Author's Note

Hopefully you all saw my blog post, apologizing for my absence. This chapter gets a bit cheesy at some points, but I wanted it to be as genuine as possible. I hope you enjoy. Thank you!
Flopinator1976
p.s. If there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, that's because I am unusually fatigued at the moment.

Chapter Thirteen: A Royal Conversation

Twilight was busy pacing, which was all she seemed to do these days. After the second day without the return of Spike and Discord, she was growing seriously concerned. Of course their journey was perilous and risky, but a part of her just assumed that the interval would be quick. In between the regret of letting them go and the anticipation of their return was a dull, aching pain. It was not physical, but the way it had enveloped her brain seemed much the same. Her worry was a low, humming headache. Her hooves were worn down from all the pacing around, and she barely had consideration to get them polished. Any kind of self-care felt like a slap in the face to her citizens, who still had to make do with tents and boxed food. Although many citizens had lent their spare bedrooms to ponies in need, it simply was not enough for the population of Equestria’s capital city. Priority was given to more vulnerable members of the population, which meant that a sizable chunk of Canterlot was still calling home to a shabby tent.

Twilight sighed. She tried not to be so cynical. It was the best the Crystal Empire could do, considering the remote location and smaller infrastructure. But as boxes and boxes came from cities across Equestria, something a little like a home began to emerge on the outskirts of the city. With the fancy new blankets, clothes, and yurts that had arrived, Twilight was beginning to feel that they would easily get through the harshest nights of winter. She could have just asked the weather factory to avoid sending snow to the area, but anything out of the ordinary would just draw more attention. She couldn’t rely on her royal prestige or powerful magic. In this secretive survivor's camp, she was stripped to her barest bones. Every day was shrouded in fear that the Red Cloak was staging a new attack. If not in the Crystal Empire, cities like Manehatten or even Ponyville were vulnerable. It seemed nowhere was safe.

On the bright side, her citizens were warm, well-fed, and decently entertained with the activities the Crystal Empire had to offer. Rarity had even teamed up with locals to create a workshop for traditional Crystalian weaving. Hats, baskets, and other random objects made of straw seemed to permeate every street corner. For every cafe and deli there were hundreds of ponies coming in, day in and day out. It could have felt like a normal life, but it wasn’t.

Her citizens having to take shelter in the Crystal Empire was just so incredibly wrong, so frustrating, and so...so…preventable. Violence of the kind she had witnessed just a few weeks ago wasn’t supposed to happen in Equestria, in a city defined by the “magic of friendship” slogan hawked in touristy merch stalls at every bustling corner. Even looking beyond the cynicism that had made itself home in her mind, she knew that Canterlot was special, it was symbolic. It was the glue of Equestria, it was the beating heart that sustained every other vital part of the nation. As ruler, she always wanted to grumble about the way that the value of friendship had been commodified into merchandise and unauthorized biographies of herself and her friends.

But in truth, friendship was still magic. It was what had saved her life, in more ways than one. All the baseball caps in the world couldn’t cheapen the very fibers of her being. And now, the monuments that had memorialized that, the cobbled streets that held generations worth of memories…it was nothing but blood and smoke.

Except for the castle. Twilight couldn’t stop thinking about that. She couldn’t stop worrying that at any moment, the sky would turn into a burst of red, black and gray. She couldn’t stop worrying that things were about to get much, much worse.

She kept pacing. Her hooves were numb, ever so slightly illuminated by the unwelcome return of the morning sun. Her own mind had swiftly robbed her of any sleep that night, and she was feeling the effects. Her body was starting to break down, and her focus had been lacking for the past few days. It seemed like every time she had any flame of hope or optimism, it immediately extinguished itself.

She looked around her makeshift bedroom, briefly marveling at the intricate crystal moldings on the ceiling. The castle was truly a work of art. It may have even rivaled her own, both in Canterlot and in Ponyville.

She sighed. It would be a long time before she could marvel at the beauty of either of those places. Even if they won their fight against the red cloaks, the damage would be immeasurable. The violence was just the beginning, and the aftermath would be its own kind of horror. Ponies would have to rebuild their homes, their lives, and their souls. Many other ponies didn’t have the fortune of getting to rebuild anything at all. For the unlucky, flowers and stifled sobs would be the only frills of their fate.

Her alarm clock almost made her jump out of her skin, reminding her that she should have been waking up from a restful sleep. Instead, she plodded to her bathroom to take the coldest shower she could manage. She would do anything to get her mind out of a sleepy, nightmarish haze. Although she had a myriad of spells available to her, she was too paranoid about being noticed. Who knows what kind of technology the Red Cloaks had.

Just before the bathroom door was her dresser, and on top was the little white book. Although the last few weeks had been disrupted, she and her mysterious guard had struck up a correspondence. She still remembered his scribbling, manic hoof writing on the day of the bombs. She opened to a new entry, dated from just a few minutes prior. The guard must have been an early riser.

“Dear Twilight,
I hope this letter finds you well. I have overseen this week’s shipments of supplies, and I am happy to report that our vegetables and fruits coming in are at the peak of the harvest! May you and your citizens enjoy the fresh food. Our urban farmers have been quite proud of their accomplishments, especially with the limited green space we have in the city. Once this hell blows over, the farmers will hopefully understand where their hard work was truly going. This operation has been immense, but the secrecy of it is the real challenge! Trottingham has been working tirelessly for this cause, and I want to let you know something:

Don’t give up. Please, please, don’t give up. I know that times are challenging, and will be challenging still. There is much evil and strife in this world, but there is much more goodness. Ponies like you show the world that friendship will triumph over animosity, peace over violence, and good over evil. From Trottingham to Manehatten to Saddle Arabia, ponies and other creatures alike are scared and tired, but not without a fight. Equestria has your back against these rogue ponies.

I hope this message helped you at least a small bit, and I have received word of the intense preparations of the Royal Guard. I can confirm that guards stationed across Equestria are prepared to the highest extent. We may not want to fight, but we have to prepare for battle. I send this message with urgency but understanding.

Take care of yourself, Twilight.

Twilight finished reading the letter, the pages rippled with tears. She didn’t want to face the reality that was already facing her. She quickly jotted down some of the message on a non-magical sheet of paper. But when she turned back to the message, it was already fading, until all that was left was a blank page. It must have been a discretion tactic, considering the sensitive nature of the message. She closed the book and headed into her bathroom to get ready.

—

“Okay everypony, we understand what this means, correct?”

Shining Armor was characteristically firm with his commands, but even still Twilight winced. It was scary to see a pony she loved preparing to face danger.

In a massive basement gymnasium-which served as a makeshift training ground for guards-Shining Armor was busy instructing new cadets on the basic drills of the guard. Twilight felt overwhelmed just looking at the massive group. She didn’t even know there were that many ways for a pony to stand up straight.

Over the last few weeks, young stallions and mares alike had signed up for the army in droves, all prepared to defend Equestria. As the horrors of what the Red Cloaks had done seeped through the city, a sense of Equestrian devotion was revitalizing the citizens.

Shining Armor continued with a barrage of seemingly mundane drills.

“Attention! Face Left! Face Right! Back Around Again! Hooves Together! Hooves Apart! Spine Straight! Look Up! Look Down! Right Hoof Up! Now the Left Hoof! Again!”

Twilight’s head was spinning. She knew that these ponies, most of them barely out of their secondary education, were training for a battle.

No, that wasn’t quite right. They were training for war. She shuddered, causing Shining Armor to break free from his teaching voice for just a second. He instructed his trainees to grab water and a snack during their impromptu break.

He was calm yet concerned as he trotted over to her.

“Everything okay, sis?” His eyes were clouded with worry.

Twilight knew she looked terrible. Her frame was thinning as a result of her decreased appetite and sleepless nights. Even after a heart-to-heart with Starlight a few weeks back, she was still plunged into a feeling blacker than a starless sky.

She looked him right in the eye. “No, everything is not okay.” Her words had a bite to them. She was angry, angry at Starlight and Shining Armor and the little white book and all else that still believed in her. How did everypony and every creature have so much faith in her, in a broken institution? How could any creature muster up the audacity to believe in her when she didn’t believe in herself?

She felt the embrace of her brother before she realized it. In all her pacing and worrying, it had been a long time since she felt the hug of another pony. She returned the embrace, and they shared a moment of stillness.

“I know it’s tough right now, Twilight.” He said, his voice choked with tears.

It was unusual for her brother, a stallion practically raised in the Royal Guard, to show such emotion. But the undercutting fears were getting to everypony.

He continued, somehow saying exactly what Twilight needed to hear.

“I don’t have anything encouraging to say, Twi.” he sniffled, and wiped his eyes. “The situation right now is just plain horrific. That’s all it is.”

He looked at her, and it was like he was seeing directly into her soul.

She nodded, her gaze warped by her weeping eyes.

A determination set over Shining Armor’s face, as if he remembered his military duties. The vulnerability was gone, and in its place was a stony, if stumbling, facade. He was the leader of the Royal Guard. This is who he had to be.

“I’ve got to get back to my duties, Twilight.”
Twilight sniffed. “I know.”

For a split second she was reminded of when they were fillies, playing together at the edge of a small stream. Their parents had owned a vacation home deep in rural Equestria, and the two had spent countless summers catching fireflies and roasted marshmallows around a camp fire. On this particular day, Twilight had wobbled on her hooves, dizzy after spinning in circles to chase a wild rabbit. She had fallen, then, into the stream, and it was not long before she could feel the icy water entering her lungs. It was then that Shining Armor had plunged to save her, just a few ways away when he had heard her water-muffled screams. All she could remember after that were the terrified faces of her parents, and most importantly how her brother seemed to shiver for days on end after that. It seemed that every time he even looked at water, he began to hyperventilate, his pale white fur becoming even more stark and scared.

Shining Armor had always been afraid of water, she reasoned. Drowning had been one of his own fillyhood nightmares, countered with Twilight’s night terrors, which mostly consisted of academic failure. But he had plunged into the freezing cold stream, against the agony of his own mind, just to save her. She had never forgotten how shocked her parents were, or how haunted the look in her brother’s eyes has been.

If Shining Armor could have faced his fears all those years ago, then maybe she could as well. She knew, of course, that it would not be long before the inevitable cynicism came back around. She knew, of course, that she would have to keep herself motivated and present, and rested and well-fed.

She spent the rest of the day as an inspector for various battle preparations, from armor and weapons to food and shelter. Even with the enormous amount of supplies that was already being allocated to the refugees from Canterlot, the Crystal Empire was making the best of the situation. She had also received word that other large and vulnerable cities, such as Manehatten and San Ponio were secretly preparing their own armies, albeit without the help of citizens. Unfortunately, until Twilight was able to gather more information about the Red Cloaks, these preparations would have to be kept away from the general public. Although the mood across Equestria had been somber since the attack on Canterlot, Twilight didn’t want any hidden members of the group to be listening in on their preparations.

It was challenging, this balance beam she found herself on. Always teetering on the thin line between right and wrong, between light and shadow.

Eventually, of course, the world would have to know what was going on, the war that they were preparing for. But a public panic was the last thing Twilight needed.

For just a little while longer, the secrets were safe with her.

She lowered the sun, went to bed, and entered the realm of dreams.

Twilight woke with a start. Well, that would be the wrong verb. She wasn’t awake, she must have been dreaming. She was weightless and fuzzy, floating in some vast place that was no place at all. A dizzying combination of green and blue seemed to surround her in every direction, as if she was underwater. As if she was drowning at sea, a thousand miles away from the shore.

She took a tentative step forward, and another, and another. She did not know where this place began or ended. She wasn’t really stepping, either, she was…she was…nothing. She was a ghost, a spirit, a soul, a memory. A projection of herself, the ether of her life.

She continued on, time stretching into oblivion, and not passing at all. She did not know how that worked, but the laws of science and magic did not apply here. At least not “regular” magic. This was something else. Something esoteric, something unique, something…something…divine.

A soft light flickered ahead, and she went as fast as she could. However, she wasn’t moving anymore, it seemed. The light was coming to her, and it was not alone. A darker form appeared alongside it. Was this heaven? The universe itself? What was this place?

It would occur to her later that the green and blue hues, with their tinge of familiarity, were the same colors that she glimpsed while Celestia had made her an alicorn.

The colors that were coming closer eventually became fuzzy forms, then shapes, then…then ponies.

Celestia and Luna.

Mixed emotions swirled around Twilight’s brain. Ever since that epiphany had hit her during her visit to Trottingham, she didn’t know what to think. She wanted to scream and cry, throw a fit like a filly who was forced to eat vegetables. She wanted to be stoic and graceful, an icy glint of rage just behind her eyes. She wanted to tear her mentors apart, limb from limb, into a bloody mess. She wanted to break down, to give them forgiveness, to fall apart in the hooves of her second family. She wanted to do it all.

But standing there, face to face with the ponies who had likely betrayed her the most, she couldn’t say a word or conjure any sound from her rapidly constricted throat. She couldn’t breathe, even though she was breathing just fine. Anxiety was an unwelcome contradiction, knocking at the door.

Celestia was the first to speak.

“Twilight.” She nodded.

“Celestia. Luna.” She nodded back.

“Twilight.” Luna greeted her back.

Neither pony said a word, forcing Twilight to find the words lodged in the back of her throat.

She looked them both in the eyes. “So…are we just going to stand around exchanging names and pleasantries?” She practically spat out the last few words. “Because I don’t believe that would be productive.”

She had chosen the icy, graceful option. But anger and rage were crawling up her sides, like the most unbearable bugs of the Everfree forest.

Celestia’s hardened royal gaze softened, like the gentle mentor she had remembered from her fillyhood years. “No, of course not.” She said, her voice soft.

Twilight looked over to Luna, who only gazed back, eyes equally soft. She just stared ahead. It was strange to see two of the powerful ponies in Equestria being vulnerable.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the sympathy. But try as she might, she couldn’t hate her mentors. She felt anger, sadness, and every emotion possible. But hate…hate was something different. At the very least, she wanted to listen, wanted to understand why they did what she was almost certain they had done. She wanted to know.

Of course, it was possible that they hadn’t staged the attack, and somepony else had betrayed her. Considering the shenanigans that Discord used all those years ago, she wouldn’t put it past him. But nopony else could have possibly done it, could they. Nopony else had such power, such reach, such authority.

So who else could have roused the Red Cloaks other than the ponies who had angered them in the first place. An unlikely partnership, sure, but not out of the question. After many sleepless nights, she had found her reasons, and they were confirmation enough.

Celestia and Luna shared a glance. It was time for them to share the truth. All of it.

Celestia stepped forward. “Twilight, there’s something we need to tell you.”

Twilight nodded, preparing for the reality she had been trying to face for weeks.

“We’re dying.”

Twilight felt like she had been hit by a truck. That was not the news she was expecting to hear, and all previous thoughts vanished into her murky mental waters.

“WHAT? Excuse me?!? You’re dying…You’re DYING?!? How is this possible? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Aren’t you immortal? How could this–”
Celestia waved her hoof, motioning her to stop her rambling. Twilight obeyed. Even as the ruler of Equestria, she was still Celestia’s student.

“We’re dying, Twilight.” She said again.

Twilight looked over to Luna, who nodded silently.

She felt like her heart had stopped and her stomach had plummeted. How was this even possible? She wanted to pace and pace and pace, but she stood as still as a statue. Even her limbs couldn’t muster up the will to move.

“You’re dying.” She said, hoping desperately that it wasn’t true.

They both nodded.

“How?”

It was Luna’s time to speak. “As always, magic works in strange ways, and our time in the mortal realm is up. We are getting weaker and weaker. Eventually, we will take our places beyond the stars.”

Twilight nodded. Although Luna never had the gift of spoken clarity of her sister, what she had said was still intelligible. They were dying, off to some ethereal place. Maybe heaven, although she was far too old to believe in such fillyhood fantasies. Something else then.

She couldn’t believe it, but she found herself nodding in agreement. “I understand..I guess.”

Celestia smiled warmly, a twinkle of hope in her eyes. “We’re glad you understand, because we know this is a difficult thing to process.”

Twilight was grateful that she had chosen a graceful demeanor. Anger would come when she needed it to. “When you say “beyond the stars”, what exactly does that mean?”

Celestia chuckled softly. “Ah, Twilight, always a stickler for the details.”

Both ponies took a beat, trying to explain it easily.

Luna found her footing first, so to speak. “It means that while our bodies will be gone, our magic is not. Look up at the night sky, or see a blooming flower, and you will find us.”

Of course, it was now that Luna chose to be cryptic. Twilight wanted to grumble and roll her eyes at the confusing wording, but at the same time couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of her language.

“You will find us, Twilight.”

Twilight just stared at them both, unable to cry and unable to not. In some weird, in-between stasis, she found the words she needed.

“What the hell does that mean?” She surprised herself with the vicious language of her words. She was not one for swearing.

“It just means that when we die, we don’t really die. Our souls, our magic…it lives on through everything. Our magic goes back to the place it came from, which is the entire world. Twilight, one of the fundamentals of magic training is the knowledge that it can come from anywhere. We will just be adding to that ecosystem.”

Twilight considered Celestia’s words. “Huh, that makes a lot of sense. It’s actually kind of beautiful.” She could feel tears prickle her eyes, but it wasn’t just sadness, it was acceptance as well. As much as she would grieve, she would remember those words for as long as she lived.

A long time passed before anypony said anything else at all. In that time, Twilight’s initial shock at her mentor’s news faded. With it came the original conversation topic.

As if they knew exactly what she was thinking, both ponies became noticeably more serious and stern. Bracing themselves for Twilight’s breakdown. Twilight stood her ground, refusing to cry, yell, or swear. The anger in her eyes was enough. She would not let them see her fall apart. Even just minutes before, she would have yelled any obscenity that came to her mind. But like the flick of a light switch, no longer did she feel the need to. As any true leader would be, she was poised, graceful, and absolutely fuming.

“Why did you do it?” She asked, her seething words barely escaping her gritted teeth.

They did not answer.

“Why. Did. You. Do. It.” This time, she did not frame it as a question. It was merely an objective statement.

Luna stepped forward. “We never meant to go this far. Truly.”

Twilight gave zero reaction, so Luna kept going.

“We saw you struggling with your leadership. A few years in and you haven't yet found yourself as a true leader. Celestia and I debated for months on what to do, all the while our own health slowly deteriorated. The longer your reign becomes, the worse our health gets, like we aren't needed anymore. And we wanted that to be true. We didn’t want you to need us anymore. But you did.”

Twilight was bewildered. “That doesn’t make any sense at all! Why not just…wait to die if you cared so much about my reliance on you? Why not just go into hiding? Why not just…be a normal pony and help me out sometimes?”

Luna just shook her head. “In order to be a true leader, Twilight, you need to let go of the past. As it happens, Celestia and I are that very past. In order for you to let go of what is tying you down, we needed to sever ourselves. We needed to leave.”

Twilight practically sputtered out her words. She felt like she was listening to the deranged ramblings of a drunken pony at the bar. “This…this makes no sense! It makes no sense at all! Why go to all this trouble, create a fake terror plot, just to get me to hate you?”

There, she admitted it. The emotion she could feel closest was hate. In this moment, although she swore she would never feel this way about anypony, she hated Celestia and Luna more than anything. Maybe even more than the Red Cloaks.

“Our initial plan was never this convoluted. In our various post-rulership travels, we encountered a fringe group of anti-monarchists, colloquially known as the Red Cloaks, for the cloaks they wear are the color of blood. Although we were not welcome by them at first, we soon discussed with them what we needed to do. Twilight, although we never wanted you to hate us, we needed to do something drastic before you became consumed by yourself. So we devised a plan to stage an attack on you, to scare you into thinking for the future. We wanted to train you into the future-forward, pragmatic leader we know you can be.”

Any semblance of grace was gone by now. “Are you getting advice from DISCORD?!?! Do you even hear yourselves? This is the plot of a cartoon! Some kind of Old Ponish tragedy!” Twilight’s voice was hoarse from her screaming. “You killed ponies! You killed creatures! You bombed YOUR OWN CITY! For what?!? Celestia, Luna, please answer this question. FOR WHAT?!?”

The silence was deafening.

“Twilight, this was not the doing of any of your friends. I promise you, this had nothing to do with them. When we started out planning with the Red Cloaks, we had no idea that they would take things this far. We simply staged an attack. Everything else…was out of our hooves.”

Twilight’s voice finally cracked open, and with it her heart. “I don’t believe you! I don’t believe you! I don’t believe you!” She sobbed uncontrollably. She was a shipwreck, wrecked endlessly with ferocious waves. Her body and mind were splintered, rotted, devastated. It was endless. Endless, endless, endless. Until it wasn’t.

She wiped her tears. “I don’t believe you.”

Celestia’s hoof found its way to her own. She hadn’t felt that warmth from Celestia in a long while.
“It’s okay, Twilight. It’s okay. We wanted this. We wanted to become villains. It’s okay.”

Twilight just scrunched up her face. It would have been comical had it not been so sad. “So you devised your own villain fantasy, which you simultaneously insist isn’t really your fault, just…to teach me a lesson? Couldn’t a pep talk suffice?”

Twilight knew the answer to her own question.

“No, Twilight, it would not. You might not understand why we did this. It’s okay if you never do. But it was necessary. Twilight, we did this…because we love you, okay?”

Twilight nodded. “I know.”

Celestia found herself crying now. It was the saddest two words she had ever heard.

Luna finally continued. “We saw you continue to struggle, even after the Red Cloaks. We saw you run away, go to Trottingham, and come back. You tried to live up to expectations that fundamentally are flawed. You had ups and downs. But as always, it is darkest before dawn. You may hate us now, and you may hate us forever. But ultimately, that’s not what really matters. What matters, Twilight, is that you become better than us. You can let go of the past, and stop living under our shadows. You can become your own pony, your own leader, and your own soul. To accomplish that, we needed to offer ourselves up.”

Luna sighed, and breathed in deep. This was the hardest part of all. “We know that our reputations, our legacies, and our friendship is forever undone. We are privy to the anger in your bones. We are aware that this changes everything. There is nothing you could say, or shout, that we haven't heard a million times in our own heads.”

Twilight, for her part, was still flabbergasted. “But still, why do this elaborate, convoluted scheme? For what, Luna, for what?!?” her rage was palpable, but her voice had become softer and smaller.

Celestia spoke.

“Twilight, you need to let go of the past.”

“Is that supposed to be helpful? Why don’t you just stitch that onto a pillow and give it to me for heartwarming!” She snarled. “I can’t let go of the past, Celestia, it doesn’t work like that! I made mistakes in my life, and I have to live with them. Every. Single. Day. I can’t let go! That doesn’t exist. I have to learn to live with it!” She was panting from how fast she was speaking, utterly enraged that her mentors, some of the smartest ponies in Equestria, were so confident, and so wrong.

“Twilight, your rulership is defined by courage in the face of crisis. All we did was bring that crisis to you.” Celestia said, words tinged with regret at what her actions had spiraled into.

Twilight was vibrating with anger. “That. Isn’t. True. It just isn’t! Why would leadership be defined by grand events? Those don’t happen very often, you know, and you can’t be defined by any single thing. Courage is not something that comes up every once in a lifetime, it’s what you do Every. Single. Day. I never defined you both by your inaction during our battles, so I hope you would never pin me down on my own!” She was still screaming, every word laced with enough venom to kill an entire population.

“Furthermore,” She continued on her rant. “Why would I listen to anything you have to say when you are so clearly wrong about being a leader? No wonder you two never did anything to help! All you did was look poised in your cushy little throne rooms while I was out fighting and risking my life. I was a leader when you two never were. I’ve shown more competence in this entire conversation than you two have in your entire lives!”

Unbeknownst to Twilight, Celestia and Luna looked at each other, sharing a proud smile. Although Twilight did not realize it at the moment, their conversation had worked perfectly. Everything had fallen into place like clockwork.

Twilight was so consumed with rage she could not see the contentment on Celestia and Luna’s faces. “It doesn’t make sense. It just doesn’t make sense. You want me to forget about the past, measure my worth by grand tragedies, and somehow become a better leader?”

Twilight just shook her head. “I can’t believe this. I really can’t believe this. I used to look up to you both so, so much. I had your poster on my bedroom wall, Celestia! I was your protege, and I saved your sister from eternal evil! And this is what you repay me with? This is how it ends? After everything Equestria has been through, after everything I’ve been through…this is the culmination!?!”

Luna looked at her intensely. “This may be the conclusion of our friendship, Twilight. I know it's hard for you to understand right now.”

“It’s hard for me to understand?” Twilight mocked. “Luna, Celestia…this has completely wrecked me! Do you have any idea how much this hurts?”

Just for a flash, Twilight saw through Celestia’s regal exterior, as a few tears threatened to fall from her shining eyes.

Celestiia choked back her own sadness. “Twilight…this is not the end. I know you think it is, but it’s not. We will still be around. Just not in the same way. This is the beginning of your story, Twilight. What happens next is up to you. Eventually, when you are in the epilogue of your life, so to speak, you might understand just a bit more.”

Twilight wanted to spit in her face, but even with her anger she could not do something so disrespectful. “Nice metaphor, but it doesn’t make this situation any better.”

Celestia nodded. She knew her student so well. “Of course it doesn’t, Twilight. Of course it doesn’t.”

And that was that.

Twilight had one more question, one question with a possibility so paralyzing that she could barely whisper it.

“Did Starswirl know?” She asked.

Luna smiled gently. “Of course not, Twilight. Nopony but us, and well, the others.” She finished her answer grimly. Outside of this protective, dreamlike space, a war was looming. One that they had caused, if not directly.

Twilight had little else to say. All she could do was continue her rant. “When I wake up, I’m going to spite you two for the rest of my days. I will live with my past, not bury it. I will measure my worth as a leader by my triumphs, not my mistakes. I will go forth into the present with true courage, something you two never showed. Never at all.”

Celestia and Luna both exchanged a glance and a nod. Twilight didn’t understand why they were so thrilled at being screamed at. Why were they so happy to die, so happy to be hated? She just sighed again. There was a lot about Celestia and Luna that she would never know. Magic did work in mysterious ways. She had never felt that saying so acutely until now.

“So, this is it then.” She said.

“Indeed.”

“Goodbye, Celestia. Goodbye Luna.”

“Goodbye, Twilight.”

A flash of light so bright it was blinding suddenly enveloped both princesses, and they disappeared. Slowly, the space began to turn to inky black. Twilight was startled. She must have been waking up, even though she didn’t feel like she was dreaming. Not at all. This must have been some place beyond both the waking world and the realm of dreams. Something beyond life at all.

When she opened her eyes, she was lying back on her bed, covered in a heap of blankets. Her room was as she had left it, papers and clothes all over her vanity. She needed to clean, but there was no time for any self-care when the world was at stake.
She checked her alarm clock, which showed the very little time she had before it went off. Although Twilight valued sleeping in as much as the next pony, she was grateful that she had managed to get any sleep at all. Even more, she was grateful for how refreshed and energized she felt. Long ago were the times when she had a zeal for just being alive.

Her limbs felt as revitalized as her brain. She took a quick shower and got ready, practically tripping down the hall from speed. She would have some things to do before her daily meetings began. In the spare closet that was now her personal office, she set aside a large stack of papers and took out her finest pens. She began to write.

Some time later, she heard a knock at her door, and in came Starlight. She looked tired, bags under her eyes and ears droopy.

“Wow! You’re up early! Working on something?” She nodded at the massive stack of writing on Twilight’s desk, with just a bit of concern. Twilight was prone to short bursts of mania like this.

Twilight adjusted her working glasses. “Yes, yes. I’m working on something.”

Starlight had a look, and was shocked. It was a statement, in two parts. The first was an alert to Equestria’s population about the Red Cloaks, and a call for volunteering, both for civilian services and military. The second part was something else. A resignation.

“I take it these will be released on separate occasions.”

“Yup”.

“Okay….”

Twilight gave her a look. “Okay, what?”

“You can’t possibly be doing this right now, can you? What’s gotten into you?” Starlight asked incredulously.

“Well, I just feel more sure of myself, that’s all.”

Starlight nodded. “Uh huh,” she agreed. She did not look convinced of Twilight’s newfound confidence.

“I’m not afraid anymore, Starlight. I can’t hide from the Red Cloaks anymore, and neither can Equestria. We have to be pragmatic about this.We have to be future-forward.” She was borrowing a word from her conversation with Celestia and Luna, although Starlight would not have known that, would she?

“You do know that the terms ‘pragmatic’ and ‘future-forward’ are somewhat contradictory, right?”
Twilight smiled and shook her head. “Of course I know that, Starlight. This is Twilight you’re talking about!”

Starlight smiled back. Of course she knew. She just missed Twilight feeling passionate about something. “We contain multitudes, Twilight Sparkle. Thank you for reminding me.”

Twilight giggled, a sound Starlight missed dearly, although she would never say it out loud. At least not yet.

They were interrupted by Rainbow Dash barging in, thankfully only knocking over a few books. “Would you two lovebirds quit it and get to the meeting? It starts in exactly one minute!”

Starlight’s face went white. Twilight’s went completely red.

“We’re..we’re not dating, Rainbow. We’re not lovebirds, or at least I don’t think we are. That would be weird, wouldn't it? You know, a conflict of interest, right? Either way, we’re not. Right Starlight? I don’t think we are! Unless I’ve misread our situation. I mean, there are times where we seem to finish each other’s sentences, and that’s kind of sweet, but I don’t think it means anything. Although if it did, that would be cool, too. But it doesn’t. Mean anything. I mean, you know what I’m saying. Oh gosh, I’m not saying it right, aren’t I. These things are so complicated, I should probably stop talking. I haven’t even had any coffee yet and I’m–

Starlight held her hoof up, giving a blank, unreadable expression. “Twilight, Rainbow left before she even finished her sentence.”

Twilight blushed even more, if that was even possible. “Oh, right. We should get going.” Her ears drooped out of embarrassment.

Neither pony spoke a single word as they headed up the flight of stairs to the meeting room, just one floor above. Luckily, the awkwardness was quickly saved by the bickering from the meeting room.

“I’m telling you, they’re definitely dating.” Rainbow Dash sounded as confident as she ever was.

“No they ain’t, Rainbow Dash. You can’t make assumptions for ponies. It just ain’t an honest thing to do. “ Applejack’s signature southern drawl seemed to grow even stronger when she argued.

“Well, you did just assume that they weren’t dating, which makes you a hypocrite. So there.”

“Rainbow Dash, why I–”

A scuffle could be heard, and then Twilight finally opened the door. Everypony went silent.

Rainbow Dash gave a nervous chuckle. “Why hello friends, you didn’t happen to be listening, did you?”

Starlight decided to play along. “Listening to what?” She asked innocently.

Rarity burst into fake laughter, tossing her curled mane for effect. “Why nothing, darling, just the contestants for my newest televised fashion runway competition.”

Applejack whipped her head around so fast she might have pulled a muscle. “Now how could you possibly have the time to be doing that? Might I remind you of our situation with the Red–”

She was silenced with a single glare from Fluttershy. It seemed her signature “stare” was as effective as ever.

Shining Armor had had enough of the gossip(and the humiliated look on his sister’s face) and addressed the room. “We can talk about our friends later. Right now, we have pressing matters. I have received word from Spike and Discord just a moment ago that they have located the location of the Red Cloaks. Also”-he gulped- “they have…a schedule…”

He paused, letting the news hang in the air like a battered, blood-red banner.

Cadence was equally as grim with her explanation. “What Discord and Spike were able to outline in the brief letter they sent us is that the Red Cloaks are planning to attack densely populated cities like Manehatten, Cloudsdale, Trottingham, Fillydelphia, and San Ponio first. Then, smaller, sprawling cities like Saddle Arabia and our own Crystal Empire. Finally, the town of Ponyville will be the target of their ‘grand plan’.”

“What…what is the ‘grand plan?’” Twilight asked nervously. This was news to her. What could they possibly have planned?

Cadence didn’t have an easy answer. “We don’t know for sure. Discord and Spike were not able to write for long, and the letter ended rather abruptly. But from what they said in the letter, the Red Cloaks specifically referred to the ‘grand plan’ as something “symbolic” of a new era.”

Twilight’s heart dropped. It couldn’t be, couldn’t it?

Shining Armor broke the tense silence. “We don’t know for sure, but Spike and Discord clearly couldn’t give that much information about it. Which means that whatever they have planned is so secretive that only a few ponies must know about it.”

It wasn't hard to put the pieces together. “So it’s something…more violent than anything Equestria has ever seen.” Fluttershy offered, shaking her head in disbelief. It seemed as if on cue, everypony came to the same conclusion.

Shining Armor spoke for the group. “What we believe is that the Red Cloaks intend to carry out a public execution.”

A public execution. The thought was so horrific, so violent, it was unbearable. Executions were something from ancient pony times, times when crowds would gather and cheer in a town square or hall, watching a blade slice down on a pony’s neck. She could almost see the glint of silver come down. Executions were something from the past, something archaic, something almost fantastical.

Shining Armor continued, looking his sister straight in the eyes. “The ‘grand plan’ as it is referred to, is likely a plot to ceremonially kill the most important ponies and creatures in Equestria. That includes everypony in this room. Flurryheart too,” he said, glancing over at Cadence, who burst into tears. What the Red Cloaks had planned was terrible, but there was something particularly awful about involving a filly. Cadence excused herself briefly to compose herself.

“I reckon they’ll take the cutie mark crusaders, and the student six too. Probably even Thorax and some of the high-up Changelings and whatnot. They’re coming for us all. Anypony who works with the Crown.” Applejack took off her hat, holding against her heart.

She was right. Everypony and every creature was at risk. Judging by the way Spike’s letter had gotten cut short, both him and Discord were likely in even more immediate danger.

Twilight gulped, sweat forming on her brow. This was a lot to take in. Between the words in the letter and in her “dream”, the next chapter of her life(as the princesses referred to it as) was shaping up to be a busy one.

Pinkie Pie noticed Twilight’s reaction. “Twilight’s what’s on your mind?” She quickly corrected herself. “Well, besides everything.”

Twilight hummed in response. She didn’t quite know how to phrase it. “I don’t know. We have to try. We’re capable. I’ve already drafted a notice to all major cities, and I can send it as soon as we’re done here. I’m done hiding in the shadows. We shouldn’t be afraid of the Red Cloaks. They should be afraid of us,” she said defiantly.

Starlight, who had seen her in some of her worst moments, was the first to speak following Twilight’s bold declaration. “Wow, Twilight. “ her voice was soft, like it was only meant for her. “That was…a beautiful thing to say. I agree completely.”

A chorus of voices lifted Twilight’s own. It was like the old days, where a pep talk and some donuts was all she needed. Simpler times. Everything had changed so much since then. For better and for worse.

Cadence came back through the door, her eyes red but not teary anymore. She took her place next to Shining Armor, and the two shared a meaningful glance.
“I’ll send training manuals to every city’s royal guard faction, as well as the civilian military branches. We can utilize the crystal tunnels, as we should all be wary of using magic during this time. We need to keep all of our strength for what comes next.”

Shining looked around. Everypony was nodding, faces as hard as stone.

Twilight was so proud of her brother. It was moments like these when she remembered what a rock he was to those around him.

Shining Armor looked to Twilight for confirmation. She nodded. It was exactly what she had in mind.

“Secondly, from what Spike and Discord could understand, the Red Cloaks are not aware at this moment of the refugee camp set up in our empire. However, due to their planned attacks, they will find out soon enough. At this point, everypony who is not able to fight, particular mares and fillies, should be evacuated to somewhere safe. While our hope is to evacuate everypony before the Red Cloaks attack, we need to deal with the most vulnerable members of our population first. Hopefully we will get a large number of civilians to volunteer to fight, but we will not force them too. Anypony who can help us in the battle means we are ever closer to winning the war.”

He took a beat to let that information sink in.

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “I’ll ask Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts to help pegasus ponies get into shape. I also think we should try to get as many ponies and creatures as possible ready for fighting.”

Nopony wanted war, or even just a fight. But the power of friendship did not seem to be enough this time.

Fluttershy quietly sighed, looking up to face her friends with the saddest expression she had ever given. “Is this really who we are? Is this really what we’ve come to?”

It was a weighty question to consider. Twilight and her friends were supposed to mend hearts, not wreck them. Equestria was not supposed to be a land of war. But at this point, what other reality were they living in?

“No, it’s not who we are, Fluttershy. But how else do we make Equestria safe again, and save our ponies? How else are we supposed to know peace again without this violence?”

She nodded, soft pink mane rustled from stress, although Twilight could see tears forming in Fluttershy’s eyes, only blurred by the tears in her own. It was a terrible thing to endure, the nightmarish space between who she was and who she wanted to be.

“I hope that we don’t have to resort to violence, or even resort to killing. I truly don’t. But we have to do what’s best for our ponies. If we let the Red Cloaks win, they will do much worse than anything any of us could.”

It was choosing between death and more death, essentially.

“Lastly, we need to prepare for a wide range of possible attacks. Given the brief description in the letter I received, the Red Cloaks have far more members than what we have seen thus far. Likely a couple hundred ponies and other creatures, at least.”

“Hold on, do we even know who the Red Cloaks are? Do they have a leader or something?”

Shining Armor scrutinized the letter carefully before answering. “That is…unclear. It seems that the letter was written hastily. It just said whoever was addressing the group was very tall and had horns.”

“TIREK?!?” The entire group shouted in unison, as if they were on cue.

Twilight squinted. She had considered the possibility, especially considering the signature color scheme of the group. But Tirek was imprisoned in a stone statue, alongside Cozy Glow and Chrysalis. The only way he could have done it is if he was freed. But by whom?

Could the mysterious pony with horns…be Grogar? Could it be the both of them together? Maybe it was even Iron Will, seeking revenge after his failed cruise ship enterprise. The idea was funny to entertain, but the pony or creature they were dealing with was far more sinister than a disgruntled motivational speaker. Maybe it really was just a fringe group of dissatisfied anti-monarchists. Her head swirled with these new fears.

“Hmm, what do you think, Twilight?” Shining asked his sister.

All eyes were on her, waiting for her analysis of the tidbit of information they got.

“I..I don’t know for sure. But with the brief description we got, it likely has something to do with Tirek, or even Grogar, although I still don’t know how that’s possible. It’s also a possibility that the “tall pony with horns” is some kind of elaborate disguise or costume, maybe an emblem of the group’s philosophy?”

She was searching for a way to explain it right. “You know how cult leaders are often very flashy and charismatic, perhaps the whole horn thing is just part of the act. They could also be trying to fool Spike and Discord into accusing the wrong ponies. Maybe it’s even just an ostentatious distraction from what they are really planning. Maybe they knew we were spying on them the whole time.”

A collective chill ran down everypony’s spines.
Twilight needed to reassure the group. The prospect of what she was saying was terrifying. But ultimately, it didn’t really matter who this leader was. They would just fight back as best they could.

“Everypony, it doesn’t matter who this leader is. It just doesn’t. What we need to focus on is what we can control, not what we can’t.”

Shining Armor took over. “What we need to figure out now is where exactly to take the evacuated populations. No major city is safe, but most rural areas lack the infrastructure to support such a massive wave of ponies, and surely would give way to disease and poverty. What we need is a middle group, a place that is somehow rural and urban at the same time. Someplace that the Red Cloaks wouldn’t think to infiltrate.”

Twilight had absolutely no idea where that could possibly be. There wasn’t much time to search for one.

If they couldn’t find a place in Equestria, perhaps they would have to find a place that wasn’t a place at all. It would likely be of a magnitude the world of magic had never seen.

She had to keep Equestria’s vulnerable populations safe. She had an idea how.

For now, it was one hoof in front of the other, day after day, towards a future brighter than its sordid past.