Chapter 14:
Fires ablaze, the courtyard in now on fire. Everypony run for their lives as a pony walk across the entrance of Celestia's castle. Animals in the gardens cower from the deadly flames that surrounded them. They knew they were hopeless and they eventually would soon die from the fire. Then, the pony, wearing a full-clad armor, removed his helmet, revealing his black fur, horn and a mane that nopony but the two princesses only. But his was short and pitch black.
Soon, one of Celestia's guards rose from his position and charged to the unicorn. Suddenly, he stopped from his tracks and dropped down dead.
Out of the blues, the pony was slowly fading until all else faded and a white background was only to be seen.
"Twilight! You're awake!" Skylight said.
"Huh?! Where am I?" Twilight asked.
"Don't worry about it," Skylight said gleefully, "You're okay now."
"What do you mean?" Twilight said.
"You passed out yesterday and rumors do spread fast. Within minutes, the entirety of Equestria found out that you passed out earlier this morning,"
"Did I really pass out?" Twilight asked.
Suddenly, an idea came out of Twilight's head and told Skylight to get parchment and a quill. Skylight refused to do so but since Twilight was more powerful and higher ranking, Twilight threatened the alicorn prince to get what she asked him to get. So instead of moving his ground, he levitated a stack of parchment and quill and ink.
She then wrote:
Dear Princess Celestia,
I fear the worst of what I have foreseen. This dream of mine shows the total destruction of Canterlot. I have not an idea who this is but I'm very certain that this is not Sombra. I am terribly unaware of this until now. To describe this villain, he is a black furred unicorn. I do not know whether he has wings because he wore an armor made of material yet to be discovered. His mane is like yours princess, but his is black and quite short. Do you suppose you know this pony?
Yours, Truly,
Princess Twilight
By the time Twilight had finished writing she wrapped the parchment and then tied a small ribbon in the center of the letter. Twilight then asked Skylight to give the letter to Spike immediately. Skylight then agreed.
One Day Earlier ― Sugar Cube Corner
Ponies filled inside the bakery as Pinkie Pie held a party for Rainbow Dash's "friend". He tried to explain to Pinkie that he was just asleep when they threw a party for her sister and her fiancé. But Pinkie still urged him to have a party but she gave him no choice but to attend his own welcoming party.
Everypony was invited but only few showed up at the party but that did not stop Pinkie from throwing the bedazzling party to White Clouds. Everypony in the main six showed up except Fluttershy, which Sky Front was disappointed about because he wanted to meet the shy pony. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie wondered where they could've been but the party still continued without the shy mare.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash arrived together with her "friend" and there, Rainbow Dash sat Twilight on one of the chairs and she was just staring blankly into the air as if she has done something terribly wrong. Rainbow Dash asked White Clouds to get a cup of punch for Twilight and he sufficed to go.
"Twilight, it's going to be alright. I'll make an excuse," Rainbow Dash reassured Twilight.
"Alright?!" Twilight exclaimed angrily, "Do you know what might happen if Princess Celestia found out?! Have you ever considered that I am a princess and I'm an iconic figure in the entire Equestrian Empire? Have you ever thought of a princess committing murder?"
"Twilight, you didn't murder anypony," Rainbow Dash said calmly.
Twilight was on the verge of tears but Rainbow cooed her and she comforted her. When White Clouds came back with the punch, Rainbow took it from him and then she asked Twilight to drink the punch and she heartily agreed. Rainbow Dash then asked her lover to get two more drinks for the two of them.
White Clouds made his way back to punch bowl, where a huge crowd of ponies were hanging out, he swerved and dodged everypony that was about to bump onto him and luckily, his reflexes from playing too much video games gave him the opportunity to see a lot of things at once. So he ducked and found small passageways between two ponies talking together. After a long two minutes, he had reached the punch bowl but only to be blocked by Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
"So… what's up?" Applejack asked.
"The roof," White Clouds replied.
"No, no, no, no, no, I meant how are you doin'?" Applejack asked.
"Oh… I apologize for me being bloody British," White Clouds said.
"British?" Pinkie asked confusingly.
"You wouldn't understand," White Clouds said, "And apologies again for being so literal and apparently, I have never heard of that term before. So just bear with me people… um… sorry, I meant ponies."
"Okay, then," Pinkie said cheerfully, "You're―"
"Mighty weird for a Pegasus," Applejack said, interrupting Pinkie Pie.
"Yeah…," White Clouds said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get some punch for me and Dashie."
"What'd you call RD?" Applejack said.
"Err… Dash and me," White Clouds said, smiling sheepishly.
"That's what I thought," Applejack said.
"Yeah…," White Clouds said, "Talk to you later then."
White Clouds now carefully made his way around the groups of ponies, only to be stopped by her sister.
She asked him why he was holding two cups of punch instead of one.
"You usually get drinks for yourself," Brittany said, "Unless, you really like someone!"
"What do you mean?" White Clouds said.
"Ash, stop lying… you know―," Brittany said.
"Who?" White Clouds asked confusingly, "My name's not Ash."
"Ash is your name," Brittany said.
"I'm sorry Melody but I have trouble keeping up with you," White Clouds said.
"Melody?!" Brittany exclaimed.
"Yeah, your name…," White Clouds said.
"Are you sure my name's Melody? Because I'm pretty sure that my name is not Melody. My name's Brittany, remember?" Brittany asked sarcastically, "Yeah, Classical Melody may be my pony name but that's not really my name now isn't it?"
"I have no clue to whatsoever you're talking about," White Clouds said, leaving her to go to back to Rainbow Dash.
By the time White Clouds had reached Rainbow Dash and Twilight, Applejack and Rarity was asking where Fluttershy and Cloud were. They also said that they would always show up to any of Pinkie's parties. Twilight didn't answer and let Rainbow Dash answer for her.
"Um… I went to their house earlier this morning and I asked them whether they could help me at something but―," Rainbow Dash said, interrupted.
"Just get to the point, darling," Rarity said.
"Okay… so Fluttershy and Cloud couldn't come because their animals were terribly sick today," Rainbow Dash said.
"Is there anything that we can help them with, sugar cube?" Applejack said.
"Nope," Rainbow Dash said, "They said that they can handle it."
"If you say so," Applejack said, leaving Rainbow Dash and Twilight to join the rest of the ponies in the party. Pinkie also left in a zoom and White Clouds just did not bother to think about it.
A few minutes later, Twilight had gained her composure and Rainbow Dash was now enjoying her time with White Clouds, either dancing to the DJ or talking about random stuff specifically humans.
Even though Twilight had already calmed down, she still can't believe that she had killed two of her friends and only Rainbow Dash and White Clouds know of this. Minutes after Rainbow Dash and White Clouds left her, Twilight called for Spike and asked him to go home early.
Spike whined and asked why they had to go home early on a Saturday night and he was also playing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Twilight told him to go home with her and interrupted the baby dragon every time he opened his mouth.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders said their farewells to Spike and continued playing with their games.
The following morning, Twilight woke up from the usual bright sun that Celestia raised each day. She then climbed off of her bed and then she saw Spike still sleeping without his purple blanket covering him. Twilight approached Spike and then tucked Spike inside his blanket. After doing so, Twilight went down to her common room and went down another flight of stairs. Halfway through Twilight stopped and knocked on Skylight's door. Then, she waited for a little bit.
Skylight opened the door, revealing his very messy hair and groggily said, "Morning Twi'. Need anything?"
"No. I'm going to prepare breakfast for us today so you can sleep in today," Twilight said.
Skylight simply nodded his head and then returned to his room, gently closing the door. Twilight then went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast.
After the party from last night, Twilight had troubles sleeping when she kept dreaming about Cloud and Fluttershy. Thinking of the thought again just made her feel down so instead of cooking for three, she returned some of the ingredients back to where it came from and only prepared for two, Skylight and Spike.
Twilight had cooked some potatoes with some herbs in it to taste and suddenly, Spike was floating in mid-air and was following the scent trail that was coming from the cooking food.
"Spike, stop doing that!" Twilight exclaimed.
Spike then suddenly came into realization that he was floating in mid-air and he doesn't have the ability to fly and then he dropped to the ground and scratched his head.
"Um…," Spike said, confusingly, "Why am I here Twilight?"
"Food," Twilight replied.
"Oh," Spike said.
"Anyway, I'm almost done so just call Skylight so the two of you can eat," Twilight said.
"Okay," Spike said, rushing to Skylight's room.
Twilight continued to cook the potatoes while Skylight and Spike made their way down to the dining room. Twilight added in some more herbs for the delicious aroma and taste.
"Hey, Twilight, what's cooking?" Skylight asked.
"Potatoes, your favorite kind. Chopped and fried," Twilight said.
"Thanks Twilight," Skylight said.
"You're welcome," Twilight replied.
Twilight used her magic to levitate the bowl of potatoes in the air and walked to the dining room and gently placed the bowl of potatoes in the center of the table. She then let the two get through her and let them sit down on the table. But Skylight urged that she sit first. Twilight simply smiled and sat down.
"Twilight, the food is only for two people," Spike asked, "Aren't you going to eat? You usually eat with us."
"I'm not really hungry, Spike. It's just that…," Twilight said, fading her voice.
"What is it?" Skylight asked.
"Nothing, nothing, just go ahead and eat your meal," Twilight said hurriedly.
"You sure? It looks like something's bothering you," Skylight said.
"I told you already, it's nothing," Twilight said.
"Twilight, I know you trust me as I trust you. Tell me what's wrong," Skylight said.
"If you want to know what's wrong, you have to tell Spike to take his food with him and take him someplace else where he can't eavesdrop on us," Twilight said, whispering to Skylight.
"Um… Twilight, baby dragon here," Spike said.
"Spike, you have to go upstairs for a while and bring your food with you," Skylight said.
Spike reluctantly agreed but he still went upstairs and took his food with him and when Spike left the dining room, Twilight waited for a while before she began to speak up.
"Okay, you know that I'm already pronounced princess, right?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah," Skylight said, "What are you trying to get to?"
"What happens to anypony when they murder somepony?" Twilight asked.
"Princess Celestia will have this pony get fair trials before execution, if that's what you're asking," Skylight said, "What are you trying to say?"
"Do you really want to know?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Ye―," Skylight said, interrupted.
"Do you really want to know?! You know how Princess Celestia asked me to study Starswirl the Bearded's Forgotten Spells… well, I tried one of the spells and I used Cloud as a test subject. but, Fluttershy comes in and they both get hit by the beam…," Twilight said, already on the verge of tears.
"Don't tell me you didn't do anything to them!" Skylight exclaimed.
"That's just it!" Twilight shouted, "They're dead!"
"Twilight, are you sure they're dead? Have you even wondered what the spell does?" Skylight asked.
"I don't know!" Twilight shouted.
"Are you sure about that?" Skylight asked.
"I just… I just don't know what to do," Twilight said, fading her voice, "The Princess might banish me from Equestria herself like she did when Luna was corrupted by Disharmony."
"I'm sure the Princess would understand and put this in mind: The Princesses always gives a fair trial," Skylight said.
"But―," Twilight said, interrupted.
"No buts Twilight," Skylight said, giving a small chuckle.
"How do find humor in this?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"You'll see Twilight. You'll see," Skylight said.
"Ugh! What's happening to me?!" Twilight muttered to herself as she touched her head with her hoof to lessen the pain from her headache.
"It's okay Twi'," Skylight said, reassuring her, "I'm sure they're resting someplace else where everything will be alright."
"No! It's not okay, Skylight! I'm a princess! I should be the one who enforces the law and now, for the second time, I broke the law by murdering my two frie―," Twilight said, interrupted by a sharp pain in her head. Suddenly, Twilight collapsed down to the floor and then Skylight rushed to her and teleported to the hospital to get medical attention.
The Following Day
"Gold, have you heard?" Colgate said, giving him a kiss in the forehead, "The Princess here in Ponyville collapsed and passed out."
"What?" Gold asked, confusingly.
"You heard me, Gold. I said that Princess Twilight recently passed out from something that happened."
"Okay… relevance?" Gold said with slight sarcasm.
"Golden Sunset, your friend's a princess, although I'm a little bit jealous but you know what I mean," Colgate said.
"Colgate, I really have to go and make two more deliveries before I go home. So, just watch over our house while I'm gone."
"You're going to leave me again?" Colgate asked, giving Gold the very-cute-begging eyes.
"Colgate, don't call me that or I'll call you by your birth name," Gold said.
"Oh alright," Colgate said, kissing Gold in his cheek.
"See you in two hours or so," Gold said, opening the door and left the house.
Gold walked from his house to Sweet Apple Acres. It usually took him about twenty minutes or so to get there. On the way to the farm, Gold was walking down in one of the roads leading to the farm, Lyra appeared before him and said hi. Gold returned the greeting and asked him why she was there.
Unsuprisingly, Lyra answered that she had a new and cunning plan to claim the heart of Cloud. Then, Gold reluctantly let the minty-green pony to tell him all about her plan.
"Lyra, would you please stop obsessing over Cloud! He's already has a marefriend," Gold said, interrupting Lyra's "plan thought". Lyra immediately stopped talking and simply followed Gold on his way to the apple farm. On the apple farm, Gold took the two apple baskets and placed them in a cart.
On his second delivery, in Cloud's and Fluteershy's house. When Gold had reached the place, there was no one to answer so he returned to the apple farm and dropped off the extra basket of apples.