The Dragon of Coltonville.

If somepony were to be told that Princess Twilight Sparkle would succeed Princess Celestia and Luna as ruler of Equestria, nopony would likely be too shock to hear it. But if anypony were told that Princess Twilight Sparkle had gone through the first day of her reign, entirely without succumbing to any stress, most ponies would wonder if they had stumbled into an alternate reality. As far as anypony who even knew Twilight Sparkle personally would know, she had made a somewhat jocose reputation of overreacting upon the slightest hint of disorder, which even led to her very name becoming the inspiration for a new verb; but much like the scant tumult that nearly ruined the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight Sparkle had handled all her royal duties in a calm and collected manner that one could argue was completely out of character for her.

Nonetheless, Princess Twilight had managed each responsibility in the placid demeanor that Celestia and Luna would've pulled off; from receiving reports from the royal guards, to diplomatic meetings with delegates from the Dragon Lands, Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, Saddle Arabia, the Hippogriff Kingdom, the Changeling Kingdom, and the Crystal Empire, to settling disputes with subjects, and all the way to signing mountains of paperwork.

Of course, most of the success mainly stemmed from the assistance of Twilight's royal advisor, Spike. Ever since the day she hatched him on her entrance exam, the little dragon has always been by her side, providing her with a helping claw whenever she needed a letter to be sent or a mess cleaned up, serving as a voice of reason whenever Twilight falls under one of her episodes of hysteria (even if most of the advice he offered would fall on deaf ears), and also being the first real friend she would make before she'd fully appreciate friendship when she and him moved to Ponyville.

After being her loyal assistant up to when she was prepared to take Celestia's and Luna's mantle, one of Twilight's first decision was appointing him as her royal advisor (a moment that filled Spike with a profound sense of pride that he hadn't felt since the day Twilight and Shining Armor finally acknowledged him as their little brother). Upon having that gold medal placed around his neck, the ardent dragon has yet to give his sister any reason to regret her decision; telling her things she needs to hear when others would've told her what she wanted to hear, carefully scrutinizing every paragraph on every document when others would've let her sign her signature right away, and taking the role of royal advisor with doing what's right as its only reward whereas others would only take it for their own self-interest, one could easily say that this job was practically tailor-made for Spike.

With the trials of today coming to a close, Equestria's new ruler was filling the halls of her new place of residence with the echoes of hoof steps, while her royal advisor was flapping his wings beside her and donning his gold medal like a badge of honor.

"I'd say that you aced todays' royal duties with flying colors." Spike commended his big sister.

"Only because I have you helping me." Twilight, in turn, rewarded her little brother with praise of her own.

"I wouldn't be much of an advisor if I'm no help to you," that's when the little dragon's stomach let out a growl that one would thought was coming from a timberwolf. "You know, I think we've earned ourselves a victory meal."

"You've read my mind." As if on cue, one of the many servants had entered Princess Twilight's field of vision. "Have a daffodil sandwich and a bowl of gems be brought to my chambers, please."

"Would you like anything to drink, Your Highness?" The maid asked.

"Water will do." With the maid pony on her way, Twilight--with Spike alongside her--continued her walk through Canterlot Castle, sometimes waving to the occasional passing guard, until they both finally made it to the upmost top of one of the ivory towers, and opened the door that led to her chambers. It was surreal for Twilight to even think that she would one day be sleeping in the room that once belonged to her mentor (or that she would even find herself becoming a princess, for that matter). But nonetheless, Twilight would have to quickly come to grips with the reality that the castle that she would only make intermittent visits to shall now become hers and Spike's permanent home, until the day she acquires a worthy student who will ascend to the rank of alicorn and pass on the mantle of ruler of Equestria just as Celestia and Luna did to her.

Allowing his wings a must needed rest from all of that flapping, the little dragon let his body plummet straight to the soft mattress of his big sister's new bed. The force of that fall--despite how small--was enough to make his body sink into the foam as if it were consuming him, until the mattress slowly pushed him up and was back in its original form. In addition to being the new ruler's royal advisor, Spike also received the bonus of Princess Luna's room, which meant that he'll finally get to spend the rest of his nights sleeping in an actual bed as opposed to a basket. As he was in the middle of laying his scaly head on the long neckroll pillow, Spike turned his body to the side where he caught a glimpse of Twilight standing upon a balcony, staring off into a direction that left a very noticeable melancholy expression on her face.

His concern finally kicking in made the dragon fly off from the bed to see what's made his sister lose her previous smile, and found that the source was none other than the sight of their former home, Ponyville. A bulk of the memories that the two of them have made occurred at that small town where the magic of friendship really happened; but much like the loss of the Golden Oak Library, leaving Ponyville behind was something that both the new ruler and her advisor would have to get use to. But something told Spike that this change was gonna be much harder on Twilight than for him.

"Missing them already?" The dragon placed a comforting claw on his big sister's shoulder.

"Yes," Twilight confirmed while wiping away a single tear with her hoof, "I know that we'll get to see each other once every moon, but it already feels like it's been an eternity since I last saw them. To think, I was worried on how it was going to be to rule Equestria, but after everything we did today, I now realize that it's easy compared to having to leave my friends behind."

"Hey, I miss them just as much as you, and I'd be lying if I told you that waiting for our reunion is going to be a cinch. But at least we'll always have each other until that day finally arrives."

Appreciating his reassuring words, Twilight had enveloped the little dragon into a tender hug that only a Big Sister Best Friend Forever could give. "You're the best little brother a sister could have."

This warm moment that they were sharing had to be cut short when the sound of knocking was heard. Freeing himself from Twilight's caress, Spike flew toward the door and opened it to be greeted by the same maid pony who brought up a tray carrying their victory meal, which the dragon gladly took from her hooves.

"Thank you, Red Ribbons."

"You're welcome, Spike."

Shutting the door behind him, Spike laid the tray down on a nearby bedside table and showed no hesitation at picking up the bowl of gems that was making his mouth water. Putting himself into a comfortable position, the hungry dragon picked out the first green gem he could find and flicked it into the air so that he could catch it with his tongue. Munching on that first morsel, Spike noticed that Twilight had yet to move from the balcony.

"Aren't you gonna eat your sandwich?" He asked while eating another gem.

"In a moment," Twilight responded, "there's just one last thing I need to take care of."

At the end of the day, Twilight knew the responsibility of lowering the sun and raising the moon now rest in her hooves. Her first two attempts at this feat were shaky to say the least, but with Celestia and Luna bequeathing most of their magic to her, she was going to find that this next attempt shall be fairly simple. Encasing her horn with the pink aura of her magic, Twilight had completely shrouded the sun with said aura and quickly discovered that lowering the sun felt as light as a feather (even the moon didn't seem to carry too much weight). Alas, much like any accident, they always emerge when everything seems to be going according to plan; and this accident came in the form of the Secretariat Comet.

The last time the Secretariat Comet ever appeared in Equestria was when Twilight had battled Queen Chrysalis for the second time in her life. But while that instance was convenient, this unexpected arrival was going to prove to be a hindrance. Just when Twilight had positioned the moon in its proper place, she suddenly found herself being assaulted by a surge of magic so powerful that it brought her to the ground and was leaving her in agonizing pain.

Startled by this sudden turn of events, Spike put the bowl down as he leapt from the bed to check on his sister. "What's happening, Twilight?!"

"I don't know!" Twilight winced as the pain of holding back this magical surge was becoming too much to handle, even in her current state. "There's so much building up inside me, I don't think I can maintain it much longer!"

"Then aim to the sky and let it all out! Hurry!"

Given the circumstance she was in, Twilight really had little to no intention of declining Spike's suggestion. It can't be said that Princess Twilight didn't try to get up, but every effort of standing up was being hindered by her struggle of keeping the magical surge a little longer, as if an invisible weight had been dropped on her back. The princess had barely gotten up to where her legs would be straight when the magical surge was finally beyond her containment; with little to no strength left in her, Twilight had caved into the power of the surge as she let all the magic out in a burst so powerful that it pushed her against the railing of the balcony.

She felt weak for a minute or two, but she soon mustered enough energy to hang her head back as she tried to catch her breath. "Phew, I hope that never happens again. Tell me that there isn't too much damage, Spike. I could use some good news, right now." Rather than receiving a reply, the exhausted princess was instead greeted by an uncomfortable silence. "Spike?" Raising her head up, Twilight couldn't find her brother to be anywhere in sight. The only thing that stood out was a ring of soot where the little dragon last stood. Suddenly regaining enough vigor to move her legs, she frantically looked over every possible area in her room, from behind curtains, to under her bed, to inside her closet, hoping beyond all hope that Spike was merely pulling a prank. "Spike, you're scaring me! If you don't come out this instant, I'll donate your comics to charity! Do you hear me?! Spike?!" But again, not a single response was heard. When she stopped panicking long enough to look back at that ring of soot, any of the least worst possibilities had begun to scatter away, while the one conclusion that she was dreading the most slowly crept into her conscious. "Oh no, I...I...I..."

The traumatized princess was quickly startled by the immediate entrance of one of her guards. "Princess Twilight, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Twilight tried her best to maintain her stability, "but Spike, he...he..."

"Your Highness, what happened?"

"I was raising the moon, and the Secretariat Comet appeared out of nowhere, then I felt this surge of magic that I just had to get out, and...it hit Spike." What followed next was a painful silence that hovered over them like rain clouds, until Twilight spoke up again. "I killed him."

Not being one to bear the sight of his princess chiding herself, the guard tried to assure her just as Spike would. "Your Highness, I'm sure everypony will understand that what happened was a complete accident."

"Right, an accident that I could've prevented," the morose princess couldn't hold back her tears any longer than she could've restrained the magical surge that cost her Spike. "If only I had been stronger, I could've diverted the blast to the sky and Spike would still be here! The worst part is that I'm the one who brought him into this world, and now I ended up taking him out of it and there's nopony to blame but myself!"

Lowering her head, Twilight let off a stream of tears while the guard could do nothing but accept that not a single comforting word from him or anypony could rid the guilt out of his princess. "What will you do next, Princess?"

Ceasing her waterworks for the moment, Twilight raised up her head to show a stoic expression that Celestia or Luna would likely put on during a situation such as this and said, "There's no use in trying to keep this a secret. I'll have to announce this tragedy to everypony tomorrow, then after that...I'll have to prepare funeral arrangements. It's the least I could do for him."

"Understood, Princess."

Once the guard finally took his leave, the forlorn princess had to practically drag herself to her bed. After settling herself in and closing her eyes, she could already feel a fresh batch of tears leaking out and soaking up her pillow and sheets. For not only has she lost a royal advisor or a little brother, but also the one companion who could've made having to wait a moon to be reunited with her friends all the more bearable. It hasn't even been tomorrow yet, and she's already shuddering at the time when she'll have to announce to all of Equestria how she accidently took the life of the little dragon she had hatched. She knew that there would be ponies who would sympathize with her loss, and ponies who would say that this was her own fault, but not a single one of them could blame her more than herself; for this whole experience would most likely become a nightmare that not even Princess Luna could get her out of.