Chapter Three
Standing atop a city wall, Celestia felt a tingle of fear upon looking at the purple sphere of malevolent smoke covering Ponyville. She had sent for Luna, and was waiting for her to arrive before investigating it.
"Let me guess, impending doom is once again sitting on Equestria, Twilight is fighting whatever it is, and we get to go make sure she's doing okay and aid her if needed. What. A. Thrill." Said a familiar voice behind her.
It was Luna, and she had broken her usually nocturnal sleeping habits to help. "Spare me your sarcasm, sister." Celestia said as she continued to stare at the sphere. "Besides, knowing Twilight, she'll have this mess wrapped up before we get there and you can go back to bed soon."
"So we can arrive too late and once again look like useless figureheads? Fine."
Just as the report had said, the sphere was indeed growing, and rapidly at that. Celestia and Luna approached it just as much as it approached them. Skirting the full area of the sphere, the sisters split up to cover more ground and search for gaps on its surface faster.
About an hour later, they reunited at the other side, neither having found anything. "Do we go in?" Luna asked.
''We do." Was Celestias only reply. Testing with her hoof, she found that the sphere was completely intangible. Both sisters stepped inside. Looking around, expecting destruction and maybe some fire, they were surprised that everything looked normal. Light was coming down as if the purple shroud wasn't even there and the purple smoke stayed on the borders of the sphere. "We need to find Twilight."
"Should we split up?" Luna asked, uneasy from the eerie stillness of the normally bustling town.
Celestia thought for a moment. "No, the risk is too great, and being alone and jumping at shadows will only waste time. Come, let us search the castle first."
The sisters reached the castle, although it was in the center of the shroud. With a background of swirling purple smoke, the crystal castle loomed threateningly over the sisters. Entering, Celestia realized that she had never been inside the castle without Twilight guiding her, and in a conversation with Starlight Glimmer (who swore that the rooms switched themselves), Celestia remembered learning that the castle was incredibly complex to those who didn't know it well.
They found the kitchen after opening the doors to several random offices and bedrooms. Luna walked to the counter in the center picked up a fruit from a bowl on it and bit into it. Or tried to, her teeth hit the apple she had chosen and stopped like it was made of steel. "This apple resists being bitten, dear sister." She said in shock.
Picking up an orange, Celestia tried to peel it, with no result. Intrigued, she focused a magic laser on the orange, gradually increasing the energy she put into it. When she was using the same amount of power she usually used to raise the sun, she stopped, and the orange was still there; not even warm. "We need to find Twilight, maybe she can explain this."
The next significant room they found was a room with the roots of a very large tree attached to the ceiling. Small gemstones hung from the individual roots. The centerpiece, however, was the table and chairs under it. There were six large chairs, each with a mark on the headpiece. Five of them were black, and one, with a pink star on the headpiece, was white.
Twilight Sparkle sat in the white chair. Her eyes were glowing, a sign that she was using a tremendous amount of power. Above her, the Element of Magic hovered. Additionally, the other elements were hovering above their respective chairs.
Celestia and Luna had only a moment to take all this in, then Twilight spoke. "Princesses! You should have told me you were visiting, I could have cleaned up for your arrival." She laughed like she had just made the funniest joke, and continued; "Welcome, esteemed guests, to my Utopia."
Luna, feeling that something was very wrong, asked; "Utopia? Whatever do you mean? Surely your philosophy books speak of the impossibility of such a thing."
Celestia, however, had a thought, one that she didn't want to have become a reality, "Twilight, is this magic shroud your doing?"
"Magic shroud? That's hardly what I would call the pinnacle of magical and scientific knowledge combined; creating a field where the force of nature; entropy, is converted into energy, which allows the field to grow larger." Twilight said, her eyes returning to normal.
"Pardon? Does thou speak English, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked, forgetting a few of her speech therapy sessions in her confusion.
Twilight glared at Luna; "In stupid speak, that means that the magic shroud stops time from passing and things from dying. And, by collecting energy from stopping those things, it gets bigger." She said, speaking slowly and making large, exaggerated gestures.
"YOU PUNY LITTLE-"
Luna was cut off by Celestia saying; "Twilight, there is no need to insult my sister because she lacks understanding. Now cease with this madness and return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony before something happens."
"Cease!? Why would I stop my beautiful Utopia from growing!? This is a gift! A gift to the ponies of Equestria from the Princess of Friendship. Pets can live as long as their owners; an eternity! Nopony needs to work, leaving all schedules open for friends! And best of all, friendships can last forever." Twilight said, laughing hysterically.
Luna spoke, her rage having retreated for now, "That would disrupt the balance of nature. You would condemn the world to an eternity of the same ideals, and the culinary arts would be a forgotten luxury."
Celestia picked up her sister's argument, "No new foals would be born, and the ones already born will never grow up to learn about the joys of life. There wouldn't be anypony to pick up the creative torch, leaving the world at the mercy of old, stagnant, and unchanging ideas. Please, Twilight. Just stop and we can go on as if this never happened."
Twilight brought her hoof up to her chin, as if thinking, then said, "No"
Celestia widened her stance. Knowing Twilight's legendary stubbornness, she was ready for a fight. "I will not ask again, Twilight. Stop. Now."
Luna started to move away from her sister. She recognized that tone of voice, it was a reminder of why Celestia was the head ruler of Equestria, despite there being more powerful alicorns. It was a tone of voice that told Luna that Celestia had decided to stop her opponent; no matter the cost. The last time she had heard her sister speak like this, Luna had been imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years.
Seeing Celestias threatening pose, Twilight rose from her seat. "No. And you can stop standing there like you're going to zap me, it's literally impossible here." She said, walking around the table, slightly closing the gap between them.
"Then you leave me no choice." Celestia said, taking aim with her horn, she hesitated only a moment before firing a condensed beam of magic. But she did not fire at Twilight. No, she shot at the pink star shaped gem still hovering over the white chair. In truth, she did not expect anything to happen. Her expectations were defied, however when the gem shattered into dust, uncountable particles scattering across the room. "Twilight Sparkle, I hereby strip you of your title as Princess. Until you can prove that you are worthy; you have no authority."
"NO! That was the only conduit that could endure a continuous flow of entropy!" Twilight cried out, not even hearing the demotion she had just received.
Celestia ignored her however. Instead turning to Luna, who, when the element broke, had cried out in pain and been sent flying by an invisible force. She hit a wall and crumpled to the floor in a heap.
"Luna! Are you all right?" Celestia asked, running to her sister.
Luna got up, rubbing the back of her head. "I am fine, sister, you should focus on Twilight. She is not well, and needs help." Luna replied.
Twilight Sparkle had continued to blabber during the short exchange; "-because there is no known material that can last an eternity, I had to-" Twilight stopped, as if suddenly having a brilliant idea. "Can't talk now, bye!" she teleported out of the room with the remaining elements.
Celestia frowned: "Let us search the rest of the castle for her. I feel that this is not over."
The two sisters continued their search of the Crystal Palace. Two Hours later, wandering the once friendly halls of the castle, Celestia said to herself; "She must be in the library, but we haven't found it yet." Turning to Luna, she asked; "Are you sure you're all right, sister? You hit that wall quite hard."
"I am fine, I only wish I knew why I was the only one to be affected." Was Lunas reply.
"Is her coat a little darker than usual?" Celestia thought to herself. "No, it can't be, it's just a trick of the light." Speaking aloud, she said "I do not know why you flew back as you did, but if you start to feel any different, let me know."
It took them three hours after that to find Twilight, and she was in the library, as expected. "Ah, hello again, dear mentor." Her eyes gleamed with a dark, insane malice; "have you come to apolo-" she stopped as she looked past Celestia and saw Luna. "Oh my. This could be entertaining. Celestia, it seems you will regret opposing me after all." Her horn lit up, and before anyone could blink, she cast a spell on Luna.
