cared to acknowledge. It was late afternoon and a sensible pony in her position should now have thought about turning round and heading back for Trottingham, a hotel and a long soak in a bath, but somehow these ideas were hammered into submission by her fervour to continue – even if it meant spending the night away from civilisation. She scanned to the horizon in all directions and then caught sight of an anomaly; she hadn’t seen it earlier, but something about the sinking sun’s light caught it from a different angle, and she seized on the remote hope that this may be what she had come out to find. Suddenly, her wings felt rejuvenated and she was ready for what she hoped would be the final leg of her journey, slipping off her cloud and heading for the horizon. As she got nearer, the shape of the corner of a once impressive stone structure rose up to greet her. It was a castle, or rather the remains of towers that once formed three of the four corners of a castle. Ruined wasn’t a word that best described it; utterly destroyed being a much more accurate description, but to Twilight it was beautiful – the map had been right! 2 The TroikaTwilight put down near to the largest of the ruined towers and looked around hopefully for some sign of an entrance. Large stones lay in randomly scattered piles where they had fallen, and a sandy earth was piled up on one side with wild shrubs and creepers around the other. Here and there, barely discernible features showed where stone staircases had once led up or down, odd steps bearing witness to a more prosperous past. Her horn flashed into life, and Twilight began to levitate fallen stone blocks away from an alcove, eventually revealing a splintered oak door. Its comparatively lightweight construction revealed it to be an inside door rather than a much thicker outside door reinforced to keep out enemy armies, so when the last of the rubble was removed, she reached out her aura to open it. The latch grated as it lifted reluctantly and rusted metal hinges protested their rude awakening by creaking loudly, amplified by the echoes from a much larger space inside. Twilight tiptoed forward cautiously, her horn now shining brightly as she peered into the centuries old gloom. “Hello …?” she called as a matter of reflex rather than in expectation of hearing a reply, and moved in. She found herself in a room that was too small to be called a hall, but equally too large to be called a reception. Twilight walked across the floor towards a set of stairs leading upwards, making her way between long tables with wooden seats and staring at pictures on the walls revealing what must have been famous and influential ponies of days long gone by. The room was a largely intact time capsule, but interesting as it was, she suspected that bigger prizes lay ahead, so she climbed up the stairs leading to the first floor, the light from her horn reflecting back brightly from the stone. The air hung thick with a mustiness that pervaded her mouth and throat, but none of that mattered as she emerged out onto the next floor. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes became accustomed and she saw a room containing tall wooden cases strewn with occasional cobwebs hanging like Nightmare Night decorations, but the purpose of those cases was oh so familiar, for they contained books! Twilight scanned the shelves and immediately recognised some of the old tomes as being exceptionally rare, with perhaps only one or two others being known in existence. Her mouth hung open in astonishment at the rich variety of the oldest texts in all of Equestria and wandered round to get a feel for the sheer quantity of knowledge contained in the room. When she got to the last bookcase, Twilight peered around and noticed a barred off area. Immediately she began to hyperventilate, recognising that a limited access area within a library full of rare books could mean only one thing: ultra-rare books! Tentatively, she walked over to examine the solidly fashioned bars that had kept the secrets safe within for centuries. They looked sturdy enough to last for hundreds of years more, but the lock did not appear to be especially complicated for unicorn magic. She reasoned that this must have been due to this area originally having belonged to pegasi or earth ponies where the populace were strong but less magically inclined. Twilight focused her aura onto the lock and it sprang open without any resistance, hanging limply in its hasp. Her eyes twinkled excitedly as she pulled the door towards her and set hoof inside, her sense of anticipation building by the hoofstep. There was only one bookcase, and even then only one shelf had anything to offer other than a generous coating of dust counterpointed by neglected spiders’ webs, their owners long since having moved on to more plentiful feeding grounds. She began to survey the contents excitedly and soon appreciated that not only had she not seen any of them before, but she had never even heard of them either. “Magick for growing” she recited, reading the spines in the order they appeared on the shelf, “Earth pony curses; well at least that confirms which tribe was running this library.” She was a little taken aback at finding bound volumes on earth pony magic. As far as she was aware, earth ponies had a connection to the earth and the changing of the seasons, but not anything that involved high magic. She made a note to come back to these later. “Booke of Truthful Thinges“ she said out loud, noting the ornate gilding on what was clearly an important book, “Oooh, I think I’ll have a look at this one first.” With that she withdrew it gently from its place on the shelf and summoned a magical dustpan and brush to clean off the only table and chair in the closed off area. She lit a part used candle, that must last have been alight hundreds of years ago and set down on the freshly brushed chair to read. There were sections on the customs, traditions and beliefs of each of the three tribes, drawing parallels in a document that was clearly meant to be read by ponies of all backgrounds so they could appreciate what bound them together rather than what divided them. It was well into the night now, but inside the darkened library there was no way of telling. This was such an amazing document, Twilight wondered why she had never heard of it before, for clearly this had not been intended as the only copy. She marvelled especially at how much earth pony magic had been apparent at the time of writing, and that so little appeared to have survived to this day. “If it was common knowledge then, why has the earth pony magic all been forgotten?” she mused out loud. Then she turned to the next chapter entitled The Three Princesses. She gasped. One word was out of place there, she was sure of it. Studiously she got back to the book, but now with a more critical focus and read: “Following the great unification, the new land of Equestria shall be ruled by three alicorns, a new and magical breed of immortal pony embodying unicorn, pegasus and earth pony stock in equal measure. One is allocated to represent the specific interests of each of the tribes and each shall have their own Royal responsibilities to attend for the benefit of all, so that Equestria may flourish in harmony: Princess Corona, The Bright One, Her Majesty The Princess Of The Sun shall represent the earth ponies and will raise and lower the sun. Princess Luna, The Dark One, Her Majesty The Princess Of The Moon shall represent the unicorns and will raise and lower the moon. Princess Celestia, The Arbiter, Her Majesty The Princess Of The Twilight shall represent the pegasi and will reconcile the differences between light and dark and keep them in balance.” Twilight was astounded. Celestia and Luna had a sister? Where was she? If she was immortal then what had happened to erase her from history? Then Twilight felt an icy chill touch her back that made her gasp in fright. What did Celestia and Luna know about her, or rather what had they done to her? It suddenly became clear why she hadn’t heard of this book before; they must have gone round the kingdom and taken away every copy to remove all reference to their sister! She began to tremble and suddenly everything that had seemed so intriguing and so full of promise turned to spectres and demons taunting her from the shadows dancing all around her. What would happen to her if she mentioned Princess Corona to Celestia? Would she disappear too? For once in her life, Twilight found herself regretting something she had learned as she now felt in more danger than she ever had before. Celestia and Luna had never mentioned Princess Corona and therefore whatever they had done to her, they hadn’t wanted to talk about it. If they could do that to their own sister, then what chance did she stand? Twilight sat back in her chair and breathed deeply, trying to control the panic rising in her body while her mind ran through all the ways she could be compromised by the Royal sisters and the increasingly draconian penalties they could choose to extract for her impertinence. By the time she had started to calm down, she had already come to appreciate that death was by no means the worst outcome. She couldn’t decide whether it was safer to stay where she was or leave, and if so to where? She didn’t know if she should take the books with her or whether by having them on her would seal her fate. Indecision piled on indecision so she buried her muzzle in her forehooves and screamed; it may not have been the best thing she had done that day, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. It was probably still night outside, she reasoned. She didn’t want to crash into anything and get injured miles from anywhere, so decided to wait until she felt it should be daytime. But now, with absolutely no chance of sleep, she settled back down into her chair and opened the book again; at least she could spend the time finding out more about earth ponies and the mysterious Princess Corona. The more she read, the more she came to realise that where Princess Corona had been the champion of the earth ponies, her removal from the ruling troika caused the earth ponies to lose their power, progressively denying them the magic they had historically enjoyed and relegating them to more menial pursuits. The untapped potential these ponies held at their disposal, had they but known it, was incredible, and there were now three ponies who knew about it. Twilight found engraved pictures of the three Princesses; Celestia and Luna she recognised easily, but Corona was a stunning light gold palomino with flaming mane and tail. On closer examination, she could make out the sun cutie mark on her that Celestia now wore. She flipped back to Celestia and saw a different cutie mark, and gasped; it was a pink six point star with five stars orbiting it … “No! No! No!” she screamed; this couldn’t get any weirder! She pushed back her chair and got up, walking in tight circles around the table until she felt dizzy, then propped herself back up on the table as she caught her breath. Of course; it was all so obvious now she came to consider it. Luna’s mane was the dark blue of the night sky with magical sparkles representing the stars, but Celestia’s mane was the colour of twilight and dusk, not moreover the flaming splendour of the sun. She was an imposter – there was no other way to put it. Her trusted mentor, friend and fellow Princess was an imposter! She felt sick; the friendship she had believed they shared was based on nothing but deceit, lies and misplaced trust. 3 A Secret SharedSplintered fragments of disparate thoughts tried to squeeze themselves together to form a cohesive plan, but nothing seemed to fit; the only thing that was apparent being that she couldn’t stay where she was. Without any idea of what she was going to do once she got outside, Twilight opened up her saddle bags and emptied out everything she didn’t need, packing in as many books as she could find, including the Booke of Truthful Thinges. The weight was greater now than it had been flying out here, but she wanted to take away these books as reference texts to benefit Equestria by reuniting earth ponies with their magic; she had already chosen Applejack and Pinkie to help her out with this one. Saddle bags crammed to the point that their seams threatened to burst, she blew out the depleted stump of candle that had been her only friend during her visit, and braced herself to face the day. She closed the wrought metal door behind her, casting a spell which was a significantly more powerful deterrent than the lock she had first encountered, and exited the library, descending into the room below, looking more closely now at the pictures adorning the walls. She recognised one of them now; Princess Corona. A shaft of daylight pointed accusingly across the room, daring her to follow it to the exit. It was a worried looking Twilight who stepped out across the rubble, checking the sky to see if an irate Princess was circling above with a platoon of guards waiting to pounce and drag her screaming body away; it was almost an anti-climax when there wasn’t. She paused and looked back at the old uncovered doorway she had entered with such enthusiasm the day before, and set about replacing the stone blocks with care so that the weathered faces were outwards as she did her best to cover her tracks. She knew that ultimately, Celestia and Luna would find out, but she wanted to play for time as far as possible while she figured out what to do next. Twilight looked critically at her work and made a few minor changes to improve the appearance before accepting that it was as good as it was going to be, and sighed sadly. Then she turned and checked her saddle bags were tight before beating her wings and lifting into the air. Her load was as heavy as her heart, and she had to work hard to gain height as she set course in the morning sun back to Trottingham. Whereas she had made the journey the day before pumped with excitement and fuelled by adrenaline, today she felt numb and kept flying by reflex rather than concentration. She found the lack of a plan disconcerting and as the first of the city’s outlying settlements came into view, she finally settled on what she would do next. Wheeling out of the azure sky, Twilight descended by the station entrance and furled her wings. They should have been tired, but right now she felt nothing, nothing at all. “Princess Twilight?” asked the ticket clerk excitedly, “Is it really you? How can I help you today, your Majesty?” The welcome was quite overwhelming, and instantly Twilight snapped into her smile and wave mode, flashing him a dazzling smile and making him feel the most special stallion in all of Equestria. “Good morning, Sir” she replied, “A ticket to the Crystal Empire, please.” “Of course, Princess” he confirmed, sliding a booklet over to her, “Would you sign this please?” Believing this to be authorisation for the Royal warrant, she looked down casually and noticed the signatures of Countess Coloratura, Sapphire Shores and even Princess Cadence. “Wha …?” she enquired. “It’s an autograph book for my fillies. They love hearing about the famous ponies I’ve met, and I can’t wait to tell them I’ve met you, Princess!” Twilight smiled for the first time since her life changing discovery amid the ruins of Coltchester and felt a shred of her humanity return. “I’ll need you to sign this too” he added, passing over the warrant authorisation form. “Of course” she concurred, giving him a sincere smile, “And thank you.” “No, thank you” he quivered in his excitement, passing her the ticket, “Platform two, three quarters of an hour, your Majesty.” Twilight ambled into the station cafeteria and ordered a hot chocolate with extra oats, setting it down before her on an empty table. A party of young colts and fillies on the other side of the room started pointing and giggling until their teacher chastised them with a few stern words that she did not hear clearly. A few of the braver ones still risked occasional peeks at her, but all looked away quickly when they saw her eyes turn towards them. She got up and walked over to the teacher who immediately curtseyed and apologised profusely for the behaviour of her young students. “No, that’s fine” Twilight reassured, feeling another piece of her humanity return, “What have you all been up to today?” “We’re waiting for another class to join us and then we’re all going to the Trottingham Museum” the teacher replied. “Oh how wonderful!” cheered Twilight and bubbled excitedly as the colts and fillies all spoke loudly about what they most wanted to see. Although she had hoped somepony would have said the library, it seemed that dinosaurs were the main attraction. All the time she was happily answering their questions like “what do Princesses eat?”, “is your crown heavy?” and “do you remember when dinosaurs roamed Equestria?” she began to forget about her problems and was rather sad when she heard a train pull in. “That’ll be the other class, Princess Twilight” said the teacher checking her watch, “Thank you for keeping them occupied while we waited.” “No, really, I enjoyed it” she replied as the colts and fillies all gave her cheery thank yous. Twilight looked out at the station clock that she could just see through the window. This was probably her train, so she stepped out onto the platform and looked up the timetable before getting on and choosing a seat where she could mull over what she was going to do next. She was feeling a lot more level headed now thanks to some positive interactions at the station, but still very worried as the train wound its way northwards. In the way that time seems to speed up when you’re heading towards something you don’t want to do, Twilight soon found herself pulling into the central station in the Crystal Empire. She got out without fanfare and could see the startled looks on the faces of the guards, not knowing whether they had missed the official memo that Princess Twilight would be arriving on a State Visit, and whether they should form a makeshift guard of honour, salute or just ignore her. They quickly settled on saluting smartly and in her turn, she graciously thanked each of them as she made her way out of the station and took the short walk to the Crystal Castle. The Crystal Ponies all looked carefree and resplendent in their beautiful crystalline translucent colours as they went about their business, some pausing to greet Twilight and welcome her back. As she approached the castle, the guards snapped smartly to attention and sounded a fanfare, partly in greeting and partly to alert the occupants of the castle that a Royal visitor had arrived. Luckily, it was Shining Armor who came out to meet her, his face beaming when he saw who the unexpected arrival was. “Hey Twiley” he greeted joyfully, “Fancy seeing you up here! Cadie’s a bit tied up at the moment, but I’m sure she’ll want to see you as soon as she can!” “Hey BBBFF, it’s good to see you too, but it’s really you I need to talk to.” Even Shining, a stallion not renowned for his ability to pick up on subtle undercurrents got the hint; if his sister didn’t want to see her favourite foalsitter after all they had been through, something was seriously wrong. “Sure Twi. You want a quiet room where we’re not going to be disturbed?” “Yes please, I get the feeling this isn’t the only favour I’m going to be asking from you today.” He led them up a flight of stairs, away from the usual route taken by visitors and along a corridor fronted with doors that all looked the same, save for a name and a rank, until he got to the end, then opened a door that had a plaque on the outside stating Captain of the Guard. He slid a shutter across, covering over the Knock and enter sign to Meeting in progress. “This is my office” he announced proudly, “We won’t be disturbed here unless there’s an invasion.” Twilight laughed nervously at this comment as he directed her to a seat and she finally took off her saddle bags. “Travelling light?” he quipped, seeing how heavy they were. “Heavier than you can imagine” she grimaced. “OK, spill” he directed. “You know how you said I keep saving your flank? Well, I don’t quite know how to say this, but I need somepony I can trust right now; somepony I can trust with my life.” “Whoa – what have you gotten yourself into, Twiley?” “First, you must promise that what I am going to tell you can never, and I mean NEVER be repeated without my express permission, OK?” Shining’s look hardened. He had never heard her talk like this before. “Do I have your word?” “Of course Twiley; how’s that rhyme about cupcakes go again?” “This is way more important than a Pinkie Promise. I have to trust you as my brother.” “OK, Twi” he said, brows furrowing deeply, “I promise.” “How many immortal alicorns were there at the founding of Equestria?” “That’s easy. Two; Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna.” “What if I told you there was a third sister? Or rather there had been a third sister?” “No way!” Twilight’s face took on a look of deadly earnestness and suddenly Shining knew this wasn’t a joke. He made to get up but stopped himself, wracked with indecision. “Yes, a third immortal alicorn Princess” she confirmed, emphasising the word immortal. “Are you sure?” “I have books with her in and I’ve seen pictures of her too.” Shining leaned back in his chair, stunned. “If she’s immortal” he thought out loud, “Then what happened to her?” “Only two ponies can know the answer to that one BBBFF, and neither of them has ever mentioned her, so …” “You don’t think …” he stalled. Twilight just raised an eyebrow and shot him a look. “Our aunts will find out soon enough that I know – I won’t be able to hide my feelings in their presence for long. They could use mind spells and all sorts to find out. I think it’s best that I confront them; at least I’ll have the advantage, for whatever that’s worth. But if I go missing or suddenly start denying all knowledge of what I have found out, I want you to have the evidence so you can ...” “Are you suggesting they may murder you?” he interrupted. “I DON’T KNOW!” screamed Twilight, “They’re sure not letting on about Princess Corona!” “That her name, huh?” “Yes … yes” she replied, visibly deflating in front of him. “Show me” he asked gently. Without a further word, she undid her saddle bags and pulled out the Booke of Truthful Thinges and showed him the pages relating to the Princesses. He looked, and whistled softly, taking it all in. “You say you’ve seen pictures too?” “Yes, big portraits. It’s all genuine.” The two of them sat together as she explained how she had come by this information and pointed out the key passages in the books for him to read. At length he looked up into her eyes. They weren’t sparkling with the thrill of finding out something new, but haggard with the responsibility this new knowledge entailed. “So, you want to talk this over with the Princesses?” he asked, his voice heavy with concern. “I can’t see any other way” she replied resignedly. “And if you go missing then I take on the Royal sisters?” “No; if they’re prepared to go to such great lengths to cover this up, then that isn’t the way. Tell the ponies the truth if it comes to that.” “That could bring down the diarchy” he reasoned. “Let’s all hope it doesn’t come to that” she replied sombrely. Shining escorted Twilight to the station in time for the last train south. She had left the books with him and instructed him to hide them somewhere safe, but not to tell her where, in case her mind was read and they suddenly disappeared. As security against anything happening to him, he had written a note which he had put in a left luggage locker at the Crystal Empire main station and given her the key. It was the best they could do. Shining gave his sister a heartfelt hug on the platform as the guard blew his whistle and she jumped aboard, waving the kind of farewell that ponies only do when they’re worried they will never meet up again. Outside the passenger window, the sky was performing its evening rendition of oranges and purples and she suddenly called to mind Celestia’s original title; Her Majesty The Princess Of The Twilight. No wonder dusk and dawn had always been so spectacular – it was her birthright. It all fitted together, and she knew she was right. 4 ConfrontationIt was just turning dark when the train pulled in to Canterlot station and although Twilight had desperately needed the sleep, her mind had been alive with all the variables in play, as she wound herself up thinking through worst case scenarios, her tired mind unable to stop it. A few late evening commuters got out at the same time as her, but otherwise the station was bare. She felt exposed making her way through the darkening streets until she arrived at the castle where the guards recognised her approach and saluted, allowing her in through the main entrance. She felt like a fly entering a spider’s web and shuddered at the thought of what spiders did to flies. The corridors echoed more than usual, and it was a lot chillier than she remembered. She wanted to turn back and run away, but knew she must not; she had come this far, she would not be able to live with herself if she didn’t see it through. Luna wasn’t in the throne room holding Night Court, so she went out onto the balcony, the next most likely place. The air outside was sticky and sultry after the clamminess of the castle, the change making Twilight shiver briefly as she acclimatised. At the other end of the balcony was a dark form occasionally rearing up and weaving spells with her forelegs. Upon hearing other hoofsteps on the balcony, Luna planted all four hooves on the floor and turned her head. “Twilight Sparkle, a pleasure” she greeted with a gentle bow towards her visitor, “We were worried to learn of your abrupt departure yesterday. I trust all is well?” Twilight’s demeanour was more businesslike than Luna could remember, and she stopped short of the midnight blue mare in a stance that looked imposing even given the size difference between the two mares. “What ails thee?” asked Luna, now clearly picking up that something was wrong and reverting to olde Canterlot speech. “We need to talk, Luna.” “Very well. Here or perhaps a more private venue?” “What happened to Princess Corona?” Luna froze. There was a long pause during which the silence roared in Twilight’s ears. Luna knew something, that much was obvious and so Twilight braced herself physically and magically for whatever would come next. Luna lowered her head and placed a forehoof forward, then began a slow walk past Twilight and into the castle. No invitation was given but she followed the Princess of the Night at a safe distance. They proceeded along a familiar route that led to a door with a sun emblazoned on it. Luna knocked and waited. Twilight’s pulse raced as she forced away the urge to hyperventilate. The sound of a latch echoed in the stillness of the corridor and Twilight thought she would scream. The door opened slowly revealing the familiar white mare with flowing blue, lilac and green mane; somepony she had always looked upon with absolute trust and friendship. Until now. “Yes, Luna. How may I help?” “There is something that Twilight Sparkle wishes to discuss, Sister.” “Good evening Twilight. I am sorry I got so caught up with visitors yesterday. What do you want to talk about?” Twilight seemed to develop tunnel vision with everything but her focus on Celestia fading into a blur. She was scared now, but adrenaline was pushing her forward. “Princess Corona” she said. Celestia’s face creased into one of pure shock as she gasped and stepped back raising a forehoof defensively. Twilight stood firm, half a dozen of her most powerful spells prepared and ready to fire at whichever of the two Princesses would make a threatening move first. Celestia regained her composure but her face suddenly looked sad and she seemed to have shrunk at those two words. Her mouth began to work, but the words did not come. She backed up and withdrew into her chambers leaving the door in an open invitation for her two guests to follow. Celestia looked visibly shaken as she lay down on the floor in an unthreatening manner, followed by her sister who did the same. Twilight’s resolve refused to let her follow their lead and she stood in an aggressive stance facing them both. “Corona was our sister” said Luna. “Was?” queried Twilight, “She’s immortal; what do you mean was?” “An unfortunate choice of words, Twilight” comforted Celestia, “Would you not care to join us? We mean you no harm.” “Tell me what you did to Princess Corona. Then I’ll decide if I feel safe or not.” “If anypony was ever going to find out, I knew it would be you” whispered Celestia sadly, “How did you do it?” “My secret, Celestia” asserted Twilight, although it came out as more of a growl, “You know all about secrets, don’t you?” “Some secrets have been harder to carry than others over the centuries” said Celestia, glittering pools of tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes, “You have been the brightest and most able of all my students, but also the most dangerous. You have control of magic beyond your young years, you are a brave and fearless fighter, and now you have become my Inquisitor. The time had to come.” Twilight started to feel sad for this most powerful and regal of ponies, now reduced before her eyes, but kept her guard. “Have you seen pictures of her, Twilight?” “Yes” she replied without embellishment. “She was beautiful, but had a quick temper. Inevitable, really. In the same way that Luna hides her feelings, she wore them proudly and acted accordingly. You will be aware of my original role?” Twilight nodded, refusing to release her from her penetrating gaze. “Well, keeping order between day and night, light and dark was much harder than it may sound. Corona would lash out physically and Luna would defend herself with magic. One day, she pushed too far. She had worked on a spell using earth pony magic that would cause the earth to swallow Luna up and bury her underground forever, banishing the night. I found out and confronted her. She was scornful and started to cast the spell on me. I felt the earth starting to rise up and knew it would envelop me, so I struck back, summoning all the magic at my disposal. She had laughed at me and was caught off guard when my magic struck her. We kept fighting as the earth continued to consume me, but I had already resigned myself to an eternal lingering death, just so long as I could stop her and thought nothing for my own safety.” Twilight watched as Luna broke down in tears and felt her own eyes start to sting. “I prevailed and banished her to the sun” continued Celestia, “But I was transfixed by a spell half-finished and stuck in the earth until Luna found me. The spell was indeed powerful, and Luna worked tirelessly for weeks trying to research a new class of magic to set me free, while all the time I could feel my body growing roots and becoming one with the earth itself.” “That's horrible” interrupted Twilight, looking shocked. “Yes” replied Celestia sadly, “One day when scientists can image the sun they will see her as clearly as they could see my dear Sister on the face of the moon.” “But what about all those volumes of earth magic?” Twilight persisted, “Why isn’t it known today? It would make crop growing and food production a much easier business.” “Luna worked hard to free me from the bonds of Corona’s spell and between us we agreed that such a fate was so awful, we should remove the worst excesses of earth magic so that nopony would ever have to live under its threat again. Judge me as you please Twilight Sparkle, but Luna and I have kept Equestria in balance and harmony. My battle with Corona was the closest I have ever come to defeat, even against Nightmare Moon; if we were to bring her back, I do not believe she would allow herself to be beaten a second time around. So whether you consider my banishing her to be the safest action for ponykind or an act of personal cowardice, I await your verdict.” Celestia hung her head, and now the story was out, gave in to centuries of guilt-ridden tears, a broken mare. Twilight was stunned. She hadn’t expected this outcome and suddenly felt guilty for what she had done. Luna moved over and stretched a protective wing over her sister, trying to ease the pain of memories, each hoped they would never have to relive. She looked up sadly through her watering eyes, meeting Twilight’s gaze, “Tia is not a monster; she did what she thought was right and very nearly died the most awful of deaths. Even though she banished me too, she was right then, and I believe she chose the right path with Corona too. Whatever punishment you believe fitting, we will not challenge you, but do one thing for me; give me the same punishment as her, for we are both culpable.” “No Luna!” Celestia interjected sharply, “My actions are my responsibility! I was the one to banish her; I will not allow you to accept any punishment!” Twilight’s eyes were stinging badly now, and an itch had developed on her muzzle that demanded to be touched and release her own tears. “I’m sorry” she whispered as the first of her own tears fell. Time weighed heavily on the sad party of three alicorns, each fighting to come to terms with their own guilt and their own fears. Twilight never thought she would have been standing in judgement over her mentor, but the more she thought it through, the more she came to appreciate the burden this must have been for her. She raised her head and spoke, “Celestia, you said that I am the brightest and most able of your students; how far is this true?” “Completely. You are the only pony in all of Equestria to have ever completed a spell left unfinished by Star Swirl the Bearded, which is all the more surprising considering your young years. Also, you are the only student to whom the Element of Magic was attracted.” “Will I become more powerful than you, Celestia?” “Given time, yes.” “Could I develop a magic that would be able to tame Corona?” Celestia thought for a moment; “Yes, but it would take longer than one lifetime.” “Then grant me more than one lifetime.” “I … I cannot sentence you to immortality, my Faithful Student; it is a curse to watch all those around you die, to keep losing friends in one endless procession.” “Also, you would never be able to have foals of your own” added Luna, regret heavy in her voice. “I would have both of you as friends, wouldn’t I? What more family would I need?” “It’s still a very big step” Celestia cautioned, “But we would stand by you.” “Then let me grow in magic so that one day we can release Corona. She has made one mistake, but we cannot sentence her to banishment without release, that’s unethical.” “That would provide a solution” concurred Luna. “But I, we, cannot allow you to pay such a high price for the mistakes of others” Celestia contested. “Can you see a better alternative?“ questioned Twilight. “It is within my gift to confer immortality, but it is a magic I have never used. Luna, I would need your help.” “Of course Sister” she replied unquestioningly. “Twilight, your request should be considered most carefully. Meet us one month from now and confirm that it is still your wish.” Twilight let herself out and made for the guest suite she had occupied the night before last and collapsed on the bed, asleep before she hit the duvet. “I dare to believe” ventured Celestia, “That maybe this nightmare could soon be over.” “I agree Sister. Twilight Sparkle is unique. If she is prepared to forgo her own mortality, then this curse may yet be lifted.” “I have no idea how she found out” pondered Celestia, “I was certain we had destroyed all traces.” “When one faces the enquiring mind of Twilight Sparkle, one can be assured that she will pursue her aim until she reaches her goal.” “Let us hope so, Luna” said Celestia, rising to her hooves with an optimism she had not felt in centuries, “Let us hope so.” PrologueThe flickering candle flame danced jauntily from its vantage point on a rickety old wooden table, casting a wavering light around the small musty room. A troupe of dancing shadows darted playfully around the walls and the solitary dusty bookshelf, happily disregarding the room’s sole occupant; a lilac alicorn engrossed in an ancient tome. The air was heavy with many lifetimes of neglect, and indeed it had seen the centuries pass without an enquiry from any living being. Until now, that was. Twilight carefully turned the fragile pages in her magic, never a page going by without an “oooh” or an “aaah” escaping her lips, for this was a book she had never even heard of, let alone seen until today. It had been written just after the unification of the three tribes, distilling their collective knowledge and setting down rules for how they were going to be governed fairly, with checks and balances in place to ensure that no one tribe could achieve supremacy over the others. This, Twilight had quickly realised, was the most significant text of the classical era. And she was not going to put it down until she had finished it. The question of why she hadn’t even heard of such an important work remained unasked as she absorbed long forgotten wisdom from each of the three great tribes. Suddenly she gasped and pushed back in her seat, wide eyes fixated on what she had just read. Surely she must have been mistaken … She took a few quick breaths to steady herself then returned to look a little closer. No! It couldn’t be! Twilight felt herself trembling and suddenly became aware of her rapid breathing as she looked about her, sensing danger in every sinister shadow. She knew something now, something that only two ponies in all of Equestria could know, something that had been buried deep. For a reason. Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle felt scared and very alone.
1 The Start of the TrailTwilight had taken an afternoon off from her Princess duties in Canterlot to peruse around antique shops and chanced across an old scroll held together with an aging wax seal on a faded red ribbon. She had no idea what it was, but it looked interesting, so she paid the ten bits asking price without haggling and took it away to unwrap it at her leisure, when she got back to Ponyville later that evening. She really had meant to save it until she got home, but the more the afternoon wore on, the more its siren’s call beckoned her, tempting her to open it. Finally, heaving a huff of disappointment at her own lack of willpower, she resigned herself to waiting no longer and took the scroll into a reception room where she broke the seal with her magic and unfurled the curled parchment on a long wooden table. What she found was an old map; not one like she had ever seen before, but one that reflected the lands of three separate tribes, freshly redrawn to reflect the newly unified Equestria. She had dared to think that such a map may have existed, but following extensive research in all the known libraries across the land had concluded sadly that such a feat must have been beyond the capability of ponies at that time. For once, she had been proved wrong, and was delighted with her mistake. She surveyed the map noting that every city and town of any merit was represented by the picture of a grand looking castle, and that villages were clustered within easy reach of one of these castles, which she reasoned had to have been a legacy of the warlike past of the separate tribes. Many towns and villages that she knew well today did not even feature, and even Ponyville was represented by nothing more than a scary picture of a manticore, seeing as how it was right on the periphery of the Everfree Forest. As she became more engrossed, she crossed off all the places she knew until she was left with an anomaly; Coltchester. She had never even heard of Coltchester, but immediately decided that she had to go and see it, armed with knowledge that had been lost for generations, namely that it had once clearly been an important urban centre. Twilight’s face had transformed from one of intense curiosity to unparalleled happiness; she had a mystery to unravel and was going to enjoy every minute of it – starting with a field trip to Coltchester. Because the distance to the old town was beyond her ability to fly comfortably, she chanced an optimistic glance at the clock and gasped; the next train would be leaving in less than quarter of an hour; barely enough time to gather her belongings and gallop to the station! There was certainly not enough time to leave Celestia a note, so she threw everything she had brought with her into her saddle bags and galloped out of the castle, past two surprised looking guards who belatedly saluted her disappearing flank as she rushed down the road towards the station. “Trottingham …” she gasped to the ticket clerk, “Please …” “That’ll be twenty bits, please” replied the disinterested clerk, barely acknowledging her presence. “I have a Royal warrant” she panted. The clerk lifted his head slowly and fumbled around to find his glasses which he laboriously unfolded and raised to his eyes to peer questioningly at the latest inconvenience to blight his life. From the platform, a whistle sounded as the Friendship Express signalled its imminent departure. The clerk stared at Twilight as if performing some complex mathematical function, clearly unprepared to buy in to her sense of mounting urgency. She contorted her face into a smile as false as it was desperate, an involuntary twitch in the corner of her eye adding to her expression of mounting insanity, as the clerk tried half-heartedly to get his eyes to focus. “Oh for Celestia’s sake!” she shouted in exasperation, quickly taking off her saddle bags and rummaging hurriedly through the jumbled possessions to find her purse. “Well, I can’t verify who you are if I can’t see your face” sighed the clerk irritably, “But language like that is hardly what I would expect from a Princess …” he droned self-righteously. Twilight screamed in frustration as the train’s whistle sounded again and she finally uncovered her purse that had got wrapped up in her pyjamas. Quickly she opened the purse and drew out a 50 bit note, slamming it on the counter. “I’ll buy it!” she cried, “Just please be quick!” “Oh, I thought you wanted to use a Royal warrant” he grumbled, “Make up your mind or we’ll be here all day …” “Money here - ticket now!” she stated with artificially clear enunciation, “Please!” “Alright, alright” he moaned taking the money and sliding the ticket over the counter towards her. She snapped it up quickly and bolted for the train, the clerk looking up preparing to find thirty bits to give her as change, but noticing belatedly that she had already gone. “So impatient …” he moaned, “A real Princess would never be so irritable …” The conductor seeing a lilac pony barrelling towards him with desperate wide eyes and saddle bags bouncing precariously on her back, stopped as he prepared to blow his whistle and opened the door for her, earning a hurried ”thank you” as she poured herself breathlessly into the carriage just before it jolted forward to begin its journey. Twilight moved along down the train and slid open the door into an unoccupied compartment, where she found herself a seat and removed her saddle bags. She intended to have a closer look at the map during the journey, but for now she felt she needed to relax and catch a few minutes shut-eye, the last quarter of an hour had been really stressful, after all. “Trottingham!” shouted the conductor as the train responded with a series of staccato tugs at the beginning of its approach into the station. She woke with a start, having been asleep for hours and felt cheated to have been deprived of some quality research time. Anyway, it couldn’t be helped now, and so she set about organising the chaotic jumble in her saddle bags ready for the flight ahead. As the train finally came to a halt, her heart raced and she stepped out with a handful of fellow travellers, none of whom had arrived there for the same reason as her, and she felt a thrill run through her at the prospect. She had chosen this station as the nearest stop to the deserted town and studied a map of the city to see if any roads headed towards her destination. She wasn’t at all surprised to find there were no roads going anywhere near; it was like it had been completely forgotten by the passage of time. She checked the map and took a rough bearing based on the position of the sun and took to the air, rising above the emptying platform. Trottingham sprawled beneath her in all its splendour, but this view, although picturesque, was not her focus but merely a stepping stone in her ongoing journey. Once she had reached the first clouds, she took one last check of her bearing and set off in the direction shown on the ancient map, towards a town that nopony could remember. Twilight felt a shiver of excitement run through her and she made no attempt to hide the thrill she felt; she was no longer Princess Twilight with stuffy and dull responsibilities, but Twilight Sparkle on an adventure, and she felt liberated. Mile after mile of featureless barren landscape passed beneath her with no sign of even the most solitary of nomadic creatures below to counterpoint the monotony. Twilight kept going, not because she was particularly used to her wings yet, but because of the prospect of being the first to uncover something that had been ignored and sidelined for so long, her mind racing with all the permutations of lost city adventures she could be heading into. Eventually the complaints from her aching wings finally began to push past her newly rediscovered enthusiasm and with her energy depleted, she searched for a suitable cloud and flopped down on to it, more tired than she cared to acknowledge. It was late afternoon and a sensible pony in her position should now have thought about turning round and heading back for Trottingham, a hotel and a long soak in a bath, but somehow these ideas were hammered into submission by her fervour to continue – even if it meant spending the night away from civilisation. She scanned to the horizon in all directions and then caught sight of an anomaly; she hadn’t seen it earlier, but something about the sinking sun’s light caught it from a different angle, and she seized on the remote hope that this may be what she had come out to find. Suddenly, her wings felt rejuvenated and she was ready for what she hoped would be the final leg of her journey, slipping off her cloud and heading for the horizon. As she got nearer, the shape of the corner of a once impressive stone structure rose up to greet her. It was a castle, or rather the remains of towers that once formed three of the four corners of a castle. Ruined wasn’t a word that best described it; utterly destroyed being a much more accurate description, but to Twilight it was beautiful – the map had been right!
2 The TroikaTwilight put down near to the largest of the ruined towers and looked around hopefully for some sign of an entrance. Large stones lay in randomly scattered piles where they had fallen, and a sandy earth was piled up on one side with wild shrubs and creepers around the other. Here and there, barely discernible features showed where stone staircases had once led up or down, odd steps bearing witness to a more prosperous past. Her horn flashed into life, and Twilight began to levitate fallen stone blocks away from an alcove, eventually revealing a splintered oak door. Its comparatively lightweight construction revealed it to be an inside door rather than a much thicker outside door reinforced to keep out enemy armies, so when the last of the rubble was removed, she reached out her aura to open it. The latch grated as it lifted reluctantly and rusted metal hinges protested their rude awakening by creaking loudly, amplified by the echoes from a much larger space inside. Twilight tiptoed forward cautiously, her horn now shining brightly as she peered into the centuries old gloom. “Hello …?” she called as a matter of reflex rather than in expectation of hearing a reply, and moved in. She found herself in a room that was too small to be called a hall, but equally too large to be called a reception. Twilight walked across the floor towards a set of stairs leading upwards, making her way between long tables with wooden seats and staring at pictures on the walls revealing what must have been famous and influential ponies of days long gone by. The room was a largely intact time capsule, but interesting as it was, she suspected that bigger prizes lay ahead, so she climbed up the stairs leading to the first floor, the light from her horn reflecting back brightly from the stone. The air hung thick with a mustiness that pervaded her mouth and throat, but none of that mattered as she emerged out onto the next floor. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes became accustomed and she saw a room containing tall wooden cases strewn with occasional cobwebs hanging like Nightmare Night decorations, but the purpose of those cases was oh so familiar, for they contained books! Twilight scanned the shelves and immediately recognised some of the old tomes as being exceptionally rare, with perhaps only one or two others being known in existence. Her mouth hung open in astonishment at the rich variety of the oldest texts in all of Equestria and wandered round to get a feel for the sheer quantity of knowledge contained in the room. When she got to the last bookcase, Twilight peered around and noticed a barred off area. Immediately she began to hyperventilate, recognising that a limited access area within a library full of rare books could mean only one thing: ultra-rare books! Tentatively, she walked over to examine the solidly fashioned bars that had kept the secrets safe within for centuries. They looked sturdy enough to last for hundreds of years more, but the lock did not appear to be especially complicated for unicorn magic. She reasoned that this must have been due to this area originally having belonged to pegasi or earth ponies where the populace were strong but less magically inclined. Twilight focused her aura onto the lock and it sprang open without any resistance, hanging limply in its hasp. Her eyes twinkled excitedly as she pulled the door towards her and set hoof inside, her sense of anticipation building by the hoofstep. There was only one bookcase, and even then only one shelf had anything to offer other than a generous coating of dust counterpointed by neglected spiders’ webs, their owners long since having moved on to more plentiful feeding grounds. She began to survey the contents excitedly and soon appreciated that not only had she not seen any of them before, but she had never even heard of them either. “Magick for growing” she recited, reading the spines in the order they appeared on the shelf, “Earth pony curses; well at least that confirms which tribe was running this library.” She was a little taken aback at finding bound volumes on earth pony magic. As far as she was aware, earth ponies had a connection to the earth and the changing of the seasons, but not anything that involved high magic. She made a note to come back to these later. “Booke of Truthful Thinges“ she said out loud, noting the ornate gilding on what was clearly an important book, “Oooh, I think I’ll have a look at this one first.” With that she withdrew it gently from its place on the shelf and summoned a magical dustpan and brush to clean off the only table and chair in the closed off area. She lit a part used candle, that must last have been alight hundreds of years ago and set down on the freshly brushed chair to read. There were sections on the customs, traditions and beliefs of each of the three tribes, drawing parallels in a document that was clearly meant to be read by ponies of all backgrounds so they could appreciate what bound them together rather than what divided them. It was well into the night now, but inside the darkened library there was no way of telling. This was such an amazing document, Twilight wondered why she had never heard of it before, for clearly this had not been intended as the only copy. She marvelled especially at how much earth pony magic had been apparent at the time of writing, and that so little appeared to have survived to this day. “If it was common knowledge then, why has the earth pony magic all been forgotten?” she mused out loud. Then she turned to the next chapter entitled The Three Princesses. She gasped. One word was out of place there, she was sure of it. Studiously she got back to the book, but now with a more critical focus and read: “Following the great unification, the new land of Equestria shall be ruled by three alicorns, a new and magical breed of immortal pony embodying unicorn, pegasus and earth pony stock in equal measure. One is allocated to represent the specific interests of each of the tribes and each shall have their own Royal responsibilities to attend for the benefit of all, so that Equestria may flourish in harmony: Princess Corona, The Bright One, Her Majesty The Princess Of The Sun shall represent the earth ponies and will raise and lower the sun. Princess Luna, The Dark One, Her Majesty The Princess Of The Moon shall represent the unicorns and will raise and lower the moon. Princess Celestia, The Arbiter, Her Majesty The Princess Of The Twilight shall represent the pegasi and will reconcile the differences between light and dark and keep them in balance.” Twilight was astounded. Celestia and Luna had a sister? Where was she? If she was immortal then what had happened to erase her from history? Then Twilight felt an icy chill touch her back that made her gasp in fright. What did Celestia and Luna know about her, or rather what had they done to her? It suddenly became clear why she hadn’t heard of this book before; they must have gone round the kingdom and taken away every copy to remove all reference to their sister! She began to tremble and suddenly everything that had seemed so intriguing and so full of promise turned to spectres and demons taunting her from the shadows dancing all around her. What would happen to her if she mentioned Princess Corona to Celestia? Would she disappear too? For once in her life, Twilight found herself regretting something she had learned as she now felt in more danger than she ever had before. Celestia and Luna had never mentioned Princess Corona and therefore whatever they had done to her, they hadn’t wanted to talk about it. If they could do that to their own sister, then what chance did she stand? Twilight sat back in her chair and breathed deeply, trying to control the panic rising in her body while her mind ran through all the ways she could be compromised by the Royal sisters and the increasingly draconian penalties they could choose to extract for her impertinence. By the time she had started to calm down, she had already come to appreciate that death was by no means the worst outcome. She couldn’t decide whether it was safer to stay where she was or leave, and if so to where? She didn’t know if she should take the books with her or whether by having them on her would seal her fate. Indecision piled on indecision so she buried her muzzle in her forehooves and screamed; it may not have been the best thing she had done that day, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. It was probably still night outside, she reasoned. She didn’t want to crash into anything and get injured miles from anywhere, so decided to wait until she felt it should be daytime. But now, with absolutely no chance of sleep, she settled back down into her chair and opened the book again; at least she could spend the time finding out more about earth ponies and the mysterious Princess Corona. The more she read, the more she came to realise that where Princess Corona had been the champion of the earth ponies, her removal from the ruling troika caused the earth ponies to lose their power, progressively denying them the magic they had historically enjoyed and relegating them to more menial pursuits. The untapped potential these ponies held at their disposal, had they but known it, was incredible, and there were now three ponies who knew about it. Twilight found engraved pictures of the three Princesses; Celestia and Luna she recognised easily, but Corona was a stunning light gold palomino with flaming mane and tail. On closer examination, she could make out the sun cutie mark on her that Celestia now wore. She flipped back to Celestia and saw a different cutie mark, and gasped; it was a pink six point star with five stars orbiting it … “No! No! No!” she screamed; this couldn’t get any weirder! She pushed back her chair and got up, walking in tight circles around the table until she felt dizzy, then propped herself back up on the table as she caught her breath. Of course; it was all so obvious now she came to consider it. Luna’s mane was the dark blue of the night sky with magical sparkles representing the stars, but Celestia’s mane was the colour of twilight and dusk, not moreover the flaming splendour of the sun. She was an imposter – there was no other way to put it. Her trusted mentor, friend and fellow Princess was an imposter! She felt sick; the friendship she had believed they shared was based on nothing but deceit, lies and misplaced trust.
3 A Secret SharedSplintered fragments of disparate thoughts tried to squeeze themselves together to form a cohesive plan, but nothing seemed to fit; the only thing that was apparent being that she couldn’t stay where she was. Without any idea of what she was going to do once she got outside, Twilight opened up her saddle bags and emptied out everything she didn’t need, packing in as many books as she could find, including the Booke of Truthful Thinges. The weight was greater now than it had been flying out here, but she wanted to take away these books as reference texts to benefit Equestria by reuniting earth ponies with their magic; she had already chosen Applejack and Pinkie to help her out with this one. Saddle bags crammed to the point that their seams threatened to burst, she blew out the depleted stump of candle that had been her only friend during her visit, and braced herself to face the day. She closed the wrought metal door behind her, casting a spell which was a significantly more powerful deterrent than the lock she had first encountered, and exited the library, descending into the room below, looking more closely now at the pictures adorning the walls. She recognised one of them now; Princess Corona. A shaft of daylight pointed accusingly across the room, daring her to follow it to the exit. It was a worried looking Twilight who stepped out across the rubble, checking the sky to see if an irate Princess was circling above with a platoon of guards waiting to pounce and drag her screaming body away; it was almost an anti-climax when there wasn’t. She paused and looked back at the old uncovered doorway she had entered with such enthusiasm the day before, and set about replacing the stone blocks with care so that the weathered faces were outwards as she did her best to cover her tracks. She knew that ultimately, Celestia and Luna would find out, but she wanted to play for time as far as possible while she figured out what to do next. Twilight looked critically at her work and made a few minor changes to improve the appearance before accepting that it was as good as it was going to be, and sighed sadly. Then she turned and checked her saddle bags were tight before beating her wings and lifting into the air. Her load was as heavy as her heart, and she had to work hard to gain height as she set course in the morning sun back to Trottingham. Whereas she had made the journey the day before pumped with excitement and fuelled by adrenaline, today she felt numb and kept flying by reflex rather than concentration. She found the lack of a plan disconcerting and as the first of the city’s outlying settlements came into view, she finally settled on what she would do next. Wheeling out of the azure sky, Twilight descended by the station entrance and furled her wings. They should have been tired, but right now she felt nothing, nothing at all. “Princess Twilight?” asked the ticket clerk excitedly, “Is it really you? How can I help you today, your Majesty?” The welcome was quite overwhelming, and instantly Twilight snapped into her smile and wave mode, flashing him a dazzling smile and making him feel the most special stallion in all of Equestria. “Good morning, Sir” she replied, “A ticket to the Crystal Empire, please.” “Of course, Princess” he confirmed, sliding a booklet over to her, “Would you sign this please?” Believing this to be authorisation for the Royal warrant, she looked down casually and noticed the signatures of Countess Coloratura, Sapphire Shores and even Princess Cadence. “Wha …?” she enquired. “It’s an autograph book for my fillies. They love hearing about the famous ponies I’ve met, and I can’t wait to tell them I’ve met you, Princess!” Twilight smiled for the first time since her life changing discovery amid the ruins of Coltchester and felt a shred of her humanity return. “I’ll need you to sign this too” he added, passing over the warrant authorisation form. “Of course” she concurred, giving him a sincere smile, “And thank you.” “No, thank you” he quivered in his excitement, passing her the ticket, “Platform two, three quarters of an hour, your Majesty.” Twilight ambled into the station cafeteria and ordered a hot chocolate with extra oats, setting it down before her on an empty table. A party of young colts and fillies on the other side of the room started pointing and giggling until their teacher chastised them with a few stern words that she did not hear clearly. A few of the braver ones still risked occasional peeks at her, but all looked away quickly when they saw her eyes turn towards them. She got up and walked over to the teacher who immediately curtseyed and apologised profusely for the behaviour of her young students. “No, that’s fine” Twilight reassured, feeling another piece of her humanity return, “What have you all been up to today?” “We’re waiting for another class to join us and then we’re all going to the Trottingham Museum” the teacher replied. “Oh how wonderful!” cheered Twilight and bubbled excitedly as the colts and fillies all spoke loudly about what they most wanted to see. Although she had hoped somepony would have said the library, it seemed that dinosaurs were the main attraction. All the time she was happily answering their questions like “what do Princesses eat?”, “is your crown heavy?” and “do you remember when dinosaurs roamed Equestria?” she began to forget about her problems and was rather sad when she heard a train pull in. “That’ll be the other class, Princess Twilight” said the teacher checking her watch, “Thank you for keeping them occupied while we waited.” “No, really, I enjoyed it” she replied as the colts and fillies all gave her cheery thank yous. Twilight looked out at the station clock that she could just see through the window. This was probably her train, so she stepped out onto the platform and looked up the timetable before getting on and choosing a seat where she could mull over what she was going to do next. She was feeling a lot more level headed now thanks to some positive interactions at the station, but still very worried as the train wound its way northwards. In the way that time seems to speed up when you’re heading towards something you don’t want to do, Twilight soon found herself pulling into the central station in the Crystal Empire. She got out without fanfare and could see the startled looks on the faces of the guards, not knowing whether they had missed the official memo that Princess Twilight would be arriving on a State Visit, and whether they should form a makeshift guard of honour, salute or just ignore her. They quickly settled on saluting smartly and in her turn, she graciously thanked each of them as she made her way out of the station and took the short walk to the Crystal Castle. The Crystal Ponies all looked carefree and resplendent in their beautiful crystalline translucent colours as they went about their business, some pausing to greet Twilight and welcome her back. As she approached the castle, the guards snapped smartly to attention and sounded a fanfare, partly in greeting and partly to alert the occupants of the castle that a Royal visitor had arrived. Luckily, it was Shining Armor who came out to meet her, his face beaming when he saw who the unexpected arrival was. “Hey Twiley” he greeted joyfully, “Fancy seeing you up here! Cadie’s a bit tied up at the moment, but I’m sure she’ll want to see you as soon as she can!” “Hey BBBFF, it’s good to see you too, but it’s really you I need to talk to.” Even Shining, a stallion not renowned for his ability to pick up on subtle undercurrents got the hint; if his sister didn’t want to see her favourite foalsitter after all they had been through, something was seriously wrong. “Sure Twi. You want a quiet room where we’re not going to be disturbed?” “Yes please, I get the feeling this isn’t the only favour I’m going to be asking from you today.” He led them up a flight of stairs, away from the usual route taken by visitors and along a corridor fronted with doors that all looked the same, save for a name and a rank, until he got to the end, then opened a door that had a plaque on the outside stating Captain of the Guard. He slid a shutter across, covering over the Knock and enter sign to Meeting in progress. “This is my office” he announced proudly, “We won’t be disturbed here unless there’s an invasion.” Twilight laughed nervously at this comment as he directed her to a seat and she finally took off her saddle bags. “Travelling light?” he quipped, seeing how heavy they were. “Heavier than you can imagine” she grimaced. “OK, spill” he directed. “You know how you said I keep saving your flank? Well, I don’t quite know how to say this, but I need somepony I can trust right now; somepony I can trust with my life.” “Whoa – what have you gotten yourself into, Twiley?” “First, you must promise that what I am going to tell you can never, and I mean NEVER be repeated without my express permission, OK?” Shining’s look hardened. He had never heard her talk like this before. “Do I have your word?” “Of course Twiley; how’s that rhyme about cupcakes go again?” “This is way more important than a Pinkie Promise. I have to trust you as my brother.” “OK, Twi” he said, brows furrowing deeply, “I promise.” “How many immortal alicorns were there at the founding of Equestria?” “That’s easy. Two; Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna.” “What if I told you there was a third sister? Or rather there had been a third sister?” “No way!” Twilight’s face took on a look of deadly earnestness and suddenly Shining knew this wasn’t a joke. He made to get up but stopped himself, wracked with indecision. “Yes, a third immortal alicorn Princess” she confirmed, emphasising the word immortal. “Are you sure?” “I have books with her in and I’ve seen pictures of her too.” Shining leaned back in his chair, stunned. “If she’s immortal” he thought out loud, “Then what happened to her?” “Only two ponies can know the answer to that one BBBFF, and neither of them has ever mentioned her, so …” “You don’t think …” he stalled. Twilight just raised an eyebrow and shot him a look. “Our aunts will find out soon enough that I know – I won’t be able to hide my feelings in their presence for long. They could use mind spells and all sorts to find out. I think it’s best that I confront them; at least I’ll have the advantage, for whatever that’s worth. But if I go missing or suddenly start denying all knowledge of what I have found out, I want you to have the evidence so you can ...” “Are you suggesting they may murder you?” he interrupted. “I DON’T KNOW!” screamed Twilight, “They’re sure not letting on about Princess Corona!” “That her name, huh?” “Yes … yes” she replied, visibly deflating in front of him. “Show me” he asked gently. Without a further word, she undid her saddle bags and pulled out the Booke of Truthful Thinges and showed him the pages relating to the Princesses. He looked, and whistled softly, taking it all in. “You say you’ve seen pictures too?” “Yes, big portraits. It’s all genuine.” The two of them sat together as she explained how she had come by this information and pointed out the key passages in the books for him to read. At length he looked up into her eyes. They weren’t sparkling with the thrill of finding out something new, but haggard with the responsibility this new knowledge entailed. “So, you want to talk this over with the Princesses?” he asked, his voice heavy with concern. “I can’t see any other way” she replied resignedly. “And if you go missing then I take on the Royal sisters?” “No; if they’re prepared to go to such great lengths to cover this up, then that isn’t the way. Tell the ponies the truth if it comes to that.” “That could bring down the diarchy” he reasoned. “Let’s all hope it doesn’t come to that” she replied sombrely. Shining escorted Twilight to the station in time for the last train south. She had left the books with him and instructed him to hide them somewhere safe, but not to tell her where, in case her mind was read and they suddenly disappeared. As security against anything happening to him, he had written a note which he had put in a left luggage locker at the Crystal Empire main station and given her the key. It was the best they could do. Shining gave his sister a heartfelt hug on the platform as the guard blew his whistle and she jumped aboard, waving the kind of farewell that ponies only do when they’re worried they will never meet up again. Outside the passenger window, the sky was performing its evening rendition of oranges and purples and she suddenly called to mind Celestia’s original title; Her Majesty The Princess Of The Twilight. No wonder dusk and dawn had always been so spectacular – it was her birthright. It all fitted together, and she knew she was right.
4 ConfrontationIt was just turning dark when the train pulled in to Canterlot station and although Twilight had desperately needed the sleep, her mind had been alive with all the variables in play, as she wound herself up thinking through worst case scenarios, her tired mind unable to stop it. A few late evening commuters got out at the same time as her, but otherwise the station was bare. She felt exposed making her way through the darkening streets until she arrived at the castle where the guards recognised her approach and saluted, allowing her in through the main entrance. She felt like a fly entering a spider’s web and shuddered at the thought of what spiders did to flies. The corridors echoed more than usual, and it was a lot chillier than she remembered. She wanted to turn back and run away, but knew she must not; she had come this far, she would not be able to live with herself if she didn’t see it through. Luna wasn’t in the throne room holding Night Court, so she went out onto the balcony, the next most likely place. The air outside was sticky and sultry after the clamminess of the castle, the change making Twilight shiver briefly as she acclimatised. At the other end of the balcony was a dark form occasionally rearing up and weaving spells with her forelegs. Upon hearing other hoofsteps on the balcony, Luna planted all four hooves on the floor and turned her head. “Twilight Sparkle, a pleasure” she greeted with a gentle bow towards her visitor, “We were worried to learn of your abrupt departure yesterday. I trust all is well?” Twilight’s demeanour was more businesslike than Luna could remember, and she stopped short of the midnight blue mare in a stance that looked imposing even given the size difference between the two mares. “What ails thee?” asked Luna, now clearly picking up that something was wrong and reverting to olde Canterlot speech. “We need to talk, Luna.” “Very well. Here or perhaps a more private venue?” “What happened to Princess Corona?” Luna froze. There was a long pause during which the silence roared in Twilight’s ears. Luna knew something, that much was obvious and so Twilight braced herself physically and magically for whatever would come next. Luna lowered her head and placed a forehoof forward, then began a slow walk past Twilight and into the castle. No invitation was given but she followed the Princess of the Night at a safe distance. They proceeded along a familiar route that led to a door with a sun emblazoned on it. Luna knocked and waited. Twilight’s pulse raced as she forced away the urge to hyperventilate. The sound of a latch echoed in the stillness of the corridor and Twilight thought she would scream. The door opened slowly revealing the familiar white mare with flowing blue, lilac and green mane; somepony she had always looked upon with absolute trust and friendship. Until now. “Yes, Luna. How may I help?” “There is something that Twilight Sparkle wishes to discuss, Sister.” “Good evening Twilight. I am sorry I got so caught up with visitors yesterday. What do you want to talk about?” Twilight seemed to develop tunnel vision with everything but her focus on Celestia fading into a blur. She was scared now, but adrenaline was pushing her forward. “Princess Corona” she said. Celestia’s face creased into one of pure shock as she gasped and stepped back raising a forehoof defensively. Twilight stood firm, half a dozen of her most powerful spells prepared and ready to fire at whichever of the two Princesses would make a threatening move first. Celestia regained her composure but her face suddenly looked sad and she seemed to have shrunk at those two words. Her mouth began to work, but the words did not come. She backed up and withdrew into her chambers leaving the door in an open invitation for her two guests to follow. Celestia looked visibly shaken as she lay down on the floor in an unthreatening manner, followed by her sister who did the same. Twilight’s resolve refused to let her follow their lead and she stood in an aggressive stance facing them both. “Corona was our sister” said Luna. “Was?” queried Twilight, “She’s immortal; what do you mean was?” “An unfortunate choice of words, Twilight” comforted Celestia, “Would you not care to join us? We mean you no harm.” “Tell me what you did to Princess Corona. Then I’ll decide if I feel safe or not.” “If anypony was ever going to find out, I knew it would be you” whispered Celestia sadly, “How did you do it?” “My secret, Celestia” asserted Twilight, although it came out as more of a growl, “You know all about secrets, don’t you?” “Some secrets have been harder to carry than others over the centuries” said Celestia, glittering pools of tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes, “You have been the brightest and most able of all my students, but also the most dangerous. You have control of magic beyond your young years, you are a brave and fearless fighter, and now you have become my Inquisitor. The time had to come.” Twilight started to feel sad for this most powerful and regal of ponies, now reduced before her eyes, but kept her guard. “Have you seen pictures of her, Twilight?” “Yes” she replied without embellishment. “She was beautiful, but had a quick temper. Inevitable, really. In the same way that Luna hides her feelings, she wore them proudly and acted accordingly. You will be aware of my original role?” Twilight nodded, refusing to release her from her penetrating gaze. “Well, keeping order between day and night, light and dark was much harder than it may sound. Corona would lash out physically and Luna would defend herself with magic. One day, she pushed too far. She had worked on a spell using earth pony magic that would cause the earth to swallow Luna up and bury her underground forever, banishing the night. I found out and confronted her. She was scornful and started to cast the spell on me. I felt the earth starting to rise up and knew it would envelop me, so I struck back, summoning all the magic at my disposal. She had laughed at me and was caught off guard when my magic struck her. We kept fighting as the earth continued to consume me, but I had already resigned myself to an eternal lingering death, just so long as I could stop her and thought nothing for my own safety.” Twilight watched as Luna broke down in tears and felt her own eyes start to sting. “I prevailed and banished her to the sun” continued Celestia, “But I was transfixed by a spell half-finished and stuck in the earth until Luna found me. The spell was indeed powerful, and Luna worked tirelessly for weeks trying to research a new class of magic to set me free, while all the time I could feel my body growing roots and becoming one with the earth itself.” “That's horrible” interrupted Twilight, looking shocked. “Yes” replied Celestia sadly, “One day when scientists can image the sun they will see her as clearly as they could see my dear Sister on the face of the moon.” “But what about all those volumes of earth magic?” Twilight persisted, “Why isn’t it known today? It would make crop growing and food production a much easier business.” “Luna worked hard to free me from the bonds of Corona’s spell and between us we agreed that such a fate was so awful, we should remove the worst excesses of earth magic so that nopony would ever have to live under its threat again. Judge me as you please Twilight Sparkle, but Luna and I have kept Equestria in balance and harmony. My battle with Corona was the closest I have ever come to defeat, even against Nightmare Moon; if we were to bring her back, I do not believe she would allow herself to be beaten a second time around. So whether you consider my banishing her to be the safest action for ponykind or an act of personal cowardice, I await your verdict.” Celestia hung her head, and now the story was out, gave in to centuries of guilt-ridden tears, a broken mare. Twilight was stunned. She hadn’t expected this outcome and suddenly felt guilty for what she had done. Luna moved over and stretched a protective wing over her sister, trying to ease the pain of memories, each hoped they would never have to relive. She looked up sadly through her watering eyes, meeting Twilight’s gaze, “Tia is not a monster; she did what she thought was right and very nearly died the most awful of deaths. Even though she banished me too, she was right then, and I believe she chose the right path with Corona too. Whatever punishment you believe fitting, we will not challenge you, but do one thing for me; give me the same punishment as her, for we are both culpable.” “No Luna!” Celestia interjected sharply, “My actions are my responsibility! I was the one to banish her; I will not allow you to accept any punishment!” Twilight’s eyes were stinging badly now, and an itch had developed on her muzzle that demanded to be touched and release her own tears. “I’m sorry” she whispered as the first of her own tears fell. Time weighed heavily on the sad party of three alicorns, each fighting to come to terms with their own guilt and their own fears. Twilight never thought she would have been standing in judgement over her mentor, but the more she thought it through, the more she came to appreciate the burden this must have been for her. She raised her head and spoke, “Celestia, you said that I am the brightest and most able of your students; how far is this true?” “Completely. You are the only pony in all of Equestria to have ever completed a spell left unfinished by Star Swirl the Bearded, which is all the more surprising considering your young years. Also, you are the only student to whom the Element of Magic was attracted.” “Will I become more powerful than you, Celestia?” “Given time, yes.” “Could I develop a magic that would be able to tame Corona?” Celestia thought for a moment; “Yes, but it would take longer than one lifetime.” “Then grant me more than one lifetime.” “I … I cannot sentence you to immortality, my Faithful Student; it is a curse to watch all those around you die, to keep losing friends in one endless procession.” “Also, you would never be able to have foals of your own” added Luna, regret heavy in her voice. “I would have both of you as friends, wouldn’t I? What more family would I need?” “It’s still a very big step” Celestia cautioned, “But we would stand by you.” “Then let me grow in magic so that one day we can release Corona. She has made one mistake, but we cannot sentence her to banishment without release, that’s unethical.” “That would provide a solution” concurred Luna. “But I, we, cannot allow you to pay such a high price for the mistakes of others” Celestia contested. “Can you see a better alternative?“ questioned Twilight. “It is within my gift to confer immortality, but it is a magic I have never used. Luna, I would need your help.” “Of course Sister” she replied unquestioningly. “Twilight, your request should be considered most carefully. Meet us one month from now and confirm that it is still your wish.” Twilight let herself out and made for the guest suite she had occupied the night before last and collapsed on the bed, asleep before she hit the duvet. “I dare to believe” ventured Celestia, “That maybe this nightmare could soon be over.” “I agree Sister. Twilight Sparkle is unique. If she is prepared to forgo her own mortality, then this curse may yet be lifted.” “I have no idea how she found out” pondered Celestia, “I was certain we had destroyed all traces.” “When one faces the enquiring mind of Twilight Sparkle, one can be assured that she will pursue her aim until she reaches her goal.” “Let us hope so, Luna” said Celestia, rising to her hooves with an optimism she had not felt in centuries, “Let us hope so.”
PrologueThe flickering candle flame danced jauntily from its vantage point on a rickety old wooden table, casting a wavering light around the small musty room. A troupe of dancing shadows darted playfully around the walls and the solitary dusty bookshelf, happily disregarding the room’s sole occupant; a lilac alicorn engrossed in an ancient tome. The air was heavy with many lifetimes of neglect, and indeed it had seen the centuries pass without an enquiry from any living being. Until now, that was. Twilight carefully turned the fragile pages in her magic, never a page going by without an “oooh” or an “aaah” escaping her lips, for this was a book she had never even heard of, let alone seen until today. It had been written just after the unification of the three tribes, distilling their collective knowledge and setting down rules for how they were going to be governed fairly, with checks and balances in place to ensure that no one tribe could achieve supremacy over the others. This, Twilight had quickly realised, was the most significant text of the classical era. And she was not going to put it down until she had finished it. The question of why she hadn’t even heard of such an important work remained unasked as she absorbed long forgotten wisdom from each of the three great tribes. Suddenly she gasped and pushed back in her seat, wide eyes fixated on what she had just read. Surely she must have been mistaken … She took a few quick breaths to steady herself then returned to look a little closer. No! It couldn’t be! Twilight felt herself trembling and suddenly became aware of her rapid breathing as she looked about her, sensing danger in every sinister shadow. She knew something now, something that only two ponies in all of Equestria could know, something that had been buried deep. For a reason. Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle felt scared and very alone.
