Soothsaying, Chapter 3: Truth and Consequences
Or
Princess Luna Explains it All
Twilight’s dreams were fitful and fragmentary. She caught glimpses of familiar faces, all gazing upon her with unfamiliar expressions: confusion and concern and outright fear. She caught glimpses of places, too: Canterlot and Ponyville, the two places she had called home, and the myriad other towns she had visited, from Cloudsdale to distant Appleoosa. But there were other, unfamiliar scenes as well, and Twilight drifted from sunless caves to Luna’s crater-pocked prison as she tossed and turned in her sleep. The view that greeted her eyes when they finally flickered open was nothing like as majestic.
As she blinked up at the stark white ceiling, a voice said
“Ah, you’re awake.”
Pushing herself up on the pillows, Twilight looked around. She was lying in a bedroom of the palace in Canterlot, and Luna stood at the foot of her bed.
“My sister,” the princess of the moon said, “has hardly left this room for the past two days.” She glanced out the window, where the sky was glowing red with the dawn. “She would be here now, if it weren’t for her cosmic duties.”
Twilight stared around the room. She had been unconscious for two days? What had happened to her? She remembered leaving for her appointment with Celestia. She’d been looking forward to it, but then, she always was. Not even her persistent headache could dampen her spirits. Not when it had all gone so well, all until…
Twilight’s head jerked towards Luna, staring at the impassive princess with an expression of horror as the memories trickled in. She’d been happy, so happy, to see Celestia’s eyes darken with desire as she looked at her. And then Luna had come, telling her that they were her words in the Princess’s mouth, not her own. That she had taken over Celestia’s mind.
Twilight shuddered. Nightmare Moon hadn’t managed that. Discord hadn’t managed that. She fell back with sound halfway between a moan and a sob. It wouldn’t be long before she would mentioned in the same breath as those two. Nightmare Moon, bringer of eternal darkness. Discord, source of chaos and strife. And Twilight Sparkle, who had overthrown the mind of Celestia herself. The unicorn buried her head in her hooves. How could she do something like that ?
The sound of hooves on the floorboards made her look her up. Luna stood at the side of the bed, looking down at her with a sympathetic expression.
“I—how—what did I…?” Twilight stammered, trying to find the words.
Luna sighed. “Neither I nor my sister blame you, Twilight. You should hear that first. You couldn’t have known.” She shook her head. “As for the ‘how’… well, it’s taken me some time to piece it together. But, apparently, you managed to use the cards for the exact opposite of their intended purpose. You used them to tell the future—“
“I thought that was there intended purpose,” Twilight interrupted, confusion momentarily overcoming her horror.
“You used them to tell the future what it was going to be,” Luna finished. In the face of Twilight’s stare, she continued “I only know what Shining Upon told me, and what I witnessed myself. But somehow, you turned the cards around. You stopped reading the flow of the world and started bending it around you.”
“How could I? How is that even possible?”
“You’re the element of magic,” Luna said simply. “And I think sometimes we—you, and my sister, and myself—forget what that means. Magic is not just something that unicorns do. It isn’t even something that ponies do. It’s a fact, a basic force of our world. And that makes you… an avatar of that force, perhaps. A focal point. A sufficiently long lever. But even so, the amount of power needed to do what you were doing—unconsciously, no less—put you under enormous strain. Permanent damage…”
Twilight’s hooves flew to her brow, the crack that was the last thing she had heard echoing in her memory. They found her horn, whole as it had ever been. She tapped it gingerly, as if might crumble at her touch, as Luna finished.
“… was a very real possibility. Fortunately, my sister intervened before it could come to that.”
“What? How? It shattered! I heard it shatter!” Twilight lowered her hooves slowly.
“That, she should tell you herself. And,” Luna looked up at the ceiling, “if she would stop eavesdropping from the roof, she would be able to.”
There was a flash of golden light as Celestia materialized in the room.
“I was not eavesdropping,” the princess of the sun huffed. “I was merely watching the sunrise to ensure it went properly.”
“Of course you weren't, sister.” Luna trotted back to the foot of the bed, allowing Celestia to take up her previous position by
Twilight’s head. There was no discussion of the fact, it was simply how the sisters moved. As if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Twilight stared up at her princess. At her mentor. At the mare she loved. “Celestia…Princess, I’m so…”
“Shh. I know.” Her voice was soft and soothing, and she bent her head to nuzzle Twilight, just for a moment. “It’s so good to see you safe, Twilight. After what happened, I was afraid…” she trailed off, shaking her head.
Twilight felt her eyes fill with tears. She didn’t deserve Celestia. Not as a teacher, certainly not as a lover. After all she had done, she would have no right to consider herself ill-used if she had woken up on the moon—and yet, the princess was still concerned for her safety.
From the foot of the bed, Luna coughed. “You clearly have a lot to talk about. However, sister, before that: Twilight asked how, exactly, you managed to stop her.”
“Oh. Well,” Celestia said uncomfortably, “when I heard Luna explain what was going on, and realized what it was doing to you… What I mean is, you were close to collapsing, and the time it could have taken to talk you down… I needed to act, and…”
Twilight stared at Celestia in confusion. What could make the princess of the sun as nervous as a foal caught stealing sweets? What strength must the princess of the sun must have resorted to, to stop her wayward student? All the power of the sun, brought to bear against one fragile unicorn. Who knew what sort of damage—however accidental—that divine power might inflict on mortal flesh?
* * *
The two sister goddesses stood in the palace gardens. In the distance, commotion rose as the rogue magic dissipated and the dazed, bruised, and confused royal guards attempted to regain control of the situation. Celestia stood tall, balanced on just two legs, her forehooves held above her head. Her sister stared at her, fear and wonder fighting for control of her face.
“You hit her with a chair.” Luna's voice was almost awed.
Celestia dropped down onto all fours, letting the two halves of the stricken piece of furniture fall from her hooves. Ignoring her gaping sister, she knelt by Twilight's head.
“You hit her with a chair.”
The princess of the sun brushed Twilight's mane away from her forehead, leaving a pale red streak of blood on her white coat. She conjured a piece of linen in a flash of golden light, and began to wind it carefully around her student's head.
“You hit her with a chair!”
“Yes, Luna.” Celestia barked, head snapping up to glare at her sister. “I did. I panicked. Now my student is hurt, and in need of my care. If you are done stating the obvious--”
She was interrupted by the arrival of two of the royal guards, looking harried but otherwise unharmed.
“Your highness, your highness.” the one in the lead said, with a cursory bow. “We're under magical attack. If you would both please accompany me, we should get under cover while we have a chance.”
“Thank you, sergeant.” Celestia slipped easily back into the role of the gracious monarch. Only someone who knew her as Luna did could have noticed the undercurrent of strain in her voice. “However, the danger has passed, and it is time to tend to the wounded.”
The guard bowed once more, moving from assertive to deferential with the departure of the emergency. “Of course, your highness.” His eyes fell on the unicorn his princess was leaning over. “Shall we escort Twilight Sparkle to the infirmary?”
“No!” Celestia closed her eyes, then repeated, more quietly, “No. Search the garden. Tend to your own. I will look after my student.”
Luna watched as her sister carefully wrapped the unicorn mare in a golden aura, laying her gently across her back.
“Sergeant.” The princess of the moon said, looking away from a scene that suddenly seemed too personal to observe. “I will help you collect the injured, and repair what damage I can.”
“Thank you, your highness.”
“Yes,” Celestia murmured. “Thank you.”
* * *
“What my sister is heroically avoiding saying,” Luna drawled from across the room, “is that--”
“Ihityouwithachair,” Celestia stammered out.
Twilight blinked. “You what?”
“I had to!” Celestia wailed. “You were in pain, Twilight—you said so yourself. And you wouldn’t stop, so I—I did what I had to do.”
“I—no, it’s okay, really. I was just surprised,” Twilight stammered, more than a little confused by Celestia’s apparent anguish.
Across the room, Luna was edging towards the door. “I believe I’m needed on the other side of the castle. I’ll just go and check on things.”
Neither mare looked around as the door clicked shut behind her.
“Princess…” Twilight swallowed nervously. “I don’t understand. I mean, I understand why you did it. You had to. But I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”
Celestia blinked down at her student. “Because I hurt you, Twilight. Do I need another reason? I have always hated raising my hoof against my subjects, especially when they are as dear to me as you…” The princess of the sun sighed. “It just seems a terribly shabby way to begin a relationship.”
“A…a relationship?” Twilight stammered. “But Luna told me that everything in the garden was just my… wishful thinking.”
But Celestia smiled. “Ah, yes. Fortunately, my sister spoke in haste, without knowing all the facts.”
“Um…good?” Twilight hazarded. “Does that mean I didn’t accidentally use a deck of cards to warp reality?”
“Well… no. She was right about that part. But she was wrong about the amount of control you had over the process.”
Celestia slipped, apparently without meaning to, into her teacher’s voice. “Tell me, Twilight, why do you think it fell to Luna to travel across Equestria and back to find out what was going on? Why was it that I didn’t notice anything was wrong?”
“I don’t see how that helps. You didn’t notice because I didn’t want you to.”
“Ah. But I’ve talked to my sister, you see, and to your friends in Ponyville. Ponies noticed when your magic touched them, even if they didn’t realize it. There were signs. Symptoms.” The alicorn paused, reaching out to smooth Twilight's mane. “But I felt nothing, not even when Luna needed to physically push through your magic to reach us. You were exerting considerable power, but not doing anything in particular with it—apart from keeping it turned away from me, and from yourself. Even when you didn’t know what you were doing, you were shielding us.”
“But you just said, I didn’t know what I was doing. It’s not something I can take credit for.”
“Twilight, if you were willing to accept blame for something you did unintentionally, you must be willing to accept praise as well. But even that misses the point—my actions in the garden were my own, Twilight. And no one else’s.”
For the first time since she had woken up, Twilight smiled.
“You mean…”
“I mean,” said Celestia, leaning closer, “that we can make a better beginning than me hitting you with a chair.”
Luna kept her ear pressed to the door until she heard a soft moan. Then, she walked away, fighting the urge to whistle. All things considered, she thought that had gone rather well.
* * *
Despite that, she made an effort to catch Twilight alone after she was up and about. It took a surprisingly long time for the young unicorn to leave her sister’s shadow, which was, Luna supposed, understandable. And, of course, there were her friends from Ponyville to consider. Knowing her sister to be somewhat preoccupied, Luna had sent word to them of Twilight's injury. They had arrived the same day, and fussed over the injured unicorn almost as much as Celestia had. Between Twilight's plaintive apologies and their own relief that their friend was all right, it had been some time before they parted ways. So, it was with some satisfaction that the princess of the moon pounced as her quarry stepped out of the library.
“Ah, Twilight Sparkle. I was hoping to run into you.”
The unicorn’s head jerked up, a slightly hunted look in her eyes. “Oh. Is this about the sibling speech?”
Luna blinked, nonplussed. “The what?”
Twilight blushed, very slightly. “Just something Rainbow Dash warned me about. I guess you’re not here to threaten me with a ghastly end if I break your sister’s heart?”
Luna chuckled, waving a hoof airily. “Far from it. Actually, I wanted to tell you not to let my sister over-awe you. I know better than anyone what an infuriating mare she can be, and you shouldn’t be afraid to crack the whip.” Luna paused as Twilight’s blush deepened. “Metaphorically speaking, of course. I’ve often speculated that a night or two of sleeping on the couch would do her a world of good.”
Twilight laughed, then looked around guiltily, as if someone might have heard. “Actually, Princess there was something I wanted to ask you. I’ve been meaning to talk to Celestia about it, but…”
“You’ve both had other things on your minds,” Luna interrupted smoothly. She wondered how many shades she could make the unicorn turn in one conversation.
“Um. Yes. But I wanted to know was,” Twilight bit her lip. “Just how much damage did I do? I mean, it’s been hard getting straight answers out Celestia, but I know things got kind of crazy near the end.
“Yes, they did, didn’t they? Well, I don’t have a list off the top of my head, but if I had to guess…” Luna paused, then rattled off “One statue exploded, two rakes rooted, sprouted, and blossomed, three hedges damaged by frost. Two guard uniforms turned pink, two turned to bees, and one to chocolate. Two guards treated for stings after being attacked by their uniforms, one for a stomachache after he ate his. That last one might lead to a review of our hiring policies, to be quite frank.”
Catching Twilight’s wide-eyed stare, Luna smiled and went on “I wouldn’t worry too much, Twilight. It was something of an unusual afternoon, but hardly the first this castle has had to endure—nor the last, I have no doubt. What happened with your friends in Ponyville is of course your own concern, but given that they fussed over you almost as much as my sister did, I doubt you have much to worry about.” She turned and began to trot down the corridor. “Do take care of yourself, Twilight Sparkle. You’ve no idea the state my sister works herself into when she thinks you’re in trouble.”
“Princess.”
Luna turned. Twilight was regarding her with a steady gaze and a serious expression.
“Yes?”
“Why are you so good at it? The whole… relationship thing? Because Celestia and I compared notes, and you were deliberately leaving us together at every opportunity. How did you know?”
Luna gave a small smile and looked up at the ceiling. “The sun and the moon. Day and night. They’re not just times, you know. They’re more important than that. They’re entire realms of their own, with their own associations and orders. So, just as my sister represents, in her way, not just daylight but also industriousness, the harvest, and good fortune, I have my own aspects. Fields that I enjoy a certain insight into. More private, generally. Secretive, and quiet. After all,” she smirked, “the night is so much more romantic than the day.”
* * *
That night, as the sliver of the moon rose into the sky, Twilight found herself in Celestia's tower. She had visited the princess's private quarters many times as a filly—then, she had entered with a mingled sense of eagerness and trepidation, always wondering if her lessons were proceeding to the princess's liking. And, no matter how many times Celestia her efforts for the day had conjured that gentle smile, Twilight never basked in the glow that smile gave her for too long. The next day was always a fresh slate, always a fresh chance for her to fulfill her teacher's trust in her—or to disappoint. Even now, with
Celestia beside her, Twilight found it difficult to shake the feeling.
“You're trembling.” Celestia stopped, lifting her wing from Twilight's shoulders.
“Sorry,” Twilight said with an uncertain smile. “Just old memories, I guess.”
They stepped inside, and Twilight looked up at her... what was Celestia to her, exactly? Her fillyfriend? The word seemed too small, too trivial to apply to the alicorn. Her lover, then? Twilight blushed. She wasn't that either. Not technically. Not yet.
The princess of the sun turned to face the purple unicorn. “Twilight... you know that you have never disappointed me, don't you?”
Twilight met Celestia's eyes only for a moment before glancing away. “I know.”
“Then why do you always strive to prove yourself, again and again?” Celesita's horn glowed as she lifted a familiar deck of cards from its place on a bookshelf. “That is what you meant to do with your research into the Arcana, yes?”
As she spoke, the alicorn began to shuffle the cards, apparently absent-mindedly.
“Yes,” Twilight agreed, eying the cards nervously.
Catching her expression, Celestia smiled slightly, then fanned the deck out, allowing Twilight to inspect the cards. Each and everyone was plain, white cardboard. “Perhaps you broke the deck somehow. Or perhaps you made these cards your own, and they will not work for any other. In either case, I believe you should have this back. If you wish to, I think continuing your research might be wothwhile.”
“You're... you're giving them back to me? After everything that happened?” Twilight's mouth dropped open. “Why?”
“Because I trust you,” Celestia said gently. “I trust your skill, and your intelligence, and your heart. You proved all those things to me long ago, Twilight. I could not dream of doubting you know.”
Carefully, Twilight took the cards from Celestia's grip, and set them down. “Thank you, Celestia. And I know that I don't have to. Not really. But...” She trailed off, helplessly.
“But you don't understand why.” The princess of the sun placed a hoof under Twilight's chin, drawing the unicorn's gaze to her own. “Do you know why I love you, Twilight Sparkle? Not because you are clever. Not because you are brave. Not because you are kind, or powerful, or beautiful—though you are all these things, and more.” Twilight felt the tears trying to escape, and saw her own watery gaze reflected in the alicorn's eyes. “I love you because of the joy you take in the world, in experiencing it and understanding it and making it better, piece by piece. Because that I know that even if you were to swear off magic today, and never cast another spell, your love of learning, your spark, would still make you worthy of being my student. Because--” Celestia paused, swallowed audibly, and continued “Because even though I have seen so much that so many wonders have become commonplace, I can look into your eyes and see the world reflected back, as bright and enthralling as though I was seeing it for the first time.”
Both mares were weeping, overcome with emotion too long hidden, too long delayed. Twilight found herself speechless, humbled before her teacher's outpouring of love. Nothing she could say could match that. So instead, she leaned forward and kissed mingling her tears and Celestia's own, returning all of the trust, acceptance, and love of Celestia's words in that one, heated embrace.
* * *
Outside, Luna took wing and flew across the castle, gliding lazily on the cool breezes. The curtains of her sister’s room were firmly shut, but a lantern cast familiar shadows against the drapes. As the figures began to move, Luna turned away, and sent a cloud to wrap itself around the tower for good measure. Some things, she decided, it was better not to know.