For having three dear friends return home, the mood was sombre. There had been no trumpets, no fanfare, no parties, no real welcome home. The three companions had been snatched right off of the deck of the Endeavour and brought to Princess Celestia by a group of guardsponies.

Princess Celestia now paced the length of a long, narrow room that had an exquisite table that stretched from one end of the room to the other. The three companions sat at the table, with Daring Do at the head, Tarnish on her left, and Rainbow on her right. All three watched Princess Celestia as she paced, and each wondered if they were going to be allowed to go home.

“Is this because I shot somepony in the ass?” Tarnish asked in a voice that was borderline squeaky. He squirmed in his seat, looking rather foalish, and he avoided the gaze of Daring Do.

Huffing, Princess Celestia turned to face Tarnish. “I received a message about that, word travels fast. Mister Teapot, I find Doctor Caballeron absolutely detestable. I might have shot him in the ass myself, had I been in your situation.”

Falling back in his chair, Tarnish let heave a sigh of relief while Daring Do rolled her eyes and threw up her hooves in disgust. Rainbow Dash, looking bored, let out a half-hearted laugh and rested her front legs against the table’s edge. Tarnish now looked just a little bit smug, and Daring Do looked a whole lot out of sorts.

“There will be no living with him now,” Daring Do muttered.

The soft sounds of metal clicking on stone filled the room as Princess Celestia resumed pacing. She looked troubled, she walked with her head low, and her golden-shod hooves were almost dragging over the floor. Reaching the end of the room, she turned about, and began to pace in the other direction. As she passed by the table, she looked at the three companions and her mouth opened so that she might take a deep breath.

“I wish you wouldn’t...” Princess Celestia began, sounding out of sorts. Another deep breath, one that expanded her sides, and she started over. “I wish you wouldn’t do this. Skyreach isn’t worth finding. There are things in this world that are better left forgotten.”

“What do you know?” Daring Do asked.

“Enough to leave it alone,” Princess Celestia replied. “Whatever you do, don’t do this.”

“Why?” Rainbow Dash’s head cocked to one side and she began to tap her hoof against the edge of the table.

“I fear that if I told you, it would only make your desire to go even stronger.” Princess Celestia stopped, frozen in place, and she was like a statue. It seemed as though her breathing had even stopped, and she stood with her eyes squeezed shut. “Please, don’t go. All of you have such brilliant careers… Mister Teapot, you have a family that loves you. Miss Dash, think of your friends. Miss Do… Miss Yearling, you have a long career ahead of you, full of promise and renown. Don’t do this.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Rainbow Dash asked, her ears perking as she listened to the sounds of Princess Celestia’s breathing. “Why don’t you want us to go?”

“Because I do not wish to mourn your passing.” Opening her eyes, Princess Celestia gave the trio a pleading stare. “I also fear what you might find. A fragile peace exists in the world between the pony tribes, and Skyreach could put an end to all of that.”

“How?” Daring Do focused an intense stare upon the sorrowful alicorn.

“If I told you, it would only make you want to go.” Princess Celestia’s voice was now scratchy with emotion, and her eyes glimmered with an excess of moisture. “For once, I wish all of you would just trust me and take me at my word. I have the wisdom of centuries and it is so very rare that I remind my little ponies about this fact. Forget about Skyreach and go and live long, prosperous lives. Be in love. Make a name for yourselves. Go have fat, fussy foals.”

Eyes narrowing, Daring Do shook her head. “We can’t do that, and you know that. What could possibly be so bad about Skyreach?”

A single tear rolled down Princess Celestia’s cheek and she shuddered with enough force that it caused her wings to flap against her sides. The muscles in her neck twitched and more tears fell, departing to join the first. In the bright electric light of the room, her tears twinkled like diamonds in the corners of her eyes.

Tossing her head back, Princess Celestia headed for the door so that she might leave the room. It was obvious to any observer that she was fighting back a flood of tears with the way her eyelids fluttered. “Please, excuse me, I wish to be left alone whilst I mourn you…”

Author's Notes:

All of this prologue was originally going to be one chapter. It was driving me nuts because that chapter would have been huge. Enormous. Not tiny. So now I have these prologue chapters of odd sizes.