Prologue: Where the Heart is

It had been five years since the population of Equestria returned to their homeland, most better off for the transition. They had returned to their home to find the Everfree Forest, an untamed forest at the edge of their lands, had grown over their homes and farmland. Luckily, the capital of Canterlot had been left mostly untouched, a large majority of the inhabitants there being spared the Merge in the first place. The unicorns that lived there had utilized their magic to keep the forest a respectable distance from the capital. Unfortunately, their magic had not been able to extend over the nearby towns. Upon the return of the Princesses and the other half of their population, steps had been taken to push back into the forest. The old town of Ponyville had been quickly reclaimed, but a lot of work still had to be done to push the Everfree back to its old size. A lot of ponies, upon hearing that their princesses had returned, had quickly made their way to the capital to request help. From what was discovered, only Canterlot, Ponyville, and a few close by cities had been affected by the Merge, with roughly half of the population being left behind. And now so much had changed. Celestia was having enough of a headache dealing with most of the put off nobles. Too many were looking to 'help' with reconstruction, or assist in helping other ponies get back on their hooves. She wished something could break the monotony—

"Princess!" A spry voice called, jarring Celestia from her thoughts. She looked up in time to see a young orange Pegasus mare come galloping in, a satchel hung over her back. Her violet mane was just long enough to be tied back in a short ponytail that stuck up behind her head. The guards beside Celestia's throne started, but after she got closer they relaxed. Even Celestia couldn't help but smile at her young messenger.

"Scootaloo," She said warmly. "You bring news?"

"Mmhm!" Scootaloo pulled her satchel off onto the ground and rooted around in it for a moment. She pulled out a rolled scroll sealed with a golden seal. "It's from Princess Cadance, and just arrived by bird."

With a light golden glow enveloping her horn, Celestia's magic took the scroll from the young filly's mouth. "Thank you, Scootaloo. You should go get some rest."

"I'm alright, Princess," Scootaloo assured the much older mare. Celestia smiled.

"If you say so." She opened the scroll and began reading the contents. Cadance's flowery writing was the first thing she noticed, along with the usual greetings. She quickly skimmed over the first few lines, pausing at a hint that Cadance and Shining Armor were looking to have a child. Or at least, were expecting one soon. The Princess of the Sun had not seen her niece and nephew-in-law for a couple years since their return, the rulers of the Crystal Empire working to oversee things in their own domain. She kept reading the letter, pausing at a bit of information she had not expected. The Northern Pony tribes, also known as the Frost Ponies, had begun travelling further south, reaching the edges of Crystal Empire territory. Rumors of a white ghost abounded, some kind of ice-wraith that had them on edge. Shining had gone to investigate, but nothing had come up. Other than that, it was business in usual in the Crystal Empire, and the Crystal Heart was as strong as ever. "Hm. An Ice Wraith is loose in the north?"

"An Ice Wraith?" Scootaloo repeated, confused.

"A creature made of pure ice and cold," Celestia explained, setting aside the letter. Her magic took hold of a cup of tea sat off to her right, and she lifted it to her lips to drink. She sighed. "Well, as long as whatever that thing may be is not causing any issues, I believe we need not worry."

"I guess so…"

"Well, Scootaloo. I do not think I need you at the moment. You are free to go do what you want."

"Can I go see my dad?" Scootaloo asked excitedly. Ever since their return Celestia had her two knights, Ace Guard and Flash Sentry, working quite hard to help with the reclamation efforts. They had living quarters here in the castle, but lately the Princess of the Sun had been considering letting them return home to their families permanently. Ace Guard, as current captain of the guard, was almost doing triple duty. But for now, she decided to allow the young filly's request.

"Go right ahead, Scootaloo. I believe you've earned it."

"Thanks Princess!" Scootaloo beamed and took off at a gallop to find her dad. Celestia watched her go with a smile. Scootaloo had become a royal messenger almost immediately after they returned, usually working alongside her father, Ace Guard. The young filly did indeed love her father, and that was always refreshing to see. With Scootaloo's unerring determination, communication around the castle was at an astonishing efficiency. Although…

"Ferrous?" Celestia called, getting the attention of one of her guards. The gray maned guard approached her, armor clanging slightly as he walked.

"Yes Princess?"

"Hold any visitors at the door. I will be going to speak to my sister for a bit."

"As you wish, Princess." He made a short bow.

Celestia rose from her throne, her long morning colored flowing tail uncurling behind her. The other guards in the room stood at attention as she left out of a side door towards the royal chambers. A few maids made way for her as she walked up the stairs. One unicorn filly in particular looked terrified as she passed, her bright green eyes darting about as she stopped to look at her. She was younger than the other maids, with long green and silver hair that hid one of her eyes. "Y-Yes?" She stuttered nervously. "D-Did you need something, P-Princess?"

"No… Is my sister in her room?"

"Yes… T-This one believes so…"

Celestia frowned a bit, but instead turned and continued on to the hall where hers and her sister's bedrooms were. The door to her room was adorned with a large sun emblem, while her sister's had a large crescent moon. Going over to the latter, she knocked softly with her hoof. "Lulu? Are you awake?"

There was a slight shifting inside, before the familiar voice of her sister responded. "I am awake, sister."

"May I come in?"

"Go right ahead."

Celestia gently pushed open the door and entered Luna's room. The younger Alicorn's personal chambers were dark, as Luna preferred keeping her window curtains closed during the day. Soft purples and blues colored the majority of the furniture there, and a massive telescope was set up in one of the windows. Luna herself was seated in one of the nearby windows, the dark blue Alicorn simply staring out the window. She was slender, as most Alicorns were, but as she was shorter than her white furred sister, with her mane and tail being a light shade of blue like the night sky. Her blue eyes regarded her sister curiously as Celestia sat on the edge of her bed. "Are you feeling alright, Lulu?" Celestia asked, keeping her tone warm.

Luna sighed. "You know as well as I do that I am not," She said. "Especially not today."

Celestia was thoughtful for a moment. "Today is…" She trailed off, eyes drawn to the twisted metal ring that sat at the base of Luna's horn. A wedding ring. "…Your anniversary." Luna's husband had been left behind in the human world, unable to come with them due to not being an Equestrian. Luna had never been the same since then, being more prone to dark moods and spending a lot of her time alone. Celestia had tried to reconnect with her sister, find some way to brighten her day, but… there had been little progress. It was all she could do to keep Luna from shutting herself up completely. She had truly been in love with the man, especially after he helped her conquer her darker half, Nightmare Moon. He had placed his life on the line for her and all the Equestrians. Luna didn't respond at once, letting her eyes go back outside. Down below in the training yard, her daughter, Aurora Dawn, was sparring with one of the castle guard. The dark violet Alicorn filly was easily fighting toe to toe with the much larger stallion. She scored a solid hit on his helmet, and the sound of the practice sword hitting metal rang out loudly. Obviously elated, the girl dropped her weapon and bounced around, her long sky blue hair falling out of the messy bun she had put it in. The other guards watching broke out to a laugh, which was shared by the younger filly. She was energetic, but there was an intelligence in her eyes that most ponies would never notice. Those silver eyes that always seemed to be observing, that always reminded her of… him.

"Or at least, it would have been. Almost five years." She let out a deep sigh. "But… I will most likely never see him again."

Celestia gave a small frown. Aleron an Aurora had done their best to keep a smile on their mother's face, but it was days like this that really hit the smaller Alicorn. "Luna… You can't simply stay in your room all day."

"You say that every year."

"But have you actually done it?"

"…No."

Celestia chuckled softly. "So come on, let us go. A lot of ponies are worried about you."

Luna sighed. "I suppose you are right as usual, sister."

"It's the place of the older sister to be right," Celestia teased. That got a laugh out of her younger sister, and the other Alicorn got up from her seat.

"Very well. What trivialities are we dealing with today?"

"Several quite miffed nobles mostly."

"How quaint. Shall we go then?"

The two Princesses left Luna's room then, going back to the throne room. They didn't speak much as they walked, Celestia choosing to leave her younger sister to her thoughts. They passed by the young maid from earlier, this time the filly escaping before Celestia could speak to her. It was a bit strange, her reactions, but the Princess of the Sun simply attributed it to her being unused to royalty. They rounded a corner, coming across a young royal blue furred unicorn colt with short black hair. A stack of books were grasped by his dark gray magic aura. "Aleron," Celestia said, a bit surprised. Luna couldn't help but laugh quietly.

"Hello Aunt Tia," Aleron said with a small smile.

Celestia spared a glance at the stack of books that was taller than the colt himself. "Are you… are you planning to read all of those, little one?"

"You know little Al," Luna told her, moving close to her son to give him a loving nuzzle. "Quite the avid reader."

Aleron set the books down for a moment. "I would be in the library reading, but Ro wanted me to help her with something…"

"Al, Al!" An excited voice called. The three of them turned to see Aurora galloping/flying towards them, a wide smile on her face. She slid to a stop right before she ran into the stack of books. "Hah! Not this time!"

"Not this time?" Luna looked confused.

Aleron shook his head. "Ro has come running at me like that a bunch of times. Every time she misjudges the stop and knocks over all my books."

"I apologized every time," Aurora complained.

"You could just walk."

"But I wouldn't get here super quick!"

"What are you two doing down here anyway?" Luna asked, interrupting the twins. "Ro, I just saw you outside sparring."

"I flew up to meet Al," The filly said. "We were going to practice our magic together!"

Celestia glanced over at Aleron, who simply shrugged. "She wanted me to help her learn some of the advanced stuff."

"Yeah! Cause Al knows a lot more about magic than I do!"

The blue colt rolled his eyes. "Because I actually take the time to study magic. You always practice your blade work with the guards."

Aurora grinned and moved next to her brother, rubbing her cheek into his. "But you know you like spending time with me, Al!"

"You're my sister, it would be kinda bad if I didn't like you."

It was a constant surprise to Celestia how alike and different Luna's twins were. They both shared the same dark coloration for their coats, although Aleron was more of a blue hue while his sister was more purple. They both had silver eyes as well. Aurora's sky blue mane was usually unkempt or tied in a loose ponytail. Aleron had a black mane and tail, usually keeping it cut short so it didn't get into his face when he read. Although Aurora was more interested in learning martial lessons while Aleron was focused on mastering magic, the twins were quite close, and always supported each other no matter what. The Princess of the Sun figured that it was Luna making sure that they would not end up in a situation like the two of them did. "So did you need mom for something, Aunty Tia?" Aurora asked, looking up at the white Alicorn.

"Yes, I figured it would not be good for Lulu to stay indoors all day," Celestia teased. "I don't want her to be a recluse."

Aurora frowned. "Re… recluse?"

"It means someone who stays inside all day," Aleron supplied.

"Oh, so someone like you?"

"Hey!"

Luna chuckled, but gave her sister a dark glare. "We should get going, my little crescent moons. The life of a Princess is always busy."

Aurora ran to her mother to give her a quick nuzzle. "Okay mommy!"

Luna glanced over at Aleron, who hadn't moved. With a small smirk on her face, she let her horn light up with magic and pulled the young colt to her, swiftly planting a kiss on his forehead before he could react. "H-Hey! Mom!"

"Gotcha," Luna stuck out her tongue at him, causing a light blush to form on his cheeks.

Celestia smiled. "Come Lulu, you can play with your little ones another time. We have work you know."

"So do we," Aleron said hurriedly, picking up his books and beginning to push Aurora away. Once they got partway down the hall, the dark violet filly bumped into her brother hard enough to knock part of the stack of books out of his magical grasp and onto her back. When he gave her a questioning glare, she simply grinned.

Celestia and Luna watched them go. "…They are quite the lovable pair, aren't they?" The Princess of the Sun said.

Her sister nodded. "I love them both dearly. It brightens my days and nights to have them."

"I understand completely." Celestia gave her a warm smile. "I find myself never losing a smile whenever they are around."

Luna smiled softly. "Well, let us hurry on. We've lingered here long enough, haven't we?"

"Correct."

It didn't take too long for them to reenter the throne room. But as they entered, they found it a lot busier than when Celestia had left. There were quite a few more guards present to their surprise. "…Did something happen while I was gone?" Celestia asked. Ferrous came over to his princess, bowing just slightly. He seemed to think for a moment, as if he wasn't sure of what to say. After a long moment, he finally let out a sigh.

"You have a… a visitor, Milady."

"A visitor?" Celestia frowned. "Then why all the added security? Ponies come calling all the time."

"We… we don't know what the creature is."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "You said 'creature'. You say a creature came here and requested an audience with my sister?"

"Yes, Princess."

"And you don't know what it is?"

"…No Princess."

"Whatever it is it is intelligent enough to speak, is it not?" Celestia said. She went over to her throne and sat down in it, Luna taking her seat in the moon themed throne beside her sister. "Let us speak with this visitor of ours."

"Princess, I don't know if this is wise…"

"I believe no matter what comes through that door we will be able to handle it," Luna assured the guard. Her gaze darkened for a moment and she added, "We've been through worse."

Celestia gave her sister a sideways glance before returning her gaze to the door. True, they had endured a lot through their long lives. Surely whatever was behind the door could not be that shocking. The great hall doors opened, and Celestia and Luna stood to greet their guest. But the moment the doors were completely open, they both froze on the spot. Even as the guards were looking to their princesses for instruction, Celestia found herself falling back into her seat. "…Impossible."

Ferrous looked to her, confused. "Princess?"

Luna was likewise at a loss for words. She tried to form some kind of sentence, but failed utterly as her brain shut down from information overload. She clumsily tried to form words for a moment longer, but eventually gave up and fell into silence. Tears were streaming from her eyes as her mouth and brain agreed on a single word. "B…Buh…! Beloved…?"

Tyr grinned, silver eyes shining with happiness. He had been waiting a long time to say these four words. "…Hello Luna. I'm home."