How My Daughter Saved Equestria

The day after we buried Rainbow and Applejack was the saddest one of all. Even though we all knew we had each other, a lingering despair hung in the castle. Even our cleaning staff and guards couldn’t help but shed tears. Every time a thought ran through somepony’s mind of the honesty that Applejack displayed or Dash’s fierce loyalty, it would cause another river to squeeze its way from their ducts. We were all exhausted, physically and psychologically, and I felt as if we could use a break. So I ordered new guards brought in from Manehattan so the normal ones could rest, and our cleaning staff was given two days off.

We also declared a National Day of Remembrance for the two ponies. They were considered heroes in a lot of ways, and we felt that a proper memorial was necessary. We had attended their private funerals to comfort their grieving families, but the public memorial service was something completely different. 75,000 ponies jammed into Canterlot Stadium, and listened as Twilight and I relayed our experiences with the two. My speech was deadpan, and I am willing to admit that. I didn’t know what to say, so I just rambled on for a few minutes about the power of friendship and the deep connection our family had with the deceased. I hoped with all my heart that it would be sufficient…or at least make some kind of sense.

Twilight’s speech was heartbreaking. She had to be helped off the podium afterwards because she was crying so hard. She spoke dearly of her beloved friends, and how much they had meant to her. She lamented the fate of Ponyville, telling two or three stories of her time there. She also urged everypony to look to each other in this time of crisis, and begged them to keep the memories of the fallen alive through their Elements of Harmony.

“Friendship doesn’t die when friends do,” she said with tears rolling down her face, “friendship lives on. It has engrained itself in every single one of you, and it is at times like these when we truly must realize that. The magic of friendship is also a magic that can heal and restore broken spirits. Ours have been crushed…but I truly believe that, when we look to our friends, that is when we are able to see true improvement. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are still with us, because we can still be honest and loyal to each other. Through that, we shall keep them alive.”

That evening, when we returned home, we found the palace to be darker than usual. The idea that our friends were really gone was deep, and Twilight turned and buried her head in my shoulder. “I can’t do this,” she said, “without them…I can’t.”

“Did you so quickly forget the very things you told everypony today?” I asked her, “what about leaning on your friends?”

She nodded, wiping her tears. “I know I should,” she choked out, “but it’s so hard…”

“I know, my love,” I said, kissing her cheek gently, “I know.”

“Twily!” A new voice suddenly spoke.

Twilight and I both jumped, and we realized that the newcomer had used her special nickname. It was only reserved for myself and two other ponies, and since the new voice was male, we were pretty sure who it was. Deducing that kind of thing was an easy mystery to solve, and we turned to see her brother, Shining Armor, standing there.

“Shiny!” Twilight said happily as she ran to greet him.

I smiled. The love between these siblings was legendary, and it was what all brothers and sisters should strive to realize for each other. When he was around, Twilight turned into a filly once again, and she was happy. Which, in turn, meant that I was happy. Seeing her bounce into her brother’s waiting embrace was wonderful to behold. It also drove away the awful grief she had been feeling and replaced it with a warm affection. She needed this, I told myself as I trotted over to where Twilight was letting Shining up.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “it’s just…been so long since we’ve seen you.”

“I know,” he said as he brushed himself off, “and it’s beyond amazing to see you as well. But I didn’t come here to shoot the breeze.”

He trotted past us and into the throne room. We followed him, and I’m fairly sure that, for the first time in our marriage, we were both just as curious as each other. When we arrived there, he used his magic to pull a note out of the saddlebag around his back. “I’ve been helping with the investigation into the Ponyville fire.”

“We know,” Twilight said, “we asked you.”

Shining sighed. “What this note contains is rather disturbing. We now know that the Ponyville fire was no accident. Somepony did this awful thing on purpose, and they may just strike once more. This piece of parchment was the only clue left behind, but…it holds something dark.”

Twilight magically took it from him and unrolled it for us both to read. Our mouths fell open at the words, declaring death and hatred and eschewing the peace and friendship we tried to teach. The letter was awful to read, and I should warn you that the following is incredibly disturbing. The note read as follows:

Ponies of Equestria,

I’m not going to mince words. I’m not going to tell you some sweetly saccharine thing about the power and magic of so-called friendship. I’m not going to lie to you like that bitch Twilight Sparkle. What I am going to do is bring you truth. Why? Because truth, like fire, runs through the land and forces you to answer questions about the actual state of affairs. Truth, like fire, burns at the heart and melts at the very foundations of the soul. I will bring you this truth in my own special way. This burning is only the beginning. Truth lies in the arms of death himself, and I am his messenger. Be prepared, my little ponies, for your reckoning is nigh. You’ve never dealt with somepony like me. Nightmare Moon? Foal’s play. Chrysalis? Forget her. Tirek? An ANT compared to me…no…less than an ant. A DUST PARTICLE! Yes, truth will come to Equestria, whether you like it or not. Have fun being scared, you worthless pieces of undeserving flesh. May you all rot in your graves.

Signed,

The Future Queen of Equestria and Empress of Death,

Dystopia

Twilight was shaking by the time she finished. She looked up at her brother. “She…she…who…who’s…Dystopia?”

"Nopony knows,” Shining said, “we’ve sent forces throughout the land searching for her, but we’ve come up empty hooved so far. We have no earthly idea who this mare is or why she has it out for Equestria.”

My mind went to work. I ran through a list of all the mares I knew, wondering if one of them could be masquerading as a good pony by day and moonlighting as the evildoer. Let’s see…Starlight? She’s been a villain before. No, now she’s a princess and she’s demonstrated her friendship over and over to us. Trixie? No. She’s annoying, and a pain in my ass, but she’s also a damn good guidance counselor. She wouldn’t do something so awful.

I just couldn’t come up with an answer, but my mind suddenly clicked to a pony who might be able to solve the problem. Twilight’s must have done the same thing, because we both turned to each other and yelled, “CELESTIA!”

“Of course!” Twilight said, smiling, “Celestia would have to know about this! She knows every single villain in the book!”

“Yeah!” I concurred, “and this would give us an excuse to take Diamond to see her and Luna again.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Shining said, “you two go on ahead. I’ll stay here and watch over things while you’re gone.”

“Thanks, BBBFF,” Twilight said, hugging her brother, “you know, it feels weird to hug you now that I’m a good shoulder taller than you.”

Shining chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so. But go on and find some answers. I’ll be waiting for you when you return.”

With that, I ran upstairs and told Diamond where we were going. She squealed in delight, for she loved Celestia and Luna deeply and was always excited whenever we went on a trip there. She tossed all her necessities into her small saddlebag and trotted off. I followed her down the hall to our room, where Twilight was hurriedly packing our things. Once this was completed, Diamond hopped on my back and we flew off towards Silver Shoals.