You'll Play Your Part

[Princess Celestia]

[8th; morning, before classes start; closed to Celestia, Luna and Twilight. Also, title isn't all that relevant; I just have that song stuck in my head XP]

There was one pony who, Princess Celestia knew, she could always count on finding in a library. No matter where that library was.

And as much as the manuscripts would have interested her at any other time, it was that pony, not any of them, that the ruler of all Equestria was presently searching for. The while alicorn trotted sedately up and down the aisles, looking for all the world as if she was in no hurry whatsoever - no matter how far from the truth that actually was - even as her eyes roamed from side to side, searching for the lavender-coated form of her most faithful student.

She had an apology to make.

As soon as she'd recieved Spike's letter, the Princess had made arrangements back home and flown here as fast as possible. Celestia had seen for herself what was going on here, and it had disgusted her. She had tried to arrange for not only Twilight and her friends, but all of her subjects, to be pulled from this nightmare and returned safely to Equestria, only to find that it was impossible. Students weren't allowed to leave, except on breaks for the holidays, until they completed their courses of study here - or died in the arena. No exceptions would be made.

Seeing no other option, Celestia had signed herself up as a teacher. A bit of a come-down from ruler of all Equestria; but the only way the Princess of the Sun could see to protect those of her subjects - and her own sister - who had so unsuspectingly enrolled here.

And to think, that she'd encouraged both Luna and Twilight to come here; more proof, if any were needed, that she was far from as infallible as most ponies imagined her to be. Both of them had already been in the fights since arriving, too; and that was why Celestia was now seeking out the two ponies she cared about the most. Perhaps it was true that she should have looked for her sister before going after her student; but the answer to where Luna could be found wasn't such a simple one as it was in Twilight's case.

She didn't call out, however; if Twilight was indeed here, she would be hard at work studying, and Celestia didn't want to startle her student unneccesarily. Once she found Twilight, she would speak; until then, it was better to respect the standard library convention of keeping quiet.

[Twilight Sparkle]

To think that Twilight had been excited about coming here.

Only a few days had passed since her fight against Pinkie, and in all truth the young unicorn was still feeling rather awful about the whole thing. She'd been wrong about how to go about fighting Pinkie. Not that it was the first time she had been wrong about something, but this particular mistake had stuck with her. Pinkie had been hurt because of her. Her pride... Her reluctance to do the things that Trixie would do... It was all her fault. Granted, she had talked with Fluttershy and Spike respectively since then. The thing of it was that in spite of reassurance that had been offered, Twilight just felt bad. How could she have made such a mistake? Why hadn't she just listened to her friends and their advice in the first place?

These thoughts were what distracted Twilight from her homework. She knew from experience that this wasn't a good thing, but somehow Twilight wasn't freaking out so much. Her thoughts were just wandering and repeatedly returning to the fight. The way Pinkie had looked at her... That look had been burned into Twilight's memory. It wasn't something the lavender unicorn was going to forget any time soon.

Her books, quills, parchment, and ink had been temporarily abandoned at her table so she could retrieve one last book. Twilight made her way to a shelf and started looking for books, but just as she started to get her thoughts focused a sound got her attention. Lavender ears, which had previously been against her head while her cranium hung low, perked up and she looked around for the source of the sound. Where could that have been coming from? For that matter, was it possible that she was hearing things? Twilight had to be certain. Curiosity had beckoned her, and after quickly retrieving the book she needed with her magic Twilight trotted out into view and continued to look around. It was when she started down a separate aisle of books that she saw a familiar shade of pinkish-white. When she saw it, a soft gasp was her first response.

"Princess Celestia!"

Her place quite forgotten, Twilight's voice had raised an octave higher than she would have used normally in a library setting. Surely that much could be excused this one time, though. Her teacher was there! Seeing Spike before had helped her to forget her guilt some, but this helped to lift her spirits again. Having both Celestia and Spike with her at the school was wonderful. It went without saying that Twilight would eagerly trot to her teacher's side after seeing her there.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had to stay in Canterlot," Twilight said. Not that she wasn't happy to see the alicorn. She was ecstatic! It was just a little... Well, odd. Maybe Celestia had found someone to look after Equestria in her stead?

[Princess Luna]

Luna was still moping about the battles. She'd brought down that jolly male of fun and frost and the fact made her quite sick to her stomach. Sure, she had healed him, but the fact she had to fight him in the first place made her just nauseous. She had been pacing before classes, her stupid tie blowing in the wind. She hated her uniform. There was no point for these stupid classes. What kind of school could this possibly be when all they should be preparing for is to fight? Her ears folded back as she pushed towards the library. Why not?

She opened the door with her magic, eyes closed as she pushed into the library. Her wings folded down on the sides of her white shirt. Her chest rose and fell, eyes closing as she folded her ears back. She was so disappointed. In herself.

Celestia had sent her here to learn. To find her way to interact with everypony without shouting at them or calling them names like 'servant' or 'peon.' She wanted to learn to interact with her subjects with grace and humility like her sister. She wanted everypony to not fear her, but love and worship her just like they did Cadence and Celestia. Luna had thought that was what her sister wanted as well.

"She could not have possibly known this was going to be the case," she mumbled, crossing between a stack of bookshelves, "And if she had, she would have-"

"Princess Celestia!"

"By the moon-it can't be!" She flapped her wings and pushed towards another set of bookshelves where she poked her head through. It was indeed. Her big sister.

"SISTER!" She galloped towards Celestia before she would get a chance to answer Twilight it would seem. "We are ever so happy to see thee! But lo-hast the demons in charge captured you as well? This cannot be good. But with our magic we shall help thee vanquish our foe!"

She seemed almost just like a little sister should. "Is that not correct, fair sister?"

[Princess Celestia]

"Hard at work as usual, my student?" Her amethyst gaze took in the book Twilight held as Celestia smiled gently down at the young unicorn. Much to her relief, Twilight seemed physically unharmed from her fight - though, the princess was sure, mentally less so. She had heard all about the fight, she knew Twilight had been set up against one of her friends, and the knew just how much of a toll that had to have taken on the lavender mare. Celestia herself was no stranger to having to fight someone she cared for deeply; even now, the burden of having to banish Luna to the moon for so long weighed heavily upon the alicorn.

Before she could say anything more to Twilight, however, Luna herself was suddenly there too, charging towards her. No matter how frequently she and her sister were together now, it always warmed Celestia's heart to see the younger princess back as she had used to be, before bitterness and jealousy had overtaken her. Their first reunion had been the most joyful moment of the ruler's recent life, and she was reminded every time she saw Luna, of the wonderful thing Twilight and her friends had done for them.

"I came here after you, little sister. After all of you," she added, turning to include Twilight as well. "Your friend Spike alerted me to what was really going on here, and I must apologise, to you both. I would never have sent you here if I had known what terrible danger it would put you in." Her expression grew grim. Celestia knew she wasn't infallible, but when so many other ponies believed she was, that was a trap all too easy to fall into. She hadn't looked beyond the surface of the letter before recommending that both her sister and her student take up the opportunity. Hadn't even imagined what this place would hold.

"Once we know who, we most certainly shall," the larger alicorn nodded her agreement to Luna's statement. "However he has done a remarkable job of keeping himself hidden; I have been looking into it ever since I got here, and could find nothing to suggest who was behind this all. I signed on as a teacher to do what I can to protect every one of my subjects; but until we know his identity, there is nothing that can be done, but to continue to play his game." She paused for a moment, to catch her breath and await the other two ponies' reactions, then continued.

"Twilight. This task, I wish to hand to you. Do you think you are up to the task of uncovering the pony or person behind all of this?"

It was a big responsibility to give to the young mare, Celestia knew. On top of her studies, it might even have been more pressure than Twilight could handle, and the princess didn't want to overburden her student; hence, she had asked if the lavender unicorn believed herself capable before delegating the responsibility. Twilight was an incredibly smart pony, and Celestia had every confidence that she could accomplish this task; just as long as she kept her head.

(ooc: I feel like I'm text-walling as Celestia; but seriously, she always has so much to say XD)

[Twilight Sparkle]

Celestia's question was answered with a nod. Of course she was hard at work on her studies. The problem was that her mind continued to drift back to what had happened that past Friday. Before she could comment on it, though, another voice caught her attention. That, of course, was Luna. Luna's arrival somehow wasn't that unexpected. Twilight should have suspected that the younger princess would be somewhere in the school, though the fact that she was wearing a uniform did surprise her to a degree. Maybe it shouldn't have, as Luna had to be a fair bit younger than Celestia, but it did surprise her nonetheless.

"Hello, Princess Luna," Twilight greeted. It was the only polite thing to do. That was when she noticed that Luna was wearing different accessories than her own. They were in different circles. A new wave of uncertainty briefly hit the young unicorn. What if she had to fight Luna someday...?

Then came the confirmation that Twilight had been looking for. Celestia said for herself that Spike had told her about what all had been happening. Did that mean that Celestia knew what had happened in the arena? That she and Pinkie had been forced to fight? Well, whatever the case, there was no getting around the issue at hand. They were all trapped in the school until they were somehow allowed to leave. Not that Twilight thought they would be getting out any time soon. Hearth's Warming Eve was a long ways away, and she couldn't recall any other holidays off the top of her head. But still...

"It's awful... I don't even know why they want us to do what they've had us do here. The studies are all right, I must admit, but... Having us fight our friends? Why would they...?"

Twilight couldn't go any further than that. This was both due to how she just didn't want to think about that much anymore and how Celestia had begun to speak once more. What it came down to was that her mentor was asking her to find out about something. More specifically, trying to find out about who it was in charge of the school. Admittedly, Twilight looked rather stunned when that revelation came upon her. Celestia had asked a great deal of her before, what with stopping Discord and saving the Crystal Empire (although the latter fell to Spike in the end), but this? Twilight wasn't all that sure if she could manage it. What if she failed? What if she became overwhelmed with her studies and everything else and just couldn't find out anything?

...She'd just have to try her hardest. Even if it got tough. Twilight swallowed an invisible something in her throat and finally nodded again.

"I... I'll try, Princess. I wouldn't even know where to begin looking, but I'll certainly do my best," she answered. With that being said, she did have a question lingering in her mind. Twilight knew better than anyone that Celestia and Luna had both been through what she had with Pinkie, although at a more intimate level because the two were sisters who had been forced to fight. Not just friends. Maybe she could get an answer out of them.

"Princess Celestia? I have to know. When you had to fight Luna, when she was Nightmare Moon," an apologetic glance was spared Luna's way for bringing up the topic, "...How did you feel? It must have been very difficult on both of you to have to fight one another..."

[Princess Luna]

"Twilight. This task, I wish to hand to you. Do you think you are up to the task of uncovering the pony or person behind all of this?"

Luna blinked. As per usual, the task was going to Twilight. But on a scheme such as this...well...Luna was not quite sure Twilight and her friends could handle it. Luna's face turned stern, eyes narrowed in disbelief slightly. Her wings flexed but she stayed quiet. It was quite clear she did not believe in the young unicorn in the slightest. While Twilight was powerful, Luna didn't know her magic would be up to the task of stopping whatever force was behind this. But she didn't voice her opinion and let her eyes do all of the talking for her.

That is until...
"Princess Celestia? I have to know. When you had to fight Luna, when she was Nightmare Moon...How did you feel? It must have been very difficult on both of you to have to fight one another..."

"You do not know of what you speak," Luna hissed, "Yes, you were required to fight your best friend. But through sheer hatred and jealousy, we were required to fight which is our blood! Do not compare your plight to ours, Twilight Sparkle!" She stomped a silver tipped hoof as she turned to Celestia.

"We do not know of how our sister feels but this much is true. We shall not like to be forced to do it yet again." She snorted. "Besides, the moon was cold." Shaking her head in disgust, the female turned back to Celestia.

"Sister, please," she said, "Why can we both not just skip our studies and lurk around the castle? The shadow monsters dwell there but...we thought perhaps together...we could defeat them. Side by side."

[Princess Celestia]

A hoof was held out to still her sister. While it was still a painful subject for her, Celestia would have willingly answered her student's question under other circumstances; but in Luna's presence, the subject of Nightmare Moon was something of a taboo, not to be spoken about, and the elder Alicorn could sympathise with her sister's hot-tempered reaction. Though Twilight hadn't meant any harm, she had trod dangerous ground by approaching the matter in Luna's hearing, and Celestia made no further move to intervene; she only hoped the young unicorn wouldn't take her sister's anger to heart. Later, in private, she would take the time to address Twilight's question.

Trying to dismiss the spoken reminder of the punishment she had had no choice but to inflict upon Luna on that dark day, Celestia looked again at her sister. She hadn't missed the look in Luna's eyes when she had been giving Twilight her task, and the white coated mare replied with one of her own; one familiar to Luna, that silently spoke the words 'Trust me, little sister'. The sun princess had a feeling she could anticipate the reason for Luna's disquiet, too; and so even though she addressed the words to Twilight, it was just as much for Luna's benefit that Celestia spoke up on the matter again. "I'm not asking you to stop whoever is behind this on your own; as talented as you are, that task must fall to Luna and myself. What I am asking you to do is find out his true identity; to point us at the right pony, if you will."

Her gaze turned to Luna once more as the younger spoke up once more, and Celestia allowed herself a moment to mull over the other Alicorn's words. While doing something would certainly be satisfying, however, Celestia had to shake her head.

"We will fight side by side in time," she reassured the younger princess, bending ever so slightly to touch the tip of her horn against Luna's. "But attacking the shadow creatures does little if the fiend behind them remains at large. You know our combined power as well as I; but still, it may be unwise to draw attention to ourselves until we can move against the true mastermind controlling this place. If he is a being as powerful as the Changeling Queen - or worse, Lord Tirek - we cannot afford any rash moves."

She straightened up, her horn almost brushing the library ceiling as she stood to her full height. "Once we know who he is, then you and I shall deal with him swiftly, together, as we have in the past; you have my word, little sister."