…After arriving in Canterlot, she and Spike made a beeline for the castle that had once been her home. The castle housed a school for special unicorns, and Twilight had not only made it in, she had been the princess's personal protégé. But those days were over now and she was going to be a guest. So she took a moment to compose herself before telling the guards at the door she had an audience with the princess.

After showing them Celestia's scroll, the guards opened the door. She and Spike maneuvered inside and began the long walk down the big hall to where the princess's throne room was. As they walked, it gave Twilight more of a chance to think. Oh, no…what if she's called me here to punish me because I haven't written her? Or worse? What if she's called me here because I haven't been learning the magic of friendship quick enough?! What if I'm mentally incompetent in her eyes?! WHAT IF I'M NOT WORTH IT?!

At this point, her eyes widened and flashed around the hallway. She barely noticed Spike in front of her as she berated herself for something that she hadn't seen any proof of. But this reality didn't make its way into her neurotic brain, which was now becoming overwhelmed with doubt about herself.

"Twilight?" Spike said.

"What?" Twilight said darkly. Spike was a bit taken aback by the tone of his friend's voice. "Uh…we're here." Suddenly, Twilight snapped out of her neurotic state and her voice returned to its normal self. "Oh, good. Let's go in, then."

The guards at the door once again needed proof that they had an audience, so Spike produced the scroll. "Hm…sorry, young one, but this isn't the princess's signature at the bottom," one guard pointed out, "see? The princess would never scrawl like that. I should know, because I write all of her return letters for her and she signs them in a very special way."

He pointed at the exit with his hoof. "Nice try, but not every tourist in Canterlot can get an audience with the princess. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

"But, wait-" Twilight started

"No buts," the guard said sternly, "the princess is very busy with royal matters today and cannot be disturbed. Now, please leave."

Twilight turned, then stopped. "No, there must be a reason I received this letter. Please. I'm a good friend of the princess and her personal protégé from Ponyville. I'm Twilight Sparkle."

The guard's eyes bugged out. "You're Twilight Sparkle? THE Twilight Sparkle?"

"Um…yeah?" Twilight said confusedly. She didn't think she was such a celebrity. Sure, she and her friends had helped save Equestria a couple times, but other than that, she hadn't done anything of note. Surely nothing that would make this guard react this way.

"Why didn't you say so? The princess has been looking for you all day! Come in! Please, come in!"

The guard threw open the door and Twilight and Spike walked in. Celestia sat on her throne, her nose deep in a scroll of some kind when she noticed the pair walking towards her. Twilight and Spike bowed in respect as the princess smiled down at them. "Welcome, Twilight, my dear student. Welcome, Spike, my dear dragon friend. I take it you received my letter?"

Twilight spoke. "Well, yes, Your Highness, but…"

"But what, Twilight?"

"The guard at the door said it wasn't from you. He said the signature was wrong."

"Let me see the scroll," she said. So Spike gave it to her and she opened it and read it. "Oh, silly me. I must have signed it incorrectly. But I assure you, this letter is definitely from me and it is just as urgent as it sounded."

"What seems to be the problem, Princess?" Twilight asked. At this, the princess turned away from her. She seemed to be sad about something, although Twilight couldn't quite place what it was. She swore she saw tears dripping out of Celestia's eyes. "Um…Your Highness?"

Celestia turned and looked down at Twilight. She knew the news she had to give was heart rending, but she had to do it. "Twilight," she began, "you know the book 'The Movement' that I instructed you never to open?"

"Yes, ma'am," Twilight said, "I won't lie, I've been curious about it. But I've followed your instructions and I've never once looked in it."

"Good," the princess continued, "because it contains a deadly secret. A secret that, were it to fall into the wrong hooves, could lead to the destruction of Equestria as we know it."

"But, Princess," Twilight said, "what on earth could be so horrible?"

Celestia sighed. She didn't want to tell Twilight this. She never wanted to tell Twilight this. But at the moment her hooves were tied. She couldn't sit on this secret forever, what with so much evil still to come. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were. She wanted her dear student back. But, she knew that things could never go back.

"Twilight, come close, my dear, and sit upon the throne of Equestria with me" she said. Twilight moved in and sat next to her mentor. She couldn't believe she was sitting here. Every pony she knew wondered what sitting on this regal throne would be like, and here she was experiencing it. She loved the feel of the throne. She loved looking around the room and thinking that she was the ruler of Equestria. But, all the same, she knew she could never be ruler and that the country was in capable hooves with Celestia. So, she wondered why she was sitting there in the first place. Maybe it was symbolic of something.

"So…what exactly did you want to tell me?" She asked.

"Twilight, my dear student…and daughter," Celestia began…