The Handmaiden

Twilight had only once before journeyed with the Empress outside of Canterlot.

The Empress generally preferred to stay in her capital. It was only when absolutely necessary did Empress Celestia journey far from her castle. Indeed, the High Queen had to be convinced to leave Canterlot to attend the funeral of her then-recently deceased nephew, this departure being the one and only time Twilight had ever journeyed with the Empress further than the city limits. On that journey, the Empress had been chatty, polite, engaging. This time, as the two journeyed past the Appleloosa colony and neared that uncharted mountain, was a very different story. Almost entirely silent, save a few words shared between the High Queen and her handmaiden over meals, and tense in no small amount. Twilight wanted to ask the Empress about things, particularly the significance of this mountain, but thought better of it. If history was anything to go by, she would receive her answers all in due time.

"Collect yourself, Twilight Sparkle," said the Empress. She gestured to the carriage window, up the small mountain's slope to the small collection of tents and huts positioned near the peak. The Empress gave out a sharp whistle, and the carriage immediately came to a stop. "We have arrived. Let us not dawdle long, I wish to be home soon."

"Yes, my Empress." Twilight made way to open the door for the High Queen, just to be stopped by a hand to her chest. "Empress?"

"I shall lead the way. If these petty hunters are willing to disobey me at this point..." Empress Celestia pushed open her carriage door and stepped out, offering her hand to Twilight. "I would prefer to be in between you and their arrows."

"Do you really think it will come to that?" Twilight cautiously accepted the Empress' hand, stepping out onto the breezy knoll.

"I did not think it would come to this. I will no longer underestimate the treachery of my sister and her followers."

The mountain that they had stopped at was more akin to a large hill, with a gentle slope upwards for several yards. The camp at the peak served as the only features of the otherwise unremarkable hill, and Twilight was inclined to believe that the mountain was previously uncharted because of its general lack of importance. She could tell by the way the Empress hesitated, taking a brief pause before continuing up the slope, that this was not the case.

Twilight stood close to the Empress, clutching her leash nervously as the two marched up the slight incline. The gentle blowing of the wind, blowing about grass and leaves, masked the sounds of working, of barked orders and soldiers scrambling to obey. Strangely, as they neared the top and caught sight of the remnants of Luna's army, the Children of the Night made no attempt to stop them. They simply watched the Empress and her pet make their approach, scrambling up to make it to camp before the High Queen arrived.

"Flash Sentry! Show yourself!"

The loud ferocity of the Empress' voice startled Twilight, nearly making her jump out of her skin. The Empress took great care to stand in front of Twilight, leading her page into the settlement. There was a small smattering of tents, even fewer huts of straw and hide haphazardly cobbled together. In the center of the camp was a large fire pit, filled only with ashes and cold charcoal. Near the back, just before the largest tent of all, was a pair of wagons containing no fewer than a dozen barrels each of black powder.

Slowly, from the tent's depths, emerged the man in question. He wore the midnight cloak that formerly belonged to his leader and, despite being somewhat larger than Luna was, he still seemed so small in the furs. He held no weapon, no blade or bow, as he emerged from his tent. As he rounded the wagons, Twilight got a good look at him and gasped; He looked so tired, so lifeless. He scratched a hand through his scraggly, scruffy, unkempt beard, staring at the women with a special sort of disdain and hatred.

"So you've finally come for me," croaked Flash. "Took you long enough."

"I was kind enough to spare your army the punishment you had earned for following in my sister's footsteps," said the Empress. "And you repay me with a plot to… What is it you intend to accomplish, exactly? You must know that your pitiful forces could never take even a small city of mine. So what is the meaning of this?"

"Lady Luna taught me for years to do one thing." Flash fell back, taking a seat on the wagon of explosives. "And that is to defy you. It is all I know, and it is all I have left. We know that we'd never take Canterlot, but this amount of black powder would surely damage it." Flash gave a dark chuckle, staring defiantly at the Empress. "Figured that might piss you off. Was I right, Celestia?"

"You're going to die and your only goal is to irritate me?"

"There are no more animals nearby. We've hunted them all. We cannot get crops to grow on this mountain. This chunk of land is unclaimed, yes, but we are surrounded by your territory. We cannot trade with anyone. We are without food, without water, and it is a matter of days before we fall apart. I wanted to go out with a bit more dignity than drawing straws to decide who gets to eat who."

"And you think there's dignity to be had in a suicide bombing?" asked Twilight. Flash snarled, standing up and taking a hostile step towards the Empress and her handmaiden.

"You've got a lot of nerve, lecturing me about dignity while wearing her insignia on a fucking collar," snapped the hunter. "What do you know about dignity? You, who betrayed your friends, your only allies, and for what? To secure herself a spot in the Empress' bed?"

"If you address my handmaiden again, this trip will be very short, indeed," said the Empress, stepping forward. "I will cut you down where you stand, just like I did your Lady." Bizarrely, the response the Empress received was laughter. Bitter, tortured laughter, but laughter nevertheless. "Forgive me, but I believe I may be missing the joke."

"Of course you are. Allow me to explain," snickered Flash. "See, it's funny because you really believe you killed her. Lady Luna lives on, Celestia."

"There is a barrel of salt in my treasury containing her head that would like to wager otherwise."

"She lives on in here." Flash tapped his temple, chuckling to himself. "You probably think I've gone mad. Frankly, I just might have. But it doesn't matter, because I hear my lady every single night in my dreams. It's faint, but it's there. Constantly repeating herself, the same six words. Every time, the same six words." He clenched his fists, staring down at the dirt before continuing. "I'm sorry, Flash. I love you."

"If she truly loved you, she would not have compelled you to throw your life away," noted the Empress. "My sister, in her single-minded obsession with killing me, long ago eschewed concepts such as love in favor of deceit and manipulation. She only told you what you needed to hear in order to be a good little soldier and carry out her will. She just so happened to get guilty about it at the end."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. All that matters to me is her voice, and the knowledge that she is waiting for me, beyond this world," said Flash. "So go on. Kill me, torture me, turn me to ash. I made you come to me, come here, so I've already won. You have nothing to threaten me with, coward."

"Coward?" asked Twilight.

"He refers to this mountain. Luna believed this to be the one place I would never follow her." The Empress surveyed the area, frowning at all she saw. "Before her banishment, she was right to believe that."

"Why? What is this mountain?" asked Twilight. It was a minute or so before the Empress replied, and she did so with a simmering, smoldering fury, a rage that scorched Twilight and all else who may listen with just her voice.

"I know you will not do so, but I am going to offer you but one opportunity to apologize, Flash Sentry," said the Empress slowly.

"You must be daft if you think I'm apologizing to you."

"No, not to me. An apology from you would be meaningless, because you do not yet understand the depths of my anger nor its roots. How could you?" The Empress shook her head, pointing over her shoulder. "I want you to apologize to my handmaiden."

"For what?" Flash snorted. "A few nasty words?"

"For forcing her to bear witness to what I am about to do to you." The Empress waited a beat and, when Flash Sentry said nothing, she continued on as if she had expected nothing less. "Very well, Flash Sentry. Twilight Sparkle, remember that it is he who is forcing me to do this, by coming to this accursed mountain."

"Pah. Thousands of years old and you still believe in faerie tales?"

"I have a tale for you. Are you ready to hear it?" To Twilight's confusion, the Empress began to remove her shoes, stepping onto the crisp grass with her bare, perfect feet. "When I was born, I was healthy, strong, rather ordinary in most ways. Except I did not cry a single tear. Not for hunger or discomfort or to even have my diaper changed. I was silent, and this behavior followed me throughout the years. I did not fear the consequences of my rebellious youth's actions, nor did I fear my father's fury. I feared neither life's cruel potential nor death's inevitable embrace. In fact, there was only one thing I ever truly feared.

"When it would storm during the night, and the wind blew strong enough to shake the castle, I would run to my mother's bed for fear that they were descending upon me." The Empress removed her diadem, the crown, the Kingdom of Equestria itself, and pressed it into Twilight's hands. "Every crack of thunder, every whoosh of wind, every loud bump in the night could have been them. And, when my sister failed to murder me, they were her very first allies. An intelligent move on my sister's part, she used my fear against me. But what Luna did not account for was that I am strong. Stronger than her. Stronger than fear. I looked my fear in its eyes and when it threatened my rule, my kingdom, my destiny, I struck it down!

"I'm sure Luna told the story differently, but it matters not. I am honest, while my sister spoke only in lies. I am strong, while my sister was weak. I am alive, while my sister is dead." The Empress raised her hands forward, fingers extended towards Flash Sentry. The hunter stood up, staring his demise in the face with scorn and rebellion. "When my sister told you of this mountain, did she tell you what it was called?"

"She did not," said Flash after a moment. The Empress chuckled darkly.

"Typical of her. This mountain, unmarked on all maps and unvisited by all except my idiot sister and her idiot admirers is called High Dragon's Crossing," said the Empress. "And it is where I buried my fear. Their final resting place…"

An otherworldly glow began to shroud the Empress, bright light blooming first from her chest. A bright, sunny aura crept from her eyes, shimmering energy emanating from her as it grew stronger, brighter. Her jewelry began to glow, her pendants, anklets, and rings, the multicoloured light melding together into an almost tangible plane of golden energy. The Empress hissed an incantation, a long, winding series of words and phrases in a language Twilight didn't even know, one that her mind was too small to even properly hear and comprehend. The ground began to quake as the Empress spoke, causing a panic amongst the last remaining Children. The only one to stand his ground was Flash himself, narry taking a single step even as the earth quivered beneath him.

A thin fissure cracked in the ground, running all along the hill, the very world quivering beneath the Empress' might. Heat began to blossom from the Empress, hot enough to wilt and scorch the grass on which she stood. Despite the heat, Twilight took a step forward, concerned, and reached for her Empress. With a single wave of her hand, Empress Celestia sent Twilight stumbling, falling into her back with a plane of magick. The High Queen turned her head slowly, her eyes radiating an impossibly bright sunny glow.

"Stay back, Twilight Sparkle." Even these simple words dripped with power, turning a simple command into natural law. "And watch carefully. You will never again see sorcery such as this."

Twilight barely had time to scamper back when it happened. A shrieking, piercing roar split the air and, as the quaking came to a crescendo, the ground erupted into a torrent of dirt and debris. The handmaiden shielded her eyes, but not before she caught a glimpse of what had emerged from the ground. The skeleton of a grand beast, twice as big as a house, floated from the ground, its dried, petrified bones twisting and locking into place. A wave of magick passed over the bones, manifesting blood and muscle from nothingness, building on the foundation of the beast's four powerful legs, its two large wings, like the sails of a great brigantine. There was horror, awe, disgust, amazement as the skin began to melt through the flesh, the amethyst scales growing out into an intricate, arcane suit of natural armor. Great spines of emerald burst into view along the creature's spine, all the way down to the tip of its tail, and it's sharp beak split into a maw of countless dagger teeth. It shook the world when it landed onto the mountain, and the beast let out a mighty, screeching roar. As if to declare that it was no mere beast, but more, much more.

"Impossible…" breathed Flash. For the first time, Twilight saw fear in that man's eyes, a fear that made her incredibly grateful that she had chosen not to anger the Empress in the way that the Children had. "They… They're gone. Luna said they were gone!"

"Because I killed them, boy!" Almost as terrifying as the ancient beast's roar was that of the High Queen herself. "Do you still not understand? This is the difference between my idiot sister and me! Luna feared me, and she ran away! I feared the dragons, and I, too, ran, but I ran straight toward the bastards, and I wiped their existence from my world! Luna's fears became reality. My fears became nothing more than myths!"

"Necromancy…" Twilight clasped her palm to her mouth, unable to tear her eyes away from the massacre that was undoubtedly about to unfold. Necromancy, an impossible sorcery, considered to be the foulest and most powerful of all magicks. The greatest Summoning mages of all time had failed to discover its secrets, and a great many of them perished in their attempts to do so.

"I am Celestia of the Sun, the High Queen of Canterlot and the Empress of the Equestrian Empire! I have complete dominion over my land, the sun and the moon and the stars, of life and death itself!" roared Empress Celestia, that unshakable magick still blooming brightly in her eyes. "I am Divinity. I am power! I am the name that the Gods fear to utter! I am Luna's worst nightmare. And now…" The Empress held her palm forward, scowling at the trembling hunter before her. Twilight's eyes went wide as she noticed the slight quiver in the Empress' legs, and the blood streaming steadily from her ears. "And now, I am yours, as well."

The Empress clenched her fist, and the dragon shot up into the sky. It flapped its wings, though Twilight was sure that it was some unknown magick that allowed a beast of that size to fly, and it circled the mountain once before hovering just before the hunter. Flash had nowhere to run, and no time to even consider such things, when the dragon opened its great maw and rained down a stream of billowing emerald flames. The black powder barrels caught, and with a decisive boom, they erupted. Twilight raised a defensive wall of mana, but this was unnecessary; The Empress had already raised a shield to defend the handmaiden from flames and debris.

It was a matter of moments and a few directive orders from the Empress before the dragon had successfully turned the last of the Children of the Night into embers in the wind. When the carnage was done, Twilight made a few waves of sorcery, extinguishing the flames so that the dragon may land at the peak of the mountain. The Empress beckoned for the beast, and it obediently dragged itself forward, stopping with its claws just before the Empress.

"I have revived you, Dragon. As such, your will is bound to my own, and you shall obey my command until I return your soul to the great beyond." The Empress's voice was low, croaking, weak. The dragon said nothing, made no noise as it nodded its head. "Good. In addition to me, you shall also obey the woman behind me, as she, too, is your master."

"M-Me?!" Twilight scrambled forward, her heart going still in her chest at what she saw. It wasn't just her ears that were bleeding; claret streamed from the Empress' nose, her eyes, and she spat a great gob of crimson onto the scorched earth. "Empress!"

"You will go to the Everfree and await your masters there," said the Empress. The dragon nodded once again, and took off into the sky. The Empress stumbled, swaying, before swiftly crumbling. Twilight leaped forward, catching the High Queen before she hit the dirt. "Thank you, Twilight Sparkle…"

"How did you do that?" Twilight pushed the Empress up, grabbing her around the middle in an attempt to support her weight. "Necromancy is supposed to be impossible."

"It would take every single drop of an average mage's mana pool to resurrect a small dog for an hour." The Empress spat again, splattering even more blood into the ground. Her skin was hot enough that it nearly burned Twilight, but she didn't dare release her grip. "This… was a rather large dog, agreed?"

"Celestia… You shouldn't have done that. You've hurt yourself."

"I refused to be disrespected by my sister any longer. Even if from beyond the grave." The Empress gave a tiny chuckle. "Aside from that… I was hoping you would find that impressive."

"You just broke the laws of sorcery to Summon a creature that many scholars believed existed only on faerie tales," said Twilight, shaking her head. "Of course I'm impressed. Doesn't make this any less foolish of you."

"Well, no. I suppose it does not. To the carriage, Twilight. I need to see Ms. Rarity soon."

Twilight nodded, dragging the Empress along as swiftly as she could. With every step, it seemed that the High Queen's strength began to wane more and more, but Twilight kept going along until they arrived at their carriage. She helped the High Queen into the cab and gave the order to the Daybreakers to take off. As they pulled away from the mountain, Twilight dug through her satchel in search of a handkerchief to wipe away the blood from the Empress' face.

"You've got it wrong, by the way," coughed the Empress.

"Empress, please, save your strength…"

"It wasn't Summoning. That's where most folks go wrong, they think they can Summon life." The Empress sat up on her elbows, smiling despite the pain she was surely experiencing. "But this? This is the true potential of Restoration. Restoration isn't the magick of healing, it's the magick of life and death."

The Empress leaned in and kissed Twilight gently on the lips, her eyes rolling back before she fainted from the strain of her sorcery. Twilight gasped, pulling down on the Empress' gown and putting her ear to her chest. A heartbeat, albeit faint, was still audible, and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. She licked her lips, mostly out of habit, recoiling at the metallic taste of the Empress' blood. She wiped the rest of the blood from her lips, staring at it for a moment before her mind snapped back to action.

"Hurry!" she called to the Daybreakers, still transfixed by the blood on her palm. The Empress' blood, the blood of a being many believed could not bleed at all. After a bit of staring, her resolve broke, and she licked a tiny splash of blood from her flesh before wiping with a handkerchief, turning to watch over her exhausted owner until they returned home.

“Three hells, my Empress!”

It was dark out when Twilight and the Empress arrived at the castle, which was ideal. The fewer people aware of the situation, the better, as far as Twilight was concerned. It was why she sent for only Chancellor Rarity and an additional two Daybreakers to carry the Empress’ unconscious body onto a stretcher and through the halls. To the chancellor’s credit, she managed to maintain her composure for quite some time, until the Empress was gently placed in her bed, her diadem resting against her chest, just barely rising and falling with her shallow breaths.

“She’s lost a lot of mana,” said Twilight, clutching the Empress’ hand while Rarity paced the room. The guards that usually stood sentry outside of the Empress’ chambers had been dispatched, but Twilight still spoke quietly, as if afraid of being overheard. “Before she fainted, she told me to bring her to you.”

“Me? Why would she want to see me?” Rarity was nearly tugging out her hair by this point, muttering madly to herself between outbursts. “I’m no doctor, and my Restoration is just barely passable, I don’t know what I could possibly—”

“An Eclipse…” The Empress coughed, rousing from her slumber. Rarity immediately rushed to her side, hanging onto the Empress' every word. "I need an Eclipse…"

"Of course… Oh, dear…" Rarity covered her mouth with her palm, tears in her eyes. "This is serious…"

"Are you only just now realizing this?" The Empress slowly pushed herself upright, wiping the sweat from her clammy forehead. "I would have thought the blood dripping from my eyes would be a clear enough indicator of that."

"Empress, I think you'll agree that now is not the time for jokes," said Twilight firmly. The Empress gave a weak nod, struggling to even remain upright. "You said Eclipse. What is that?"

"Due to the poison my sister and her whore mother dropped into my water, I am incapable of naturally regenerating mana," said the Empress. "So, periodically, I must put myself into a sort of… I suppose the aptest term is coma. The Eclipse is a ritual used to induce that coma."

"Your Divinity… I've never had to do this before…. said Rarity. "I'm not sure if I can…"

"Well, your options are to succeed and save my life, or fail and go down in history as the sorry soul responsible for the death of the Empress. Should not be a difficult decision."

"Celestia, you are on death's doorstep, and yet you still jest!" groaned Twilight. "Please, be serious. The Eclipse. What do we need to do?"

"The Empress has prepared me for this ritual," said Rarity, glaring at Twilight from the corner of her eye. "I… I am certain I can manage it. It's just that I've never done it. My mother never had to, I don't know if I've heard of any Chancellor who had to perform an Eclipse."

"I have only had to undergo an Eclipse twice, and they were both pre-emptive procedures," admitted the Empress. "This time… I have depleted almost all of my mana. It has to be now."

"Yes, of course. Just a moment, I need to focus."

"How long will you be in this coma?" asked Twilight.

"There really is no way to be sure. At the very least, a week. Perhaps even longer." The Empress clasped her hands around Twilight's, pulling her close. "And so I must ask you a favor."

"Yes, Empress, anything you desire."

"The Matai will be sailing here soon to discuss our truce. And if she is not happy with our offer… The Calypso are renowned warriors. They will not hesitate to fight, even if they know they cannot win. I do not want any more wars, Twilight Sparkle. So I need you to act in my stead, and keep Calypso on their leash where they belong."

"Me?" Twilight glanced to Rarity, who was silently glaring in her direction. "Empress, I don't know…"

"My kingdom cannot go on without a leader for this long, and you are the only one I trust to lead in my stead," said Empress Celestia. "You are more than capable. Clever. Powerful. Do not forget."

"Stand like a queen, and others will bow." Twilight nodded slowly as all of the pieces fell together. Now, things began to make a bit more sense. "I don't know if I can do it alone, Empress."

"Rarity will report to you much like how she serves me. She will advise you, but your say is final." Gently, the Empress braced Twilight's face with her hand, looking her apprentice in the eye. "Wear my crown. Rule as I would. Protect my kingdom. Our kingdom. I know you can do it."

The Empress fell back into bed, her body going limp as her breathing slowed. She was just barely holding on, clinging to consciousness by a thread, losing her grip on Twilight with each passing second. It wasn't long before the Empress fainted again, and Rarity quickly rushed to her side.

"Out, Sparkle!" Chancellor Rarity raised her arms, palms facing down, as she charged her mana. "I need to focus in order to safely put our Empress into her sleep. Wait outside, I'll be with you in a moment."

Twilight nodded and, after sparing the Empress one last look of concern, she scrambled out of the room, pacing in front of the door as her worries took hold of her mind. She could not fail, not with so much at stake. She paced the hall, her mind racing as she prepared for the coming task. Twilight knew nothing of rule, nothing of diplomacy, nothing of The Isle of Calypso. Yet, the Empress entrusted her with defending the fragile truce. Twilight had no idea how to do it, only that she must.

"The sorcery is taking hold." The low, shaken voice of the Chancellor jostled Twilight, pulling her from her thoughts. Rarity's eyes were misty, and she clutched the Empress' diadem tightly. "She'll be asleep soon. What happened out there?"

"She… She wanted to prove a point to Flash Sentry," said Twilight carefully. "So… The Empress used her magick to revive a dragon." The chancellor went even more pale than usual at that, swallowing her heart back down as it threatened to leap up her throat. "She wanted to prove that she had conquered her fear."

"Fear? What fear does my Empress have?"

"She feared dragons. She said she feared them since she was a child." Twilight felt even more anxious the longer she was alone with the Chancellor. "I'll tell you the story some other time. For now, I need your help."

"My… help?"

"She wants me to handle the Calypso visit. I don't know why she picked me, Ms. Rarity," said Twilight. There was a tangible level of unease in her voice, a sense of turmoil and angst that seemed intent on reducing the handmaiden to tears. "It should be you. You know better than I, you're more suited for these matters. It should be you."

Rarity said nothing at first, not even meeting Twilight's eye. She tapped her foot thoughtfully, squeezing her eyes shut and contemplating the situation. The unease on her face did nothing to alleviate Twilight's fears. Of the traits Twilight found herself admiring in Rarity, above all else was her confidence, her assuredness and determination in the face of conflict. To see her so confused, so concerned, it shook Twilight's confidence as well.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps you need more faith. In my many years in the service of the Empress, she's not gone wrong yet," said Rarity. She took in a deep breath, steadying herself. She looked up at Twilight, locking eyes with her and showing something that Twilight wasn't sure she'd ever truly gotten from the chancellor before. The look in Rarity's eyes was one of respect. "If she chose you, then it is for a reason. A reason we simply cannot see yet. So yes, you are ignorant, uncertain and unprepared. However…" Rarity offered the diadem, the elegant golden band embedded with amethysts and diamonds. "If you're good enough for the Empress, then you're good enough for me."

"Ms. Rarity… Thank you." Twilight took the diadem from ger, holding it to her chest. Even with the power the Empress had given her, it felt wrong to even touch the crown, nevermind wear it. "What do we do now?"

"You tell me."

"R-right. Capable. Clever. Powerful." Twilight placed the diadem atop her head, standing up a bit straighter. "Alright. No one can know of the Empress' condition. It'll start a panic."

"Right. I'll get the story ready, have it declared that the Empress has gone on a sorcery-related excursion," said Rarity. "Most of the population doesn't know enough about magick to question it. That should keep the questions at bay for a while. What about the Matai?"

"I need you to teach me everything you can about the Calypso."

"We only have fragments of their culture in our libraries. It won't be much."

"Fragments are better than nothing, which is what I currently know about the Calypso. I'm going to be playing catch up during our whole meeting, and I'll need to minimize that if I hope to stand a chance."

"Of course. I'll get those things in order. Then, I'll need to prepare an edict declaring you as the leading power during the Empress' absence," said Rarity, crossing her arms behind her back. "In the meantime… What will you do?"

Twilight thought long and hard for a spell, feeling the gold and gems of the Empress' diadem weighing her down. What to do, indeed? So many things to contend with, so much to learn, so much to think about. Twilight wasn't sure how the Empress managed it all. Years of experience, she reasoned, and perhaps a bit of that divine order that the Empress spoke about before. Her knowledge, her power, it was all more than Twilight could ever think herself to possess.

"Ms. Rarity, may I borrow Opal?" said Twilight, pursing her lips. Rarity seemed concerned, nodding her head cautiously.

"What exactly for?"

"I need to attend to some business in the Everfree, and it's best that I see to it without an escort…"