Chapter Text
Prologue: Time To Come Together
Twilight set her stuff down on her dresser; this stuff consisted of her jewelry and royal attire, books she was still reading or wanted to read before she'd left Ponyville, and some miscellaneous things she had emotionation attachment to.
For example, a deflated balloon Pinkie had given her during Dash's birthday, a Wonderbolts posted gifted to her from Dash when she was officially coronated and crowned, and zap apples seeds AJ gave her to decorate her royal garden. These things seemed mundane or stupid to others, but to her, they mortalized her friends in her heart.
She inspected the room around her. First she noticed the balcony that Luna used to raise and lower the moon from. The more she looked at it, the larger it seemed, not to mention how Twilight always had a crippling fear of heights. Continuing to inspect, she noticed that the dresser was marble and gold, although she initially thought it was painted white.
In fact, the floor was marble, and the walls were quartz and gold. She had magenta curtains and a large carpet designed after her cutie mark. Disappointingly, the windows were not stained glass. Twilight never expected worrying about something so strictly aesthetic.
It dawned upon her, that this was likely Celestia's room. With that apiphany, she realized that it was not Luna's balcony, but rather, it was Celestia's. It was the same balcony she stargazer from, with despair, for over one-thousand years - alone and heartbroken.
The room was very bright, almost too bright. Twilight was thinking she could replace and paint the walls, to something darker, or at least, less bleach white. A nice ebony or lavender would suffice. However, the idea of changing what was once Celestia's room to something so.... not Celestia? It hit her with guilt. It left her conflicted.
Celestia's room was the only room Twilight had never seen before. When Celestia adopted Twilight, taking her in as her personal protégé, she had been given Luna's room to stay in. It was jarring to be given Celestia's instead of Luna's. She couldn't tell why. If it was because she's her daughter or her heir and newest ruler, or if staff simply thought it more convenient.
Twilight noticed a library connected to her room, a small one, but a nice one. She couldn't believe the library wasn't the first thing she'd noticed. Next to the library was a closet. It was one of those overly fancy ones.
She rubbed her forehead before wandering inside of the library. She placed the books the brought over in the empty spaces on the shelves. She contemplated organising the books, but she decided against it. As much as she'd love to organized, she's on a time limit and urgently has to handle her more royal duties.
She trotted her way out of her library and then bedroom. She began to roam around the halls, although the tried to stay focused repeatedly. She'd no idea why she was so fascinated by the castle. She grew up here. She knew every room, every hallway, every trapdoor. She read every book in every library.
But today, it was time for a new day. A new era. She had to look ahead with a positive attitude, hopeful for a future. She needed to spend time with her friends while it lasted, help the now aging royal sisters, training the newly crowned but young Flurry Heart. She had a job to do, she couldn't get lost in he thoughts or mope around.
And with that, she had reached the throne room. There stood before her, her friends and family, and a few other recognizable faces. She sighed with relief and smiled. "I'm glad to see you guys." She turned her head to the side and fluffed her wings. "It really... means a lot to me." She stepped a bit closer as she was finishing her sentence.
"Canterlot is such a nice city, but I'll really miss you being here in Ponyville with us." Rarity sorrowed, bouncing her a bit with her hoof. She struck a slight pose, but her facial expression showed a lack of confidence.
Applejack rolled her eyes before scoffing. "We really do miss ya visitin' Sweet Apple Acres, sugarcube." She said sweetly as she trotted over and hugged Twilight. The others come over into a group hug with her.
"I miss you girls too." Twilight sighed. She looked down at the marble and gold flooring, decorated by velvety purple carpet.
"You'll have Spike and Owlicious with you." Fluttershy hummed. "At the very least, you can get us lovely letters. We'll always respond."
"Absolutely! I can mail you my newest Wonderbolts photos for the shows you couldn't attend!" Rainbow asserted. Applejack made an annoyed face at her, elbowing her softly.
"Or... maybe, we can mail her stuff she actually enjoy?" The orange mare rolled her eyes.
"It's okay, Applejack." Twilight giggled. "I'll enjoy anything you guys give to me!"
"Discord couldn't attend." Fluttershy sounded disappointed. Admittedly, Twilight didn't appreciate how Discord treated her. No one did. "He said he had to attend a convention for one of those... 'roleplay board games.'"
"That's too bad, I'm sorry." Twilight responded. She cocked her head a bit and frowned sympathetically.
"First order of business!" Pinkie Pie squealed excitedly. "A Welcome-Back-To-The-Place-You-Grew-Up-In Party!!"
The group looked at her funky, then at each other. "It's a working title." Trixie rolled her eyes. "Pinkie and I were planning a party for you. We thought it would be a suprise though."
"That's okay. I'm pleased either way." Twilight endeared.
She sighed, satisfied with how the day has turned around. She sits down with the rest of her friends and family. They were all discussing something. The noise was incoherent. She noticed the absence of Pinkie, Cheese and Trixie just before she closed her eyes. She assumed it was to fetch decorations.
The rest of the day was a blur. It was loud and emotional. She was happy, yet still also very sad. Moving away wasn't the only feeling of loss she'll experience and that really scared her. She swallowed her anxieties before closing her eyes and falling asleep.