MLP: The Second Chapter

Starlight bounded into the palace in Canterlot, unsure of what she would say to Princess Celestia when she got there. She hurried towards the double doors of the throne room, remembering her way through the castle. She had been there before, to help solve a friendship problem between the royal sisters. As she ran along, thoughts about Zecora's dark and prophetic words concerning Midnight ravaged and lambasted her mind.

There were so many variables concerning the newborn. What if Zecora's words and dreams came true? Would Midnight really turn Equestria into an uninhabitable wasteland? Would the daughter of the Princess of Friendship turn out to be the enemy of everypony? If the answer to all these questions was affirmative, then Equestria had every reason to worry.

Starlight stopped just around the corner from the throne room. She had been chased by a guard detail and had finally found just the right corner to hide from them in. So she ducked into the shadows. As an added protective measure, she cast a small spell of invisibility on herself. When the guards ran by her, she broke the spell and emerged out of the corner.

She walked up to the massive double door entrance. It truly was gargantuan. Each door was 50 feet tall, and weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 tons. She remembered Twilight telling her how, when they were first installed some 3,000 years before, it took the combined magic of Celestia, Luna, Star Swirl, and every unicorn guard in the palace just to get them up there. Hm, she thought, it seems like somepony who can raise the sun wouldn't have any trouble putting those big doors in place. What she didn't realize was that Celestia and Luna were still fillies when they were crowned and this palace was built. Yes, they could raise celestial bodies, but their magic wasn't quite in place yet.

She took a moment and admired the gold overlay of the entrance and the jewels that encrusted both doors. She realized why these doors had recently been named one of the Eight Wonders of Equestria. They really are stunning, she said to herself, but, I don't have time to stand here and stare. I must see Celestia!

So, she walked up to the guards at the entrance and humbly requested an audience. "Hey…you're the pony our colleagues were chasing, aren't you?!"

"Yes, I am," Starlight replied calmly, even though inside her chest, her heart was practically skipping beats, "but I need to see Princess Celestia. It's about the fate of Equestria!"

"Yeah, that's what they all say"

"But I mean it! I'm serious! Please, you have to let me in!"

"I don't gotta do nothin'!" The guard replied sharply, his Manehattan accent breaking through, "now, you's wait here. I'm gonna go ask Princess Celestia what I should do with a criminal like you."

"CRIMINAL?!" Starlight suddenly shouted, "I'm no criminal! Yeesh, since when did security get so tight around here?"

"Since an anonymous threat was made to my life," a soothing, yet commanding voice suddenly said. Starlight looked up and saw Princess Celestia standing there. She and the guards bowed in respect. When she bowed back, they looked up at her. She smiled down at Starlight and then gave the Manehattan guard a stern look. "Saddle Quill, what have I told you about scaring away my guests?"

"But, Your Majesty, she was gonna…"

"She wasn't gonna do anything to me. This is Starlight Glimmer, the pony who reunited my sister and I when we were having an argument by switching our cutie marks and forcing us to live as the other did for a day."

Saddle Quill's mouth dropped to the floor, "you mean this…"

"Yes, Saddle Quill, and she's welcome here anytime. Now, return to your duties at once"

"As you wish, Princess Celestia," he said before bowing to her. He then turned to Starlight. "Ms. Glimmer, my sincerest apologies."

"Oh, that's okay."

He smiled at both mares before heading back to his guard duties. Celestia sighed. "Saddle Quill. He's one of my top guards, and always has my best interests at heart…but sometimes he can be a little rough around the edges."

"A little?!" Starlight asked, breaking into a smile. Both ponies laughed before Celestia pulled Starlight into a warm hug. She silently beckoned her into the throne room. As they walked in, Starlight gasped. She had forgotten just how huge the throne room was, especially since it had been rebuilt in the wake of the Storm King's attack. She hadn't seen the renovated room, and she marveled at it.

Two huge stained glass windows covered the back wall. One depicted Celestia raising the sun, the other Luna raising the moon. Beneath their luminosity sat two thrones that were tiny by comparison. Starlight was surprised at just how small the thrones were. But, she figured, the princesses of Equestria wouldn't want to be seen as taking on airs about things.

Celestia walked up and sat on her throne, facing Starlight. The light shone through and touched her consistently flowing mane. The magic that was present there caused the light to refract all around the room and, for an instant, the rainbow mane created a second rainbow. Starlight immediately felt more comfortable in this environment as she waited for Celestia to speak.

"Starlight Glimmer," Celestia said as she cast a warm smile down on the light purple mare, "it is wonderful to see you once again! Ever since you broke up the argument between my sister and I, our relationship has never been better. True, there have been trials and we've had our disagreements, but overall, I'd say that we haven't had a period like this since we were fillies thousands of years ago. But enough of personal matters, what can I do for you?"

So Starlight relayed the dark prophecy about Midnight. As she talked, Celestia's face turned from a happy, smiling visage to one of utter worry. "…and that's what she said," Starlight said, finishing up her story, "isn't there anything we can do to stop this horrible prophecy? Or should we even take it seriously?"

"We must always take Zecora seriously," Celestia said, "she's very rarely wrong about things." Starlight nodded. She couldn't remember the kind zebra ever being wrong about anything. "But we must also take this with a grain of salt. After all, my sister guards the dreams of ponies, and I believe she would have told me if Zecora were having these types of dreams."

"Not to contradict you, Your Highness," Starlight said cautiously, "but isn't Zecora a zebra? Does Luna have access to the dreams of creatures who aren't ponies?"

"Zebras and ponies are closely related, Starlight," Celestia explained, "so, yes, I do believe my sister would be able to monitor those dreams as well."

Once again, Starlight nodded and accepted Celestia's response. She didn't press the matter any further, even though she doubted what Celestia said. She wished she could speak with Luna and just confirm that she did guard the dreams of Zecora as well as the ponies of Ponyville. But as it was, Luna was asleep and Starlight didn't dare wake her.

Still, she just couldn't get it out of her head. "Princess Celestia?" She asked

"Yes, Starlight?"

"When will Princess Luna be out?"

"Oh, not for some time yet. After all, it's barely noon. Speaking of which, would you like some lunch?"

Starlight smiled. "That would be wonderful, Your Majesty."

She didn't want to refuse an invitation from the Princess, especially when she remembered just how good of a cook and hostess Celestia was. So she followed Celestia out of the throne room and into the palace dining hall. She recognized the long table that she sat at on her first visit there. She remembered Celestia's fun pancake breakfasts, and smiled. She really was one of the kindest ponies in Equestria, and a very benevolent ruler.

Still, though, one thing troubled her. She couldn't believe how nonchalant Celestia's response had been. It was almost as if she had brushed off Zecora's words. She felt like the royal mare didn't care about them. She had said they should take Zecora seriously, but immediately followed that up by telling Starlight to take it all with a grain of salt. Would Celestia really be so self-contradictory? She asked herself. She needed to find out. The fate of Equestria and all who called it home might ride on her discovery.