Sunset groaned and rolled over, not daring to open her eyes. She could feel that she was on a thin mattress, covered with a scratchy blanket. Probably a dungeon. She deserved it and she knew it. Not for the filly thing - that wasn’t her fault - but definitely for breaking a magical artifact, defying direct orders from Princess Celestia, and circumventing the castle wards.
She was sure at least one of those was a crime. She wasn’t sure which. But she’d just had to shoot for the moon and spread herself out enough that she’d been guaranteed to commit at least one or two crimes worth imprisoning her for.
“I hope I get more than bread and water in the royal dungeon…” Sunset muttered.
“Unfortunately, hospital food is worse,” said a calm, commanding voice that made Sunset’s eyes snap open. Celestia was sitting next to her bed, looking with the deep remorse of an immortal discovering a new depth to which mortals could sink. This gaze was not directed at her student, but at a cup of tea clutched in her magic. “I think these tea leaves have been used before, and I’m a princess. I hate to think of what they serve the normal patients.”
A crowd of excuses and explanations formed in Sunset's mind, leaving her speechless until panic shoved to the forefront and took over Sunset's mouth, grabbing a hoofful of denial and throwing it out there. “Look, I don’t know what the guards said, but I-”
“Calm down, Sunset,” Celestia sighed. “I’m not going to throw you into the dungeons."
Sunset still looked worried.
"Or into the street," Celestia specified. Her student relaxed, and to make sure she didn't relax too much, the alicorn finished with a firm "Yet."
Sunset looked down at her hooves. Or the hospital bed, at least. The scratchy blanket covered her hooves, so she was looking at that, instead.
“I do, however, expect a formal apology for breaking my rules, and as punishment you’re going to spend the next few days determining exactly what you did to the mirror and that filly.”
“Who was she?” Sunset asked. It took a few seconds to remember the other question to ask. “Is she okay?”
“At least you’re worried about her." Though Celestia suspected it was more polite than worried, and only even that because Sunset was in too much trouble to get away with being impolite. “Her name is Twilight Sparkle. Apparently, she is the little sister of one of the Guard recruits being trained in the castle."
“I didn't hurt her, right?” Sunset was pretty sure they wouldn't be having a polite conversation if it was the case, but it didn't hurt to ask.
“A little shaken up but otherwise healthy, by all accounts. Princess Cadance is taking her home. Now, let’s talk about that book you had and the spell you were trying to use…” Celestia’s gaze hardened, and Sunset groaned, lifting the sheet up to hide her face.
The Princess' disappointment was even worse than being yelled at.
Cadance was used to Twilight’s panic attacks and how to deal with them. This was good, because right now the filly was having the biggest, most explosive tantrum and panic attack she’d ever seen.
Literally explosive, in the case of the small fireball the filly had fired off. That had managed to set a guard’s tail on fire. He wasn’t hurt, but he’d have a rather ugly bob cut for a while. The spark had only managed to make Twilight panic even more, like she’d never set something on fire before (it was such a common occurance that the Sparkles had their own direct line to the fire department).
Twilight was currently catatonic with terror, which was something of a blessing since it made carrying her much easier. Even with her telekinesis backed by alicorn magic, the filly was very capable of slipping out of Cadance's grasp when she really wanted to.
“Don’t worry, we’re almost home,” Cadance said, trying to be reassuring.
“I don’t- I don’t wanna go!” Twilight mumbled, putting a surprising amount of force into the barely-spoken words. Foals were good at that. It probably came with the talent at temper tantrums and pouting.
“I know you’re not feeling good, but once we get you back home and you have a nap you’ll be right as rain. That’s a pegasus saying.” Cadance gave her a smile. Twilight’s pout only got bigger in response.
“I don’t wanna go!” Twilight repeated, with the assurance of a foal that saying the same thing over and over again gave it more weight and importance. Then again, some of the politicians in court seemed to have the same idea - though they tended to be much less direct and use more words to say less.
“I know it’s been a tough day,” Cadance said softly. She could see the house now, a stately manor not far from the castle and, thankfully, able to be reached without having to use main roads. Carrying an upset filly that might go off at any time would not be very safe while pushing through a crowd, for almost exactly the same reason one wouldn't wander onto a hoofball field whilst juggling live grenades.
“I wanna stay with the nice pony!” Twilight yelled. Cadance winced as she felt a surge of magic against her own aura. A pink spark lept from the filly to Cadance's horn, nearly collapsing her spell.
Cadance really hoped she wouldn’t end up accidentally being set on fire. Sunset had done that enough on purpose with her own pranks.
“Those bad horses were hurting her! I want her, not you!” Twilight yelled, her voice getting shrill. Cadance looked around to make sure ponies weren’t staring. They were. Cadance had a sudden vision of pictures showing up in the morning paper accusing the Crown of foalnapping.
“Twilight, calm down. We’re going to see your parents. Once you settle down and feel better, we can talk about you seeing Sunset again.” Not that it was a great idea. Sunset had never been good with ponies who knew less than she did, like foals, or other ponies her age, or Cadance, or ponies older than she was… really, Sunset wasn’t very good with anypony at all. She usually got annoyed and yelled at them until they went away. Except for Celestia, of course.
Cadance pushed open the main gate and dragged Twilight inside. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep a grip on her. She was wiggly and strong, if not very well coordinated.
“Almost there…” Cadance grunted, dragging Twilight towards the doors and grabbing the bell pull with her teeth. The chime sounded and it was thankfully only a few moments before the door opened.
“Princess Cadance?” Twilight Velvet asked, tilting her head. “I wasn’t expecting you today- is that Twilight?”
“Yes… it’s a funny story, actually,” Cadance said.
“Where’s Shining Armor?” Velvet frowned.
“I’m not sure?” Cadance matched the older mare's puzzled expression.
“It’s just that he was with Twilight at the library,” Velvet explained. “I expected them to get home together.”
“He’s probably worried, then,” Cadance sighed. “She actually appeared in the palace. Some sort of magical… accident... thing.”
“An accident?” Velvet gasped, grabbing the floating filly with her hooves and lifting her up. “Is she okay? What’s this big bruise on her head?”
“Who are you?!” Twilight demanded. “I wanna go back to the nice pony!”
“What’s going on out here?” Twilight’s father pushed past Velvet.
“There was a little accident with Twilight, Mister Night Light,” Cadance said. “She’s just a little scared and confused-”
“I wanna go back to the castle with the sun pony!”
“Princess Celestia?” Night Light asked.
“I think she means Sunset Shimmer, actually,” Cadance corrected.
“I’ve heard awful stories about her,” Velvet gasped. “What did she do to my poor little Twilight?”
“I’m not really sure. Princess Celestia is looking into it, but I’m sure she’ll be fine once she gets some rest!” She smiled forcefully.
“I don’t wanna go with the strange ponies!” Twilight shouted, finally breaking free of Cadance and backing away from all three of them.
“She doesn’t recognize us!” Velvet whispered, afraid.
“It looks like a concussion with, um, some… minor amnesia,” Cadance said. “The doctors said it’ll probably go away if she gets some sleep. She still knows things, like how to speak…” though looking at her walking, she was strangely clumsy, like she wasn’t used to coordinating on four legs.
“When I get my hooves on the pony who did this-” Velvet snorted, stomping. “Was it that Sunset Shimmer?!”
“We don’t know,” Cadance said. “At this point, it’s just as likely that Twilight miscast a spell, or flared- you know how foals are at her age. With the amount of talent she has, she could have accidentally teleported herself to the castle where we found her.”
“Accidentally teleported herself that whole distance?” Night Light looked skeptical.
“With a flare? It’s possible,” Cadance shrugged. “And magical exhaustion after a flare might be why she’s having problems remembering things.”
“Who’s having problems?” The gate pushed open, Shining Armor looking inside.
“Twilight is-” Cadance started, before she saw the inquisitive purple filly standing next to him. “....Twilight is over there?”
She looked back at the filly she’d brought to the house.
“And right… there.” Cadance blinked. “Huh.”
“Why is there another me?” Twilight asked. More specifically, the Twilight next to Shining asked. Cadance felt her grasp of the situation rapidly slipping away.
“Did Twilight surge, or have any accidents, or read any strange books?” Cadance asked, quickly. “Like, maybe, forbidden tomes of ancient evil?”
“Uh… no?” Shining Armor blinked, looking up from his sister, or at least one of them, to stare at the Princess. “I mean, I was with her the whole time. I was reading her the new Daring Do book.”
“What’s going on?” the Twilight at his hooves asked, stepping closer to her double.
“Well, um, at least this means Twilight is okay?” Cadance said, trying to put a good spin on things. “Or one of them is.”
“Then who is this?” Velvet asked, pointing at the copy.
“That is… a really good question!” Cadance said. “But she really does look like Twilight, doesn’t she? I hope we didn’t just steal a filly that was visiting the palace…”
“She doesn’t just look like Twilight, they’re exactly the same,” Shining Armor said, kneeling down. “Except for that bruise. Where did you find her?”
“Well… the guards found her with Sunset Shimmer, and might have knocked Sunset out before she could tell them anything. I’m starting to think it might have been better to get the whole story before assaulting her.”
“She’s not me,” Twilight said, firmly. “I’m me.”
“We know, Twilight,” Velvet said, stepping over to the filly to nuzzle her. “But this is still a scared, confused filly. If you were scared like her, you’d want help.”
“But I’m not scared,” Twilight said. “She’s just a stranger. Send her away.”
“I don’t like her!” The copy yelled. “I wanna go back to the sun pony!”
Shining Armor looked at Cadance.
“She means Sunset Shimmer,” Cadance said.
“Why would she want to go with that mule?” Shining Armor asked. “There are monsters in Tartarus that are probably more pleasant to be around.”
“Don't use that kind of language around fillies,” Velvet chastised.
“Make her go away!” Twilight yelled. “I’m me and she isn’t!”
“We know-” Velvet started.
“You thought she was me!” Twilight yelled, louder. “But she isn’t! I was with Shining Armor! Why would you think she was me?!”
“Twilight, calm down,” Night Light said. “She’s scared.”
The mysterious filly had backed off, shivering with terror. She was looking at Twilight and the others with open terror.
“I just wanna go home,” she whispered.
“Where is home?” Cadance asked. “Do you remember?” Maybe she was just some other filly, who looked a lot like Twilight. It was distantly possible. Another filly who looked like Twilight and had that same amount of magical power.
Maybe not entirely likely, but a one in a million chance still came up once in a while.
“T-the sun pony! Sunset!” The copy looked around. “I wanna go back to her!”
“That can’t be her real home,” Velvet whispered.
“No,” Cadance agreed. “I think this is more complicated than just a lost foal.”
“Maybe you should take her back to the palace,” Velvet suggested. “Just to help her calm down. I know when Twilight gets into a mood, it’s sometimes better to just go along with what she wants.”
“Make her go away!” Twilight huffed, stomping up to her mother and pressing her head against her mother’s leg.
“Twilight, be polite,” Velvet hissed.
“She wants to go,” Twilight said. “I want her to go. You want her to go, right?”
Velvet knelt down. “Twilight, what I see is a scared little filly who needs help, no matter who she is, or what she looks like.”
“I just…” Twilight looked at the copy. “I don’t like her,” she whispered. “She’s strange. Ponies shouldn’t look like other ponies. And she feels strange!”
“Feels strange?” Velvet asked.
“I can feel it in my horn,” Twilight said, firmly. “She’s strange.”
“I wanna go back to Sunset!” the copy yelled, starting to hyperventilate.
“I’m starting to think that would be best,” Cadance sighed. “I’m very sorry for troubling you, Miss Velvet.” She started towards the scared filly. “We’ll go find Sunset, okay?”
“You promise you won’t take me to any strange places?” the copy asked, shivering where she stood.
“We’re going to go find her together,” Cadance promised. “If you stay close to me, I won’t drag you around with magic like I was before.”
“O-okay,” the copy said. She took a hesitant step, stumbling over herself. “Stupid legs…” she muttered, trying to walk and obviously having trouble with it.
“Don’t come back,” Twilight muttered. The copy froze and huffed, wiping at her eyes before stumbling up to Cadance.
“I’ll… I’ll let you know what happens,” Cadance said, looking back at the family. “I’m really sorry about this.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” Velvet said, standing up and walking over to the copy. “Dear, I don’t know who you are, but I know there are ponies who are worried about you.” She lifted the copy’s chin with her hoof and smiled. “I know you’ll find where you belong.”
“T-thank you,” the copy said, blushing, finally starting to calm down.
“Cadance, could you let us know what happens?” Velvet looked up at the Princess. “I know it’s not exactly our business, but…”
“I understand,” Cadance smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep her safe.”
“Keep her safe,” Cadance mumbled, as she walked with the filly back towards the castle. She was starting to worry about her. If she wasn’t walking correctly, didn’t that mean that more could have been wrong with her than just a bump on the head? The doctor had said it looked like it was just exhaustion and maybe a mild concussion, but maybe a second opinion and some detailed scanning spells were in order.
“Where is Sunset?” the filly asked.
“Well, she had a worse bump on the head than you,” Cadance said. “So they took her to the castle hospital.” Hopefully they hadn’t already relocated her to the dungeon. “I know Princess Celestia wanted to talk to her to find out what happened.”
“I-is Sunset a bad pony?” the filly asked. “The others were… they seemed scared of her.”
“She’s not a bad pony,” Cadance said (even if she didn't entirely believe it). “She’s just, um, she’s very lonely.”
“She was nice to me,” the filly mumbled. “And she got hurt because of me.”
“Nopony is going to blame you,” Cadance smiled. “If anything, she’s the one who put you in danger. Once she’s feeling better we’re going to find out what happened and get you home. With any luck you'll feel better and be able to tell us yourself after you get a good night's rest.”
“Okay,” the filly whispered. “But if we don’t find out, can I stay with her?”
“I don’t know if she’d-” Cadance stopped. She couldn’t just tell a scared foal that she wouldn’t be wanted, because the pony she wanted to comfort her was about two shades from being a monster. “I don’t know if she can. She’s not really old enough to take care of a filly by herself. Why do you like her so much?”
“She was there when I woke up,” the filly said. “The first thing I remember is seeing her, and she looked…” the filly swallowed. “She looked like she needed a hug.”
Cadance smiled. “You have very good instincts. She does need a hug. Maybe more than one. She doesn’t like to admit it to anypony, though.”
“M-maybe she’ll let me hug her?” the filly asked. “Then we’d both feel better…”
Cadance hesitated. The last time she'd tried to hug Sunset it had ended badly. “She’s got a lot of pride. She doesn’t like having to ask other ponies for help.”
“Oh.” The filly looked down, stopping. “Does she… will she even want to see me? She got hurt because of me.”
“Honestly?” Cadance sighed. “I don’t know. But we should still see her. Maybe she has some answers for us.”
“Okay,” the filly whispered.
They walked in silence into the hospital, a small facility located on the castle grounds, usually servicing foreign dignitaries, politicians, and other ponies that wanted privacy as well as medical care. It was modern, with the best facilities available.
Cadance led the filly up towards Sunset’s room. Thankfully, the nurses weren’t keeping that secret from her. Celestia probably hadn't gotten around to telling them to conceal everything important from the younger princess yet.
“You should know better than to experiment with strange magic,” Celestia said, Cadance recognizing her voice from outside of the room. “Hopefully that filly won’t have to pay for your mistake. Injuring another pony is a burden you carry in your heart for as long as you live.”
“I know,” Sunset said, sounding appropriately apologetic.
Cadance knocked on the doorframe, looking in the open room. “Um, I hope I’m not disturbing anything.
“Not at all, Cadance,” Celestia said. “Were you able to bring Twilight Sparkle back home?”
“Well, about that,” Cadance smiled nervously. “Funny story! They, um. They already had one!”
“Sunset!” the filly yelled, running into the room, stumbling over her own hooves and falling on the tile floor. Celestia’s golden aura caught her before she could bang her head again.
“They already had one?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I’d better explain everything that happened…”
An hour later, the filly was curled up next to Sunset and sleeping soundly, the older pony looking uncomfortable with the arrangement.
“So there are… two of them?” Sunset muttered.
“It seems so,” Cadance sighed. “They’re exactly identical! Well, not exactly. This one doesn't seem to remember anything, and she keeps tripping over her own hooves. That might be the concussion, though.”
“The spell I cast was supposed to activate whatever the mirror was supposed to do, I think. Like a backdoor to test the enchantment.” Sunset looked at the filly. "I don't know how this happened, unless you'd like to finally tell me what the mirror actually does?"
“I’ve seen something like this before,” Celestia said, ignoring the question. “During the reign of Discord, before I came to rule Equestria, he created magical pools. Some of them would make imperfect copies of ponies.”
“Well, I did cast the spell on a magical mirror…” Sunset muttered.
“This doesn’t seem exactly the same,” Celestia admitted, her magic gently smoothing the filly’s mane, which had become ragged and tangled by the stress of the day. “This filly certainly isn’t the type of copy Discord would create. He wouldn’t have made a single foal who needed help. He would have created a multitude of bad jokes instead.”
“She seems real,” Cadance said. “She’s not a monster.”
“Which was my other concern,” Celestia said, sounding like she was admitting something she was trying to hide. “I once did battle with a number of monsters that could assume the shape of a pony’s loved ones to steal their affection.”
“How awful!” Cadance gasped.
“They’ve been safely imprisoned for, well, probably forever,” Celestia said. She hesitated and looked to the side. “Maybe I should check some of the binding spells on my ancient foes one of these days. I keep letting it slip…”
“I think we should maybe focus on the filly,” Sunset said. “So she’s… what? A magical copy? A clone created by a miscast spell?”
“That’s going to be part of your responsibility to determine,” Celestia said. “I don’t think she’s dangerous. At least no more dangerous than you were at her age, Sunset.”
“That’s pretty dangerous." Sunset gave the filly the look an experienced animal handler gives an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous predator.
“Indeed. Taking care of her will be a very serious responsibility.”
The filly stirred at the soft speech, looking up. “A-are you gonna take me away from her?” she asked, quietly. “I promise I won’t be dangerous…”
“She’s so cute!” Cadance said. “Maybe I should-”
“I wanna stay with Sunset!” The filly was very firm on this, pounding the bed with a tiny hoof.
“That’s really Sunset’s decision,” Celestia said. “Raising a filly is a lot of work, even for ponies who have spent time planning and arranging things to take that big step in life.” She looked at Sunset, her expression unreadable. “You know better than anypony how much a growing foal needs. It's not like taking care of a pet.”
“I…” Sunset stopped what she was about to say.
Was this one of Celestia’s little tests? Taking care of the filly would mean she wouldn’t have nearly as much time for her own studies. Celestia had spent hours with her every day, and it had still felt like the mare had never been there when Sunset really needed her.
“It’s not to be taken lightly,” Celestia said, more quietly. “You should take time to think about it. Not just about what you want, or about what she wants, but about what’s best for her.” She turned to the window, looking out over Canterlot. “Sometimes that’s very difficult.”
“She can stay,” Sunset said, sharply, quickly. There was an edge to it.
“Sunset, it wasn’t a challenge.”
“No. But whatever happened, she’s my responsibility,” Sunset said. “What else would you do? Put her in an orphanage?" She spat the word with contempt. "We’d still need to find out where she came from.” She huffed and sat back, laying down in the bed. “I’m not going to wake up ten years from now wondering how that filly is doing and if I did the right thing and if she hates me the way I-” she stopped, biting her lip.
“You can’t just take care of her out of spite,” Celestia warned.
“No. I’m doing it because I can fix whatever happened!” Sunset snapped. “If she’s a filly or a mirror clone or a shapeshifter or whatever, it doesn’t matter!”
“Don’t be mad, Miss Sunset…” the filly sniffled. “I’m sorry…”
“I’m not mad,” Sunset said, trying not to growl. “I’m just sore and a little upset that the Royal Guard almost beat me to death today.”
“I see,” Celestia sighed. She stood up. “I’ll make some arrangements. I’m sure another cot can be brought out for our little guest as well. I know the doctors would like to keep Sunset overnight.”
“Can I sleep here?” the filly whispered.
“We can get you your own-” Celestia started.
“It’s fine,” Sunset said, more sharply.
“It’s fine then,” Celestia sighed. “Let the nurses know if you need anything.”
She walked out, shaking her head, Cadance following at her heels. She just hoped this wouldn’t all end in disaster.
I wonder if Celestia realizes that sunset pretty much sees her as her mother.... And hates her. Considering the indication that Sunset was an orphan too, sooner or later this will involve that mother/daughter conflict. Which is well within the scope of the story, Sunset becoming a mother.
Poor Luna though, she's royally screwed for losing a minor under her reasonability. Let's hope she doesn't suffer too much for that.
This is some high-grade stuff right here. Great, unique idea pulled off well. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't gotten more views by now.
Hmmmm... You have my attention. This is quite original plot you have here, Bolt. I don't think this was been done before. Can't wait for more!
Love the idea! It wasn't too clear for me until the second reading that the mirror wasn't open on it's 30th moon, but rather was forced by Sunset. From the comic 'The Fall of Sunset Shimmer' it is nearly time anyway.
Also, I love the subtext with Celestia and Sunset. I would have maybe added a bit more surrounding the interaction between SciTwi and Sunset to make the kid latch on so strongly, but otherwise a strong couple chapters.
Yeah, Celestia knows that the mirror is a portal to another world, and even if she doensn't know what's on the other side she still knows Exactly what/who the Second Twilight is. She's just being too stubborn to admit that to Sunset, and I can't help but feel that that's going to bite her in the a later on. The best thing to do would be to actually Tell Sunset the answer for once, and then set her the task of repairing the mirror so that Twilight can be returned home, but no, Chess-lestia must play her games...
Still; interesting idea, will track.
Huh, great idea. Honestly, in my time on the site, I have only seen one fic in which a child that's one of our favourite characters comes through the portal, and needs taking care of, and that's my fic. Yours is still a very different setup. I look forward to more.
Well, this is gonna be interesting. Momlestia AND motherly Sunset in the same story? Definitely tracking.
I am worried at what is going on on the other side of the mirror.
I felt that Pony Twilight was being quite the brat, but them I remembered her age in the fic and realized that's a pretty accurate response of how a child that age would react.
Not to mention this part:
That could also explain some of her reaction, not to mention it's a curious development.
No comment.
I applaud you, Sunset. You are a good pony
i.pinimg.com/originals/fc/bd/94/fcbd94ecd25eecdba93de9b74904653e.jpg
8923615
You mean other than the ensuing amber-alert, terrified and grief-stricken parents/brother, shamed principle and vice principle who were supposed to be watching the missing child in question and the potentially impending law-suits against said school administrators both criminal and civil over child-care negligence?
Like I said here, 8923312, the best thing for Princess Celestia to do would be to assign Sunset to repairing the mirror as quickly as possible so that the second Sparkle can be sent home, for Everyone's sake, rather than playing games with Sunset to teach her another lesson. There is a time for lessons to be learned, and a time for actions to be taken. It's fairly obvious to me that this version of Celestia has forgotten when the latter is...
well while I can see why twilight wouldn't like twilight because everyone never likes themselves (doctor who approved)
Of course she knows it, it wouldn't have hurt to have Celestia trying to find it out and being suprised too.
and yours (miny Twily)
It is bad enought that Sunset has to live where the guards kind of try to get a reason to do bad things to her, that probably doesn't helps with what this Celestia wants her to see again.
This looks like Celestia making a first bad try/decision with Sunset and having a bad environment that isn't helping either.
However I like this story and I kind of hope it gives Sunset a happy ending in the end, that this story maybe isn't exactly about bad Villains and more about different kind of problems (I just saw the slice of life tag).
I also hope that Sunset doesn't have to completely change into what the others want her to become and that she kind of makes them see that it is okay to be a bit different.
What I mean is, I know several stories where the ponies try to fit a main char into their harmony cult and won't allow any kind of different thinking.
I'm not sure I like this. While the premise is very interesting, it has something of a tone-problem from my point of view.
For one, thus far the story itself has actually been kind of dark. A child has essentially been kidnapped, and her memories of her home and family literally torn from her mind (and presumably lost). As others have pointed out, it also serves to basically ruin EQG-Luna, and devastate EQG-Twilight's family. And Celestia seems totally unconcerned that a child has been taken from her parents (unless this story is diverging from canon in terms of what she knows about the mirror). She basically gives Sunset a non-punishment for something that is on-par with what got her expelled, in-canon.
For another, the story really hasn't endeared me to anyone right now. No one really stood out in a positive way, so I have very little reason to be invested in whether things turn out alright for them. They're all just kind of annoying/self-centered.
Lastly, despite the fairly unique premise, so far it feels oddly generic. It's hard to put my finger on, and this is admittedly a very subjective complaint, but despite having read the whole thing twice, I can only really remember the most superficial details. It might be that it's simply treading a lot of the same ground as other stories and it's hard for me to look past it.
Well it has a interesting premise but it can still go either way. I'm curious in wich direction you will take it. Looking forward for more.
So I heard Luna lost her job for losing a child in her care? Seriously, that could very well be the perfect reason for Human Luna's "downfall".
The police and everyone else will search for the missed Human Twilight and the entire family will be devastated that they lost their daughter, most likely thinking that this will be the case forever if the mirror child stays in Equestria with her "new mother". Depending on how long Sunset goes with it, and how long Celestia allows it, this can dramatically chance everything. If they do the mother-daughter routine for years to come then I wonder how that would play out.
8922802
Better yet, throw the book em.
Celestia really doesn't get Sunset, hmm?
Spite is a perfectly fine motivation to help someone, if it is the right kind of spite. "I have the capability to do better, just like I wished had been done for me!" is quite fine, and can lead so easily into gentler and happier motivations.
And. Well.
There are just very few bad reasons to be kind.
....I hope you would clear in next chapter what is happening with Luna. Other than that, everything seems a little cliche'ish, but that's the tropes of the idea. Still interesting to read.
As has been thoroughly noted, there are some disturbing implications to this premise. Celestia's callous attitude towards human Twilight is especially horrifying if she's fully aware that a child has just been lost from another universe.
Still, that aside, I look forward to seeing where you go with this. Especially if it gets Celestia to check up on some of her old foes. And if VP Luna somehow tries to pursue Twilight.
"Well, I'll ask him but I don't think he'll be very keen. He's already got one, you see."
Hm, some very intriguing developments going on. Celestia is the biggest one, given her reactions. Is she still playing mind games, or does she not know anything about the mirror's full purpose in this universe? Her relationship with Sunset also seems more tense, as despite the fact that Sunset adores her and wants to learn from her, Celestia doesn't seem to be stopping to make sure the guards don't use brutality. In Forgotten Friendship, we did learn that joking Celestia was something Sunset had never seen, so perhaps Celestia was far more uptight before Sunset left, meaning she might still be like that here.
And it'll be interesting to see how things go between Pony Twilight and Sci-Twi. The way they reacted to one another is really odd, almost as if they couldn't stand it. There have always been stories about alternate universes and the consequences that happen of meeting your doppelganger, so maybe the two realize that on instinct.
And it makes sense Sci-Twi would latch onto Sunset. Sunset was the first thing she saw when she came out with her memories scrambled and Sunset didn't do anything to wrong or scare her. But then, the guards showed up and started hurting Sunset while the confused Sci-Twi grew into a panic and was suddenly being taken away by others who wouldn't listen to her. It's no wonder she wants to stay with Sunset. Sunset was the only one to give off a sense of safety and control and at least talked with her reasonably. It'll be fun to see how things go between them.
Nope. She is the little sister of a soon-to-be police officer. Close, but also literally worlds apart, Celestia.
You could find this out easily had you bothered to check the status of future-Element-Bearer Twilight Sparkle.
Nope; you just aided in the accidental kidnapping of a young human girl from across the mirror.
...You don't know what I'm talking about, do you...go ask Celestia; she'd know about that.
No crud; she just got sent to an alien world, and she herself is now in an alien body. Which young girl - hell, which living being wouldn't be utterly terrified?
Yes; she's a biped, not a quadruped, forced into a quadruped body. Of course she's gonna have walking issues.
So you don't know what the mirror is? The hell? Starswirl made it; are you telling me you weren't there when he did so, or that you didn't listen to him?
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Any you can remember things that happened more than likely over a thousand years ago or so? Immortality does not mean that you can remember every little detail.
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Its worth noting two things.
Firstly, despite the fandoms beliefs, the TV show only vaguely suggests Celestia and Luna were raised by Star Swirl. The exact relationship between the two is contradictory, (Star Swirl supposedly was the Mentor of Clover the Clever, and planted the seeds that would grow into the Tree of Harmony, which was required to grow the Elements of Harmony used to defeat Discord.....BUT was described as a Young Wizard when he met Scorpan, yet Luna and Celestia were supposedly already Princesses at that point.)
Its the comics, who are considered a lesser source, that suggest the idea that Celestia and Luna were raised by Star Swirl. These same comics only work in the timeline IF the Princesses had already taken control of the Sun AND Tirek was locked up, before Discord rose to power. Oh and also expects the Tree of Harmony grew backwards in time, as the comics suggest they discovered the tree before they met Star Swirl YET Shadow Play states that the seeds of the Tree weren't even planted till just before they banished themselves to trap the Pony of Shadows.
Secondly, even if you ignore how the comics make no sense in the TV shows timeline, and assume that Star Swirl did in fact teach Celestia and Luna, AND take the story where Celestia and Star Swirl used a mirror to visit various worlds, those very comics explain WHY Star Swirl would have remained silent. You see, Star Swirl made a different, prototype mirror before the actual Crystal Mirror and Celestia and him used it to visit multiple universes.
In one of them, Celestia met an alternative, Good Sombra and fell in love. She then proceeded to visit him multiple times against Star Swirl's wishes and put both Universes at risk. This forced Star Swirl to close this prototype mirror.
This love, BTW was strong enough, that 1000 years latter, after Twilight figured out how the Crystal Empire Mirror worked, Celestia used that info to reopen the Prototype Mirror....and then jumped through it, WITHOUT WARNING LUNA, and vanished for a week.
Given Celestia was still young at this point and thus less able to conceal her emotions and that love get weaker over time, and we can see that Star Swirl would have a VERY good idea what Celestia would do if she knew anything about another active Mirror portal. So not only would the spells for the Crystal Empire Mirror be more advanced then the prototype Celestia knew about, they would also be made to look as different from the enchantments that were on the prototype as possible, to obscure them from Celestia. And other obscuring spells would have been added, THEN it was likely hidden away so Celestia would never get to ask what the mirror was till after his death.
All in all....if you ignore the comics, then its likely that Celestia and Star Swirl lived in different eras (as only Twilight's Kingdom contradicts that, and only if you assume the "Young Wizard" is Star Swirl like depicted....which as mentioned above leads to timeline complications).
If you assume that the comics are in fact cannon, and ignore all Timeline complications, Starswirl would have deliberately concealed any information about the mirror and its enchantments because Celestia had already proven she couldn't be trusted with them. Since she almost destroyed time and space for Love.
. . .
Hoo boy, this is gonna be a long ride if they haven't realized there's two of them yet.
ALSO: Celestia... technically, it's YOUR fault for simply telling her "no" without properly explaining yourself, thus allowing her negative feelings to fester.
Given earlier events, I'm surprised false accusations of foalnapping aren't the norm.
*applause*
Congrats, you've all passed Logic I. Please strap in for Logic II, where we explain that causes precede effects. It's going to BLOW YOUR MINDS.
img00.deviantart.net/240f/i/2012/298/2/f/you_don__t_say_by_mamandil-d5iwo9c.png
One of these days, the scene will end and stop repeating itself.
One of these days, the scene will end and stop repeating itself.
One of these days, the scene will end and stop repeating itself.
One of these days, the scene will end and stop repeating itself.
One of these days, the scene will end and stop repeating itself.
This is the first time I've seen Filly Twilight depicted as anything but an adorable almost Marey Sue and I love it.
Mass-produced Twilight Sparkles, courtesy of Sunset Co.
Celestia. Celestia you KNOW there's a world on the other side. Why are you doing this Celestia. Celestia STOP. You're being awful.
Um, rude? I take offense to being called a monster, miss holier-than-thou. >:/
Clearly Celestia doesn't understand how good of a motivator Spite is. I'm fairly certain 50% of all major discoveries and 50% of all famous books happened, at least at first, out of spite.
Sunset thinks Celestia is afraid of her because She sees too much of Her in her.
Celestia is afraid for Sunset because she sees too much Luna in her.
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Yes, but does Cadence know this?
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Luna temper tantrum lasted like... a hour? Celestia was wrong.
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Worse still, does Sunset know this?
At the risk of sounding callous, I honestly don't care what happens to Luna on the Equestria girl's side. Not for lack of caring... Just a lack of interest, as I want to see what happens on this side of the portal. Though if there was a side/parrel story that'd be quiet interesting...