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Growing Pains

by Peroth

Chapter 14: 14. Blessings of the Sky

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He felt like a teenager again ten years ago, standing before the crowd, watching their gaping mouths at his stylish, amazing performance, watching their awed eyes as he stood before them and performed in a most exceptional manner. It felt good to tap into his player roots, even if being a royal guard was his calling. He loved how good it felt to see a plan go just right. And the best part was he could easily just slip away and-

Before he could take a step, Night Brigade was lifted easily into the air. "Oh-hoo-hoh crap." He whispered, his smile turning a little more frightened as he felt himself easily hoisted over in front of the little miss star queen. He was set down easily, yet he couldn't move as he was forced to look at Twilight's frustrated face.

"You set all this up!" She accused him, the little dragon she'd been hugging sitting on her back. "I was coming to talk, not for all of… This!" She waved her silver-clasped hoof at the whole crowd. Spike look equally unamused.

"Yeah! How dare you do…" He stared around slowly, "Whatever it is we're mad at you about! Don't you think she's suffered enough from the past few days?" Of course Spike had no idea what had happened, but he knew Twilight well enough to tell that, judging by the look in her eyes, she had seen a lot of trouble.

"Of course I did!" Night narrowed his eyes at the accusation. "Why do you think I went to the trouble of setting all this up? For my own personal amusement? Honestly my Queen, I felt that you deserved the royal treatment after what had happened to you, so I set all this up!" What she didn't know was that it had been partially for his own personal amusement.

"We have a lot more important things to do than get the royal treatment! We demand an apology!" One of the six Dash's announced.

The entire time, Celestia, Fluttershy, Rarity, and the parents were just staring. Not just at Twilight and Dash but everything that adorned them. The enormous castle, the royal ware, the holsters and of course the shiny sword the Red Dash had in her holster, along with the enormous dragon and its riders. The CMC?

"Twilight, are you really a Queen now?" Applebloom asked, and Twilight turned her head to see Applejack's little sister admiring her silver. Twilight sighed heavily, and her elongated horn began to glow as she unclasped all the jewelry and the cloak on her. She didn't even glance as a stone mannequin popped up from the ground, and wrapped it around the simulacrum.

"No, Applebloom." Twilight smiled softly at her, rubbing her head. Scootaloo was watching Rainbow Dash closely, noting the way she held herself. Originally Rainbow Dash held herself with a cocky sense of superiority, of power, like she knew she was the fastest, strongest pony around hands down, and few people could refute that. It was what made Scootaloo see inspiration in her. Now, the way Rainbow Dash held herself around Twilight, it was hard to describe. It was like how the guard did, all regal and with duty in mind, like she had a really important mission. All six of them did this, and they all watched Twilight, or the crowd.

"But all this stuff!" Sweetie Belle whispered, staring at the mannequin curiously. "It looks really royal."

"I can explain it!" Twilight insisted with a little smile, feeling incredibly nervous now. How would she explain this? She didn't even get this until later in the story, but Celestia was wise, and calm, and patient. Or she used to be, right now she looked like she was ready to chew somebody out.

"Twilight, my student." The Princess called, approaching slowly, flaked by - oh boy - her parents of all ponies. Yeah, this was going to be hard to explain sufficiently. "I don't know what happened in your time away. I don't know what you went through. But I would like to hear it. Now please." She kept her voice calm and level. Part of her wanted to be angry at Twilight, but she knew she had to keep calm. She had been kidnapped, there was a reasonable explanation for all of this, she knew, she just needed to hear Twilight tell her. Soon.

Twilight frowned softly and nodded. She could tell they weren't too happy. They knew something was wrong here, and frankly, all she wanted to do was just hug and cuddle everypony present and lay down for a while, but she knew her duty. She knew what she had to do. She took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. "Alright. You're alright Dash?"

Dash nodded quietly. "Let's go inside. We'll tell you there." The Dash's surrounded Twilight, and lead Twilight through the crowd of gathered ponies, towards the palace. Nopony argued, but starting with Celestia, followed by the parents and the friends, they followed Twilight and Dash inside. Applejack and Pinkie Pie left Hayseed to watch Laputa as they followed.

There was talk, of course, and more than once somepony tried to get close to Twilight, but with her "personal guard" so closely surrounding her it was hard. Not to mention the Dash's got edgy no matter who got close. She had the very air of royalty, especially being at the head of the group and surrounded.

As Twilight walked down the halls of Canterlot, she realized how incredibly tense she was. It had been days since she was somewhere familiar, comfortable, and safe. Walking down the halls, going in a direction she assuredly knew was the right way, in a place she knew like the bottom of her hoof. Staring around at the sun and moon motifs, the familiar carpeting and stone structure, the lovely decorations laying about…

Dash pressed herself to Twilight as she wavered, slowing for a moment, the whole crowd pausing to stare as Twilight shook a little in place. "You alright Twilight?" Dash whispered in worry, and Twilight sucked in a deep breath.

"We're safe. We're safe we're safe we're safe. We're okay. I'm just so tired…" She groaned, closing her eyes. She had been flying the castle for six hours, lifting the whole bulk for twenty minutes from the ocean floor, and since then had not gotten any sleep since she'd been in her cell. Every part of her began to ache as the adrenaline wore off.

"I'm tired too. C'mon, let's keep moving though. You can take an awesome nap once we tell them." Dash whispered, and Twilight nodded slowly. She opened her eyes, and slowly began to walk again, the Dash's now standing closer than ever to keep her steady. "That's a good girl Twilight. Just keep walking." Dash whispered soft encouragement the entire walk to the throne room.

Fluttershy watched all this with a concerned look. This wasn't right at all. Dash wasn't zipping everywhere, active and excited and proud and boastful. She was quiet, and was very gentle while handling Twilight. Dash would usually order her to just man up and bare it, but she wasn't, she helped her along the way. She turned her head to face Rarity with a tiny frown. "Something bad happened." She whispered.

"How can you tell it was bad?" Rarity whispered back, taking a closer look at the girls ahead of them. She could see they were tired and probably more comfortable than they have been in a while, but other than the general closeness the six Dash's - six Dash's! She still couldn't believe her eyes - there didn't seem to be anything wrong.

"Rainbow Dash is too quiet. So is Twilight. They're both thinking very hard about something." Fluttershy whispered. Celestia nodded beside her. She had to agree. Twilight normally did not waste time. She normally didn't let a little tiredness keep her down.

"Need some water Twilight? Any food? I can go get you a nice thick book if you like." Spike offered above the filly who he'd been with all his life, rubbing her ears softly.

"All those but the book. No books please. I am sick of books. Never wanna see a book again." Twilight murmured, making Spike's jaw drop.

"Okay, now you're just being difficult, egghead." Dash smirked beside her.

"Says you." Twilight snorted. "You plan to break every mirror in your house when you get home."

"I was tortured by mirrors." Dash pointed out, making everyone behind them nearly trip up.

"I was tortured by a library. I'll deal with books in the morning." Twilight sighed, stepped into the meeting hall. She sat down in the middle of the carpet, the Dash's doing the same as everyone took their places around the carpet again. Celestia watched Twilight as she walked past her and stood in front of her, her parents doing the same. None of them approached Twilight, not while the six Dash's sat around her, keeping her mostly from view.

Fluttershy and Rarity quietly approached the seven ponies in the middle of the room, and sat next to them cautiously. Green Dash turned and smiled at them quietly, but never broke formation, even as Applejack and Pinkie Pie sat next to them as well. Luna, free of her dragon-handling duties, came in last, and sat next to Celestia. "The first thing I'd like to do," Twilight said, her horn glowing softly as her voice filled the entire room easily, "is apologize for being informal. I am short of time, patience, and energy, so I'll try and remember all the details."

"And if anybody gets to rowdy, they're going to have to deal with me." Dash spoke up. "She's not kidding about the energy part, and if you make her repeat herself I'm kicking you out of here."

"And who," every head turned to face the white, blonde unicorn Prince Blueblood as he stared at her with half-lidded eyes, "are you to give us orders? We have all been waiting here very patiently for your arrival, and I think we have every right to know exactly what is happening, in detail. You, the purple one in the middle." He approached slowly, and the Dash's rose as one. "I demand to know exactly what makes you think you can show up li-" no more words.

Twilight's horn stopped glowing as she stared at him with a very flat glare that spoke volumes of impatience. The entire attending audiences' jaws dropped as they saw Prince Blueblood no longer had a mouth. "Annoyances aside, I'm ready to give my report." Twilight spoke low and unamused.

Dash's smile just grew as she sat back down, and looked back up to the Princess. "I-…" Celestia froze. Twilight must have been very short on nerves. Then again, Blueblood was a very difficult pony to put up with. "Go ahead. Nopony will speak up."

Twilight took a deep breath to collect her thoughts, and looked back up to the Princess. "It all comes back to the day my horn grew out. Alright, so after the lightning Pegasus attack…" She closed her eyes to keep her mind focused. "Rainbow Dash and I were captured by dragon-riding foreigners. They took us to some sort of old holy place I think, built before Equestria was modernized. They had us both tied down and suppressed us. They attached inhibitors to my horn to keep me from using magic, while Dash's wings…" She turned her head and stared sadly at Rainbow Dash's back.

There were a few quiet gasps from the crowd. They could see she'd been clipped. It was a cruel thing to do, everypony knew it. Clipping a Pegasus' wings, removing a Unicorn's ability to do magic, it wasn't so much a punishment as it was condemning them. Fluttershy squeezed her wings tightly around her while she stared at Dash's back and grit her teeth.

Anypony who knew Dash knew the implications. Dash had been cut from the skies. "I was interrogated, and I'd met one of the ponies in charge, a large earth pony named Rukafelth. He was solid white, had a black mane, and red eyes, and was taller than you, Princess Celestia. He was unusually soft once he realized I knew nothing about what he talked about. He asked about my magic, my power, how I came about it, and I knew nothing. When he realized that, I managed to get him to talk about his home. He came from a place far west, called Golding."

There was not a hint of recognition among the audience other than the Princesses, who quietly looked to each other, then back to Twilight. She kept her story going. She described their journey to Laputa, the enchanted door, the enchanted statue, traveling in the bubble going into the castle itself. She avoided mentioning Teller, much to Dash's relief as they spoke, and she finally reached the point where they met Tanat. "He was the only help we'd had since we'd been captured. He brought us back together and fed us, then told us the bulk of what is happening."

Twilight took a second deep breath, and looked up as she felt a hoof on her shoulder. The Dash's had shifted, and Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie had come in closer. They understood how tired she was. She breathed easier. "Princess Celestia, do you know the story of Terraria, Atmos, and Anemone?"

Celestia, for her part, managed to keep herself reserved. "The three Alicorn brothers who shaped the world, and dominated by their flaws, nearly destroyed it. I know the full story, father made sure we both knew what lead to Equestria's near destruction." She admitted with a soft look. The crowd was deathly silent, even Blueblood, despite his mouth being restored. "This Tanat fellow told you the story?"

"Yes Princess. I was wondering, if you don't mind me asking, why haven't I ever heard of this story? Or the three Alicorn brothers?" Twilight asked curiously.

Celestia gave a very apologetic smile as she answered, "There are still remnants of the story in modern times. Orion the mighty bow hunter, the Everfree Forest never healed from the massacre that Anathema wrought there, event the Wonderbolts were named after Atmos' most powerful military unit. I never had it written or recited in full for the simple reason that father wanted it to be a forgotten time. To him, all that mattered was a future of peace. We had taken a vow to not spread the tale because he was afraid of what less than virtuous ponies would do if they knew there was possibly still a remnant of their old power laying around. I don't think he trusted anypony in his final year of rule, he spent a majority of his time teaching me and Luna about Equestria and its ponies, as well as safe magic. With his help we set up a lot of barriers and inhibitors to keep terrible things from being done with magic by the unicorns, and then he left. He was more concerned with keeping Equestria as safe as possible than anything else. Before now, it never really mattered. Please continue, what does it have to do with your story?"

Twilight took a deep breath and glanced to one of the Dash's, who nodded quietly. "Tanat was a servant of Anemone, left behind to lead the right ponies to him. Dash and I were the right ponies as far as Anemone was concerned, and he's asked us to help him tie up some loose ends he left behind." She smiled very nervously as Celestia's passive look became very cold.

"What loose ends?" She asked, hiding her tenseness as much as she could. Twilight looked back to Dash, and they stared at each other for far too long as far as Celestia was concerned. Celestia was famed for her patience, her good sense of humor, and how easy-going she was. "Twilight Sparkle, what. Do. You. Mean?" Twilight practically withered under the accusation and anger in the Princesses' voice. Luna looked no better, not seeming to agree with Celestia's tone, but she did not argue or stand up to her. Twilight remembered the tense smile Luna gave her when she described Anemone. Did they not like their father?

"H-he wanted us to see Atmos and Terraria and make sure they haven't been relapsing, and to protect the leylines from being accessed by the ponies from Golding. He wanted us to refill the leylines first to activate the old magic to let us get to Atmos and Terraria. It was to also release some… Of… The old… Princess?"

Celestia had her eyes closed. Everypony watched as she paced back and forth at the top of the steps. She was breathing deeply, the torch flames surrounding the room rising and falling with each breath, reaching their climax when she finally stood still. Lune was gently stroking her older sister's mane, whispering soft words to calm her down. "Just had to pick her, didn't you father?" Celestia murmured, just barely loud enough for the room to hear.

"He saw the potential you did, sister." Luna whispered.

"Yes but he picked my student, Luna." Celestia turned to look to her sister, concern written across her face.

"You know better than anypony what she's capable of. You told me what she can do, she's strong, she's able."

"To talk to two former tyrants? To walk into dangerous foreign lands we know nothing about because of his mad mandates? To keep tabs on the sole power-source of the world and not get overwhelmed?"

"You think she can't do it?"

Celestia did not answer immediately. She sat down, tossed her mane out with a flick of her hair, and took another deep breath. "I don't want her getting hurt…"

"She's survived being captured and sent to face father already." Luna murmured, pressing her cheek to her sister's chest. The gesture of affection was not lost on the crowd as Luna comforted her older sister.

"There's going to be more beyond just that though. The things she'll see and experience…"

"Celestia. Just look into my eyes, please?" Luna begged, and Celestia did as she was asked, looking into Luna's eyes. "If we really are in trouble, then we wouldn't be able to protect her, and all of them all the time anyways. This is better for her, for them. They won't be forced to witness the war, they'll be finding a way to circumvent it."

"I don't know, Luna. I can't, in good faith, just let them go by themselves. There's only two of them…"

"Technically, there's seven of us." Dash spoke up, drawing their attention. Celestia sighed. She was sort of correct, she would have to ask about that later.

"Eight of us." Applejack nudged the nearest Dash.

"Nine." Pinkie Pie nodded.

"I believe you mean ten." Rarity interjected.

"Um, no, eleven." Fluttershy whispered softly.

The entire room watched the eleven ponies in the middle with surprise, and Twilight herself felt herself glancing all around at the faces of her friends. "Twelve." She heard from her back, and felt Spike squeeze rub her neck. It felt so good it hurt.

"I," Celestia finally spoke up, looking choked, "girls, I can't, I just can't, let you go. No, no no no that would be insane. No, Twilight has her magic, Rainbow Dash has those copies, but the rest of you-"

"Have each other. If I may say so myself, we've gotten through some very thick situations together. It's not about our individual strengths, every seam works together to keep the group strong after all." Rarity smiled softly, and turned to Twilight.

"Girls… I…" Twilight quieted down and lowered her head. Truly blessed.

"'Sides, you can't expect us ta just sit around while our friends go out and risk themselves. We've worried ourselves sick already when we first let them outta sight. We ain't just gonna let them go unsupervised."

"If we did, we'd just be the worstest, meanest friends ever! We got to go to help them and support them. They've suffered enough by themselves after all, we should be there to keep that from happening again."

"We can't let them go alone. If we did, some bad thing could, happen and then, well, we have to be there and, um, it's important we help them however we can."

Celestia lowered her eyes quietly to her gold-clasped hooves as Luna smiled reassuringly. "See? Twilight won't be alone, she'll have the support and talents of all her friends with her, and she is the element of friendship. With her best friends by her side, she won't need anything else."

Celestia looked up back, her lip trembling as she tried to come up with an argument to keep her student here, to keep her safe, but she knew whatever she said, nothing would stop Twilight. She turned her head to face the filly's parents, and saw their concern, but they did not step in. She never knew her parents to be indecisive. "Moon, Eclipse, what are you thinking?" Celestia asked them.

The two unicorns looked to each other, and then to Celestia. Solar Moon took a deep breath, and then she nodded to her husband as he spoke up. "Twilight." He calmly walked towards the middle of the room, and the girls split to let Twilight face her father and mother. "Twilight Sparkle, you know you're our little girl, and that will never change, right?"

"Y-yes dad." Twilight nodded as she felt him press his snout to her cheek for a small kiss.

"We love you more than anything. You are more valuable to us than any amount of gold in the world. We always knew you were destined to do something amazing, but this has gone beyond our expectations. Please please please keep in mind that you have two ponies who will be very sad if you don't return in one piece waiting at home for you." Celestia felt her legs tremble as Twilight pressed herself to both of her parents, and they shared a very deep breath as they gently snuggled.

Celestia turned to Dash's parents, which were now walking to the center of the room. Sunlight Dash and Cloudskate Dash quietly got their daughter's attention, and in a moment the clipped Pegasus flashed white, and stood before them with her multi-colored hair, looking tense, and worried. "Rainbow Dash…" Her father, Sunlight, quietly sat before her, his eyes worried, but stern, where as her mother was fretting with the girl's mane already. "You were the greatest thing to come into our life, and even if you have been distant, we've never stopped caring for you. Cloudskate, give your daughter some space, you're embarrassing her."

"Oh but honey I can't help it, she's going to be so far away doing such dangerous things." The woman whimpered, calmly brushing out her daughter's mane as she stood there, stock still.

"You… You guys don't mind?" Dash whispered, staring into her father's eyes for what felt like the first time since she told them she was going to Ponyville.

"We realized from the day you started to fly there'd be no chance we could ever cage you from anything. You're determined, stubborn, and kick and scream until you get the chance to be free. Not to mention you typically charge into whatever obstacle there is ahead of you without thinking, giving us little time to catch up. No, we knew letting you be would make you happy, and it has, but we also knew that you were smart and kind when you stopped and allowed yourself to be. We also knew that your sense of duty towards the people you care about are unstoppable. If we said no, you'd be gone in the hour. We won't keep you from protecting your friend."

"Just please," her mother whispered into her ear, "please please be safe, for us? For your friends? And please keep them safe, you've lost so much already to these ponies, I don't want you getting more hurt." Dash winced as she felt her mother nudge one of her tiny wings, and she sighed.

"I can't promise that I'll be safe." She gently turned her head, and slowly tugged out the magnificent officer's sword, and rested it gently in one hoof, "I gave my word to protect Twilight under any cost, because she's the key here to keeping the world safe. I won't go jumping into danger as an excuse to keep her safe, I promise I'll be smart about it."

Her father rested his hoof on the sword, and kissed his daughter on the nose. "That's my girl."

Celestia turned her head as she felt Luna gently touch her leg, and saw her sister's smile. "They have the support of their family, the support of their friends, the support of the entire country, and on top of that the blessings of three Alicorns. Celestia, sister, it's okay to worry, but they will be safe."

Celestia stood quietly for a moment, and the entire room turned to look at her. She opened her eyes to stare down at the six pony friends, and took a deep breath. "Rainbow Dash. Step forward." The entire room now looked to Rainbow Dash, as she meekly glanced around, then left her parent's embrace, and let them nudge her to the bottom of the steps. She flinched as she watched Celestia's massive wings spread, and hold themselves up. "You are going to help protect the world?"

"I'm going to protect Twilight. She is the one that will protect the world, I'm just there to keep her absolutely safe." Dash answered without hesitation, feeling her heart pound as she saw Celestia's eyes begin to glow white.

She spoke. Celestia's voice rose in a manner that even Twilight was unfamiliar with it, and it radiated power, strength, and trust. It was the sort of voice that would make a long time foe freeze in their attack. "Rainbow Dash," she began, and suddenly a flood of white light fell around the blue Pegasus, making her jump as power began to circulate around her, "for your service to the lands of Equestria, for your unheeding determination in the face of future danger, and for being a true friend in a time that desperately needs such a thing, I give you the blessings of the Alicorn of the Sun, the blessings of the land, of the wise, of the defenders and of the loyal." Luna took a step back as she realized what she was seeing, and the entire audience just stared in awe as the sunlight began to focus on Dash's heart, and Twilight could feel herself smiling. "I give you my blessings to help protect you and help you protect your allies. Take my blessings, as a gift, and go forward to protect Equestria, to protect the world, and to protect your friends. When times are dark and things seem bleak, always remember that the guiding light of the sun blazes brightest just beyond the darkest shadows, and that from its rays spring forth new life and new hope." She spoke.

In Dash's mind, all she could see was light. All around her, brightness. The world had no shadows through her eyes, just beautiful color. Under the loving power of her ruler she felt no regret, no doubt, and no fear. She felt the strength of her body surge as she turned to face Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy. There was no doubt in her mind: nothing would stop her from protecting the ponies who mattered most in life.

Twilight just watched in awe as Rainbow Dash shed golden light as the blessing ceremony ended, her white eyes slowly turning back to their normal Rose-colored eyes. The golden light was covering her whole bulk, except, she noticed, the tip of her wings. Dash quietly turned back to face Celestia, and merely nodded. Celestia nodded back, smiling only slightly. As Dash returned to her group, she was mobbed by her friends, excitedly whispering about having Celestia's blessing. Twilight knew that Celestia practically never offered her blessing except to those with the best ideals in mind, and the willingness to take themselves beyond the limit to defend everything they knew and love. Twilight glanced to Hero, who was watching Dash was approving eyes.

"Ahem." Celestia turned her head, as did everyone else as Luna approached. "I think it's my turn. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, please come forward." Dash stood to the side, the bright golden glow slowly dissipating as she sat next to Twilight and watched the four approach slowly. Pinkie Pie was the first to reach the foot of the stairs, Applejack coming a moment later, Rarity having trouble walking due to trembling so much, while Fluttershy had to force herself into the spotlight with her friends as Luna gazed down at them all.

The Princess took a deep breath, and smiled affectionately at each of them as she spread her purple wings and then let the breath out. The torch flames flickered out, leaving them all in total darkness, until the walls lines themselves with stars and planets, of floating gas clouds and entire galaxies, slowly spiraling around the only five ponies that were visible, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Princess Luna. "You'll have to forgive me if I do this wrong, I've never blessed anyone before. Alright, here it goes."

She sucked in a deep breath, and her eyes glowed a bright purple as she spoke with a voice as deep as Nightmare Moon's, but bathed with affection and adoration, "Pinkie Pie." She smiled to the pink mare. "Applejack." She looked to the farm pony, beaming. "Fluttershy." The shy pony sat a bit straighter when Luna's loving gaze fell over her. "And Rarity." The fashionista stopped shaking at Luna's smile. "You have chosen to defend your dear friends rather than protect your very lives. Your selflessness, your kindness, the joy you bring, and your honesty are all virtues you share among yourselves, despite who possesses what element. Your loyalty to your friendship is a truly beautiful, magical thing, especially since you wish to protect it more than anything. A dark night is a terrifying and lonely time, but when given small spots of light, hope can peak through. My little stars, it is not your given duty to give the lost and afraid hope and direction during the lonely night, but you have chosen to do so anyways. Please accept my blessings, which will forever let you act as beacons of hope, and let you guide the scared to safety. The night is a time of peaceful reflection, a prelude to the bright days ahead, but it in itself has spots of beauty and light all around it. In a dark time, you are the beauty and the hope people see to calm their fears."

The stars began to peel themselves off the walls, and the four girls gasped as spots of light, the light of the stars themselves began to coat their bodies and fill their limbs. Their eyes glowed soft white light as their coats turned a darker color, covered in bright white spots that moved across their bodies slowly. The entire crowd stared as the four ponies, now physical images of the sky turned to stare at each other, seeing their bodies covered in the beauty the night brought. As they turned to rejoin Dash and Twilight, Dash began to glow a golden light again, motes of sunlight sticking to her friends and adding new stars, while Twilight began to glow purple, the misty-aura attaching to her friends' bodies and giving them further definition and background on their star-speckled bodies.

The room began to fill with light again as the torches relit, and their auras began to disappear, leaving them looking perfectly normal, but anypony attentive enough would notice, and feel the energy they created just as they stood there. The six of them were smiling as they stood together, watching the Princesses.

"I understand there is still more to the story than just receiving orders from my father." Celestia sighed softly, staring at them. So young, yet already receiving the blessings of power. This world was losing the kindness and peace her father had tried to bring. "Let us speak of your gifts, and your mission."

"And always remember you have our blessings. All of ours." Luna whispered, the entire room bowing their heads in quiet respect.

Twilight spoke freely about what they had gained and what trials they, as well as Equestria should expect to face. But she did so without fear, without fatigue, and without worry of the future. Her friends would be there with her. Her sun to ward away the shadowy fears, and her stars to guide her.

Next Chapter: 15. Calm Before the Storm Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 42 Minutes
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