Chapter 16: Had it Not Gone Wrong

The golden aura surrounding princess Celestia's proud horn dispersed as the pale morning sun peeked over the crest of the distant mountains, plunging their vallies into thick shadow and flaring the streaky sky above with lashes of pink and amber. Birds awoke within the branches of the earthy-hued trees and began their song upon the chilly late Autumn breeze.

The younger princess' horn lost its own unique shine as her moon made night beneath the horizon. She closed her eyes and sighed happily as the surge of magic hushed to its resting pulse in her bones for yet another day.

"It's a nice morning." She softly spoke with an air of tranquillity.

The taller white mare reflected her sibling's dulcet tone as she replied. "Quiet..." She expanded with a somewhat empty demeanour.

Princess Luna replied with a sideways look, a fair and curios smile formed on her slightly parted lips. "Strange choice of words..." She said knowingly. Celestia didn't respond outside of a gradual nod as she exhaled. Knowing this look - among others far too well, Luna took on a more open persona. "What are you thinking about, Tia?"

The elder princess sighed before replying. "I'm worried about those ponies." She stated plainly, looking up to the quickly brightening sky. "They should have been back by now. I... I try not to, but can't help but think something's happened to them." She finished and focused her attention upon Luna with pleading eyes.

The dark-coated princess was dismayed by the uncommon look. If not for the fact that she herself had given the grim outcome some consideration, the somewhat fearful expression her older sister was wearing may have startled her speechless. Regardless, she shared reason with Celestia along with a comforted, easy smirk. "Sister," She began with humour, "First of all, we have no definite clue as to how long it will actually take to reach this planet: they could have only just arrived, for all we know."

Her smile and the assuring way in which she spoke was comforting - to both Celestia and herself. "Anyway, this is Cantor we're talking about: he's in charge - there's no way he'd let any harm come to the crew." Her smirk grew to an amused grin as she recalled a memory: one that was painful at the time, but ironically brought comfort presently. "Isn't this the same alicorn who tore the moon into pieces and then brought it crashing down to the ground - almost as if to prove a point?"

Princess Celestia chuckled delicately and turned back to the cheerful sunrise. "I understand what you're saying, Luna." She answered assuringly. "Nevertheless, I doubt it's in any way healthy to dwell on the subject of 'what if?' even for a little." Through the corner of her eye, the solar princess noticed her sister give an agreeable nod, and she took one last breath of the crisp, chilled air before retreating back inside from the balcony overlooking the dry lake that spanned before the castle's Eastern face.

Princess Luna followed suit, and strolled quickly behind her sister as she closed the tall doors behind her with a flourish of golden magic.

Twilight Sparkle yawned as she stepped out from the dry warmth of her library onto the hard dusty ground of the dim Ponyville streets. As she made her way into town, she relished in the silence the early morning brought. She allowed her eyes to muse over the pleasant surroundings early Ponyville presented, noting the odd leaf of the deepest crimson too stubborn to give in to the changing season. The sight re-affirmed her smile, but simultaneously reminded her that winter was mere weeks away, rousing a shiver through the unicorn's fur.

In little time, or what seemed as such aided greatly by the gorgeous as ever light of dawn bathing the town with a unique hue, Twilight reached the ring of thatched houses huddled around the clearing that was the town square: named oddly enough given the fact that it was quite clearly a circle...

She nodded acquainted greetings to the old stallion snuffing out the flames on the enchanted candles inside the rustic lanterns scattered about town. He returned a smile to the purple mare and went about his business with the oversized black thimble on the end of a long pole. The candles, although being fantastically and unnaturally bright within their glass cells as well as being able to ignite themselves whenever it grew dark, had this annoying tenancy to stay lit whilst in daylight. It wouldn't cultivate a problem if not for the endless amount of wax they somehow produced as they slowly burned - and so, somepony needed to rise early each morning to prevent the small town from being entombed by hard white jelly. On the brighter side, it at least gave whoever was desperate enough to take on the task a job...

Despite being wrapped in a woolly yellow sweater, the cold still managed to nip at Twilight's bones as she passed through the dormant town. Ponies either still in bed or recently woken were silent in their homes, and suiting her curious nature, the lavender unicorn nosed in through the parted curtains at the ponies eating breakfast or drinking a bowl of something steamy. A playful sense of envy stirred inside her, but remembering her large flask full of tea warming her right flank put a smile on her face, and she continued into town.

The heavy brass observation equipment seemed to have grown heavier as Twilight slid it from her back with a groan, allowing it to fall onto the ground whilst she caught her breath. She turned her head skyward to clear her airways, and was greeted with a spectrum of warming dawn colours: the wispy clouds streaking the sky boasted a gradient of rich peach and gold, and the blue sky above had yet to fully lighten from its night-time state.

"Gorgeous..." She said quietly to herself after a moment. With the clunk of her observatory gear and the thoughts of keeping the cold at bay, Twilight hadn't heard the other pony pulling a cart full of apples into town moments after.

The simple responding phrase, "Ah know, right?" From what was presumed to be no one caught Twilight very much off-guard, and despite the heavy form inside her, she still managed to jump and spin about quite rapidly.

Twilight gasped in surprise when she heard the reply to her brief statement, but relaxed quickly after when she discovered it was Applejack who had spoken. She smiled foolishly in light of her own fright and shook her head at the ground. She returned after a moment to the tan earth pony in front of her, who was wearing a bashful expression, as well as somewhat of an apology in her pea-green eyes.

"Ha, ha..." Applejack laughed nervously as the pony she had accidentally startled clutched the side of her swollen belly painfully. "Sorry 'bout that, Twi." She continued light-heartedly. "I figured you were talkin' to me."

"It's no problem, Applejack." Twilight responded with a happy smile. She hadn't spoken to, or even seen her orange friend for around two weeks following another bountiful (albeit late) apple harvest, and so the sight of her, despite the mild conflict, was very pleasant. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, thanks." The Stetson-sporting mare replied easily. "Yerself?" She added quickly.

Twilight responded with an eager nod. "I'm feeling fine." She said, happy as ever. "It's good to see you again. All of us haven't really seen you at all since you finished your harvest." The unicorn continued with concern. "Did something go wrong?"

Applejack flashed a painful expression before replying. "Just a tad..." She finally said with an air of defeat. Her eyes wandered absently for a moment, but promptly found their way back to Twilight. "That harsh storm a few weeks back - it absolutely destroyed one of our silos." Twilight raised her eyebrows in whatever apology and state of shock for her friend's sake she could convey. "Woke up the next mornin': bones aching from the stress o' tha harvest, opened the curtains to find thousands a' apples scattered across the whole farm."

"That's terrible." Twilight said apologetically, eyebrows raised in alarm.

Applejack just tilted her head in reason. "...Actually, it ain't so bad." She said before going on to explain, "Me an' Macintosh gathered 'em all up, washed 'em, then sorted the good ones from the bruised an' broken ones: gave those to Applebloom an' Granny to make into pies an' fritters." She resurrected a smile and laughed again. "Lemme tell ya', there was an awful lot: I'm sellin' a couple dozen today in town: 's why I got this here cart with me." She affirmed, tilting her head back to gesture at the large wooden cart piled high with quite literally a 'mountain' of apples. A selection of cold pies in shallow tins and apple-based pastries lined shelves along the cart's outer sides.

The Apple family's best mare caught Twilight eyeing the deserts filling the shelves and cast the unicorn a compassionate glance. "Y'all are free to take one if ya' fancy." She said kindly, stepping forward to give the pregnant mare a better selection.

Startled once again, Twilight fervently shook her head. "Oh, no," She denied, secretly hoping her orange friend would insist. "They look really nice, but I don't expect you to give one to me for free."

Applejack chuckled loudly enough to make a nearby curtain or two twitch. "Oh, Twilight, we got near on a hundred pies at home - and almost double that in pasties! I'm chargin' two bits a fritter, three a pie: that's nothin!" She cried gleefully - obviously focusing hard on the brighter side of having a collapsed apple silo on her hooves. "Please," The cheerful mare continued, beaming, "Honestly, Twi, we can't give these sweets away; and like I'm ever gonna charge mah best friend a pittance for somethin' I'm tryin' ta shift."

Applejack appeared to grow somewhat aggressive towards the end of her pseudo-speech, and was almost forcing a pie upon the unicorn: at some point having produced one of the baked apple goods from behind her, and was now brandishing it at Twilight forcefully.

Twilight still hesitated for a moment. Ignoring the fact that her mouth was drooling as her eyes locked onto the pastry lid baked a caramel gold in a hot oven hours ago, she failed to falter with her manners, and asked Applejack again, "A- are you sure? I mean it does look delicious ,but, I'm more than happy to pay."

"Nonsense." Applejack scolded, her tone harsh despite the casual smile. "Y'all can take one a' mah pies, on the house." She finished with a strong smile, and she shone with even greater delight as she felt what little weight the desert held leave her hoof in a shroud of silver magic.

"Thank you, Applejack." Twilight spoke politely, setting the free treat down beside her still collapsed equipment.

"Ain't nothin'" The earth pony replied triumphantly before turning her attention and nodding to the pile of cylindrical brass and glass lying on the floor behind her lavender friend. "I figured it might hold y' up while ya do... whatever it is you're doin' there."

Empathising with the farmer's stare towards her equipment, Twilight returned the gaze with a proud look of her own. "You wanna know what it does?" She asked hurriedly, the filly inside her growing excited over the prospect of technology and knowledge - amd moreso, teaching...

"Uh," Applejack started with a blank expression. "I'll try an' follow..." She said with a dry tone of humour.

Only sparing the blonde mare's comment a chuckle,Twilight began setting up her device as she explained...

...

The sun had risen by the time Twilight had finished explaining the contraption's function. Applejack dreaded to imagine how long the intellectual tour could have gone on for if Twilight had have elaborated on what she intended to do with the information it would give her. To be honest, the young farm girl was lost when Twilight mentioned something called 'gravity.' "Working on an apple farm," Twilight had said, "You of all ponies should understand how gravity works..." Applejack didn't understand the joke, and made a point of letting Twilight know that. However, the knowledgeable unicorn had explained something along the lines of how mapping the sun's path across the sky would help her to understand this 'gravity' better.

"...and so by measuring the change in the sun's path across the sky," Twilight elaborated, "I should be able to notice a change in how it moves at different times of the year." She reset the article that looked something like a telescope to its original position, pointing the thinner end towards the end of what appeared to be some kind of large, solid metal protractor made of the same dark gold brass as the telescope casing.

Twilight continued in a lower voice, looking about the town centre from the floor pillow she was perched on. Applejack noticed the shifty signs and leaned in closer to hear Twilight speak. "See, I've come up with this hypothesis that neither princess has as much control over the sun and moon as they'd like us to think..." Her rich purple eyes grew wide as she realised her thoughts sounded much worse when vocalised. "Of course, I've got no reason to doubt Luna or Celestia, o- or question their power, but I've just got this feeling that there are other forces at play."

Applejack stared blankly for a second or two, blinked once, then straightened up, feeling the harness dig into her back as she did so. "Well I understood most... ehh, some a' that, Twi." She stated with a meek smirk. Twilight simply stared back at her hopefully. "Anyway, the stuff I did get was real interestin', though: what yer doin' sounds pretty important." She cast a glance around, and noticed several ponies either exiting their houses or already traversing the streets. Taking this as her cue, the tan earth pony stretched where she stood, shaking at the knees slightly. A yawn escaped her lungs.

"Well," She started, looking from Twilight to her pitch site on the other side of the square. "It's been real nice speakin' to ya' again, Twilight."

Having drifted off slightly in the wake of her own excitement, Twilight snapped her attention to Applejack and nodded her head maniacally. "Oh, sure!" She relied with great enthusiasm.

Appplejack grinned eagerly and replied. "I'm gonna set up shop over there." She stated, nodding in the direction of her pitch: a small grassy flowerbed beside the town hall. The mayor would almost always buy something come lunchtime whenever Applejack was vending in town, and given today's deals, Applejack was confident she may help clear her hefty stock.

"Okay." Twilight chirped in response. "Thanks for the pie: it looks delicious." She said once again; no word of a lie.

Applejack shot the purple mare a wink. "Don't mention it." She said easily, sounding relaxed, despite the heavy load she was pulling. "Take it easy, okay?" She added with an air of closure, looking over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Hm, hm... Okay." Twilight called out with a chuckle. "I'll see you later."

Applejack sprouted a smile on her face as she departed. "Bye..." She mused as she strode out of earshot.

Twilight watched her friend walk away for a while, noticing how the mountain of apples atop her cart fumbled against each other as the wooden wheels bounced over the uneven ground, before staring to the clock tower rising up from behind the outer row of houses, noting the time: five past seven...

"Darn." Twilight cursed harshly under her breath as she took the reading from the numbers on the large brass protractor highlighted by the single point of intensely magnified sunlight. She would have to work out an estimate for the reading at seven o' clock - which shouldn't prove to be too difficult...

Telekinetically pouring herself a steaming drink from her flask, Twilight fought off the chill as she waited for the next ten-minute milestone.

She slowly sipped her tea, and sighed deeply as it nicely warmed her insides.

The sun was soon at its highest in the sky: it was noon, and Twilight Sparkle was already tired. It had warmed indefinitely from the early morning, however, the chill still lingered over the lavender unicorn like a dark cloud. Still, her experiment was going smoothly, and she was thrilled with that. She had prepared for a day of low temperatures and in cruel ironic contrast, sunburn, but while slathered in sun lotion and mildly chilly, overall, boredom was the bane of Twilight's sitution.

Many ponies stopped by that day, curious towards the large metal apparatus, and while she enjoyed the frequent acquaint company, Twilight felt it would be rude to ask for any one of them to fetch a book from her library (And privately, she convinced herself that no one but her close friends could be trusted with her work: a valuable cookbook may 'go missing', then suddenly reappear in the possession of a less culinary equipped mare, and there would be no way to prove it wasn't hers...)

"Any book would do." Twilight wound up thinking, her whole body heaving as she sighed deeply and checked off another reading at twenty past twelve. She had been occupying herself with thoughts, but not having spoken to anypony for at least half an hour now, the purple mare had taken to talking to herself - though still only quietly. "Even a dictionary..." She muttered, staring at the intense white dot moving achingly slowly across the brass notches of the protractor. "Maybe I could find a word to describe just how bored I am right now..."

She looked across the square to where Applejack had set up her stall. It was interesting to watch certain parts of the mare's wagon break apart and re-assemble into a makeshift vendor stand. It even produced a flag and everything...

Applejack was now, as expected, conversing with Mayor Mare on her lunch break. The elderly beige earth pony held an apple fritter in her right hoof, taking bites intermittently as she spoke. She looked to be having a good time speaking to the apple vendor, and had paid her double for what Twilight had thought she overheard as "A job well done."

Applejack had predicted her business correctly: a great many ponies had come throughout the day to sample her discounted treats, and she had sold out all of her pies in less than two hours. Several ponies left disappointed when a white sign declaring 'out of pies" Was nailed to the side of the cart. Regardless, a hefty line still stretched a long ways into the square: a line consisting of ponies who were loyal to the best apples, as far as they were concerned, in Equestria.

The waiting line had backed up a lot more than it should have while Applejack talked. Somepony may have cried out for more motion in the queue, but seeing as it was the mare who controlled their taxes, it seemed as though no one minded...

It was when the mayor let out a particularly rambunctious laugh that everything began to glow. Slowly at first, but after time, the air grew so bright, it became painful to look anywhere at all. Ponies quickly discovered the source of the light aided by the booming crackles it was also emitting.

Everypony in Applejack's queue turned their heads simultaneously skyward and squinted as the great distant ball of light hurtling high above the ground grew denser and brighter. Twilight followed their gaze and spied what appeared to be a tiny red comet. It was dashing across the sky like some kind of super-fast zeppelin. As she watched it fly by, she noticed how unnaturally quiet it was: there was a small, distant rumble, but there should have been much, much more, given its speed.

Already squinting like an old nag without her glasses, Twilight couldn't keep staring any longer. Despite her unique attraction to anything extraordinary, she found she had to screw her eyes shut and look away - and even then, the burned image of the bright object still pulsed in her eyes.

She tucked herself up and pressed her hooves firmly into her ears as the ground warped under her like a momentary earthquake, and the shock-wave tore through the town. It sounded as if an epic chemical explosion had been set off atop the fountain. Despite having her ears covered, Twilight's head still boomed with pain as the force and sheer volume of the shock blasted her.

She was knocked from the pillow, and had to outstretch her forelegs to steady herself. As she did, the sounds of shattered windows flowing in pieces from their frames and clinking against plant pots and cobblestone doorsteps prevailed over the slight ringing. The next thing Twilight was made aware of was the townsfolk: the ones who were not stumbling about in a daze were running to their homes screaming.

Twilight would have done the same, but for whatever reason, she knew exactly what had just happened. She grinned as she looked about the chaos. Applejack rushed through the frantic crowd of ponies towards her purple friend, confused as to why she was smiling.

"What happened, Twilight?" She gasped, heart racing, ears ringing. "What was that in the sky just then - and that noise?"

Twilight checked her brass equipment: it was skewed, offset, confused by the addition of a secondary light source as bright as the sun. It was tuned to follow the brightest point of the sky: the sun, as it passed over. And so right now, the device believed that it had set, and wouldn't be able to re-calibrate until next morning.

"Damnit, Cantor!" Twilight cursed gleefully, throwing a protection enchantment over the tool and leaving it in the centre of town, heading for her house. Applejack followed.

"Hey, Twilight?" She started, still baffled by the positive vibes radiating from the unicorn. "Mind lettin' us in on what's goin' on?" She asked, walking alongside her friend at a slow, pregnant pace.

"It's got to be Cantor, Applejack!" Twilight revealed with a happy sprite in her voice. "Think, he was supposed to be back sometime this week - and just look what's happened! A bright light falling from the sky heading in the direction of Canterlot - it must be him!" A strange setting for her excitement, she inwardly admitted, but she didn't care. Life had been different with the alicorn gone - not unhappy or boring (not out of the ordinary) in the least, but something was just 'missing', and now, it seemed, it had returned.

Applejack smiled and looked to the trail of smoke gradually dispersing into the air. She gave a thoughtful frown and turned back to Twilight. "So... what are ya' doin' now?" She asked, noticing they were heading for the library.

"I've got to get ready." She sang, opening the door to the gigantic tree with her magic as soon as soon as it came into sight. She galloped as best she could ahead, turning at the doorway to face Applejack once she was inside. "Applejack," She began, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Are you gonna come with me to go and see him?"

"Uhh..." The orange mare's eyes shifted to the ground for a moment before darting back up. "Ah, suppose so." She said happily, eliciting an even broader grin from Twilight. "I mean, Ah made a bundle on those apple pies, today." Her eyes shrunk as she remembered her unattended stall. "Oh, Crab apples." She spat, looking over her shoulder into town, but she couldn't see her cart. She turned back to Twilight and took a step back. "Okay, Twi, I'll come with ya', but Ah need ta' get to mah cart: got a lotta' money back there Ah don't want goin' missin'." She shot Twilight another grin of reassurance and took another step back.

"Oh, on your way," Twilight started, upholding her smile effortlessly. "Could you ask Pinkie to round up the rest of the gang?" She gave a light chuckle, "I'm sure everypony'll be happy to see him again."

Applejack turned her nose up slightly. "You sure it's right to go pullin' folks away from their business fer this?" She meant what she said, yet also had intentions of humour, but failed to pass it on particularly well.

Twilight's smile faltered, and she shifted her eyes absently. "Well, for this it is." She answered, prepared to blame her hormones if she became 'adamant.' "Come on... I mean, he'll be glad to see us: I'm sure he's missed us dreadfully over... how long has it been...?" She gazed upward for a moment, tracing the few clouds drifting in the pale blue sky above as she thought. When it came to her, Twilight raised her eyebrows and faced Applejack. "Nearly three months... Where does the time go...?"

Applejack shrugged in response.

"So will you do it?" Twilight reinstated, re-affirming the orange mare's attention. "Can you ask Pinkie to tell everypony to meet up here in half an hour?"

"Half an hour?" Applejack asked as a concerned frown wrinkled her forehead.

Twilight laughed once again. "It'd be Pinkie rounding the others up: she'd find a way..."

The tan earth pony gave an amused snort in response. "Okay, Ah'll ask her, but I wouldn't be surprised if she jus' wants ta stay here an' put together some kinda' party to welcome him back."

"She'll probably just do that anyway." Twilight replied with a chuckle.

Applejack groaned a parting sigh. "Alright, sugarcube." She said slightly dourly. "Don't git too worked up, okay? Ah know it's excitin' for ya an' all, but ya'll gotta be careful with that baby inside o' ya."

Twilight's expression flashed quickly with fear, reason, and responsibility all at once. But she rapidly composed herself and returned Applejack's concerned look with an agreeable nod. "Yes." She said with definition. "You're right..." She almost appeared ashamed of herself after speaking: Cantor had pushed healthy eating onto her ever since finding out about the coming foal. Twilight understood the importance of what he was saying, but having been entrusted with her own responsibilities, chocolate, ice cream, and an odd craving for black roses had made an all-too comfortable home in her diet.

Twilight shook the guilty thoughts from her head and gave a final nod of agreement with her strong, Stetson-sporting friend. "You're right." She said again before starting anew on another level of glee. "So, go and tell everyone: let them know that Cantor's come home!"

A minute or so beforehoof...

The sound of cutlery idled about the otherwise silent dining room; carrying its self-produced air of unrest. It would be considered a disaster in any circumstance if this kind of silence had been kept up for as long as it had been at any type of royal banquet event - and both of the princesses present were thankful for the smaller, more private dining room as opposed to the Great Hall where this silence would have been overwhelming. Regardless, the pairs of guards stood at the doors either end of the moderately sized room and both of the caterers standing ready by the kitchen shifted their eyes about each other nervously: obviously, there was something plaguing their rulers' minds. Even the mutual discomfort between the Lunar and Solar guards was overshadowed by the profoundly tense atmosphere.

Princess Luna, herself feeling the unease, looked up from her fresh leafy brunch and smiled at Celestia. "Stop troubling yourself, sister." She suggested with a calm tone. "Just what are you fearful of? Do you doubt our little alicorn?" She added with a smirk.

The white mare sat at the opposite end of the table stopped eating and stared at her own salad for a short while before peering up to look at her sister. As silence flooded the room, her keen ears noticed frantic hoofsteps scrambling somewhere downstairs. "You should know I dislike to put the best-case scenario first, Luna." She replied, not without a small echo of hostility. "If, and hopefully when our ponies return, then superb..." She cast her eyes to her small plate of food and sighed heavily. "...However if by the end of Winter, they have not returned..." She sighed once more as her words seemed to simply fall from her mouth. "Then it will... be less of a shock to the system if I were expecting it..."

Princess Celestia became lost in her thoughts for a moment: she became aware she was trying to convince herself yet again, that the worst possible outcome had occurred. And at this instance questioned how many more calamities her mind could endure.

Luna merely looked upon her sister for a while, trying to make sense of how she was feeling. "But, sister, surely you should allow yourself some sense of fa-"

Furthermore..." The solar mare continued forcibly, backing Luna away from a front she was never intending to make. the silence which followed thickened the air enough to slice and serve for lunch. "Whatever happens is out of our control..." She continued with desperate eyes, fearing for her younger sibling's sanity should something as terrible as losing a close friend become a reality: she, herself knew the sting all too well. Celestia's hard stare quickly softened as the sound of an approaching gallop behind her grew more pronounced.

Princess Celestia gazed with intensity, yet with no sense of anger. "Please don't go wising upon stars, Luna..." She spoke softly as the hoofteps entered the corridor behind her and drew closer. "It is a futile endeavour: surely you should know this better than anypony..."

The night-time princess' mouth was partly open in shock at her sister's words; and moreso the tone with which she voiced them, however, her attention was quickly drawn to the gold-clad unicorn stallion who drew himself up to Celestia's side.

"Your majesty..." He spoke softly, a concoction of secrecy and tremendous fear running through his words.

Celestia failed to acknowledge the pale mauve unicorn's presence apart from swivelling her ear towards his face. After a tense pause, he began a profound whisper that rivalled the already unsettling silence present in the room. Even princess Luna could not hear any words coming from the stallion's lips.

All of a sudden, princess Celestia's Eyes widened, and her expression as a whole seemed to lift. She turned to the unicorn messenger with a reserved smile and asked, "Are you certain?"

The mauve stallion nodded falteringly before begging the princess' attention with his stare. He cast a shady look about the room; scanning everywhere apart from the opposite princess' curious and serious teal eyes before whispering silently to Celestia once more.

The white alicorn's face faltered a little, and Luna could tell as plain as day the slither of worry dash through her sister's eyes. Regardless, princess Celestia, over the many, many years, had become rather adept at hiding her emotions - at least when the instance called for a certain degree of composure in her subjects.

"What in the world do you mean, 'it's different'?" Questioned Celestia with a demanding brow.

The guard appeared to recoil - though only slightly, before he replied.

As his lips poured words into Celestia's, and only Celestia's ear, the white ruler's expression grew darker and darker until it was reminiscent of how she appeared at the start of the meal. She stared off into an endless distance, lips slightly parted as she let the words sink in.

The guard finished and took a step back, affirming himself by clasping his pairs of hooves together and standing to attention, quietly declaring, "That is all, your majesty." before receding into a much needed rest: his chest still rising and falling quite rapidly following his hasty ascent to the princess' side.

Princess Celestia produced a laboured sigh before her face fell into an odd state of rest for the longest while. Conflicting thoughts and emotions raced back and forth as she continued to gaze into the abyss stretching out from her subconscious. It was only when her sister meekly called her name, that Celestia seemed to awaken from this intensely personal venture.

She looked up. Her expression was less than stern, yet far from what could be noted as 'placid.' "Luna," She began curtly, stepping out from behind her end of the table, "When you are finished, I would appreciate your company in my room as quickly as possible: I have been told about something I feel should be kept..." She halted on her way to the large doors leading into the hallway and peered over her shoulder. "...Quiet." She added with an unspoken, yet unmistakeable sense of warning. She turned away from the other ponies as her horn began to gently glow. "At least until I am certain of the situation." She affirmed with an air of business before vanishing into a parade of rich golden sparks.

Princess Luna hurriedly followed suit, setting her fork down delicately on the glossy white plate and rising from her seat. Despite her sister's apparent urgency, the princess of the night took the minute time to thank the ponies scattered about the room for the meal, before dismissing herself within her own unique magical cascade.

Princess Luna fizzled into existence within her sister's bedroom, oddly, she thought, before the white mare herself. She began to search for Celestia, however she could somehow tell she was alone in this room.

She took a moment to collect herself: having not teleported - even this short distance in some time. Both she and her sister had been raised with the idea that teleportation was an uncouth activity, and in a word unuttered by upper-class living, 'lazy' way of getting around. It had become apparent that this was no longer the case - or at least, not looked down on so much. Even now, after almost six years since her redemption, the princess of the night was still finding everyday things she needed to adjust to.

Regardless, the thousand-year exile was behind her, and she hoped to keep the memory which didn't particularly hold a clear beginning any more in the farthest reached of her mind.

She crossed the room to the embellished balcony, the doors to which already open, and peered out over the land. It was, as planned, a very cheerful, albeit chilly day: the sun was high and washing the deep vallies splaying out beneath the castle in a bright, seamless shine. Clouds were frozen in the air, casting the land beneath into permanent shade until a pegasi would move it.

Princess Luna smiled and shifted her gaze skyward, and that's when she noticed the small dark object in the distance. Straining her eyes, the purple-blue alicorn tried to focus on the shape, and it didn't take her a while to work out that it was headed in her direction, and at tremendous speed.

She gasped in a dual combination of shock towards the mysterious object and the discovery that her sister was standing beside her.

"Celestia!" Luna exclaimed, stepping closer to her sister. "Wh- what is that!?" She asked in a breath growing with panic.

Princess Celestia stared past Luna towards the speeding object. She was silent for a short moment, contemplating all the things it can possibly be, an most of the ideas running through her head weren't positive...

"I am unsure, Luna." Celestia answered, her voice, usually steadfast and unyielding was fraught with a foreign tone of dismay. "But regardless, I don't intend for it to collide with the castle if I can help it."

Celestia passed Luna and stepped out onto the balcony, the intense sunlight directly above casting strong shadows between the feathers on her outstretched wings. She focused on the object and cast out her magical lasso, hooves planted as firmly as she could upon the balcony's marble floor.

She caught the shape, and excessively underestimating its speed, was torn from the spot. Her chest struck the stone rail, and she could feel herself being crushed against it. She let out a sharp cry, but quickly rivalled the wicked object's energy.

Princess Luna cried out in cannon with her sister, and rushed to her aid. Yet before she could approach close enough to touch her, Celestia was already standing strong once again.

Unable to particularly slow the strange item's incredible velocity, Princess Celestia found she could at least turn it towards the desert region North of the outskirts of Canterlot. The object followed a great arc as it careered across the sky. It passed the castle and screamed out of sight. Following one last push to slow it down, Celestia let go of it and threw up a shield around the entire castle as a great shock wave bounced off the protective bubble with little more than a muffled thunderclap.

Princess Celestia stood rigid for a second, affirming that nothing was too amiss before rising from a stance she didn't realise she had fallen into. She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled as her protective shield melted into the November air. Remnants of the sonic boom were still echoing about the vallies between the snow-capped mountains, of which many now presented avalanches pouring down their rocky faces like powdery white waterfalls.

After releasing her breath, Celestia turned about to face a stunned and confused princess Luna. "Come, sister." The white mare spoke with an air of discipline. "...This may require the both of us."

She went to take point, but Luna stopped her with a hoof. Somewhat dismayed in an unexpected tense, princess Celestia peered down and looked at Luna with a questioning face.

"Would you please tell me what just happened?" She asked, her voice quaking mildly.

Celestia sighed. She didn't know why she was feeling this apprehension to speak to her sister - tell her what was going on, however it had proved useful in the past to keep some things to herself. Regardless, she acknowledged her sibling had reason to know. "I was informed that the object you just saw was not of Equestrian origin." She explained dourly. "I was unwilling to believe it, but it would be unwise to ignore it as just any other meteorite. However, I realise now that this object is most certainly not of this world."

Luna furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?" She asked as her own mind constructed an assumption. "Hey," She began with growing excitement, "Hey, could it be Cantor and the others!?" She asked with glee, her own doubts about their survival suddenly more distant.

Celestia failed to match her sister's cheery smile, and her stringent expression raised new concerns in Luna's mind.

"Perhaps you misheard, sister." Celestia spoke, her voice tattered by a fear only Luna could detect. "This thing is not from this world..." Princess Luna's ears dropped as she realised the weight of her sister's words. "Whatever it was, it is not Equine... But what scares me-" She stopped and forged a confide through uncomfortable eye contact with Luna for a moment, realising and re-wording her mistake. "What gives me cause for concern, is that it is most definitely mechanical, and I realised when my magic touched it, that there is something alive inside of it."

Several chariots pulled through the air by armoured pegasi carried the princesses and a number of squads of Celestia's best towards the trench of upturned dirt. The roof covering the royal carriage protected the royal mares from the high-speed winds barrelling about this barren span of land unaided by the pegasi's powerful wings.

Celestia wore a solemn face. One of complexity: an unnatural fear covered up by concern and forcefulness. She hadn't spoken much besides arranging the ride, and her sister perched on the seat beside could feel the tension and subtle panic radiating from her.

In a time not too long after they had set off, the crater from the object came into view. It had carved an immense trench in the ground, unearthing large rocks and hurling them miles away. The surrounding dust had been scorched black, and the upturned lips of the elliptical crater were smouldering in the cold air.

Celestia's convoy touched down, and the soldiers all exited their transports in a manner religiously practised to form a protective wall around the pair of alicorns exiting their own carriage

Smoke poured from the depths of the cavernous hole, the dust and sand crawling from the lip of the crater having been forged into odd lumps of glass beneath the heat. It did not venture far into the earth, yet there was enough of an overhang to cast an ominous shadow across the surface of the crashed article.

The princesses approached, Luna appearing apprehensive towards knowing what was inside, Celestia, on the other hoof... wasn't... As they grew nearer, and the soldiers maintained their defensive formation, it became clear that the thing that had crashed was indeed a craft from the stars - and was most certainly different from the one that had left Equestria months ago.

Despite warnings from the soldiers swarming her like bees protecting their queen, princess Celestia rose a silencing hoof, pausing for a second to enforce her steadiness, before proceeding into the crater. Luna didn't hesitate to follow, but in her mind, she was well aware her legs were carrying her somewhere she didn't want to be. As this thought crossed her mind, she was certain her sister was aware of this obedient fear as well.

The couple of princesses perched on the rim of the steadily declining trench. Celestia held her head high, unbeknownst only to her, to try and assure herself of her empowerment.

She went to take a step forward, but a harsh hiss whisked through the smoke-blackened air before she could progress.

The white mare flinched at the sound, and she gasped in a breath. The scene grew silent spare for the impossibly quiet sizzling of the metal in the cool, moist ground.

As a moment managed to span a millennium, a new sound offered itself: the uncanny droll of tortured, clunking metal. It sounded as though a door was being forced through a keyhole, and the onlooking ponies only had just long enough to affirm this sound with themselves before something dropped from the craft. Once again, the new sound triggered a flinch - though this time, it afflicted everypony there.

The soldiers surrounding Celestia and Luna - all of them, aimed their weapons towards the hunk of smouldering metal lying at the foot of the crater, covering the charred ground with a shade of a dozen red lights. The view inside the machine was darker still: nothing visible along the surface of, nor the interior of the craft...

...All except for two amber eyes, glowing under their own heat as they stared out.

Celestia renewed her tight breath and took a step back. These were Cantor's eyes. No doubt could be made about it. The pony they belonged to could not be seen, yet it was obvious, deep within those complex eyes, something was smiling back with a grim motivation.

What Celestia took as most frighting, however, was the fact that the astronautic alicorn was not staring at her, but instead was deathly focused on her sister.

Undoubtedly, there was something wrong - in Celestia's experience, eyes like those held a gaze into the deepest realms of fear. What she saw within the doorway of this new craft, was pure, unrelenting terror.

Before she could usher her sister behind her, however, a cruel, bemused chuckle rose from the crater.

Celestia forced herself to watch as the broken form of Cantor emerged from the craft. Her eyes grew wide with disgust and peril as she took in his afflictions. He stood crooked, coat drenched almost entirely with blood. Ribs could be seen sickeningly clearly beneath his scuffed fur. His mane was matted with thick clumps of coagulated life fluid, and broad strands of mane and tail clung to his reddened body. His horn was smashed halfway up; a long crack fingering down the front side of his magical appendage before disappearing into his ruined hair. His left wing was a much deeper red - almost black in colour, and was hanging limply by his side, the tips of the feathers barely gracing the ground as he stepped into the light of the winter sun.

Truly, it looked as though he had been dragged through hell and back.

Despite their discipline, all the soldiers were murmuring loudly amongst themselves: their reactions ranging from disgusted cries to accusing threats. Deaf, however, was Celestia to all of them.

Taking in both princesses', then everypony else's aghast features, Cantor's morbid laugh faded to a wicked smile as he brought himself to a halt a distance along the crater's incline.

He took a long moment to make, if there were ever a greater understatement, 'uncomfortable' eye-contact with everyone watching, one by one, each fell into an expectant hush. And when he had finished, he finally focused on the tall white alicorn in front of him, his evil smile sinking into a cocky grin of satire.

"What's the matter?" He asked with his shredded voice. "...You guys expecting someone else?"

He attempted another step, but collapsed under his own weight and fell to the dusty ground after his consciousness deserted him.

He was immediately rushed to the castle under the strictest supervision of Celestia. She took the time within the chariot to assemble herself, as well as write a letter to a certain student.

Twilight had made herself up. Not to the extent another would expect: she knew Cantor wasn't a fan of the over-dressed mare... Keeping this in mind, she did a very good job of making herself look elegant, despite the weight of pregnancy beneath her. She wore a very pale lipstick and introduced a plain silver necklace to her image. She noted herself with a smile in the mirror set into the table against the wall past the foot of her bed before making her way down the stairs. Taking her time to be cautious despite their steady decline.

As she touched down to the bottom floor, she cast a glance to the decorative cuckoo clock high up on the wall. It had a small, intricate display, but with accustomed eyes, the lavender unicorn could tell it was around half twelve; and almost time to go.

She then clocked the adolescent dragon sorting through books on the top shelf. Despite being nearly as large as a pony now, he still had to perch on the tips of his claws to reach mid-way up the shelves. Twilight chuckled at the sight, stopping and turning to face Spike as she pulled a woollen bobble hat over her head. The dragon reacted to the sound and spun around quickly in a flurry of obedience, knocking several books from the shelf he was working on to the floor with a hardback drum roll.

"Hey, Twilight." Spike greeted in his ever-deepening voice. He looked to his claws, where he was firmly grasping a red-covered volume entitled, 'Mamba Brew: What to Do When They Poison You.' He gave a cornered laugh and set the book gently down on the library counter before snaking over the wooden desk to sit himself closer to the purple mare. "What's up?" He asked with a smile of many predatory teeth.

"Cantor's come back today: remember that explosion a little while ago?" She asked, watching her assistant nod slowly before continuing. "Well," She said with an infatuated smile, her eyes rolling knowingly. "That was him coming back home - you know how he likes to make an entrance." Her grin widened as she chuckled.

Spike turned his eyes to the floor thoughtfully before returning his stare at Twilight. "How do you know it's him?" The dragon asked without commitment. "Why couldn't it have been like... some kinda meteorite?"

Twilight returned the question with a relaxed an dismissive shake of her head. "I just know, Spike." She replied with spiritual-grade certainty. "I can't really explain it, but... Something is telling me it's Cantor."

"But-" Spike returned, any sense of debate absent in his tone, yet he couldn't particularly believe it, himself.

"Spike," Twilight insisted gently. "I just know..." She added with a wavering certainty.

Spike looked to the unicorn questioningly, but ultimately, his accusations promptly dissolved. "Okay, Twilight, if you say so..." He replied with trusting compliance. "I know you've got that 'intuition' thing of yours that-" His eyes widened slightly as a familiar stirring made its way through his body. He caught the rising heat in his throat and exhaled a thick plume of glowing green flame through his nostrils, which lingered and swirled in the air before a royally sealed scroll manifested itself from the embers.

Twilight took the letter from the air as Spike coughed lightly and blew a thin puff of luminous smoke from the corner of his mouth.

"My dearest student, Twilight Sparkle," The scroll read once the mare it was directed at had removed the seal and unfurled it.

"A letter from the princess?" Twilight asked with intrigue, looking to Spike, who promptly shrugged.

She returned her eyes to the letter and quietly spoke the words as she read...

"As I am sure you are aware, a short time ago, your local area - including Canterlot, Cloudsdale and a small number of surrounding settlements, experienced what may have been interpreted as 'an explosion.' This, however, is not the case. In fact, as I'm certain a bright pony such as yourself may have reasoned given this particular time, it was Cantor returning following his voyage into extra-terrestrial colonies."

Twilight grinned widely with glee as she read the message. Having been stood for some time, however, she made her way to the same cream couch she had possessed for years.

Her pleased excitement fell, however, like an over-strained elastic band as she scanned the following words.

"Unfortunately, something appears to have gone wrong.

Now, so as to not panic you, allow me to confirm that your partner is 'alive' - if, indeed he has challenged my concept of 'living...'"

Twilight was frozen for a moment. A dramatic, "Oh, no..." passed her lips as she stared at the paper.

Spike heard her alarm, and proceeded to ask what the matter was, yet Twilight's focus was fixed on the parchment.

"Now, this calamity had presented me with a great deal of issues to comb through, so I shall need to keep this message brief. Regardless, as I'm sure you're quite adamant to see him again, the castle doors are open to you. And not that I would expect them to rush as much as, with respect, you may do, the five others from your group are more than welcome, too.

Regrettably the bearer of bad news,
Princess Celestia."

Twilight's eyes lifted slowly from the paper, anchored thoughts scraping through her mind as she pondered intently what the princess could have meant by her 'terms.' She focused on her mind's horizon as those thoughts manifested into a dozen horrid scenarios.

After a moment, she shook them from her head, and re-affirmed her place in the library. She noticed that Spike was staring, from across the room at her. Eyes filled with justified concern.

There was a minute's silence, yet when the adolescent dragon began to speak, Twilight found she already knew the question, and gave an expected answer.

"I'm fine, Spike." She calmly spoke - her giddy joy very much diffused and now replaced with a chiselled, but still somewhat comforting understanding.

Apprehensive as he continued, Spike gingerly went on to ask, "...And... what about-"

"Cantor's fine, too." Twilight replied, only deciding she'd mis-spoken after she'd said. "Oh. I mean... Apparently he's not 'fine', but the princess did say he was alive - although I'm not sure what to expect with the way she put it." She seemed disgruntled: her previous elation having faded once the situation had been put into perspective. All of a sudden, Twilight felt foolish for believing that anything Cantor might be involved in would go anywhere close to 'problem-free...'

Spike was aware of the uncomfortable atmosphere lingering in the room. It wasn't, in a word, 'tense', but it was definitely a feeling very similar.

"So, a- are you still gonna see him?" The dragon proposed delicately; in a world populated almost entirely by females, he knew how temperamental they could become with regards to their emotions. In his life, he had discovered that in situations like this, it was better to be the 'go-between' - a sponge to their problems. Not necessarily to be ignorant towards them, but merely a living thing for them to vent into with the knowledge that what they say is at least being heard.

"Obviously!" Twilight adamantly replied, vexed; and unsure as to who to take out her perplexion on. "If anything, Spike, this letter has made me more inclined to go and see if Cantor is okay." She dropped her eyes thoughtfully, her thoughts being fuelled by simple concern more than pity or fear. "It's such a shame this whole thing didn't go to plan - especially with how much effort it cost to build that spaceship. But at least now I have a much better idea of what to expect."

And with that, there was a heavy knock at the library door. Not unsettled by being above the little invasion in the silence, Twilight calmly made her way closer to the Library's entrance, her intense thoughts broad on her expression.

Before the purple mare thought to wrap it in magic, the top section of the faded red door burst open, and the smiling image of Pinkie Pie peered into the softly-lit house.

The pink mare's grin widened as she introduced herself. "Somepony tells me an old friend is back in town." She called with bottled excitement.

"Oh." Twilight replied, startled. She made a point of covering her mental burden, forcing a convincing smile before the rest of the girls let themselves into the library. "Hi, everypony." She sad nonchalantly.

"So is it true?" Pinkie insisted, an equally exited-looking Rainbow Dash tailing her; hovering slightly off the ground with gentle wing-beats.

Twilight appeared slightly dumbfounded. "H- huh?" She asked - and not with entirely false fluster: she was already mentally stockpiling excuses to avoid revealing the fact that Cantor was apparently in a bad way. "Is what true?" She added, thinking as though this would help the situation in some way.

"Come off it!" Rainbow scolded with a pumped smirk. "Don't tell me out of everypony, you don't know about the astronaut ponies returning."

"Well it is just a rumour, Rainbow Dash." Rarity interjected, sounding as though she was 'above' such endeavours herself. "After all, there's nothing to say that the thing falling from the sky wasn't some sort of 'meteor.'"

Twilight opened her mouth, but paused as the need for correction overtook her. "...Actually, Rarity, when a rock falls from the sky to Equetria, it then becomes a 'meteorite.'" All the ponies took a moment to cast a detached look toward the insistent unicorn. Even Pinkie shared a similarly quizzical expression. Twilight blushed and put her ears back. 'Sorry..."

"A- anyway..." Applejack began, steering the conversation back on topic. "It's true: ya' can't say fer sure that that thing we saw earlier weren't just some rock fallin' from the stars." For whatever reason, she seemed a little agitated. She even allowed a heavy sigh through her lips. "Regardless, that rumour's been spreadin' through the town like a brush fire: ever'pony an' their ma's are talkin' about it." She rolled her shamrock eyes and rested them on the beaming pink mare. "It doesn't help that this one can spread gossip faster n' a Hog Wasp can spread measles. On our way here, she was bouncin' up an' down, callin' out to ever'pony that 'the adventure team is back!'"

"Oh, right! I almost forgot!" Gasped a wide-eyed Pinkie Pie before she started bouncing on the spot, eyes fastened with glee.

The tan earth pony huffed an amused sigh and turned back to Twilight. "Ma' point is, I don't think its good fer ever'pony to git all riled up over just a rumour. Especially you." She added, raising her foreleg in Twilight's vague direction.

"Actually, Applejack," Twilight began, sounding self-assured as she floated the rolled letter beside herself. "This is from the princess: I received it just now, before you arrived, and she tells me that Cantor is-" She paused for a brief moment, exploring her choice of words. "...home."

She levitated the scroll away upstairs and stashed it into a cabinet drawer as Spike, who had been watching from beside the reception desk, strolled into the conversation.

"Hey, guys." He said a tad gingerly: the pony he could call closest to family obviously experiencing some strain of dismay.

A mumbling of greetings followed his words as the mares adjusted their formation around Twilight.

"And?" Fluttershy started meekly, herself quite sure Twilight was thinking about something sour. "How are they - Cantor and the rest of the ponies who left?"

"Uhh, fine." Twilight stated, fiddling with the plaited wool falling from the sides of her hat. "She didn't really go into much detail: she was probably just letting me know." She was distracted by the chiming of the clock as it proclaimed half an hour had passed noon. As the chimes' echo dispersed through the quiet library, Twilight felt she should continue. "She said you're all welcome to go and see him."

Already suspicious of the unicorn's change of traits, Applejack was quick to respond. "Why'd you say it like that, Twi?" She asked with mock ignorance. "That makes it sound as though you don't want to see him with us."

Twilight's brow tensed ever so slightly as she realised her earthbound friend was trying to subliminally interrogate her. "That's not it." She replied as plainly as possible. "I just thought that it might be a good Idea to let them get on for a couple of days." She smiled as she poured more faith into her story. "They've probably got reporters to speak to, Celestia might want to host some kind of exclusive party for them - you know, they've got their hooves full."

At the word 'party', Pinkie's ears pricked up. She didn't say anything, but stopped her bouncing to listen more carefully now her interest had been roused.

Twilight gave a laboured sigh and sat on her haunches. "There's no doubt Cantor'd be happy to see us soon after he's got back from being away for so long, but I just think we'd get in the way with all that's probably going on."

Applejack narrowed her stare toward the purple unicorn. "That doesn't sound like you." She stated accusingly.

Twilight pouted slightly as she shook her head dismissively and silently shrugged in response.

The suspicious earth pony greeted her reply with a reluctant breath. She hated forcing the truth from Twilight, but hated the fact that her friend was being dishonest even more. "...You're lyin'."

There was a succession of mildly shocked gasps grumbling around the other ponies in response to Applejack.

Twilight, though shaken, stuck with her ignorance. "What do you mean?" She asked calmly.

"I know there's somethin' you're not tellin' us." The orange mare continued, scuffing her hoof with agitation.

Rarity stepped up beside her riled friend and spoke with a voice radiating an attempt for peace. "Applejack," She pseudo-scolded, "Don't stress the poor girl out."

Applejack, influenced by Rarity's calm, turned to the other unicorn with compelling eyes. "I ain't tryin' ta'-"

"Honestly, Applejack," Twilight continued, the white mare's influence leading her to assume she had 'won', "I'm serious: that's what I think. I'm telling the truth."

Suddenly, Applejack clopped her hoof down firmly onto the oak floor - not hard enough to alarm, but with sufficient force to call everypony to bristled attention.

"Gosh darn it, Twilight!" The tan mare proclaimed, her voice raised to not quite a shout. The unicorn in direction appeared to flinch a little. "I never like ta' pull this card, but you're talkin' ta' the Element a' Honesty; and I can see a lie a mile off." An ashamed look waved across Twilight's face; she pulled her ears back and turned away slightly. She didn't feel as though her Apple family friend was grilling her to any extent, yet she still felt embarrassed for trying to mislead her friends.

"An' if there's one thing I hate more than lies," Applejack continued, "It's false hope - which is what you're tryin' ta' pull on all a' us..." She stepped closer before kneeling down before the lavender mare. "Look, Twi," She began softly, "I don't know why ya'll think not tellin' us is gonna make anythin' better: whatever it is that's amiss, I'm sure it'l be easier ta' cope with together."

Twilight sighed, defeated as Rainbow Dash interjected. "She's right, you know."

Twilight nodded and rose to her hooves, though soon began making her way over to her old cream sofa. "I know." She replied, her voice hollow. "It's just the princess' letter made it sound really terrible."

"B... but you were telling the truth about the ponies from the ship?" Fluttershy asked apprehensively. "They're all still alive, right?"

"The letter only mentioned Cantor." Twilight said with growing ease: it helped to get it off her chest - if it had only been a burden for a few minutes or so. She planted herself in her chair and sunk into the cushions. "But I suppose she thought that's all I was worried about. In truth, she was pretty much right."

It was at that point, Rarity chimed in again. "And don't forget, Fluttershy," She started reassuringly, "you understand how ponies living in Canterlot can be: they are so surrounded by comfort that when the slightest thing goes wrong, they tend to over-react: make a relatively small crisis seem like the end of the world." She stopped, quickly noticing the blatant stares from the five other ponies and somewhat distanced dragon around the room. "What?" She asked innocently.

"In any circumstance," Spike said, carrying the conversation, "I'm sure there's not much to worry about: Cantor gets himself into all kinds of messes all the time."

"And don't we know it?" Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash added in sarcastic unison before sneaking a sly nod to each other.

The comment was passed as a reference to the couple of mares' and Cantor's antics. Nopony responded, but it did lighten the air.

"Well I suppose we'll find out soon enough." Applejack affirmed with confidence. "Come on, girl, let's git you up." She said as she approached the unicorn. She raised a foreleg limply as she grew close. "Need a hoof?"

Twilight chuckled. "I'm fine, Applejack." Despite this, it was quite a show watching her slide herself to the edge of the couch and gingerly touch down with each hoof. It took a while, and once she was ready, her following comment had lost much of its context. "But thank you." She added and trotted slowly toward the door.

"Oh, are we going now?" Fluttershy queried as everypony else, including Spike headed for the library exit. Progress was stopped as they all paused to look at her. Feeling under pressure, the butter coloured pegasus spoke up. "It's only, I- I left my purse at home: Pinkie seemed so insistent that I thought it was an emergency." She said, glancing toward the pink pony before shying away.

Rainbow Dash was quick to respond. "When is she not?" She laughed, pushing Pinkie playfully before raising her altitude from the mare's reach.

Twilight smiled as she watched the pair. Turning back to the fair-maned pegasus, "Don't worry, Fluttershy." she answered with ease, "I'll pay for all of us."

"Oh," Fluttershy squeaked with affectionate embarrassment, "You don't need to do that: I can be quick about going back to get it."

"No, really, Fluttershy," Twilight insisted, bearing a knowing grin, "Do you know how much Cantor is getting paid for this?" She asked with only a hint towards immodesty.

"How much?" Rainbow quickly asked from her elevated position.

Twilight's smirk softened slightly. "I won't say, but I'll tell you that it was 'enough.'" She stated, adding an assured giggle at the end. Though she wasn't driven by money, the figures discussed were far more than she ever thought she'd see in one place. And so as not to disappoint Applejack, the lavender unicorn made an internal point of admitting it got her excited: allowing herself the comforting thought of: "Who wouldn't it excite?"

The seven friends made their way to the train station, and once outside, became aware that the events half an hour ago were already the talk of the town. If not for the revolutionary trip the ponies had just returned from, then for the severe building and stock damages the re-entry incurred - which the townsfolk would thank the pilot for later...

Once aboard, the atmosphere within the carriage was far from unpleasant: even a few more laughs were had in the anticipation of re-uniting with their friend. However, as the steaming locomotive powered its passengers towards Canterlot, and the hills, trees and whips of white vapour rushed by outside the window as they always had done, the girls had no idea that what they were about to walk into, was something they would never forget.

*****

Princess Celestia jerked her focus from the base of her throne to the stretched room's entrance as both doors swung open on the force of two armoured pegasi, letting in a wash of winter smells and sounds, as well as the sextet of Ponyville residents into the lavish hall, a teenage dragon in tow.

"Twilight..." Celestia called with a gasp, her complex as ever tone strongly suggesting her grief. She waited for the arrivals to finish bowing before rising from her golden chair and slowly making her way towards them, apprehension in her stride. "...I... I don't even know where to begin..." She said sorrowfully.

Her slightly weak voice quickly brought back the reality of the situation to Twilight, and when she drew closer still, the alicorn's reddened eyes re-instilled her initial fears with renewed force. The princess merely gazed down at Twilight, her mystic indigo eyes telling her all she needed to know.

When she spoke, Twilight's voice come out frail, and frightened. "Is it really that bad...?" She gently asked. Celestia simply nodded her head with a sombre elegance.

"Can..." Twilight continued, the reverence in her voice seeming just a smudge too sombre - even here. "...Can we go and see him?"

Celestia responded with a slow, heavy sigh, eyes once again meeting the floor. "Alright." She softly said, peering back at the unicorn and addressing all of her friends with eye contact before turning about and leading them away into one of the branching hallways.

As she led the way, Celestia tried to grasp at some strong emotion. The recent events had left her mind a void. She was sad, she was angry, she was confused... but she couldn't draw a particular response from any feeling. She could feel Twilight's eyes watching her intensely from behind. She could tell there was no blame in her student's stare, yet she couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible: just another emotion she was too far astonished to feel.

Twilight's own sentiments felt like a jumble. She didn't know what to think because she didn't know what to expect. She found comfort in the notion that Cantor had gotten himself into all manner of 'bad shapes' many times in the past, but for Celestia to openly wear such distress, it was clear this could be no ordinary mishap.

The princess drew herself up beside a large door - aged as every castle entrance was, and the ponies following suit all paused on the opposite side.

Twilight's eyes fell once again onto Celestia's hollow face and waited for her to continue. The seconds seemed to drag by painfully slowly - and she was thankful, too. All of a sudden, the purple mare was not half as keen to see what laid beyond those doors as she was less than half an hour ago.

Sucking in a breath, Celestia was the one to break the long spell of silence. "Prepare yourself for the worst, Twilight Sparkle." She said mournfully. "Because this is going to be worse."

She wrapped the door in golden magic and swung it open with a long creak. Fearful, but indescribably desperate to see Cantor, Twilight poked her head into the room.

And when she did, her heart stopped for just a moment. The grotesque form that lie on the soft cotton sheets of a four-poster bed beneath the tall ceiling was almost recognisable: to know that it could be called a pony was an insult to the entire species. His once white coat was stained a dark maroon and his mane and tail were thick with old, hard blood, and his breathing appeared terrifyingly shallow.

A dismayed "Oh, no..." Past Twilight's lips in less than a whisper, and she entered the room, stumbling under the weight of what she was seeing. Quickly, and with their own breathless cries of worry, the rest of the mares and an aghast Spike trailed the unicorn into the accommodating room.

Hearing the many new sets of hoofsteps encroach his bedside, Cantor painfully creaked an eye open, expecting to see another round of medical ponies seeking questions or a swarm of militants demanding answers. However, when he clocked the uneasy lavender eyes staring back, he sat himself up with reflex quickness.

For the longest while, he merely stared at her: the mare who'd driven his mentality through the trials on that damned planet miles away. His mouth was slightly agape, his eyes wide, locked onto Twilight's.

With mutual release, the distraught unicorn and the broken stallion lunged at each other: one wrapping the other in the tightest embrace they could muster. Tears of corrupted joy streaked Twilight's cheeks, and Cantor sobbed openly into the purple mare's shoulder.

"Oh, Twi...!" He cried, struggling for breath, "I thought I'd never see you again!" He added, gripping her as firmly as he could.

The other ponies looked on in stunned silence. They were unable to remove their stares from the alicorn's ruined body. It was a sight none of them had ever had the gruesome misfortune of seeing before. Even Rainbow Dash: Cantor's closest friend, held her hoof over her mouth in appalled shock.

Princess Luna, who as it happens had been keeping watch over Cantor before the Ponyville residents had arrived, was moved by the sight of everyone's distress. Fresh tears trickled from her eyes, and she mourned her friends' innocence silently.

Cantor's voice trembled with endless alleviation as he hugged the mare he loved tighter than he knew he should. "I can't even describe..." He rasped, voice incredibly frail.

Following a very long and somewhat uneasy moment, the silence breached only by the traumatised stallion's pained breathing, Twilight gently pushed him away, taking a step back to realise once again, the extent of his afflictions.

Cantor sunk back into the bed, content to just look at his marefriend despite the fact that her reddened eyes reflected the terror she caught from him.

With a very distant stare, Twilight gently shook her head; overwhelmed with morbid fascination. "...Where the hell do I even begin?" She whispered, voice cracked with pain. "...What happened to the rest of those ponies?" She demanded accusingly. "Did even a few of them make it back?"

Shocked by her tone, the questions took a while to register with Cantor. But once they had, he replied with an ashamed shake of his head.

Twilight paused for a second, and then her face contorted into a hurtful grimace. "You," She growled, turning to glare at princess Celestia. "You should have known better than to trust him with the lives of so many."

Having lost what she knew as a daughter, Celestia was in no frame of mind to dispense sympathy for her student's outburst. "Are you somehow implying this was my fault?"

"Well I don't know who else to blame." Twilight shot back. "You should have been well aware that Cantor isn't nearly as capable as to what you gave him credit for."

Celestia reared her neck. "I very much beg to differ." She cried aggressively. "Whether or not you trusted your partner, I saw his potential - unlike you, I had faith-..." She choked on her own words, eyes widening as she let out a trembling breath, eyes pooling with burning hot tears.

Twilight continued her assertive crusade. "There were thousands more suitable." She argued, putting down her coltfriend's abilities purely because she was convinced that if any other pony would have taken his place, he wouldn't be in this horrendous mess. "You can't imagine what I almost lost." She added, bitter tears streaming her face.

"Loss...?" Celestia begged with seething disbelief... She gripped Twilight in a magical vice by her neck and pinned her against the wall. "How dare you speak to me about 'loss!?'"

All the ponies bleated in fear as they backed away from the infuriated deity.

"Sister!" The terrified princess Luna cried out as she rose from her haunches in great alarm. However, it was not solely a cry for the pinned unicorn's sake: Spike had mounted Celestia's back and had three his razor-sharp claws resting gently on one side of her neck.

The raging princess shed a deal of her anger and turned carefully to look Spike in the eye. As well as bound with a ferocious loyalty, she could also tell he was terrified: he knew what he was doing, and he knew full well the punishments for it.

Celestia raised a challenging brow. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Spike...?" She asked temptingly.

The dragon scowled in response, and ordered with a voice firm, but stiff with fear, "Put her down."

Allowing a further moment to pass, almost testing the dragon with her own life, she gently set Twilight down on the floor. Spike slid from the princess' back and joined the spluttering unicorn, leading her close to Cantor's bedside as he stood in the air between her and the princess.

After a long, contemplative silence, Celestia proposed a solemn apology towards Twilight. Following a low bow, the tall mare made her way over to her sister, planting herself beside the deep blue alicorn.

"Damnit, Cantor," Twilight cried at the bedridden pony, sobbing loudly in distress, "Do you even realise what you nearly did?" She continued, collapsing onto the edge of his bed. Cantor could only look on with pity and apologetic eyes. All at once, her emotions over-boiled, and a violent cocktail overflowed. "Don't you ever do something so stupid again! You've done some dangerous things in the past, but this one really takes the cake."

She thumped Cantor several times on the chest, chanting with each hit. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid...!" She yelled until her frustration overwhelmed her; going on to rest her head on the bloodstained pony, draping her forelegs across him as she weakly cried, her tears wetting the blood saturating his fur and introducing it to her own.

The room became snared with an awkward pity. The lack of any form of conversation failed to drive anypony to try to break the silence as they still had no way of expressing their shock.

Being the only one who had been aware of the situation for an extended time, and holding everything that had played out personally, Cantor chose to speak up. "I'm so sorry, Twi." He said in the same horse voice, resting a hoof over her shoulders. "I don't know what else to say... We went without knowing what we'd find, and as it happens, we discovered a little slice of Hell."

"But you promised." The distraught mare continued, upholding a sour, but clearly hurt demeanour. She looked into the alicorn's eyes, wet blood tipping her nose. "You promised to me that you'd get back safely, and you didn't."

Cantor sat himself up in the bed and smirked. "Safe enough - even if not in one piece." He smiled, but no one else in the room could associate the humour.

Princess Celestia took especial offence towards the attempt at lightening the mood. "I don't really believe this is the time for jokes, Cantor." She scorned, receiving an insolent stare back from the blood-soaked stallion. "In case you have forgotten, eight of Equestria's finest ponies have been deceased or left otherwise missing whilst under your command." She scowled at the bedridden alicorn accusingly. "And to meet their demise under the protection of, quite literally, the most powerful alicorn in history, seems awfully suspicious to me."

Cantor was grinning wildly. He fought desperately to stop, but something inside his demented mind was fighting against him. "What are you trying to impose, princess?" He asked with a sarcastic innocence.

Twilight could tell something wasn't right with Cantor, and despite her urge to stand by his side, she felt herself backing away alongside a speculating Spike. Surprisingly, he didn't try to stop her, but Twilight was wary of the odd stallion, regardless.

Celestia took a deep breath, expanding her chest as she contemplated what Cantor was trying to do with her aged and vastly intelligent mind. "...I presume that you murdered them, Cantor." She stated plainly as a wave of astonished gasps broke around the room.

Princess Luna appeared the most appalled by this accusation. "Sister!" She cried in a gasp, "Surely you would never consider such a thing to be true!"

Cantor's manic grin fell into a more sinister expression of arrogance. "Oh, no, princess Celestia..." He whispered in his damaged voice. "...Although, I'd very much like to see an end to your life."

A second succession of intense shrieks of displeasure shot through the group, and all at once, the by-standing ponies realised they were in deep trouble.

Celestia's scowl intensified to the point her eye twitched above her twisted mouth. She let her breath go in a dangerous exhale the sound of her hateful breathing fogging the room with a torturous tension. "You know," She spoke quietly, "Comments like that are more than worthy of a death sentence."

The roar of Cantor's terrible laugh rocked the room. Everypony jumped and cowered to the piercing sound. "Are you still trying to kill me, Celestia!?" Cantor shrieked, thrilled beyond description. It was at this point, the solar princess' face welled with fear: her eyes horrified as she stared at the insane pony. "I have to respect you, though!" The maniacal Cantor continued to rave, "In all my years, I've never come across such commitment: such a strong will to lie to your subjects! Truly, you are one cold, heartless bitch."

"Cantor...?" Twilight asked, her voice trembling with an odd accent of fright and an anger towards her mentor's insult. "Wh- what's going on?" She asked as forcefully as she could.

The alicorn turned quickly to eye Twilight, his face the pinnacle of terror and apology. "I'm sorry, Twi," He started, panicked, "I c- can't-" He screwed his eyes closed, as if bracing a door to which the invading force was far too strong. After a moment, his tension snapped, and he hung his head limply for a moment, sitting upright as he rolled his shoulders around in their joints.

He lifted his head to face the ceiling and sighed euphorically, his eyes closed in supreme comfort. He came to stand on the bed, his surrogate wing hanging limply and uselessly by his side. The matter of how thin he was became more pronounced when he stood: his ribs clearly seen under his ruined coat.

He opened his eyes and grinned as Celestia's face contorted into a perfect representation of fear.

The terrified princess could almost see herself reflected in the glossy black lenses obscuring Cantor's orange eyes. His mane and tail began to lick flame down his body before erupting into a bright inferno that trailed away from him. Thick tendrils of fire reached out to caress anypony who stood too close with its hot sting.

"Ohhh..." Cantor said with false enthusiasm, showing off his sharpened teeth. "Twilight Sparkle wishes to know what's going on..." He taunted. "Why don't you tell her, Celestia? Tell her about those assassins you hired. Tell her how you were willing to kill the pony she loves, then lie about his demise..."

Despite the dismay of the situation, Twilight turned to the mortified princess. "Princess Celestia...?" She began with apprehension, "Is... is this true?" She asked, already sounding devastated by the response she knew was coming.

"I- I didn't..." Celestia started to panic, "There was... no other choice, Twilight. Please believe me!"

Twilight, as well as a number of her Ponyville friends stared in horror at the white mare.

"But... why?" Was all Twilight could ask. She shook her head disapprovingly, regardless of how well the princess might have been willing to explain it.

With a trembling breath, Celestia rushed to explain. "You see, Twilight, Cantor is possessed by an Umbra." Upon hearing this, Twilight's ears perked and her eyes widened in dread. "Therefore," the princess continued, "I thought that an excursion to an unexplored planet miles and miles away would be the best method of..." She paused, stopping herself to become aware of how this was going to make her sound. "...Sorting the problem out..."

Cantor, or rather the tormenting creature inside of him turned to note Twilight's sudden well of tears. "Ouch." He stated, turning to Celestia with another self-assured grin. "Actually, Celestia, that's not the whole story, is it?"

Celestia bit hard onto her lip and shook her head. "Please..." She whimpered.

Cantor's smile grew even wilder and he spoke, regardless of the princess' desperate plea. "The ship those ponies left on was powered by something known as a 'Peripherous Crystal', an object capable of retaining massive amounts of magical energy." He enjoyed watching the princess' face contort as he terrorised her emotions. "What most ponies don't know (and by 'most', I mean every single living thing except princess Celestia), is that the stones are Umbran eggs."

Enchanted by this information, the speculating ponies turned from Cantor to Celestia, listening to the stallion's say before checking the princess' response. And with every passing second, she grew more and more distressed.

"Not 'eggs' as in 'new life', mind you..." The possessed Cantor continued nonchalantly. "A better way of putting it is that the crystals are used as vessels for Umbran life: lying in wait for eternity for somepony like her good majesty to unearth them." He explained, gesturing with courtesy towards Celestia. "Now... What comes next - and I think this is really smart, princess..." Cantor went on to explain, much to Celestia's dismay.

"No, please." She begged, her attitude destroying the hope in the room. "Don't say any more." She added, the pain in her voice meeting the tears swimming in her eyes.

If anything, Cantor's elation only grew towards the sounds of Celestia's plea. "Since Celestia knew this," He resumed after an oppressive chuckle, "She made a plan to use poor Cantor here to activate the stone: pour enough energy into it to connect us together: poison him with my presence, so to speak."

This new information Twilight sought undoubtable roused an ill glare towards Celestia.

"And what better way to eliminate the threat I pose by using my own vessel as a power source to send me as far away as possible, hoping to kill my host and trap me on a deserted rock for eternity?" Cantor howled with laughter once again. "And you hired mercenaries to kill him, too: knowing he had the potential to protect everypony there, just to be sure I really wasn't a threat any more! Absolutely fucking genius, your highness." He cheered, stomping his hooves in excitement; yielding little effect on the soft bedding.

"Unfortunately..." Cantor's mind-pirate elaborated, twisting and pulling shards of bone away from the magical gland inside Cantor's cracked horn, rousing a stir of ecstasy as he felt the excruciating screams from his host's trapped psyche. "Cantor's usefulness was cut very short very early on in the expedition... Regardless, this little pony soldiered on without a hint of giving up. Truly, princess, you should feel terrible for wasting such an extraordinary mind..." He shot an evil wink to the princess, who now had tears of shame streaming down her cheeks.

Adopting an expression of false pity, Cantor pouted and looked to the alicorn mare with saddened eyes. "Awww..." He mocked, "Your little plan didn't work, did it? And now, for trying to rid me from this world," He continued, stepping forward and slinking from the foot of the bed and skulking towards Celestia like a stalking tiger, a fresh grimace of euphoric evil spreading across his face. "I'm going to enjoy ridding you from this world."

Celestia crawled backwards until she hit the wall. Her horn flared gold, but the magic fizzled out as Cantor stopped her from teleporting away. Her breath came out in meek cries of anguish as she pleaded for the Umbra to stop.

"And you know what's going to be the best part about it, princess?" Cantor whispered millimetres from the her nose, the depths of Hell enforcing his tone, "It's that I'm going to force your sister to be the one to deliver the final blow to kill you." He was speaking under enough of a hush that nopony but Celestia could hear him, but the white mare's horrific sobs told them that what he was saying was pure evil. "And, when her spirit is so broken she can barely think," Cantor persisted, despite Celestia's apparent emotional torture,

"That's when I'll strike: I'll infect her, and use her powers to explore ponies' bad dreams: illustrations of unrelenting psychological trauma." He leant forward and licked the princess' lips, adding disgust to the cocktail of terror swirling in her petrified mind. Cantor let out an orgasmic vocal shudder. "Your fear is delicious..." He grumbled perversely. "And when I have Luna under my total control, then a new universal fear shall be set in place: a true nightmare everypony will share..."

Princess Celestia's terror reached its climax. Her eyes bulged as she whimpered, "Oh, no..."

"Oh, yes..." Cantor insisted deviously. "The return... of Night-mare-Moon..."