The melodic chimes of telekinetic magic mixed with the periodic clanking of silver utensils, the meditative melody claiming the royal dining hall. It was a private section, of course, reserved for diplomatic visits, internal inter-regional meetings, and other occasions of such magnitude. When no such occasions presented themselves, it was used for the most prestigious of affairs: royal breakfasts.

It was during one of these breakfasts, (or dinners, if you asked one Lunae Eclipsus) just when Celestial Corona, known as Princess Celestia to most, was about to assure herself that yes, consuming the fifth piece of double chocolate cake with chocolate filling a chocolate chips was a very healthy thing to do, thank you very much, did her horn glow with a golden-emerald hue, unceremoniously dropping a scroll dangerously close to her royal teacup.

A small sigh left Celestia's lips, one she allowed herself in the privacy of the moment. It was a small miracle she was unbothered by now, she usually rose at six, and by seven around a dozen new letters would be on her table. This one was different, though. By the virtue of being delivered in the way it was, Celestia knew who exactly was the sender.

"How is young Twilight doing nowadays?" Luna's interest was partly cordial, yes, but also personal. The fledgling alicorn not only saved the Lunar Diarch from the grips of millenium old insanity, but also one of the first to understand and accept her fish out of water attitude towards modern times, and eventually helped with the acclimatization process. "From last we heard, she was lacking a mate, correct?"

Celestia was thankful her cup of tea was placed firmly on the table, she'd hate to bother the maids with additional cleaning duty. "S-sister, while I support your attempts to find somepony special, Twilight Sparkle is far too young-" Halfway into her bout of rambling Celestia noticed the sly grin on her sister's face, suddenly understanding the severity of her mistake.

"Whatever do you mean, sister? We were merely suggesting our dear friend could use a lesson in matters amorous. I'm sure Miss Velvet would like to meet the grandfoals, and she can't afford to wait forever." Celestia shook her head at her sister's antics. They often invigorated her more than the coffee.

With a quiet chuckle Celestia unraveled the letter, her eyes scanning through its contents. Luna looked away for a moment, subtly adding additional milk to her sugar-free coffee, but when she looked back, Celestia's expression was the most troubled she'd seen in years.

"Sister?" She called out, to no avail. "Tia? Is something the matter?" Her sister was so concentrated on the letter, she didn't notice Luna approaching her, shaking out of her concentration only by the touch of Luna's wing. Instead of an answer, Celestia wordlessly handed her the scroll.

Dear Princess Celestia

Recently, a dangerous animal was found deceased near Ponyville. Previously known for terrorizing townsfolk, its attacks grew sparse overtime, and I, personally, am relieved to know it will no longer bother our community. Normally, I wouldn't involve royalty in something so insignificant, but I have reasons to believe it was afflicted by a currently unknown illness, which eventually led to its demise.

Quote: "Subject is a bipedal creature, resembling a hairless ape or diamond dog. Subject possesses a long, brown hair and beard, small hazel eyes and a relatively small mouth. Teeth indicate an omnivorous diet. While healthy proportions are unknown due to the lack of knowledge about the subject's species, extrapolation of its current condition to equine norms suggests severe malnourishment, which resulted in atrophy of muscle mass and the brittleness of bone matter. Autopsy results imply improper healing of broken bones, as well as traumatic damage to ocular tissue, resulting in the loss of vision in the left eye. Scar tissue patter on the right side of the subject's body indicate lightning damage.

Cause of death appears to be a traumatic fracture of the cervical vertebrae, followed by asphyxiation due to a crushed trachea. All signs point towards these wounds being self-inflicted, which, in my professional opinion, does not make any sense. End quote.

My theory postulates that a yet unknown disease, possibly stemming from consumption of meat, had driven the creature mad, causing it to leave the Everfree and wander into Ponyville, eventually resulting in its death. With your resources and leadership skills, I'm sure we can nub this disease in the bud.

Sincerely,

Your faithfu Princess Twilight Sparkle

Princess Celestia read over the letter for the fourth time, blinking uncomprehendingly. That can't be right... The solar diarch shook her head. My eyes must be playing tricks on me. Reading over the letter again, her concerned expression waxed into outright worry.

The letter remained the same.

"Oh Twilight...what have you done?" Celestia whispered to herself, absently levitating a scroll and quill to herself. The quill swooped and pecked to her will, forming a brief reply. With a flash of her lance-like horn, the Princess of the Sun sent her message in a flash of light.

"Sister? What is the matter?"

"I notified Raven to clear our schedules. We are leaving for Ponyville. Now." She stood up from her seat, motioning Luna to come closer.

"What for? Had something dire happen?" The Lunar Diarch didn't know what was going on, but could hear the gravity of the situation from the tone of her sister's voice.

"I pray to all who listen that I am wrong, but I fear something terrible has befallen Jason Wright." Luna blinked owlishly, shaking off the cobwebs from her mind as she tried to connect names to faces.

"Jason Wright... Ah! That lovely human! We were wondering how he was doing, but thought it would be rude to pry into his life." Her excitement quickly faded as she saw the grave look on Celestia's face. "Is he in need of assistance?"

Celestia sighed, her horn sparking with the power of a fully charged long-distance teleport spell.

"I pray we're not too late for that, sister."

Wait there.

Twilight gulped as she read the succinct letter. No introductions, no pleasantries. Short and to the point. Things must have been more dire than she anticipated. If Princess Celestia was this hasty with the reply, there's no telling how dangerous this human was. Who knew what diseases it might have carried? She thanked her intuition for quaranteening the morgue.

"Uh, Twilight? Ah don't know the Princess all too well, but does the letter seem a little too... " Applejack waved her hoof in the air, searching for the right word. "No nonsense to ya?"

Twilight would've used the word 'concise', but that wasn't relevant to the situation. "She's just worried about us, is all. Who knows what illnesses that thing might be carrying!"

"Whut?" Applejack blinked owlishly.

"Well, have you seen the state its body is in? It was obviously ill." Twilight rolled her eyes, internally debating whether or not explaining the situation to the farm mare was worth it. Momentarily out of it, she missed the withering glare she got from Applejack.

"Have you?" Twilight, momentarily dazed by the question, was at a loss for words. Truth be told, she didn't see the body per se, but she'd read the coroner report. That had to count, right?

"Well..."

"Cuz lemme tell ya, Twilight." Applejack stepped forward, her gaze steel as she confronted the fledgeling alicorn. "What happened to Jason wasn't caused by disease. We did this to him." Twilight couldn't remember the last time she'd seen the farm mare this serious.

"What do you mean? I haven't seen it more than a dozen times in my life, let alone interact with it!" Twilight's patience was running out, and she didn't like the accusatory tone of her friend's voice. Applejack jabbed a hoof at Twilight's chest, but the latter didn't budge.

"His name is Jason. And unlike you, Ah have seen his... body." She took a deep breath, willing herself to speak past the lump in her throat. "He must'a been starving fer who knows how long! And his wounds..." Applejack shuddered. "For pete' sake, he looked like he was beaten regularly! And Ah want ya to know that whatever ya read - it don't do him no justice." Now Twilight was puzzled. Starving? Beaten? That couldn't be true.

"Starving? The report says it's an omnivore! It should've been capable enough to sustain itself in the Everfree." She heard the scraping of hoof against wood, Applejack must've been pawing at the floor, but ignored it. "And beaten, really? It's a monster that lived in the Everfree! Of course it'd get into a scuffle from time to time!" Twilight interpreted Applejack's incredulous look as a sign of her own victory in this debate of theirs. She faintly heard an odd sound from outside the study, but ignored it.

"Ya know what his last words were, Twi?" The farm pony could barely hold back tears at that point. "When Ah saw him sitting on that branch, rope around his neck, Ah asked him: why? And ya know what he told me?" She shut her eyes for the moment, wiping away the wetness with her foreleg. "He said he had to live in a cave, eat outta the trash and bathe in a lake fer the last three years! Said ponies in this town treated him like a monster! Tartarus, Ah myself remember running him off my farm, just for pickin' an apple!" She didn't bother hiding the tears. "None of us gave him a chance! An... And he wanted to teach us a lesson."

Twilight felt it before she heard it. Immense heat, like the sun itself appeared in her room, washed over her in an instant, followed by a chilling wave of soul-searing cold, like she was momentarily thrusted into the vacuum of space, into space between the stars. Applejack covered her face with her trusty stetson, either out of shame, or fear, Twilight wasn't sure.

For the first time in her life, Twilight was scared for her life. She was nervous during her adventures with the girls, of course, but there always was an underlying sense that everything was going to be fine in the end. But now, as Twilight looked into the smoldering eyes of Princess Celestia, her pastel-colored mane whippin angrily at the air around her, she was unsure of what the future held for her.

Beside the solar diarch stood the Lady of the Night, her current stature reminding Twilight about that fateful confrontation in the Castle of the two Sister. Her eyes weren't slits, but they may as well have been, with the hateful look she leveraged at the fledgeling alicorn. While her sister's fury was cold, perhaps righteous, in a way, Luna's demeanor on the other hand was potentially explosive. Twilight read the books on ancient Equestrian history, and at that moment, she vividly remembered the chapter about public executions, and she was sure Luna remembered them as well.

Celestia's gaze fell on Twilight, and for a moment, she was a little filly again. "You will be dealt with, in time." A part of Twilight died at her mentor's words. The Diarch of Equestria shifted to look at the farm mare, and Twilight felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

"Applejack Apple. Look me in the eyes when I speak with you." Neither mare had ever heard that tone of voice from Celestia. Both felt obliged to obey. Applejack shakily raised the stetson, revealing her red, puffy eyes. "What you have just told Twilight, is it true?" Twilight couldn't imagine what strength it took Applejack to tear her gaze from the floor, and look the Princess in the eyes.

"Everything. To the last word. Or I'm not an Apple."

In the pregnant silence that followed, Twilight felt a twinge of something in her chest. Her legs subtly trembled, and her stomach hurt.

"I see. Thank you for your honesty." Celestia closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Twilight." The mare almost jumped at the sound of her name. "Gather the rest of the Elements with Applejack, and meet me at Ponyville General." Her horn pulsed with barely contained power. "Do not take too long, or my sister and I will find you ourselves."

In a flash of scorching light, the alicorns were gone, leaving a burn mark on the wooden flooring of Twilight's study.

Author's Note

Man, I really wouldn't want to be Twilight right now.

I wouldn't want to be her period, but it's the thought that counts.