Raising Fire

"The academic records from all around Equestria, your highness." The unicorn gaurd bowed, levitating the enormous stack of paper to the ground.

"Thank you sir." Princess Twilight Sparkle said, her voice deep and regal. She nodded her noble head to her personal assistant, who began to sort through the considerable mountain of acamdemic records in Equestra, picking out the good ones for the princess to examine.

Twilight had grown so much over the last two and a half thousend years, she now reembled Celestia almost entierly in her height and figuer, she aslo wore her own golden neclace, set with a purple gem shaped as her cutie mark.

Her mane billiowed out around her head, but it remained straight as it had always been.

Celestia had disolved around a thousend years ago, Luna and Candence following shortly, she missed them so much.

Her- her friends had also died. Their deaths lost in the blur of life that had been the last two thousend years.

She visited their graves, from what she could tell they had lived a happy life, but anyone who knew them knew that they had resented her right from where she left until their deaths.

It did not hurt to see their graves so much, but it hurt so much to know that they died hating her.

"Princess?" Her personal assistant looked at her nervously, the pile of selected records hovering next to her.

"Ah, thank you Sunset." The unicorn bowed and returned to her seat next to the throne to continue filling out endless paperwork.

Twilight examined the floating bits of paper, each one held the resolts of the highest achieving unicorns in Equestria. One of them, would be her new air.

Diamond Charmer, Dream  Pleasure, Pheonix Sparks, Charmer Regal, and Solar Mist were after closer examination, the top achievers in all Equestria.

Now all she had to do was meet them in person, test their social skills and run them through some tests.

Celestia would probaly tell her to not foucus on purely the acidemics, but Celestia was gone and evan after knowing her for a thousend years she didn't know what else to look for in a sucsessor.

The magic of friendship would only hurt alicorns, look where it had gotten her. Celestia had been crule to give her friendships and them force her to out live them all.

She shook her royal head, no time to dwell on that, they're gone, they're dead and you need to find a new air.

"Sunset," her PA seemed to appear out of thin air next to her.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Go find these foals and bring them here as soon as you can." Sunset nodded, her horn glowed and she vanished.

Twilight dismised the gaurds, and slumped in her throne, her mane falling into her face as the spell keeping it flowing wore off.

A new air...It was up to her to find one that would lead Equestria into another eara of sucsess.

Urg, she sounded like Celestia. All those years ago, the ruler of the sun reconised her for her magical abilities and, look where she was now. Now it was her turn to decide, her turn to teach and raise this new air... She had never really realised how important it was that she get it right.

"Princess, the foals you requested will arrive at the castle tomorrow at noon. I'm sorry, they simply refused to come any sooner." Sunset was trotting up the throne room, informing the princess as she walked.

"Thank you, Sunset." Her PA bowed and returned to her seat next to the throne, mumbling about classless unicorns with no respect for their princess.

Twilight smiled at her personal assistant. "I need some air, if anypony needs me, please try and cover it yourself or tell them I'll do it when I get back." Twilight was not one to ever think about ever falling behind on her royal duties, but she needed to fly right now, she hadn't for a while.

She left the throne room and walked until she got to one of the many balconies in the castle.

Flight was ever so relieving. She soared around Canterlot, her mane naturally flowing behind her for once, she dived and swooped and thought of Rainbow.

She quickly chased the thought out of her head, Rainbow died hating her, and any thought of her would only result in sadness as she had found out too many times.

She flew until the sun set and the moon rose, by itself of course, the engergy from Luna and Celestia doing it for her as it would until the end of time.

As she entered her room, taking off her slippers and heavy neclace in the process, she remembered that the two sisters were only rumors and legends now. As were her adventures with her friends, that now hated her. Nopony exept her knew that they ever existed at all.

As she began she fall asleep she remebered that she told Sunset that she'd return to the throne room after her flight.

Nothing urgent had happened, or the whole of Canterlot would be looking for her, so she fell asleep, promising that she'd apologise tomorrow.