A Better Equestria

Chapter One: Under Control

(16 years after prologue)

“Again.”

The kitchen was absolutely silent. Cabinets, sinks, dishes, stoves and other cooking appliances lined the walls in the long, white room. All that stood out in the room of whites and grays were two brightly colored mares.

You know, the kitchen in this castle is a lot more boring without everypony else to rush around and make some noise. With a roll of her eyes and a glow of her horn, Steam Sear lit the stove in front of her with a small, magical flame. She began to think her ‘teacher’ would never be satisfied.

“Again.”

Looks like she was right. Sheesh, this old lavender mare left no room for failure at all.  With a sigh, Steam Sear extinguished the flame, and hastily re-lit the wood stove. A few trickles of flame danced in the air around the stove for a split second before disappearing.

“No, no, no. It shouldn’t take that much effort. Again.”

“Can we stop this? I’m pretty sure I know how to light a stove.” This little ‘lesson’ had been going on for 26 minutes. She’d been counting out of sheer boredom.

Her teacher remained stone-faced. “Judging by how this session is going, I would say otherwise. Again.”

Steam groaned loudly. Come on, you old prune... She thought to herself. Why couldn’t this lesson just be over with?

Gazing at all the pots and pans around her was the only other thing she could do. When she did, all she found was a young, pear colored, orange maned unicorn staring right back at her. Steam wouldn’t mind looking at her own reflection if she didn’t appear to have been trampled by minotaurs. What she would do for some sleep right now.

Sear carelessly lit the stove again, much to her teacher’s dismay.

“I said to use less effort! Don’t get impatient. Do it again.”

“Why do I need to keep doing this?! What does it matter if I use just a little bit more flame than is needed?! Who cares, the stove is lit! I’ve done this a thousand times already, Twilight!”

Twilight Sparkle merely rolled her eyes. This little outburst certainly was not the first one she’s had to deal with ever since they started these lessons. “This isn’t about simply lighting a stove. This lesson is supposed to educate you on how to control your magic.”

The wrinkled mare took Steam’s place in front of the stove before continuing her point.

“Magic isn’t something to be used carelessly.” Twilight’s horn glowed a vibrant, pink color.

“If you don’t put enough magic into a spell, the end result will either be incomplete, or non-existent.” As she spoke, the stove flickered and struggled to stay aflame, but to no avail.

“Use too much...” Twilight’s horn glowed brighter, only to have the stove erupt in scorching flames. Steam Sear had to back away from the intense heat coming from the stove, shielding her eyes. Twilight stayed where she was, unmoving. With another flash of her horn, the immense flames vanished as though they never existed.

“...and things get dangerous.” Twilight finished.

“You could have just told me. There was really no reason for the fireworks.” Steam swept a hoof through her golden mane only to find that not only was part of the kitchen covered in soot, but so was her mane. Great, as if she didn’t look bad enough right now.

And just how the heck did Twilight manage to keep her graying mane looking the same?!

“I just wanted to be thorough about my point.” Twilight’s smirk told a different story.

The clock in the once entirely white kitchen let out a loud ring, signifying the end of their session together.

“Well, another lesson ended, and I still haven’t gotten any better with my magic.”

Twilight tried to say something, but was instead cut off by her student.

“I swear, I thought I’d be doing backflips while simultaneously making lasers shoot out of my horn by now. Yet whenever I try anything the least bit complicated, it literally blows up in my face.” She smacked a pot off the counter with a hoof for emphasis, banging on the floor in the sullenness of the kitchen.

“Steam, magic isn’t something you can master at the drop of a hat. It takes time to fully understand how to execute magic spells with ease.” Twilight’s horn illuminated, opening multiple cabinets and levitating out several rags and towels.

“In order for us to be able to perform amazing spells, or more than one at a time, we have to practice.” With seemingly no effort at all on Twilight’s end, the floating rags went to work cleaning up the soot covering the stove area.

Steam reached for a single towel as well with her hoof, but caught her mentor's disapproving look in the corner of her eye. With more effort than most would need, she levitated the rag with an orange glow and joined her teacher in her chore.

“But I’ve made little to no progress since we’ve started doing this. Any other pony would be able to do way more by now.” The green teenager glared at nothing in particular, frustrated at her inability to perform amazing feats of magic.

The old mare turned her head to her student. “We all have our learning curves, Steam. You just can’t give up.” In less than a minute, the kitchen was looking good as new, and all the rags were flying back into their rightful places.

“Easy for you to say, your special talent is magic.”

“Hey, I may be able to conjure up many spells with ease, but unlike you, I could never cook a decent meal to save my life. Even with my magic.”

It was true, Steam made a pretty good chef. Her cutie mark was proof: the image of a cooking pot sitting atop a flame. If you’re ever in need of a tasty treat, Steam Sear could certainly deliver.

“Listen to me.” Twilight ordered as she met Steam’s turquoise eyes. “You don’t lose when you’re unable to do something. The second you give up, that is when you have truly lost.”

Steam couldn’t help but feel her spirits rise as her mentor comforted her. There was just a certain sincerity with the way the purple mare spoke.

“You can do great things, Steam. I know you can.”

The edge of Steam’s mouth curled upwards.

“Now, go on home and clean yourself up. You look like something my dragon coughed up.”

The two unicorns shared a small bout of laughter. When they settled down, they exited out of the kitchen and into the enormous hallways of the castle.

“Well, this is where we part ways. I have a bit of business to attend to. I’ll see you next week, Steam.” Twilight turned to the right, and Steam to the left.

“Yeah, yeah, next week.” Steam wasn’t as enthusiastic as she could be right now, but she was just looking forward to collapsing on her bed at home. That blasted migraine kept her up all last night.

“And practice your control!” Twilight hollered from down the hall.

Whatever. Nag, nag, nag. Steam ventured down the only other direction the hallway could take her.  The hallway was nearly empty save for a few servants and guards in golden armor. Trotting past the numerous doorways to different rooms, she could just barely make out the faint conversations between the many ponies of Canterlot castle.

“-eed it! Where could you have possibly put your armo-”

“-when she gets here, don’t tell Silverwind about the accid-”

“-was it like during those days? Was everypony happier in-”

“-princess is pretty upset about something. Don’t know-”

“-know the story of a diamond dog who couldn’t spea-”

Any other day she would’ve listened in on some of these conversations, but today was an exception. The green unicorn just didn’t have it in herself to care.

Some of the servants she saw nodded at her, giving a silent greeting as they passed by her. She had been coming to the castle long enough to be recognized by some of the ponies here.

I swear, this castle gets larger every time I need to get out here quickly. She had walked this path in the castle multiple times before, but nearly every time, something felt different. Maybe the decorations in this castle were switched around daily to make sure the princess wasn’t bored with her surroundings. Or maybe there was something mystical about this castle and its origin.

Or maybe she was just going insane. Yeah, that was probably it.

The hallway guided Steam to a larger corridor with many of the same hallways she was standing in branching off of it. Down the corridor to her left was the exit she was looking for.

Finally. Now I can get back home. The tired mare treaded down to her destination; an enormous wooden door. The two unicorn guards stationed at either side of the door wasted no time in using their magic to pry open the gargantuan door.

At last, Steam Sear made it outside to the commonplace markets. She got a few stares from the locals as the massive doors closed behind her, but she shrugged them off. They always stared at her after she exited the castle, but maybe this time they were actually noticing how terrible she looked. Steam didn’t care. She never was one for fashion, or looking fancy, unlike most of the locals.

Steam picked up the pace. The sooner she got home, the better. As she trotted home, her mind started to wander.

I wonder how long it will be until I can do more advanced magic. Or heck, even basic magic would be great at this point. Twilight’s a great teacher and everything, even if she is a bit stingy, but does she really think I can do this? I don’t want any more explosions...

She took a turn into an alley. Her normal shortcut was the same as ever, what with the litter laying everywhere, and the same stray cat dashing away at the sight of her. Nopony in their right mind would want to come down here if they didn’t know it lead straight to good restaurant.

Then again, I suppose I’m better at magic now than when I was just a little filly., I couldn’t even levitate a feather without risking it bursting into flames.

After walking between the outer walls of a furniture store and some clothes shop she didn’t know the name of, Steam Sear emerged out into the markets of Canterlot again, only now with her destination in sight.

“I’ve reached solace.” The restaurant had never looked so beautiful to Steam as it did right then and there.

As soon as she opened the door to the restaurant, though, there was a deep, hardy voice waiting to greet her.

“Ey, kiddo! How was your little class toda— by Luna’s horn! What happened to ya? You look like something I overcooked!”

The familiar cobalt earth pony stallion was in the middle of taking a couple’s orders, but that didn’t stop him from trotting right up to Steam, leaving them to wait. The image of a kitchen knife crossed with a stirring spoon was his cutie mark, living up to his name 'Culinary Slice.'

The interior of the restaurant was moderately sized, but well decorated for what it was. Purple curtains were on either side of every window, the tables were each covered with a thin, maroon fabric, and numerous paintings lined the walls in order to give the customers something to observe while they waited for their food.

“Hey, dad. Don’t worry, everything went fine.”

“Doesn’t look like it did. Why do you look so sear-ious, Steam?”

She’d heard that joke a thousand times, and it never got old. At least, not to her dad, who was trying desperately not to laugh at his own joke.

“Well, I’m going upstairs to sleep.” And she started to do just that.

“Before you do, I need you to go borrow some frosting from Mrs. Custard down at the confectionery.” The yellow maned stallion started back to the table he so rudely left waiting.

Steam halted right where she was.

Is he serious? “Can’t it wait? I’m so tired...”

“Sorry, kiddo. I need that frosting in case anypony here orders a dessert. I would go get it myself, but I’m busy tending to the customers. Just do me this one favor, and I’ll leave you to sleep for as long as you need to.” The blonde stallion turned back around to face her.

“That, and I’ll make you your favorite breakfast when you wake up!”

The stallion in the couple from earlier loudly cleared his throat in an effort to summon back their forgetful waiter.

“Ugh, fine.” With a defeated sigh, she started towards the restaurant doors. “What’s another twenty minutes?”

Immediately after she departed the restaurant, a thought came to her mind.

I’ll just take a shortcut. I’ll be back here with the stupid frosting in no time.

Steam immediately trotted to a different, longer alley. This one was also littered with crumpled papers, grime, and even a few pieces of scrap wood. Though, no stray cats had claimed the alleyway as their home.

Canterlot is just so pristine. She sarcastically thought.

Making her way down the alley, she started to doubt that this was the faster route. It just seemed to drag on forever like the hallways of the castle.

I must have taken the wrong alleyway. Brilliant job, Steam. The exhausted unicorn scolded herself. How could she have taken the wrong alley? She has only lived here all her life.

Maybe she really was going insane.

The orange maned unicorn pivoted to turn around and get out of the alley, when she felt some slight stinging force hit her neck.

Ow. What was that, some sort of bug bite?

Her legs suddenly felt very weak.

“Gah, what’s wrong with...” Steam Sear fell in a heap on the cold floor of the alley.

“I can’t... move?” her mind became clouded. Multiple red alerts were going off inside Steam Sear’s mind. Steam wanted so dearly to get up and run, but her body would not comply. She wanted to scream for help, but her voice was weak, and there was nopony around to hear her distress.

Steam’s vision started to fade.

“I’m... so... tired...”

She saw no more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“And practice your control!” Twilight bellowed after her student.

Well, no more putting off my work for today.

Twilight strode down the halls of the castle. In all her years of living here in Canterlot, not too much changed. Nearly everything was perfect in order to please the grand ruler of Equestria. You would sooner be struck by lightning than find a major problem in the castle. Everything was just perfect.

Perfectly monotonous.

Twilight was certainly one for keeping things in order, but even for her, this was a bit ridiculous. At first, she had been thrilled to come stay at the castle. After a bit of time, though, the novelty of it all seemed to disappear. If it hadn’t been for her dragon, Spike, she was sure she would have retired to Ponyville by now. At least there was some excitement there.

Or was there? It had been so long since she had last been there.

I wish my friends were here...

Twilight never truly moved on. She wanted their time together to last forever, so that she may always be with them. Time, however, had different ideas. One by one, each of her friends had passed away. By the time she left for Canterlot, all but Applejack had gone.

Twilight’s face turned to one of sorrow. Not a single day passed by where she didn’t think of them. How she wished they could all be together again like the old days.

The hallway split off into two directions. Twilight turned right without a second thought and came to a round staircase. As per routine, she started to climb up the stairs.

At least I’ll always have my assistant. Twilight thought. I’ll have to go see him after I’m done today. He always knows just how to cheer me up. Until then, I wonder what Luna will need for today.

It wasn’t even noon yet, but who knew when Luna would need her Royal Advisor. Twilight learned quickly that with the princess, everything can be just fine one moment, and be absolute chaos the next.

Twilight exited the staircase through a stone door, only to happen upon more massive hallways with the same red carpets and the same stone walls.

Guards were always more abundant up here on this floor. They were right to be. This is where the princess’s room and personal study was located.

Twilight fondly remembered there was little use for the royal guard when she was barely an adult.

But that was the past, and this is now.

The old lavender unicorn finally appeared before a large set of wooden doors. Two very large pegasi guards were stationed at either side. Their bodies covered in brilliant golden armor, and their wings equipped with blades that could pierce steel. Both of the stallions seemed ready for a brutal fight at any given moment. Good thing she wasn’t looking for a fight.

There were only two of them, after all. It just didn’t seem fair.

Instead, she simply smiled at them, and they did so in return.

“Greetings, Ms. Sparkle. Princess Luna is just inside.”

“Thank you, sirs.” They were very nice gentlecolts, given how big and tough they looked.

The doors opened, and Twilight found herself in the study of Princess Luna.

The walls were painted a dark, foreboding purplr, with lighter colored mauve curtains lining parts of the wall. The wide floor was entirely sculpted out of obsidian. Twilight could almost see her reflection in the black, glassy floor. The ceiling, though, was possibly the most artistic quality about the room. Tiny, shimmering white dots shined on a black background, giving the faintest illusion of stars in the night, even during the day. In the center of the large room was Luna’s private desk, with papers stacked high and quills left to sit.

The Princess this room was literally made for, though, was not sitting in her desk, but standing out on the balcony opposite the side of the room where Twilight entered. The midnight princess was overlooking Canterlot, her starry mane flowing in a non-existent breeze.

Closing the doors behind her, Twilight wasted no time heading through the balcony doors and marching up to Luna’s side to see the view of Canterlot. It was a truly beautiful sight. The sun was still making it’s way to the center of the sky, shining brightly above the land. The very distant mountains were surrounded with clouds at their tips. Down below, the upper class citizens were going about their own business, appearing not to have a care in the world.

“Good day, Twilight Sparkle. I trust your teachings went well today?”

“Not for Steam Sear, it didn’t. Progress with honing her magic is quite slow, and she’s getting frustrated. You already know if we move too fast, things get a bit combustible.”

“Indeed. The loyal servants were tending to the gardens she laid waste to for weeks.”

“Well, you must admit it was a well performed explosion. Even if it wasn’t of her own volition.”

Luna didn’t reply. She simply stood on the balcony, overlooking her nation. Twilight had no idea how long the princess had been standing out here.

“Tell me, Twilight Sparkle. What is on the agenda for today?”

“Well, today seems to be an easy day, actually. Among other small things, the most important thing you have to do today is hold court.” Twilight

“Thank you. Is there anything you wish to discuss before we tend to our royal duties?”

Twilight got a closer look at Luna. Her naturally flowing mane and tail were a bit droopy today. And not only were there bags under her eyes, but they were very slightly bloodshot as well. Her eyelids seemed like they were as heavy as anvils, waiting to close for an indefinite amount of time. Luna acted as though nothing was wrong, but she looked like she hadn’t slept all night.

“Well, for starters, you look like my student did today, ready to collapse on a moments notice. Did you get any sleep at all, last night?”

“A very minimal amount, yes. In the end, it was a futile effort.”

“Was there a specific reason for your insomnia?” Twilight already knew the reason.

“Just the usual one, Twilight Sparkle.”

Silence again. It was so quiet that one could hear a pin dropping on the floor.

Twilight finally broke the silence. “I miss Celestia too, Luna.”

Luna remained expressionless, as she always did.

“I miss everything about her.” Twilight continued. “From her kind smile to her gracious poise, I miss her so much.”

Luna sat down on her haunches, and Twilight followed suit.

“Ever since her disappearance on that fateful night, I've been hoping she would return.” Luna stated.

She stared down at her hooves, keeping that expressionless face.

“I remember it all so clearly.”

Luna stood proudly on her balcony as her moon began to rise. Once again it was night time, and once again she could tend to her nation as it slept.

The royal guards were being swapped out for Luna’s personal guards of the night. With their silvery blue armor and leathery bat-like wings, they were a vicious looking ensemble to the average pony.

Now that the moon had been dealt with, Luna could get to work managing Equestria.

And then one of the royal guards in his golden armor burst into Luna’s study, looking as though he had seen a ghost.

“Your highness! We have a terrible situation on our hooves!”

And she was just starting to enjoy her night, too.

“What is the problem, Shimmering Valor?”

“Princess Celestia... she... She’s vanished!”

The midnight princess paid no mind to the guards words, as if he hadn't said anything at all.

"You're certain she's not on one of her 'escapes' again?" Luna's sister loved to occasionally slip away when nopony noticed to have some time for herself, If only for a few minutes. When the servants in the castle noticed, though, panic easily rose among them all.

"N-no, Princess. In her room... It looks like there's been some sort of struggle!" the guard looked positively mortified.

Luna had to process that in her mind for a split second. Celestia? The immortal alicorn? In a fight? How? Why?

Luna shook herself out of her dazed stupor and faced the panicking stallion with a hardened look in her eyes.

“Show me. Now.”

“Y-yes, Princess!”

The guard quickly guided Luna to Celestia’s bedroom, where the door was wide open and numerous guards were investigating inside. The Interior of Celestia’s bedroom was exactly the same, despite the fact that there were scorch marks everywhere. Once brilliant paintings were rendered indecipherable by the burns. Her fireplace was still lit, although faint.

Luna remained calm to the best of her abilities, and asked the nearest guard “What exactly happened in here?”

“We don’t exactly know yet. Princess Celestia was escorted to her bedroom by her royal guard, and stood by her door after she entered her bedroom. A little while later, one of the guards claimed he heard a ‘loud, boisterous noise’ from inside. They tried to open the door, but something held it in place. Soon the noise inside stopped, and only then were the guards able to get her door open. But by the time they did, she was gone.”

Luna's breathing became increasingly rapid throughout the guards monologue.

What could have possibly happened? Did Celestia teleport somewhere? Was she attacked? If so, who would want to attack her? What did they do with her?!

Where is Celestia?!

“Princess Luna! I have found something!” A voice called out

Luna immediately went to near the balcony in Celestia’s room to see what the random royal guard had found.

And there was Celestia’s tiara, floating in the guard’s magical grasp. The top left edge of it was completely burned, and had lost some of it’s shine.

“Celestia...” Luna muttered in utter shock. She could not believe what she was seeing.

For the longest time, Luna said nothing. A thousand thoughts were racing through her head as to what could have transpired in Celestia’s room. Everypony in the room held their breath and stared, unsure how the princess would react. Not a single whisper escaped their mouths.

Luna flared her wings, and violently turned to the guards to address them in a loud, ear-splitting voice.

“SEARCH ALL OF CANTERLOT! LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED, AND NO CRACK UNINVESTIGATED! FIND CELESTIA! GO!”

As the guards rushed out of the room to do as Luna commanded, she hollered out one last order for them.

“AND CONTACT THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY!! BRING THEM HERE AT ONCE!!”

Luna was alone in her sister’s bedroom, seething at this unexpected turn of events.

But, through it all, she was scared. Scared for Celestia.

Luna held her sister’s tiara close to her chest.

“Celestia. Where are you?”

“Every single day for the past 53 years, I have awakened in my bedroom thinking ‘Perhaps this is the day she will finally return.’ But that day never comes.” Luna gazed back to the view of Equestria.

“I still have to stop myself from sending out search parties nowadays. I know all of Equestria was searched, but I still can’t help but wonder.”

“We all tried, Luna. Me and my friends, we were searching for months on end. We searched everywhere, but couldn’t find a single thing.” Twilight never took her eyes off of Luna.

“I wonder how my sister was able to put up with a thousand years of this.” The midnight blue princess closed her eyes, deep in thought.

“Maybe it was the thought that she knew where you were. She wasn’t exactly left in the dark about your disappearance.” Unlike they were.

Yet again, neither Luna nor Twilight said anything. Other than a few details, they had this conversation many times before. Talking about it always seemed alien to them, though.

“It always seems there is one problem after another. Every little problem must be tended to immediately, but I can only pay attention to one at a time. The subjects of Equestria still don’t seem fully comfortable with me alone as their ruler.” The Princess turned her head towards Twilight.

“It has been 59 years. Will it ever get any easier, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight didn’t respond. She doubted it ever would in her own lifetime, but she wasn’t about to tell the princess that.

That was the last thing said in their conversation. Twilight had done this time and time again with the alicorn princess. She knew her job as the royal adviser wasn’t her main duty. If anything, it was just a ploy to keep them close. The princess needed a friend she could talk to, and Twilight was just the pony for the ‘job.’

It wasn’t until Twilight stood up that she finally broke the peaceful silence.

“Well, Equestria won’t rule itself, Princess.” Twilight headed inside Luna’s study, expecting the princess to do the same.

And then something in the distance boomed. Both mares heard it, and both gazed in the direction it came from.

That was an explosion. Twilight had heard enough of those to know the sound by heart.

“It came from within Canterlot.” Luna stated, her eyes searching.

Luna quickly departed from her study, and through the door Twilight could hear her muffled voice.

“Take as many guards as you need and look into that noise. Ensure that the citizens of Canterlot are safe.”

The purple unicorn gazed back out at Canterlot. Smoke could clearly be seen rising up in the distance.

In the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but worry about Steam Sear.