Gone with the Wind

(Few weeks after Twilight's coronation)

"Spike? SPIKE!" The voice of the new ruler of Equestria rang out. It had only been a few weeks since Twilight took control of Equestria. Princess Cadence, her sister-in-law, had decided to stay a few weeks to help Twilight settle in with her new role.

The strange part about it is that every time she tried to send a letter to Celestia and Luna, Cadence ordered her not to. At first, she had excuses like "They still need to settle in before you bombard them with questions." or "Give them a chance to enjoy their new freedom, Twilight."

It seemed as the weeks went on, Cadence had fewer and fewer excuses until she simply started ordering her to not send them without an excuse to back her up. The Crystal Empire wasn't as big as Equestria so in a Princess way, she outranked Cadence. In a family relationship, Cadence outranked her. Twilight just couldn't figure out which mattered the most.

She shook her head and made herself focus. The present is what matters at the moment.

"SPIKE!?"

No one had seen Cadence all day, Spike was somewhere in the castle so with Cadence out of the way, she was able to send a letter guilt-free. She heard the tried grumblings of Spike moving across the corridor. She turned a hallway and saw him glaring at her with annoyance as he rubbed the sleep out of one of his eyes, then switched.

"Twilight? Could you keep it down? I have been to Ponyville and back like three times this week. I need to sleep." He complained. Twilight smiled and made a quill and scroll appear before levitating it into his claws. He groaned, knowing that he had to start another letter that wasn't going to be sent anywhere. What was the point of it even?

"Spike. Make a Letter, please. Addressed to the Princesses."

"What is the point of doing this again, Twi?" He asked with irritation, getting a glare of annoyance from Twilight. "Cadence is just going to order you not to do it...Again."

"Well, Cadence isn't here right now, is she? Come on! We have to do this quickly." Twilight insisted. Spike nodded as Twilight told him the things she wanted to be written on the letter. After a few short minutes, the letter was complete. Twilight wrote her signature.

Spike drew back and blew fire on it just as Cadence was bolted into their sight. Her mane was messy and she flew along the corridor towards them as fast as she could with pure panic on her face.

"No! NO! NO! Spike, don-"

It was too late. The green dragon fire that had the letter was carried into the sky and disappeared out of their views. Twilight turned to her sister-in-law with smug confidence bordering on the point of arrogance for accomplishing the task. Cadence collapsed in front of the pair. Inhaling a few deep breathes before looking up at Twilight with anger.

"What have you done!?" Cadence snapped. Everyone knew it was a rhetorical question. It was obvious what they did and Twilight didn't regret it one bit. She stood proud. Ready to defend her actions.

"I sent a letter to Princess Celestia and Luna. I don't know why you didn't want me to contact them, Cadence. They are probably worried sick that they haven't heard from me since the coronation. I really should have done it sooner." Twilight said. Waving her hoof in a circle dramatically.

Cadence's body sagged and her wings hit the floor. She looked back at Twilight with sadness as the letter came back to Spike. Much to the pair's surprise. The unopened letter fell to the floor and Spike opened it to double-check. He nodded in confirmation at Twilight. It was the same letter they sent.

Twilight was fuming.

There were a few possibilities as to why the letter would return but she didn't try to count them and analyze them to death. She knew by Cadence's actions that she knew something about the situation. She stomped over to her sister-in-law, whose mood had gotten increasingly worse. To the point, it looked like she was about to cry.

"What the hay is going on here?! Why would they send the letter back? What do you know, Cadence?" She demanded. Cadence shook her head sadly and looked out the window to the afternoon sun beaming down on Equestria. She sighed and turned back to Twilight. Seeing no reason to hid the truth any longer.

"They are gone, Twilight. They died."

Twilight stammered a response but it only came back as a jumble of words that no pony could understand. She stumbled away from her sister-in-law and looked over to Spike to tell her she was having a bad dream. Spike's jaw seemed on the verge to hit the floor and he was just staring at Cadence in shock, he wasn't going to be any help, any time soon.

"B-But they are Alicorns! Th-They can't just...die! Even if they would, why wouldn't they tell me?" Twilight said, mostly echoing her thoughts out loud to anyone who would hear. "If...If they didn't tell me, why would they even tell you!?"

"Somepony needed to know the truth. I was the only one available. They couldn't tell Flurryheart for obvious reasons, they couldn't tell you because you would refuse to take the throne. Don't be angry at them, Twilight."

"Why the hay not? They lied to me! They lied right to my face, Cadence!" Twilight yelled, using her hoof to slam the letter to the carpeted floor. "They lied to everypony."

Cadence bit her lip, taking a few steps back.

"Yes. You have every right to be angry at them. But I looked into their history after Celestia told me the truth. They were unicorns that were turned into Alicorns against their will. They didn't get a choice in what they wanted to do with their lives. In reality, they should have been dead centuries ago. But they didn't. They stayed because it was their duty." Cadence explained. "It was time for them to go. You know it. I know it."

Twilight started to pace in a circle.

"I...What am I supposed to do without them?" Twilight asked with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Celestia taught you everything she knew. You may not realize it now but you have all the skills you need. I am sure auntie has told you that many times."

Twilight silently nodded before she slumped to the ground. She used her wing to cover her mouth from a sob.

"I miss them. I miss them so much." She whispered. Then started shaking her head, then looked back up at Cadence. "Do you think...They are in heaven?"

"In...Heaven?"

"Yeah..."

Cadence gave her a small smile.

"Yes. I think they are in heaven. I think they are also happy." Cadence said to reassure her. "But they are gone from this world. We should honor their memory by ruling Equestria as they did. With Harmony, friendship, and peace. Think you can do that?"

"Yes." Twilight said before choking back a sob. "Yes. I will for them."

---The End---