Second Chances

by ArguingPizza

Simple

As the wind rushed through her hair, warring against her mane’s own stubborn current, Celestia struggled to contain the excitement she felt. It would be undignified for the guards pulling her chariot to see their Princess dance in place like a schoolfilly. Still, the closer they grew to Ponyville, the more difficult it became.

Fortunately for Celestia, she had more than a few centuries of experience under her wing when it came to putting on an air of calm. To any observers, she appeared completely serene, though she did allow a small, guilty smile to peak out from behind her mask as she glanced back towards Canterlot.

Following Twilight’s decision to return to Ponyville, Celestia had found it impossible to concentrate. She had tried, she truly had. She’d even continued overseeing the Finance and Interior Ministers’ debate from the previous day, but she had been utterly unable to follow along. Thoughts of Twilight hammered against her skull, clouding her mind and robbing her of awareness. Twilight, sobbing uncontrollably against her, pawing the photo album, begging her to answer why, why her brother and wife had betrayed her.

In the end, after only two days apart, she had dismissed her court early and departed before any could question her. In minutes, she was on her personal chariot headed towards Ponyville. Only a short stop in the city had delayed her.

It had been a necessary stop, in her opinion. The small light pink box nestled securely under her wing did a good job of restraining the tantalizing scent of fresh donuts, but there was no container in all of Equestria capable of totally encapsulating the sugary magic that Pony Joe so skillfully wielded.

As they drew nearer and the vague outline of the village morphed into distinguishable structures, Celestia did her best to convince herself that the fluttering in her stomach was merely the pastries calling to her, and not anything more meaningful.

‘It’s just a simple visit between friends. Nothing more.’

Celestia directed the guards to point themselves in the direction of Ponyville’s newest landmark: the enormous Castle of Harmony that towered above its surroundings. The crystal glittered in the sun, and yet somehow its branches managed to cast a comforting shadow for the tired and weary to find sanctuary from the early summer heat.

With practiced ease, the guards landed with nary a bump nor bounce a short distance from the arboreal palace. With a polite smile and a nod of thanks, Celestia dismissed them to return to Canterlot.

As she approached the large double doors of the castle, Celestia glanced down at herself to ensure her coat was in good condition, and her feathers were properly aligned. After all, it wouldn’t do for a Princess to be about in public looking anything less than her best.

Confident in her appearance, Celestia stopped at the door. She was suddenly overcome with a brief moment of indecision. Should she knock? The castle was technically open to the public, but at the same time it was Twilight’s home. What if she was entertaining? What if she wanted to be left alone? What if—

The door opened, and put a stop to her uncharacteristic mental crisis.

“Princess?”

Celestia nearly jumped at Twilight’s voice. “Twilight,” she managed in a surprisingly well composed voice, “I didn’t think you were expecting me. I was actually hoping to surprise you,” she said with a small hint of disappointment.

Twilight gestured towards the receding outline of her chariot and guards. “Gold chariots and giant purple pennants aren’t exactly subtle,” she said with a giggle.

“Fair enough,” Celestia chuckled. The two Princesses lapsed into an awkward silence, each waiting for the other to speak next. When it became apparent Twilight wouldn’t be the one to break the silence, Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” she asked with titter. “If required, I did think to bring a bribe.” With a flourish of white feathers, Celestia opened her wing to reveal the pink box of confections marked with the stylized ‘PJ’ logo so famous among those who had ever lived in the City of the Sun.

Twilight’s eyes widened, and in an instant Celestia found herself engulfed in an aura of raspberry magic and yanked violently inside. The door slammed shut behind her, sealing them, and more importantly the donuts, inside.

---

“Okay, turns out alicorns aren’t immune to sugar crash,” Twilight moaned, rubbing her swollen stomach as she lounged on one of the many plush cushions in what served as her living room. Powdered sugar, Bamareian cream, and jelly filling matted her muzzle, hooves, and, somehow, back.

Celestia giggled as she daintily dabbed around her own mouth. The napkin came away as clean as the day it had been woven.

“That may be less due to our lack of advanced resiliency and more to you having eaten several dozen of them in under a minute.” She prodded the now very-empty donut box with a hoof, eying it suspiciously for hidden compartments. “I’m positive there weren’t even that many in the box.”

“Pinkie Pie’s third rule,” Twilight mumbled miserably. At Celestia’s uncomprehending look, Twilight continued, “Never. Question. The donuts.”

“Speaking of Pinkie Pie,” Celestia began delicately, “I assume you’ve seen your friends since your arrival?”

Twilight nodded, careful not to move anything below her neck for fear of upsetting the tenous hold her body held over the baked goods. “I’d hardly been back for five minutes before Pinkie had the whole town gathered for a welcome-back party. That’s not an exaggeration either, I timed it.”

Though she wasn’t familiar with Pinkie Pie on a personal level, based on all she knew of the mare Celestia was somewhat surprised it had taken her even that long.

“Have you spoken to them about…what transpired?”

Twilight stopped rolling about miserably, seeming to sag in place. Her eyes took on a solemn, distant gaze.

“No, I didn’t.”

Aware she was treading on thin ice, Celestia was careful to mind her words as she asked, “May I ask why?”

At first, Twilight didn’t respond. The silence dragged on long enough Celestia feared Twilight was about to spiral into another tearful fit, or worse, shut herself off completely.

“I-I just…I didn’t want to talk about. Not here, not in Ponyville.”

Celestia had an inkling of what Twilight was alluding to, but held her tongue and let the younger Princess speak her mind. “I know it’s silly, but it was like if I don’t talk about, then it’s not real, it's all just some bad dream. Like I can wake up next to Cadence, and have everything be okay.” Tears trailed down her cheeks, mixing with the sugary leftovers and matting her fur.

“But it’s not. It’s not going to be okay. It can’t be okay.” Twilight began to sniffle, and Celestia extended a comforting wing over Twilight, ignoring the sticky feeling on her feathers. It was a position she was finding herself in often as of late. She laid beside Twilight, once again helpless to find the words to comfort the jilted mare despite her eons of experience.

Then, a thought struck her.

“Twilight, did I ever tell you about the sunset?”

Twilight looked up at her in confusion, her silent crying momentarily derailed. “W-what? What about it?”

Celestia, positive she had Twilight’s attention, looked towards the section of crystal masonry that sat between her and where she instinctively knew to be the exact point the sun would set that evening.

“It’s such a simple concept, really. Just the sun moving past the horizon, past where even the highest-flying pegasus can see it. Nothing truly special about it, just a trick of perspective and the nature of light.” Celestia paused and turned back to Twilight, a soft smile on her lips.

“I still remember the first time I saw the sun set. I was only a filly, and Luna was still a newborn foal. It was the first time our parents had ever let me stay up late, or what I considered late at the time. I remember when I realized the sun was going away, I became terrified that it would never return. I chased after it, ran as far and as fast as I could, begging it to come back.”

Celestia’s smile grew distant and nostalgic. “But, of course, I couldn’t keep up. Tiny legs, after all.”

Celestia pantomimed quick, tiny hoofsteps and drew a breathless laugh from Twilight, who was staring at her almost transfixed. Celestia had few memories of her youth, and those she did retain she husbanded closely. As such, Twilight was likely the first to hear the story she was telling in centuries, perhaps millennia.

“After the last ray of light died, I sat in the dirt crying all night. I sobbed, I wailed, I’m sure I even invented a few new words to describe all my dramatics. It all just seemed so…empty, like the world had lost what made life worth living, and I knew I’d never see that beautiful light again. I cried until I didn’t have the energy to move, and I decided to simply lay in the dirt and not get up. For the first time in my life I felt truly, completely hopeless.”

Twilight leaned forward, hanging on her every word. Celestia met her gaze warmly, soaking in the deep violet pools transfixed on her.

“And then, the sun rose. It peaked above the horizon behind me, calling to me, rousing me and reminding me that there was always another day, always something to look forward to if you could just hang on a little bit longer.”

Celestia glanced back towards her own flank, and Twilight followed her eyes. Celestia folded her wing again, revealing the sun symbol so ubiquitous throughout Equestria.

“That was the day I got my Cutie Mark, and it taught me that no matter what, there is always hope in the next sunrise.”

Twilight’s mouth hung open, her eyes swollen as she stared at Celestia in a new light.

Celestia sat quietly, allowing Twilight to process what she had shared. On some level, she was in shock herself at having shared the story. For as long as history could recall, ponies had asked Princess Celestia how she had earned her Cutie Mark, and every inquiry had been met with a polite refusal or a skillful deflection. And yet, here she was, baring her deepest, most intimate experience with Twilight of her own volition.

And then, Twilight was hugging her. It happened so suddenly Celestia couldn't quite pinpoint when it had happened, only that one moment she wasn’t being hugged, and the next she was.

Not only was Twilight hugging her, but something seemed different about this hug. Normally, their embraces would be familiar, close but not lingering. More recently, they had become supportive, Twilight clinging to Celestia like a life preserver in a storm. Something, and she couldn’t put her hoof on what, seemed different with this hug. Whatever it was, she enjoyed it, and returned it enthusiastically.

The two Princesses remained locked together in silence for what seemed like hours, until three sharp knocks echoed throughout the castle. The two broke apart, somewhat hesitantly, as Twilight stood to answer the door. As she watched Twilight leave, and cast a quick cleaning spell over herself in the process, Celestia made a mental note to hire Twilight a small staff for her castle. No Princess should have to act as their own doormare.

After lingering a moment to ensure her mane and coat were suitably sugar-free, Celestia stood and followed after Twilight. Only a short corridor and a set of stairs separated Twilight’s lounge from the foyer, so she quickly caught up.

When she did, she almost wished she hadn’t. Standing in the doorway, opposite a frozen-in-place Twilight, was Princess Cadence.

Comments

[Zamairiac]

Oh this is goooooood.

Keep it up my friend, it's not often a story captures my attention so throughly

[Kairee]

I love Celestia's story. I absolutely love it.

[Hurgusburgus]

>mfw I see that last line
rs1ci.memecdn.com/608/5349608.gif

[Xelos]

5400697
i.imgur.com/yFcUxLC.gif
31.media.tumblr.com/ab5337d473e67077503f3b276080572a/tumblr_inline_neswo6y9jV1rdvdzg.gif
I will die as I live. Completely Shameless.

[Redninjabrony]

Looooooovvveeee it! Keep it up, I like where this is going!

[DarkSnowGaming]

When she did, she almost wished she hadn’t. Standing in the doorway, opposite a frozen-in-place Twilight, was Princess Cadence.

Really? Why does Cadance want to have Twilight so badly? She broke her trust, with her own brother, waiting a couple days isn't going to be enough for Twilight to even come close to forgive Cadance for what she has done. In fact it's only gonna make it worst.