Shadows of the pastby WritersShadowChaptersPrologue: Shadows RaisingChapter 1: Being a princessChapter 2: Royal dutiesChapter 3: Late night sleepPrologue: Shadows RaisingShadows of the past Prologue: Shadows Raising "Everything is just fine.“ Ever since she said it, Twilight heard this bouncing in her head. "Everything is going to be just fine“, she heard, over and again. She really meant it when she said it but now... it just sounded wrong. It felt wrong. It was the same feeling she had when Crysalis ponynapped Cadence. "Don't you agree, Twilight?“ a familiar voice asked her. "Hmmm? What...“ she was about to forget she was a princess now and had to behave like one. "...did you just say? I'm terribly sorry i didn't get it but i think i was just lost in my thoughts.“ she caught herself. She was in a big hall somewhere in Canterlot Castle. It was the celebration after her coronation and, of course, she was the guest of honor. She was surrounded by ponies, eating drinking and having fun... Well, at least what the Canterlot elite called so. In her opinion, this whole banquet was boring beyond measure. Of course, everypony watched every step she made, every word she said was heard by hundreds of ponies. And surely thousands of ponies would get to know how she behaved her very first day as a princess. She was very nervous. "Never mind.“ the familiar voice said. It was Rainbow Dashes. "I bet i would be lost in my thoughts too if something similar happened to me. I mean, it's soo awesome you became a princess! Almost as awesome as the wonderbolts...“ She couldn't resist to giggle a bit. It was characteristic to Rainbow Dash that she took the wonderbolts to measure almost everything that happened. Of course, there would never be a thing, able to reach them, but still sometimes it got annoying. Not that she didn't like the wonderbolts herself, but Rainbow Dash spoke of them like they were the peak of being itself. “But why”, Twilight was asking herself “is this all happening so quickly?” No week ago, she still was a normal unicorn, only caring about studying and her friends of course. She just became an alicorn 4 day ago. She wasn't even able to try her new magic. She wasn't even able to control it yet. It was a shame, but yet she felt like that day back in the past when she was trying to get into Celestias school for gifted unicorns and was about to blow the test. She lost control back then. It was almost the same feeling she had right now. Almost. "Twilight!“ Rainbow Dash said in a more piercing tone. "Even if you are a princess now, I swear I'm going to throw you off a cloud someday if you go on just ignoring me over and again!“ "I'm so sorry. I just can't keep my thoughts were they should be. But i promise, I'm going to listen now. So what were you trying to tell me?“ Twilight said in a soothing tone. "Well my dear, we were just discussing whether this wonderful banquet is too 'fancy'“ another familiar voice said, but this time, it was Raritys. "Applejack just told the chef, they should stop making those 'fancy little odeuvres' and instead should make some...“ Rarity was struggling with the words. "... 'good ol' apple fritters.'“ She frowned about what she just said. Twilight couldn't resist. A big smile showed up on her face. She already was aware something like this would happen, but Raritys reaction made it not only funny, but hilarious. She kinda shared Applejacks opinion. "Well that's Applejack. You know, she doesn't really like food that's decor at the same time. In her mind, it is wasted time.“ Twilight answered. "If i think about it, she might be right. Why do they put so much effort in something that's going to end in someponys mouth anyways?“ "TWILIGHT! I just cannot believe what you just said! Your a princess now! You, above everyone else i know, should understand why they put so much effort in what they do!“ Rarity screamed. It looked like Twilights last statement really hit her innermost. "So... If you think I should understand, could you please enlighten me?“ Twilight said in a little sarcastic tune. Usually, she would've cared more about what Rarity was thinking. But right now, she was bored because of this banquet, worried because of the feeling something was wrong, overwhelmed by all the emotions that came with her coronation and tired because she was too nervous to sleep since the evening she became an alicorn. Three full nights of sleep missing... Rarity opened her mouth to answer, but froze at the very same moment. "What's up Rarity?“ Rainbow Dash asked. "No need to be startled, Rarity.“ a voice from behind Twilight said. She knew this voice. Twilight turned around. "Princess!“ Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle said as if they were just one pony. "I'm sorry I have to be so rude to interrupt you, but I really think you should come with me Twilight.“ Princess Celestia said in a very serious tone. Twilight was worried. "Why? Did something bad happened? Oh i knew...“ "Knew what?“ Celestia interrupted her. "I was just going to ask you whether you could please tell Pinkie Pie that the cake is there for everypony, not just for her. I already tried to argue with her, but i think she might be suffering from a sugar overdose. She doesn't listen to anypony right now. Maybe you can get this right.“ Celestia said. She mumbled something about getting cake herself finally right after. Since the Gabby Gums column about her everypony knew she liked cake... a lot. She even became infamous for it. There were more than two dozen jokes about Celestia eating cake, stealing cake, devouring cake... Well, almost everything that could be done with cake. Of course it wasn't nearly as bad as the jokes stated. But having the most delicious cake of all Equestria in front of oneself just to look when Pinkie Pie's devouring it... Well that would even be a torture for somepony less into cake. Twilight sighed. "I will try to do my best. We don't want to deny this wonderful and tasty cake to a certain pony, do we?“ Twilight said with a strong ironic tone in her voice. Celestia started to grin. “Hey, just because you are a princess now doesn't mean you don't have to respect me anymore!” she stated with a fake-insulted tone. Everypony, except Rarity, was laughing. Of course they all knew it was all in good fun. And Twilight was happy that this... banquet started to lighten up. So was Celestia. She even feared it might become as awful as the Grand Galloping Gala. Pinkie Pie was even worse than usual. Not that it was actually a bad thing, but here her behavior just was unfitting. "Pinkie Pie?“ Twilight asked with a little worry in her voice. Pinkie Pie looked very messy, even if compared to her normal state. "Pinkie?“ she repeated, still with a soft voice and still with a little worry in it. "Pinkie! Would you please answer?“ Twilight said, now with much more definiteness in her voice. Pinkie Pie turned towards Twilight... well at least her body did. Her head stayed just like it was, munching on the icing of one of the smaller cakes presented on the table. Then Pinkie Pie suddenly realized that Twilight was it who spoke to her. She instantly turned her head, almost spitting cake frosting all over Twilights and Celestias new outfits. "Oh hey Twilight! Isn't this great? You just became a princess! And look, there's Celestia, another princess! And look, look! Over there! It's Cadence! Hi Cadence!” Twilight turned her head. Indeed, Cadence was standing there. But seemingly, she didn't know what to answer right now. Her face told Twilight that Pinkie Pie just hit her off-guard. However, Pinkie Pie hadn't stopped talking yet. “Have i told you about the cake? It's the best I ever tasted. Well except for 'MMM', but what could beat that? But still, I ate soooooooooooooooooo much of it already and now i feel a little strange but I just can't stop eating it! It's tooooooooo delicious!“ All those words left Pinkie Pie in a surprisingly short amount of time, even considering it was Pinkie Pie in front of them. "Well Pinkie, this cake was made for everypony and so every...“ She froze in the middle of her sentence. There was it again, this feeling, something bad was about to happen. The feeling something was wrong. But she couldn't imagine what it was. Twilight was worried. Seriously worried this time. She turned to ask Celestia whether it was normal for a new alicorn to have those... strange feelings. No, feelings was the wrong word. It felt like some kind of presentiment. She wanted to ask her what it could be. "Princess? I'd like to...“ She stopped mid-sentence as she saw Celestia. She just stood there. She didn't move a muscle. In fact, she looked like she just saw a ghost. She was like petrified. "Pinkie!“ she heard Twilight saying. Indeed, it was kind of funny to watch this. Pinkie Pie, who was just sugar-shocked and Twilight, who was absolutely serious about what she was saying. But only Twilight could make Pinkie stop devour the cakes today. Today, neither she nor her sister were important. Today was Twilights day. As Pinkie Pie finally turned around, she spitted frosting all over the place. “Oh, please just make it! Ruin my dress so I can take it off!” she thought. Her outfit looked just terrible. The colors did neither match her mane nor her coat. But it was tradition to wear this color. Caught in her thoughts, she nearly didn't notice when everypony around her froze, like someone was making the time go slower. Then, suddenly, everyone stood there like petrified. "What is going on? What is happening here?“ Celestia asked herself. Tough she didn't expect anypony to answer her question right now, she still got the answer. "Going on? Oh, nothing. I just thought a major part of your past should pay you a visit, now that your little student has ascended.“ a voice, echoing through the hall, answered. "No... how can this be possible?“ Celestia asked. She knew the voice. It was a voice that used to be friendly. It was a voice that used to belong to a dear friend. It used to... "How this is possible? Well, it's a simple combination of one of Starswirls time-spells and the spell Luna uses to visit ponies in their dreams. What did you think? That I would just march in here like Nightmare Moon did?” “That's not what I meant and you know it! I know this spell. It catches the pony it is cast on in a loop so he or she is isolated from everypony else. I used it to get sleep when I was controlling both, sun and moon! But that's not the point! I want to know how you are even able to talk to me right now! There are spells that allow you to go back in time, but none that let you go forward!” “Of course there aren't any spells that let you go to the future. You told me about a thousand years ago. Remember these good old days? When life was simple and Equestria was nothing but a mud hole? When it was just taken away from Discord? When you choosed to abandon me for your very own desire?“ The voice became cold as the breath of a windigo at the last sentence. "You died back then! How is this possible? How can you be here? Tell me right away!“ Celestia said, trying with everything she got to hide her fear. "I died? No I didn't. I wish I would've died! It would've been simple. A few seconds of pain and then seeing everything fade to black. But no, I didn't die. My very own soul was torn out of my body, being imprisoned! What died back there was your student. The student that thought, she meant something to you! The student that gave up everything to help you and Luna banish Discord! The student that saw you through a child’s eyes and saw a mother she never had!“ The building was trembling from the anger of the sentences the voice spoke. Then, it was quiet again. "The student you sacrificed in order to hide your very own sins.“ This last sentence was different. It trembled like those before. but it wasn't anger this time. It was pain. And it hit Celestia right into her heart. Tears started pouring out of her eyes. She no longer felt fear. Instead, she felt unspeakable pain. A pain, worse than any injury could afflict her. A pain, worse than anything she ever felt. It was the pain of guilt. Celestia tried to say something. Anything. But she was unable to even open her mouth. It was like her whole body was being burned to ashes. It was impossible for her to move. It was impossible for her to think. The only thing she was able to do right now, was shedding tears. Finally, she caught herself. Seeking the courage she usually had, she tried to speak. "What happened back then...“ It was hard to Celestia to even say one word. Speaking a whole sentence felt like trying to make water freeze and evaporate at the same time. "I... I... I want to tell you...“ Celestia took all the courage she had found yet and just said what she thought. "I'm sorry...“ "Oh I'm sure you are! You always are! You were sorry when you saw what others had to sacrifice in order to beat Discord, you were sorry when you saw what was sacrificed in order to stop King Sombra and I'm sure you were sorry when you had to banish Luna to the moon. You are always sorry for anything. But you never were truly sorry. But i guarantee, you soon will be!“ the voice declared. The pain in the tone was gone. Everything that remained was this terrible suppressed hatred in it. "What do you try to tell me?“ Celestia asked. Yet, the pain didn't go but there was something else returning to her. It was anger. She stopped weeping, turning her head, trying to find the source of the voice. Of course she knew she wouldn't find it. But something forced her to search for it. "Don't you dare even touch those I care for! I promise, it's not me who will be sorry if you try!“ "I'm not as cruel as you are, Celestia.“ the voice answered. Celestias eyes widened. "And I'm not your judge. But they are! You know that their judgment will be true. And you know they love you. But do they know? Do they know what you did? Nopony remembers, right? You even changed Lunas memory in order to protect yourself.“ "No...“ Celestia whispered. "You were always craving for love. But this love is a lie. They don't love you. They love what they think you are. They love the image you created of yourself. They love what I used to see in you. They love the disguise they look at every day. The disguise even you are unable to see through. You even fooled yourself. You really believe it is you you see when you look in the mirror, don't you?“ "No...“ Celestia whispered once again. She said it more to herself than to the voice. It was like she was trying to convince herself this wasn't true. But she knew it was. She knew what she did. She knew... "But this disguise will soon fall. I'll make it. And then you'll see, who stays at your side when they know what you did to thousands of ponies in the past. You'll see when they know what you did to me. You'll see when they see what you just did to your dear student. You'll see when they know what you did to yourself...“ "NOOOOOOOO!“ Celestia screamed. But the spell already began to break. The ponies around her started moving again. She felt unable to move a muscle. Unable to weep any more. Unable to feel anything right now. She only saw Twilight turning around. Her mouth opened. "Princess? I'd like to...“ Author's Note This is my first FIM-Fiction-Upload so don't be too critical please. Chapter 1: Being a princessShadows of the past Chapter 1: Being a princess “Is she going to be ok?”, Twilight asked. They were in front of a big door, fully made of white gold. Sapphires and yellow diamonds embellished the door from the top to the bottom. “I've never seen her like that. I'm really worried!” “I am as well.” Luna told Twilight. “I haven't seen her like this for about one thousand years. It was when her apprentice died.” After Celestias breakdown, Twilight called for Luna to tell her that her sister was... well actually, Twilight didn't know what Celestia was right now. She didn't say a word. And she only walked when Luna arrived to bring her to her premises. It was a shock, especially for Luna, to see Celestia this way. “Hold on a second. One of Celestias apprentices died once? How?” Twilight asked. Celestia didn't ever tell her about a dead apprentice. She didn't even tell her about any other apprentices besides herself. “I mean, Celestia is always so cautious. How did she loose somepony so dear to her?” Luna lowered her head. It was really hard to speak about this theme. But Twilight needed to know anyways , now that she was a princess of Equestria. “It was back when I turned into Nightmare Moon.” Luna answered. Twilight froze. “You... you killed her, Luna?” Twilight questioned on, now with a disbelieving tone. She went a few steps back, as if she feared Luna would turn into some kind of monster and bite her head off right away. “No I didn't.” Luna finally answered. “I was not the one who killed her. Have you ever asked yourself why Celestia had to abandon the old castle and move to this one?” Luna asked Twilight. Now, when she thought about it, she felt silly. Somepony does not simply abandon a castle of this size. Twilight was concern it took decades to build it. Twilight shook her head. “Well, of course you don't. Nopony knows why she had to abandon it. Well, Nightmare Moon was everything but squeamish. When she attacked the castle, she did it without any kind of warning.” Luna stated. “And, of course, the castle was more than just secured. It was a fortress, build to withstand the strongest magic we knew then: Discords magic. Because of that, there were several magical seals, able to instantly stop any kind of magic cast near them.” “However, Nightmare Moon was somehow different. She wielded an almost unlimited amount of magic. I still don't know where this magic came from. But she just overpowered these seals.” “Overpowered?” Twilight asked. “How can magic seals be overpowered? It is the most persistent magic I know. Some of them are able to stay intact for centuries or even millennia.” “They can only take a limited amount of magic at a time. And Nightmare Moon just blew them like balloons. It was incredible. Those seals, able to keep Discord out no century ago, blown by an normal alicorn. The guards panicked and ran everywhere. The only one who stayed when everypony else was already gone was Celestias apprentice. The building however was destabilized because of the enormous amount of magic that rested in those seals. It still rests in them.” “What happened next?” Twilight asked. She was not only scared, but also curious. Maybe what happened back then would help her understand what happened to Celestia no hour ago. “I... I don't remember. It was shortly before Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to stop Nightmare Moon... to stop... me.” Lunas voice became a whispering as she spoke the last words. “So how do you know her apprentice died back then, if you don't know what happened back then?” Twilight was confused. “It's not that I don't remember anything. It's just that I don't remember everything. I still remember this expression on her face. And I remember her apprentice, lying on the ground, not moving, not breathing... not alive.” The last words felt heavy like stones for Luna. “Princess... It wasn't your fault what happened back there. Nopony blames you for what happened in the past.” Twilight said. “But still,” her curiosity got the best of her, “how do you know it wasn't you who killed her?” “Because she already lay there before I arrived at the throne hall.” Twilight froze. Thoughts bounced around in her head. “What happened back there?” one asked. “Celestia would never hurt her apprentice!” another one stated. “Why was she already lying there when Luna arrived?”,”Why didn't she tell me anything about this?”,”Who was she?”. Suddenly, one thought showed up, Twilight didn't want to think. A thought that hit her as hard as those feeling one hour ago in the gala hall. “What if Celestia herself had something to do with what happened to her apprentice?” The white-gold-door opened. “Princess Sparkle, Princess Celestia wants to see you.” one of Celestias royal guardians said as he opened the door. “Me? Is she sure she doesn't want to talk to Luna first?” Twilight asked. “No. She asked for you and you alone.” “Go ahead Twilight. It surely has something to do with what happened in the gala hall.” Luna told Twilight. She nodded. The guardian guided her trough a long corridor. There were several portrayals of famous unicorn, pegasi and earth ponies. Most of them were unknown to Twilight, but there was one she remembered: It was Starswirl the bearded. Right beside him, there was another painting. It showed a deep blue unicorn mare with a black mane, red eyes and a strange cutie mark: It showed a mirror and on one side of the mirror, the “outer” side, there was a violet blast of magic. However, on the other side, the “inner” side of the mirror there was the same magic blast, but instead of violet it was blood red. On the golden sign below it was the unicorns name written in silver letters: Shadow Mirror. Twilight was sure that she had never seen this mare before, but it felt like she knew who it was she was looking at. It felt like she knew this mare. They reached a door, once again all made of white gold. The guard bent down and said: “Go in as you please, your majesty.” It felt strange to be titled 'majesty'. Twilight went in at an instant. Celestia, who had taken off her dress, was inside of the room she just entered. It was a very big room. The ceiling was white and there was a sun made of yellow diamonds in the middle of it. The walls were also white, but they had yellow stripes that looked like sunrays. In the middle of the room, there was a big round table, also white, with a painting that portrayed Celestias cutie mark. Twilight had never been here before. “You wanted to see me, Princess?” Twilight asked. “Are you okay?” “I'm not okay, Twilight. Everything is wrong. Everything is twisted and turned.” Celestia answered. She sounded not only serious, but also scared. Celestia had to be confused. She just had to. Twilight knew Celestia, and this wasn't a thing she would say. Especially not this way. It sounded more like … well it sounded like Twilight herself. But what if she wasn't confused? What if Celestia just knew something Twilight didn't? The thought scared Twilight. “Princess?” Twilight said, unsure whether Celestia even listened. “Is there anything I can do for you?” “Yes there is a thing. Tell the guard I need the following books: 'The Elements of Harmony: A reference guide', 'Magical seals', 'Future spells' and 'Dream manipulation spells'.” “What do you want with those? They have nothing in common.” Twilight asked out of her curiosity. “There's no time for questions, Twilight! There's no time!” Celestia said hastily. Her expression became worse every single second. “Princess Celestia! Calm down! We are all worried already!” Twilight said with all the definiteness she had. It was strange that she was telling Celestia to calm down. Usually, it was Twilight who freaked out and Celestia was the one to comfort her. But now, it was reversed. Celestia stopped walking around. She looked at Twilight as if she just insulted her. Then, after some seconds of tension, her expression became less hastily. She took a deep breath and then said:“You are right Twilight. I am so sorry.” “There is no need to apologize, princess.” Twilight told her. “Now, could you please tell me what happened back there in the gala hall? You suddenly looked like you saw a ghost or something similar.” “Oh, nothing important. Seemingly I simply lost my nerves. You know, it's not a common thing for unicorns to ascend to alicorns and become a new princess of Equestria.” Celestia stated. She was lying. Twilight felt it. Something worried her. Something... scared her. The most powerful being in all of Equestria, scared by something. But right now, she knew she didn't want to know what happened. The thought that there was something able to scare Celestia... this thought alone was more than Twilight could take in one day. She really didn't want to know what it was. Besides, Celestia seemingly didn't want to tell her about what just happened and so Twilight saw little sense in trying to find out. But her curiosity was just too strong to just let this just rest so easy. “Great. But still, there's something I'd like to ask you.” Twilight said. “When you lost your nerves, I felt something strange was about to happen. I felt something was wrong. Can alicorns transfer their emotions?” Celestias expression once again became worried and hasty, but this time she tried to hide it. It did not work out as Celestia had thought but at least she tried her best. “Usually not. But maybe you are more sensitive than we are because you just became an alicorn. Alicorns are so rare that nopony really knows in which ways it affects the pony that is ascending.” Celestia said. To Twilight, it felt like Celestia was trying to hide something. She tried to think what it could be. But her thoughts were interrupted as Celestia started to speak again. “If I'm right, I haven't told you why I called for you yet. I have something really important to tell you. It's about what you just became. It's about why this all happened. And I hope it will answer some of the questions you sure have.” Twilight was surprised. She expected a crisis. Some kind disaster. Some explanation why Celestias behavior at the banquet was so strange. But still, she was excited. She still had so many questions about her destiny, about what would happen next. “Well then start please.” Twilight said. She tried to hide it but she was almost bursting. But then one thought crossed her mind and it couldn't wait to be spoken. “Wait, we should tell Luna and the others that you are fine first. They must be terribly worried.” “You are right Twilight. This nearly slipped my mind. I'll send a guard right away to tell them I'm fine. But right now, you are my top priority.” Celestia said. Twilight was not sure what to think about this. Sure, she was glad to have some time with her mentor. But she was behaving so strange right now. It was not like her to just send a guard. It was not like her to freak out. And it was not like her to call for her student while she was freaking out. “Are you sure you are okay?” Twilight asked. The concern in her voice had become obvious. “Twilight knows it. Twilight knows something is wrong... how couldn't she? She even sensed when Cadence was replaced by Crysalis.” Celestia thought. “But I can't tell her right now. It is just the wrong time to tell her. Why'd I even think about telling her right away? I need something to distract her or it will end in me telling her what I think. She is already worried and uncertain about what will happen.” “If I'm right, I haven't told you why I called for you yet.” Celestia finally stated. “I have something really important to tell you. It's about what you just became. It's about why this all happened. And I hope it will answer some of the questions you sure have.” Celestia was sure this would work. She was fully aware Twilight was suspicious of her behavior. But she also knew that the only way to slip her curiosity, was to make her curious about another thing. Twilights eyes widened. “Well then start please.” Twilight said. Her voice was trembling with excitement. It was like someone took something heavy off her chest. She distracted Twilight. Now she needed something to distract her some more so she could buy some time to find out what just happened. But then, Twilight opened her mouth again. “Wait, we should tell Luna and the others that you are fine first. They must be terribly worried.” The first word almost startled Celestia to death. She almost thought Twilight saw that she just tried to distract her. Thank goodness she didn't. “You are right Twilight. This nearly slipped my mind. I'll send a guard right away to tell them I'm fine. But right now, you are my top priority.” Celestia said. This time she managed to hide her emotions. But then she saw how Twilight frowned. “Are you sure you are okay?” Twilight asked with so much concern in her voice that Celestia was unable to just ignore it. “Well... I think so. But you may be right. I should go and rest a little bit. Please go back to Luna and tell her she may introduce you to your new life as a princess. I will join you as soon as I'm done resting.” Celestia said. Maybe this way she could buy some time to find out what was happening. Luna would take her through half Equestria in order to explain what I means to be a princess. “Are you sure you don't want at least see Luna and tell her you are okay yourself? She is your sister after all and I bet she's really worried.” Twilight asked. “Just go and tell her I'm fine. Please Twilight. I'm really exhausted.” Celestia said. Luna was terrified. “Celestia... what could scare you this way?” the silently asked herself. “Princess Luna!” she heard someone calling her. She turned her head and saw Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy gallop down the corridor, “Hello.” Luna replied a little dryly. She didn't know why they were here and what they wanted. “Well, then let's just ask them” she thought. “What are you all doing here? Don't you enjoy the banquet?” Luna asked. “Yes!” Rarity squeaked. At the same time Applejack stated “No...” It was a strange situation. Rarity and Applejack looked at each other, then giggled a little bit and then again looked at Luna. “We just wanted to come and ask how the princess feels. We heard something happened and that she froze in the middle of the banquet.” Fluttershy said. There was some serious concern in her voice... Well, somehow she always sounded like she was concerned so Luna was unable to differentiate whether it was her 'natural' concern or normal concern. “And where's Twilight? She was there when Celestia froze. Maybe she knows more.” Rainbow Dash asked. “Uhh, uhh! I was there, too! And you didn't ask me anything! Ask me, ask me! Come on Dashie, please ask me, ask me!” It seemed like Pinkie Pie was still under the influence of all the sugar she just ate. Rainbow Dashes face became a frown. Luna couldn't help but to smile a little bit. It was really funny to watch this right now. It was good to see that Pinkie stayed Pinkie, no matter how serious the situation seemed to be. But Luna doubted Pinkie really got how serious the situation had to be. “So, what did you see, Pinkie Pie?” Luna asked. Pinkie opened her mouth wide in enthusiasm, just to close it once again and to change her excited face to a questioning face. “Well... I don't know. She just froze. Nothing else.” Pinkie stated. She began to smile again. Luna already knew Pinkie Pie was random, but this was beyond everything she was told. This pony bounced from happy to confused to happy in the matter of seconds. But it was very funny to watch. “We already knew that, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said. She sounded annoyed. Luna giggled. This was hilarious. “Celestia would like this dialogue. She's always up for something so...” but her thought ended as fast as it started. “Celestia!” Luna was hit by the worry she just thought about no minute ago. Her face once again became serious. The other five also changed their expressions. They were surprised of Lunas reaction and had questioning expressions in their faces. “So, how's Celestia? And where's Twilight?” Applejack asked. “Twilight just went to meet Celestia. I don't know how she is however.” Luna stated. “But, if Twilight is talking to her right now, why are you still here?” Rarity asked. “Yes, why am I here? Why am I not with Celestia? What happened she doesn't want me to know about?” Luna thought. The door made of white gold opened. The one who opened it and the one just joining them was Twilight. “Twilight!” the five ponies in front of Luna shouted out. Twilight looked like she was surprised. to see them. “How's Princess Celestia. Will she be okay? We are so worried.” Fluttershy said. Twilight opened her mouth to answer, closed her eyes and stayed this way a few seconds. It looked strange. When she opened her eyes she said: “Celestia is fine. She just is very excited about my coronation and all. Seems like I'm not the only one who is really shocked by my ascension.” She turned her head to Luna. “Princess, can we talk a few seconds? Alone?” The faces of the other five became a frown. “Oh come on! We want to know what happened, too!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Nothing happened! It has nothing to do with Celestia!” Twilight stated. Her volume and her tone sounded unfitting... aggressive. Suddenly Twilight realized that she just shouted at her five very best friends. Her eyes widened. “I'm very sorry. I.. I'm just very stressed right now and then this story with Celestia loosing her nerves...” “It's okay sugarcube. We all know how ya feel. We'll just leave ya and the princess alone.” Applejack said. Twilight nodded. “Thank you.” she said as the five others departed. “You weren't lying, were you? The thing you want to talk about has nothing to do with Celestia, has it?” Luna asked. She was curious what just happened in there. It was not like Twilight to shout at her friends for no reason. “Well, loosely.” Twilight said. “She wants you to introduce me to my rights and duties as a princess.” “Of course! I'm surprised we forgot about this until now. We'll begin right away!” Luna turned to walk. “Wait Luna...” Luna froze. So there was something else. “What is it, Twilight?” she said with a very serious voice. “Celestia seems not to be herself right now. You should first go talk to her. She was... confused when I talked to her. I never saw her like that before.” There was very much concern in her voice. “Seems like it was not only 'Celestia loosing her nerves and now being unable to introduce you to your life as a princess' in there. I'll talk to her right away. Thank you Twilight. Can you wait here a few minutes?” Luna asked. Twilight nodded. “Dammit, how did he do it?” Celestia asked herself. She was still in the room she met Twilight in, using the big round table as shelf for all the books her guards just brought her. 'The Elements of Harmony: A reference guide', 'Magical seals', 'Future spells' ,'Dream manipulation spells', none of them had a clue in it how her former student was able to still be alive. None of them was able to explain why he still was able to cast magic. “Sister, what's going on in here?” This sentence startled Celestia. She wasn't expecting anypony right now to interrupt her. She even told her guard to keep everypony, no matter who it was, out of this room. Seemingly, her guard failed. She turned her head. She saw Luna, still wearing the same dress she was wearing since the coronation started, standing in the door. There was unspeakable worry in her eyes. “Oh, hello sister. I didn't expect to see you. Didn't Twilight tell you to introduce her to her new life as princess?” Celestia asked, trying to distract Luna like she did with Twilight. “She indeed did. But this was not the only thing she told me.” Celestia froze. “And she was right. You aren't yourself right now. The guard out there tried to stop me from going in here. He said, it was your advise. What happened there in the hall, Celestia? What scares you?” Luna asked. Her voice told Celestia, she was dead serious. So the distraction didn't work the way she imagined. Twilight still was concerned about her. And she told Luna. Of course she told Luna. Who would be a better choice to help Celestia calm down? “Scare me? Sister please, don't be silly! Can you imagine something right now that would scare me? Discord has become a good guy, you have left your past behind and all of Equestria is happy. What could scare me right now?” Celestia asked. “That's what I'm asking you. I may not know what happened back in the gala hall and I may not know what it is you try to hide. But I know you Celestia. I know you're scared. And I know, it has something to do with what happened at the banquet. So tell me sister. You know, you can only hide it until you fall asleep.” Celestia sighed. It was true. Luna was the princess of the night and therefor she was able to not only join dreams but also form them. And Celestia knew, she wouldn't be able to keep this out of her dreams. “Okay Luna, I will tell you what happened. But not now. I just have to find out whether I'm just becoming mad. What I saw back in the hall... is impossible. There's no way it was real. But if it was...” “Sister, tell me!” Luna interrupted her. However, Celestia seemed not to care. “... real it may be one of the biggest threads ever made against Equestria. Bigger than Discord. Bigger than Nightmare Moon. Even bigger than...” “CELESTIA!” Luna shouted. Celestia stopped talking. She knew, she wouldn't be able to distract Luna. Her sister would never leave before she got her answer. “Okay Luna, I'll tell you what I know. Or at least, what I think I know.” Luna sat down. “I'm listening.” Celestia took a deep breath and opened her mouth “I really hope she is fine. I'm so worried.” Fluttershy said. They just went back to the gala hall and yet, they still were walking. Canterlot Castle was just so incredibly big. “Yes we all hope so my dear.” Rarity stated. “Yes we do, but would you please stop repeating over and over again? This is the sixth time you tell us how worried you are about Celestia, Fluttershy! We got it!” Rainbow Dash said. “Oh come on Dashie, repetitions make things more fun! Like jokes! The more often you repeat telling them to somepony, the more ponies laugh in the end! Or like cake! The more often you repeat to eat one, the more delicious the next cake becomes! Uhh, uhh! Or like...” “Well I think we all understand what you want to tell us, my dear.” Rarity interrupted Pinkie Pie. They finally arrived the door that led back into the gala hall. But none of them wanted to go back in right now. It was like there still was something they needed to do. But none of them was able to imagine what it was. Then, suddenly, Applejack opened her mouth. “Ya all know I'm very worried about the princess. But has any of ya all noticed Twilight didn't look good, too?” None of them said anything. It was obvious, but yet nopony noted it. Twilight looked even more worried and even more confused than back then when she thought Celestia may send her back to magic kindergarten because she was unable to find a friendship problem to solve. Somehow they felt locked out by the princesses, including Twilight. They knew something and seemingly didn't want to tell them. It was not something new that Celestia or Luna were secretive. But Twilight was their friend and usually told them always how she felt and what happened. “We should go back and talk to her right now! Maybe she needs our help with something!” Rainbow Dash stated. The other four nodded. Well, there were three other ponies nodding. Pinkie Pie was missing. “Where did Pinkie go? And when did she go?” Rainbow asked. “Wait, Pinkie is gone? Where is she?” Fluttershy asked. As if she was waiting for it, a door next to them opened. Pinkie Pie went through, everypony stared at her. “What? I needed to go to the little fillies room! Now, why are you all still standing here? Shouldn't we move to talk to Twilight?” She said. “Right!” Applejack said. The all turned and began to gallop down the corridor they just left. Twilight just stood there. She didn't know how to judge this situation. On the one hoof, she would finally be introduced to her new life. She would finally find out how it would go on, what changed and what didn't change, what she would have to leave behind and what would stay at her side. On the other hoof, there was something wrong about all this. She sensed it. She was already caught in her thoughts when something pulled her out of them. It was galloping. “Why is there so much traffic in here?” she thought. She turned her head to see her friends, once again in hurry to get here and once again worried. She sighed. “Girls, I already told you, Celestia is fine. There's nothing to worry about.” she said as they arrived. “Duh, were not here because of Celestia!” Pinkie Pie stated. Twilights expression reflected her confusion. “That's right sugarcube. We are here because of you.” Applejack said. “Because of me? But, why'd you come back for me? I mean, it's not like I'm in danger or something.” Twilight told them. Then Rainbow Dash opened her mouth: “Yes you are! You aren't yourself right now! Usually you tell us when you are worried. And usually you tell us whenever you need our help!” “I don't need your help!” Twilight exclaimed. She really thought so. “Darling, we can clearly see that you do. Look, we care for you. And we know you. And right now we can also see clearly that you are worried and confused. Even if you don't want to admit it, you are!” Rarity stated. She was right. Twilight never felt so confused. She never was so worried. She just wasn't ready to admit it right now. Neither to her friends nor to herself. But now she was forced to admit it. Twilight stood there a few seconds, thinking about what Rarity just said.. She just realized how she felt. She felt lonely, like when Discord turned all her friends personalities into their opposite. She felt confused like when she was sent to the crystal empire to save it. And she felt even more worried than she felt when she thought she would be sent back to magic kindergarten. All the overwhelming emotions she pushed away since she became an alicorn caught up with her this moment. Every concern she had caught up with her. “...you're right Rarity. I need your help. I don't know who I am supposed to be. I don't know who I will be.” Tears poured out of her eyes. “Sugarcube, there's no need to weep. We are all here.” Applejack said. “Don't you realize? I just became a princess! Everything will change! EVERYTHING! What if I'm forced to move away from Ponyville? What if I'm forced to travel all over Equestria all the time in order to fulfill my duties as a princess? What if I'm...” Twilight was caught in thoughts blacker than the deepest night. “...forced to leave us?” Rainbow Dash finished her sentence. Twilight started sobbing. “Twilight, there will never be a thing, never, that could tear you apart from us. Even if Discord restores his rule and even if there's chocolate rain, exploding glassworks and flying houses all over Equestria, we will still be at your side. And that's were we will stay. Princess or not. We will always be there for you.” “Beautifully said, Rarity.” Fluttershy whispered. “You still don't understand, do you? I know I will always be able to have confidence in you, you all. But what if you can't have the same in me? What if I can't be there for you? What if something terrible happens and what if I'm not there then? I could never forgive myself...” Twilight sobbed. “Twilight, such a thing will never happen!” It wasn't the voice of one of her friends saying this. It was Lunas. Twilight turned her head and looked right into Lunas eyes. They looked at her as well, strong and reassuring. Twilight stopped weeping. “Being a princess means having many duties. And you are right, sometimes they will take you to the very end of Equestria. But being a princess does not mean that you have to abandon your friends! It does not mean that you have to give up everything you love. And it surely doesn't mean that you have to be finished with your past.” Twilight was still sobbing, but Lunas reassuring eyes strengthened her. “Seems like you should finally introduce me.” Twilight finally said. Luna nodded. “Can my friends come with us?” “I sure hope they do. It affects them just as much as it affects you.” Luna answered. A weak smile showed up on Twilights face. “Come on. This is the wrong place to talk about a topic of this grade of matter.” Luna said. They just had moved to the castle grounds. Twilight walked at Lunas side, her friends right behind her. Nopony had said anything since they had departed the castle. Finally, Luna opened her mouth to speak. “So Twilight, let me first introduce you to your rights as a princess.” “Let me start with the one that may be the most important for you: You can choose where you want to live yourself. Nopony will force you to live where you don't want to live. You can stay in Ponyville if you wish so.” Twilight couldn't help it. She rushed towards Luna and hugged her. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” Luna seemed to be very surprised by this reaction. However, after a few seconds, she hugged Twilight back. “No need to thank me.” she stated. It was like someone took all her worries, all her doubts and burned them. Twilight felt way better now. But... “What about my duties? You said they could take me to the very end of Equestria. Does this mean I will have to leave my friends whenever there is a crisis somewhere?” Twilight asked, unsure whether she wanted to hear the answer. “Yes, this is what it means.” Luna said. Twilight began to sob again. But before she was able to really start, Luna went on. “BUT there's one thing that could help you concerning this point. Every princess has command over the whole equestrian armed forces. But there are also the royal guards, special ponies, selected by the princess they serve. They are the last defense of a princess, the closest adviser and in your case they could be your very best friends.” “You mean I will not leave them? They will be able to come with me wherever I go?” Twilight asked. She was excited. She didn't know this was possible. “This is exactly what I mean. The job allows them to do whatever they want while you are home and to follow you whenever you have to fulfill your royal duties. And the payment is decent, so they can easily cover costs that result in their absence. But maybe you should ask them yourself.” Twilight turned to her friends. She was almost bursting. All her worries vanished. “Would you want to become my royal guards? Would you want to follow me everywhere I go? And would you...” Twilight faltered. "...would you help me to stay who I am?" “Sure do, Twilight!” “Of course my dear!” “I'd be honored...” “Yes! This is gonna be sooo awesome!” “I would be loko in my coco to say no! It's gonna be fuuuuuun!” Twilight couldn't help. She grinned from ear to ear. “Seems like this is settled. Now let's talk about your duties.” Luna noted. “You'll have to inform us about everything you do as a princess. This does not include things you do as Twilight Sparkle. You only need to report to us if you do it officially as princess of Equestria.” “Further on, you, as a princess of Equestria, are a guardian of this land. Your highest duty is to protect it from everything that's trying to afflict harm to it. But you are used to this duty if my memory isn't deceiving me.” Luna smiled. “And your last duty is to be a mediator whenever it's needed. This is the duty that will take most of your time as princess.” Her face became a grimace. “Those politicians just don't get along. You would be surprised how annoying this last duty can be at some times!” Everypony laughed. "Talking about politicians, maybe we should attend the banquet again." Rarity said. Celestia was at her end. None of the books she knew had the answer to her questions. None of them told her how this was possible. None of them... “So, you haven't found anything, have you?” Celestia closed her eyes. “It would be strange if you would ever find anything.” the voice said. However, it was not the same voice she heard in the gala hall. “You are right, I haven't found anything. And I already knew I wouldn't find anything before I started to search. If I had found anything about this, it would've told me that I'm just getting mad.” Celestia stated. “What a strange way to say that this is reality. But why does the fact that you haven't found anything ensure you that this is real?” the voice asked. “This is beyond my imagination. And this is far beyond everything somepony ever wrote down. So it has to be reality if my mind is unable to think this up.” Celestia said. “Sounds logical to me. But I'm just the soul of somepony that used to live thousand years ago.” “You know you are way more to me. And you know you never were just somepony. You are the reason I can stand here today. You are the reason I was able to beat Nightmare Moon. Your sacrifice however was way too high.” “It was my decision Celestia. And it was you who gave me the possibility to choose my own destiny. This is what I've chosen. And I would choose this again if I had to.” “But it was my fault you had to make this decision! It was my fault you had to choose whether you saved your own or my life. And you've chosen my life. I wasn't worth it.” Celestia said, her eyes still closed. One lonely tear ran down her cheek. “It was a old debt I still had to pay. And you have done way more good to this land than I ever could. I don't regret what I did, Celestia. Neither should you.” “But I do regret what I did! I made so many mistakes! So many died because of my decisions... So many that could still live if I had not been born. So many...” “Snap out of it, Celestia! It wasn't your fault. Nopony blamed you back then and nopony blames you right now!” “You know this is wrong.” Celestia started to weep. “You know who haunts me. And you know that he has every reason to do so. And you know that every single word he said is true. I'm not worth the love of those ponies. I'm not worth this throne... I'm not worth to live...” Celestia sobbed. “You know this is not true, Celestia! Maybe you made mistakes, but everypony does! Maybe you once were what some may call guilty, but you changed! Celestia, there were mistakes worse than yours. But those ponies don't need to live with their mistakes forever. They just die some day. But you will have to live forever and you will have to protect this beautiful land until it declines. And then you'll have to protect the land that comes after. Your destiny is far from being fulfilled! You are the guardian of the sun after all.” “I know who I am. And I know what I've done. And you know as well. How can I claim to fulfill my destiny if I already failed hundreds of times in the past? How can I claim to be worth this throne if I only use it as a disguise?” “You don't claim to fulfill your destiny, you choose to do so. And you don't claim to be worth this throne. You made yourself worth it.” “If you say so... But if I'm worth it, why is there this pain? Why am I unable to get over my past sins? Why does my past haunt me? I know only one thing: I'm not worth anything but this pain. I'm not worth anything but this eternal agony.” “It's not your past hurting you, Celestia. It's yourself. And it's not your past haunting you. It's your conscience. And that tells you that you are worth this throne. It tells you that you are worth this life. It tells you that you are worth this love.” “How?” Celestia asked. “How can pain tell me that my life is worth living? How can guilt tell me that my sins may be forgiven?” “They can tell you because you are able to listen to them. They can tell you because you are willing to listen to them. The monster you think you are wouldn't. The monster you think you are would just go on. The monster you think you are wouldn't dare to listen.” Celestia opened her eyes. It was quiet. After a few seconds, the voice once again spoke. “I have to go now Celestia. My time is up. I am finally allowed to go. I am finally free...” “Thank you... Shadow Mirror...” Celestia whispered. Author's Note Feel free to suggest if somepony is out of character, something seems unfitting or if you just don't like something! It will help me to do better in the next chapter. Chapter 2: Royal dutiesShadows of the past Chapter 2: Royal duties “Twilight! Were have you been, sis?” As Twilight and her friends arrived back at the banquet a white stallion with blue mane and blue eyes ran towards them. He was wearing a dress uniform of the royal army. It was Twilights brother Shining Armor. “Those ponies are already shaky because you were gone for more than half a hour and...” he suddenly aborted the sentence he was speaking and instead asked: “Is everything okay Twilight? Your eyes look tear-stained? Did something bad happen?” “Everything is fine, Shining. Everything is fine.” Twilight answered with reassuring voice. “Great! Because I think those ponies over there would rip me to pieces if they had to wait for you any longer.” He chuckled nervously, his voice leaving no doubt to the seriousness of his statement. “I'll talk to them right now. But firstly: Who are they? I don't know anypony I see over there.” “Politicians. Mayors of the big cities of Equestria, high civil servants and so on. I think they want to talk to you because of something concerning the crystal empire. Don't ask me what it is.” Shining Armor said. Twilight sighed. “Good afternoon. I heared you wanted to talk to me?” Twilight greeted the politicians Shining Armor had told her about. “We sure want to talk to you, your highness.” a earth pony mare with yellow coat and blue mane answered. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jacqueline Bluemane, the mayor of Manehatten. We wanted to ask you about your opinion concerning the upcoming Equestrian Games.” Was this all it was about. They were shaky and called for Twilight just to ask her something that had already been decided? That's not what Twilight expected. She expected something... well more important. “They are going to be a great event. I know the crystal empire myself and have to admit that it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.” Twilight answered. “Well that's exactly what we wanted to ask you, your highness. Do you really think it is a good decision to make the crystal empire the host of the Equestrian Games?” a green pegasus stallion with green mane asked. “I mean, a giant city that happens to be an empire of the past that had vanished for a thousand years and returned only 4 months ago just to be attacked by a former king that happens to be a tyrant Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had banished into the ices of the north? Are you sure it is safe to host a event of this scale in this place, your highness? Not to mention the crystal ponies...” “What is wrong about the crystal ponies?” Twilight asked. Her voice had some subtle kind of disgrace in it. “Well, our concerns are not about the crystal ponies themselves. It's just...” the mayor of Manehatten started again. “It's just that they are thousands of ponies that had been vanished with their city for thousand years and that wield a strange kind of magic that is capable of creating a forcefield around the empire and even further is capable of killing their former king and expelling everything that ever had to do with him.” the pegasus completed her sentence. “They sure are not used to the behavior of the modern ponies that live in the cities and usually attend the Equestrian Games. We do not know how they will react when a thousand foreign ponies visit their empire. The things might escalate. You understand, we can't send our citizens to an event in a place whose inhabitants may be...” Twilight interrupted him. “How dare you suggest such a thing? I know the crystal ponies myself and if something escalates I am sure it will not be because of their behavior. But I am sure that you are right, that things will escalate if the ponies of your city are even nearly as condemning as you are. You are judging someone you never met and, even worse, you are jumping to conclusions that have no hold. If rumors your own prejudices made are everything your concerns are about I can guarantee you, there is nothing you should worry about. I think we are done.” Twilight said. The disgrace in her voice had become obvious. As she turned to walk away, everypony stared at her. But Twilight didn't care. “Those ponies! How can they judge someone they never met? Why do they judge someone they never met? If every important pony in Equestria thinks the way they do, my royal duties will drive me to insanity!” Twilight thought. “Celestia, you really should've told her earlier that you are not going to rip her from her friends!” Luna said. “Twilight was really worried she might be unable to stay with them! You aren't used to playing open cards, are you? Why do you always keep some of the most important things for yourself?” “I'm sorry Luna, but for a thousand I was ruler of this land alone. Nobody to question my orders and nobody to share my thoughts with. I suggest I'm just not used to having someone to talk to as equals.” Celestia answered. After Luna had talked to Twilight she went back to the castle together with them. She, however, did not return to the banquet. She went to see Celestia again. There were some questions that had crossed Lunas mind while talking to Twilight and Celestia was the only pony to answer them. “Don't tell me you want compassion. Not from me. You at least had someone to talk to. I was caught with myself on the moon for the same time. And believe me, Nightmare Moon is not exactly what you would call kind.” Luna said. She smiled. “I didn't know you were still conscious all the time. Why'd you never tell me? It must have been terrible to see what this monster did, unable to do anything against it.” Celestia answered with shocked face. She was concerned. If she had known Luna was still there all the time... she just thought Luna became Nightmare Moon, not that Nightmare Moon possessed Luna all the time. It wasn't really surprising to her when she thought how Nightmare Moon came to life, but still... “Celestia, this was my burden. Mine alone. The past is gone. What counts is what happens right now. Talking of right now..” Luna started, “why was Twilight even so overwhelmed by the fact she became princess.” she asked. “I mean, she had time to prepare herself. You sure told her about what going to...” Luna aborted the sentence. Celestia had just started to avoid her glance. Luna was confused at first. “No... Celestia, don't tell me you didn't tell her what you had planned! Don't tell me you didn't tell her she would become an alicorn!” She finally made up her mind to ask her sister. Celestia still remained silent. She just didn't know what to say right now. “How dare you Celestia! How dare you playing with the destiny of someone so dear to you? Have you become insane while I was gone?” “You just mentioned it, I'm not used to playing open cards.” Celestia answered, trying to sound as if the topic wasn't important. “But this is a totally different thing! It was her life you changed forever! And you didn't even ask her?” Luna was shocked. She knew Celestia used to play with ponies as if they were chess figures. But this was far beyond everything she ever could imagine. She always thought that her apprentices were dear enough to her to at least tell them what she was doing. Seemingly, she was wrong. “Celestia, explain yourself! I know this didn't just slip your mind! And I know that you have planned this for a very long time. You told me you were going to guide Twilight to her destiny. You never told me you would let her ascend. When I found out her destiny actually was to ascend, I thought she knew as well. Because I thought she meant something to you!” Luna needed the answer right away. “And that's exactly the reason I didn't tell her anything about what was going to happen.” Celestia finally said. “Because she is dear to me. Because she is one of the most important ponies in my life. Because I love her as if she was my daughter...” Luna was even more shocked by this answer than by any other answer she had imagined. She expected Celestia to claim it slipped her mind. She expected her to say she needed Twilight for something important in near future. She even expected her to fall back to her old manipulative self. But she didn't expect this answer. “I...I don't understand. If she's so dear to you, why don't you let her decide about her destiny herself?” Luna asked. Her voice had softened. “Because she would have died one day if she had decided not to do it. She would've died, Luna! For a thousand years I was lonely. For a thousand years I was unable to build any relationships to any other pony, no matter how hard I tried. But then, this one day, an out-of-control-spell blew up the roof of the academy tower by increasing the size of a baby dragon to the size of a full grown one. And as I arrived in there to help undo the spell and to admonish the one who did it to be more careful with his magic, I did not find a powerful unicorn sorcerer but a little filly.” “And this little filly happened to be Twilight Sparkle. It was the first time I looked at a pony for nearly a thousand years and I felt something else than the duty to protect. This little filly melted my heart. And over the time, she became the most dear pony to exist for me. Before I knew, I cared more for her life than for my own. I even cared more for her life than for those of everypony else in Equestria. The thought of loosing her forever was more painful to me than the though Equestria might die because of Discord.” “But I knew, one day, she would die. Just like everypony else dies. It's the way of life. But, you and I, we are cursed with immortality. We have to see everyone dear to us die. We have to bear the pain forever. But I know, the pain of loosing Twilight would be too much for me. I would be unable to go on. I...I would be unable to live on. But I can't die either. So what else could have been done, Luna? I can't loose her. I just can't. It would rip my soul out of my chest.” Celestia lowered her head. “Did you ever think about that this is exactly the destiny you just passed on to her?” “Wow, Twilight! This was amazing!” Rainbow Dash said. “I really liked the part were you interrupted him.” “I certainly think you were a little too harsh, darling” Rarity stated. “I think Rarity's right. Look, sugarcube, you're a princess now and everpony expects you to act as one.” Applejack said. “I don't care what everypony wants me to do! I didn't care before I became a princess and I won't care now. But I care for my friends and I care for those who need the care. But those ponies are nothing but a bunch of parasprites! They devour other ponies reputation and think it would help themselves. But this is a thing I cannot witness.” Twilight said. She was very angry. “But still, are you sure that this was the right way to react, darling?” Rarity asked. “Did you notice that only the mayors of those cities, who were chosen to the final vote for the equestrian games, complained? Those ponies wanted to drag the crystal empire trough the mud in order to host the games themselves. And they thought they could use me to accomplish this goal. How do you think would you react if you just found out that, for some of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria, you are just a tool to use?” “Well I...” Rarity stopped mid-sentence. She just didn't know what to answer. “...I think I would react in the same way you did Twilight.” she finally said. “But what are you going to do? You know that those ponies are exactly the kind of pony you will deal with as a princess!” Rainbow Dash asked. “I don't know but something has to be done. Why are they in power anyway?” “Because Equestria sure is a democracy. So what are ya going to do, Twilight? Do ya want to abolish democracy and become queen of Equestria?” Applejack said. “Maybe I will...” Twilight said. Her friends seemed to be shocked. Twilight was unable to hold it back any longer. She broke into laughter. “You should see the look your faces right now! You really thought I would abolish democracy in Equestria? That's the most hilarious though of the day!” She flattered her wings, trying not to fall. “Twilight! This was not fun at all!” Pinkie Pie said. “Are you sure you are okay, Twilight? This was not like you...” Fluttershy whispered. However, Rainbow Dash seemingly disagreed. She was lying on the ground, laughing as if somepony was tickling her hooves. “Good one Twi! Didn't get it at the beginning but, seriously, what were we thinking? You, the librarian of the Ponyville-library, taking over Equestria!” She struggled for breath. Twilight had stopped laughing. She was looking at her front hooves. “...you are right, Fluttershy. This was not like me. This maybe was like Rainbow Dash but it sure was not like me. But maybe it's just because I'm really tired. I can't think straight. Maybe we should end this all, get some sleep and then return to Ponyville tomorrow.” “This sure is the best idea ya had today, Twilight!” Applejack stated. Twilight looked out of one of the windows. It was still day. How could it possibly still be daytime? Her coronation was ten hours ago and it was noon when the banquet started. It should be dark for about 2 hours. But the sun still stood high. “Has anypony noticed that it should be dark for hours already?” Suddenly, one of Celestias royal guards galloped towards them. “Princess Sparkle? I am very sorry I have to bother you but Princess Celestia has asked for your presence. And she made clear she wants to see you alone.” “Is it about the sun? Has she told you why she wants to see me alone?” Twilight was curious. “No, just that she wanted to see you in her rooms. According to her, this is not in hurry, your highness. She wants you to join her as soon as you find time to do so.” “I have time right now. Please, go ahead. I will follow.” The royal guard bowed, turned and walked slowly towards the door she just came out of. “I hope this won't take too long. Please wait here for me. I will return in a few minutes.” Twilight said to her friends. They nodded. Everything was silent. Celestias eyes still stared at the floor. “Celestia?” Luna asked. “She is right... I've never thought about Twilights position in all of this... I've never thought about her opinion. And now she's going to see everyone she loves die. She's going to hate me for it. And she's going to be alone the same way I was. What have I done?” Celestia thought. “Celestia?!?” “But she still will have Cadence. She still will have Luna. And she still will have me. Maybe she will be able to bear the pain. I know her. She will be able to do it. She is strong enough. She is stronger than every other pony I ever met. And she is more powerful than every other pony I ever met. One day, she will be my successor as guardian of Equestria. She will become everything I was unable to be in the past. She will be the ruler Equestria truly...” “CELESTIA!!!” Luna yelled at her, ripping her out of her thoughts. Celestia raised her head. “What is it, Luna?” “Just look outside!” Celestia looked out of one of the windows. It was a bright and sunny day... wait, day? It was supposed to be night! Or at least evening. But the sun still stood high above Canterlot. Her pupils constricted. “Do you see what I want to tell you? Our magic is failing! Sun and moon resist our control! How is this even possible?” Luna asked. Celestia had no clue. This had never happened since Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon a thousand years ago. And back then it was the enormous magical power of her freezing the position of sun and moon. But this was different. They were forced to stay the way the were when Nightmare Moon did it. But right now, nopony used magic to freeze them. Their magic was just failing for no reason. This should be impossible! “I...I don't know... what is happening here? There is nothing that could make our magic fail. And there's nothing blocking the movement of sun or moon either.” Celestia said. “It's not important what causes this. The most important thing is to get this right! And this as fast as we can! If the sun stays that way, the crops on the fields will burn in 4 days! And in 7 days most trees will be heavily damaged, too! Celestia, what do we do?” Celestia could only think of one thing. But she was unsure. This was more than just a little bit risky. But they had no choice. “Call for Twilight Sparkle. We need her right now.” Celestia said. “Are you sure, sister? She just became an alicorn, is still overwhelmed by the emotions and impressions and now you are going to tell her that we lost control of both, sun and moon, and that we need her to fix it? What does even make you think she may be able to move them? And what makes you think that she'll not panic when we tell her that our magic has failed?” Luna was very concerned. “We are not going to tell her. I will tell her that this is her introduction to alicorn magic and that I will take over if she fails at it. She was always great at learning magic in short time. She even has the gift to copy every magic she sees. However, she needs also the power to perform this spell. But I think that this isn't really a problem as she is an alicorn now. And she already watched me performing the spell. So she may be able to do it.” “But it will exhaust her in a way we both can't imagine! We both have the destiny to move sun and moon. Her destiny is magic itself. Even if she is able to use this spell and even if she manages to get this right, what do you think will happen then?” Luna asked. “She will have to rest for a quite a while. But we can bear the night longer than the day. The night we had when Nightmare Moon emerged was 10 days long and after it, plants and wildlife were both able to recover completely. 10 days of noon won't be so forgiving. We need to do it, Luna. And maybe she will surprise us.” “But why don't we wait? Maybe it will return to normal after a little time...” “Do you really think that this could possibly be solved by time? Besides, right now we could claim that we made the day a little longer to highlight how special this day is. But if the noon lasts for all the night or even longer, we won't be able to explain it. It would cause a crisis.” Celestia stated. “I sure hope you know what you're doing, sister...” Twilight went into the room the guard pointed out. She knew this room. It was one of Celestias personal bedrooms. She was very often here when she learned about the magic as Celestias private pupil. As she went in she saw Celestia on the balcony and Luna sitting on the bed, looking at Celestia. “You wanted to see me, princess?” Twilight asked. Celestia turned and smiled at Twilight. “Oh, Twilight! I didn't think that you would be here so fast.” “What is it? And why do you want to speak to me here? You only invited me to this place when you wanted to practice magic with me.” “Yes. That's exact the reason you are here. I know, you can cast every kind of unicorn magic. But now, that you are an alicorn, it's time for you to learn about the special magic that comes with this gift.” “Special magic? What kind of special magic? Do you mean magic like...” Twilight gasped. Was Celestia really going to teach her how to raise and lower sun and moon? Celestia laughed a little. “Yes, exactly this kind of magic. But first, you need to learn how alicorn-magic works at all. As you already know, every pony wields unique magic.” Celestia said. Twilight was really excited. “Yes, pegasi wield magic that gives them the ability to fly and to interact with objects, others can not interact with. Earth ponies wield magic that strengthens their bodies and gives them more energy than other ponies have. And unicorns wield a magic that allows them to control the energy in their innermost. But this is very different from pony to pony because everypony has its own energy.” Twilight said. She wanted to show she listened when Celestia told her about the magics of Equestria. “Not exactly. Pegasi wield a magic that allows them to change the air around them. They manipulate gases to gain an advantage in speed and also to let clouds burst. Earth ponies have a special bond to the earth beneath them. They are stronger and live longer because the earth gives them strength. In return, they strengthen the earth by growing plants and trees. But concerning unicorns, you are right.” Twilights cheeks became a little red. Seemingly she did not listen as well as she thought. “Alicorns wield all those kinds of magic.” Twilight turned her head. Luna stood right at her side, looking at her. There was something strange with her glance. But Twilight was not sure what it was. “That's the reason we can raise and lower moon alone and that's the reason we have wings and horns. It shows our special bond to those magics. We are more than just unicorns with wings.” she said. “The bond to the earth however is pretty hidden. That's the reason some think we are just pegasus-unicorns.” “Now, alicorn magic is far beyond unicorn magic. It tames the energy of Equestria itself. In fact, the magical abilities you can use with your horn are still the same, even if they are stronger now. To use alicorn-magic, you need to use more than just one magic. You'll have to mix them. And that's the reason you are here. We are going to teach you how to use the magic of pegasi and earth ponies together with your unicorn-magic to create another kind of magic.” Celestia said. Twilight squeed. This was better than everything that happened yet. Celestia and Luna both smiled at her. “Maybe have you noticed that the sun is not supposed to stand this way right now. This has 2 reasons: We wanted to highlight this day... literally. And it is to show you the first alicorn-spell you'll learn. It allows to to manipulate sun, moon and the stars.” Luna said. Twilight was out of control. She jumped up to fall, very slowly because of her spread wings, back to the ground and to jump again. It looked very cute. If this wasn't such a serious situation, Celestia would've hugged her right away. “First, you need to know what kind of magic you'll need to use. This spell needs pegasus- and unicorn-magic. Because you have not used pegasus-magic yet, we'll have to train it first. Luna?” Celestia said. Lunas horn started glowing. A little cloud appeared in the middle of the room. “Now, make it burst.” Twilight didn't know why Celestia wanted her to buck the cloud. How would this help her find out how to use pegasus magic? But it sure had some sense. Twilight turned and lifted one of her back hooves. Suddenly, Celestia laughed. “I mean not this way, Twilight! Do it with your pegasus-magic. Bucking it won't help you learn anything.” “But what am I supposed to do then? I never saw a pegasus burst clouds with pure willpower.” Twilight was very confused. “No you haven't. But you once saw me doing it.” Luna said. “Remember the nightmare night when I visited Ponyville? Back then the weather acted very strange. It was because of me using pegasus-magic to change it.” “You mean that those lightnings and those black clouds appeared because you wanted them to do so?” Twilight was confused. Luna seemingly wanted to make a creepy appearance. “It's not like unicorn-magic. Pegasus-magic is about emotions. You control it by focusing them. If you don't focus them, the weather itself changes. Can you imagine how hard it is to focus your emotions if you are visiting the first feast in a thousand years which happens to be a feast about the darker side of you scaring everypony?” She said this in a cold and a little angry tone. Twilight was a little bit scared. The cloud shrunk. Luna laughed out loud. “See? It works! This works only for alicorns because our bond is not to anything special. We are bonded to everything around us, making every magic way stronger than usually. Now, if you want to make the cloud burst, you'll need to focus either joy or anger on it. Try it.” Twilight looked at the cloud. Joy or anger? How was she supposed to do that? She just glared at the cloud, waiting for something to happen. But nothing happened. Not for a few minutes. It felt like hours to Twilight. She hated to be stuck somewhere in her studies! She just hated it! It was so unnerving to be caught in the middle of something. She closed her eyes and stomped with her hoof. “This bucking cloud!” she thought. As she opened her eyes, the cloud was gone. “This worked better than expected. I actually thought you would try it with joy. But this works better, doesn't it?” Luna told Twilight. Celestia grinned at her. “Now it's time to try it with something... bigger.” Luna went to Celestia, waiting for Twilight to follow her. First, Twilight was confused. But then she got that Luna meant the sun. Twilight went a few steps away from the balcony. “Are... are you sure I'm ready for the sun already? You know, I could crash it into Canterlot or something like that...” Celestia and Luna both started laughing. “Twilight, this is not a simple telekinesis. This is another kind of magic. You'll firstly have to focus on the sun itself, like you would do with unicorn-magic. Then, you'll have to use some bad emotion like you did with the cloud in order to make the sun disappear. If you focus on the sun and use positive emotions, it will raise. After all, it reacts to the emotions you have at the moment you are focusing on it.”Celestia told Twilight. “Think of sunburn. This always works!” Luna said, smiling and looking at Celestia from the eye angles. Twilight took a deep breath and walked onto the balcony. “I can do this!” she told herself. She closed her eyes and focused on the sun. Her horn started glowing, but nothing happened. “Go away, sun!” Twilight thought, but still, she failed to move the sun. She was stuck once again. “You can do it Twilight!” Celestia cheered Twilight up. She just had to do it. There was no other way. Twilight first seemed to be patient with the spell. But after about ten minutes, she started to stomp with her front hooves and to mumble swears. It was strange to see her student like this. She seemingly was going crazy. But then, slowly, the sun moved. As it reached the horizon, Twilight stopped stomping. She noticed the change in lighting and opened her eyes. She jumped once again. “I... I did it! I DI...” she froze. Celestias eyes widened. This had happened before. At the banquet. “Magnificent, isn't it? This power... incredible.” a dark voice said. “What are you doing here!? Aren't you done, threatening me? Just leave me alone!” “Whoa, Celestia! What happened? When I left you were at your end, you were even unable to say something. And now, you are as self-assured as you always are. Calm down. I'm not here because of you. I'm here because of her!” Celestia suddenly started shivering, as if it was very cold. She turned her head to see how one of the shadows in the room raised. It changed its form until it merely reassembled an alicorn. It was unlike the spell they had cast on Sombra a thousand years ago. Sombra himself had become a shadow, but he was more like a cloud that darkened everything. This shadow just looked like an ordinary shadow with the exception it moved on its own. Her pupils constricted. “You know Celestia, it is not fun to talk to you when I'm a few hundred miles away. This time, I visit you personally.” “Who... What are you?” Celestia was in panic. This was not magic. This was not science. What was this? “Impossible...” she whispered to herself. “You wouldn't understand, what I am, Celestia. And you wouldn't understand why I'm here. So I'll give you a little hint: Look at Twilights eyes. And don't worry about me while you do. There's no reason for me to harm anypony.” Celestia was worried. “What have you done to her? DON'T YOU DARE TO...” “Calm down! I've done nothing. Now look at her eyes already! It sure is worth the time.” Celestia turned and walked in front of Twilight. She was still in the air so Celestia had to fly up a little bit. There were red lines in Twilights eyes. They glew in a dark tone. First, Celestia didn't realize what she just saw. Then, she panicked. She fell down again and staggered a few steps away from Twilight. There were red glowing pentagrams in both of Twilights eyes. They were surrounded by a black circle. “A magic seal... what kind of illusion is this? How are you trying to trick me now!?” “This is not trick. Those seals are real. I will tell you why you were unable to move sun and moon.” Celestia turned her head and looked at the shadow once again. “I used my magic to change time for them. Your magic worked, but they moved slower because of time-dilatation. I slowed them down to one thousandth of their normal speed. And this little alicorn over there still was able to move them. Can you possibly imagine what kind of power it takes to do this?” Celestia was shocked. She knew that is was not normal for the sun and the moon to behave like this. But this... this was worse than her darkest thoughts. She would never be able to undo such a powerful time-spell. “Wha... what did you just say? One thousandth!?!” “Yes, this is what I said. Twilight used more magic in a few minutes than you do in one year. And she's still able to stand. Hell, she isn't affected at all. And this is just a small glimpse of her real power.” What was he saying? This was impossible! Twilight just became an alicorn! There was no way she was this powerful already. It had to be a lie. Maybe he had casted this time-spell and undid it when Twilight tried to move the sun? “You think I'm lying, don't you? Well, then let me undo the time-spell to proof that I'm not.” A deep red aura formed around the shadow. Celestia felt her eyes burn as she looked at it, but there was no way she would take only one eye off him. After a few seconds, the light started to flicker. Celestia turned. The sun was running over the firmament at an incredible speed. It needed only seconds to pass it completely. “You know, the sun keeps her movement. And even tough she only used negative emotions, it still is fast enough to fly around this planet in only 3 seconds. And this will go on for the next half hour. I think this is a very good glimpse how powerful she is. And this is only a fraction of the power she will possess soon.” Celestia fought for breath. This was impossible! This had to be some sort of illusion, some sort of disguise. “...Wha... What do you mean? Fraction? Fraction of what?” Celestia gasped. “You saw her eyes. Those are unlike the magical seals you know. Her magic limits itself. But even the limited magic of hers is more powerful than everything I've ever seen. Nightmare Moon is a joke compared to this. Discord is a joke compared to this. Even the crystal heart is a joke compared to this.” “What... what is 'this'? Answer me!” Celestia needed the answer. She feared for Twilight. “This is the magic of Equestria itself. It's far beyond everything you and Luna wield. And it gets stronger the more Equestria looses balance. If the balance is destroyed completely, she will become a goddess! She will be able to restore Equestria with a snap of her tail or destroy it with a thought crossing her mind. She will be the most powerful being to ever exist. She is the very last defense Equestria itself creates in order to protect itself. You know what that means.” “You want to destroy Equestria to punish me? You want her to become a goddess so she can kill me? This is madness! Do you even realize what you are saying? After all you and your friends sacrificed...” “Don't you dare to ever only mention them! You are not worth their names! And you are not worth to remember them! You are the reason they are dead! They are all dead, just because of you! And I'm caught here because of you! All this pain you caused keeps me here!” The voice was trembling in anger and in despair. “This is not how it has to be! None of you is still caught. Shadow Mirror...” Celestia was interrupted by the voice. “HOW DARE YOU USE HER NAME!?!” “She found peace. She passed away, she isn't here any longer. You can find peace as well. There is no need for you to stay. Why can't you just leave?” “Lies! Like always! You lied to me in the past! You never did anything else than lying! What makes you expect I trust you now? You are just trying to avoid the judgement of her! You know she will kill you! You know she will punish you in a way you deserve it!” “She won't. She won't because she is better than I ever was. She is the one I can call my successor. She is the one who will undo my sins. And you are right. When the time comes, she will be my judge.” “You still don't get it, Celestia! She is more than just your judge. She is your executioner. She is the only one who can be your executioner. You created the sword that is going to behead you, Celestia. You will die! And you will be punished for everything you did in the afterlife!” “If you think my judgement is so certain, why are you here? Why do you tell me all this if you want me to die? Why?” The voice stayed still. The shadow didn't move at all. It stayed this way for a few seconds. “The time spell will end when the sun has normalized it's movement. You won't meet me again.” the voice finally said as the shadow went back into his original form. He closed his eyes. “White Flare! Heeeey, White Flare! Come on, join us!” White Flare turned his head. It was a pegasus-mare with yellow coat, blue eyes and orange mane. Her name was Yellow Shine. “Can you wait a few seconds? Let me just finish this book. Celestia gave it to me. There are only 4 more pages left.” he answered. “Oh come on! Reading isn't the most important thing in the world! And I bet the letters won't run away!” annother pony replied. This time it was a pegasus-stallion. He had a white coat, bright red eyes and a silver mane. His name was Silver Dash. “We would really miss you if you wouldn't join us!” a deep blue unicorn mare with black mane and red eyes said. Her name was Shadow Mirror. “How could I deny a your invitation, Shadow?” White Flare said as he magically levitated the book into one of his saddlebags. “What are you going to do anyway?” “We are going to go for a picnic! We've got crystal berry punch and pie! It's going to be a great thing to relax!” a earth-pony-mare with light pink coat, dark pink mane and pink eyes said. Her name was Bright Life. “Okay this is really a great idea. After all this trouble we've been trough to get here... we finally slipped Discords reign. I think this is worth a little celebration.” White Flare stated. “But Celestia will sure be disappointed of me if I don't finish this book.” “And Luna will tell her that some ponies need more than just books and air to live. I know, Celestia only has the best in her mind but still I'm happy Luna is my mentor and not Celestia. She is not so strictly.” Shadow Mirror said. Now that he thought about it, Celestia really was strictly. He could understand her though. The crystal empire was protected by the powerful magic of the Crystal Heart, but out there were still hundreds of thousands of ponies suffering Discords reign. And Celestia had risked everything to get those 6 ponies here, hoping they may be able to do what she was unable to do one day. A few minutes later they had arrived the royal gardens of the crystal empire. There were many ponies around, eating, laughing and enjoying their lifes. However, none of them was equestrian. They were all crystal ponies. White Flare felt like a stranger. “Why are you so quiet, Flare? Is something wrong? Anything I could help you with?” the last pony in their group asked. She had a light green coat, blue eyes and a green mane with red highlights. Her name was High Pose. “...This is not our home.” White Flare answered after a few seconds. “What are you talking about? Those ponies were so kind to offer us, a few refugees from Equestria, a place to stay, a place to slip Discords rule.” Shadow Mirror said. “I didn't say I'm not grateful for that. But, Equestria was and will always be our home. No matter how friendly the crystal ponies are and no matter how long we stay here, this chaotic and destroyed land we used to love like nothing else will always be our home.” White Flare stated. The others lowered their heads. Their faces became sad. “I'm sorry... I know you all miss our home just as much as I do.” White Flare apologized. “Yes and that's exactly why we are so happy to be here. The land we once called our home is now nothing but a mere shadow of what it used to be. It's literally turned upside down.” Silver Dash said. “I know that, Silver! I know what Discord did to our home. But I also know, one day, we will be able to free Equestria. And we will return to our home. And we will once again run over the flowered fields we used to love when we were just little fillies and little colts.” “How can you know that, Flare? How do you know that everything you are trying to safe isn't already lost forever?” Shadow Mirror asked. “Of all the ponies you ask that, Shadow? You know our saviors. Celestia and Luna have come to free Equestria. And I believe they can do it! I believe in them! And I believe one day we will have peace in this shattered world.” “The world was already shattered before Discord arrived, Flare. The great civil war of Equestria, remember? You lost your parents back then. Everypony lost somepony dear. It wasn't Discord who shattered Equestria. We did.” High Pose said. “You are right. But now, we are down. We are lying on the ground. But if you reached the button, there is only one way: Up. And I know Celestia and Luna won't betray us. They will bring peace to the land we shattered. You'll see...” He opened his eyes. “Those bright and hopeful days... gone forever. The dead do not dream.” Author's Note This is not the end of the story. Hell, we aren't even close to its middle. Everything will make sense in the end, I promise. And if it doesn't, I allow you all to punch me. Chapter 3: Late night sleepShadows of the past Chapter 3: Late night sleep “I... I did it! I DID IT!” Twilight jumped up into the air. “Impressive. Very, very impressive. Now I know why my sister took you as her private pupil. You are really fast-learning.” Luna said. She never saw anything like this. It was incredible how fast she managed to use a completely new kind of magic. She herself had needed two weeks to master pegasus-magic. Celestia had needed five weeks. And Twilight had managed to do it in only one hour. After a few jumps, Twilight began so waver. A second later, she lost her balance and was about to fall to the ground. “Whoa hey!” Luna caught her, folding her wings around the little alicorn. Her eyes were closed. There was still a big smile on her face, but seemingly she just fell asleep. “Of course... She's really exhausted. Celestia, we should find someplace to sleep for her. Maybe...” Luna turned her head to the place Celestia stood a few seconds ago. But she was gone. “Celestia?” “I'm over here.” Celestia answered with a dull tone. She stood in the middle of the room. “How did you get there?” Luna was confused. She thought Twilight was the only pony that mastered the teleportation-spell to the extend where one can use it without the flash appearing. “Have you finally perfected you teleportation-skills? It was about time!” Luna smiled. Celestia just stared at her. “Shocked about Twilight?” “She... she is exhausted?” Celestia asked with lots of confusion in her voice. “Well, of course she is! It's impressive what she is able to do, but still, she's only one pony. All this finally got to her. And now she had to cast one of the most difficult spells existing. I think she really should get some sleep. But you were right. She really surprised me.” “Exhausted...” Celestia mumbled. “Is anything wrong?” Luna was concerned about the strange behavior of her sister. “...No. Everything is fine.” Celestia smiled. This was her first smile of the day that felt true to Luna. “Now, could you please help me a little bit? I can't hold her all night.” Celestia just looked at her and Twilight. Her eyes felt warm and calm. It was strange, but Luna had never seen Celestia like this. It felt like she was just really happy. It felt as good as it was strange to Luna. In the past, Celestia was always concerned about anything. But right now, there was just this warm aura around her, filling the room. “He was wrong. Twilight isn't the one. The spell exhausted her. She is not the heir of this terrible destiny.” Celestias thoughts filled her with joy. Twilight was only an alicorn. She wouldn't become a goddess. She wouldn't need to abandon her friends to protect them from herself. She wouldn't have to bear the destiny of Equestria alone. “Celestia! Seriously, we should finally stop standing here and find a place for her to rest. She can't stay here. The guards would wake her too soon. She will probably need more than just a few hours of sleep.” Lunas voice was soft and quiet. She didn't want to wake Twilight. She had just done something great. She really deserved the sleep. “You are right. Can you take her to the guest-rooms? I will go and tell her friends that she's alright. They're probably waiting for her.” Luna nodded and lifted Twilight onto her back. She slowly walked out of the room. As she reached the door, Celestia opened her mouth again. “And Luna?” Luna turned her head too look at Celestia. “Yes, sister?” “Please watch over her dreams.” Lunas smile widened. She left the room. “She isn't the one...” Celestia whispered to herself. “But what about those seals?” The voices in her head had awakened. “And what about this strange magical power?” “Are you sure he's wrong?” “What if he's not?” “What if she's the one?” “What if she will kill... me?” Those voices came with terrible migraine. Celestia bent down, putting both her front hooves on her head as if she tried to suppress herself. “Shut up...” she whispered to herself, yet, uncertain and weak. “You know he's right, Celestia!” “She will find out one day!” “Your past won't let us go!” “You will die!” “SHUT UP!” she yelled at herself. The voices were gone at an instant. But still, it felt like something was inside of her head. Something that was not a part of her. If felt like there was a stranger in her mind. “What has he done to me? What is this?” she asked herself. She walked onto the balcony and looked at the moon that had just risen. She closed her eyes to feel how her thoughts calmed. It was silent. The night had finally risen. “Where is she? She's gone one and a half our already!” Rainbow Dash was never known for her patience. But waiting for so long wasn't only making her nervous. “Seemingly she hasn't heard of beauty-sleep. I need to go to bed or I'll get hideous wrinkles!” Rarity whined. “At least the moon has risen. That means there's nothin' bad happenin'.” Applejack said. “Look! There she is!” Pinkie Pie squealed. They all turned their heads and looked into the corridor Pinkie pointed out. It was empty. “Pinkie Pie! There is nopony!” Rainbow Dash was furious. “You'll see! Just wait for it...” They all twisted their eyes. Pinkie Pie was just being random... again. But then, suddenly, a deep blue pony with a floaty mane appeared in the corridor. She was carrying something. “See?” Pinkie said. “Pinkie Pie! That's just princess Luna! What makes you think that Twilight...” Rainbow stopped mid sentence as the thing Luna was carrying spread its wings just to fold them again. They all panicked. What happened? Why was Luna carrying Twilight? And why did this take so long? They all broke into gallop, running towards Luna. She, however, didn't notice them and just went on, leaving the corridor through another door. “Where is she going?” Fluttershy asked. “I don't know, but we simply must ask her what happened.” Rarity said. They galloped faster. Applejack was the first to reach the door. “Twilight! Princess Luna! Wait!” Luna stopped, turned her head and looked right into Applejacks eyes. At the same moment, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash arrived the door. She looked very confused. “Hello everypony... could you please lower your voice?” “What?!?!” Pinkie Pie yelled. It echoed trough the hallway. Luna lifted one of her eyebrows. “Please, just calm down and be quiet!” Luna said as the other five ponies slowly approached. “What happened? Why are you carrying Twilight? And why isn't she answering? And why didn't you rise the moon earlier?” Rainbow Dash said with concerned voice. “Seemingly, Celestia missed to tell them. She wasn't herself today...” Luna thought. “Firstly: She isn't answering because she is asleep. So please try not to wake her.” “Asleep?” the five ponies asked as if they were just one. “Yes, asleep. Secondly, I didn't let the moon rise. It was Twilight, which may answer all the other questions.” Their mouths opened and stayed open wide. Luna giggled a little. “This was exactly Celestias reaction.” Luna said. “...without this silly look on her face.” she thought. “This still doesn't really explain what happened, your highness.” Rarity was the first to talk again. “You are right. This doesn't really explain anything. Well, Celestia and I decided to lengthen the day to literally highlight how special it is.” Luna said. “Awesome! Can you do this when I become a wonderbolt, too?” Rainbow Dash was amazed. Luna didn't know what to answer. A 'No' would probably hurt her, but becoming a wonderbolt wasn't even near to becoming a princess in matter of significance. And it wasn't even planned for Twilights coronation. Fortunately, Rarity said something before Luna thought something up. “Rainbow Dash! You just interrupted the princess! And it is not important what will happen one day. Right now, we are here because we want to know what happened with Twilight!” Luna was incredibly happy Rarity had jumped in. “However...” she went on, “we also used the sun and the moon to introduce her into a new kind of magic she just gained. But, because this magic is really hard to master, it exhausted her. So much that she fell asleep right after she was done.” “That explains why she isn't answering. But it still doesn't explain why you are carrying her.” Applejack looked at her even more confused than before. “Well I wanted to bring her to the guest-rooms of the castle so she can get some sleep.” “That's not what I mean. Why are you carrying her and not one of Celestias or your guards?” “Why am I carrying her?” Luna walked down the corridor to the guest-rooms. She had told the others that there was no guard at hand. A lie. She had told them that there was nothing strange about it. Another lie. It was strange. Luna usually avoided too much physical contact to other ponies. After a thousand years on the moon, not very surprising. She was used to the void, used to being alone. But, right now, she carried Twilight trough half the castle, voluntary. When she picked her up, if just felt like she had to do it. She felt very close to Twilight. But in fact, she had only met her a few times. “Why not one of my guards?” The time after she was restored by the Elements of Harmony she preferred to do everything through her guards. She had to come over the emotions first. She had to deal with all the pain still inside of her. But she completely forgot about her guards when she walked out of the room. Her faithful guards, who had stayed with her all the time and who had endured her strange manners. The guards she usually would've called to carry Twilight. Caught in her thoughts, she almost missed the door to the castles guest-rooms. As she passed the door, a sudden clatter ripped her out of her mind back into the real world. “Princess Luna! We haven't expected your arrival so soon. We thought you might take a few more minutes...” A pony in a white uniform went out of the door straight towards Luna. It was one of the several maids working inside of the castle. “A guard of your highness just told us you would bring somepony here to sleep and we had no made bed for our guest. So we had to quickly make one and we are not done yet. Besides, who is the guest and where is he?” Considering the way the maid talked to her, Luna could tell she was new. The old maids preferred not to ask the inhabitants of the castle anything and only talked if they were asked to do so. Well, this were the experiences Luna made with them. Maybe they were just afraid to talk to the pony formerly known as Nightmare Moon. “Well, out guest is right here with me.” Luna answered as started to walk into the guest-room. “Where? I can't see...” the maid froze at the moment Luna passed her. “Is this... Why are... What in...” The reaction of the mare spoke for the her confusion. But Luna didn't care. She just walked on into the guest-room. In there were 2 other maids. They bent down as Luna had passed the door. “Your highness.” both of them said as if they practiced it. “You can leave now.” Luna said. “But we are not done yet!” the maid in Lunas back objected. “She in fact is new...” Luna whispered as the two other maids left. They said something to the younger one Luna couldn't understand. Then the door behind Luna closed. Luna started finishing what the maids had begun. First, she added a few more pillows to the half-made bed. Then she used some blankets to cover the pillows and the mattress. It looked kinda messy. The maids probably had more practice in making beds. But Luna knew how Twilight used to sleep from her visit at Ponyville last Nightmare Night. And Twilights bed wasn't less messy when Luna saw it. She levitated the little Alicorn above the bed and wrapped another blanket around her before slowly lowered her onto the bed. There she lay, a ball of feathers, fur and blankets on pillows and more blankets. For some reason, it felt familiar to Luna, this inexpressible feeling of relief and peace. It felt as if she already experienced this feeling she had right now. But it was impossible. She could only remember pain, anger and hatred in her past. She could only remember how she hurt ponies, only remember how she became Nightmare Moon, only remember a millennium alone on the moon... “Awesome...” Rainbow Dash was the first to speak after they had met Luna. It was a shocking revelation that Twilight was able to raise sun and moon now. After all, this was something very special only Celestia and Luna had done yet. Of course all of them knew her friend was something special, but this was beyond their imagination. “What do you mean, dear?” Rarity had also found her words again. “That Twilight has raised the moon, that we all just became royal guards or this lovely banquet?” It was not only overwhelming to Twilight what had happened today. This day probably would change all of their lives forever. All of her friends were already agitated when they saw Twilights concerns about Celestia. It had just gotten worse since then. “All of it... Well, except for this boring banquet.” Rainbow Dash answered. “You know what I said when Twilight got her wings?” “Yes! You said 'Awesome! A new flying buddy!' And I was like 'Alicorn Party!' And Rarity was like 'You've become an alicorn!'” Pinkie Pie said. Her emotional state was just as random as she was. A few seconds ago she was too shocked to say a word. And now, she didn't stop talking... again. “And Applejack was like...” “I think we all got what you wanna tell us, sugarcube.” Applejack interrupted her. “I think I didn't get what actually happened... I thought nothing would happen. Well, except for Twilight flying around. But this will change everything forever. Things will never be the same again...” Rainbow Dash said. It was unlike her to be so serious, but her words mirrored what everyone of them was thinking right now. Everything was going to change. Only the future could tell whether it was to the better or the worse... “Come on, Dashie! Nothing has changed. Twilight is still the same pony we know, we are all still who we used to be and Equestria hasn't changed after all, too. How could things never be the same again if things never changed?” This was such a Pinkie-thing to say. But now, that Pinkie had said it, it seemed to be right. It was such a Twilight-thing to freak out for worries she made herself, like she did when she stood there and was waiting for Luna. It was a Rainbow-Dash-thing to suddenly get serious under stress and it was a Rarity-thing to be dazzled by the high-society of Canterlot. It was a Fluttershy-thing to stay in the background and only speak in crowds if she was either really worried or really stressed and it was a Applejack-thing to calm everypony down if they needed it. And Pinkie Pie was just being Pinkie Pie, there was nothing that could ever change her. None of them had changed after all. It was a relief to realize this. Maybe there were not so many things going to change. But then, Rarity and Applejack both realized one giant problem. “Where are we going to sleep?!” they both exclaimed at the same time. It was planned that they would return to Ponyville after the banquet. Twilight had to stay in Canterlot a few days anyways because of lots of things. But it was way too late for them to return to Ponyville now. The last train had left Canterlot hours ago. “Maybe we should ask the princess where to sleep. What do you think Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash said, trying to involve Fluttershy into their dialogue. “Well uhm... We could ask her... I guess...” she said with her normal voice. Well, it was more of a whispering but Fluttershys voice almost always was a whispering. They all turned to walk. “Why can't I remember it?” Luna walked down the corridor to her rooms. This image of Twilight on the bed had awakened something in her. She knew, there had to be more than pain and hatred in her past, but she couldn't remember it. She knew, there was something the calmed her thoughts and gave her peace, even after she had returned from the moon. Sure, the fear of all the other ponies had hurt her and she felt lonely especially when she was with Celestia. It felt like she was being overshadowed again, like she was a thousand years ago. But there was something that helped her to take it, something that feared the loneliness away and helped her to see Equestria as the beautiful land it had become in her absence. It made her sad that she couldn't remember it... “What is it?” There was something all the time. It was something that made her want to be loved, though she only sought hate in her past. Something that made her want to change for the acceptance of those who feared her like if she was still a monster. Something that made her feel as if she already knew this bright world she had awoken in. It felt like the first light of the dawn after a long nightmare. And Luna couldn't remember what it was... She opened the blue doors to her rooms and walked in. Something felt different from normal. It felt wrong, as if she walked into the wrong toilet. But she was sure, this was her room. There was the carpet with the pale-white crescent moon on it, her round bed, the ceiling with a night sky out of diamonds... But still, this felt like another ones room. But why? She walked towards her bed as the doors behind her closed. She turned and looked at the now closed doors. She smiled. “How do those ponies manage to get along with me?” she whispered to herself. She knew, her guards never left her for a second. But she saw them very rarely. Sometimes it was like her guards were able to melt into shadows. “Shadows... They're always like shadows. I really need to thank the... SHADOWS?!” One of the shadows in her room began to move. It moved towards her. Her eyes widened. This was strange. She didn't remember entering someponys dreams. But this had to be a dream, shadows couldn't move on their own. And those who could would feel like a magical flare. But this one was a normal shadow. “Ok, in which ponies dreams am I?” she asked herself as she tried to remember casting her dreamspell. “This is no dream, Luna. And I am incredibly happy it is not a dream.” a voice answered. Lunas pupils constricted. There was no way a dream could interact with her! Only the dreaming pony could do so. But there was no pony dreaming. She only knew one spell that could do this. “Haha, very funny Celestia. Is this your revenge for the cake-jokes I made yesterday?” Luna said. “This has nothing to do with Celestia, Luna. However, I visited her already. Twice...” The voice answered. Luna was sure this was a joke. But this spell was to powerful to break. So she decided to play along. Maybe this situation could become fun. “Of cooooouuuurse this has nothing to do with you... ahem Celestia. Now, what do we do? How about some cake, Mr. Shadow?” “...You really don't remember me? It is a thousand years ago but still... You told me and my friends you would never forget us.” the voice said. “But it's probably not your fault.” Luna was startled. This voice... It felt familiar. And though she couldn't remember her promising this to anypony it felt like she had. “Who are you?” she said, now with serious voice. “Where do you know me from?” “You and your sister saved me and my friends from Discord. How did you forget about us?” “Wait! I and Celestia saved nopony from Discord! She had to banish his power and petrify his body using...” “Us.” the voice said dryly. Us? What was he saying? Luna was sure she and her sister had used the Elements of Harmony, not soldiers. And she was sure... Wait, Luna knew all of this, but it was strange. The memories were blurry and chaotic. “What are you?” Luna asked. “What happened? How could you forget about us? You, who never forgot a single thing? You were able to tell us what we had dreamed every single morning and you were able to remember our dreams better than we were. It was really impressive every single morning and it always enchanted us.” the voice said with happy voice. Seemingly, this was a very sweet memory for him. “What are you?” Luna asked again, now with fear in her eyes. This shadow knew her, but how? “You forgot about us...” the voice said, now with very sad voice. “Then, let me introduce myself. I am White Flare, former apprentice of your sister and element of loyalty.” “White Flare...” Luna mumbled. She knew this name. Her lips formed another name involuntarily. “Shadow Mirror...” “You haven't forgotten completely, have you?” the voice said enthusiastically. “Of course I remember Shadow Mirror. She once was Celestias apprentice.” Luna said. “No Luna, she was your apprentice. At the same time when I was Celestias apprentice. At the same time when Discord ruled Equestria.” An image flashed in Lunas mind. It was the image of Twilight lying on the bed. But, it was different. The coat was deep blue, there were no feathers and the blankets looked less expensive. The surroundings were also different. It was not a big castle room, but a small hut made of wood. With this image, this feeling of relief came back. “You saved from Discord. We all don't know what exactly happened... We all already knew you from old tales. It was a big shock to us all when we woke up in the crystal empire with you two standing in front of us.” The image became a full-grown memory... “Sister! Hurry! We have to get them before Discord finds out about them!” Celestia said. Both of them were flying over a twisted land. It looked as if someone gave an 4 year old girl the power to form reality. Everything had strange colors and seemingly the rules of physics didn't apply to this land. “I'll get the filly! Go and get the colt! We'll meet back at the crystal empire!” Luna said. Celestia nodded. They had already saved 4 other ponies closer to the empire. But those two seemed to live at the other end of Equestria! As she flew over the land she saw several other ponies. The first ponies she saw looked still normal, even though they should be scared. But the farther she went the more ponies seemed to be twisted. She could see some pegasi digging in the ground with their wings and she could see some floating earth ponies. There were also some unicorns with spiral-holes where theirs horns should be. Those holes were way deeper than their heads would usually allow them to be. Luna became very concerned. Was she too late? Finally, Luna arrived at an old hut. It was flying above the earth and it was upside down. Luna entered the hut without hesitation. In there lay a young pony, wrapped in blankets. She couldn't make out any details from where she stood, but the coat of the pony seemed to be dark blue. As Luna came closer, she felt relief. The young pony was still normal. It wasn't twisted. But then, Luna heard a whimper that wiped out her relief and filled her with deep sadness... “Mommy! Don't...” Lunas eyes widened. “You have regained some memories, don't you?” the voice said in relief. “Do you finally remember me?” “No...” Luna whispered. What just happened? This memory was completely new to her! There was no spell known to her able to make alicorns forget. Sure, there were memory-spells to erase memories, but those spells were unable to affect alicorns in any way. The sheer amount of magic alicorns usually possess prevents them from being affected by this kind of magic. “Do you at least remember Shadow Mirror? You meant everything to her. You owe her the memory.” “I remember the moment I first saw her. That's all.” Luna said. She still was shocked. What could make her forget? “You don't remember who she was? You don't remember what she did to save you? What she sacrificed?” the voice asked. She sounded concerned. “What did she do? What did she sacrifice?” Luna was perplexed. She couldn't remember anypony doing anything for her before the Elements of Harmony turned her back from being Nightmare Moon. The shadow hadn't managed to take a form all the time. It had tried all the time but for some reason, it was unable to take form. But now it looked as if the shadow was dragged back to his normal form. “Looks like Celestia didn't like this incident at the banquet.” the voice said. Luna suddenly understood what was going on. “You were this strange phenomena Celestia told me about? You were the one who threatened her at the banquet? And you dare to visit me after this? Do you think you can stir me up against her?” The shadow slowly turned back to his normal form. But before the shadow was completely normal, the voice said a thing that made Lunas heart skip a beat. “There is no need for me to stir you up, Luna. Celestia already did this in the past. You only need to remember it.” “Come on, Twilight! We're gonna be late for the Nightmare Night festival!” Twilight approached the stairs of her library. She was wearing a hoof-made costume of Starswirl the Bearded. She was very proud that she made it all herself. It had taken weeks and surprisingly many books about stitching. But it had turned out great! Twilight was sure everypony would identify her costume! She went down the stairs. “Huh? Are you that one kooky old grandpa from Ponyville Retirement Village?” Spike asked. “I'm Starswirl the Bearded!” Twilight was already annoyed. Not only did Spike take the most ridiculous costume Twilight could think on, a dragon, he seemingly had ignored her the last three days. And he still looked confused. “Father of the... Oh forget it!” She already knew he didn't read the book she gave him and Twilight was not willing to argue with him. Nightmare Night was a holiday after all. “Come on, Spike! You already said we're late and now I'm waiting for you!” Twilight said as she went to the door. “On my way!” Spike ran past her, opened the door and instantly jumped away from it. “Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet tonight!” three little fillies sang instantly. One was costumed as ladybug, one as princess and the last one was wearing some strange kind of helmet with stars on it. It looked like one of those strange helmets described in this famous book-series about ponies in space. All of them had little bags attached to their costumes. There was also an elder mare following the fillies. It was Granny Smith. She was however not wearing a costume like everypony else. Twilight approached the door. “Happy Nightmare...” Spike had started coughing, thereby interrupting her. He was easy to scare anyways, but opening the door just to be surprisingly yelled at without any kind of warning was even startling for somepony less fearful. Everypony was looking at him. “Is he alright?” one of the fillies asked with concerned voice. “There's nothing wrong with him.” Twilight stated as she lifted Spike with her telekinesis and patted him on his back with one of her front hooves. He instantly stopped coughing. “Thanks Twilight.” “Enough! Where's the candy?” A pink pony with a chicken-costume pushed the fillies away. Twilight could now see that there was also a little colt that had hidden behind them until yet. His costume was the one of a pirate. “Pinkie Pie, that's very rude! Just pushing those fillies aside. Aren't you too old for this anyways?” Twilight asked. “Too old for free candy? NEVER!” Yep, this was clearly the real Pinkie Pie. For some reason Twilight was expecting somepony would dress up as Pinkie and therefor was always ready for a Pinkie-decoy. She giggled at bit before levitating the bowl with sweets to Pinkie and the fillies. After the fillies had taken one candy at a time, Pinkie almost jumped into the bowl, throwing sweets trough half the library. However, in the end she only took one candy, leaving all the other ones evenly distributed over all the floor. Suddenly the colt jumped into the room. “Pipsqueak the pirate, to your service bearded lady! I am here to vanquish this terrible candy-devouring chicken-monster from your home!” he said with playful voice. “Thank... Wait! Bearded lady?” he seemingly didn't get her costume... But he was too young to know who or what Starswirl the bearded was. However, before Twilight could say anything more, Pinkie screamed. “You will never get me, pirate!” Pipsqueak took to sword attached to the costume into his mouth. “Yuu will nut eshape, monshter!” Laughing loud, both of them ran out of library. Twilight turned to the fillies. “Do you at least get my costume?” “Yeah. You are costume the lead singer of this cool new band.” “Lead singer?” Twilight lifted one of her eyebrows. “Yeah they costume as important unicorn wizards of the past. The lead singer costumes as Starswirl the bearded.” “Well, close enough.” Twilight thought. “Well, actually we both share the same costume.” she explained to the fillies. “But why would you costume as ugly old stallion? Especially when you are a mare?” Twilight opened her mouth to answer but no answer crossed her mind. After a few seconds standing just around this way, she gave up and said: “Well... I don't know. Spike, lets go.” “Thank you everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!” the mayor had started her speech. Twilight however was too frustrated to listen to it right now. Nopony she had met yet knew Starswirl. And everypony thought she was some kind of weird pony. Applejack even thought she was a country music singer. And that after all the labor she had put into her costume... “Now, all the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should floolow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of...” she intentionally made a short break in her speech. “Nightmare Moooooooooon! MUHAHAHAHAHA!” A pony next to Twilight had started laughing. Twilight turned her head to see that the pony was lying on the ground trying to stop. She could also see that the pony had a blue coat, wings, a horn... “Princess Luna?!?” The pony turned its head. It had stopped laughing. “Dammit! You got me!” Luna said. “Wha... How... Why did nopony notice you yet?” Twilight was confused. The other ponies still behaved as if Luna wasn't there. “Well, because, for them, I don't exist.” Twilight was confused. “Don't exist? Wait, am I becoming insane? Or is this all some sort of illusion?” Twilights expression became suspicious. “Do you finally understand what's going on?” Luna asked. “...I failed at this memory-spell again, didn't I? The last time I did I was caught in a land made of bubblegum for about 10 hours... Oh how...” “Land of bubblegum?” Luna had raised her eyebrow. “Twilight, most ponies would ask themselves whether they were asleep. And you come up with such hilarious ideas?” she started laughing again. “This... is a dream?” Twilight asked. “Well it's not a failed memory-spell. And I am pretty sure if I was an illusion I would not laugh at you all time. Or I would laugh harder at you all time.” Luna was trying to stop laughing. She only had partially success. She still broke into giggle every few seconds. “Well this may be a dream. But why are you laughing all time? What's so funny?” “Well, actually nothing. I think I just need to laugh a little bit after everything that happened...” “What happened? Is it about me raising the... I raised the moon!” Twilight grinned from ear to ear. But then, her face again changed to suspicious. “Wait... Couldn't that have been a dream? Actually, me becoming an alicorn and raising the moon sounds weirder than you sneaking onto this festival.” “Have you ever remembered a full dream without any breach in real life?” Luna asked. “Well... No.” Twilight said. “So this is the dream? But, why are you here then?” “Well it makes more sense than me sneaking onto Ponyville Nightmare Night festival if you consider that I am the princess of the night, doesn't it? You just lowered the sun and raised the moon and fell asleep right after doing so. I thought I should watch out you get your sleep after so many days without it.” “How do you know how long I didn't sleep?” Twilight was confused but Luna just raised her eyebrow. “Oh, princess of the night, right...” “But I have to admit, I am concerned that you dream of this night.” Luna said. “Why? Isn't this just a normal dream?” “It's not a normal dream. It's a dream about your memories. This only happens when there is something bothering you about the memory. Something you haven't handled yet. And we both know what this memory is about...” Luna said. “I still don't know what worries you about this dream.” Twilight said. “That you dream of this night tells me that you fear something regarding me. And if you think about it, this can only be one thing...”
Prologue: Shadows RaisingShadows of the past Prologue: Shadows Raising "Everything is just fine.“ Ever since she said it, Twilight heard this bouncing in her head. "Everything is going to be just fine“, she heard, over and again. She really meant it when she said it but now... it just sounded wrong. It felt wrong. It was the same feeling she had when Crysalis ponynapped Cadence. "Don't you agree, Twilight?“ a familiar voice asked her. "Hmmm? What...“ she was about to forget she was a princess now and had to behave like one. "...did you just say? I'm terribly sorry i didn't get it but i think i was just lost in my thoughts.“ she caught herself. She was in a big hall somewhere in Canterlot Castle. It was the celebration after her coronation and, of course, she was the guest of honor. She was surrounded by ponies, eating drinking and having fun... Well, at least what the Canterlot elite called so. In her opinion, this whole banquet was boring beyond measure. Of course, everypony watched every step she made, every word she said was heard by hundreds of ponies. And surely thousands of ponies would get to know how she behaved her very first day as a princess. She was very nervous. "Never mind.“ the familiar voice said. It was Rainbow Dashes. "I bet i would be lost in my thoughts too if something similar happened to me. I mean, it's soo awesome you became a princess! Almost as awesome as the wonderbolts...“ She couldn't resist to giggle a bit. It was characteristic to Rainbow Dash that she took the wonderbolts to measure almost everything that happened. Of course, there would never be a thing, able to reach them, but still sometimes it got annoying. Not that she didn't like the wonderbolts herself, but Rainbow Dash spoke of them like they were the peak of being itself. “But why”, Twilight was asking herself “is this all happening so quickly?” No week ago, she still was a normal unicorn, only caring about studying and her friends of course. She just became an alicorn 4 day ago. She wasn't even able to try her new magic. She wasn't even able to control it yet. It was a shame, but yet she felt like that day back in the past when she was trying to get into Celestias school for gifted unicorns and was about to blow the test. She lost control back then. It was almost the same feeling she had right now. Almost. "Twilight!“ Rainbow Dash said in a more piercing tone. "Even if you are a princess now, I swear I'm going to throw you off a cloud someday if you go on just ignoring me over and again!“ "I'm so sorry. I just can't keep my thoughts were they should be. But i promise, I'm going to listen now. So what were you trying to tell me?“ Twilight said in a soothing tone. "Well my dear, we were just discussing whether this wonderful banquet is too 'fancy'“ another familiar voice said, but this time, it was Raritys. "Applejack just told the chef, they should stop making those 'fancy little odeuvres' and instead should make some...“ Rarity was struggling with the words. "... 'good ol' apple fritters.'“ She frowned about what she just said. Twilight couldn't resist. A big smile showed up on her face. She already was aware something like this would happen, but Raritys reaction made it not only funny, but hilarious. She kinda shared Applejacks opinion. "Well that's Applejack. You know, she doesn't really like food that's decor at the same time. In her mind, it is wasted time.“ Twilight answered. "If i think about it, she might be right. Why do they put so much effort in something that's going to end in someponys mouth anyways?“ "TWILIGHT! I just cannot believe what you just said! Your a princess now! You, above everyone else i know, should understand why they put so much effort in what they do!“ Rarity screamed. It looked like Twilights last statement really hit her innermost. "So... If you think I should understand, could you please enlighten me?“ Twilight said in a little sarcastic tune. Usually, she would've cared more about what Rarity was thinking. But right now, she was bored because of this banquet, worried because of the feeling something was wrong, overwhelmed by all the emotions that came with her coronation and tired because she was too nervous to sleep since the evening she became an alicorn. Three full nights of sleep missing... Rarity opened her mouth to answer, but froze at the very same moment. "What's up Rarity?“ Rainbow Dash asked. "No need to be startled, Rarity.“ a voice from behind Twilight said. She knew this voice. Twilight turned around. "Princess!“ Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle said as if they were just one pony. "I'm sorry I have to be so rude to interrupt you, but I really think you should come with me Twilight.“ Princess Celestia said in a very serious tone. Twilight was worried. "Why? Did something bad happened? Oh i knew...“ "Knew what?“ Celestia interrupted her. "I was just going to ask you whether you could please tell Pinkie Pie that the cake is there for everypony, not just for her. I already tried to argue with her, but i think she might be suffering from a sugar overdose. She doesn't listen to anypony right now. Maybe you can get this right.“ Celestia said. She mumbled something about getting cake herself finally right after. Since the Gabby Gums column about her everypony knew she liked cake... a lot. She even became infamous for it. There were more than two dozen jokes about Celestia eating cake, stealing cake, devouring cake... Well, almost everything that could be done with cake. Of course it wasn't nearly as bad as the jokes stated. But having the most delicious cake of all Equestria in front of oneself just to look when Pinkie Pie's devouring it... Well that would even be a torture for somepony less into cake. Twilight sighed. "I will try to do my best. We don't want to deny this wonderful and tasty cake to a certain pony, do we?“ Twilight said with a strong ironic tone in her voice. Celestia started to grin. “Hey, just because you are a princess now doesn't mean you don't have to respect me anymore!” she stated with a fake-insulted tone. Everypony, except Rarity, was laughing. Of course they all knew it was all in good fun. And Twilight was happy that this... banquet started to lighten up. So was Celestia. She even feared it might become as awful as the Grand Galloping Gala. Pinkie Pie was even worse than usual. Not that it was actually a bad thing, but here her behavior just was unfitting. "Pinkie Pie?“ Twilight asked with a little worry in her voice. Pinkie Pie looked very messy, even if compared to her normal state. "Pinkie?“ she repeated, still with a soft voice and still with a little worry in it. "Pinkie! Would you please answer?“ Twilight said, now with much more definiteness in her voice. Pinkie Pie turned towards Twilight... well at least her body did. Her head stayed just like it was, munching on the icing of one of the smaller cakes presented on the table. Then Pinkie Pie suddenly realized that Twilight was it who spoke to her. She instantly turned her head, almost spitting cake frosting all over Twilights and Celestias new outfits. "Oh hey Twilight! Isn't this great? You just became a princess! And look, there's Celestia, another princess! And look, look! Over there! It's Cadence! Hi Cadence!” Twilight turned her head. Indeed, Cadence was standing there. But seemingly, she didn't know what to answer right now. Her face told Twilight that Pinkie Pie just hit her off-guard. However, Pinkie Pie hadn't stopped talking yet. “Have i told you about the cake? It's the best I ever tasted. Well except for 'MMM', but what could beat that? But still, I ate soooooooooooooooooo much of it already and now i feel a little strange but I just can't stop eating it! It's tooooooooo delicious!“ All those words left Pinkie Pie in a surprisingly short amount of time, even considering it was Pinkie Pie in front of them. "Well Pinkie, this cake was made for everypony and so every...“ She froze in the middle of her sentence. There was it again, this feeling, something bad was about to happen. The feeling something was wrong. But she couldn't imagine what it was. Twilight was worried. Seriously worried this time. She turned to ask Celestia whether it was normal for a new alicorn to have those... strange feelings. No, feelings was the wrong word. It felt like some kind of presentiment. She wanted to ask her what it could be. "Princess? I'd like to...“ She stopped mid-sentence as she saw Celestia. She just stood there. She didn't move a muscle. In fact, she looked like she just saw a ghost. She was like petrified. "Pinkie!“ she heard Twilight saying. Indeed, it was kind of funny to watch this. Pinkie Pie, who was just sugar-shocked and Twilight, who was absolutely serious about what she was saying. But only Twilight could make Pinkie stop devour the cakes today. Today, neither she nor her sister were important. Today was Twilights day. As Pinkie Pie finally turned around, she spitted frosting all over the place. “Oh, please just make it! Ruin my dress so I can take it off!” she thought. Her outfit looked just terrible. The colors did neither match her mane nor her coat. But it was tradition to wear this color. Caught in her thoughts, she nearly didn't notice when everypony around her froze, like someone was making the time go slower. Then, suddenly, everyone stood there like petrified. "What is going on? What is happening here?“ Celestia asked herself. Tough she didn't expect anypony to answer her question right now, she still got the answer. "Going on? Oh, nothing. I just thought a major part of your past should pay you a visit, now that your little student has ascended.“ a voice, echoing through the hall, answered. "No... how can this be possible?“ Celestia asked. She knew the voice. It was a voice that used to be friendly. It was a voice that used to belong to a dear friend. It used to... "How this is possible? Well, it's a simple combination of one of Starswirls time-spells and the spell Luna uses to visit ponies in their dreams. What did you think? That I would just march in here like Nightmare Moon did?” “That's not what I meant and you know it! I know this spell. It catches the pony it is cast on in a loop so he or she is isolated from everypony else. I used it to get sleep when I was controlling both, sun and moon! But that's not the point! I want to know how you are even able to talk to me right now! There are spells that allow you to go back in time, but none that let you go forward!” “Of course there aren't any spells that let you go to the future. You told me about a thousand years ago. Remember these good old days? When life was simple and Equestria was nothing but a mud hole? When it was just taken away from Discord? When you choosed to abandon me for your very own desire?“ The voice became cold as the breath of a windigo at the last sentence. "You died back then! How is this possible? How can you be here? Tell me right away!“ Celestia said, trying with everything she got to hide her fear. "I died? No I didn't. I wish I would've died! It would've been simple. A few seconds of pain and then seeing everything fade to black. But no, I didn't die. My very own soul was torn out of my body, being imprisoned! What died back there was your student. The student that thought, she meant something to you! The student that gave up everything to help you and Luna banish Discord! The student that saw you through a child’s eyes and saw a mother she never had!“ The building was trembling from the anger of the sentences the voice spoke. Then, it was quiet again. "The student you sacrificed in order to hide your very own sins.“ This last sentence was different. It trembled like those before. but it wasn't anger this time. It was pain. And it hit Celestia right into her heart. Tears started pouring out of her eyes. She no longer felt fear. Instead, she felt unspeakable pain. A pain, worse than any injury could afflict her. A pain, worse than anything she ever felt. It was the pain of guilt. Celestia tried to say something. Anything. But she was unable to even open her mouth. It was like her whole body was being burned to ashes. It was impossible for her to move. It was impossible for her to think. The only thing she was able to do right now, was shedding tears. Finally, she caught herself. Seeking the courage she usually had, she tried to speak. "What happened back then...“ It was hard to Celestia to even say one word. Speaking a whole sentence felt like trying to make water freeze and evaporate at the same time. "I... I... I want to tell you...“ Celestia took all the courage she had found yet and just said what she thought. "I'm sorry...“ "Oh I'm sure you are! You always are! You were sorry when you saw what others had to sacrifice in order to beat Discord, you were sorry when you saw what was sacrificed in order to stop King Sombra and I'm sure you were sorry when you had to banish Luna to the moon. You are always sorry for anything. But you never were truly sorry. But i guarantee, you soon will be!“ the voice declared. The pain in the tone was gone. Everything that remained was this terrible suppressed hatred in it. "What do you try to tell me?“ Celestia asked. Yet, the pain didn't go but there was something else returning to her. It was anger. She stopped weeping, turning her head, trying to find the source of the voice. Of course she knew she wouldn't find it. But something forced her to search for it. "Don't you dare even touch those I care for! I promise, it's not me who will be sorry if you try!“ "I'm not as cruel as you are, Celestia.“ the voice answered. Celestias eyes widened. "And I'm not your judge. But they are! You know that their judgment will be true. And you know they love you. But do they know? Do they know what you did? Nopony remembers, right? You even changed Lunas memory in order to protect yourself.“ "No...“ Celestia whispered. "You were always craving for love. But this love is a lie. They don't love you. They love what they think you are. They love the image you created of yourself. They love what I used to see in you. They love the disguise they look at every day. The disguise even you are unable to see through. You even fooled yourself. You really believe it is you you see when you look in the mirror, don't you?“ "No...“ Celestia whispered once again. She said it more to herself than to the voice. It was like she was trying to convince herself this wasn't true. But she knew it was. She knew what she did. She knew... "But this disguise will soon fall. I'll make it. And then you'll see, who stays at your side when they know what you did to thousands of ponies in the past. You'll see when they know what you did to me. You'll see when they see what you just did to your dear student. You'll see when they know what you did to yourself...“ "NOOOOOOOO!“ Celestia screamed. But the spell already began to break. The ponies around her started moving again. She felt unable to move a muscle. Unable to weep any more. Unable to feel anything right now. She only saw Twilight turning around. Her mouth opened. "Princess? I'd like to...“ Author's Note This is my first FIM-Fiction-Upload so don't be too critical please.
Chapter 1: Being a princessShadows of the past Chapter 1: Being a princess “Is she going to be ok?”, Twilight asked. They were in front of a big door, fully made of white gold. Sapphires and yellow diamonds embellished the door from the top to the bottom. “I've never seen her like that. I'm really worried!” “I am as well.” Luna told Twilight. “I haven't seen her like this for about one thousand years. It was when her apprentice died.” After Celestias breakdown, Twilight called for Luna to tell her that her sister was... well actually, Twilight didn't know what Celestia was right now. She didn't say a word. And she only walked when Luna arrived to bring her to her premises. It was a shock, especially for Luna, to see Celestia this way. “Hold on a second. One of Celestias apprentices died once? How?” Twilight asked. Celestia didn't ever tell her about a dead apprentice. She didn't even tell her about any other apprentices besides herself. “I mean, Celestia is always so cautious. How did she loose somepony so dear to her?” Luna lowered her head. It was really hard to speak about this theme. But Twilight needed to know anyways , now that she was a princess of Equestria. “It was back when I turned into Nightmare Moon.” Luna answered. Twilight froze. “You... you killed her, Luna?” Twilight questioned on, now with a disbelieving tone. She went a few steps back, as if she feared Luna would turn into some kind of monster and bite her head off right away. “No I didn't.” Luna finally answered. “I was not the one who killed her. Have you ever asked yourself why Celestia had to abandon the old castle and move to this one?” Luna asked Twilight. Now, when she thought about it, she felt silly. Somepony does not simply abandon a castle of this size. Twilight was concern it took decades to build it. Twilight shook her head. “Well, of course you don't. Nopony knows why she had to abandon it. Well, Nightmare Moon was everything but squeamish. When she attacked the castle, she did it without any kind of warning.” Luna stated. “And, of course, the castle was more than just secured. It was a fortress, build to withstand the strongest magic we knew then: Discords magic. Because of that, there were several magical seals, able to instantly stop any kind of magic cast near them.” “However, Nightmare Moon was somehow different. She wielded an almost unlimited amount of magic. I still don't know where this magic came from. But she just overpowered these seals.” “Overpowered?” Twilight asked. “How can magic seals be overpowered? It is the most persistent magic I know. Some of them are able to stay intact for centuries or even millennia.” “They can only take a limited amount of magic at a time. And Nightmare Moon just blew them like balloons. It was incredible. Those seals, able to keep Discord out no century ago, blown by an normal alicorn. The guards panicked and ran everywhere. The only one who stayed when everypony else was already gone was Celestias apprentice. The building however was destabilized because of the enormous amount of magic that rested in those seals. It still rests in them.” “What happened next?” Twilight asked. She was not only scared, but also curious. Maybe what happened back then would help her understand what happened to Celestia no hour ago. “I... I don't remember. It was shortly before Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to stop Nightmare Moon... to stop... me.” Lunas voice became a whispering as she spoke the last words. “So how do you know her apprentice died back then, if you don't know what happened back then?” Twilight was confused. “It's not that I don't remember anything. It's just that I don't remember everything. I still remember this expression on her face. And I remember her apprentice, lying on the ground, not moving, not breathing... not alive.” The last words felt heavy like stones for Luna. “Princess... It wasn't your fault what happened back there. Nopony blames you for what happened in the past.” Twilight said. “But still,” her curiosity got the best of her, “how do you know it wasn't you who killed her?” “Because she already lay there before I arrived at the throne hall.” Twilight froze. Thoughts bounced around in her head. “What happened back there?” one asked. “Celestia would never hurt her apprentice!” another one stated. “Why was she already lying there when Luna arrived?”,”Why didn't she tell me anything about this?”,”Who was she?”. Suddenly, one thought showed up, Twilight didn't want to think. A thought that hit her as hard as those feeling one hour ago in the gala hall. “What if Celestia herself had something to do with what happened to her apprentice?” The white-gold-door opened. “Princess Sparkle, Princess Celestia wants to see you.” one of Celestias royal guardians said as he opened the door. “Me? Is she sure she doesn't want to talk to Luna first?” Twilight asked. “No. She asked for you and you alone.” “Go ahead Twilight. It surely has something to do with what happened in the gala hall.” Luna told Twilight. She nodded. The guardian guided her trough a long corridor. There were several portrayals of famous unicorn, pegasi and earth ponies. Most of them were unknown to Twilight, but there was one she remembered: It was Starswirl the bearded. Right beside him, there was another painting. It showed a deep blue unicorn mare with a black mane, red eyes and a strange cutie mark: It showed a mirror and on one side of the mirror, the “outer” side, there was a violet blast of magic. However, on the other side, the “inner” side of the mirror there was the same magic blast, but instead of violet it was blood red. On the golden sign below it was the unicorns name written in silver letters: Shadow Mirror. Twilight was sure that she had never seen this mare before, but it felt like she knew who it was she was looking at. It felt like she knew this mare. They reached a door, once again all made of white gold. The guard bent down and said: “Go in as you please, your majesty.” It felt strange to be titled 'majesty'. Twilight went in at an instant. Celestia, who had taken off her dress, was inside of the room she just entered. It was a very big room. The ceiling was white and there was a sun made of yellow diamonds in the middle of it. The walls were also white, but they had yellow stripes that looked like sunrays. In the middle of the room, there was a big round table, also white, with a painting that portrayed Celestias cutie mark. Twilight had never been here before. “You wanted to see me, Princess?” Twilight asked. “Are you okay?” “I'm not okay, Twilight. Everything is wrong. Everything is twisted and turned.” Celestia answered. She sounded not only serious, but also scared. Celestia had to be confused. She just had to. Twilight knew Celestia, and this wasn't a thing she would say. Especially not this way. It sounded more like … well it sounded like Twilight herself. But what if she wasn't confused? What if Celestia just knew something Twilight didn't? The thought scared Twilight. “Princess?” Twilight said, unsure whether Celestia even listened. “Is there anything I can do for you?” “Yes there is a thing. Tell the guard I need the following books: 'The Elements of Harmony: A reference guide', 'Magical seals', 'Future spells' and 'Dream manipulation spells'.” “What do you want with those? They have nothing in common.” Twilight asked out of her curiosity. “There's no time for questions, Twilight! There's no time!” Celestia said hastily. Her expression became worse every single second. “Princess Celestia! Calm down! We are all worried already!” Twilight said with all the definiteness she had. It was strange that she was telling Celestia to calm down. Usually, it was Twilight who freaked out and Celestia was the one to comfort her. But now, it was reversed. Celestia stopped walking around. She looked at Twilight as if she just insulted her. Then, after some seconds of tension, her expression became less hastily. She took a deep breath and then said:“You are right Twilight. I am so sorry.” “There is no need to apologize, princess.” Twilight told her. “Now, could you please tell me what happened back there in the gala hall? You suddenly looked like you saw a ghost or something similar.” “Oh, nothing important. Seemingly I simply lost my nerves. You know, it's not a common thing for unicorns to ascend to alicorns and become a new princess of Equestria.” Celestia stated. She was lying. Twilight felt it. Something worried her. Something... scared her. The most powerful being in all of Equestria, scared by something. But right now, she knew she didn't want to know what happened. The thought that there was something able to scare Celestia... this thought alone was more than Twilight could take in one day. She really didn't want to know what it was. Besides, Celestia seemingly didn't want to tell her about what just happened and so Twilight saw little sense in trying to find out. But her curiosity was just too strong to just let this just rest so easy. “Great. But still, there's something I'd like to ask you.” Twilight said. “When you lost your nerves, I felt something strange was about to happen. I felt something was wrong. Can alicorns transfer their emotions?” Celestias expression once again became worried and hasty, but this time she tried to hide it. It did not work out as Celestia had thought but at least she tried her best. “Usually not. But maybe you are more sensitive than we are because you just became an alicorn. Alicorns are so rare that nopony really knows in which ways it affects the pony that is ascending.” Celestia said. To Twilight, it felt like Celestia was trying to hide something. She tried to think what it could be. But her thoughts were interrupted as Celestia started to speak again. “If I'm right, I haven't told you why I called for you yet. I have something really important to tell you. It's about what you just became. It's about why this all happened. And I hope it will answer some of the questions you sure have.” Twilight was surprised. She expected a crisis. Some kind disaster. Some explanation why Celestias behavior at the banquet was so strange. But still, she was excited. She still had so many questions about her destiny, about what would happen next. “Well then start please.” Twilight said. She tried to hide it but she was almost bursting. But then one thought crossed her mind and it couldn't wait to be spoken. “Wait, we should tell Luna and the others that you are fine first. They must be terribly worried.” “You are right Twilight. This nearly slipped my mind. I'll send a guard right away to tell them I'm fine. But right now, you are my top priority.” Celestia said. Twilight was not sure what to think about this. Sure, she was glad to have some time with her mentor. But she was behaving so strange right now. It was not like her to just send a guard. It was not like her to freak out. And it was not like her to call for her student while she was freaking out. “Are you sure you are okay?” Twilight asked. The concern in her voice had become obvious. “Twilight knows it. Twilight knows something is wrong... how couldn't she? She even sensed when Cadence was replaced by Crysalis.” Celestia thought. “But I can't tell her right now. It is just the wrong time to tell her. Why'd I even think about telling her right away? I need something to distract her or it will end in me telling her what I think. She is already worried and uncertain about what will happen.” “If I'm right, I haven't told you why I called for you yet.” Celestia finally stated. “I have something really important to tell you. It's about what you just became. It's about why this all happened. And I hope it will answer some of the questions you sure have.” Celestia was sure this would work. She was fully aware Twilight was suspicious of her behavior. But she also knew that the only way to slip her curiosity, was to make her curious about another thing. Twilights eyes widened. “Well then start please.” Twilight said. Her voice was trembling with excitement. It was like someone took something heavy off her chest. She distracted Twilight. Now she needed something to distract her some more so she could buy some time to find out what just happened. But then, Twilight opened her mouth again. “Wait, we should tell Luna and the others that you are fine first. They must be terribly worried.” The first word almost startled Celestia to death. She almost thought Twilight saw that she just tried to distract her. Thank goodness she didn't. “You are right Twilight. This nearly slipped my mind. I'll send a guard right away to tell them I'm fine. But right now, you are my top priority.” Celestia said. This time she managed to hide her emotions. But then she saw how Twilight frowned. “Are you sure you are okay?” Twilight asked with so much concern in her voice that Celestia was unable to just ignore it. “Well... I think so. But you may be right. I should go and rest a little bit. Please go back to Luna and tell her she may introduce you to your new life as a princess. I will join you as soon as I'm done resting.” Celestia said. Maybe this way she could buy some time to find out what was happening. Luna would take her through half Equestria in order to explain what I means to be a princess. “Are you sure you don't want at least see Luna and tell her you are okay yourself? She is your sister after all and I bet she's really worried.” Twilight asked. “Just go and tell her I'm fine. Please Twilight. I'm really exhausted.” Celestia said. Luna was terrified. “Celestia... what could scare you this way?” the silently asked herself. “Princess Luna!” she heard someone calling her. She turned her head and saw Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy gallop down the corridor, “Hello.” Luna replied a little dryly. She didn't know why they were here and what they wanted. “Well, then let's just ask them” she thought. “What are you all doing here? Don't you enjoy the banquet?” Luna asked. “Yes!” Rarity squeaked. At the same time Applejack stated “No...” It was a strange situation. Rarity and Applejack looked at each other, then giggled a little bit and then again looked at Luna. “We just wanted to come and ask how the princess feels. We heard something happened and that she froze in the middle of the banquet.” Fluttershy said. There was some serious concern in her voice... Well, somehow she always sounded like she was concerned so Luna was unable to differentiate whether it was her 'natural' concern or normal concern. “And where's Twilight? She was there when Celestia froze. Maybe she knows more.” Rainbow Dash asked. “Uhh, uhh! I was there, too! And you didn't ask me anything! Ask me, ask me! Come on Dashie, please ask me, ask me!” It seemed like Pinkie Pie was still under the influence of all the sugar she just ate. Rainbow Dashes face became a frown. Luna couldn't help but to smile a little bit. It was really funny to watch this right now. It was good to see that Pinkie stayed Pinkie, no matter how serious the situation seemed to be. But Luna doubted Pinkie really got how serious the situation had to be. “So, what did you see, Pinkie Pie?” Luna asked. Pinkie opened her mouth wide in enthusiasm, just to close it once again and to change her excited face to a questioning face. “Well... I don't know. She just froze. Nothing else.” Pinkie stated. She began to smile again. Luna already knew Pinkie Pie was random, but this was beyond everything she was told. This pony bounced from happy to confused to happy in the matter of seconds. But it was very funny to watch. “We already knew that, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said. She sounded annoyed. Luna giggled. This was hilarious. “Celestia would like this dialogue. She's always up for something so...” but her thought ended as fast as it started. “Celestia!” Luna was hit by the worry she just thought about no minute ago. Her face once again became serious. The other five also changed their expressions. They were surprised of Lunas reaction and had questioning expressions in their faces. “So, how's Celestia? And where's Twilight?” Applejack asked. “Twilight just went to meet Celestia. I don't know how she is however.” Luna stated. “But, if Twilight is talking to her right now, why are you still here?” Rarity asked. “Yes, why am I here? Why am I not with Celestia? What happened she doesn't want me to know about?” Luna thought. The door made of white gold opened. The one who opened it and the one just joining them was Twilight. “Twilight!” the five ponies in front of Luna shouted out. Twilight looked like she was surprised. to see them. “How's Princess Celestia. Will she be okay? We are so worried.” Fluttershy said. Twilight opened her mouth to answer, closed her eyes and stayed this way a few seconds. It looked strange. When she opened her eyes she said: “Celestia is fine. She just is very excited about my coronation and all. Seems like I'm not the only one who is really shocked by my ascension.” She turned her head to Luna. “Princess, can we talk a few seconds? Alone?” The faces of the other five became a frown. “Oh come on! We want to know what happened, too!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Nothing happened! It has nothing to do with Celestia!” Twilight stated. Her volume and her tone sounded unfitting... aggressive. Suddenly Twilight realized that she just shouted at her five very best friends. Her eyes widened. “I'm very sorry. I.. I'm just very stressed right now and then this story with Celestia loosing her nerves...” “It's okay sugarcube. We all know how ya feel. We'll just leave ya and the princess alone.” Applejack said. Twilight nodded. “Thank you.” she said as the five others departed. “You weren't lying, were you? The thing you want to talk about has nothing to do with Celestia, has it?” Luna asked. She was curious what just happened in there. It was not like Twilight to shout at her friends for no reason. “Well, loosely.” Twilight said. “She wants you to introduce me to my rights and duties as a princess.” “Of course! I'm surprised we forgot about this until now. We'll begin right away!” Luna turned to walk. “Wait Luna...” Luna froze. So there was something else. “What is it, Twilight?” she said with a very serious voice. “Celestia seems not to be herself right now. You should first go talk to her. She was... confused when I talked to her. I never saw her like that before.” There was very much concern in her voice. “Seems like it was not only 'Celestia loosing her nerves and now being unable to introduce you to your life as a princess' in there. I'll talk to her right away. Thank you Twilight. Can you wait here a few minutes?” Luna asked. Twilight nodded. “Dammit, how did he do it?” Celestia asked herself. She was still in the room she met Twilight in, using the big round table as shelf for all the books her guards just brought her. 'The Elements of Harmony: A reference guide', 'Magical seals', 'Future spells' ,'Dream manipulation spells', none of them had a clue in it how her former student was able to still be alive. None of them was able to explain why he still was able to cast magic. “Sister, what's going on in here?” This sentence startled Celestia. She wasn't expecting anypony right now to interrupt her. She even told her guard to keep everypony, no matter who it was, out of this room. Seemingly, her guard failed. She turned her head. She saw Luna, still wearing the same dress she was wearing since the coronation started, standing in the door. There was unspeakable worry in her eyes. “Oh, hello sister. I didn't expect to see you. Didn't Twilight tell you to introduce her to her new life as princess?” Celestia asked, trying to distract Luna like she did with Twilight. “She indeed did. But this was not the only thing she told me.” Celestia froze. “And she was right. You aren't yourself right now. The guard out there tried to stop me from going in here. He said, it was your advise. What happened there in the hall, Celestia? What scares you?” Luna asked. Her voice told Celestia, she was dead serious. So the distraction didn't work the way she imagined. Twilight still was concerned about her. And she told Luna. Of course she told Luna. Who would be a better choice to help Celestia calm down? “Scare me? Sister please, don't be silly! Can you imagine something right now that would scare me? Discord has become a good guy, you have left your past behind and all of Equestria is happy. What could scare me right now?” Celestia asked. “That's what I'm asking you. I may not know what happened back in the gala hall and I may not know what it is you try to hide. But I know you Celestia. I know you're scared. And I know, it has something to do with what happened at the banquet. So tell me sister. You know, you can only hide it until you fall asleep.” Celestia sighed. It was true. Luna was the princess of the night and therefor she was able to not only join dreams but also form them. And Celestia knew, she wouldn't be able to keep this out of her dreams. “Okay Luna, I will tell you what happened. But not now. I just have to find out whether I'm just becoming mad. What I saw back in the hall... is impossible. There's no way it was real. But if it was...” “Sister, tell me!” Luna interrupted her. However, Celestia seemed not to care. “... real it may be one of the biggest threads ever made against Equestria. Bigger than Discord. Bigger than Nightmare Moon. Even bigger than...” “CELESTIA!” Luna shouted. Celestia stopped talking. She knew, she wouldn't be able to distract Luna. Her sister would never leave before she got her answer. “Okay Luna, I'll tell you what I know. Or at least, what I think I know.” Luna sat down. “I'm listening.” Celestia took a deep breath and opened her mouth “I really hope she is fine. I'm so worried.” Fluttershy said. They just went back to the gala hall and yet, they still were walking. Canterlot Castle was just so incredibly big. “Yes we all hope so my dear.” Rarity stated. “Yes we do, but would you please stop repeating over and over again? This is the sixth time you tell us how worried you are about Celestia, Fluttershy! We got it!” Rainbow Dash said. “Oh come on Dashie, repetitions make things more fun! Like jokes! The more often you repeat telling them to somepony, the more ponies laugh in the end! Or like cake! The more often you repeat to eat one, the more delicious the next cake becomes! Uhh, uhh! Or like...” “Well I think we all understand what you want to tell us, my dear.” Rarity interrupted Pinkie Pie. They finally arrived the door that led back into the gala hall. But none of them wanted to go back in right now. It was like there still was something they needed to do. But none of them was able to imagine what it was. Then, suddenly, Applejack opened her mouth. “Ya all know I'm very worried about the princess. But has any of ya all noticed Twilight didn't look good, too?” None of them said anything. It was obvious, but yet nopony noted it. Twilight looked even more worried and even more confused than back then when she thought Celestia may send her back to magic kindergarten because she was unable to find a friendship problem to solve. Somehow they felt locked out by the princesses, including Twilight. They knew something and seemingly didn't want to tell them. It was not something new that Celestia or Luna were secretive. But Twilight was their friend and usually told them always how she felt and what happened. “We should go back and talk to her right now! Maybe she needs our help with something!” Rainbow Dash stated. The other four nodded. Well, there were three other ponies nodding. Pinkie Pie was missing. “Where did Pinkie go? And when did she go?” Rainbow asked. “Wait, Pinkie is gone? Where is she?” Fluttershy asked. As if she was waiting for it, a door next to them opened. Pinkie Pie went through, everypony stared at her. “What? I needed to go to the little fillies room! Now, why are you all still standing here? Shouldn't we move to talk to Twilight?” She said. “Right!” Applejack said. The all turned and began to gallop down the corridor they just left. Twilight just stood there. She didn't know how to judge this situation. On the one hoof, she would finally be introduced to her new life. She would finally find out how it would go on, what changed and what didn't change, what she would have to leave behind and what would stay at her side. On the other hoof, there was something wrong about all this. She sensed it. She was already caught in her thoughts when something pulled her out of them. It was galloping. “Why is there so much traffic in here?” she thought. She turned her head to see her friends, once again in hurry to get here and once again worried. She sighed. “Girls, I already told you, Celestia is fine. There's nothing to worry about.” she said as they arrived. “Duh, were not here because of Celestia!” Pinkie Pie stated. Twilights expression reflected her confusion. “That's right sugarcube. We are here because of you.” Applejack said. “Because of me? But, why'd you come back for me? I mean, it's not like I'm in danger or something.” Twilight told them. Then Rainbow Dash opened her mouth: “Yes you are! You aren't yourself right now! Usually you tell us when you are worried. And usually you tell us whenever you need our help!” “I don't need your help!” Twilight exclaimed. She really thought so. “Darling, we can clearly see that you do. Look, we care for you. And we know you. And right now we can also see clearly that you are worried and confused. Even if you don't want to admit it, you are!” Rarity stated. She was right. Twilight never felt so confused. She never was so worried. She just wasn't ready to admit it right now. Neither to her friends nor to herself. But now she was forced to admit it. Twilight stood there a few seconds, thinking about what Rarity just said.. She just realized how she felt. She felt lonely, like when Discord turned all her friends personalities into their opposite. She felt confused like when she was sent to the crystal empire to save it. And she felt even more worried than she felt when she thought she would be sent back to magic kindergarten. All the overwhelming emotions she pushed away since she became an alicorn caught up with her this moment. Every concern she had caught up with her. “...you're right Rarity. I need your help. I don't know who I am supposed to be. I don't know who I will be.” Tears poured out of her eyes. “Sugarcube, there's no need to weep. We are all here.” Applejack said. “Don't you realize? I just became a princess! Everything will change! EVERYTHING! What if I'm forced to move away from Ponyville? What if I'm forced to travel all over Equestria all the time in order to fulfill my duties as a princess? What if I'm...” Twilight was caught in thoughts blacker than the deepest night. “...forced to leave us?” Rainbow Dash finished her sentence. Twilight started sobbing. “Twilight, there will never be a thing, never, that could tear you apart from us. Even if Discord restores his rule and even if there's chocolate rain, exploding glassworks and flying houses all over Equestria, we will still be at your side. And that's were we will stay. Princess or not. We will always be there for you.” “Beautifully said, Rarity.” Fluttershy whispered. “You still don't understand, do you? I know I will always be able to have confidence in you, you all. But what if you can't have the same in me? What if I can't be there for you? What if something terrible happens and what if I'm not there then? I could never forgive myself...” Twilight sobbed. “Twilight, such a thing will never happen!” It wasn't the voice of one of her friends saying this. It was Lunas. Twilight turned her head and looked right into Lunas eyes. They looked at her as well, strong and reassuring. Twilight stopped weeping. “Being a princess means having many duties. And you are right, sometimes they will take you to the very end of Equestria. But being a princess does not mean that you have to abandon your friends! It does not mean that you have to give up everything you love. And it surely doesn't mean that you have to be finished with your past.” Twilight was still sobbing, but Lunas reassuring eyes strengthened her. “Seems like you should finally introduce me.” Twilight finally said. Luna nodded. “Can my friends come with us?” “I sure hope they do. It affects them just as much as it affects you.” Luna answered. A weak smile showed up on Twilights face. “Come on. This is the wrong place to talk about a topic of this grade of matter.” Luna said. They just had moved to the castle grounds. Twilight walked at Lunas side, her friends right behind her. Nopony had said anything since they had departed the castle. Finally, Luna opened her mouth to speak. “So Twilight, let me first introduce you to your rights as a princess.” “Let me start with the one that may be the most important for you: You can choose where you want to live yourself. Nopony will force you to live where you don't want to live. You can stay in Ponyville if you wish so.” Twilight couldn't help it. She rushed towards Luna and hugged her. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” Luna seemed to be very surprised by this reaction. However, after a few seconds, she hugged Twilight back. “No need to thank me.” she stated. It was like someone took all her worries, all her doubts and burned them. Twilight felt way better now. But... “What about my duties? You said they could take me to the very end of Equestria. Does this mean I will have to leave my friends whenever there is a crisis somewhere?” Twilight asked, unsure whether she wanted to hear the answer. “Yes, this is what it means.” Luna said. Twilight began to sob again. But before she was able to really start, Luna went on. “BUT there's one thing that could help you concerning this point. Every princess has command over the whole equestrian armed forces. But there are also the royal guards, special ponies, selected by the princess they serve. They are the last defense of a princess, the closest adviser and in your case they could be your very best friends.” “You mean I will not leave them? They will be able to come with me wherever I go?” Twilight asked. She was excited. She didn't know this was possible. “This is exactly what I mean. The job allows them to do whatever they want while you are home and to follow you whenever you have to fulfill your royal duties. And the payment is decent, so they can easily cover costs that result in their absence. But maybe you should ask them yourself.” Twilight turned to her friends. She was almost bursting. All her worries vanished. “Would you want to become my royal guards? Would you want to follow me everywhere I go? And would you...” Twilight faltered. "...would you help me to stay who I am?" “Sure do, Twilight!” “Of course my dear!” “I'd be honored...” “Yes! This is gonna be sooo awesome!” “I would be loko in my coco to say no! It's gonna be fuuuuuun!” Twilight couldn't help. She grinned from ear to ear. “Seems like this is settled. Now let's talk about your duties.” Luna noted. “You'll have to inform us about everything you do as a princess. This does not include things you do as Twilight Sparkle. You only need to report to us if you do it officially as princess of Equestria.” “Further on, you, as a princess of Equestria, are a guardian of this land. Your highest duty is to protect it from everything that's trying to afflict harm to it. But you are used to this duty if my memory isn't deceiving me.” Luna smiled. “And your last duty is to be a mediator whenever it's needed. This is the duty that will take most of your time as princess.” Her face became a grimace. “Those politicians just don't get along. You would be surprised how annoying this last duty can be at some times!” Everypony laughed. "Talking about politicians, maybe we should attend the banquet again." Rarity said. Celestia was at her end. None of the books she knew had the answer to her questions. None of them told her how this was possible. None of them... “So, you haven't found anything, have you?” Celestia closed her eyes. “It would be strange if you would ever find anything.” the voice said. However, it was not the same voice she heard in the gala hall. “You are right, I haven't found anything. And I already knew I wouldn't find anything before I started to search. If I had found anything about this, it would've told me that I'm just getting mad.” Celestia stated. “What a strange way to say that this is reality. But why does the fact that you haven't found anything ensure you that this is real?” the voice asked. “This is beyond my imagination. And this is far beyond everything somepony ever wrote down. So it has to be reality if my mind is unable to think this up.” Celestia said. “Sounds logical to me. But I'm just the soul of somepony that used to live thousand years ago.” “You know you are way more to me. And you know you never were just somepony. You are the reason I can stand here today. You are the reason I was able to beat Nightmare Moon. Your sacrifice however was way too high.” “It was my decision Celestia. And it was you who gave me the possibility to choose my own destiny. This is what I've chosen. And I would choose this again if I had to.” “But it was my fault you had to make this decision! It was my fault you had to choose whether you saved your own or my life. And you've chosen my life. I wasn't worth it.” Celestia said, her eyes still closed. One lonely tear ran down her cheek. “It was a old debt I still had to pay. And you have done way more good to this land than I ever could. I don't regret what I did, Celestia. Neither should you.” “But I do regret what I did! I made so many mistakes! So many died because of my decisions... So many that could still live if I had not been born. So many...” “Snap out of it, Celestia! It wasn't your fault. Nopony blamed you back then and nopony blames you right now!” “You know this is wrong.” Celestia started to weep. “You know who haunts me. And you know that he has every reason to do so. And you know that every single word he said is true. I'm not worth the love of those ponies. I'm not worth this throne... I'm not worth to live...” Celestia sobbed. “You know this is not true, Celestia! Maybe you made mistakes, but everypony does! Maybe you once were what some may call guilty, but you changed! Celestia, there were mistakes worse than yours. But those ponies don't need to live with their mistakes forever. They just die some day. But you will have to live forever and you will have to protect this beautiful land until it declines. And then you'll have to protect the land that comes after. Your destiny is far from being fulfilled! You are the guardian of the sun after all.” “I know who I am. And I know what I've done. And you know as well. How can I claim to fulfill my destiny if I already failed hundreds of times in the past? How can I claim to be worth this throne if I only use it as a disguise?” “You don't claim to fulfill your destiny, you choose to do so. And you don't claim to be worth this throne. You made yourself worth it.” “If you say so... But if I'm worth it, why is there this pain? Why am I unable to get over my past sins? Why does my past haunt me? I know only one thing: I'm not worth anything but this pain. I'm not worth anything but this eternal agony.” “It's not your past hurting you, Celestia. It's yourself. And it's not your past haunting you. It's your conscience. And that tells you that you are worth this throne. It tells you that you are worth this life. It tells you that you are worth this love.” “How?” Celestia asked. “How can pain tell me that my life is worth living? How can guilt tell me that my sins may be forgiven?” “They can tell you because you are able to listen to them. They can tell you because you are willing to listen to them. The monster you think you are wouldn't. The monster you think you are would just go on. The monster you think you are wouldn't dare to listen.” Celestia opened her eyes. It was quiet. After a few seconds, the voice once again spoke. “I have to go now Celestia. My time is up. I am finally allowed to go. I am finally free...” “Thank you... Shadow Mirror...” Celestia whispered. Author's Note Feel free to suggest if somepony is out of character, something seems unfitting or if you just don't like something! It will help me to do better in the next chapter.
Chapter 2: Royal dutiesShadows of the past Chapter 2: Royal duties “Twilight! Were have you been, sis?” As Twilight and her friends arrived back at the banquet a white stallion with blue mane and blue eyes ran towards them. He was wearing a dress uniform of the royal army. It was Twilights brother Shining Armor. “Those ponies are already shaky because you were gone for more than half a hour and...” he suddenly aborted the sentence he was speaking and instead asked: “Is everything okay Twilight? Your eyes look tear-stained? Did something bad happen?” “Everything is fine, Shining. Everything is fine.” Twilight answered with reassuring voice. “Great! Because I think those ponies over there would rip me to pieces if they had to wait for you any longer.” He chuckled nervously, his voice leaving no doubt to the seriousness of his statement. “I'll talk to them right now. But firstly: Who are they? I don't know anypony I see over there.” “Politicians. Mayors of the big cities of Equestria, high civil servants and so on. I think they want to talk to you because of something concerning the crystal empire. Don't ask me what it is.” Shining Armor said. Twilight sighed. “Good afternoon. I heared you wanted to talk to me?” Twilight greeted the politicians Shining Armor had told her about. “We sure want to talk to you, your highness.” a earth pony mare with yellow coat and blue mane answered. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jacqueline Bluemane, the mayor of Manehatten. We wanted to ask you about your opinion concerning the upcoming Equestrian Games.” Was this all it was about. They were shaky and called for Twilight just to ask her something that had already been decided? That's not what Twilight expected. She expected something... well more important. “They are going to be a great event. I know the crystal empire myself and have to admit that it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.” Twilight answered. “Well that's exactly what we wanted to ask you, your highness. Do you really think it is a good decision to make the crystal empire the host of the Equestrian Games?” a green pegasus stallion with green mane asked. “I mean, a giant city that happens to be an empire of the past that had vanished for a thousand years and returned only 4 months ago just to be attacked by a former king that happens to be a tyrant Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had banished into the ices of the north? Are you sure it is safe to host a event of this scale in this place, your highness? Not to mention the crystal ponies...” “What is wrong about the crystal ponies?” Twilight asked. Her voice had some subtle kind of disgrace in it. “Well, our concerns are not about the crystal ponies themselves. It's just...” the mayor of Manehatten started again. “It's just that they are thousands of ponies that had been vanished with their city for thousand years and that wield a strange kind of magic that is capable of creating a forcefield around the empire and even further is capable of killing their former king and expelling everything that ever had to do with him.” the pegasus completed her sentence. “They sure are not used to the behavior of the modern ponies that live in the cities and usually attend the Equestrian Games. We do not know how they will react when a thousand foreign ponies visit their empire. The things might escalate. You understand, we can't send our citizens to an event in a place whose inhabitants may be...” Twilight interrupted him. “How dare you suggest such a thing? I know the crystal ponies myself and if something escalates I am sure it will not be because of their behavior. But I am sure that you are right, that things will escalate if the ponies of your city are even nearly as condemning as you are. You are judging someone you never met and, even worse, you are jumping to conclusions that have no hold. If rumors your own prejudices made are everything your concerns are about I can guarantee you, there is nothing you should worry about. I think we are done.” Twilight said. The disgrace in her voice had become obvious. As she turned to walk away, everypony stared at her. But Twilight didn't care. “Those ponies! How can they judge someone they never met? Why do they judge someone they never met? If every important pony in Equestria thinks the way they do, my royal duties will drive me to insanity!” Twilight thought. “Celestia, you really should've told her earlier that you are not going to rip her from her friends!” Luna said. “Twilight was really worried she might be unable to stay with them! You aren't used to playing open cards, are you? Why do you always keep some of the most important things for yourself?” “I'm sorry Luna, but for a thousand I was ruler of this land alone. Nobody to question my orders and nobody to share my thoughts with. I suggest I'm just not used to having someone to talk to as equals.” Celestia answered. After Luna had talked to Twilight she went back to the castle together with them. She, however, did not return to the banquet. She went to see Celestia again. There were some questions that had crossed Lunas mind while talking to Twilight and Celestia was the only pony to answer them. “Don't tell me you want compassion. Not from me. You at least had someone to talk to. I was caught with myself on the moon for the same time. And believe me, Nightmare Moon is not exactly what you would call kind.” Luna said. She smiled. “I didn't know you were still conscious all the time. Why'd you never tell me? It must have been terrible to see what this monster did, unable to do anything against it.” Celestia answered with shocked face. She was concerned. If she had known Luna was still there all the time... she just thought Luna became Nightmare Moon, not that Nightmare Moon possessed Luna all the time. It wasn't really surprising to her when she thought how Nightmare Moon came to life, but still... “Celestia, this was my burden. Mine alone. The past is gone. What counts is what happens right now. Talking of right now..” Luna started, “why was Twilight even so overwhelmed by the fact she became princess.” she asked. “I mean, she had time to prepare herself. You sure told her about what going to...” Luna aborted the sentence. Celestia had just started to avoid her glance. Luna was confused at first. “No... Celestia, don't tell me you didn't tell her what you had planned! Don't tell me you didn't tell her she would become an alicorn!” She finally made up her mind to ask her sister. Celestia still remained silent. She just didn't know what to say right now. “How dare you Celestia! How dare you playing with the destiny of someone so dear to you? Have you become insane while I was gone?” “You just mentioned it, I'm not used to playing open cards.” Celestia answered, trying to sound as if the topic wasn't important. “But this is a totally different thing! It was her life you changed forever! And you didn't even ask her?” Luna was shocked. She knew Celestia used to play with ponies as if they were chess figures. But this was far beyond everything she ever could imagine. She always thought that her apprentices were dear enough to her to at least tell them what she was doing. Seemingly, she was wrong. “Celestia, explain yourself! I know this didn't just slip your mind! And I know that you have planned this for a very long time. You told me you were going to guide Twilight to her destiny. You never told me you would let her ascend. When I found out her destiny actually was to ascend, I thought she knew as well. Because I thought she meant something to you!” Luna needed the answer right away. “And that's exactly the reason I didn't tell her anything about what was going to happen.” Celestia finally said. “Because she is dear to me. Because she is one of the most important ponies in my life. Because I love her as if she was my daughter...” Luna was even more shocked by this answer than by any other answer she had imagined. She expected Celestia to claim it slipped her mind. She expected her to say she needed Twilight for something important in near future. She even expected her to fall back to her old manipulative self. But she didn't expect this answer. “I...I don't understand. If she's so dear to you, why don't you let her decide about her destiny herself?” Luna asked. Her voice had softened. “Because she would have died one day if she had decided not to do it. She would've died, Luna! For a thousand years I was lonely. For a thousand years I was unable to build any relationships to any other pony, no matter how hard I tried. But then, this one day, an out-of-control-spell blew up the roof of the academy tower by increasing the size of a baby dragon to the size of a full grown one. And as I arrived in there to help undo the spell and to admonish the one who did it to be more careful with his magic, I did not find a powerful unicorn sorcerer but a little filly.” “And this little filly happened to be Twilight Sparkle. It was the first time I looked at a pony for nearly a thousand years and I felt something else than the duty to protect. This little filly melted my heart. And over the time, she became the most dear pony to exist for me. Before I knew, I cared more for her life than for my own. I even cared more for her life than for those of everypony else in Equestria. The thought of loosing her forever was more painful to me than the though Equestria might die because of Discord.” “But I knew, one day, she would die. Just like everypony else dies. It's the way of life. But, you and I, we are cursed with immortality. We have to see everyone dear to us die. We have to bear the pain forever. But I know, the pain of loosing Twilight would be too much for me. I would be unable to go on. I...I would be unable to live on. But I can't die either. So what else could have been done, Luna? I can't loose her. I just can't. It would rip my soul out of my chest.” Celestia lowered her head. “Did you ever think about that this is exactly the destiny you just passed on to her?” “Wow, Twilight! This was amazing!” Rainbow Dash said. “I really liked the part were you interrupted him.” “I certainly think you were a little too harsh, darling” Rarity stated. “I think Rarity's right. Look, sugarcube, you're a princess now and everpony expects you to act as one.” Applejack said. “I don't care what everypony wants me to do! I didn't care before I became a princess and I won't care now. But I care for my friends and I care for those who need the care. But those ponies are nothing but a bunch of parasprites! They devour other ponies reputation and think it would help themselves. But this is a thing I cannot witness.” Twilight said. She was very angry. “But still, are you sure that this was the right way to react, darling?” Rarity asked. “Did you notice that only the mayors of those cities, who were chosen to the final vote for the equestrian games, complained? Those ponies wanted to drag the crystal empire trough the mud in order to host the games themselves. And they thought they could use me to accomplish this goal. How do you think would you react if you just found out that, for some of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria, you are just a tool to use?” “Well I...” Rarity stopped mid-sentence. She just didn't know what to answer. “...I think I would react in the same way you did Twilight.” she finally said. “But what are you going to do? You know that those ponies are exactly the kind of pony you will deal with as a princess!” Rainbow Dash asked. “I don't know but something has to be done. Why are they in power anyway?” “Because Equestria sure is a democracy. So what are ya going to do, Twilight? Do ya want to abolish democracy and become queen of Equestria?” Applejack said. “Maybe I will...” Twilight said. Her friends seemed to be shocked. Twilight was unable to hold it back any longer. She broke into laughter. “You should see the look your faces right now! You really thought I would abolish democracy in Equestria? That's the most hilarious though of the day!” She flattered her wings, trying not to fall. “Twilight! This was not fun at all!” Pinkie Pie said. “Are you sure you are okay, Twilight? This was not like you...” Fluttershy whispered. However, Rainbow Dash seemingly disagreed. She was lying on the ground, laughing as if somepony was tickling her hooves. “Good one Twi! Didn't get it at the beginning but, seriously, what were we thinking? You, the librarian of the Ponyville-library, taking over Equestria!” She struggled for breath. Twilight had stopped laughing. She was looking at her front hooves. “...you are right, Fluttershy. This was not like me. This maybe was like Rainbow Dash but it sure was not like me. But maybe it's just because I'm really tired. I can't think straight. Maybe we should end this all, get some sleep and then return to Ponyville tomorrow.” “This sure is the best idea ya had today, Twilight!” Applejack stated. Twilight looked out of one of the windows. It was still day. How could it possibly still be daytime? Her coronation was ten hours ago and it was noon when the banquet started. It should be dark for about 2 hours. But the sun still stood high. “Has anypony noticed that it should be dark for hours already?” Suddenly, one of Celestias royal guards galloped towards them. “Princess Sparkle? I am very sorry I have to bother you but Princess Celestia has asked for your presence. And she made clear she wants to see you alone.” “Is it about the sun? Has she told you why she wants to see me alone?” Twilight was curious. “No, just that she wanted to see you in her rooms. According to her, this is not in hurry, your highness. She wants you to join her as soon as you find time to do so.” “I have time right now. Please, go ahead. I will follow.” The royal guard bowed, turned and walked slowly towards the door she just came out of. “I hope this won't take too long. Please wait here for me. I will return in a few minutes.” Twilight said to her friends. They nodded. Everything was silent. Celestias eyes still stared at the floor. “Celestia?” Luna asked. “She is right... I've never thought about Twilights position in all of this... I've never thought about her opinion. And now she's going to see everyone she loves die. She's going to hate me for it. And she's going to be alone the same way I was. What have I done?” Celestia thought. “Celestia?!?” “But she still will have Cadence. She still will have Luna. And she still will have me. Maybe she will be able to bear the pain. I know her. She will be able to do it. She is strong enough. She is stronger than every other pony I ever met. And she is more powerful than every other pony I ever met. One day, she will be my successor as guardian of Equestria. She will become everything I was unable to be in the past. She will be the ruler Equestria truly...” “CELESTIA!!!” Luna yelled at her, ripping her out of her thoughts. Celestia raised her head. “What is it, Luna?” “Just look outside!” Celestia looked out of one of the windows. It was a bright and sunny day... wait, day? It was supposed to be night! Or at least evening. But the sun still stood high above Canterlot. Her pupils constricted. “Do you see what I want to tell you? Our magic is failing! Sun and moon resist our control! How is this even possible?” Luna asked. Celestia had no clue. This had never happened since Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon a thousand years ago. And back then it was the enormous magical power of her freezing the position of sun and moon. But this was different. They were forced to stay the way the were when Nightmare Moon did it. But right now, nopony used magic to freeze them. Their magic was just failing for no reason. This should be impossible! “I...I don't know... what is happening here? There is nothing that could make our magic fail. And there's nothing blocking the movement of sun or moon either.” Celestia said. “It's not important what causes this. The most important thing is to get this right! And this as fast as we can! If the sun stays that way, the crops on the fields will burn in 4 days! And in 7 days most trees will be heavily damaged, too! Celestia, what do we do?” Celestia could only think of one thing. But she was unsure. This was more than just a little bit risky. But they had no choice. “Call for Twilight Sparkle. We need her right now.” Celestia said. “Are you sure, sister? She just became an alicorn, is still overwhelmed by the emotions and impressions and now you are going to tell her that we lost control of both, sun and moon, and that we need her to fix it? What does even make you think she may be able to move them? And what makes you think that she'll not panic when we tell her that our magic has failed?” Luna was very concerned. “We are not going to tell her. I will tell her that this is her introduction to alicorn magic and that I will take over if she fails at it. She was always great at learning magic in short time. She even has the gift to copy every magic she sees. However, she needs also the power to perform this spell. But I think that this isn't really a problem as she is an alicorn now. And she already watched me performing the spell. So she may be able to do it.” “But it will exhaust her in a way we both can't imagine! We both have the destiny to move sun and moon. Her destiny is magic itself. Even if she is able to use this spell and even if she manages to get this right, what do you think will happen then?” Luna asked. “She will have to rest for a quite a while. But we can bear the night longer than the day. The night we had when Nightmare Moon emerged was 10 days long and after it, plants and wildlife were both able to recover completely. 10 days of noon won't be so forgiving. We need to do it, Luna. And maybe she will surprise us.” “But why don't we wait? Maybe it will return to normal after a little time...” “Do you really think that this could possibly be solved by time? Besides, right now we could claim that we made the day a little longer to highlight how special this day is. But if the noon lasts for all the night or even longer, we won't be able to explain it. It would cause a crisis.” Celestia stated. “I sure hope you know what you're doing, sister...” Twilight went into the room the guard pointed out. She knew this room. It was one of Celestias personal bedrooms. She was very often here when she learned about the magic as Celestias private pupil. As she went in she saw Celestia on the balcony and Luna sitting on the bed, looking at Celestia. “You wanted to see me, princess?” Twilight asked. Celestia turned and smiled at Twilight. “Oh, Twilight! I didn't think that you would be here so fast.” “What is it? And why do you want to speak to me here? You only invited me to this place when you wanted to practice magic with me.” “Yes. That's exact the reason you are here. I know, you can cast every kind of unicorn magic. But now, that you are an alicorn, it's time for you to learn about the special magic that comes with this gift.” “Special magic? What kind of special magic? Do you mean magic like...” Twilight gasped. Was Celestia really going to teach her how to raise and lower sun and moon? Celestia laughed a little. “Yes, exactly this kind of magic. But first, you need to learn how alicorn-magic works at all. As you already know, every pony wields unique magic.” Celestia said. Twilight was really excited. “Yes, pegasi wield magic that gives them the ability to fly and to interact with objects, others can not interact with. Earth ponies wield magic that strengthens their bodies and gives them more energy than other ponies have. And unicorns wield a magic that allows them to control the energy in their innermost. But this is very different from pony to pony because everypony has its own energy.” Twilight said. She wanted to show she listened when Celestia told her about the magics of Equestria. “Not exactly. Pegasi wield a magic that allows them to change the air around them. They manipulate gases to gain an advantage in speed and also to let clouds burst. Earth ponies have a special bond to the earth beneath them. They are stronger and live longer because the earth gives them strength. In return, they strengthen the earth by growing plants and trees. But concerning unicorns, you are right.” Twilights cheeks became a little red. Seemingly she did not listen as well as she thought. “Alicorns wield all those kinds of magic.” Twilight turned her head. Luna stood right at her side, looking at her. There was something strange with her glance. But Twilight was not sure what it was. “That's the reason we can raise and lower moon alone and that's the reason we have wings and horns. It shows our special bond to those magics. We are more than just unicorns with wings.” she said. “The bond to the earth however is pretty hidden. That's the reason some think we are just pegasus-unicorns.” “Now, alicorn magic is far beyond unicorn magic. It tames the energy of Equestria itself. In fact, the magical abilities you can use with your horn are still the same, even if they are stronger now. To use alicorn-magic, you need to use more than just one magic. You'll have to mix them. And that's the reason you are here. We are going to teach you how to use the magic of pegasi and earth ponies together with your unicorn-magic to create another kind of magic.” Celestia said. Twilight squeed. This was better than everything that happened yet. Celestia and Luna both smiled at her. “Maybe have you noticed that the sun is not supposed to stand this way right now. This has 2 reasons: We wanted to highlight this day... literally. And it is to show you the first alicorn-spell you'll learn. It allows to to manipulate sun, moon and the stars.” Luna said. Twilight was out of control. She jumped up to fall, very slowly because of her spread wings, back to the ground and to jump again. It looked very cute. If this wasn't such a serious situation, Celestia would've hugged her right away. “First, you need to know what kind of magic you'll need to use. This spell needs pegasus- and unicorn-magic. Because you have not used pegasus-magic yet, we'll have to train it first. Luna?” Celestia said. Lunas horn started glowing. A little cloud appeared in the middle of the room. “Now, make it burst.” Twilight didn't know why Celestia wanted her to buck the cloud. How would this help her find out how to use pegasus magic? But it sure had some sense. Twilight turned and lifted one of her back hooves. Suddenly, Celestia laughed. “I mean not this way, Twilight! Do it with your pegasus-magic. Bucking it won't help you learn anything.” “But what am I supposed to do then? I never saw a pegasus burst clouds with pure willpower.” Twilight was very confused. “No you haven't. But you once saw me doing it.” Luna said. “Remember the nightmare night when I visited Ponyville? Back then the weather acted very strange. It was because of me using pegasus-magic to change it.” “You mean that those lightnings and those black clouds appeared because you wanted them to do so?” Twilight was confused. Luna seemingly wanted to make a creepy appearance. “It's not like unicorn-magic. Pegasus-magic is about emotions. You control it by focusing them. If you don't focus them, the weather itself changes. Can you imagine how hard it is to focus your emotions if you are visiting the first feast in a thousand years which happens to be a feast about the darker side of you scaring everypony?” She said this in a cold and a little angry tone. Twilight was a little bit scared. The cloud shrunk. Luna laughed out loud. “See? It works! This works only for alicorns because our bond is not to anything special. We are bonded to everything around us, making every magic way stronger than usually. Now, if you want to make the cloud burst, you'll need to focus either joy or anger on it. Try it.” Twilight looked at the cloud. Joy or anger? How was she supposed to do that? She just glared at the cloud, waiting for something to happen. But nothing happened. Not for a few minutes. It felt like hours to Twilight. She hated to be stuck somewhere in her studies! She just hated it! It was so unnerving to be caught in the middle of something. She closed her eyes and stomped with her hoof. “This bucking cloud!” she thought. As she opened her eyes, the cloud was gone. “This worked better than expected. I actually thought you would try it with joy. But this works better, doesn't it?” Luna told Twilight. Celestia grinned at her. “Now it's time to try it with something... bigger.” Luna went to Celestia, waiting for Twilight to follow her. First, Twilight was confused. But then she got that Luna meant the sun. Twilight went a few steps away from the balcony. “Are... are you sure I'm ready for the sun already? You know, I could crash it into Canterlot or something like that...” Celestia and Luna both started laughing. “Twilight, this is not a simple telekinesis. This is another kind of magic. You'll firstly have to focus on the sun itself, like you would do with unicorn-magic. Then, you'll have to use some bad emotion like you did with the cloud in order to make the sun disappear. If you focus on the sun and use positive emotions, it will raise. After all, it reacts to the emotions you have at the moment you are focusing on it.”Celestia told Twilight. “Think of sunburn. This always works!” Luna said, smiling and looking at Celestia from the eye angles. Twilight took a deep breath and walked onto the balcony. “I can do this!” she told herself. She closed her eyes and focused on the sun. Her horn started glowing, but nothing happened. “Go away, sun!” Twilight thought, but still, she failed to move the sun. She was stuck once again. “You can do it Twilight!” Celestia cheered Twilight up. She just had to do it. There was no other way. Twilight first seemed to be patient with the spell. But after about ten minutes, she started to stomp with her front hooves and to mumble swears. It was strange to see her student like this. She seemingly was going crazy. But then, slowly, the sun moved. As it reached the horizon, Twilight stopped stomping. She noticed the change in lighting and opened her eyes. She jumped once again. “I... I did it! I DI...” she froze. Celestias eyes widened. This had happened before. At the banquet. “Magnificent, isn't it? This power... incredible.” a dark voice said. “What are you doing here!? Aren't you done, threatening me? Just leave me alone!” “Whoa, Celestia! What happened? When I left you were at your end, you were even unable to say something. And now, you are as self-assured as you always are. Calm down. I'm not here because of you. I'm here because of her!” Celestia suddenly started shivering, as if it was very cold. She turned her head to see how one of the shadows in the room raised. It changed its form until it merely reassembled an alicorn. It was unlike the spell they had cast on Sombra a thousand years ago. Sombra himself had become a shadow, but he was more like a cloud that darkened everything. This shadow just looked like an ordinary shadow with the exception it moved on its own. Her pupils constricted. “You know Celestia, it is not fun to talk to you when I'm a few hundred miles away. This time, I visit you personally.” “Who... What are you?” Celestia was in panic. This was not magic. This was not science. What was this? “Impossible...” she whispered to herself. “You wouldn't understand, what I am, Celestia. And you wouldn't understand why I'm here. So I'll give you a little hint: Look at Twilights eyes. And don't worry about me while you do. There's no reason for me to harm anypony.” Celestia was worried. “What have you done to her? DON'T YOU DARE TO...” “Calm down! I've done nothing. Now look at her eyes already! It sure is worth the time.” Celestia turned and walked in front of Twilight. She was still in the air so Celestia had to fly up a little bit. There were red lines in Twilights eyes. They glew in a dark tone. First, Celestia didn't realize what she just saw. Then, she panicked. She fell down again and staggered a few steps away from Twilight. There were red glowing pentagrams in both of Twilights eyes. They were surrounded by a black circle. “A magic seal... what kind of illusion is this? How are you trying to trick me now!?” “This is not trick. Those seals are real. I will tell you why you were unable to move sun and moon.” Celestia turned her head and looked at the shadow once again. “I used my magic to change time for them. Your magic worked, but they moved slower because of time-dilatation. I slowed them down to one thousandth of their normal speed. And this little alicorn over there still was able to move them. Can you possibly imagine what kind of power it takes to do this?” Celestia was shocked. She knew that is was not normal for the sun and the moon to behave like this. But this... this was worse than her darkest thoughts. She would never be able to undo such a powerful time-spell. “Wha... what did you just say? One thousandth!?!” “Yes, this is what I said. Twilight used more magic in a few minutes than you do in one year. And she's still able to stand. Hell, she isn't affected at all. And this is just a small glimpse of her real power.” What was he saying? This was impossible! Twilight just became an alicorn! There was no way she was this powerful already. It had to be a lie. Maybe he had casted this time-spell and undid it when Twilight tried to move the sun? “You think I'm lying, don't you? Well, then let me undo the time-spell to proof that I'm not.” A deep red aura formed around the shadow. Celestia felt her eyes burn as she looked at it, but there was no way she would take only one eye off him. After a few seconds, the light started to flicker. Celestia turned. The sun was running over the firmament at an incredible speed. It needed only seconds to pass it completely. “You know, the sun keeps her movement. And even tough she only used negative emotions, it still is fast enough to fly around this planet in only 3 seconds. And this will go on for the next half hour. I think this is a very good glimpse how powerful she is. And this is only a fraction of the power she will possess soon.” Celestia fought for breath. This was impossible! This had to be some sort of illusion, some sort of disguise. “...Wha... What do you mean? Fraction? Fraction of what?” Celestia gasped. “You saw her eyes. Those are unlike the magical seals you know. Her magic limits itself. But even the limited magic of hers is more powerful than everything I've ever seen. Nightmare Moon is a joke compared to this. Discord is a joke compared to this. Even the crystal heart is a joke compared to this.” “What... what is 'this'? Answer me!” Celestia needed the answer. She feared for Twilight. “This is the magic of Equestria itself. It's far beyond everything you and Luna wield. And it gets stronger the more Equestria looses balance. If the balance is destroyed completely, she will become a goddess! She will be able to restore Equestria with a snap of her tail or destroy it with a thought crossing her mind. She will be the most powerful being to ever exist. She is the very last defense Equestria itself creates in order to protect itself. You know what that means.” “You want to destroy Equestria to punish me? You want her to become a goddess so she can kill me? This is madness! Do you even realize what you are saying? After all you and your friends sacrificed...” “Don't you dare to ever only mention them! You are not worth their names! And you are not worth to remember them! You are the reason they are dead! They are all dead, just because of you! And I'm caught here because of you! All this pain you caused keeps me here!” The voice was trembling in anger and in despair. “This is not how it has to be! None of you is still caught. Shadow Mirror...” Celestia was interrupted by the voice. “HOW DARE YOU USE HER NAME!?!” “She found peace. She passed away, she isn't here any longer. You can find peace as well. There is no need for you to stay. Why can't you just leave?” “Lies! Like always! You lied to me in the past! You never did anything else than lying! What makes you expect I trust you now? You are just trying to avoid the judgement of her! You know she will kill you! You know she will punish you in a way you deserve it!” “She won't. She won't because she is better than I ever was. She is the one I can call my successor. She is the one who will undo my sins. And you are right. When the time comes, she will be my judge.” “You still don't get it, Celestia! She is more than just your judge. She is your executioner. She is the only one who can be your executioner. You created the sword that is going to behead you, Celestia. You will die! And you will be punished for everything you did in the afterlife!” “If you think my judgement is so certain, why are you here? Why do you tell me all this if you want me to die? Why?” The voice stayed still. The shadow didn't move at all. It stayed this way for a few seconds. “The time spell will end when the sun has normalized it's movement. You won't meet me again.” the voice finally said as the shadow went back into his original form. He closed his eyes. “White Flare! Heeeey, White Flare! Come on, join us!” White Flare turned his head. It was a pegasus-mare with yellow coat, blue eyes and orange mane. Her name was Yellow Shine. “Can you wait a few seconds? Let me just finish this book. Celestia gave it to me. There are only 4 more pages left.” he answered. “Oh come on! Reading isn't the most important thing in the world! And I bet the letters won't run away!” annother pony replied. This time it was a pegasus-stallion. He had a white coat, bright red eyes and a silver mane. His name was Silver Dash. “We would really miss you if you wouldn't join us!” a deep blue unicorn mare with black mane and red eyes said. Her name was Shadow Mirror. “How could I deny a your invitation, Shadow?” White Flare said as he magically levitated the book into one of his saddlebags. “What are you going to do anyway?” “We are going to go for a picnic! We've got crystal berry punch and pie! It's going to be a great thing to relax!” a earth-pony-mare with light pink coat, dark pink mane and pink eyes said. Her name was Bright Life. “Okay this is really a great idea. After all this trouble we've been trough to get here... we finally slipped Discords reign. I think this is worth a little celebration.” White Flare stated. “But Celestia will sure be disappointed of me if I don't finish this book.” “And Luna will tell her that some ponies need more than just books and air to live. I know, Celestia only has the best in her mind but still I'm happy Luna is my mentor and not Celestia. She is not so strictly.” Shadow Mirror said. Now that he thought about it, Celestia really was strictly. He could understand her though. The crystal empire was protected by the powerful magic of the Crystal Heart, but out there were still hundreds of thousands of ponies suffering Discords reign. And Celestia had risked everything to get those 6 ponies here, hoping they may be able to do what she was unable to do one day. A few minutes later they had arrived the royal gardens of the crystal empire. There were many ponies around, eating, laughing and enjoying their lifes. However, none of them was equestrian. They were all crystal ponies. White Flare felt like a stranger. “Why are you so quiet, Flare? Is something wrong? Anything I could help you with?” the last pony in their group asked. She had a light green coat, blue eyes and a green mane with red highlights. Her name was High Pose. “...This is not our home.” White Flare answered after a few seconds. “What are you talking about? Those ponies were so kind to offer us, a few refugees from Equestria, a place to stay, a place to slip Discords rule.” Shadow Mirror said. “I didn't say I'm not grateful for that. But, Equestria was and will always be our home. No matter how friendly the crystal ponies are and no matter how long we stay here, this chaotic and destroyed land we used to love like nothing else will always be our home.” White Flare stated. The others lowered their heads. Their faces became sad. “I'm sorry... I know you all miss our home just as much as I do.” White Flare apologized. “Yes and that's exactly why we are so happy to be here. The land we once called our home is now nothing but a mere shadow of what it used to be. It's literally turned upside down.” Silver Dash said. “I know that, Silver! I know what Discord did to our home. But I also know, one day, we will be able to free Equestria. And we will return to our home. And we will once again run over the flowered fields we used to love when we were just little fillies and little colts.” “How can you know that, Flare? How do you know that everything you are trying to safe isn't already lost forever?” Shadow Mirror asked. “Of all the ponies you ask that, Shadow? You know our saviors. Celestia and Luna have come to free Equestria. And I believe they can do it! I believe in them! And I believe one day we will have peace in this shattered world.” “The world was already shattered before Discord arrived, Flare. The great civil war of Equestria, remember? You lost your parents back then. Everypony lost somepony dear. It wasn't Discord who shattered Equestria. We did.” High Pose said. “You are right. But now, we are down. We are lying on the ground. But if you reached the button, there is only one way: Up. And I know Celestia and Luna won't betray us. They will bring peace to the land we shattered. You'll see...” He opened his eyes. “Those bright and hopeful days... gone forever. The dead do not dream.” Author's Note This is not the end of the story. Hell, we aren't even close to its middle. Everything will make sense in the end, I promise. And if it doesn't, I allow you all to punch me.
Chapter 3: Late night sleepShadows of the past Chapter 3: Late night sleep “I... I did it! I DID IT!” Twilight jumped up into the air. “Impressive. Very, very impressive. Now I know why my sister took you as her private pupil. You are really fast-learning.” Luna said. She never saw anything like this. It was incredible how fast she managed to use a completely new kind of magic. She herself had needed two weeks to master pegasus-magic. Celestia had needed five weeks. And Twilight had managed to do it in only one hour. After a few jumps, Twilight began so waver. A second later, she lost her balance and was about to fall to the ground. “Whoa hey!” Luna caught her, folding her wings around the little alicorn. Her eyes were closed. There was still a big smile on her face, but seemingly she just fell asleep. “Of course... She's really exhausted. Celestia, we should find someplace to sleep for her. Maybe...” Luna turned her head to the place Celestia stood a few seconds ago. But she was gone. “Celestia?” “I'm over here.” Celestia answered with a dull tone. She stood in the middle of the room. “How did you get there?” Luna was confused. She thought Twilight was the only pony that mastered the teleportation-spell to the extend where one can use it without the flash appearing. “Have you finally perfected you teleportation-skills? It was about time!” Luna smiled. Celestia just stared at her. “Shocked about Twilight?” “She... she is exhausted?” Celestia asked with lots of confusion in her voice. “Well, of course she is! It's impressive what she is able to do, but still, she's only one pony. All this finally got to her. And now she had to cast one of the most difficult spells existing. I think she really should get some sleep. But you were right. She really surprised me.” “Exhausted...” Celestia mumbled. “Is anything wrong?” Luna was concerned about the strange behavior of her sister. “...No. Everything is fine.” Celestia smiled. This was her first smile of the day that felt true to Luna. “Now, could you please help me a little bit? I can't hold her all night.” Celestia just looked at her and Twilight. Her eyes felt warm and calm. It was strange, but Luna had never seen Celestia like this. It felt like she was just really happy. It felt as good as it was strange to Luna. In the past, Celestia was always concerned about anything. But right now, there was just this warm aura around her, filling the room. “He was wrong. Twilight isn't the one. The spell exhausted her. She is not the heir of this terrible destiny.” Celestias thoughts filled her with joy. Twilight was only an alicorn. She wouldn't become a goddess. She wouldn't need to abandon her friends to protect them from herself. She wouldn't have to bear the destiny of Equestria alone. “Celestia! Seriously, we should finally stop standing here and find a place for her to rest. She can't stay here. The guards would wake her too soon. She will probably need more than just a few hours of sleep.” Lunas voice was soft and quiet. She didn't want to wake Twilight. She had just done something great. She really deserved the sleep. “You are right. Can you take her to the guest-rooms? I will go and tell her friends that she's alright. They're probably waiting for her.” Luna nodded and lifted Twilight onto her back. She slowly walked out of the room. As she reached the door, Celestia opened her mouth again. “And Luna?” Luna turned her head too look at Celestia. “Yes, sister?” “Please watch over her dreams.” Lunas smile widened. She left the room. “She isn't the one...” Celestia whispered to herself. “But what about those seals?” The voices in her head had awakened. “And what about this strange magical power?” “Are you sure he's wrong?” “What if he's not?” “What if she's the one?” “What if she will kill... me?” Those voices came with terrible migraine. Celestia bent down, putting both her front hooves on her head as if she tried to suppress herself. “Shut up...” she whispered to herself, yet, uncertain and weak. “You know he's right, Celestia!” “She will find out one day!” “Your past won't let us go!” “You will die!” “SHUT UP!” she yelled at herself. The voices were gone at an instant. But still, it felt like something was inside of her head. Something that was not a part of her. If felt like there was a stranger in her mind. “What has he done to me? What is this?” she asked herself. She walked onto the balcony and looked at the moon that had just risen. She closed her eyes to feel how her thoughts calmed. It was silent. The night had finally risen. “Where is she? She's gone one and a half our already!” Rainbow Dash was never known for her patience. But waiting for so long wasn't only making her nervous. “Seemingly she hasn't heard of beauty-sleep. I need to go to bed or I'll get hideous wrinkles!” Rarity whined. “At least the moon has risen. That means there's nothin' bad happenin'.” Applejack said. “Look! There she is!” Pinkie Pie squealed. They all turned their heads and looked into the corridor Pinkie pointed out. It was empty. “Pinkie Pie! There is nopony!” Rainbow Dash was furious. “You'll see! Just wait for it...” They all twisted their eyes. Pinkie Pie was just being random... again. But then, suddenly, a deep blue pony with a floaty mane appeared in the corridor. She was carrying something. “See?” Pinkie said. “Pinkie Pie! That's just princess Luna! What makes you think that Twilight...” Rainbow stopped mid sentence as the thing Luna was carrying spread its wings just to fold them again. They all panicked. What happened? Why was Luna carrying Twilight? And why did this take so long? They all broke into gallop, running towards Luna. She, however, didn't notice them and just went on, leaving the corridor through another door. “Where is she going?” Fluttershy asked. “I don't know, but we simply must ask her what happened.” Rarity said. They galloped faster. Applejack was the first to reach the door. “Twilight! Princess Luna! Wait!” Luna stopped, turned her head and looked right into Applejacks eyes. At the same moment, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash arrived the door. She looked very confused. “Hello everypony... could you please lower your voice?” “What?!?!” Pinkie Pie yelled. It echoed trough the hallway. Luna lifted one of her eyebrows. “Please, just calm down and be quiet!” Luna said as the other five ponies slowly approached. “What happened? Why are you carrying Twilight? And why isn't she answering? And why didn't you rise the moon earlier?” Rainbow Dash said with concerned voice. “Seemingly, Celestia missed to tell them. She wasn't herself today...” Luna thought. “Firstly: She isn't answering because she is asleep. So please try not to wake her.” “Asleep?” the five ponies asked as if they were just one. “Yes, asleep. Secondly, I didn't let the moon rise. It was Twilight, which may answer all the other questions.” Their mouths opened and stayed open wide. Luna giggled a little. “This was exactly Celestias reaction.” Luna said. “...without this silly look on her face.” she thought. “This still doesn't really explain what happened, your highness.” Rarity was the first to talk again. “You are right. This doesn't really explain anything. Well, Celestia and I decided to lengthen the day to literally highlight how special it is.” Luna said. “Awesome! Can you do this when I become a wonderbolt, too?” Rainbow Dash was amazed. Luna didn't know what to answer. A 'No' would probably hurt her, but becoming a wonderbolt wasn't even near to becoming a princess in matter of significance. And it wasn't even planned for Twilights coronation. Fortunately, Rarity said something before Luna thought something up. “Rainbow Dash! You just interrupted the princess! And it is not important what will happen one day. Right now, we are here because we want to know what happened with Twilight!” Luna was incredibly happy Rarity had jumped in. “However...” she went on, “we also used the sun and the moon to introduce her into a new kind of magic she just gained. But, because this magic is really hard to master, it exhausted her. So much that she fell asleep right after she was done.” “That explains why she isn't answering. But it still doesn't explain why you are carrying her.” Applejack looked at her even more confused than before. “Well I wanted to bring her to the guest-rooms of the castle so she can get some sleep.” “That's not what I mean. Why are you carrying her and not one of Celestias or your guards?” “Why am I carrying her?” Luna walked down the corridor to the guest-rooms. She had told the others that there was no guard at hand. A lie. She had told them that there was nothing strange about it. Another lie. It was strange. Luna usually avoided too much physical contact to other ponies. After a thousand years on the moon, not very surprising. She was used to the void, used to being alone. But, right now, she carried Twilight trough half the castle, voluntary. When she picked her up, if just felt like she had to do it. She felt very close to Twilight. But in fact, she had only met her a few times. “Why not one of my guards?” The time after she was restored by the Elements of Harmony she preferred to do everything through her guards. She had to come over the emotions first. She had to deal with all the pain still inside of her. But she completely forgot about her guards when she walked out of the room. Her faithful guards, who had stayed with her all the time and who had endured her strange manners. The guards she usually would've called to carry Twilight. Caught in her thoughts, she almost missed the door to the castles guest-rooms. As she passed the door, a sudden clatter ripped her out of her mind back into the real world. “Princess Luna! We haven't expected your arrival so soon. We thought you might take a few more minutes...” A pony in a white uniform went out of the door straight towards Luna. It was one of the several maids working inside of the castle. “A guard of your highness just told us you would bring somepony here to sleep and we had no made bed for our guest. So we had to quickly make one and we are not done yet. Besides, who is the guest and where is he?” Considering the way the maid talked to her, Luna could tell she was new. The old maids preferred not to ask the inhabitants of the castle anything and only talked if they were asked to do so. Well, this were the experiences Luna made with them. Maybe they were just afraid to talk to the pony formerly known as Nightmare Moon. “Well, out guest is right here with me.” Luna answered as started to walk into the guest-room. “Where? I can't see...” the maid froze at the moment Luna passed her. “Is this... Why are... What in...” The reaction of the mare spoke for the her confusion. But Luna didn't care. She just walked on into the guest-room. In there were 2 other maids. They bent down as Luna had passed the door. “Your highness.” both of them said as if they practiced it. “You can leave now.” Luna said. “But we are not done yet!” the maid in Lunas back objected. “She in fact is new...” Luna whispered as the two other maids left. They said something to the younger one Luna couldn't understand. Then the door behind Luna closed. Luna started finishing what the maids had begun. First, she added a few more pillows to the half-made bed. Then she used some blankets to cover the pillows and the mattress. It looked kinda messy. The maids probably had more practice in making beds. But Luna knew how Twilight used to sleep from her visit at Ponyville last Nightmare Night. And Twilights bed wasn't less messy when Luna saw it. She levitated the little Alicorn above the bed and wrapped another blanket around her before slowly lowered her onto the bed. There she lay, a ball of feathers, fur and blankets on pillows and more blankets. For some reason, it felt familiar to Luna, this inexpressible feeling of relief and peace. It felt as if she already experienced this feeling she had right now. But it was impossible. She could only remember pain, anger and hatred in her past. She could only remember how she hurt ponies, only remember how she became Nightmare Moon, only remember a millennium alone on the moon... “Awesome...” Rainbow Dash was the first to speak after they had met Luna. It was a shocking revelation that Twilight was able to raise sun and moon now. After all, this was something very special only Celestia and Luna had done yet. Of course all of them knew her friend was something special, but this was beyond their imagination. “What do you mean, dear?” Rarity had also found her words again. “That Twilight has raised the moon, that we all just became royal guards or this lovely banquet?” It was not only overwhelming to Twilight what had happened today. This day probably would change all of their lives forever. All of her friends were already agitated when they saw Twilights concerns about Celestia. It had just gotten worse since then. “All of it... Well, except for this boring banquet.” Rainbow Dash answered. “You know what I said when Twilight got her wings?” “Yes! You said 'Awesome! A new flying buddy!' And I was like 'Alicorn Party!' And Rarity was like 'You've become an alicorn!'” Pinkie Pie said. Her emotional state was just as random as she was. A few seconds ago she was too shocked to say a word. And now, she didn't stop talking... again. “And Applejack was like...” “I think we all got what you wanna tell us, sugarcube.” Applejack interrupted her. “I think I didn't get what actually happened... I thought nothing would happen. Well, except for Twilight flying around. But this will change everything forever. Things will never be the same again...” Rainbow Dash said. It was unlike her to be so serious, but her words mirrored what everyone of them was thinking right now. Everything was going to change. Only the future could tell whether it was to the better or the worse... “Come on, Dashie! Nothing has changed. Twilight is still the same pony we know, we are all still who we used to be and Equestria hasn't changed after all, too. How could things never be the same again if things never changed?” This was such a Pinkie-thing to say. But now, that Pinkie had said it, it seemed to be right. It was such a Twilight-thing to freak out for worries she made herself, like she did when she stood there and was waiting for Luna. It was a Rainbow-Dash-thing to suddenly get serious under stress and it was a Rarity-thing to be dazzled by the high-society of Canterlot. It was a Fluttershy-thing to stay in the background and only speak in crowds if she was either really worried or really stressed and it was a Applejack-thing to calm everypony down if they needed it. And Pinkie Pie was just being Pinkie Pie, there was nothing that could ever change her. None of them had changed after all. It was a relief to realize this. Maybe there were not so many things going to change. But then, Rarity and Applejack both realized one giant problem. “Where are we going to sleep?!” they both exclaimed at the same time. It was planned that they would return to Ponyville after the banquet. Twilight had to stay in Canterlot a few days anyways because of lots of things. But it was way too late for them to return to Ponyville now. The last train had left Canterlot hours ago. “Maybe we should ask the princess where to sleep. What do you think Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash said, trying to involve Fluttershy into their dialogue. “Well uhm... We could ask her... I guess...” she said with her normal voice. Well, it was more of a whispering but Fluttershys voice almost always was a whispering. They all turned to walk. “Why can't I remember it?” Luna walked down the corridor to her rooms. This image of Twilight on the bed had awakened something in her. She knew, there had to be more than pain and hatred in her past, but she couldn't remember it. She knew, there was something the calmed her thoughts and gave her peace, even after she had returned from the moon. Sure, the fear of all the other ponies had hurt her and she felt lonely especially when she was with Celestia. It felt like she was being overshadowed again, like she was a thousand years ago. But there was something that helped her to take it, something that feared the loneliness away and helped her to see Equestria as the beautiful land it had become in her absence. It made her sad that she couldn't remember it... “What is it?” There was something all the time. It was something that made her want to be loved, though she only sought hate in her past. Something that made her want to change for the acceptance of those who feared her like if she was still a monster. Something that made her feel as if she already knew this bright world she had awoken in. It felt like the first light of the dawn after a long nightmare. And Luna couldn't remember what it was... She opened the blue doors to her rooms and walked in. Something felt different from normal. It felt wrong, as if she walked into the wrong toilet. But she was sure, this was her room. There was the carpet with the pale-white crescent moon on it, her round bed, the ceiling with a night sky out of diamonds... But still, this felt like another ones room. But why? She walked towards her bed as the doors behind her closed. She turned and looked at the now closed doors. She smiled. “How do those ponies manage to get along with me?” she whispered to herself. She knew, her guards never left her for a second. But she saw them very rarely. Sometimes it was like her guards were able to melt into shadows. “Shadows... They're always like shadows. I really need to thank the... SHADOWS?!” One of the shadows in her room began to move. It moved towards her. Her eyes widened. This was strange. She didn't remember entering someponys dreams. But this had to be a dream, shadows couldn't move on their own. And those who could would feel like a magical flare. But this one was a normal shadow. “Ok, in which ponies dreams am I?” she asked herself as she tried to remember casting her dreamspell. “This is no dream, Luna. And I am incredibly happy it is not a dream.” a voice answered. Lunas pupils constricted. There was no way a dream could interact with her! Only the dreaming pony could do so. But there was no pony dreaming. She only knew one spell that could do this. “Haha, very funny Celestia. Is this your revenge for the cake-jokes I made yesterday?” Luna said. “This has nothing to do with Celestia, Luna. However, I visited her already. Twice...” The voice answered. Luna was sure this was a joke. But this spell was to powerful to break. So she decided to play along. Maybe this situation could become fun. “Of cooooouuuurse this has nothing to do with you... ahem Celestia. Now, what do we do? How about some cake, Mr. Shadow?” “...You really don't remember me? It is a thousand years ago but still... You told me and my friends you would never forget us.” the voice said. “But it's probably not your fault.” Luna was startled. This voice... It felt familiar. And though she couldn't remember her promising this to anypony it felt like she had. “Who are you?” she said, now with serious voice. “Where do you know me from?” “You and your sister saved me and my friends from Discord. How did you forget about us?” “Wait! I and Celestia saved nopony from Discord! She had to banish his power and petrify his body using...” “Us.” the voice said dryly. Us? What was he saying? Luna was sure she and her sister had used the Elements of Harmony, not soldiers. And she was sure... Wait, Luna knew all of this, but it was strange. The memories were blurry and chaotic. “What are you?” Luna asked. “What happened? How could you forget about us? You, who never forgot a single thing? You were able to tell us what we had dreamed every single morning and you were able to remember our dreams better than we were. It was really impressive every single morning and it always enchanted us.” the voice said with happy voice. Seemingly, this was a very sweet memory for him. “What are you?” Luna asked again, now with fear in her eyes. This shadow knew her, but how? “You forgot about us...” the voice said, now with very sad voice. “Then, let me introduce myself. I am White Flare, former apprentice of your sister and element of loyalty.” “White Flare...” Luna mumbled. She knew this name. Her lips formed another name involuntarily. “Shadow Mirror...” “You haven't forgotten completely, have you?” the voice said enthusiastically. “Of course I remember Shadow Mirror. She once was Celestias apprentice.” Luna said. “No Luna, she was your apprentice. At the same time when I was Celestias apprentice. At the same time when Discord ruled Equestria.” An image flashed in Lunas mind. It was the image of Twilight lying on the bed. But, it was different. The coat was deep blue, there were no feathers and the blankets looked less expensive. The surroundings were also different. It was not a big castle room, but a small hut made of wood. With this image, this feeling of relief came back. “You saved from Discord. We all don't know what exactly happened... We all already knew you from old tales. It was a big shock to us all when we woke up in the crystal empire with you two standing in front of us.” The image became a full-grown memory... “Sister! Hurry! We have to get them before Discord finds out about them!” Celestia said. Both of them were flying over a twisted land. It looked as if someone gave an 4 year old girl the power to form reality. Everything had strange colors and seemingly the rules of physics didn't apply to this land. “I'll get the filly! Go and get the colt! We'll meet back at the crystal empire!” Luna said. Celestia nodded. They had already saved 4 other ponies closer to the empire. But those two seemed to live at the other end of Equestria! As she flew over the land she saw several other ponies. The first ponies she saw looked still normal, even though they should be scared. But the farther she went the more ponies seemed to be twisted. She could see some pegasi digging in the ground with their wings and she could see some floating earth ponies. There were also some unicorns with spiral-holes where theirs horns should be. Those holes were way deeper than their heads would usually allow them to be. Luna became very concerned. Was she too late? Finally, Luna arrived at an old hut. It was flying above the earth and it was upside down. Luna entered the hut without hesitation. In there lay a young pony, wrapped in blankets. She couldn't make out any details from where she stood, but the coat of the pony seemed to be dark blue. As Luna came closer, she felt relief. The young pony was still normal. It wasn't twisted. But then, Luna heard a whimper that wiped out her relief and filled her with deep sadness... “Mommy! Don't...” Lunas eyes widened. “You have regained some memories, don't you?” the voice said in relief. “Do you finally remember me?” “No...” Luna whispered. What just happened? This memory was completely new to her! There was no spell known to her able to make alicorns forget. Sure, there were memory-spells to erase memories, but those spells were unable to affect alicorns in any way. The sheer amount of magic alicorns usually possess prevents them from being affected by this kind of magic. “Do you at least remember Shadow Mirror? You meant everything to her. You owe her the memory.” “I remember the moment I first saw her. That's all.” Luna said. She still was shocked. What could make her forget? “You don't remember who she was? You don't remember what she did to save you? What she sacrificed?” the voice asked. She sounded concerned. “What did she do? What did she sacrifice?” Luna was perplexed. She couldn't remember anypony doing anything for her before the Elements of Harmony turned her back from being Nightmare Moon. The shadow hadn't managed to take a form all the time. It had tried all the time but for some reason, it was unable to take form. But now it looked as if the shadow was dragged back to his normal form. “Looks like Celestia didn't like this incident at the banquet.” the voice said. Luna suddenly understood what was going on. “You were this strange phenomena Celestia told me about? You were the one who threatened her at the banquet? And you dare to visit me after this? Do you think you can stir me up against her?” The shadow slowly turned back to his normal form. But before the shadow was completely normal, the voice said a thing that made Lunas heart skip a beat. “There is no need for me to stir you up, Luna. Celestia already did this in the past. You only need to remember it.” “Come on, Twilight! We're gonna be late for the Nightmare Night festival!” Twilight approached the stairs of her library. She was wearing a hoof-made costume of Starswirl the Bearded. She was very proud that she made it all herself. It had taken weeks and surprisingly many books about stitching. But it had turned out great! Twilight was sure everypony would identify her costume! She went down the stairs. “Huh? Are you that one kooky old grandpa from Ponyville Retirement Village?” Spike asked. “I'm Starswirl the Bearded!” Twilight was already annoyed. Not only did Spike take the most ridiculous costume Twilight could think on, a dragon, he seemingly had ignored her the last three days. And he still looked confused. “Father of the... Oh forget it!” She already knew he didn't read the book she gave him and Twilight was not willing to argue with him. Nightmare Night was a holiday after all. “Come on, Spike! You already said we're late and now I'm waiting for you!” Twilight said as she went to the door. “On my way!” Spike ran past her, opened the door and instantly jumped away from it. “Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet tonight!” three little fillies sang instantly. One was costumed as ladybug, one as princess and the last one was wearing some strange kind of helmet with stars on it. It looked like one of those strange helmets described in this famous book-series about ponies in space. All of them had little bags attached to their costumes. There was also an elder mare following the fillies. It was Granny Smith. She was however not wearing a costume like everypony else. Twilight approached the door. “Happy Nightmare...” Spike had started coughing, thereby interrupting her. He was easy to scare anyways, but opening the door just to be surprisingly yelled at without any kind of warning was even startling for somepony less fearful. Everypony was looking at him. “Is he alright?” one of the fillies asked with concerned voice. “There's nothing wrong with him.” Twilight stated as she lifted Spike with her telekinesis and patted him on his back with one of her front hooves. He instantly stopped coughing. “Thanks Twilight.” “Enough! Where's the candy?” A pink pony with a chicken-costume pushed the fillies away. Twilight could now see that there was also a little colt that had hidden behind them until yet. His costume was the one of a pirate. “Pinkie Pie, that's very rude! Just pushing those fillies aside. Aren't you too old for this anyways?” Twilight asked. “Too old for free candy? NEVER!” Yep, this was clearly the real Pinkie Pie. For some reason Twilight was expecting somepony would dress up as Pinkie and therefor was always ready for a Pinkie-decoy. She giggled at bit before levitating the bowl with sweets to Pinkie and the fillies. After the fillies had taken one candy at a time, Pinkie almost jumped into the bowl, throwing sweets trough half the library. However, in the end she only took one candy, leaving all the other ones evenly distributed over all the floor. Suddenly the colt jumped into the room. “Pipsqueak the pirate, to your service bearded lady! I am here to vanquish this terrible candy-devouring chicken-monster from your home!” he said with playful voice. “Thank... Wait! Bearded lady?” he seemingly didn't get her costume... But he was too young to know who or what Starswirl the bearded was. However, before Twilight could say anything more, Pinkie screamed. “You will never get me, pirate!” Pipsqueak took to sword attached to the costume into his mouth. “Yuu will nut eshape, monshter!” Laughing loud, both of them ran out of library. Twilight turned to the fillies. “Do you at least get my costume?” “Yeah. You are costume the lead singer of this cool new band.” “Lead singer?” Twilight lifted one of her eyebrows. “Yeah they costume as important unicorn wizards of the past. The lead singer costumes as Starswirl the bearded.” “Well, close enough.” Twilight thought. “Well, actually we both share the same costume.” she explained to the fillies. “But why would you costume as ugly old stallion? Especially when you are a mare?” Twilight opened her mouth to answer but no answer crossed her mind. After a few seconds standing just around this way, she gave up and said: “Well... I don't know. Spike, lets go.” “Thank you everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!” the mayor had started her speech. Twilight however was too frustrated to listen to it right now. Nopony she had met yet knew Starswirl. And everypony thought she was some kind of weird pony. Applejack even thought she was a country music singer. And that after all the labor she had put into her costume... “Now, all the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should floolow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of...” she intentionally made a short break in her speech. “Nightmare Moooooooooon! MUHAHAHAHAHA!” A pony next to Twilight had started laughing. Twilight turned her head to see that the pony was lying on the ground trying to stop. She could also see that the pony had a blue coat, wings, a horn... “Princess Luna?!?” The pony turned its head. It had stopped laughing. “Dammit! You got me!” Luna said. “Wha... How... Why did nopony notice you yet?” Twilight was confused. The other ponies still behaved as if Luna wasn't there. “Well, because, for them, I don't exist.” Twilight was confused. “Don't exist? Wait, am I becoming insane? Or is this all some sort of illusion?” Twilights expression became suspicious. “Do you finally understand what's going on?” Luna asked. “...I failed at this memory-spell again, didn't I? The last time I did I was caught in a land made of bubblegum for about 10 hours... Oh how...” “Land of bubblegum?” Luna had raised her eyebrow. “Twilight, most ponies would ask themselves whether they were asleep. And you come up with such hilarious ideas?” she started laughing again. “This... is a dream?” Twilight asked. “Well it's not a failed memory-spell. And I am pretty sure if I was an illusion I would not laugh at you all time. Or I would laugh harder at you all time.” Luna was trying to stop laughing. She only had partially success. She still broke into giggle every few seconds. “Well this may be a dream. But why are you laughing all time? What's so funny?” “Well, actually nothing. I think I just need to laugh a little bit after everything that happened...” “What happened? Is it about me raising the... I raised the moon!” Twilight grinned from ear to ear. But then, her face again changed to suspicious. “Wait... Couldn't that have been a dream? Actually, me becoming an alicorn and raising the moon sounds weirder than you sneaking onto this festival.” “Have you ever remembered a full dream without any breach in real life?” Luna asked. “Well... No.” Twilight said. “So this is the dream? But, why are you here then?” “Well it makes more sense than me sneaking onto Ponyville Nightmare Night festival if you consider that I am the princess of the night, doesn't it? You just lowered the sun and raised the moon and fell asleep right after doing so. I thought I should watch out you get your sleep after so many days without it.” “How do you know how long I didn't sleep?” Twilight was confused but Luna just raised her eyebrow. “Oh, princess of the night, right...” “But I have to admit, I am concerned that you dream of this night.” Luna said. “Why? Isn't this just a normal dream?” “It's not a normal dream. It's a dream about your memories. This only happens when there is something bothering you about the memory. Something you haven't handled yet. And we both know what this memory is about...” Luna said. “I still don't know what worries you about this dream.” Twilight said. “That you dream of this night tells me that you fear something regarding me. And if you think about it, this can only be one thing...”
