Hour of Twilight

Celestia was woken by the sound of her bedroom door opening. As she crawled out of bed, her sister Luna walked in, followed by the newest Princess, her favorite student, Twilight Sparkle. At first, Celestia was glad to see her two favorite ponies, until she saw the glow surrounding Twilight's horn, and the knife hovering around her. Celestia's smile quickly faded, to be replaced by a serious look.

Looking directly at Twilight, Celestia spoke, "I would have expected this from Luna, but not from you, Twilight. Why are you doing this?"

"For too many years, you have frivolously spent the tax bits of our loyal citizens, slowly pulling our nation into a debt that you didn't even notice. My own family suffered from the slowly increasing taxes until you took me on as your personal student. Now, it is time for a new era to begin," Twilight said, contempt filling her words as she spoke to the Solar Princess.


Celestia then turned to Luna, "Surely she jests, my sister. Our subjects have never been happier. I'm always seeing smiles and laughter wherever I go."

Luna turned away from her sister before speaking, "What you see is a facade the people show to keep you happy, sister. They believe you are an idiot who cares about nothing more than her own personal pleasures. But you are their leader, so what can they do? No, it is best that they show you the fake smiles."
Celestia looked incredulously at the pair of Princesses. Never had she noticed any of the things these two said, but then, she had never paid attention to anything beyond what interested her. But this, this coup, was the wrong way to fix the problem. Just as she was about to say this, Luna spoke.
"Don't try to persuade us that this is the wrong way to solve the problem, sister. We do this only as a last resort, because all of our attempts to show you only met with failure. You were too absorbed with your fun and games to pay any attention to what was happening in front of you. Now, do not worry about your death. It will help us recover from this debt you created. Surely you recognize the engraving on the handle of the blade, don't you?"
At that moment, Celestia saw the emblem on the knife. "Gryphonia? Why would you frame Gryphonia? What have they ever done to deserve the war this will bring?"

Twilight moved the knife closer to Celestia's heart. "Oh, dear Celestia, it's not what they did. It's what they have. The natural resources of Gryphonia could solve our debt problem." Celestia was about to say something, but Twilight interrupted her, "And do not fret. We have already discussed our plans with every nation involved in a sort of 'back door' world summit. Legally, Gryphonia has already been annexed into Equestria, but if we just did that, then you'd spend us into another debt and we'd have to annex another country. But, after we presented our plan to all of our neighbors, they all agreed, even my dear, sweet, sister-in-law Cadence, because they know that if Equestria prospers, the world prospers. And we were not the only ones to point out that if you continue to rule, then Equestria most certainly will NOT prosper. Now, Celestia, my favorite teacher, you must die."
With that, Twilight plunged the knife into Celestia's chest, quickly manipulating it to cut out her heart. Luna looked at Twilight and said, "Now, all we have to do is bring the Gryphonian 'Assassin' in so we have someone we can pin this on."

"Not yet Luna. There's still one more thing that needs to be done."

"And what might that be?" Luna asked, right before Twilight sank the knife to the hilt in her chest.



"Why?" Luna managed to mutter before the darkness took her.


Twilight stood over the bodies of the two Princesses as she spoke, "Oh Luna, if you had stayed for the second half of the summit, you would have known this was going to happen. You see, the conditions of the deal were that BOTH of you had to die, otherwise no one would have agreed to it. I truly regret that it had to end this way, but it's the only way Equestria can survive."
THE NEXT DAY
"I regret to inform you that our dear Princesses, Celestia and Luna, were murdered by a Gryphonian assassin last night. But rest assured, the assassin has been captured, and will face punishment. But that is not all I have to tell you today. We found this in the gryphon's possession," Twilight said as she levitated a bunch of paper for the thousands arrayed before her, "These are orders directly from the Gryphonian Reich to carry out this assassination. I assure you, justice will be met. This moment marks the beginning of the end for Gryphonia, and the rise back to power of Equestria. Under my guidance, we will conquer Gryphonia, and expand the Equestrian Empire! THE HOUR OF TWILIGHT BEGINS NOW!" Twilight's speech was met with thunderous applause as she walked off the balcony and back into the palace. Her friends waited there before her.


Rarity was the first to speak, "Twilight, I know this must be difficult for you, seeing as how Celestia was your oldest friend. I just want you to know that I will be here for you if you ever need someone to talk to. We all will." The others nodded their agreement.
Twilight felt tears forming in her eyes as she spoke, "Thank you girls. You have no idea how much this means to me."


After saying this, Twilight walked up to her friends and gathered them all into a hug, her wings wrapping around them as the tears began to flow down her face. While they hugged, she thought to herself, 'I wish I could tell you the truth, but you wouldn't understand why it had to be done. I'm sorry for this, and I hope you never find out the truth, that I killed the mare who was more of a mother to me than my own, and Princess Luna, who had only just returned, not even having a chance to prove her worth as a ruler."


Pinkie Pie spoke then, "Don't worry Twilight. Your secret is safe with me. I Pinkie Promise," she said as she did the motions.

Three days after the deaths of Luna and Celestia:


"Are you sure, Dash?" Twilight asked, looking at her best friend, "I don't think you could handle the restrictions the Equestrian Military would place on you, even in a laid-back branch like the Air Force."


Rainbow Dash looked offended that Twilight didn't believe in her, "Of course I can handle a few restrictions, Twilight. I AM a Wonderbolt after all, and they have one of the strictest set of guidelines I've ever seen."


"The Wonderbolts don't have anywhere near as many restrictions as the Equestrian Military, Dash," Twilight tried to explain to her friend, "I just want you to -"


Twilight was interrupted by Spike poking his head into her office, "Twilight, the rest of your friends are here."


"Send them in, Spike," Twilight said, glad to have a chance at a conversation that DIDN'T involve the military. She watched as they walked in, first Pinkie Pie, then Applejack, followed by Rarity, and then Fluttershy, last in the room, as usual. "It's so good to see you girls. I trust that all of you have been doing good?"


Fluttershy was the first to speak up, surprising everyone, "Oh Twilight, I've been just awful. I haven't been able to sleep for the last three days since those ponies started cutting down the Everfree Forest for the wood. Not to mention all the little animals I've had to take in because of the loss of their homes."


"What do you mean, they've been cutting down the Everfree Forest? I specifically told them not to, since the Everfree is a national wildlife preserve. They were told that they could cut down the Whitetail Woods, and that was it. I shall head out to Ponyville as soon as I can to stop this before it gets any worse," Twilight said, anger showing in her voice, despite her calm face.


Rarity was the next to speak, "Twilight, dear, I know this might be a sore subject, but do you think the Princesses will ever come back? They were Immortal, after all."


Twilight visibly perked up, obviously excited about this coming up, which confused her friends, "Thank you for asking Rarity. I had much the same thought, so I did some research over the last couple of days whenever I had spare time. From what I read, since they were the physical embodiments of the Sun and Moon, and not just Immortals, they will be reborn eventually. But I did see something that was a little disappointing. If an Immortal is killed by having their head cut off, or their heart cut out, as Celestia was, then they will never be reborn as we knew them. Luna, on the other hand, was left relatively whole, and so could be reborn at any time, from a couple years -"


Twilight was interrupted as a bright light filled the Throne room, blinding the 6 friends. When the light (And the stars filling their vision) faded, they were left staring at the Lunar Princess, reborn as she was before her murder.


"To a couple days later," Twilight finished.


Upon hearing Twilight's voice, Luna quickly transformed from her small, adolescent form to that of Nightmare Moon, her rage at hearing her murderer's voice accelerating her body through centuries of growth in an instant. "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME? WE HAD A DEAL!"


Twilight quickly used her magic to hold Luna in place, and calmly said to her friends, "Please leave us. There are things the two of us need to discuss in private."


After her last friend walked out and Spike shut the door, Twilight placed a Magic Barrier around the room, preventing all spying, either from her friends, who were leaning against the door, or from magical sources, of which she felt several, and then released the holding spell from Luna, who quickly lunged at Twilight. Twilight threw up a magical barrier that stopped Luna from hitting her, and spoke quickly, "Luna, listen. I knew what I was doing when I killed you. I had done plenty of research before I ever presented the idea to you, much less to the Summit, and I knew that I could 'kill' you while still being able to have you around to help me with our deal. Once I told The Council this, they presented the idea of both the Princesses being 'assassinated', to add to the plausibility of the plan. I couldn't tell you this, though, because you would never have agreed to it. No one likes feeling the pain of dying, not even an Immortal. I know I didn't like it when I tested that theory."


Luna looked shocked that Twilight had been so thorough in her planning, but then remembered she was talking to Ms. By-The-List herself. All she could say was, "What do you mean, you tested the theory? I never knew of your death, and neither did Celestia. When did you have time to test it?"


"Do you remember about 2 months ago, after I had been a Princess for almost a year, when I disappeared for a week?" Twilight asked, "I was in Draconia, where I was helped in my research by Auream Regina herself. To be honest, I was surprised by that myself. I figured she would just assign me to one of her students as an extra credit assignment or a test."
Luna was quick to interrupt when she saw the chance, "Wait. The Dragon Queen herself helped you? Why would she do that?"
"Apparently, she was just as curious about it as I was, and she wanted to make sure nothing went wrong with my experiment," Twilight said, "Maybe because, as an immortal, though not an Alicorn, like you, me, Celestia, or Cadence, she could possibly be affected by that theory. I just don't know, and she wouldn't tell me why.
"Anyways, now that you're back, a little earlier than I expected though, we can proceed to the next step of my plan. How do you feel about having green eyes?"
"What do you mean, how do I feel about having green eyes? If I had green eyes, everyone would think I was a changeling. Where would the benefit in that be?"
Twilight explained quickly, "Who was the last changeling to imitate a member of the Royal Family? Chrysalis. What happened to her after she was kicked out of Canterlot? No one knows. No one but me, that is."
Luna, starting to think Twilight had been planning this for longer than she let on, had to ask, "What happened to her?"
"After she left Canterlot, I found her and drained her magic from her, making me part changeling. How did you think I could become an Alicorn? Unfortunately, the process left her weaker than a newborn, so I've kept her in my basement, that way she can teach me how to fully utilize the changeling magic," Twilight said, a flash of green in her eyes, "Now, I can transfer that magic, and the knowledge of how to use it, to you. This way, we can tell my friends that you're Queen Chrysalis, and through you, create a treaty with the Changelings."
Luna could only stare dumbfounded, but one more question slipped off her tongue, "Why would we need a treaty with the Changelings? What could they offer us that we don't already have?"
"Remember Luna, we are going to war with Gryphonia, even if it's a fake war. Neither the Gryphonian people nor the Equestrian people know that this isn't a real war, so they will go into this with everything they have. And so, to prevent useless loss of life, we could use the Changelings to sabotage the Gryphonian equipment and weapons, learn where the largest concentrations of Gryphonian troops are, and even convince some Gryphonians to stop fighting before they even start," Twilight was obviously frustrated that Luna (who was more involved with the military than anything else) hadn't thought of the potential Changelings had, "And don't worry, I've already talked this over with Chrysalis, and she says all the Changelings wanted was to be a part of our society, not rule it, as Chrysalis had. So I'm sure that, if you agree to receive the Changeling magic from me, you could kill the two proverbial birds with one stone, removing the Changeling threat, and ensuring we don't lose Equestrian lives needlessly."
Luna only had one problem with Twilight's plan, "How can I pass off being Chrysalis? I'm nothing like her."
"That's where you're wrong, Luna. The two of you are more alike than you know, and don't worry, you'll have her memories as well, allowing you to be Chrysalis when you talk to the Changelings."
Luna, seeing that there was no way out of this, finally agreed. The feeling of the foreign magic inside her, mixing with her own magic, the feeling of increased power, was intoxicating. No wonder Twilight was always studying rare and hard to find magics. After the transfer was complete, the Changeling magic settled into a 'corner' of Luna's Magical Core, where she barely felt it. Looking at herself, Luna could see nothing different about her, until Twilight held a mirror up to her face.
"Green Eyes. Yes, I think that is a worthy trade for having this power inside me. Now I know why you are always studying magic, Twilight, if learning new magic feels like this."
Twilight seemed glad that the magical bonding process had worked, "Now that you look like a Changeling, you need the memories of one too," she said as her horn flashed, flooding Luna's mind with Chrysalis' memories. After she was done, and Luna had recovered enough to be able to stand and speak again, Twilight opened the Throne Room door, causing her friends to spill onto the floor.
Applejack was the first to apologize, "'Am sorry, Sugarcube, but we wanted to know what was going on. Ah hope you can forgive us."
Twilight only smiled at them, "I think you five should know the truth about who this really is," she said as she magically closed the door, "This isn't actually Luna. It's Queen Chrysalis. Don't worry, she's here to help us," Twilight quickly added, seeing the hostility in her friends faces, "you see, all the Changelings wanted was to be part of our society. Chrysalis here was the only one who wanted to rule. But I was able to find her and convince her that, if something were to happen to any of the Princesses, I would attempt to bring her in to help me. With the murder of both Celestia and Luna, I was faced with a tough choice about who she should imitate, but in the end I went with Luna, because she was more involved with the Military than Celestia ever was, and right now, since we are at war, we need more knowledge about the art of war than about politics. Please just give her a chance."
Rarity spoke up next, "Very well Twilight, but I hope you know what you're doing, bringing that monster into Canterlot. If she gives us any reason to mistrust her again, we will forcefully remove her from the castle."
"I would expect no less, Rarity. Now, the two of us have much we need to discuss and plan. If you would, please return to your homes. I have a carriage waiting outside for you."

The fighting didn't really start until a Unicorn accidentally killed a Gryphon during a routine sweep of a Gryphonian village. It can't really be called his fault; he was a new recruit who had signed up, along with all of his friends, in a surge of patriotism after hearing of the Princesses' deaths, barely trained, and he jumped at every little thing. It's no wonder that, being how he was, as soon as he saw the Gryphon running towards him, he used his magic to kill her, as he had been trained. It probably didn't help that said Gryphon, whose name was Gilda, was the daughter of the Gryphonian Reich, or that she was an old friend of the Element of Loyalty.
Once the Gryphonian people found out about the death of the beloved daughter of their leader, they went into a craze, fighting fiercely against the Equestrian invaders. Many lives were lost on both sides, and the Gryphons, though less trained, had succeeded in pushing the Equestrian forces all the way back to Stalliongrad, over halfway to the Equestrian capital of Canterlot. There, the Equestrian forces were able to halt the assault, but neither side could push the other any farther.
When Rainbow Dash found out about the death of her friend, who she hadn't seen in several years, and the fighting that had started because of it, she pushed even more for Twilight to allow her to join the military, "Come on, Twilight. If I was out there, in the field with those recruits, there wouldn't be any more pointless deaths. I could rally the troops, push the Gryphons all the way back to their capital, and then take it, forcing a complete surrender."
Twilight looked at her friend with a calm face, betraying none of the pain she felt at hearing one of her friends talk about violence like it was nothing. 'No, she wasn't talking about it like it's nothing,' Twilight thought to herself, 'she's talking like a soldier, not thinking about anything beyond what needs to be done.'
To Rainbow Dash, she said, "Rainbow Dash, I know how you must feel. But believe me when I tell you that you do NOT want to be anywhere on the ground near the frontlines. They are no place for someone like you. You belong in the skies, where you've always been. So I have a surprise for you." Twilight used her magic to levitate a folder, about two inches thick with papers, towards Rainbow Dash. "In here, you will find all the information I've put together on a special project I've been working on, and I think you might be just the pony to lead it."
Dash quickly opened the folder, eager to see what was inside. As she read, her face shifted from excitement to curiosity, and then to confusion. "Why would we need to alter the properties of the clouds?
"Just keep reading, Dash. I know you can."
Dash finishing reading the first page, and looked up at Twilight, her jaw almost on the ground. "A Cloud Carrier, Twilight? You want me to build a Cloud Carrier?"
Twilight shook her head, "I want you to captain a Cloud Carrier. And this won't be your average, everyday Cloud Carrier. Didn't you notice what the altered properties of the clouds it would be built from are?"
Dash looked at the paper again, then back at Twilight, "Wait, if I'm right, these changes to the clouds would allow anypony to walk on them without that enchantment you found? How did you figure out how to do that?"
Twilight giggled slightly, enjoying the look on Rainbow Dash's face, "The same way I figured out how to give Rarity wings, and allow the rest of us to walk on the clouds."
"Research," they both said together, causing them both to laugh.
Twilight was the first to recover, "Look through the rest of that folder when you have the chance. It shows all of the other modifications I made to the Cloud Carrier, as well as who I believe would be good crewponies to run the ship under your command. Every single pony in there, I handpicked because of their intelligence and adaptability," she said, watching as Dash stopped on one pony in particular.
"Adamant Will? I've never even heard of him. But he looks familiar."
"Of course he looks familiar. You went to the Wonderbolts Flight Camp with his younger brother, Iron Will. You will find that Adamant Will is much calmer than his brother, though. He'll be your Chief Gunnery Officer, or head of weapons, if you prefer to call him that."
Rainbow Dash flipped to the next pony in the folder, "Who is Evening Star? Says here she's my Navigation Officer."
"Think of her as a wing pony, telling you where you can go safely, or making course corrections to the Carrier as you ask for them. And she's also Adamant Will's wife. When they're together, everyone calls them Adam & Eve, and they make a good pair. I recommend you keep their stations close together on the bridge if you want them to be most efficient. The rest of the ponies you'll have to look at on your own when you get back to your rooms. I'm expecting Chrysalis to return soon, and report on how her conversation with the ponies cutting down the Everfree forest went, as well as her meeting with the Changelings. So, if you'll excuse me, I must prepare to receive her, and that means you have to leave. Sorry, Dash. Tell everyone I said hello, and that I'm sorry I can't tell them myself."
Dash stood up from her seat and hugged her friend, "Don't worry Twilight, they understand that you have a country to run, and that that's more important right now, especially with a war going on. See you later," she said as she walked out the door.
Twilight poked her head out her door and said to Spike, "Spike, could you please make sure I'm not disturbed for the rest of the night? I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I need some time to myself."
"Of course, Twilight. No one will bother you for the rest of the night."
"Thanks, Spike," Twilight said as she pulled her head back inside her room.
"Um, Twilight?"
"Yes, Spike?"
"Where should I put your food when it gets here?"
"You can have it tonight, Spike. I know you haven't been eating well lately, and you're really starting to show it. Maybe we should start including meat in your meals. You are a growing dragon after all. The protein might do you some good."
"Thanks, Twilight," Spike said, glad she still cared about him, since she barely ever talked to him anymore, "But I don't think I could handle eating meat. I mean, I've never even tasted it, growing up around ponies and such, who only eat plants."
"Don't worry so much, Spike. Dragon's are omnivores, so you shouldn't get sick from eating meat, unless you don't like the taste. And besides, it will make you stronger and smarter if you do eat meat, so just try it, and if you don't like it, we'll never make you eat it again. Deal?"
"Deal. Goodnight, Twilight."
"Goodnight, Spike. See you tomorrow."

Twilight hadn't even finished closing the door to her personal quarters before Luna appeared in a flash of Midnight Blue light.
"Please wait a second," Twilight said, as she cast a Magical Barrier around the entire suite. Finishing, she turned to Luna, "Now it's safe to talk. Tell me, how did your meetings go?"
"You should have seen the loggers at the Everfree Forest when I teleported right into the middle of their camp. Priceless," Luna said, laughing, "They were quite quick to leave the Everfree after that. I believe they were screaming something about ghosts and demons as they ran away. Needless to say, I don't think that they'll be returning there anytime soon. I took the liberty of enchanting their equipment so that it would follow them all the way to wherever they're going."
Twilight was glad she had sent Luna there, and not gone herself. It probably wouldn't have been as quick or as easy to get them to leave. "And what of the Changelings? How did that go?"
"They have agreed to help us, but there was one more condition than just them becoming part of our society."
"And what was that?"
"Do you remember the ruins in the Everfree where you found the Elements of Harmony, and cleansed the evil from my soul?" Luna asked, waiting for Twilight to nod her head, "They wish to rebuild the castle that was there, so that they may live where they won't be bothered."
"I can understand their request for privacy, and the location is superb, but I sense that you have a problem with them living there. Care to explain why?" Twilight asked, a little bit curious as to why Luna was hesitant to give them the ruins.
"Those ruins have great significance to my family, Twilight," Luna explained, "Those lands have been in my family since the creation of Equestria, some 65 million-odd years ago. That castle was where both Celestia and I grew up, and where our parents grew up, and their parents before them. It's where all of our family ruled from, until my banishment, when Celestia had the capital moved to Canterlot. And it should hold significance to you as well. It's where you learned the true Magic of Friendship, which started you on the path towards becoming the Princess you are today."
Twilight was surprised. She had always assumed that Equestria had only been around for as long as Celestia had ruled, not that it was older than even her. But her reasoning mind quickly found a solution to her and Luna's problem, "Luna, since you are acting as Queen Chrysalis, you would be required to live there as well, to watch over the Changelings, and show them how to prosper. This would allow you to rule from the rebuilt castle, just as your ancestors did before you. Would that not be acceptable?"
"Twilight, you don't understand. I don't have a problem with the Changelings joining our society, but I simply cannot allow them to live in the castle where their ancestors killed my parents. It would not be right," Luna stated, her voice beginning to crack as ancient memories, long suppressed, began to surface.
Twilight had only ever seen the Lunar Princess cry once before, when Celestia had just forgiven her and brought her back to Canterlot so they could rule together, as they had 1000 years ago. And Twilight knew she had to point something out, no matter how dangerous it might be, "Luna, I know this may not be the best thing to say right now, but you have to hear this. When I was transferring the Changeling Magic to you, along with Chrysalis' memories, your entire body changed. Not physically, mind you, but on a cellular level. I hadn't counted on what the combined transfer of both her memories AND her magic to you at the same time would do."
"What are you saying, Twilight," Luna said, steel edging her voice.
"What I'm saying, Luna, is that, when I transferred those things to you, it changed you into, well, a Changeling. Only a half Changeling though, seeing as how you weren't born a changeling. But what's more, you aren't just any changeling. You are Queen Chrysalis, in more ways than just her memories. Her ancestors are now your ancestors, which means that all Changelings are now family to you. So that means -" Twilight was interrupted by Luna finishing the sentence.
"The Changelings have already become part of Equestrian society, even if no one knows it yet."
"Well," Twilight said, "That isn't exactly what I was going to say, but you seem to have grasped most of it. So, now that you know this, do you still wish for them to find somewhere else to live?"
Luna straightened up to her full height, barely as tall as Twilight (For she had gone back to her adolescent form after Twilight explained why she killed her), and locked her piercing green eyes on the Princess of Magic, "No. They will receive what they have asked for. I intend to show them a better way of life than they have ever known. And truly, if the Equestrians can forgive me for what I did to them, then surely I can forgive these Changelings for what their ancestors did over a thousand years ago. It is not right to blame the children for the actions of the parents. If you will excuse me, I must deliver 'your' answer to them as soon as possible. By your leave, Twilight."
"You are excused, Luna. I cannot wait to hear when the reconstruction is complete. Please keep me notified"
Luna disappeared in another bright flash of Midnight Blue light, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts.

After Luna left, Twilight's thoughts traveled back to a time before she was a Princess, back when she still had Celestia to talk to.
"Oh, how I miss you, Celestia," Twilight said to the empty room, sadness in her voice, "I miss always having someone who I could talk to about anything, and, even though you weren't always the most talkative, you were the best listener. I wish you were still here, even though I know that you had to die. But someday, you will return, and I can't wait. Maybe next time you'll be a better princess, and actually pay attention to your subjects. What do you think? Can you do that?"
Twilight waited for a response. When none were forthcoming, she fell to the floor, gentle sobs shaking her body. "Why did you have to be so oblivious?" she asked between sobs, "If only you had paid attention more, then this would never have happened. You'd still be here, we wouldn't be at 'war' with Gryphonia, and I wouldn't be crying on the floor here. I'd be standing at your left hoof, with Luna at your right, watching as you ruled Equestria, learning from you. And I'd still be free to research ancient and forgotten magics, long since lost to all but the oldest books."
Twilight perked up at her last words. "OF COURSE! I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier! The book I found in the restricted section, the one that explained the magic of Immortality, oh, what was it called? SPIKE!"
Spike poked his head through the door, "Yes, Twilight?"
"Do you remember the book I was reading a couple months ago? What was it called, The Flec, no that's not it. Was it the Mec…? No, that's not right either."
"Do you mean the Necronomicon Equus?" Spike asked, a puzzled look on his face. Why Twilight would ever want that book again was beyond him. It was beyond creepy. The cover looked and felt suspiciously like a pony's skin.
"YES! That's the one. Can you bring it here please? On second thought, just send it on your fireline. I know you don't like touching it," Twilight said, noticing the look on Spike's face.
"Can do, Twilight," Spike said, "Can I get a Restricted Access Pass? The librarian said he won't let me in next time if I don't have a pass, and frankly, he creeps me out almost as much as the book, so I'd rather not deal with him again."
"Here you go Spike," Twilight said as she filled out the form and handed it to Spike, "And I don't see why you don't like Shattered Silence. He seems perfectly normal to me."
Spike quickly took the pass, eager to get this over with, "You should get the book in a couple minutes."
"Thanks Spike!" Twilight yelled after the running dragon, before closing the door to her quarters. She turned to her Isolation Room, a room she had magically remade with the specific purpose of containing magic, for when she was practicing dangerous spells, and started preparing the magical runes and wards she would need, all memorized from the Necronomicon Equus. By the time she was finished, Twilight felt a pulse of magic on the edge of her conscience, signaling that Spike had found and sent the book she had asked for. With barely a thought, Twilight used her magic to pull the book back into Equestria from whatever world dragon fire sent things. She was mildly curious about what that world, if it was a world, was like, but that was an experiment for another time.
Levitating the Necronomicon in front of her, Twilight flipped through the pages, looking for one she had seen when she had first read it. She was turning the pages so fast that she almost missed the one she was looking for. Written on this page was a spell for finding and bringing a soul into an object of the caster's choosing. The magical formulae were complex, almost too difficult for even Twilight to understand. Almost. She concentrated her magic, making the necessary changes to her technique as needed. This was no beginner's spell, that was for sure.
As Twilight neared the end of her casting, her magic suddenly fizzled out. But she didn't get mad or throw a fit, like most Unicorns did when a spell failed. No, Twilight had more patience than that; she knew that spells failed sometimes, no matter how perfectly cast. With that in mind, she stepped away from where she was standing when she attempted the spell, and cast a much simpler one, designed to show the caster what had happened in a room in the last few minutes. Twilight watched herself as she cast the spell, looking for anything that may have caused it to fail.
As she watched, Twilight noted that her front right hoof was maybe half an inch off, and though that may not seem like much, magic is a very exact art, much like engineering or construction. A single mistake can cause the death of not just the caster, but also of everypony in a certain amount of space around the caster. So, while the Forensic Spell was still in effect, Twilight used her magic to mark the exact area her hoof had to be in.
After the Forensic Spell wore off, Twilight stepped back into position and began casting the Phylactery spell again, making extra sure that her hoof was in the right position. There could be no mistake this time. Twilight finished the spell and used her magic to 'watch' as Celestia's soul traveled towards her, while her physical body looked at the clock on the wall. 3 A.M.. She had been in this room for 6 hours. But now, Twilight barely noticed the exhaustion as the soul of her oldest friend and teacher approached her.
Suddenly, Celestia's soul disappeared from Twilight's magical view, leaving the Princess of Magic completely confused. She performed a soul scan spell over the entire room, but she couldn't understand the results. The spell was detecting two souls, right where she was standing. This couldn't be possible, unless…
Twilight then felt something she had never felt before, but had heard described by Mrs. Cake, when she had been carrying Pound and Pumpkin. This feeling, it was pregnancy, but how would she explain this to her friends? To Luna? How could she tell them that she was carrying the Solar Princess, when she had never even been with a stallion?
Twilight's mental cry could have been heard all across the world if she had wished it, but she only wanted one Mare to hear it, "HELP!"

Luna teleported from Twilight's room to the outskirts of the Everfree ruins, where her Changeling advisors waited for 'Twilight's' answer.
"The Arcane Princess says we are allowed the Ruins to build our capital." Luna's statement was met with quiet congratulations and hoof shakes.
One Changeling, who went by Black Jack, was especially excited, visibly shaking from head to hoof. Luna couldn't help but notice his name was a good match for his Cutie Mark, an Inverted Spade (where the spade looks like it was cut out of a circular piece of paper, and the paper that was left stuck on his flank), like you might see in a deck of cards. Other than that, he didn't really look like a Black Jack; his coat was white, and his mane was red and black (the left half was black, the right half red), though Luna could see brown near the roots of his mane, indicating that he had either dyed it or had simply been too lazy to use his magic to fix it. His tail didn't match his mane in the pattern of the colors though, which was odd for anypony, even a Changeling: it was mostly black, with a single red stripe, right down the middle.
Luna turned to him, "Why dost thou get so excited, Black Jack?"
Black Jack turned to Luna, confusion on his face, "Now we can uphold the deal we made with the Diamond Dogs."
"What deal? I was never informed of any deal with the Diamond Dogs."
One of the other advisors, who looked like a pure white Pegasus with an Olive Branch Cutie Mark (Dove, she called herself, though Luna didn't know that yet), leaned over and whispered into Black Jack's ear.
Black Jack's eyes filled with understanding from whatever was whispered to him, "My apologies, dear Queen. I forgot you were not here when we made the deal. Well, did you notice how much our tunnels had expanded in the short time you were gone?"
Luna shook her head, indicating that she had not noticed it, "No sir. I assume that the Diamond Dogs had something to do with it?"
"Yes ma'am. Shortly after you left, the current leader of the Diamond Dogs proposed an 'alliance' of sorts. We were running out of space, and they were running out of gems. Through an agreement, we allowed them to keep half of the gems they found as they expanded our tunnels."
Luna was surprised that the Diamond Dogs could work with anyone, much less help them, but something was nagging at her thoughts, "Something tells me this isn't the entire deal."
"Very astute, ma'am," Black Jack noted, wondering why Chrysalis was being so observant. This wasn't like her, usually she was very single-minded, never noticing anything beyond what she wanted at that moment, "Before your return, we had been sending scouts into the old ruins, to map it out. One of these scouts found an ancient crypt, with a plaque that read 'Here lies the Crystal Hound, father to all Diamond Dogs, precursor of their race'. The Diamond Dogs wish for the body, if there is one, to be brought to their capital, near Appleloosa."
"That's impossible. I've been over every inch of those ruins, and I've never seen any crypt. Where did you find it?"
"It was behind a false wall, ma'am. We think it only collapsed recently, if the way the plants are growing tell anything about when it collapsed," Black Jack responded, wondering when Chrysalis had explored the ruins. She hadn't been seen by any of the scouts during their forays into the ruins, and he had been at her side every moment before she left for Canterlot 2 years ago. So when did she explore the ruins?
Then he remembered: she was imitating Princess Luna. She must be remembering Luna's memories. Satisfied with that answer, he dismissed all of the strange thoughts he had been having about her.
But there was one advisor who wasn't so easily convinced that it was Chrysalis who was walking with them, and so he hung back from the main group, watching this imposter in his mother's skin (when Luna was with the Changelings, she took the form of Queen Chrysalis). And to be honest, it wasn't all that hard for him to disappear from their attention; the black coat and blue hair of his assumed form allowed him to blend into the shadows at the edge of the light given off by a nearby torch. Scanning with his magic, he assessed the magical wavelength of the imposter.
"Impossible," he whispered to himself, "How can this imposter have the exact same wavelength as my mother, while still having another I have never felt before? What black magic is at work here?"
Luna was not oblivious to the magic being used on her, despite the fact that she showed no reaction. Meanwhile, she used her own magic to 'piggyback' the foreign magic back to its source.
There! In the shadows, barely visible to even her nocturnal eyes, was a solid black pegasus, with a multi-tone blue mane, and a splash of blue on his face and hooves. How had she not noticed him, when she had been watching every shadow for movement, and how had he cast magic, seeing as how he was a pegasus?
Then the results from her counter-scan returned to her: this pegasus had almost the exact same magical wavelength as her. And she wasn't just talking about Chrysalis' wavelength, but hers as well. How was this possible, when hers and Chrysalis' didn't match at all? Who was this mysterious pegasus that could use magic?
At that moment, Luna felt a mental connection attempt from the strange pegasus, prying at her to open up a mental link with him.
As soon as she did, Luna was assaulted by a barrage of questions, one standing out more than the rest, "WHO ARE YOU?"
How had this mysterious pegasus seen through her disguise? Had she slipped up in a way that anyone who was paying attention could see she was an imposter? No, she was sure that she hadn't. So how had he seen that she wasn't Chrysalis?
"What do you mean? I am your queen, Chrysalis. Is that not obvious?" Luna responded to the only question she had understood.
Almost immediately, his answer was booming in her head, "YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER! WHO ARE YOU?"
So that's how he had seen through her disguise. He was the child of Chrysalis, meaning he knew all of her mannerisms and habits. But that still didn't explain the matching Magical Wavelength. And it was odd, but, try as she might, Luna could not remember anything about this 'Changeling Prince', if he truly was Chrysalis' son. Twilight had given Luna all of Chrysalis' memories, so why wasn't this young stallion among them? What had he done to cause his mother to completely forget him?
Luna completely forgot that she was in the middle of a mental conversation, so all of her thoughts were broadcasted to the 'Changeling Prince'.
"Ah, so that's who you are."
The message, much calmer than the others she had received from this pony, shocked Luna out of her thoughts, "What?"
"My apologies, Princess Luna. I did not mean to startle you," the (now) much calmer pegasus replied, "I was simply stating that I know who you are now. It would seem that I should introduce myself now. My name is untranslatable to English, but you can call me High Roller. Everyone else does."
"Well, 'High Roller', just how is it that you figured out who I really am?"
"You really should pay more attention to what you think when you have a mental link open," he responded nonchalantly, "Otherwise anypony can just listen in your thoughts and learn things they shouldn't."
Luna felt embarrassment color her face, glad that her almost black coat hid the darkening of her cheeks, "Well, seeing as how you haven't told any of the others who I really am yet, I assume you want something?"
High Roller's response completely threw Luna's train of thought off the rail, "Now why would I do that? Not only would it be bad for you, but it would also ruin everything we've achieved already, from the peace accord with the Diamond Dogs, which rides on us recovering the body of the Crystal Hound from these ruins for them, to becoming part of everyday life in Equestria, with these ruins as our first settlement on the surface. Not to mention, you would lose the spies you want for your war.
"So I really don't see the point in revealing who you are to everypony else. Unless you want me to," he added with a grin.
Luna didn't know what it was, but something about this Changeling struck her as familiar, like she had heard him, or someone like him, before (Indeed she had, but Honesty isn't always recognized immediately).
Right then, Luna picked up on a very strong wavelength of magic, emanating from Canterlot, and she recognized the wavelength immediately. It was Twilight sending a message, that much was Luna was sure of, but to who? Who could Twilight be calling to this late at night? Luna pondered that before she simply decided to ask Twilight the next time she saw her, which would be in about a week.

Pinkie Pie was enjoying a very pleasant dream (See other story, S&M) involving herself and Rainbow Dash when Twilight's call woke her up. Pinkie knew the call wasn't meant for her, but her Pinkie Sense had picked up on the large amount of magic used to send the message to whoever Twilight was sending it to, so Pinkie was fairly certain that Twilight REALLY needed cheering up.
She slid out of her bed real slowly, so as not to disturb Rainbow Dash, who was laying right next to her, but planted a kiss on Dash's forehead before she left. Pinkie was sad that she wouldn't be there when Dashie woke up from last night, because Pinkie was sure the hangover was going to hurt.
'Oh well,' Pinkie thought to herself as she bounced along the road to Canterlot, 'I'm just glad that Dashie came to party with me in celebration of Twilight allowing her in the military. Otherwise, my night wouldn't have been anywhere near as fun as it was. But I didn't think anypony could drink that much and still be able to stand, much less do what we did.'
'Too bad Dashie really is the Fastest in Equestria,' Pinkie pouted, 'We could have had so much more fun!'
She was interrupted from her thoughts by the door that ran into her. 'When did that get there?' Pinkie thought, before she realized she was already at Canterlot, and that she had hit the door to Twilight's personal quarters. Twilight answered the door, but her expression fell a little when she saw Pinkie in front of her.
"What are you doing here Pinkie?"
"Oh, I heard your magical call, and I figured I'd come see what I can do to help," Pinkie explained.
Twilight looked confused, "But I sent that message to Mrs. Cake. How did you hear it?"
Pinkie tilted her head to the side, giving Twilight a look that said 'Did you really just ask that?'.
Realization dawned on Twilight, and she could only shake her head, "Someday, I will figure out how your Pinkie Sense works."
Pinkie laughed at her friend, "Oh Twilight, didn't you learn last time? Nopony can understand how my Pinkie Sense works. And speaking of my Pinkie Sense, it wants me to ask you something."
"And what's that?"
"Who's the lucky stallion?"
"Pinkie," Twilight said, trying to get her friends attention.
"What's his name?"
"Pinkie," Twilight's voice was getting louder, her frustration at not being able to get Pinkie's attention growing.
"Do I know him?"
"PINKIE!" Twilight shouted, finally shutting Pinkie up. "Thank you. Now, how did you know I was pregnant?"
"OH!" Pinkie exclaimed, "It's all over you, kind of like an aura. There's a vibe or something that pregnant mares give off, and you are positively radiant with it!"
"How do you know what this vibe feels like?"
"Simple, silly-willy. I've been pregnant before and I spent a lot of time around Mrs. Cake when she was pregnant. Duh," Pinkie said, twisting her neck so her head was almost completely upside down.
Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie with confusion clearly written on her face, "What do you mean, you've been pregnant before? Where's your kid now?"
"It was shortly after I left my family's rock farm. I was in Manehatten and I couldn't find anywhere that would hire me, so I was a little depressed. During that time, I met this wonderful stallion; he was very kind to me, and took me in. After a while, I guess I started falling for him, and well, this led to that, and I ended up carrying his foal. He left me shortly after he found out. I can't even remember his name. Funny isn't it? How somepony was so important to me, and now I can't even remember his name."
Twilight was surprised. She had always assumed that Pinkie had come straight to Ponyville after she left her family's rock farm. But this wasn't anywhere near what she would have guessed Pinkie's life was like.
"So what happened to the foal?"
"Oh, I see her with her friends almost every day, and sometimes I talk to her, but she doesn't know who I really am to her. I had put her up for adoption, because, at the time, I couldn't afford to raise a foal. I'm just glad she ended up in Ponyville."
"Well, what does she look like?" Twilight asked, eager to know more about this mysterious foal of Pinkie's.
"She's a pegasus with an orange-ish coat, and her hair is almost the same shade of pink as mine."
"What's her Cutie Mark? Do you know?"
"She hasn't gotten it yet, but she and her friends are always trying to get them, sometimes putting themselves into danger."
"That sounds like what Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scoot…" Twilight's sentence trailed off as she figured out just who Pinkie's foal was, "Oh, Pinkie. It must be so difficult for you, seeing her every day and knowing she's your daughter but not being able to do anything about it.
"Wait. Why haven't you told her?"
Pinkie's bubbly mood deflated a little at Twilight's question, "It was my first Pinkie Promise, and you know nopony can ever break a Pinkie Promise."
"But why would you make a promise that could only cause you pain?"
"Because otherwise I could never see her. I would have been forbidden from living in Ponyville, since it's such a small town. Her adoptive parents don't want her knowing who her real mother is," Pinkie said as tears started to fill her eyes.
"It's alright Pinkie. I'm sure I can find a way to let her know who you really are without getting you kicked out of Ponyville. Call it a Princess' Prerogative," Twilight said as she wrapped her wings around Pinkie, giving her some much needed comfort.
"Thanks, Twilight. Now it's your turn to answer some of my questions. Let's start with who the father is."
Twilight's voice shook with nervousness as she spoke, "There wasn't a stallion involved with me getting pregnant."
"Oh, you went to the hospital, and got an artificial baby?"
"No. I never left my room."
"Then how did you get pregnant? Did a doctor make a house call?"
"No Pinkie, I was alone when I got pregnant. It was an ancient spell, and I sort of messed it up. On the bright side, I do know what gender the foal will be, even though I just got pregnant tonight."
Now it was Pinkie's turn to be confused, "How could you know the gender of the foal already if you just got pregnant?"
"Can you Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony what I'm about to tell you?"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Pinkie said/sang as she performed the motions, "Now tell me."
"The spell I was using was a spell designed to summon and bind a soul of the caster's choosing to an object of the caster's choosing," Twilight looked back at Pinkie and noticed her confused look, "It means I can choose to bring anypony I know who has passed from this world and put them in anything I want, so I can always have them with me."
Understanding filled Pinkie's face.
Twilight continued, "Only, I forgot to choose an object, and so the pony I was summoning ended up inside me as a developing foal, causing my pregnancy."
"Who exactly were you summoning, Twilight?"
"Someone I miss very dearly," Twilight said, then remembered what Pinkie had said after Twilight had told Equestria what had happened to Celestia and Luna, "It was Princess Celestia."
"OHMYGOSH! THISISWONDERFUL! SOONWE'LLHAVEALL3PRINCESSESAGAIN! ICAN'TWAITTOTHROWYOUABABYSHOWER! IT'LLHAVECAKEANDICECREAMANDSTRE AMERSANDBALLONSAND…"
"Take a breathe and calm down Pinkie." Twilight was hoping nopony had heard Pinkie's excited shouting, "Remember, you Pinkie Promised not to tell anypony."
"Oh, I know Twilight, but I was just so excited that we'd have all three princess' again that, well…"
""I understand, Pinkie. You've always been big on parties, ever since I met you, so I can't fault you for wanting to throw me one, but I don't want anypony finding out just yet, and I think Luna should know before I tell anypony else. Don't you?" Twilight asked.
"Of course Luna should know before anypony else, but if that's the case, why did you not call her first, instead of Mrs. Cake? It is her sister you're pregnant with."
"I know I should have called her first, but she was in the middle of a meeting with the Changelings, and I didn't want it to seem like she cared more about me than her own people, since she's posing as Queen Chrysalis right now."
At that moment, Spike finally returned from the library (or wherever he had been for the past 6 hours, most likely the kitchens). He stopped in his tracks when he saw Pinkie standing in Twilight's door, talking to her.
"I'm sorry Twilight. I should have been here to keep her from bothering you," he said as he started pushing Pinkie Pie away from Twilight.
Twilight stopped him by using her magic to levitate him away from Pinkie, "It's quite alright Spike. I asked her to come here, so it isn't your fault. And besides, Pinkie was just about to leave, weren't you?"
Pinkie walked back up to Twilight and responded, "Yup, I was just about to head home. Hey, Twilight."
"Yes, Pinkie?"
"Can you teleport me back to my room? I want to be there when Dashie wakes up, and walking would take too long."
"Sure Pinkie," Twilight said, "But could you please explain why Rainbow Dash spent the night at your place?"
"I'll tell you next time I see you. Pinkie Promise. But right now, I really need to get back home so I can be there when she wakes up."
"I'll hold you to that promise Pinkie," Twilight said as her horn began to glow, sending Pinkie back to her room in a split second.
BACK IN PINKIE PIE'S ROOM
Pinkie arrived back in her room without the bright flash that normally accompanied Twilight's teleportation spell, allowing her to slip back into her bed without waking up Rainbow Dash. She knew she'd have a few hours before her Dashie woke up, so Pinkie went back to dreams of Rainbows and Cupcakes, and how much pleasure they brought when together.

"Twilight, Luna, please listen," High Roller pleaded, "It isn't safe for you to be in Canterlot anymore. We need to leave. NOW."
Twilight was slightly annoyed, having listened to H.R. (as she called him) tell her she needed to leave for the whole day, "And where would we go, hmm? Canterlot is the last place in Equestria that is still controlled by Equestrians, and I don't plan on letting those damn Gryphons take this city anytime soon."
Luna cleared her throat, "There is the Hive. The Gryphons don't know where it is, so we should be safe there."
"How could the Gryphons not know where it is?" Twilight practically yelled, "It's a giant bucking castle!"
The Crystal Hound, who nopony had noticed in the room, spoke up, "That's not technically true."
Twilight turned to the Crystal Hound, "How so? In what way is the giant bucking castle in the middle of the Everfree not a giant bucking castle?"
High Roller (For ease of typing, I'm going to put H.R. from now on when he's talking or used in a sentence) spoke up again, "Because the Hive isn't the castle. The castle is just one of many entrances to the Hive. You see, the Hive is actually about a mile under Equestria. All of Equestria, not just the castle. How do you think the Changelings were able to sneak into your brother's wedding so easily?"
"If that's the case, then why have we not been able to slow down the Gryphonian advance? Why have your spies done nothing to stop them?"
Luna addressed Twilight, "We have been doing everything we can to slow their advance. That's why it took as long as it did. Their racial fanaticism allows them to recruit the numbers they need to counter our advanced training and weapons."
Twilight sighed, "This isn't how this war was supposed to go! We were supposed to take over Gryphonia cleanly and without any lives lost, but now look at us! Half of our people are dead, the rest are in hiding, and Gryphons control almost all of Equestria!"
"What about your special project," Luna asked, "That 'Shadow 1' that you were building for Rainbow Dash? Was it ever finished?"
Twilight shook her head, "I don't know. I've received no word from Cloudsdale, so I don't even know if we still have control of it. I hope we do, because if the Gryphons get a hold of that carrier, we are finished. There will be no second chance at success. It will be The End of Equestria as we know it."
At that moment, Spike poked his head into the room, "Um, Twilight. We have a problem."
"What is it, Spike?"
"There are Gryphonians coming up the stairs, and they're headed right here."
"Very well. Spike, go with Luna and H.R.. They will take you to the Hive. You'll be safe there."
"And where will I be going?" the Crystal Hound asked.
"You'll be staying with me for a few minutes," Twilight said, "Do you think you can keep those Gryphons out of this room for a few minutes?"
"Easily," he responded, extending his crystalline claws to their full length (almost a full foot, if that tells you anything about the size of the Crystal Hound) as he stepped outside the room.
Luna turned to Twilight, "What are you planning?"
"I'm just going to leave a little surprise for any Gryphons that may try to enter my room. Phylactery isn't the only magic I learned from the Necronomicon Equus. I also learned a new kind of construction magic. All that's left is for me to put the finishing touches on my creation."
"Just make sure you survive to come to the Hive. I will never forgive you if you cause my sister's death a second time. Do you hear me?"
"Don't worry, Luna. I will make it to the Hive. It should only take me a few minutes to finish my creation."
Luna and H.R. teleported out of the room in twin flashes of light, one Midnight Blue, the other Navy Blue.
"Now to finish this," Twilight said as she walked into her Isolation Room, looking at the massive stone pony in front of her. Twilight's horn began to glow as she magically carved runes of animation on the golem. A Chant of Command followed the runes, infusing the golem with the orders it would carry out until it was destroyed.
"Now to name you," Twilight said, tapping her hoof against the ground as she thought about what the golem's name should be (because everyone knows that golems don't work until you name them). Then it struck her, "Midnight Rumble. Arise, and do your master's bidding."
The Stone Golem rumbled to life and began walking out of Twilight's Isolation Room to protect all of her personal quarters.
"Hound! Time to leave!" Twilight called.
The Crystal Hound walked into the room, his claws stained red over their natural green color. "I assume that that is your 'surprise' for the Gryphons?" he said as he looked over Twilight's creation.
"You assume correctly," Twilight practically giggled, "Shall we leave now?"
"Of course. I'm ready when you are."
The two teleported out of the room in a single flash of pink light, leaving Midnight Rumble behind to follow the commands of his master. What Twilight didn't realize was that she had bound an infinitesimal portion of her soul into the golem, giving it true sentience, which allowed it to think for itself and carry out its orders how it saw fit, so long as it thought it was following the orders handed to it. And right now, it did not think that these rooms were 'Twilight's' room; it viewed whatever room Twilight was in as Twilight's room, so it began stomping down the hall, using the small portion of Twilight's soul inside of it to track the rest of the soul. Gryphons practically fell over each other in their hurry to get out of the golem's way, having never seen such a monster before. The golem barely noticed them in its single-minded determination to protect its master, even when it stepped on one.

The cries of a newborn foal shattered the early morning silence hanging over the Everfree Forest. But nopony would have ever guessed that the incredibly loud noise was coming from the tiny red Alicorn in Twilight's hooves.
"She's beautiful," Luna said, nuzzling her (now) baby sister, "What will her name be?"
"Crimson Dawn," Twilight responded, drawing inspiration from the red sun that was rising before her.
"This is a very touching moment," H.R. stated, "But need I remind you that there are Griffons looking for us right now? I recommend that we head back into the Hive with all due haste."
The four ponies (Including Crimson Dawn) and the huge diamond dog turned to reenter the castle behind them when the Crystal Hound's ear twitched.
"Hold. I hear somepony coming."
Now that they were listening, everypony else could hear it as well: a very deep booming, almost as if a statue were running towards them. But the Crystal Hound's more sensitive hearing picked up on something else, a pony talking to herself in third person, which was starting to irritate him.
"Twilight, can you conceal us with your magic?. We do not want this person to see us. They might be a gryphon spy."
Twilight's horn glowed and the group faded from sight. They watched as an azure unicorn, draped in a purple cloak splattered with stars and a hat to match, rode up on a giant stone pony, (also a unicorn) to whom she was constantly chattering about how amazing and powerful she was, all while talking in third person. This didn't seem to bother the stone unicorn, though nopony could tell his feelings since his face was literally made of stone. He just walked right up to where Twilight was standing and stopped, nearly throwing the azure unicorn from his back.
"What is the idea, attempting to throw the Great and Powerful Trixie from your back like she was some common pony?"
The stone unicorn just raised his front right hoof and pointed right at Twilight.
"She's here then?"
The stone unicorn nodded.
"It's about time we found her," Trixie said as she walked up to where Twilight was standing, even though she couldn't see her, "Hello, Twilight. The Great and Powerful Trixie hopes you have been well for these last few years."
Twilight, stunned, let her invisibility drop, revealing the entire group to the azure unicorn. "How did you find me? Nopony outside the Hive knows where I am."
"That's because of this impressive bit of magic right here," Trixie said, patting her hoof against the stone Unicorn, "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't know how, but he always seemed to know exactly where you were, and he never stopped moving."
Twilight looked closer at the stone Unicorn and finally recognized the golem, "Midnight Rumble, what are you doing outside of my quarters at Canterlot Castle? I left you there to guard them."
The golem shook his head, indicating that he disagreed.
"Your orders were to guard my room. That means you disobeyed my orders."
Again, the golem shook his head. Twilight, tired of the one-sided argument, magically inscribed runes of animation on Midnight Rumble's jaw, allowing him to speak.
Midnight Rumble's voice sounded like 2 boulders crashing together when he spoke, "Your orders to me were to protect your rooms. This is the orders I must carry out. However, we see your rooms as 2 different things. You see it as those rooms in Canterlot. I see it as whatever room you are in at the moment. This is why I am here."
"This shouldn't be possible. You shouldn't be able to think for yourself. What did I do wrong to cause this?" Twilight was pacing across the open courtyard, trying to figure out how Rumble was sentient.
Rumble used his magic (He is a unicorn, even if he's made of stone) to lift Twilight up and set her down in front of him, "You did nothing wrong when you cast the spell. It's simply that your magic is the first in thousands of years to be an exact match of the writer of the Necronomicon's magic, and so, when you cast a spell from that book, even a simple one like the one you used to animate me, an infinitesimal portion of your soul is infused in the magic. This fraction of your soul inside me allows me to experience true sentience as a result."
Twilight looked up at Rumble, "How can you know all of this? Where did you learn this?"
"The writer of the Necronomicon was a very powerful necromancer, among other things, and he wrote the book in his own blood. And you, having the exact same magical wavelength as him, activated the special properties inherent in the spell when you cast it. This transferred all of his memories to me. In essence, I am him, but more importantly, by knowing his entire life, I know his soul wavelength as well.
"You have his soul, Twilight Sparkle. You are Starswirl the Bearded reborn. This is why magic comes easy to you."
Twilight was shocked speechless. Was this why she was able to change Starswirl's spell, allowing her to be turned into the Alicorn she was today? And what about everything else? Had Celestia known she was Starswirl reborn, and was that the reason she took her on as her own personal student?
At this moment the Crystal Hound spoke up again, "There is someone else approaching. A gryphon, I believe."
The entire group tensed up, and Rumble moved to shield Twilight from the approaching griffon by standing over her. A few seconds later a chip of stone fell off of Rumble's back as a quarrel (fired from a Gryphonian Crossbow) dug into his back. The Crystal Hound was the first to track the shot back to its point of origin, and was already halfway up the wall by the time anypony else knew where the shot had come from. In a few seconds, he was back in the courtyard with everypony else, a struggling gryphon held in his right claw.
This gryphon wasn't much to look at. He was solid black, from beak to tail, and his wings were covered in early morning dew, giving them a frozen look. His left eye was missing, though the empty socket was partially hidden by a bandana. Held in his talons was a crossbow, which he was attempting to reload, hence the struggling. A quick shake of the Crystal Hound's claw caused the gryphon assassin to drop his crossbow, where it broke against the solid ground.
Twilight walked out from under Rumble, but left Crimson Dawn with the golem, having ordered him to protect her. As she walked, she encased the gryphon assassin in a telekinetic grip, "You can let go of him, Hound."
The Crystal Hound did as he was told, releasing the gryphon and allowing him to float in Twilight's magic.
She strode up to the gryphon, stopping several feet away, and began to talk, "Who are you?"
"I will never tell you who I am," the gryphon responded, no emotion evident in his voice.
"How did you find me?" Twilight continued.
"You will get nothing out of me," the gryphon spat on the ground in front of Twilight.
"Very well," Twilight said with a sigh, "You leave me no choice."
Twilight magically called the Necronomicon to her, and started flipping through the pages, muttering to herself, "Embalming, Infertility. Ah. Here we are. Interrogating the dead. Shall we begin?"
As her horn began to glow, the assassin began to feel a pain in his chest, almost as if his heart were expanding (Which it was). "WAIT! I'll tell you everything."
"It's too late now," Twilight said in a flat tone, "You'll say anything to save your own hide. Everyone here knows it. Besides, it's much easier to get honest answers from the dead."
"Very well then," the assassin said, somber once again, "If I have no chance at living, you shall get nothing from me when I'm dead." Upon finishing that sentence, the assassin triggered a hidden mechanism in the armor he was wearing, which caused his body to start burning with white hot flames. Within seconds, there was nothing left of the assassin but ash.
"Idiot," Twilight said, "Hound, please fetch me a container. His ashes still hold his essence, which I can use to track down his soul. One way or another, he will tell me what I want to know, whether he tells me willingly or I rip it from his mind by force. And I might even give him a new body if he behaves."
The Crystal Hound ran off to find a container and returned with an urn.
Twilight laughed at that, "How ironic. Giving an urn full of ashes to a Necromancer. Any other stereotypes we can perpetuate here?"
Trixie spoke up again, "Can anypony here tell the Great and Powerful Trixie what happened to the Twilight she used to know, and who this pony is that looks like Twilight?"
"Come with me, Trixie, and I will tell you what happened to me," Twilight said as they all walked back into the Hive, the urn of ashes floating along behind them.

Twilight, Trixie, and H.R. walked into Underground, the most popular club in the Hive, west of Ponyville, after Twilight dropped off the ashes of the assassin in her quarters (Luna and the Crystal Hound had gone to talk with their Changeling and Diamond Dog advisors, respectively, and Twilight had left Midnight Rumble with Crimson Dawn to protect the newborn filly). The reason the three of them were there was because Trixie, in her own words, 'needed a drink' after Twilight told her all that had happened to her since Trixie had left (minus the part about Twilight killing Celestia and Luna. She let Trixie believe that it was still a gryphonian assassin), and the sheer amount of things Twilight had gone through had left Trixie (mostly) speechless.
Upon entering, they were greeted by the singing voice of Rarity's younger sister, Sweetie Belle (Who was technically the legal age (18) to work at a club/bar like Underground, even if her sister didn't like it) as she finished her cover of Paradise Lost by Sympony X (A somber song, very appropriate for everypony who was in the club, seeing as how they were hiding for their lives).
As the three ponies sat down at a table, the owner of the club, Vinyl Scratch, came out and announced that she was going to start playing something a little more upbeat. As the heavy bass of the electronic music reverberated through her body, Twilight looked around the club, trying to spot any potential threats. What she saw instead was a little surprising, but not much. Sitting by herself in a corner booth, Twilight saw Pinkie Pie slowly sipping on an Appletini. This wouldn't have been so abnormal if Pinkie's hair was its usual bouncy self, but right now it was perfectly straight, indicating that she was sad about something right now.
Worried about her friend, Twilight teleported over to Pinkie and sat down next to her. Pinkie didn't even notice Twilight, she was so absorbed in her thoughts (Or the Appletini, which was an amusing shade of pale pink), until Twilight gently nudged her.
"Oh. Hey Twilight," Pinkie's voice was a shot of depression and longing, on the rocks (Meaning she spoke with low volume, and the sort of cold feeling you get from depressed people), "When did you get here?"
"Pinkie. What's wrong?" Twilight's voice was full of concern for her friend, whom Twilight hadn't seen so sad since the Pinkie Copies incident, "And don't try to tell me nothing."
"Am I annoying, Twilight?"
The question caught Twilight off-guard, and her response wasn't fast enough to make Pinkie believe it, "Of course not, Pinkie. Why would you think that?"
"Don't lie to spare my feelings, Twilight. I can tell you think I'm annoying. What is it about me that's so annoying?"
"Pinkie, there is nothing annoying about you. Why do you think you're annoying all of a sudden?"
As if the just the thought was painful, Pinkie started to sob as she spoke, making it almost impossible to understand what she was saying. Out of everything she said, Twilight only understood two words: Rainbow Dash.
Twilight interrupted Pinkie, "That's it. Come with me. I'm going to see if we can cheer you up."
"What do you mean, we?" Pinkie asked as Twilight led her back to the table Trixie and H.R. were sitting at.
"Me and the ponies I came here with," Twilight explained as her and Pinkie sat down, "I'm sure you remember Trixie"
"Greetings, Pinkie Pie. Trixie hopes that you get to feeling better soon, if the state of your mane are any hint as to how you feel."
Pinkie was surprised by the amount of caring in Trixie's voice, and was unable to speak as more tears came to her eyes.
"And this quiet stallion is High Roller, though I've taken to calling him H.R.'