“BONG....BONG....BONG”
The Ponyville clock tower marked the hour with its mighty bell. In the dark town, only a brave few were awake to notice it. Behind the darkened windows of the town, the ponies of Ponyville slept quietly, waiting for the coming dawn. The only lights visible from the clock tower roof were the streetlamps winding their way through town like a string of yellow pearls. Looking out through her cloudy breath in the cold midnight air, Twilight observed the town. From the distance and height, everything appeared so peaceful. She took a moment to savour the view. Little did the townsfolk know that the next day would be the biggest of their li ves. Sensing the arrival of the rest of her party, she turned to face two dark figures approaching.
“Twilight Sparkle, we see you have been waiting for us.” It was Princess Luna, she had never quiet gotten the hand of modern mannerism. Her mane fluttered in the wind; even greyed by time its stars still twinkled. Celestia stood beside her sister, her mane too greying.
“My faithful student, I knew you would not pass up this challenge.”
“Anything for you, Princesses.” Twilight replied. “I have been preparing for this day for years.”
“That is good, your task is not an easy one. I’m sure you are aware of this, it is the ultimate commitment. You do know that there will be little free time for yourself after tomorrow,” said Celestia.
“I am aware.”
“Then let us begin!” bellowed Luna, showing that she was still capable of commanding attention.
“Quietly sister!” Celestia scolded, “Do you want the entire kingdom to know that tomorrow we will be leaving?” Luna did not reply, she simply shrunk in place, acknowledging that she had done wrong. She turned to Twilight, “The first task is the oath, are you prepared?”
“Yes Princess.”
“Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville, do you swear to honourably uphold the ideas that govern our kingdom?”
“I do.”
“And do you promise to spread love and harmony across the land?”
“Yes.”
“And in keeping with these promises, do you accept the title of Princess of Equestria?”
Twilight paused for a moment, understanding the importance of those words. “I do.”
Celestia and Luna shared a smile that would not have looked out of place on the face of a kindergarten teacher watching her old students accept their high school diplomas. It was the end of a long journey that had started all those years ago with a simple entrance exam.
Luna was the first to break the silence of the monumental moment, “Princess Twilight, there is still one duty that must be done. It is your task to announce to the kingdom that the crown has been passed. It is a job that has not been done in millennia, but now falls at your hooves.. We have scheduled a meeting at town hall tomorrow night, everypony will be there, but they do not know the true purpose of this event, and it must remain that way. Nopony must know, not even your friends.”
“But why must it be kept a secret?” asked the newly crowned royal.
Celestia explained, “It is the second of three tasks. To show the humility to be able to walk shoulder to shoulder with your subjects; to prove that you know that you are no different than any of them.”
“I understand, but what is the third task?”
The old Princess of the Night replied, “We cannot say, to keep the third task a secret is a tradition that has been passed down from long before our time. That same tradition dictates that we must go now and say no more. We shall see you tomorrow night, Princess.” With this the royal sisters left Twilight alone with her thoughts. From the roof of the clock tower, Twilight sat for the rest of the night pondering the life in front of her. By dawn she knew what she had to do, to go see her friends one last time as a nopony. Spike had left long ago, fully grown and on happy terms, the last she had heard he was a very influential dragon. She figured that with him in a position of power she might be able at long last to negotiate a truce of some sorts with the dragons. As for the others, they were all in just about the same places they had always been. Applejack on the farm, Fluttershy in her cabin, Rarity at the boutique, Rainbow leading the weather team after her career with the Wonderbolts ended, and Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner (now as the owner).
As the first rays of the sun peaked over the horizon Twilight found herself on the dirt road leading to Sweet Apple Acres. Unsurprisingly she managed to find Applejack in the field bucking apples before the heat of the day became too great. “Howdy Twilight! What brings you ‘round at this hour?”
“Oh nothing,” she said looking for an excuse that would let her spend some time with Applejack, “It’s just that I was reading a book about apples and I thought I could use some hoofs-on experience.”
“Well you’ve certainly some to the right place! Have you ever bucked apples?”
“No, not that I can recall.”
“Well it’s super simple, just give the trunk a nice big kick. Go ahead and try it out on this tree here, these apples are ripe for the picking.” Twilight lined herself up and kicked as hard as she could. Only a tiny shrived apple fell out of the branches. “You know Twilight, with those skinny librarian legs of yours, that’s not half bad! But get a gander at this!” With a mighty strike that almost shattered the bark, a torrent of apples fell out of the green branches. Looking almost embarrassed at the piles of apples surrounding them, Applejack turned to Twilight and said, “But if you just want to talk for a bit, that’s OK too. I can tell you everything there is to know about bucking apples.” And so the two walked and talked up and down the rows of trees for what felt like hours. Finally getting to the farmhouse Twilight excused herself to go write a report on what she had learned. In reality she was on her way to Fluttershy’s cabin.
As it always had, the land around the thatch cabin was swarming with critters. Being careful not to step on any tiny creatures, she walked up the path to the door which was wide open. Inside she could see Fluttershy scrambling to fill the numerous food bowls and bird feeders that populated her house. She was flying so frantically that she didn’t even notice Twilight for almost five minutes. When she finally did see her, all she had time to say was, “Oh high Twilight, I’m really sorry but it’s lunch time for all my little critters and animals. Twilight watched as she finally appeared to fill the last of the bowls and feeders. “Just one more thing...” she disappeared into the kitchen returning a moment later with a lunch of a sandwich sitting on a plate. She placed it on the floor, within seconds the white streak that was Angel was furiously devouring it. Finally landing she asked Twilight, “Now what was it exactly you wanted to talk about?”
“I was just thinking about that time with the cockatrice. There were a few details I couldn’t remember so I thought I’d come right to the source.” For the next hour over tea, the two shared stories from the past. Twilight finally got the full story behind wrestling the bear. With the sun now high in the sky, Twilight waved goodbye to her friend. She turned down the road towards Carousel Boutique.
Today Carousel Boutique was a misleading name, it was no longer a boutique but the headquarters of a national chain of high end fashion stores, the child of Rarity’s aspirations. Entering the building, Twilight was immediately waved upstairs by the secretary, much to the dismay of the line of business ponies waiting to meet with the designer extraordinaire. Rarity’s office was not what one would expect of the head of a multi-million bit company. There was a desk, but it was buried under yards upon yards of fabric and thread. Mannequins were spread across the room, some upright and unclothed, other on their side dressed in brilliant outfits. Rarity was at her sewing machine. When she saw Twilight she immediately threw her work aside and raced over. “Twilight darling! What brings you here? I’ve just been working on my new summer line. I sense big things for purple!”
“Well I need a dress....”
“A wha~?” Rarity seemed confused.
“For some royal business, it needs to be formal. Very formal. I promise this time I’ll let you make all the decisions.” Before she could react, Rarity had brought over her measuring tape and was taking her measurements. As Rarity worked, the two laughed again and again about the dresses that had almost ruined her career. Once all the measurements were taken, Twilight left to let her work uninterrupted. On her way out, she passed the line of ponies all staring at their watches.
It took a bit of work to find Rainbow Dash. But after a bit of searching she was able to find her sleeping on a cloud. “Rainbow Dash!” she called out. There was a bit of stirring but she didn’t wake. She tried again, “Rainbow!” This time she got a response.
“What is it Twilight? Can’t you see I’m taking my after-work-before-dinner nap?”
“Well yes but I...” she desperately searched for a topic, “Would you mind telling me about your first sonic rainboom again?”
“Can I?!” Rainbow streaked down to hover about a foot above the ground. “It was flight camp and these pair of jerks were making fun of Fluttershy...” Once again she heard the story of how the sonic rainboom had affected all six of them. “...and that’s how I did the first ever sonic rainboom!” The secret princess nodded and smiled. Rainbow continued, “Sorry Twilight, but it’s time for my after-after-work-before-dinner nap. See ya around!” She flew back into her cloud.
Only Pinkie Pie was left to talk to. In the centre of town Sugarcube Corner still stood. Inside the store was bustling, foals and fillies packing the show floor ogling the sweets. Upbeat music blasted in the background. Towing over most of the shoppers, Twilight was able to see Pinkie behind the counter working the oven. The pink pony turned around pulling out a tray of fresh cookies. She looked up and saw the purple unicorn in the centre of the room. “Hiya Twilight! Would you like a cookie?”
“No thanks Pinkie I’m not here to snack.”
“Really? They why are you in a sweet shop silly?”
“I was just wondering how Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake were doing?”
“Why don’t you ask them yourself? They’re just in the back, let me call them. Pound Cake! Pumpkin Cake! Auntie Pinkie Pie has a surprise for you!” The cake twins each entered, both of them wearing aprons covered in flour. Twilight admired how quickly the two of them had grown. The four of them spent the next hours telling stories of their childhood, like the first time Pinkie had looked after them.
By the time the well of stories had been exhausted, it was almost dark and time for Twilight to go to town hall to get ready. She was early, only her and the stage crew were in the building. Behind the curtain she sat in a corner, thinking back on not only the day that had just passed, but the entire time that she had spent in Ponyville. She asked a passing stage tech for some parchment and a quill. Once she had it, she began to write:
“Dear Princess Celestia: Today I learned the true importance of friendship. For my entire life, I have studied its magic at your command. I have learned both what it means to have friends and to be a friend.
Friendship is the greatest power in existence. Since the first day I arrived in Ponyville and defeated Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony I have know that to have friends is greatness incarnate. Today, by accepting the crown, I lose this greatness. It is with a heavy heart I write this last letter, but I know it is what must be done. Where ever you and your sister are going, I hope that you can trust that your land is in capable and loving hooves. If you do ever return, we will all be waiting. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
She folded the letter just as she had always done. She knew that she had just written more than a letter. This was her speech. In the time she had taken to write it, the crowd had entered and been seated. She snuck a peek through the curtain to see the royal sisters sitting eagerly in wait. A trumpet flared and the curtain opened, Twilight was ready to lose the greatness that was her friendships.
