Story: Cast Regnant Sacrifice

[Wysteria]

This is a little one-off I whipped up in the wee hours of the morning after pulling an all-nighter - which might explain some of the sloppy writing. The idea came into my head and I just had to get it down on paper (metaphorical paper, meaning I actually typed it out on the computer instead) before I lost my train of thought. Bonus: Some Twilight/Luna shipping.

 

 

 

"Are you alright?" A monotone voice asked.

 

Twilight had heard the soft clopping of hooves tread across her bedroom chamber's floor, the gentle wisp of fresh air that seemed to follow the Princesses wherever they went. She immediately knew who this was the moment she stepped into the room.

 

"Of course, I am," she responded with slight bitterness. 

 

"Are you really?"

 

Twilight's eyes dropped to the floor sullenly. "What do you think?" 

 

Princess Luna was silenced for a moment. 

 

"Your friends are waiting in the throne room. They wish to speak with you." Another momentary pause. She continued with a more softened tone, taking a few pleading steps forward. "Please, Twilight. You've put them through so much, and they have yet more to bear. Do what you must... but don't deny them what they so greatly deserve."

 

Resolution seemed to pass over the violet pony. With short breath out, she turned to face Luna. Nearly passing her, she added coldly, "I kindly ask you address me with the same respect I give you; my proper title is 'Queen Twilight.'"

 

Luna's eyes never left hers. "As you wish, your highness."

 

 

 

She had dreaded this day ever since she had met them, and even more so now as each step down the thin corridor seemed to swallow her whole. Her friends - the ones on which she depended on... how could she face them head-on at a time like this? How could they understand what she was trying to accomplish? Twilight hadn't even written to them ever since the start of the Harmonic War. There was too much water under the bridge. So much weight was on her shoulders she could hardly bear it. Celestia had given her the Queen's title after her tragic death. She had more trust in her pupil than her own sister.

 

Here she stood, gazing into the forlorn faces of her faithful allies. Even though times were bleak, there still was a gleam of hope in their eyes; a hope that couldn't be shattered by anything. But Twilight fought to ignore this.

 

"Twilight!" Applejack was the first to speak. Happiness practically radiated from her. She acted as though she was meeting a long-lost relative for the first time. The mare leaped over to the Queen and gave her a friendly nuzzle on the cheek. 

 

This embrace was just the kind of interaction Twilight had been craving for what seemed like forever. A warm, fuzzy feeling entered her stomach for a brief moment. She looked up. Although the others weren't as forthcoming as Applejack, they had the same expression on their faces - unadulterated love. 

 

"We were worried about you, Twilight," Fluttershy's gentle voice twittered with a small smile.

 

Rainbow Dash was rather apologetic. "We thought you forgot about us or something."

 

The words crawled out of Twilight's throat. "I could never forget about you guys." She smiled wanly.

 

"You know, Twilight," Applejack began. "Whatever happens, we'll have your back. We only want what's best for you, sugarcube."

 

"So maybe we can talk about this first?" Pinkie Pie chimed in hopefully.

 

"There's nothing for us to discuss."

 

Rarity brought her argument to the table. "Please now, Darling. If we only could think this through for a minute... we've been through complicated situations before..."

 

"I have thought it through. Do you think I'd be so ignorant as to rush into something when I didn't know what I was doing? Just who do you think I am?!" 

 

A shadow seemed to pass over the room. 

 

This is what the Queen had feared. Nobody dared speak, for fear of shattering the silence that perpetrated the castle. Her friends' smiles disappeared.

 

With one backward glance to them, Twilight exited the room. "I wish you all the best in the world." The note of sincerity in her final words could not be missed.

 

 

 

"You don't have to do this." All the harshness had left Luna's mouth, replaced only with pleading.

 

Twilight paused. "If you saw a foal lying injured on the side of a road, wouldn't you stop to help it? You'd be compelled to - you'd have to. I have to do this because... how could I live in a world that I had destroyed by my own neglect?" 

 

Her hooves gently pawed at the Elements strewn across the floor by her hooves. Using her alicorn magic, she took the crown from her head and placed it on Princess Luna's instead. She looked at the wall ahead of her. A tapestry was hung from the ceiling; it was skillfully made so that the pictures strewn across it told a story - her story. From her fillyhood days, to when the Elements of Harmony were reborn, and finally to her wretched rise to power. Looking at these harrowing pictures, a sliver of fear passed through her spine. There was no dignity left in this fallen kingdom.

 

Twilight turned her head back to Luna quickly as the magic spewed from her horn into the Elements.

 

Her breathing hitched. She stared at Princess Luna whose whole face was shrunken with grief, eyes glistening with tears. How they shone like stars.

 

"I'm sorry."

 

With a single blast of energy, the elements shattered into an array of light. And then she saw nothing. And there was nothing. Nothing but the hope for peace she had left in her wake.