Chapter 1
"Diplomacy still doesn't seem to be your forte my dear," Princess Celestia pensively stated to the smaller lavender hued alicorn trotting next to her. Twilight Sparkle was still mulling over the words that the griffon and the Saddle Arabian pony had shared with each other out on the floor. She didn't think that her comment was too out of place. After all it only made sense to give a Saddle Arabian their fair share of griffon quills for an equal amount of gems, although she could have worded 'stinking griffon' a little differently.
"I'm sorry Princess," Twilight finally replied after realizing Celestia had been speaking to her. "I just couldn't stand their awful bickering anymore. I wasn't thinking when I opened my mouth."
"I think there was more to it than that," Celestia replied straightening Twilight's crown. Twilight's wings flustered at the gesture, and she red-facedly folded her wings back into place.
"Argh! Stupid things. Still not used to them," she muttered lowly. Her small outburst warranted a laugh from the solar princess and the two continued to trot down one of the many regal halls Canterlot's royal castle had housed.
"I would like to add to your comment Princess Sparkle," Celestia said then as they rounded a corner and headed into a larger hall.
"Yes, go ahead Princess," Twilight said, a little hesitant to hear what her superior had to say about her already fluked statement.
"I know you told me that thought was absent from your mind when you spoke, but that usually implies that it has been focused on something else. So I ask, what troubles you Twilight?"
Twilight couldn't help but chuckle at Celestia's intuitiveness. Even after the many years of being her pupil, Celestia's perception never failed to surprise the purple pony every now and then.
"I'm not entirely sure Princess Celestia. It's just that, I have this empty feeling inside of me sometimes." Twilight diverted her path away from the velvet carpet and looked out of one of the windows in the current hall she stood in. Her eyes grazed Canterlot swiftly, but then fell upon the distant buildings of a very familiar place. "I wonder, if it has anything to do with Ponyville," Twilight said then moving away from the window.
"I see. You are homesick?" Celestia inquired.
"How can I be homesick? Canterlot was where I was raised. Besides, I couldn't remain there and keep my duties as a princess of Equestria. You knew that I needed to move back in order to learn all that there was to being a princess," Twilight explained. Celestia did not respond this time. Instead, she smiled warmly and continued walking.
"The duties of being a princess go beyond royal summits and financial stability of one's nation my little pony," Celestia said as she motioned Twilight into the small study they had regularly occupied in the evening.
"Well, what more is there than just making sure my subjects are happy?" Twilight asked.
"Twilight!" Spike's voice cried out suddenly. The baby dragon jumped onto his friends back and hugged her neck. "Aw man, I'd thought you'd never get out of that meeting. I got bored listening to Owlicious's rendition of MareBeth."
"Well then, I'll leave you to your own purposes Princess Sparkle," Celestia said and turned away.
"Wait, Princess!" Twilight called out knocking Spike down. "Is that it? That's all we're doing today?"
"We sat through a whole diplomatic meeting and you and I discussed about the next Grand Galloping Gala earlier before along with Luna. I think we've done enough for one day Princess," Celestia said. Twilight embarrassingly agreed and Celestia left, shutting the doors behind her.
"So, what now?" Spike asked, awaiting a command from his princess. Twilight chuckled at his willingness to serve him and she motioned over to a large bookcase. Her horn lit up as she pulled a book down from one of the higher shelves and opened it an unmarked page.
"Alright then, you're going to help me master this spell today," Twilight said cheerily. Spike enthusiastically pumped his fist into the air and ran off to collect the necessary materials. Twilight lowered the book and her head tilted slightly over her shoulder. Her eyes once more peered through the glass of a window and set itself upon the lush green of Equestria. Although distant, she could make out the small twirling of a windmill in the town of Ponyville and she once more felt a small tingle of uneasiness.
"Hey, Twilight, are you okay?" Spike said, snapping her out of her daze. Twilight looked over to her assistant, who was waiting for her command.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired is all," Twilight said reassuringly.
"More quills, Twilight?" the shopkeeper asked. Princess Sparkle examined her collection of writing utensils and shook her head.
"No, I think that will be all, thank you Fervor," Twilight said trotting out of the shop. She stepped onto the bust Canterlot road that wound down south east from the castle. This district held a lot of the shops and the more prestigious of book shops that Twilight regularly visited. As she trotted down the road, her eye caught the glances of several passerby ponies who did not bid her a good morning, or even a cheerful look.
"Good evening," Twilight called out to a couple walking by. They smiled out of respect and continued walking. Twilight stopped then and felt a little offended that they didn't even address her, let alone bow. "I know I'm not Celestia, but I am a princess now. A little more respect would be nice," Twilight uttered under her breath.
As she looked around, it appeared that she just blended in with the crowd. There were a few who acknowledged her as Princess Sparkle, but not as much as she would have liked. Her coronation yielded much better results. Suddenly, Twilight felt ashamed then. She was asking for glory and honor, and coveting the role that Celestia had already given to her.
"Oh, I'm sorry Princess Sparkle," a gruff voice said. Twilight had unknowingly bumped into a pair of royal guards patrolling the streets.
"No, I'm sorry, I should be watching where I'm going," Twilight said, allowing the guards to pass. She stopped then, and waited until they had gone a fair distance away, and activated a spell that allowed her to trace sound from far away. She caught the conversation between the two colts after a little fishing.
"It's still a little weird calling her Princess," one of the guards commented.
"I still can't believe it. Truth be told, I don't see why she is a princess though," the other guard stated much to Twilight's dismay.
"I heard it had something to do with a spell," the other unicorn replied back.
"A spell? Celestia can create spells out of her flank, why does that make Twilight any more special?"
"Beats me. I just know she's now a princess in two realms. Shining Armor's sister, and newly proclaimed princess by Celestia herself."
"That sounds a little broken to me," one of the guards chuckled out. They both agreed, and Twilight dropped the spell.
She looked forlornly at Canterlot Castle and then at the capital itself. Her thoughts brooded with different claims and realizations, but she pushed them aside when a strong chill ran down her spine. Twilight forgot her worries about princess hood and stared out at Equestria below.
"There it is again," Twilight said to herself. When she came back from her thoughts, she had noticed that several ponies had stopped to take a look at what Princess Sparkle was doing. Twilight smiled awkwardly and hurried off back to the castle. The words of those two guards found their way back into Twilight's mind, and she wondered if maybe that was the uneasiness she felt during the meeting earlier.
"You cannot sleep tonight Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight was at first startled by her visitor, but dropped her wings once Luna revealed herself. Twilight sighed and grudgingly folded her wings again, embarrassed at the fact that she still couldn't control that reaction.
"No, it doesn't seem that way Princess Luna," Twilight replied then, setting her gaze back on the moon. Luna sat down next to her and admired the shining sphere as well. She chuckled slightly and Twilight looked over wanting to know what exactly was so funny.
"I'm sorry. It's just that the sight you see before you was once my prison for a thousand years. It's a shame I could not see the beauty that it held all those years ago," Luna answered.
"But a thousand years ago, ponies weren't too keen on the night." Twilight looked at her with sincere eyes while she spoke. "Times have changed, and now it seems ponies everywhere cherish the moment. It's as if…the night gives them a chance to relax, and for some ponies a chance to party."
"You would know?" Luna asked rhetorically. Both princesses laughed and enjoyed the small breeze that chose to glide through Canterlot this night. However, Twilight could not enjoy the feeling for long, and she winced a little when that same chill from before seemed to infiltrate the gentle caress of nature's breath.
"You feel it too," Luna said gravely, more as affirmation than inquiry. Twilight's eyes found themselves staring at the stars now. They radiated brightly in the sky, but even their twinkling seemed to falter under some unseen force.
"There is something off about tonight. In fact, I've been feeling a little uneasy for a while now Princess Luna," Twilight explained, rubbing her foreleg slowly.
"It's almost as if I'm connected to it somehow," Luna said simultaneously along with Twilight. They both stared at each other and knew then this was no coincidence.
"I thought maybe it was because I was homesick, of Ponyville and that I missed my friends," Twilight confessed. Luna nodded slowly and smiled at the younger alicorn before her.
"Well, I wouldn't doubt that it has something to do with that. After all, your bond with those ponies is strong. It's unlike any magic I've ever encountered," Luna praised. "However, my suspicions have been confirmed, and I feel that maybe this is a force that shouldn't be left alone."
"Did you see Princess Celestia about this?" Twilight asked. Luna shook her head.
"Like you, I attributed the feeling to a different cause. This is proving to be more so than just simple feeling however."
"What do you suggest?" Twilight asked.
"I cannot abandon my post Twilight Sparkle. I am Princess of the Night. However, I think you would be suitable to investigate these intuitions of ours," Luna said. Twilight jumped back a little, startled at Luna's suggestion.
"W-what? Why me?" Twilight asked.
"As it were, you are the only princess who is not bound to any specific duty. And seeing as how you are under both the wing of my sister and myself, I should find it acceptable that you undertake this task." Luna spoke very absolute, and held a little power in her voice. Twilight looked at the ground after she finished and then back to her other mentor.
"What about Princess Celestia?" she asked.
"My sister will understand, I am sure of it," Luna said, softening her glare then. She trotted closer to Twilight and smiled reassuringly. "Have faith Twilight Sparkle. I trust you to do this."
"I know Princess," Twilight began, smiling back. "It's just that your sessions with me seem a little more hooves-on than one would like," Twilight said carefully.
"I see no better way to learn," Luna responded and lifted into the air. "Before you go, I recommend caution. If you haven't already perceived, this pressure is leaking out a most….malevolent force." Luna cast Twilight a concerned look, to which the young alicorn nodded in acknowledgement.
"I will be careful. I'll be back to let you and Princess Celestia know what I've discovered," Twilight said taking flight as well. She wobbled a bit before stabilizing and catching some wind.
"Are you sure it is so safe for you to fly?" Luna asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, I won't fly the whole way Princess," Twilight said. "I just want some more practice in. Also, no carriage runs this late in the evening and I'd rather not make a grand appearance to wherever it is I'm headed."
"Have you not been practicing these past three months?" Luna wondered then. "My flying lessons are not for one to sleep in."
"I have, just not as much as I'd like," Twilight said quickly. She performed a few loops in the air and maintained a hovering position to show Luna that she at least had basics down. Luna chuckled lightly and flew off then, bidding Twilight one final good-bye.
"Alright Twilight, you got this," she said to herself and began her quest. The night air rushed past her cheeks as she soared through the darkness of the sky. The moon and stars lit her path for her, casting her shadow on the ground startling a few night creatures occasionally. Halfway into her journey, she stopped suddenly and landed on a small rock formation in the middle of a field.
"Darn it, I forgot to tell Spike where I'm headed," she said. After a few moments, Twilight smiled, and began concentrating her magic. Her horn lit up and enveloped her with a pink cloud. "Spike, this is Twilight. I won't be there when you wake up buddy, Princess Luna sent me on a mission and I felt that I had to go. Don't worry though, I'll be back soon. Stay out of trouble okay?"
When Twilight had finished her message, she condensed the pink cloud into a small cumulus and blew the spell away.
"He's going to love that the dream spell works now, I almost forgot to show him," Twilight giggled and took flight once more.
She began flying southward for some reason, as she had originally when she first departed Canterlot. She couldn't explain the feeling, but something was drawing her closer and closer to Ponyville. Was that where the malevolent force was coming from? Hardly. But Twilight did not alter her course. It would be good to see her friends again after so long. They had sent letters to each other and visited one another periodically, but to be honest, Twilight couldn't remember a time when they all hung out after her alicorn ascension.
"Well, I suppose Ponyville is our first stop then," Twilight said, her body filling with mixed emotions of elated joy and sickening worry. She grew tired of these feelings however, and when she could see Ponyville clearly decided to teleport for the remainder of the trip there.