In Youth Eternal - A Dark Secret

Chapter 2: Discovery

The lavender unicorn stepped into the Entrance Hall of Canterlot Castle the very next day, followed closely by Spike. The large doors closed behind them. The pair began to walk forward along a majestic red carpet with a golden trim. Light reflected brilliantly off of the marble floor.

Perched at the top of the grand stairs in front of Twilight and Spike was the majestic Princess Celestia herself. She glanced down at the approaching duo.

“I’m glad you could make it, Twilight,” the regal alicorn greeted. Twilight smiled up at her mentor as she approached the stairs.

“Hello, Princess Celestia!" Twilight greeted back, cheerfully. "So, what did you want to discuss with me?” A soft, warm smile passed over Celestia’s features.

“I would like to talk over dinner. There will be a banquet tonight. Meet me in the Dining Hall in three hours,” instructed the Princess. Her eyes then glanced over a little to see Spike standing near Twilight.

“I see you also brought little Spike along as well,” remarked Celestia, as she arched an eye brow.

“Oh... Yeah. I thought it would be okay if he came along,” said Twilight, glancing and at Spike and then back at Celestia. "It is okay right?" Twilight could not help but wince a little, having not actually asked if he could. The mare hated to disappoint her mentor.

A smile returned to the Princess. “Of course it is, my little pony,” she commented. “But for now, I must check on the preparations. I look forward to seeing you later.”

With that said, a flash of light enveloped the regal Princess for a brief moment before vanishing. Princess Celestia was gone.

Twilight turned to face Spike. “I think I’ll go visit the castle library in the meantime. Do you want to come, Spike?” Spike brought his claw up to his chin and pondered for a moment.

“I might as well. There’s not much else to do around here,” the baby dragon replied with a deadpan tone.

“Alright! I haven’t been to the castle library in such a long time. I wonder what they have there right now!” she exclaimed. Books always did get Twilight excited.

With that, the mare practically hopped off to the library, with Spike walking normally in tow.

*     *     *

The large double doors to the castle library creaked open. Twilight, followed by Spike, entered and glanced around at their surroundings. “Looks like they’ve done a bit of remodeling,” observed Spike.

Many shelves of books both new and old stood tall, with various paths running between them. Some stood by themselves. A number of lanterns adequately illuminated the large room where light from the stain glass windows would not reach.

At this time, no pony else was in the library. It was very quiet. Twilight and Spike split up to do their own book searching.

The unicorn trotted around various aisles with a smile on her face, her head swinging back and forth, looking at all books to see what would spark her interest. Luckily, she had brought her new book bag for storage, commenting as she went about her business.

"Hmmm. Star Swirl the Bearded's Autobiography? Own it. X-Ray vision and other Vision Enhancement Spells? Read it. Playmare? No thanks..."

Twilight Sparkle continued on as such for the time being.

Meanwhile, Spike spotted a book about gem stones at the top of one of the book cases. He began to climb to the top, grabbing each shelf and pulling himself higher and higher. The book case rocked back and forth a little bit as he ascended. This made him a bit nervous, but he continued regardless.

Spike smiled upon reaching the peak of the book case, despite it rocking back forth from being unbalanced. The young dragon pulled his book of choice from the shelf. “I can’t wait to r-” he began to say, before being cut off. “Wooaah!!” he yelled. The tall book case started tipping over on the side Spike was on. He quickly became frantic, scared that he might get crushed under the book case.

Fortunately, he would regain his composure in time to jump off as the book case came tumbling down. He may not have been crushed, but he was thrown into a nearby locked door. Spike crashed through the door and into a dark room. Although the door was wrecked and splintered, his scales acted as sort of a natural armor, preventing any serious injury.

Twilight rushed over to find what the source of all the commotion was, only to see a book case had fallen over and a broken down door. Twilight rushed into the dark room that the locked door once protected. She used her magic to illuminate the room. Spike stood up, somewhat dazed, but shook his head to regain his senses.

“Spike! Are you alright!?” the mare asked frantically.

“Yeah. I think so,” said the baby dragon, brushing himself off with his claws.

The room contained many shelves that lined the walls, filled to the brim with scrolls. The names of many ponies labeled different sections of the shelves. At the end of the room stood a small table with a book on top of it. The book was moderately thick. Being the only book in the room, this caught Twilight’s attention.

The two slowly approached the small small table, curious. Twilight leaned in, blew away what dust there was, and squinted her eyes to try and read the title. There was no title, however.

“What do you suppose it is?” asked the baby dragon.

“I don’t know, but I’d like to take a look,” Twilight said, as she used her magic to open the book and began flipping through its pages. Her curiosity only grew upon seeing the mysterious contents of pages.

“What is this?”  she rhetorically asked as she arched an eyebrow. Each page contained a photograph of somepony and Princess Celestia, all of them being unicorns. Twilight was beginning to feel uneasy as each profile listed each pony as deceased, including all of the far more recent ponies who should still be alive and well. Her thoughts raced in her head, even more so upon finding her own page, complete with the photo of her and Celestia. It was taken not long after Twilight began her studies under the Princess.

Her profile was the only one that didn’t say deceased.

“This is just bizarre,” she muttered, frightened. Twilight became a little frantic, trying to think of an explanation. “Why would everypony, including her more recent students, be listed as dead? I can't exactly make sense of that...”

“How should I know?” said Spike, who was equally creeped out. He started to become frantic. “What if... What if they exploded!?” he asserted. Twilight slammed the book shut and regained her thoughts.

“I doubt that’s why, Spike.” she deadpanned, giving him a disappointed look. Simply simply shrugged, with a sheepish grin.

Using her magic, the unicorn slipped the book into her book bag and closed it up tight. “But, we’ll look into this later. I dislike the thought of Princess Celestia hiding something. But for now, we should clean up this mess before somepony finds it,” said Twilight, looking back into the other room with the toppled book case. Spike nodded in agreement.

*     *     *

Three hours had passed.

Twilight and Spike approached the Dining Hall. An earth pony dressed in a chef's uniform was seen exiting the room with an empty cart, presumably having unloaded its contents for the banquet.

“Well, here we are,” said Twilight, pushing the door with her magic.

In the middle of the large room was a fairly large, round wooden table. A banquet was set up there, consisting of anything from tossed salad to baked goods. For Spike, there was a basket of gem stones.

“You may take any spot at the table,” Princess Celestia insisted. The Princess already sat at the far end of the table, opposite of the door. The regal alicorn's horn created an aura to levitate a cup of tea over to her mouth. She momentarily closed her eyes as she took the first sip, savoring the flavor of the dark colored liquid.

Twilight chose a spot near the Princess, but not before sliding her book bag off her back and resting it by the door. Spike decided to sit on the other side of the table from where they were to enjoy his gem stones in peace.

“So, Princess Celestia. What was it that you wanted to talk about?” She asked, nervously. The lavender mare couldn't help but feel a wave of nervousness overcome her when spending time like this with the Princess.

Princess Celestia had lowered her tea cup and looked at Twilight. “I simply wish to spend a bit of time with you, Twilight. That’s all,” spoke the sun goddess. Twilight smiled and nodded. The white alicorn continued to speak. “I also wanted to reward you for learning so much about friendship. You make me proud, my faithful student.” Princess Celestia smiled warmly.

“Thank you very much Princess Celestia! This means a lot,” said Twilight as she made a nervous grin. Twilight brought a cup of tea to her with her magic and took a sip, her eyes glancing around.

“Is something wrong, my little pony?” inquired the Princess, arching a brow. Twilight shook her head after lowering her cup.

“Oh, not at all, your Highness. I’m just a bit tired is all,” said Twilight. The princess simply smiled and nodded. An awkward silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of Spike’s gem munching. Twilight glanced around nervously again, before looking back up to the Princess.

“So, Princess Celestia. How many personal proteges have you had before?” asked Twilight.

“Oh, I’ve had many over the years. Why do you ask?” responded Celestia. Twilight glanced away for a brief moment before looking back at Celestia. A bead of sweat ran down her face.

“Oh, No reason, really. I was just curious...” she said, smiling sheepsihly.

Celestia arched a brow. “I see,” she replied.

“So, over the years, what’s happened to them?” the unicorn asked. Princess Celestia perked up a bit. Her visage gave the impression Twilight should not have asked that. However, she quickly reverted to her regular warm demeanor.

“Try not to worry about it. They have merely come and gone,” she said, with a warm smile. “I think you are in need of some sleep. Since you are tired, my faithful student, you are welcome to stay the night in one of the guest suites.” Twilight smiled and thanked the Princess.

“Thank you, Princess Celestia. I sure could use some sleep. It’s been a long day!” said Twilight, with a nervous chuckle. Celestia nodded and smiled again.

“Alright. I will make the arrangements,” assured the majestic alicorn. Twilight thanked Celestia again, and smiled. She made her way to the door, passing by spike who was rubbing his stomach in delight.

“Come on, Spike. Let’s go get some shut-eye,” insisted Twilight. Spike turned to Celestia and thanked her before following Twilight towards the door. The lavender mare’s book bag lifted itself off the ground with Twilight’s magic and slung itself around her as she neared the door. The two exited the Dining Hall, ready for a good night’s sleep.