//------------------------------// // A Quarry of Crystalline Quandaries // Story: Consanguinity // by D4ftP0ny //------------------------------// “I’ll say we’ve got a few things to discuss,” said Starlight Glimmer, her lips quivering as she tried her best to control a smile. “How about we start with the fact that you basically turned into me in that alternate world, shall we? Can we talk about that for a few minutes?” Twilight sighed and leveled a severe glare at her friend and student, her muzzle scrunched up and her eyes narrow as Starlight snickered into a hoof. “Starlight, this is no time for snarky comments,” she muttered, but even as she said it she felt her cheeks grow hot. “And no, we are not going to discuss my – er, Queen Twilight’s – choices in that other world. At least, we’re not going to talk about them right now.” She reached out her hoof and pulled all of her notes back to her side of the desk, her eyes sweeping them as she allowed all of the questions she’s resisted asking to flood back into her mind. “I think we need to focus on the questions that brought us all together here today: Who is Skyla, why is she here, and is she a threat in any way?” Cadence shivered and wrapped her hooves around herself, her long mane draping low over her left eye as she stared into space. “What she described… it was horrible,” she whispered. “Wendigos, war, hatred, division... it sounds like a nightmare.” Shining Armor reached out his right hoof and looped it around his wife, one of his signature easy smiles touching his lips. “It’s all right, Cady,” he said softly, “she left that all behind. She’s here in our world with us now – so all of that stuff really is just a story that’s she’s telling us.” “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, big brother,” grumbled Twilight with a frown, “but that discussion has to wait for a moment. Let’s start with the biggest and most vital question to all of this: who is Skyla?” The purple alicorn raised a hoof and ran it down a page of her notes until she reached the information that she wanted. “According to her, she is the daughter of Cadence and Shining Armor in this other world. Do you think that she’s given us adequate information to prove it?” “I think that her full name may provide a clue to that,” said Sunburst, breaking his silence for the first time since they’d entered the room. He raised a hoof and adjusted his glasses carefully as every eye turned to him. “The fact that she is named Mia Amata Skylark may indicate that her lineage is, in fact, genuine. If I’m remembering the book I read correctly, the royal family of the Crystal Kingdom does have a long-standing tradition of using a three part naming scheme for foals.” He shrugged, his blue cape shifting and falling off of his left shoulder as he did so. “It’s by no means iron-clad proof, since our very own Princess Flurry Heart was not named using that system, but it does make her story a little easier to believe – from an academic standpoint, at least.” “But if that’s a long-standing tradition, then it wouldn’t be too hard for a pony to find that written down somewhere and just make up a name that fits that pattern to reinforce her claims,” said Starlight with a roll of her eyes. “There’s literally no evidence to prove that she’s Princess Cadence’s daughter and not some pony who became an alicorn like both of them,” she pointed her right hoof first at Twilight, then at Cadence, “then decided to skip dimensions and come wreak a little havoc in a different universe.” Princess Celestia let out a sigh and rose to her hooves, her wings rustling against her back as her mane flowed over her shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I don’t believe she was lying,” she said as she stepped away from the group and into the more open part of the room off to Twilight’s left. “She certainly has no more proof than her name and her story, that’s true enough...” The tall alicorn stretched her legs and extended her wings to their full length, a feat that she almost couldn’t accomplish in the small room; she did, however, have just enough room to do it, and after a moment she retracted her wings and turned back towards the group, her left eye hidden by her mane. “But what reason could she have for lying to us at all?” “Oh, gee, I don’t know – to stay away from ponies who want her back?” Starlight sat back and crossed her hooves over her chest, her ponytail swaying against her neck as she shook her head. “No better way to make a clean getaway from ponies in that world than to generate a little sympathy in this world.” Celestia frowned irritably at Starlight. “Somepony certainly enjoys playing devil’s advocate,” she muttered, and Twilight winced as Starlight smirked. “Hey, if that’s what it takes to keep you ponies from being too starry-eyed over this filly, then so be it.” She sighed and turned her gaze to Twilight. “I swear, you alicorns sure are a trusting bunch, aren’t you?” “That is because we have to be.” Twilight’s eyes shifted from Starlight to Princess Luna, who rose to her hooves and stepped up to stand behind the chair that Skyla had used, her teal eyes soft and sad as she gazed at the empty seat. “My sister and I have lived for countless generations of ponies, Starlight Glimmer, and we will live for countless generations more… and if we were to allow such petty suspicion to cloud our perceptions of any pony we meet, it would taint our spirits and harden our hearts until we were no better than the intolerable tyrants that seem to roam free in Skyla’s world.” She frowned slightly. “I speak from experience,” she finished quietly. Starlight’s shoulders relaxed, and after a moment she dropped her hooves back to the chair beneath her with a gentle cough. “Well, I guess when you put it that way…” “Furthermore,” continued Luna, the sadness fading from her eyes as she turned to face the four ponies who were still seated, “as a pony who has seen more than my fair share of duplicity and deceit, I could not detect any falsehood from the little princess… except for once.” Twilight’s eyes widened and she sat forward in her chair, her wings extending with a whoosh. “And when was that?!” Luna turned to face Twilight, her mane shifting and sparkling around her face as she locked eyes with the purple princess. “She was not telling us the whole truth about how she found Flurry Heart in this world,” she said coolly. “I do not think that she was lying, but she certainly omitted some of the truth.” “Well… why would she do that?” muttered Twilight as she relaxed, her wings retracting as she sat back in her chair again. “Why wouldn’t she just tell us everything right now?” “Perhaps it has something to do with being interrogated in this fashion,” said Luna, and, while her voice did not change in the slightest, Twilight felt her ears droop into her mane beneath the Moon Princess’ gaze. “After all, she was brought to this room and seated before three ponies who are mirrors of her family, two complete strangers, and two living legends from her own world, then asked to remember detailed information from a tumultuous and spiteful time that she would most likely rather forget.” Luna snorted. “I would say that it is a testament to how much she wishes to cooperate that you managed to get as much knowledge as you did.” “W-well,” stammered Twilight, her right hoof fiddling with a page of her notes, “we didn’t exactly have another choice, did we? I mean, I know I can’t stay in the Kingdom for more than a day right now, and the two of you have a country to run… questioning her like this was the fastest way to gather all the information we needed.” “At the expense of her comfort and well-being,” quipped Luna, her ears standing up straight as she frowned at Twilight yet again. “Time may be of the essence, Twilight Sparkle, but I must say that-,” Celestia sighed loudly, stepped forward, and placed her left hoof onto Luna’s right shoulder, her eyes calm and her smile neutral. “Peace, Luna,” she said softly, her gentle words cutting off her sister’s. “Twilight did what she thought was best, and even if it could have been done differently, we still managed to get answers to a lot of our questions thanks to her.” The white alicorn turned and gave Twilight a sympathetic look. “So maybe you should take it easy on her, just this once.” The blue alicorn stiffened beneath Celestia’s touch, but to her credit Luna took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her body relaxing as she exhaled. She turned her head to her right to meet Celestia’s gaze, and after a moment of eye contact she nodded minutely. “…you are right, sister,” she said softly, and with a sigh she dropped her gaze to the floor, her ears drooping into her mane. “I apologize,” she said a little louder. “I could sense how scared and nervous she was, and I…” “You needn’t explain,” said Celestia with a smile. She gave Luna another gentle pat with her hoof before dropping it back to the floor. She nodded towards the other occupants of the room, her mane bobbing around her face as she did. “Please continue everypony.” Starlight Glimmer’s ears drooped down to nestle against her mane as silence returned, and Twilight shifted uncomfortably in her chair. It seems like this whole situation has everypony on edge, no matter how far away from the actual circumstances they may be, she thought with a clandestine glance at Princess Luna, who had begun staring at Skyla’s empty chair once again. The silence stretched onwards for several long moments until Sunburst cleared his throat and sat forward on his chair. “So we can take it on fairly good advice that she was not lying – is that what I’m hearing?” Luna nodded, her eyes never leaving the chair before her. “Indeed. If she was lying, then she is far more gifted at it than any pony I have ever met… and we would never be able to distinguish the truth from her lies.” Twilight shivered. “Well, let’s hope that she was telling the truth, then. I honestly don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t trust her, Starlight,” she said with a glance at the other mare. “I mean, she’s been nothing but cooperative since we asked her to do this, so I believe we have adequate reason to believe that she is, indeed, who she says she is.” She turned her head and tapped her right hoof on her notes as she allowed her gaze to touch everypony in the room. “Any objections?” Cadence and Shining Armor both shook their heads emphatically, and were quickly joined by Celestia and Luna; Starlight, on the other hoof, let out a sharp sigh and crossed her hooves over her chest once again, her brilliant blue eyes brimming with dissatisfaction. “I’m still not convinced,” she said quietly, “but I can see I’m overruled, here. Fine, we’ll believe the little world-jumper – for now.” She sighed. “What’s next on the list?” “The next item would be why she’s here at all,” said Twilight, her hoof sliding down her notes line by line as she went over the information again. “From what we heard today, we can surmise that she came here for one very specific reason: to escape the war that threatened to consume her country. She mentioned that her mother had said that it was her ‘divine right’ to rule both nations…” She shivered, her pinions rustling against her flanks. “And without anypony there to tell her she’s wrong, it sounds like she and Queen Twilight are more or less destined to fight.” To Twilight’s surprise, Cadence let out a sharp sigh and shook her head, her mane swaying gracefully despite the clipped nature of her movements. “That’s the only part that I just can’t believe,” she said, her voice shaking ever so slightly. “That her mother could throw away her happiness and well being for the sake of some war… it sounds absolutely ludicrous to me.” She glanced at Shining Armor, who gave her a reassuring smile. “We would give up everything we had to make sure Flurry Heart was safe and happy, so how could our other world selves be so selfish?” Celestia chuckled. “Don’t forget that Twilight, Luna, and I all saw a world where I was the villain, Cadence.” She stepped past Luna and turned her back to the door, presenting her left side to Twilight as she smiled down at the pink alicorn. “Mirror worlds are strange places, and they sometimes might appear nonsensical to us, but you have to remember two things about them: one, that you are not the ponies you see in those worlds, and two, that they have their own unique sets of circumstances that led to their current states.” Her smile wilted just slightly, and Twilight saw a glimmer of sad memories in Celestia’s eyes. “Starswirl and I did a lot of tests with mirror worlds and mirror transportation when I was younger, so I can tell you without reservation that you must remember those two things above all others.” Cadence stared up at her aunt for a long moment, but finally she let out a sigh and managed to give Celestia a smile and a nod. “You’re right, Aunt Celestia,” she said quietly. “I… I’ll do my best.” “Be sure that you do,” replied the taller alicorn, her smile rebounding. “You have more than enough to worry about here, on your own side of the mirror.” Twilight frowned as Cadence nodded again, but she held her tongue. Celestia knows what she’s talking about when it comes to mirror worlds, she thought as her gaze flicked back to her former mentor, which is why I’m going to be relying on her for experience in this matter. “Her story does sound a little suspicious, I’ll grant you that,” said Sunburst as he hopped down from his chair, his cloak shimmering as he paced towards the bookshelf, his eyes unfocused as he lost himself in thought, “but I’d say that she’s given us enough information to validate her world, at least. I mean, she gave us history all the way back to the battle against Nightmare Moon and walked us forward – it would take a pretty long time to think up enough lies to cover all that material.” He tossed a smile at Twilight. “Asking her about Discord was sheer brilliance, Princess – an excellent question for judging if she was lying or remembering.” Twilight felt her cheeks color slightly at the praise, but before she could respond Starlight Glimmer sat forward on her chair again, her ears perked upright. “Again, she didn’t give us proof,” the unicorn complained, pointing her right hoof at Sunburst. “She answered Twilight’s questions in a convincing way, sure, but if she had enough time to prepare, it wouldn’t be very hard for her to do just that.” Princess Luna’s eyes blazed and she gave Starlight a withering glare that caused the pink unicorn to sink a little lower in her chair. “O-or we can just believe her, that’s fine too,” squeaked Starlight with a sheepish smile. Princess Luna squinted at her for a long moment, but eventually the nocturnal monarch sighed and turned her gaze back to Twilight. “So we can all agree on why she came to our world – the escape of her own and the destiny that waits for her there – even if we cannot all agree on what exactly she was fleeing. Would that be an accurate summation?” Twilight nodded. “I would say so, yes. Does anypony object?” Starlight fidgeted in her chair, but this time she didn’t even try to speak out; instead, she folded her front legs over her chest and slouched a little further down in her seat, her lips pressed into a thin line that Twilight recognized immediately. She’s trying so hard to keep her negative comments to herself, thought the Princess with a gentle smile at her student of seven years. Starlight has changed so much in these past few years, but in some ways she’s still the headstrong mare who fought me to a standstill. “All right, then,” continued Twilight when nopony spoke, “we’ll move on to the final and most important topic of the bunch: does Skyla represent any kind of threat to the Crystal Kingdom or Equestria, either directly or indirectly?” Cadence turned to look at Shining Armor, who offered his wife a smile and a wink before rising from his own chair, his broad hooves thudding against the carpet in the room so firmly that Twilight was sure that he would have shaken the whole room if they’d been in a normal wooden structure. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her ever since she got here and having my guards around to attend to her, to make sure that I could answer that very question.” He stepped away from his wife and made sure that he met the eyes of everypony present before continuing, something that made a warm feeling of pride blossom in Twilight’s chest. He’s come a long way since he married Cadence, she thought. He really does seem like royalty, now – so confident and self-assured. “I wanted to see for myself how she was going to act, and what I’ve found, as well as what my guards have seen, seems to indicate one thing.” He paused and Starlight Glimmer sat up in her chair, her eyes wide as she stared at the stallion, but her expectant expression quickly melted into a sour frown as Shining smiled. “She’s just a kid, scared and off in a new world. She hasn’t asked any questions that seem out of the ordinary, and she’s never actively tried to ditch the guards or go off by herself to anywhere she’s not supposed to.” He shrugged. “All in all, she seems to be completely on the level.” “Did you set ponies to guard her?” asked Celestia carefully, but Shining’s smile didn’t waver as he shook his head. “No, but yes. See, she told us that her world was completely different from ours, but that the Castle seemed to be pretty much identical – at least as far as she could see. So, I thought that it would be smart to keep a guard around her during most of the day, just to make sure that she found her way around all right and didn’t have any questions about anything.” He stepped over to where Sunburst was standing and nudged the orange stallion with his right elbow, his smile becoming a grin. “Sunburst here was a big help, too. He invited Skyla to attend Flurry’s classes so that she could have a chance to see how things went here, and she seemed to really enjoy that.” Sunburst blushed and adjusted his glasses. “Oh, I didn’t do anything special,” he muttered, but a smile found its way onto his face despite the denial. Twilight smiled at the scholarly stallion and nodded, her mane bobbing around her face. “That was a great idea, Sunburst,” she agreed. “It got Skyla involved with Flurry and our world, and that’s the best and fastest way to acclimate a pony to their new surroundings.” Sunburst blushed even more as he nodded to her, and Twilight felt her cheeks grow hotter before she shifted her gaze back to her brother. “So you’d say that she’s not dangerous at all, Shining?” The stallion’s smile wavered and shrank slightly. “Well… that's correct. Skyla herself isn’t a danger in the least.” Now Twilight frowned, and she could feel Celestia and Luna do the same even if she couldn’t see it. “And what does that mean?” she pressed, and thankfully Shining Armor didn’t seem interested in playing coy with his opinions. He sighed and straightened his shoulders until he stood at his full height, and Twilight had to admit that he cut a very princely figure. “I’m not worried about Skyla at all… but I am worried about the world that she’s from.” He gestured towards Twilight with his horn, his chin dipping towards the floor as he did. “Twilight was able to go back and forth between our world and the world of Canterlot High without any trouble whatsoever, and she told me about the world that she and her friends visited that they were able to return from without an issue.” He shook his head slightly. “My only concern for our safety is making sure that whatever portal Skyla used to get here remains closed, or broken, or both. If that were to open back up…” he shuddered, “…well, let’s just say that our kingdom hasn’t been preparing for a war for the past several years. If a warlike alternate version of our nation poured through a mirror into our world… well, I can’t say we’d be in any position to tell them to go home, if you know what I mean.” “And that’s to say nothing of the danger that the portal itself might pose,” said Sunburst as he stepped forward, his glasses shimmering in the diffused light from the crystals. “Starlight and I took the time to go over every book that I could find in any library I could access, and the information I found wasn’t always good.” He brought his gaze to Cadence and smiled. “We also researched the information you requested us to, Princess, but we’ll have to have that discussion at another time.” Cadence’s ears perked up out of her mane for the first time since Skyla had left, and Twilight was relieved to see a hint of happiness touch her sister-in-law’s face. “That’s great, Sunburst,” said Cadence with a hesitant smile. “Does that mean that you found something positive?” The orange stallion nodded so emphatically that his glasses bounced on his nose a few times, causing Cadence to giggle softly into her hoof. “Wonderful! We will have to talk later!” “And just so we're clear about the portal,” said Starlight as she sat up in her chair and waved a hoof in front of her, “from what we can tell, Skyla’s calculations were accurate. She really did get through and close the door behind her, so to speak.” The unicorn dropped her hoof back to her chair and looked to Shining Armor. “We won’t go into details right now, since we still have a lot to discuss on the subject, but I think you’re pretty much in the clear as far as an invading army goes.” Shining’s smile returned in full force, and he let his ears droop in relief. “Okay… that’s a load off my mind. Thanks, you guys.” “So, does that conclude our meeting?” Luna’s tone was neutral and calm, but as Twilight turned her gaze back to the blue alicorn, she saw that Luna’s wings were fidgeting against her sides in an uncharacteristic display of impatience. “I believe I’ve been inside this tiny room for far too long and, if this discussion is to go on any longer, I think a recess is in order.” Twilight glanced at her notes, a smile tugging at her lips. “Um… I believe that wraps up our main discussion,” she said after a moment. “We all agree that Skyla is who she says she is, that she came here to escape a terrible fate in another world, and that she poses no direct or indirect threat to our world.” She brought her eyes back up to the group and offered them a bright smile. “So, I guess that’s meeting adjourned, ponies!” Luna barely took the time to nod to Twilight before she bolted for the door, every bit of her body language screaming that she needed to be away from everypony for a little while. Her horn lit up and she tugged the door open wide, narrowly missing Sunburst in the process. The Moon Princess disappeared through the door with an agitated flick of her ethereal tail, and she was followed closely by Cadence, who paused only long enough to give Twilight a smile and press her muzzle against her husband before vanishing through the door, as well. Twilight sighed and relaxed back in her chair as Celestia approached the desk, a smile on her lips. “You did very well today, Twilight,” she said softly. “Though you might work on being in charge of the meeting for next time,” she rolled her eyes, “because things got a little sticky there for a second. Luna is used to being the one in charge of meetings, so when somepony else is running them she tends to get a little… antsy.” Twilight swallowed and felt herself shrink infinitesimally. “I… I’ll remember that, Princess,” she muttered. “I tried to stay in control of the group, but-,” “But you had a group of some of the most powerful and ancient ponies known to pony-kind to contend with,” finished Celestia with a wink. “Don’t dwell on it too much. I just thought you might appreciate some constructive criticism.” “You’re right, I do.” Twilight sat up again and offered Celestia a genuine smile. “Thank you again… and thank you for the books on Starswirl’s mirror research. I wouldn’t feel as confident talking about Skyla’s traveling if I didn’t have the notes and journals that you provided.” “Think nothing of it, Twilight – it’s the least I could do.” The white alicorn nodded graciously and moved towards the door, her mane flowing behind her. “I do hope that you’ll join us for dinner instead of staying cooped up in here the rest of the night,” she said over her shoulder, her smile saying in no uncertain terms that she didn’t expect Twilight to actually follow her advice. “I’ll do my best,” offered Twilight with a shrug and a half smile, and Celestia laughed lightly as she exited the room. Shining Armor and Sunburst, who had spent their time since Twilight had adjourned the meeting whispering to one another in hushed tones, gave each other broad smiles before stepping apart. Shining raised one massive hoof and patted Sunburst firmly on the back with enough force that it almost knocked the smaller stallion’s glasses right off his face. “Thanks, Sunburst – I’ll pass the info on to Cadence when I see her. We really appreciate all your hard work, you know.” Sunburst raised a hoof and adjusted his glasses with a modest smile. “I’m just glad that I could help,” he said as Shining put his hoof back to the ground. “And if the two of you have any further questions about it, please don’t hesitate to ask me.” “You’ve got it.” Shining turned his eyes to Twilight and his smile grew. “You did a great job today, sis! Keep it up and you’ll be leading world summits in no time!” “And what about you, mister I’m-Suddenly-a-Respectable-Prince?” said Twilight with a scrunch of her muzzle. “You sure sounded confident earlier – how long did you practice that little speech?” “Practice? That was all off the cuff, little sister,” he winked and turned for the door, “which that means I’ve been practicing every waking moment since three days ago.” He waved with his right front hoof as he exited the room. “Don’t stay in there too late; you have to travel back to Ponyville in the morning, after all!” He turned the corner and vanished from sight, leaving Twilight with Starlight and Sunburst. From her chair, Starlight’s magic ignited and closed the door a little harder than she needed to, the slam echoing in the small room as she crossed her hooves angrily. “Gosh, what a great help I was, Twilight,” she said with a frown so deep that it scrunched her muzzle. “I added so much valuable information to the discussion and wasn’t told to just shut up even ooonce…” “Oh, don’t be that way,” said Twilight as she hopped down from her chair. “I know that Luna and Celestia didn’t appreciate your input, but I did.” She circled the desk and smiled at her friend. “You’re kind of pessimistic sometimes, but that’s just because you try to be cautious about some things that the rest of us take for granted. And you’re getting a lot better at not being suspicious of everypony, but this situation is so strange that I can’t blame you for being a little more cautious than usual.” Starlight’s expression softened and she sat up a little straighter. “…do you mean it?” she muttered, her eyes shimmering with hope. Twilight giggled lightly and nodded. “Of course I do. You made us think about things that we might not have thought about, and that’s a good thing.” She offered the unicorn a soft smile that she hoped looked mentor-like. “I do hope that you’ll give Skyla a little more of your trust, though. She’s done nothing to give us any reason to not trust her.” “Yeah, well, she hasn’t exactly done anything to earn that trust, either,” grumbled Starlight as she slid down from her chair onto her hooves. “But we’ll deal with that at another time.” She nodded towards Sunburst. “We spent a long time poring over those books and journals, and now that the plebeians are gone-,” “Princess Celestia is not a plebeian,” gasped Twilight, but Starlight just rolled her eyes. “-we can get down to the real issues at hoof.” Starlight stepped up towards the desk and touched the short stack of papers that Skyla had left behind as Sunburst nodded. “Yes – the questions that we didn’t want to pose to the others.” He sighed. “Is Skyla’s portal going to destroy our world? And if we figure out that it is, what can be done to stop it?” Twilight nodded sadly and sighed, her wings drooping just slightly towards the floor. “When we dealt with the mirror world where Celestia was a villain, the Princess said that too much contact between the worlds would cause them to collide, meld, and change things irreparably… or destroy them completely.” She stood up straighter, her eyes determined. “We need to do whatever we can to figure out whether Skyla’s mere presence here could induce such a tragedy.” Starlight’s eyes remained on the papers as she shifted them around idly. “And if it will?” she asked quietly. Twilight’s ears drooped to her mane, but she didn’t give voice to the horrible thoughts that sprang into being inside her head. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” she said aloud. “Now come on, you two – it’s time for a little magic, a lot of math, and a boatload of theoretical physics!” “Oh joy – somepony please stop the fun,” deadpanned Starlight.