EIA: Black Ops

by CyberCommand

Rating: mature
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Dark, Adventure
Length: 30734

The EIA'S black operations a side story to the colab fic named 2012:THE END between me fire and blitz

"A lie is a lie. Just because they write it down and call it history doesn't make it the truth. We live in a world where seeing is not believing, where only a few know what really happened. We live in a world where everything you know is wrong"

The EIA'S black operations a side story to the 2012: THE END named colab fic between me and Blitz

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2017-02-26 03:49:19 UTC

Sun and the stars

Primum

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

"Celestia, the time is coming."

"I know, Gaia.  It's almost my time to join you in the Eternal Herd."

"You know you have a fortnight to select the heir to your throne."

"I've already chosen who will ascend as Regent of the Sun."

"Good, Celestia. You always were well prepared."

002.

"Luna, do you yet know who you will pass your crown to?"

"Yes, Gaia.  I have made my selection."

"Good.  Have you notified Celestia of your choice?"

"Yes, mother.  Celestia and I will begin the, um, process with the two mares tomorrow."

"If you have it all figured out.."

"Yes, mother?"

"See you in the herd."

003.

Celestia's abnormally loud, seemingly angry hoofsteps filled the Northwest Corridor of the palace as she walked off toward what Custos presumed to be the Throne Room.  Custos was one of the eighteen guards Celestia had summoned to follow her to the unknown destination.  This was not the only abnormal behavior he had seen from Celestia in the last few days; lately she had been moping around, yelling at the ponies in court, and thrashing in her sleep, if the reports were right.

Some of his comrades pointed out that the sun seemed to be growing dimmer every day.

004.

"Shadow, you wanna go drinking tonight? I really could use a good beer or two."

"Wiley, how many times do I have to tell you that I can't?  Unlike you, I have a family that I want to be home to see at night."

"C'mon, man, please? I really want a new drinking buddy.  Cosmo is getting boring."

"Shut up, Wiley."

They stood in silence for a few moments before they heard thunderous hoofsteps that seemed to be coming from the hall to their right.

"You hear that, Shadow?"

"Yeah, wonder what it could be."

As if to answer his question, the hoofsteps grew louder until Princess Luna appeared at the top of the hall.

"Stallions?" she asked.  She seemed to be on edge.  They all snapped forward to salute her.

"I need ten of you.  Um, you, you, you, you," she pointed at Shadow, "you, you, you, you, you, you. Come with me."

"Later," Wiley said under his breath, not being picked to follow Luna.

"Later."

He fell into formation along with the nine other men and followed the princess down the Southeast Corridor.

005.

Luna walked up to the south doors of the Throne Room, told her men to stand watch, pushed open the door, and walked in. She wasn't surprised to see a distraught-looking Celestia sitting upon her throne with her head in her hooves.

"Luna, did-"

"Gaia? Yes. She did. Why do you look so upset about it?"

"Luna, I don't want to put this burden on someone else's shoulders.  My life, as well as yours, has been a living hell for the last five-thousand years. I couldn't be happier to finally leave this all behind, but I can't even begin to fathom-"

"Celestia."

"Yes?"

"Calm down. We had to select two, and who better?" Celestia paused in thought at the statement.

"I suppose you're right.  We need to summon them to the palace.  I don't have the energy to send a letter right now, though. Could you do it?"

Luna sighed.  "All right, Celly, I'll send the letter.  Should I just send it to Twilight or both of them?"

"Don't call me that!  And you just need to send one. Twilight should know what to do."

"Bye, Celly." Luna smirked and trotted out of the Throne Room.

006.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I'm sorry for alerting you on such short notice but Celestia and I require the presence of both you and Rainbow Dash at Canterlot Castle in approximately three hours. You needn't bring anything except for yourselves.

I'm looking forward to seeing you.

Signed,

HRH Princess Luna of Equestria, Regent of the Moon and Stars

"SPIIIIKKKKKEEEEE!"

The green and purple baby dragon stumbled down the stairs. He looked tired and the tiny scales on his back were out of place.

"Huh? Twilight? Whattaya need? I was just taking a nap." He reached the bottom of the stairs and turned into the section of the library where Twilight was pacing.

"Spike, Luna has given me summons to the castle! Oh, and Rainbow Dash too!  I need to go find her!  She's-"  Spike recognized a slightly feral look in Twilight's eyes and snatched the letter from her hooves.

"Spike-"

"Twilight, don't even get started with your checklists, because it says right here you don't need anything.  As far as Rainbow Dash, I'll take care of it. Maybe I can get Fluttershy to fly up to her house in the clouds or something.  Why don't you just wait here, on this couch," he patted the nearby sofa, "until the carriage arrives. Sound good?"

"No, Spike! I'll need to pack saddlebags-"

"TWILIGHT!"

"Okay. Rainbow Dash needs to be over here in about, say, two hours, so-"

She heard the front door to the library slam.

007.

"QUIT BUCKING KNOCKING ON THE DOOR! I'LL BE RIGHT- Oh, hey, Flutters, what's up?"

008.

Rainbow Dash lounged on one of the kitchen chairs in the library.

"So it's just me and you, huh? Not all the elements?"

"Right. The carriage should pull up any sec -"

There was a loud banging on the door. "HER ROYAL HIGHNESSES CELESTIA AND LUNA SUMMONS YOU, LADY TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND LADY RAINBOW DASH, TO CANTERLOT CASTLE! COME OUT OR WE WILL INTRUDE WITH FORCE!"

"

Twilight, are we being arrested?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "No, Dash, we're not being arrested. I'm pretty sure that if we were being arrested Luna wouldn't have said that she was looking forward to seeing us. Now let's go."

She opened the door.

009.

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes, Sergeant?"

"We present Lady Twilight and Lady Rainbow Dash-"

"Yes, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, come in. Sergeant, make sure that no one besides your platoon comes with one-hundred feet of this room. This is classified information and anything that you may overhear, as you will be staying outside, is private and never to be repeated. Understood?"

"Understood, your Majesty."  The doors opened in a dark blue aura and Twilight and Rainbow stepped in. The doors shut behind them as the two stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Come in, my little ponies."

They walked up to Luna's bed and saw both her and Celestia sitting on their haunches with an anxious look on their faces.  They both went into a bow but saw Luna make a hoof motion for them to rise.

"Um, Princesses? Are you all right? You look-"

"Kinda bad," Dash finished.  Twilight shot her a glare but turned her head toward the two worried- looking alicorns once more.

Celestia, apparently catching the look Twilight shot Dash, intervened. "No, Twilight, what Rainbow Dash said is most likely true.  Luna and I here are not exactly in our best hour."  She gave a soft smile.

"Is that why we're here?"  They sat in silence for a few moments before both Luna decided to speak.

"Yes, I believe it does. Girls, please follow us to the throne room."

010.

Celestia pushed open the doors to the throne room as Luna signaled for the guards to stay outside.  They walked in and the alicorns situated themselves on the two thrones in the room.  Twilight looked around and noticed that the stained-glass windows in the room had been replaced by clear ones, the tapestries that once resided on the walls taken down, and the floor stripped of the red carpet and shining of newly-placed marble. In fact, the two thrones were the only things in the room, and even they were stripped of their colorful ornaments.

"If you don't mind me asking, Princesses," Twilight asked, "Why does the throne room look so, well, bland?"

Celestia and Luna both sighed and shared a look.  Neither of them answered the question.

"Sorry for asking, guys," Twilight grumbled under her breath.  The group of four sat in silence for a few minutes before Rainbow Dash decided to speak up.

"Um, why did you call us here, um, your Majesties?"

"Please, now of all times do not use formalities. As for the reason we called you here, well, there's really no easy way to say this..."

"We're dying."

011.

Twilight swore her jaw was on the floor.  She looked over to Rainbow Dash to see her jaw hanging low as well, her wings flared with her hovering about six inches in the air.

"Uh, did I hear that right? You're dying?  Are you serious? Please, Celestia, tell me this is some kind of prank, like the kinds you used to pull on me when I was a filly..." She saw the look of pure sorrow on Celestia's face, and she somehow knew in her heart that she wasn't lying. "You can't die! You're alicorns! That's crazy! Who'd rule Eques-"

While Twilight was rambling, unbeknownst to her, her horn had begin glowing with a purple aura, and right at that moment, decided to release a large wave of pure magic out into the room, knocking over Rainbow Dash and making the princesses cling to the arms of their thrones.

"Um, uh, sorry, guys," Twilight muttered. "But you're DYING? How will Equestria survive without you? Who would raise the sun and the moon? Who would enforce our laws? You can't just die, you're immortal anyways!  How is that ev-"

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE." Celestia's voice boomed through the Room sending Twilight into a scared bow.

"I apologize, Twilight.  I didn't mean to raise my voice. Please, rise."  Twilight shakily stood up on her hooves and gave the princess an unsure look.

"Twilight, while I tell you and Rainbow Dash this, I need you to be silent. Please, during my explanation,  you have to be quiet. Am I clear?"

"Um, yeah, yes, your Majesty." Celestia's face took on a deeply saddened look when Twilight referred to her with an official title, but she didn't say anything, nor did Twilight seem to notice.

"Good. What Luna and I are about to tell you two will never leave this room.  I think, in order to explain our predicament properly, we'll have to start off by clearing some... misconceptions that the public has as far as our being goes-"

"Uh, Prin-" Twilight cut herself off when she saw the three other mares in the room giving her glares. "Go on."

"Thank you.  There are many things that you believe you know about alicorns. For instance, the notion that we live forever.  That is not true.  Alicorns have a preset lifespan of five thousand years. No alicorn can live more or less than five-thousand years, not even by a second.  This is still much longer than a normal pony which is why we assume the responsibility of ruling the land. An alicorn can not be killed."

"This may bring you to another, logical question, of that line of ascension to the throne, as Equestria has been around for hundreds of thousands of years.  When an alicorn is about to die, they must give up their acquired power to another, and let them ascend and rule in our place.  That is where you two come in. Any questions so far?"

Realization seemed to be sinking in with Rainbow Dash as her face was a mix of surprise and confusion, while Twilight Sparkle seemed to be oblivious to what Celestia was implying.

"Uh, so, if you're getting at what I think you're getting at, um, why us? I mean, we don't exactly look like you guys. You know, tall, horn and wings, the awesome mane."

"Yes, Rainbow Dash, that is what I'm implying. We've observed the two of you for a long time, and the powers that would be passed down to you, would, for lack of a better term, transform you into an alicorn."

Comprehension dawned on Twilight's face, and she promptly passed out.

012.

"Rainbow Dash, any questions before I wake up sleepy over there?"

"Not that I can think of, no. All the questions I have she might have too."

"All right."  Luna sent a small orb of crackling electricity over to where Twilight had fallen unconscious and dropped it on one of her hooves.  She shot up, the tip of her tail slightly singed.

"Whoops," Luna laughed as Celestia shot her a glare.

Twilight shook her head as the events of the last day came back to her. "Wait a second! You guys want us to be," she gulped "Alicorns? Princesses?"

"Yes, my faithful student, I know it has come very suddenly.  We are going to entrust in you two control of Equestria, as well as the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Luna decided to interject.  "Rainbow Dash, you will take over Celestia's position as Regent of the Sun, while Twilight, you would raise the moon and stars at night, similar to me." She gave a small smile as she looked to see how the two would take the news. Rainbow Dash was nearly at the ceiling with her jaw down while Twilight stood on the ground with an unreadable expression.

"What about Ponyville? I have to do my weather stuff! How am I supposed to juggle that with being a princess and raising the sun?"

"Good point you have there, Rainbow Dash.  This may be the hardest part of this whole process for the both of you to accept."

Luna hopped off her throne and walked to the doors and opened them with her magic. The guards in the hall snapped to attention. She called to one in the back. "Coltson, bring them in."  The Lunar Guard nodded and turned a corner. He came back with two mares about the age of Twilight and Rainbow. One was a green pegasus with a green-and-pink striped mane and the other a blue unicorn with a shock of silver hair with a similar style to that of Spitfire's.  She thanked the guard, led the two mares into the throne room, and closed the doors behind her gently.

"This is Candy Coated," she pointed to the green pegasus, "and this is Star Sliver."

"What do you need from them? And what does this have to do with us?" Twilight inquired.

Celestia nodded to Luna and encased the two alicorns, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash in a gold-tinted magic bubble. "This is a soundproof barrier, girls, so don't worry about them hearing what we're going to say." She nodded to the two confused-looking mares that weren't inside the bubble.

"It may seem cruel, but it is for the good of Equestria.  I'm not sure how to say this exactly, but we will have to erase any memories of your existence with the public."

"What do you mean? How would you do that if we're going to be princesses?"

"Basically, we will change the memories with a simple hex of every creature that exists on this planet, pony or not.  Candy Coated will have all memories she has right now erased, and will be implanted with a set of new ones similar to those of Rainbow Dash. Same with Star Sliver and Twilight.  These mares will assume all responsibilities and relationships that the two of you have, and no one will know the difference since in the minds of everyone else these two will be the ones that have existed all along. They will never know Twilight Sparkle, their beloved Regent of the Moon, was the librarian in Ponyville only days before. They will never know that Rainbow Dash, the Regent  of the Sun, used to clear the clouds over the Ponyville skies. Same with Luna and I; our names will be erased from the record books and from our subject's minds, just as our ancestors, and be replaced with yours. Do you understand? They will never know that you haven't ruled over Equestria since the beginning of time."

"So our friends will forget we ever lived in Ponyville?  What about the Elements of Harmony?  Do we still get to wield our elements?"

"Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie will all be able to remember you because the power of the Elements will override the power of any spell or hex we conjure up. And, yes, you'll still be able to use your elements."

"But if the element's power overrides the hex, won't they be able to remember as well?"

"No, maybe I should've spoken clearer.  Only your connection with your other girls because of the elements will be able to override the hex, not just the elements themselves. It's the bond that you formed when you wielded them the first time that prevents the spell from working. On a related note, it is imperative that you never reveal the truth to anyone outside of the other four." Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash seemed to understand, though they both had openly distraught looks on their faces.  As many times as Twilight (and Rainbow Dash as well, but she was loathe to admit it) had dreamed of being a princess when they were fillies, they never thought it would come to be like this.

"Speaking of, it's about time that I cast the spell. Luna, would you go arrange for a chariot for the other element bearers to be brought to the castle immediately? Also, send two hospital beds to the guards outside the door as we'll have to send these girls to the hospital for treatment following their tragic accidents."  And with that, Celestia dispelled the bubble around them and walked over to Candy and Star.

"Rainbow, Twilight, please go stand over in that corner. I want you to be as far from this as possible."

013.

"So what do you think of this so far?" Rainbow asked Twilight with an unusually subdued tone.

"This is... well I don't even know how I feel about this yet. I mean, nobody's going to even remember me? I'm not even going to get to see Spike again! And if I do, because this Star mare who's going to be your 'personal student'-"

"Shit, I forgot about that. Can we ask Celestia to change that, maybe? I don't want a student. I'd be the worst teacher ever." Twilight snorted at the notion and they both laughed.

"But, what about my brother? How am I supposed to talk to the Captain of the Guard without just thinking about the fact that he's my brother! And he'll never know, because we're not allowed to tell him!" A tear slid down Twilight's cheek and Rainbow Dash began rubbing her back.

"Shh... I know, but we'll get through this together.  And I know it's not the same as you and your brother or you and Spike, but it'll be something similar with me and Squirt.  How am I ever supposed to watch her lead the meetings of the Taffy... or whatever her name is fan club?"

"You're right. We can get through this. We always do." Twilight smiled through her tears and Rainbow Dash did the same.

They stood in silence and watched as four guards pushed two unconscious mares on hospital beds toward a completely new existence.

014.

Luna rejoined them in the room. "The chariot has been sent for and the two mares are in the hospital."

Celestia nodded. "Girls, we have fourteen days before you take over the throne."

"WHAT?" Twilight and Rainbow Dash yelled in unison. "You're telling me I have two weeks before I have to start raising the sun?"

"Yeah, Princesses, how am I supposed to learn raising the moon and putting out the stars in just two weeks?"

"As soon as we give over our power, which will be in about five minutes, you will have the magical capability to do it and we will just have to focus your powers," Luna explained. "Of course this will be slightly more difficult with Rainbow Dash as she has never had any kind of magical capability before... well, none of the kind that can be channeled out of a horn and the kind that would be used to raise the sun."

"But, if you guys are going to 'pass along your gifts', you'll just be normal ponies without those capabilities, right? So how will you teach us?" Twilight asked, with a look of burning curiosity on her face.

"When we pass on the gift, we will actually share it with the two of you, for instance Celestia and Rainbow Dash will share the same magical reserve until Celestia moves on to the Eternal Herd. Then Rainbow Dash will inherit the full gift. Same with you and I, Twilight. We will be able to show you how to properly perform your duties." Luna inhaled and let out a big sigh.

"Anyway, let's begin your ascension. We don't exactly have much time to waste.  We will first cast a spell on the two of you which should knock you out while we take care of the rest.  Twilight, over here with me. Are you ready, Celly?"

"Yes. Don't call me that."

fin. capite

Secundo

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

Pain.  White-hot, searing pain. That's all there was.  She couldn't see- she couldn't even seem to open her eyes. The

only sound was a high-pitched ringing.  She let out a harrowing, piercing scream before blacking out.

002.

"Celestia!"

"Yes, Luna?"

"Twilight just woke up. She passed out within seconds, but the transformation is finished."

"I'd come check on her with you except that I can sense that Rainbow Dash will be waking any second now."

"Oh.  Well, when Twilight wakes up, is there anything specific that I should tell her?"

Celestia gave a little smile. "Just calm her down. Anyone would be panicked in a situation like this, but if I know Twilight in the slightest, she'll be hysterical."

"All right. See you soon, Celly."

"Hey!"

003.

When Twilight woke up again, the pain had mostly subsided, though there was still a heavy throbbing in two parallel lines along her back.  Her eyelids seemed to be stuck together, so it took a few seconds for her to pry them apart. When she opened her eyes completely, she took in her surroundings.  She was alone in a room that had the exact same proportions and look as Celestia's, only instead of gold accents with small suns to match her cutie mark, it had purple and blue adornments with the Element of Magic, though this did not register with her as anything special.  She wondered why she was in such a nice room.

She pressed down on the bed that she was laying on to feel that it was a very soft, plush mattress. Her favorite kind.  She shrugged and hopped off the bed.  When she hit the floor, she felt... taller? She decided to test the theory, remembering the bookshelf in her mentor's room that she was never able to reach. She looked around for this room's equivalent to find that it was at her eye level and that she could easily pluck a book off the shelf. She looked at her front hooves. They were glistening and polished... much like those of the Princesses'.

And all of the memories came rushing back.

004.

Princess Luna was watching over Rainbow Dash with Celestia in silence when-

"AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

"Luna, I believe that's your cue." Celestia smirked.

Luna pushed open the large doors to the chamber with magic and walked about four feet across the hall where Twilight was. She entered the room to see Twilight on the floor of the room, sobbing, head hung.

"Twilight? Are you okay?" Twilight turned around at the voice to face the Princess. Luna saw that her face was completely soaked with tears.

"I... I can't be a princess!  I can't rule Equestria! I can barely rule myself half the time! And those.. those two mares!  We just took their whole lives away from them! And for what? How can I ever live with that?"

"Twilight, calm down.  Remember, I hoof-picked you for a reason. You're the only pony in Equestria that I believe could handle the responsibility of raising the moon every night. You're also amiable, responsible, and extremely powerful. Don't be worried. As far as Candy Coated and Star Sliver go... well, I can't say I'm okay with it either. It is only for the safety of Equestria that we have to take such measures."

Twilight stopped crying, but Luna was able to tell by the expression on her face that her worries were not, in fact, gone.

"AAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE! WHAT THE BUCK!?"

Luna gave a smirk. "Looks like Rainbow Dash's up as well.  Seriously, though, Twilight. Don't be worried, it'll all turn out fine."

Twilight nodded, though the worried look was still etched on her face.  She got up and walked over to the window, the moonlight shining into the room.  Luna came and stood beside her and they looked at it in silence for a few minutes.  Suddenly, Twilight's eyes opened wide and she turned to Luna.

"Luna!  The moon is full!  It wasn't even close to full, um, last night?  Wait, how long have I been out?"

"Twelve days."

"Twelve days?But... that means we have two days before we take the throne! I-"

"Yes, Twilight, in two days you will be the new Regent of the Moon.  It took a bit longer than we expected for the two of you to wake up, so we don't have much time. Tonight, though, I just want you to sleep.  We've got a lot of work ahead of us, and you need to be well-rested in order to perform."

"I can't sleep!  There's no time!  We can't jus-"

Luna lit up her horn, and before Twilight could react, she cast a knock-out spell.  Twilight attempted to put up a magical barrier to such an enchantment, but she was too late.

She collapsed on the floor before Luna picked her up and tucked her in bed, leaving the room to check up on events across the hall.

005.

Rainbow Dash sat up on the bed where she was laying and attempted to take in her surroundings, but her head throbbed so hard she couldn't see straight.  When the throbbing increased, she screamed out some kind of curse and collapsed onto the bed, holding her head.  A white pony.. she had wings... and a horn... Celestia, was it? walked over to where she lay and touched her horn to one of Rainbow Dash's hooves, and she fell into a slumber.

006.

Luna walked back into Rainbow Dash's quarters, checking on the way to make sure the magic barrier she had put on the entrance to the hallway with the two future Princesses' quarters was still secure.

"She's out too, now?"

"Only for a few minutes. She was holding her head and I wanted to do something about the pain until you got here.  Would you wait here? I'd like to go check on my student."

"That's fine, Celestia.  But she's going to be very panicky when she wakes up.. I had to cast the knockout spell in order to shut her up."

"Thank you, Luna."

Celestia adjusted her crown before walking out and into Twilight's room.  The purple alicorn was thrashing in her sleep, so Celestia walked over and woke her up with a golden glow of the horn. The mare opened her eyes and blinked a couple times before shooting out of the bed.

"Celestia, we have to get started! There's no-"

"Twilight Sparkle."

"But, Princess! We have to-"

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE."

"We don't have-"

Celestia amplified her voice with magic, and shouted.

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE. BE SILENT." At the use of the Voice, Twilight cowered at the Princess' feet; Celestia found this amusing as they were the same size now making Twilight look ridiculous.

"Twilight, stand up."  Twilight gave an uneasy nod and got up onto her feet but hung her head.

Celestia heaved out a sigh and looked at Twilight with an unamused look. "Look at me, please." The alicorn lifted her head up and purple locked with magenta as Celestia began to talk.

"Twilight, if I know you at all, you are worried out of your mind about this.  I'm sure Luna has told you how much longer we have left; I had hoped we would have a little more time together.  But it is what it is; and if you and Rainbow Dash are going to be able to learn in time, we need you to be calm.  I know you don't want this; when I first learned that I would take over the throne, I reacted terribly.  I screamed for six hours straight, Twilight. I know it's not easy, but please, just calm down, my student."

Something about this speech clicked with Twilight and Celestia could see her facial expression soften a bit, but she said nothing. They stood in silence until Celestia decided to speak again.

"Can you open your wings?"

Twilight turned her head to the left in an attempt to look at one of her wings. "No, I don't think so."  An idea popped into Celestia's head and she grinned.

"Let me try something."  Celestia touched one of her hooves to the innermost part Twilight's right wing where it met with the main body, and in response it shot out. It tickled Twilight, and she burst out into a laugh.

"Ahaha! I can feel them now! And-" Celestia poked the left wing, "Haha, stop, it tickles, stop, Celestia!" By this point Twilight was on the floor and Celestia was standing over her, repeatedly poking the sensitive spot and laughing herself.  This kept on for a few minutes until-

"Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Luna.  She and Rainbow Dash were standing in the doorway to the room.  Luna had a large grin on her face, while Rainbow Dash's was twisted in an odd mix of a grimace of pain and a smirk.  Celestia lifted her head up to face them and on it was a beet-red horrified expression. Celestia stepped away from her position on Twilight and began to stammer.

"We're not- that's not what it- she's not- no!  This is not what it looks like!"

Twilight stood up with an equally embarrassed look on her face. "Um, yeah, we weren't, you know, doing anything, she was just trying to help me with my wings!"

Luna smirked. "Uh huh," she said. "Well, anyways, Rainbow Dash here just woke up and I wanted to bring her in so the four of us could talk together."  Celestia, still red in the cheeks, nodded and motioned to the various chairs and couches in Twilight's large bedroom.  The four of them each settled onto a different piece of furniture as Celestia began to talk.

"We don't have long until Luna and I are going to, um, move on. The most challenging obstacle we need to clear is the prospect of raising the Sun and Moon.  You don't actually use the kind of magic a unicorn needs.  When we passed the Gift of the Alicorn to you, we gave you connections to your respective celestial bodies. All you need to do is raise your horn in the direction of it and will it with your mind.  You will link with it and be able to move it as you please.  The part that you need to learn is the path that it needs to take; and for you, Twilight, the positioning of the stars as well.  Actually, now might be a good time to start; Luna, the moon needs to be lowered any second now, am I correct?"

"Yes."

Twilight was shocked to see that the clock in the room registered as almost 5 o'clock in the morning; just about when the sun would rise.

"Come, then, to the balcony."

Celestia led the group of four to a panel of giant glass doors; she pulled them open with magic and stepped onto the large balcony.  The positioning of the balcony was good; Luna squinted her eyes just a bit and saw the lights of Ponyville out to the west.   Luna and Twilight walked to the railing, while Celestia and Rainbow Dash stood farther back and closer to the doors.

"Twilight?"

"Yeah?"

"Point your horn up at the moon."

"All right... wait, what's that pulling sensation? It feels like my horn's going to fall off!"

"Good, you've started the connection.  Just will it to move, now."

Alright, um, move?

The moon didn't budge.

Please?

The moon stood still.

"Twilight, you have to want it to move."

"But I do!"

"Maybe I should amend my previous statement. You have to need it to move. Try bringing out some kind of emotion."

Damn it, moon! Just bucking move already!

She felt the hold strengthen. Apparently, so did Luna.

"Well, if cursing at it works for you... I'd say, I've never heard you curse before. Doesn't seem like something you would do."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Luna pointed up to the moon. "Because we're both sharing the Gift, we're connected, in a way.  Seriously, though.  If cursing at it is what makes it move for you, go right ahead." Twilight nodded and tore her focus away from Luna and tried once again to connect with the moon.

Uh... buck you, moon! You, um, Celestia-damned sack of... what's the word... horseapples!

At this, a painful shockwave coursed through Twilight's body, sending her wings flying out, knocking Luna onto the ground.

"So, I take it you and the moon have become acquainted?"

"Yeah... if that's what it was... then yeah."

"The rest is easy.  All you have to do is visualize it moving on the correct path. Since the moon rises in the east, you're going to want to move it left across the sky.  Just close your eyes and imagine it on that path. The moon already pretty much knows where it's going, so you don't have to get it down to a science." Twilight closed her eyes and visualized the moon moving up and over Equestria until it set somewhere near Ponyville. She felt a small jolt and opened her eyes to see that the moon had moved over just a smidge. Luna smiled at her.

"Do you think you understand? How to move it, I mean?"

"I think I have the concept... though the next few nights I might be slightly off-schedule."

"That's okay. You took to the concept a lot faster than I did, it took me about a month to learn. Celestia, on the other hand, took-"

Celestia cleared her throat as her face turned cherry-red.  "I believe it is now time to raise the Sun." Twilight looked up and was shocked to see that only a small portion of the moon peeked out from behind the hills in the west. Celestia nodded to Rainbow Dash, who gave her an uneasy smile. They stepped to the front of the semi-circular shaped balcony while Luna and Twilight moved to the back to give the pair room.

Rainbow Dash would be loathe to admit it, but she was scared.  The awesomest, bravest, baddest pony in Equestria was scared. Terrified, even.  One minute she's taking a nap and the next she's a bucking princess.  She was still in pure shock; a princess? Her? How would she lead a country? She couldn't even lead her own weather team of five.  On the other hand, she was sure that Twilight would do a great job; the egghead probably already knew everything there was to know about being a princess. Besides, living in the castle for so long and being so close to Celestia would give her a natural advantage anyway. Her thoughts were interrupted when Celestia decided to speak.

"Rainbow Dash, are you ready to learn to raise the sun?"

"Uh.. yeah."

"You don't particularly look ready. Are you up to the task?"

"Yeah! Of course! I mean, if anypony can, it's the awesomest pony in Equestria!"  Celestia smiled a little at the comment before continuing on with an explaination.

"Despite the size difference, raising the sun is a lot easier than raising the moon. It's also a bit different.  All you need to do to connect to the sun is tap your horn to the center of your chest." Celestia craned her neck down to demonstrate. "

Rainbow looked up with crossed eyes at the foot-long horn on the top of her head.  She bent her neck down to touch a small spot on her chest.  When she did, her horn lit up with sparks of silver, causing her to take a step back in shock.

"Whoa, nelly," she said.  Celestia just smiled and said, "You've established your connection to the sun.  Now point your horn to the sky."

Rainbow wasn't sure what this meant, as her horn was already pointing at the sky, but when Celestia moved her neck back so the horn was pointing straight up to the sky, parallel with the pillars of the balcony, she understood.

In one fluid motion, Rainbow Dash had her head back and began to raise the sun for the first time.

007.

They walked back inside Twilight's room and settled once again on the couches. Luna began to speak.

"Twilight, you expressed some concerns to me when I came into your room which I'd like to touch up upon.  The first of which regards to Candy Coated and Star Sliver.  As horrible as this sounds, they volunteered themselves for this task.  They were both caught performing... unspeakable deeds on another young mare together and in lieu of time in the dungeons they were given the option to serve Equestria."

"But it's still so wrong!  Regardless of their crimes, they still had friends and family! What are their parents and siblings going to think happened to them?" Rainbow Dash interjected.

"As far as their families and friends know, they were killed in a tragic accident inside the Everfree."

"That's horrible! Telling the families they're dead!  They have to go through all that heartbreak, and for what?" Twilight's temper quickly flared.

"I know it does not seem right, but you have to believe me. It is for the safety and prosperity of Equestria that we must do so."

"But at what cost?" Twilight screamed. "How many do we have to hurt ?  Why can't we tell people the truth about the Alicorns?"

"Twilight, that is a topic that I wish not to breach right now.  You must let this be."

"Yeah, Twilight, let it drop." Twilight looked over to Rainbow Dash, who had a we'll-talk-later look in her eyes.  Twilight gave an almost imperceptible nod before turning back toward Celestia.

"Fine," she huffed.

"Princess Celestia?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash?"

"Are ponies, like, not going to know that I was the one who did the Sonic Rainboom? Because it's, like, part of what makes me so awesome. I don't want anypony to forget that."

"Unfortunately, sacrifices must be made."

"So that's a no? Are you sure there's no other way?"

"I'm afraid not."  Rainbow Dash looked ready to retort, but offered no argument. There was a moment of silence before Luna looked up at the clock in the room and decided to speak.

"Girls, I have called for the other four Element Bearers to meet us in the Throne Room in about... five minutes. I'm going to cast an illusion spell on the two of you that will make it look as if nothing has changed. However, I would not recommend any hugs as if someone touches you the illusion will be broken. I figured that the... uh, situation would be easier explained if we were there with you. I would recommend having them move to the castle after you take the Throne as you will want to have some close friends as advisors. Anyway, let's head out. We don't want to be late."

So they set off toward the Throne Room.

fin. capite

Tertia

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

The four alicorns walked down the hall toward the Throne room, oddly not accompanied by any guards.  Celestia and Luna were walking in the front with Dash and Twilight at their heels. Before they had left the room, Luna had cast a spell on them reverting their appearance to their old forms so not to alert anyone to the situation.

"Do you feel short now? Because I feel really short right now," Dash said, looking at Twilight.

Twilight looked back and gave a small smile. "Yeah, I was about to say.  I've been an alicorn for less than a day and when I go back to the stature i've had for my entire life it feels weird."

"Exactly," Dash remarked, and they continued down the hallway.

002.

When they reached the large doors to the throne room, Luna sighed and turned back to face them.

"Are you ready for th-"

"Wait! Princess!" One of the Princess's advisors that Twilight remembered as Red Velvet came running down the hall with a stack of papers in her hand.

"Velvet, what is it?" Celestia asked.

"Your Highness, there have been complaints from the Cloudsdale Weather Factory that the sun is shining much too brightly today, as well as the Mayor of Appleoosa issuing a code red heat warning! Excuse my opinion, your highness," Celestia rolled her eyes at the excessive show of respect, "but maybe you should tone it down a bit?"  It was obvious how the mare regretted her bout of confidence when she faltered at the end of the sentence.

"Thank you for your concern, Velvet.  I'll think about the appropriate course of action to reach a solution to this problem."  Red Velvet gave a nod and left just as quickly as she came.  As soon as she was out of earshot, the other 3 alicorns turned to Rainbow Dash with looks of varying degrees of amusement.  Rainbow gave an awkward smile.

"It's not like I can control how bright it is!"

At this, Celestia just laughed. "Not yet, anyway. You'll be able to, eventually. Just goes to show how i'm aging, is all.  I'm old."

"You're not old, Princess." Twilight said.

"What do you consider old?"

"Someone about the age of my grandma.  Seventy, eighty may-" she saw Celestia's mixed look of amusement and disappointment. "Oh.  I fell right into that one. Well, you don't look old. And you certainly don't act the part."

"You flatter me, Twilight. Though I believe Luna gave us ample time to get here before they arrive, we don't want to miss your friends."

With that, Luna opened the doors to the room.

003.

"I wonder what tha' Princesses want us for. Probably has to do with why Twi and Dash got called to Canterlot." Applejack, along with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, was walking along with about a dozen guards toward the Throne Room.

"I just hope they haven't gotten themselves into trouble." Rarity wondered aloud.

"Twi and Dashie wouldn't be in trouble! Twilight's Celestia's student! She'd never break the rules!"  Ever since they had gotten off the carriage that had taken them here, Pinkie hadn't stopped bouncing, even when she was in bed.  They had all learned not to question it but still it puzzled them to a degree.

Before they knew it, they were right at the doors of the Throne Room.

"Go right in, bearers." One of the guards that had been trailing them said with a gruff voice, opening the doors to the room.

004.

The first thing that Rainbow Dash noticed when she walked in was that the throne room was not barren like it was last time they were there.  The second was that it was decorated completely differently than it had been all the previous times the Elements had been there. Before, the thrones had represented the color schemes of Celestia and Luna; the one on the left made of pure gold with light-pastel etchings and cushions and the one on the right made of shining obsidian with adornments of different hues of blue and silver.  Now, the one on the right was made of dark bronze with pink, purple, and dark blue jewels encrusted.  There was a protruding column at the top with a small purple-colored jewel shaped like the Element of Magic. The one on the left was made of rose gold with a tapestry hung over it with every color of the rainbow. At the very top was a small pillar, much like the one on the other throne but with the symbol of the Element of Loyalty, a red lightning bolt.

Her throne.

It was obviously meant for her, matching her color scheme perfectly. She shivered, just thinking about how much her life was about to change.  Her life as an average weatherpony was a thing of the past; now she was about to be a princess of Equestria. Before she could ask any questions, though, the doors to the throne room reopened, four of her closest friends in the doorway. She was about to fly in for a hug when she remembered that any kind of contact would shatter the illusion too early and possibly shock her friends. She looked over at Twilight a few feet away and could tell she was thinking the same thing just by looking at her body language. Twilight turned Rainbow's way and gave her a knowing look.  The room was silent, nopony moving a hoof. Dash decided it was too awkward for her tastes.

"Uh, hey, guys."

It seemed that the remaining Elements were snapped out of a trance of some kind and came rushing foward, obviously looking to hug their friends who were so abruptly pulled away from Ponyville to Canterlot with not even an explanation.

Rainbow felt terrible doing it, but she took a few steps back. "Sorry, guys, no hugs today," she said, with an obviously upset look on her face.

"Yeah, guys, sorry, uh, yeah, no hugs." Twilight said, following her lead in the situation.

Celestia stepped forward. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today, why your friends Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were called to the Castle, and why you got no advance warning of being called here yourselves. I apologize for this.  But there's a very important thing that's about to happen, and I feel that you have the right as Bearers of the Elements of Harmony and close friends of Twilight and Rainbow here to know what this is."

"The six of you will be the only beings in Equestria other than Luna and I to know of such a happening. I trust you to only discuss this among yourselves in private, when no one else is watching."

This had the four non-alicorn Elements even more confused and clueless than when they came in, and Celestia continued.

"Luna and I are the current co-rulers of Equestria, Regents of the Sun and Moon.  Applejack," she looked at the dumbfounded earth pony, "do you know how long we have ruled?"

"Uh," she stammered, being put on the spot, "Er, I don't exactly know, your majesty.  A couple a' hundred thousand years, maybe? A million? Forever? I'm sorry, your highness, but does this have anything to do with why we're here?"

"Yes, Applejack, I'm afraid it does.  And I didn't expect you to know the answer to my question, either.  It's been brought up to me countless times by different historians, media, and such, but I've never answered it for them."

"Well... why do ya ask, then?"

"Because I'm about to tell you.  Rarity, tell me, are Alicorns immortal?"

"Um..." even the usually collected white unicorn who could never seem to be rendered speechless was confused at the question. She quickly recovered, though. "Yes, of course.  Everyone knows that.  There are stories of you that go back for ages."

"Thank you, Rarity. Fortunately, no. We are not immortal. Alicorns only live a pre-determined lifespan of five-thousand years. Or, rather, when the older of the two diarchs reaches their five-thousandth birthday.  Because of this, we must choose replacements for when that time comes.

Luna heard Fluttershy mumble something incomprehensible. "What was that, Fluttershy? Sorry, speak up. I didn't catch what you said."

"Um, how is that possible?  There haven't been any other princesses."

"Speak up, Flutters." It was Dash who spoke up this time. Fluttershy's face turned beet red before she tried once again.

"Um, how is that possible? The replacements, I mean.  There haven't been any other Princesses and there aren't any other alicorns."

Only Pinkie, who was standing closest to her, was able to hear her question.

"Silly Fluttershy, don't you get it? Their replacements are Twilight and Dashie! That's why they're here in Canterlot!"

Seven jaws smashed into the ground in unison, while Pinkie continued to bounce.

005.

Twilight was stunned. Somehow, Pinkie had put the pieces together.  She figured it had to do with the 'Pinkie Sense', but you could never be sure.

"How did you know?" Dash was equally shocked by the revelation. It was practically spelled out on her face.

"Well, duh, I had two ear twitches then three tail shakes then another ear twitch, which means that Dashie and Twilight are Alicorns! After that realization, it was easy to figure out!" This was followed by another stunned silence, which Applejack was the first to break.

"But Pinkie, they aren't-"

"Yeah, we are."

"Wait, what?"

Dash sighed. "We are, AJ.  Twilight, hit my arm."

Twilight obliged, and the illusion shattered.  They now stood about two feet taller, and Twilight's wings and Dash's horn were visible.  Their faces had taken on a more slender look, their coats were brighter, and their manes were shimmering and blowing in that mysterious ethereal wind that no one had ever been able to explain.

Another silence.

"But... how... why them? Are they, your daughters or something?"

"No, but they were the two best ponies for the job."

"So do I look cool or what?"

Applejack pretended to ponder her answer. "Uh, well, I guess y'all look all right but I reckon' Twilight definitely looks cooler."

Rainbow Dash frowned and looked to Twilight, who gave her a smug grin. "No way."

"Uh huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Uh huh, Rainbow."

"Nuh-"

"Girls!" Twilight scolded.  "Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, what do you have to say about all of this?"

"Um, well, it's very nice,"

"Fluttershy, speak up, please?"

"I said it was very nice!" Twilight winced at Fluttershy's unusually abrasive tone. Apparently, Fluttershy noticed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sound so agre-"

"It's alright, Fluttershy. How about you, Rarity?"

"Well, you both look absolutely stunning, and it sure will be nice having a good connection in Canterlot." At everyone's glares, she backed down. "Okay!  Sorry, but you do look quite lovely.  Oh, and who will be taking care of the sun and the moon?"  Dash looked at Twilight, who motioned for her to talk.

"Well, I'm gonna raise the sun.  And Twilight does all the stuff with the stars and the moon. Actually, earlier this morning Twilight lowered the moon and then I put up the sun."

There was a collective gasp from the group. "Is that why it's so bright today?"  Dash, knowing what was coming, gave Twilight, Luna and Celestia a warning look.

"Um.... yeah."

"That's so cool! Can you do any magic?" Pinkie asked, interjecting for the first time since she revealed the truth of the situation. In actuality, Dash was happy that Pinkie had come out and said it as she was dreading the long session of explanations.

"Not yet."

"Twi, can you use yer wings?" Applejack asked.

"Well, I mean, I can open them now," she said blushing, looking at Celestia.

"Really? Let me see!"

At first, Twilight refused, but after a prod in the inner wing by Luna, they shot open. When Rainbow looked at them, she was shocked.

"No. Bucking. Way."

"What, Rainbow?"

"Your wings... they're bigger than mine." Rainbow opened up her wings to show Twilight, and sure enough, the tips of Twilight's wings extended about a foot farther on each side than hers did.

"No fair."  The larger your wings were, the faster of a flier you could be.  Equestria's resident queen egghead could not be a better flier than her.

"Well," Rarity said, "Rainbow Dash's horn is longer than yours, Twilight."

Twilight frowned as the others around the room murmured agreements.

"But that means-"

"That she has a larger magical font, yes." Rainbow looked over and smirked at Twilight.  Twilight narrowed her eyes and fluffed her wings in response, showing off their superior size.

"Fine," Dash growled, loud enough for only Twilight to hear. Twilight smirked and closed her wings, turning once again to face her friends.

"Wow, you guys." Applejack sighed, with a small frown on her face.

"What?"

"I guess we won't be seein' a lot of y'all in Ponyville anymore?"

The four alicorns looked at each other, all with the same question in their eyes.

"Actually," Twilight started, "about that," Twilight obviously couldn't bring herself to ask the question.

"What is it, Twi?"

"Well, would you guys like to move up to Canterlot? You know, maybe to help out?  We need advisors and I think our best friends would probably be a good bet..." Faltering out at the end, Twilight had a sheepish look on her face.

"I... I don't know, girls. I don't think the animals would do so well on their own... um, I mean, I can come, if you really want me to."

"No, it's okay, Fluttershy.  But if the animals are your only concern, then I'm sure we can arrange something. There are plenty of rooms inside the castle big enough, as well as some cottages just a bit bigger than your own that are right outside the walls."

Seeing no way out of this, Fluttershy nodded.

"Yay!" Twilight squealed like a filly.

"I'd love to come, Twilight.  I'm sure I could help out as an aide around here.  A move to Canterlot would also be a boon in business for the boutique."  Everyone but Twilight and Celestia rolled their eyes at Rarity's obvious ulterior motive, but said nothing.

Twilight smiled brightly again, but then frowned. "What about Sweetie Belle?"

"She'll be fine without me. She doesn't live with me, anyway, no matter how frequently she appears at the boutique."

"Twilight?  I'd love to come, and all, but I have to think about the Cakes. I mean, the twins are just beginning to talk!  They're so cute! Wait-" Pinkie gasped. "The ballroom here, is, like, 20 times bigger than Sugarcube Corner, right?"

"If not more," Luna injected.

"Omygosh! This'll be so exciting! I can throw parties in there, every day!  Ooh, Twilight, I'd love to come!"

Rainbow Dash was shocked at how easy it was for Twilight to get their friends to come up to Canterlot to help out. Not to say she wasn't grateful; she and Twilight would surely need the assistance.

Then she remembered that there was still one friend who had been abnormally silent during this line of conversation.

Applejack.

"AJ?" She asked. "What do you think?"

Applejack was sitting on her haunches with her head in her hooves. It was obvious to all observers that she was torn on whether to join her friends in Canterlot or stay and work at Sweet Apple Acres.

"AJ? You okay?" Dash quickly grew concerned at her friend's distraught state.

"Come back to me.  Dash, ask me later."

"Um, okay, I guess."

Celestia coughed into a hoof. "I apologize, girls. I'd love to spend more time together, but there's something that Luna and I along with Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash must take care of.  It's about lunchtime by now; I've sent special orders to the kitchen so the food should be ready whenever you are."

"Thank you, Princess." The four non-alicorns spoke in unison.

Celestia lit up her horn and opened the doors to the Throne Room, letting the guards know it was time to escort their charges to the kitchen, as per previous orders.  They all waved at the four alicorns as they left save for Applejack who was obviously still upset and indecisive about the prospect of moving to Canterlot and abandoning her family for her friends.

"Poor Applejack," Twilight muttered.  Dash gave her a sympathetic look, but Twilight didn't catch it.

"Alright, then, girls.  We need to head down to the gardens for some lessons on magic and flying.  Before we... uh, die tomorrow, I think it'd be good for you to have some basic instruction in the respective fields you haven't explored."

So they walked.

fin. capite

Quartum

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

The four alicorns arrived in the Statue Garden by a large fountain, two of them re-disguised in their former looks.  About the same time when they entered the gates to the garden, Celestia and Luna felt an electric jolt through their bodies, and then began to feel lightheaded. The two current Princesses shared a knowing look. Their corporeal forms were starting to fade as the full power of the Gifts began flowing into the newly-ascended future Princesses.  There were no visual effects yet, but Celestia suspected that they would slowly shrink back into their pre-alicornian forms by the moonrise.  The magic was flowing out of her, and Celestia decided it was time to put the hex into place.

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash felt the effects of this, but in an inverse manner.  They had a similar electric jolt run through their bodies, and then started to feel stronger and more lively.  The feeling increased as, unbeknownst to them, the Gifts took hold in the bodies of their new bearers.  Because of this sudden increase in power, the illusion that had kept them looking like their old selves shattered and they stood tall and regal, manes flowing again.

"Uh, what just happened?"

"The Gifts are starting to transfer their power over to the two of you."

"But, we already got the Gifts! We're like, splitting them now, right?"

"Yes. We were splitting them, but the part of the Gift that still resides in our body is flowing into yours.  We are basically transferring the rest of the Gift to you. Once the transfer is complete, Luna and I are going to, er, move on to the Eternal Herd."

This explanation seemed to work for Rainbow Dash, but it only raised more questions for Twilight.

"So, if we give you guys the gift back, you guys don't have to die, right?"

"No. If you were to give the gifts back to us, they would not expand our lifespan.  We were destined to, erm, die," Celestia still had issues with referencing death so nonchalantly, "tomorrow since the day our powers were bestowed on us.  If the gifts were given back to us, they would die with us, leaving Equestria without its alicorn Princesses."

At this sentence, something inside Twilight clicked.  Her mind had been avoiding the subject of the upcoming deaths of the Princesses, but all the emotions came rushing foward.  Twilight collapsed to her haunches and put her hooves over her face, silent sobs wracking her body.  The other three alicorns weren't even sure what she was crying about, but Rainbow Dash awkwardly put a hoof on Twilight's back and began to gently rub it while the Princesses continued to look on.

After a minute or so of this, Rainbow Dash got down on her haunches as well, pulling Twilight's hooves away from her face and tried to catch her eye.

"Twi? What's wrong?"  By now, both of the Princesses had backed away with pained looks on their faces, wanting to comfort their student and friend but at the same time not knowing what to do.

After thirty seconds or so, Twilight looked up into Rainbow's eyes, bringing on a fresh wave of tears, before looking down once more.  "Twi? What's going on? Whatever's wrong, you can tell me." Her voice was laced with concern.

"I... I- I can't..." Twilight seemed unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Twilight, it's okay. Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be okay." Rainbow winced at her choice of words.

"But it isn't! They're dying, and it's my fault!"  Twilight's tears of sadness became tears of self-loathing and anger.

"Twilight, it's not your fault.  This would've happened regardless.  I know it's hard.  It's hard for me, and I don't know either of them as well as you.  There's nothing we can do about it except to do our best as Princesses."

Twilight's sobs let up and violet crashed with magenta as she made eye contact once more. "I guess you're right, but I still feel like it's my fault." Another tear ran down her cheek.

"I promise you- no, I Pinkie Pie promise you, that it'll all be okay. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Rainbow lifted one of her hooves from Twilight's back and proceeded to poke her eye. "Ow."

Twilight let out a small giggle as Rainbow stood up and held out a hoof. Twilight grasped it and stood up, walking over to the Princesses.

"Uh... sorry about that, Princesses. You too, Rainbow Dash.  I just got... worked up over something." The other three just nodded, knowing smiles on their faces.

Luna spoke. "Should we begin the lesson? Twilight, I'm going to ask you to come with me as I'll be able to teach you about the Lunar and Astral magics while Celestia will be the only one able to teach Rainbow Dash the basics of Solar magic." With a small smile to their counterparts, Twilight and Luna walked over to a different statue from the one that they had been standing at just moments before. Twilight recognized the pony the statue honored.

"Is that Clover the Clever?"

"Yes, indeed.  I've heard so many tales about her."

"She sounds like a great pony."

"According to the legends, she was one of the three who gathered to bring down the divide between the races."

"Yes, I know. I played her in a Hearth's Warming play, once, a year or two back."

Luna smiled at the tidbit of information. "Yes, I remember that."  This ushered in an awkward silence which Luna broke.

"Tomorrow night, when you receive complete control of the Gift and the night sky for the first time, you will be able to rearrange the stars in the sky any way you like.  This is the only time you'll have the opportunity, though. I didn't make my sky too flashy; however some of my predecessors have decorated the sky with many bright colors and intricate designs."

Twilight was intrigued at this. "What about the astronomers? All their research, all their charts will be rendered useless!"

"Twilight, do not fret, as this will be taken care of by the hex that Celestia will put over Equestria soon."

"But won't that be before tomorrow night?"

"Yes, but the spell constantly works, and it will cover up any tracks that you may leave. Even Celestia and I aren't quite sure how it works, all we know is that it does and has for as long as time itself."

Twilight frowned. "How is she going to cast it, then?"

"There are some things you'll inherit when you take the throne that will explain a lot.  Old tomes and documents that will give you some answers on top of the ones that Celestia and I have provided."

Another silence.

"Well, due to your gift being associated with Lunar and Astral magic, your powers will be much stronger at night.  Naturally, that would be an ideal place to teach you these things but as Celestia and I foolishly waited until the last possible moment to spring this on you, we don't have much time."

"The most powerful thing that comes solely with the Gift of the Moon is an innate talent for Illusion spells."

"How come you're not casting the hex, then?" Twilight was familiar with the Illusion spell family; some of the spells were easy, like the spell disguising her and Dash as they walked the castle grounds, while others were so complicated Twilight couldn't even read them, much less ever think of performing them.

"The hex is not an illusion spell, specifically.  It does not actually belong in any particular realm, as it draws from elements of all of them. Because Celestia is more adept in Unicorn magic than I, she is the one that will perform the enchantment."

"Actually, in all recorded cases, the Sun Princess has been more adept in Unicorn magic while the Moon Princess is much more adept in Pegasus-related endeavors, such as flight and the weather. It's why the moon controls things like the tides of the ocean."

Realization dawned on Twilight; that's why Rainbow's horn was longer and she had a larger wingspan.  She almost laughed at the next notion.

Me, flying?

And Luna was reading her mind again. "Don't worry, Twilight. You might not've been the epitome of athletic ability when you were... a unicorn, but alicorns are always in good shape.  With enough flight practice, you'll likely be beating Rainbow Dash in races very soon."

Twilight was saddened at this.  If Twilight, the former unicorn, the Element of Magic, would be able to beat Rainbow Dash in a race, then her cutie mark; her life's purpose would be rendered a moot point.  Twilight realized it was the same situation as herself; Rainbow Dash would be more magically adept than her in almost no time.

"What about my cutie mark, then? Does it mean anything anymore?"

"You change it."

"You can't change your cutie mark!"

"That's true-- the average pony is unable to change their mark.  But you're not an average pony. You're an alicorn, and starting tomorrow, you're a Princess.  I believe you can do what you damn well like, Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm not going to change my cutie mark! It's the Element of Magic, and it's part of who I am!"

"I changed mine."

Twilight was puzzled at first, but then realized that Luna and Celestia had been chosen for the position, same as them.

"What was yours, then?"

"It was a telescope. When I was a filly, I loved astronomy. It was my life's passion, but it all got taken away when... when this was forced upon me.  I decided to change it, just as all of my predecessors did, to be rid of the reminder."  Her voice took on a somber, hollow tone and Twilight wanted to comfort the Princess.

"Oh," is all she could think to say. The two mares stood in a sad silence.

002.

"So, I do what now?"  For the last fifteen minutes or so, Celestia had been trying to teach Rainbow Dash how to perform her first spell.  Specifically, levitation.

"Light up your horn."  Dash did this part with ease.

"Just focus on the crown." Celestia had taken the crown off her head and set it on the ground so Rainbow Dash could try to lift it up.

"I'm not sure how to explain this anymore, as it comes naturally to me, but just focus on the fact that you want it to move."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes in concentration. She willed the tiara to move, and it rattled on the ground.

"Ugh!"

"Keep trying."

So she did.

Then a third time.

And again.

And again, and again.

The crown lifted off the ground as Rainbow directed it to go on top of Celestia's head, landing there with a small thud. She gave a proud smile, as did Celestia.

"Good job, Rainbow Dash. You may have learned faster than Twilight Sparkle."

She was proud of what she had done, but she wasn't prepared for that.  Twilight had been the most powerful being in all of Equestria save for the Princesses.

"No way."

"You have a natural sense for this. Any unicorns in your family?"

"A few."

"Maybe that's it, then." They stood in a comfortable silence.

"Didn't Luna say something about uh... sun... no.. Solar Magic, wasn't it? What's that?"

"Ah, yes. The basic difference between the Gift of the Moon and Stars and the Gift of the Sun is  the celestial bodies they control.  There is another smaller difference, though.  There is some power that is given only to the bearer of the Gift of the Sun while another set is only given to the bearer of the Gift of the Moon."

"Which is?"

"The gifts associated with the Moon are the power of Illusion, as well as dream magic and necromancy."

"Necromancy? As in, like, vamponies and zombies and stuff?"

Celestia frowned. "Yes, like 'vamponies and zombies and stuff'."

"Well, what about the sun?"

"Those with the Sun Gift are usually superior in combat as well as in manipulation."

"Manipulation?"

"Mind control."

"But that's-"

"Cruel, yes. Also illegal, for the time being, but you make the rules here on out. But sometimes, it's necessary." Dash wasn't sated with this answer, but said nothing further.  Thinking of mind control sent shivers down her spine; it had happened once, to her, with Discord and she never wanted to even so much as think about it again.

"So-"

"Training. Yes."

003.

The four were standing on Twilight's balcony. Their basic training was done for the day.  Rainbow Dash had learned four simple spells while Twilight Sparkle learned more about her gifts, how to control them, and flight.  Dash promised that she would give her some extra assistance on that front at another time.

Rainbow Dash was supposed to lower the sun, but she insisted that Celestia do it, as it would be her last time doing so. She wouldn't have the power to raise it in the morning.

And so she did.  Ponies all over Equestria looked at the sunset in wonder; they had never seen anything quite like it. The bright pastels that they knew flowed in the Princess' mane were spread all over the sky in a beautiful rainbow.

Then it was Luna's turn to raise the moon.   Again, this would be the last time as she wouldn't have the strength to lower it.

Ponies also noticed how bright the moon seemed. Little did they know that it was Luna's goodbye to the heavens.

Up on the balcony, it was an occasion filled with tears. All four mares were crying; even Rainbow Dash had shed a tear at the symbolism behind this particular moonrise.

"When the moon reaches its highest point in the sky, my hex will wash over Equestria, and the two of you will assume the crown." Celestia didn't show any emotion at this; her feelings were a mixed bag. On one hand, she was thrilled to get out of the many responsibilities that came with being the First Princess, but on the other she didn't want to lay that burden on her faithful student and her best friend.

No one said anything to this.  They watched until the moon touched the top of the sky.  When it did, a shower of color burst from it, and the two new Princesses would begin their reign.

Celestia, now just the size of an average mare, removed her crown.  She stood on two hooves to reach Rainbow Dash's head, where she placed the crown.

She spoke in a soft voice. "I, Celestia, declare you, Rainbow Dash, Princess Chroma, Regent of the Sun and Ruler of Equestria."

Dash nodded as another tear fell from her cheek.

Luna did the same, placing the darker crown on Twilight's head. "And I, Luna, declare you, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Lumina, Regent of the Moon and Stars and Ruler of Equestria."

Twilight stood stone still.

Nobody spoke for a moment before the two dying mares led the new Princesses back inside for what would be their first night of rule.

fin. capite

Quinto

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

Poke. "Twilight."

Poke. "C'mon, Twi, get up!"

Poke. "Twilight!"  Twilight Sparkle groaned and rolled over. She blinked twice as she tried to focus her vision. Cyan, lots of colors...

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Twilight, you have to come out and lower the moon. You're already ten minutes... tardy." Dash's voice took on a teasing tone at the end which Twilight found to be extremely inappropriate considering the situation that they were in.

"Ohnononononononono-"

"Twilight, shut up and get outside. Oh, and you have to put this stuff on." Rainbow Dash gestured to a wooden chest with velvet adornments.  Twilight opened the box to see a full set of regalia. It shone as if it was brand new. Twilight guessed that it was.  The craftsmanship and beauty were breathtaking, and she took a moment to appreciate this. It was so dark of a silver that it could pass for black if you looked at it from the right angle, decorated with purple and blue trim.  There was a small purple diamond in the center of the chestplate which was shaped like the Element of Magic. The purple alicorn looked up at Rainbow Dash to see that she was wearing a shimmering gold set similarly decorated like Twilight's, only with rainbow embellishments and a small red diamond shaped like the Element of Loyalty. Twilight quickly put it on, also grabbing Luna's- no, her- crown from the small nightstand.

"Okay. Let's go." Rainbow Dash held out a hoof, and Twilight took it as she led her to the glass doors that stood between the room and the balcony. Dash pushed open the doors, letting the crisp morning breeze hit them in the face. It was just the two of them this time, Celestia and Luna were nowhere to be seen.

As if reading her mind, Dash said, "After we finish with... this, we're supposed to meet Celestia and Luna in Celestia's room." Twilight numbly nodded, knowing exactly what was next.

Rainbow Dash watched in silence as Twilight Sparkle threw her head back, and with a cry of anguish, brought down the moon at an alarming speed. It seemed to almost crash into the ground.

002.

Twilight stood, remembering Luna's advice on raising and lowering the moon.  She needed to bring forth emotion, and there was only one that Twilight could feel at the moment.

Not that she could feel much of anything. She felt numb.

The realization that her mentor and her friend would truly die, be gone forever, hit Twilight like a speeding bullet. It had crossed her mind before, obviously, she'd even had that fit in the gardens, but it hadn't truly hit her until now.

She let out a primal cry as the sadness engulfed her, and the moon was lowered.

"Twilight! What's wrong?" Dash, who had been watching from the back of the balcony, rushed forward to envelop Twilight in a hug.

Twilight said nothing.

"C'mon, Twi, what's up?" This was said in a much softer, gentler tone that was not usually associated with Rainbow.

Twilight couldn't bring herself to speak. Celestia had taught her everything; she was her teacher, her mentor, her mother figure. Celestia was the one who had given her a home.  And Luna-- this didn't affect her nearly as much, but losing someone as close a friend as her was crushing. There were so many things that Luna hadn't yet seen, and now she was never going to. Tears streamed down her face in tiny rivers as she sobbed quietly.

"Twilight? What is it?" Again, a somber tone was in Rainbow's unusually quiet voice.

"Nothing."

"Twi, you can't keep doing this to yourself."

"Yes I can."

"Tell me what's wrong, Twilight!" Dash was becoming agitated.  It gave her physical pain to see her friend in a state like this.

"Okay, Rainbow." Twilight spoke in a hollow, disconnected tone. "My surrogate mother and one of my friends are dying any second now, and there's nothing I can do about it! Then, she springs this on me. A BUCKING PRINCESS?  WHAT THE BUCKING HELL? 'Yeah, oh, hey, Twilight, I'm gonna die in two weeks and guess what? You get to rule a country!'"

"Twi..."

Twilight broke down into loud sobs that could probably be heard a half mile from the castle, still refusing to look at Rainbow.

"Twilight, I'm so sorry."

"No. You can't be sorry. You're the only one on the bucking planet who can't feel sorry for me."

"And why is that?"

"Because you're in the same situation as me."

"But I'm not the one losing a, well, a mother and a close friend. I don't know either of the Princesses like you do."

Dash figured out that this was a bad thing to say as Twilight's sobs started up again, worse than before.  Dash began rubbing Twilight's back as she brought up the sun, touching her horn to her chest.  You would think that it would be a long, ceremonious, affair, lowering the moon and raising the sun for the second time, and the first time as Princesses, but it wasn't.

Just two best friends, sharing a moment on a balcony.

003.

Celestia and Luna were pacing in the throne room, being admitted with some easily falsified documents as 'two petitioners' who had been granted early access to see Chroma and Lumina before Day Court officially started.  Celestia had lost her horn, and her hair had lost its ethereal flow and many colors; it was now a long wavy light pink sheet. Her cutie mark became a scroll, as she had always been talented in diplomatic affairs.

Like it used to be, all those years ago.

Luna had undergone a similar change. Other than her missing wings and reverted cutie mark, she looked exactly the same as she had when she had been freed from the curse of Nightmare Moon.  Her mane was shorter as well as a lighter shade, and her body had shrunk to the size of a slightly-below average mare.

Just as it had been.

"Luna, are you ready for this?"

"Been waiting for it for what seems like an eternity."

"You know, this is going to be hard on the two mares.  Twilight Sparkle, especially. I can't imagine what the poor filly's going to do."

"I feel terrible about putting this burden on them."

"I do as well. But we must sacrifice for the good of Equestria."

"But-"

The door flew open.  Just outside of it were two mares- the two Princesses. Behind them were a few guards. One spoke.

"Your Majesties, you have two Petitioners who have been granted access to speak with you before Day Court begins."

"Yeah.. okay, that's-" Twilight lightly hit Rainbow in the side as she took over.

"Yes, thank you, sirs. Please leave us be."  The one closest to the two Princesses

"Rainbow Dash, you really need to learn how to speak to these guys," Twilight muttered under her breath as the doors closed.

"Well, sorry. I didn't grow up with Celestia." Twilight just shook her head and walked a few paces closer to the former Princesses before stopping about ten feet in front of them. Dash followed suit.

Luna hadn't really taken much note to the new appearances of the two mares, but when they stood taller than her, looking down, she realized that they were both stunning. Neither of them had gained any colors in their manes like her sister, as they both already had an array of shades. Rainbow Dash's mane and coat glowed with a shimmer that was brighter than Celestia's had ever been, if possible. Her hair had grown much longer but still retained it's bright hues.  Twilight's hair also gained significant length, and the stars that seemed to peek through her locks reminded her of how hers used to be. They were both wearing a full set of regalia, which gave them a regal presence she doubted she ever had. She was almost inclined to bow at the sight.

Looking to her right, Luna saw that Celestia wore a similar look of awe.

"Uh... sooooooo, um," Rainbow Dash put a hoof around Twilight, which brought out a small smile from the purple mare, "What's uh, damn it this sounds weird, well... what's going to, you know, happen?" she stammered.

Both of the former Princesses' faces fell at this.  Celestia knew Twilight Sparkle better than anyone; and she could tell that despite the brave face she had on that was clearly fooling the other two, she was in pain. Something was bothering her, and Celestia knew what it was.  She instantly felt even more guilt than before over leaving the two practically clueless mares to the throne. She thought of how little training they'd had; she was instantly glad that she had a lot of advisors and such set up who would guide them through appointments and duties.

These mares had to hold court in an hour yet she wasn't sure Rainbow Dash knew what court was.

She sighed, dejectedly.  "I can feel it coming on now, it should be any minute-"

Twilight collapsed to her haunches. Rainbow Dash frowned and whispered something in her ear. Celestia just blinked before continuing.

"Erm, yes, any minute now. You'll know when. From what I remember, it's just a big, well, flash of light. That's it, not much of a spectacle, as we, well, go on. After that, well, it'll be like we were never here."

She expected Twilight Sparkle to break down in tears at the statement, but the violet alicorn just sat there, staring straight ahead. Dash leaned over once again to whisper in Twilight's ear in an attempt to comfort her, and it seemed to work a little as her eyes came back into focus, seeming a little less glassy. Celestia worried that Twilight would wall herself in, shielding herself from any type of emotion.

Celestia could only hope that Rainbow Dash would be able to break her out of it.

"Well, anyway, with the small amount of time we have left, I should probably give you some advice."

004.

"-and the Archives should always b-" Suddenly, Celestia shrilled in pure pain, as did Luna. Rainbow Dash was silently crying, just from the sheer emotion of the moment, while Twilight Sparkle sat still, in the exact same pose that she had held practically since they had arrived.  Her eyes were locked on some point in a distance, not even blinking at the spectacle.

"Girls! Girls, this is it!"

Celestia walked up to Twilight, awkwardly hugging her chest as she was too small to reach any further.  She stood on her hind legs, and whispered seven last words.

"I love you, my... my faithful student."

005.

"I love you, my... my faithful student."

This brought something out in Twilight, whose mind had almost completely shut down in shock and pain. She moved her eyes downward to look at Celestia, who was holding her tight.

She opened her mouth to speak, when-

Light. Light, like she'd never seen before. Blinding light so bright it must've lit all of Canterlot a hundred times brighter. Burning heat.

There was a deafening crack in the air, and Celestia and Luna of Equestria were gone forever.

006.

Rainbow Dash looked around the Throne Room, quiet tears streaming down her face.    Despite the light and the noise, nothing seemed to be broken, touched even in the slightest by the events that had just occured. She looked over to Twilight, who-

Was a sobbing heap on the floor.  Her cries of anguish filled the castle as her body shook. One of the guards opened the door just a crack, peeking his head in.

"Your Majesties-"

"Leave us." Dash's voice took on a cold tone as it boomed through the room and the scared guard shut the door as fast as he could.

"Twilight?" she said, turning back to the Moon Princess.

"Did that really just happen?"

Rainbow collapsed on top of Twilight, and they sobbed together.

007.

"Hmm... Joker! Your move, Fluttershy!"

"Um... Pinkie, you can't play the Jo-"

There was a loud cry coming from somewhere within the castle. Applejack twitched. Another cry.

Wait.

She knew that voice.

She turned to the other three mares in the room, who had heard the same thing.

"Twilight," Rarity breathed.

"Girls, I think we should go find Twilight and Rainbow and see what's wrong."

The other three nodded as they filed out the doorway.

008.

Shining Armor was standing in front of one of the doors to the guard barracks, when he heard a scream.  A scream of pain.

"Lumina..." He left his post at the front of the barracks and beckoned for the twenty soldiers closest to him to follow as he walked at a brisk pace toward the throne room.

009.

The four mares turned the corner, running toward the throne room, Applejack in front, when-

CLANK.

Applejack banged up against the metal plating on Shining Armor's guard uniform.

"Sorry, Armor.  Didn't see you there."

"Hey, Applejack, I'm sorry, but I can't talk. I need-"

"The Princess. You heard her too?" Saying it felt weird in AJ's mouth.

"Lumina? Yeah."

"Who the buck is Lu-" Rarity kicked her in the leg. Applejack turned around and nodded as the five ponies walked to the doors of the Throne Room.

When they reached it, Shining Armor lit up his horn, about to open the door-

"I don't think you should go in there."

Shining Armor turned on a hoof to the guard who spoke. "And why is that?"

"Well, when Sharp over here," the grey-coated guard pointed to another identical-looking guard with a red blush lining his face, "peeked in, Princess Chroma got all angry and told him to leave.  Like, in the Royal Canterlot Voice and everything."

"That's not a good enough reason.  I'm the Captain of the bucking guard and I hear our Princess crying in there, possibly hurt or worse, and I have a Private tell me that I shouldn't go in because she told him to leave? What do you think I put first; the safety of our Moon Princess or the Royal Canterlot Voice?"

The guard nodded and lit his horn quickly, opening the doors for Armor and the four Elements of Harmony.

The two Princesses were tangled together on the ground, crying loudly about something. Neither of them seemed to be harmed in any way, and Shining Armor breathed a sigh of relief.  Apparently, Chroma had heard the doors open, and growled, not even turning to face him or the Bearers;

"How many times do I have to tell you to leave?"

Shining Armor, the supposedly fearless Captain of the Royal Guard, slammed the door shut and turned around at speeds a Wonderbolt would have been proud of, and bolted out of the room, followed by the Elements. They ran through the corridors of the castle, until the four Bearers broke off to go to the meal hall.

When he was sure no one could hear or see him, he sat on his haunches.

"Mares."

fin. capite

Sextus

Sun And Stars

sparkfyre

001.

Rainbow Dash smiled as she looked down at Twilight.  They had both been sobbing, and apparently at some point she had cried herself to sleep. Her chest rose and fell lightly. Dash had been laying on top of her in a protective manner.

Dash looked at Twilight's new form; though she was smaller than Dash (in the exact ratio of Luna to Celestia), she was still tall by normal standards. Since Luna had... gone, Twilight's mane had taken on the full quality of the Lunar Princess, shining with tiny stars.  It was like looking at the cosmos themselves.  Dash reached down to touch it. It was warm; it seemed almost as if it was its own entity. She ran a hoof through it, finding that the individual hairs were extremely soft as they oscillated in sync in her hooves.

Twilight smiled in her sleep at the comforting motion; Dash smiled back and continued to stroke her mane.  Twilight had always been beautiful-- Dash had, just maybe, had a teeny crush on her.  But as her body had filled out into the shape of an alicorn-- wings and all, and what wings they were-- she had become about twenty times more attractive. Dash began to think about what it would be like-

No. Not now. Dash kissed the top of her head and got up from over top of Twilight. She walked to the doors of the Throne Room and thrust them open with a bout of recently-learned magic.

Outside the room, there was a line of ponies that extended all the way down the hallway and around the corner, apparently waiting to petition in Court. She silently slipped out of the room, not wanting Twilight to be seen passed out on the floor.  When the guards noticed her appearance, one of them came up to her.

"Princess Chroma?"

"Yes?"

"Court is scheduled to begin in three minutes."

"Uh... okay? Thanks."

"How is Princess Lumina?"

"She's doing fine. See you in three minutes, buddy." She slammed the door shut and walked back inside to wake Twilight.

"Twi?" She shook Twilight a little with a hoof. Nothing.

Twilight. Time to get up, lazy." She poked her with a hoof.

"Damn, you're a heavier sleeper than me." Poke. Poke. Poke.

"Uhhh..."

"Twilight? We need to do this Court stuff in a couple minutes."

"What?"

"You know, the thing where people come in and complain about their problems and stuff? Day Court?"

"Oh. Yeah."

Twilight stood up and looked around.

"Where are-" She stopped, looking like she was about to cry, but then her gaze hardened.

"Never mind. Let's just get this over with."  Dash shot her a concerned look; the purple mare was obviously barely holding herself together.

"Twilight? Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't worry about me, Dash. I'm perfectly fine." The tone in her voice was akin to that of hardened steel; no emotion in her tone whatsoever.  Dash could also see that her eyes were slightly glazed.  Rainbow decided that she would bring up the topic later; she wasn't going to let it go by any means, but now it was time to hold Court.

002.

When Twilight and Rainbow Dash had settled in their thrones, the latter swung the wide doors to the Throne Room open with magic, allowing the petitioners and guards to file in.

When everyone had settled into their places along the walls, one particular guard that was standing in the back began the session.

"All bow to our Princesses, Chroma of the Sun and Lumina of the Moon!" Everyone in the room immediately dipped into a bow. One look at Twilight and Rainbow knew she was just as uncomfortable with the situation as she was herself.

They stayed this way for a few moments before Twilight caught the eye of a guard in the back, wildly motioning to have them stand again.

"Rise." Twilight's voice, amplified with a spell, rang loud and clear against the marble walls of the Throne Room. Everyone in the room got back on all fours.

The guard in the back spoke again.

"Let us all stand for our National Anthem!"

The beautiful harmonics of the Equestrian National Anthem echoed in the room as everypony stood with their hooves over their hearts. Both of the new-found Princesses were even more lost and uncomfortable than before.

When the song finished, all the ponies excluding the Princesses exited the room, presumably to file back into the line that had formed before.

"Well, that was pointless," Dash murmured.  The doors to the Throne Room were opened once again as the first petitioner made his way in.

003.

The two Princesses walked back to the secluded corridor where their rooms were in silence. The entire time, Twilight had shown no signs of any emotion whatsoever, which reaffirmed Dash’s belief that Twilight was barely coping.  Rainbow attempted to start up a conversation.

"So that was boring."

"Yeah."

"Especially that one guy who had the question about the agra-whatever... that went on forever."

"Agriculture, Dash.  And yeah, he was a pain in the ass."

They reached the corridor, and the guards listened to previous instructions that they were not to go any further. Twilight turned around and gave them a small smile before she and Rainbow walked to the end of the hall.

"Uh... I think I'm gonna go take a nap."

Dash saw the same withdrawn look in Twilight's eyes, but decided to let her have some time alone before bringing it up.

"'Kay, Twi. I can always use a good nap myself."  Both alicorns entered their respective rooms.

Dash removed the golden regalia and replaced it in its small chest before sighing. She looked around the room, desperate for something to do. She walked to the doors leading to her balcony; she hadn't actually been on it yet, only Twilight's.  The doors were made of solid polished gold, which her magic seemed to be extra receptive toward; it was extremely simple for someone of her magical strength to open doors even as heavy as these; each must've weighed half a ton.

She walked out onto the balcony; looking at the sun, her sun, floating in the center of the sky. Just being in its presence brought something out in her;  she suddenly felt a new energy flowing through her.  She spread her wings and set off, flying loops and leaving streaks of rainbow in her wake over the castle gardens.  She flew up a bit and made a soft landing on top of the roof of the castle, standing tall and proud, mane flowing in the solar winds.

She stood, overlooking Canterlot on an excellent vantage point.  The ponies; who looked like just specs from this height, bustled in the streets. To her left was Ponyville and Trottingham, and to her right Manehattan and Las Pegasus. She just watched for what seemed like an eternity, before leaving her perch and flying around the castle some more.

She did a few lazy laps before arriving back at her balcony. She sighed, walking back into the bedroom that was probably larger than half her house. Over on one side there was a semicircular dip in the wall which housed a rainbow waterfall; much like the one at her cloud home.  She went over to it, dipping a hoof in to taste it.

Spicy, as always.

She smiled at the familiarity that seemed so rare at the moment; really, other than Twilight, what did she have? She'd been uprooted, everything she'd been working toward had been left behind.

No one would even remember that she existed, really. Even those who died got that, at least. Instead she would be replaced, and nopony would know the difference.

She wondered if Candy Coated was a good flier. Her flank wasn't adorned with anything that would signify it; instead just three little candies.

"They were both caught performing... unspeakable deeds on another young mare together and in lieu of time in the dungeons they were given the option to serve Equestria."

Just exactly would she have done?, Rainbow thought. Violated her with a lollipop stick?

004.

As soon as Twilight had entered her room, she threw the regalia on the floor, flopped on the bed, and cast a knockout spell on herself powerful enough that she could hopefully stay asleep for several hours. Before it took effect, she also layered on a dream spell which would hopefully repel any nightmares.

It didn't work as intended, though, as she only got about five minutes of sleep. Apparently, she needed a stronger level of spell in order for it to work effectively on her new figure; and she just didn't have the focus or energy at the moment. Today had been extremely draining for her.  Celestia and Luna had just died, leaving her and Rainbow Dash a kingdom to run.

Celestia.

Twilight had seen a part of Celestia those last couple days; her regal mask had clearly fallen down, and she seemed genuinely happy.

It was all she could do not to break down again right then and there.

She looked around the room, trying to find something to do.  She found nothing, just maps and star charts that she'd seen before hanging on one of the walls.

She had an idea, and walked out of her room. She reached the end of the hallway where twelve guards were standing, but she ignored them.  One ran up beside her.

"Princess, where are you going?"

"The Castle Library."

"Should we accompany you there?"

"No. And don't tell anyone where I am, namely Princess Chroma." He nodded, running back to his post at the top of the hall.  Twilight walked to the library, and everyone's eyes were on her. It made her extremely uncomfortable, as always, to be the center of attention.

She wasn't sure how she was going to last five thousand years.

Twilight walked into the library, and was happy to see that it was pretty much the same as when she had been here last.

The last time she had been here was before she had any friends.

She went over to the window and sat on her haunches. There was a faint rainbow streak in the air outside, so she assumed Rainbow had taken to the skies around the castle. She looked out the window that overlooked the hedge maze that she and her friends had gone through with Discord.

Her friends.

They were the only ones who remembered just who she really was; the power and strength of their friendships combined with the unbreakable bond of the Elements of Harmony was enough to overpower the hex that had affected the rest of ponykind.

All of her friends had agreed to move to the castle; and Celestia had requested that rooms in the North Wing be prepared for them.

All but Applejack.

Most anyone would have looked at Applejack's reaction in the Throne Room and disregarded it as indecision; after all, she was more devoted to Sweet Apple Acres than anyone. But Twilight had known Applejack for a long time, and there was definitely something else going on.  Rainbow was going to talk to her, and hopefully she would be able to help her out.

Twilight continued to stare blankly out the window, not really looking or thinking about anything. It could've been seconds, or hours, before she stood up.  She walked over to one of the shelves and pulled off a random book, not really caring what it was about. She was soon absorbed in the book, and would've likely stayed there all night had it not been for-

"Twilight."

She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.  Not many even recognized the name 'Twilight Sparkle' anymore, and the voice was a giveaway. Rainbow's voice, though it had been smoothed out since the rest of her physical changes, was still extremely distinctive.

"How’d you find me?" Rainbow ignored her.

"There's something wrong, and you're not telling me what it is."

"There's nothing wrong, Rainbow Dash."

"Yes there is!"

"No, there isn't! Nothing is wrong!"

Nothing. Twilight turned around to see Dash on the floor, silently crying.  She walked over and sat down beside her, stroking her mane.

"What's wrong, Dash?"

"I.... I, I don't..." Dash was rambling through tears. "I don't know! Everything!" This set her off into another round of crying, her body shaking. Twilight put her muzzle to Dash's cheek, giving her a kiss. This seemed to calm her down some, as she was no longer sobbing, but there were still a stream of tears running down her face.

"Shh... Dash, it's gonna be okay."

"But it's not!"

"It'll be fine, Dash."

"I don’t know how to be a Princess!”

“And neither do I. But we’ll figure it out, eventually.”

“But we have to do it now! Tomorrow, someone important from Zebrica is coming on a diplo-blah blah blah mission! How am I supposed to know what to do!”

“I can handle that for you, if you want.”

“But you can’t! They want the Sun Princess, the one that everyone looks up to. I’m supposed to be Celestia here! I can’t be all calm and cool all the time! And I’m not smart, either, like she was!  Ponies didn’t look up to Luna like they did Celestia! And on top of that, I have my own fucking School for Talented Unicorns, and a freaking personal student!” Dash sounded near hysterical by the end of her rant, and Twilight laid down next to her.

“Shh, Rainbow, It’ll be okay.”

Twilight knew that all of the things Rainbow had said were true.  In most ponies’ minds, Celestia was the one true princess while Luna was a second-in-command, lesser alicorn.  Which technically, was true.  The longest form of Rainbow’s title included somewhere ‘First Princess’.  She had completely forgotten about the ‘faithful student’, though. Rainbow was either going to have to continue to teach her, or let her go. Twilight imagined how upset she’d be if Celestia had cut off ties as her mentor; she would’ve likely gone insane with self-loathing.  And, if this pony was made to basically be another one of her, she would likely have the same reaction.

Twilight moved to massage Dash’s back.  She started up at her shoulders, trying to work out tense knots. When she hit one, Dash would let out a tiny moan of pleasure that sent shivers up Twilight’s spine.

They must’ve stayed that way for hours. The clock chimed eight o’clock, which meant it was time to put out the moon.  Twilight got up and held out a hoof for Rainbow, who took it and began to walk aside Twilight toward her room.

“Thanks, Twi.”

“For what?”

“I dunno... Just, being there for me, I guess.”

“Anytime, Rainbow.”

They continued in silence down the hallways.

“How did you find me, anyway?”

“When I saw that you weren’t in your room, I asked some guards.  They wouldn’t tell me, and I didn’t feel like threatening anyone, so I went to the first place I could think of that an egghead would go.”

Twilight smiled at the answer, and they reached the doorway to the room. Twilight opened the doors as they continued to the balcony.

Dash brought down the sun, touching her horn to her chest.

“When I raise the moon today, I’m supposed to rearrange the stars.”

“Huh?”

“I can move the stars around any way I want tonight. Apparently I can color them, too.”

“Who told you that?”

“Who do you think?”

Rainbow thought a moment, then sighed. “Of course. Well, what are you going to do with them?”

“I don’t know.  I was hoping maybe you could help me decide?”

Twilight brought up the moon with ease.

“Well? Do you have any ideas?”

“I don’t know.  You said you could use colors? You should make all the stars really colorful. And move them into a shape or something. You could do, like, your cutie mark, or something.”

Twilight nodded, and found that she could pull around and color the stars by just willing them with her mind. She arranged one into a pink-and-purple six pointed star with five smaller ones surrounding it.  On the opposite side of the sky, she drew a tri-colored thunderbolt that matched Rainbow’s cutie mark exactly.  She looked over at Dash, who was beaming.

“That’s really awesome.  Do you think I could make the sun different colors?”

“I don’t think so, Rainbow.”

Twilight looked up at the sky again. She pulled six of the biggest stars and arranged them into a hexagon.  She took them all and recolored them, smiling.  Dash looked confused at first, but when she realized what it represented, she smiled bigger than she had been before.

The stars were colored to match the gems of the Elements of Harmony, representing their circle of friends.  Instead of the normal diagram, though, where the other five revolved around Twilight’s element, they were all equal.

Dash wondered what this symbolized.

Over in another corner of the sky, Twilight put a small caricature of the sun that resembled Celestia’s cutie mark and a small moon that graced the center of Luna’s.  She stopped, admiring her work, and turned to Rainbow.

“Do you like it?”

“Twi... it’s perfect.”

Twilight began dispersing stars in random intervals between the colorful constellations.

“Is there anything that I should add?”

“Like I said, it’s perfect. Don’t touch it.”  Twilight moved one last star into place and smiled.  They walked back into Twilight’s bedroom.  Twilight flopped down on her bed, sighing.

“I’m going to bed early tonight.  Would you.... would you stay with me?”

Dash squealed internally, but showed no extra emotion other than a smile on the outside.

“Sure, Twi.”

“Thanks, Rainbow Dash.”  She climbed into the bed next to Twilight, and let sleep take her.

fin. capite

Septimus

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

Warm.

Rainbow opened her eyes to something soft and purple blocking her sight.

She poked it, and it twitched just slightly.

Twilight’s wing must’ve extended over Rainbow Dash in her sleep.  Dash pulled her head out from under said wing and looked at Twilight.  She was slumbering peacefully on the right side of the bed, and Rainbow was loathe to wake her.  She saw that Twilight’s feathers weren’t straightened and resolved to do something about it.

Rainbow reached her muzzle down and began to preen the feathers on Twilight’s left wing.  Each time she pulled one into place Twilight gave a small pleasured moan in her sleep.  Dash smiled and continued her work, gently working the feathers into place.  She noticed, despite the fact that she was asleep, Twilight’s body was incredibly tense.  She frowned, but continued preening until she was finished with the wing.  She moved over to the other side of Twilight and began working on the right wing. She was about halfway through when Twilight gave an adorable groan and tossed in the bed a little, clearly waking up.  Dash sat on her haunches next to Twilight’s head.

“Uhhhh... Rainbow Dash? Are you still here? Please say you’re still hereeee......”

“Right here, Twi.”

“Hey, Dash... how long do we have until I have to get up?”

“Well, sunrise is at 6 AM.  That leaves you... five minutes?”

“You know, we’re Princesses.  We could probably turn back the clock. You know, so I could sleep for a few more hours.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, but smiled.  “Yeah, yeah. Maybe we could.  But you need to get your lazy flank out of bed so you can lower the moon.”

“Can you do it?”

“No, Twilight, I can’t.  Get up.” Rainbow poked one of Twilight’s wings hard, making it snap back into her side.  Twilight glared at her and closed the other wing as well.

“Ugh, fine.  Let’s go.” Twilight hopped out of the bed and groggily walked to the doors, using Rainbow’s side as support.  When they stepped onto the balcony, Twilight lowered the moon and then collapsed, her limbs splaying and her horn giving off fiery sparks in every direction.

“Twilight? Are you okay?”  Her wings flaring protectively, Rainbow sounded extremely concerned as she crouched down next to her lunar counterpart.

“Yeah.... just really tired, I think.”  Dash nodded and stood up, raising the sun.

When they were finshed, Dash half-led, half-carried Twilight back into the bedroom, placing her on the bed before heaving a sigh.

“Well, I’d much rather be here, but I have to meet with some zebras in like, twenty minutes.  Don’t exhaust yourself, Twilight.”

Twilight gave a weak nod from the bed and rolled over, groan.  Dash shot her a worried glance before going out in the hallway. She walked down to the end of the corridor where the guards were standing.

“Hey!”

They all turned to face her with a salute.

“Princess Lumina isn’t feeling too great today, so make sure that she stays in that room, and nobody disturbs her.  For any reason.  Seriously. I don’t care if the bucking city blows up, she is to be left undisturbed. Understand?  And you’re not allowed to let her leave her room, either. You guys got all that?”

A chorus of ‘yes, your Highness’ and ‘of course, your Majesty’ rang out through the hallway.  She nodded before turning back toward her own room to get ready for the upcoming day.

002.

“So, Princess, in closing, I, along with all of Zebrica, will forever be in your debt.  Thank you for agreeing to the new trade regulations; I’m sure they will be benificial to both our nations.”

Dash barely contained a squeal of happiness at the indication that the meeting was over.  She gave a large, hopefully-not-noticeably-fake grin to the zebra across the table.

“No, thank you.  It was a... pleasure having you here.”

“Well... I believe we’ll be off now. Thank you again, Princess Chroma.”

“Anytime.” She really hoped that she wasn’t taken up on that offer.  The diplomat and her entourage filed out of the room, leaving Dash and a few random advisors.

“Well, uh, bye, guys. I’m gonna... go. Yeah.  Have a great day and all.” She darted out the room, racing to the kitchen.  She really wanted a cupcake. Maybe she’d get one for Twilight, too.

003.

Twilight moaned and rolled over in her bed for what must’ve been the thousandth time that day.  In addition to her exhaustion, she was now sick to the stomach. Her nausea made it so she was unable to sleep, and she was loathe to get out of the bed.  She tried to summon a cup of water from her washroom with magic, but it was completely burnt out at the moment, small fiery sparks flying every which way. She showed all the symptoms of magical exhaustion; an illness that she as an advanced spellcaster, despite her huge magical font, contracted a lot.

“Hngggg,” she groaned.

“Doing any better?” Twilight rolled over to face Rainbow Dash, who was standing at the doorway, levitating two cupcakes with her magic.

“Uh, no. About ten times worse.”

“Really? In what way?” Rainbow trotted over to the bed, where a pale-looking Twilight lay. She sat on the edge next to her and began to stroke her mane.

“Well, I’m all nauseous, I can barely move, and now I can’t use my magic at all!” Rainbow frowned at the news.

“Should I get a doctor?”

“No! I mean, no, I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah... ugh so sick.”

“Uh... I brought you a cupcake.  Do you want it?”  She set down an expertly-decorated vanilla cupcake with green icing down on the nightstand.

“No... Eating is the last thing I want to do right now.”

Rainbow nodded, making an affirmative sound before turning toward the glass doors that led to the balcony. She would’ve sworn she had seen something for just a second, but it was gone so fast she figured she was just seeing things. Stress and all.

“You sure you don’t need a doctor?  Because I can get one for you.”

“Yes, Rainbow, I’m sure- AAAAAHHHH!”

Sparks of a deep crimson flew from Twilight’s horn in small fireworks. It brought on a terrible headache and it was all Twilight could do not to fold up in fetal position.

“What was that?” Rainbow hopped off the bed away from the fiery sparks.

“More symptoms of Magical Exhaustion.”

“Which is?”

Twilight sighed, exasperated over her condition and Rainbow’s ignorance. “Exactly what it sounds like, dumbass.  When you use too much magic, it gets, well, exhausted.”

Dash sat on her haunches, holding up her hooves in surrender. “Hey, sorry,” she tapped her horn, “but I’ve only had one of these babes for what, two weeks now? And I was asleep for most of it.  I’m trying here.”

Twilight immediately felt bad at her outburst. “I’m sorry, Dash, i’m just, and ow it hurts so bad, and, and, oh no here it comes again, AAAAIIIIIEEEE!”

“Twi-- you need a doctor.”

“No I don- AAAAAAAAA!”

Rainbow sighed. “Yes, you do,” she said, rolling her eyes.  She walked out the door to go find someone capable of helping her best friend.

Outside the doors, a lurking creature smirked as it turned the crystal in its hands and prepared another assault on the lunar alicorn’s magic.

004.

“Well, all her vitals are fine.  She’s showing all the symptoms of magical exhaustion except that the results of our scans indicate that her magical font is completely full.”

“So what does that mean, Doctor Bluecross?” Dash asked.

“Princess, I have no idea what this is. It seems to be... an outside force of some kind.  Almost like someone is trying to hinder her magical capabilities.”

Twilight had been knocked out by a monumental amount of anesthesia before the doctors had began their prodding and poking. Dash had insisted on staying by her side the entire time, holding one of her hooves, despite the doctor’s pleas otherwise.

Dash looked miffed at the doctor’s statement.

“You mean someone’s trying to hurt Twi-Lumina?  Who? Can you tell who it is?”  Dash seemed extremely concerned with the development.

The doctor looked confused at the Sun Princess’ slip-up, but made nothing of it.“No, your Highness, we can’t.  Something is definitely tampering with her magic, but the... suspect left no imprint or anything that would trace back to them.”

“So there’s nothing we can do? I’m prepared to send out the entire goddamn Solar Guard if I have to to hunt this bastard down.” The Princess’ voice took on a darker tone that frightened Bluecross.

“No... nothing. Not that I can think of, anyway.  The attacker here is clearly very clever in covering his tracks.  Either that or it’s anti-magic.”  Rainbow Dash pretended she knew what anti-magic was and nodded. She’d ask Twilight about it later.

“Okay, then.  So what do we do from here?”

“I’m not entirely sure, your Majesty.  But she won’t be able to use unicorn magic until these... attacks, if you will, stop, and her horn stops discharging the sparks. I believe the nausea you said she was experiencing is unrelated; maybe a developing case of some minor sickness. I looked through her medical records; for as long as they extend back she’s been able to fight off everything, as her immune system is very strong. She should be able to go about her duties; just her unicorn magic seems to be hindered; the pegasus and earth pony magics do not seem affected.”

The Princess looked over at him, her expression unreadable.

“Uh, all right. You’re sure there’s no way to track the attacker down?”

“I’m sure.”

“Well... okay. You’re dismissed, Doctor.  Have a good evening.”

“You too, your Highness.”

He began to walk out the door, but was interrupted by a squeaked ‘Wait!’

“Yes, Princess Chroma?”

“How long will it be until she wakes up?”

“About half an hour, Princess.”

“Uh... okay. Thanks.” She nodded toward the door and he left, trotting back to the hospital to resume his normal days’ work.

When the doors to Twilight’s chambers slammed shut, Rainbow Dash laid her head on Twilight’s bed and cried.

005.

“Huh... wha?” Twilight’s groggy voice came from the bed as she woke up.  Rainbow Dash, who had been lying on the ground next to where the purple alicorn had been sleeping, bolted up.

“Twilight! You’re awake!”

“Clearly... ugh, what happened? I’m all dizzy.”

“Um.. some knockout drugs from that doctor?”

“Oh... yeah, right.”

“Twilight?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to know what the doctor said?”

“Of course.”

“He thinks,” Rainbow took in a deep breath, then sighed. “Well, he thinks there’s someone attacking your magic.”

“Wha-huh?”

“Yeah-- that’s all he could really tell me. There’s someone trying to take or drain your font; oh, and he also said something about anti-magic.”

“Anti-magic?” Twilight asked as she shot up in the bed much faster than she had intended, and gave a pained squeak at the strain on her muscles.

“Dash, what did he say about anti-magic?”

“Uh... not really anything, actually. He just mentioned it.”

Twilight looked worried, but didn’t ask any more questions about it. “I’ll research it. Anti-magic can mean... horrible things for a unicorn.”

“But you’re not a unicorn.”

“Yes I am.  So are you.  We’re 1/3 unicorn.”

“Ugh. Fine. He says that you can pretty much do whatever you want so long as you don’t use your horn.”

“What about my nausea?”

“Completely unrelated.”

Twilight looked up at the clock in the room, seeing that it was about to strike eight.  “Dash, I have to go raise the moon.” She groggily got out of bed, stumbling through the doors onto the large balcony.

“Can you do the moon with your magic... not working and all?”

“Luna said I didn’t need it.  It’s some kind of innate thing that comes with the Gift, I guess.”

“That’s good.”  Dash pulled the sun down the horizon in a graceful arc, making way for Twilight’s moon and stars.  The process of switching out the celestial bodies in the sky was a beautiful and romantic sight to most, but the two newly-crowned alicorns no longer really cared. They walked back inside, Twilight much more awake.

“Sooo... do we have to do Court?”

“Uh... yeah.  Shoot, I forgot about that this morning.  Don’t think we could skip it two times in a row?”

“No, Dash.”  They made their way out of the room and down the hallways toward the throne room. Standing in front of the doors was a hoard of cameras and reporters with microphones waiting for them. When they noticed the Princesses turning the last corner, they began shouting out incomprehensible questions. The two alicorns made their way to the Throne Room doors.

“Uh, what’s going on?” Dash asked, confused.

One of the guards near the doors heard her question and walked over. “They heard Princess Lumina was sick from somewhere.”

“Who told them that?”

“I don’t know who told them.”

“Can you find out?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not likely, Princess.”

“Why do they care if she’s sick?”

“The two of you are the most famous mares in all of Equestria.  Everything you do is documented.”

Dash frowned. “All right, then. Can you get rid of them?”

“No. We’re not allowed to order them off the grounds unless it’s a threat to security. Only the two of you, along with Captain Shining Armor, are allowed to do that.” Rainbow nodded.

Twilight, who hadn’t spoken or reacted to anything said prior in the conversation, noticeably tensed up at the mention of her brother.  Rainbow Dash put a hoof on her back, preparing the magical energy needed to use the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“UH,... SUBJECTS, ER, GET OUT OF HERE... UNLESS YOU’RE HERE FOR COURT.” All of the paparazzi left quickly, frightened by the voice.  Even some guards looked like they wanted to bolt. Some of the petitioners left as well, afraid that the Princess was in a bad mood.

“Well, all right, let’s get this show on the road.”

006.

After the petitioners had finished, the Princesses stood up to leave.  One of the guards near the back put his hoof up, though.

“What is it?”

“Princess Chroma, your student is here to see you. She’s waiting downstairs in the lobby of the castle.”

Twilight looked over, trying to gauge Dash’s reaction.  Her cyan face went pale, and her eyes opened up.

“Bu- uh- Um, could you tell her to come back another time?”

Twilight frowned at Rainbow, who returned the gesture.  “Send her in.”

“No!”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

“Ugh.  Send her in, please, Private?”

“We’re supposed to follow Princess Chroma’s orders over yours.”

Dash smirked at an irritated Twilight, who rolled her eyes.  “Fine, I’m outta here.” Twilight trotted out of the Throne Room, slamming the door behind her.  Rainbow blinked twice, then went after her friend.

007.

Dash was running around the castle in a frantic search for Twilight.  She hadn’t been found for over an hour, and had deployed about thirty guards to help her look.  After their small argument in the Throne Room, Twilight had left abruptly, an action that wasn’t like her.  Coupled with a possible attack already taking place, Rainbow was frantic.  She dashed down the halls and through the servant’s quarters. Sitting back for a moment, she tried to catch her breath.  Eventually deciding that she could really use a glass of water, she dashed to the castle kitchens.

Weird.  The door was closed, the shades on the windows looking into the room pulled. She heard an appliance of some kind humming, and light hoofsteps.

She attempted to open the door, but it was locked.  She tried twisting it, then attempted to pull the knob right off the door, but it wouldn’t budge, so she pounded on the wood frame.

“This is Princess Chroma!  Open the door!”

The hoofsteps came closer to the door, but stopped. One of the curtains moved a little, and an eye looked through, focusing on Dash. She barely caught it, though.

A purple eye, shining with a kind of luster that she only knew one pony had.

“Tw- Lumina!” She used the formal title in fear that someone would be around to hear her.

“Chroma,” Twilight said cooly.

“Open the door, Lumina.”

“Nuh-uh, Chroma.”  Rainbow began beating on the doors.

“Open the god damn door!” Twilight pulled open the curtain completely, facing Rainbow, the glass the only thing separating them.

“I don’t listen to you.”

“Technically, you do.”

“And what if I don’t? What are you going to do? Are you going to punish me? Banish me?”

“I’m gonna- look, please open the door?”

“No.”

“Fine. Then I’ll- I’ll- I’ll use magic!”  Twilight’s eyes widened a bit as Rainbow conjured up the largest amount of energy she could in her horn, preparing to bust down the door and shatter the windows.

Twilight attempted to conjure up a larger defense spell, but she realized her mistake too late.

She let out a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed on the floor in pain.  She held her head in her hooves and began to sob, the crimson sparks still flying.

Rainbow Dash’s anger quickly turned to concern as she looked in on the purple alicorn crying. She released the spell and the ball of swirling gold-and-silver magic dissipated.

“Lumina?” She asked, much quieter than before. “Could you please open the door?”

Twilight was rocking back and forth on her legs, her head hung. She still cried and gasped as smaller rushes came into her horn.  Rainbow was distraught.

“Lumina! Open the door!”

“No,” Twilight said through her tears. “I’ll be fine. I prom-” She shrieked as another burst of magical energy hit her like a freight train, this one stronger than the intial one.  She fell onto her side. She screamed for a good two minutes, and Rainbow was relieved that no one was close enough to hear her.

Dash decided this was enough. She conjured the same forceful spell and cast it, watching the shards of glass and the splinters of wood fall from the impact.  She walked in and grabbed the lightly-sobbing Twilight, placing her on her back before running back to the bedroom. She placed the shaken mare on the bed, before running out into the hall, shouting orders.

fin. capite

Octavus

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

Twilight Sparkle pulled the covers off herself, noting that they were over her head, completely covering her for reasons unknown. Looking around, she noticed Rainbow Dash wasn’t there as she had been the last few nights.  After a moment, her ears perked up; normally, background noise from the guards and castle in general would be present, but it was dead silent.

What’s going on?

The events of the previous night flooded back.

She decided to pull the covers back over her head.

002.

A couple hours later, Rainbow Dash bolted out of her bed.  She quickly slipped her regalia on and swung her doors open, walking out into the hallway.  She came up to Shining Armor, who she’d put in charge of making sure that the area stayed silent after Twilight’s... incident the previous night.

“Can I trust that everything went smoothly, Captain?”

“Of course, Princess. How’s Lumina, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I don’t know, Shining Armor. I’m going across the hall to check on her in just a moment.  Can you make sure nothing disturbs us?  Unless it’s a national emergency?”

“Certainly.”

“Thanks, Armor.”  She went back up the hall toward Twilight’s room.

Once again, Shining Armor felt that there was something... off about the princesses.  Chroma’s informality... and there was just something about Lumina.  Something drew him to her, almost, but he couldn’t put a hoof on it.

Oh well. Maybe he’d ask Cadence about it later.

003.

Rainbow Dash didn’t bother knocking on Twilight’s door because she was going in, invited or not. She wasn’t certain about what had transpired the prior night, but she was going to find out.

The doors swept open, revealing... nothing.

Rainbow looked around, confused.

“Go away,” a scratchy lump croaked from under the bedcovers.

Oh.  So that’s where she was.  Dash walked over to the bed and awkwardly tried to lift up the covers, but they wouldn’t budge.

“Twilight?”

“Go away, Dash.”

“Uh, Twilight, we--”

“Go away, Dash. I’ll lower the goddamn moon.”

“That’s not what I’m here for, Twilight.”

“Okay, well, I don’t care what you’re here for, go the fuck away. I’m trying to be mad at you here, Rainbow.”

“Here’s to guessing that you’re ‘trying to be mad’ because I didn’t want to see... the, uh, student?”

Twilight angrily threw the covers away from her head and stood up on the bed, wings flared, towering over Rainbow Dash.

“No, not the student, your student, Rainbow Dash.  This kid is basically me, right? Well, I know if I was getting blown off by Celestia for no reason at all, no explanation, I would probably be having a panic attack! I might not even be alive right now!  Rainbow, it’s your responsibility to deal with what was dealt to you.  I’ve got problems now too, Dash, but i’m trying to face them head on instead of avoiding them like a coward!”

After her rant, she hopped off her bed, walking toward the balcony.  She opened the glass doors and went out, standing and looking out upon Equestria as she brought down the moon and hid the stars.

Rainbow hesitantly came out after her, stepping up next to her on the balcony.  Once the moon touched the bottom of the sky, she brought up the sun on the horizon, blazing colors of red, orange, and gold. Her best sunrise yet.

“Twilight, I’m sorry. I... I guess I need to go face this mare.  I don’t know, it’s hard, what am I going to say?  Should I tell her about this-”

“No, you can’t.” Twilight’s voice cut in softly.  “If she hears that Celestia died, she’ll be heartbroken. When I thought I might’ve disappointed her, I went insane, Rainbow.  If she died without warning, what do you think she’d- I’d do?”

“But didn’t you say she was just like you?  You would never want a secret this big to be kept from you; especially one that features your... kind-of-mom in a starring role? Wouldn’t you want to know? Damn, that’s another title I have to add to the list. Mom.  Twi, I’m not old enough to be a mom!”

Twilight said nothing for a moment, but then sighed.

“You’re right. But that leaves the only other option as telling her.  What would happen if we did that?  Would that break the entire hex?  Theoretically-”

“Yeah, yeah. So I can’t tell her, but I shouldn’t not tell her.  Where do I go from there?”

“I... I don’t know, Rainbow. We either deal with an insane student... well, or an insane you.” Twilight laughed a little, but the mood of the situation shut her down quickly.  “I can’t imagine you trying to teach this filly magic, Dash.”

“Yeah... I’m not sure how that would work, considering she knows more spells than me.”

Another small chuckle from Twilight.  “I have to sound like a hypocrite here, but let’s talk about this some other time, okay?

“Fine by me,” Rainbow said. “Didn’t really want to talk ‘bout it anyway.”

“Do you have anything to do today, Rainbow?” Twilight asked.

“No... wait. Yes. I have a meeting with... someone?  Heh, I don’t really know who, but yeah, somebody.”

“Do you know when this mystery meeting is, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, a laughing tone in her voice.

“It’s at 10 A.M.... what time is it now?”

“Nine thirty, I think. We were really late today.”

“Why aren’t ponies concerned?”

“I don’t know that they aren’t.”

“Oh well.  Anyway, yeah, thirty minutes, do you want to see if they have any donuts? In the kitchen or something?”

Twilight laughed, shaking her head. “Rainbow...”

“What?  I just like donuts is all.”

Twilight laughed again, Rainbow eventually joining in. “All right... let’s go.”

Rainbow whooped and did a flip in the air before walking in beside Twilight.

004.

“All right, well... see you later, T-Lumina.”

“See you, Chroma.”

Rainbow smiled and gave Twilight a little wave before heading down the hallway, flanked by guards, toward a meeting room.  Twilight was still fairly certain Rainbow didn’t know who she was meeting with. Typical Dash.

Twilight, who had no such appointments, wondered what she should do with her day. She methodically reviewed all her options, and decided to head to the library.  She made her way down two levels to the library doors, and pushed them open with her hooves.

She walked up to Book Binding, the old librarian who countless times had helped her find whatever she had needed in the large area when she was a filly.  The mare was currently looking through catalogues with black horn-rimmed glasses when she saw who was standing in front of her.

“Hi, Ms. Binding,” Twilight said, forgetting that she probably hadn’t been regarded this informally by... Luna at all.

The mare quickly stood and bowed.

“Why, hello, Princess, what can I help you with today? Is there a book you need me to help you find, or do you just want the key to... your section?

Twilight stood, puzzled.

Your section?

Twilight eventually figured that there must’ve been a secret section for Princesses’ eyes only. At first, she wondered how she didn’t know about it, but then she realized that that was the entire point.

“Oh, yes... I’ll just be needing the, uh, key.”

“All right, then. Pardon the question, but your magic has been acting up lately, correct?”

Twilight looked down at her and gave the librarian a sad smile. “Unfortunately.”

“I’ll unlock it, then, if that’s all right with you, your Majesty.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course.”

The librarian paused for a moment but then retrieved a small metal key from a drawer in her desk and beckoned for Twilight to follow.  They reached a cleverly hidden door in the wall, and the librarian cast a glowing spell on the key and inserted it into the inconspicuously small hole in the wall, and the wall slid open.

“All right, you’re clear.  Anything else, Princess?”

“No, thank you, though.”

The librarian nodded and bowed before walking off. Twilight cautiously stepped into the room and the door automatically slid shut behind her.

The room in front of her was circularly shaped, bookshelves filled with tomes and scrolls lining the rounded walls. There was a large table in the middle which was piled high with quills, ink pots, and long, unrolled scrolls.

Twilight stood, motionless, for what could have been seconds or hours as she almost drooled at all the new, top-secret information in front of her. She had a feeling that she’d be spending a lot of time in here.

Twilight walked up to the first shelf, one full of books.  Immediately she noticed something was off, but it took a minute to figure out what it was.

None of the books had titles.  The only marking on the bindings whatsoever were small little emblems that looked like cutie marks. Most had something to do with the sun or the moon.  Twilight frowned and plucked a dark blue one off a middle shelf that had a small logo of a silver moon and nine multicolored stars around it.

She opened it up, and a bunch of paper dust fell out the bottom.  Twilight was shocked to see that there were only four pages left in the entire thing, sticking oddly out from the binding, and even they were decaying.  She began to read the first one.

Entry 712

I’ve spent the last month in my room.  Seems like only a moment has passed. But that’s what happens when you’ve lived for a little over three thousand years, right?

Why? I forgot my name.

The last of my identity, the real me, gone. I’ve already lost all my memories from those blissful first 18 years, all I could hold onto was the name.

But I woke up, one bright Tuesday morning, and it was gone.

Solara had forgotten it centuries ago.  I hadn’t brought it back up, and I haven’t written it in here.  No record, right? That’s what Galaxia, my princess, told me when she stood over me, all those years ago, and put that spell- not a spell, a curse- over my head that changed everything.

My name... two words, I know.  It was two words, and it started with an E.  Here’s hoping it comes back to me.

Astria

Twilight gaped at what was written on the page before she flipped to the next one. Her ecstatic mood was all but forgotten at the implications of what was obviously a diary entry of a princess before her.

Entry 807

Today, I spent my entire day reflecting upon the few memories that I hold.  Didn’t move an inch from my perch on the balcony.

I was thinking about the memories that I have of the first few hundred years of Solara’s and my rule.

I remember I used to be brash, spunky, restless.  Arrogant, even.  Most powerful unicorn in Equestria.  I was really good at pyrotechnics, fireballs and such.  My cutie mark used to be a fireball, I think.  But then I changed it.  Maybe if I hadn’t, I’d still know my name.

I’m not like that anymore. I can’t remember the last time I had fun, the last time I laughed. Any emotion at all, really.

I’m just a mold, a figurehead, a shell.

Nothing but the perfect Princess for Equestria.

Astria

Silent tears ran down Twilight’s face.

Entry 1168

I took on a student some time in the last few years.

Her name is Emerald Elixir.  She was at Solara’s School for Gifted Unicorns when I found her.  Applying, on her own, no parents to be seen, for monetary assistance with the tuition for the academy.

Seeing those bright eyes, the obvious desire to learn, brought something out inside of me.

I walked up to her and asked her then and there if she’d like to be my student.

I’ve never seen a filly more excited.

Today I was teaching her about chemistry.  We were down in the castle laboratory, mixing different substances, trying to recreate one of the new medicines the scientists had come up with.

She spilled some on her coat-

“Princess?”

It was the librarian.  Twilight snapped the book shut and turned to face the smaller mare.

“Yes?”

“One of the guardsmen is here to see you.” A grey member of the guard stepped into view.  “He says it’s very important, Princess.”

Twilight nodded and stepped out of the chamber, if not reluctantly, and looked to him.

“What is it, sir?”

“Hello, Princess.  I’m afraid I’d rather discuss this somewhere private, if that’s all right with you.” He looked to the librarian, and jerked his head toward her desk. The librarian seemed to understand and headed that way.

Twilight looked at the guard. “What was it?”

“Oh, yes, your Majesty.  There’s been a riot in Manehattan; apparently all public funding has been cut off for monetary grants and government buildings.”

“What might that money be going toward instead?”

“Word is that the officials all seem to be corrupt; keeping it for themselves as opposed to giving it to the city. That’s the protesters argument, anyway.”

Twilight thought a little before answering. “What can be done about the problem presently?”

“Well, we were going to ask if you could fly out there; by chariot, of course; and ask the mayor about the situation and see what you could find out?” The end of his sentence raised in pitch as he realized exactly what he was asking of the Princess.

Surprisingly to him, she nodded.  “Very well. When should I go?”

“The chariot’s waiting, Princess.”

Twilight was actually overjoyed by the revelation; even though it was likely only because Rainbow was in a meeting, she was actually getting to do something.

005.

The ride was nothing new; it wasn’t the first time she was on a royally-commissioned carriage.  Maybe a little longer then she was used to, but still.

They landed in the middle of a city square amidst many ponies; a large fountain surrounded by cobblestone was directly to their left.  Quickly, all the ponies protesting put down their signs and became silent in a bow to the Princess.

The bowing she had received always made Twilight extremely uncomfortable; Rainbow Dash concurred that she felt similarly.  She certainly didn’t feel like royalty; a little voice inside her told her that she would always be an impostor, never the real deal.

She felt that, in a way, it was right.

All of the ponies were still low to the ground, looking up at her for further direction.  The chariot had been pulled away by some guards to a much less prominent location.

She realized she should speak.

“Rise.”  She almost jumped a little at just how regal her voice sounded; it was exactly the same as her normal tone yet completely different.

Past that, she had no idea what to say.

“Uh, hello.  I’m Princess Lumi- wait, you already knew that, never mind...” She was slightly embarrassed to see that the ponies in front of and around her took it as a joke, and a laugh rose up among the crowd.

When it died down, she began again.

“Well, today I heard of some... unrest, here in Manehattan, and I came here to see what... Princess Chroma and I can do about the problem.” She stumbled a little at the next part.

“Would... uh, somepony here please tell me exactly what the issue is?”  At this, most of the eyes in the crowd turned to one green mare, who in turn made her way toward Twilight.”

“Thank you for coming, your Highness.  The reason that we’re gathered today is to protest the change in the new budget; 90% of the money going toward public services like schools, our post office, and law enforcement has been cut and directed toward unspecified purposes, but yet our taxes are being hiked up!”

Twilight thought for a moment about how Celestia would handle the problem.

“I see.  And the... local government refuses to specify where the money is going?”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Anything else I need to know?”

“No, your Highness.”

“Very well, then.  I’ll meet with the mayor.  Do you know where his office might be?”

The green mare pointed down a street.  “Down there. Take a left and it’ll be two doors down on the right side.”

“Thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll attend to the issue right now.”

“Thank you, your Majesty! We hope you can talk some sense into him!” She bowed quickly before running off to announce the news to the rest of the protesters.

Twilight as well as a few guards walked through the crowd, winding down the street until they reached the mayor’s office.

It was a decently sized building; made of bluish glass and spiraling up until it reached a point at the top of the skyline.  Twilight made her way to the door, which one of the guards opened.  She nodded to him in thanks.

The office lobby was spacious; lots of red leather couches and chairs around the room.  There was a pretty young receptionist at the front; she couldn’t have been but 5 years older than Twilight was. When she spotted Twilight and her entourage, she dipped into a bow.

“Oh! Hello, your Majesty!  What can I... uh, help you out with, today?”

“Hello.  I’d like to see the mayor.”

“Well, normally, you have to schedule an appointment... but, uh, yeah, he’ll be right out.”

Twilight considered offering to reschedule before just nodding and making her way to one of the chairs.

True to her word, in about another minute, another assistant was out. She bowed.

Twilight considered putting into place a law that outlawed the practice.

“Uh, Princess... right this way.”

She was lead down a few corridors before reaching a pair of large oak doors, which the receptionist opened.

The inside of the mayor’s personal office was incredibly simplistic; the walls were made of glass and there was nothing decorating them.  A large glass desk rose from the middle of the floor, filled with quills and paperwork.  In front of it sat the mayor, a heavyset red stallion with slicked back green hair.

“I’ll leave you be,” said the receptionist, who proceeded to close the doors and walk away.

“Ah, Princess, what can I help you with today?” the mayor said.  He didn’t bow, which Twilight was actually grateful for, but she wondered if she should be offended.

“Hello Mr.... Mayor.  I’m here because some of my Guard reported to me about the protest-”

The mayor cut in quickly, sounding nervous, which wasn’t suiting to his pretentious tone. “They don’t know what they’re talking about.  I’m only doing what’s best for the city.”

“They say that ninety percent of the budget for public services has been cut. Is this true?”

“Well... Princess, you see-”

“Is it true?”

“Um... yes, Princess.” Twilight frowned. “But, you see, we’ve always thought they were a bit over-”

“Where is that money going toward now?”

He hesitated before answering the question.

“....administrative purposes.”

“And what might that mean?”

“Princess, I’m only doing what I think is the best for the city.”

“Yes, you already said that, but what are ‘administrative purposes’?”

“Well... in order to keep the town running, we need to... fund certain things and certain people-”

Twilight was beginning to become frustrated at the mayor who obviously had something to hide.

“Let me see both last year’s and this year’s records, please.”

“I can just send you the reports-”

This guy was frustrating the hell out“Let me see the reports, please.”

The mayor’s already red face flushed. “That really won’t be necess-”

“Give me the reports!”

“Uh... of course, Princess.” He hit a red button on his desk, and only a few moments later the same attendant from earlier ran in.

“Yes, Mr. Mayor? Princess Lumina? Do you need anything?”

“I... uh, need you to get the budget records from both this year and last.”

“All right, sir! Coming right up!” The perky pony ran out of the room.

The two rather influential ponies in the room stood and stared at one another until the attendant came back in, carrying two folders in her mouth.

She sat them on the Mayor’s desk and smiled.

“Here you are,” she said, leaving the room once again.

Before he could reach to open them, Twilight’s hooves were on top of both folders and she dragged them toward her.

“So, Mr. Mayor, let’s take a look here at last year’s budget.  2.1 billion bits toward public services, which lists schools, weather offices, post offices, libraries, roads, pools, etc.  Now to this year’s budget. Under the same column is listed... 207 million bits. So, yes, around ninety percent.”

“Princess, it’s-”

“I’m not finished yet.  You say that all of this money has been put toward administration purposes.  Administration purposes?  That column.  So, 'administration purposes' includes... salaries and supplies.  Mr.  Mayor, since your salary just couldn’t be that high, what supplies are so expensive that you have to cut services that are beneficial to everypony?”

“Well, um, Princess, lots of things... For example, the price of milk and corn-”

Twilight gave him a deadpan look. “So this excess 1800 million is being spent on milk and corn?”

The mayor was much more worried than he was letting on... after all, the Princesses were technically his employers, and if she found him out he’d be out of a job. “Well, no, Princess... The office has needed to go through a lot of renovation lately... you know how prices have skyrocketed lately for manual labor and all.”

“So milk, corn, and your fancy-ass office are to account for this?”  Twilight, now seething, slammed down on the button on his desk that the mayor had used earlier.

The attendant once again ran in the room.

“Yes? What can I help you with?”

The mayor tried to cut in. “Not-”

“Could you bring me the spending records for this year? Specifically, the ones under ‘Administrative Purposes’?”

“Sure thing!” She trotted out.

Twilight and the mayor both glared at each other, the obvious distaste for each other clouding the air.

When the perky attendant came in and set the files in Twilight’s hooves, Twilight spoke.

“So, let’s see, here,” she said, flipping through the folder.  “Hmm... milk? Half a million on milk from the local pasture.  Corn?  A little less than a hundred thousand, from Corn Husk’s in Appleoosa.  Building renovations?” Twilight flipped the page.

“Seventeen million bits.  So seventeen million plus a rather inconsequential amount from the milk and corn gives me... not 1.8 billion.”

The mayor gave a nervous laugh. “You see, Princess-”

“What i see is a someone with a lot of explaining to do."

006.

Twilight was on her chariot, soaring through the skies back toward the castle, still slightly pissed.  She, along with the mayor, made some major changes to the budget that maybe didn’t allow for him to take as many vacations but gave the city the funds it needed to function properly.  The strike had been settled as well, and Twilight was proud of her day’s accomplishment.

She joked around with some of the guards on the chariot before landing in the front of the castle.  By now, it was almost seven in the evening, almost time to raise the moon.

When the guards stepped aside to let her off, she thanked them and began to walk toward the entrance to the lobby of the castle.  She stopped for a moment when she looked up and saw Rainbow Dash standing on her high-up balcony, looking out on the horizon.  The look of her, the prismatic mane flowing, her regal stance, horn pointing to the heavens, made Twilight's breath catch.

She could dare say Rainbow was more beautiful then Celestia.

At that moment, Rainbow chose to look down and spotted the carriage along with Twilight.  She hopped off the balcony, gliding down toward the ground, landing right in front of where the violet alicorn was standing.

“Hey, Twi,” she whispered. “Heard you went to Manehattan or somewhere.”

“Yeah,” Twilight responded. “Had to go... settle some budget issues.”

“Sounds boring.”

“More like frustrating.  The mayor’s a dick.”

“Really? Got the silver spoon up his ass or something?”

“Something like that.”

fin. capite

Nonus

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

The two Princesses were sitting on the floor inside one of the castle kitchens, eating some crackers out of a pantry.  It had been long since vacated by any staff, and nobody else was around to hear them.

“So, you, like, told him off?”

“No, I didn’t tell him off.  I just... made him give the money back.  I guess I was kind of a bitch about it.”

Rainbow laughed. “Sounds like you were awesome, Twi.  Way to show him who’s boss.”

“I didn’t-”

Twilight was cut off by a loud popping sound.

“What the f-” Rainbow started, but she was cut off by a scroll popping out in front of her in a burst of green flame. It fell to the table.

Twilight’s eyes quickly filled with tears at the familiar sight.  Rainbow Dash gave her a concerned look, recognizing it as well, not taking her eyes off of the purple alicorn as she picked it up and handed it to her.

She wouldn’t take it, though.

“No,” she gasped.  “I... I can’t.”

Rainbow, eyes glistening at the sight of her friend in pain, walked over to where Twilight was sitting and put her legs around her, enveloping her in a hug.

At the sign of affection, Twilight broke down, melting into a mess of sobs and tears.

“Shh... Twi... it’s okay, promise,” Rainbow cooed into her ear.

“It’s not okay!” She shoved out of Rainbow’s grip.  “He was like my little brother, and now he doesn’t even know me! My little brother doesn’t know me anymore! I raised him!”

Dash blinked.  She wasn’t sure what to say to that.  She stood silent for a minute or so before slowly starting to speak.

“Twilight,” she began.  “I’m... sure i’ll sound like a dick saying this. But I don’t know... I guess we have to move on.  Sure, I don’t have anyone as close to me as Spike and Armor were to you, but I know what you must feel like.”  She paused.

“My dreams were shattered too.  I’m never gonna get to be a Wonderbolt now. Nobody remembers me, either. We’re going to have to leave everyone behind. I’m sure you’ve stayed up just as late as I have these last few nights, thinking about everything we’ve lost.  But... I guess it’s a sacrifice we have to make. This... whole ordeal is a lot larger than us, Twilight. It's not about our dreams, hopes, whatever, anymore.”

Twilight nodded numbly, slightly shocked at the intelligent-sounding speech that Dash made.

“Can you read the letter to me, Rainbow? I don’t think I could bear... to see it.  It’s yours anyway.”

“Uh, sure thing, Twi.”  She cleared her throat before unraveling the message sent by dragonfire.

“Dear Princess Chroma,

Do you know when Star will be home?  I really miss her and so does the rest of Ponyville.

Turns out I’m not too great of a librarian.

Say hi to her friends, too.

From,

  Spike”

002.

Deep down, Twilight knew Spike wouldn’t remember her.

That didn’t mean she was ready when the truth shoved itself in her face, made itself fact..

But she didn’t cry. All her tears were gone.  She had done a whole lot of crying lately.  She was almost appalled at how little emotion it brought forth.

Instead, she asked, “When are we sending them home?”

Rainbow sighed.  “You mean our friends or the... copies?”

Twilight smiled just a little at Rainbow’s nickname for the two ponies who had taken their place.

“The copies.”

“Uh... i don’t know.  Maybe... tomorrow? Tomorrow sound good, Twi?”

“Whatever. That’s fine by me.”

“‘Kay, tomorrow then. Either later tonight or tomorrow, I’ll get someone to pack them up.”

“You sure have adjusted to this whole ‘Princess’ thing fast, Rainbow.”

Twilight had noticed that there hadn’t really been an adjustment period for Dash; other than her naturally un-princess-like demeanor and horrible punctuality, she had basically dove headfirst into her new role.

Twilight, on the other hand, hadn’t even really done any sort of duties or work yet, instead hiding out in that new bedroom of hers and feeling sorry for herself. She was actually pretty jealous of her counterpart, who seemed to have no issues with the situation as a whole, really.

“Not really.  Just a decent actress is all, Twilight.”

Twilight sat silent for a moment.  That wasn’t what she had thought; something along the lines of ‘I’m just that awesome’ is what she would’ve expected from a braggart as arrogant as Dash.

Her chest tightened at the sudden change of personality and attitude from her friend.

She remembered Astria’s diary in the library; the haunting story of her loss of identity and personality to the curse of immortality.  She shook her head.  It couldn’t be anything like that.  They’d only had this job for a week.

Could it?

“Uh, Twi?” Rainbow asked, a look of mixed curiosity and concern on her face. “You okay? Did I say something wrong?”

Twilight blinked. “No.  But... I’ve gotta show you something.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

003.

They caught the librarian just as she was leaving the castle, exiting through a back door to presumably retire for the night.

“Ms. Binding!”

The older mare turned around, shocked to see the two princesses and about a dozen guard standing behind her.”

“Uh, hello, your Majesties!” She bowed low to the ground.  “What can I... uh, help you with?”

Twilight spoke. “Can you, uh... unlock, the, um... special part of the library? You know-”

“Of course, Princess.  Right this way.”  The librarian was puzzled as to why the princesses came running to her; normally it was easy enough for them to unlock it themselves.  She knew of Lumina’s magical handicap, but she would’ve thought that Chroma could’ve opened it just fine.

Huh. Royalty, she thought, shaking her head and smiling slightly. Both of the princesses and their antics, especially Lumina since she had come back from the moon, were a popular talking point among the castle staff.

The group entered the library, at which point Chroma dismissed the guards. The librarian ran over to her desk and unlocked the tiny drawer which held the key, then ran over to the shift in the wall where the door laid.  She had never been inside that portion of the library before; it was enchanted so that only certain beings could enter. Her horn glowed with a spell, and she inserted the key into the tiny slot.  The wall shifted open.

“Uh, is that all, your Majesties?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Lumina said. “You can, uh, go now, if you want.”

The librarian nodded and walked out of the library, using all her willpower not to run in front of the Princesses.

She couldn’t wait to get home.

004.

“So, this is, like, a Princess-only library?” There was a slight look of awe on Dash’s face as she took in the room.

“Yep. Pretty much.”

“And you’ve been in here before?”

“Earlier today.”

“How’d you find out about it?”

“Uh... it was actually an accident.  The librarian lady asked me if I wanted to see ‘my section’, and then I kind of figured out what she meant.”

Dash paused for a moment. “Cool.”

Twilight walked up to the table in the center and picked up a small dark-blue bound book.

“Read this.”

Dash took it from her grip and was surprised that she could hold it in her own golden aura of magic.  When she saw a microscopic frown come and go from Twilight’s face at the reminder, she shut it off and held the book in her hooves instead.

Twilight frowned again, eyes sad. “No, you don’t need to- it’s just-”

“It’s fine, Twi. What’s the book about?”

“It’s a diary.  From a princess.”

“Celestia? Or Luna?”

“No, from a long time ago.  There are only a few pages in there.”

“Uh, all right.”

She flipped it open, surprised to only see four pages still left in it.  Her eyes moved to the top of the first remaining page.

Entry 712

I’ve spent the last month in my room.  Seems like only a moment has passed. But that’s what happens when you’ve lived for a little over three thousand years, right?

Why? I forgot my name.

Dash looked up at Twilight, confused.  “So... this is another princess?  Someone... like us?” Her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence.

Twilight nodded, then gestured for her to keep reading.

The last of my identity, the real me, gone. I’ve already lost all my memories from those blissful first 18 years, all I could hold onto was the name.

But I woke up, one bright Tuesday morning, and it was gone.

Solara had forgotten it centuries ago.  I hadn’t brought it back up, and I haven’t written it in here.  No record, right? That’s what Galaxia, my princess, told me when she stood over me, all those years ago, and put that spell- not a spell, a curse- over my head that changed everything.

My name... two words, I know.  It was two words, and it started with an E.  Here’s hoping it comes back to me.

Astria

Dash looked up once again, her pained eyes locking with Twilight’s.  They only made eye contact for a moment before Dash looked back down at the book, flipping the page.

Entry 807

Today, I spent my entire day reflecting upon the few memories that I hold.  Didn’t move an inch from my perch on the balcony.

I was thinking about the memories that I have of the first few hundred years of Solara’s and my rule.

I remember I used to be brash, spunky, restless.  Arrogant, even.  Most powerful unicorn in Equestria.  I was really good at pyrotechnics, fireballs and such.  My cutie mark used to be a fireball, I think.  But then I changed it.  Maybe if I hadn’t, I’d still know my name.

Dash flipped the page to where the entry continued.

I’m not like that anymore. I can’t remember the last time I had fun, the last time I laughed. Any emotion at all, really.

I’m just a mold, a figurehead, a shell.

Nothing but the perfect Princess for Equestria.

Astria

Rainbow’s composure broke, and she began to cry, falling into a heap on the ground, a mess of tears.  Twilight soon joined her, laying next to her in her own misery.  Dash wrapped a wing around her, which Twilight happily took and snuggled into.

That was where they slept that night.

005.

“Princess Chroma? Princess Lumina?”

Dash woke first, surprisingly.  Twilight had always been the lighter sleeper of the pair.

“Huh?” she asked, groggily.  From what she could interpret in her sleepy haze, there were an awful lot of ponies around.

Shining Armor stood in front of the hoard of guards at the door of the library.  He sighed with relief when he saw the pair, one asleep, the other barely awake.

“Your Majesties, we’ve been looking for you all night.  You weren’t in your rooms when we came to get you for breakfast this morning-” he breathed, “-we were all so worried.”

Rainbow stood up, rubbing a hoof across her eyes, trying to awaken herself.

“Uh, sorry... Captain.  We were in here last night... and we got, uh, tired.  Yeah. Tired.”

Shining Armor gave her a quizzical look.

“You’re lucky we found you.  Ten more minutes of you guys missing and it would’ve been a national state of emergency. We’ve already got the guard on high alert.”  He turned to one of the guards behind him, sending him off to spread the news of the location of the Princesses.

“All right, well...you’re dismissed.  Let me wake up Lumina here and we’ll be out to start the day soon.”

“Please be quick, Princess.  The sun’s two hours late.”  Her eyes widened at the potential consequences of that, especially for Twilight.

“We were able to blame it on tonight’s Nightmare Night celebration... but, just, please be more careful, Princess?”

Dash breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course.  Thank you, guys.”

Shining Armor nodded and led his men out of the library, the doors to the Princesses’ area sliding closed.

Dash turned away from the entrance, focusing her gaze on the still sleeping Twilight.  She smiled and knelt down before her, taking a hoof to nudge her side.

“Twiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilight,” she purred, poking her side again.

The purple alicorn stirred, lifting her head slightly, letting out a little moan.

“Uhhh, wait....”, she murmured.  “That you, Dash?”

“Yeah. You need to go ahead and get up, Twilight.”

Twilight’s purple orbs popped open.

“Huh?” she asked, confused. “We... slept here.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Obviously.  We have to go do the whole sun-and-moon thing, though. We’re, like, a couple hours late.”

Twilight shot up, wings flared out at the realization.

“We have to go! Now! What if they think I’m Night-”

“Relax, Twi.  Apparently the guards played it off as something leading up to Nightmare Night.  Which is tonight, by the way.”

Twilight relaxed visibly at that, but still beckoned for Rainbow to leave with her.  The doors slid open automatically for them, and they walked out and into the library, mentally preparing themselves for another day.

006.

They were out on Twilight’s balcony again.  Twilight had just brought down the moon.

“Do you think I’m gonna have to do anything special? For Nightmare Night?  Like Luna did last year?”

“Probably,” answered a distracted Rainbow, who was occupied with raising the sun.

They stood silent as Dash brought the sun up over the horizon, its bright rays illuminating the world.

“It’s pretty,” Twilight murmured.

“What?” Dash asked.

“The... uh, sun. It’s been really pretty in the mornings lately. You do the sunrises well.”

“Um... thanks, I guess.  It’s not exactly a conscious effort, though.”  As soon as she said it, Dash wondered a) when she became so humble and b) when she learned the word conscious.

“Well, either way,” Twilight pawed at the ground, “it’s nice. Pretty.”

“I like the moon better.”

“Bu-wh-how?  The moon’s boring, compared to the sun. No colors, no warmth... it’s just... dull.”

“No...the night’s my favorite time to fly, you know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  I like the, darkness, and all.  It looks really cool when I fly.  You should see my Filly Flash when it’s dark out.”

“Huh.  Well, I’d never. I always used to like the night for stargazing, I guess... but the day was so much better.  I guess it kind of reminded me of Celestia, too. Now, though... the night, the moon... yeah, it’s kind of taken on a whole new meaning for me.”  Twilight gave a little laugh which died out quickly.

“I know what you mean.  The sun... whenever I look at it, now...”

“Feels so alien,” Twilight remarked.

“Yeah.”

Dash leaned against Twilight as they walked inside together, hopefully ready for anything life threw at them.

fin. capite

Decimus

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

“No! I hate this one too!”

“Geez, Twi, chill.  It’s just a costume.”

“I’m just wearing a cloak like Luna did last year.  I don’t want to bother with this whole costume thing; too frustrating.”

“You realize I don’t especially care.”

“I know... but are you sure you don’t have any other ideas, Dash?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

“Fine. I’ll just wear the- wait, don’t you have to be somewhere, Miss Sun Princess?”

“Don’t call me that, Moonie.”

“That’s the dumbest nickname I’ve ever heard.”

“Hey! I had to come up with something! And, no, I don’t have to be anywhere, for once. Figured I’d take a nap.”

“Good luck with that, then.  I have to go get all my stuff ready for Ponyville.”

“Hope it goes okay.”

002.

After Twilight had departed in her chariot, Rainbow Dash had nothing to do.  She couldn’t seem to be able to sleep, and she didn’t feel like flying.

She was all out of sorts lately.

The sun was still out, as Twilight had decided to go to Ponyville a little earlier so that she could raise the moon there, hopefully adding to the experience.  Dash walked out on her balcony.

The sun was blazing every color on the warm half of the color spectrum, illuminating the world with its sheer heat and magnitude.

Rainbow wondered how she could control such a magnificent thing, something so large and powerful.  Though she was now officially the largest and most powerful pony alive, she was still so small compared to... that.  Even the smallest of Twilight’s stars was a giant compared to her.

Twilight’s stars- that reminded her of something she needed to do.

003.

Twilight was soaring through the air in a carriage on her way to Ponyville, her body shrouded in a dark blue cloak embroidered with the stars.

She stared off into the sky, clear of any discernible clouds. There was a slight breeze flowing through the air, but she barely noticed as her newly-grown pegasus feathers kept her extremely warm.

The chariot landed right at the edge of the Everfree forest, near the statue of Nightmare Moon.  She hopped off, thanking the darkly-colored Lunar Guards, and told them to come back at ten o’clock.  She knew, despite their protests, that they wouldn’t actually leave, just disperse themselves around Ponyville ‘for her protection’. She sighed.

Looking around the clearing, she noticed it hadn’t changed at all since the last time she was here, last year’s Nightmare Night, when she made friends with Luna.

She shook her head, and started for the path that lead into town.

004.

They were on their fifteenth straight game of Monopony. Fluttershy and Pinkie looked on with mild interest as, once again, Applejack and Rarity got into an argument.

“Applejack, I don’t believe you can challenge me to a hoofwrestle in order to get out of paying the rent on Stable Place.  That’ll be four hundred bits.”

“Come on, Rares, can’t we work something out? Don’t you remember that-”

“No buts, Applejack. Pay up.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Wonder who’s there,” Applejack mused as Pinkie bounced over to the door.  When she opened it up, she was surprised to see who it was.

Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and now the new Princess of the Sun was in their doorway.

“Hey, Dashie! How’s the princessy thing going?”

“Okay, I guess.  Can I... uh... come in?”

“Sure!”

Rainbow Dash, who was surprisingly without guards, stepped into the room.  The four mares looked at her expectantly-- even Pinkie had halted her bouncing.

“So, uh... sorry I haven’t really been around, girls,” Dash said uneasily as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Oh, that’s fine, dear, I’m sure you were up to your horn in your Princess duties.  You have to tell me all about it!” Rarity squealed.

“No, I mean it, guys. I’m sorry.”

A chorus of ‘It’s fine’ rose in the room.

“Rainbow?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Yeah, Flutters?”

“What’s it like? You know, being a Princess... if you don’t mind answering.”

“Uh, well,” Dash started, “It’s okay, I guess.  I don’t know what I’d do without Twilight, though.  I have to go to meetings every day and stuff... I’m in high demand, I guess.”  She laughed, though unconvincingly.

“Have you attended any parties yet?” Rarity.

“Uh, no.... I’ve usually gotten out of going, heh, but I think there’s one coming up.”

“But dear, why would you ever want to miss such a lovely, high class event?”

“Uh... because they’re boring?”

Rarity gave Rainbow a disappointed look.

“How’s Twilight?”

“Well... she’s doing pretty well, I guess. Don’t know if you guys know about this or not, but there’s something up with her magic.  We think someone might be attacking it. God, if I ever find out who that is... in any case, I think she’s adjusting well. Lucky her, she doesn’t really have to do much, with the governmenty stuff and all.  It drives her nuts.  But... yeah, she’s really great.”

“Rainbow, may I speak with you for a moment in private?” Rarity had a happy, cunning glint in her eye that Rainbow had learned to be weary of.

“Uh, sure, Rarity.”

Rarity beckoned for Dash to follow her, and they walked over into the bathroom of the suite, locking the door behind them.

“Rainbow, I’m so happy for you!” Rarity squealed.

“What... what are you talking about, Rarity? If it’s about this whole Princess thing, I really don’t want to do-”

“No!”  Rarity exclaimed. “You’re in love!”

Rainbow furrowed her eyebrows. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”  Her voice rose in pitch and by the end of her sentence it was practically a squeak.

“Don’t deny it, dear,” the white unicorn began. “I see the way your eyes light up when you talk about her, the way your lips curl into a little smile... I know that look, Rainbow.”

“Who’s... her?” Rainbow gulped, knowing exactly who ‘she’ was.

“Oh, Twilight, my dear!  You’ve fallen for her hard, Rainbow Dash!”

“No I haven’t!”

“Yes you have.  Quite frankly, it’s obvious.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH TWILIGHT!” Dash screamed.

“Yes you are,” squealed Pinkie from outside the door. Rarity smirked.

Rainbow Dash’s face went redder than a tomato.

Anywhere but here, she thought.  God, this is so embarrassing.  They don’t know what they’re talking about.

Do they?

At Dash’s incessant mental begging, her horn inadvertently lit up.

Anywhere but here.

In a flash of brilliant gold and silver light, Rainbow Dash teleported out.

005.

“-So, thank you all for having me here this Nightm-”

A large gold flash appeared in the air, and Rainbow Dash unceremoniously landed herself in the Town Square of Ponyville, dropping to the ground on her side.

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she ran over to the opposite end of the town square, where Rainbow had landed.

“What the fuck just happened?” she whispered.

Rainbow rubbed her head. “Uh, I think I accidentally teleported.”

“No shit!”

“Hey... sorry.  Where am I?”

“You’re in Ponyville? With me, you know, where I’m about to raise the moon?”

“Heh... really?  I teleported that far?”

“Where’d you come from?”

“The castle... the girls’ room.”

“What were you doing that made you teleport?”

“Well... um... that’s kind of... uh, a long story.”

“Fine. Whatever. You’re telling me later. Just get up, because you’re doing this whole thing with me.”

“Huh?”

“We kind of have to make this look planned. Though, that’s going to be hard, considering you landed yourself sideways over here, on the opposite side of the square.”

“Whoops.”

“Nothing that we can do about it now.  Just get your sorry flank up and come with me.”

Twilight helped Rainbow up, and the crowd parted to let them back up to the podium where Twilight had been staying.

“Well, uh, I think she was supposed to land over here,” Twilight started, making the crowd that had gathered laugh.

“But... uh, everyone, please welcome... my dear sister, Princess Chroma!”  The crowd cheered.

My dear sister, Rainbow thought.  Well, I guess that makes it a thousand times weirder that I kinda sorta have a crush on Twilight.

“Okay,” Twilight began. Rainbow wondered how she was so collected at the moment, seeing that the ‘plans’ she likely had for the evening were completely thrown off. “We’ve got a special surprise for you.  Chroma and I figured... we’d switch out the sun and moon for you all to watch.”

The crowd cheered raucously, louder than before.  Twilight nodded and turned to Rainbow.

“What are you going to do after this?” she asked in a whisper.

“Uh,” Rainbow started. “I’ll... go back to Canterlot, I guess.  No, you know what? I’ll just hang out here.”

“Really? Where’s your costume?”

“Shoot.  Can you... i dunno, conjure something up?”

“You’re forgetting I can’t use my magic.”

“Right.”

“Well...” Twilight started, her face contorted into its’ thinking pose.  “You could... uh... fly back to Canterlot and get one?”

“From where?”

“Uh, the castle.”

“No, but, from where? Do they just have Nightmare Night costumes laying around Canterlot Castle?”

“Well, you’re screwed.”

“Yeah, I’ll just go back after this, I guess.”

“Let’s get this started, then. It’s almost our usual time anyway.”

“Cool.”

“We have to make it really showy. Like Celestia did at the Summer Sun.”

“Celestia wasn’t at the Summer Sun. You remember? Nightmare Moon?”

“Not that one, dummy.  The others.  Where she’d fly up and throw her head back and stuff, make it really dramatic.”

“I’ll try.”

The two princesses turned back to the crowd, whose cheers died down once they saw that the Princesses’ attentions were directed back at them again.  After a moment of silence, Twilight nudged Rainbow in the side.

“Go!”

Rainbow gave her an almost indiscernible nod before closing her eyes and flying up about ten feet in the air, spinning, before touching her horn to her chest and slowly beginning to lower the sun.

Twilight sighed.  She couldn’t yet fly, automatically making whatever she did seem awkward.

She watched, and once the sun was mostly over the horizon, she began on the moon.

She closed her eyes and lifted up one silver-clad hoof, standing in a pose that she thought might make her look regal, and brought forth the moon.  The stars popped out, one by one, as the audience oohed and aahed.  Sometime during the moon’s trajectory over the sky, she heard Rainbow Dash’s hooves softly touch the ground.

When she sensed that the moon was where she wanted it to be, she opened her eyes. The crowd was in an uproar once again.

She turned to Rainbow, who gave her a gentle smile.  Twilight returned it, before nodding her head toward the gathered ponies.

Twilight faced the crowd once again. “I, uh... hope you liked that.”

Another cheer.

Rainbow Dash interjected.  “As much as I’d like to stay, I’m needed back at the castle, so I’ll have to go.”

Twilight watched, an unfamiliar pang in her chest, as Rainbow Dash flew off into the stars.

fin. capite

Undecim

Sun and Stars

sparkfyre

001.

Rainbow was back at the castle, laying on her bed, limbs sprawled.

Is Twilight gonna be back anytime soon? she wondered to herself.

She had tried to keep herself occupied for the last hour-and-a-half, but had failed miserably. She had tried everything; first, her favorites, like sleeping and eating, then onto last resorts like actually asking if there was any paperwork to be done. The attendant she had asked passed out in shock when Rainbow had actually requested work.

She got off the four-poster bed, walking over to the door and throwing it open.  She turned into the hallway, met by a small gaggle of guards, all who stood up straighter when they noticed she was there. Rainbow did her best not to roll her eyes. The one leading the group came up to her, bowing slightly at her feet.

"Princess, where are you going?"

"Um...," Rainbow hadn't really thought much about where she was going yet. "Er, the, uh, kitchens?"

"If you don't mind me asking, Princess, what is your business there?"

"I, um, wanted a... snack? I was gonna go get myself a snack."

"Oh, well, Princess, we can have whatever you like brought up to your room-"

"No! I'll go. Alone."  She gave the guard her sternest gaze before walking off, down the winding stairs that led to the public sector of the castle.

She reached the door of the kitchen, but found that it was locked. She yanked on the doorknob a couple times before a pony came to open it.

"Hey, how are yo- Princess!" The small lilac mare dropped to the ground in a bow.

"Uh... hi."  When the mare stayed down, Rainbow awkwardly made a motion up with her hoof.  "You can, um, get up now."

The mare scrambled to her feet, blushing. "I'm so sorry, Princess!  I didn't mean to offen-"

"It's fine." Rainbow sobered a bit at the mare's apology. It was exactly what Fluttershy would have said, always needlessly apologizing for everything. In fact, she probably thought this whole princess-thing was her fault in some way.

"What, um, business do you have here, Princess? I mean, you don't have to tell me, but... um," The mare's speech faltered as her blush turned an even deeper crimson.

"I was... uh."  Why had she come here? "Oh. Yeah. I was coming here to get a snack."

"Oh! What would you like, Princess? I can make anyth-"

"I'm okay.  But, uh, thank you.  I was just gonna grab something out of the pantry."  Rainbow pointed with a hoof at the closet in the back which contained the food she wanted.

The small mare raced to the closet, opening it up. "The closet's fully stocked.  What do you want? We have Twinki-"

Rainbow stepped into the kitchen, making her way to the pantry.  "I can look for myself."

The kitchen worker shrank back. "I hope I didn't imp-"

"What time do you get off work today?"  The mare's attitude was grinding on Rainbow's nerves, and it was all she could do not to scream.

"Uh, in about two hours, Princess."

"Go home for the night.  Spend some time with your family.  Whatever you do. You're um... uh, what's the word? Oh. You're relieved of duty."

The mare bowed in thanks before grabbing her bag and running out of the room.

Rainbow sighed, grateful to finally be away from the castle staff. Just a spare few minutes ago, she would've done anything for company, but now she was happy to be by herself.  Well, her and those extremely-appealing looking cookies on the third shelf in the pantry.

She went over and retrieved them, carrying the box on her back, and took a seat at one of the two barstools in the industrial-size castle kitchen.

002.

Twenty minutes later, all of the cookies and snack cakes had disappeared from the pantry.

003.

Twilight's chariot touched back down at the castle around 1 a.m..  The Nightmare Night celebrations had taken far too long for her liking. Once she had thanked the pegasi who flew her across the sky, she stepped out onto the landing deck of Canterlot Castle.

"You guys don't need to walk me in," she said in a soft voice that she hoped was convincing, "I'm fine. Really. You should go home and... erm.  Yeah, you don't need to walk me in."

"Princess, with all due respect, I'm going to have to decline," said a rugged-looking grey unicorn stallion.  Twilight wondered if he knew Shining Armor. "We are required to escort you into the castle, at the least."

Twilight sighed heavily. She should've known. "Well, fine.  To the castle, but no further."

The stallion nodded as his squad surrounded her as she made her way to the giant doors of her new residence.

004.

As soon as the guards abandoned her, she ran as fast as she could in her exhausted state up the stairs of the castle, ignoring the guards who tried to catch her attention.

When she reached the top, she slumped to the floor, legs splaying out.  Several more members of the guard approached her.

"Princess Lumina!" One exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Really. Just," She contemplated having them take them to her room, but decided against it.  There was someone she wanted to see first. "where's Princess Chroma?"

"I believe she's down in the kitchens," a stallion answered. "Unattended," he added.

"Good.  I'm going there."

"Would you require an esc-"

"No. I'll go alone," she said, and slowly made her way down the spiral staircase.

005.

Twilight walked down into the lower part of the castle, weaving her way through the various halls and offices until she made her way to the main kitchen, which is where she assumed Rainbow would be.  The door was open just a crack, and Twilight opened it wider. The door creaked loudly on its hinges, and Rainbow Dash turned around in her seat at the noise.  She smiled when she saw who it was.

"Hey, you," Twilight said softly from the doorway, still dressed in her Nightmare Night cloak and regalia, eyes half-lidded in exhaustion. "What's up?"

"Oh, hey, Twi. How did Nightmare Night in Ponyville go?"

"Remind me to never eat too much candy again. Baaaaad idea. Seriously, though, how are you?"

"I've been bored, I guess. Been sitting here eating up pretty much the entire pantry," Dash said, giving Twilight a hint of a guilty smile. "How'd you know I was here?"

"A guard told me."

"Which one?" Rainbow asked, thinking back to the irritating one she met on her way down to the kitchen.

This made Twilight smile, her laugh tinkling like chimes in the breeze. "Rainbow," she started, "they all look exactly the same.  Well, except for Shining Armor, but that's different and I would've mentioned him specifically."

"Oh.  That's right.  Sorry," Dash grumbled.

"Nothing to be sorry about," the Lunar regent said, voice giving away how tired she really was. Rainbow Dash, the most unobservant mare in Equestria, picked up on this.

"Hey, Twi, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Twilight said, stifling a yawn.

Rainbow Dash gave her a meaningful look before smiling. "Wait a moment," she said.

"Hmm?"

The blue box of crackers left on the table was picked up in a sparkling aura of magic and slowly floated its way toward the pantry in the back.

Twilight gave a tiny smile. "You're definitely getting better at it, Rainbow. By now I'd say you're up to the level of a six-year-old filly," she teased.

"Well, if anyone can do it, it's the awesomest princess in Equestria," Dash retorted, causing Twilight to raise an eyebrow. Just then, the violet mare lost her balance, and wobbled a bit before regaining it, steadying herself on her hooves.

"Here," Rainbow said, her voice laced with concern, "lemme carry you back upstairs. You look really tired."

"I'm fine, rea-"

"No, you're not.  You can't even stand up straight." Twilight had taken to leaning against the wood near the hinges of the door, letting it support her weight.

"But-"

"No buts.  Come here." Rainbow walked over to the doorway and scooped up the smaller mare, who was too weak at the moment to resist.  Shutting off the lights in the kitchen, she made her way up the stairs, Twilight draped across her back.

006.

Rainbow gingerly opened the unlocked door to her bedroom, bringing Twilight inside. Once again, they had to get through a bunch of guards to even reach the stairs that led up to their quarters.  There seemed to be a lot more around lately than usual... but then again, they hadn't been there long enough to really get an accurate sense of normal.

"Twi?" she asked, gently, "you awake?"

"Yeah," Twilight murmured back. "Why am I so tired, anyway? I thought this stuff didn't happen to ponies like us..."

"Ponies like us?"

"You know, princesses... alicorns."

"Oh. Yeah. Well, I wouldn't know anything about that.  We can ask a doctor abo-"

"No... no more doctors. Please?"

"If there's something wrong, Twilight, we need to know!"

"But... I'll research it. Promise. Just no doctors."

"We'll see," Rainbow replied. "Right now, you need to go to bed."

"You're not my mother."

"I wouldn't want to be."

"What does that mean?"

"Uh... never mind.  Just get some sleep, 'kay?  You don't look too peppy at the moment."

"Heh, peppy.  What a funny word."

"So now you're punchy too." Rainbow took Twilight over to the bed, where she gently laid the mauve pony on the mattress, tucking her under the golden covers adorned with tiny suns.

"Good night, Twi," she said and started for the door.  She would probably end up coming back in here later (as it was her room), but for now she wanted to let Twilight fall asleep.

"No," came a murmured protest. "Rainbow... stay with me tonight?"

"Um... of course." Rainbow came over and settled on the other side of the large bed.

Twilight gave a tiny smile before closing her eyes for the night.

Rainbow looked at Twilight once again, realizing that Twilight was still in full regalia as well as her cloak.

Actually, she was too. She removed the gold pieces from her body and contemplated doing the same for Twilight, but decided against it. Certain pieces of it were placed in very... awkward areas, and if the lavender mare were to wake up while she was doing it it would definitely give off the wrong vibe.

Before she knew it, Rainbow Dash too had fallen asleep.

007.

Something was screwing with Twilight's sleep.

It felt like a pull at her horn, kind of like that one time she got Magical Exhaustion, except... she had no magic. She stepped out of the bed, landing on her hooves. Looking around Rainbow's room, (which was much nicer than hers, no fair) she decided to go out on the balcony.  Quietly unlocking the door as to not wake her sleeping... what was she at the moment, anyway? So confusing.

Out on the balcony, under the soft glow of the almost-full moon, her mane flowed with more magic and intensity than usual.  She sighed, and wished that somehow she could tap into that magic to cast spells. Not being able to use her horn... it was like an itch she just couldn't scratch.

Her horn wasn't the only appendage she was unable to use at the moment. Or appendages, to be specific. Her wings lay at her sides.  She could move them up and down, but she hadn't really figured out how to fly.

Her actual issue is that she was terrified.  The sky; just the openness of it all.  What if she fell? There was nothing to support her except for her own body and maybe some wind currents; if something happened to her as so many things had seemed to lately, she'd be gone in an instant. Or maybe not gone, because she was an alicorn, but something bad would happen.  Despite this, there was a similar situation with her wings as there was with her horn.  Whether she liked it or not, this... new her was meant for the sky.

A wave of determination came over her.  Looking out into the clear, starry sky, she decided that tonight she was going to teach herself to fly.

fin. capite

Three Thousand Years- Intermission

March 22nd, 3002. A.D. (After Discord)

"Chroma," asked Lumina, the two Princesses seated at a table in the latters' office, "how did the negotiations go?"

"Well enough, I guess," she replied.  "The griffons are willing to agree to our terms."

"I'm surprised. I thought they would be more difficult about it," Lumina pondered. "That'll surely be a boon to business to the apple industry here in Equestria."

"Apples... does that remind you of anything?"

"Um.... yes, actually.  Something about... hm."

"I thought you were supposed to be the smarter of the two of us." Lumina stuck her tongue out at the rainbow-hued mare, who in turn reciprocated the gesture.

"That's it- it's the Apple Family. Something about the Apple Family."

"The Apple family? As in the Apple family that went out... I'll say 10 generations ago?"

"The one and only, Chroma."

"What was it about it? Was it a member of the family, was it a peti-"

"Applejack!" Lumina cried. "It was Applejack!"

"That does ring a bell."

"Oh, I remember Applejack!  She was... Element of Honesty, I think. I can't believe I forgot!"

"Too bad I can't remember my own name."

"Way to kill the moment, Chroma.  She was one of our old friends!"

"Do you want to go fly?"

"You always want to go fly."

"But it's so much fun!"

"I don't think so, and I'm better than you at it."

"Yeah, you can keep shoving it in my face, Ms.-Element-Of-Magic-Who-Sucks-At-Magic, but someday I'll beat you."

"Right.  Well, as much fun as this has been, I'm afraid I have to attend a session of Parliament. I'm supposed to show up to at least one a month, and this one's almost over."

"Skip it? Please? I'm bored."

"Chroma, you have about a mile-long stack of paperwork to do-"

"That's even more boring than doing nothing at all!"

"Just as lazy as always," Lumina sighed. "Fine. Let's say I was considering skipping Parliament and waiting until next week. What, theoretically, would we do?"

"What does the-theo-thu-"

The Lunar Regent gave her a flat look.  "What would you want to do?"

Chroma licked her lips. "You know exactly what I want to do."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll do anything."

"Well then, shut up and let me go to this stupid Parliament meeting."