Daughter of Death

Goldie stared at Twilight questioningly. “Why do you want to leave Canterlot?”

Twilight gave him a flat look. “I’m… a… lich… How… do… you… think… po… nies… will… re… act?”

Goldie winced. “Point. But I’m sure that Princess Celestia could help!”

Twilight hesitated. “She… will… kill… me.”

Goldie rubbed the back of his head. “Fair, I guess. With you being a lich, she may see you as a threat. But… maybe she won’t jump to conclusions?”

“I… don’t… know… A… doc… tor… said… she… will… put… me… to… rest.”

“Weeeell… It is possible that her first reaction upon seeing you will be to try to ‘free you from this cursed existence’. But maybe if you tell her no, she will listen? I mean, you don’t mind being a lich, right?”

Twilight looked down sadly. “I… would… ra… ther… be… a… live.”

“But you don’t want to be dead dead.”

“Yeah.”

“Then, if you tell her that, she won’t do anything to you. Maybe.”

Twilight remained silent, prompting Goldie to sigh.

“Okay. All these “maybes” aren’t helping. It’s just… Princess Celestia is so benevolent that she could accept you despite being a lich. But, for Harmony, she may think that an undead doesn’t have its place among ponies, and with you being a lich, a creature generally seen as a villain, it doesn’t help. It’s really hard to say how she would react to you. I guess it’s up to you to decide if you want to take the risk. It’s just… If you decide to leave Canterlot, then you will be all alone, and that’s sad. But if you take the risk… Well, what about your family?”

“I… don’t… know.”

“You have no idea how they will react to you either, uh?”

Twilight nodded.

“Then… Do you intend to leave Canterlot tonight?”

“No. I… will… wait… to… be… less… stiff… So… to… mo… rrow… night.”

“Then, how about I go have a look? Where do you live?”

Twilight gave Goldie a hopeful look. “14 Clover Street.”

“Alright, I know where it is. Well then, once morning comes, I’ll go there, then I’ll spy on Princess Celestia in the afternoon once court is over.”

“You… don’t… mind?”

“Not at all! It’s only normal for a hero to help, Princess.”

If Twilight could blush, she would. “I’m… not… a… prin… cess.”

Goldie gave a small grin. “You’re my princess.”

The filly looked away, not saying anything to that, which made Goldie laugh.

They spent the rest of the night in the house, Twilight telling more to Goldie about her life, especially her family so the colt would know who to look for.

Once morning came, Goldie left the house, passing through the wall, and floated in the direction of Clover Street.

On the way, he spotted something that made him stop. There, on a wall, was a photograph of Twilight Sparkle with written under it: “Have you seen this filly? If yes, talk to the nearest guard.”

“Uh… So the princess is searching for her.”

Goldie resumed flying toward Twilight’s home. On the way, he saw more photos of the filly, and also spotted some Royal Guards here and there looking into alleys, behind trash cans, and anywhere else a filly could hide.

Eventually, he reached Twilight’s home and passed through the wall.

From what Twilight told him, her father, Night Light, was probably still sleeping. He worked late into the night, observing and studying the night sky.

Her mother, Twilight Velvet, should be awake however, preparing for her job as a librarian.

Twilight also told him about her big brother, Shining Armor, who started as a cadet in the Royal Guard not long ago, so he shouldn’t be present.

However, Goldie found the two parents present and awake. And they looked… not very good. They looked very tired, with dark circles around their eyes. They clearly didn’t get a good night of sleep. Maybe more than one night.

They were just there, sitting on the couch, Twilight Velvet lying against her husband. Tear tracks could also be seen on her fur.

As Goldie observed them, they didn’t move at all. They just remained there.

Then, there was a knock on the door which got a reaction from them. Before they could move from the couch, the door opened, then closed, and into the room entered who Goldie recognized was Shining Armor from Twilight’s description.

He looked even worse than his parents. He clearly hadn’t slept in a while, and his mane needed to be combed.

The parents looked at him hopefully, but then, he shook his head, and Night Light looked down dejectedly with a sigh while Twilight Velvet began to cry.

“Where could she be?” she asked.

Shining Armor got tears in his eyes, not able to answer.

“Go to sleep, son. You need it,” Night Light said.

“I… I can’t…”

“I will take your place.”

Shining Armor stared at his father, then nodded before he exited the room. Goldie heard him climb stairs before closing a door.

Night Light got up from the couch, gently tapping his wife’s hoof before he left the house.

Goldie left the house too, immediately returning to Twilight.

The filly, who was curled up in the closet with the door open, looked at him in surprise.

“You are already back?” she asked. Her speech was better, but still a bit slow.

“I have good news. Your family knows that you are alive. They probably know that you are an undead, and they don’t seem to care. They are searching for you.”

Twilight gasped excitedly. “Really?!” But then, she calmed down. “Do… Do they know that I’m a lich?”

“I… don’t know. But if they don’t care that you are an undead, they may not care that you are a lich.”

Twilight wanted to cry so much right now. She felt so relieved.

“Your dad just began searching for you after your brother went to sleep. However… Princess Celestia is also searching for you. There are photos of you and Royal Guards everywhere. As soon as you get out of this house, you will get spotted.”

Twilight had expected that. The doctors told Princess Celestia about her. That was why she wanted to wait for the night to get out. It meant she won’t be able to go to her father, to her frustration.

“Well, I guess that I should go to the castle now. But the court must have started by now, so I don’t expect to find out anything until its pause at noon or its end.”

“Ok.”

So Goldie left the house again, floating toward the castle. Inside it, he easily found the Throne Room where, as expected, Celestia was holding court.

So, now, it was just a matter of waiting.

It was the first time that he watched court, and frankly, after a few hours, he wondered how Celestia was still sane. The occasional ponies who needed help one way or another weren’t a problem. A guy needed funds to renovate some building in Fillydelphia, ok. The Captain informed that the Royal Guards needed more armors, alright. A stupid dispute needed to be settled, ok, this one was funny.

Then, there were the nobles.

Three fourths of the court was spent listening to the nobles going on and on and on about how and why some law or reform needed to be passed which could be resumed with “this will make me richer.”

Nice to be reminded why Goldie loved to prank these idiots.

Goldie didn’t know how Celestia was doing. She just remained there, smiling and nodding before she calmly and patiently told the noble why this law or reform couldn’t be passed.

In her place, he would rip the nobles a new one.

Finally came the lunch pause, Celestia leaving the Throne Room to eat. Goldie followed her, but sadly, nothing interesting happened. The princess returned to the Throne Room and resumed the circus.

Oh? Here comes Prince Diamond Tooth. Blueblood's father. Goldie’s favorite target. And yes, he had a diamond tooth.

He was strutting with so much pride, his muzzle pointing exactly toward the ceiling, not looking at all where he was going.

Goldie placed a leg in his path and spent some energy making himself tangible but still invisible.

Diamond Tooth tripped and promptly faceplanted.

In front of all the nobles present in the court, without forgetting Princess Celestia herself who had a hoof before her muzzle.

Whatever Diamond Tooth had planned to say, he decided instead to do a strategic retreat, leaving the room with very red cheeks.

Did Goldie hallucinate, or did he see Celestia silently sigh in relief?

No matter, the colt burst into laughter. He wanted to make himself heard, like he often did after his pranks, but with so many ponies present, especially Celestia, he decided against it. Besides, he was still on a spying mission.

Court continued after the incident, then ended, and Celestia left the room to have some time for herself before dinner, Goldie following her.

However, nothing special was to report for the rest of the day. Celestia said nothing about Twilight, even when she talked with Princess Cadance. Probably she waited for a report that the filly was found, and until then, she just continued her day without thinking about it. Or if she was thinking about Twilight, then she didn’t show it. At a moment, she just looked through the window toward the city, as if looking for something, but Goldie couldn’t say if it had anything to do with Twilight or not.

Same when Celestia lowered the sun and raised the moon. She looked over Canterlot for a bit before and after, but it was possible that she was simply looking over her ponies as they were in the process of returning to their homes for the night.

After that, she went to bed, and Goldie decided that it was time to return to Twilight with a very disappointing report.

In the end, they still had no idea if Celestia would harm Twilight or not.

Twilight took her decision. She didn’t want to take the risk of meeting Princess Celestia, so she was leaving Canterlot tonight.

She tried not to think of the pressure within her slowly swelling abdomen.

Goldie told her that many guards were present at Canterlot’s exit, but he reassured her that he knew a secret path.

But before that, Twilight intended to say goodbye.

So, after she was given the green light by Goldie, she opened the same window that she used to enter the house and passed it to exit it, closing it behind her. She then followed Goldie.

Almost right away, a couple of flies began to circle her, to her annoyance. She tried to slap one away, but she missed it.

Twilight went from alley to alley to try to remain hidden as Goldie regularly went ahead and returned with news of whether or not there was a guard. If the answer was yes, they took a detour. If not, then they continued.

After many long minutes, Twilight finally reached her destination: her house.

Goldie entered it first, then came out not long after. “Your parents are sleeping. Your brother isn’t there however. Probably out searching you.”

Nodding, Twilight silently opened the door and entered.

She so wanted to climb the stairs to go hug her parents, but she didn’t want to wake them up. Goldie told her that they had been very tired when he saw them. They needed to sleep.

She was glad, in a way. If they had been awake, she wasn’t sure if she would have been able to leave.

Lighting her horn, she searched inside a drawer and took out a paper before she grabbed a quill and a bottle of ink. She then went to a table and wrote:

Dear mom, dad, and BBBFF

It’s me, Twilight Sparkle, and I’m writing this letter to tell you goodbye. As you read these lines, I will certainly be outside Canterlot, walking toward an unknown future. I made a friend named Golden Crown, or Goldie, and he told me that you didn’t mind me having become an undead. But I haven’t become any undead, I have become a lich. I don’t know if you knew that.

I’m a monster, plain and simple. I have no idea how Princess Celestia would react to me, but I fear that she may kill me. For good. And even if she let me live, ponies would never accept me, and I know that this would lead to all kinds of problems for you. So I’m leaving. Goldie apparently knows a secret path that will lead me out of Canterlot, so I will be able to avoid the guards.

I’m sorry.

I love you.

Your little Twily.

Once she was done, Twilight double checked the letter, making sure that she didn’t make any error, before she placed the quill back in the bottle and left the letter on the table to be found by her parents.

After that, she left the house, closing the door as silently as she could.

She looked at Goldie who was beside her and nodded.

Nodding back, Goldie led her like before, avoiding the guards and any pony who remained up this late for one reason or another.

Goldie led her to the outskirts of Canterlot, toward the mountainside.

When they reached the wall of stone, Twilight looked at Goldie questioningly. “So, what now?”

Goldie rubbed his chin. “Let’s see if I remember what Gramp Iron Sword told me…” Seeing the filly staring at him, he added, “He was an old retired Royal Guard that I often visited when I was alive. He told me lots of nice stories about his time as a guard, and he is the one who made me want to become one. And he told me about this secret path which should be right here. Uh… Try pressing this rock that juts out?” he finished while pointing at what seemed to be a random rock on the wall.

Twilight placed a hoof on the rock and pushed, only to do nothing.

“Drat. Wrong rock. Uh… Try this one?” Wrong. “This one?” Wrong again. “Com on… Which one was it? This one maybe?”

This time, it worked. When Twilight pushed the rock, it sunk into the wall.

The next instant, a big part of the wall opened, revealing a tunnel with magical torches on the walls that lit up.

Goldie pumped his leg. “Yes!”

Twilight looked at the tunnel in awe. “What is it?”

“If Canterlot was ever besieged, this tunnel was made to evacuate. Only the officers of the Royal Guard-and the princess of course-know about it. It traverses the mountain all the way to the other side. Come on, let’s go before somepony sees you.”

Twilight nodded, then walked into the tunnel.

“Try pressing one of the rocks on this side to close it.”

Twilight did so, and after a few tries, she found the right rock, closing the tunnel’s entrance. She then turned around to look at the tunnel, seeing it stretch too far to see the end, with a torch every ten meters. Then, she looked at Goldie.

“I can’t thank you enough, Goldie. You really helped me a lot.”

Goldie grinned. “You’re welcome, Princess.”

“Now, I guess this is goodbye?”

“What? Why would this be goodbye?”

“Well, I’m on my way to leave Canterlot, and you will remain behind to continue to do what you did before.”

“What, and leave you all alone? No way! You are stuck with me, Princess.”

Twilight stared at Goldie in shock. “R-really?”

“Uhuh. It was starting to get boring in Canterlot anyway. It’s about time that I see more of the world.”

He suddenly found himself hugged by the filly. This time, he didn’t let the shock of being hugged paralyze him too long and returned the hug.

“Thank you.”

“It’s only normal.”

Later, a part of the mountain’s wall opened, and out came Twilight Sparkle and Goldie.

After some searching, Twilight pressed the right rock to close the tunnel.

Then, she looked at the vast expense of green that stretched to the horizon.

“So, where do we go?” Goldie asked.

“No idea,” Twilight answered. “I guess we will take a random direction and… see where this leads us.”

“Wouldn’t the Everfree Forest be a good place to go? It would be a perfect home for a lich.”

“That’s true, but I think that Princess Celestia would expect me to go there and send guards to intercept me on the way before we have time to reach it.”

“Right. Well then, choose a direction, and I’m following you.”

Twilight looked from left to right, then chose a random direction and took the first step.