Twilight Sparkle's Majesty

by Apple Bottoms

Rating: everyone
Tags: Alternate Universe, Twilight Sparkle, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Adventure
Length: 12659

Twilight Sparkle has just been crowned the Princess of Friendship; she seeks aid by travelling through time to observe other royals, including Majesty. But things go awry, and Twilight is forced to take up magic against another princess! And Sprout?!

Being a princess looks like sunshine and rainbows from the outside; but for research-obsessed Twilight Sparkle, being a princess sounds scary, and those new wings aren't helping either!

So she does whatever any stressed bookworm would do, decides to seek advice from the best: successful rulers from the past! But she's not here for bookish research, oh no; she wants to see these rulers in action! Twilight decides to start off at the very beginning, with the first recognized ruler of Equestria: Queen Majesty. But once Queen Majesty catches her and forces the truth out of her, Twilight Sparkle will be dragged into a whirlwind adventure through time. She will have to face old foes, new foes, old magic, and the most powerful magic of all: friendship.

Written for the Imposing Soverigns III: SOUL of Equestria contest, using prompt Twilight Sparkle and Majesty/Bravery.

Published 2021-11-01 04:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-11-01 04:00:01 UTC

Chapter 1 - Little Unicorn on a Battlefield

The little purple unicorn had just appeared one day, bold as brass, watching the battlefield.

The Bushwoolie Wars would likely end up in some kind of history book - if Majesty made it through this brutal day. Majesty wouldn’t have even noticed the little unicorn. But she happened to be in the path of a group of hapless bushwoolies rolling to safety, and she’d cried out as they bowled her over. Majesty lifted her head, just for a moment, and one of the dog-beasts she battled went for her throat.

“Have at you!” Majesty reared onto her hind legs with a battle-whinny. She kicked at him with her front hooves, and the dog-beast fell hard.

“Go, begone, I’m tired of your trouble,
Blow away from here on a cascade of bubbles!”

Her horn glowed and blasted the prone dog-beast with her magic, transforming him into a foamy cluster of bubbles that blew away on the breeze.

See them try to turn that into an illustration!, Majesty thought with a harsh laugh, and turned to watch the other dog-beasts fleeing. Fleeing right towards the little purple unicorn! “Watch out!” she cried, but it was no use; the little purple unicorn was still on her back, and all she could do was try to scramble upright as the cadre of dog-beasts rounded on her.

“You’re bothering me now, leave us alone,
Be something more useful, no more will you roam.”

With a twirl of her horn, the dog-beasts were gone, replaced with a cluster of year-old saplings. Majesty cantered to where the little unicorn had been - but she was gone.

“Suspicious,” Majesty muttered to herself, and she gave the path one last glance before she turned and galloped back into battle.

The next time she saw the unicorn, she was sitting for her royal portrait; the stranger appeared suddenly in a window of the Dream Castle, and by the time she ran to confront her, she was gone again.

“Your Majesty, may we continue?” her royal portrait artist Painting-Time asked, brush held aloft.

“Yes, of course; I think I’m seeing ghosts,” Majesty muttered and returned to her throne, lifting her crown and scepter once more. It ended up that Majesty’s portrait required an extra session, as Painting-Time complained that she couldn’t get her expression looking ‘appropriately regal’ due to her frowning at the window.

She saw her, over and over again; it was months between the battle and the painting, but she began to appear more frequently. Majesty saw her the next week, watching her from across a field as she inspected the marching band. She appeared in her window a couple days later - which was impossible, given that her bedchambers were in the highest of the Dream Castle’s turrets. She was there, and then she was gone, every time. She was always too quick for Majesty to catch her, and she always stayed at a distance. But Majesty was not crowned Queen because she gave up easily, and so she began to devise a plan to catch this ‘ghost.’

Majesty got lucky only a day later; she was half-dozing on her throne, reading a treatise by the scholar Wind Whistler on the dangers of encroaching dog-beasts on their borders. Whistler, you don’t know the half of it, Majesty thought to herself, when she caught sight of something purple in her periphery. Majesty pretended to read for a few more minutes, and then let her cheek sag on her hoof. Slowly, gradually, her eyes fluttered closed, and she let the book fall from her grip with a little clatter.

And now, we wait.

Majesty didn’t have to wait long; the little purple unicorn was waiting for such a moment, it seemed, and she could hear her as she inched closer. What she didn’t know was that although Majesty was deaf in her left ear, her right could still hear a flutter pony wing beat, and it was easy to hear her hoofbeats as they trod lightly across her marble floor.

Majesty waited until she could hear her coming close, dangerously close, then snapped upright, whipping out a magical rope from her horn. With a cry, the purple unicorn went down, thrashing in the rope’s grip.

“Who are you!” Majesty demanded, standing over her. She cut an imposing figure, she knew; especially to an enemy who was currently laying on the floor, fighting against her magical rope’s grip.

“Stop! Let me go! You don’t - you don’t understand the danger!”

“What danger? The dog-beasts?” Majesty sniffed. “Routed them already.”

“No!” More struggling.

“Then who do you work for? The witches of the Volcano of Gloom? Katrina? The lava monsters? The Gizmonks? Queen Porcina? Sq-”

“I never realized how brutal you guys had it back th - now,” the purple unicorn interrupted, muttering to herself. “No, I don’t work for anyone!”

“Well you aren’t a ghost, like I thought. Otherwise my magic rope wouldn’t work on you. So how did you get up to my window?” Majesty glared at her, and watched as the purple unicorn finally gave up on trying to flee.

“Listen, just … don’t freak out,” she said slowly, and very carefully pulled off the plain brown muslin cloak she’d been wearing, revealing a pair of purple wings beneath.

Majesty’s eyes widened, despite herself, and darted between the wings and the horn. “I don’t freak out,” Majesty said at last, and gave her head a little shake so that she could resume her glare at the intruder. “Explain yourself.”

“Well, you … it’s going to be hard to believe.”

“Meeting a human was hard to believe,” Majesty informed her firmly. “At least you have hooves.”

“Wait, what’s a human?”

“My question first.”

The little purple unicorn stared up at her, considering, then finally spoke. “I have come from … the future.”

Majesty blinked.

“Very, very far in the future. My name is Twilight Sparkle - I’m a princess. I rule - I don’t know if I should say. Every single word I say to you is causing irreparable damage to the timeline!”

Majesty chuffed an amused sound through her nostrils, but before she could say anything else, a familiar figure, small and pink, came bounding into the throne room. “Majesty, Majesty!”

Majesty sighed, and dropped her glare. “Yes, Spike?”

“Spike…?”

“The princesses are arguing again over who gets to pick dinner! I told them you would make the final decision!”

Majesty groaned and rolled her eyes. Spike seemed to notice Majesty’s guest a little belatedly, and he stared down at the tied-up unicorn who had rapidly hid anything un-unicornish about her.

“Who’s this?”

“An uninvited visitor. What are the dinner options?”

“Candy, pizza, or cupcakes.”

Twilight Sparkle and Majesty both pulled a face.

“I suppose pizza is the least objectionable of the lot,” Majesty decided at last, and waved Spike away with her hoof. “Thank you, Spike.”

“Should I tell Chef Cupcake that we will have another guest tonight?”

“No need, Spike; she’s just leaving.”

Twilight Sparkle and Majesty shared an uneasy glance until the little dragon disappeared from sight, his scaled feet on the marble floor pap pap pap-ing into silence.

“Thank you for that,” Majesty said at last, gesturing to her little cloak. “I don’t know how I would explain that to Spike. He’s only a -”

“A baby dragon, I know,” Twilight interrupted her, and Majesty’s little glare returned. “I - guessed.”

“So, princess from the future; what brings you to my time?” Majesty asked, and finally removed the rope with another twirl of her horn.

“I can’t say, it might disrupt -” Twilight Sparkle began a little rapidly, and Majesty huffed out a frustrated sound.

“Right, the timeline. Well, I suppose you better be on your way, little princess; timeline, and all.”

Twilight Sparkle clearly wasn’t used to being sent on her way, and she gave her little tail (so strangely angular!) a little whisk across the floor. “Well, actually, I would like to hear about a human - the history books never said anything about -”

“Have a safe trip home, future princess!” Majesty called over her shoulder, already leaving.

Majesty was stubborn, but she wasn’t stupid; she came back a few minutes later to see if the future princess had remained to argue with her, but it seemed she hadn’t been bluffing about the timeline. She was gone, and despite the danger, Majesty was disappointed. And not only, she noted dourly, the promise of another pizza dinner, and more bickering princesses.

Chapter 2 - The Unicorn Returns

Majesty was certain she would never see the little purple unicorn again; she thought if she would return, it would have to be the next day. But she was notably absent, and instead Majesty had to mediate another argument between Princesses Aquamarine and Tiffany. (“Majesty, tell Princess Aquamarine to stop borrowing my comb!” “Majesty, tell Princess Tiffany to stop borrowing my mirror!”)

When the argument continued into the next day, Majesty was just about ready to alter the timeline herself to ensure she’d never been born. She was about to tell the princesses where they could shove their beauty tools when she caught sight of something purple at the window.

“Figure it out yourselves, girls, you’re supposed to be future heads of state,” Majesty snapped, and took off at a gallop.

“Gosh, why is she like that?” Princess Primrose huffed, adjusting her hennin.

“Gusty says she thinks it’s from the lava monsters, but don’t tell her I told you that,” Princess Aquamarine hissed, and gasped as Tiffany grabbed her comb back.

“I will if you don’t stop borrowing my comb!”

Majesty was surprised to see Twilight Sparkle standing there, just outside the castle gates; she had fully expected her to vanish like every other time. Instead the little purple winged unicorn stood there, as bold as ever, waiting for her.

“Alright, what is it now, little princess? Timeline stuff?” Majesty asked, coming to a halt a few feet away from her. She didn’t trust her not to blast her yet, and she wanted to be out of stabbing range. She was small, sure; but she still had wings and a horn. Any princess worth her salt had to know how to defend herself with nothing but her horn and hooves.

“No. Well - not yet, luckily. Everything at home looked okay.” Twilight Sparkle looked nervous, and Majesty didn’t blame her for that; she tended to have that effect on the other little ponies. “I came to ask if … if you had any advice.”

Majesty lifted a brow.

“For me. I’m a princess now. And I have - I have wings.” The little purple princess lifted her wings to demonstrate, lifting her cloak. “I’m still figuring out how they even work, much less the rigors of being royalty!”

Majesty had to give her some credit; she was half their size, but this little princess had more royal concern in one of her hooves than the whole room of bickering princesses had in their whole group.

“I came back here to witness some of your reign. The history books are very sparse on who you were, aside from the fact that you were one of the very first rulers of ponykind.”

Majesty snorted through her nose, but gave a begrudging little nod. She didn’t want to admit it to this tiny princess, but it was flattering to think that she had made it into history books. “Well first off, that’s something they ought to clarify. I may be ‘queen’ but it’s a title in name only; and that’s only because I’m the one who can blast a bushwoolie at a hundred paces.”

The purple unicorn looked alarmed.

“But I never would! Bushwoolies are our friends. I was trying to think of something small, but - well, most of the monsters that attack us are too darn big,” Majesty huffed. “Most ponies don’t think about blasting in the first place. Ponies aren’t meant for that kind of thing. Ponies are - silly, at times,” Majesty whuffed, thinking of the princesses bickering in the castle, “but sweet, gentle, goodhearted. Ponykind is not meant for blasting. So if you’ve been chosen for royal duty, then it means that your job is to protect the others.”

“Oh … well … I’m actually the Princess of Friendship,” Twilight Sparkle explained, a little timidly.

Majesty’s brows shot up. “So … there’s other princesses, then? Who do the blasting?”

“Well, yes - I mean, I do a fair amount of blasting too!” Twilight Sparkle explained, a little defensively. “I defeated Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, and Discord, for starters!”

“Excellent.” Majesty nodded, her concern fading. “Well, then you’ve got the princess thing down, I think.”

“What?”

“Being a ruler means protecting your people. That’s why I’m Queen; that’s why you’re Princess,” Majesty explained a little briskly, touching her chest then gesturing at Twilight Sparkle. “I’m not sure what to do with wings, really; I’d ask Princess Tiffany, but I’m not sure any of those lot will be able to handle a winged unicorn.”

“Oh,” Twilight Sparkle smiled, and the superior little grin made Majesty’s teeth grit, “we’re called alicorns.”

“Actually,” Majesty corrected her, “this is called an alicorn.” And she tapped her horn to demonstrate.

“No, that’s a horn.”

“Of course it is. But rhinos have horns, and narwhals have horns; when a unicorn has a horn, it is called an alicorn.”

“But that’s what I am.”

“No, that’s what you have.”

Princess Twilight Sparkle was getting annoyed, which betrayed how young she was; she wasn’t used to having to hide that emotion yet. “You know, I think I’ve gotten all I need to know, thank you for your help! I’m going to talk to some other leaders. Maybe closer to my own time.” She was smiling, but it was through gritted teeth.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Majesty agreed, and it was sincere, even in the face of the purple unicorn’s annoyance. “If I’m one of the earliest pony rulers, then it would stand to reason that a later monarch would know more about ruling; maybe even about being the Princess of Friendship. That’s not a title I’ve ever heard of.”

“Well… alright, then. Thank you. For - thank you.” Twilight Sparkle said, a little clumsily, and gave Majesty a little nod. Majesty returned it, and watched as the little unicorn pulled out a scroll from her cloak. Her horn glowed, and she touched the scroll with it; and before her very eyes, Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle vanished.

“Incredible!” Majesty murmured, and stared at the spot she had stood for a long moment; a sharp crash from inside interrupted her thoughts.

“Princess Amethyst!!!”

Majesty sighed. Another day, another royal argument to diffuse. This group almost made her miss the dog-beasts.

Chapter 3 - Princess Silver Swirl

“Princess Silver Swirl was no help at all!”

Queen Majesty jerked sharply upright from where she’d been shoulders-deep in a tulip bed. She turned, and there was the little princess again, frowning at her from the other side of the flowers.

“Well! I didn’t expect to see you again,” Queen Majesty allowed herself a little chuckle; Twilight Sparkle did not join her.

“I thought she would be an excellent candidate to study, since the great scholar Silver Swirl shared her name. Wrong! She told me she was a ‘guardian angel’ princess; what does that even mean?! Not to mention,” the little purple princess huffed, “trying to translate; it turns out she didn’t rule Equestria at all, she ruled in Fence!”

“Well, ponies are ponies,” Majesty shrugged, and tossed a few weeds into a bucket.

“And! And! There were tons of princesses there!” Twilight Sparkle was working herself into a bit of a tizzy, and Majesty was starting to see the similarities between her and the princess group in the castle. “You could hardly walk three steps without tripping over one! And then there were baby - what are you doing?”

“Hm?”

“What are you doing in the - garden? The history books would have mentioned if you had a fondness for gardening, I’m sure.”

“I thought the history books were very vague on me?” Queen Majesty countered, and pushed herself to her hooves. It took some effort; the years of battling off Ponyland’s enemies had done a number on three of her four knees.

Twilight Sparkle was watching her closely. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That ‘oomph.’”

Queen Majesty colored. “I’m sure that’s impertinent to ask!”

“You’re not that much older than me yet. You shouldn’t be ‘oomph’-ing already.”

“That can’t be right, because you’re tiny!”

“Tiny!” Princess Twilight Sparkle gasped, and her wings spread under her cloak, making it stand upright on either side of her. “I’ll have you know that I’m fully grown! All ponies are my size! Why, I - I was third-tallest in my class!”

Queen Majesty stepped up to her, and Twilight Sparkle flinched away; when she came close, she all but loomed over her. The tip of her purple horn barely made it to Majesty’s white shoulder.

“You’re not much larger than a foal,” Majesty countered, but then a thought occurred to her, and she looked down at Twilight Sparkle with lifted brows. “Are … all ponies this small, in the future?”

Twilight Sparkle’s gaze darted elsewhere. “I don’t want to disrupt the timeline -”

“Oh, timeline nonsense! What am I going to do, feed my herd growth potions? Plus, you already told me about Princess Silver Swirl! Isn’t that worse than pony height? Not to mention -”

“Alright, alright!” Twilight Sparkle interrupted, her ears flat with dismay. “All ponies in my time are roughly my height. Stallions tend to be a little bit taller, and there’s some variance between regions, but - generally, I’m it.”

“Huh,” Majesty marveled, and looked her over a little more closely. She was so small! But she was, in a very compact manner, an adult; it seemed more obvious now. Her navy blue striped hair was cut in a strange style, but clearly a cared-for one, no childish pigtails or braids. There were wrinkles, if you looked closely enough; muscle tone that a filly couldn’t have.

“Are you done?”

Queen Majesty shook her head; she’d been staring! “My apologies, Princess,” Majesty said formally, and tugged off her gardening gloves with her teeth. “I hope you will forgive my curiosity. I confess that I haven’t ever had much time to consider the future - the far future, especially. My concern generally lies with the current threat to Ponyland.”

“You are forgiven,” Twilight Sparkle said slowly, considering Majesty in turn as she packed up her gardening tools. “I am a… curious pony, myself. So what are you doing out here?”

“Posey suggested it, actually,” Majesty huffed out a sound through her nose, neither positive nor negative. “She said gardening always makes her feel happy, helps her relax.”

“Do you need to relax?”

Majesty’s blue eyes cut a sharp look to Twilight Sparkle.

“I’m just inferring based on context clues,” Twilight Sparkle said quietly.

“Posey thinks I do,” Majesty said at last, and avoided Twilight Sparkle’s curious gaze as she gathered up her tools and gloves. “Posey doesn’t understand what war is. She is happy to busy herself with her garden, her little flowers.” Majesty paused a beat, considering her own clumsy attempt in the tulip bed. “I cannot begrudge her that.”

Twilight Sparkle nodded slowly. “So… being a ruler means taking on the mantle of difficult things, so that other ponies do not have to bear them.”

“I didn’t say that!” Queen Majesty huffed, and lifted her bucket of tools and weeds in her teeth to carry them out of the garden. “Being ruler just means - you have the biggest magic, so it’s up to you to stand between the monsters outside and the ponies within. Right? Princess?”

Majesty turned to look at Twilight Sparkle for her reaction; but the little purple princess was gone.

“Aw, bushwoolies.”

Chapter 4 - Princess Wysteria

“Are all princesses required to have a dragon?”

Majesty wasn’t quite used to the little princess dropping in from nowhere; this time, she was waiting right behind her bedroom door, shortly before she retired for the night.

“Would you stop doing that!” Majesty snapped, her ears flattening out in annoyance. “Appearing out of some shadow!? I could have gored you!”

Princess Twilight Sparkle looked confused. “Gored?”

“Yes! With - please tell me you actually use your horns for something in the future?”

Twilight Sparkle looked horrified now. “You mean stabbed me with your horn? How barbaric! We aren’t cave ponies!”

“A princess could face danger at any time! She must use whatever tools she has on hoof!” Majesty insisted, and gave her horn a little swipe through the air to demonstrate. “Such as an assassin appearing in her darkened bedchamber!”

“I’m not an assassin! And if I appear before your court, they might ask who I am! And who would you introduce me as?”

“My third cousin, Gertrude.”

Twilight Sparkle stared.

“A little slow in the mind, perhaps; you’ll pay her no heed.” Majesty continued briskly, and crossed to her bed, beginning to brush her tail.

“I don’t think your third cousin would appreciate the comparison,” Twilight Sparkle replied at last, following Majesty to her bed. It was grand, elegant; it had four posts and a thick curtain, all in a brocaded pattern that looked hoof-stitched. It looked just like the illustrations that Rarity had in her historical fashion books.

“I don’t have a third cousin Gertrude, little princess. And I have no court, either. Hmf; ‘court.’” Majesty snorted a little to herself, brushing her tail smooth before she began braiding.

“But - then that would be a lie!”

“If my ‘court’ is those silly princesses and Spike, we are in trouble indeed,” Majesty hummed to herself, only half listening to Twilight Sparkle as she worked.

“Is a queen supposed to lie? Are your royal lessons - lie and gore?”

“I don’t believe that I ever agreed to teach you royal lessons, firstly,” Majesty replied sharply, her voice abruptly cool. “Secondly, I would like you to think of your sweetest, most innocent friend. Now describe to her the mindset that is required to take up magic against another living being.”

Twilight Sparkle shifted uncomfortably. Majesty took her time finishing her braid before she fixed her gaze on her, her blue eyes fierce with intensity.

“Yes, I lie to them sometimes. I must. The alternative is too terrible; that every pony should know, that at any time I step out of these gates, that I may have to erase a being from this plane. I may turn them into bubbles, seven notes of music, or a copse of willows; but they are gone as surely as if I had killed them.”

“I didn’t think of it like that,” Twilight Sparkle said softly, her eyes on the floor.

Majesty considered her for a moment, then sighed, and patted her bed. “Come.”

Twilight Sparkle considered her, then took a seat on the foot of her bed.

“I am sorry to snap at you. In truth …” Majesty sighed. “In truth, I do not think that Posey is wrong. Entirely,” Majesty allowed, with great begrudging. “Ponies may tell silly lies; ponies may use their magic in ways that are not always kind. But most ponies will never carry the kind of burden that you and I do.”

Majesty looked Twilight Sparkle over, her braiding now forgotten. “Just as the plough horse tills the field, so are we burdened by our duties to the throne. But a plough may be abandoned at the end of a difficult harvest; it seems sometimes that there is no end to the enemies of Ponyland. Especially not if you continue to battle them even in your far distant time.”

“That’s not true; in my time,” Twilight Sparkle responded hastily, sensing a shift in Majesty’s usually untouchable façade, “there are three other princesses; one was recalled from banishment, in fact. And I have a whole team of friends - the Elements of Harmony! We work together, so it’s never just on me! Or, not usually,” Twilight Sparkle trailed off, realizing belatedly when Majesty’s eyes widened that she had revealed too much of the future.

“The Elements of Harmony,” Majesty marveled, her voice soft.

“Forget I said that,” Twilight Sparkle interjected.

“It would be hard to; that sounds like big magic, indeed,” Majesty smiled, and rose from her bed. “Come. I wish to show you something. Something that may never find its way to the history books - but something that you ought to see.”

Twilight Sparkle followed closely behind Majesty as her horn glowed. She led her to a narrow doorway hidden behind a tapestry depicting a group of white unicorns, up a tight, winding staircase. In a room with tall, narrow windows (archer windows, Twilight Sparkle noted, narrow so that they could fire magic and arrows down on enemies below while offering cover to the unicorns inside), thin shafts of starlight criss crossed over a cold stone floor, illuminating items that all but seemed to hum with magic.

“The magic mirror,” Majesty explained, guiding Twilight Sparkle towards a large mirror that looked like anything but. She could see herself in it, sure; but the surface seemed to ripple, and her image was shifting, distorted. It was far more like looking into a lake surface at night than any mirror she’d ever known. She could almost see unknown dark shapes swirling just beneath its surface, and the longer she looked the more clear they seemed to become. “It can grant wishes; it can grant children.”

Twilight Sparkle darted backwards hastily.

Majesty laughed gently, and lowered a silvery drape to cover its surface. “I don’t blame you. I cannot pretend that I would be talented as a mother, either.”

Twilight Sparkle didn’t know what to say to that, and the glance she fixed on Majesty was caught between agreement and pity; Majesty disliked that glance very much, and so she turned her attention to a heavy chest, lifting the lid open with a grunt of effort. “The magic horseshoes. Very powerful; it is said that only the most powerful ponies can wield all four at once. I haven’t tried; perhaps I am afraid to find out that I’m not that powerful after all.”

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes were glued to the horseshoes; they hummed with a magic that felt strange, alien, yet familiar all at once. She didn’t hear anything else Majesty said until she snapped the lid shut, and she felt the noise of the room rushing back into her ears.

“... from the finest goldsmiths, who set up their forge in Flutter Valley. The plants that grow there have magical properties, as they are tended to by the flutter ponies, and so the wood they use to stoke their forge also gives the fire some magic, and thus the armor as well.” Majesty gave a shoulder plate a little buff with the back of her hoof. “I also quite like the way it shines, which might be vain of me. I can get lost in the hours up here, with my buffing cloth.

But - well, I didn’t bring you here to show off my shiny armor,” Majesty chuckled, and Twilight Sparkle realized that her cheeks were a little pinker now. “I suppose I wanted you to see that we have magic here, too. It is not the Elements of Harmony,”

Debatable, Twilight Sparkle thought with a quick glance to the locked chest.

“- but it is powerful enough for us. Even when I am gone, my successors will have these relics to help protect them. I am sure that it is that way in your time as well; even if you are not there, there will be others to take up the mantle, to wield the Elements.” Majesty looked at Twilight Sparkle a little askance. “Are they elements, in the sense of the natural elements? Wind, fire, water -”

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Twilight Sparkle hastily cut her off, shaking her head. “I don’t want to mess up the timeline! If you told someone, and they changed their life path as a result -”

Majesty nodded, and lifted a begrudging hoof to stop her. “I understand. Well, it must not be that bad, yet; you have been here several times already. And you came back with a question for me tonight, didn’t you?”

Twilight Sparkle stared at her for a moment, blankly, then gasped. “Oh! I - I did! I was wondering about dragons, and their connections to princesses. Specifically, Equestrian princesses. Well - and Fench princesses,” Twilight Sparkle frowned. “Princess Silver Swirl had a baby dragon as well - she was green. The dragon, not the princess. And then today, I went to see another princess; it was a historical event called the Princess Promenade, in which Princess Wysteria declared that all ponies are princesses. It wasn’t a binding doctrine, of course, and it would be hotly debated in the courts of the later Princess Waterfire the Third -”

“Ahem.”

“Right, right, getting ahead of myself. And yourself. Anyway, while I was sneaking my way through the celebrations, I caught sight of her companion; another baby dragon! Only this one seemed older, but he was also called Spike.” Twilight Sparkle fixed her concerned, intent gaze up at Majesty. “Is there some kind of connection? Are dragons named Spike just - drawn to Equestria? Or Ponyland? Or - ponykind?”

“I’m afraid I have no answer for you there,” Majesty sighed, and turned. But before she could leave the room, Twilight Sparkle interrupted her.

“Then can you tell me about the humans?”

Majesty froze. “I hoped you had forgotten about them,” Majesty admitted at great length, and turned to offer Twilight Sparkle a little smile.

“How could I? I’ve never heard of such a thing - as soon as I returned home from our first visit, I scoured every library I could find.” Twilight Sparkle was alight now in a way that Majesty had noted once or twice before; it seemed that Princess of Research would have been a more fitting title for the little purple unicorn. “There was no mention of them anywhere; even Princess Celestia had no knowledge of them, and she’s been alive for hundreds and hundreds of years!”

Majesty’s eyebrows shot up at that.

“Ugh, okay, pretend I didn’t say that. But - you are the only pony who has ever told me about them, and I want to know why! Was it forbidden knowledge? Were they monsters? Are we at risk, in the future, if they return?”

Majesty laughed a little and shook her her head; her sky-blue mane whispered across her broad, powerful neck and shoulders. “Not quite. Here - one more forbidden object. I am not the only one with something like this, but I am one of very few.”

Majesty turned her attention to another trunk, but this one was far smaller and dustier; when she opened it, she had to wipe away the cobwebs that had grown over it. She lifted the lid to reveal a small assortment of treasures - little bronze trophies, a blue ribbon, a piece of cloth, and -

“Photographs!”

Majesty fixed Twilight Sparkle with an odd look. “How did you know what these are? That’s what Megan called them, too.”

“It - it doesn’t make sense that they are here!” Twilight Sparkle gasped, and slowly lifted the brittle, delicate paper into her hoof. “These are from my time. Or - er - somewhere nonspecific in the future, probably,” Twilight Sparkle ad libbed badly, making Majesty laugh.

“I think Molly would have liked you,” Majesty offered, and despite her laugh, something sad clung to her voice. “Here. The little one with the pigtails in her hair; that’s Molly. Then Cousin Danny, and Megan.”

Twilight Sparkle looked upon the faces of three creatures that she had never seen before in her life. In all of her travels, there was nothing like them. Their faces were flat, with no muzzle to speak of at all; one day, she would see Tirek and wonder where she had seen that flat profile before. They stood on two legs, like a pony reaching onto a counter, but their front legs ended in hands that more closely resembled those of the raccoons that Fluttershy adopted one fateful winter. Those little hands got into everything! The tallest was Megan, with hair as pale as Applejack’s; she wore it like hers, too, tied back behind her, with a jumper that might have been like Applejack’s work coveralls. Cousin Danny had far shorter hair, with a little cap; and Molly was clearly related to Megan, as she had the same Applejack-colored mane and bright blue eyes.

“What are they,” Twilight Sparkle began softly, dreading the answer, “and why did they come to Ponyland?”

“Megan came first; Firefly flew across a rainbow, searching for help after the Stratodons attacked our home and kidnapped our ponies,” Majesty explained gently, and lifted another photograph. Megan was alone this time, clutching a pink pegasus with blue hair. “After that, she was a friend for life. She would come across all of the time, and eventually Molly joined, and then Danny. They were all terribly brave; silly, at times. But they were just foals, they couldn’t be expected to be any better.

But if it’s one thing foals are good at,” Majesty sighed, “it’s growing up. One day, Megan came to see me privately; she told me that we had to sever the rainbow’s connection between our realms. She was moving away, after her journey to Coll’s Edge. She had grown up; Danny and Molly were growing up, too. She told me that she didn’t think that the other humans would understand us, if they came across the rainbow accidentally; she thought they might harm us.” Majesty paused for a beat, considering the photo. “She didn’t say so, but I wondered in the years afterward, if she wondered what we might do to them, too. Humans do not possess magic or horns.

I don’t know if her closest friends ever forgave me for it. It was what she wanted; but it broke her heart to do it, I know. She wore that same mantle, but her duty was to her kind as much as to ours. Sundance - she was one of the closest to her. Shady, Wind Whistler, too. We have all gone on without her, but … well.” Majesty touched the photographs, then gently replaced them in the little chest. “Some memories are easier to lock away and not dwell upon.”

Majesty considered the chest for a moment, then rose to her hooves once more, guiding Twilight Sparkle back down the narrow stairwell. Twilight had to go slowly; the stairs were uneven, and worn down in places. (This was often intentional in castles, of course, to thwart invaders who wouldn’t be used to the uneven steps when they were charging up the stairs! It was clearly laid out in Equestrian History, From Cave Ponies To Present, one of her favorite fillyhood books.)

“When I arrived at Dream Castle, it was because a prophecy foretold that a white unicorn named Majesty would arrive here, and that the castle was to be her home. That is what Spike told me, anyway; dragons have excellent memories for prophecies and fortune telling.” Majesty led Twilight Sparkle back to her bed, and once Twilight was seated, Majesty took up her brush once more, and began brushing out Twilight’s tail for her. “He was terribly small to be living in such a huge castle all by himself; I couldn’t leave him alone. But I was pretty small myself, back then.” Majesty allowed herself a little chuckle, and tied off Twilight’s tail with a ribbon.

“The prophecy didn’t say anything about any other ponies, though, and so I offered anypony who wished to live here a chamber. Our numbers grew each year, until we had - well, I suppose you could call them the ‘court.’ But it’s nothing quite so formal,” Majesty explained at length as she began brushing her own mane out. “I had thought that a prophecy, well, that must be very large magic, indeed; but it seemed so brisk and simple that it was more like a herald. ‘Here ye; here be the home of Majesty, a white unicorn.’” Majesty chuckled, and paused in her braiding. “Perhaps if Spike was not such a small dragon, it would not have been such a small prophecy.”

“Well… my Spike has never given me prophecies,” Twilight Sparkle explained, and ran her hoof over the neat pattern of Majesty’s braiding in her navy-blue tail. “But he is something of a messenger. He brings me messages from Princess Celestia - my teacher.”

“Hm! Well, then there’s another similarity; our little scaled friends have given us important messages. That has to mean something, correct?” Majesty asked, and held her brush out. “Would you like to braid it, or would you like my help?”

“Oh - it might not be nighttime when I go home again.”

Majesty simply fixed her with an expectant look.

“I would like your help, please,” Twilight Sparkle responded softly, and turned as directed, so that Majesty could begin brushing her mane. For such a large unicorn, who regularly opined on magical violence and goring, her touch was very gentle. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome,” Majesty returned, and brushed for a moment in silence. “You are a strange pony, Princess Twilight Sparkle. But you are the kind of strange that makes me wish you lived in my time; I find your presence most comforting. We are of a similar ken.”

Twilight Sparkle chuckled, doing her best to hold still. “In my era, we would probably say that we should be friends.”

Majesty chuckled in reply as she guided a piece of Twilight Sparkle’s mane behind her ear. “I think that is a fine idea, little princess.”

The pair sat in silence for a long time while Majesty finished her braid; once she’d tied it off with a piece of yellow ribbon, Twilight Sparkle rose from her bed, and looked at her with eyes that carried a burden far heavier than most ponies. Heavier than any pony ever ought to, Majesty thought to herself; but then, who was she to decide? She was just a pony whose name appeared in a prophecy carried by a baby dragon.

“I might not come back, after this,” Twilight Sparkle said, and her voice was thicker. She was so young!, Majesty mused. So young, to be crying over someone she’d only just met. She envied her for it. “It might not be safe. But - someday, I will try. So - this isn’t goodbye, okay? Just ‘see you later.’”

Majesty offered Twilight Sparkle a smile, and rose to her hooves, so that she could brush her horn against Twilight Sparkle’s; where the pair met, they glowed gently. “Very well, little princess. I hope I shall see you later. But if I do not, know that I will guard your secret to my grave. I hope your future is a bright one, and that you have learned what you needed from your time here.”

“I… I think so. You’ve taught me a lot, Majesty. Thank you.” Twilight Sparkle drew back, and considered Majesty for a beat longer. “Do you think that the humans are something I should warn my kingdom of?”

Majesty considered her for a moment, then shook her head, smiling at some long-gone memory. “I think the greatest danger that comes from humans,” Majesty explained, “is when they leave and take their love with them. I would almost prefer if they had come with weapons; that, at least, I would know how to fight.”

Twilight Sparkle stared at Majesty in the starlit darkness for a long moment. “I’m sorry, Queen Majesty.”

“It is alright, little princess; I am a ruler lost in memories of long-gone days. You are still in the spring of your kingdom; you ought to enjoy it.”

“You don’t seem very old to me,” Twilight Sparkle muttered as she pulled out her scroll, preparing to return to her own time.

Majesty laughed and shook her head, letting her braided mane brush against her neck. “Shouldn’t you think of something more meaningful to say on what might be our last farewell? You seem quite concerned with historical meaning!”

“Oh!” Twilight Sparkle looked alarmed, and tried to think of something even as her body began fading from sight. “You - I - in time untangled, were that I would - dragon farts!” And she was gone.

Majesty laughed so loudly that she woke up Glory, who came galloping into her room still in her nightcap.

Chapter 5 - Where Will Today's Adventure Be?

Majesty half expected to see Twilight Sparkle the next day, and when she did not, she told herself that it was for the best.

She tried to busy herself in the garden, at Posey’s request; but she always ended up back in her armory, polishing the latest set or replacing the fittings before they had quite worn through. She tried to busy herself with the kitchen with Cupcake; she even tried to busy herself with the other princesses, as silly as they were. (They were good-hearted, she knew, just … annoying.)

She wondered if she had been too vague with the little princess; if she had been so wrapped up in her own self-importance that she had wound up the little winged unicorn (sorry - alicorn) with riddles. She hadn’t intended to; but then, she hadn’t been exactly forthright from the start, either! But what right had she to judge her? She was just a little princess, confused about the difficulty of rule.

Majesty toyed with the idea of leaving her a cryptic message through time, or a letter of explanation; but no, that would definitely damage the timeline, she told herself firmly, and the little princess had been very resolute on that matter. So Majesty would, despite everything, do her best to carry on as if she’d never even met her.

The only problem was that without her next invader to focus on, or the little princess, Majesty found herself quite at loose ends. Perhaps not all rulers, she mused sourly one day, were destined to be princesses of friendship. Perhaps others were suited best to be princesses of battle.

Majesty was relieved, then, when she heard something clattering from inside the magical relic room weeks later. An invader, surely! With a glee that was not altogether ponyish, Majesty grabbed her pouch of utter-flutter dust and tore up the uneven stairs, preparing to face a foe narrow enough to slither in through the tall, narrow stone windows. A hydra of some kind? A snake-prince, come to steal the horseshoes! A bevy of evil pixies, or a cloud of evil dust, or a - nothing. Or a nothing, Majesty decided sourly, glaring around the room that was full of brilliant sunlight, relics, and nothing else.

Drat.

“Majesty!” the voice, warped and terrified, came from beneath a shimmery silver cloth.

Majesty was in front of the magic mirror in a moment and tore the dropcloth away. Before her, swimming in the magic mirror’s veiled sight, was Twilight Sparkle in chains. She was somewhere dark; it was hard to see, with the way the vision swam.

“Majesty, it’s you! Majesty - I made a mistake!” the little princess was crying. “I’m - I don’t know how long I can keep the spell up! Majesty, please, I need you to do something!”

“What can I do, Twilight?” Majesty’s voice was steel tempered by magical flames.

“I - I don’t know! I thought if you wrote me a letter - perhaps you could stop me from ever coming to you! But I don’t know what you could write that would stop my insatiable curiosity about a letter from centuries before, addressing me by name!” Twilight Sparkle tried to rub at her running eyes, but the manacles on her forelegs prevented her. They glowed; magic-proof.

“Where are you?”

“I - I wanted to ask more princesses for advice! I tried to be strong like you, but - but I couldn’t do it! So I went to the future, and - oh, Majesty! It’s awful!”

There was a roar of something in the background; Majesty couldn’t make it out, but it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. It wasn’t like any creature she had ever heard.

“I thought if I could tap into the magic of your mirror, it might boost the time travel spell enough to bring me back to you! But, these chains - they’re too strong! Even for Silver Swirl’s spells!” Twilight Sparkle was crying less, Majesty thought. She hoped. “Can you reach through the mirror?”

Majesty touched her hoof to the glass; it rippled under her touch, but remained solid. “Not from this end. Can you?”

“No!” Twilight Sparkle’s face twisted in anguish. “There has to be - something - a letter -”

“Twilight! The mirror!” Majesty cried as the image began to distort.

“- my only - hope -”

“Twilight!”

She was gone.

Majesty knew what she had to do, but she also knew that the others would stop her if she told them. Well, sorry girls; hopefully this misadventure won’t result in two dead royals.

She was halfway to tugging on her enchanted armor before she stopped, and slowly replaced it on its rack. No; adding enchanted armor to an already complicated spell would only make things more risky, and more likely to result in regicide. She’d have to do this as no other pony had ever done it before; she’d have to draw upon the old, old magic. The oldest magic she knew, bound up in song and story, lessons whispered between mother and daughter unicorn going all the way back down the line to the very first of their kind.

If Twilight Sparkle had asked, Majesty likely wouldn’t have told her; Twilight Sparkle did magic casually, without words, a thought and a glow from her horn and it was done. The time travel spell was someone else’s magic, and so it required a scroll. Twilight Sparkle’s ponies had lost the old magic, the old songs, the tunes and rhymes that shaped the magic and made it more powerful. Like kneading bread made it bake better, singing the spells made their power exponential. If Twilight Sparkle’s kingdom had lost this magic, it must have been for a reason; Majesty did not intend to change her future that drastically, even if it seemed that she must have already, somehow.

Majesty placed herself squarely on all four hooves in front of the magic mirror; as if anticipating her dangerous plan, it seemed to ripple all the faster, waiting for her. She inhaled deeply, tasting the dust of the old room; on her exhale, she sang in a clear, loud voice.

My Little Pony
My Little Pony
What will today's adventure be?

“Majesty!” a cry from down the stairs; she had felt the stones beneath her hooves lift, only for a moment. Perhaps the others had, too. She had to continue.

My Little Pony
My Little Pony
Will there be exciting sights to see?

“Majesty!” She recognized Glory’s voice, another unicorn. Of course she would know what was going on straight away. But there were other voices, too, alarmed and high-pitched. Majesty forced herself to keep her voice calm, even as she felt the flagstones beneath her hooves humming with magical energy. The mirror in front of her was swirling now, an angry, dark whirlpool.

Where will you wander?
Hither and yonder
Letting your heart be your guide

“Majesty, what are you - stay back!” barked Glory, cutting off Princess Aquamarine with a foreleg thrown across her throat, blocking her in the doorway. “You can’t do this! It’s too powerful!”

My Little Pony
My Little Pony
I'll be there right by your side

“MAJESTY!” Glory was screaming now; the whole room was buzzing, and the stone flooring was beginning to come apart beneath her hooves. “You’ll take the whole tower down with you!”

There was one line left; the mirror opened into a vast darkness, waiting for the final line. Beckoning her.

“I'll be there right by Twilight’s side!” Majesty sang, and with one powerful kick of her legs, she leapt into the magic mirror - and Queen Majesty, the ruler of Ponyland, was gone.

Chapter 6 - The Future

Queen Majesty landed in a hellscape of fire and ruin.

The first sense that came to her was smell, even before her eyes could register what was happening in front of her. It smelled like ash and smoke, so acrid it stung her nostrils, and she lifted a hoof to try and wipe away the clinging smell.

“Majesty!”

Majesty whirled, and found herself facing Twilight Sparkle, her face dark with ash, tear-streaked.

“Little princess!” Majesty dropped to her knees and touched her face before she could quite register what she was doing. “I found you!”

“You - you found me! How did you do that?” Twilight Sparkle blinked up at her owlishly. “Are you a - descendant?”

“No, it’s me; I came through the magic mirror,” Majesty explained, and lowered her horn to her manacles, giving them a light nudge. No dice; they glowed angrily and remained in place. “Where are we? Where did I come through?”

“Well, we’re … I think we’re in the Dream Castle.”

Majesty lifted her head sharply.

They were up high, in a ruined building that was missing a wall; the world they looked out upon was dark, stained red from the smoke and ash that choked them. There were no rolling green fields, no flowers, no bushwoolies rolling merrily to their dens; not even any trees that had once been dog-beasts. There were ruins of houses and shops, stretching in long, ragged lines to the horizon, smoking in some places, barely standing in others. There were banners, every so often, a blinding green against the red sky.

“This cannot be Dream Valley,” Majesty whispered, slowly taking in the sight, “and this cannot be Dream Castle.”

Twilight Sparkle touched her shoulder and turned her; she looked at the place she had appeared from, and there stood the magic mirror, covered in spiderwebbed cracks. She could see one remaining window, in the crumbling walls of their prison; it had a thin, tall shape, perfect for magic archers to fire out of. The walls were ash-grey, and streaked from a fire that must have ravaged it; but even in her sleep, Majesty would have recognized her home.

“I’m sorry, Majesty,” Twilight Sparkle whispered, her voice thick once more. “It’s -”

The roar came again in the background. Sharp, high, grating, like the scream of horn on horn in battle, even more terrible than the first time she had heard it. Majesty scrambled to her hooves, and Twilight Sparkle curled in on herself, trying to hide behind a tattered piece of tapestry as she furiously tugged at her manacles. From the horizon, her enemy approached.

It was massive; taller than Dream Castle, taller than anything Queen Majesty had ever seen. It lumbered slowly, heavily; at a great distance, it almost appeared to be a pony. It was like a Gizmonk creation, once she watched it move; twitchy, and blocky, with joints that were straining under this great creation’s massive weight. It was painted red, with glassy, unseeing eyes, and a great mouth painted in a rictus of rage. White, sharp teeth; it truly looked like a monster had come to destroy Dream Valley at last.

“PONIES OF SLEEPY VALLEY!” it roared, in a voice that didn’t sound very monstrous at all. Behind the echo and the grinding of the metal gears, it sounded like something far more whiny than a demonic giant pony. “YOU HAVE BEEN FREED FROM YOUR UNICORN OVERLORDS AT LAST! PRAISE EMPEROR SPROUT!”

“Unicorn overlords?” Majesty frowned, her white nostrils flaring in a sneer.

“It’s - I only could speak to a few ponies before they found me!” Twilight Sparkle struggled to explain, pressing into the stone wall of the ruined Dream Castle. “I was looking for a princess - but they don’t have a princess, they have some kind of - emperor? Somepony told me he was emperor, and I should praise Emperor Sprout, but a unicorn told me he was a monster metal stallion coming to enslave us all - and then guards grabbed us both, and put us in these chains!”

Majesty nodded, considering the scene, and turned to consider Twilight Sparkle. “Alright. I think I’ve got the sense of it.”

“You - you do?”

“Hold these out for me, there’s a good pony.” Majesty instructed her gently, and lowered her horn to the enchanted manacles once more.

“Get off of my friend, you little metal creep,
You’re getting drowsy - fall fast asleep!”

Twilight Sparkle gasped as the manacles seemed to snore, and after a moment of lip-smacking from invisible lips, they rolled off of her hooves and landed on the floor. “What spell was that?”

“I just made it up.”

“Made it up?!”

“It’s a lot to explain; suffice it to say, we didn’t use magic the same way you do, back in the - well, I guess it isn’t now, is it? We’re in the future - the far future.” Majesty frowned, puzzling it out.

“Are you going to have a time-travelling meltdown?” Twilight Sparkle asked cautiously. “It’s not a great time for it, but I understand that time-travel can be a big -”

“No, I think I’ve got it figured out. I’m a simple mare, little princess: I see my enemy, I blast it.” Majesty offered her a feral grin, and pointed herself towards the massive pony approaching on the horizon.

“You bl - Queen Majesty! There’s ponies inside of that thing!” Twilight Sparkle gasped.

“What - really?” Majesty scowled fiercely. “It ate ponies? I’ll blast it twice as hard.”

“No! It’s a - well, it’s a - it’s a machine! It’s like a - oh, what did you have back then?!” Twilight Sparkle thought out loud frantically, and on the horizon, the massive pony turned towards them.

“HEY! WHAT ARE YOU UNICORNS DOING OUT OF LOCKDOWN? I WON’T LET YOU USE YOUR MIND-CONTROL POWERS ON ME!” And the massive creature began its slow, inexhaustible walk towards them.

“It’s like a - like a fort!”

“A fort.”

“Or a castle!! It’s like - it’s like a big building,” Twilight Sparkle was speaking very rapidly now, and each step the monster took made her go faster, “with ponies inside of it, making it walk. Walk towards us right now. It’s not alive, it’s - but it’s got ponies inside of it to control it! We should - Queen Majesty we need to get out of here right now!”

“I see. So it’s like a castle - like my castle.” Queen Majesty was as cool as ever, and as Twilight Sparkle sped up, she seemed to slow down, setting her hooves in place. “But my castle came down.”

“Yes and we have to -”

“So that means their castle can come down, too.” Majesty turned to look at Twilight sharply. “Right?”

“Well, I … I suppose so,” Twilight offered shakily.

“Good. Little princess, I think this is what you and I might have been meant to do.”

“You - what? Really?”

“Because what I see in front of me is a big, ugly monster, ready to get blasted; and I see a whole group of ponies who are going to need someone good at friendship to pull them to safety.” Queen Majesty gave her a quick up-down. “Plus, I bet flying wouldn’t hurt any.”

Twilight Sparkle’s fear faded, replaced with a small, rapidly-growing grin. “I bet it would, huh?”

“It’s up to you now, little princess; I’ll trust you to do your part. I’ll do mine the best I know how,” Majesty offered her a toothy grin, and pointed her horn at the empty air where her curved staircase had once stood.

“Rainbow, guide my hoofsteps once more,
Help me banish this rogue from Ponyland’s moor!”

A rainbow, pastel and glittering, sprung up before Majesty; she leapt upon it and slid neatly to the ground. Behind her she could hear Twilight Sparkle’s hoofbeats clattering as she followed, but she didn’t have time to listen to her marveling at the spell; she was already taking off at a gallop towards her enemy.

The massive creature had sighted her glittery rainbow, which stood out in the ashy and reddened landscape; it turned to intercept her, but the emperor’s guards got to her first, clad in metal helmets with a strange, pointy horn on top. It reminded her a bit of a lollipop, if a lollipop could flash like a candle flame.

“Halt! In the name of Emperor Sprout!”

“They’re just ponies; they don’t know any better,
Pull them to safety, until there’s a change in the weather.”

The earth pony patrol were scooped up in the pastel, glittering rainbow, and carried off of the battlefield as they screamed with one terrified voice. They’d be fine, Majesty reminded herself; she had bigger bushwoolies to shave.

The massive metal creature - more like a suit of armor, the closer she got to it, hollowed-out behind the eyes and teeth - continued to plod towards her, and as she got closer, she could see that its hooves had wheels, so that it was able to roll along with each step. It was faster than it looked; soon, it was close enough that she could read the insignia spray-painted across its massive front. It seemed to be an acronym … but a particularly graceless one.

G - GIVE
U - UNICORNS
N - NO MERCY!
D - DEFEND
A - ARE HOME
M - MARETIME BAY!

“Is that supposed to be ‘our’’?” Majesty hummed to herself, and felt her heart skip a beat as two bright-red beams of light suddenly focused on her. The glowing eyes of the armor had sighted her!

“HALT, UNICORN SCUM!” the same whiny voice from before commanded, enraged despite the whine. “YOUR MIND CONTROL POWERS WON’T WORK ON MY BEAUTIFUL SPROUT-BOT 2.0; HE’S MADE OF ENCHANTED UNITONIUM!”

“Not a thing,” Majesty muttered.

“YOUR FOOLISH BRIDLEWOOD WOO-WOO WON’T WORK ON ME!! NOW, IF YOU SURRENDER QUIETLY… I’LL ONLY STOMP YOU A FEW TIMES, HAW HAW!”

“Right,” Majesty frowned. She considered the massive creature - a suit of armor, it seemed to be, but with much smaller ponies inside of it - and took a few steps back.

“DON’T TRY TO RUN AWAY, LITTLE UNICORN! IT’S USELESS!”

“Just getting a better angle,” Majesty said, half to herself, but it seemed that the whiny stallion inside of the armor could hear her.

“Did she just call me an angel?”

“Instead of magic, give me simple rope,
I’m going to cut this monster down, dope by dope!”

A rope appeared from the end of her horn, and she caught one end in her teeth as her magic shot the other end at the robot; it looped, around and around, and held fast around the robot-pony’s muzzle.

“H-HEY! YOU CAN’T DO THAT! MAGIC ISN’T SUPPOSED TO WORK ON THIS!”

“I did ask for a regular rope,” Majesty replied through gritted teeth as she swung herself into the air. There were a few terrifying moments where she seemed to hang in midair (what she wouldn’t give for a pair of wings just then!), then she landed, hard, on the creature’s metal back. Her bad knees cried out, but held.

“THAT’S NOT FAIR, THAT’S NOT FAIR!”

Majesty didn’t know a lot about this castle-but-not creation; but if it was like armor, it had weak points. And those weak points would be where the armor connected, and she had to assume that this lumbering monster would be the same. As the monster tried to twist its head back around upon itself, Majesty dove downward, horn first, and began slashing at the joint on the front left shoulder. With her powerful front hooves, she began kicking and digging, seeking out the weak, rubbery connections beneath the metal.

“STOP THAT, I NEED THAT LEG! THAT’S MY FAVORITE LEG!”

Something wet and viscous splashed her face - black, thank the stars, and she wiped her eyes clear before she went back to slashing. Once the leg started to stutter, she planted her front legs on the shoulder, and her back hooves between the seam of the joint she had just ripped wide.

“STOP! I COMMAND AS YOUR EMPEROR!”

With a high, keening battle-whinny, Majesty kicked out her hind legs, and scrambled back onto the monster as its leg sheared off. Her battle-whinny was completely overridden by the scream the metal made as it disconnected, and with a mighty crash, the robot’s leg smashed into the ground far below. More of the black, viscous liquid began to pool around the lost limb as it gushed as feverishly as if it were from an open wound. A very dirty pony clambered out of a little door, and galloped to safety.

“GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD! WE STILL HAVE THREE MORE GOOD - HEY!”

Faster than the first time, now that she knew where to cut, Majesty sheared off a second leg from the metal monstrosity, crashing into what had once been a grocery store. It was a hind leg this time, on the opposite side, and with a terrible, bone-shaking groaning, the armor began to collapse. Beneath them, several ponies bailed out of the legs, scrambling to safety; Majesty could only watch from her precarious perch on the monster’s back.

“MOMMY!! MOMMY, I’M SORRYYYYYYYY!” wailed the whiny stallion. Majesty decided that life was severely unfair if that was going to be the last thing she heard.

“I heard someone needed an alicorn rescue!” came a familiar voice, and with a sharp grip around her middle, Majesty felt herself lifted into the air.

“Twilight!”

“Oof, I should call you big princess, you’re heavy!” Twilight Sparkle groaned, her wings flapping feverishly as they glided down to a ruined street.

“You came just in the nick of time!” Majesty praised her, grinning at her from under a face full of oil.

“Oh - you, uh, got a little - you know what, it’s fine,” Twilight Sparkle decided suddenly, waving off her concern. “I thought I heard my Princess of Friendship powers buzzing! I knew it was time to stage a rescue!”

Majesty laughed, and regretted it only a little; the black slick did not taste good. “You were the most spectacular Princess of Friendship I have ever seen, and that’s not just because you were the only one I’ve ever seen.”

Twilight Sparkle laughed, and opened her mouth to say something else, but something interrupted her - a massive squeal of metal as the robo-pony’s mouth opened, revealing a much-smaller, much more rumpled-looking red pony. He climbed out, sniveling and crying, and tripped, landing on his face on the cobblestones below.

“Great. One last problem to solve,” Majesty growled, and took off at a trot, her horn glowing.

“One last bug to squash, get ready to flee,
Turn this little stallion into -”

“Majesty, stop!”

Majesty skidded to a shuddering halt when Twilight Sparkle ran in front of her; if she hadn’t left enough leeway, her three bum knees would have bowled her right over. “Twilight! He’s - he’s the bad guy! That’s the Emperor! The whole monster looks like him!”

“I know!” Twilight shouted, and kept herself between the still-whining stallion and the queen. “And - and he’s a pony! He’s just a pony!”

“He destroyed Dream Valley! Look at this place!” Majesty shouted, gesturing with her horn to the rubble around them, and the shell-shocked ponies who were slowly coming to circle their fallen leader. A few of them slipped off metal helmets, kicking them aside guiltily. “It’s been destroyed!”

“I know!” Twilight agreed, and stood in silence for a moment, realizing that the group was waiting to hear her next words with bated breath. “But … look at him. Look at us.”

Majesty looked down at the red stallion; he wasn’t much older than them, but he was pretty scrawny, and the little buttons and ribbons on his collar were all askew from where he’d fallen out of his monster. His cheeks were tear-stained, and snot dribbled down his chin; even his straw-yellow bouffant looked positively deflated.

“He’s not a threat to us, Majesty. This isn’t a glorious battle anymore. We won the battle. He’s just - the result.” Twilight Sparkle was frowning, trying to puzzle out her feelings. “What you did was - was incredible, Majesty. But once you turned the dog-beasts into saplings… did you chop the saplings down, too?”

Majesty frowned at the analogy. “Of course not.”

“He’s not a dog-beast. He’s - he’s a sapling. He’s just a dumb little pony,” Twilight Sparkle snapped, gesturing at the sniveling red stallion, “who got a taste of power, and went crazy with it. I wish I could say that he was the first pony I’ve met like this, but he’s not.”

Majesty’s ears snapped back. “The future sounds like a rough place.”

“It is! It is. But - the past is rough, too. I didn’t know how you handled it, if I’m being completely honest. Dog-beasts, and lava monsters, and Gizmos!”

“Gizmonks.”

“It’s all too much! It’s too much heartache, and war, and battle for me.” Twilight Sparkle sighed, and frowned at Majesty. “I think it’s too much for you, too.”

Majesty frowned at her sharply, and her ears flattened out. “You presume much, Princess Twilight. And you presume too much about him; if a pony is bad, then they will receive the same treatment as any Gizmonk.”

“I will not allow you, Princess Majesty.” Twilight Sparkle squared herself off in front of Majesty; it surprised her, to see her own tactics reflected back at her. Her horn glowed; in reply, Majesty’s glowed. “I don’t want to fight you!”

“Maybe I do.”

“Not every battle can be solved with blasting!” Princess Twilight Sparkle was still trying to talk her way out of it, and Majesty didn’t like it; she especially didn’t like how much sense it was making.

“You say that this is too much for you; but it is not too much for me,” Majesty said coldly, and took a step forward, coming close enough to Twilight Sparkle that she could feel her breath huffing against her own coat. “Being a ruler means making the hard decisions. Even if the hard decisions mean doing something that seems wrong to those who can’t understand the burdens of power.”

Around them, the circle of earth ponies took a few steps back.

“If you will not help me,” Majesty ground out, and pushed past Twilight Sparkle, “then I ask only that you do not get in my way.” She stepped closer to the little red stallion; he was still sniveling, and as she approached, he curled up into a ball, shielding his head.

Only a few inches from her hoof, something sharp and bright blasted; the radiant heat made her jerk her hoof back. Majesty twisted, and came face to face with Princess Twilight Sparkle, her horn still smoking.

“I am Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight began, her voice firm, commanding; a royal voice if Majesty had ever heard one. “And I am the Princess of Friendship. I will not let you do this.”

“Very well,” Majesty reared into the air, whinnying out her battle scream.

“Rainbow, I call upon your aid;
Gather Twilight Sparkle and -”

Majesty’s song was cut off sharply with a powerful blast of magic, knocking her off her hooves. It had been years since any other unicorn had challenged her; she had forgotten how painful those first few blasts were. Her snow-white coat was streaked with ash as she scrambled to her hooves, huffing out an angry breath.

“Your weakness is your speed,” Twilight Sparkle called to her, frowning; she was conflicted. Majesty could see the thrill of battle in her gaze, as much as she tried to deny it. “You take too long casting your big spells.”

Majesty whipped her head back, and sent another magical rope at Twilight Sparkle; Twilight tried to dodge, but it caught her hind legs, and she struggled in the dirt for a moment. “And your weakness is you think too much!” Majesty called, and twirled her horn; the blast of her magic met Twilight Sparkle’s halfway, and the pair sparked violently as they connected. Majesty might have felt more guilty if the neighborhood hadn't already been decimated.

Twilight Sparkle soon freed herself from the rope, and Majesty shot another at her; this one she dodged, then blasted with a burst of her own magic. The pair darted through the ruined neighborhood, blasting at one another; for all that it was dangerous, and very serious, Majesty couldn’t pretend that she didn’t enjoy the thrill of it all. Majesty landed a few hits; Twilight Sparkle did the same. Neither stayed down for long, but Majesty could feel the hits taking their toll on her sore body. Even Twilight Sparkle, less battle-worn than her, seemed to be feeling it, slowing down as she darted behind half-fallen walls and bits of rubble to shield herself.

Majesty surprised Twilight as she rounded a corner, and she tackled the smaller princess, using her superior size to pin her to the ground. She huffed out an exhausted breath, then lifted her head; her horn glowed, but her spell-song died on her lips.

“You can’t do it, can you?”

Majesty glared at her.

“I’m your friend, Majesty,” Twilight Sparkle spoke quietly, even as she panted a little. She was dirty and ash-streaked, just like Majesty; she was as tired as she was. “I’m not some faceless dog-beast. But to someone, that red pony is a friend, too. He’s not a monster. He’s just a pony who made a mistake - just like me. Just like you.”

Majesty panted down at her for a moment, long enough that she could stop panting; finally, she pulled away with an angry growl, stomping a few steps away. Her head swum, and not only from the fresh blast that still burned on her flank.

“You’re brave, Majesty; but bravery is not fighting for the sake of fighting. It is not suffering in silence. It’s not brave to keep your friends away when you’re hurting.”

Majesty’s mane twitched uncomfortably; she tried to shake off the dust from her coat, refusing to meet Twilight Sparkle’s gaze.

“Your friends love you. They might not be able to understand everything, but they can understand parts of it. It’s not brave to be crushed under the burden of your loss; it’s actually braver,” Twilight Sparkle’s brows lifted, as if she was just realizing it as she said it, “to share your burden with others, and to share your heart.”

“Aww,” said one pony watching from an abandoned apartment, and another pony stuffed his hoof in his mouth to silence him.

“That pony made a mistake; it doesn’t mean he should be destroyed for it,” Twilight Sparkle said softly, watching Majesty. “If you made mistakes, it doesn’t mean you ought to be, either.”

Majesty’s head jerked up sharply, and considered Twilight Sparkle for a long time. At last, she gave her head a small, jerky nod. “Well spoken,” she said at last, her voice a little tangled in her throat. “I can see why they made you Princess of Friendship. You - you know your stuff.” Majesty gave an obliging little chuckle. “And not a bad spell caster, either.”

“I do love to research,” Twilight smiled, and spread her wings. “Now; how about we go home?”

“Will they be able to handle him?” Majesty asked, considering the crowd as they gradually crept closer, and the sniveling red stallion still cowering in the shadow of his colossus.

“Is Mommy gonna be mad?” the red pony asked, before a much burlier stallion with a badge hefted him over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, ladies; I’ve got him from here.”

“Very good. Now, hold on tight; this spell might be a little tricky with two of us,” Twilight Sparkle instructed Majesty, but before she could lift Majesty into the air, Majesty summoned a rainbow with a twirl of her horn, and she took off into the air, galloping along its glittery length.

“Two of us? That’s just double the magic! It’ll be twice as easy.” Majesty called over her shoulder, and the pair took off, racing into a black portal which swallowed them up, vanishing in a dark, liquid swirl.

Chapter 7 - See You Later

It was harder to say goodbye the second time. Not only because Majesty was going to have to face off against an annoyed and worried group of friends, and possibly rebuild the relic tower. No, she was also going to have to face off her most devious and wriggly foe: her feelings.

“Are you sure you can’t just cast some friendship magic and do it for me?” Majesty asked, her ears twisting back and forth as she said her last farewell to Twilight Sparkle, just outside the drawbridge.

Twilight Sparkle chuckled, and shook her head. “Nope, that’s the hard part of friendship; you can’t force it, or make magic do it for you. You just gotta speak from your heart. Don’t worry, Majesty; you’ve got this. They already care about you, and they’re already trying to start the conversation. Just … let them.”

Majesty sighed, but gave a tiny, begrudging nod. “You make it sound much easier.”

“Well, I’ve had more practice with friendship; that’s all. Just like you’ve had more practice fighting monsters.” Twilight Sparkle smiled up at Majesty, considering her. “I was looking at your bravery all wrong; I thought it was just running into a group of enemies, horn at the ready, no matter the circumstances. But I think you’re most comfortable doing that. I think the true measure of your bravery will be letting your friends help you when you don’t feel strong.”

Majesty lifted her brows, then hummed out a little chuckle, and shook her mane. She’d been toweled off, hastily, but her mane was still slick with the black gunk that the monster had bled on her. “I suppose that’s a fair assessment. Even if I don’t like hearing it.”

“Sorry,” Twilight Sparkle allowed, offering her an apologetic smile. “I still think you’re one of the bravest ponies I’ve ever known. You just need to direct your bravery into a … new channel. It’s the bravest thing of all to be vulnerable, you know.”

“It’s certainly the most challenging battle I’ve faced in many years.” Majesty considered her for a beat, then squinted. “Did you just trick me into convincing myself to talk about my feelings?”

Twilight Sparkle laughed brightly. “Maybe I’m a Princess of Friendship even when I’m not meaning to!”

“Sure, sure,” Majesty chuckled, and reached out her foreleg, pulling the much-smaller pony into a hug. “I’m going to miss you, little princess.”

“I’m going to miss you too, big princess,” Twilight Sparkle sighed as she returned it tightly, burying her face in Majesty’s broad white neck for a moment. “But this isn’t goodbye. Right?”

“Right,” Majesty smiled, and watched as Twilight Sparkle pulled away, and began to fade from view. “See you later, Princess Twilight.”

“See you later,” Twilight called, as her voice disappeared like a bubble on the breeze, “Queen Majesty.”